that blessing. The Lord breathe his Holy Spirit into my heart, and all shall be light!" This was on October 4th. On Sunday the 18th, Belper was favoured with a visit from that man of God, James Caughey. He had great expectations that he should on that occasion receive the much-desired blessing; but, at the close of the day he mingles mourning with his joy. "I wanted," he writes, "to be sanctified to-day, but I am not yet. How long shall I stop short of this? My God, hear me now! Thou can'st bless me, but I cannot believe."

On the day following, however, Monday, Mr. Caughey preached again, and this time it was on the subject about which he was so anxious. Under the sermon he received the long-desired blessing. He writes, "I felt not that rapturous feeling which some have; but a calm and easy state of mind, not easily described." It now required some effort of soul to keep that which he so highly prized, and which had cost him so much. He guarded it with constant diligence, and if at any time he lost the conscious possession of it, he never rested till by believing prayer he regained it.

From this time his health began to decline; premonitory symptoms of approaching disease were apparent. He occasionally complains of sore throat and of pains in his arm and shoulder, so violent, as to prevent him writing, But even under these circumstances, his zeal for God, and love for souls, and devotedness to prayer were conspicuous. Often would he rise early in the morning to pray for a revival of the work of God, and after the class-meeting on the Sabbath, with a few of his companions, he would often remain till the commencement of the public service, praying for the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the people.

On Sunday, the 13th December, is the following entry :-"Unwell: could not go to the prayer-meeting; but, praise the Lord, he can bless at home.

I am this day sixteen years old; I shall remember this birthday. I received my first ticket to-day, and shall be admitted into full society. I shall also receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper to-day for the first time. What an eventful day in my history! What a solemn thing to commemorate the death of Christ; but, what blessings come with it!"

After this entry, nothing is written till the 16th February, 1847. The interval had been a season of painful affliction from rheumatism and inflammation. But God was with him in the furnace, and he sustained no injury of soul. He writes, on his recovery; "I thank God I am still a Christian, and enjoy the blessings of entire sanctification." Never, after this, did he feel free from pain altogether. About the month of May, by the doctor's advice, he was sent to Ashby for the benefit of the waters. Here he suffered loss, as he said, from lowness of spirits. He then went home for about a month, and was afterwards sent to Buxton. Here again, as at Ashby, he was subject to depression of soul. For the first fortnight he felt so low as even to dread being left alone. When company came to the house, he was much relieved; but, then went to the other extreme, and enjoyed himself too greatly. One Sunday night he heard Mr. Hawthorne preach from Mat. xxii., 42: "What think, ye of Christ? whose Son is he?" The sermon deeply impressed his mind: and he wept over his unfaithfulness. After staying a month in Buxton, his health was greatly improved, and he returned home in time to rejoice in the conversion of a youth for whom he had often prayed.

His relief from affliction, however, was only partial and temporary. It soon returned, and more securely grasped its victim. During the last six months of his life, though suffering very much, he was never heard to murmur or repine, but often said, "The Lord has some wise end in view in thus afflicting me; it is all right. What he himself considered as remarkable was, that the Lord should never permit him to doubt of his salvation; the enemy of his soul was not permitted to harass him.

On the Tuesday before his death, he enjoyed unusual nearness to God. The veil that separates heaven from earth seemed to be drawn aside, and he had such views of his future inheritance as to enable him to rejoice in the near approach of death. While his brother and he had a prayer-meeting, as he called it, in his bed-room, he seemed to have forgotten his weakness of body, and his whole soul was filled with the fulness of the love of God. His brother

said he should never forget that time; it seemed as if the room was filled with the Divine presence. Afterward, to his friends who stood around his bed, he gave the following account of his experience and prospects: "God," said he, is my Father; Jesus is my Saviour; the Holy Spirit is my sanctifier; and heaven is my home." I shall have a crown, I shall have a mansion;" and then, breaking out into one of his happy strains, he gave a most glorious description of heaven and its joys; he spoke as one in the immediate neighbourhood of heaven.

Out of his little savings he purchased a few Bibles to give his classmates, and remarked that he did not think he could lay out the same amount of money in any other way that would be equally profitable. It was his purpose to write the name and object of the giver in each book, but before he could finish them, his strength failed.

On the Thursday night before his death, a neighbour, who once had been a member of the Wesleyan Society, called to see him. George had previously wished to see him in order that he might warn him of the danger of trifling with sacred things. After they had exchanged a few words, he pressed the question," But how is your soul? it is not he that begins well, and continues well for a time; but, he that endures to the end shall be saved." Observing his mother weeping, he said, "There, my mother is crying, and her son is going to heaven!" During the last eight hours of his life he was unable to speak, though, apparently, conscious of what was passing around him. His father asked him if the Saviour was still precious, and in a low but distinct tone of voice he answered, "Yes." This was the last time he was heard to speak. After a few more struggles, his redeemed spirit "passed through death triumphant home," on the morning of October 8th, 1848. Such was the life and such the death of this young, but deeply devoted servant of God. Who that reads this sketch but will exclaim, "Let me die the death of the righteous; and let my last end be like his !"

In this sketch the bright side has not exclusively been dwelt upon: his Christian life has been exhibited in its lights and shades. As he has not left unnoticed in his journal every defect in his Christian character, no more have But there were some excellencies which stand out prominently, and in which he is an example we should do well to follow.

we.

1. His constant attention to, and preparation for, all the means of grace. He did not heedlessly rush into the sacred presence of God, nor thoughtlessly engage in the services of the sanctuary. He considered the means of grace as a means; not an end, but a means of securing an end. Hence his preparation for them. Scarcely ever did he attend a prayer-meeting, or a meeting of any kind for the worship of God, but he previously prayed for a blessing on it. Nor did he permit trifles to keep him away: when suffering severely he would be up early to attend the Sabbath morning prayer-meetings.

The fol

2. We should do well to copy his example in his diligent watchfulness over his own heart, and fear of losing any measure of the grace of God. lowing instance will serve to show how carefully he guarded the sacred treasure he possessed. He had been reading, "Finney's Lectures on Revivals," and especially about backsliders. He found that that man was a backslider who prayed less than formerly, whose love was less intense, whose zeal was less fervent, and whose efforts to bless his fellow-sinners were relaxed. He examined himself and found that he had not made progress in the divine life as he ought. He confessed his fault, and obtained his heart's desire, and then with a burst of holy joy exclaimed, "Glory be to God, I have sought and found pardon and sanctification through the blood of the Lamb."

3. One trait of character that shone conspicuously in him was, his love for souls, his earnest desire and constant prayer for their salvation, and the selfsacrificing zeal with which he laboured for their welfare. He would sometimes rise at five o'clock in the morning in order to plead with God on their behalf; and would contrive different plans to get his companions together to join with him in prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit. The entry of his journal for Nov. 28th, 1846, gives an account of one of these youthful meetings. "I and two others had engaged to meet for mutual benefit, and to pray for a revival of religion in the village. H. B. was prevented meeting with us, and on this

account we could not meet in the barn as we had intended, for we had not got the key. But we were determined to beat Satan, for we laid all the blame to him, so we went into a cowshed adjoining, and there we prayed with mighty power. Satan was conquered by the name of Jesus; glory be to God, His name makes devils fly. We had power in prayer-we had blessing after blessing, till we were almost overwhelmed. We prayed for a mighty revival of religion in Duffield, and we believe we shall have it." His joy at the conversion of a soul was very great. On the night of Sunday, November 8th, he thus writes:"Oh, what a blessed day this is to my poor soul! At class I was happy beyond expression. There was a poor soul seeking pardon-God did, for Christ's sake, pardon him in the prayer-meeting. O, how full I was! I could not sing, Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,' but burst into tears; yet they were tears of joy and gladness. O Lord, preserve him for Christ's sake. I feel almost poorly with my exertions to-day: I am tired in the work, but not of it. Glory be to God for ever. Amen."

Reviews.

W. W.

ECCLESIOGRAPHY: or, the Biblical Church Analytically Delineated. By JOHN G. MANLY.

The constitution and functions of the Christian Church are set forth in this volume in so scientific a style that many readers will be deterred from perusing it. The subjects it treats are of vast importance, and ought to interest all who lay claim to mental and religious cultivation. But the terminology employed by our author is so elaborately learned that some proficiency in the dead languages, especially Greek, is indispensable to a good understanding of the book. Mr. Manly, although he is not profuse in classical quotations, must have intended to write for the learned rather than the mass, or he would have used another style. He sometimes gives very expressive terms and phrases in good, homely Saxon-English, representing faithfully certain terms in the original New Testament, ambiguously rendered in the common version; but far more frequently does he shun the staple of his mother tongue to express his ideas in learned phrase, with technical precision, indeed, to those who understand him, but confoundingly perplexing, we will venture to say, to the great majority of readers. Some apology for this fault, for such we deem it, may be found in the fact that the majority of those who take an interest in the questions discussed by Mr. Manly, are persons whose previous training and mental habits fit them for the task of encountering, what would be to others, insurmountable difficulties; but, on the other hand, his book appears at a time, and under circumstances, when a multitude of minds just awakening to the questions, would have hailed a work in humbler garb, adapted to readers who have not been previously favoured with more than ordinary advantages.,

The book consists of six parts, distributed into chapters, sections, and smaller sections, with a general introduction, preceded by a dedication "To the Churches of Christ." The parts and chapters are thus laid out:

Part I. Import of the church, or ecclesiastical nature. Chapter I. Genus of the church. II. Species of the church. III. Individuality of the church. IV. Definition of the church.

Part II. Rise of the church, or ecclesiastical origin. Chapter I. The church Divine. Preliminary-Sec. I. The Messianic preparation. Sec. II. Messianic performance. Chapter II. The church apostolical. Preliminary-Sec. 1. The apostolic office formational. Sec. II. The apostles co-equal. Sec. III. The apostles diverse. Sec. IV. The apostles specially aided. Chapter III. The church pentecostal. IV. The church Palestinian. V. The Church appropriately formed.

Part III. Position of the church, or ecclesiastical relations. Chapter I. Circumspective church relations. Preliminary-Sec. I. Collateral circumspectiveness, or internal relations. Sec. II. Declinate circumspectiveness, or external relations. Chapter II. Retrospective church relations. III. Prospective church relations.

Part IV. Work of the church, or ecclesiastical operation. Chapter I. Government-distributed into the nature, right, mode, origin, and summary of government. Chapter II. Ecclesiastical operation-distributed into legislation and administration. Chapter III. Ecclesiastical operation-distributed into material, modal, and resultant operation.

Part V. Oneness of the church, or ecclesiastical unity. Chapter I. Unity of the whole church. II. Unity of a single church. III. Summary and result.

Part VI. Sequel of the church, or ecclesiastical destiny.

The history of the book is given in the preface. We transcribe it for the information of our readers, who will thus be introduced to some literary acquaintance with its writer.

"The author of this volume was so little identified with anything sectional or sectarian, in committing his thoughts to the press, as to be in the most favourable circumstances for dispassionate and impartial inquiry; and his mode of inquiry harmonised with his position, because he sought for the science of the church in the Scriptures alone, and studiously and entirely abstained from the perusal of any denominational work, that probably concurs with the current of his own thoughts and with the conclusions he has reached. For some years past he has felt and occasionally intimated the desirableness of a thorough analysis and assortment of scriptural ecclesiastical teaching; and in the month of May, 1850, in the mountains of Jamaica, his convictions became so strong as to impel him to search and write with persevering earnestness, but without any purpose of publication. Cherishing and applying the results, as great practical principles and guides, according to the nature and use of all truth, he sundered the ecclesiastical ties of twenty years, indeed of his whole religious life; sacrificed his ecclesiastical status, with all its involved and resultant advantages, spiritual and financial and conventional; and left a beloved land, and also endeared acquaintances and friends, to avow and practise, in a strange country, his religious and ecclesiastical principles. In the land he has left, and in the ancestral land of his present and purposed residence and labours, there are several friends who can corroborate this avowal of the rise and progress of his inquiries, and the circumstances of their maturation and development. The opinion of judicious and intelligent friends has coincided with his own inclination, in the preparation and publication of this volume. The views it embodies of the correlations of church and state are the result of abstract and independent study, at St. Jago de la Vega, in "the isle of springs;" they are the reverse of long-cherished preferences and conjectures, and different he thinks from the usual methods of discussion and description. Upon the great question of education, too, they will be found to have a direct and determinate bearing.

"Partial elements and aspects of the church have been diligently studied and ably exhibited, as the polity of the church, its pastorate, its relations to the state, and its unity; but the author knows no extant attempt at comprehensive and consecutive and analytical scriptural delineation. The various constituents of the church are so interlinked and interdependent, that one of them cannot be comprehended without another, and that the study of all is necessary to the appreciation of each. The great desideratum among Christians now, is a systematic analysis and exposition of New Testament teaching concerning the church. We should seek to know what the church is, whence it has come, in what position or relation it stands, what it does or should do, and what futurity awaits it, or what destiny it must accomplish. Unity, though involved in these respects, will be distinctly and duly considered in this delineation.

"The author writes under the auspices of no sect or association whatever, but merely from the felt necessity for some scriptural and systematic analysis of spiritual society, and with the single aim to seek and tell the truth. He sees and feels, and therefore speaks, rather courting than deprecating the severity of just criticism. Whatever is true, and just, and good, will live for ever, while the chaff and stubble of error and evil must utterly disappear before the wind, and vanish in the flame."

The foregoing quotation will give our readers a sufficient view of the author's aim. The discussion of his subject opens with a definition of the church, which is the most complete specimen of his style that can be found in so limited a space in the whole volume. We give it for that purpose.

"THE CHURCH may be described, generically, in its resemblance to other institutions; specifically, in its divergence or difference; and particularly, in its individual elements and aspects. Generically, it is society; specifically, it is Christian society; particularly, it is local Christian society."

"Gregariousness, partnership, and care-taking," are set forth as the "three elements of human society," and are severally discussed. Under the last of the three, called also "curatorship," are distinctive remarks on "idiology," “choriology," and "oikiology;" the latter being defined as "the science of Domesticity, of the goodness and justice of the house, or of sexual and procreative and cognate relations."

The phrases, "mystical church," and "invisible church," are repudiated, and pronounced "wholly unsuitable and misleading" language; on the ground that "the church is society; and an invisible human society is either a secret society or an absurdity, a verbal contradiction." Our author pronounces also the distinction of "church militant," and "church triumphant," to be "unscriptural and improper;" on the ground that "to any ultramundane, nonterrestrial, or celestial society, the term church (ecclesia) is never applied in the New Testament."-Pp. 9-10.

The church is described as a "co-operative," and "equalitarian society." In discussing this theme the fire of eloquence breaks forth into one of the finest examples of impassioned language in the book. We transcribe it without pronouncing upon its doctrinal accuracy.

"A Christian church is a community, a combination of equals, a society of common rights, privileges, and interests. Wealth, rank, learning, acuteness, eloquence, or any kind of peculiarity, can be no ground or reason of ecclesiastical diversity; because they are secular, not spiritual distinctions, and perfectly subordinate to the objects and operations of the Christian church. The only just and essential diversity is that of the head and the body. The only organic superiority is Christ's; and he is superior in both nature and office. Naturally he is superior, as 'God over all;' officially he is superior, as ecclesiastical Creator and King. But in the Church itself, there is no organic and original superiority whatever, in law and right. Any such actual superiority is a sinful imposition, on the part of those who claim it, and a base submission, on the part of those who allow it. Christ forbids among his disciples, any such distinctions as those of the nations or of civil society. The apostle James disallows 'respect of persons,' in conjunction with the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ;' says expressly to Christians, be not many masters;' and especially censures peculiar respect in Christian assemblies to the wealthy and wellattired. All seculir distinctions are foreign and subordinate to the church; and all proper ecclesiastic distinctions are not organic, but functional; not original, but created; not of caste, or class, or order, but of office; not of constitution, but of operation. In the church there can be no lordship, no motherhood, no fatherhood, no princedom, no aristocracy, either in name or in reality, without violating the plainest commands of Christ, without trampling on the constitution of the church, and without despoiling and dishonouring the members of the church. Emulation, pride, and ambition, should seek some other scene of contest and display than the church of Christ, which is not intended or permitted to be a theatre or arena for the rivalry, ostentation, and passions of mankind; but a fold for the flock, and a vehicle for the truth of our Saviour and Lord.

"The original, essential, constitutional equality of ecclesiasts, or churchmen, can scarcely be inculcated and enforced with too much labour, frequency, and emphasis; because it is primary and permeative, and cannot be at all overlooked in the right apprehension and service of the church; and because the neglect of it has ineffably obscured, degraded, deranged, and impeded the Christian institute.

"In Scripture style and sense, a church is a brotherhood, a commonwealth, a fellowship, whose members, consequently, are co-equal. Brethren are of one parentage and one blood. Members of a commonwealth have common obligations, rights, and privileges. A fellowship consists of fellows or equals. The members are called fellow-disciples, fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, fellow-heirs and of the same body, fellow-servants, fellow-soldiers, fellow-workers, fellow-dwellers, fellow-partakers, and are habitually recognised as brethren by the inspired writers. They vary in sex, age, and proficiency, yet thus but circumstantially. The fulfilment of the Divine will is their common characteristic, and precludes among them all pre-eminence and constitutional gradation. Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Christ forbids his disciples to exercise lordship,' 'dominion,' and authority,' like the princes and great ones of the nations, that is, like civil rulers; and directs that whoever aspires to be great should minister, or to be chief should serve, in imitation of his own ministration. The greatest,' in his kingdom, is illustrated by the character and conduct of childhood, not by the assumption or acceptance of