Page images
PDF
EPUB

struction of Jerusalem, and their general dispersion by the Emperor Titus Vespasian, so as to include the whole time that has elapsed since their most cruel Rebellion, and unpardonable iniquity in the year A. D. 35, the time will amount altogether to One Thousand Years, with a most extraordinary additional fraction of 777 odd years, (including the present awful year of Retribution 1812,) since they absolutely forfeited every just claim to the promised inheritance of their Ancestors, because they have never yet repented of that most enormous iniquity! Nevertheless, through the infinite mercy of God, the Prophet Ezekiel (many ages before this fulness of their iniquity could be known) was directed, (see chap. xxxvi.) to declare the intention of THE ALMIGHTY to "take them from among the nations, and gather them out of ALL COUNTRIES; and to "bring them into their own land," v. 24. Now this must relate to a providential return in these latter times, which has not yet happened; for their former captivities and dispersions were never before so general, as to include “ COUNTRIES" except since their last ejectment by Titus Vespasian, A. D. 70. And the Prophet adds in the 31 and 32 verses: "Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings, that (were) NOT GOOD, and SHALL

ALL

LOATHE YOURSELVES IN YOUR OWN

SIGHT" (which they have never yet done) "for your iniquities, and for your abominations," "not for your own sakes do I do (this) saith the Lord God, be it known to you:" (for it was for "his own name's sake," to fulfil the Divine promises to Abraham, and other Patriarchs of that nation, as elsewhere declared)" Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O House of "Israel." By this extraordinary promise of the Almighty, to "gather them

out of all countries" (where they have been dispersed) "and to bring them into their own land," on the express condition only of a most humble and sincere repentance, so as even to loathe themselves in their own sight for their iniquities and abominations," there can be no doubt but that the same merciful God would give them some signal warning of the particular time, when they would be permitted to return from the ends of the earth. And the repeated predictions in the Ixviiith Psalm about " Mount Bashan" as being "the Great Mountain of the Lord," in preference even to Mount Zion, and to that sacred part of it, Mount Moriah, where the Temple of God was really built, and where it will be again restored, seems to demonstrate, that some extraordinary signal of the proper time to return, must be given from Mount Bashan, in the neighbourhood of Damascus, espe cially as a repeated reference is given in the 8th and 17th verses of the same Psalm, to Mount Sinai, where the extraordinary phenomenon of a Fiery Flame from Heaven, resting on a tree in that Mount, (here called Holy,) was given to Moses, to warn him of the time of his being called to be the prime Minister of God, in leading the Israelites to their promised inheritance! pp. 7-9.

As it appears that a signal was to be given, the next point to be ascertained is, whether or not it has been yet observed. On this subject, the very excellent and pious author relates as follows:

The Site of "Mount Bashan" is in the neighbourhood of Damascus; and AN ACCOUNT WAS SENT from thence of an extraordinary Signal: a fiery cloud descended from Heaven, and rested

proved, and recommended by the four R. C. Archbishops of Ireland, as a general Catechism for the kingdom

51 Modus Decimandi (contained in half a sheet quarto) 52 Remarks on an important passage (viz. Matth. xiv. 18.) which has long been perverted by the Church of Rome, in support of her own vain and baneful pretensions to a superiority, or supreme Dominion, over all other Episcopal Churches. Written at the request of a worthy young gentleman ( Hammet, Esq.) at Durham, in 1811, printed in

1810

1811

1812

upon a tree on the top of the mountains, and continued with prodigious splendor for three days and three nights, without injuring the tree. Now if this account be really true, the signal may fairly be deemed similar to that glorious Light from Heaven, which appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai. The letter, which contained this account, was sent from Damascus to the Portuguese Rabbi, Dr. Meldola; which letter he showed to another learned Rabbi, Dr. Strasbourg, and desired him to communicate it to Dr. Hirshal, the Chief Rabbi of the Dutch Synagogue in Duke's Place. Dr. Strasbourg (with whom I have been acquainted many years, and have not the least doubt of his veracity) informed me of this circumstance very soon after he received the letter from Rabbi Meldola; and I desired him to compare the account with this lxviiith Psalm, which is a prediction of the present awful vengeance of God, against "Kings and their Armies "— blood for blood, which immediately precedes the happy and glorious Establishment of the Messiah's Kingdom upon earth and as "Mount Bashan" is here repeatedly called "the Great Mountain of the Lord" (instead of Mount Zion the true "Mountain of the Lord") it must refer to some similar signal of a "Fiery Cloud from Heaven," which was to be fulfilled in the present year on "Mount Bashan;" and accordingly in the 8th and 17th verses we find a reference to "Mount Sinai" as "the Holy place," i. e. from the presence of God appearing unto Moses in a similar supernatural appearance of Fire from Heaven! So that if the account from Damascus is really true, there can be no farther difficulty in expounding the true meaning and intention of this very extraordinary Psalm, which has been misconstrued and misunderstood by all Translators and Commentators that have hitherto attempted to explain it.

Dr. Strasbourg seemed very much struck with my reference to this Psalm; and he did not attempt to deny the propriety of the application.

There is ample reason, therefore, to believe that "Mount Bashan" is

really "the Great Mountain of the Lord," from whence the Israelites were to receive an extraordinary signal to return to the inheritance of their Ancestors from all the ends of the earth, to which, for so many ages, they have been dispersed. For they forfeited all right to that promised inheritance, by their horrible Rebellion against "the Son of Man," the only legitimate "King of Israel" of the House of David, though he was really the Word of God, by whom the Worlds were made, even "the King of Glory," to whom they preferred a Tyrannical Pagan Emperor of Rome, with furious proclamation: "We have no King but Casar!" This forfeiture of their inheritance was fulfilled in the year of Christ 35; from which time, the number of years that have elapsed, amount, (as before remarked) to One Thousand Years, with the extraordinary additional fraction of 777 odd years, if the present awful year of Retribution 1812 be included! pp. 13-15.

But the most wonderful and important part of the narrative is yet to

come:

But how shall we account for the continual obstinacy and rebellion of these Elders of Israel (I speak at present only of two of them) who now pretend to deny that any such letter was received by Rabbi Meldoli from Damascus? Rabbi Meldoli himself denies it, though he delivered that letter to Dr. Strasbourg to be communicated to Dr. Hirshal, and the latter also presumes to deny the fact; though we have a credible witness to the contrary in Dr. Strasbourg, who was employed by Rabbi Meldoli to communicate the original letter to Dr. Hirshal, Rabbi Meldoli, who came from Damascus, now presumes to assert, that the letter which he received, was only from a MERCHANT at Gibraltar, containing such a report, and he denies that any letter was sent to him from Damascus, though he delivered that very letter to Dr. Strasbourg! p. 16.

On the credibility of these different facts, we leave our readers to

decide for themselves; and for a fuller demonstration of Mr. Sharp's theory, including a brief but mild controversy with Mr. Dimoch, we must refer to the work.

A LETTER FROM A CALM OBSERVER, to a NOBLE LORD, on the subject of the late declaration relative to the Orders in Council. London, Gale. 1812. pp. 16. pr. 1s. 6d.

THE object of this animadversion on the declaration of the 21st of April last is "to show the distinction which ought to be made between French pretensions and American acquiescence." And it undertakes to demonstrate, by a reference to authentic documents, that the principles asserted in the preceding promulgation to the Conservative Senate, which were the subject of that Order, are not acknowledged by the American Government. But that, on the contrary, the British doctrine on all those subjects (viz. the question of free ships, free goods, of a blockade requiring an investment by land as well as by sea to make it legal, and of ship timber, and other articles of naval equipment, being contraband of war) was that in which America concurred.

From this small work, which censures with some severity the artful insinuation of a combination on the part of America with the French Government in the assertion of the above principles, we shall make only one extract.

Now, my Lord, I beg leave to ask where is the evidence of American acquiescence, that should involve the United States in the consequences of the French pretensions ?-in my conscience, I must say, and I hope your Lordship will join me, that not only do I find no acquiescence on the part of the American government to French principles; but that on moot points,points much mooted in Europe,points in which England stands alone in Europe, and in which the faith of America has been much shaken, she has still acquiesced in the doctrine of England.-Well then may Mr. Pinkney say, as he does in the very letter to Lord Wellesley above quoted, "What I have to request of your Lordship therefore is, that you will take our views and principles from our own mouths; and that neither the Berlin decree, nor any other act of any foreign state, may be made to speak for us what we have not spoken for ourselves." p. 13.

The author of the above published "A Series of Letters from a Cosmopolite to a Clergyman; containing a temperate Inquiry into the Subjects of Dispute between Great Britain and America: with remarks on the erroneous opinion entertained in this country, relative to the partiality of America towards France; including authentic documents to prove the contrary:" Which was reviewed in our first Number.

Powlett's Father's Reasons for being a Christian.

A FATHER'S REASONS FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN. Dedicated, with permission, to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. By the Rev. CHARLES POWLETT, Chaplain in Ordinary to His Royal Highness. 8vo. pp. 374. London, Booth. 1812. Pr. 10s. 6d.

The author of this work does not profess to enter into a profound disquisition of the evidences of Christianity, but states his sentiments on that subject in a plain and familiar address to his children: and, being a minister of the Church of England, of course considers the Christian religion as being there taught and practised in its greatest purity. The circumstances which led to the commencement of this address, and the reasons for afterwards enlarging it for publication, will appear most satisfactorily in the preface itself, the whole of which we shall therefore extract.

PREFACE.

Whenever a person, without any superior pretensions, thinks proper to offer to the public a new work on the subject of Religion, concerning which so much has been written by men equally distinguished for their learning and their talents, an explanation of his motives seems to be demanded. The following plain statement, it is hoped, will be deemed sufficient.

121

aid which a well-informed and a welldisposed mother always affords) of instilling indelibly into the minds of my children the evidences of the Christian Religion. It pleased God, however, to listen to my prayers, and to spare me from so heavy an affliction, and her children from so irreparable a loss. Some time afterwards it occurred to me, that it would be a proper act of gratitude for the blessing, which I had received, and an useful assistance to the office of their mother, if I prepa red an easy and familiar address to my children on the subject of Christianity. I considered that, however inferior it might be, as a literary composition, to many works, which I could put into their hands, it would probably command greater attention and make a stronger impression on their minds, as being dictated by the anxiety and affection of a father.

This was the first and real cause of "The Father's Reasons" being begun. This will account for the familiarity of the first part of the Address, andtor the introduction of allusions to private history, which, though now submitted to general readers, I have thought proper not to alter, considering that the interest arising from the original object of the Address would be diminished by the omission. As I proceeded in the object, my views ex tended. Since the influence, which I hoped the work would have over the minds of my children, would not be diminished by the contents being more generally diffused, I resolved to take a more comprehensive scope, and to write for the public inspection.

Those, who most require information on religious subjects, are more likely to read short treatises, written in an easy and popular manner, than they are to enter upon works of greater length and displaying deeper erudition. As I have little doubt that more persons talk of Spenser, Shakspeare, and Milton, than read their Works, so much more am I convinced that "The Divine Legation of Moses," the "Horæ Paulinæ," the works of Bentley, and other superior publications are seldom taken to any closets but those of the learned, and of persons, NO. II.

In the autumn of the year 1807, I was for some weeks in daily apprehension of being deprived of the chief comfort, which this life has to bestow. In those hours of anxious sorrow, dead to the world and to every thing in it, but to my children and to their interest, I frequently meditated on the arduous task, which would devolve on me, of supplying the place of both parents. Among other less important considerations, I reflected on the encreased difficulty (without that best

VOL. I.

who are already masters of the arguments, which those valuable books contain. I have undertaken therefore to write this Treatise, not because I conceive that I can execute it better than others, but because others have not produced a work of this familiar nature.

In a Treatise, which aims not at any extent of learning or depth of research, vanity with respect to talents, or fear of the severity of criticism, must be equally out of the question. Indeed, whoever has a proper feeling, while writing on the subject of Religion, must be conscious how inconsistent is either pride or vanity with such an undertaking, and how entirely the exalted subject ought to fill him with a mixture of humility and consolation. My endeavour has been to attract the attention of my children and others to their best interests by a plain and unaffected strain of argument. Should my own observations be deemed too trite, and not excite the feelings I could wish, no small benefit will have been conferred on the community, if any persons should be induced by my observations to give an attentive perusal to the Sermons of Mr. Van Mildert. From the clearness of his demonstrations, and from the regular chain of his discourses, in which each following link so regularly depends on the preceding one, I may aptly denominate him "The Ecclesiastical Euclid." The whole work united, cannot fail to convince every one, who is open to conviction. I consider, also, that the Statement of the Heads of Bishop Horne's Sermons given in the Appendix, merits the thanks of those, who, in consequence of seeing that sketch, should make themselves fully acquainted with the works of that enlightened Prelate. It is equally my opinion, that the selection made from the work of Mr. Faber might be eminently useful, if it should tend to awaken any mind to a consideration of the nature of Prophecy, and to an investigation of that great proof of Religious Truth.

With respect to the observations I have made on the present state of Religion in this country, of the causes

of inattention to its truth, and on the evidences which prove that truth, I must be ignorant indeed, if I presumed that any novel arguments had been produced in this treatise. I have only stated briefly those sentiments. which others have published, not only in a more diffuse, but in a much more learned manner. I have conscientiously declared the grounds of my own faith, and endeavoured to give to my children, and to the rising generation, that conviction and that consolation, which I feel in my own breast.

The common declaration, that I publish by the advice of friends, I disclaim: the propriety or impropriety of publica tion, rests with myself. But the mode, in which I have consented to publish, has arisen from the advice and recommendation of one, whom any man may be proud to call his friend. I will conclude this preparatory address, with the words of that impressive poet, Cowper, and say, that, whatever may be the fate of this publication,

........

"All is in his hand, whose praise I seek, whose Eye is on the Heart, Whose frown can disappoint the proudest strain,

Whose approbation prosper even mine.”

The cause that so little attention is bestowed on the truths of Christianity is not attributed, as by some it has been, to the want of religious instruction in public schools or private seminaries, but to the very prevalent neglect of parents in never instilling the precepts of the gospel into the minds of their children at home. Those who are thus left ignorant respecting a subject of the highest importance are easily biassed by the scoffs of indecent ridicule, and become tainted by the poison of infidelity. On the justice of this complaint we must leave our readers to decide.

Irreligion, as the author asserts, never proceeded from a conviction that Christianity was founded in error, but from some one or all of these four causes: the pride, or

« PreviousContinue »