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'We have no coal. It was to buy coal that I wanted the money.' Mrs Lee struck her hands together, and an expression of pain was about passing her lips, when the door opened, and the shoemaker's boy came in.

Here are two dollars. Mr Grant sent them.'

'God bless Mr Grant!' The exclamation from Mrs Lee was in

voluntary.

On the part of Harriet, to whom one dollar was due, a gush of silent tears marked the effect this timely supply of money produced. She received her portion, and without trusting her voice with words, burried away to supply the pressing want at home.

A few doors from the residence of Mrs Lee, lived a man who, some few months before, had become involved in trouble with some evildisposed person, and had been forced to defend himself by means of the law. He had employed Mr Herriot to do what was requisite in the case, for which service the charge was five dollars. The bill had been rendered a few weeks before, and the man, who was poor, felt anxious to pay it. He had the money all made up within a dollar. That dollar Mrs Lee owed him, and she had promised to give to him during the day. For hours he had waited, expecting her to come in; but now he had nearly given her up. There was another little bill of three dollars which had been sent in to him, and he had 1 ast concluded to go and pay that, when Mrs Lee called with the balance of the money, one dollar, which she had received from the hoemaker Grant,

Half an hour later, and the pocket-book of Mr Herriot was no longer mpty. His client had called and paid his bill. The five dollars had come back to him.-American Paper.

Literature.

The Church, its Mission, Government, and Worship: an Examination the Will of Christ respecting the Spiritual labours, and the livelihood Preachers, Church Elders, and gifted Church Members. London: Trubner & Co., Paternoster Row.-This is an octavo pamphlet of forty-four pages, closely printed, price Eighteen-pence. It is a Careful, logical, historical, and scriptural compend. Notwithstandng that it embraces so wide a variety of theme, the only exception we have to it is the taking for granted that churches have a right elect their overseers. Though more than half of the pamphlet is Occupied with the eldership, the question of election is simply assumed; it does not appear to have occurred to the writer to call the practice in question. He certainly does not formulate it as of scripfaral authority, but he proceeds as if it were so. He quotes largely from the Fathers, from Clement of Rome onwards, who, in his letter to the church in Corinth, writes of the elders not as the elect of the congregation, but as appointed by the apostles or other eminent men, the church consenting. It is well known, as a matter of ecclesiastical history, that from the second century elective power was assumed to belong to the Church, and that then the question, Who shall be greatest? was discussed among the overseers, and led to the recognition of one bishop as chief among equals. Our author quotes

from Chrysostom, who, like his peers, taught that the right to choose is in the body of the governed, but candidly admits that when they had to exercise the right they were commonly split into many par ties-as with the church, so with the presbytery; this self-assumed right of election has proved an excellent means of division. We commend this pamphlet as eminently worthy of the close study of the bible student.

'Come Over and Help Us:' A short Statement relative to the Lord's Work among some of the poor of Twig Folly, Bethnal Green, since 1st Jan. 1858, &c. By David Wardlaw Scott. London: W. Yapp, 4 Old Cavendish Street. This is as pleasing and instructive an account of what the Lord will do by the faithful individual efforts of his people as we have read for a long time. The christian brother who writes this account felt called upon to alleviate the misery of the poor in his neighbourhood, and, at the same time, to endeavour to bless them with the knowledge of the gospel. His own resources being unequal to his desires, he received aid from a few christian friends, and the way gradually opening, he then appealed to christian benevolence through the Times newspaper, by which means between two and three hundred pounds of money, and more than fifty packages of clothing, &c., were distributed within the year, while one or two small places of meeting were opened for preaching, the word, teaching the young, &c., the manifest result of which has been not only the relief of much destitution, but the gathering together in the faith of the gospel of upwards of forty persons. The number must be considerably larger now, as our dear brother informs us by letter the work continues very cheeringly, insomuch that in December nine persons were baptised, and as many were expected to be immersed in January. The public appeals for help are rightly discontinued, so that Christians able to help are the more called to do so. We suggest to such of our readers in London to correspond with the writer at his residence, 9 Palestine Place, Cambridge Heath Gate, N. E., and we pray that the work may grow exceed ingly, and the example provoke many others to like zeal.

Discourses, Essays, and Letters. By Robert Sandeman, author of Letters on Theron and Aspasio.' Dundee: G. Sandeman.-There not much in this volume requiring remark. The discourses, of which it chiefly consists, were not prepared for the press by their author,' but for the instruction and edification of his brethren,' and perhaps some injustice is done him by their publication; as, doubtless, had he intended them for a public manifestation of the truth he would have been more critical and accurate in their treatment. As it is, even his quotations of Scripture are often very loosely given, while anything distinctive is rather assumed than proved. A vein of Calvinism runs throughout, which quite frequently makes even the author feel dissatisfied with his performance. We have an example of this in the letter to a friend, entitled, 'Thoughts on Christianity,' closing which the writer says: You see, dear Mr have at length sent you a long letter, and, after all, you find it is mostly taken up in showing to how little purpose anything I can write on this subject must be. If you would see what true Christianity is, in its simplest and best light, read the apostles.' To this we say, Amen.

I

The Christian Sabbath: or, Rest in Jesus. By Robert Macnair, author of Christian Baptism, Spiritual, not Ritual. London: Trubner and Co.-The first half of this shilling pamphlet is argument, the second speculation. The author successfully demonstrates, by an induction of all the passages of Scripture on the subject, that the Sabbath-the seventh-day-of the decalogue was a purely Jewish institute, and with the law of which it was a part was abolished in Christ. On this part of his theme he gives those who assert that Christians are under the law' such nuts to crack as are certain to give them theological toothache. But in his endeavour to prove that Christ is the christian Sabbath, he commits literary felo de se. He rushes from one extreme to another-from that of legality to that of fancy. To this end he makes nothing of the first-day gatherings of the disciples. Having transformed himself from a debater to a poet he takes poetical license. On Matt. xxiv. 20, 'Pray that your ight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath-day,' he says, a fight on the Sabbath is a breaking of the sacred rest'-' spiritually interpreted it is to take means for our own safety which are not consistent with simple trust in Jesus.' If he had said nonsensically interpreted instead of spiritually, he would have spoken nearer the truth. Pray, if Christ be the sabbath of the passage, what is the winter? If flight on the Sabbath be defection from Christ, what can light in winter indicate? Then the rest or sabbatism of Heb. iii. and iv. is the person of Christ,' and to support this conceit the apostle's words to the believers whom he addresses are construed as written to persons not yet in Christ; 'Labour to enter into this rest; accept what Jesus has done for you,' &c. The writer overrides what are as great as a mountain in his way, the facts that the apostle so expressly states, namely, that the rest in question is one believers have not yet entered that they have now only the promise of entering it-that they are therefore to fear lest they come short of it, and to labour to enter. He has not regarded the voice, saying, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours.' If the word Christian Sabbath' be admissable, this is its reference.

Priesthood and its Adjuncts. A letter to the Bishop of Oxford by Catholicus. London: Wm. Yapp, Old Cavendish Street.-An entirely successful refutation of the priestly pretensions of the Anglican hierarchy to forgive sins, as founded like those of Rome, upon the Saviour's famous words to Peter, 'I give to thee the keys of the kingdom,' &c. The letter fitly concludes with the stanzas in another page, entitled Absolvo Te, from The Jewel and Star, or Heraldic Mottoes of England's Knighthood, consecrated to the service of Heavenly Truth."

SLEEPING AT SERMONS.-Nero was very angry when Vespasian slept at his music. Is not sleeping under the gospel, which is God's music, much worse? The sin of sleeping at sermons should be carefully guarded against; and occasionally, but mildly reproved. The evil might be lessened, if the hearers would wake the sleepers;-and why should it be thought uncivil to do this? A pious person would be thankful for it. Those who would be displeased at it, would only betray their pride. 'Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness.'

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Poetry.

ABSOLVO TE.

ONE Priest alone can pardon me,
Or bid me 'Go in peace,'
Can breathe that word 'Absolvo te,'
And make these heart-throbs cease.
My soul has heard His priestly voice;
It said, 'I bore thy sins-Rejoice!'
He shewed the spear-mark in His side,
The nail-print on His palm;
Said,Look on Me, the Crucified;
Why tremble thus? Be calm!
All power is mine-I set thee free-
Be not afraid-'Absolvo te.'

In chains of sin once tied and bound,
I walk in life and light;

Each spot I tread is hallowed ground,
Whilst Him I keep in sight

Who died a victim on the tree,
That He might say, 'Absolvo te.'

By Him my soul is purified,
Once leprous and defiled;
Cleansed by the water from His side,
God sees me 'as a child;'

No priest can heal or cleanse but He,-
No other say, 'Absolvo te.'

He robed me in a priestly dress,
That I might incense bring,

Of prayer, and praise, and righteousness,
To Heaven's eternal King;

And when He gave this robe to me,

He smiled, and said, 'Absolvo te.'

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Correspondence.

THERE A CHRISTIAN FORMULA FOR THE CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE?

MR EDITOR,-If the above is not considered a foolish question, please give it a place in the pages of the Advocate.' The occasion fits presenting itself to my mind was this: The other evening two friends of mine, having previously made the necessary preparations, had their wishes consummated by a formal ceremony declaring them to be husband and wife. Apart from the said couple, the most prominent person engaged in this interesting enterprise was the 'Rev. J.,' an active leader among a section of our Baptist friends. He Was master of ceremonies on that occasion, and it was the manner which he performed them that leads me to make the above inairy. This clergyman gave a very long address, beginning at the ok of Genesis and going onwards, in which he traced the antiquity if the institution of marriage, and told us that God first instituted The Sabbath (!) and then he instituted marriage,' &c., &c. This was new reading of the Mosaic record to me, and kept me from being rowsy during the lecture, but lest you or your readers should feel rowsy while reading these introductory remarks, I will at once Some to the clergyman's conclusion. He said: 'In the name of God, declare you (M. and N.) to be husband and wife; what God hath ined together, let not man separate.'

If the inversion of the facts recorded by Moses surprised me, this timation of the authority under which the gentleman believes he is ting was beyond all I was prepared for. What dispensation hought I) does he suppose we are living under antediluvian or postdiluvian, Mosaic or Christian? Can this be considered a fair pecimen of Baptist theology in the nineteenth century? Does the Baptist creed authorise this formula, or is it peculiar only to this everend gentleman? Being in doubt, and wanting light on the abject, I have since looked at the prescription given by the Westminster Divines anent 'the solemnisation of Marriage,' and that formula is not there; neither can I find it in the form of solemnisation of matrimony' as given by the United Church of England and Ireland; and as for looking for it in the Christian Scriptures, the little I know of them induces me to believe that it is foreign to their nstitutes and language. I can easily suppose it probable that John the Baptist called upon his contemporaries in the name of God'the God of Abraham who sent John to the Jewish nation-to repent and be baptised; and we have the records of the Evangelists which tell us that Jesus came in the Father's name, and by his authority taught new truths and did many mighty works; but since the mission of Jesus to the world where is the evidence to believe

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