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strangely perverted the manifestations of the organ of mind.

Man's duty therefore, with regard to this source of fallacy in thought and action, is to receive with caution the notices conveyed by this perverted function; to pray to be led into all truth, and to strive earnestly to redeem the time; to resist the propensity to evil; and to recover, as far as may be, that original perfection of the spiritual principle in which our first parents were created, from which they fell by disobedience, and which we their degenerate offspring have perpetu ated, by following the wayward imaginations of our unrenewed hearts.

By this view of the subject, man is not only rendered accountable for all his thoughts and actions, but he is left without excuse if he neglect so great salvation; if he obstinately refuse to receive Christ, and to obey his laws.

Thus is the voice of practical infidelity silenced: man is rendered responsible for the employment of his intellectual and effective faculties, for this preference of evil to good, and for his abuse or disuse of the talents entrusted to him: but he is not accountable for those actions and expressions which result from the continued operation of the brain, when from some change in its relations of health or disease it has escaped the controul of the presiding spirit.

With what deeply felt adoration and gratitude should the heart be raised to the Author of all our blessings, for the preservation of the brainular function from disorder!

The creation of apparitions depends upon primary or sympathetic irritation of the brain; and is one of those evil consequences which flowed from the debasing influence of the Fall upon the organ appointed for the manifestations of mind, and upon those manifestations them

selves.

How consoling is it to the Christian, that in all the difficulties arising

from this perversion, he enjoys the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit; and is refreshed and sustained by the recollection that he has before the Throne of God a great High Priest, Advocate, and Intercessor, who was partaker of his infirmities, yet without sin; and who has now entered within the veil, there to plead for the errors of his people.

In judging of death-bed scenes, it is necessary to recollect what a large admixture of physical influence. is to be traced; and it must not be expected that the manifestations of mind should be perfect. When the sun is fast sinking from our view, the lengthened shadow first proclaims that we may not trust to this mode of judging of the correct outline of natural bodies: in a little time, a still greater uncertainty pervades the undefined forms of twilight, till they are presently shrouded from our view altogether by the deepening obscurity of night. So when the Christian's sun is setting on earth, its manifestations become imperfect-they lose the defined outline of health-and more or less of physical disorder involves the manifestations of mind in greater and deeper obscurity, till they are lost to us in the darkness of death. Granted that this is only a temporary abstraction of light, and that the Christian's sun is no sooner set on earth, than it rises in a more glorious and everlasting day, where the sun shall no more go down. But we see not this change: it occurs in another hemisphere, of which. we know only by faith and not by sight, and in which the Lamb is the light thereof. It is true, that sometimes the spiritual principle seems carried above the influence of physical causes; but this is rare, and usually depends on a state of physical exaltation. Errors on this. subject arise commonly from looking at death as taking place in. consequence of the soul quitting its material tenement. But this is a mistake: physical death occurs ;

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and in consequence of this change the body being no longer fitted for the manifestation of mind, the soul returns to God who gave it. Now, therefore, where the brain is the first organ to die, the perfect action of that viscus will be early impaired, and the manifestations of mind will be perverted or destroyed: where a state of brainular excitement is present, they will be marked by an increased degree of intensity, amounting to exaltation of spiritual action and where it is the last to die, it will happen that its function seems to be unimpaired, and to be quietly and perfectly continued, till positive death has extinguished the channel for the exhibition of its power.

Where there is so much scope for physical influence, great caution should be observed in drawing any inferences from a man's last words.

Great care should be taken in early life not to excite the brain too much; health, and strength, and peace of mind are often sacrificed at the shrine of parental vanity, in the desire after precocious talent for their children, and thus is produced a state favourable for the creation of apparitions of every shape. The same may be said of power fully excitant reading, especially of interesting fiction, adapted to infantile imagination; when that active and uncontroulable faculty has been endeavouring to clothe ideal personages, with such a semblance of truth and nature, as that it shall be deceived into interest, on the several puppets before it, but which, considered as puppets, would fail to interest beyond the very earliest years. The mischief arising from the development of this faculty for unreal creation is incalculable; and its impression is probably never lost; then it is revived in after life, and forms a groundwork for superstition, and for false notions of men and things, as well as for a feebleness and irritability of brain, which predispose that organ to morbid manifestation.

Great evil in this point of view arises in after-life from the too-great admixture of fiction in the reading of the young; especially of the fashionable religious fictions of the day. Almost all the children's books are now little novels, and thus false views of real life are produced; and, which is worse, an irritability of brain that is never lost, and which, in one way or other, pursues its unconscious victim through life. The brain never loses the effect of these early impressions; and a warning voice against their increasing influence, is recorded as an act of duty to the present and the rising generation.

Enthusiasm is an evil infinitely less than theoretical or practical infidelity; but still it is an evil, because it leads to the formation of erroneous views on the character and moral government of the Divine Being; and it excites a prejudice against both in the minds of those who are almost persuaded to be Christians.

Finally, all our affairs are in the hands of an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-merciful Jehovah. It is only under the influence of true religion, and of the love of God shed abroad in the heart, that the mind can be at peace. Here is a counterpoise to the physical evils with which we are surrounded; a soother amidst all the calamities of life, and the turmoils of society; a hiding place from the creations of fear; a restorative amidst the exhausting crav ings of intellectual appetites, and the morbid manifestations which result from its indulgence: here alone is the only refuge from all the dreams, visions, voices, spectral appearances, and every other creation of distempered fancy: there is repose in God; "for so he giveth his beloved sleep."—May God in his infinite mercy grant that the preceding attempt may redound to the honour and glory of his holy Name; may it be blessed to the conviction and support of the feeble Christian; and may the writer deeply and in

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which, with one consent, you all profess to believe. Whence is it then, that, thus possessing a common and acknowledged standard of suрreme authority on every subject connected with salvation, there should prevail amongst you so much discord of opinion and disunion of heart. It

PROPOSALS FOR THE EMENDATION is, I fear, too evident that most of

OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer.

It was customary in former times to convey much salutary instruction in the way of supposed visions or dreams. To this the classical pages of Addison and Johnson, not less than those of that powerful uncultivated genius Bunyan, sufficiently testify.

Should you not object to such a mode of imparting truth by means of acknowledged fiction, which deceives no one and may edify many, you will oblige me by inserting what follows in your publication.

H. S. C. H.

Meditating deeply on the various controversies which divide the visible church of Christ upon earth, I fell into a profound sleep, the repose of which was soon interrupted by the following dream.

I thought I was transported to the foot of a lofty hill, situated in the midst of a rich and luxuriant valley. This valley appeared to be filled with professed Christians of all denominations, who were discussing their different views in no very low or monotonous accents. Suddenly there was seen on the summit of the mountain, a celestial being clad in glorious robes, who, with a look of ineffable dignity and kindness, commanded silence in the assembly; and, universal attention being directed towards the heavenly messenger, he thus addressed them: "Professed disciples of the Son of God, give ear. The great Eternal, whose I am, and whom I serve, has graciously vouchsafed to you a written revelation of his will, in

you are in some measure dissatisfied with those inspired oracles which have been written for your learning. Listen, then, to the proposal which I am about to make in the name of their Divine Author. I am empowered to invite each separate body among you candidly to declare the grounds of your dissatisfaction with what infinite wisdom has dictated, and to specify what alterations in the Sacred Book you respectively think would promote peace and general edification. You will depute one of each division to declare the sentiments of the rest, and I remain here patiently to listen to the suggestions of all.

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After the surprise occasioned by this address had subsided, much mutual conference ensued, and at length the assembled multitude proceeded to obey the extraordinary summons.

The first that stood forth was a Roman-Catholic bishop. Having prostrated himself with deep reverence, he began: "Illustrious saint, whosoever thou art, I willingly undertake to be the first to obey thy gracious command. The true church however, whose bishop I am, has but little to suggest of alteration or of addition, in reference to the Sacred Volume. It may well be supposed unlikely that we should be anxious to alter particular parts of a book, the whole of which we consider so unfit for the perusal of mankind in general, that our greatest zeal has been employed to keep it from their view. Had we not been thwarted in this our benevolent design, another word would now have been needless. But certain restless and heretical persons, calling themselves Protestants, have, by their

pestiferous exertions, given almost universal circulation, and that nearly in every language of the world, to a book fit only for the holy eyes of the privileged priesthood. Even for the members of the true church, we do therefore now feel some solicitude. It may not then be amiss for us, as this opportunity is afforded us, to suggest some changes in the book itself, both in the way of alteration and of omission. Let there be inserted, then, we would humbly ask, a few verses so plainly declaring the infallibility of the pope, Christ's vicar upon earth, as shall in future leave no room for dispute.

Let

there be, we would further entreat, a few lines added to the sacred text positively commanding the adoration of departed saints, the praying for souls in purgatory, and the use of images in Divine worship. With reference to the last, indeed, we have long taken the liberty of omitting that part of the Second Commandment which prohibits them ; but we should be still more gratified by a positive injunction in their favour. There are also, allow me to add, several passages in the Holy Bible which seem almost to intimate that it was designed to be universally read, and even searched into with diligence. These we should rejoice to see entirely expunged, because there are multitudes of unlearned and unstable persons, who thus perversely understand them. I have now nearly done: my only further request is, that the description given of the man of sin by St. Paul, and the whole Book of the Revelations, be in future omitted. This will not appear unreasonable when I state that these portions have been most provokingly exhibited by heretical expositors, and especially of late, by some obtrusive meddlers calling themselves students of prophecy, as minutely descriptive of the Church of Rome, which we know to be the only true church on earth. As suredly, therefore, the sooner these are got rid of the better." The CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 336.

bishop here bowed very low, and retired.

The next person who came forward as the representative of his brethren was a leading preacher amongst the sect of the Socinians. After a slight obeisance to the celestial messenger, he spoke as follows::-"The learned and respectable body in whose behalf I appear, desire to assure you, most worthy stranger, that they feel all due regard for that book known by the name of the Holy Scriptures. For every part of that volume indeed they do not entertain the same respect; but nevertheless, as a whole, they would speak of it with honour. We consider it as bestowed by the great Father of the human race on his rational creatures, to guide them in the way of virtue and righteousness, to teach them how to live, and how to die, and how they may attain at length their due reward in heaven. Now, if no further use were made of the book than this, we should be content to leave it as it is. But most unhappily the great majority of those who profess to receive it as Divine, deduce from it doctrines to which we as rational creatures can never assent. The triune nature of Jehovah, the Deity of the Son of God, and the Deity and personality of the Holy Ghost, the atonement made for sin by the vicarious and infinitely meritorious sacrifice of Christ on the cross; these and several other doctrines connected with them we have carefully brought to the test of our reason, and have pronounced them incredible and unworthy of God. Certainly then we should rejoice to see those parts of Scripture removed which seem in any manner to counteract their promulgation. These indeed are so numerous, that were we to insist on the removal of all, we fear we should too much mutilate the book. We shall be content therefore to have the most prominent expunged, and we shall with care explain away the remainder. To be short then, if 5 C

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the first fourteen verses of St. John's Gospel were entirely taken away, and all the doctrinal parts of all the Epistles were cleansed from all expressions which seem to the unwary to favour such doctrines as those we have alluded to, we should be satisfied that the rest should remain as it is; and how unspeakable would be the benefit accruing to the world!" The Socinian speaker having thus concluded his address, hastened to rejoin his companions.

The next person who advanced towards the foot of the hill was a Wesleyan minister, and, as I was told, the president of the Conference. After a humble and reverential salute of the angelic ambassador, he thus proceeded:- -"I represent a numerous and pious body of Christians who glory in the salvation of the Lamb, and earnestly desire to honour his name and adorn his doctrine through the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost. To the Bible as the inspired word of God, and to the works of Mr. Wesley as founded on that word, we are most deeply attached. With respect to the former, however, although we entirely differ from the Socinian gentleman who last spoke, and desire to bring our reason to the test of revelation, and not revelation to the test of our reason, yet, most blessed stranger, I candidly confess, there are some doctrines deduced by many good men from the Scriptures, which we think are inconsistent with the goodness of God, and the safety, holiness, and happiness of his creatures. The doctrines of personal election, imputed righteousness, indwelling sin in believers, and the final perseverance of the saints, are those to which I allude. Far be it from us to desire much alteration in those sacred oracles which were all given by inspiration of God; but if a few of the strong expressions of St. Paul, in the commencement of his Epistles to the Ephesians and Thessalonians, could be modified, the latter part of the

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eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, say from the 29th verse, and the whole of the ninth chapter, could be taken away, and one verse added to the seventh chapter to declare that he did not there speak of himself as a believer, I think we should be satisfied. Thus, we conceive, would much evil be prevented, and great good result to the church.” The president bowed respectfully, and retired.

A decided disciple of the venerable Calvin, a minister among the Independents, was now seen approaching to declare the sentiments of the body to which he belonged on the subject in question. Respectfully bowing, he began,—“ I am, most holy messenger, the representative of those who, on a few points, not, we hope, essential to salvation, most entirely differ from the speaker who has just concluded his address. Those parts of the sacred volume which he has proposed to remove, we value above gold and precious stones, as the grand sources of our comfort, the chief security of our peace, and the effectual nourishers of all our holy affections and graces. We think the doctrines of original sin, of human depravity and helplessness, of the Divine Sovereignty, and personal election to knowledge, faith, holiness, and eternal life in the Saviour, are indissolubly interwoven, and cannot be separated, and therefore we would earnestly implore that the passages in question may be for ever retained. To affirm, however, that we are perfectly satisfied with the sacred records as they are, would be going too far. There are, I will confess it, a very few passages which we think we should not have written; and which, as we are invited to speak out on the subject, I acknowledge we should not be unwilling to see altered. I say not this, because we cannot manage to understand them consistently with our other views, (and for fear of perplexing our hearers, we preach on them

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