anxious, suffering, bereaved christian, will find here, not perhaps an antidote for sorrow, but still a guide to the sources of genuine consolation. The author is no sentimentalist, and therefore no purveyor of false comfort. He seems to write under the everpresent influence of the text-"Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." The views which he propounds are those of an enlightened and manly piety. There is no artificial sighing over merely visionary woes and imaginary trials. He regards the rod as an instrument of discipline, and teaches the sufferer not only how to endure the smart, but also how to derive the salutary lesson. If our author has not power to gild the cloud with the radiance of joy, he shows at least how its waters may be directed through the most fertilizing channels, so as to produce a rich harvest of spiritual blessings. We cordially recommend the book to all who are in need of "Christian Consolation."

A Catechism of Christian Evidences, Truths, and Duties. By the Rev. W. Walford, Prof. Emerit. London: Jackson and Walford.

This useful manual, says the author, "is not adapted to the circumstances of very young persons, but rather for those who are approaching the maturity of manhood, and have acquired some notions respecting the matter of which it treats. The movement of the present times is manifestly towards assumptions at direct variance with Protestantism; and tends to the subjugation of the understandings and consciences of men, to systems of exploded superstition, and claims of hierarchial and sacerdotal authority, not to be tolerated by any, whose manly and christian bosoms exult in the liberty with which their God and Saviour has made them free. Whenever such systems shall obtain an ascendency, the darkness of past ages will again rivet the fetters of the human soul, and deliver it, bound hand and foot, to the iron despotism which has been partially vanquished, only by the sufferings, tears, and blood of millions of whom the world was not worthy.' Should the present little work avail, in any measure, to obviate such a catastrophe, the utmost wishes of its author will be gratified."

From the above it will appear, that this Catechism is especially suited to the readers of the "Independent;" and we advise them to purchase it as conveying much sound and useful information, in a simple form, on the much agitated questions of the day.

71

THE CENTURION OF CAPERNAUM.
Matt. viii. 5-13.

Capernaum's citizens are all astir ;

Each house pours forth its tenants, and the streets
Are crowded with unwonted multitudes.
What means this bustle and unusual hum

Of many voices? What strange news arrive?
What splendid pageant, or what gay procession;
What martial exploits, or what solemn rites
Disturb the peaceful city?

Look, where comes

One young, but careworn; full of anxious thought,
But radiant with a countenance of love!
His fame precedes him; and a retinue,
Not of proud menials gorgeously attired
In steel or silk, but of the sick and sad,
Attends him to Capernaum's lofty gates,

And throngs about his path; and next to these
The wondering citizens, a motley crowd,
Curious to know the power of him who seems
In bodily presence far beneath his fame.

Come nearer, let us press into the mass
And gain the inner circle.

Now, behold,

There drops before him on his bended knee
One used to homage-a Centurion,

If that his air and martial garb bespeak
Truly his character. And hark! he breathes
A prayer and see! what reverent adoration
Beams from his kindly, noble countenance,
The while he gazes on the stranger's form.
Sure there is something more than human here,
In one who, meanly clad, attracts such crowds,
And wins their worship.

Touching was the sight

Of that Centurion reverencing his Lord;

More touching still the gentleness of him
Who calmly answered his request with power.

This soldier wore a noble human heart
Beneath his rough exterior. Jew in spirit,
Though not in lineage, he had built a house
For Israel's God, and with the chosen race
Had made a lasting fellowship. Beloved,
And loving in return, with many a heart
His heart was linked in kindness. Quick response
To all he felt in other breasts was given
And his present grief,

Of joy or sorrow.

Grief for a palsied servant's sufferings,

Was shared alike by those who knew his faith
And felt how warm his love.

Ere this, a few

The elders of the synagogue (his gift)—

Had sought of Jesus that he would attend

The sick man's couch, and heal him by his power.

And now, while on his way with crowds on crowds
About his path, the soldier breaks the throng,
And with obeisance low delays his march.
"Lord! spare thy travel-enter not my home-
It is not worthy of thee; neither I

To come before thee. Speak, oh speak the word,
And bid disease depart. I, Lord, have power,
And subject servants at my word obey:

They come-they go-obedient to my voice.
Speak, Lord, it will suffice."

And now behold

The sweet complacent love, approving faith,
That all the Saviour's countenance bedews.
And, hark, what words of tender praise can fall
From lips divine, when man, poor man, believes.
"List ye, my followers, for I speak a truth!
In Israel, so great faith as this man's faith
I nowhere yet have found. Friend, go thy way!
Thy servant is made whole."

Sweet words and strange!

Strange words and full of power miraculous!
The soldier hies him to the sick man's couch

And finds it vacant, for disease had fled,

And ruddy health returned "the self-same hour." Nov. 6th, 1843.

J. F.

THE

INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE.

MARCH, 1844.

THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES INDEPENDENT
CHURCHES.

The apostolic churches were independent in religious matters of all authority but that of Christ. The will of Christ, communicated through inspired apostles, was the law which regulated their proceedings and governed their affairs. It comprehended all that was needful to form the faith, to mould the character, and guide the proceedings of those spiritual communities. The interpretation of the will of Christ devolved upon believers themselves. "Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy." The Bereans are commended for bringing the things preached to them to the test of scripture. The faithful are enjoined: "Beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, whether they be of God." "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." But these injunctions imply, not only the existence of a standard to which all must be brought, but the right and the power, on the part of the believers, to examine and decide. They are directly opposed to the attempt, on the part either of individuals or communities, to compel the reception of their own peculiar views and forms on any man. They are adverse to every effort to proselyte by the employment of undue influence, or the application of force. The only rule of faith is the written word of God; the only judge of faith is the conscience which

F

God has implanted in every breast; and the only tribunal to which its decisions are amenable is the tribunal of God.

The management of the affairs of the apostolic churches rested exclusively with the members of the churches. The apostles did not "lord it over God's heritage," and they forbad others to do it; and the apostles were the very highest authority within the church. We are therefore warranted to conclude, that no officers, in those primitive communities, were allowed to assume an authority superior to the church, for the purpose of governing its affairs. Nor did one religious community exercise authority over another. They exchanged expressions of mutual affection and sympathy; they sent, and received, letters of commendation to and from one another, when members removed from one place to another; they tendered christian counsel and pecuniary help; but there is no evidence in the New Testament of a wealthy church lording it over a poor one, or of a numerous and established community exercising authority over those that were yet in their infancy. Every church had in its possession the laws of Christ-the sole and sufficient rule of faith and practice. Every church had the promise of the Holy Spirit's guidance and teaching, to lead into all truth. Every church had its own pastors and teachers to expound the laws of Christ. And to render their qualifications for self-government complete, every church had the gracious assurance, "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." What man, or body of men, can possess superior qualifications for directing the affairs of a spiritual community? "Not a single passage in the New Testament enjoins or exemplifies anything like an appeal for the redress of evil to church courts; or invests meetings of representatives with any authority; or recommends submission to them; or justifies the principle on which they are constructed, viz. obedience to the laws of Christ by delegation or proxy." The synods and assemblies of Presbyterianism—the conferences of Methodism--and the Lord Bishops of Episcopalianism, are entire strangers to the writers of the word of God. The rulers of this world had no power in the government of the apostolic churches. The fact is notorious that, until the time of Constantine, the monarchies of the world were arrayed in fierce opposition to christianity; and that opposition was visible in