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master of philosophic theology in this. In just the simplest formula that we can cull, at the moment, from the volumes of the latter: "It is not a regeneration originating with himself, that has reconciled the believer unto God; but it is a sense of this reconciliation that has regenerated him." And again: "That we may be able to love God, we must first know that God has loved us. We cannot harbour this affection so long as there is the suspicion and the dread of a yet unsettled controversy between us and God. | Peace with our offended Lawgiver is not the fruit of our love, but of our faith; and faith, if it be a reality, worketh by love. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord; and we love much when we know that our sins are forgiven us." * Yes! and, loving, we are born of God; and, born of God, we "enter into," or "receive," His heavenly kingdom, and begin to keep His commandments.-This kingdom properly consists, however, in the complete prevalence of righteousness over sin in the hearts and habits of the regenerate, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is not more true that the Father rules administratively by the Son, than that the Son rules operatively and efficiently in His people by the Holy Ghost. Sent forth from Christ's throne on high, He then enthrones Christ objectively, so to speak, in the understanding and heart of each. And "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes them free from the law of sin and death."

"Then grief expires, and pain, and strife;

'Tis nature all, and all delight":

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"to bring presents unto Him," forbids them, especially on the indecent pretext of this very service, to modify or invade His laws? And, once more, UNIVERSAL CREATION is Christ's empire. Happy for the world! the Supreme power and providence are both in Mediatorial hands; and there are "tender mercies" at this moment brooding over all" its unbanished rebels! Happier for "the Church, which is His body!" Her "Head" is high "over all things;" and that eye-it looks along and watches over her whole path through future time; and that nod-it beckons legions of angels to her aid, and awes her adversaries into submission. "Zion, thy God reigneth," for thy safety and consolation, "in all the earth." "Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises: for God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises with understanding!"

(4.) But, to return to Christ's interior kingdom in men's souls-it has its duties, as well as its powers and privileges. There are two classes of the former connected with a personal enjoyment of the latter. The first class regards our qualification for becoming Christ's subjects; the second, the regulation of our behaviour as such. To all who have not yet received the kingdom, the call of "the Preachers" is, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; nay, it is among you; repent ye, and believe the Gospel." And to all the children of the king. dom, the counsel of the same men, in their capacity of "pastors and teachers," is such as this: "Walk worthy of THE LORD, unto all pleasing,. . . . . giving thanks unto the Father, who hath delivered us from the power of dark

of His dear Son." So" say they unto Zion, Thy God reigneth."

2. And, such being the purport of their mes sage, can it be needful to descant upon its Cracter? Is it not in the highest degree welcome and attractive? Are not these "good tidings;" yea, "good tidings of good," of "peace,” of

"salvation"? Alas! the bulk of mankind re

for "the kingdom of God" is "His righteousness, and hath translated us into the kingdom ness," and, consequent on "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."-Exterior to this kingdom in the soul of man (which is the central and favourite sphere of the Saviour's government), and in various relations and degrees subsidiary to it, are other provinces of influence, wherein IIe claims the sole supremacy. The VISIBLE CHURCH is called "the kingdom of God," and, with an emphasis which we have not room to expound, the kingdom of GOD ONLY. "The kingdoms of THIS WORLD" also are, of right, and in reversion, (though none of them have yet properly, become), "the king doms," severally, and as such, " of our Lord and of His Christ." And does it need to be argued, that the same fealty which binds "kings," and "nations," and constitutional states, to "fall down before Him," to "serve Him," and • Dr Chalmers' Lectures on Romans, and Tron Sermons.

gard them with a very different sentiment. They are at a loss to perceive in what the attraction consists. Real Christianity in any view is not congenial to them; but under the name of rule it is actually repulsive and unpopular. Let it be set before them, in certain moods, as "a treasure to be desired," or "a feast of fat things," or a state of "liberty" from ceremonial bondage, or, in short, a religion of promises, privileges, and consolations; and their worldly imagination may associate with it some agree

THE MISSION, &c., OF THE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY.

able ideas, though still their heart and will are slow to appropriate its benefits. But, "the Gospel of the kingdom"-the good news of the reign of God in the soul; of His reassumed absolute dominion over its understanding, its belief, its meditations, its choices, its motives, its universal movements-His unsparing treatment of the world as an enemy, and of the world's idol-god as a murderer, and of nature as a tyrant, and of self as a robber-His imposition of a "yoke," and of a "cross"-His connection of discipline and of suffering with recompense, and even with final salvationthe Gospel of the kingdom!—it is a hard saying, who of them can hear it? They see no beauty in holiness; no subject of gratulation or desire in their propensities being repressed, their will broken, or their reason prostrated before the throne, or condemned at the tribunal, of Revealed Truth. Alas! they love sin; they are "friends of the world;" they are "taken captive by the devil," not only "at his will," but equally with their own; they feel no chains, save those of occasional religious restraint; and so far, therefore, from hailing Christianity as emancipation, or its government as a blessing, they accustom themselves to the most dishonouring and abhorrent impressions of it, as fatal to freedom of spirit, to cheerfulness of temper, and to a full use and enjoyment of

life.

But oh! to souls whom God's good Spirit hath chastened, and undeceived, and made to groan under the bondage both of the flesh and of the law, the proclamations of the reign of grace are good tidings! We recognise the whole procedure of Christianity as one of the purest benevolence. Its first step, the embassy of reconciliation; the very assurance of God's willingness, instead of at once proceeding to extremities of justice, and destroying us for our sins, to meet millions of poor, broken-down rebels more than half-way between heaven and hell, in our own bad world, and in our own abject nature, even in the Person and at the Cross of His Incarnate Son, and, having there pronounced our pardon, to resume His paternal rule over our ravaged and unhappy spirits; -then, the infallible tendency of that rule to rectify or remove every cause of deep-felt unhappiness, to pacify the conscience, to calm and harmonize the passions, and to give universal "rest unto the soul," by bringing all its energies and affections under the sway of holy love; and, furthermore, the many collateral blessings of His kingdom; the privileges of the

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visible Church, the endearments of a special Providence, and the assurance of future glory;— all, all proclaim our Saviour's mercy. We rejoice, then, that He is both our Conqueror and our King: we account "His yoke easy, and His burden light;" His "law" one" of liberty," and His " Cross, whereby the world is crucified unto us, and we unto the world," the one worthy theme of our glorying; and, in our estimation, they "that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth, bring good tidings" they "publish peace"— they "bring good tidings of good "—they "publish salvation !"

3. Mark the Method of their ministrations.

They "bring" these tidings to myriads, who, but for the Divine provision of a stated Ministry, would never have received them. They “seek," that they may "save, that which is lost." They go forth, clothed with no light authority, and sustained by more than ordinary promises, to evangelize all nations. For, "having reconciled them to Himself by Jesus Christ," (and no unsaved man was ever yet commissioned to preach salvation to others), "God hath given to them the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that GOD, in Christ,"-not hath reconciled, that is, simply, restored to favour, but-"is" in course of so "reconciling, the world unto Himself," man by man, as he "repents and believes," on the gracious plan of "not imputing their trespasses unto them," and for the infinitely affecting reason, that they have been imputed to, and borne by, His Blessed Son.

But, more than this, they "publish salvation." This seems to denote their direct, earnest, and, in the Lord's name, authoritative offer of that salvation to all, to whom they have made it known; their pressing it, while they yet preach, on the acceptance of their fellow-sinners; their bold, pointed, pungent, searching, importunate appeals to the conscience; their solemn claiming of every heart, there and then, for "the Lord that bought" it, and pleading for its consent and surrender. They not only "testify," but "exhort;" not only "teach," but "preach," invite, entreat, expostulate, woo, warn, and even lovingly rebuke, and tremblingly and with tears denounce. They are not amateur lecturers on Christianity, but constrained ambassadors for Christ; as though God did beseech you by them, they pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God! Accept His mercy on His own terms. "For He hath made HIM to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (To be continued.)

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DEATH-BED OF CALVIN.

(From Beza's Life of Calvin.)

CALVIN spent the remainder of his days, until death, in almost constant prayer. His voice, indeed, was interrupted by the difficulty of respiration; but his eyes, which retained their brilliancy to the last, uplifted to heaven, and his serene countenance, were certain proofs of the fervour of his devotion, and of his trust and confidence in God. He often in his prayers repeated the words of David: "Lord, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it;" and at times those of Hezekiah: "I did mourn like a dove." Once also I heard him say: "Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is thy hand." His doors must have stood open day and night, if all had been admitted, who, from sentiments of duty, were desirous to see him; but as he could not, from difficulty in speaking, direct his discourse to them, he requested they would rather pray for him, than be solicitous about paying their visits. Often, also, though I always found him glad to receive me, he was very scrupulous respecting the least interruptions thus given to the duties of my office, so sparing was he of the time which he knew ought to be spent in the service of the Church; and his conscientious feelings, lest he should give the smallest trouble to his friends, exceeded the bounds of moderation. Such was the manner of comforting both himself and friends, until the 19th of May, when we ministers were accustomed to meet relative to the censure of morals, and to take a friendly meal together two days before Whitsuntide, and the celebration of the Lord's supper. He expressed a wish that the common supper should on this day be prepared at his house, and rallying his little strength that remained, was carried from his bed to the adjoining chamber, when he said: "I come to see you, my brethren, for the last time, never more to sit down with you at table." Such was the commencement of one of the most solitary repasts we ever took. He then offered up a prayer, took a small portion of food, and discoursed with us at supper in as cheerful a manner as his weakness permitted. Before supper was fully finished, he ordered himself to be carried back to the adjoining chamber, and addressing the company with a distinctly smiling countenance, said: "This intervening wall will not prevent me from being present with you in spirit, though absent in body." His prediction was fulfilled, for from this day he always lay in an horizontal posture, his small body, except his countenance, which was very little changed, being so much emaciated that breath only remained. On the 27th of May, the day of his death, he appeared stronger, and spoke with less difficulty; but this was the last effort of nature, for, about eight o'clock in the even ing, certain symptoms of dissolution suddenly manifested themselves, When one of his do

mestics brought one of the brethren and me, who had only just left him, this intelligence, I returned immediately with all speed, and found he had died in so very tranquil a manner, that, without his feet and hands being in any respect discomposed, or his breathing increased senses, judgment, and in some measure his voice, remained entire to his very last gasp-he appeared more to resemble one in a state of sleep than death.

his

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Thus this splendid light of the Reformation was taken from us with the setting sun. ing that night, and the following day, great lamentation prevailed throughout the city; for the Republic regretted the want of one of its wisest citizens, the Church deplored the death of its faithful pastor, the College sorrowed for such an incomparable professor, and all grieved for the loss of a common parent and comforter bestowed upon them by God himself. Many of the citizens were desirous to see him after he was dead, and could with difficulty be torn from his remains. Some strangers, also, who had come from a distance with a view to see and hear him, among whom was the very distinguished English ambassador to the French court, were very desirous to see only the body of the deceased. At first, indeed, they were admitted; but afterwards, because the curiosity was excessive, and it was necessary to silence the calumnies of enemies, his friends considered the best plan would be to close the coffin next morning, being the Lord's-day; his corpse, as usual, having been wrapped in a linen cloth. At two o'clock in the afternoon, on Sunday, his body was carried to the common burying-place, called Plein Palais, without extraordinary pomp. His funeral, however, was attended by the members of the senate, the pastors, all the professors of the college, and a great proportion of the citizens. The abundance of tears shed on this occasion afforded the strongest evidence of the sense which they entertained of their loss. According to his own directions, no hillock, no monument, was erected to his memory; on which account I wrote the following epitaph :

"Why in this humble and unnoticed tomb
Is Calvin laid-the dread of falling Rome?
Mourn'd by the good, and by the wicked fear'd-
By all who knew his excellence revered;
From whom ev'n Virtue's self might virtue learn,
And young and old its value may discern?
'Twas Modesty, his constant friend on earth,
That laid this stone, unsculptured with a name;
Oh! happy turf, enrich'd with Calvin's worth,
More lasting far than marble is thy fame!"

He lived fifty-four years, ten months, and seventeen days, and spent half of this time in the sacred ministry of the Gospel. His stature was of the middle size; his complexion dark and pale; his eyes, brilliant even till death, expressed the acuteness of his understanding. His dress, neither highly ornamented nor slovenly, was well suited to his singular modesty; his victuals were so moderate that they were very

MEDUSA.

far removed from the pride of luxury, or the littleness of parsimony; his diet was very sparing, since during many years he took only one meal a-day, assigning the weakness of his stomach as the cause. He lived nearly without sleep. His power of memory was almost incredible; so that he could immediately recognise, after the lapse of many years, any whom he had only once seen; and though he had been frequently interrupted for many hours while in the act of dictating, he would, without being reminded, forthwith resume the thread of his subject; and never forget, though overpowered by an infinite multiplicity of business, such things as it was important for him in his ministerial character to know. His judgment was so sound and exact on all subjects, that his decisions seemed almost oracular; nor do I remember an instance of any error being committed by those who followed his advice.

PASSING UNDER THE ROD.

[THE following lines are from the pen of Mrs M. S. B. DANA, and were founded on the following passage of Jewish history: "It was the custom of the Jews to select the tenth of their sheep after this manner: The lambs were separated from dams, and enclosed in a sheep cote, with only one narrow way out; the lambs hastened to join the dams, and a man placed at the entrance, with a rod dipped in ochre, touched every tenth lamb, and so marked it with his rod, saying, LET THIS BE HOLY." Hence, says God by his prophet, "I will cause you to pass under the rod."-New York Recorder.]

I SAW the young bride, in her beauty and pride,
Bedecked in her snowy array,

And the bright flush of joy mantled high on her cheek,
And the future looked brilliant and gay;

And with woman's devotion she laid her fond heart At the shrine of idolatrous Love,

And she anchored her hopes to this perishing earth By the chain which her tenderness wove.

But I saw when those heart-strings were bleeding and torn,

And the chain had been severed in two,

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But I saw, when she gazed on the same lovely form,
Pale as marble, and silent, and cold;
But paler and colder her beautiful boy-
And the tale of her sorrow was told.

But the Healer was there, who had smitten her heart,

And taken her treasure away;

To allure her to heaven, he has placed it on high,
And the mourner will sweetly obey.

There had whispered a voice-'twas the voice of her
God-

"I love thee, I love thee-pass under the rod !"
I saw when a father and mother had leaned
On the arms of a dear cherished son,
And the star in the future grew bright in their gaze,
As they saw the proud place he had won;
And the fast coming evening of life promised fair,
And its pathway grew smooth to their feet,
And the star-light of Love glimmered bright at the
end,

And the whispers of Fancy were sweet;
But I saw when they stood bending low o'er the

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BY THE REV. DAVID LANDSBOROUGH, STEVENSTON. WHERE is the person who has ever walked on the sea-shore, who has not observed what is commonly called a sea-jelly? These sea-jellies are very much at the mercy of the winds and waves; and after a breeze they are often seen spread on the shore; and as they show no symptoms of life when they are out

She had changed her white robes for the sables of of the water, many see them without supposing that

grief,

And her bloom for the paleness of woe; But the Healer was there, pouring balm on the heart, And wiping the tears from her eyes, And he strengthened the chain he had broken in twain,

And fastened it firm to the skies.

they ever had life. But when we see them floating in a quiet creek, it is evident that they live, and enjoy the life that God has given them. Their gelatinous body is a flattish hemisphere; and they move through the waves by gracefully contracting and expanding their body, like the folding and unfolding of an umbrella. By naturalists they are ranked

There had whispered a voice-'twas the voice of her among the Acalepha; and they derived this learned God

"I love thee, I love thee-pass under the rod!"

I saw the young mother in tenderness bend

O'er the couch of her slumbering boy,

Greek name from a property which many of them possess of stinging like a nettle. Bathers often learn this by painful experience. When they fall in with a large Scoudre (the Scotch name), and get entangled among its long envenomed threads, they find them

And she kissed the soft lips as they murmured her selves in a most unenviable predicament. I have

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known ladies so much stung, that, what with pain and what with fear, they were in a fever, and had to send for medical aid. Only a few of them have this stinging property; and it is probable that it is bestowed on the few for the defence of the many, as they are all supposed to say, "Touch me at your

peril." Many serpents are harmless, but as others of them are exceedingly poisonous, the whole race are hated and shunned as venomous reptiles, and as kindred of the serpent that had so much share in Adam's fall. The only one of the sea-jellies that I know to be possessed of the stinging talent is the large brown Scoudre so common on our shores.*.

We had seen several beautiful sea-jellies this morning, chiefly those of a bluish-white colour, with violet markings above; in some, a cross; in others, four circles. There is a pretty kind which I have occasionally seen in Arran, about the size of a large orange, of a buff colour, and more hemispherical than the commoner kinds. We saw them best from the deck of the steamer, before starting from Lamlash, and when the vessel stopped for a little in Brodick Bay. We doubt not that they got the name of Medusa from the circular fringe of tentacula proceeding from their margin, bearing some resemblance to the Gorgon's head, with its ringlets of serpents.

There was one discovered by my son David, which was quite new to us, and, from its minuteness, probably known to few. We took it home, and put it in a tumbler of sea-water, that we might better observe its structure and its graceful evolutions. I would have attempted to describe it, but glad was I, soon after we had seen it, to find this done to my hand by one who is acknowledged by the best judges to be facile princeps in the scientific world, as a graphic describer of nature Mr Hugh Millerbest known among men of science as the author of the truly interesting work on the "Old Red Sandstone," but better known to our countrymen in general as the talented editor of the "Witness." Nothing escapes his scientific eye; and from his "Summer Rambles" I learned that he had about the same time discovered it when aboard the Betsey, off the Island of Eigg. He speaks of two-one scarcely larger than a shilling, "another still more minute" (ours, I think, about the breadth of a sixpence), "and which, presenting in the water the appearance of a small hazel nut of a brown-yellowish hue, I was disposed," he says, to set down as a species of Beroë. On getting one caught, however, and transferred to a bowl, I

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*The threads retain their virulence after they have been separated from the animal by the force of the waves. When I was in a boat one day near Ardrossan, I grasped, as it was carried past by the tide, what I thought was a rare and beautiful purple Alga, but I very speedily let go my prize. Major M, who was alongside of me, next grasped it as it passed him; but in a moment dashed it back into the sea. We looked at each other, and, notwithstanding the smarting of our fingers, laughed on finding that we had both greedily caught a Tartar-disjecta membra Medusa.

This reminded me of what Captain James Craig had told me, on giving me a beautiful little specimen of a kind of porcupine fish, which he got off Ichaboe. Seeing many of them swimming round the vessel, he caused one to be hauled up in a bucket, and laid hold of it with his hand; when, blowing itself up like a ball, and erecting its spines, with which it was as closely covered as a hedgehog, it soon caused him to rue his temerity. He contrived, however, to hand it to the mate, who very quickly slipped it, without warning, into his neighbour's hand; and it passed thus from hand to hand, till all were convinced that it was less uncannie to grasp a stout Scotch thistle, or to handle an urchin, than to have anything to do with this well-armed little African

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found that the brown-coloured, melon-shaped mass, though ribbed like a Beroë, did not represent the true outline of the animal: it formed merely the centre of a gelatinous ball, which, though scarcely visible even in the bowl, proved a most effective instrument of motion. Such were its contractile powers, that its sides nearly closed at every stroke behind the opaque centre, like the legs of a vigorous swimmer; and the animal-unlike its more bulky congeners, that, despite of their slow, persevering flappings, seemed greatly at the mercy of the tide, and progressed all one way-shot, as it willed, backward, forward, or athwart.". The transparent tumbler gave me this advantage in observing it, that I could use a magnifying lens when it approached the side of the tumbler. Notwithstanding this advantage, it was some time before I observed the true form of the animal, as Mr Miller's excellent description had not then been published. The transparent ball that rose above its body was so very pellucid, that it was a good while before I observed it all. It rose to a considerable height above the buff-coloured body of the animal; and it was elegantly shaped, like the fine crystalline shades often placed over stuffed birds, or artificial flowers, or miniature figures formed of pure alabaster. The finest crystal vase was clumsiness itself when compared with it. It was fine as the transparent soap-bubble blown out of a pipe; and we doubt not that, like this bubble, it would have been iridescent, had it been so placed as that the sun could have shone on it. Delicate as its fabric was, the vigour of the little creature was very remarkable, and has been well compared to the efforts of a strong swimmer, as it alternately contracted and expanded its pellucid organization. The margin of its mouth had a close fringe of brownish tentacula. By the aid of the lens I could observe that they were drawn in when the body was contracted, but that at every stroke they were protruded like forked lightning, or like tethered serpents, darting or flashing forth, till they were larger than the whole body of the animal.

Though I am not much acquainted with the classification of the Medusa, I think that this tiny Gorgonette should probably be ranked in the genus Thaumantias, as it bears some resemblance to Thanmantias Thompsoni, which I found some years ago at Milport, and which is figured, I think, in the "Annals of Natural History." When I conjectured that in favourable circumstances it would be iridescent, I did not remember that Thaumantias was one of the names of Iris, the rainbow; but this renders it probable that the name was given because of iridescence.

In looking at this little Medusa, with its semiinvisible gelantinous canopy, and comparing it with others of its kindred, we could not help thinking of the beautiful soap-bubble balloons we had lately seen, which, though in some respects alike, in others differed from each other. Those formed in the usual way, by air breathed from the lungs, which had lost part of its oxygen, and had got in its place some carbonic acid, were evidently heavier than the atmospheric air into which they were launched from the bowl of the tobacco-pipe; for so soon as they had

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