clared to be just and necessary; when, in short, the enemy completely triumphed; and although, through the indulgent favour of heaven, his Majesty is yet preserved, his allies have indeed been " put under the feet" of the conqueror!

The first paragraph of the sermon, however, set us right in this matter. The preacher remarks- "Of no earthly potentate can this declaration be pronounced with any degree of truth or certainty. . . . . those chris tians who read their bibles need not be informed, that the apostle Paul is speaking of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God."

The political part of this discourse, consists of the introduction, forming about one sixth part of the whole, and abounds with the usual common place compliments of which sovereigns in almost all countries, from their frequent repetition, and knowing how little they are to be depended upon, for conveying the real opinion of their subjects, must surely be pretty well surfeited. Of the many sovereigns of Europe whose thrones have been overturned within these few years, there is not one but has been extolled as the wisest and best of kings, and those over whom he reigned as the most contented and the happiest of subjects! Mr. Evans, like some of his brethren, appears somewhat apprehensive lest his audience should enter impartially into the merits of the case, and fairly discuss the question, whether the state of the nation compared with what it was when his Majesty ascended the throne, warranted the celebration of a jubilee? Although the preacher, choosing to forget all the oppressive burdens under which the major part of the nation are bending, most unwarrantably, if not insultingly, declares" that it would be unfeeling not to acknowledge the blessings by which this reign has been characterised;" he is obliged to add in the very next sentence-" It has, indeed,

66

had its full share of external hostilities and warfare: it has, alas! been most deeply involved in wars, and rumours of wars: but," he adds, " let us this day cast a veil over these unsightly scenes, &c." To "cast `a veil" over our real state as a nation, we must consider as inconsistent with the duty of a faithful minister of the gospel. We put the solemn question to the conscience of the preacher,-Were the wars to which he alludes, in their origin and progress, just or unjust? If the former, why did he not instead of exclaiming "alas!" on a jubilee day, assign our perseverance in those wars as a proof of our righteousness as a nation; of our being (to use the language of their authors and defenders), the champions of the liberties, the independence, the religion and the social order of Europe! But Mr. Evans we are persuaded would not have dared to make so false, so impious an assertion. If then our wars have been unjust-what a weight of guilt rests on this nation; and it is well if the celebration of a national jubilce under such circumstances has not increased that weight.

"The personal and domestic vir tues of the king are the subject of · just praise:" this we have readily granted, but we still maintain for the reasons we have already assigned, they by no means-warrant the cele bration of a Jubilee. It is added, "His conduct has been scrupulously pure in what Milton has termed the dear charities of life. Exemplary has been his behaviour in every department connected with individual and social felicity." As our sovereign is so superior in virtue to kings in general, we are by no means inclined to examine critically the justice of this high flown panegyric; nor indeed are we sufficiently informed for the purpose: but unless Mr. F. considers the standard of court morality, as somewhat of a different nature from that of the gospel, upon what

principle of "individual and social felicity," it may be asked, are royal marriages, the most unhappy, sometimes formed; and at other times dissolved although formed by the contracting parties upon pure and virtuous principles, and productive of much conjugal felicity, but the dissolution of which has entailed misery and disgrace on the part of the unhappy female? The law indeed allows of the exercise of this authority but a minister of the gospel should be careful how he uses the language of flattery respecting customs, which he would on the pure principles of morality and christianity find it difficult to justify. We take it for granted that when Mr. E. expresses himself thus strongly, he has a perfect knowledge of the whole of the royal conduct in private from the commencement of the reign to the present moment; and particularly of the marked disapprobation expressed by his Majesty of the long continued, illicit and immoral connections of several

of the princes of the blood royal. If the preacher had not a perfect knowledge of all these circumstances, he is subject to the serious charge of giving flattering titles to man,—a practice which we need not inform Mr. E. is expressly condemned in the word of God.

We are happy as we proceed, to find some virtues in the character of his Majesty which have not been generally noticed.

"Be it recorded as most honourable to his feelings as a man, that he has warmly patronised the education of the poorer classes of the community. This he has done, and continues to do amidst great opposition, nobly declaring to the inventor, and promoter of that popular plan of instruction,* that he wished EVERY

POOR CHILD IN THE NATION SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ THE BIBLE."

Here we cordially agree with the preacher in his assertion," that this is a jewel in the royal diadem;" and

*Mr. Lancaster.

f

if he had said "the brightest jewel, he would scarcely have gone too far. It must indeed afford his Majesty as well as all his loyal subjects plea sure to reflect, that by the extended education of the poor, and especially should the children of the poor be universally taught to read their bibles, some hope may be entertained of their acquiring those principles and that strength of mind, as may enable them to bear up under the pressure of those burdens, which have been multiplied by his Majesty's ministers, under whose wretched system the number of our paupers have been encreased from two to twelve hundred thousand !

Another virtue of his Majesty recorded by Mr. E. and which deserves to be noticed at the present period more particularly, is, his aversion to flattery. Quoting the letters of Bishop Warburton lately published, Mr. E. observes :~~

"Bishop Warburton assures us, upon the authority of Lord Mansfield, that when at the commencement of his reign fuse in their adulations of the new king, certain sycophantic chaplains were prohe expressed his offence in the presence of them all, by declaring, that he came to chapel to hear the praises of God, and not his own. Like the flatterers of Canute at the sea shore," adds Mr. E. "how abashed must have been the adu lators on this occasion!"

On reading this passage, we could not, as sincere friends to the dissenting interest, help felicitating certain ministers, that they have no pros pect of ever being exalted to the dignity of court chaplains; for, judging from their political sermons, we are not without our fears, that were they once within the verge of a court, the royal reproof would not be confined to the priests of the

establishment.

The preacher amidst his flatteries, gives one or two broad hints that matters are not quite as they should be, and that his Majesty has a few things yet to accomplish, before he reaches the goal of perfection!

"The prerogatives of king and people were, at the revolution happily adjusted: the three branches of our excellent constitution were balanced, and laws instituted to prevent their encroachment on each other. Imperfection, however, attaches itself to every thing human it has degenerated, but we are not without remedy: judicious and temperate reform would soon set every thing right, Abuses would gradually disappear, and privileges be enjoyed to their utinost exTHEN will our highly favoured country continue for ages to come, the envy and the admiration of the world." Referring to the repeal of certain penal laws during the present reign, the preacher adds,

tent.

"Religious opinion ought in no case to prove the diminution of civil rights.' We may, and do venerate the conscientious scruples which the monarch has ex pressed, but we regret, at the same time, that these should have existed. The progress of science and of legislation, is such, that just ideas respecting the nature and extent of civil and religious liberty must ultimately prevail. Could our venerable monarch be induced to entertain these more extended views, following them up with their practical effects, and adding to them (were it in his power) the inestimable blessing of Peace; then, would he, like the great orb of day, take leave of this lower hemisphere with a superior dignity, imparting to his setting rays a milder effulgence and glory.",

As Mr. Evans has given us no information respecting the nature of the" conscientious scruples alluded to," it is impossible for his readers to determine how far such " scruples" deserve to be venerated, We have however but little hope of reform either in church or state, while even the mistaken views of the sovereign are made the medium of adu lation; but without REFORM, RADICAL, EFFECTUAL, and SPEEDY REFORM our ruin is inevitable, and a national jubilee, is a national insult.

The preacher proceeds to the discussion of his text, and his hearers must have been thankful when he “turned their attention and raised their minds" to what he so justly

VOV. VI.

terms

66 a nobler theme: the reign of the Messiah, distinguished for its dignity, its purity, its duration and its final triumphs." Each of these particulars forms a distinct head; under which we have a variety of excellent practical observations, and a display of those liberal and enlightened sentiments which adorit the theological and moral writings of the worthy author; and to which subjects we cannot, as his sincere friend, help wishing, that he would for the future confine himself. We wish it the more earnestly, this being the second political sermon in which the preacher has unhappily committed himself. We are sorry to find that the friendly warning we suggested to him in the year 1804, has had so little effect. At that time he, by an injudicious sermon, added fuel to the popular flame, and hurried on his countrymen to war, without stopping to inquire whether it were either just or necessary, or reflecting that the unjust violation of the treaty of Amiens, by the British minister was the sole cause of that war; and although we entirely acquit the writer of any impure motives, we are firmly persuaded that his recent discourse has the tendency to increase that general delusion which alarms not only himself, but every other thoughtful man in the British empire.

*

the text he has chosen 1. SAMUEL, x. 24th. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King," a motto to the remarks he was about to deliver;" for after a couple of pages in which the occasion of the words as originally uttered, is briefly explained, the text is no longer the subject of consideration.

The discourse comprises the following particulars.

"1. The history of protestant dissenters in this kingdom, shewing their origin, and the causes of their increase II. The sufferings they have experienced and patiently endured. III. The steps which have led to their enjoyment of the blessings of religious liberty. IV. The special reasons why, as Protestant Dissenters, we should be grateful to God for the reign of George III"

The three first of these particulars are discussed in a manner equally entertaining and instructive, and are well calculated for the use of young persons, who are presented with much valuable information comprised within a small compass, and enriched by quotations from some of our best historians, civil and ecclesiastical. Our limits will only allow us to make two or three short extracts.

Under the First head, alluding to the Reformation from Popery, we have the following observations, which we recommend to the attention of those persons who so warmly panegyrise our church establishment in its present state, two hundred years after its first formation, as the work of our excellent reformers.

"The reformation from popery, which was begun in the reign of Henry VIII. though glorious, was not perfect. Much was accomplished but not all; and even when in the reign of Edward VI. it was carried much farther, the reformers complain in the preface to one of their service books, that they had gone as far as they could in reforming the church, considering the times they lived in; and hoped that those that came after them would, as they might, do more." The excellent Edward (the English Josiah) wished to make it more perfect but could

not accomplish it. In his diary he la ments, that he could not restore the pri mitive discipline according to his heart's desire, because several of the bishops, some of their ill name, and some out of love to from age, some from ignorance, some out popery were unwilling to it? Yea, even the church herself in one of her public offices, to this day, laments the want of a godly discipline'."

After the perusal of this quotation, we leave it to those who are constantly exclaiming, respecting the church of England in its present state, Esto perpetua! to determine the sincerity of their professions of veneration and admiration, of the principles of our "good old reformers"!

After tracing the history of the dissenters from the Reformation, to the Revolution in 1688, the author proceeds to his second head. The perusal of the history of penal laws, and persecution for conscience sake, must make every friend to the rights of conscience, and indeed every friend to humanity, grateful to Providence, that, owing to a more enlightened policy, the priesthood are no longer suffered to murder mankind, and that they can neither fine, imprison, or pillage as they formerly were wont to.do. What gratitude there may be due to men, on this account, is due to the civil power, and to the civil power only, for every attempt to extend Toleration, has been uniformly opposed, in a greater or less degree by the priests of all established churches.

Under the third head, we have a melancholy although an impartial

account of the miserable ideas on the subject of Toleration, held and practised by the different ruling powers, and sects, in the reign of Charles I. The presbyterians justly merited the reproach cast on them by Milton-" New Presbyter is but Old Priest-writ large!" The independents, although their opinions on the subject were more enlarged, and, as is remarked by our author,

though they pleaded for a toleration, yet appear to have but very imperfectly understood the subject. They were for tolerating' says Neal, all that agreed in the fundamentals of christianity; but when they came to enumerate fundamentals, they were sadly entangled, as all those must be, who do not keep the religious and civil rights of mankind on a separate basis. Mr. Ivimey here shews some little partiality for his own denomination, which appears to him, to have always been enemies to persecution for conscience sake.' Various quotations are given from their writings to prove their liberal opinions on this subject; but we beg leave to remark, that opinions equally liberal are to be found in writers of the respective denominations above mentioned, as well as in those of different established churches, --when they were no longer in power, and were persecuted in their turn. As the Antipædobaptists have never been in power, it is impossible to determine the question; but judging from certain opinions scattered thro the writings of some of those who advocate what is termed 66 strict communion," that is, excluding from the common bond of union amongst christians, all those who differ from themselves on the subject of baptism, although they most cordially unite on all other points, we never wish to see this denomination, nor in deed any other, formed into an establishment, paid and supported by the state. No sect can safely be trusted with church power enforced by the civil power.

The following account of the opinions of Oliver Cromwell on the subject of Toleration, proves how much better he understood the nature of religious, than of political and civil liberty.

Though Cromwell has been generally represented as wearing the mask, it seems highly probable that he was sincere on this point; for when he possessed the supreme authority, Mr. Baxter says,

that the protector and his friends gave out that they could not understand what the magistrate had to do in matters of religion; they thought that all men ought to be left to their own consciences, and that the magistrate could not interfere without ensnaring himself in the guilt of persecution.”

"When the protector found that the parliament would not come into his measures, he thus reproached them at the dissolution of parliament in 1654, 'How proper is it to labour for liberty, that men should not he trampled on for their consciences? Have we not lately laboured under the weight of persecution, and is it fit then to make it sit heavy upon others? Is it ingenuons to ask li berty and not to give it? What greater hypocrisy than for those who were op pressed by the bishops, to become the greatest oppressors themselves as soon. as that yoke is removed? I could wish, that they who call for liberty now alse, had not too much of that spirit, if the power were in their hands.'

"What noble sentiments" (adds our author)" are these! they would have done credit to any head; they are worthy of every heart, and raise Cromwell higher as to his views of religious liberty, than any of the ministers who were employed

to settle the affairs of the church; for in the committee appointed to draw up the fundamentals, they differed as to what sentiments should be considered as such; Mr. Richard Baxter proposed, that nothing more should be made necessary than subscription to the apostle's creed, the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments. But why the apostles' creed? Is it not the composition of men, who were fallible and liable to err? Dr. Owen and the rest could not go so far; they had so framed their articles as that not only Deists, Socinians, and Papists were excluded; but also all Arians, Antinomians and Quakers. Into what difficulties do good men plunge themselves, who usurp the kingly office liberty which is the birthright of every of Christ, and attempt to restrain that rational creature! It is an unwarrantable presumption for any number of men' to declare what is fundamental in the christian religion; any further than the scriptures have expressly declared it. It is one thing to maintain a doctrine to be true, and another to declare that without the belief of it, none can be saved; none may say this, but God him