MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND, — Do not, I pray you, neglect your precious soul any longer. You have lived long in a course of careless unconcern, as if you really had no soul; as if this life had been all you had to live or to care for. O stop and think,-stop I beseech while yet you, the voice

of mercy may be heard, and a Saviour's grace be sought. O consider, that "the end of these things is death," that life is very uncertain, and that the soul once lost, is lost for ever,-yes, for ever! For ever and for ever, in hopeless ceaseless torment and sorrow will you reap the dreadful effects of neglecting the great salvation. I beseech you "consider your ways," and to turn your feet unto the ways of God's commandments, you cannot find peace in your present progress, for "there is no peace saith the Lord unto the wicked." "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." They that are far from God must perish, for they who will for ever be with him, love him, delight in him, serve him, and honour him; but while you say by your conduct, "depart from me, I desire not the knowledge of thy ways," you prove your distance from him, by your enmity to him; and, by your friendship with the world, shew yourself to be the enemy of God. Ah, it is a vain contest; dear young friend, be persuaded, to throw down the arms of your rebellion, and close in with the offers of mercy and peace, which the charter of happiness contains. Yes, you possess that precious legacy, left you by a now glorified sister, but has it not been hitherto a neglected book? Do not forget that by it you will be judged, and oh, how dreadful to

have had such a treasure left under such circumstances, and yet not to have read it and found life and peace therein. Ah, that dear sister lived upon her bible, her precious bible, through months and years of suffering and entire confinement to her bed; you well know how she valued and read her bible; it was her all in all, which told her of her precious Saviour to whom she had fled for refuge, and in whom she trusted and rejoiced in the prospect of dying. You know of her happy peaceful end: did you not then say, "let my last end be like hers?" But have you not lived since as if you had forgotten that dyiug scene? Let the voice of friendship now recal on this anniversary of her death, the solemn scene; may it lead you

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"consider your latter end," and fly now at once to Jesus, who is the only hope of a dying guilty sinner,-there is no other way of escape for you, if you continue to neglect the offers of his grace.

But it is not now too late ; you may yet say,. I will arise and go to my Father," I will seek to be reconciled, I will give up my heart unto him, and say, wilt thou not be the guide of my youth," in doing so, you shall be welcomed, pardoned, saved, and sanctified, and prepared for death and heaven. Thus then, seek and you shall find acceptance, for Jesus is still ready and willing to save you, and will in no wise reject your cry; he will make you happy in his love and service now, and give you eternal life. May the Holy Spirit teach,

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lighten, and regenerate your precious soul. I send you the rise and progress of religion in the soul by Dr. Doddridge, and remain

YOUR SOUL'S FRIEND.

who have not lost the Christian in the politician, or the courtier. But we speak of the system. Has not the system been more calculated to disunite, and divide Christians-has it not been more uniformly schismatical-than that of any other Protestant church? Other churches of the Reformation, have been as closely incorporated with state-power-others have persecuted :-but none have maintained a claim to so lofty a dominion over conscience; for no other has clung to the innovation of an exclusive divine right.' None have halted in the career of reform so near to Rome-have any been so Romish in their spirit? None have been so rich-have any been so high-minded, or so worldly? Has any one intrenched itself, so effectually, and so perseveringly, in arbitrary impositions, laws, and canons; or shewn itself so determined to bar all change? Has any Protestant Establishment acted with so much inconsistencywith so little of the fraternal spirit, as the Church of England manifests, in treating even Episcopalians of equal claim with the English clergy, to the alleged apostolic descent,'-as aliens from her pulpits and her altars, because not ordained by her bishops? While she recognises Romish orders, she rejects those of the Scottish, and the Anglo-American Episcopal churches!

To the Church of England belongs the glory of being first restorer of buried truth.' But how early was that glory tarnished, by her adoption of exclusive claims-unknown to Wickliffe, and to all the Reformers! The deep piety of Dean (afterwards Bishop) Hall, as we have seen, overcame his high-toned Episcopalianism, at Dordt: but the brotherly' embrace,' the tears,' and the 'right hand of fellowship,' which, as history records, marked the parting scene of that venerable Assembly, would seem also, unhappily, to have been the signal for the separation of the Church of England, from the fraternity of all the Reformation! Union in worship-in public ministerial duties—the equality of brethren—were soon to cease! Án Englishman may blush for his country, when he remembers that her church committed the original schism against reformed Christendom! She was the first national Establishment, expressly to repudiate the principle of catholic unity! Under the auspices of LAUD, the English ambassador, Lord Scuddamore, formerly renounced all fellowship with the church of the martyrHuguenots, at Charenton; and care to publish upon all occasions, that the Church of England looked not on the Huguenots as a part of their communion.' Gladly might a veil of oblivion be drawn over those days-were it not the fact, that the Church of England still commemorates them, by remaining the most MARCH, 1839.

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exclusive church in the Protestant world. Yes! her pulpits are yet closed against many of the best of men! She does not publicly recognise them as servants of God, and ministers of Christ! How many martyrs are there, crowned with glorywhom, were they now on earth, she would not own as brethren-her sanctuaries must not echo to their voice!her children must not listen to their soulstirring exhortations-their faithful coun sels-nor unite in their prayers to Heaven!

And yet concerning a work disgraced by such and many similar passages, we find the adjudicators speaking in the following terms;

It cannot be supposed that in adjudging to the following work the Prize offered by Sir CULLING EARDLY SMITH, for the best Essay on SCHISM, we agreed in every particular opinion with the author, or with each other. To expect this from any three persons of ordinary intelligence, and of different denominations, on a subject still so much controverted, would be unreasonable. Our sole duty was, to adjudge the prize to that Essay, which, of the number sent to us, amounting to fifty-one, appeared to us the best: and this we have conscientiously done.

Well-informed, candid, and practical, the following work is calculated to draw the attention of many to the subject; and by enabling those who come to the investigation with a devout and dispassionate mind to perceive what is, in the main, the scriptural view of SCHISM, its mischievous effects, and its criminality before God, it will tend, as we trust, to unite the disciples of Christ, not on the ground of ecclesiastical uniformity, but on the more scriptural ground of their having, notwithstanding various discrepancies in the externals of religion, one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, and one God. By this enlightened and spiritual union, also, as we believe, the present divisions in the Church of Christ, which have led to such lamentable estrangement of real Christians from each other, can be moderated, and eventually extinguished.

BAPTIST W. NOEL. JAMES SHERMAN.

That Mr. Sherman should thus speak of this work, occasions us some surprise; but that Mr. Noel should give any countenance to so inflammable a production, is on every account to be deeply regretted.

Professor Hoppus's prize essay, consists of two parts; the first entitled Unity, and the second

Schism. He commences his first part with a chapter on the unity of the unfallen creation, a subject about which we know nothing, and which might therefore as well have been omitted; this however he happily dispatches in about thrée pages. He then goes on to treat of the apostacy from universal love, the recruiting tendency of the dispensation of mercy, the founding of Christianity as a system of benevolence, &c., which afford him sundry opportunities for fine writing, though they have not much connection with his main question. He next proceeds to depict Christianity in the Apostolic age, to enquire who is a Christian, and what is the Church, and then in a chapter of seven sections, to discuss the unity of the Church.

Mr. Harris has, with sounder judgment, avoided the doubtful speculations which Professor Hoppus has introduced, and occupies his two first chapters on the unity of the Church. His sentiments on this topic very nearly agree with those of Professor Hoppus, and are in the main such are held by the congregationalists. Mr. Harris refers more uniformly to Scripture, while Professor Hoppus takes a wider range, and adverts to the primitive fathers, and ecclesiastical historians.

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From the Unity of the Church, both these authors proceed to consider the nature of Schism. Professor Hoppus gives us the following section on the Scripture use of the term.

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I. The Greek noun, which is the origin of the English word SCHISM, signifies, primarily, a rent, division, or separation; being derived from a verb which means to rend, or cleave asunder. The verb is used, literally, eight times, relating, three times, to the veil of the temple,' which rent,' and, once, to the rocks' which were rent,' while Jesus was on the cross: once, in reference to new cloth,' which makes a rent' in an old garment:' once to the vesture' of Jesus, when the soldiers said, Let us not rend it once, to the heavens,' which were opened' or separated, when the Spirit descended on

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Jesus at his baptism; and once, to Peter's 6 net,' which was not broken,' by the weight of the fishes that were caught in it. The noun occurs, in its literal sense, twice, and is applied, both times, to a rent made in a garment.'

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The verb occurs, also, twice, in a figurative or moral sense: once, in reference to what took place at Iconium, when the apostles were preaching the gospel in that city: The unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evilaffected against the brethren; ' and 'the multitude of the city was divided; and part held with the Jews and part with the apostles.' The other instance is found in the account of St. Paul's first appearance before the council at Jerusalem. The apostle declared himself to be a Pharisee, and that he advocated the doctrine of the ' resurrection of the dead,' one of the leading tenets which distinguished the Pharisees from the infidel Sadducees: And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided.'

The noun is used, in a figurative or secondary sense, sir times; importing a division in mind and sentiment, a want of moral harmony or unity of feeling. Three of the instances occur in St. John's gospel, and relate to differences, which arose among the Jews respecting Christ: So there was a division.

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The remaining three passages in which the noun is found in the same accepta. tion, occur in the first epistle to the Corinthians; Now I beseech you that there be no divisions among you.' 'I hear that there be divisions among you.' 'God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body.'

This last passage is the only one in which the English version has preserved the term schism' from the original. In every other case in which the Greek word is used in its figurative or moral signification, it is translated, as appears above, by the English word division.' In like manner, the verb, also, in the two cases of its corresponding use, is rendered divided.' Thus the English word 'schism' occurs once only in our vernacular translation.

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He then adverts to the schisms among the Jews respecting Christ; to the schisms of the church of Corinth; and to the use of the term in ecclesiastical history and modern times. Mr. Harris refers to the same passages in the New Testament, which occupied the attention of Professor Hoppus, and thence deduces the following descriptions of schism.

What then was the nature of the ' schisms' which the apostle here sought to extinguish? A factious preference of the ministers by whom they had believed, to the loss of that brotherly love which they owed to each other. An exclusive regard for the members of a party, when they ought to have been affectionately embracing the whole Church. And hence his aim is to remove their party-regards from himself, and Apollos, and Cephas, and to centre them on Christ alone, as the only way of restoring their love to each other. He reminds them in the verse immediately preceding, that they have been "called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord;" he tenderly entreats them all as "brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and, pointing them to the cross, touchingly reminds them that Christ alone has poured out for them his blood. Thus would he hush their altercations, and heal their divisions, by calling them around the cross, there to feel that they are all one in Christ.

Three things are here distinctly speci fied deserving our particular attention. First, the general charge alleged against the church at Corinth- "I hear there be schisms among you, and I partly believe it." Second, the serious mistake in which these schisms had originated, or by which they had been fostered "When ye come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's-supper"--to partake of that is more than simply eating, as you seem to suppose, in one place, in mere local union. Third, the nature of the schisms which ensued-" for in eating, every one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken." As they assembled in one place, and as one church, love would have brought them together united in spirit and purpose; but they came regardless of each other's feelings and circumstances-and this was schism. Affection would have taught them to wait the arrival of their fellowmembers; but they selfishly began without delay and this was schism. Sympathy would have taught them to unite their means in a common Agapa, or feast of love; but those who had abundance not only indulged to excess, they shamefully forgot their poorer brethren who had nothing, and thus made them feel the smart of their poverty-and this was schism. The state of things which is here described, then, is characterised by the absence of Christian sympathy and love, and this the apostle condemns as a state of schism.

The corporeal system is contemplated as a whole composed of many parts; each of these parts is supposed to be endowed with individual life and separate intelligence; but it is implied that all of them are intended to be united, by a sense of dependence and a sentiment of affection, common to the whole; and it is the ab

sence of this sympathetic bond which is represented as the schism in the body.' The application is obvious and inevitable. The Christian Church-composed of many members, is the body of Christ; each of these members, though possessing a distinct and separate consciousness, is vitally related to the whole: and, in order to the completeness and well-being of the whole, it is intended that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.' Now, if such be the united action and the reciprocal sympathy of the members of the Christian Church, in the absence of schism-the want, or the violation, of that mutual care and sympathy is the evil thing which the apostle denominates schism.

Having now considered the only places in Scripture in which the term schism is employed in reference to the Church, we find ourselves brought to the following. general conclusion-a conclusion replete with interest and important instruction for every Christian church in Christendom, that an exclusive, factious, and uncharitable spirit, wherever, and in combination with whatever, it may exist, is essential schism. The writer is aware, that as the term is ecclesiastically employed in Scripture in reference to the state of things, in a particular church alone, it has been contended that it cannot be strictly applied to the act of separation from a church, or to the state of things existing between churches already distinct.

Both these writers then proceed to point out the cause of schism, and Mr. Harris thus sums up his chapter on this subject.

Among the many important reflections suggested by this chapter, the following seem almost forced on our attention. 1. That the additions which man has made, from time to time, to the ordinances of God, have been the most fruitful sources of agitation and quarrel. 2. That even these have not led to actual separation, until they have been authoritatively enforced and made indispensable. 3. That neither the one nor the other could have taken place, if the authority of the Bible had been revered and regarded as paramount. 4. That the supreme authority of the Bible waned in the Church just in proportion as unsanctified wealth, and rank, and influence, were allowed to gain the ascendant; till the Church had become a worldly corporation, and the Bible was silenced and virtually expelled. 5. That the admission of irreligious men to place or power in a Christian church, is the admission of so many agents of schism; and hence it is, partly, that, in the consummation of that kingdom which