Extract from Addison. and beware how the force others into the same wretched habits with themselves. Silence when the church sings and silence afterwards is most fitting them, until they have learnt to sing without disturbing her music. If they desire to praise God, they can better make melody in their hearts when melody fills their ears. If not there is no help for them. 159 praise of the church. He selects the hymns, and he should regulate the singing of them,-recommending the tunes,and appointing those who should lead in the praises of the congregation. The science of music should be among his studies preparatory to entering on the duties of his office, & thus the church will have an authority competent to the regulation of her public praise. And what authority is more fitting, with which to entrust this matter? The people ought to have a general confidence in their pastor; and being an individual he stands fairly as the representative of the whole body deputed by them for the management of their worship. If he mismanages, and acts improperly, redress can be had from the courts to which he is amenable. But if he does not, the ignorant and unskilful will find it for their interest not to trouble themselves about it, any further than to know how to do their duty;-the malapert and contentious, the proud and pharisaical may object and oppose, but these things will always be, for they are the checks which God in his providence suffers to be imposed upon the pastor, to prevent him from running into excesses. X. Y. Z. These observations are suggested upon the mere abstract point of duty, without taking into view any of the different modes in which different churches conduct their praise. It is freely admitted, that many irregularities may and do arise, and that connoisseurs in music may carry the thing so far, in some instances, as that there may be danger of converting this interesting part of divine worship into a means of refined sensual enjoyment. But of this the churches do not seem to be in very great danger, at least in this region. It is said by some of the fathers, that the music of the primitive churches, was a means of drawing the Gentiles frequently into their assemblies, where they were convinced by the preaching of the word, and converted to Christianity: || but the generality of what is termed parochial music at the present day, is rather calculated to drive people out of the church, than to draw sinners into it. Still however there should We judge one another uncharitably; be some check to prevent danger. But often unmercifully. Looking to the where is that check to be lodged? not right hand,and to the left, of the Church with a few private individuals, for all of God, we observe how foolish is this, may plead an equal right with them, and how wrong is that; not considerand there be then no possibility of ing, that what others do, they may do preventing the array of conflicting 0- to the Lord, as well as we who leave pinions and taste in a religious society. it undone; and, that what they leave The Head of the church has appoint- undone, they do it to the Lord, as well ed officers for the management of her as we do it. We are not speaking of interests deacons, to manage the se- the sin of judging; but rather of the cular concerns, elders, to rule or ex-deceitfulness of the heart in not letercise discipline, and the minister toting us see the sinfulness of a sensoriconduct the church in her use of di-ous temper. We acknowledge that vine ordinances. With the pastor we must not judge, lest we be judged; therefore is found the right to regulate yet we are always doing it-why? bethis part of divine worship,--the public "cause we are so abominably proud; March 9. [An Extract. 160 Christian Repository-Poetry-Marriages. For the Miscellany. SPRING. OLD Winter has fled on his rolling blast, His wind and his snow and his storms are past there is a secret belief that though it would be wrong in others to judge, we are privileged to do so, from our knowledge and general correctness. It is painful to us all, we know, to lie down at night, and think the duties of the day have not been done. It is more painful to close the year, and to think that it has been wasted in idleness and folly.-But what, alas! must be the feelings of those who lie down at last & reflect upon their past lives with no remembrance of goodness,-who can recall only riches wast- Bid the bushes and thickets & hedges bloom; ed &power abused and talents misem-Bid the foliage weave o'er the heads of the ployed-and see the grave opening to receive them, upon which no tear will be shed and no memorial of virtue raised. Addison. The Rev. Dr. Emory has been appointed President of Ashbury college, in Maryland. This institution is under the superintendance of the Methodist Episcopal Church. CHRISTIAN REPOSITORY. grove And shadow its walks from the sun-beam above Bid the fields rejoice and the verdant mead Where the calves and the sheep and the lambkins feed, Clothe the plain in robes of pasture green Yet how soon, how soon, alas! MARRIED, The Editor of this paper wishes to dispose of the establishment, or take a partner in the business to take charge of the Editorial department. This being the only Religious paper in the peninsula, or in fact between Philadelphia and Baltimore; and patroniz- At Philadelphia, on Tuesdey evening last, ed by the New-Castle Presbytery as by the Rev. James P. Wilson, Charles B. a body, renders it an object to a per-F. Riddle, daughter of the late William M. Penrose, Esq. of this place, to Miss Valeria son of talents, industry & pious habits, Riddle, Esq. of that City. to engage in it. If preferred the whole establishment, consisting of a well stocked Printing Office would be disposed of on very moderate and accominodating terms. Letters(post paid) addressed to the subseri. ber, will be attended to, and every needful Information given. ROBERT PORTER. Wilmington, Del. March 12, 1824. By the Rev. Joshua Williams on the 11th inst. Mr. John Linn of Perry Co. to Miss Mary M'Glure of Frankford township Cum berland Co. At West Chester, by the Rev. William Hodson, Isaac Thomas M. D. to Ann C. Miner, daughter of Charles Miner, Esquire, seuior editor of the "Village Record.” On the 18th inst. by the Rev. Joshua Williams, Mr. Isaac Crowel, of Mechanicks burg, to Miss Mary Leckey, of Newville. Printed and Published by Fleming and Geddes, every Friday, at two dollars per annum. Religious Miscellany, No. 11. "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold, thy salvation cometh." THE STAGE.DIALOGUE 3. Concluded from p. 148. Mortimer. I would be willing, Clement, to fall under your chastening argument myself; but when I consider that my sister Julia goes but seldom to a play, and then either with her mother or her aunt; she always knows the play before hand, and never goes on the sacrament week, what great harm, Clement, can there be in this? It breaks in upon no rules of her life -she neglects no part of her duty she attends her place of worship, and performs the same devotions at home, as on other days. Clement. This excuse, Mortimer, can only be allowed where the diversion itself is innocent. Is the enter Vol. III. Christ, and is working out her salvation with fear and trembling; if the be thought to be according to the will Stage be an entertainment, that may of God; then she disposes of an hour very innocently, though her mother or But, if her aunt were not with her. the contrary of all this be true; if most of what she hears or sees be as contrary to the piety and purity of Christianity, as feasting is contrary to fasting; if the house which she supports with her money, and encourages by her presence, be a notorious means of corruption, visibly carrying on the cause of vice and impurity, she must not think herself excused for being with her mother. Mort. Indeed, Clement, you are too severe; my sister Julia, whom you tions so harsh; she is esteemed, most have seen, does not deserve reflecdeservedly esteemed, by all with whom she is acquainted; and a more diffident and modest female there cannot any where be found; and for her to be condemned thus, for going to a play, only now and then, is a hard measure of reproach, indeed. tainment suitable to the spirit and temper of religion? For if it be right and proper in itself, it needs no excuse; but if it be wrong and contrary to religion, we are not to use it cautiously, but to avoid it constantly; your sister, Julia, must be told, that it is no proof of the innocence of a thing, that it does not interfere with her hours of duty, nor break the regularity of her life; very improper ways of Clem. Truly, Mortimer, you quite spending of time may yet be consistent mistake the matter; and very unjustwith a regular distribution of ourly accuse me of severity against your hours; the consideration should be, sister; it is the touch-stone of truth to whether the thing indulged in hinders, which I bring her case, which conor in any way affects, the spirit and demns her conduct in this particular. temper which all her devotions aspire Suppose, Mortimer, your sister Julia after. Is it conformable to that hea- were to hear a person excuse her use of venly affection, that love of God, that paint, in this manner; that truly she purity of heart, that wisdom of mind, painted but very seldom; t hat she that contempt of the world, that always said her prayers first; that watchfulness and self-denial, that hu- she never used it on Sundays, or mility and fear of sin, which religion the week before the communion; requires? If that which she hears and sure I am, Julia would pity such a sees has no contrariety to any grace mixture of religion and weakness; or virtue that she prays for; if all that your sister would desire her to use there passes, be fit for the purity and her reason, and either to allow piety of one that is led by the Spirit of painting to be innocent, suitable to taining the christian audience with all the corruption of heart, wontonness of mind, and immodesty of thought, that the wit of the poet is able to invent. You are told that these persons are trained up to represent all this in the liveliest manner; and that they get their livelihood by swearing and rant the sobriety and humility of a Christian, or else to think it as unlawful at one time as at another: and would not Julia think it stranger still, that she condemns painting, and yet thinks that the regularity of her life, and the exactness of her devotions, might make it lawful for her to paint now and then? If your sister would asing, for four or five hours together, to impartially consider her pretences for an assembly of Christians. Now, going to the Playhouse, under the though you find no particular text of same rules, both you and she would scripture condemning the Stage, or certainly find them more weak and un-Tragedy, or Comedy, in express reasonable; for which of the two argues a greater vanity of mind, a more perverted judgment, and a deeper corruption of heart, seeking the diversion of the Stage, or taking plea-trine that our Saviour and his Apostles sure in a borrowed color. Mort. But have you not, Clement, painted in rather too strong a color, the amusement of the Stage, when you characterise it with the epithets which you have heaped upon it? Is it not too much to say, that the seeds of vice and impurity are contained in these representations? words; yet, what is much more, you find such entertainmants are a contradiction to the whole tenor of scripture; are a contradiction to every doc have taught us. So that to abhor painting the face, at all times, because it supposes an immodest turn of mind, and yet think there is a lawful time to go to the Playhouse, is as contrary to common sense, as if a man should hold that it was lawful sometimes to offend against all the doctrines of religion, and yet always unlawful to offend areminds me, Mortimer, of those lines gainst any one doctrine of religion: it of Pope, in ridicule of a certain lady's pretensions to piety; speaking of her closet, At once t'improve the sinner and the saint." "Together lie her prayer book and her paint, Mort. I am ready to admit, Clement, that all these arguments against the Stage are rather strong; but still I have an answer for them all, without answering any one in particular-my own experience will tell me that these diversions never did me any hurt. Clem. I will endeavor to be more particular, by further considering the Stage itself. You are to keep close to scripture. Suppose, for a moment, that you yet know nothing of playsyou ask what a Playhouse is? And you are told, it is a place where all sorts of people meet to be entertained with discourses, actions and representations, which are recommended to the heart, by beautiful scenes, the splendor of lights, and the harmony of music. You are told, that these discourses are the invention of men of wit and imagination, which describe imaginary in- Clem. This very answer shews, Mortrigues and scenes of love, and intro-timer, that you are very much hurt by duce men and women discoursing and them; and that there must be something raving in all the wild transports of very wrong, that will compel you to oppassion. You are told, that the diver- pose by your own experiencethat which sion partly consists of impure and pro- is forbidden by the whole current of fane songs, sung to fine music; and Scripture: it is infallibly certain, that partly of extravagant dialogues, be- our pleasures shew the state and contween immodest persons, talking in adition of our minds. A man's pleastyle of love and madness, and enter- sures manifests a great deal of his na Clem. For Levis to talk of a small ture; all forms of life, all outward ac- that are only diversions, lest by mak tions, may deceive us; we cannot ab-ing religion to contradict people in solutely say, that people have such every thing, religion itself should be tempers, because they do such actions; brought into dislike. but wherever people place any delight it is an infallible token of what tem-sin, is like talking of a small law of pers they have within them. All peo- God; and there is no law of God but ple, therefore, who use the Stage, have is a great one, because it comes from as much assurance that their heart is God; so every sin, as it is a transgresnot in a right state, as they possibly sion of some Law of GOD, must needs can have of any thing that relates to be a great one; nay, a breach of the themselves. We read in scripture, whole law. (James ii. 10.) When we "Blessed are the pure in heart, for contemplate that awful attribute, the they shall see God:" now take the JUSTICE of God; and behold the Stage in its best state, when some ad- immense sacrifice, in the person of mired Tragedy is upon it; are the ex- IMMANUEL, the only one that could travagant passions of distracted lovers, expiate 'sin, even the least sin, let not the impure revenge of inflamed heroes, Levis talk of a small sin: indeed, it bèthe joys and torments of love, which comes a verygreat one to Levis,because make so great a part of the most sober he carelessly and wilfully resolves to and modest Tragedies, consistent continue in it, merely for the sake of a with the Christian precept of purity little diversion. And as to his opinof heart? Just as much, Mortimer, as ion, that a clergyman should only inmurder and rapine are consistent with sist on the most material parts of recharity and meekness. Indeed, I do ligion, I have only to make him this not hesitate to say, that this diversion answer:-if sots and gluttons were to has in it the nature of a deliberate sin; desire a clergyman to confine himself and you cannot excuse yourself with to the most material parts of doctrine, either infirmity, surprise or violence of and not lay so much stress upon gluttemptation. Let any one but collect, tony and intemperance, which are not all the wickedness that has appear-things that only relate to eating and ed on the stage since he first used it, drinking, they would shew that they but only so much as passes there in understood religion just as well as any one season, and then he will see your friend Levis. what a dreadful load of guilt he has brought upon himself; for, surely, no one can be so weak as to imagine that he can use, and encourage, a wicked entertainment, without making himself a FULL SHARER of all his wicked-friend's conviction, my own is, that ness. Mort. I dare say, Clement has perceived, especially in the latter part of this combat, his adversary's arguments to have been but very feebly handled; whatever has been my they have been weak in the extreme. To be candid with you, Clement, you have long ago convinced me of my sin and folly, in defending such a mass of iniquity; but I have appeared to stand my ground, in order to draw from you all that you had to urge against the Drama. I therefore, throw down my weapons, and yield to my antagonist the palm of victory. Mort. My friend, Levis, frequently says, he wishes he may have no greater sin to answer for, than seeing a play; he considers it a small sin; and, considering the wickedness of the age, that person, he thinks, is in a very good state, that is only guilty of going to plays; and he moreover, thinks a clergyman would do better to insist only on the material parts of religion, Clem. I am happy you have been and not lay so much stress upon things "led to see the subject aright; the |