to his will, it was noble in them to declare their readiness to go armed and fight the Lord's battles; resolving never to return until the Israelites inherited the inheritance appointed unto them. As citizens, as fathers and husbands, and as Christians, their spirit and deportment was magnanimous and praiseworthy. I would ever desire to manifest such a wholesome and happy spirit as this. Carelessness, as regards our stake and standing in this timestate, looks not well in a Christian: inconsideration, or the want of a well-balanced parental affection toward those dependent upon us, is worse than inhuman. Our position in this world is one of great human, natural, and relative responsibility. As brethren, as husbands, as fathers, as masters, as servants, as neighbours, and as members of society, we are bound by ties the most tender, and by claims the most powerful, not one of which can either be strained or broken, but we must suffer loss ourselves, and entail much misery on those who come after us. Lazy, lukewarm, and one-sided Christians! look ye well to this. When a man is set over a church that cannot fully provide for the wants of himself and his family, I think it argues much for that man's uprightness, when he employs all the powers, and uses all the means, within his reach, to prevent either the ehurch or his children from suffering thereby. And how pleasant it is to read in the beginning of Joshua, chap. xxii., that it went well with these industrious tribes. "Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you; and now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them; therefore, now, return ye unto your tents. So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away." Let us take another view of this part of Biblical history. We will consider Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh as types of lively and decided Christians, in this time-state. The land of Jazer and the land of Gilead we may consider as types of a good, a faithful, a fruitful, a full-weight Gospel ministry. Jazer is "he that helps." A man in the ministry whose heart and head are right, in whose hand there is the pure candlestick, and the lamps well-lighted up with the pure oil olive beaten for the light (Lev. xxiv. 2) "to cause the lamps to burn continually," and whose heart is as a fountain of waters, the river of life and of love flowing fresh for ever there-such a man will be a help indeed, not only to individual believers, but to churches, and to the visible kingdom of Christ at large. Saul of Tarsus, once a foe, now becomes a friend; oh, what a helper in the Gospel hath the Apostle been, for eighteen hundred years and more! The same may be said of every true servant of God: in his measure, he is a helper; and with such an one Reuben loves to dwell. Gilead is "a heap of testimony:" that is, a good heapedup Gospel, the everlasting covenant, with all its gracious provisions; sovereign grace, with all its holy doctrines; salvation, with all its blessed promises; a living faith in the soul, with all its beautiful evidences; and a Christian obedience, with all its observances of ordinances, its conflicts, victories, hopes, and labours. This is "a heap of testimony," where true spiritual Reubenites and Gadites love to dwell. I am sure I love a good minister, and a heap of testimonies, when from the heart they freely flow; and, although, with one exception, ministers have been my greatest hinderance (that one exception is myself, self has been the saddest source of all my sorrows); still, some have been to me most blessed helps. John Bunyan, William Huntington, Isaac Beeman, William Gadsby, Joseph Caryll, Benjamin Keach, Alexander Cruden, William Bridge, John Owen, George Abrahams, James Wells, William Skelton, William Allen, and many more that I might name, have been real helps to me in the Gospel, and with them I hope, through the tender mercies of a dear Redeemer, ever to dwell, where all shall join to sing the song "worthy the Lamb," "And crown Him Lord of all." Once more, for Reuben, and I must leave him. I shall undertake to say that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, with the half tribe of Manasseh, were the first Sunday school teachers in the tribes of Israel. Master Raikes, of the Gloucester city, only restored that which these ancient men set up in the earlier ages of the world's existence. Read the 22nd chapter of Joshua. When Joshua sent them home with a blessing, what did they do? Why, they built up a Sunday school. How so? say you. Read for yourself, "When they came unto the borders of Jordan, they built there a great allar to see to." An altar that might be a witness for the generations to come after them; that unto their children, and to their children's children, they might say-" Behold, THE PATTERN OF THE ALTAR OF THE LORD." It was not an Altar of Merit, but an Altar of Mercy. Not an Altar for Sacrifice, but an Altar for Salvation unto the ends of the earth. When the children of Israel heard of the Reubenites building this altar, they gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. And they came with mighty words, and many me. nacing threats, thinking some dreadful thing was done. When this poor little "EARTHEN VESSEL" first went out into the world, its simple aim was, to be a witness to the truth and faithfulness of God. As of old, so then, nearly the whole of the congregations of Israel rose up to war against it. "Oh," they said, "it is in opposition to this, to that, and to the other;" and many hard stones were flung at the pitcher, in order to dash it to pieces; but the more it was afflicted the larger it grew; and although its bruises and bonds are many, hope helps us still to pray that even now, for a little space, grace may be showed from the Lord our God, that He may still give us a nail in his holy place; that He may lighten, or lift up our down-cast eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage (Ezra ix. 8.) What I have said of this work, is true of all new efforts ever made to set up "the Great Altar to see to." Sunday schools and all evangelical enterprises have been discouraged; but if they have no other motive than to lift up and to call attention to the Great Altar of Heaven's Ordination and Provision-if their one aim is to show "the Pattern of the Altar of the Lord," "the thing will please the children of Israel" (Josh. xxii. 33), the children of Israel will bless the Lord; and good will be done. For no other ends doth the writer of these lines desire either to live or to labour; and therefore, in the faith and hope of heaven, he subscribes himself, your companion in tribulation, CHARLES WATERS BANKS. June 14, 1856. [The continuation of the history of the church in Unicorn Yard Chapel is deferred this month to make room for some out of the many communications which have come to hand. The third part of the above is written and ready for next month.-ED.] OPEN COMMUNION. To the Editor of the Earthen Vessel. SIR, Some months ago, I asked you a question relating to members of an open communion church, uniting with a strict communion church at the Lord's table, whether such practice was consistent with strict Baptist principles. Silence, on your part, makes me suspicious, that you are afraid to speak out upon such a matter. JAMES DRUMMOND. [The delay has been occasioned by constant labours out of doors at anniversary services. Our principle and our practice is, a strict adherence to Acts ii. 41, 42. We believe that baptism, by immersion of persons who have a true evangelical repentance wrought in them, and a good confession of faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation, made by them, to be in strict accordance with the mind of Christ, and the practice of his Apostles. We advocate, we practise, we countenance no communion in ordinances with those who either do not, or will not, see this to be right.— ED.] THE ALARM, AND THE NEW EFFORT. To the Editor of the " Vessel." DEAR SIR,-It is acknowledged now, by some who have heretofore denied the accusa tion, that the spirit and power of the Gospel are ignored in the ministry of many of our popular preachers, who deal much in literature and science, but omit the first (the fundamental) principles of the oracles of God. The evil has been growing for years; and when a faithful testimony has been raised against it, the magazines, newspapers, and pulpits have joined in a yell of indignation, crying out," Bigotry! Hyper-Calvinism! AnAnd the alarmists tinomianism !" &c., &c. have declared the truth-Gal. iv. 16. This have been accounted enemies, because they kind of fencing will no longer serve the wish to prevent inquiry, nor sustain a reputation for evangelical purity, where the cross of Christ is not preached and the Spirit's work ment which is now extending over the length is not insisted upon. We hope the exciteand breadth of Protestant Christendom will not spend itself in coarse personalities and fierce judgments, nor die out as a decayed fire of fleshly zeal; but that it will operate thians, producing godly sorrow, increased as apostolic reproof did among the Corincarefulness of the trust committed to us, clearing of ourselves from pride-engendering heresies, indignation against sin, both in believing and behaving, fear of God and his just rebukes, zeal for the Saviour's honour and the healthy discipline of his Church, and revenge against the ensnaring influences of an ingenious, but Christless, theology-2 Cor. vii. 10, 11. I am requested to make known to you that a society has just been formed for the purpose of asserting and spreading the ancient and glorious doctrines of eternal truth, and for gathering up the scattered God; and if the Lord turns our captivity, and not want them, and they were only laying in his drawers for the mice to get at them.' Well, the man of God would have replied; but the stranger rode off. On arrival at home he took the papers out of his pocket (not knowing what they were), and laying them down upon the table at which his lady was sitting, said, a' Mr. R-, who did not want them, had put them into his hands; you asked me if God would provide the money, I told you Ile would, and here it is.' She opened the packet and found there was 2001. in Bank of England notes, being 100l. wherewith to meet the bill, and 100l. to spare; and this circumstance ever after put a salutary check upon the upbraidings of his wife, so that she durst no more say, 'Where is now thy God?"" YOUNG MAPEI AND THE OLD WE have the first number of a work entitled "L'Eco di Savonarola Foglio Men THE WIFE SILENCED AND SATISFIED. sile;" it is an evangelical organ, struggling, like WE quite long to dip into "Josiah's" volume, "The Life and Letters of Mr. William Tufnell;" but articles of experimental value tend to keep us back. One great fact of an interposing Providence we here quote. After his conversion, his exchequer suffered. But, "As a proof (says our author) how his mind was stayed upon the 'helper of Israel in the time of trouble,' I will here relate, nearly in his own words, an instance thereof : ourselves, to aid a good cause, but in the midst of many discouraging circumstances. It contains interesting and useful matter, and we wish to call special attention to it. We therefore quote the following as illustrative of the character and contents, both of the periodical and the cause it aims to servewhich is, the spread of the Gospel in Italy. In a biography of one "Camillo Mapei," the following facts are related. Camillo Mapei, from his earliest years, manifested a desire for ecclesiastical devotion, and there is cause to believe deep convictions led him to fly into the bosom of the Romish Church. His biographer says: "A creditor came upon him for 1007., with a demand that he should pay it in a week. Enabled by faith to trust in the Lord, he committed himself into the hands of his God; "Desirous of leading a holy life in the and thus left it for Him to provide, prayer rigour of penitence, and thinking to pacify being the only part he took in the transac- the offended justice of God, and purchase tion (Psa. cix. 4). In the course of the week heaven by means of good works, he no sooner his lady said to him,' Well, are you not going arrived in the metropolis of the pagan world, to see about the money?' 'No,' replied he; than he forthwith paid a visit to the Abbé God will provide it. Such was the convic- Pallotti, to whom he had letters of recomtion wrought in his soul. Again, on another mendation. This venerable priest, though occasion, after the dear man had been pour-immersed in the darkness of his Church, posing out his complaint unto God in his garden, and had received a promise from the Lord that the bill should be met, his wife again said to him, 'Well, have you the money?' Oh, yes,' he replied, 'I have got the money' (secretly referring to the certainty that God would get it for him, and, therefore, it was to faith as a thing done); when she again urged it upon him, with reproaches, for depending upon such a source for the supply. But ever faithful to his word, God was there, and that to do as He had said, and to perform the promise He had made, and that in the following sessed, according to the testimony of many, He took upon by Him, by Jesus Christ. your Saviour, the sole and single aim of all your actions. Averse as I am to the intrigues of the Vatican, little, very little, can I do for you. I shall say to you, with Saint Peter, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have The poor old lady believed in confession, give I unto thee." Then taking down a Latin and scrupulously fulfilled all the duties imbook from a shelf, and handing it to him, he posed upon her by the Church. She consicontinued:- Take this, my son; it is the dered such practices not as means of salvavolume of divine wisdom. In it, and no- tion, but as acts of pure obedience. She where else, is to be found the secret of true erred from ignorance, and not voluntarily. happiness. Finally, after having implored She had never read the Bible, because her the celestial benediction on his new friend, Church had taught her that it was the priest's he thus concluded:- Now, go in peace. If book, and that they alone had the right and you will accept it, I will give you my friend- obligation to read it and explain it to the peoship, or rather, I will be your spiritual father ple. The poor woman died the same as in Christ our common hope. When your heart Protestants do. Had the grandson of this has need of tears, come to me, and we will child of God at that time known the Lord, weep together before the Lord: together we and, with the Scriptures in his hand, underwill joy and rejoice before Him in the brief taken to demonstrate to her that confession, moments of comfort and peace. To Him we mass, the invocation of saints, and many will direct our prayers, to Him we will go in other things of the same nature, not only ignorance, doubt, need, tribulation, in all the were not to be found in the Bible, but were circumstances of this poor life.' expressly prohibited by the Word of God, she would have been undeceived, and would not have hesitated for an instant to reject all such erroneous practices, and separate herself from a false and lying Church, whose only support consists in the ignorance of the people, and in persecution." "Let not the reader be surprised to hear that a Roman Catholic, and still more a priest, should pronounce words of such a nature. Among Protestants, it is generally believed to be impossible to find Christians among the members of the Romish Church. This is a very great mistake: some rays of light shine here and there. The following digression will serve to illustrate the truth which we have asserted: 6 A poor old lady, bed-ridden for ten years, the paternal grandmother of the writer of this article, used very often to say to him, Why do you not read me some good book.' He would take a tale, and, seating himself beside her, would prepare, as he imagined, to satisfy her. At that time, he had no taste for heavenly things. He fulfilled, it is true, all the precepts of the Church in which he was born; but his heart, far from God, beat only for the vanities of this poor world. She would interrupt him, saying, 'You know I do not care for your romances. When I could not bear them when I was young, how is it possible that I can like them now that I am ready to sink into the tomb? Read to me, pray, something about the love of God to us his guilty creatures;' and she would point out to him her favourite book, the title of which was, "Birth, life, death, and miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ, extracted from the four Evangelists, translated into the Italian language by Monsignor Martini.' Sometimes he has seen her weeping bitterly; gradually she became more cheerful; and at length, unable to contain her joy, she broke out into a song of praise and thanksgiving. When asked the reason, she would give the following reply: 'When I wept, it was because I was a wicked sinner. Notwithstanding all my efforts to do good, I have done nothing but evil; and, therefore, God, who is just, condemned me to hell, together with all the transgressors of his law. If I rejoice now, it is because Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came upon earth to save sinners through his own precious blood. He came to give his life not for the righteous, but for sinners. I am not righteous, I am a sinner; and hope I am saved One feature in this work, of amazing interest to us, is the report of "The Protestant Movement in Italy." These reports clearly show that in Italy, as in England, there are at least four distinct kinds of professors of evangelization. Of the fourth party of the professing Church there, the Editor says: "The fourth, and last element, is the Evangelical, or Christian party. It is composed of the wisest of all; yea, of the truly wise. This party, compared with the above-mentioned, is certainly small, yet still, considered in itself, it is large, and the Lord is making it increase every day, more and more. These have united themselves to the Waldensian Church, or to other evangelical Churches, not for political ends, or worldly views, but solely from conscientious motives. Having in Jesus Christ received the pardon of their sins, and being born again by the work of the Holy Spirit, they feel the need of glorifying God, of adorning Him in spirit and in truth, and of proclaiming everywhere his goodness and mercy. "In spite, then, of human passions, the Lord is working powerfully in our country. He extracts good from evil; and causes the glad tidings of salvation through Jesus Christ, to penetrate the hearts of many. His word is read with avidity. Even in those countries of Italy, which are still groaning under the yoke of slavery, the Bible is the book which all desire to read." Mr. J. A. Jones's interesting "Brighton Incident," in our next-"GO YE-four letters breaking forth from the Fountain of Everlasting Love-diffusing Spiritual and Eternal Life-clothing its Ambassadors with Divine Authority-thereby bringing to glory all the Written Ones of Heaven's Delight"-will ap pear somewhere. A TABLET TO THE MEMORY OF FATHER EVERETT. BY HIS WIDOW. [THE last pastor of Zoar Chapel, Upper | at the Old Bailey, of two of his former comHolloway, was the aged Isaac Everett. panions. The Lord of heaven and earth Our acquaintance with him was not sufficient to enable us to write his memoir; but his bereaved widow has furnished it in the following letter, which we hope will be found profitable, not only to the many who heard and enjoyed his ministry, but to thousands beside, who love a living and holy declaration of that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that truly believeth.-ED.] In reply to a wish expressed that some one would send a sketch of the life and labours of Father Everett, the last pastor of Zoar Chapel, Upper Holloway, an effort is here made to give a short account of his early life, conversion, his call to the ministry, his work in it, and, finally, of his departure from this wilderness, and his blessed entrance into the promised land of peace and glory. He has left an account | of the Lord's dealings with him, which extends to the completion of his thirty-fifth year. He was born of poor but industrious parents, in the village of Melbourne, near Royston, in Cambridgeshire, January 17, 1791: his parents (having a large family) were compelled to set him to work at eight years of age; up to this time the father's poverty prevented his putting his son to any school; but the Lord did his own work in his own way. When he was nine years old, he was visited with keen convictions, which were awakened within him by the awful circumstances attending the death-bed of his uncle (an ungodly man), who declared, at the last, that the devil was waiting to receive him. This made a powerful impression on his mind, which continued with him more or less till he was fourteen years of age. He prayed often and earnestly that he might never come to so miserable an end. After this time those convictions disappeared, and he associated with profane companions until he was nineteen years of age. When he married, he resolved to alter his course of life, and to attend a place of worship, which he did for some time. Convictions now followed him sharper than ever, being revived and strengthened by the execution, VOL. XII-No. 139. appeared for his deliverance: he was reproved for his base conduct by a good man, which was not very pleasantly received; yet it pleased the Lord to make this rebuking Nathan the honoured instrument of his conversion; he led him to chapel, and the discourse that evening was from Ephesians v. 14. Isaac thought some one had told the minister all about him, as he brought forth the sinfulness of his character. On the following Lord's Day he went of his own accord to the same chapel, as he was in great anguish of spirit. He was without hope; his convictions became stronger; his trouble and his terror seemed overwhelming. He was tempted to stay from chapel, and to such a height did his mental misery rise at this crisis, that, through the darkness of despair, he fell into a state of derangement, which continued nine days. This insensibility of mind appeared afterwards as a dream. It was succeeded by a gleam of hope, but dark clouds soon collected again; various were the temptations under which he suffered; the most awful was an inclination to commit suicide. These struggles lasted until the 18th of April, 1813, when peace of mind was given. Having now obtained the manifestation and assurance of the pardon of his sins through the blood of Jesus, he felt as much lightened and delivered as Christian did when his burden fell off. He now learned to read, and began to teach the children in the Sunday-school amongst the Wesleyans. After this he became a visitor for the Strangers' Friend Society. After this, he received an invitation to preach to the poor in the workhouse: he had repeated applications before he consented; but after he had once engaged in it, he took delight in the work, and was proposed as a preacher by the brethren, and received an invitation to preach a trial sermon before them. He was sent to the Waltham Abbey circuit for two years with much acceptance, and remained a minister amongst them for many years. We have no document to show how the Lord extricated him from the errors of K |