Never do I meet with the records of your piety and zeal, your faith and love, but I wish with my whole heart, that I were myself like unto you; like unto you in the devotion of my soul to the honour and service of that Almighty Being, upon whom I depend for a continuance of the blessings which I have received at his hands, and to whom I am accountable for the use I make of all his gifts, knowing that if I employ them in promoting the glory of God, and the good of mankind, I, with all those who have gone before, in the paths of righteousness, shall receive the recompense of the just, in a future and eternal state of blessed

ness.

Remember me, O my God, for good. Remember this thy family, for whom Christ died. Remember all mankind. pp. 308, 309.

Occasional Thoughts on Select Texts of Scripture. By the late JOHN MASON GOOD, M.D. London: Hatchard. 1828. pp. ix. 193.

As we have in a former number adverted at large to the life and character of Dr. Good, we need not here tell our readers who he was. To some, our notice of his Memoirs by Dr. Gregory may have appeared rather literary than religious. To such an objection we would reply, that Dr. Good was as eminent for his literary attainments as for his personal piety, and afforded a bright example of the delightful union of a well-cultivated mind with a truly Christian heart. The pieces which compose the present little volume bear evident marks of being the unpremeditated effusions of a devotional spirit; but were probably never intended by the author for publication, at least in their present state. From the unpublished papers of Dr. Good an instructive selection might doubtless be made, in which the most choice of the present pieces would find a suitable place; but why these have been dissevered from his other remains, and sent forth as a distinct volume, we can discover no good reason. We can find room for only three extracts: the first, on 1 Samuel xxv.; the second and third on Luke ii. 15.

But the removal of a prophet, of a faithful minister of God, produces a shock of very different kind, and is an event far less easily provided for. This is, indeed, a calamity, and is felt to be such. It is a visitation that comes more immediately home to our bosoms, and takes a much deeper hold of them. There may be a semblance and exterior of general gloom in the former case (the death of a conqueror), but it is in the latter that all the people gather together with genuine lamentation. Then is it that the contagion of grief spreads with its depressing influence from heart to heart, and every one weeps over what he feels to be a personal loss. The guide of the young, the counsellor of the aged, the comforter of the cast down, the reclaimer of the vicious, the intercessor with the Almighty, the friend, the exemplar, the bulwark of the community, is taken away; and the church is, for a time, deranged in an important part of its machinery. And where is the individual that does not, in conjunction herewith, feel also his compunction in some degree heightened by the self-reproach that he has not, in every instance, improved as he ought to have done by the light that has been set before him, and a light, too, that has been shining more and more unto the perfect day?" that the voice of the man of God has not always been heard by him with due attention, nor his zeal quickened him, nor his holy warnings alarmed him as they ought to have done?

This was, in an especial manner, the case in regard to the Israelites on the present occasion. They could not but recall to mind how little they had allowed

themselves to profit by the bright example, and holy ministry of Samuel; and must have been stung to the quick at the recollection of their base ingratitude towards him They might well, indeed, tremble, yet not for the prophet, but for the people; not for the faithful minister, but for themselves and their children. By rejecting Samuel, they had rejected their God: they had forsaken the fountain of living water," and had hewed out for themselves a cistern, a broken cistern that could hold no water." They were at this moment at the mercy of a tempestuous sea, that threatened to swallow them up quickly; whilst he had reached the post [port], and was safely moored in the haven of eternal peace, they were suffering, and suffering too from their own folly, under the lash of a capricious tyrant, and the uncertainty of a new but already withering dynasty; distracted by internal feuds, and menaced by foreign invasion; while he had reached the close of his pilgrimage, and was gathered like a shock of corn in its season, full of days, of honours, and of endowments; departing in peace, for his eyes had seen God's salvation. He had lived, and he had died (and who is there but would live and die, too, in the same manner?) in the bosom of his family, in the arms of associated prophets, in the sanctuary of their daily devotions, in the hallowed spot where he had so long heard their anthems of praise-in the house of God, and at the gate of heaven. Here he had lived, and here he had departed, and here they had deposited his remains, for "Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him at his house at Ramah." pp. 128-134.

And what does Bethlehem unfold to us? The eye of sense perceives nothing but a stable, a mother of humble station, and a swaddled babe lying in a manger. Yet this is the sight to which we are directed: this is the spectacle on which heaven is looking down with intense eagerness; this the grand event for which time has been travelling onward; and in which all the prophecies and the promises of God are concentrated. It is the babe lying in a manger. O paradox of men, and of angels! O stupendous miracle of seeming contradictions! "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" That manger cradles the Lord of heaven and earth that feeble babe is "the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!" What a prodigy, and what a scene for its development! When man was made of the dust of the earth, a paradise was made for his reception; and all creation put on its richest livery. When the Son of God is made man, and descends from heaven upon the gracious errand of man's eternal salvation, he hath not where to lay his head, and is consigned to "a manger, because there is no room for him in the inn."

What a lesson of humility is here read to us! It is not with the great, or the mighty, or the noble, that the Saviour of the world condescends to take up his abode; to be clothed in scarlet and fine linen, and to fare sumptuously every day; it is not in the courts, or the palaces, or even the temple of Jerusalem, that he chooses to make his entrance in the world; but, trampling, as it were, upon all that man calls great and magnificent; making an open mock of the pomp, and the pride, and the vain glory of life, he vouchsafes to dignify the walk of the lowly with his presence, " to fill the hungry with good things, while the rich are sent empty away:" to be born in a stable instead of under a canopy; in Bethlehem, the city of David, "though little among the thousands of Judah," rather than in the capital of the Jewish monarchy, the citadel of its strength. "Not

And, as was the opening, so, too, was the progress of his career. many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, were called;" but it was the poor who had the Gospel chiefly preached unto them; and the halt, and the deaf, and the dumb, and the blind who were selected to be the

principal heralds of the Redeemer's praise. Where, then, is boasting under the Gospel? It is utterly excluded; it is anathematized; it is proscribed by every step of our Divine Master's progress, from his mysterious entrance into life, to his awful exit; from the manger at Bethlehem, to the cross at Calvary. pp. 139-144.

What a lesson of human wisdom is here read to us! Let philosophy look on and blush at its own conceits. How little has man's understanding been able, at any time, to fathom the nature and the attributes of the Deity, or to dive into his mysterious councils. Every age and nation have had their successive mythologies and theologies-their creeds for the vulgar, and their creeds for the learned. Egypt, India, Persia, and Greece, have vied with each other in their respective fancies. And, as though for the express purpose of shewing us the utter vanity of all the natural powers of the human mind, when pressed to their utmost stretch of elaborate cultivation, the experiment was permitted to be carried on among these nations in succession, through a period of little less than four thousand years. And what, in every instance, was the result? Shadows instead of realities: visionary conjectures instead of substantial truths:

"No light, but rather darkness visible.”

And then, and not till then, " after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom" was thus proved to "know not God, it pleased God by," what the world called," the foolishness of preaching," thus retorting its own terms upon itself, by the great scheme of redemption, by the revelation of his own Son from heaven, to illuminate the darkness of nature, and “to save them that believe.” pp. 144-147.

Oriental Fragments. By MARIA HACK. London: Harvey and Darton. pp. xi. 140.

-The pious mother or governess will find this little work a very interesting nursery or parlour companion. It offers many valuable illustrations of Scripture; and by explaining Oriental customs and manners, solves many difficulties which must otherwise perplex the youthful and uninformed reader of that best of books, the Holy Bible. The following extracts will shew the character of the work.

METHOD OF FASTENING NAILS IN THE WALLS OF HOUSES.

"And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place."-Isaiah xxii. 22, 23.

Two curious particulars are alluded to in this passage, which refers to the exaltation of Eliakim to office under king Hezekiah. The key is an emblem of trust; and it was formerly a token of authority, (as the seals are at this day in England,) denoting that he who bore it could admit others to many privileges, or exclude from them. It seems extraordinary to us, to hear of a key being borne upon the shoulder; but the locks and keys of the ancients were very different from ours. The key appears to have been of considerable size and weight, and its form has been compared to that of the constellation Cassiopeia: the stars to the north representing the curved part, which was introduced into the lock; the southern stars the handle, which was very long. Such a key might lie upon the shoulder.

Isaiah is peculiarly distinguished for his frequent reference to Christ, and the Gospel dispensation. On this account, he has been called "the Evangelical Prophet," and "the fifth Evangelist." The passage before us appears to be one of those which have a twofold application: literally, or immediately, to the exaltation of Eliakim;-prophetically, to the power and office of Christ,

through whose mediation we can alone hope for admission into the kingdom of heaven. In the third chapter of Revelations, we find our Lord applying to himself the very words of the prophet: "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth."

I will fasten him as a nail, may seem to us a mean or insignificant comparison, because we are not acquainted with the thing spoken of, and have no term to express it by, but one which conveys to us a low idea. In ancient times, houses were more simply built, and had not that variety of furniture with which they now abound. The walls of their apartments were not painted, or papered, like ours, but hung with curtains of various materials. In the East, the walls were furnished with spikes, large pegs, or nails, as our translators have rendered the word; so contrived, as not only to support the ornamental covering, but to strengthen the edifice. Sir John Chardin gives the following account of this matter. "They do not drive with a hammer the nails that are put into Eastern walls: the walls are too hard, being of brick; or, if they are of clay, too mouldering; but they fix them in the brick-work, as they are building. They are large nails, with square heads like dice, well made; the ends being bent, so as to make them cramp-irons. They commonly place them at the windows and doors, in order to hang upon them, when they like, veils, and curtains." Surely it would be no harsh metaphor, if we ventured to compare these nails to the motives and principles which constitute the strength and ornament of the Christian character; not introduced with sudden violence, but gradually, as the edifice is prepared to receive them, and wrought, as it were, into the substance of the building, till, fitly framed together, it groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord. "The evangelical prophet" has, however, so closely connected the comparison of a nail with the preceding metaphor of the key of David, that we must suppose them both to have the same reference, immediately, to Eliakim-prophetically, to Christ. This idea is strengthened by another application of the same metaphor, in Ezra: "Grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place;" that is, as explained in the margin of our Bible, "a constant and sure abode." What is the " sure abode" of the Christian? Our Lord himself has informed us by another metaphor: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, exept it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” pp. 71-75.

VIEW OF JERUSALEM.

"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king."-Psalm xlviii. 2.

Continuing his journey southwards from Napolose, Dr. Clarke, after about six hours' travelling, found himself in a narrow valley, between two high rocky hills. Here were the ruins of a village, and also of a monastery, on the spot where the Bethel of Jacob is supposed to have been situated. The nature of the soil is an existing comment on the accuracy of the sacred historian, who describes Jacob as taking of the stones of that place, and putting them for his pillows. At two in the afternoon our travellers halted for rest and refreshment near a well, beneath the shade of a ruined building; then re-mounting their horses, proceeded on their way. Such were the eagerness and zeal with which the expectation of soon approaching Jerusalem animated the whole party, that sensations of heat and fatigue were forgotten or disregarded. Each individual pressed forward, in hopes of being the first to announce to his companions the joyful intelligence that they had arrived in view of the Holy City. They passed some ruins; but whether of ancient buildings or of modern villages they stopped not to examine or inquire every mind was engrossed by the same great object of interest and curiosity. At length, after about two hours had been spent in this state of

anxious expectation, while they were ascending a hill towards the south, "Hagipolis!" exclaimed a Greek in the van of the cavalcade; and instantly, throwing himself from his horse, his companions beheld him bareheaded, upon his knees, facing the prospect so long desired. The rest of the party advanced, and "suddenly," says Dr. Clarke, "the sight burst upon us all. Who shall describe it? The effect produced was that of total silence throughout the whole company. Many of the party, by an immediate impulse, took off their hats, as if entering a church, without being sensible of so doing. The Greeks and Catholics shed torrents of tears; and presently beginning to cross themselves with unfeigned devotion, asked if they might be permitted to take off the covering from their feet, and proceed barefooted to the Holy Sepulchre. We had not been prepared for the grandeur of the spectacle which the city alone exhibited. Instead of a wretched and ruined town, by some described as the desolated remnant of Jerusalem, we beheld, as it were, a flourishing and stately metropolis; presenting a magnificent assemblage of domes, towers, palaces, churches, and monasteries; all of which, glittering in the sun's rays, shone with inconceivable splendour."

Subsequent observation convinced Dr. Clarke, that there is no other point of view from which Jerusalem is seen to so much advantage. In the celebrated prospect from the Mount of Olives, whence the compassionate Saviour beheld the city, and wept over the fatal blindness of its inhabitants, the buildings seem to lie too low, and have too much the character of what is called a bird'seye view. May we not, therefore, suppose that the words of the Psalmist, in our text, refer particularly to that striking prospect described by Dr. Clarke: "Beautiful for situation is Mount Zion, on the sides of the North." pp. 106-109.

A Description of a Chronological Chart of the Patriarchs, from Adam to Moses, &c. By T. S. PECKSTON. London: Hatchard. 1828. --We think Mr. Peckston has claimed more of originality of invention, in reference to this chart, than fairly belongs to him, because, in truth, the very same plan, or nearly so, was laid down many years ago. Mr. P., however, has followed up the subject, and worked it out in a way which certainly is much to his credit. That part of the book which treats on Mnemonics we must leave untouched, together with the outlandish words, " Fyzo," "Izöif," and "Teipo." The admirers of this science will already have had enough of such words in their favourite book, " Grey's Memoria Technica "—or rather, we meant to say, we have had enough of them. We extract the following remarks from Mr. P.'s book: they exhibit general acquaintance with his subject, piety, and good sense. We were much pleased with the intelligence and sobriety which pervade this little work, and not the least pleased with the letter given at p. 146, which we give, together with two other extracts, from pp. 68, and 101-104.

When we consider the pastoral lives of the patriarchs, and particularly of those before the flood, whose ages were lengthened out almost beyond what we can conceive if compared with our shortened existence; that they were generally shepherds or agriculturists; that they possessed simplicity of manners to an extent unknown in more civilized nations; that they were probably no adepts in the fabrications which faction too often engenders, or party feeling creates; which, acting as a mirror, so magnifies some parts, and diminishes others, that too often when we read, we find not a history of facts, but a portraiture bearing evident marks of the historian's feelings.