ciple, (love) flow acts of obedience. The principle of action being put within the soul, and a continued supply from the spirit of all grace keeping it alive, the acts of obedience to the revealed will of God, in the form of precept, or Christ's example, are necessarily the good work the scriptures everywhere intend. Hence, saith the church" for thou, O God, hast wrought all our works in us." Nothing else can possibly be acceptable in the eye of God, but the workmanship of his own hands. Hence, too, it is, that there are such precious promises in store for those who persevere through grace, (viz.) "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Nothing lies nearer the believer's heart than the honour of his Lord and Master! From this consideration arises an holy resolution to honour and unflinchingly defend his word of life and truth. The glorious doctrines thereof being defended before men at the cost of the believers worldly interest; with all their yea and amen, which the book of God warrants, loudly bespeaks characteristics in favour of those who stand up to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. These are the men who declare their faith by their works, and prove by such works that their faith is made perfect, for they LIVE by it! It is a very great error which has crept in among us, which supposes that the mere imparting hoards of gold and silver, constitute the works of faith that the apostle alludes to here. If it were so, the poor widow with her two mites would hardly have been seen by Christ. But he places this act in a pre-eminent degree higher than that of others, who, perhaps, would scarcely deign to notice an offering so mean. But our Lord says, "by their fruits ye shall know them." There is another sort of works of obedience the scriptures of truth record of some of the faithful, by which works great effects were produced. These might be distinguished as unreasonable remedies," or "very great improbabilities." Such works as proved faith to be living and divine! I mean, acts of applying the simple remedy which God himself prescribed to the removing very great evils, and curing diseases which knew no remedy, that is, the feeding the prophet Elijah from the exhausless barrel of meal and cruise of oil. The curing the leprosy of Naaman, by washing seven times in Jordan, twice would have done, or only once, if the Lord had so bidden, but seven times was the command, and though possessing only a grain of faith, it was a living faith, and he was cured, and his "flesh was as a little child." The healing Hezekiah's sore boil, also by the mere application of a fig to the place, by which simple means his life was prolonged fifteen years! many other similar cases could be selected. The method God uses may be foreign to our reason: there is a secret effect given, and which attends the application. Such remedies are very mortifying to man, makes him nothing at all, and God all in all.

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It is precisely the same with reference to the gospel of Christ. The revealed plan of a sinner's salvation is so simple and plain, that men reject it on that very account! the self-righteous hate it because righteousness is rejected: the sluggard, whose soul desireth and hath nothing; both meet here upon an equality. None yield an acceptable obedience to that rule laid down in God's word, but such as believe with the heart unto righteousness then confession is made with the mouth. Their light so shines before men, as a candle on a candlestick, or a city on an hill-they praise God in a prison, (Acts xvii. 25.) and become men wondered at.

As they have opportunity, a charge is given them to do good unto all men, especially the household of faith. (See 2 Cor. ix to the end.) also 1 Tim. vi. 17, Titus i. 9-11. also iii. 8. 1 Pet. i. 13. to the end. These and othe similar scriptures do not refer to works of recommendation but of commendation: For, it is written," And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." Rev. xiv. 13. also xxii. 14,

Cossey, Norfolk.

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POPERY AT HOME.

We have been favoured with a few extracts from a paper concerning" Popery at Home," written some time ago by the Rev. R. Maxwell M Brair, author of the recent interesting Sketches of a Missionary's Travels; which we do not hesitate to lay before our readers, as the writer vouches for the truth of the facts therein stated. After showing that " a man's real character can only be fully known at home," he proceeds to state, "We have been at the home of Popery, and witnessed her manners in her own house-in Italy, the foster-mother and patroness of this many headed hydra."

"It is recorded, that Augustus, having heen angry at Neptune on account of the loss of his fleet in a storm, ordered that his image should not be carried in procession with those of other gods at the next solemnity of the Circensian games. The practice of revenge against the gods is not yet wholly abandoned. For in Sicily there is a place where, in times of drought, the priests take a saint's image out of the church, and put him into the water, until rain falls. Should it then rain too hard, they take it out, and exposing it to the pelting shower, they fasten the church door safely, that he may not re-enter till the storm has abated."

"The writer then gives the account of a splendid procession on St. Anthony's day in Florence, when he followed the image of that saint into the church in order to witness the service. "At various times the image was elevated (as it is customary with the host), VOL. IV.-No. IX. 3 X

upon which the whole mass of people fell down upon their faces or knees, in humble adoration: and whilst a litany was being chanted by the priest, a frequent response of the people was,-O Anthony save us! O Anthony help us! Is this idol worship? Or will men be duped by the hypocritical explanation of a Jesuit? On the above occasion the hierarchy of Florence were present; so that it was not the deed of a few ignorant monks."

"As to worshipping the Virgin, who is boastingly styled the 'Mother of God,' no person in his senses can doubt the reality of the thing. A priest was preaching at one of the churches at Malta on the efficacy of prayer to the Virgin. To illustrate the force of his subject, he narrated an anecdote to the following effect :- A poor fellow was after death seized by two devils, who brought him to Jesus for judgment. The Lord said, 'You never prayed to me,' and ordered him off to hell. As they were dragging him away, he caught a glimpse of the Virgin, and reminded her that he had once prayed to her. She recollected the circumstance, and informed her son of it. Jesus then said, I was not aware of that, and immediately ordered the wretch to be released.' On another occasion, the pulpit orator thus described the Virgin :- She is all glorious, she is full of eyes; she is the Almighty's treasure; she is the dispenser of the bounties of heaven!' Now some of these attributes are those of proper deity; and thus the Virgin is magnified above God himself."

"If it be said that the Papists trust in the blood of Jesus Christ for pardon, why is it that we see them performing penance in order to obtain absolution? In the public streets of Malta, penitents may be observed dragging heavy chains after them, and bearing other ponderous loads imposed by the priests. But the fact is, that their teachers translate the word repentance' by doing penance,' and therefore preach, Except ye do penance, ye shall all likewise perish. Do penance, and believe the gospel, &c.' In similar strains do these ghostly cheats impose upon the people in their sermons, by pretending to quote the most idle traditions and vain legends from the Scriptures, adding, Thus saith St. Paul, or St. Peter.' They even have the hardihood sometimes to name chapter and verse as authority for the most ridiculous stuff, or to quote from the "Gospel according to St. Peter.' They well know that the people have not the Bible, as they take good care to guard this stronghold of Popery. It is pretended in England, that they do not object to the circulation of the Scriptures amongst the better classes; and certainly they do not now wrest them from some sort of persons. But with respect to others, we know that they not only threaten them personally with excommunication from the Church when alive, and from Christian burial when dead, but refuse absolution to their relations and friends, that thus they may weary them out by persecution at home and abroad.

"A friend heard a popular priest preaching upon the virtue of patience. To illustrate his subject he described a holy woman, who was afflicted with a painful disease, which she bore with exemplary resignation. The sore became so bad that worms bred in it. A patriarch who saw her was so struck with her fortitude, that he was thereby converted to the true faith. He then ardently desired to exemplify a similar patience with that of the saint, but knew not how to procure a sufficient trial. At last recollecting that he had a sore in his leg, he applied to the holy woman for one of the worms out of her breast, that it might breed a cancer in his leg. After much refusal, she at length consented; but on taking one out it became a pearl in her hand; and upon farther examination, her breast was full of pearls, which being sold, made her fortune. 'Behold,' said the preacher to the gaping multitude, the wonderful effects of patience.' Wonderful indeed! such as a Hottentot would smile at ; but the stupid Papists drank it all in greedily.

"On another occasion, the orator was describing the happy effects of godliness, and proceeded in the following sublime strains:

You must be good, and then you will look well, and be fine and comely; like as if you feed a pig well, it looks proper and fat, just like signore the Bishop there! But whether the portly bishop, who sat near, sufficiently estimated the compliment intended to be paid him, could not be ascertained. He made no public objection to the figure employed."

Now is it to be tolerated that such men should lock up the Bible, under pretence that the people are too ignorant to understand its truths; and have the effrontery to strike out the second commandment of the decalogue as being an unnecessary appendage to the first.

Verily, "Darkness hath covered the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people," who can be duped by such obvious impositions; so that it may be a question whether the priests be more knaves, or the people more fools.

Now, we claim the privilege of watching Popery at home, where she is in possession of full powers, and her followers are moulded after her own image, and she smiles propitiously upon them as they demean themselves to her heart's content. In Protestant Europe she may deck herself with a robe of different colours, and put on a veil to cover her harlot features, and delude the unwary by false protestations of sanctity and zeal; and describe her palace as being all venerable with the spoils of antiquity, gorgeous with the offerings of devotion, adorned with miraculous images and inystic relics, and charmingly haunted with the mysterious spirits of virgins and saints: but those who have entered her domicile, and examined her adornments, see nothing but the worthless materials of a stage scenery, so skilfully arranged, indeed, as to produce the desired

FAITH WITHout works, AND FAITH WITH WORKS.

"Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."-James ix. 18.

PERHAPS, there never was, since the church of Christ had a time state existence, a fairer proportion laid down by which to distinguish the chaff from the wheat. There is scarcely any thing valuable under the sun, but Satan and wicked men invent something in imitation of it. Faith does not escape his artifice nor the saints experience and when we look abroad in the earth, and behold his religious devices, the whole earth, as it were, in one continual stir, is like an ant's nest; is it not surpassing human conception, that there is a SPOT to distinguish who are on the Lord's side?" The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net." (Ps. xxv. 14, 15.) Every scene which present itself to our view is a net. This makes the apostle's words most sweet; namely, "It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. "The greater light of the knowledge of the glory of God, which beams from the Spirit of Truth, and shines into our hearts, the deeper does Satan lay his snares to entrap men. This is an age wherein the Church of the living God needs the most salutary caution; and it is no whimsical fear that influences me to repeat, "Beware of men."

Now to the words of St. James. It is obvious there are two sorts of faith intended, from which necessary inferences may be deduced, so as to form a striking contrast.

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The first, then, presenting itself, is said to be " without works," and ver. 26, reads, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." The body without the spirit what a picture of unrenewed man! dead in trespasses and sins. Yet, alas, what a show they make in the professing world, and would deceive even "the very elect" into a persuasion that they are some of the living stones, (1 Pet. xi. 5) which compose the spiritual building wherein spiritual sacrifices are offered up acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Making, as they do, a fair show in the flesh, and man judging from sight (after the flesh) looking on the outward appearance, sees nothing of the rottenness and dead men's bones within-the whited outside makes up the attraction, appearing "beautiful indeed unto men. They appear to be dead while they live. They professedly believe in the existence of a DEITY. By this confession they escape the disgrace of being termed INFIDELS; others there are, who from entire selfishness, with a view to strengthen their connexions, enter at once into congregations. Perhaps act as they act, are even ready to distribute" many would think this an incontestible evidence of falling in with

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