SACRED POETRY. THE RAINBOW. TRIUMPHAL arch, that fill'st the sky To teach me what thou art. Still seem as to my childhood's sight, A midway station given, For happy spirits to alight Betwixt the earth and heaven. Can all that optics teach unfold Thy form to please me so, As when I dreamt of gems and gold Hid in thy radiant bow? When science from creation's face Enchantment's veil withdraws, What lovely visions yield their place To cold material laws! And yet, fair bow, no fabling dreams, When o'er the green undeluged earth Heaven's covenant thou didst shine, How came the world's grey fathers forth To watch thy sacred sign! And when its yellow lustre smil'd, Methinks thy jubilee to keep, The first-made anthem rang As young thy beauties seem, Heaven still rebuilds thy span, CAMPBELL. Family Prayer.-A few years since, says Mr Abbott, in his Mother at Home," a gentleman from England brought a letter of introduction to a gentleman in America. The stranger was of accomplished mind and manners, but an infidel. The gentleman to whom he had brought letters of introduction, and his lady, were active Christian philanthropists. They invited the stranger to make their house his home, and treated him with every possible attention. Upon the evening of his arrival, just before the usual hour for retiring, the gentleman, knowing the peculiarity of his friend's sentiments, observed to him, that the hour had arrived in which they usually attended family prayers; that he should be happy to have him remain and unite with them, or, if he preferred, he could retire. The gentleman intimated that it would give him pleasure to remain. A chapter of the Bible was read, and the family all knelt in prayer, the stranger with the rest. few days the stranger left this hospitable dwelling, and In a embarked on board a ship for a foreign land. In the course of three or four years, however, the providence of God again led that stranger to the same dwelling. But oh, how changed! He came the happy Christian, the humble man of piety and prayer. In the course of the evening's conversation he remarked, that when he, on the first evening of his previous visit, knelt with them in family prayer, it was the first time for many years that he had bowed the knee to his Maker. This act brought to his mind such a crowd of recollections, it so vividly reminded him of a parent's prayers, which he had heard at home, that he was entirely bewildered. His emotion was so great, that he did not hear one syllable of the prayer which was uttered, from its commencement to its close. But God made this the instrument of leading him from the dreary wilds of infidelity to the peace and the joy of piety. His parents had long before gone home to their eternal rest; but the prayers they had offered for and with their son, had left an influence which could not die. They might have prayed ever so fervently for him, if they had not knelt by his side, and caused his listening ear to hear their earnest supplications, their child might have continued through life an infidel. The Reasonings of an intelligent Physician when first convinced of Sin.-I have been chargeable with forgetfulness of God, and with disobedience to his commands; so that I am numbered among those whom he has threatened with punishment. How then can I escape? Such is the constitution of my mind; such has been my education as a man of honour; such is my regard to the inviolability of my own word, and such my contempt for whatever has the semblance of falsehood; that, were God to allow his threatening to remain unfulfilled, in consequence of forgiving me, simply, immediately, and unconditionally," I could not esteem or pay homage to his character, even though constrained to acknowledge him as the governor of the world. But, said he, I have read of atonement on the principle of vicarious suffering. It was exhibited, under the Mosaic dispensation, in the erection of the brazen serpent, in the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, and in the ceremony of the scape-goat. This principle is, in fact, a law of Providence, which is traceable throughout society, in every age, and in every state of advancement. It forms the link of connection between the Old Testament and the New; and now that, in seriousness, I am led to ask, how can a sinner be washed from his guilt?— reason, feeling, and observation, unite with the authority of Scripture in disposing me to rest on the expiatory efficiency of Christ's vicarious suffering. To me has been given faith in Jesus Christ: and, I now perceive, that pardon conferred, in consideration of what my Saviour has endured, sheds a lustre both over the milder and more awful attributes of the divine character. My soul is satisfied; my heart is enlarged; my eye is fixed in admiration of the glory of God, as it appears "in the face of Jesus Christ." Wilson's Dissertation on the Reasonableness of Christianity. CONTENTS.-Christ the True Vine. By Rev. W. Minty.Biographical Sketch. Mrs Margaret Wilson, late of the Scottish Mission, Bombay. Part II.-On Intoxicating Liquors. By Rev. D. Macfarlan. No. 1.-A Discourse. By Rev. T. Ross, LL.D.— Scenes from the Old and New Testaments. By Rev. J. A. Wylie. No. VI.-On Spring. By J. G. Hopkirk, LL.B.--Sacred Poetry. "The Rainbow." By Campbell.-Miscellaneous. Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh; J. R. MACNAIR, & Co., 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS, & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junr. & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers in Town will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, 1s. 6d., and the other periods in proportion. BY THE REV. WILLIAM MACPHAIL, Senior Minister of the National Scottish Church, Rotterdam. I COME now to offer a few remarks upon the state of those to whom the knowledge of the Scriptures has never been imparted, that is, the state of the heathen or pagans, both of ancient and of present times. I am aware that this is a very delicate topic. Cautiously avoiding, therefore, the labyrinths of bold conjecture, and the flights of lawless imagination, I shall, in the few plain observations now to be made, confine myself entirely to the representations of Scripture, as illustrated by common sense and well known fact. I set out by remarking, that the inspired oracles do nowhere, in so many words, decide upon the everlasting destiny of those who were not, or are not, favoured with a knowledge of their contents. To any one, therefore, who would peremptorily demand this decision, I would address the words of Jesus to Peter, when he inquired respecting the future fate of John, in these words, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Said Jesus, (John xxi. 22,)" What is that to thee? Follow thou me." The Apostle Paul, in like manner, asserts that the heathens, who have no revealed law, are a law to themselves, by which they shall finally be judged; and, in another place, hence infers, that the heathens being without the Christian Church, are not amenable to her laws and discipline, but are left to the absolute government of God, who will judge them. But vast numbers, who bestow very little thought upon their own salvation, will not limit their inquiries to these general boundaries, appointed to them by Infinite Wisdom. No, they will put many curious questions, all of which may be resolved into these words: As St. Paul has told us that they who live without law shall also perish without law, that is, shall be punished according to the fair decision of their own conscience, as regulated by the dim law of nature, not according to the clear law of God as revealed in the Scriptures, we would desire to know whether, according to the same law of conscience, any heathens shall be adjudged to eternal life? Or, in other words, the question demands, VOL. III. PRICE 1d. Is the light of nature sufficient for salvation? Without pretending to give a direct answer to a question which the Bible does not solve, except in the way of deduction from the analogy of faith, and the evidence of facts, I beg your attention to the following hints. ven. In every part of the Scriptures, I observe the revelation of God and his will to be held out as one of the most precious privileges he bestows upon his creatures. The three greatest gifts of God to men are his divine Son for their redemption, his Holy Spirit for their conversion, and his blessed Word to make them acquainted with all his gifts. I very frequently see this privilege magnified by God himself, and celebrated with the warmest gratitude, by those who enjoyed it, as the most valuable gift of heaI constantly find the Scriptures mentioned as a most distinguished favour conferred upon some nations, and denied to others. I find that this favour was not conferred according to the superior merit of those who received it, but that, on the contrary, the Jews, to whom alone it was for a long time wholly confined, were, above all others, an obstinate race of men, and that Jesus Christ expressly declared, that if the mighty works which he had performed among his countrymen, only to be blasphemed, had been exhibited to the Tyrian and Sidonian heathens, they would have received conviction and instruction. From all this, I infer the infinite value of a knowledge of the Scriptures; and I perceive that God is absolutely sovereign in dispensing his own best gifts. Farther, I hear the saints celebrating the Word of God, as the lamp and the light which guided them to heaven through the pilgrimage of this world, which animated them to every duty, sustained them under every trial, and afforded them perpetual hope and rejoicing. Nay, I find that it was the divine Word which, as a mean employed by the Spirit, converted men from sin to holiness, which begat them into a lively hope of an immortal inheritance, and which is, therefore, called the "incorruptible seed of the Word that liveth and abideth for ever." I hear Jesus himself expressly affirm, "This is the life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed him,"-first, by his Spirit in the prophets; and, secondly, by his own ministry and that of his apostles. In the same strain, I find St. Paul asserting, that without faith, that is, faith in God, according to the discoveries he makes of himself in his Word, it is impossible to please him. And in answer, both to those weak men, who under-parison upon this subject? To state, on the one stand not what they affirm, and to those enemies of the truth, who would set the heathen almost upon a footing of equality with persons enlightened in the knowledge of the Scriptures, and who agree in saying, that faith is not necessary to salvation, to both these characters St. Paul addresses the following passage upon the very subject of the salvation of the Gentiles : "For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent ? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the Gospel: for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." To all this may be added, that when the apostles were travelling about in fulfilling their ministry, the Holy Ghost expressly forbade them to enter into some places, while he commanded them to go to others and abide in them,-for this reason, "that God had there much people,”people whose natural depravity, ignorance, and obstinacy he meant to remove by the preaching of the apostles, and the enlightening and sanctifying influences of his Spirit. [jects who alone can decide the superiority in the proposed examination of merits, are unquestionably only those who duly prized and improved their respective means of attaining moral and religious excellence, the best heathens, and the best Jews and Christians. But, would it not be an insult to your understanding to enter into any formal com On the other hand, in confirmation and illustration of all that has now been said, I find the same oracles of inspiration abound with the most melancholy descriptions of the state of heathen nations. I see them represented as far off from God; as strangers from the covenant of promise; as having no hope of a glorious immortality; and living without God in the world. But, as justness of sentiment, soundness of principle, and superior excellence of temper and life, are both the end and the true criterion of higher degrees of religious and moral means of improvement, let us, for a moment, examine, upon these principles or grounds, the pretensions of those who have, and of those who have not, enjoyed the revelation of the Scriptures. Though, according to every just rule of reasoning, I must be allowed to premise that the great mass of the people, neither of the Jews and Christians, nor of the heathens, are properly the persons by whom we are to ascertain the criterion above mentioned; no, if these come into the trial they must be compared together. The true sub hand, the clear light, the pure principles, the patient, submissive, benevolent, and well governed tempers, and the blameless, holy, and heroic lives of pious Jews and Christians; and on the other, to mention the lamented overwhelming darkness of the celebrated Socrates, Plato, and Pythagoras, who, both from their own great ignorance of a first cause, and from ancient traditions-wonderfully illustrated by the dispersed Jews, who were possessed of the sacred oracles-declared the absolute necessity of a revelation, in order to know God, and whatever it was of most importance for men to know; the perpetual uncertainty and contrariety of their principles of action, as well as their always stopping short of a regard to the supreme Being; the license which the ablest philosophers gave to revenge, self-murder, unrestrained pride and idolatry; and the vanity, unprofitableness, the meanness, and the glaring defects in the lives of the most renowned pagans? Take the short and admirable test of character proposed by the wisdom of God to men, and judge accordingly; "By their fruits ye shall know them." Nay, apply the same general criterion to the great body of the people of the nations we are comparing upon those points, and you will find rational ideas of God and of his dispensations; of man, and of his duties and prospects in regard to this world and the next; you will find a purity of theoretical principle of action, an intelligence of mind, a civilization of manners, a decent self-command of temper, and a general propriety and beneficence of conduct to characterize the Jews and Christians: while abject superstition, the entire dominion of selfishness, ferocity of temper, barbarity of manners, and almost universal profligacy of life, are the strongly marked features of the heathen nations. If this extremely brief statement be just, the case of the heathens is truly deplorable; since, judging by their tempers and lives, they appear to be destitute of that holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. And, loudly as Arminians and others cry out against the cruelty of those inferences which might be drawn from the account now given, yet, wonderful to tell, those very persons indirectly charged with the cruelty, are indeed the best friends of the heathen, because, upon principle, they earnestly pray for their illumination and conversion, and liberally contribute to send them the means of grace. These are the persons who exert themselves in diffusing a knowledge of the Scriptures by Bible and Missionary Societies; whereas their humane and merciful accusers, also upon principle, but upon principle against Scripture, reason, and fact, will be proportionally remiss in their prayers and beneficence in behalf of those who are sitting in darkness and in the region and shadow of death. Happily, however, we have this grand collateral fact to mention, in behalf both of the decided superiority of real Christian charity for soul and body, and of their consistency of conduct, namely, that in their various spheres of life they are incomparably more abundant than their charitable accusers, in prayer, in zeal, and in good offices, for the salvation of their Christian brethren within their reach! From all that has been advanced upon the topic before us, I humbly conceive that we may conclude, that, according to the general analogy, and several express passages of Scripture, and according to the principles, tempers, and lives of those who did not enjoy the means of knowing God, revealed in the sacred oracles, they alone generally appear to be the subjects of eternal salvation who retained, from the traditions of their fathers, such a knowledge of the divine nature and will, as taught them to trust in the mercy of God, to repent of their sins, and to lead a life of obedience. That there were persons of this description, and we trust numbers, may be inferred from the case of Job, of Melchizedek, and Abimelech. Nor can we question, that the number would be considerably increased, both by the vast extent of dominion acquired by David and Solomon, and more especially by the dispersion of the Jews by the Babylonish captivity. Wherever these Jews came, their knowledge of the true God would be a little leaven, that extended its savour, more or less, to the general mass of mankind, with whom they held intercourse; just as those scholars who fled from Constantinople and other parts of the Grecian empire, at the destruction of the Eastern empire, were the means of reviving the knowledge of learning in those western parts of Europe whither they had taken their flight. To urge any thing beyond what has just been advanced in regard to the salvation of the heathen, appears to me wholly incompatible with the whole analogy of Scripture. And in fact, do not the reigning impiety, and gross immorality of the heathen nations, like the general impenitence, and (if we consider their superior light,) the equally enormous vices of the great majority of ancient Jews and modern Christians, demonstrate, that they were, and are, totally unfit subjects for the kingdom of heaven? Ah! little, indeed, shall be required of the poor thens, because to them little was given; and our Lord has assured us, that they shall be beaten with few stripes, because, though they did not their Lord's will, they had this extenuation of their guilt, that they were, in a great measure, ignorant of it. As their continued life, comforts, advantages for moral improvement, and as their final resurrection, are all the results of the mediation and resurrection of the Son of God, the saviour of all men, but especially of those who believe, we may rest fully assured both that their state is inconceivably less horrible than if Jesus had not assumed the human nature; and that they shall be treated in a future state with a manifestative splendour of equity, that will constrain both themselves and all created intelligence to acknowledge, “That the Lord of all the earth doth infinitely right." My dear friends, checking all vain curiosity respecting the condition of the pagan nations, let us turn our most serious attention to our own state, to our own unspeakably precious privileges, and to our proportionably higher obligations, as the creatures of God, and candidates for immortal glory! Our grand concern, is to know what is to become of ourselves through everlasting ages; to know whether we are of the disobedient hearers of the Gospel, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord-a destruction in comparison of which the misery of the heathens shall not be worthy to be named; or, whether we belong to the saints who believe, who are washed, and sanctified, and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God? If these inquiries are not to us infinitely more important than a knowledge of the condition of the heathens, or indeed than a knowledge of any thing else, it is a sad presumption that we have neither part nor lot in the kingdom of heaven, which must be sought in the first place, "and taken by a holy violence," by all who enter into it. Contenting ourselves with that acquaintance with secret things, and things foreign to us, which God has been pleased to make known to us, be it our grand solicitous concern, thankfully to embrace the momentous doctrines revealed to us and to our children, "in order that we may do all the words of the divine law." Let our religion consist in a lively faith of divine. things, in holy tempers, in affections glowing with the love of God and the hope of eternal bliss, and in abounding good works. Thus let us convert all our knowledge of revealed truth into that practical holiness, which is essential both to the enjoyments and to the employments of heaven; and then we shall not be vain hearers, but profitable doers, of the Word, and shall be eternally blessed in our deed. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. MRS MARGARET WILSON, DURING the stay of Mr and Mrs Wilson in Harnai, they natives to whom she obtained access, the importance of female education. And such was the effect of the various means to which she had recourse for the accomplishment of her great design, that before three months had elapsed, she had fifty-three scholars, and before the expiry of six months, there were six schools under her superintendence with one hundred and twenty scholars. The important duties to which Mrs Wilson was thus called did not prevent her from attending, with the utmost diligence and faithfulness, to the management of her domestic concerns, and such was the activity of her mind, that she contrived even to find time for occasional literary employment, particularly for writing articles and reviews for the Oriental Christian Spectator,—a monthly periodical edited with much ability by Mr Wilson. In every possible way, in short, she strove to forward the great work to which she and her beloved husband had dedicated their lives. Every hour was spent in endeavouring to benefit either her own soul or the souls of others, and if she occasionally engaged in studies of a purely literary kind, her great object was never kept out of view. To the management of the schools, however, she bent her chief efforts, teaching one of them within the mission premises, and assembling the children belonging to the other schools once a week for the purpose of strictly examining them and giving them affectionate exhortations and advices. And, in addition to these labours, she established a school for the benefit of destitute native females, widows and orphans. Great difficulties were experienced in carrying this object into effect, but by prayer and perseverance it was at length attained. In a climate so fatal to Europeans as India is, Mrs Wilson, as might have been expected, was often called upon to lament the death of her acquaintances and friends. Of these, one of the most deeply distressing to her mind, was the departure of two of her dear fellowlabourers in the missionary cause, first of Mrs Cooper and then of Mrs Mitchell. Both of them were eminent Christians, and as they lived in faith, they died in peace. In reference to the latter, Mrs Wilson thus writes in a letter to one of her sisters, dated 21st March 1832:"You have heard of dear Mrs Mitchell's death. She soon followed our beloved friend Mrs Cooper to the realms of glory. We feel much for her sisters, to whom the blow must have been indescribably severe. I trust they have been supported by the arm of the Almighty, and enabled to say, 'Good is the will of the Lord.' The account which Mr Mitchell has sent home, of their sister's anticipations of coming glory, and of the calmness and resignation with which she met the last enemy, will prove a solace to them in the midst of sorrow; and will, I trust, raise their contemplations to that state of blessedness on which she has entered. We hope soon to have Mr M. and the dear children with us in Bombay. God has been speaking to us in a most emphatic and solemn manner, by the death of Missionaries and other eminent Christians in India. It seems as if the missionary field had been deserted, at the very time when the trumpet was sounding loudest for the battle, and when the most intrepid skill and courage were requisite for the attack. The cry, Come over and help us,' has met with no corresponding movement in our native land. Many are falling at our side, or fainting in the midst of the strife. Yet the Lord is carrying on his work, and saying, 'Behold me! behold me! to a nation not called by his name.' what a lesson does this convey to us of the mighty O agency of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, and of his inalienable supremacy and glory! How does it impress us with the conviction, that though heaven and earth may pass away, the word of the Lord, which is more firm than the heavens, the pillar and foundation of his throne, shall endure for ever! Our sole security is in dependence on this agency, and in an entire renunciation of self.” In the hot season of 1832, Mr Wilson's health was so seriously affected as to require a change of air, of scene, and as far as possible of occupation. This was accordingly resolved upon, and during his absence, Mrs Wilson devoted herself to the arduous labours of the mission with the most unwearied diligence and zeal. Numerous and urgent were the duties which devolved upon her, in connection with the schools, the press, the converts, and the inquirers, but though naturally full of anxiety respecting her husband, she strove to acquit herself as a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus. In the course of a few months Mr Wilson's health was so far restored that, with the permission of his medical advisers, he returned to Bombay. Shortly after bis return tidings of a most melancholy event came from Scotland,-tidings the most distressing to the affectionate heart of Mrs Wilson. The event to which we refer is thus noticed in the Stirling Journal, and though several years have passed away, an incident so appalling cannot fail to be fresh in the recollection of many of our readers :— "Seldom has it been our painful duty to record a more heart-rending event than one which occurred on Tuesday (the first of May) forenoon, near the Bridge of Allan. About three weeks ago, Misses Mary and Isabella Bayne, daughters of the late Rev. Mr Bayne, of the Gaelic Chapel, Greenock, came from Edinburgh with their brother, to reside at the Bridge of Allan for the benefit of the health of the younger sister. They lodged with Mr James M'Robbie, and their brother left them about a week ago, delighted with the change, for the better, that had taken place in Miss Isabella's health. On Tuesday forenoon, about eleven o'clock, the two sisters left Mr M'Robbie's, as if for the purperhaps bathing. They were observed by the workmen pose of taking a walk on the banks of the Allan, and of Airthrey Mills, in passing, to be lively and in good spirits, and little aware of the premature fate which awaited them. Little more than an hour afterwards, a young gentleman residing in Bridge of Allan, in going up the east side of the river with his fishing-rod, observed, at some distance before him, something that appeared like a towel, or small table cloth, spread out on what is termed the Fishers' Green, at the head of a deep pool called the Black Pot, where the river is confined within high rocky banks covered with wood. Observing a boy fishing about fifty yards beyond it, he concluded that the towel, or whatever it might be, belonged to some of the anglers; so that, content with the transient glimpse he had of it, he pursued his course by the foot-path along the outer edge of the wood, with the intention of fishing this part of the water on his way homeward. On returning to this spot by the water-side, about half an hour afterwards, he found that what had attracted his attention going up was a quantity of female attire, which was recognised at a single glance as the dresses of the two young ladies, whom he had seen the day before, and whom he knew to be strangers.-Aware of the nature of the place, he was led to dread the worst, and, on examining the banks of the river, he observed the prints of their feet in the sand, pointing inward, at the deepest part of the pool, but no marks of their return. Their bonnets were set close to the rock, while the rest of their |