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So much has been said and written on the above fearful event, that we resolved to say nothing, but think the more. Into our hands, however, a pamphlet has been thrown for review, bearing the following title:-"A Pen and Ink Portrait of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon; or, The Broken Sermon and the Threefold Verdict of the Jury, the Press, and the Di

Surrey Gardens, Comprehending a Faithful
Review of Mr. Spurgeon's Ministry."

We cannot criticise, but we quote the following paragraphs as furnishing serious matter for reflection :

Surety, and Substitute; these debts, contracted | SOLEMN THOUGHTS ON THE SURREY by his people, are imputed to Him; where GARDENS TRAGEDY. guilt is imputed, punishment falls; and the infliction of penal punishment-in kind and quantity-upon the surety instead of the sinner, renders salvation a righteous thing with God. To withhold it would be a breach of promise, the violation of acquired rights, and the perpetration of an eternal wrong upon the Redeemer and the redeemed. That Christ is an example to us, both in service and in suffer-vine Word, on the Fearful Calamity in the ing, is a fact clearly established; but it is imputation, not imitation, that justifies and saves us. We are bought with a price. A wrong has been done; an equivalent is demanded; a bill of acceptance is given by a surety; full payment of that dreadful bill is rendered, accepted, and acknowledged; and the atonement is complete. It is compensatory and satisfactory; and the last because it is the first. The death of Christ can never be supplemented. God is gracious, because the atonement is efficacious; and the atonement is sufficient because it is efficient. An in-efficient atonement can never be a sufficient one; for its suf-ficiency lies in its efficiency. Salvation stands in the will of the Father, in the work of the Son, and in the witness of the Spirit. In the first, we see sovereignty; in the second, we observe certainty; and in the third, an efficient ministry. Thus Love, Blood, and Divine Energy are united friends, and will never part. Mercy, Merit, and Might always travel in the same train, are co-existent and co-extensive. Purpose, Purchase, and Power act in concert, upon the same objects, and with a view to the same ends. The Covenant, the Cross, and the Conscience are harmoniously connected; and what God hath joined together let not man put asunder.'

"When the new theology got possession of the universities, the pulpits, and the press of Germany, it swept like a pestilential blast over the whole land, smiting, and wasting and destroying every precious thing. The streams of morality and religion were poisoned in their sources. Professors lectured upon everything but the Bible. One professor delivered a few lectures on Genesis, and then dropped the practice for twenty years; another dropped it for ten; and others had longer or shorter lapses. The Bible went out of fashion. There was no demand for it. Nobody wanted it. Nobody cared about it. At Leipsic-the mart of literature-so great was the famine at one time, that not a Bible or a Testament could be procured in any of the booksellers' shops."

We may return to this subject next month.

SIN TAKEN AWAY.-There is no past, present, or to come which Christ did not pay down the price of his blood for upon the cross; and yet a believer will avoid and hate sin as much as if all his sins were to pay for yet, knowing that he is not redeemed to sin, but from sin; not that he may sin, but that sinning, he may not suffer for sin; Christ is risen for our justification.-Saltmarsh.

"INTRODUCTION.-For full five-and-twenty years I have been watching the movements of men who profess to be the servants of the Most High God, and no small observation have I made of the character and conduct of those several associations and communities called Christian Churches, and New Testament Associations;--I have read also, somewhat largely, the history of men and ministers who have been noted in their day; but never, no never, did I ever witness such an excitement-such a commotion-such grief on the one hand, or such persecution, rage, or cruel misrepresentation on the other hand, as that week produced which extended from Monday morning, October 20th, to Sunday, October 25th, and in fact, long after that period. Every paper in the kingdom, almost every pulpit in Christendom, every peer around the throne of her Majesty, every politician in his club-house, and every common prater in the petty meetings of our intelligent dominions have teemed with expositions, and in many cases with awful denunciations, of the chief leaders in that frightful calamity to which I now refer. The spirit of the British press has spoken out freely, boldly, and unmistakeably. The very life-blood of our great political and literary penmen has been drawn out nearly to the full stretch of its power. We have had an opportunity of ascertaining more fully than ever how far the great power of the Press is directly, if not blasphemously opposed to the truth, the genius, the spirit, and the aims of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. certainly, I do declare, if we are to judge of the real character of our nation by the spirit and tone of the press-if the journals which, in the aggregate, circulate by millions, do fairly and faithfully represent the minds and give expression to the feelings of the masses of our people-then, beyond all question, England for the most part is not only antievangelical, not only spiritually dead, not only sunk in ignorance of Divine revelation, not only carnal and sold under sin, but she is so awfully tainted with that sarcastic, that Atheistic, and that truth - denying, and spirit-defying element, as may justly cause the Redeemer himself and every truly devoted servant of Christ to cry out-Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.' infidel outcry that has been raised by reason of this calamity, let England see where and

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This pamphlet contains more original thought, more powerful illustration, more sterling matter for reflection, than any we have read on the subject before. We think the following paragraph most invaluable

how she stands. By virtue of a Divine Provi- | indeed; but if he merely gathers up the loose, dence, she has nominally, at any rate, a Pro- the licentious, the dissatisfied, the ambitious, testant throne, a Protestant Church, a Pro-the heady, and the high-minded of all other testant clergy, and a large body of Protestant churches, his popularity will sink with disapNonconformists-and for these bulwarks to pointment and sorrow." the safety of our land we can never be too thankful; but let the Protestantism of our throne be shaken-let the outside walls of our Protestant Church be removed-let the Protestant spirit of our nation be a little more weakened-and then it would not be long ere the land would be deluged with floods of infidelity, with the impure outbreaks of Mormonic indecencies, Puseyitish vanities, Romish persecutions, and Satanic corruptions, which, in a little while, would bring upon us a painful verification of that singular prophetic declaration recorded in Hosea xiv.; and which points, in some measure, to the spiritual decay of Gospel England, who, under the name of Ephraim, is said to feed on the wind; to follow after the East wind; daily to increase in lies and desolation; and to make a covenant with the Assyrians.' If there be any truth in these remarks, then three things are incumbent on all true British Christians: first, sincere gratitude for a Protestant throne, and for Protestant walls and bulwarks; secondly, fervent and united prayer to Heaven that our Protestantism may be more pure, more perfect, more powerful, more in accordance with the Protestantism of Christ and his Apostles when first the Gospel kingdom was set up; and, thirdly, it doth surely devolve upon the faithful servants of Christ, and upon all true Gospel Churches, to labour to shake themselves from the dust of sloth, of pride, of carnal and petty dissensions; and to arise, putting on the beautiful garments of zeal, and united effort to spread abroad the name and fame of our glorious Lord."

In a subsequent part of this most ing pamphlet, the writer says:

"Both Caution and Consolation are fetched, by faith, out of Jehovah's gracious and trying dispensations. Let us fully believe that even this exceeding sorrowful and amazingly mysterious calamity is to teach us all some wholesome and essential lessons. Many sober and godly Christian men have thought (and one, at least, has written out the thought)-'there is a deal of wildfire excitement in the enthusiastic rushings of some in this day.' I am sure I thought so, too, on that Sabbath afternoon previous to the fatal evening when Death in cold array' entered the Surrey Gardens Music Hall. I was unexpectedly thrown into the company of many who were going;-I watched, in silence, the spirit of the too highlyelated company, little thinking a scene so painful would be witnessed by them; and as I subsequently reflected upon the conflicting reports, a soft whisper said to me-' Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle.' 'The restraints of God's powerful providence,' says Gurney, are called his bridle and his hook.' The bridle in the jaws of the people-(Isaiah xxx. 28)—is expressive of God's suffering the Assyrians to be directed by foolish counsels that they might never finish their intended purpose. No sensible being on this earth can charge any of the friends of truth with blame: no one-ex

interest-cept the wicked proclaimers of 'fire!'-ever contemplated such a disaster; but, as Paul and Timotheus assayed to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit suffered them not,' it well becometh the devoted ambassadors of Christ to remember that only where He directs and leads can we be either safe or useful."

"Mr. Spurgeon knows right well that thick clouds of carnal chaff surround him in every place. I have known some of his zealous admirers, and ardent followers for years, and with all the charity I can bring to bear upon their character and condition, am compelled to stand in doubt of them. Is it then any wonder that this young man thunders out his solemn denunciations against that holding the truth in unrighteousness,' which he knows to be so prevalent. Mr. Huntington said, in his day, we have flying troops of professors in London, consisting of some thousands who look no further than, "lo here!" and "lo there ;"--and as soon as their "lo" is heard, they are all waved and moved as the trees of the wood with every wind of doctrine.' And 'flying troops' are found in our day too; and I am sure every truehearted minister of Christ will, sooner or later, prove them to be of no real good, either to himself or to the church, unless God uses him to fan them, to shake them, to kill them, and then in Christ to lift them up in righteousness and true holiness; and that such a work might he given to our young Southwark hero, shall be my prayer. He would, in such a case, be a blessing to Zion,

REUBEN HARDING, OF HASLEMERE.

THIS month we purposed to give a report of the ordination of our Boanerges, brother Reuben, but it is not yet prepared. All who love Zion's prosperity will rejoice to read the following :

"DEAR BROTHER BANKS,-I feel thankful to inform you since you were here on the 6th of October two young people, who have been for years in bondage, have in our chapel found peace in believing. They both desired immediately to cast their lot in with us-they came before the church, were cordially received, and on Lord's-day, November 16, I was favoured to baptize them in a stream of water near our place. The day was fine, I had a good opportunity to preach the Gospel to a large concourse of people (many that never enter a place of worship), and some paid remarkable attention. Good was done. "R. HARDING.

"Shotter Mill, Haslemere."

"HOW TO CHOOSE A HUSBAND." the traveller on his way, the pilgrim to his SUCH is the title of a neat and well-penned shrine, the wanderer to his home, and the volume, issued by Partridge and Co. The hero to his deed of glory; but it has brought subject of marriage has become popular by no light to her, frail pilgrim through a weary Brother Mower's excellent piece. It is spoken world, and she is still unguided and alone. Her of in all circles where we move. As affording eyes are swollen with weeping, and the feverpowerful and wholesome argument, we re-flush is on her cheek. Where shall she pillow commend to all unmarried Christian females this sixpenny manual-"How to Choose a Husband;" and, to prove that the spirit and motive of the writer is good, we give the fol--the Throne of Grace. A guardian angel lowing closing chapter:

her sleepless head? where shall she quench the burning of her anxious heart? For all who are in perplexity, there is one common refuge

whispers to the spirit of his bewildered charge, and bids her seek her oratory, and ease her soul in prayer. The Everlasting will not deny his presence to his child, nor will He refuse to hear the burden of her virgin lips. Hushed be the scorn and din of this world, while that young heart struggles into the presence of its Maker, and lays all its dark perplexities at his feet! Who can think of such worshipper at the shrine of mercy, without sharing the poet's wish,-

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"In thine orisons be all my sins remembered.'

"THE THRONE OF GRACE. "A strong inducement to prayer is to be found in the fact, that you can never know your lover fully, until it is for ever too late to change. Despite the vaunts about discernment, you can never know a man further than he will let you know him. In this matter, it is not safe to trust entirely to your own understanding. You should have more hope in the paternal guidance of a merciful God, than in your own powers of detection and discovery. The adage says, to know a man you must live with him, but it is then too late. In some instances evil has been dis"When you are in doubt and uncertainty covered after marriage, but the discovery as to what your future will be, there can be brought no power to cure, and no possibility no presumption in your devoutly casting your of escape. The plague-spot was in the dwell- care upon God, for the Holy Scriptures tell ing, and the serpent in the bosom. It could you that He cares for you. The feelings that never be revealed to the most intimate stir your soul in prayer are the purest you friend; for such evil there was no safe unbur-will ever have, and the thoughts that come to dering of the soul. The miserable and accursed secret must be carried about, never revealed, and never relieved, except by death. It haunts them like a ghost; where they are, it is; and wherever they go, it follows them. Oh, God, why should such things be in this world of thine; and wilt Thou not, in pity to mankind, destroy the deadly marriage-worm, gnawing ever in the human heart!

In marrying you must needs risk something, for nothing can render wedlock a perfect certainty of success. Could it be possible for him who is about to become your husband, to possess every conceivable excellence; let him have beauty, health, education, wealth, and talent; let him be pure and noble in sentiment, and just in principle; let there be not one spot in all his snow; fence him round with every possible safeguard; let everything like defect or the possibility of failure be rendered impossible to all earthly eyes; let him, his lot, and his future, be perfect in all men's thinking; even then, for all the requisitions of absolute certainty, your marriage would be the greatest lottery in life-the greatest risk in the world. To whom shall you take this uncertainty, and whither shall you flee for relief from this most oppressive of all suspense? Who will solve your doubts, or who can give you certainty? The wisdom of the sage, the solicitude of parents, the judgment of kind friends, cannot make it certainty. Not all your own harrowing perplexity of thought and bewilderment of soul can make it certain. Many a female has been sore distressed with THIS RISK. In vain has she looked for aid, and her swelling heart, unrelieved by abundance of tears, has obbed through the lone night, Will no one guide me? Morning has dawned; it has bright light to all the world; light to guide

you in prayer are the best and holiest you will ever know. Your Father which is in heaven can sway your heart in the right direction, and guide your feet in the right way.

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Having employed all possible means of success and safety, and having consecrated them in holy prayer, there is no more that you can do. You must take your lot with the rest of human kind. Your little bark must put to sea where there are many wrecks, but more prosperous voyages than wrecks; never forgetting that there is some mercy even in winds and waves, and that the Great God rules every storm."

THE TESTIMONY OF AN ITINERANT PREACHER; and THE WICKED SPIRIT IN SOME OF OUR GOSPEL CHURCHES. No small stir has been lately made by the publication of a little work, entitled "THE CHURCH MEETING" (to be had of James Paul). The author's name is not given; but he has evidently been well schooled in the trying furnace of Itinerant Preaching; and no small amount of unkind and even cruel treatment do some of these good men often receive from the officious deacons and leading members of some of our rural churches. The fact is, preachers of the Gospel, in these days, are too numerous and too cheap by half. There is such a multitude of men willing to serve the churches, and, comparatively speaking, so few churches who need serving, that contempt is frequently cast upon men whose motives are pure, but whose minds are not fruitful enough for the times in which we live. Beside all this, we know that some of our Itinerants, instead of carrying the Gospel into the pulpits, and Christian conversation into the parlours where they go, carry a

jealous and a backbiting spirit, and thereby injure themselves, and their fellow-labourers too. We are prepared to give proofs of this sad state of things-a state of things we are determined to expose, because, like a cankerworm, it eats up the peace and the prosperity of Zion. Why should one man set himself above or against another? These things ought not to be.

The writer of" The Church Meeting" gives a specimen of another leaf in the history of our rural churches. We give the following extract, hoping it may check the manifestation of such a spirit; and also draw out a spirit of sympathy toward those men who forsake houses, wife, children, and home, on the only day of rest they have, to go forth with the tidings of salvation.

The chapter from whence this extract is taken contains an account of a convocation held by "The Itinerant Society;" the President called upon William Booth to address the Meeting; and hence the good man said:

"Christian friends. Not expecting to be called upon to be the first speaker, nevertheless, as far as in my power, I will detail a little of what I had to endure. And in reference to my first going out, I was written to by a Baptist church many miles from London, and after travelling some hours in an open carriage, I arrived at the end of my railway journey late on the Saturday evening, when having to travel another seven miles in an open cart, consequently it was between el ven and twelve o'clock before I sat down to a cold supper, in a cold house-no fire, and almost wet to the skin (it having rained for many hours), for it often happens you are to sleep at houses where there is not the best accommodation; some persons think any treatment suitable for itinerants; consequently you may imagine what my feelings were, when I tell you, that the occupants were like the house itself, all cold and dismal together. On sabbath morning, I entered a neat building, on a common, where I found a few persons congregated, and a deacon asked me many questions; and the people looked extremely shy, for all wanted to know what works had read, and among the first questions was -had I read the Standard? and when I told them-No, you would have been surprised to see the effect on their countenances. And when service commenced, to have beheld the lordly conduct of one man, who thought he knew everything, and another walking about the chapel as if the vilest blasphemy was being uttered, it was truly appalling. Here was an evident proof that they knew not how to restrain their rage, because, what was declared was not according to their preconceived notions. And, I afterwards found, that instead of God's truth, they expected a Standard set up-how far a child of God could sin, and yet be a child-which is, perhaps, the most solemn point in all the experience of the church. And it is a great mercy for tried children, that it is not stated how far a man of the world may go in a form of religion, even to be a deacon or a preacher, and yet be a child of the Devil. And how far a child of God may walk in darkness and in sin. But, my dear hearers, what a mercy it is for

me, that what I stated was God's truth-that when the evening came, I could lay my head on my pillow in ease and comfort in reference to the same, though I went to rest that night with an aching heart. It is true I was young, and might not have spoken as I should do now, yet it was truth, and it was their peril to reject it; and if they were disappointed, surely they could behave as moral, respectable men.

"Patience. Surely, brother, they did that. "Booth.-You would have thought so; when I was asked what church sent me out, they behaved in a most rude manner; and, to crown the whole, the deacons put into my hand a book, asking for a subscription for the cause. To give you an idea of the people, they had the imprudence to send for a man three hundred miles off, with a large family, to preach to them, and starved him out in a few months, only because he was not of their clique. And to close the scene of wretchedness and misery, after supper, I asked the man of the house, who had been a hearer in the course of the day, if he would read and pray. The answer was-let every man pray for himself. But, beloved! is not this one cause of the lukewarm and barren state of Zion? Where was the love of truth? Was the spirit of Christianity to be seen at all? Where was the affection for the brethren? Lord, what is man!

"

We purpose to offer some thoughts for the establishment of "a Gospel Itinerant Society." We want men better qualified and better treated. Who will aid such an effort? It is indeed essential to the happiness of our churches and the success of our brethren who preach.

"THE TWELFTH YEAR OF OUR CAPTIVITY."-EZEK. Xxxiii. 21. OUR editorial year of 1856 is now finished. For twelve long years have we laboured in the publication of THE EARTHEN VESSEL. The whole of the responsibility in compiling, in printing, and in the expenditure, has laid on the head, the heart, and the hands of one of the weakest and, perhaps, most dependent of all God's creatures. During the period of twelve years some hundreds of thousands of this work have gone into all parts of the civilized world; and abundant evidences have we that the labour has not been in vain.

To support and establish this work, houses have been sold, and many hundreds of pounds have been sunk; but in the loss of all things we rejoice, counting it an honour to suffer reproach for a cause so great, so good. The end of Ezekiel, xxxiii. suits us in many points. We only ask one favour: Receive no reports which the tongue of wicked slander giveth forth. No injury has been done to any; and ere long the Lord himself will plead our cause.

THE

EARTHEN VESSEL;

AND

Christian Record & Review,

FOR

1857.

VOLUME XIII.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY PARTRIDGE AND CO., 34, PATERNOSTER ROW; ROBERT BANKS AND CO., 182, DOVER ROAD, BOROUGH.

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1857.

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