out my the latter, what is recorded to have | Joel, ii. 28. "I will pour Spirit upon all flesh-upon thy ser- I am, however, aware that it may Our Lord, during his personal be asked, "Was there, in what took ministry, promised to pour out his place upon this memorable occaHoly Spirit upon his disciples, as sion, any thing that was peculiar the accomplishment, too, of an Old to the apostles and primitive ChrisTestament prophecy: "He that tians, or is the baptism of the Holy believeth on me, as the Scripture Spirit common to every age of the hath said, out of his belly shall Christian church?" This is unflow rivers of living water-But doubtedly a question of importhis he spake of the Spirit, which tance, but a full discussion of it they that believe on him should re- would carry me to much greater ceive; for the Holy Spirit was not length than suits the limits of your yet given, because that Jesus was Magazine. I can therefore at prenot yet glorified." John vii. 37-39. sent only remark in a general way, And again, immediately previous that it is a clear and indisputable to his leaving the world, he said to truth, that "no man can call Jesus, his disciples, "Behold I send the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." promise of my Father upon you- 1 Cor. xii. 3. In other words, no tarry in Jerusalem, till ye be en-person understands THE TRUth, dued with power from on high." or the gospel, which is the same Luke xxiv. 49. Now that it was the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Christ particularly had in view in this promise, may be learnt from Acts i. 4, 5. where we find the assembled disciples commenting upon the words of their ascended Saviour, and calling to mind his own gracious language, "John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence." ver. 5. Accord-stow favours on your children, how ingly we see the accomplishment much more shall your heavenly of this promise in what took place Father, give his Holy Spirit to them at Jerusalem on the day of Pente- that ask him." Luke xi. 13. It is cost, Acts ii. 1-4. For when "they this divine agent that quickens the were all with one accord in one soul from a death in trespasses and place, suddenly there came a sound sins-illuminates the understandfrom heaven as of a rushing mighty ing with the saving knowledge of wind, and it filled all the house Christ-comforts his disciples unwhere they were sitting: and there der their various trials, afflictions, appeared unto them cloven tongues and distresses, by taking of the like as of fire, and it [the likeness things of Christ and revealing them of fire] sat upon each of them; and to the mind-purifies the heart they were all filled with the Holy through the power and influence Spirit."-Now was fully realized, of the truth-and thus renders benot only the promise of Christ, but lievers "meet for the inheritance of also the remarkable prophecy of the saints in light.” Yet, it is plain, thing, but through his teaching, or believes it but through his persuasion, or obeys it but through his influence; for it is written, "all thy children shall be taught of God." John vi. 44, 45. The influence and agency of the Holy Spirit are consequently common to every age of the church; and, oh! how consoling are the words of Christ, "If ye, who are evil, know how to be that the baptism of the Holy Spi- | unprofitable task; more especially rit was something distinct from as it is highly probable that diffeall this; and, I add, that it was rent writers would be found to peculiar to the apostolic age. mean different things by the same For proof of this, we only need proposition. For instance, what is to look to its effects on those that more common than to hear preachwere the subjects of it. It endow-ers descanting fluently on "the coed them with spiritual and miracu-venant made with Adam;" yet the lous gifts. "They began to speak Scriptures are silent on the subject. with other tongues, as the Spirit They do indeed speak of Adam as gave them utterance." Acts ii. 4. the public head, or representative, The fishermen of Galilee, "rude of all his posterity, and of the latand illiterate men," destitute of the ter as being all involved with him advantages of education, were ena- in his fall, Rom. v. 12—19. but bled to discourse fluently concern- this is never termed a covenant in ing the great things of God, in scripture. We also often hear them various languages which they had expatiating upon a covenant made never learned. They were qualified in eternity between the divine Three, for giving forth the New Testament when they are said to have entered revelation, and setting up the king- into various stipulations and endom of Christ in the world; they gagements towards each other. were enabled to confirm the truth But we shall in vain look into the of their mission as the ambassa- Scriptures for any account of such dors of the Son of God, "by signs a covenant. The Scriptures cerand wonders, and divers miracles" tainly speak of several covenants -by inflicting temporal judgments which God hath been pleased to upon those that opposed their doc- enter into with his sinful creatures. trine, as did Peter in the case of He made more than one covenant Ananias and Sapphira, and Paul in with Abraham, the progenitor of that of Elymas, the sorcerer. They "Israel after the flesh," and also the also healed the sick, and raised the "father of the faithful."-He enterdead, Acts xxviii. 1-8. ch. ix. 40. ed into covenant, too, with all the And these extraordinary gifts were Jewish nation, when the law was not restricted to the apostles, but given at Mount Sinai, (see Exod. were variously distributed by the xix.) and this is often, but very imHoly Spirit, according to his sove- properly, called "the covenant of reign will. 1 Cor. 1-11. Heb. ii. 4. works;" for, strictly speaking, it But these things were peculiar to was neither a covenant of works, the apostolic age; and, according- nor a covenant of grace, but of a ly, when the canon of revelation mixed nature, partaking of both: was perfected, and the kingdom of and there is also the "new covethe Son of God set up in the world, nant," promised in Jeremiah xxxi. these extraordinary gifts ceased, as 31-34, which was made with all indeed Paul told the Corinthian the spiritual seed of Abraham, and church would be the case. 1 Cor. ratified by the sacrifice of the Son of God. This Paul illustrates at Another question proposed (p. large in Heb. viii. 6-13, contrast94.) is, "What is meant by the Co-ing it with the first covenant made venant of Grace?" On this, however, I shall only remark, that I think there is not any such expression to be found in scripture; and to attempt an explanation of the various terms which men have devised, would be an endless and very | Walworth, Apr. 21. xiii. 8. at Sinai, which he affirms was then Theological Review. An Essay on the Character and prac- | one who offers a more appropriate lesson tical Writings of Saint Paul. By Hannah More. [Concluded from our last, p. 119.] We have already introduced Mrs. More's work to the notice of our readers, and submitted to their consideration a few strictures on detached passages, chiefly with the view of putting such of them as may be induced to peruse the publication itself, a little upon their guard, lest the enchantments of her style should bewitch them to receive indiscriminately whatever she is pleased to advance. Trusting, however, that what has been done in this way, will be sufficient to answer that end, we shall now feast our readers with a few choice extracts from her volumes, by which they will find, that if there be defects in them, (and what human performance is perfect?) there are also excellencies; if, like other mortals, Mrs. More trips at times, there are times, too, when she rises above them, and soars to no ordinary elevation of mind. There are, in Chap. II. of the work before us, some admirable remarks on the style of the Evangelists, intended to illustrate the arguments for the truth of Christianity which is deducible from that source. We once thought of giving a copious extract from this part of her work; but recollecting that we had long ago met with the same ideas in Dr. Campbell's Preliminary Dissertations to his translation of the Gospels, a publication, the extraordinary merit of which has now introduced it into almost every one's hands, we shall pass over them, valuable as they certainly are, and proceed to her Fourth Chapter, in which she illustrates the operative nature of faith. In the introductory part of the following extract, the reader will perceive that she has her eye upon Heb. xi. 24-26. "By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter," &c. on which she thus beautifully expatiates: "In the glorious catalogue of those who conquered by faith, there is perhaps not to the higher classes of society than the great legislator of Israel. Here is a man sitting at ease in his possessions, enjoying the sweets of plenty, the dignity of rank, the luxuries of literature, the distinction of reputation. All these he voluntarily renounces; he foregoes the pomps of a court, the advantages of a city, then the most learned in the world; he relinquishes the delights of polished society; refuses to be called the grandson of a potent monarch; chooses rather to suffer affliction with his believing brethren than to enjoy the temporary pleasures which a sinful connivance would have obtained for him: he esteems the reproach of Christ-a Saviour unborn till many ages after, unknown but to the eye of faith,-greater than all the treasures of Egypt. The acwill be best able to appreciate the value complished, the learned, and the polite, of such a sacrifice. Does it not seem to come more home to the bosoms of the elegant and the opulent, and to offer an instruction, more intimate perhaps than is bequeathed even by those martial and heroic spirits who subdued kingdoms, quenched the violence of fire, stopped the mouths of lions, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens? These are in stances of faith, which, if more sublime, are still of less special application. Few are now called to these latter sufferings, but many in their measure and degree to the other. May they ever bear in mind that Moses sustained his trials only as seeing Him who is invisible ! higher exertion of power than to create a "To change the heart of a sinner is a man, or even a world; in the latter case, as God made it out of nothing, so there was nothing to resist the operation; but in the former he has to encounter, not inanity, but repulsion; not an unobstructive vacuity, but a powerful counteraction: and to believe in the divine energy which effects this renovation, is a greater exercise of faith than to believe that the Spirit of God, moving on the face of the waters, was the efficient cause of creation. "In producing this moral renovation God has to subdue, not only the rebel in arms against his king, but "the little state of man" in arms against himself, fighting against his convictions, refusing the redemption wrought for him. Almighty Goodness has the twofold work of providing pardon for offenders, and making them willing to receive it. To offer heaven, and then to prevail on man to accept it, is at once an act of God's omnipotence, and of his mercy. "Thus faith, which appears to be so easy, is of all things the most difficult; which seems to be so common, is of all things most rare. To consider how reluctantly the human heart adopts this principle; how it evades and stipulates; how it procrastinates, even when it does not pointedly reject; how ingenious its subterfuges, how specious its pretences; -and then to deny that faith is a supernatural gift, is to reject the concurring testimony of reason, of Scripture, of daily observation of actual experience." "Paul shews faith to be a victorious principle. There is no moral quality which can enable us to overcome the world. Faith is the only successful competitor with secular allurement. The world offers things great in human estimation, but it is the property of this grace to make great things look little; it effects this purpose by reducing them to their real dimensions. Nothing but faith can shew us the emptiness of this world's glory at the best, because nothing else views it in perpetual contrast with the blessedness of heaven; nothing else can give us such a feeling conviction of its brevity at the longest, as that principle which habitually measures it with eternity. It holds out the only light which shews a Christian that the universe has no bribe worth his acceptance, if it must be obtained at the price of his conscience, at the risk of his soul. "Paul is a wonderful instance of the power of this principle. That he should be so entirely carried out of his natural character; that he who, by his persecuting spirit, courted the favour of the intolerant Sanhedrim, should be brought to act in direct opposition to their prejudices, supported by no human protection, sustained alone by the grace of Him whom he had so stoutly opposed; that his confidence in God should rise in proportion to his persecutions from man; that the whole bent of his soul should be set directly contrary to his natural propensities, the whole force of his mind and actions be turned in full opposition to his temper, education, society, and habits; that not only his affections should be diverted into a new channel, but that his judgment and understanding should sail in the newly-directed current; that his bigotry should be transformed into candour, his fierceness into gentleness, his untameable pride into charity, his intolerance into meekness, can all this be accounted for on any principle inherent in human nature, on any principle uninspired by the Spirit of God? "After this instance, and, blessed be God, the instance, though superior, is not solitary; the change, though miraculous in this case, is not less certain in others, shall the doctrine so exemplified continue to be the butt of ridicule ? While the scoffing infidel virtually puts the renova tion of the human heart nearly on a footing with the metamorphoses of Ovid, or the transmigrations of Pythagoras, let not the timid Christian be discouraged; let not his faith be shaken, though he may find that the principle to which he has been taught to trust his eternal happiness, is considered as false by him who has not examined into its truth; that the change, of which the real believer exhibits so convincing an evidence, is derided as absurd by the philosophical sceptic, treated as chimerical by the superficial reasoner, or silently suspected as incredible by the decent moralist." In Chap. V. Mrs. More attempts an illustration of Paul's doctrine on the subject of Morality, the chief design of which is to shew that the preaching of salvation by free and sovereign grace has not a licentious tendency, but quite the contrary; and she enters the lists with considerable success against those Hyper - Calvinists who deny the moral law to be the rule of life to believers under the gospel dispensation. But we hasten to the next chapter, which is entitled "the disinterestedness of Saint Paul." Here she very justly remarks, that "Paul and his associates were the first moral instructors who preached not themselves. Perhaps there is scarcely a more striking proof of the grandeur of his spirit, than his indifference to popularity. This is an elevation of character, which not only no Pagan sage has reached, but which not every Christian has been found to attain. "This successful apostle was so far from placing himself at the head of a sect, that he took pains to avoid it. In some subsequent instructors, this vanity was probably the first seed of heresy; the sound of Ebionites and Marcionites would as much gratify the ear of the founders, as bringing over proselytes to their opinions would delight their feelings. Paul would have rejected with horror any such distinction. He who earnestly sought to glorify his Master, would naturally abase himself. With a holy indignation he asks,' What then is Paul, and what is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?' points out to them the littleness of such exclusive fondness in men, who had such great objects in view- overvalue not Paul or Apollos as yours, for all things are yours.' He "It is impossible not to stop a moment, in order to notice the fine structure of the period to which these words are an introduction. It would be difficult to find a more finished climax: 'Let no man glory in men; for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas; or the world, or life, or death; or things 6 intrudes itself upon us in her pages usque ad nauseam. But we shall probably be asked, Was not Paula Saint? was he not an extraordinary example of the power and riches of divine grace? Far be it from us to deny this. On the contrary, we shall not present, or things to come; all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' Knowing the proneness of human nature to this party spirit, he takes pains to prevent excessive individual attachments. There is no instance of a man so distinguished, so little distinguishing himself. He chooses to merge himself in the general cause, to sink himself in the mass of faith-yield even to Mrs. More herself in ful ministers. This is particularly evident our admiration and reverence of the in the beginning of many of his Epistles, exalted virtues of his character. Yet by his humility in attaching to his own, we still contend that she has no warsome name of far inferior note, as his rant from Paul, or any of the inassociate in the work; Paul and Sos-spired writers, for surnaming him thenes'-- Paul and Sylvanus'- 'Timo"Saint Paul." Mark, for instance, theus our brother;'—and in writing to the how the apostle himself applies the Thessalonians, he connects both the latter names with his own. term in question to all his christian brethren without exception, 1 Cor. i. 2. Phil. i. 1. Col. i. 2. Ephes. v. 3. Besides, we would gladly be informed, upon the principle that Paul and the other New Testament writers are thought entitled to be thus honourably distinguished, how it comes to pass that the same honour is withheld from the Old Testament worthies? Why have we not Saint Abraham, Saint Isaac, and Saint JacobSaint Moses and Saint Aaron-Saint Isaiah, and Saint Jeremiah? Were not all these "holy men of God?" 2 Pet.i. 21. Why then are they thought less entitled to be thus pre-eminently distinguished? The truth is, that Mrs. More's application of the term "Saint" is a mere vestige of Popery, and nothing else. In proof of this, we may remark, that for the two "He laboured to make the people bear in mind that the apostles were the disseminators, not the authors, of the faith which they preached. Miraculous as his conversion had been, superior as were his endowments, favoured as he was by divine inspiration, he not only did not as same, but he rejected, any distinction, and only included himself among the teachers of their common Christianity. Thus he bequeathed to his successors a standing pattern of humility, and of the duty of ascribing their talents, their application, and their success, to Him, from whom, whatever advantages they possess, are derived." p. 122-125. This seems to be the proper place for us to introduce a few remarks, which we think it our duty to offer, on an article that is intruding itself upon us in every page of Mrs. More's volumes: we advert to her incessant repetition of the term "Saint," pre-first centuries after Christ, the term fixed to the apostle's name. We was never thus applied; and even in know not better how to introduce to the writings of Cyprian, (A. D. 250) the readers' notice what we have in high as his notions were in regard to view, than by quoting Mrs. More's apostolic authority, the apostles are own words, Vol. I. p. 276. "May we never so distinguished. This remarkventure to express a wish, that some able circumstance was noticed by Mr. persons of more piety than discern- Marshall, who translated the writings ment, amongst whom there are those of that father into English, about a who value themselves on being more century ago, and who took the liberty particularly the disciples of Saint of prefixing the title Saint" to the Paul, would always imitate his chas- apostolic names; an unwarrantable tised language." Now this is precisely liberty, for which the judicious Dr. the thing that we wish in regard to Lardner very properly censures him. herself, and particularly as it respects (See Lardner's Works, new edit. now her use of the word "Saint." We publishing, Vol.ii. p.10. Note.) It was would put the question fairly to her not until Christianity began to be corown consideration-Does she thinkrupted from its divine simplicity, by that the man who has "bequeathed men of corrupt minds mingling their to his successors a standing pattern own inventions with the doctrines of humility," he who considered himself to be "less than the least of of all saints,"-nay, ""the chief of sinners," -can she for a moment suppose that Paul would approve of her perpetual repetition of this title? It 66 and precepts delivered to them by the Evangelists and Apostles in the name of their Lord and Master, that they ever thought of sainting them. But having taken the liberty to depart from the spirit of their doctrine, |