-especially as the former is in great measure at their expense; and both (they firmly believe) highly injurious to Christ's kingdom; a truth even admitted by many evangelical churchmen themselves. And can this be wrong? Let us reason from natural things; may I not sincerely and heartily love my brethren, and take all fit occasions to declare and manifest it; while at the same time, if I see him, at the beck of some inferior and usurped authority, associating with characters not approved by our Father, (though professedly engaged in his work,) and indulging in idle or hurtful practices, very much at my cost, too; is it improper or inconsistent in me to seek his reformation, and (if he will not himself amend) to take what steps I can to release him from the meshes he has entangled himself in, as well as save my own purse? Surely, if I did not, I should possess but little real affection for my brethren, or respect and honour for my Father-leaving out the duty I owed to myself. Such I take to be the principle-parva componere magnis-on which the opponents of the Established Church are acting; and on such grounds they should, and will strain every nerve to procure the severance of that unholy tie-the state and church connexion-which in this country stands more in the way of a hearty, general union of believers, of all denominations, than anything else existing. These were my own views of the movement under consideration, when I joined it, as I did immediately on its formation; and these, I am bold to say, are the sentiments of all the evangelical men who have at any time given in their adherence; while we yield to no men in sincere love for all, of every sect, who love the Lord Jesus. But we cannot but testify against corruption, and against injustice. The apostle says, "First pure, then peaceable.' "We can do nothing against the truth." But I must conclude, and am,

Dear Sir, yours faithfully and respectfully,
THOMAS BIDdle.

North Nibley, Vale of Berkeley, November 13, 1845.

P.S.-Your respected correspondent cannot have forgotten that one of the first resolutions agreed to at the interesting Liverpool meeting, (to which he alludes, as having been present,) was, "That no compromise of their own views, or sanction of those of others, on the points on which they differ, ought to be either required or expected on the part of any that concur in it; but all should be held as free as before to maintain and advocate their views," &c. &c. The party Mr. Thelwall complains of, would form no alliance on any other principle, and do not consider that union is, in the slightest degree, incompatible with their continued and vigorous opposition to the church as by law established. Not one of them, I feel assured, however, but can say, with myself, while we hate the system, we love the men; and it is in sincere and honest affection we would separate them from a connexion that can only do them harm. T. B.

HOW SHOULD REASON TREAT THE BIBLE?

HERE is a book of extraordinary claims. It professes to have been given by Divine inspiration, and to teach men the knowledge of salvation. I find, too, that the most intelligent and virtuous people in the world have received it with reverence, and obeyed its precepts. I profess to be a rational being; how, as such, am I to act towards it?

In the first place, I feel that a book with such recommendations, demands my serious and candid examination of its credentials. Are its pretensions to Divinity well supported or not? I therefore inquire into its history-its penmen-its records of miracles-its predictions,-the accordance of its statements of facts with collateral and human records: having satisfied myself on the value of these things, I endeavour to ascertain if the book carry within itself evidence of inspiration. I examine into its discoveries, and find them such as the mind of man, unaided by God, could never have made ;-I inquire into its doctrines, and admire their sublimity and agreement with both the Divine and human character, so far as they can be learned from other means of instruction. The morals of the Bible I perceive to be most pure, and the hopes, such as to meet the instinctive desires of a rational nature. The form and diction, too, are such as I am compelled to approve, as suited to a work of Divine origin. I am, in fact, convinced, both from external and from internal evidence, that all Scripture was given by inspiration of God.

Being satisfied on this important question, what next am I bound, as a rational creature, to do? If the Bible is Divine, it is of paramount authority, and I must, above all things, study its meaning. Reason instructs me, that, with such a revelation, my religion must be such as inspiration dictates, and not the creature of my own imagination. What then does the Bible direct me to believe?-what to do?—what to hope? If I obtain answers to these inquiries which, in some cases, oppose my passions and prejudices, nevertheless reason tells me, that I am not to bring God's word down to my preconceptions and carnal desires, but to allow my views and feelings to rise up to God's word. And as this is evidently a work of difficulty, and as my judgment is in danger of being injured by earthly affections, it is perfectly rational, that I should implore the aid of the Holy Spirit, so graciously promised, to guide me into all truth, and to enable me to will and to do that which God commands. If I can understand the reason of the doctrines and the facts of revelation, all the better; but when I find mystery, and am unable to see the full import of the doctrine, I must, notwithstanding, receive it as revealed, though its nature may be incomprehensible. When, therefore, I am taught the doctrines of the Holy Trinity in unity,-of the Divine and human nature in the person

of Christ, of the influences of the Holy Spirit renewing and sanctifying the heart, and other truths which I can plainly see revealed as reality, but the modes of which are above, not contrary to, my powers of comprehension;* as a believer in the inspiration of the Bible, I am obliged to receive these statements as verities with all their legitimate consequences. I am "shut up unto the faith." Reason says, if the captain calls in a pilot he must entrust him with the helm: and equally does she tell me, that I must either deny the authority of revelation altogether, or, allowing its Divine character, entrust the guidance of my religious faith and practice entirely to its direction.

So that both the Christian and the infidel reasons,-the one from good, the other from bad premises; the one from principles Divinely established, the other from the hypotheses of depraved humanity. The process which the believer employs is INDUCTIVE; the source of all his inferences is the word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation. The unbeliever, on the other hand, reasons à priori; he assumes what ought to be principles, and thus, granting his own data, his own passions and prejudices are the premises of all his moral conclusions. The prodigal reasoned from his own data, when he preferred riot to filial domestic comfort; but his premises were those which paternal goodness had taught him, when his conclusion was, "I will arise and go to my father." Both in the day of his folly, and in that "when he came to himself," his reason was at work; in the former his premises were delusive, in the latter, sound and faithful.

My duty, therefore, as a Christian, is not to desire the destruction of my reason, for that were to solicit idiocy; nor is it to deify reason,for that were to depreciate the noblest endowment I possess; but I should seek, by all means, the sanctification of my rational powers, "the wisdom that cometh from above," that I may understand the doctrines, perform the duties, and enjoy the privileges made known to man by that blessed Book, which reason assures me is and must be a DIVINE REVELATION.

Canterbury.

J. K. F.

* Were it asserted that three are one in the same sense in which they are three, or, that the Divine nature of Christ is his human nature, or, that the Holy Spirit renews and sanctifies the heart without affecting and employing its powers;-this would be contrary to reason. This, however, is not the case. I can believe that I have a soul, although it is invisible; but I cannot believe that my body is my soul. The one involves mystery, the other contradiction.

MEMORABLE DAYS IN DECEMBER.

Dec. 3, 1557. The Covenant of the "Lords of the Congregation" in Scotland.

4, 1655. The Ministers of Worcestershire held a special meeting for humiliation and prayer, respecting the duty of catechising.'

9, 1799. George Washington, first President of the United States, died.

,, 10, 1520. Luther burnt the Bull of condemnation issued against him by Pope

Leo X.

,, 12, 1653. Dr. William Gouge the Puritan, died.

,, 13, 1417. Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, brought up before the Lords, and finally sentenced.

18, 1557. Mrs. Lewis, of Mancetter, burnt at Lichfield.

,, 20, 1553. Day fixed by Mary's first Parliament, for the renunciation of the Reformed worship.

,, 20, 1675. John Howe's "Considerations before leaving Antrim."

,, 20, 1812. The island "Sabrina," one of the Azores, sunk in the ocean.

,, 22, 1557. John Rough, pastor of a Presbyterian church at Islington, burnt. ,, 25, 1541. Carlstadt died.

25, 167. Sir Matthew Hale died.

,, 25, 1758. James Hervey, Rector of Weston Favell, died.

26, 1560. First General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

,, 26, 1689. John Howe's remarkable dream.

27, 1603. Thomas Cartwright, B.D. the Puritan leader, died.

28, 1694. Queen Mary II. died.

,, 30, 1691. Honourable Robert Boyle died.

31, 1384. John Wycliffe died.

,, 31, 1620. The Pilgrim Fathers first held public worship at Plymouth. ,, 31, 1690. Christian David born at Sueftleben in Moravia.

THE earliest of those notices which, following the general method of previous papers, we first remark upon, is the appearance and last condemnation of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham. The circumstances attending the proceedings against this distinguished Wycliffite are placed in very different lights by different writers. Protestants are nearly all agreed that down to the time of his condemnation to be burned at the stake in 1413, his conduct was without reproach. Some writers have thought that there is just ground for the suspicion that after his escape from prison, he became implicated in the treasonable insurrection against the King's authority which broke out in Wales and elsewhere. Whether this was true or false, a bill of attainder passed against him in the Commons, and a price of a thousand marks was set

on his head, with a promise of perpetual exemption from taxes to any town which should secure him. He was at length taken, after a determined resistance, by Lord Powis, on whose estates he had for some time found an asylum. Having been sent by him to London, he was, on Tuesday, December 13, 1417, brought before the Lords, but refused to answer when his conviction before Arundel in 1413 was read to him. He was then sentenced to be hanged as a traitor and burnt as a heretic; on which he rendered thanks to God that he was counted worthy to suffer for his name's sake. At his death he showed great magnanimity and fortitude. When he arrived at the place of execution, the precise spot where St. Giles's in the Fields now stands, "he fell on his knees and with great devotion entreated God to pardon his enemies. Then standing up, he affectionately and seriously exhorted the multitude to follow the laws of God written in the Scriptures, and, amongst other admonitions, instructed them to beware of such teachers as they saw contrary to Christ in life and conversation." After this, while the friars who stood by, told the people not to pray for him, for he did not depart in the obedience of the pope,' he was suspended by chains round his waist over a large fire, singing the praises of God till death released him from his torture.

The writers on whose authority Lord Cobham has been represented as a traitor, are Walsingham and Fabian, of whom it would be impossible to say with truth that they were careful and unprejudiced writers. Their statements have, however, been relied upon by Hume and Gibbon; and Massingberd, in his History of the English Reformation, which is written in conformity with tractarian principles, speaks doubtfully upon the subject. By Foxe on the other hand, and all who have written on the Reformation in his spirit, Lord Cobham is regarded solely as a martyr to his religious convictions, on account of which he was indeed delivered over by Archbishop Arundel in 1413,-as the Lambeth record words it,-"to the secular power, to be burnt alive." It must be owned that it is now impossible to ascertain the clear truth upon the question. We can only say that during his extrordinary trial before his ecclesiastical judges, his conduct and principles were such as entitle him to great admiration, and that it is not upon doubtful or interested evidence that his character should be depreciated. Le Bas, who by his position, is as remote as Massingberd from the temptation of distorting facts to raise the credit of the Lollards, and who in addition to all the means of information, possessed a judgment fully competent to deal with the details of moral evidence, has probably come as near the truth as any writer in the following honourable testimony in his life of Wycliffe :

"But of all the noble persons who rendered the principles of Wycliffe honourable by their own faith and virtue, Lord Cobham is beyond all comparison the most