and the suppressed ones restored. The queen-mother is said to intrigue still in favour of her daughter's marriage to the son of Don Carlos, and a growing spirit of hostility to England is cherished by her and her partisans.

Even in ITALY, railroads are projected, and it is reported in the journals, that an English company have engaged to lay one down, in the states of the pope, for a title of fifty years; and have further engaged to complete the erection of the famous church of St. Paul; and, we blush to pen it, to pay 50,000 scudi to the college de Propaganda Fide! Good English Protestants truly!

The Jesuits are now established in Switzerland, or rather at Lucerne; but the public mind throughout the cantons is in a most excited state, which is not a little increased by the assassination or suicide of M. J. Leu D'Ebussol, a member of the grand council, a man held in universal estimation.

In France the opponents of the Society of Jesus have been more successful. M. Rossi's mission to Rome influenced either the mind of the Pope, or of the Superior of the Order, so that their twenty-two establishments and chapels in that country are to be immediately suppressed. The liberals of France appear to hold them in great abhorrence. "Give me," exclaimed M. Thiers, "give me the Jesuits, and I will guarantee you a Voltaire." Railroads are rapidly advancing throughout France, and mainly through British wealth, enterprise, and skill. The day, perhaps, is not very remote, when along these iron roads French legions may hasten to the coast to attempt the invasion of our own shores, and repay with interest those patriotic capitalists, who, for the sake of pelf, thus increased the power of France to do us mischief exceedingly.

On our affairs at HOME we have little space and less inclination to make many remarks.

The Parliament continues its tedious session, that will be scarcely memorable for anything but evil doing. Whilst the debates on the Irish College and Scotch Universities Bills, and on the affairs of New Zealand, &c., have doubtless increased the disgust of all honest minds at the utter want of principle which her Majesty's advisers unblushingly display.

In IRELAND a fight between two factions and the police near Cork, and a riot between the Orangemen and Roman Catholics of Armagh, are symptoms of the unaltered, we had almost said unalterable, state of the island. The sop for Maynooth, and the hope of endowment for all the priests of Ireland, have not checked O'Connell and the Repeal agitation, which, we fear, whether triumphant or defeated, will end in an appeal to arms that may supply another dark and bloody chapter in the history of that extraordinary people.

TO OUR READERS.

It is probably known by most of the readers of this Magazine that its Editor has been attacked in no measured terms in the Patriot, Nonconformist, and Morning Advertiser newspapers, and in the pages of the Eclectic Review, for the course he took as one of the Deputation sent from London to attend the Anti-Maynooth Conference in Dublin, in the beginning of last June. His private friends assure him that he ought to reply to these animadversions, and some have suggested that it should be done in these pages.

As, however, he conducts this periodical for the use and benefit of the whole denomination, he does not wish to commit the journal of the Congregational churches to the defence of his conduct in anything beyond his editorial labours. He avails himself, however, of this postscript to announce that he has in the course of preparation a pamphlet, which, he believes, will vindicate his own conduct, and throw some light on that of others.

THE

CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE.

SEPTEMBER, 184 5.

THE TIME OF REJOICING.

GOD is love. The ordinary course of his providence, and the ordinary dispensation of his grace, are constantly revealing that love; and showing that he careth for us. As it is from the daily and habitual conduct of the earthly parent, that the observant child derives his deepest impressions of that parent's sincere and affectionate regard; so it is the daily and habitual support, and bounty, and grace of our Father who is in heaven, that must inspire us with that staid and implicit confidence, which is at once our safeguard and our joy. But if in his intercourse with his family, there are times when a parent's affection beams in his countenance with unwonted radiance, thrills in his tones with unwonted power, and speaks in his acts with unwonted decision, calling forth in the bosoms of his household a stronger responsive love, and awakening thoughts of endearments, and creating emotions of pleasure, the memory of which can never depart, and the power of which can never cease to be felt ::-so in God's dealings with us are there seasons, when he unveils his glory to our minds in an unusual manner; and shows us tokens for good;-not, we know, in form, like those he gave to Jacob at Peniel, and to Moses in Horeb; yet as real, as peculiar, and as much adapted to establish our confidence and assure our hearts.

The day of trouble is one of the seasons of these his choicer manifestations. It has been in every age of his church, and to ten thousand of his people. And if some, when tried, have been offended; others have counted all joy the correction of their Father's hand, because then he has drawn very near unto them, to comfort them, and show them his face. Neither the moment, however, nor the manner of his appearing are selected at random. He comes at the most appropriate time, and speaks in the most appropriate way. He is no fond

father, indulging selfish and petulant children, and by that indulgence aiding them in their ruin. He waits for the season when his favours will be prized; and the gifts that he bestows in that moment, are those which will contribute to their greatest good. How often, alas! do we indulge the vainest wishes, sport with wild and foolish imaginations, and persist in saying in our hearts, "If God would but remove this from our path, or take that out of our cup; if he would but bestow such and such a blessing upon us, or put us in such and such a condition, we should be content; and our lot, though painful, we would cheerfully bear!" But such reflections are carnal and ignorant; he cannot act in our favour till we lay them aside; we ourselves delay his appearing; and it is not until our "soul is as a weaned child," thus taught "to covet earnestly the best gifts;" it is not until we have resigned, like the Hebrew youths, all earthly possessions and human favour, that the form of the Son of man will visit us in the furnace, and those high, those rich, those spiritual communications will be made to us, to fit us for which, we were bound and cast into the fire. Yes, these are what we need; their value is beyond all price, and should all other things be withheld, and these bestowed, our lot will be blessed above that of earth's most favoured sons. And the day of trouble is the time which God frequently selects to manifest himself unto his saints; to perfect their character here, and to fit them for glory. We will specify a few of the forms in which he thus appears, and converts the hour of trial into a time of rejoicing.

I. It is then, that God frequently affords to the believer such a view of the efficacy of the blood of Christ to take away sin, and of the perfection of his justifying righteousness as prevails over all his sorrows, and diffuses through his soul unutterable peace. It may be true that some, although they see, believe not, and therefore fail to be comforted; but a principal reason why many are strangers to the blessedness of a justified state, is to be found in the indistinctness of their perceptions of the great object of faith; and generally, if we looked at, if we apprehended the glory of Christ as a Saviour from sin, our peace would be sweet, profound, and enduring. By every Christian, and at any time, this state is attainable, for he is our peace. We have boldness, full permission, granted unto us, entire freedom to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, in the full assurance of faith. But in the ordinary course of our Christian life, the things that are seen on the one hand, make so deep an impression upon us; and on the other, our attention is so much engaged by speculative, and often by subordinate topics, that it is but seldom we collect the powers of our spiritual vision, and concentrate them on the cross, with that directness and force which are necessary to bring into our bosom all the consolations of the Gospel. The Spirit of God withholds what we do not with becoming earnestness seek. But such is the mercy of our Father who

is in heaven, that though we are guilty before him in this, he would cure us of our inattention. He subjects us to trial, he lays waste our pleasant things, he afflicts us sore; varied and painful may be our mental exercises; clouds and darkness, fear and doubt may long prevail, but the soul is inclined now to turn to God alone, and direct its thoughts to the first and greatest truth of the glorious Gospel: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins;" "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin ;" "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified;" "He is able to save to the uttermost ;""Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." By the gracious operations of the Divine Spirit, the troubled saint, under a deep sense of sinfulness and guilt, is led to think more intently on such passages as these. The glory of the Redeemer's person, the perfection of his atoning sacrifice, the virtue, the efficacy of his precious blood; the certainty there is that the chief of sinners may be saved, and every sin of every transgressor that comes to God through him shall be blotted out, arising from the fact that it is Christ that died; are seen with a clearness, he had never experienced, and laid hold of with a grasp he had never taken. For a long period he had believed these truths, and drawn from them his chief consolation; yet often, the object of his faith was partially hidden, and his vision at times comparatively dim, whilst in his affliction, perhaps, darkness and doubt have almost veiled his mind. But he who in love had been chastening him, heard his groaning, and at the set time appeared for his deliverance. Christ-the Saviour Christ, is revealed in him; the distance is diminished, the veil is removed; he beholds the Lamb of God, he sees his cross, he experiences its saving virtue ; and the effect of looking on Jesus is as though he heard a voice from the celestial glory, saying unto him, "Thy sins which are many❞—all thy sins" are forgiven thee."

"No condemnation now,

Christ and my soul are one."

And who can describe the happy state of that sufferer's mind, who is thus enabled, by grace through faith, to see Jesus? At the very moment that his cup was running over with sorrow, he finds himself standing before the holy Lord God pardoned, accepted, justified; and while his frame is being shattered and broken down by the weight of his troubles, his inward peace is unutterably sweet; his joy is full, the stranger cannot intermeddle with it; for the time his pains are unfelt, he is almost in heaven. It is true that such visions and such emotions cannot long continue in all their intensity, yet are they not less real or valuable; and if many servants of God may not have experienced them with great power; in others they have resulted, not from fanaticism, but from a true and enlightened faith.

But does not this happy state of mind admit of being counterfeited? and how may we know that ours is the peace of God which passeth all understanding? We answer these inquiries by the adduction of another particular; and remark,

II. That in trouble, God enables his children to trace, on their own heart and spirit, the salutary effects of his discipline, and to behold their Father's hand actually preparing them for another state.

1. What are these deep convictions of the exceeding sinfulness of sin? what this brokenness of heart, this godly sorrow on account of my personal transgressions? what this strong desire to be delivered from its power? What an evil and bitter thing is sin! What are these impressive views of the character of the great God? Oh, how glorious is his holiness, how just and true is he! And what is this dissatisfaction which I feel, that these views are not more uniform and constant in their operation?

2. And then, Christ is precious to my soul. When lately busied with the world, I too often lost sight both of his mediatorial work, and of his relation to myself, but he is—yes, he is—all my salvation and all my desire. Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee; and my heart is full of gratitude, my lips of praise for the unspeakable gift.

3. It is sometimes difficult to determine the measure of our progress in holiness. Those who bear most of the image of Christ will, because their minds are most highly illuminated, frequently take, like Paul, the most humiliating views of themselves, and be most painfully conscious of the body of sin and death, they bear about with them here. Yet in trouble, the good man is often led to that course of serious and faithful self-examination, in which he can hardly be deceived; and the Spirit takes occasion to bear witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. What, O my soul ! is thy state before the Holy One of Israel, and where the evidence of thine adoption into his family? Alas, I cannot glory! To me belong rather shame and confusion of face. Yet have I hope, for whereas I was blind, now I see. This soul, once so full of rebellion and pride, has certainly become lowly before God. This heart, that once resented the cross of the blessed Jesus, not less than the new birth of the Holy Spirit, has certainly submitted itself to the righteousness of the one, and to the renewing of the other. This nature, once so carnal, so sensual, so worldly, so alien from Divine things, has certainly undergone a change, for which, imperfect as it is, I cannot account, but by referring it to the operation of Divine grace. The works of the flesh have given place to the fruits of the Spirit; and where "anger, wrath, malice," falsehood, deceit, guile, once reigned, there is at least a measure of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith." I do delight myself in the Lord; I do love his word and his house. Fellowship with the Father, and with his Son