POETRY. THE JEWISH PILGRIM BEFORE THE CITY OF DAVID. BY DR. JOHN C. M'CABE. JERUSALEM! Jerusalem thou art before me now, But thy beauty all hath vanished, and the dust is on thy brow; Aye! the spoiler long hath rioted, where once the hallowed strain, From temple and from synagogue, from hill top and from plain, From hearthstone and from housetop, went up to God on high, Yes, homestead of the once proud Jew, thou art before mine eye! Home of the Jew! each pleasant site sleeps unforgotten here! How long before the Jewish maid shall braid her long dark hair, Yet oh! beloved Jerusalem, the day is drawing near, When Mercy from each swarthy cheek shall wipe the scalding tear; Shall from her thousand workmen burst! and then the harp's wild strain, The silver moon in queenly pomp smiles down upon the hills, Yes they were Jews that slew the Lord, but now the hour has come, The veil is rending fast, that threw its shadows o'er our path, REVIEW. especially deserving of regard. He is moreover, a truly evangelical and orthodox 'divine, and his notes have an NOTES, Explanatory and Practical, on the GOSPELS: designed for Sabbathschool Teachers and Bible Classes. By REV. ALBERT BARNES. Carefully re-eminently practical and useful characvised by Rev. Samuel Green, Author of ter. True, he is a professed Calvinist, the Biblical and Theological Diction- but so moderate, and gentle, and modiary. B. L. Green, 62, Paternoster fied are his views, and generally so Row. 12mo, pp. 860. modestly expressed, that we have little to object to on that score. Mr. Barnes is a Pedobaptist, and it is only in justice to his esteemed editor, that we remark, foot notes are appended to the discussions on the subject of baptism, which are intended as a correction of his errors on that subject. The great encouragement Mr. Green has received in bringing out the present cheap edition of Barnes's Notes on the Gospels, sufficiently attests the general esteem which the writings of Mr. Barnes have acquired on this side of the Atlantic. The present volume will shortly be followed by a similar one containing Barnes's Notes on the Acts and the Epistles, thus securing to subscribers at a moderate price, what Mr. G. denominates the best edition of the best Commentary upon the books of the New Testament.' Though we should hesitate to subscribe to the above character of Barnes's notes on the New Testament in all its latitude, we have little scruple in concurring in it in a modified sense. To ordinary readers-to those who seek for plain and obvious explanations of difficult passages-and especially to Sabbath-school teachers who are engaged with the instruction of senior or Bible classes, and who frequently feel the need of some concise, portable commentary, which, though it may not always give the most perfect solution of Scripture difficulties, is yet remarkable for never avoiding them; but which for the most part, patiently and intelligently and learnedly presents the best solution that their author has been able to find, and which, as a rule, is successful in giving one which is enough to satisfy every reasonable enquirer; we do not hesitate to say there is no commentary we would commend in preference to the one before us. The condensed commentaries' which often give conflicting opinions, frequently bewilder rather than settle the judgment of the reader; and therefore we regard the calm judgment of a judicious writer like our author, who has weighed all these conflicting opinions, as of considerable weight and importance, and as rendering his notes VOL. 13.-N. S. K ANTI-POPERY. A Lecture delivered at THE Lecture before us has our most cordial approbation. It expresses the ac legal inspection, (so that none might be kept there against their own inclination, nor unknown to their friends,) and by claiming reciprocal freedom for protestants in popish countries, and by using all suitable efforts to diffuse Scripture knowledge. These are all courses which appear to us christian and legitimate. We have no doubt that the present agitation will do good, even though the legislature may disappoint the expectations of some. The publications of Dr. Achilli, the fervid lectures of Father Gavazzi, the recent trial of Metaire versus Wiseman,' with the detention of Lady Augusta Talbot in a nunnery, and keeping her friends from seeing her that her handsome fortune, £80,000, may fall into popish hands, will all tend to open men's eyes to the unchangeable, wicked, and insiduous nature of this system, and lead to a more fervid abhorrence of it than has ever been cherished in our time. NINEVEH AND THE TIGRIS. LIVES OF THE POPES, from the rise of the Roman church to the age of Gregory the Great, A.D., 100 to 1046. Part I. Monthly Series. Tract Society. THESE two numbers are worthy to be placed along with their predecessors. That concerning Nineveh includes nearly all that is known of that ancient and celebrated city of the East. The 'Lives of the Popes' presents to the reader a conse THIS periodical, embellished with lithograph pictures, leads the attention of the young, in the form of a dialogue, to the Holy Bible, and the great characters and events it describes. The contents of these numbers are, Adam-Eve-The Sin-The Fall-Cain and Abel-Enoch-Noah-The Deluge. The writer combines the happy an interesting and fascinating manner. art of conveying important instruction in JUVENILE GEMS. TODD'S LECTURES TO CHILDREN. How do we know there is a THIS is a single lecture of Mr. Todd's. We opine it is intended to publish the whole series in the form of twopenny books, A GUIDE TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, with an Explanation of those which are most Significant. By the REV. J. THOMPSON, M.A., St. John's College, Cambridge, and second Master of the Blackheath Proprietary School. Houlston and Stoneman. HERE is plenty of learning for sixpence. CORRESPONDENCE. BAPTIST UNION. To the Editor of the General Baptist Repository. DEAR SIR.-Will you kindly announce to your readers that the Thirty-ninth Annual Session of the Baptist Union will be held in London, on Friday, the 25th of April. The Union will assemble at the Library of the Mission House, Moorgate. street, at ten o'clock, when an Introductory Discourse will be delivered by Edward B. Underhill, Esq. Refreshments will be provided in the course of the day; and it is earnestly hoped that the brethren will arrange to devote the whole day to the business of the Session. Yours sincerely, EDWARD STEANE, J. H. HINTON, March 12, 1851. Secretaries. ON FASTING. To the Editor of the G, B. Repository. MY DEAR FRIEND,-My mind has lately been engaged on a subject from the neglect of which I fear the church of God is suffering loss; and that is the duty of christians uniting fasting with prayer. If we look into either the Old or New Testament we have many examples for it. David, when in trouble, fasted and prayed. The Ninevites, when threatened with destruction, fasted and prayed; and also Esther and her maidens fasted three days. And the same was the practice under the gospel dispensation. Our Lord himself fasted and prayed; and he told his disciples that the days would come when the bridegroom would be taken away, and then his disciples would fast. When Paul enumer ates his privations, he says, 'in fastings often; and also Anna the prophetess and Cornelius. These examples sufficiently show that fasting was united with prayer by believers, both in the Old and New Testament. And can it be less necessary in the present day? should therefore like to know the opinion of some of your more able correspondents on this subject, and would ask,-Is it not the duty of christians either statedly or occasionally to unite fasting with prayer? AN OLD DISCIPLE. REPLIES TO QUERIES ON SIR.-With respect to the first query, as to their origin, i.e., Scriptural and secular, I have not time, if I had the inclination, to wade through Acts of Parliament; believing, as followers of Christ, we ought to appeal to his law; and in this case if we do so, I think we shall find that trustees are of Scriptural origin; vide Acts vi, 1-6. Here at the very commencement of the church's history, as though it were placed as a principle, we have the election of persons to be the depositaries of the church's property; to collect, take care of, and distribute the alms (at that time the only property) of the Jerusalem church. Some might contend this refers only to deacons. To this I would reply, that the office assumed by both deacons and trustees are one and the same, viz., to take the oversight of the church's property; with this difference, the deacons are to dispense the sums, so agreed, among the poor of the church, while the trustees are to be entrusted with the overplus of contributions, in the shape of money, building, &c. The last office has simply grown out, and is an extension of the deaconship; at the same time, in the eyes of the law, the trustees are recognized as the owners of such property. 6 The second query of A. B. will, I presume, admit of the most distinct answer; it is, Who ought to nominate and elect trustees?' The whole tenor of the Gospel is that of the purest kind of democracy,all offices, all appointments, all concerns, ought to be discussed in and settled by the members composing that church; any other mode is unscriptural, and as such forms the true popery of dissent, and which we have much more need to fear than all the appointments of the imbecile head of the Vatican. With respect to the election of deacons, mentioned in Acts, the Twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them, and laid the affair before them; their words * See page 44, Jan. 1850. are, 'Look ye out among you seven men,' reminding them of the peculiar talent required for this office. This conduct commended itself to the people, and they chose the required number. This appears to me to be an answer to A. B.'s query; and we may observe, well would it have been if this mode had been carried out in every age of the christian church. How different now would have been her position. Ecclesiastical history is full of the setting aside of this law, and fearful have been the results. Neither is it confined to ancient times; it is rampant in our day, to wit, the tyrannical mode of government among the Wesleyans and the established church, which has done more to injure christianity than all the writings of a Robert Owen and his adherents. Why? Because to one reading the New Testament as he would any other Book, to discover its spirit, he instantly sees how lamentably at variance is such government with respect to trustees. Owing to departing from the laws of the Testament, the evils are many. have before my mind's eye one of the largest independent churches in the metropolis, at a church-meeting of which a person stood up, asserted and maintained his right to force upon his fellow-members two whom he chose as trustees; and he gained his point. True, he did not appeal to the Bible for his authority, but to some subtle legal deed drawn up in opposition to that book. And such cases are too common in all connexions, I fear. In all cases, members of churches should see that Trust Deeds give to them, according to the Gospel, the power of nominating and electing Trustees. เ A. B.'s 3rd Query is on 'The Scriptural propriety of ministers becoming trustees.' Our guide in this must be the Bible. What says the Scripture? or what may we deduce from its precepts? In the case referred to in Acts, Peter's words are emphatic, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.' Barnes on Acts observes, that the words not reason' evidently mean 'not fit or proper,' that it would be a departure from the design of their appointment, which was to preach the gospel, and not to attend to the pecuniary affairs of the church; and the apostle, in the 4th verse declares what in his opinion is his great work,— 'But we will give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.' And if we carefully study the exhortations contained in the Epistle respecting the duties of the ministry, we shall find they are totally opposed to the interfering of ministers as a part of their calling in the temporal affairs of the church; hence the apostle Peter hints that a desire to interfere beyond their province laid the foundation for the fall of some of the first teachers of christianity, and the fearful consequence of that fall,-2 Peter ii. 3. And if time allowed it might be shown that a number of objections to minis. ters being trustees might be advanced, such as, their relative position to the church, the dangers arising to their usefulness, the difficulty to be rid of an improper minister placed in such a position, and many others. It OBITUARY. DAVID WILSON,-Among the operations of Providence may be numbered the removal of some of the most promising youthful members of the Redeemer's church. But whilst those who are left mourn the loss of youthful piety and zeal, they are pleased to behold in these bereavements the exhibition, of christian resignation, and the power of the gospel to sustain the believer in his last conflict with every enemy. Our much respected brother, David Wilson, in whose harmless life and peaceful death the importance and loveliness of religion were strikingly manifested, was born at Halifax, in Yorkshire. His parents being members of the General Baptists in that place, he was brought at an early period under the influence of gospel truth. In the Sabbath school, and in the family circle, he received such instructions as were calculated to promote the spiritual well-being of his soul. The good impressions then made on his mind had a happy effect in the formation of his character. When quite a youth, he manifested a most tender regard for his parents, and often evinced that tenderness by endeavouring to lessen the domestic toils of his mother. As he grew in years this feeling continued to strengthen, and frequently, when in perplexed circumstances, were his parents surprized at the thoughtfulness and wisdom of the plans which he devised for their relief. The conduct of our departed brother was moral, and even exem. plary before he enjoyed true religion. It was not until 1817 that he obtained that abiding sense of pardoning love which made him truly happy. He was not arrested in a course of avowed hostility to the Saviour; but, rather like Lydia, his heart was opened by the Lord. The enlightening rays of heavenly truth were gradually diffused through his mind, and feeling his sinfulness, he was directed to Calvary, and there he beheld the Lamb of God, the great atoning sacrifice of the cross; and believing that God had laid on him the iniquities of all men, he felt that the blood of Immanuel did cleanse❘ him from all sin. He believed that Jesus was his Saviour, and his Lord, and his God; and thus believing, he was 'justified from all He In January, 1849, he was suddenly seized |
