' - . 4').„. ~... ... .t5.;......4„. - • '. mirrw 7 -. , . -14 ~.: _,............. ---- ~ .. 7 - " -- ` - '7" ----7 •,,T , 7 ,:: - - "-, - --- - ,7 - 7 - ' • `r , .--. s '''-' - '-' l7 i ,-: -.----" : ,-, .-.',..* --1...= .".-- ' • if -';',.1. --. t-, ." ','„ -- :‘,.r,...4 , 0-.l"' , - ..„'L -% ~- ."-•., , .,r4 . a. , , , „ 'Ow a . .".r -,..), ~.. - - 1 _ ..... ~ k fn. T , . , jlit : 4 isk , , i • -' 1 , 4; : . .1::: .., '',' 1 ... f • 3 1 0 ` .. x . ' t r " , Ns. • '''' , .. . . , . ..._. , .....,...... NeillikliOrp, • , • t 0, 0 .. ... 4I , , F 14 i pi, I 46, ' , ' -I- • ,L.''..,.,t....14;: torlaft Banacri..l,4l, VII. Nes /6 I ' ' " ONE THING IS NEEDFUIo: 4 1 -4 HOTa HA *E t ESIRED OF. THE LORD:" **THIS ON E, THING I DCX'' WHOLE N link* ale oriask Advessit.) Vol. XX, IMe. 48.1 . rim preabyt rlltbyt DATID - MeKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor. TE018, 77 1/1 ADVANCE, =I riginal littattrg. ' i lls Christian's Journey Home. ir • Chid4tlau brother, are you weary, I , Ae througll this stranger land you room? 13 your Raprway,dark and dreary; Travali,n4 on. your journey home ? Like it vessal tdssed and riven, By the 'obean's billowy foam ; ' Christ skill to Steer Yen yTar journey home: DOOR•yOtir•lOSCOfigillit Oppress you ? CanitetiSerlisithlood atone? leavk r yiti, • l i oiii4A:l4auljbuitttei home. ' 41174 . . Have the son; of earth forsook you, Left;youltiendresSiathibtlontiß God's ohoien band will"bid,Orteillobiiie Join thieve. oitheirjetrney home. 4 Base thape nearest, dearest, left yon, Prom,your fireside have they gone ? Angel bands, have bid them welcome. At the portals of their home. Dear, with joy, the cross they've left you, Press with eager boldness on ; The same bright bands will crown you victor, When you reach that heavenly home, Lone :Retreat, Pa. Prom the Presbyterian iferald. The Proposed Commentary. THE ATTACII. OF .THE PRINCETON REVIEW. The relation I have long occupied to the question 'of ,aOonimentary upon the Sacred Scriptutes,Troposed under the auspioee of the General Assembly of the Presby terian Church', 'and in the sense of the Standards of that Church, seems to make it my duty' to' take some notice of ' the remarks in the last number of the Biblical Repertory upon the proposition which I submitted to the Assembly at New Orleans; touching that matter. These remarks, in the Princeton Review, are attributed by the press generally to 'Dr. Hodge, the editor of that journal, and, I have reason to know, justly. , They have made an extraordinary impression on the conductors of Presbyte rian newspapers, and have, I believe, been published in all of them, both Old and New School. Their personal bearing upon me ie as direct as well could be; and their whole drift ; would justify my treatidg them in a manner, which neither the crushing weight attributed to them by the New York Ob server, nor the sense of inoompetenoy which the Christian. Observer thinks I ought to feel, but, whieh .high public eqnsiderations 7 connected.: with, the peculiar relations 'of boar Dr. Hodge and myselfcto; the Fleshy terian';.Churoh,,induce me ,to' forbear. In onetrelqientiOelieve the tlewspaPer Pres byterian iiiassejNivr School and nnanimons, namely; that the remarks of ,Dr. Hodfie lave a very striking sense, whether ciur ;Standards have or not. And' believe Ithey would be quite as unanimous 'in • admitting; that tite' sense they attribute to them is a :sense to which no one would ex poet me to subscribe. It has been my good fortune to agree with Dr. Hodge: 4,n - many things,,and to Witness signal services per. formed—by him on many great occasions; It .has heen mymisfortune to differ from him upon occasions equally: great—amongst the rest upon the whole policy of our Church in the day of its utmost peril, arid upon most that has distinctly flowed from the principles then , _avowen by the Church. This question of a Cpmmantary lies in that domatn—is one of the old 'questions—felt to be great and difficult, but never before assailed in any manner approaching that now adopted by Dr. Hodge. 'Let us look back some years, and let me be excused for any apparent egotism which the truth of history may render unavoidable. The Assembly which met in May, 1838, was a memorable Assembly, the one out of which the New School schism went; the one which established the Board of Publi cation. The first article of its Constitution ' is in these words : " The General Assembly will superintend and conduct, by its own proper authority, the work of furnishing the churches Under its care with suitable tract and Sabbath 'School publications, by a -Board appointed for that purpose, and directly amenable to• said .Assembly." The fourth clause of that oonetitution comakeneee thus : • " To' the Exeentive Committee * &lan belong the duty of selecting and pre• paring suitable tracts and books for publi• cation,. The Assembly of 1839, was ' hardly lees memorable than that of 1838. In its bo- , som was celebrated the semi centenary of its own creation. • It amended the Constitution of the Board of Publication, so " as to re quire said Board to publish •* * approved. works in support of the great principles of the Reformation, as exhibited in .the doc trines and ,order of the Presbyterian Church, and whatever else the Assembly may di• reot;" and in another section it committed to this Board " on behalf of the Assembly, the publication of Such works, permanent -arid periodical, as are adapted to promote sound learning and trhe religion." The same Assembly ordered the second Lord's day in December following to be ob served with 'religious Solemnities -in all our churches, and that all our people should be invited to offer gifts to God in grateful corn theworation of the deliverances of the Church ; and that these gifts should be ap propriated to the objects, and under the cars of the Board of Publication. Tiro churches in Baltimore gave, under this re• commendation, the money which stereotyped Calvin's Institutes. Thus the whole power. which I supposed to be necessary , to carry ' out the proposal I made to the last Assem bly, was vested in a Board created for the express purpose of exercising it, as a high policy and duty of the ChurclOt the very; period of . its greatest deliverance, by the ; very men who wrought that deliverance. The highest tribunal of the Church had as serted and exercised the same power; in va rime ways, for a long period previous to 1838. Nor do I suppose that any thing can be more certain than that the principles on which the Board of Publication is founded, justify that Board in publishing the various commentaries which have issued from their. press,--under the generaVorders ofs the As. - ! Is it so, tbat tiCe order becomes monstrouir as boon as it is made: special? Let me poiot-ont, then, how the Assembly has long,,,ago, sigaaliaed its views. oflthat onstrotts4 specialty. The _Bicentenary of the Westminster As- , sembly; which formed the Standards which it seems to be argued';have'notinifo6 Sense in mai , Church, occurred' 'ISM"- 'ln the opening sertnerywhich it was , ray duty to, preach heforp the, Assembly of 1542111 took occasion to call the .attention of -the -body distinctly to the s(it t ject, and . to suggest the commeraoratron" of be event, a!pd .to point out sonic .ofi the`futek to 'be That ,disoeurse wasa .publithedi by , order of .the Assembly, 41:141 its,syggestiona, taken up by that bOdy,,Jvcret widAy k , dtirnead, ' thodox.`Preshyeriantf in this. corintry arid in Britain heartilY and'geetrallY united in the rsOlernii telelitation on tsf day,T j uiyit.l 184,4 of.4ll4l4twcaqugwokt„, 01 1 . he, Assembly of 1842 ASPpAitea." Robert J Breckinridge„;4 , Tohn Krebs, Charlei Hodge , Drury Lacy, Williani i Phillips, Alexander Macklin, Ueorge Howe„, Rot , Stuart, Benjamin M. Smith, and 'ter," a standing committee out of ody, to carry out a portion of its =I ISM eingus; and ordered them to report to le next Assembly. They made an elab orate report to the Asserribly of 1843, which was read and. referred to a csiinthittee con sisting of Messrs. James Hoge, John Mao= lean, John C. Lord, Lewis W. Green, and John Johnston. On the particular subject I am discussing, the Standing Controittee appointed the previousyear, had ruled the language in its .report,..: "It is hardly too much to say that the greatest deficiency of ;our. Church in this country up to the present moment, is the want of a sound s thoroUgh complete and attractive Commentary upon the' entire Bi ble; a-Commentary conaposed in the seise of our Church formularies, and throughout tonformable to our views.. Nor is it too rounkito add, that the lack of snob a hook has left a gap through which our fandlieis and congregations have been constantly ha ble to an inundation of hOoks obnoxious 'to the most serious objections; and by Means of which, shallow views of' religion ' have I spread, `wholesome irnpressi t ons have been' effaced,' the influence of our" doctrine * and order been weakened in our own body evils .produeed; the 'extent of Which' it, is impossible to estimate. Nor can we ion= , cerve of a more valuable or appiripliate ser-*, vibe which could at 'this time be aiiidered 40 our Church and to the reading world, thantbithis Assembly to take such steps'as will secure the preparation and 'publication of just . .such a Commentary as we need."' ' Responsive to these ideas, the Standing .*Committee, in , the fourth of the six Wiffaint. mendations made to the AilseanblY,sadvise it ' :thus, , T., - 4 " IV: Tike such further der ' as will lie needful to causeto belralptate n d&Mak Mienttaiarrrisr conlMeriflifffor*if from time to time by the General Assembly,. a a'omplete, rbut comprehensive Coinmentary. on the whole Word of God, expounded ae ,cording to the system embodies' in all onr Standards, so that this greal and necessary, work'being fully accomplished, otedengrel" - gations may have a Standard exposition of our whole doctrine; and not he exposed, as they now are, in that regard , ; and so. that *, this work may be connected, at - least in its. .origin, with this memorable occasion, and .be •published as it shall be from time to time prepared." The Committee of the Assembly 'of 1843 in its report to that body on- the previous report of the Standing Committee of 1842, recommend "to the Assembly; to adopt, with some modification, the propositions re ported by the Committee of the last General. Assembly ;" and the Assembly did thus adopt them. Their fourth recommendation was adopted in the following form : JB N. "4. Resolved, That the fourth proposi tion orthe Ccitrimittee of the last Assembly, respecting the preparation of a Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, be referred to the Board of Publication, with instructions to report thereon, tb the next Assembly."' Here, then, we have this monstrous spe cialty considered by two successive Assem blies and their committees, and -very care fully edquired into by the second of the two ; without any suspicion' that what was proposed' was, in its nature, a-kind of in tense Popery—in its form based on the fal lacious idea that the Bible and our Stand ards had both .a sense capable of being sta. tad; and relying for success on the futile supposition that the Chirolv contained men capable of doing the 'work.: _ . I am not able to discover that the Board of Publication made any report to the As sembly Of 1844, under the order of the previous Assembly. Ido not knoir whether or not it has, at any time, in any, report to any Assembly, made any particular allusion . to the subject. I have no certain knowl edge of the present opinions of those who control the operations 'of this Board upon the subject.'" T . am aware that for some time past it has been issuing Commentaries upon portions; of the Word of God.; %and. rem'. lect,iat the moment, one preparedby Daille, a. Frenchman,- long deceased, and one by Mr. , Jacobus, a Jiving- minister of our Church. both of whom they judge, I sup. pose, accord with our 'Standards. Ido not i oiled that Our General Assembly :Ilse taken any particular action on the Subject since 1843. But in the subsequent fifteen years, an unprecedented number of works has been published by ministers of the pres byterian Church in this country, calculated to promote exactly what the .proposed Coin memory would, I suppose,. still more gen erally promote, of which a large proportion has been expository. In like manner there has been a great increase in the circulation of Commentaries and other religious books, liable to all the objections stated 11).: Vat) ,ex tracts I have already quoted. 'lll both re-_ , • spects i lherefore, it appears' to tti e that•the reasons for the pre,paratisin 'of'suali. a com mentary as I suggested:-tethe'AsSenably in 1842, are much strengthener 4 snide the evils proposed to be remedied are greatly: increased, and the means at the disposal of the Church for •remedy thereof are, also, every, way increased. In this view of the matter, 1 drew up and offered to the last General Assembly the minute which seems to be so cordially disapproved by Dr. Hodge, Which has been Widely 'published, and Ale substance of which is to the followingff''ect: 1- That the Board , of Publication shill .pro teed to have the Commentary composedqind 1 PUBLICATION OPVICIVRIZETTE-AVINOMM I tt iITREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH; PA FOR THE WEEK ENDING SA publiihed. 2. That it shall be prepared by members of one Church, who shall' have fad indnlgenCe ass; to , timoi and qfairt compensa tion out of the profits of the work. 3. 'llke Commentary shalt be fitted for common usg; map' be; both drigiiial and !comp'did; shill b.eotlinoderate ssizei , and shall •innorporate the' true text • oft the common English ver- Rion.get the fittestAnen, the Assem bly shall names to be 'no, and the Boar semblylof 1859: conldi not ; :,be. taken—was to whole snloject• i , a What' °Cataract. considerable apparent strong tiroe to ( pass thk COMmentary upon'the *hole - composed in the sense of the constant faith of the Church of God, as that is briefly set forth in the Standards of the Westminster Assembly,"‘which are our Standards. And the want of Such a Commentary is declared, very briefly, to have been long felt to he grievous ;. the allowance of that want bythe Church to be a great lack of due service to God* and to his truth; and the effect of it, constant- danger to men, of needless igno ranee, on one. side, and of -dangerous mis guidance on the other. Such :is the porten tous projeet which I have ,rurrtinated for many years; which I submitted to the As sembly' cif 1843, and again to the Assembly of 1858, which both Assemblies received with great interest and apparent favor, and both so .disposed of as to provide ,for its re ceiving a more thorough, consideration; which; at length, seems to have arrested the attention of the whole Church. Suggested at first in , c , ery' Close relation to theconsum mation, of the great deliverance of the Church, and thoßicentenary of theNestminster As sembly ; suggested the second ,time, in con nection with the hundredth anniversary. of the' healing of a great schism, in the Church, and to an Assembly which by unanimous votes defined the . position ',of ;the Church touching an (Vote union , with the New School Sonth arid toucliing all attempts upon OteEngliiiki version of the Bible; I am readyto confess that however lightly the Parentage of the. proposal may he esteemed, the associations wbich attend, its birth and progress, not less than those ; which distin guish niuch of the hostility ithas awakened, appear tome toJbe . vroydiy of note. Will the reader's 'reflect at moment `on the proposition, itself;.,in conneXion with what...l. have now i provedAo be its,nature origin ob jects-and rectorate ? Does_,any, one , : ,; 'objeut to sound,, godly, and thorough Commeniary, on 'the Whole Word God? Does ''any Presbyterian deny , 'that the. faith ",..4,f, Ahe Phurehtof.: GrodlikOmetteionitilik—that tt that faith; and that a sound, godly, and thorough Commentary on the whole Bible, ought'to be in that sense ? Have we any - auch 'Commentary,. or Any- need of it? not the lack, of. it grievous want 4, and long felt to be so , ?, not the continued al-, lowance of a state of the case, a great leek' of due service to God,lnd to his truth And .are not men in danger of :contintilliginf ignorance which we might remove, and of dangerous misguidance, which we might pre .vent ? ' It dOes seem to me that eiery one of thefaetit and principles asserted or Birdied in the proposal I have made, must be felt to be perfectly clear and certain by every sound member of: our. Church, who is, not blinded by some foregone canclueron. Then as to the mode of - obtain ift the desired COmmentary. Is there any way to' do this, except to use all existing „materialsy rand create new materials by the diligent labor of competent persons ? , Are ,there on,< earth persons more competent to prepare in this wnyoutel. a Commentary as we'need,lthan are to be found in the'bosom 'of our own Church; provided- due time and means be allowed them ; and a is there any imaginable way of gettino , the right persons more raising than by allowing the Synoda'andithe Board of Publication to nominateia-fullilist to the Assembly, and letting the . Assenbly select the best out .of this, list?.`.ltre there any hands More suitable , thart these, ofithe Assembly, in which to place the actual power and general control of such an ' - enterpOsi.; or any agency more suitable 'than that of the Board of Publication for actually, managing the practical working of the scherno? Is there a solitary power either asserted or im plied, as residing id the Asiemhly er the' Board 'of - Publication, that (fees not exist in them ; ,.,and the'exercise' of which is= notlikely to be Most benefieent,,inAthis par— ticular case ; ? . And can .anyhody derti:ot that when the work shall have beenencoessfully accomplished, it will be a service acceptable to God prove a miner of wealth to the Board, a monument of glory to the ;Church,- and a means of comfort and growth-in gracef in this world and of eternal life in the world to come to, many of the redeunied of the LOrd through'itiliity 4 . 6neratiens? No doubt the work proposed *a one of -great labor, n3uoh difficulty, , and` itmg 4ime::‘ , Ncl doubt( some serious. obstacles, .and, innumerabW frivolous and captious objections maybe sug t 'listed Who ever proposed any great un deitaking that was'not assailed in a similar manner Widely different from all the: 'foregoing conclusions, seem to be those -, i.which Dr_ Hodge has ,reached. As far,as Trani Able,to gather the conneeted sense of IbisTomarks, he seems to consider the propoial which I submitted'to the last AsseMbly liable to such fundamental objections as the following':' 1.. That there is no such sense capable of being attached, to the whole Soriptures them selves, as 0 1 0 any Commentary upon the whole of their' An be made in the uniform sense any siandard'of interpretation. al; That':- there , is . no such: sense. of the, Westfr udoster. Standarda,that the-Church can UnnA dertake to interpret even, the whole of, them with recision and uniformitn much less any one interpret the whole, of the' :Scriptures in any supposed 'sense of those Standards. 3. That even if both theseideas, were unfounded and the work I '-have pro , posed were both desirable and ,pricticable ;, We ere so far froM being 'able to have it done; that the'Church does not .emitainoirrd' neVer did contain,-one man capable of doini such work ..as is proposed. 4: By way of sort of general judgment, he prononneekthe, prorsal, in.its nature, And upon the record, IBM =I " more than all the , . pea, Who everlived, 4 . meiAe'd in one, wont are 'propose." " A thousand fel& more , tliati /Home, when. most , drunk , with pritie;ev*verdured to attempt." I readily admit 'that ip • trying to condense the' sense -of flanguigt styerfttuardinary, and of statements so tliorepighly4tartling in their apparent meanin,"lsllo4.4r liableqc miss the precise ideacidAge Int* of the writer. hand, 1. I readily admit that there maybe many isolated statements of the. Word lof God, tali& yield us,:a4 present, no .clear sense; many which are difficult to reconcile with each- other; man3itmore which have been grossly misinterpreted. t; Still further, I 'eon fess that all unfulfilled prophecy is more or less obscure; . lend that #1 Scripture probably has aspects, and the mat= of it may , be per , ceived to have - aspects, *hich transcend our powers of: .clearapprehenSioro 'llderty, how ever, the truth- of tiny general ,statement that the doctrines of Scripture / are •obseure; ogits system incoherent, or ;it parts dubious: These Scriptures are an , , Rule, whereby , man may know thow , to accomplish : the'ehief end of . his being in glorifying and, enjoyingAsd ; . and ; • they , elearlx teach ne, what wfs.are i to,believe concernieg,God r apd what Atity .Goi• requirei of us. ' presume Dr. Hodge, will:admit this. If so, r hie.stats,- manta tending to, show from the in .. . hensibility of certain .portions: teod?.B Word, the folly; of attempting to : comment on the whole Word, as ; though _ ; it had . any certain and pervading sew, can =eau no thing,,to ;the purpose * puless. _they; mean, a great deal too much >:, They are 41.61*n1Y very strange statements ,0,..1)9 made, by, one officially a •teacher of the: sen s e of this very . Bible, appointedll this very" Church; un-, " less their, design- were to prove that it only in Theological:Seminaries that • the Church can properly ; clothe , men with snchfunctiens. If we dc, t not know and cannot , ascertain; enough : abont the sense of the Bible to yen-, ture to say what that •sense is; let every mouth be 'stopped. If otherwise, let us ,not make statements to affect a h pa . rticulai object, or to defeat an imaginary one which nabedy ' ever propor[ed,.3vhieh,appoctrAo be derogatory to the Scriptures and fatal 4 te every. attempt to interpret them. Dr..11,44ge teaches rte., i l oktgbil% ignintAellt 41the , Chnrahl, n „, - one oside ; his t • 7711Sri iriffilliffee 3 . „llls7lllVoimeideni . them infallible.. But evertene oonsidensboth hiss eaching and his pornmentauj q i , valuable. ' fhe were requestod"Ay the 'Allserubly, to ;compose a,COm,megtary l on Geuesie, pad ' the, ,-Board of . .Pubtic atign ~w,ere . directed i toiptili,, „!lish.it, neithel.,tho 4 ol„reh, nor,laitosolf o par, : I tlie : I werld, would puppw,that,,Qammvtory l was any more obligatory on anybody, than ' his lectures ory.4lieplogy 4 , 7 itre. In, effect, the, - General Assembly has no power '••• i t ii great,, ly to be doubted , if the whole , Church -,haa any, to enlarge .our, doctrinal.. Staudarols;t and surely there is stiiiill . grrunci for alarm in that direction,; wheu:the, - Standards, as they are, are, assumed to bitrge..and suffi cient, as the very him of . thejnterpetatioris which are so fiergeltopposed. n , n .. .-,• 2. I confess I am not able to seeohowtha statements of Pr. Hedge ,00ncorsdng . ,tliei sense of the Standards of our,Plpirelti eau: be ; so construed ,as .to % mean. anything l9lge * than that whichth e Preebyterianwse, Obi School. and New p ilmus riudetst96,4tliero .to, mean; namebra: 44keefinee li e Doctrine. . But, even supposlngibr;4o l 4.hisikneariiil, and the meaning pf 01, a.:Chtirish also, it af fords no argirment,either, againitl i the Com mentary, or against the sense of 'the Staid arda,lieing a rule of iriterpretitikn , v Mime, substance of ; .Doctr i ne ,is a ride, old ,they„ who Ifold'ithava a perfect right to ily,it.' It is only where ii'initii holds this r ule,.thicl fears that' his . Chnieh'Will apply' a dxfferent• and, perhaps a' etilatir i diie,,thatite t rise of an argument of this sort liiisisiiitgitifiVinee, in opposition to 'thefpriiPoued 'Commentary. Feannot suppose it to bctooseible that Dr. Hodge 'holds the' •Niews hie words lite Under stoodlo convey. FiTeili 0014 part, I'leoii aider•thiateise 'Of our Standar& extreraely . 'clear . antrilaffoia . i to the -*hole extent of tiny - potisible'ikle . to" irliiehrWey'eait be ap plied"in 'Ate ' compOsitiOn -efilhe trpicilibeed` chniihentary ; jail' al:l4lhyr.ikfilfirit for the' :purpose of ministeritd!'irof Mid in; strnotion, and for proferiall.teaehing. It is because I beliefe them to ottriCtlly true in their clear and uOifotoiliensio, , that I de- . dire that Bente id, 'beNiidertiOnlelii'llie° Commentary; and'it iiibeciatise Tfeel allured that the overwbeimingi mass, of, our, Church has a • similar appreciation o(hens,,that . .l 6 cherish .a settled hope that, such a Comic's-, tart' 'as I siiggest, f will 'be SOU; or lime; Buie' , . ./ to be-prbddoed. 'Add , thefert - state 'of the general' Mind. ofibe..tnitirobsiolit,:of ;Which' the Commentary\ will ; rowiAsill.be, psrpetup ated by the tuse,_pf . ,,tho,,ComAneniary itself i . and so the precious trutht;determinately set ; tied' by these, atter'flieVOrei:if 'God; will •,,. be vivified in return byAliatiblesaed 'Wordt •:3. What -Dr. Hodge !says- with , . regard ito the utter ineompeteney.,of his ,brethren (or i the work proposed, like, much ,el se in s his critique, must be :judged of entirey by l i te apprehension one has of the work that mall? is proposed- We cannet•ftuppcitai for 'a Into ment, that he wmild.adruit.thetlompleia*ea he has written to be inconsistent. with . Om sense Of the Standards 'of his '' Chtiroll;_, or that - he would heeitate to admit ' th at theft; are'a*hrindred mertiii , our Church• elpablei upon due study .aud..,refleotion,lofArrithig ciommeptwries,4B rsially . in the segao,of, cut; Standards es his are. This Ix d rig ~so,f i lia einphatid decliliaiiin that not a single: mail .bxists, 'or ever • exitAd in . the Chuieh' corn. patent fto perform- the work • proposed, amounts to no. more, than that having first wholly misstated wha,t i the work proposed r was i he would diseredit a perfectly practicable 'and extremely iniportent work, by asserting that no'one oan pgrforni another work that ia impopible, and that •was never proposed. , t9pmppped. 421 the pen so of the aunatent -faith of th? Cheoh,of God, as that,ii briefly I - : .• .. ...,,D ,44.,.tar :J . :. 4..1. ~.. .1 . i.v:'.l kf . . A WIC IDAY,:SEPTEMBER 25, 1.855. 't~ '~`' a set forth in the Standards - 43 f the Weeks:Lin- star Aseiembly :" is the *Awe' of the work*roposed. Dr. Hodge has thus .00m .- .;, posed the commentaries he has publiebe4 or else those. Commentaries, are not " seund ? ; godly and thorongh:". Whithe has done, is possible '`•to Men;_ and :Church 'his others, doubtless, twho, she-inay , hope, -may do the like when duly called thereto. More .4 s, no gn ,of V 1.,), in. - spacious play,..grownd of Opines . , Hospital; the. •,eloisters. of. St. Paul's School,' of the city - of , London and , 'Merchant Tailors' Sewell!, as well as of „maiiy,inorlewont to nrig.tazly, the shOtttel.4,the pupils, all are,eilent. - • • Aye, and for one day to the year, at least, even•the.twebtrthree thousand Ragged School children, of the metropolis are, by funds „generously provided by an un weary - itrailged With a day out ofotoarn. It is a gratifying thing to be able iota yen this . Most of the little , orestules : have, i perh,aps,. up, to this. •,veryi month, never seen a green field. SlnEt,l% ) in the murkiest and noel ..unhealthy Ihries - MOVAPd (lanai of 1 11 4.41144QPPA• !are "Tens of thousands atom** imebalrellitotia• Idtfistlibisimons smokes ,' Ad' steams, •• tattling IcOms;" ' . _ ' oifilkirwilts-taffer-trewienng Adoe , lolleirtrfe - nt t " towietrah4trertesi thin the owe •:vilth, 'Children! P*ll6 steigl i itA: %TVA% quantity of oxygenized air l; -All honor -to the practical. philanthropy of the Shafts. bury schools, which is _not content with dreatne, but deeds, and Which adopts the system of giving these children—gathered from the lowest class, yet so docile and trainable—periodical treats; two or three times in the course of the' year. "In the Winter," says Lord S., "let them have a good tea, and in Summer take them out into the open fields, there to disport them selves, for a few houis, and enjoy, under the canopy of heaven, all the beauties of God's creation." This good man, after a long campaign, of disinterested -toil for almost every good cause beginning at No vember and ending in August, i,s;,,„at present at dig German waters, from w hich he, has oft relenbd'inu l oll benefit. Oat one of hie last aets'wsidito follo4 Up an appeal; (witten ;by, your " correspondent," in the Ragged !School Magazine,) bywriting to friends and securing a-sum •of rubnoy stlffibientrto giVe every Rugged School child in 'London, a day out of town. , 1 As I generally take my American readers along me in My oeciA l ional jOnneys, lifttitat them to come with me, either by rivet* /rail, into the . county of +Kent, in oldet' Aims the soil which furnished the famous boWmen who, under the Blac k, Prince, won the fields of ,Cressy and Aghs court,. In itself, ,whether; ysl499o4Wyeir fine uplands, it's ancient woods,itsxielt„ -, its old aneestortifiktior'.liOnees,iiii naval and rifillteirerieinili, - 'ind the tiro ' great 'rivers, thdialbames sand , ithe • Medway, up) first i of wkinleileTes its, Eastern ,borders,, and ‘a.l.-(411/11101AnihrwntYPin, tha W est, joins wantri butary mes the' rus h of ihritibeat oiaWkid 'ib the sealtenti is a glorious region of Old England. My "out of town "Is'not far off London, 'for lam not friii4,4viadt Pall'oconpation • it i vastoral,,suitittteeranyraesterairs.ofiri4 , clerical brethren , are, or to enjoy r like them, a thorough, holiday in some home, retreat, or, continental . tour. Neverthelese, am'' out of 63%f0n the' most of'thb' weelf,PCakittPtile' beet'of. it; link:have reason? tikbkihankful. My Tooting plane is E—, on the Thames. My wkndews look out on gardens, harvest fields, a long avenue of old trees,. leading nn to •a• family* 'emit, now in decay, *is called: by sane • "ItheiMannted House," , ' where there is shown an iron safe, unopenedl. at_the side 4, ati4pl,4 l fashioned, fire-place; in which " tlfy ,tls_bontl n ot w.,mar dered Man'rest, equip age of carriage and horse/nil eget' nigh* repairing up .the • avenue ! 'However, on• closer in quiry, the " ghost'! .a fable 6 in. .two' senses:; as there has • been, no ennhanurder, and.aszin these days " hauiftedhonsili oept houses , haunted brthe evil spiritii, 'of' inquipenice, and, distiord---are: coming frriw every, year. The sight from ,the pier ,of E—, is st all times interesting. • All night long, a band of coast-guards, part' of a disciplined, naval' force ,of six thosieend men, et feaSt, stationed' roundthel;"*.i'lliih"oaakita and, stores; keeps a shrtip,lOA•ont for .any poser bley smuggler, which, in the shipa of +a: fish-r ing,boat,- yaoht, or+ schooner, might" try ti run n 19 the rive - wit ., l gonlir H r. haitill;pirit4o $'14,1"63.4:"1,,1Nh'51a; men, stand,,, ing by your si de, tell you what is the char 7, aeter,and what destination of almost every aPp - ttit passesinwards Lull outwards, from aid s htlinity steampliik, which' regulate the entire Pilot - age "oft the river, onward through attainments for Stkithiriiii Hgehergi Belgium, and ,, graitte,iwitik great , merchant_ " c oming , ,frMitlafrif9wed up the'river by tug-steamers. 0 Then, to the right, you see _quitiiiviitile t fleet of fishing ; hcat.N.liiiic)l., i fvry morning bring their silter` - epoilie as ore, and nary them' offby :for itlin"iLcindona Amongst • the. tisk All the WAT,I4-r knows that e-YALY/a3i.ear Majesty's Ministers, just ,befnre, rtheAlnse, ot the Parliamentary SeisiOn, - go down. re ir"4l444bleil f dii&W "A " The Star and (starter." The white may be described as smeary small spnittwith+ silver sides. , ,is one of.the choicest of, British luxixries. ; Only', the thump : ,n 4 that in one spot nearlY opposite E—, pro duces them. They Theykre cooked on a hot'pan or griddle; iritlitaftbatter ofclard and flour, and arelbre.ag het° the table- fried, and very lif/tt ' - 6 Twftvitel firg..ilpd you eaP, thjmetok, iTts i fteaAjtet n or brovm E4eid, " i d ewe: drnEp .ovfr the air They ' drTe veirteidek' . and•tflue,ntrudilf tiny American °lnnis Ito Lpitori next:Sumner, let hip gob to Andes ten'o.lfotel,,Fle . egy i ect, and he cantrythe l lux.nry and judgefor , himself ! at Moderate expense, and follow up tlibvihrtelait, (for it A , but the first 6.isise at `dinner,)-With a' joint of fine lamb, mutton, or 'of " the .roes beef okold, England!! The cost of, white gait is generally three shilling!' ierogr tint s , When, trey are scarce, they.are alles4tietole that • • ‘ r One Sibbitifeday at was spent infqtriet, and, isit *eke, in' din prise. Lhnd thrl privilege, of beth„,rsg, and toorship, ybichto,me, as tn e many4Slier bOrers, is rare. Sir Culliriggaidley, iglu" name is welliknown in 'the Uniik States: and over Eukope, an 'the Chairm l iti (Mite Evangelical Allianoe,-reaides at I Retividere,i close at hand to c E---. Some, ypirs.a9go i he built a church " of wood, in hie,heauAttl, denies* and tri ed to unite the Church Lit; orgy with free prayer, and the prelic' hing"'Ne afOdirgregatitnalininister? He' ditithigtin the; meet oatholio ,, opiritri4midgvidiaupelPar . 14-or L. Philailelphla, 111 South Tenth Street, below By lialVor at the Ogee, $l.OO per fear, sisz pßospz Delivered in the City, 1.75 II IS • c Dissenter. But the experiment did not succeed; more than this, there was a fearful spiritual famine in the district; as far as the Englisili Church and its people 'were con cerned. Sir C. stepped in, and in a noble spirit, built and endowed a beautiful church, with schools, atLessness Heath l just outside his demesne gates. I shall not speedily forget the Sabbath morning.walk, from B— to this churob, or my converse with " navvies " and " bal last-men " by the way,•about things Divine. Sweet it ,was te enter-the house of God, and • see and hear a iiedly,lriangelical clergyman in the desk, and in, dielinpit Sir Culling ly,, Wilt there with . all kr: ' family, and with ,nests and ° Pr '°,l4agglaW of dn't4tnti°!) F01t14 331 44 T V.° a v ail' 4 3 ° I a gwa g ene • r i g COpgragatlart; , with. nrunOtkabje , texta of; E vangelio ',import emblazinted, i roued the 'chancel, * and mediinvid Arches and vanitea f ePr chiN to the sk r:/ k il j E i rjet truti4 's - Wr*lis to th - Cirlr er . .. 1 04 5 1' A 1 044,0- . 0 9 34° °°"tea a and;,.. c e W9! °J.&WM . _ 4° Ptha A I lit; at flit, railway station (close at banj tliel, piSh i jip, of London and his lady, go dg h_nno,eisr4 after having j ust left Belvidere. T6t, via of the . Bishop was not without fruits. . The ~ former Bishop of London war bigot enough. to forbid, some years ago, theuse of a church in his Diocese—so long granted before—ftS:: an annual sermon on behalf , - if the London ' Missionary Society. Dr. Tidman, the Sec retary of ,the Society, ewe, down expressly . • to see the . Bietinp,.egir d.'s table, on the subject: Thi reeult is the graceful resto ration ~4 All prlvilege which had been withdrawn, STadyannither proof fainiehed, that Dr. Tan'e hearfis in the right place. , , .- • A i BA RB Ts ` ` , D2ev IN A CATEEDMA TOWitiat4 de niefrkedinY month " out' 'Of • town' Prefer,gtor4tochester, which nee oloseirongeide Chatham, on the Medway, a I • , ig t. rmkti,. d epot. for tmeps, ships, and other mu :name of. yen c lt.is feem,,Chatharn that. nearivrll opr trestspoOs sail for.lndia, and thither,the,phattpred ievAds"stnd wounded • soldiers return, to be pensioned, and ,sent, bome. The view from the ha; above-Ro , lehester. to, the. North-West, is exceedingly grand' and' impressive. At one glance yew, , take in docks, hospitals, and arsenals, with ' , the noble Medway itillThames, seen togeth ) er—the ' fernier studded with ships of war "nn norniniatiiin t " ready to be •eiktipkiell- 1 14- .sea on a sheitararnu" ig: ',' - •.. - '' • At. Reoheisterore.Presbyteinixhilhave !an opening Prhtnli) ~..tr k trust, will end in the esteblistknentolot ;church, with its ordained 1 , .minister,d.by-and-byAit 111)what has been a 'Congregetionel teshepellpa- preached tirine i porningonna;nvenkngo:trln the afternoon , r attended the 'Cathedral. The Bishop nPn:lreaidelltt:egia'Preaganeja only 'knew** fewttimes in then year,' by, the loud filighig of t4t3lPAtits*Al , (l)',;3llst, The dean-is a very. • Oil zeistlemen i •and the iolergy ingenue Are jialitdAtUalaiihliaitlihriallandai it t nAistete , as'• in, the , majority , of' flathes Irak ' ' the clergy, ars. snub Ap•beo The Bete* wee at. tended, kys. respearslnts congregatidn? in. 9 1 n44 1 ,84 1 .0417410nrai neighbotring gentry, Tinit ol l6 and.tsatriete,'4 , 4h)traglea and children. The ;entire service Ares intoned ; - the, , l 3 i4Og Ono all , that thelrained ear could desire, and: the ,diapaaon swell of the 9.l . l3aes , Tafiltli Jgrand • Accompaniment. The terwei m erwisu'rthin t sehtle, good. It was Preallllo. l . XI admozoteenr,odow, arinn, one of the bleitlipecimene t of i thso*iw• of the old . EIPIWC'T, it rwsys . 'founded .inathilezekiah's breaking demi images•end destroying the bnrtenlwent,, in htsoforminggzeal for the exclusive worship ; of : Jehovah. lictonched ably, on the, subject of Romish relics,' show ing that the, sarta,,,apolou made for their '.'.dne veneration,i'lltight•have been pleaded with Hezekiah. Hevknew, however, the tendency of such thingsgand therefore he destroyed- the ; " venerable I: •relic the moment ho fowl& it abused by popular superstition, and stamped on-:it the contemptuous name, NefinptAn—a,piece of brass. , TAi l f .led ; the , preacher to refer to the preeent„ sensuous tendencies, even within tim, Chung', ait England, and the undue honor B , alagitoed tn , ,,the Virgin Mary. He utterskfaithful words of warning,-,yet he TWO. and injured his protest, by speak ingjeMestr brethren of the Church of Rome, and of the, Eastern Church," and while charging - thein with, imsge-worship, yet ad. mitting Chit ilieriiyrtigki be more "piety" among tgainuthin-ardong many "Protestants. Ne.have yet4o,.. Nara how there can be V.pieby,MinbtlieiSetriptural sense, identified with ,the devotees of an unscriptural 'super ritition.— • • ~.., I wak,pleased to see the large nave of the Cathedral filled with seats, provided for an evening ' , service , for the working classes. Theruis aplaan reading-desk and pulpit in one, under one of the pillars'. I was told, however, that the attendance is very limited. The, working, classes Sinothere in• the deep eleep of indifference and lin; and they need 'nether voice, more distinct, and alarming, and more ev;surgerroak, , toe, than that of a High : Churchman, to awaken them• to peni tencte, and faith. ;_ I-trust your reademwill forgi.va,this long excursion into the rurabdistricts, and " out of town." lam just returning again to my accustomed abode and toils, cad so I must conclude. with a rapid lifferonce to politics, and public matters. This News Fnois e diertii, brought over land to St. Petersbrogrand thence tele grapheilto loadoraoproduced it great seam. pAp t iall o pyer .tlie, ? XiagdOrrai Coins tie stomessfril laying:Oh the Atlantic Tele graph, and, the siiiidned,l4 real &kens yiftlf which that mighty achievc i m i ent „ham been,:,,and continues , to be hailed,' ii i ,emitea profound u ernotions , ii! pia ~,brej a pit bgc l. ,the nation. i:feiticions,.,„A g .,te „P vxportjin school, naturally : eiplf*trimpli„nf I& policy.lt wfs,,,,on-Alus, • a ;groistion, in conne , 'op. w O, thtlfirpka-anii,c Yaly., il _ 1 ,0 ,, 7 4 11:11ata•f1 , a , - ..1% :9i 4Tft• ries a s Aille4rds,,4PrFig.tatak,4o.43Pflilla t ii .by sue iniijoiity ,aa .p, BritisbJN4ger riLey# . ,ll 7 l4 l dit,;_ l ii ,is. kir& before. , /iTore„inau feej A5,,,,if; 1 4 . X . Whhap !hey' hardly dealt - with:. l'h° lifer arlF ; 7€%T,Pli fail nOit to r.lni,iid , OA 99mktT.Yt toptt,`.if I'eAcin is open to,trade;o s Phrietiaa glari9,np,it „ l ia..to,like 'Fe ,oar„a it .all; and that: a 4 giaoatolifb OrAill 'atn;' Gibson, and,,the „Tories, prevail, we would have been with'Russia, America, and France,''"nittiltrorlEbariana" still. I ' shall not:Wonlerrif4 nitit :year, is:liitch , or crisis occur,:and :thelteomnione get;a4i mitk !the Dsbyi Cabitietptliat , 46404dt , - t penitentandafulliofi gliMiE 0; miIAmMIT . ~ ' ..„ ...,: l i ,-..t • .... ; 40- - ..„1 , ...) 504tt ' -; a