against the Babylonians, Moabites, Philistines, and others. The whiteness of his horse indicates that he comes directly from heaven. And the distinction between him and the red horseman who follows, (and who also is a Spirit of war) is, that the former wages the war of heaven directly against the earth, whereas the latter stirs up the inhabitants of the earth to wage war among themselves.

Ver. 5. "And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand." This third rider is a Spirit of famine, as appears from the pair of balances, which indicates scarcity and dearness. Compare Ezekiel iv. 16, "Behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight." The scarcity was probably to be produced by a hailstorm, or some similar visitation. And the damage, as appears from the next verse, was only to be partial: it was to fall upon the corn crops, but not upon the vines and olive trees. In the Egyptian plague of hail (Exod. ix.) the flax and barley had been smitten, but not the wheat and rye.

Ver. 6. "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, A measure of wheat for a penny," &c. The speaker, here, is again the third living creature, the same which in the preceding verse had announced the coming forth of the Spirit of famine. This living creature stood behind the throne. Hence St. John, who was in front of the throne, could not see it: he could only hear its voice. And the voice, though it came in fact from the hindmost of the four living creatures, would sound, to St. John's ear, as if it proceeded out of “the midst of the four living creatures."

Ver. 8. "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell (or Hades) followed with him :" namely, to take possession of the souls of those whom Death (i. e. the Spirit of pestilence) destroyed. It is not said whether Hades was mounted, or whether he followed on foot.

"And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth." Similarly, we are to understand, though it is not expressed, that each of the three preceding Spirits had a fourth part of the earth for his province.

Ver. 9. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." In order to the explanation of this passage, three points are to be noted. In the first place, (1), the heavenly temple, like the earthly temple, is here conceived to have its crypt, or catacombs they are co-extensive with the whole temple, including the fore-court. Secondly, (2), these catacombs are conceived to be an under-world for the departed saints, a receptacle for their souls during the period between death and the resurrection. Thirdly, (3), the entrance into this under-world is conceived to be at the foot of the altar of burnt-offering in the fore-court: for that was the point at which, in the earthly temple, the blood of the sacrificed beasts was carried down into the underground buildings, and so conveyed to the brook Cedron. This accounts for St. John's saying that he "saw souls under the altar." The opening at the foot of the altar was the only channel of communication between these souls and the upper world.

Ver. 10. "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long," &c. It is to be borne in mind that, in the scenes of this chapter, the judgement has not yet begun. The four preceding scenes (verses 1-8) are preludes of the judgement: in the fifth scene (verses 9-11), the souls

of the martyrs are represented as longing for the judgement: and in the following scene (verses 12-17) we have still, not the judgement, but only a convulsion of nature which portends the judgement.

Ver. 14. "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together." The heavenly concave was sometimes compared by the Hebrews to a crystal dome, and sometimes to the hemispherical awning of a tent. Under the former view of it, the heat of the last day would cause it to fly into pieces like cracked glass, and so to "pass away with a great noise." (2 Pet. iii. 10.) Under the latter view, the removing of it might be likened (as it is in Heb. i. 12) to the folding up of drapery, or (as it is in the verse before us) to the rolling together of a parchment scroll. M. J. M.

THE REV. J. CLAYTON ON CERTAIN EVILS IN THE

CONGREGATIONAL SYSTEM.

For the Christian Observer.

It would be ungenerous to convert to party-spirited purposes the lamentations which a good and honest man utters upon the defects in his own communion; but it were wise, and for utility, to mark them, in order to guard against them. Mr. Angell James's book, detailing some practical evils of the Congregational system, furnished materials for many just, and some invidious, comments; and we might extract from addresses delivered on various occasions by Dissenting ministers, who wished to reform what they lamented, some of the severest charges ever penned against their most cherished institutions. For such a task we have no taste; but the other office is within our legitimate province, and we endeavour occasionally to fulfil it, and we would hope with fairness and candour.

We have premised these remarks as an apology, if one be needed, for extracting the following from a Sermon lately delivered by the Rev. John Clayton, at the Poultry Chapel, London, upon his retiring from his pastoral charge.

"And now, my beloved brethren and sisters, among whom for so many years I have gone, endeavouring to preach the kingdom of God, bear with me a little longer, while I address to you the words of gratulation, of admonition, and of comfort.

"Call to mind former days, when we met in our little sanctuary, often few more than the two or three who were assembled in the name of Jesus Christ, to invoke his blessing on the new movements of our Christian diligence and zeal. Reflect on our gradual increase, until the little one became a thousand, and the small one a strong nation;' and we rose to a prosperity, not thirty, nor sixty, but many hundreds fold, beyond that of preceding years. Think on the successive establishment of our various Institutions, most of which have advanced in strength and usefulness; until in the last twelve months of our fellowship, we were enabled to accomplish more, for the cause of Christ and of our fellow-creatures, than in any former periods of our history. Though we have lived in extraordinary and in peculiar times, yet no wild boar out of the wood has been suffered to trample down the vineyard, nor any venomous reptile to diffuse his poison among us. We have remained steadily attached to the great truths and simple ordinances of the Gospel; and have not been suffered to be tossed about with various winds of doctrine, or to be shaken by the violence or the versatile eccentricity of modern zealots and partizans. It is no more than truth to assert, that we have been favoured with continual harmony, and with an improving and effective co-operation. During the long period of our union, how many souls have been won to Christ, and saints established in holiness, and many a weary pilgrim has been cheered as he has passed through much tribulation into the kingdom of heaven Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name, O Lord, be the glory and praise.'

་

"Happy should I have been, if, as the evening of my life drew on, I should have felt my remains of strength adequate to the task of sustaining the weight of pastoral duty, so necessary to the maintenance of the prosperity of our Jerusalem. But to this arduous enterprise, God is my witness, I am no longer competent and grieved should I have been to have witnessed such a decline of our economy, as to have rendered it extremely difficult for a successor to have become a repairer of the breach, and a restorer of the paths to dwell in.' It would argue a very wrong state, both of my understanding and heart, were I capable of dissolving a connexion of so many years' standing, without much impassioned feeling, and many pangs of regret; but I have the satisfaction to think, that, notwithstanding we have sustained some decrease in our numbers, there is still a broad and strong foundation spread before some wiser master-builder, on which he may rear a noble superstructure of usefulness.

"Every institution with which human instrumentality is connected, 'has infirmity.' Non-conformist as I am, in principle and practice, and giving my decided preference to our system, for its simplicity, its freedom, and its elastic capacity to adapt itself to every state of society, and to every country under heaven, yet I am not insensible to its imperfections. It gives too ready facility for unqualified persons to enter its ministry; it is defective in discipline; it is often, especially in small communities, oppressive towards its pastors; it makes little or no provision for them when they become, through age or weakness, past labour; and it presents almost insuperable difficulties to a collegiate ministry.

"Even apart from the moral weaknesses of our fallen nature, and the wide difference of the secular position of our churches to that of those in the first ages of Christianity, the vast majority of our societies cannot possibly sustain two pastors; while the usual dissimilarity of the plans of operation pursued by youth and age, and the popular constitution of our polity, for the most part giving birth to invidious and painful distinctions between the colleagues, together with the peculiar and extreme character of modern Independency, combine to render co-pastorships, in many cases totally impracticable, and in others most miserable failures. In a few instances in which the senior minister has been quite infirm, or has been reduced to a mere cypher, or in which both pastors have united in themselves the courtesy of the gentleman and the same mind which was in Christ,' such unions have been successful; but in the majority they have been otherwise, and in many have been followed by mean and petty jealousies, stormy dissensions, and the angry separation and dispersion of the flock.

6

"To shun these evils, and to secure the greatest possible amount of good, I have therefore determined, after giving the subject my best attention for the past three years, to resign my pastoral relation; firmly believing, that this will prove, under the divine blessing, the best process to promote the reviviscence and prosperity of the church with which I have been so long and happily united."

Here we find a minister, at an age in which the physical powers begin to fail, but the mind is vigorous, the judgment is ripe, the affections are not iced, and if there be true piety in the soul it has grown to hallowed maturity, obliged in conscience to quit his pastoral charge, because the "Independent" system does not allow of his obtaining the aid which has become necessary both to the minister and the flock. In our own communion a young man commences his ministry as a Curate; he cannot be ordained as a Vicar or Rector; a benefice is not "a title for orders;" he must thus in the usual course have the benefit of the advice and superintendence of an older minister; and the latter, if enfeebled by years, has the comfort, and his parish the advantage, of the zeal and energy of younger days, sanguine hopes, and unbroken spirits. It is a beautiful and touching spectacle to behold an aged minister, ripe in experience, and sage in counsel, though his eye has become dim and his natural strength is abated, aided by the ardent vigour of a son in the Gospel, who rejoices to follow out his plans; to be to him voice, and feet, and eyes; guided by his wisdom, and acquiring that knowledge, and those habits, which will enable him, when a parish is committed to his care, to guide it with discretion, and feed it with wholesome food, as a faithful pastor of Jesus Christ. If such is not always the fact, such at least is the theory; and to no small extent it is carried into effect.

But how does Mr. Clayton describe the system of Congregationalism? "It gives too ready facility for unqualified persons to enter its ministry.' This itself is a serious evil; but is there not some check to it in the future life of the incompetent intruder? Could he not be placed under the kind and careful training of an elder pastor, as an assistant to him in those offices which most require physical strength and elasticity of mind? and might there not be also a chief pastor, authorised, under Christ, to watch over both? to see that the aged minister provides for the due discharge of what in person he cannot now perform, and that the flock are rightly tended, having the wisdom of the aged, the energy of the young, and the piety of both, for their spiritual guidance?

Nothing of the sort; the Independent minister is independent only where control might be wholesome; while he is altogether dependent upon the varying tastes and caprices of his hearers. If he entered the ministry "an unqualified person," he is nevertheless placed at once, unaided and unchecked, over a congregation; he would refuse to be an assistant-minister; he is not environed by the appliances of well-digested regulations; for, as Mr. Clayton says, the system under which he ministers "Is defective in discipline; it is often oppressive towards its pastors; it makes little or no provision for them, when they become, through age or weakness, past labour; and it presents almost insuperable difficulties to a collegiate ministry."

It is this last defect that chiefly led us to notice Mr. Clayton's lament. We should have thought that the best thing possible for Mr. Clayton's flock would have been that they should have had his years and experience, giving direction, and also ballast, to the generous impetuosity of an ardent young coadjutor; and Mr. Clayton admits that in a few rare cases, where both parties have been gentlemen and Christians, such a union has been advantageous, but not "in the majority' of instances. But why not try to multiply such cases? Why should not "the majority" be gentlemen and Christians? What are the hindrances? Mr. Clayton tells us they are, 1st. "The moral weakness of our fallen nature;" 2nd. "The wide difference of the secular position of our (that is, Congregational) churches to that of those in the first ages of Christianity;" 3rd. "The vast majority of our societies cannot possibly sustain two pastors" (this could not apply to the rich people who rent the pews at the Poultry Chapel); 4th. "The usual dissimilarity of the plans pursued by youth and age,”—which is rather a reason for the junction than the severance, in order that youth may be guided and age animated; 5th. "The popular constitution of our (the Congregational) polity;"-which we infer does not allow those subordinations which God has appointed in the social weal for the benefit of all; and 6th. "The extreme character of modern Independency,"which might have been placed first, and have superseded all the rest. Such was not the example set by Paul and Timothy; and we respectfully submit for the consideration of our Independent friends, whether there must not be something fundamentally wrong in a system which so often causes such men as Mr. Clayton to retire from their pastoral office, if their pecuniary resources allow, before they are incapacitated for discharging many of its functions; or else forces them, if they are needy, to linger on till they are starved out in a desert of empty

pews.

In the Church of England, the tendency to practical inconvenience is on the opposite side; a clergyman's benefice being tenable for life, even though he may survive his faculties; but this is in a good measure remedied by the necessity of the regular performance of certain stipu

lated duties, and the power granted to the bishop to appoint a curate when an incumbent is incapable of discharging them satisfactorily.

We have transcribed Mr. Clayton's statement as illustrating the genius of the Independent system; which is connected with an impatience of authority, a dominancy of self-will, and a levelling spirit, opposed to the character of the Church of Christ as a body fitly compacted together; and which is pressing with very evil effects upon our civil as well as ecclesiastical institutions.

THE AMALGAMATION OF BEVERIDGE AND ADAM.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

Paternoster Row, June 1, 1846.

REV. AND DEAR SIR,-Many thanks for your kind and courteous note regarding "Adam's Private Thoughts."

The solution of the problem is easy. By a blunder of the bookbinder the title-page of "Adam's Private Thoughts," with the Biographical Notice, has been prefixed to a copy of the first part of "Bishop Beveridge's Thoughts on Religion;" an edition of which-uniform with Adam-was printed about the same time.

I entertain no doubt that this is the case; as you will see from the copy which I herewith send you, that the title-page and the body of the work perfectly harmonise.-I am, Rev. and Dear Sir, yours faithfully,

THOMAS HAMILTON.

No doubt the mistake originated in the manner above described. That very solution occurred to us when our correspondent sent us the faulty copy last month; but upon referring to the list of "Miniature Editions, in cloth, uniformly printed," as affixed to the faulty book, (and also to Messrs. Hamilton's correct copies,) only Adam's Private Thoughts occurs, and not Beveridge's; so that it seemed as if but one was published, and that the Editor had confused the two. The mistake, now that it is corrected, is of no moment; but it is worth noticing, for caution, as one of a large and vexatious class, arising from accidents, which in after years often cause great perplexity to students.

ON THE DUPLICATION OF JULIA IN ROMANS XVI. IN THE RHEMISH TESTAMENT.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

15 Paternoster Row.

REV. AND DEAR SIR,-In your Number for May, p. 292, you say, Bagster's handsome Hexapla gives, under the Rhemish version, Julia in verse 7, and (also) verse 15. (Rom. xvi.) It may have been printed correctly from a Rhemish copy; but we have another Rhemish copy from Mr. Bagster's own press (1823), which gives Junia in verse 7 ; as it is in the Latin Vulgate, from which that translation is made."

The copy of the Rhemish New Testament from which we printed in the Hexapla, remains in separate leaves; and I inclose that which contains the conclusion of the Epistle to the Romans. You will see that it has Julia in both verses.

I find in a note upon the 7th verse in Sabatier's splendid comparison of the Itala Version and Vulgate, that Jerome, in one of his epistles,