even affliction a grace." In his house, "worship," as he properly termed it, was regularly and devoutly performed. To show hospitality to such friends as expected nothing of form or ceremony, or to be pampered with delicacies, always gave him manifest pleasure. In the matter last-mentioned, he showed much firmness and good sense, never making for his guests costly preparations which were foreign to his own habits or unsuitable to his circumstances. Among the minor things in which he was an example, it would probably be well if he were more followed in this particular.

Whatever doubts poets and sentimentalists have raised upon the point, they who knew Mr. Wilson well, have attained to a perfect assurance that a friend, among their fellow-men, is not a merely imaginary being, but one which has a real and unquestionable existence. He possessed the qualifications for friendship in a high degree. Among others, he was strictly confidential. Whatever was entrusted to him was sacred: no person or circumstance could ever draw from him the least allusion to it. It may be remarked, also, that the knowledge of his friends' concerns did not rest in a cold and inactive mind, when committed to him. It became matter of reflection and contrivance, and many kind enquiries, which evidently showed his mind to be on the stretch to find the means of rendering aid by something more than words. And, not to dwell on other particulars, he was highly gifted in the wisdom necessary in a friend. And how useful a good man, with a plain but sound understanding, may be, will appear from the testimony given by one who has filled, with the highest credit to himself, the chair of principal and theological tutor in one of our colleges. "The numerous interesting associations," he says, "with which his name will ever be connected in all the associations of my early life, naturally produced no ordinary emotions when I read of his removal. He was, as you well know, always my father's guest when he visited C ; and, in the first stages of my religious enquiries, and especially in the prospect of entering on studies for the ministry, he was always a most judicious adviser, and a faithful and affectionate friend. On several occasions of painful trial in my father's family, his kind sympathy was most effectively administered, and his presence we uniformly hailed with joy and satisfaction."

Mr. W. was a favourable specimen of a class of ministers to whom, in unfavourable times, the religious world has been laid under unknown obligations-men who have been mainly indebted to the blessing of God upon their own unassisted and persevering labour, for the acquirement of theological knowledge, and other qualifications for ministerial usefulness. Abraham Harmer was the professor of divinity to whom he would have confessed himself under greater obligation than to any other; and for his other ministerial furniture, which was at least respectable, he was mainly indebted to his own industry. Yet he was never the man to affect a contempt for the advantages which he had not been favoured to enjoy, or to supply their place by effrontery, quaintness, or vulgarity. Such was his modesty, good sense, and piety, that no one was more

grieved than he at such exhibitions. In conversation with such ministers as had enjoyed a more regular academical and theological education, he has frequently lamented his want of their opportunities for improvement; and from those among them in whom he placed confidence, he has sought information on points respecting which he was at a loss; while, for any aid they were able to impart, they have found themselves more than repaid, by the knowledge and counsel, connected with experimental and practical matters, with which his shrewd observation of men and things had fitted him to supply them. It may be added, that he took a lively interest in the welfare and prosperity of our institutions for education with a particular view to the ministry, and contributed to their support according to his ability.

With many, the opinions of such a man as Mr. Wilson will be deemed worthy of consideration; and, for the gratification of such, it may be stated that, in his doctrinal sentiments, he was of the school of Owen and his class of nonconformist divines, all departures from whom, to the right hand or to the left, he regarded with jealousy. He was warmly attached to the denominational views of the people with whom he stood connected, not from any narrow sectarian feeling, but from a belief that the principles of nonconformity, and of the independency of christian churches, were of the greatest importance to the general liberties of mankind, as well as to the spirituality and purity of the religion of Christ. On the latter account he was very partial to the Congregational Magazine, all the numbers of which he had carefully preserved from the first of its publication.

It is scarcely necessary to add, that the esteem in which Mr. W. was held by his brethren in the ministry, was unbounded. His various excellencies, and especially the general conviction of his thorough uprightness and benevolence, gave him full access to the hearts and confidence of them all. In this instance, differences of taste, and habit, and attainments, seemed to lose their usual influence. Of this it may be mentioned as a remarkable proof, that the late eminent Dr. M'All, who, in all the particulars of human character which are merely circumstantial, differed as much from Mr. W. as two good men can be supposed to differ, held him nevertheless in the highest esteem, and even consulted him on occasions of doubt and difficulty. It was a pleasing thing to see the smile of approbation which would animate the expressive countenance of a man of the highest mental culture and acquirements, when the humble name of Job Wilson was mentioned. The great principles and pursuits in which they were agreed, were felt by them both infinitely to surpass any dissimilarities occasioned by constitution, education, or opportunities. In this, as in many other things, they were an example to all. May their common friends, of whom there are many who deeply lament the loss of them both, remember their excellencies, and follow their faith, "considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever."

T.

THE REVEREND JOB WILSON ENTERed his rest, JUNE 28TH, 1838.

The summons came in no audible word,
Unseen was the death-shaft darted;
Nor the echo of angelic song we heard,
When the saint from earth departed.
Not a pang, not a sigh, not a murmur broke
The repose of his sinking breast;
No faltering farewell in anguish he spoke,
As he lay on his couch of rest.
No mimic grief sat in sport by his bier,
No pomp we arrayed o'er his grave;

Oh, many a deep-springing, heart-wrung tear,

To his tomb in much sadness we gave.

But we thought, as we placed the cold corpse down,
Of the soul anew created;

Of the "perfected spirit" before the throne,
To his joy so swiftly translated.

No wreath that may perish had circled his brow,
Nor empire with purple had bound him;
The crown that's unfading God giveth him now,
The white robe of salvation is round him.
And we thought of the herald's cry to the tomb,
The dust of the ransomed claiming;
Of the pealing blast of the trump of doom,
Their "day of redemption" proclaiming.

B.

ON THE STUDY OF THE ORIGINAL SCRIPTURES BY PRIVATE CHRISTIANS.

(To the Editor.)

SIR,-Allow me to address you a few lines, which, should you think the subject of them of sufficient importance to warrant their publication, will, I hope, be the means of inducing some of your more able correspondents to favour your readers with their observations on the desirableness of a general attention being paid by private members of Congregational churches to the perusal of the Scriptures in the original languages, and with some practicable plan by which this object might be carried into effect.

In the present busy period of the history both of the world and of the church, and more especially in our own country and metropolis, which present the appearance of concentrated activity for good or for evil, there is no small danger of Christians forgetting that their religion affords them not only a way of salvation, but also a subject for diligent investigation; or it is thought sufficient that the study of the Scriptures should be left entirely to those who are supposed to devote to it their almost undivided attention. But, even with these, it may be feared, that the department of sacred knowledge, to which reference is now made, is not in a very satisfactory condition; for though the circumstances under which students for the ministry among the dissenting churches usually receive their philological education, are not often such as to absolve them from

the duty of subsequent advancement; yet, with a few brilliant exceptions, retrocession might, perhaps, be looked for with a higher degree of probability. We have at present, however, more particularly to consider the advantages of an accurate study of the Scriptures to professing Christians generally, and principally, though not exclusively, to the younger portion of them.

It detracts nothing from the merit of our authorized version of the Bible, to acknowledge that, since its completion, considerable improvements have been made, and various advantages afforded towards a right understanding of the mind of the Spirit, by a revision of the original texts, and the light thrown upon the interpretation, particularly of the Hebrew tongue. The language of the translation itself is also partially obsolete, so that sentences well rendered, and full of meaning in the reign of the first James, are now, by the mutations of the English vernacular through more than two centuries, left with a wrong meaning, or no meaning at all. The familiarity of the language of the English version also, prevents that attention to the import of Scripture, which a perusal in a dead language would secure, and frequently leaves even the devout reader with but a faint impression of the life, meaning, and beauty of the portion which has passed before his view. But even though these motives to a diligent and devout study of the original tongues, were to-morrow to be annihilated by the production of a version made from the purest text, and with the utmost accuracy of rendering, clothed in classical and modern English, and presenting all the charms of novelty, yet still the epistle of our Heavenly Father's love, couched as it is in languages which appear to have been formed, and polished, and perfected for the express purpose of constituting a cabinet somewhat worthy to contain the pearl of great price, would be well worth the study of all who are entitled to the honourable appellation of the "sons of God." A cursory acquaintance only with any language is sufficient to show that a perfectly correspondent rendering of eloquent composition is frequently quite impossible; while to listen to Moses and David, Isaiah and Ezekiel, Paul and John, expressing more than human thoughts and ideas in terms that bespeak their own divine origin, appears to be the highest intellectual and spiritual enjoyment that the goodness of God affords his people while here below, and to give a foretaste of the bliss which awaits them in the mansions above. For the attainment of this pure and sacred source of happiness, we might be well content to devote a portion of our time, though every business hour brought in its freight of silver or of gold, to sacrifice a part of our domestic and social pleasures, however delightful, and to steal an hour or two from sleep, invigorating the mind, and not debilitating the body.

It may be said that this is a visionary scheme, impracticable to many Christians, and improper for some. But a much wider extension of the practice than at present prevails, would still leave it far short of universality, and the impracticability and impropriety objected may not exist to the extent supposed. It is true that profound attainments in any department of study must be the result

of protracted and persevering effort; but the arts and sciences have their amateurs, as well as their doctors and professors, and an amount of knowledge insufficient to constitute an authority or a critic, may afford valuable assistance in the investigation of truth, and much real pleasure by its residence in the mind. By the various valuable aids now accessible to those who desire to turn their attention to these studies, and for which we cannot be too thankful to the Giver of every good and perfect gift, a tolerable acquaintance with the rudiments of either Greek or Hebrew may be obtained, by moderate diligence, within the limited leisure of a few weeks, and when that is once accomplished, why should not the Hebrew Bible or Greek Testament supplant, upon the cottage or drawing-room table, the religious novel, the ephemeral publication, and even, to a great extent, the theological treatise? It is natural to expect that what might be done always has been done sometimes. William Greenfield, who superintended the editorial department of the Bible Society, and, during his brief but brilliant and useful career, executed many valuable works connected with biblical philology, made himself acquainted with Hebrew, Greek, French, and Latin, while working fourteen hours a day as a book-binder; and where his extraordinary natural endowments have not been possessed, instances have been known in which ladies have surmounted the prejudices of fashionable ignorance, and artizans have successfully contended with the obstacles occasioned by defective education, and by the almost entire occupation of their time, while, at the same moment, they regarded the claims of their ignorant neighbours, and laboured for the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, the alleviation of distress, and the salvation of immortal souls.

Again, it may be said that knowledge amply sufficient for the safety of the soul may be obtained from the worst version ever made. True; and the traveller who never looks farther before him than the spot on which his next footstep is to be placed, may arrive in safety at his journey's end, but will not behold the beauteous works of God in the wide-spread landscape around him. Religion is a source of present joy, as well as of future safety, and he to whom it is not now the former of these, will not find it to be to him the latter hereafter.

In America and Germany a laudable attention is now given by very many to the sacred oracles, while England, the land of Bibles, remains in this respect too far behind. Yet are our circumstances not such as to render this necessary. While we are told, on the one hand, of heretical versions, and, on the other, of priestly ingenuity in criticism; when mis-translated or ill-understood passages are made the foundations of aerial hypotheses, or present marks for the shafts of ignorant and sceptical ridicule, it is high time for us of the commonalty to take the trouble for ourselves of examining the connexion and foundations of those views and reasonings which support our tenets, and, while proving all things, and holding fast that which is good, and thereby to avoid being blown about by every wind of doctrine, or entangled by the subtlety of those who lie