PRINCIPLES OF UNION TO BE THE BASIS OF SUCH RECOGNITION.

1. General and Protestant Principles.

The inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testa

ment.

The Holy Scriptures are the sole and sufficient rule of faith in matters of religion, whether relating to doctrine, morals, or worship.

The indefeasible right and incumbent duty of every man to read the Scriptures, and to judge of their meaning, to the exclusion of all authoritative traditional interpretation whatever.

2. Theological Principles.

The Trinity of co-equal persons in the Godhead.

The atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ by his sacrificial death. The doctrine of salvation by grace.

The justification of the sinner by faith alone.

The indispensable necessity of regeneration by the work of the Holy Spirit.

FORM OF RECOGNITION.

We acknowledge, as true Christians, and as our brethren in the Lord, all who believe and profess the foregoing principles, however in other matters they may differ, and without at the same time expressing our approval of other sentiments, either theological or ecclesiastical, with which these principles may be associated in the case of those that profess them.

We also acknowledge as true and valid ministers of Christ, all who are partakers of apostolic spirit, and are the preachers of apostolic doctrine, by whatever form of ecclesiastical order they may have been introduced into their office.

We acknowledge it to be equally our duty and our privilege, to love as brethren, all who are thus united, and all others not united, who agree in the fundamental doctrines of Divine truth; and while we conscientiously adhere to our distinctive denominational principles, and shall not cease to maintain, defend, and propagate them, we will endeavour no less conscientiously, to check the spirit of sectarianism, and to promote the diffusion of a spirit of charity.

EXHIBITION AND OPERATION OF THE UNION.

At present, little or nothing can be done in the way of action, and nothing more than public recognition. For this purpose, let a biennial or triennial meeting be held at Exeter Hall, none to be admitted but accredited members of churches; the meeting to be of a devotional character, four or six ministers of different denominations, to deliver an address of a given length, on some subject bearing upon the occa

sion, and to present a short prayer; and for the sake of enlivening the meeting, let there be a hymn or two sung.

PARTIES TO BE ADMITTED TO THE UNION.

Any that can agree to the basis laid down. The following may be expected: the whole body of Congregationalists in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland-the Baptists-Lady Huntingdon's Connexionthe Calvinistic Methodists-the United Secession churches in Scotland and England-the Moravians—perhaps the Synod of Ulster.-And should a new secession take place from the church of Scotland, these also would probably join. Gladly should I see the Wesleyan body in such a union, and the pious clergy of the church of England.

NAME-PROTESTANT EVANGELICAL UNION.

Such, my brethren, is the scheme which I have formed in my own mind, as an object of my heart's desire. Be it that it is only a vision doomed to expire in the imagination in which it was conceived, it is at any rate an innocent, and to myself, a lovely one. I feel a gratification in having proposed it. I should have been unfaithful to my own convictions, and have repressed the yearnings of my heart and the monitions of my conscience, if I had not laid the project before you and the public, even as I have laid it before God. Could it be accomplished, how would it silence the sneers of infidelity, neutralize the arguments of Papists, refute the objections of the Plymouth Brethren, and strengthen and consolidate us all, against the arrogant assumptions of the Puseyites. And while it would be a defence to us all against our foes, what a beneficial influence would it exert upon ourselves. Without weakening our attachment to truth, it would promote in us the spirit of love, and thus prepare us to come eventually to a closer agreement on those points which now separate us. Conceive what an impression would be produced upon the public mind, by such a scene as Exeter Hall would present in this holy fellowship of brethren—the long lost wonder of a united church would be restored, the echoes of the ancient exclamation would be awakened, and thousands of voices would

again be heard to say, "See how these Christians love one another." What a rebuke and a refutation, I repeat, would it give to the proud isolation of Puseyism. The public, when they saw this arrogant and malignant spirit retiring within the schools of Oxford, to learn the ceremonial, and imbibe the intolerance and maledictory exclusiveness of its Roman master, would place in striking and beautiful contrast with it, the brightening and extending charity of other denominations, and in seeing them all come forth to such a noble fellowship of love, would be at no loss to determine, who were in possession of the true catholicity.

And who can tell, if the scheme could be commenced, when and where it would stop, or what the last circle of the widening undulation would touch or embrace? Might it not be hoped, or is it calculating too largely upon the charity of the present age, and anticipating too speedily the glories of the coming ones, to expect, that Christians of other countries, to earth's remotest bounds, would solicit to be admitted into "the holy league?" Shall Papists have a bond of union that crosses mountains, oceans, and continents, and defying all barriers of nation, custom, language, and climate, comprehends within its mighty circumference the inhabitants of the poles and the equator, and Protestants make no effort to set up a recognition, which shall do the same?

Who shall make the trial? Who will contend for the honour of sending abroad the sound of union, and the invitation to unite, over the discordant elements of the Protestant body? I propose it to you, my beloved brethren, to commence this work of faith, this labour of love; and may you not only enter upon it, but go through it with the patience of hope. You are the secretaries of a committee and of a body that delights to honour you; whose confidence and affectionate esteem you largely possess; and without wishing or intending any invidious comparison, you have one scribe among you, whose heart is so richly imbued with the spirit of love, whose mind is so skilful in all its ingenious and honourable devices, and withal, his pen so conversant with its mellifluous vocabulary, that it seems as if he were given us for the purpose of carrying on the blessed work of union in this divided world, and equally divided church.

Confer, then, my brethren, upon the scheme, or any other and better one of a similar kind, for I am anxious only about the general principle, not about the details. If it be practicable, accomplish it: and if not, and one must still give up the hope of seeing the bow of many colours upon the cloud, and of hearing the still small voice succeeding the storm, let us at any rate pray that a wiser, holier, and happier age than our own may soon arrive, when what is impossible to us, shall be possible to others, and the prayer of our Lord be answered, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

I remain, dear Brethren, your Friend and Brother,
J. A. JAMES.

Edgbaston, May 31st, 1842.

REFLECTIONS ON THE QUEEN'S PRESERVATION.

[On Monday evening, May 30th, our gracious Queen was returning in her carriage from a drive, and as she passed down Constitution Hill, towards Buckingham Palace, a miscreant named John Francis, discharged a pistol, pointed in a direct line with her Majesty. By the good providence of God, the Queen passed on uninjured, and the assassin was immediately seized and committed for trial. On Friday, June 17th, he was found guilty of high treason, and sentenced to die the death of a traitor. Should his life be spared, he will owe it to the benignity of that sovereign against whom he dared to lift his hand-for the indignation of the public is strongly excited against him. The following reflections were suggested by the painful event:-]

THE Ninety-sixth Psalm is supposed to have been written by David, at the time when the treasonable conspiracy existed among his subjects, of which Absalom was the head, to deprive him of his throne and life. It expresses the conduct which he pursued at that trying and critical period; the conduct which he proposed to pursue, should his life be spared; and the hope which a calm committal of his person and circumstances to the care of Providence inspired, to the effect, that the danger which threatened him would be averted.

"Hear my cry, O God, and give ear unto my prayer;" an appeal to the Divine Being to listen to the detail of his fears and wishes. "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:" he had retired from Jerusalem to avoid the conspirators; he had withdrawn to a deserted district beyond the Jordan; yet still in his seclusion the way was as much open to him to the throne of grace as formerly when a worshipper in the tabernacle; so that his resolve to cry unto God from the end of the earth, was founded upon an enlightened conviction, that no situation is remote from the Divine presence. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;" his heart's desire was to see his interest in God, to be enabled to practise an entire reliance on him, and to be furnished thereby with those sacred principles of faith and hope, which keep the mind from despondency when in trouble, and save it from utter overwhelming amid the storms of earthly calamity, as the rock protects the shipwrecked mariner who has grasped hold upon it from being engulfed in the ocean's billows. "Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy;" a reference to former providential interferences in his behalf, adverted to as a reason for gratitude and a ground of confidence. "I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever, I will trust in the covert of thy wings;" the purpose of his mind if he escaped out of his present difficulty; his deliverance should become a motive for an increased attachment to the tabernacle, the place where public praise was offered, and for a more unwavering trust in the Father of mercies. "For thou,

O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Thou wilt prolong the king's life; and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows." Such was the persuasion which a devout surrender of himself into the hands of God led him to entertain-that the schemes of his enemies would be baffled that their efforts to destroy him would be abortive—that he should be enabled to consolidate his government, and establish his throne, so as to secure it to his posterity for many generations-a persuasion which he was conscious would only be realized through a divinely-prepared preserving mercy and truth, and which if realized should be had in daily remembrance, and give occasion to a daily sacrifice of praise.

1. The experience of David reminds us, that the life of exalted individuals is as much in jeopardy as that of others.

In the present world men are widely removed from each other, either by the wealth they command, or the talents they possess, or the station they occupy. They are all, however, the members of a fallen community, and are treated as such in the dispensations of Providence. Hence, those who are invested with power, and ennobled above the common people, are not more fortified against the occurrence of accident, disease, and death, than those who are travelling in the obscure paths of life. We have all an interest in the saying of the apostle, "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Every human being, be his circumstances what they may, has the certainty before him, of being discharged from the scenes, and duties, and pleasures of the present life, by the common process which applies to the whole race of men. In every case, too, it is a mysterious certainty-mysterious as to the time of its occurrence, and as to its circumstances, for whether it shall be lingering or rapid, and transpire by the wrath of man, or by the operation of disease and natural decay, is a problem which is only solved by the event. Life, therefore, with its flatteries, luxuries, and distinctions, is no more to be depended upon, by those who hold it in exalted stations, than by those who move in a humble sphere. The force of this truth was felt by the psalmist, who, though king over Israel, exclaimed, "Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee; verily, every man at his best estate is altogether vanity." Nay, an elevation above the general level of society, often marks out the individuals so elevated, as objects against whom envy may shoot its envenomed arrows, and violence hurl its destructive weapons. Neither then should men of high degree or of low degree, "boast of to-morrow," but commit themselves to God's care and blessing day by day.