doubtless would not leave his children ignorant of the great principles of religion with regard to the three states of mankind. Other nations have obscured and altered this tradition by their fables; and it has been preserved in its purity nowhere but in the Scriptures. It is only to be added, that as historical tradition agrees with the sacred writings, in supposing the three states of the world, so they also agree particularly in the two following points : 1. In ascribing the origin of evil to some demon or malignant spirit. This demon the Egyptians called Typhon, who, they say, was not born, but burst violently through the ribs of his mother. He afterwards rebelled against Osiris, or the good God, and filled the universe with his rage and violence. The Python of the Greeks, whom they represented as a monstrous serpent, is thought to denote the same evil principle; and their fable of the Titans rebelling against Jove, seems to be an obscure tradition of the fallen angels. The same evil principle was by the Persians called Ahriman, or Arimanius, who, by his disloyalty against the great God Oromazes, in time produced darkness. And it is observed, that in the magic oracles, the demons or evil genii, are called beasts of the earth; whence some have been led to think that Moses is to be understood in the same figurative sense, when he says, The serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field. 2. They all agree with the Scripture doctrine, in attributing the restoration of mankind to some dignified person, whom they considered as a subordinate god, the son and viceroy of the Supreme. Him the Persians call Mythras, or the middle god: the Egyptians, Orus, the son of Osiris, and the first production of his power. The Greeks gave him different names; sometimes he is Apollo fighting against Python and the Titans; sometimes he is Hercules, destroying monsters and giants, and purging the earth of its enormities and crimes: at one time he is Mercury, or the messenger of Jove, flying about every where to execute his decrees; at another Perseus, delivering Andromeda, or human nature, from the monster that rose out of the great deep to devour her. He is the same whom the Indian Gymnasophists call Brama, whom their supreme god Vistnou produced before the formation of the world. The Chinese call him Kiun Tse, shepherd and prince. There is, indeed, one important circumstance, wherein they differ widely from that which is commonly supposed to be the christian doctrine, namely, that whereas we are taught to believe, that only a part of the human race are to have the benefit of this restoration, and quite exclude from it all the fallen angels, and a great part of mankind; they, on the contrary, extend this restoration to all beings whatsoever, as will evidently appear to every person who will take the pains of consulting their writings. To which I shall subjoin the sentiment of the celebrated philosopher Empedocles on this head, as it is recorded by Plutarch in his treatise of Isis and Osiris. "The evil demons," says Empedocles, are punished for the faults they have committed. First, the sun precipitates them into the air; the air casts them into the deep sea; the sea vomits them up upon the land; and from the earth they are, at last, raised up to heaven. Thus they are transported from one place to another, till being in the end purified, they return to the place adapted to their nature." HASFIELD. 66 AN ORIGINAL LETTER OF DR. BURNET TO KING CHARLES THE SECOND, DATED 29TH OF JANUARY, 1679-80. May it please your Majesty, I HAVE not presumed to trouble your Majesty for some months, not having any thing worthy your time to offer; and now I choose rather this way, since the infinite duty I owe you puts me under restraints in discourse, which I cannot so easily overcome. What I shall now suggest to your Majesty, I do as in the presence of Almighty God, to whom I know I must give an account of all my actions; I therefore beg you will be graciously pleased to accept this most faithful zeal of your poor subject, who has no other design in it than your good, and the discharge of his own conscience. There is one thing, and indeed the only thing in which all honest men agree, as that which can easily extricate you out of all your troubles; it is not the change of a minister or of a council, a new alliance or a session of parliament; but it is, (and suffer me, Sir, to speak it with a more than ordinary earnestness,) a change in your own heart, and in your course of life. And now, Sir, if you do not with indignation throw this paper from you, permit me, with all the humility of a subject prostrate at your feet, to tell you that all the distrust your people have of you, all the necessities you now are under, all the indignation of Heaven that is now upon you, and appears in the defeating all your councils, flow from this, That you have not feared nor served God, but have given yourself up to so many sinful pleasures. Your Majesty may perhaps justly think, that many of those that oppose you have no regard for religion, but the body of your people consider it more than you can imagine. I do not desire your Majesty to put on an hypocritical show of religion, as Henry the Third of France did, hoping thereby to have weathered the storms of those times. No! that would be soon seen through; and as it would provoke God more, so it would increase jealousies. No, Sir; it must be real, and the evidences of it signal; all those about you who are the occasions of sin, chiefly the women, must be removed, and your court be reformed. Sir, if you will turn you to religion sincerely and seriously, you shall quickly find a serene joy of another nature possess your mind, than what arises from gross pleasures; God would be at peace with you, and direct and bless all your councils; all good men would presently turn to you, and ill men would be ashamed, and have a thin party. For I speak it knowingly, there is nothing has so alienated the body of your people from you, as what they have heard of your life, which disposes them to give an easy belief to all other scandalous reports. Sir, this counsel is almost as necessary for your affairs, as it is for your soul; and though you have highly offended that God, who has been infinitely merciful to you, in preserving you at Worcester fight, and during your long exile, and who brought you back so miraculously; yet he is still good and gracious; and will, upon your sincere repentance, and change of life, pardon all your sins, and receive you into his favour. Oh, Sir, what if you should die in the midst of all your sins? At the great tribunal, where you must appear, there will be no regard to the crown you now wear; but it will aggravate your punishment, that being in so eminent a station, you have so much dishonoured God. Sir, I hope you believe there is a God, and a life to come, and that sin shall not pass unpunished. If your Majesty will reflect upon your having been now twenty years upon the throne, and in all that time how little you have glorified God, how much you have provoked him; and that your ill example has drawn so many after you to sin, that men are not now ashamed of their vices; you cannot but think that God is offended with you and if you consider how ill your councils at home, and your wars abroad, have succeeded, and how much you have lost the hearts of your people, you may reasonably conclude this is of God, who will not turn away his anger from you, till you turn to him with your whole heart. I am no enthusiast either in opinion or temper; yet I acknowledge I have been so pressed in my mind to make this address to you, that I could have no ease till I did it; and since you were pleased to direct me to send you, through Mr. Chiffince's hands, such informations as I thought fit to convey to you, I hope your Majesty will not be offended, if I have made this use of that liberty. I am sure I have no other design in it but your good; for I know very well this is not the method to serve any ends of my own. I therefore throw myself at your feet, and once more, in the name of God, whose servant I am, do most humbly beseech your Majesty to consider of what I have written, and not to despise it for the meanness of the person who has sent it, but to apply yourself to religion in earnest; and I dare assure you of many blessings, both temporal and spiritual, in this life, and of eternal glory in the life to come. But if you will go on in your sins, the judgments of God will probably pursue you in this life, so that you may be a proverb to after-ages; and after this life you will be for ever miserable; and I your poor subject that now am, shall be a witness against you in the great day, that I gave you this free and faithful warning. Sir, no person alive knows that I have written to you to this purpose; and I chose this evening, hoping that your exercise to-morrow may put you into a disposition to weigh it more carefully. I hope your Majesty will not be offended with this sincere expression of my duty to you; for 1 durst not have ventured on it, if I had not thought myself bound to it, both by the duty I owe to God, and that which will ever oblige me to be, may it please your Majesty, &c. January 29, 1679-80. DIOCESAN RETURNS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. 66 Abstract of the MR. EDITOR.-In the newspapers, I observe an total number of Parishes in each Diocese of England and Wales, containing a Population of 1,000 persons and upwards; the number of Churches and Chapels therein; number of persons they will contain ; and the number of dissenting places of worship therein. Dated May 20, 1812." This Abstract is officially signed by a " Thomas B. Clarke, Receiver of Diocesan Returns, &c. ;" and it exhibits 2533 churches and chapels under the Establishment, and 3438 places of worship belonging to dissenters. In England and Wales there were, in 1812, more than 10,000 churches and chapels; of which number the greater portion, being scattered over the face of the country, and provided for the simple, labouring, and poor class, as well as the rich, is excluded from the calculation in the "Abstract," while dissenting places of worship are chiefly confined to towns and places where the population exceeds 1,000. To institute a comparison, therefore, between the Church and dissent, as in the said Abstract, appears very unfair; and it is calculated, if not designed, to mislead the public in estimating the relative strength of the Church and dissent. May it not be asked, why parishes or chapelries containing fewer than 1000 persons, are excluded from the Abstract? and why take the population and returns of 1812? The publishing of this fallacious document, twenty-two years after the returns were made, and under such limitation, indicates that the adversaries of the Church are enabled to make such uses of official documents as may prove most disadvantageous to the Church. Your readers well remember the statement, represented to have been made by Mr. Wilks in the House of Commons, that all the churches and church-chapels in the principality, were only a few above 300. It was afterwards shown, that in ONE of the four dioceses, there are 500 places of worship belonging to the Established Church. a In the Eclectic Review, Feb. 1832, a dissenting periodical, the following statement is made from, what the Eclectic designates, valuable statistical summary, which appeared in the Congregational Magazine for 1829, and on the substantial accuracy of which we are disposed to rely." The reported numbers of the three denominations in England are thus stated :— Allow the same number for the Wesleyan Methodists; and Mr. Venn, in In the preceding calculations, no account has been taken of the Roman 2809 400 6018 At present, the number of churches and chapels (of the Established Church) is, I believe, above 11,000. I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, E. E. ON ORGAN PLAYING. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. MR. EDITOR.-I am glad to hear you are about to publish a volume of Psalms and Hymns, and likewise a Selection of Tunes, (which are very much wanted) for our National Church. In order to induce our congregations to join more generally than they do at present, I would take the liberty of suggesting, that, as a great deal depends upon the organists, it would induce many more to join in the singing, particularly females, if the great organ was not so much used. It is usually too loud, and prevents many from attempting to sing. The choir and swell would be quite sufficient; particularly as most instruments have now couplers, which enables the performer to combine the stops. A hint from you would, I am sure, go a great way to remedy this almost universal fault. T. E. ADESTE FIDELES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. MR. EDITOR.-I propose to grant an annuity of thanks to any of your poetical readers who will favour me with a good versification (Long Measure) of the following well-known hymn; and should be delighted to see it in your next Number, inasmuch as the day for which it was originally written falls within the month of December. ADESTE fideles læti triumphantes Deum de Deo lumen de lumine Deum verum genitum non factum; Venite adoremus Dominum. Ergo, qui natus die hodierna, JESU, tibi sit gloria, Patris æterni verbi caro factum; Venite adoremus Dominum. Cantet nunc Io! chorus angelorum, Cantet nunc aula cœlestium; Gloria in excelsis Deo, Venite adoremus Dominum. VANITY OF THIS WORLD. WHY will deluded man so fondly view |