Divine grace was all-mighty, and the Spirit sovereign in his operations: and therefore that it was his duty "in meekness to instruct those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure would give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the TRUTH, and that they might recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who were led captive by him at his will."

And now I "cast my bread upon the waters," in humble dependence upon God's mercy that I "shall find it after many days," nay, after a very few days; "for the night is far spent, the day is at hand." All the lines of prophecy are converging to a point; and that point but a few years distant. All the foretold signs of the last days are threatening around us, and uttering an emphatic warning-Sinner repent, believer rejoice, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The scoffer may ask, as St. Peter long ago said he would, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." But he little thinks that he is himself one necessary sign of what he despises. For it is just at such a time as this, in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of," nay, perhaps, "in such an hour" as even some of his disciples "think not," that "the Son of Man cometh." "For, as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken ('caught up to meet the Lord in the air'), and the other left" for the desolating judgments which will be poured upon apostate Christendom. For "the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."

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Reader, where will you be on that day? With Noah in the ark, or perishing with the unbelieving world? With Lot at Zoar, or in the city of destruction? Believer, remember that "there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." Unbeliever, answer for yourself the solemn question," How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" and "What shall the end of them be that obey not the Gospel of God?" Oh, hasten to plunge in that fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness;" fly "for refuge to the (only) hope set before you; "to-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts;" tarry not a moment, lest the tempest overtake you; lest the storm burst upon you ere you reach the covert, and you be compelled to utter that bitter lamentation, "The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."

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APPENDIX

CONTAINING A FEW EXTRACTS FROM MR. BARKER'S LECTURES ON THE PRAYER BOOK.

"Low as is the standard of duty (the ten commandments) which they (the clergy) set up, they still fall fearfully short of it. They do in fact break every commandment of the ten"-"The priests (by which he means throughout the church of England clergy) are plunderers at all ends. They rank among the principal thieves in our land" "Whatever the Queen or her successors may demand, this catechism requires us to do. If they should command us to turn Papists, this catechism teaches us, that it would be our duty to do so. If they should command us to take arms, and kill the Papists, or to kill the orthodox Dissenters, this catechism requires us to obey them. If they should require us to burn our Bibles, and take the Koran in its place; if they should require us to swear, to kill, to rob, or to lie, the catechism assures us, that our duty to our neighbours, as laid down in the ten commandments, would require us to obey their bidding." Numbers of them (the clergy) are ignorant, proud, covetous, self-willed; and all of them are teachers of the grossest errors, of the most palpable absurdities, of the flattest contradictions, of the darkest blasphemies, of the most horrible misrepresentations of God's character and works, that ever the world contained. All of them are hired by Government (!!!) to teach the most foolish and absurd fictions, to go through the most useless and ridiculous ceremonies, and to support whatever forms of oppression and wrong the Government who employs them may choose to exact"" Here then we have in this small catechism, not only some of the worst forms of theological error, but some of the vilest and most mischievous principles of political tyranny and universal slavery as well. I say the doctrine taught by this part is most atrocious and infernal." "The men that can hire themselves to teach such errors I can regard in no other light, than as the greatest rebels against God, and the worst and most deadly enemies of our race

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think that these men could assume such airs of self-importance, could look so lofty and assured, if they knew that you were searching their book and sifting their notions? Nothing of the kind. They would hang their heads like convicted impostors and deceivers. They would seek out some lonely hermitage far apart from society, or shut themselves up in solitary confinement in their own houses, and never dare to look abroad again by daylight, till they had thrown their follies and blasphemies aside." I wonder the priests are not ashamed of themselves. I cannot imagine how it is that they can look people in the face."-"They are all pure fictions; they are all ignorant ravings or wicked imp ositions"-" Here is another cluster of ungodly falsehoods."-"The priest stands like a black infernal deceiver, to pour forth his blasphemous falsehoods, *** (he) stands like a devil, to libel humanity, to throw horrible reflections upon the divine character, and to breathe a pestilential vapour over the fairest and loveliest productions of heaven."- "I say the priests must be dreadfully ignorant of what Christ taught, or else they must be the most reckless and wholesale liars, that ever dishonoured human nature, or burdened the creation of God"-" What wicked reckless wholesale lying. A greater regardlessness of truth, than is manifested in this book of common prayer, or in the priests and the people who use it, could not be found among the most profligate and unprincipled of men They (the clergy) are the veriest cormorants, the most greedy and unprincipled extortioners, that ever God Almighty allowed to live""They are hired and employed by the government for this purpose-to endeavour to justify to the people whatever the government may do."-"They, (the government) have made it illegal to do right, and have enjoined men by law to do wrong. Yet in none of these things have the priests of the Church of England opposed them.""They (the clergy) aided and countenanced the plunderers and corrupters of the nation in their ungodly and unnatural work."Iniquity has been their regular business. They have preached error and immorality." "They teach, that we should worship wealth, however wickedly gotten, and spurn poverty, however virtuous and honourable it may be."-"These men are to be regarded, therefore, as the hired perverters and corrupters of the nation; as the everlasting advocates of error, and blasphemy, and sin; as the sworn enemies of truth and righteousness, of Christ, of God, and of humanity; as the allies of thieves and murderers; "The blindness and senselessness, or the craft and villany of these men (the clergy) can go no further. We must either charge them with the vilest craft and the most censurable of all villanies, or be allowed to declare, that they are blinder than bats, and as senseless as stocks or stones.".

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"Do you

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""

as the encouragers and supporters of all that is false, of all that is unholy, of all that is mean and servile, and cruel, unjust and tyrannical, of every thing bad in religion, of everything unrighteous in government, of everything low and filthy and miserable in society at large."- "Not a few of these priests are drunkards. All of them are liars, except such of them as have not sense sufficient to make their falsehoods lies; all of them are perjured false swearing men. "Even sup. posing them to be Christians, which is not the case."-"The priests of the Church of England are hired to mock God, and they do mock him every week. They are hired to support iniquity, and they do support it."-"Priests seem to have neither common sense, nor common delicacy."-"The clergy are amongst the most unprincipled of their race. "Cursed are the men, who hire themselves to a government to preach what they know to be false-to use forms which they know to be unchristian-and thus prostitute their souls to falsehood and to lies for filthy lucre."-It is a horrible and devilish article; it is as full of priestly rage and intolerance as it can hold.". "They are wishful that men should believe that the interests of their souls are entirely in their hands, and that God has appointed them to be the absolute masters and disposers of the souls of men."-" One part of their business is to teach children insincerity, to train them to falsehood and hypocrisy, to render them heartless and reckless formalists."-"The clergy of the Church of England are amongst the greatest infidelmakers on earth."-"The Church of England, then, is one of the chief props of infidelity." "All those of the clergy of the Church of England who have common sense are hypocrites and false swearers. "Why are not books and teachers, and other means of knowledge, supplied to every child of man? A curse upon priestcraft! A curse upon kingcraft! God blight and wither them eternally, and rid the earth of them for ever."-"Away, then, with your silly forms, your appointed times, your solemn places, your unnatural tones, your foolish gestures, your hypocritical ostentation, your public mummeries, your priestly impositions, and all your superstitious rant, and cant, and mockery, Away with them all." And what shall be put in their place? The fruits of the spirit? What a perfect heaven of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," must be the breast of the man who wrote the above; and who habitually writes and speaks thus! "Can a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" No: but to one without spiritual discernment, it may appear to do so; "for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light; therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness." 2 Cor. xi. 14.

These remarkable words of an inspired Apostle may perhaps remove the difficulty felt by some with regard to the virtuous lives of many unbelievers; especially in connexion with the saying, "By their fruits ye shall know them." It must also be remembered, that, instead of testing a man's doctrine by the rest of his conduct, which is the common notion, his doctrine is one essential part of that very conduct by which he is to be tested. This is plainly told us by St. Paul in the 8th chapter of his Epistle to the Galatians. He there gives a list of "the works of the flesh," which he says "are manifest," and which they who do "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Now amongst these we find "heresies" or false doctrines. So that according to him, a man's belief, or opinion as some call it, about the way of salvation is no uncertain doubtful thing, which has to be tried by his other works; but is itself one of those "works," which "manifestly" shew whether he is carnally or spiritually minded.* This however can only be manifest to an enlightened believer; because none but he can be confidently assured of the truth. "He that is spiritual judgeth all things." "Ye have an Unction from the Holy one, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you, because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." 1 John ii. 20.

* "There must be also heresies among you" writes the same Apostle, "that they which are approved may be made manifest."