A vast vacuity; all unawares,

is no darkness at all; that he is no re specter of persons; that there is no unrighteousness with him; that he is just, and wise, and good; are propositions so clearly laid down in Scripture, as not to admit of the possibility of a mistake. If, therefore, we see in any doctrine, what appears to militate against these first principles of religion, the reason must be, that we do not understand that doctrine. We must not, however, sup

he drops

Ten thousand fathom deep.

It might lower the tone of passionate dogmatism to reflect, that in the course of many centuries, during which this arduous question has unhinged the wit and wearied the patience of the most ingenious and painful inquirers, no progress whatever has been made to a right understanding of it.

The opening of this sermon is well worthy of attention, and may furnish matter for useful reflection.

"As God is in his own nature incomprehensible, so his dispensations towards men partake of the same character, and are incomprehensible also. His judgments are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out. It becomes us, therefore, in contemplating the Divine proceedings, to be sensible how incompetent judges we are of what is fit and right for God to do. It is our wisdom to know where to stop; to be content with the things that are revealed; and not to aim at being wise above what is written, nor to pry with an eager and hurtful curi osity into those secret things which belong unto the Lord our God. But though the desire of intruding into things not seen deserves to be censured, as the effect of a proud and fleshly mind, yet all inquiry, even into the deep things of God, is not to be repressed. To a certain extent, even here, it has pleased God to lift up the veil which hides his dispensations; and to proceed so far with humility and reverence, is by no mean neprofitable, provided only we bear in mind, that no conclusions drawn from doctrines which we very imperfectly understand must be suffered for a moment to interfere with known and evident truths. That God is love; that he is light, and that in him

is revealed in Scripture; or to say of any doctrine that it is not true, or that it is not to be understood according to the plain and natural sense of the words, merely because we cannot reconcile it with the acknowledged attributes of God. It may be true, notwithstanding this. Many things are evidently and undeniably true, which we cannot make to harmonize with the Divine perfections. As yet we see but in part, and our faculties in this imperfect state are not large enough to comprehend these great truths in all their bearings. The light of glory will explain all meanwhile, we must submit our understandings to be taught of God, and be content to receive his word with the simplicity of little children. Every doctrine which God has revealed is calculated to form some holy grace in the heart; and therefore the Christian character cannot be complete, if any part of Divine truth be overlooked or denied. Besides, when men stand aloof from any truth whatever, when they forbear to examine it, they do not by this means leave their minds void of all impressions on the subject in question. Just views, which are the result of candid investigation and prayer, are indeed hereby prevented; but prejudices are not shut out; these crowd in the more as men avoid patient inquiry; and these who refuse to contemplate an object in its just proportions, reduce themselves to the necessity of beholding a distorted image of it." Vol. II. p. 487.

Such are the sensible remarks by which Mr. Fawcett introduces his reader to this profound inquiry; or, we should rather say, endeavours to lead them away from subtle speculations to certain practical couclusions. We are disposed to admit that it may not be expedient for a Christian minister to withhold from his congregation those views of Pre

destination which he apprehends to be clearly set forth in Scripture; provided always that he is modest and temperate in the enunciation of his opinions, and that the subject occupies no more than its due place in his ministrations. But may there not be a large class of persons, who, after having anxiously and perseveringly examined the question, remain in considerable doubt as to its just and scriptural solution, and who, therefore, deem it their wisest course to abstain from darkening counsel by words without knowledge? It will readily be allowed by thinking meneven among those who would maintain the obligation of explaining this dark subject, and by no one, we are persuaded, more readily than by our pious author-that there is, perhaps, no theological question on which so many have suffered themselves to deviate from the simplicity of the faith. They will readily agree with us, that it is also a subject which may very unseasonably be brought forward in the pulpit, and that the grand duty of the ministers of the Gospel is to preach the more plain and awakening doctrines of repentance and conversion, of faith in the atoning Sacrifice, of a new birth unto righteousness, and a holy conversation enriched with good works, Assuredly the first object of prac. tical moment for perishing sinners, is not to speculate about the point from which a gracious God descends to fallen men, but to ascertain the point from which they must ascend to that Father of Mercies. It will be time enough, they will allow, to look more closely into the humbling or encouraging considerations which flow from the theory of election, when the fruits of a Divine faith have entitled us to the comfortable assurance that we are in the number of the children of God. Till then, at least, all speculations on the subject had better be forborne. They are not likely to produce any serious impressions on minds which

have hitherto revolted against the simple and solemn declarations of evangelical truth; but they may contribute to the perdition of souls, if they amuse, with fantastic conceits aud vague anticipations, persons who should be rather employed in lowly prostrations before the Cross, and in fervent entreaties for sanctifying grace, the pledge and the earnest of forgiveness and of heaven.

To those, however, who deem it their duty to present to their congregation the subject of Predestination, we would strenuously recommend the example of Mr. Fawcett, both in the hallowed caution with which he treats it, and in the pains he takes to exhibit along with it the practical effects with which the term, whatever be its real import, is always connected in the inspired writings. It is very possi ble to enunciate a true proposition, yet in such a connection, and so divested of its proper accompaniments, as to convey a sense diametrically opposite to the truth. And this is done by the preacher who, while he enlarges on the sequel of the supposed decree, which terminates in the glorification of the elect, entirely passes over, or dismisses with a hasty and superficial notice, those antecedent provisions which render the permanency of faith and holiness indispensable to all who would inherit eternal life. How directly does the method of teaching used by the Apostles militate against such a system! By them men are invariably taught, that "God hath from the beginning chosen them to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth;" and that they are "elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." The object of such representations is not to make the Christian pilgrim walk less circumspectly; it is not to divert his eyes from the duties

of his holy calling, by fixing them upon its glorious prize; but it is to fortify his faith, and to animate his affections, that he may walk worthy of his high vocation, and make sure his election, by "always abounding in the work of the Lord." A wise and faithful minister will pursue a similar plan. He will take care to shew that the merciful purposes of God toward those whom he saves are accomplished by the new creation of their souls, which were dead in trespasses and sins; and that none can have the slightest ground for presuming, that he is enrolled in the register of life, until the fruits of his faith have appeared in his conformity to the Divine image. He will expose the dangerous dream of fancying ourselves to be the favourites of Heaven, when our earthly dispositions and our works of darkness bespeak us very opposite characters; and he will exhort his hearers not to be intent on prying into the hidden records of eternity, which are open only to Infinite Wisdom, but to endeavour to read the purposes of God towards them by the reflexions of his own light and Spirit in their hear, and not by the delusive glare of pride and self-love. The sentiments of Bishop Jeremy Taylor upon this subject are expressed with his usual felicity: "As we take the measure of the course of the sun by the dimensions of the shadows made by our own bodies, or our own instruments, so must we take the measure of eternity by the span of a wan's hand, and guess at what God decrees of us, by considering how our relations and endearments are to him."

So, again, the ambassador of Christ will be forward to shew, that none of his hearers are left without numberless proofs of the Divine forbearance and good will; that it is open to all to receive the grace which bringeth salvation; and that, if numbers perish, it is not because the oblation of Christ was made

inapplicable to them by Divine appointment, but because they have never appropriated it to their individual benefit by a lively faith.

Thus much, at least, will be allowed to be necessary to guard the doctrine of Election, if promulged, from misconstruction and abuse.

We would hazard one remark more before we quit this subject, and it is this, That whenever there does exist, in any one, a disposition to turn the grace of God into li◄ centiousness, and to persist in sin, on the rash surmise that he is shel tered from its consequences under the eternal decrees of Jehovah, such a temper and conduct can be ascribed to nothing but a perverse depravity of heart. When a dissolute man is resolved to take his fill of sensual pleasure, he will naturally look about for any sophistry which can appease the troublesome suggestions of conscience; and ac cording to his complexion, education, or other accidental circumstances, he will seek repose, from a distorted representation of some evangelical truth, from the pliant maxims of the world, or from the utter extinction of all principle and feeling. Doubtless such unhappy persons will sometimes pretend that they owe their emancipation from legal terrors to a confidence of the impunity promised to the elect. The fallacy of such reasonings, which are but a tissue of profligate and futile assumptions, is too obvious to need to be pointed out. No arguments, however, would avail to remove a distemper which lies in the heart, and not in the intellect. Such views can never be honestly entertained by any one who has rationality enough to constitute him accountable for his actions; because, independently of their intrinsic absurdity, they make against the plainest declarations of Scripture, which uniformly declares, that whoso hath within him the hope of immortality and glory will labour

to purify himself, even as Christ is pure.

We now dismiss these valuable sermons, in the persuasion that they will find that reception which they merit, with persons who love the truth as it is in Jesus, pure, simple, and unadorned. Some negli gences of style, on which we have not thought it needful to animadvert, Mr. Fawcett will doubtless deem it expedient to correct in a future edition. To religious masters of families, who have exhausted their volumes of domestic instruction, Mr. Fawcett has rendered an important service; and they will be grateful to a writer who maintains, so forcibly and distinctly, the faith once delivered to the saints, at a time when false beacons are set up on every side, to lure simple souls into the gulf of the Antinomian heresy. It is our earnest prayer, that our author's strenuous and enlightened zeal may avail much to counteract the baneful influence of those wandering stars; and that all who deplore the lukewarmness and sloth which have given a vantage-ground to the activity of deluded men, would unite, in watchfulness and prayer, to propitiate our offended God, and to avert the threatened judgment of having our candlestick removed out of its place.

Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, performed in the Years 1814 and 1815, in company with the Rev. Samuel Marsden, prineipal Chaplain of New South Wales. By JOHN LIDDIARD NICHOLAS, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. London: Black and Son. 1817.

NOT only the "proper" but perhaps the most interesting "study of mankind is man;" and in no form do our speculations assume a more affecting colour than when we behold our race in all the wild sublimity of nature, and free from those restraints which in civilized

society obliterate many of the native features of character, and reduce the species to a uniformity which, however beneficial for individual happiness and social intercourse, is certainly less picturesque and striking than the unsubdued energies of the half-clad savage. Peace, repose, comfort, with all the virtues and benignities of civilized life (to say nothing of religion) are blessings of so high a cast, and so infinitely surpass the brutal conduct and pleasures of the barbarian, that none but a few solitary admirers of an absurd and pestilent philosophy," falsely so called," have been found to doubt which of the two deserved the preference. But, as a subject of occasional contemplation, savage life, whether from its distance from our personal habits and ordinary modes of observation, or from the strong features which characterize it, usually possesses a degree of interest which more polished nations fail to inspire. The inhabitants of towns and cities are beings that we understand; and it is only by the slighter differences which exist between them, and the incessantly varying play of passions and prejudices which mark their conduct, that interest is excited respecting their manners. But the wild inhabitant of woods and streams, who throws himself at night on the bare ground, under the shelter of a tree, or, at best, a crazy hut, and rises with the sun to seek his precarious plunder, rivalling in strength, in fleetness, and in the instincts of savage nature, the very beasts which share his trackless solitudes, is a being that immediately excites our curiosity and interest. It is true that the former class furnish more numerous points of observation in which their characters may be surveyed, and to those whose favourite study is the human heart, will continue to afford interesting subjects of speculation much longer than the savage, who is almost every where substantially the same, and whose

passions, by their very magnitude and excess, render his character easy to be developed and understood. But, to balance this, there is one point of view which, to the devout Christian at least, renders uncivilized man a subject of fearful and permanent interest. He is partaker, in common with ourselves, of an immortal principle; he is heir to a future and never-ending existence; descended, with ourselves, from one common parent, he is inheritor of the same corrupt nature, and needs the same all-powerful redemption, Yet (doubtless for reasons which, if we could fathom them, we should see to be infinitely just, and wise, and good) he has been suffered to remain hitherto ignorant of that remedy: the blood which was shed for the sins of the world has not purified his conscience, nor the voice of Mercy which invites "all nations,-kindreds, people, and tongues," to accept of the proffered salvation, reached his ears. Thus to the Christian he is rendered an object of deep interest and solicitude; and to afford to him the means at once of civilization, and of temporal and eternal happiness, has become at length, as it ought to have been long ago, a subject of anxious attention among various denominations of the Christian world.

The interest thus excited is constantly opening to our view new and unexplored countries, and gradually rendering us more fully ac quainted both with the physical and moral character of mankind, in all its varieties. But we know not that in any quarter the benevolent exertions of missionary piety have introduced us to a race of men more worthy of exciting our interest, as well as our earnest prayers and endeavours for their welfare, than those whose character and country form the subject of the present volumes.

The islands denominated New Zealand appear to have been first visited in 1642, by Abel Jansen

Tasman, a Dutch navigator, who sailed from Batavia for the purpose of making discoveries in the Pacific Ocean. He explored the northeastern coast; but being attacked by the natives, and having three of his men murdered, he did not attempt to land. The various other voyagers who afterwards touched upon the islands, all concur in the report of the wildness and barbarity of the natives, who have been uniformly described as a race of ferocious cannibals. It was for gotten how great were the provocations which they constantly received from the European sailors who passed near their shores, and who were in the habit of committing with impunity the most flagitious and unprovoked outrages amongst them.

It was reserved for the Rev. Samuel Marsden, his Majesty's principal Chaplain in the territory of New South Wales, to attempt the civil and religious improvement of these hitherto neglected barbarians. Of the pious zeal and activity of this valuable clergyman, and of his peculiar fitness for a service of so much difficulty and hazard, the readers of the Christian Observer need not to be informed. Encouraged by the success which had attended the endeavours of the English Missionaries at Otaheite, and undeterred by the objections made to a project which was esteemed, especially at Port Jackson, the most wild and chimerical, Mr. Marsden proposed to the Church Missionary Society, in 1810, the formation of a missionary settlement in New Zealand. The plan being adopted, Mr. Hall and Mr. King, with their families, went out as lay settlers, and were afterwards joined by Mr. Kendall, in the capacity of schoolmaster. The whole number of persons attached to the mission, including women and children, amounted to twenty-five.

These measures, however, had not been proposed or adopted without much previous investiga