he, like my friend Will Thompson, is very fond of the

sermon.

"Then again, there is Ben Brown, in a neighbouring parish, where there is a sermon both morning and afternoon, and he says that his reason for not going in the morning is, that he thinks as he leads a pretty regular and sober life in the week days, and goes to church with his family every Sunday afternoon, that he cannot but think that must be enough, for,' says he, you know, sir, people get tired of praying as well as other things; and when they do, their prayers can be of very little use to them.'

"Now, my dear neighbours, these excuses, as I said before, are all very well for consciences that are none of the tenderest, but they are, to my mind, so many proofs of the truth of that Scripture, which says, 'The heart is deceitful above all things.' How can a man who says he -believes that God sent his Son to die for his sins, presume to think, that he can serve God just as it suits him, and be blameless; for if God did truly give his Son to death for his salvation, surely it is the deepest ingratitude in one who believes this, to do as little, instead of as much as he can, in the service of God. I do not mean to say, that men will go to heaven merely because they go to church, for nothing that we can do will save us, for Christ alone is the hope of sinners; but I do say, that there can be very little love for Christ, in those who make excuses for keeping away from that sacred place, where He has promised to be when two or three are gathered together in his name.

"Then, as to the excuses of my friends, who say there is no sermon in the morning, I would remind them, that they ought to go to church to pray, as well as to hear sermons; and that, with submission to them, they never were in a church, either morning or afternoon, that they did not hear two sermons, not to be sure of the minister's writing, but from the pen of those who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost-as Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets.

"But all church people must hear sermons from a

1836.] UPON THE NEGLECT OF THE MORNING SERVICE. 23 greater than these even the sermons of Jesus, which the minister is bound to read to them out of the New Testament, besides sermons which he must, in the course of his duty, read to them from St. Paul, St. Peter, St. James, St. John, and St. Jude.

"So you see, my neighbours, the excuse about the sermon will not do at all. As to the excuse of my friend who likes his bed better than church, I can say no more than this, that his love for his Saviour is so slight, that he is no disciple of his; for he that loveth even his father or mother more than Him, cannot be his disciple. The excuse of my friend, the farmer who must look after his stock, is very easily settled in the same way,-he loves his business better than Christ, and therefore he cannot belong to Him. And as to my friend who would get tired if he went to church twice, and who would compound for all the morning services by going in the afternoon, and leading a regular life in the week-days, his excuse is a very lame one indeed, for it makes him out to be one who is very faint,' and does not wish to 'pray always,' and who forgets that his regular life will not make up for his neglect of Christ, to whose Spirit he is indebted for every good quality he has, and an increase of which he is certainly not very anxious about, for if he was he would always go to the place where that Spirit is especially promised. Moreover, a life in which piety is not the first part, is not a regular life according to the Christian rule. "A LAYMAN."

We are glad to find our correspondent pressing that truth, which is not sufficiently considered, that a great portion of our church service consists in readings from the Scripture, which may be considered as sermons ;and thus our service is complete without any particular exhortation from the pulpit,-for there is prayer and praise, and reading the Scripture, whenever we meet together. Still, however, much good is often produced by means of "the sermon:" and we are therefore always sorry when the congregation is dismissed without one.ED.

1836.]

RECULVER.

25

THE GAZETTEER. No. 21.

RECULVER.

IN passing down the river Thames, the passengers, as the steamers approach Margate, see, on their right hand, the ruins of a church, with two steeples. These are commonly called the Two Sisters, from an old notion that this church was built by two sisters.

Our readers are aware that after this island was invaded by Julius Cæsar, the Roman Emperor (a little before the time of the birth of Christ), the Romans continued to make conquests in Britain, till they got possession of the greater part of the island: and they continued here for about four hundred years, till the time indeed when their own country was attacked by immense bands of fierce invaders, and they could no longer afford to leave their large armies to defend Britain, or any other of their distant colonies. It was after this that the Saxons became possessors of Britain, and continued in possession nearly as long as the Romans had done. Now, as the Romans were so long settled in this island, it is natural to believe that, even at the present day, many marks and signs should remain of these ancient inhabitants. And we do find this to be the case. Many plain and decided marks of Roman encampments remain, which may be clearly traced; and many Roman coins, rings, buckles, belts, bridles, spoons, needles, pieces of armour, &c. are constantly found. In the situation which we are describing there was formerly a Roman station; it was called "Regulbium," from whence is derived the present name of "Reculver." That part of Kent which is now called the "Isle of Thanet," was formerly really an island, and ships passed along the channel of the sea which then extended from Sandwich to Reculver. In this channel there was a harbour for ships. The old ruined castle of Richborough (called by the Romans Rutupium) was the fort which guarded the entrance by Sandwich; and the fort of Reculver guarded the entrance of the river Thames. On the Reculver side, the sea has made such great encroachments, that the ancient port is now under water,

though remains of what it was may occasionally be seen at low water. The ruins of the church stand on high ground, but so washed by the sea that the whole will probably be soon washed away.

ACQUAINTANCE WITH GOD.

BRETHREN beloved, there is no such thing as looking death in the face with a holy and yet humble boldness, without an acquaintance with God in Jesus Christ. Acquainted with God we must be; but we cannot be acquainted with him as the Prince of Peace, the eternal and all-sufficient good,-we cannot live to any really good purpose on earth, we cannot die in any good hope,we cannot enter the glories of heaven, except we are first made humble disciples in the school of Christ. Thus, the best blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal shall be the portion of that man alone who is scripturally acquainted with his God.

If I speak to the sinner, who has been buried in this world's gains, in pleasures, in honours, and has lived without God in the world, I urge upon him the divine command, "Acquaint now thyself with God." Begin at this very hour,-now is the accepted time,—now is the day of salvation. Throw down your arms of rebellion, and join the standard of the cross now, and all will be well. Commence from this very hour to study the revelation of God's word. Study his character, his ways, his laws, his redemption, his offices of mercy, his love, his patience, his pity, his faithfulness. The Holy Spirit is promised to guide us into all truth. Urge the fulfilment of this promise to yourselves, in faithful, persevering, spiritual prayer. The Saviour invites the humble scholars of every age, and of every class, to himself,— "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Acquaintance with God demands a walk of light and holiness. Acquaintanee with God brings with it its own reward. But acquaintance with God brings with it the highest and holiest responsibilities. You must not be conformed to this world, but being transformed by the