I shall be present in spirit, though in body absent, joying and beholding your order and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. Oh! that the solemn scenes of Calvary, and the glorious acts of the Son of God, may be present afresh to the eye of faith, that the godly may be baptised under the anointings of the Holy Ghost in the everlasting love of God, and so taste again the felicity of being complete in Christ! Oh, dear Sarah, leave father and mother: remember the everlasting Father, that gave thee mercy, and thy beloved mother the church, that brought thee forth. This is the greatest subject can recommend to thy notice; the great Comforter can bring all things to thy remembrance, and cause the substance of the ordinance to be thy delight in thy future path. Saints generally see more in the ordinance after they have passed through it than before; there is so much creature feeling and fleshly excitement connected with our obedience, that it is sometimes difficult to tell what is spiritual; but the Lord knows what good thing he has put in the heart-the simple act of faith on his Majesty, working by love to his name, renders our obedience complete, and all the rest must be burnt up, which, in future days, you may learn. May the Lord be pleased to give and keep thy mind only on him-remember he is a great Saviour, able and willing to save great sinners. Please to give our kind and Christian love to Mr. and Mrs. Poock. Your affectionate father, THOMAS Warren.

A NEW DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE.

[Our esteemed brother SAMUEL COZENS, (late of Willenhall,) has, for some years, been closely engaged in gathering out, and opening up, the treasures of divine wisdom, and and of saving mercy, hidden in the Sacred Scriptures. The following short selection from his M.S. is the first of a series, the insertion of which in our pages, together with other illustrations of Biblical Names, Places, Characters. &c. &c., will tend, we hope, to the spiritual edification of manyED]

ARCHERS, (Hebrew) arrow-masters. Caryl says, "Archers are called Rabbi, great ones; not from their magnitude, but from their multitude, because archers go in company; or they are called many, because every one hath many arrows. Men carry but one sword, but they carry many arrows, therefore the word signifies many.'

""

Joseph was a mark of envy, because God had put so many marks of honour upon him; his brethren who shot out bitter words against him, hated him, mocked him, conspired to kill him, stripped him of his clothes, cast him into a pit, and then sold him into Egypt, (Gen. xxxvii.); his mistress who shot fiery darts of lust, fond solicitations to sin, and false accusations at him; and his master that imprisoned him, (Gen. xxxix.); and the enchanters, magicians, and wise men of Egypt, who envied him for his superior knowledge, and were displeased at his preferments, ac

cused him to, and spake evil of him before, Pharoah (see Jerusalem Targum), were the archers spoken of Gen. xl. 23. But his bow abode in strength; his virtue, wisdom, chastity, patience, prudence, faith, hope, &c., by which he resisted all the powerful attacks of his enemies.

Seven archers shot at Job.

First, The Sabeans and the Chaldeans were archers, and they shot spoiling and plundering; they took away all his cattle, and slew his servants with the edge of the sword. Job i. 15, 17.

Secondly, Heaven was an archer; the heavens shot fire, which burnt up his sheep, and his servants. Job i. 16.

Thirdly, The air was an archer, that shot wind, and down fell the house upon his children. Job i. 18, 19.

Fourthly, The devil was an archer; he shot diseases, and wounded his body all over. Job ii. 7.

Fifthly, His wife was an archer, or an archeress; she shot terrible arrows, evil and bitter words. Job ii. 8.

Sixthly, His friends were archers; they shot reproaches, reproofs and calumnies; they pierced him with unjust charges. Job iv. 5—9; viii. 4, 6; xi. 10.

Seventhly, The Almighty was an archer; he shot his killing arrows into his spirit. Job vi. 4. And the earth was an archer too, and that shot worms at Job. Job vii, 5. S. C.

LINES

On the Death of the late Wm. Matthews, Of Woolwich.

BE hush'd every passion, my spirit be still;
And bow with submission, to Jesus's will!
He has but removed thy friend which he gave,
And consigned his body to rest in the grave.
whate'er be thy loss, the gain must be his,
For he is transported to regions of bliss!
And basks in the presence of Him he adored,
And fully possesses the joy of his Lord.
Oh! Matthews, my friend, how favoured wast thou,
What faith and what patience did Jesus bestow !
What humble submission presided within;
How free from the reign, and controllings of sin.
How large were thy gifts, how abundant the grace,
How much thou excelled the men of thy race,
Thy mind was capacious, extensive, and great!
T'was pleasant on truth, to hear thee dilate.
Thy speech was delightful, 'twas music divine,
The themes most enchanting, most blissful,
sublime!
Thy counsel was God-like, thy solace most sweet,
And great was our honour, to sit at thy feet.
But oh, my dear brother, translation is thine,
To buffet the storms of adversity, mine,
To contend with the surges of life's troubled sea
And mourn thy dear absence, alas, is for me.
But ah, what says Faith? Again we shall meet,
And triumph together at Jesus' blest feet,
And mingle our voices with that holy throng;
Where Christ is the theme, the anthem, the song.
There nought shall disturb us, we ne'er shall
complain;
No care mar the pleasure, or break the repose,
No foe shall molest us-no sickness or pain!
Nor friendship unsullied, be brought to a close.

W. G.

HAVING in my last, simply named "The Twelve Signs" which the Bible holds forth to the view of the spiritual and the seeking mind, it now behoves me to take them, one by one,-(if the Lord will-) and endeavour to look a little into the mind of God, and into the meaning of those deep figures wherein is contained the very essence and virtue of that holy Truth which, when brought to light, beautifully developes the method and the manner of that salvation which is the choicest, the richest, the most mysterious, yet, the most merciful, the most gracious, and perfectly gratuitous work of the LORD OUR GOD.

When the venerable JOHN TRAPP dedicated his "Comment upon the Pentateuch" to Sir William Comb, he said that he had taken that liberty because he well knew that Sir William was "so sedulous a searcher of the Scriptures; and seriously inquisitive after the genuine sense of dark texts." Master Trapp and Sir William Comb very well knew tha tthe Bible is full of most mysterious matter:-they also were well persuaded that in order to get at this matter there must be much searching, and much prayerful inquiry; they likewise realised the benefit of such inquiry and searching into the deep places where Truth doth lay concealed; therefore John Trapp spends whole years in writing on, and Sir William Comb in reading and revising, those records of inspiration which good men, of old, moved by God the Holy Ghost, have left us as so many Gideonitish pitchers, which, when broken or opened, throw a heavenly light into the minds of all who are walking in the way to everlasting bliss. Kings have been the nursing fathers of this sacred treasury; and queens have been its nursing mothers; and although THE BIBLE is by some despised, still, I hope there are many thousands in this and other lands, who really and truly delight to travel through and through, the boundless lengths and breadths, of this transcendantly mysterious orb; unto all such, may this feeble effort, be made a permanent blessing! Alphonsus, the king of Arragon, is said to have read the Bible over fourteen times, with Lyra's notes upon it; and I feel, after having read the Bible for many, many years, a fresh desire to begin again; and from its deep, dark mines, to fetch up a little of the gold of Ophir; and as my fathers have done before, to beat out the little that I may gather, and after hav

ing enjoyed the same myself, to give it forth for the benefit of all into whose hands may come this little EARTHEN Vessel.

I will not set up Queen Elizabeth as a perfect pattern for poor imperfect saints; but I wish of thousands it could be said as good old Speed hath said of her, "Those English Exiles (once) at Geneva, (writes the sainted Speed), knew that they could not present anything more pleasing to Elizabeth, than their new translation of, and notes upon, the Holy Bible; which Book of books, she received with both her hands, soon after her coronation, and kissing it, laid it to her breast, saying, the same had been her chiefest delight; and should be the rule whereby she would frame her whole deportment."

Oh, who will be bold enough to lay this fact before our illustrious and most honorable QUEEN VICTORIA ?

My very soul burns within me with the ardent wish that our God in covenant would make his blessed Book to Victoria's heart so rich a treasure that she should far exceed the zeal and decision of her ancient predecessor Elizabeth, the once valiant Protestant Queen of these realms.

The Editor of "The Book and its Missions," (speaking of the great value of God's Word), says, "An African Prince once sent an embassy, with costly presents, to the Queen of Great Britain, and asked her in return to tell him what made England so great and so glorious in a national point of view?" To this our beloved Queen answered, "Not the number of her fleets or her armies; not the cost of her crown jewels, or the details of her commerce; but, she sent him a beautifully bound copy of the Bible, and said, "This is the secret of England's greatness." Such a noble act, is certainly an honor both to the heart and to the hand of our illustrious Queen.

One of our ancient Greek scholars, gives a curious interpretation of Paul's words in 2 Cor. iv. 7. It reads thus: "We have this treasure in a vile oyster shell; that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." So the Greek, he says, may be fairly rendered, Let the EARTHEN VESSEL, then, be deemed "a vile oyster shell;" I will not despair, if in it heavenly treasure may be found; and more than ever shall this be the prayer of my heart and the labor of my hands.

The first sign is that of THE TWELVE sows or JACOB;-the twelve tribes of Israel.

First-they were THE SONS OF JACOB. Three hundred and thirty times, at least, is Jacob mentioned in the Bible: and if you consider that the term "Israel" applies to the same person, you will find that the amount of spiritual matter spoken and written of Jacob (versus) Israel, is immense indeed for, in nearly or quite thirteen hundred times, in Scripture, you may meet with the term Israel. Doth not this very wonderfully declare the constancy of Jehovah's mind towards his people? Is it not a striking proof of the ceaseless flowings of His thoughts toward His chosen and adopted family? Certainly it is. They are never out of His thoughts. His eyes are never off them. His affections run toward them without any intermission. To them, He opens His heart :-for them, He makes the most glorious promises;-about them, He speaks under all circumstances. No wonder that Moses breaks out in such emphatic terms, "Happy art thou, Oh, Israel: WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE, O PEOPLE SAVED BY THE LORD!"

Oh, my readers, what floods of spiritual light break in upon the mind, when we come-closely, frequently, and with divine unction, to look into the thickly folded leaves of Heaven's righteously recorded will! I see, in Jacob, all the mysteries of graceall the features of grace-all the operations and fruits of grace and the consummation of grace, in that at last Jacob found, what long he waited for, "THE SALVATION OF GOD."

Whether I should dwell a little upon the Biblical history of Jacob, or pass at once to a review of his twelve sons, has been, with me, a question. So beautifully, however, are the essential truths of our salvation opened up in the character and position of Jacob, that to turn away from it, would be to commence building my house without first laying a foundation. Jacob's history is THE OLD TESTAMENT KEY, which, when put into the hand of faith by the Holy Ghost, will open every part of the New Covenant-the Covenant of Grace :-it will encourage you to approach the Throne of Grace-it will discover to you the Building of Mercy-it will throw open before you the holy Chambers of Christ's Banquetting House-it will read to you the deep, the everlasting lovethoughts and predestinating purposes of a Triune Jehovah-yea, it will, in some measure, experimentally anticipate that final

conclusion of which Malachi doth speak, when he saith, "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth GOD, and him that serveth him not." Unto Jacob's history, then, let us address ourselves; and may the GREAT AUTHOR and PERFECT FINISHER of Jacob's Salvation, bless our meditations to tens of thousands of precious souls. Amen, and Amen.

Jacob's history, in the very commencement of it, presents you with a four-fold discovery of what Pall calls "THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS:"-there you have1. The Certainty of God hearing and answering Prayer.

2.

3.

4.

The Divine Sovereignty of God in the absolute choice of His People.

The Great Mystery of the New Birth; or the passing from death unto life.

The Unceasing Conflict between the flesh and the spirit in the spiritual and mystical Shulamite.

It is plain to be seen from Genesis xxv. 21, that Isaac was specially a man of prayer : he did much business at the mercy-seat. Twice in that verse you have the word "intreated" "Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife;" and "the Lord was intreated of him; and his wife conceived." Jacob, therefore, as well as his mother, were both special answers to prayer. Jacob was conceived, brought forth, and nursed in the very lap of prayer; and whatever befel him, whatever you may say against him, how much so ever you may see his weaknesses, this you shall confess JACOB (like his father) WAS A MAN OF PRAYER. The whole mystery of prayer seems to be found in his life, and in the powers of grace which God implanted in him; and yet prayer did not precede, but rather followed after, the bestowment of those mercies wherein was revealed the character of JEHOVAH, and whereby confidence in him, and gratitude toward him, were begotten; yea, the earnest, the first-fruits, of both temporal and eternal blessings were showered down upon Jacob's head, before he appears to be found in the acts of holy worship. See this in the two first notes which the inspired penman has made of the commencement of Jacob's life. His going after his father's blessing, proceeded not directly from himself, but from his mother-"My son, (said Rebekah), obey my voice, according to that which I command thee." She sent him for the kids; she made the savory meat; she gave it to Jacob to take it to his father; and when Jacob argued the matter with her, lest he should be doing wrong, Rebekah took the whole responsibility upon herself: "Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice." Away then, went Jacob to his father Isaac; and when the good old man asked him, how it was he had found the ven