ment it has been the grief of the humble followers of the Lamb to see their own nominal brethren, by force and bloodshed, wrest from infidels and Christian heretics their inalienable rights, by which Christ has been wounded in the house of his friends, and Christianity exposed to the hatred and scorn of a gazing world.

In common life, a man has an inalienable right to do that which is morally wrong, and if his wrong injures none but himself, he is accountable to none but himself and his God. So, in the religious department, a man has an indefeasible right to believe what is not true, and perform worship that is hypocritical or delusive. In either, or both of these cases, the supposed or real defaulter is not amenable to any court, either civil or ecclesiastical, to be fined or corporeally punished, or any way disabled, farther than the withdrawal of the fellowship of his brethren.

The kingly and priestly power, which was ordained for the government of the Theocracy of Israel, figured out and centered in the Lord Jesus, in the Christocracy. Christ sits upon this throne as a priest, and bears the glory. He is king on the holy hill of Zion, and minister of the sanctuary. Like Melchizedec, he is king of righteousness and priest of the Most High God. Ministers of the gospel are never called priests in the New Testa ment, in distinction from all the saints; of course, nothing can be drawn from the power of kings and priests, in the Theocracy, that will establish the right of kings or priests to be lords over the heritage of God under the second Testament. Holy men of God, who have been sent by Christ to preach the word of reconciliation among men, should be highly esteemed in love for their works' sake; but holy orders of men, legally clothed with ecclesiastical power, should be shunned like a den of rattlesnakes. The power and authority which is given to church rulers, whether called bishops or angels, is like the power of a prudent father in his family, and may be called the power of influence, acquired by pre-eminent gifts, benevolence and godly zeal.

There are a number of religious denominations in the United States; several of them of nearly equal weight and numbers. No one of them can overbalance all the rest; which will forever be, as long as it continues, a sufficient barrier against religious oppression, in the old way; which has been, for one sect, when it was more numerous than all the rest, to feel power and forget right, and force all others to bow down to their sheaf. But a new way of persecution may yet arise, and exercise all the authority of the first beast. Let the many Christian sects agree to surrender their distinguishing rituals so far as for all of them to unite, and have Christianity to be the test for all offices in the general and state governments, in every department, and the horned beast will be set up. Nothing in this state of things (should it take place) looks like the mil

lennium, for there is no return of the Jews in it—the unfortunate sons of Abraham must all be proscribed. Professed Deists have none of the loaves and fishes; and the millions in the United States, who do not believe themselves Christians, must stand by, as hewers of wood and drawers of water, to pay taxes and fight battles for their Christian neighbors. But who are to be the Christians? Some think infants are made Christians at the time of their baptism, others do not believe it. Some conclude that joining a church makes them Christians, but Judas belonged to Christ's church and was a devil. Others judge that believing the unity of God is the only essential; the devil, however, believes this and trembles. Many measure the increase of Christians by Sunday Schools, Missionary Societies, etc.; but once a generation of vipers compassed sea and land to make proselytes.

It should always be remembered, that the essentials of Bible religion arc articles that lie between God and individuals, and cannot be perfectly known by any, but by Him who searches and knows the hearts of men and what is in them. But this is overlooked. Nominal Christianity, observing Sunday as holy time, is now to be the test; and no man, without this mark, is to buy or sell, ride in the stage, float in a boat, or bear any office in the state. How little this sounds like the doctrine preached by John, JESUS, Peter and Paul.

Should the many Christian sects in the United States drop their peculiarities, and unite in the manner, and for the purposes, just mentioned, it makes the blood run cold in the veins to think of the horrors that would ensue; for there are millions in this land of liberty that would not submit to disfranchisement without resistance: clerical awe and pharisaical grimace would not restrain them.

It is not all that Christianity does for men, but all that it asks of them is a dispassionate, unprejudiced hearing, with a corresponding faith on rational evidence. Error always needs the props of ignorance, anger, guile, hypocrisy, and the strong arm of law to support it. Truth needs no such aid. Error of opinion ceases to be dangerous when truth is on equal ground to combat it.

There was once a religious confederacy of discordant materials, composed of Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians and Asiatics; but when they could not withstand the reasoning of Stephen, they resorted to perjury, and condemned and stoned him to death. Their great union secured the rights of none who differed with themselves.

I close these miscellaneous sketches, by observing that we have cause of gratitude that we have now a president who was chosen by the people, and who is seeking their good. His message and veto show his depth of thought, his independence of mind, his attachment to republicanism and love of economy. May his life be preserved, and his usefulness continued!

While the heads of departments are all at their posts discharging their respective duties, we have a watchman in Congress, guarding our religious rights, before whose arm the intrepid Tecumseh fell, and before whose reports the clerical hierarchy blushed and gnashed his teeth.

When Jackson shall have finished his administration, there will be none living, young enough to be president, who had any hand in the revolution. ary war. A generation will then take the lead, who never saw the works which were done by Moses and Joshua. If they will have a king to reign over them, that they may be like other nations; or a whole life or hered. itary aristocracy, with an established order of ecclesiastics, so it will be. We can only weep all night, like Samuel, in view of the apostacy, but must always keep in mind that our descendants will have the same right to choose a government for themselves that we or our fathers have had.

The world stood before we were born. It has been our home until now, and will be so until we die. When we are gone the way of all the earth, it will be the habitation of our descendants. While we live, let us serve our generation by the will of God; and when we fall asleep, He who made the world will take care of it until the consummation of all things.

THE RESULT OF OBSERVATION.*

"I said I will be wise, but it was far from me."—Solomon.

The highest claimants of internal rectitude and perfection generally discover the greatest ambition to carry their points and increase their party.

He who loves to hear no person praised but himself, is an enemy to all

but himself.

Boldness without modesty is arrogance. Modesty without boldness is sheepishness; but boldness tempered with modesty, forms an amiable character.

When dissentions and party strife arise in religious societies, no one owns or knows himself to be a partisan; each one conceives himself to be laboring for the general good. At such times truth cannot enter, and the historian must drop his pen, until the storm is over.

To pray to be heard and seen of men, and to preach for name and fame, is Christianity inverted.

The elaborate disquisition—the pompous style—the handsomely turned period, with polite gesticulation, may gain admiration among the lightminded; but conscience slumbers, and piety starves amidst it all.

For a preacher to be honest before God and man, and preach what he has been taught and does believe, is so essential to his work, that even a suspicion of his honesty with his hearers, prevents all good impression.

He who murmurs in adversity will be unthankful in prosperity.

The suicide kills one, the murderer kills two. The first does no violence to the will of the slain; the last does. Suicide costs the state little or nothing; murder costs much.

Extract from preachers all the zeal to proselyte and increase party—all the love of fame, to be called Rabbi, and all the love of ease and good living—and how much remains for Christ, of genuine piety and disinterested charity?

Many labor hard to find the art to be honest, while they cast the work and burden on others, and secure the profits for themselves. They make treaties with their consciences that they may pursue their course with peace.

Published in 1830.

A young preacher should fervently seek and pray for holy zeal: and yet, unless his mind is stored with the holy scriptures, and the sense thereof, he will be a lean old man.

Never do any thing that you doubt the correctness of, unless your doubts are greater, that a neglect will be criminal.

It is one thing to believe a doctrine, or system, from the force of argument, and another to believe what God says, and the heart feels. It is hard for a saint, at all times, to realize and appropriate to himself, that which his judgment acknowledges to be true.

It has been the strife of Gentiles, Jews and Christians, to reconcile the eternal designs of God with the freedom of the human will. Perhaps a better solution cannot be given, than to say, it was the eternal design of God, that the will should be left free to act, yet accountable for the right use or abuse of its powers. This solution may lead to questions irresolvable, and may have bearings hard to dispense with; but that salvation is of the Lord, and condemnation of creatures, is certain. God's grace is free his wrath is conditional.

Sin has so completely deranged all the faculties of the soul, and sunk men into such a horrible pit, that any scheme which the limited, dark mind of man can comprehend, would be insufficient to save a scheme founded in infinite wisdom, and executed by omnipotent power, through boundless love, was necessary to restore. This scheme the gospel exhibits, and those who believe in it find deliverance; but who but God understands it in all its parts? How unsearchable are his ways, and his judgments past finding out!

Internal religion is always the same, and always will be. External religion changes sometimes by the command of God, and often by the weakness of men. The Mosaic worship was from Jehovah. Moses was faithful in all his house, and built the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him in the mount. But when the state of the tribes was changed, David was inspired to modify the Mosaic worship for the convenience of the Israelites, and the whole of it was abrogated when the kingdom of the Messiah was established. That the externals of Christianity have been changing by men, needs no proof but to reflect on what has been, and to survey what now is.

When a preacher is annointed with a holy unction, viewing the character of Christ and the worth of souls, it will alter the tone of his voice, change his countenance, and fill his eyes with pity; but for a man to affect all this when his heart is not in it. is but hypocrisy in himself, and disgustful to his hearers.

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." That this is a declaration of the Messiah, who was the seed of the woman