a monument, with an inscription, is erected to his memory. Desire of transient riches he had none; Bent to fulfil the ends of Providence; His heart still fixed on an immortal crown. On the greatness of Bishop Butler's character we need not enlarge; for his profound knowledge, and the prodigious strength of his mind, are amply displayed in his incomparable writings. His piety was of the most serious and fervent, and, perhaps, somewhat of the ascetic kind. His On the Advantages, especially, of benevolence was warm, generous, and diffusive. Whilst he was Bishop of Bristol, he expended, in repairing and improving the Episcopal palace, four thousand pounds, which is said to have been more than the whole revenues of the bishopric amounted to, during his continuance in that see. Besides his private benefactions, he was a contributor to the infirmary at Bristol, and a subscriber to three of the hospitals at London. He was, likewise, a principal promoter, though not the 'first founder, of the infirmary at New castle, in Northumberland. In supporting the hospitality and dignity of the rich and powerful diocess of Durham, he was desirous of imitating the spirit of his patron, Bishop Talbot. In this spirit, he set apart three days every week for the reception and entertainment of the principal genty of the country. Nor were even the clergy who had the poorest benefices, neglected by him. He not only oсcasionally invited them to dine with him, but condescended to visit them at their respective parishes. By his will he left five hundred pounds to the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and some legacies to his friends and domestics. His executor and residuary legatee was his chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Forster, a divine of distinguished literature. Bishop Butler was never married. Soon after his decease, the following lines, by way of epitaph, were written concerning him; and were printed first, if we recollect aright, in the London Magazine. Merit, wherever to be found, he sought. 1 1 Scripture Biography. BY BISHOP HORNE. No writings are better calculated to improve mankind, than those which relate the history of the lives of such persons as have been famous in their generation for wisdom and virtue. We are apt to be terrified by the strictness and severity of holiness, while it meets us only in precept; but when we behold it realized in the example of one made of the same flesh and blood, living in the same world, and exposed to the same temptations with ourselves, we are fired at the sight, with a noble emulation, and are ashamed of any longer fancying ourselves not able to do what so many others have done before us. St. Augustine, in his confessions, describing the conflicts he endured with temptation in his younger years, tells us how greatly he was strengthened and animated to the fight, by imagining he saw virtue standing in a visible form before his eyes, and pointing to the noble company of those who had been conspicuous examples of purity; with which consideration she gently reproached him in these words "Why canst thou not do what these have done?" From the fair light of one good example, innumerable others may catch the heavenly flame, until the whole church become illumined and adorned with bright and shining patterns of every thing that is lovely and praiseworthy. Biography has also another advantage, namely, that it is sure to entertain, because it gratifies that natural curiosity men have to be ac quainted with the history of others; which curiosity is then directed to its proper end, when it incites us to make the wisdom and experience of past ages our own, in order to be come proficients in the mystery of godliness, and to practise every art of virtuous living. But what chiefly recommends this kind of writing to Christians is the use made of it in the Holy Scriptures, which are, for the most part, historical, the wisdom of God having thought it better to set before us the duties of our calling, as they present themselves in the life of Christ, and those of his saints, than to give us any regular and exact system of them. The church, by the appointment of her festivals, has contrived to turn our thoughts from time to time upon those lives; that so, neglect and forgetfulness may not deprive us of the many benefits resulting from a due contemplation of men. I HAVE oftimes, not without wonder and indignation, observed the strange confidence of empiricks in physick, that dare venture on the practice of that noble art, which they do not at all understand; considering how for a little paltry gain they shrewdly hazard, or rather certainly destroy, the health and lives of men; and have judged them worthy of as capital and ignominious a punishment, as those that kill men on the highways. But I have soon exchanged this meditation into another of more concernment to myself; and my indignation hath quickly returned into my own bosom, when I consider how much bolder and more hazardous an attempt it is for a man to venture on the Priestly Office; to minister to the eternal health and salvation of souls. How much skill is requisite to qualify a man for such an undertaking? how great care in the discharge of it? what a sad thing it would be, if through my unskilfulness, or negligence, any one soul should miscarry under my hands, or die and perish eternally? FOR THE CHRISTIAN JOURNAL. Extracts from the New Family Bible now publishing by T. & J. Swords, under the direction of the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart. It may be proper to commence the proposed extracts from the Book of Psalms, with selections from the explanatory introduction. The Book of Psalms is a treasury of divine knowledge, eminently adapted to every station and situation in this transitory life, from the prince on the throne to the beggar on the dunghill. In affluence or in poverty, in health or in sickness, in trouble or in joy, in public or in private felicity or calamity, we may be always citing and applying the precepts, examples, and exhortations contained in this inspired work. Wisely, therefore, has our Church appointed the Psalter to be continually read at morning and evening prayers throughout the year; thereby imprinting, by constant repetition, its salutary and consoling doctrines on the mind of the devout Christian. INDAGATOR. (The passages within brackets are added to this edition by the American editor.) The Book of Psalms, that is, the Book of Hymns, or Praises of the Lord, contains the productions of different writers. These productions are called, however, the Psalms of David, because a great part of them were composed by him. Some of them were, perhaps, penned before, and some after the time of David; but all of them by persons under the influence of the Holy Ghost, since all were judged worthy to be inserted into the canon of Sacred Writ. Ezra probably collected them into one book, and placed them in the order which they now preserve. It appears that the 150 Psalms therein contained were selected from a much greater number, which, it may be presumed, were not suggested by the Holy Spirit. The authority of those, which we now possess, is established, not only by their rank among the sacred writings, and by the unvaried testimony of every age, but likewise by many intrinsick proofs of inspiration. Not only do they breathe through every part a Divine spirit of eloquence, but they contain numberless illustrious prophecies that were remarkably accomplished, and that are frequently appealed to by the evangelical writers. The sacred character of the whole book is establish ed by the testimony of our Saviour and his Apostles; who, in various parts of the New Testament, apply the predictions of the Psalms as obviously apposite to the circumstances of their lives, and as expressly intended to describe them. Moses may be considered as the first composer of sacred hymns; all nations seem afterwards to have adopted this mode of expressing their religious sentiments, and to have employed hymus in celebrating the praises of their respective objects of worship, on the idea, derived perhaps from revealed truth, that they were acceptable to the Divine nature. The composition of secred hymns was carried to great excellence by succeeding prophets, but was improved to its highest perfection under David, who, if he did not introduce, certainly established the custom of singing them in the public service, with alternate interchange of verse, as in our cathedral service. And the practice of Psalmody received the sanction of Christ and his Apostles, who themselves recommended the custom by their precept and example. The version of the Psalms in our Bible, which was made by the Translators employed underKing James the First, is posterior to that printed in our Prayer Books, which was execut ed in 1539. This last, as very excellent and familiarized by custom, was retained in the Liturgy, though, being translated chiefly from the Greek, with some variation in conformity to the Hebrew, it does not so exactly correspond with the original, as does that in our Bibles. The interesting life of David, who was the principal composer of the Book of Psalms, is described with peculiar minuteness in the historical Books of Scripture; and many of his Psalms are so characteristic of the circumstances under which they were composed, that there cannot be a more engaging task, than that of tracing their connexion with the events of his history; of discovering the occasions on which they were severally produced, and of contemplating the feeling and descriptive sentiments which they contain. If in the successive scenes of his life we behold him active in the exercise of those virtues which his piety produced, we contemplate him in this book of Psalms in a no less attractive point of view. We here find him a sincere servant of God, divested of all the pride of royalty; pouring out the emotions of his soul, and unfolding his pious sentiment in every vicissitude of condition. At one time we have the prayers of distress; at another, the praises and exultation of triumph. Hence are these Psalms admirably adapted to all the circumstances of life, and serve alike for the indulgence of joy, or the soothing of sorrow; they chase away despondence and affliction; and furnish gladness with the strains of holy and religious rapture. Dr. Gray. The Psalms are full of such exalted strains of piety and devotion, such beautiful and animated descriptions of the power, the wisdom, the mercy, the goodness of God, that it is impossible for any one to read them without feeling his heart inflamed with the most ardent affection towards the great Creator and Governor of the universe. Bp. Porteus. The Psalms are an epitome of the Bible, adapted to the purposes of devotion. They treat occasionally of the creation and formation of the world; the dispensations of Providence, and the economy of grace; the transactions of the patriarchs, the exodus of the children of Israel; their journey through the wilderness, and their settlement in Canaan; their law, priesthood, and ritual; the exploits of their great men wrought through faith; their sins and captivities, their repentances and restorations; the sufferings and victories of David; the peaceful and happy reign of Solomon; the advent of the Messiah, with its effects and consequences; his incarnation, birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, kingdom, and priesthood; the effusion of the Spirit, the conversion of the Gentiles, the rejection of the Jews; the establish ment, increase, and perpetuity of the Christian Church; the end of the world, the general judgment, the condemnation of the wicked, and the final triumph of the righteous with their Lord and King. These are the subjects by them presented to our imaginations. We are instructed how to conceive the subjects aright, and how to express the different affections, which, when conceived aright, they must excite in our minds. In the language of this Divine Book, the prayers of the Church have been of fered up to the throne of grace from age to age. And it appears to have been the manuel of the Son of God in the days of his flesh; who, at the conclusion of his supper, is generally supposed, and that upon good grounds, to have sung an hymn taken from it; who pronounced upon the cross the beginning of the twenty-second Psalm, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and expired with a part of the thirty-first in his mouth, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." Thus he, who spake as never man spake, chose to conclude his life, to solace himself in his greatest agony, and at last to breathe out his soul, in the Psalmist's form of words rather than his own. No tongue of man, or angel, as Dr. Hammond justly observes, can convey a higher idea of any Book, and of their felicity who use it aright. Bp. Horne. [A Psalm may be considered, as it may relate to Christ, either suffering, or triumphant; as it may concern the Church, whether consisting of Jews or Gentiles, whether in adversity or prosperity, through the several stages and periods of its existence; and as it may be applicable to the different states and circumstances of individuals, during the trials and temptations which they meet with, in the course of their Christian pilgrimage and warfare here below, till having overcome their last enemy, they shall sit down with their Lord in his kingdom; when the scheme of prophecy shall receive its final accomplishment, and "the MYSTERY of God be FINISHED." It is obvious, that every part of the Psalter, when explicated according to this scriptural and primitive method, is rendered universally "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;" and the propriety immediately appears of its having always been used in the devotional way, both by the Jewish and the Christian Church. With regard to the Jews, Bishop Chandler very pertinently remarks, that "they must have understood David, their prince, to have been a figure of Messiah. They would not otherwise have made his Psalms part of their daily worship, nor would David have delivered them to the Church, to be so employed, were it not to instruct and support them in the knowledge and belief of this fundamental article. Was the Messias not concerned in the Psalms, it were absurd to celebrate, twice a day, in their public devotions, the events of one man's life, who was deceased so long ago as to have no relation now to the Jews, and the circumstances of their affairs; or to transcribe whole passages from them into their prayers for the coming of the Messiah." Upon the same principle, it is easily seen, that the objections, which may seem to lie against the use of Jewish services in Christian congregations, cease at once. Thus, it may be said, Are we concerned with the affairs of David and of Israel? Have we any thing to do with the ark and the temple? They are no more. Are we to go up to Jerusalem, and to worship on Sion? They are desolated, and trodden under foot by the Turks. Are we to sacrifice young bullocks, according to the law? The law is abolished, never to be observed again. Do we pray for victory over Moab, Edom, and Philistia; or for deliverence from Babylon? There are no such nations, no such places in the world. What then do we mean, when, taking such expressions into our mouths, we utter them in our own persons, as parts of our devotions, before God? Assuredly we must mean a spiritual Jerusalem and Sion; a spiritual ark and temple; a spiritual law; spiritual sacrifices; and spiritual victories; spiritual enemies; all described under the old names, which are still retained, though "old things are passed away, and all things are to become new." By substituting Messiah for David, the Gospel for the Law, the Church Christian for that of Israel, and the enemies of the one for those of the other, the Psalms are made our own. Nay, they are with more fulness and propriety applied now to the substance, than they were of old to the "shadow of good things then to come." And, therefore, ever since the commencement of the Christian era, the Church hath chosen to celebrate the Gospel mysteries in the words of these ancient hymns, rather than to compose for that purpose new ones of her own. let it not pass unobserved, that when, upon the first publication of the Gospel, the apostles had occasion to utter their transports of joy, on their being counted worthy to suffer for the name of their dear Lord and Master, which 'was then opposed by Jew and Gentile, they broke forth into an application of the second Psalm to the transactions then before their eyes. See Acts iv. 25. The primitive Christians constantly followed this method in their devotions; and, particularly when, delivered out of the hands of persecuting tyrants by the victories of Constantine, they praised God for his goodness, and the glorious success and establishment of Christ's religion, no words were found so exquisitely adapted to the purpose, as those of David, in the xovi. xcviii. and other Psalms-"Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, and praise his name: be telling of his salvation from day to day. Declare his honour unto the heathens, For his worship unto all people," &c. &c. &c. In these, and the like Psalms, we continue to praise God, for all his spiritual mercies in Christ, to this day. - The Psalms, thus applied, have advantages, which no fresh compositions, however finely executed, can possibly have, since besides their incomparable fitness to express our sentiments, they are, at the same time, memorials of, and appeals to, former mercies and deliverances; they are acknowledgments of prophecies accomplished; they point out the connexion between the old and new dispensations, thereby teaching us to admire and adore the wisdom of God displayed in both, and furnishing, while we read or sing them, an inexhaustible variety of the noblest matter that can engage the contemplations of man. Bp. Horne.] Let us stop for a moment to contemplate the true character of these sacred hymns. Greatness confers no exemption from the pains and sorrows of life. This the Israelitish monarch experienced. He sought in piety that peace which he could not find in empire, and alleviated the disquietudes of state with the exercises of devotion. His invaluable Psalms convey those comforts to others which they afforded to himself. Composed upon particular occasions, yet designed for general use; delivered out as services for Israelites under the Law, yet no less adapted to the circumstances of Christians under the Gospel; they present religion to us in the most engaging dress; communicating truths which philosophy could never investigate, in a style which poetry can never equal. Calculated alike to profit and to please, they inform the understanding, elevate the affections, and entertain the imagination. Indited under the influence of him, to whom all hearts are open, and all events foreknown, they suit mankind in all situations, grateful as the manna which descended from above, and conformed itself to every palate. The fairest productions of human wit, after a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their fragrancy; but these unfading plants of Paradise become, as we are more accustomed to them, |