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ples*, and to denounce the policy of his diocesan, no such emotion is cherished towards him by the Episcopalians of the diocese of New York. And, with a view to prevent erroneous impressions, you are requested to insert the annexed resolution, passed since the publication of the Letter in question, and since bishop Hobart's departure for England, at a meeting of the most numerous convention of the clergy and lay deputies from the congregations of the State of New York that has at any time assembled.

Extract from the Journal of the
Thirty-seventh Convention of
the Diocese of New York, held
October, 1823.

"Whereas the absence of the Right Reverend the bishop of this diocese from this Convention is owing to his having undertaken a voyage to Europe, in consequence of the declining state of his health; and whereas the members of this Convention, actuated alike by strong feelings of personal respect and affection, and by a high sense of the benefits which have accrued to our church at large, and to this diocese in particular, from the frequent exertion of his talents in the elucidation and defence of the distinctive principles of our communion; from his uniform fidelity and unwearied activity in the several functions of his important station in the church; and especially from the disinterestedness, zeal, and assiduity with which he has ever guarded the interests, and promoted the prosperity of this diocese, and engaged in all the duties devolving on him as its Apostolic head, feel themselves called on to unite theirs to the many expressions of lively concern which his departure has occasioned. Therefore,

"Resolved unanimously, That

We have not thought ourselves authorized to modify this expression, without our correspondent's consent; but justice to Mr. Jay requires us to state, that, from what we have heard of that gentleman's character, he is incapable of wilful misre

presentation.

EDITOR.

this Convention feels a deep solicitude for the full recovery and permanent reestablishment of the health of the bishop of the diocese; his safety and enjoyment while abroad, and his happy return; and that to this end, its members will offer, and do hereby call on their brethren of the church to offer, humble and hearty prayers to the Father of mercies, through the merits of his Son Jesus Christ, that he will be pleased to bless, preserve, and keep our beloved and Right Reverend father; to grant him an entire reestablishment of health, and a safe return to his diocese, his family, and his friends; and to bless us with a renewal and long continuance of his valuable services and counsels."

AN AMERICAN EPISCOPALIAN.

**We have thought it due to bishop Hobart to insert the foregoing letter, which comes to us from a respectable and authentic quarter: but we must again express our unwillingness to allow our pages to become a vehicle for American controversies; and we trust therefore our correspondents on either side will not think themselves aggrieved if we here close the discussion, which already is more personal than we could wish. Respecting the leading principles of the matters in agitation, and particularly the Bible-Society question, our opinion has been again and again repeated, and remains unaltered: we see no reason, and have no wish, to change it; but, with regard to the local bearings of these discussions, we are too far distant from the scene to be qualified for the office of umpires, even if such disputes were more to our taste than they are: and we must therefore decline the task which several of our Transatlantic friends have wished us to undertake, of reviewing various pamphlets which have lately appeared in the United States on points of religious controversy.With regard to the Bible-Society question, we will only express our deep regret that any of the litigants

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FAMILY SERMONS.-No. CLXXX.

Luke xxiv. 32. And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with

us by the way, and while he opened to us the Seriptures?

THE scene to which these words allude took place on the evening of one of the most memorable days that ever dawned upon our guilty world; a day, the celebration of which has even superseded that day of sacred repose on which God rested from the works of creation, and has given rise to the Christian Sabbath, on which the Lord of life and glory, late an expiring victim on the cross of Calvary, burst the barriers of the tomb, and completed on our behalf his triumph over the powers of darkness and the grave. How many stupendous and affecting incidents were crowded together in the short circuit of that day! With its earliest dawn, we witness an angelic messenger, his countenance like lightening, and his raiment white as snow, dismissed from heaven to roll away the stone that would vainly bind down the rising Saviour of the world. The earthquake announces his presence, and the Roman warrior flees in terror from his glance. Yet to that spot, a spot to the unbelieving full of fearful mystery, but to the faithful disciple the scene of victory and joy, we behold hastening a company of females, with spices to embalm the earthly remains of their Redeemer, and to mingle their tears and adorations at his tomb. On that auspicious morn, Mary Magdalene first beheld her

risen Saviour; to her companions shortly afterwards was afforded the same heavenly manifestation; and next to St. Peter, late so boasting and self-confident, but now bowed down in penitence, overwhelmed with grief, and thirsting to evince. his love for the compassionate Redeemer, who had been so deeply "touched with the feeling of his infirmities." The heavenly scene referred to in the text, and followed by the revelation of the Saviour to the assembled body of the disciples, Thomas only being absent, formed a befitting close for the evening of described by St. Mark, as follows: such a day. This scene is briefly

"After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked and went into the country; and they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them;" but St. Luke has largely handed down to us several affecting particulars of the interview. Two of the disciples, he informs us, deeply disappointed and dejected at the crucifixion of their beloved Master, were journeying together to a village called Emmaus, engaged in earnest conversation on the afflicting events which they had witnessed. Thus discoursing, the risen Saviour joined their company, and inquired the occasion of their grief. They replied, that the chief priests and rulers had crucified Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, who they trusted should have redeemed Israel; and they related also the intelligence they had received, but did not seem fully to credit, that he was risen from the dead. The Saviour listened to their narration, and then, rebuking their ignorance and unbelief, "began at Moses and all the Prophets, expounding unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself." And so interesting, so heavenly, was his discourse, that when he vanished out of their sight, they could not refrain from exclaiming, with mingled admiration and affec

tion, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?"

This passage expresses, first, a high degree of religious enjoyment experienced by the two disciples; and, secondly, the cause of that enjoyment.

First, then, we are told of a high degree of religious enjoyment experienced by the two disciples: Did not our hearts burn within us?" By too many persons a religious life is accounted a life of gloom and despondency, at war with every generous impulse, every social affection, every expansion of the heart or the understanding. But how different is the description given of it in Scripture! There we see every image of peace and enjoyment, of dignity and beauty, connected with the love and the service of God. There we find religion spoken of as the highest wisdom, and the ways of this wisdom described as ways of pleasantness and paths of peace. The affections, so far from being suppressed, are taught to glow with new delights; they are raised above the short-lived vanities of a false and unsatisfactory world, and are fixed upon things above, at the right hand of God. True religion, as represented in Scripture, is not a circle of unwilling or unmeaning duties, performed from the influence of fear or custom, without the homage of the heart. It is not simply being baptized, or attending public worship; it is not a formal reading of the Scriptures, or the offering up of a few heartless prayers; it is not a cold assent to a system of doctrines, however scriptural, or the decent homage of a life purified from the grosser vices. No; it ascends far higher: it includes the exercise of devout and elevated affections; it is "righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." It causes the bosom to glow with love to God and to mankind: it presents to the understanding and to the heart objects which may

well excite the most exalted emotions. Christianity speaks not of terrors only: to all who truly embrace it in heart and life, it breathes the language of faith, and hope, and enjoyment; it points out the blessedness of the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin is covered; it exhibits that Divine Saviour, whose blood cleanseth from all sin, and in whom we have redemption, according to the riches of his grace; it tells us that in him there is no condemnation ; it shews how we may become partakers of his salvation, how we may be justified, and obtain peace with God; it promises support and consolation through life, hope and safety in death, and joys unspeakable throughout eternity. It softens the bitterest afflictions, teaching the sufferer to glory even in tribulations. It shews how we, who were once afar off from God, by wicked works, may receive adoption into his family, and become partakers of a new and heavenly nature, the preparative for a world of everlasting felicity. Surely then, if, like the travellers to Emmaus, we are sincere disciples of Jesus Christ, there is ample reason why our hearts should burn within us during the journey of our earthly pilgrimage, and in the prospect of that heavenly rest which awaiteth the people of God.

There is, then, in true religion, a pure and a solid joy infinitely preferable to those worldly pleasures which are but "like the crackling of thorns under a pot"-momentary and unsubstantial. This spiritual enjoyment is the fruit of heavenly blessings either in possession or in prospect.. It is pure in its origin, and purifying in its effects. It refines and elevates the soul, and inclines the will and affections to a cheerful obedience to God's commandments. It springs from faith in the Saviour and operates in love towards him. It is a joy peculiar to the true disciple of Christ; the joy of sin pardoned, God reconciled, conscience at peace, a heart sancti

fied by the Holy Ghost, sin and death conquered, and the gates of heaven opened for the final reception of the happy spirit. The sacred writers bear continual testimony to the truth and the value of these spiritual enjoyments. Those holy men were not content to revel in the pleasures of sin for a season; they asked for something infinitely better; they aspired towards the recompence of an eternal reward: they were not satisfied that their corn or wine or oil should increase; but their prayer was, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me;" "As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God;"" Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of Thee;" "I shall be satisfied when I awake up in thy likeness."

And let us not think that true religion has changed its character. No; it remains substantially the same in every period of time. The same blessings which cheered the servants of God under the ancient dispensation, and which warmed the hearts of Cleopas and his fellowdisciple on the day of the resurrection, continue still equally adapted to console and invigorate the faithful follower of Christ in our own age, and will remain so to the end of time. The defect is not in the word or the promises of God; but in our own hearts, which too often continue cold, thoughtless, and worldly, amidst manifestations of Divine grace and mercy, which might well cause them to burn within us with the most intense glow of affectionate and grateful emotion. Still, let us ever remember that in the highest enjoyments of true religion there is never any thing enthusiastic or irrational. The disciples in the text had ample cause for the elevated feelings which they expressed. Theirs was not the affected joy of the hypocrite, or the unfounded joy of the self-deceiver, or the boastful confidence of the presumptuous, or the thoughtless mirth of CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 264.

the unconcerned and ignorant. They had found a solid basis for their hopes; the word of God had been unfolded to them; their hearts had been opened to receive it; they had learned the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour; they had embraced this salvation; they had enjoyed communion with its Divine Author, and had heard from his own lips the gracious words which he spake. They rejoiced, therefore,-and, oh, how worthy a cause of rejoicing!—in hope of the glory of God. Their expectation, that "this was he who should have redeemed Israel," was fulfilled in a far higher sense than that of a temporal deliverance: they had found that spiritual Deliverer, of whom Moses and the Prophets did write; and their hearts glowed with sacred fervour while he expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself.

These reflections introduce to our notice the second head of instruction to be gathered from the text; namely, the cause of that religious enjoyment experienced by the two disciples.-When our Lord first accosted them he perceived that they were sad; and, as respected worldly and ambitious views, there was nothing in his discourse to remove that sadness. Far from leading them to look for the rewards of a temporal kingdom, or the national deliverance of their country from the foreign yoke that oppressed it, he plainly shewed them that the kingdom of the promised Messiah was not of this world; that, on the contrary, it was necessary for the accomplishment of prophecy, and for the unfolding of the plan of human redemption, that he should suffer the pains, indignities, and cruel death, which had so greatly grieved and perplexed them. Through these he was to enter into his glory; not the worldly glory which the Jews in general, and probably these disciples among others, fondly thought would accompany his earthly career; but 5 G

that Divine glory which he possessed with the Father before all worlds, and which was now to assume new rays of majesty from the completion of his great work of human redemption. If then no worldly hopes or prospects were held out to them; if, on the contrary, whatever lingering expectations of this nature might have remained in their minds were utterly banished by this discourse, what was it that caused their sudden transition from sadness to joy? what was it that, in the midst of their grief, caused their hearts to burn within them? It was the presence, and the instructions of their Saviour: He talked with them by the way, and opened unto them the Scriptures. Their perplexity had originated partly in their ignorance, and partly in their want of faith, concerning the plan of salvation so plainly foretold in the Old Testament, and now fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; as is shewn by the words in which our Lord addressed them: "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken." To remove, therefore, this perplexity, he enlightens their spiritual understanding, and increases their faith. They had read the Scriptures, but had not understood them. He eases their anguish by explaining to them the mysteries of Divine Providence, as unfolded in the revealed word of God: he teaches them the doctrine of the atonement through the blood of a crucified Saviour: he expounds all that related to himself: he was the Seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head; he was to reign spiritually over the house of Jacob for ever and ever, and of his kingdom there was to be no end: in the accomplishment of his great undertaking he was to assume human nature; he was to be wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was to be upon him, and by his stripes we were to be healed; he was to be numbered with the transgressors,

and, having made an expiation for sin, was to rise again, his body not seeing corruption. These things he explained, and their hearts burned within them while he spoke. He comforted them by his presence; and he instructed them by his discourse. The joy they experienced was not vain or enthusiastic: it sprang from an adequate cause; from a knowledge of a Redeemer, and faith in him; and this knowledge was increased, and this faith was enlivened, by communion with the Divine Author of both: "He talked with them by the way;" he impressed upon their hearts the truths admitted into their understandings; he increased their love and joy and gratitude, while he enlightened and convinced their judgment. Their religion was not merely a lively sensation of joy; neither was it merely a cold dictate of the understanding: it was the union of all the powers of the heart and mind; their reason was convinced and their affections were excited.

And why, let us ask, is it that we who call ourselves disciples of the same Divine Master, do not find our hearts glowing with something of the same holy delight that warmed the bosoms of these devout travellers? It is not that we are destitute of the sacred instructions which they received; for we have in the Old Testament the very same revelation which they enjoyed, and in the New we have supperadded an exposition of the Old dictated by Divine inspiration, and comprising, in all probability, a far more detailed account of what related to Christ, than was unfolded in the course of this single conversation on the evening of the resurrection. Nor is it that we are deprived of the means of spiritual communion with the same Saviour; for " truly our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son:" our Lord's own discourses are recorded for our benefit; and his Holy Spirit is promised to guide us into truth; we can have access to him in prayer and devout

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