soul.

Both reason and revela- clothed. I know that I cannot be saved without love to God and man; for, without it, no true happiness can possibly exist. Now, the Holy Scriptures tell me that love is the fruit of the Spirit: that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. But how am I to obtain this sacred Spirit? This Jesus plainly tells me, Luke xi. 13.

How foolish, then, any longer to delay!.................

"All that can render a man completely happy, both in this world and the world to come, is set forth in the Scriptures in the most distinct, exalted, and solid way; so that there is no book in the world which could lead us to

tion plainly tell us, that our good actions have no value whatsoever, if God be not their source, aim, and end. Now, for my own part, I will not deny the real good which the grace of God enables me to perform; for instance, when I give alms, I seldom can discover any thing in it like hypocrisy, but rather I do it with the sincerest joy, and generally with a single eye to the glory of God. But, alas ! too often I observe, in the course of my conversation with others, a want of that simplicity and sincerity which are soprecious in the sight of God, and for the attainment of which I long. Often I use improper expres-any higher degrée of wisdom, sions, and speak in a way dictated by self-love, secking not so much the glory of God as to please myself. Sometimes pure motives to please God are so intermingled with an impure desire to please myself, that I can hardly ascertain which is the prevailing principle. From this I cannot but infer, that I am not free from pride; and should any doubt remain whether this really be the case, my being so very prone to anger, and that inward grief I feel within when reproved for any thing done amiss, ought to convince me that I have a proud and irritable temper."

"I know," says he, in another letter," that I am wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked but, blessed be God, there is a book called the Bible, in which I meet with a plentiful supply of the most approved and never-failing remedies, by a good use of which I may become rich, healthy, and

virtue, and happiness, than that which is obtainable by attending to the blessed doctrines of the Bible...................

in whom I find ten thousand "One, and only one there is, times more delight than in every thing else. I mean Him who was God, who is to be the Judge of the world, who, for me, became man, to reconcile me to God! O! how happy am I! Now my soul feels its immortality!"

In another letter, Mr. Lavater, after having described the sinful, situation of a wicked man in his dying hours, thus addresses his friend:

"O, my dear friend! I rejoice over you; but, pray, never depart any more from the good way of righteousness! Never look back! First of all, endea. vour to be reconciled to God by a dying Saviour, and then you may cheerfully run the way of his commandments.

A clergyman ought to be pos sessed of a very solid and extensive knowledge of the languages, and of philosophy; but my progress in these necessary branches of learning is veryimperfect; and how infinitely short do I fall of those moral accomplishments which ought to adorn a worthy minister!

"But, shall I rest satisfied with this humble confession ?— No.-I will humbly cast myself

"Until you have felt a godly sorrow, and an anxious concern about your sins; until you have bewailed them with tears of the most unfeigned repentance; until you cheerfully give up your weeping heart to the Son of God, deeply lamenting those very sins that nailed him to the cross; until you become sick, as it were, with love to him; until you confidently embrace his knees, humbly applying for a blessed experience of his healing pow-down before my Creator and ers; until you have repeatedly experienced and exercised these things, you must never flatter yourself with making real advances in the Christian life. I know, by sad experience, how often we fall into sin and temptation, so long as we remain too fondly attached to any object of earth and sense. If we do not deeply abhor and detest sin, from an experimental view of its exceeding great sinfulness and awful consequences, we go our way, and fondly imagine that we are better than the common bulk of sinners; but even the smallest remainder of the most subtle pride may prove a snare to us, to lead us astray from the narrow way of life."

Redeemer, and firmly resolve to strive after the highest degree of perfection; never to make a stand; never to get weary in honouring God; above all things, not to become the slave of man; not to look for my own advantage; but I will endeavour, by the grace of God, to try all my actions by the rule of St. Paul :- -Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin. Thus acting, I shall prove a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and act in a manner becoming his faithful servant."

Soon after his ordination, he thus addressed one of his dearest friends:"You have preached this day; and, I trust, with much success. O let us consider the infinite importance of In the year 1762, Mr. Lava- addressing immortal beings in ter, after having finished his the name of God! May the Theological Studies, entered in-principle of St. Paul never fail to holy orders, to the great sa-to be yours: "We preach not tisfaction of his professors; but ourselves, but Christ Jesus the under very humble views of his Lord; and ourselves, your serown attainments. vants, for Christ's sake."

"The principal duties of my Mr. Lavater was only twentynew station," says he, "require one years old when he pera close application to the ac-formed an action which cannot quisition of solid and scientific but highly interest every imknowledge, and of exemplary partial reader in his favour :piety, which ought eminently to There lived in the city of Zushine far above the virtues of rich, and even a member of its the very best private Christians.senate, a most wretched charac

ter, who, during the time he | first he kept his name a secret;

had been Prefect over a district of the Canton, had committed innumerable acts of the grossest injustice; yea, such abominable crimes, that all the country people loudly reproached and cursed him; but no one dared to call him to public account, he being related to several gentlemen who were members of the Zurich government, and son-in-law to the principal magistrate of the city. Mr. Lavater, after having often heard of, and duly examined into, the atrocities of the Prefect, committed even against helpless widows and orphans, could at last no longer refrain himself: his tender feeling heart was glowing with the noblest sentiments of justice and humanity, and felt an irresistible desire to plead the cause of the poor and oppressed. He was fully aware that his stepping forward in this cause would ex pose him to the frowns of the great and mighty, and occasion much uneasiness and anxiety even to his nearest and dearest relations; but he was determined to obey God rather than man. Having prepared himself by earnest prayer, and consulted an intimate friend, he first addres

but when called upon, he came
forward in the most open man-
ner, nobly avowed and fully
proved the points of his indict-
ment before the whole assembly
of the Senate; and had the un-
speakable satisfaction to see the
wicked Prefect, who, conscious
of his guilt, had saved himself
by flight, solemnly condemned.
by law, his unjust property con-
fiscated, and restoration made to
the triumphant cause of oppres-
sed poverty and innocence.
[To be continued.]

For the Connecticut Magazine.

A Dissertation on the Prophecies
that have been fulfilled, are now
fulfilling, or will hereafter be ful-
filled relative to the great period
of 1260 years, the Papal and
Mohammedan apostacies, the ty-
rannical reign of anti-christ, or
the infidel power, and the resto-
ration of the Jews.

BY GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D.
Vicar of Stockton-upon-Tees.
In two volumes, octavo, London edi-
tion, 1806.

No. I.

Athese volumes are evidently

written with great ability by the learned Author, and contain matter interesting, in a high degree, to the religious and learned world, especially at the present day, when all nations are shaken to their foundations, and when there is a general

sed a letter to the Prefect; in which he strongly reproached him for his detestable actions; and freely declared his full intention to bring him to public justice, should he not restore his spoils within the term of two months. This time having elap-expectation excited in the church, sed, and the warning proving in that the joyful period is near at hand, vain, Mr. Lavater proceeded to when the desire of all nations shall print a most solemn indictment come, we purpose, in several numagainst him; which he caused bers, to give the outline of this to be delivered to every Member work, with a special design to draw of the Zurich government. At a more general attention to the work

moon, and the stars, and thus the symbolical earth includes the sea, the rivers, the islands, and the mountains.

itself. We are fully sensible of the | bolical heaven includes the sun, the difficulty of this undertaking, and that complete justice cannot be done either to the Author or the subject, by any abstract whatever, much less by any which we shall be able 1st. The symbolical heaven, taken to make, still we hope to do that temporally means the whole body degree of justice to both, as to at-politic. As such it includes the sun, tain, in a good degree, the main object in view.

or the sovereign power, the moon, the people, and the stars, the princes and nobles of the realm. If the empire be divided, the sun will be the government of that state which is pre-eminent above the rest, the stars will be the other sovereigns, and the moon, the people of the whole empire. Hence, the blackening of the sun, the turning of the moon into blood, the falling of the stars, or the departing of the heavens like a scroll, will mean the subversion of a kingdom or empire, while the shooting of a star from heaven to earth, will mean the down-fall of a sovereign prince. On the same principle, an eclipse of the heaven

In the present number we shall attempt a summary of the author's account of the symbolic language of prophecy and of the scriptural phrases, the latter days, the last days, and the time of the end. The predictions of Daniel and St.John, says the author, Daniel's last prophecy excepted, are written in the language of symbols, the import of which must be ascertained. And here it is proper to remark that different symbols may express the same thing, as two or more words, in ordinary language often do; these synonyms, so far from creating confusion, enrich a language, and heigh-ly bodies will mean a partial calamten the beauty of the imagery; but ity short of utter subversion. By the same symbols, are never used the sun's scorching men with fire to express different things which are a grievous tyranny of the supreme not analogically related to each power will be denoted. If the air other, as words in ordinary language be used for political heaven, then often are for then a prophesy thunder, lightning, hail, and clouds, couched in such ambiguous terms will denote convulsions, tumults, must be wholly unintelligible; be- uproars in the sickly or expiring cause, the context cannot, as in or- body-politic. But if taken spiritudinary language, remove the ambi-ally the symbolical heaven will mean guity. Hence the language of sym-the church militant, the sun will be bols is, in one respect, more perfect Christ, the moon, the church, and than ordinary language, for while the stars, pastors and teachers. it possesses the advantage of variety, Christ, as a priest, will be the bright it is free from the obscurity of am- and morning star, dews and gentle biguous terms. The same symbols rains will be the graces of the Holy indeed are divided into two grand Spirit: and the new heavens will classes, and sometimes represent be the church triumphant. temporal, and sometimes spiritual objects; and each leading symbol is generally connected with several others, which nature has united in one complex object. Thus the sym

2d. The earth taken temporally will be the dominions of a Pagan or irreligious prince, the sea will be nations in a tumultuary state, a flood, a large body of men put in

motion for an evil purpose. Rivers | ten horns of the beast, which denote

and fountains will be nations with their political heads in a tranquil state. An earthquake, a sudden convulsion in an empire. Mountains and islands will be kingdoms and states. These symbols, taken in a limited sense, often apply to the empire, in open opposition to the church of Christ, at the period of the events predicted, exclusively. Thus the several Pagan empires have been, successively, the symbolical earth to the existing church, or symbolical heaven. In the apocalypse, the temporal symbol earth always means the terrestrial dominions of the Roman empire, under its sixth or seventh head and the other symbols connected with it as their head, have a like limitation. Very few of this set of symbols are to be taken spiritually; the earth, however, when so taken, denotes a state of Paganism or apostacy-a mountain imports the triumphant kingdom of the Messiah, being exalted above all other mountains or kingdoms, and hills or petty states. As temporal rivers denote nations ·in a settled state, so a pure river of water of life denotes the state of eternal rest. And as the temporal sea means nations in tumult, so in the state of future bliss, there shall be no more sea.

ten kingdoms. Here is the seat or throne of the dragon, which he has transferred to his delegate the beast. This great city is seated upon the sea, her merchants and ship-masters are the great men of the earth, or Roman empire. The beloved city, or residence of the church, is called a camp, because the church is militant. This city, like the literal Jerusalem, hath a temple, an altar, and a court without the temple, a sanctuary, a daily sacrifice, the throne of God, and the ark of the covenant. In this temple also aretwo olive trees, and two candlesticks, or, tivo witnesses of Christ. The truly pious are the mystical temple of God, their hearts are his throne, their prayers are the daily sacrifice offered on the altar before the ark of the covenant. As the church is two-fold, the pre-christian, and post-christian church, we have two olive trees and two candlesticks to represent it. The outer court which, in the literal temple, was set apart for the Gentiles, represents nominal Christians: the treading it under foot, signifies the introduction of heresies and apostacies. The taking away of the daily sacrifice, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, mean the introduction of apostacies, and abolition or interrufition of divine worship.

4th. A chaste woman is a symbol of the true church, the Lamb's wife; the seed of the church, by which her children are born again, is the word of God. On the contrary, a harlot is a symbol of an apostate or idolatrous church. In the apocalypse, two women of this opposite character are often mentioned with various and forcible description.

3d. The third set of symbols Commences with that of a city. In the apocalypse two cities are mentioned, the great city, and the holy city. The great city is the Roman empire, secular and papal, whose mystic name is Babylon: The holy city is the church of Christ, whose mystic name is Jerusalem. cordingly the great city is exhibited in its two-fold character as a harlot 5th. The vine is also a symbol of or apostate church riding trium-the church; that which yields good phant on a beast, or idolatrous em- fruit is the true church, and that pire. It is said to consist of ten which yields sour grapes, called parts or strects, answering to the | the vine of the earth, is an apostate

Ac