settled, so far as the effect is concerned, if settled with heated, divided, and unkindly feelings. A little delay, with kind, impartial advice from the leaders, will generally recover all the right-hearted from any temporary aberration of feeling.

Let it never be forgotten, however, that nothing conduces more to this end, than that the president of the church should, as rigidly as possible, adhere to the rule acted upon by every truly constitutional sovereign, the rule so admirably adhered

to by our own beloved sovereign, whom we have admired the more ever since, in the late ministerial crisis,-the rule of being himself of no party. The president's party must be that of order, peace, and love; and every good member will sustain him in deferring the settlement of any question till it can be done on those terms; till the question can be altogether dropped, or settled with the sincere good-will of all, even of those who might have preferred a different decision. F. C.

A COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, BY C. M. Du Veil, D.D., WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION BY THE REV. F. A. Cox, D.D., LL.D. Pp. 574. London: The Hanserd Knollys Society. This is the sixth volume of the Hanserd Knollys Society. And we have pleasure in stating, that it is really and veritably a book written by an" old English Baptist," and not, as in a recent case, nearly half the volume by a modern preacher. We sincerely thank Dr. Cox for introducing, not supplanting, Du Veil,-for not spreading out what half a dozen pages easily contain, into nearly half a volume of needless disquisition. Certain we are, that if the Society is to be upheld, the subscribers must have the works of old, not of modern Baptists. Du Veil was born a Jew. The study of the prophecies led him to believe in the messiahship of Jesus, and hence to become a Roman Catholic, the only form of christianity he knew of, -in which church he became distinguished as a scholar and preacher. Having been led into controversy with the Huguenots, the chief opponents of Popery at that time, the study of the points in dispute between them opened his eyes to the superstitions and errors of Romanism. He escaped to Holland for safety, and thence to England. Having become acquainted here with many of the most distinguished Churchmen of that day, he entered the Episcopal church; but having free access to the library of the Bishop of London, and meeting there with some works of the English Baptists, having also been introduced to Hanserd Knollys (the excellent man from whom our Society takes its name), he was eventually led to adopt Baptist views, and joined the church

of the Rev. John Gosnold. All his former church friends, except Archbishop Tillotson, appear now to have forsaken him. It was shortly after this, that he applied himself to the work before us, which appeared in England in 1685. It is termed, by the author, a "Literal Explanation of the Acts," and such is its character. All our readers who like the antique style of comment, will use this work with interest. There is abundance of learning in it, yet not the least ostentation of it; and a character of manly simplicity and straightforwardness, such as we might look for in one who had found his way successively out of Judaism, through Popery and the Church of England, to scriptural views of baptism. Of course, he does not neglect texts bearing on this subject, but his discussions are perfect in point of christian temper and spirit, combining learning, manliness, and kindness.

A MANUAL OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION, FOR THE YEAR 1851, BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE BAPTIST UNION, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE THIRTY-NINTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THAT BODY, &c. Pp. 96. London: Houlston and Stoneman.

THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION, A DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT THE OPENING of the SESSION OF THE BAPTIST UNION, APRIL 25th, 1851. By EDWARD BEAN UNDERHILL. Pp. 16. London: Houlston and Stoneman.

The "Baptist Manual" contains this year all the usual information, including much interesting Denominational intelligence, and a full account of the proceedings of the Union, with an Introductory Discourse by Mr. Underhill. Mr. Under

It

hill's Discourse, which we are glad to see reprinted from the Manual, is instructive and valuable in a very high degree. points out, in a lucid manner, and with those marks of research and thorough knowledge of his subject which always appear in Mr. Underhill's productions, "those features of truth which seem especially characteristic of the Baptist denomination, and which distinguish the Baptists from bodies of christian men otherwise allied to them by a common faith;" referring more particularly to their views on Scripture, the Church, and the Sacraments. We hope that it will be extensively circulated, and carefully read by ministers and the more thoughtful members of our churches.

NOTES, EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL, ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, AND ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, DESIGNED FOR SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND BIBLE CLASSES. BY THE REV. ALBERT BARNES. CAREFULLY REVISED BY THE REV. SAMUEL GREEN. Pp. 768. London: Benjamin

L. Green.

We had pleasure in commending Mr. Green's edition of Barnes's Notes on the Gospels; his edition of the Notes on the Acts and Romans, appears to be quite as deserving approval. To Sunday School teachers and the young generally, these Notes must be very valuable; but we would entreat those who use them to remember, what, indeed, there is too much danger of their forgetting, that such works should be used rather as helps, than as guides, to the understanding of Scripture. It is impossible to gain from Commentaries, however excellent, a full comprehension of Scripture truth; it would be dangerous, as it is certainly wrong, to "call any man master on earth;" to study the Word of God for ourselves, with constant prayer, of course, for Divine illumination, is required of all who would comprehend the mysteries of divine and spiritual knowledge. If, however, such works as that before us are used to aid our own enquiries, and not to supersede them,

they must greatly facilitate our efforts, and their wide dissemination cannot be too strongly desired.

THE PAPAL WORLD: BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG ON POPERY. Nos. 1 to 8. Price One Halfpenny each. London: Benjamin L. Green.

We are glad to welcome these beautiful little books, and heartily to commend them to our young readers. They are simply and pleasingly written, in a good spirit, with none of that extravagance into which too many writers on the subject have fallen, and convey a good deal of important information. Their extensive circulation could not but have the effect of putting many young readers upon their guard against the imposing claims and plausible assertions which Popery is again making.

GUTTA PERCHA, ITS DISCOVERY, History,

AND MANIFOLD USES, ILLUSTRATED BY
AN ENGRAVING IN OIL COLOURS, AND
SIXTY ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. Pp. 48.
London: Benjamin L. Green.

A very useful and interesting tract, containing a good deal of well-compiled information on a subject at present attracting considerable attention. The oil colour engraving is beautifully executed; and the wood cuts are done in good style; though some of the pictures, such as that of the marching policemen, and that of the laundress and the clothes line, scarcely, we should think, deserve to be dignified with the name of "illustrations."

Recent Publications.

The Friend of Israel. Published Monthly. Scottish Society for the Conversion of Israel.

A Manual of Faith and Practice, designed principally for the use of Junior Members of General Baptist Churches. By W. Chapman, Longford. (Pp. 40. Leices ter: J. Brooks.)

The Compatibility between Divine Fore knowledge and Human Obduracy. A Lecture by William Barker, Baptist Minister, Burslem. (Pp. 16. Birmingham: Swan.)

"Oh, Sir," said the boy, "will she never live again, and love me, just as she has done? Why did she die?"

"It pleased God to take her, Ernest, and

she lives now with him. Grieve not so bitterly; your mother is holy and happy. Should not that comfort you ?"

The sobs were quieted, but only for a moment. Again the thought of his great loss, and a fresh sense of this, his first experience of sorrow, overpowered the affectionate child, and his heart, in its desolateness, almost refused the consolation that he so greatly needed. "My mother! my precious mother!" said he, "oh, how you loved me! How good, how kind, how dear you were to me! Who is there now to love me as you loved? You were my best friend." And then the fast coming tears would choke the words, and the little mourner gave himself wholly to his grief.

The old pastor looked at him compassionately, and then turned his gaze upon the placid features of the dead. "He is nearly alone in the world, poor lamb," thought he; his mother's only one-her single tie to earth, and she every thing to him! God have mercy on thee, dear child!" And as he smoothed the hair of that young head, with caressing tenderness, tears, for a time, kept back the words of comfort he would fain have spoken. Ernest scarcely heeded the old man's presence. He drew his little bench nearer the bedside, and leaned his head towards the cold form of her who never in life had failed to welcome his approach. My mother! my best, my only friend!" was the absorbing thought of the bereaved one.

"Ernest, child," said the pastor, in a kind but firm tone, "say not so; you are not friendless nor alone, even though she is taken."

"I know you love me, my good father," said Ernest, "and you will still be my friend, if only for her sake. But neither you nor any one can love me and take care of me as my mother did. I feel alone."

"True, child," said the pastor, "I am your friend, and would most gladly, now, bless you with consolation. Therefore does it pain me that you mourn so much. While you have been weeping and sorrowing here, feeling that all is taken from you, I have been thinking of a friend-a true and faithful friend-whom you seem to have forgotten; one who loves you and remembers you constantly."

The boy raised his head and turned with an enquiring glance towards the old man, saying, "What do you mean, good Sir? Was not my mother the best and dearest

friend I had in the world? and now she is gone. Indeed I have no friend like her."

"My dear Ernest," continued the aged teacher, "you have still left to you your best Friend. Death cannot remove Him from you; sorrow cannot separate his love from you, nor affliction of any kind deprive you of his favour, so long as you truly desire it. Earthly friends pass away. Alas! do I not well know the anguish of separation from the loved and cherished ones who have walked with me in life ?"

He paused here; his memory was busy in recalling seasons of the past, when his own heart, from time to time, had experienced the desolation of bereavement; and then, as though strengthened by the retrospection that brought equally before him God's mercy, as well as his chastisements, he continued his discourse.

"And though our friends be spared to us many years, yet they sometimes become strangely changed. They cease to love and confide in us as once they did, so that we enjoy no more happiness with them. There are few disappointments harder to bear than this, Ernest. Earth offers no balm to a heart thus wounded, and we shrink from trusting and loving again, lest another blight fall upon us, and our affections quite wither under its chilling influence. But He of whom I speak is a friend that never 'leaves' nor forsakes.' We need have no fear that the heartiest reliance upon Him will meet with disappointment. What think you of such friendship, Ernest? Is it not of priceless worth?"

"Indeed, I think so, Sir," returned the boy, "and if all this be true, I would be glad to have such a friend. But how can I know that he loves me, and cares for me, as you say?"

"He himself says thus, or I should not have known it to repeat to you. And not only are his words friendly, but all his acts correspond with what he has said, proving his sincerity and his truth."

"Well, good Sir, where shall I find him? Must I go a great distance, and will it be a long, wearisome search ?"

"That depends upon the feelings with which you regard him. If you do not truly desire his favour, you cannot ask with that fervour necessary to success. He is not one to be trifled with, and none can deceive Him, however one may deceive himself. But if you believe that he is willing to receive you, and has the power to do what he

has promised, then I am sure he is at all times ready to befriend you. His ear is ever open to those who call, and his hand is as ready to help them, as his heart is to welcome them. Earthly friends, you know, may not always be near us in time of need. Many circumstances may keep them from us just when we most desire their presence and services; but He is ever with us."

"Can he, indeed, be with me, and with you, and with all his friends at the same time? How is that?" asked the simpleminded child.

"Even so, Ernest. It is true that he can be the same abiding, constant friend to you as to me, and also to all others who apply to him. His nature is infinite, and his perfections are beyond our feeble comprehension."

"But does not he become tired of doing so much for others, and sometimes lose his interest ?"

"No, Ernest, by no means, and this is one respect in which he is so different from other friends, and therefore so precious. They often become weary if we are frequent in our demands upon them, and our helplessness and necessities may become a burden that presses heavily. But this Friend never wearies in assisting us-he delights in it. He knows it is for our own highest good to come often to him, and he bestows most liberally his gifts. I have often noticed that the greater our need, the more helpless and weak we feel ourselves, the nearer may we approach him, and the more

may we ask. Is this like any human love?

"Strong, and deep, and pure as is a mother's affection, yet, believe me, my son, there is a Friend whose love is of greater worth; a love unmixed with frailty and sin, embracing every being God has made. This love may be yours; is it not worth the seeking? I think you must feel that it is, if only for this present life; but we know not yet the full extent of its blessedness. Throughout eternity it will never cease to elevate, and purify, and bless all who have become partakers of it."

Ernest's tears were dried and his heart comforted, as he listened with increasing interest to the good man's teachings. With his little hand fast clasped in that of his friend, he had eagerly drunk in his words; at first uncertain of the exact truth veiled under the similitude he chose to use, yet at length catching the meaning, he became interested to pursue the comparison, and to study the excellence of the heavenly Friend.

"Yes, dear Sir," said he, eagerly, “it is Jesus you mean, is it not? And I had almost forgotten him, as you said, at first. How wrong that was! Oh, he is my best Friend, I know; mother often told me that, and I know that if she were living now, nothing would make her so happy as to know that I love Jesus with all my heart."

"He requires that, Ernest. Oh, griere him not by neglect and disobedience. Come to him now, and prove him indeed the truest and best of Friends !"

ACCESS TO GOD. However early in the morning you seek the gate of access, you find it already open; and however deep the midnight moment when you find yourself in the sudden arms of death, the winged prayer can bring an instant Saviour near; and this wherever you are. It needs not that you ascend some special Pisgah or Moriah. It needs not that you should enter some awful shrine, or put off your shoes on some holy ground. Could a memento be reared on every spot from which an acceptable prayer has passed away, and on which a prompt answer has come down, we should find Jehovah-shammah, the Lord hath been here,' inscribed on many a cottage hearth and many a dungeon floor. We should find it not only in Jerusalem's proud temple, and David's cedar galleries, but in the fisherman's cottage by the brink of Gen

nesaret, and in the upper chamber where Pentecost began. And whether it be the field where Isaac went to meditate, or the rocky knoll where Jacob lay down to sleep, or the brook where Israel wrestled, or the den where Daniel gazed on the hungry lions and the lions gazed on him, or the hill-sides where the man of sorrows prayed all night, we should still discern the prints of the ladder's feet let down from heaventhe landing-place of mercies, because the starting-point of prayer. And all this whatsoever you are. It needs no saint, no proficient in piety, no adept in eloquent language, no dignity of earthly rank. It needs but a simple Hannah, or a lisping Samuel. It needs but a blind beggar, or a loathsome lazar. It needs but a penitent publican, or a dying thief. And it needs no sharp ordeal, no costly passport, no painful

expiation, to bring you to the mercy-seat; or rather, I should say, it needs the costliest of all: but the blood of atonement- the Saviour's merit-the name of Jesus-priceless as they are, cost the sinner nothing. They are freely put at his disposal, and instantly and constantly he may use them. This access to God in every place, at every moment, without any price or personal merit -is it not a privilege?-Rev. J. Hamilton.

CURE FOR A PASSIONATE TEMPERA merchant in London had a dispute with a Quaker respecting the settlement of an account. The merchant was determined to bring the question into court, a proceeding which the Quaker earnestly deprecated, using every argument in his power to convince the merchant of his error; but the latter was inflexible. Desirous to make a last effort, the Quaker called at his house one morning, and enquired of the servant if his master was at home. The merchant hearing the enquiry, and knowing the voice, called aloud from the top of the stairs, "Tell that rascal that I am not at home." The Quaker, looking up towards him, calmly said, "Well, friend, God put thee into a better mind." The merchant, struck afterwards with the meekness of the reply, and having more deliberately investigated the matter, became convinced that the Quaker was right, and he in the wrong. He requested to see him, and after acknowledging his error, he said, "I have one question to ask you-how were you able, with such patience, on various occasions to bear my abuse?" "Friend," replied the quaker, "I will tell thee. I was naturally as hot and as violent as thou art. I knew that to indulge this temper was sinful; and I found that it was imprudent. I observed that men in a passion always speak aloud; and I thought if I could control my voice, I should

repress my passion. I have therefore made it a rule never to suffer my voice to rise above a certain key; and by a careful observance of this rule, I have, with the blessing of God, entirely mastered my natural temper." The Quaker reasoned philosophically, and the merchant, as every one else may do, benefited by his example.

DO WE KNOW HOW TO PRAY ?-And has not the church almost to learn what is the power of prayer? What conception have we of believing prayer, before which mountains depart? What of persevering prayer, which causes us to stand continually upon the watch-tower in the daytime, and which sets us in our ward whole nights? What of importunate prayer, which storms heaven with its "violence and force ?" What of united prayer, "gathering us together to ask help of the Lord ?" What of consistent prayer, which regards no iniquity in our hearts ? What of practical prayer, which fulfils itself? Let but such prayer be understood, let our spirit but "break with such longing," and the expectations of our bosoms shall not be delayed. "And it shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear."-R. W. Hamilton.

THE ONE SUBJECT.-Christ is the great subject of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the ring, Christ is the diamond. The Scriptures are the circle, Christ is the centre. The Scriptures are the field, Christ is the treasure hid in that field. The Scriptures are the box, Christ is the spikenard. The Scriptures are the building, Christ is the foundation. The Scriptures are the body, Christ is the soul. What is the Old Testament, but Christ concealed? What is the New Testament, but Christ revealed?-W. M'Owen.

BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSIONS.

ABSTRACT OF ANNUAL REPORT. Presented at the Annual Meeting, April 30th, 1851.

The missions carried on by the contributions and the missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society, are limited, with one slight exception, to the Hindoo and Negro races. The Hindoo race is supposed to number at least sixty millions of souls; the negro population of the globe, fifty-five millions.

Among the Bahamas, in Trinidad, Haiti, Jamaica, and on the west coast of Africa, your missionaries labour, and, by God's blessing, with large and increasing success. These fields of labour have been occupied, during the year, by ten European brethren. Of these, eight remain. Two have reached

the shores of the better land, where they rest from their labours-Mr. New begin of the African, and Mr. Tinson of the Jamaica, missions.

In the Bahamas, 135 persons have been baptized, and 2,758 converts are under the care, for the most part, of men of their own race, nineteen in number; 152 others are found gratuitously to assist in the maintenance of Christ's cause. In Trinidad, our brethren have had the pleasure of receiving into the fold of Christ, eight persons; while the tracts on the errors of Rome, prepared by Mr. Law, have been widely circulated, and have wrought some visible effect on the minds of the general population. In Haiti, the little band of disciples has received a few accessions.

In Africa, notwithstanding all the afflictions which have fallen upon the mission, the absence of any European to superintend