hence arise our numerous Missionary and Bible institutions, contemplating the evangelisation of the world, and the bringing of all nations into the fold of Christ.

Reflect, therefore, I beseech you, day by day, upon this grand design of church-fellowship; as it will often prove the means of awakening all your powers to the discharge of your duty, it will promote your present happiness, and it will revive within you a spirit of hope and zeal, filling you with joy and peace in believing, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly. Consider the obligations of church-fellowship.

Privileges so great and a design so noble must involve peculiar obligations. Those obligations may be considered generally as consisting in three particulars: To contribute to the increase of religion among its members; to enlighten and convert the irreligious to the knowledge and service of God; and to extend to the utmost limits of the earth, and to the remotest ages, the inestimable benefits of the Gospel of Christ.

1. Church-fellowship will require you -To contribute to the increase of religion among its members. This obligation cannot be dispensed with; and it is evident that it can be discharged only by the increase of your own personal piety. This the members of every particular church have a certain right to claim from each other. Piety is our bond of union; and agreeably to this we have reason to expect that the spirit of genuine religion in your own hearts will be cherished to maturity, not only on your own account, but also on ours; not only for the sake of your own welfare and happiness, but for the sake of ours. You will be under a perpetual obligation to prosecute a course of reading, especially of the holy Scriptures, that so you may contribute your several proportions to the intelligence of the church. You ought fully to understand your own principles, so as to be able to defend your own profession of Christianity, and of your own particular connexion.

For this reason the apostle Peter exhorts, "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear," 1 Peter iii. 15. You must be constant at the throne of grace, or as the apostle enjoins, "continue in

prayer," and "pray without ceasing;" intimating the necessity of habitual devotion, that receiving the supplies of grace from the Holy Spirit, you may increase the spirituality and devotion of the church. And you are required to be constantly watchful over your speech, and your temper, and passions; that, by the sanctity of your behaviour, and the purity of your character, you may augment the holiness of the church.

Here allow me to urge upon you the importance of retiring, for a few moments at least, in the course of each day, for prayer, besides your morning and evening devotions, and especially when you are about to see company, that your mind may be illuminated, governed, and comforted, by the truth and the spirit of God.

2. Church-fellowship will require you

To contribute, according to your talent and station in life, to enlighten and convert the irreligious to the knowledge and service of God. Having dedicated yourselves to God, and given yourselves to his Church, according to his will, you have acknowledged that "you are not your own, but that you are bought with a price,' -"redeemed with the precious blood of Christ," and therefore bound to "glorify God in your body and your spirit; which are God's." Let this inspiring consideration ever influence your

minds.

Our blessed Saviour directed his apostles to regard themselves as "the salt of the earth," and " the light of the world." They were so pre-eminently, as the special messengers of Christ, commissioned and qualified by Divine inspiration to instruct and evangelise all nations. Ministers of the Gospel, and private Christians also, are to be regarded in a similar manner, according to their degree: hence the apostle Paul called upon the Philippian believers to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation," Phil, ii 14, 15. Hence, also, the apostle appeals to the once-debased Corinthians, as living epistles of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; known and read of all men," 2 Cor. iii. 2.3.

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Possibly you may never be called to fill elevated stations, so as to exercise extensive influence in society; you may

not be favoured with much leisure to devote for the public good, nor be furnished with brilliant talent to dazzle the multitude with the displays of your endowments; you may not be called to labour as missionaries, nor to occupy commanding posts, as instructors of the world; but, in passing through life, you will most assuredly be surrounded by many who may be enlightened by your principles, and encouraged by your example, and feel your influence far beyond what you can now imagine. Whatever may be your condition in society, your admission to Christian-fellowship this day requires you to employ that influence over all who may be near you, to promote their spiritual welfare, and to advance the honour and glory of God your Saviour. Be assured that although your station may be comparatively humble, and your talents but few, you may be the instruments, in the hands of God, of converting many a wandering soul to the ways of holiness and salvation. And while you employ your influence in the way recommended, consider the encouraging words of the apostle James, "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he that converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

3. Church-fellowship will require you -To contribute to extend to the utmost limits of the earth, and to the remotest ages, the inestimable benefits of the Gospel of Christ. Sabbathschools, and Bible and Missionary institutions, claim your cordial support, formed and adapted as they are to extend the empire of our Lord and Saviour. I rejoice that you are prepared fully to admit this part of your obligation. How can any one, with heartfelt and acceptable consistency, address our heavenly Father by prayer in the words of the Redeemer, "Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven," unless he render assistance, as God may have intrusted him with the ability and means, in the extension of the saving knowledge of the doctrine of Christ? This service is not only the design of church-fellowship, but it is one of the chief purposes for which you have been called by Divine grace. Having been delivered from condemnation, and "bought with the precious blood of

Christ," you are not your own;" you are doubly the Lord's. Your time and talents ought to be consecrated to him: your duty and your privilege will equally be to "glorify God in your bodies and your spirits, which are God's !" O bear this delightful obligation in mind, that you may show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."

Thirdly. Regard the end of churchfellowship.

You have already been reminded of the design and of the obligations of church-fellowship; these are highly important, and resulting from these you may be sure that there must be some noble end to which this sacred privilege leads. That end must be worthy of God, in his most gracious character, to grant, and equally worthy of being secured by the infinite merits of Christ. That end can be nothing less than its perfect consummation in the completed and glorified Church in heaven. Hence the apostle Paul declares, “Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, and present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," Eph. v. 25-27. "Beloved," says the apostle John, "now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is," 1 John iii. 2.

Your names having been registered in the Church on earth, as the true disciples of the Saviour, taught by his Holy Spirit; and walking uprightly in all his delightful ordinances, you may rejoice that " your names are written in the Lamb's book of life," to be read in the Church triumphant, to your unutterable joy, in the morning of the resurrection.

How long your pilgrimage may continue, and your connexion remain with the Church on earth, no mortal can possibly tell; I trust, however, that you will habitually seek and enjoy the guidance of God's good Spirit. What may be the nature or number of your appointed trials during that pilgrimage, no human foresight is able to discover; but in your walking in fellowship with the church, using the edifying means of grace, and treasuring up the testimonies and promises of the Gospel in your minds, you will not fail to enjoy abun

dance of the Divine consolations. Waiting upon God at the throne of grace, your cares will be lessened, your burdens will be lightened, your trials will be sanctified, and you will not fail to find your strength equal to your day, until you shall enter the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Fourthly. Contemplate the encouragements to fidelity and perseverance in the ways of God.

1. Remember, that redemption has been finished by the sacrifice of Christ. However conscious you may be of the sinfulness of your nature or the guilt of your life, let your minds rest upon the glorious fact, "that by one offering Christ hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified," Heb. x. 14. Let it ever be present to your memories, that

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have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world," 1 John ii. 1, 2.

2. Search the Scriptures as the perfect revelation of the will of God. They 66 are able to make you wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. iii. 5. Read them "as profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works," ver. 16, 17. 3. Rejoice in the promise of the Holy

Spirit. Daily will you need heavenly wisdom, renewed strength, and Divine consolation; and these can be obtained only from the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Frequently meditate, therefore, on the beautiful argument of our Lord, in directing us to seek this life-inspiring friend, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" Luke xi. 13.

4. Reflect that millions have preceded you in the way to the kingdom of God. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and all the pious of every age, are now at rest in the presence of the Lord. They "encompass us as a great cloud of witnesses, for God and his grace in Christ. "Let us, therefore, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus," Heb. xii. 1, 2.

Finally. Remember, that your profession requires you to be joyful. Christianity has nothing gloomy, melancholy, or mopish it is "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.'

:

Forty years in ceaseless wandering,
Thou hast now the desert trod,
Sometimes hoping-then desponding,
Still protected by thy God.

Whilst upon the past reflecting,

Mark the hand that led thee on ; When with future storms contending,

Hear the cheering words, "Be strong!"

"Tis to "try" and "prove" thy graces,

Thou art still in toilings kept, 'Tis to "humble" and refine thee, Every stroke by thee that's felt.

Rise, my soul, thy journey's ending, Here's the Jordan's narrow stream; Take thy staff, and brave its swelling, Hail the land that's ever green!

T. S.

DR. DICK is one of the most diligent students of the class to which he belongs, and has contributed very largely to the instruction and amusement of the present generation. And though, at times, he has indulged in a somewhat exuberant fancy, as in his "Philosophy of a Future State," and in his "Improvement of Society," he has, at the same time, done much to make the several branches of natural science popular with the common mind, by presenting them in a form of unrivalled simplicity. His studies, too, have been conducted in the spirit of supreme deference for Revealed Religion; and the doctrines of philosophy, as inculcated by him, have been shown to be illustrative of the glorious perfections of the great Architect of the universe. He is not a mere collector of the opinions of others; but one who has thought and investigated for himself, and whose writings, therefore, are distinguished by an air of originality which second and third rate authors never display.

Dr. Dick's Celestial Scenery" is a work devoted exclusively to subjects connected with the sublime science of astronomy. Avoiding the more abstruse and strictly mathematical portions of the science, he has confined himself, in a great measure, to that vast range of facts which modern discovery has accumulated in illustration of the deeply interesting phenomena of the planetary system. It is really surprising to find such a multitude of well authenticated inductions collected in one moderate sized duodecimo volume, and arranged with a precision and accuracy which gives to

VOL. XVI.

each several induction its due importance in the series of facts to which it belongs. "All the prominent facts and discoveries," observes the author, "connected with descriptive astronomy, in so far as they relate to the planetary system, are here recorded, and many of them exhibited in a new point of view; and several new facts and observations are detailed which have hitherto been either unnoticed or unrecorded. The results of hundreds of tedious calculations have been introduced respecting the solid and superficial contents of the different planets, their satellites, and the rings of Saturn; their comparative magnitudes and motions; the extent of their orbits; the apparent magnitudes of bodies in their respective firmaments, and many other particulars not contained in books of astronomy, in order to produce in the minds of common readers definite conceptions of the magnitude and grandeur of the solar system. The mode of determining the distances and magnitudes of the celestial bodies is explained, and rendered as perspicuous and popular as the nature of the subject will admit; and the prominent arguments which demonstrate a plurality of worlds are considered in all their bearings, and illustrated in detail.

"One new department of astronomical science, which has hitherto been overlooked, has been introduced into this volume, namely, the scenery of the heavens, as exhibited from the surfaces of the different planets and their satellites, which forms an interesting object of contemplation; and, at the same time, a presumptive argument in favour of the doctrine of the plurality of worlds."

It is a strictly just estimate of the author's own labours, when he says of them, that "throughout the volume he has endeavoured to make the facts he describes bear upon the illustration of the power, wisdom, benevolence, and the moral government of the Almighty, and to elevate the views of the reader to the contemplation of

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HIM who sits upon the throne of the universe, by whom the worlds were framed, and who is the source and centre of all felicity."

The work is distributed into nine chapters-1. On the General Appearance and apparent Motions of the Starry Heavens. 2. On the General Arrangement of the Planetary System. 3. On the Magnitudes, Motions, and other Phenomena of the Bodies connected with the Solar System. 4. On the Secondary Planets. 5. On the Perfections of the Deity, as displayed in the Planetary System. 6. Summary View of the Planetary System. 7. On the Method by which the Distances and Magnitudes of the Heavenly Bodies are Determined. 8. On the Scenery of the Heavens as Viewed from the Surfaces of Different Planets, and their Satellites. 9. On the Doctrine of a Plurality of Worlds, with an Illustration of some of the Arguments by which it may be supported. The whole is concluded by an Appendix, containing descriptions of Celestial Phenomena, and of the positions and aspects of the Planets during the years 1838 and 1839.

The illustrative plates, one hundred and sixteen in number, are highly interesting, and evince great skill and tact in the author, in adapting the original drawing to the several purposes which he had in view. They are generally very happy explanations of the various topics discussed.

But the fine moral tone of the "Celestial Scenery is its most pleasing feature, and its strongest recommendation. "The study," observes Dr. D., "of astronomy ought always to have in view as its ultimate object, to trace the Divine perfections as displayed in the phenomena of the heavens. For, as our poet Milton expresses it

"Heaven is as the book of God before us set, Wherein to read his wondrous works."

There is no scene we can contemplate, in which the attributes of the Divinity are so magnificently displayed. It is in the heavens alone that we perceive a sensible evidence of the infinity of his perfections, of the grandeur of his operations, and of the immeasurable extent of his universal dominions. Even the planetary system, small as it is in comparison of the whole extent of creation, contains within it wonders of creating omnipotence and skill, which almost overpower the human faculties, and demonstrate the "eternal power and Godhead" of Him who first brought it into existence. To consider astronomy merely as a secular branch of knowledge, which improves navigation, and gives scope to the mathematician's skill, and to overlook the demonstrations it affords of the attributes of the invisible Divinity, would be to sink this noble study far below its native dignity, and to throw into the shade the most

illustrious manifestations of the glories of the Eternal Mind."

In the spirit of these observations, Dr. Dick has conducted all his astronomical inquiries, and we do believe that the appearance of such a volume is calculated to confer substantial benefits on the interests of true piety. We cannot but wish to see it largely circulated among the intelligent youth in pious families, that they may see how entirely harmonious are the inductions of science and of revealed religion. Consi dering the vast expense at which the volume has been got up, and the extreme beauty of its execution, it must be regarded as very cheap.

The PHILANTHROPIST; or, Selfishness and
A Tale. By

Benevolence illustrated.
A LADY.

William Ball, Paternoster-row. THIS is a talented and elegantly written little volume, from the pen of a Christian lady, whom we have not the pleasure to know. We deem it a kind of literary injustice in a writer of such abilities longer to veil herself from the world. The Christian public have a right to be informed to what quarter their obligations are due for the instruction and delight which this gifted production affords. Several able works have recently appeared on the subjects here discussed; and we are greatly mistaken if the present performance is not worthy of a chief place in the catalogue. Its object to show, that universal benevolence, such as Christianity enjoins, and alone can inspire, is that golden mould from which must be cast alike the most stupendous projects of hallowed philanthropy, and the more ordinary and unnoticed duties of neighbourly regard, of private friendship, and of domestic life. Generally, with much felicity of expression and richness of imagery, always with a lofty sense of the dignity and importance of her theme, our authoress traces and exposes, through successive scenes of motive and action, those insidious modifications of selfishness which seek to undermine the foundations of an expansive charity in the reciprocal obligations, and in the minute and tender amenities of the social compact.

The favourite motto with which she starts, that "He who diffuses happiness must be happy," is reasoned and enforced with much of the spirit of sound philoso phy and Christian truth. We have rarely, indeed, seen so fine a combination of these excellences-so just a blending of culti vated taste and solidity of thought, exhibited in fiction. In our judgment, however, the whole is too good and too true properly to come under that class of writing; and our objections, frequently ex