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"REJOICE EVERMORE.”

CHRISTIANS, why those looks of sadness,
Whence those vague unquiet fears?
Are there no bright rays of gladness,
To illume the path of tears?

Do the clouds of present sorrow,
Mantle o'er your souls to-day?
Joy will dawn upon the morrow,
Anguish pass with night * away.

If on trouble's restless ocean,
It is now your lot to ride,
Christ can calm its mild commotion,
Tempests at his word subside.

Or should cheering hopes be fading
In chill disappointment's night;
Look beyond the gloom o'ershading,
God the Lord shall give you + light.

Yet, o'er those who ne'er shall waken,
Bleeding hearts may droop in vain ;
Mourners, those the Lord hath taken,
He will bring with him again.

+ Micah vii. 8. Psalm cxviii, 27.

*Psalm xxx. 5.

1 Thess. iv. 14.

Is the furnace seven times heated,

Faith and patience there to try?
God as a refiner seated,

Waits the ore to purify.*

Do ensnaring foes assailing

*

Leave the wearied soul no ease?
Fear not yet their power prevailing,
In the Lord you shall have † peace :

And beneath his glorious leading
More than conquerors you shall be,
Palms of triumph soon succeeding,
Shall declare your victory.

Lift the beaming eye then brightly,
Our great Captain's near us still,
Grief and pain are ‡ measur'd lightly,
Thoughts of mercy to fulfil.

Clouds are round the throne of glory,
Sin-enslaved man complains,

Yet let earth take up the story,
God o'er all supremely reigns!

Soon the high exalted Saviour,
To his own shall come again,
Rich with tokens of his favour,
For the faithful sons of men.

Oh! that soon each heart may own him,
King of every wayward will;

*Malachi iii. 3.

† John xvi. 33.

Jer. xxix. 11: xxx. 11.

Soon o'er all his foes enthrone him,

That his love each soul may fill :

Then, from mount, and plain, and river,
Shall burst forth one glorious voice;
'Praise be to the Lord for ever,

'Ransom'd saints, rejoice, rejoice!'

I. B.

CHRIST'S SECOND COMING.

THE same mode of reasoning which we have applied in the vindication of the great doctrine of justification, will with equal force apply here. Is the doctrine of Christ's second appearing less a doctrine of Divine revelation-is it less glorious in its nature and holy in its tendency, because some have abused it? Assuredly not. But separated from human speculation, disentangled from the errors with which men have interwoven it, and made to stand out dressed in its own native sweetness and sublimity, it will be found to be one of the most precious, holy, and influential truths revealed in God's holy word.'-Winslow on the Glory of the Redeemer.

6

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOCIETY FOR
PROMOTING CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
IN SYRIA.

(To the Editor of the Christian Lady's Magazine).

MADAM,

It appears by some remarks in your November number, that many inquiries have been addressed to you on the subject' of 'the Syrian Mission;' and you insert a letter with the signature of Q, which you consider a summary of all the rest :' unfortunately this letter was not brought to the knowledge of the friends of the Society, whose proper designation is given above, until it was too late to send a reply for your Magazine of last month. A member of the Committee now begs leave to avail himself of the offer of your pages to give such information in addition to the accompanying Report, as may satisfy the reasonable portion of your inquirers. I have some doubt whether your correspondent Q will come into that number; for, whether the initial stands for Querist or Questionist, it is significative of the interrogatory strain which runs through the Syrian Mission' article, and betrays (I am sure you will pardon the observation) a genuine female curiosity to see behind the scenes of an acting Committee. If there could have been any doubt of the sex of your amiable correspondent, after running through the first series of her questions, it is obviated when we come to read of

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Assaad, tickling our eyes by his handsome appearance.' But this circumstance of Q having, with so much simplicity, proclaimed her sex, will give her an additional claim to the courtesy and attention of the writer of this reply. This discovery at the very outset was a great saving of time; it suggested an immediate reference to the Postscript of the letter, in order to ascertain what was really required; and, accordingly, after turning over five pages (the whole consisting of but six and a half) we come to a tangible inquiry. Now comes the question,' says Q, am I certain my present ideas of the Greek Church are correct? And it is to obtain a satisfactory answer, Madam, that I now appeal to you or your correspondents.' My task will, therefore, be limited to giving information upon the state of the Greek Church, in order to enable your correspondent to solve the question, whether she is certain or not that her present ideas-i.e. her ideas of November last, of the Greek Church, be correct. The Greek Church, which also takes the title of the Church of the East, was originally under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople; but, in the year 1589, Russia, and all the provinces belonging to that empire, declared their independence under Job, Archbishop of Rostow, the first Patriarch of the Russians: in more recent times, other countries have virtually withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Patriarch. The new kingdom of Greece, for instance, has its own national Synod, which is acknowledged as supreme in all ecclesiastical matters. The Greek Church, however, nominally subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople, is divided, as it was in the first ages of Christianity, into four great provinces-viz. Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria ; each province having its chief bishop, called a Patriarch.

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