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thought, indeed, that nothing could | which introduces the storm. For have been learned from the disor-that lightning, not being preceded der displayed in the garden of the by former flashes, or actually assluggard. Nevertheless, Solomon sociated with the rain or hail prosays, "I saw and considered it duced by other flashes elsewhere, well. I looked upon it, and re- is only connected with what it neceived instruction." Prov. xxiv. cessarily produces itself. In this case, therefore, the lightning being the swifter traveller, comes first; and then within a few seconds, there is a fall of heavy rain, if the heat the fluid abstracts from the upper regions is moderate: but if the fluid abstracts an immense portion of heat, the regions above become, for the moment, like the polar regions of the planet Saturn, and dreadful hail is the immediate consequence.

*

In the awful occurrence under consideration, we behold a man expecting safety from the elements in the midst of danger; and this error shews the importance of studying the book of nature. For even amidst the utmost violence of a thunder storm, life may sometimes be saved by a knowledge of the real degree of danger, and of the laws which regulate the course of the electric fluid. On the other There is, therefore, much more hand, to apprehend danger where lightning without danger than there there is none, is so great an evil, is of an injurious kind. The light that the apostle Paul made the of a candle may extend far and correction of such an error a pro-wide; but the burning power, we minent object in one of his epistles. know, is confined to the flame from In his first epistle to the Thessalo- which the light emanates: and nians, he had, in vivid colours, such is the difference between the justly depicted the day of judg-electric fluid or forked lightning ment. But flesh and blood seem scarcely prepared to meet God in his awful majesty, till what is mortal shall put on immortality; and, from such a cause, some of the Thessalonians imagining the last day to be near, seem to have been unfitted to 66 rejoice evermore.' Hence, in 2 Thes. ii. 1, 2. Paul and his companions say Now we beseech you, brethren, that ye be not so affected by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together around him, as if the day of Christ were just at hand."

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On such a principle, therefore, it is proper to say, that when there is no rain, and when the thunderclouds are not over our heads, we are so far out of danger. For either rain or hail, or both, seem uniformly to accompany the condensed electric fluid; unless, indeed, we except that lightning

that is destructive, and that flash from the fluid which, without doing any harm, may extend for so many miles in all directions, as actually to be seen in purely starlight regions, where the storm, with the whole of its fearful apparatus, is altogether below the horizon, and consequently at an immense distance. The idea, then, that the danger is over when the rain begins is a popular error; rather let it be said, that when the fluid is leaving the upper regions, a little rain indicates a little danger, and great rain great danger.

Viewing a thunder-storm, however, in its travels, as carrying on the designs of Divine Providence, there is no spot within its range in which the commissioned arrows of

scientific terms, as they are not universally intelligible.

The writer has endeavoured to avoid

death cannot find us out. All and providence are both so regu

lated, that it may be truly said, in any age, to a man trusting in God, "There shall no evil befal thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, inasmuch as Jehovah will give his angels charge over thee, to protect thee in all thy ways." Ps. xci. 10, 11.

precautions, therefore, should be taken on the same principle that we employ the watchman to guard our dwellings, when we bear in mind, that "unless the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Thus we are led to consider that special protection which God affords to those who trust in Angelic agency, indeed, may him, and such protection is equally sometimes preserve an ungodly efficient in every age. For though man as an axe in Jehovah's hand;* in the present period of accumu- but, through the depravity of the lated and accumulating evidence, human heart, such a blessing has it does not accord with the econo- the effect of a curse, by its being my of the divine government to the innocent occasion of additional arrest a storm (as the sun was once sins now, and consequently of adarrested) by a suspension of exist-ditional woe for all eternity. It ing laws; yet, by means of angelic agency, any danger from the elements, or from any other agent, can be as effectually averted as in the age of miracles.

If, for instance, the path of duty requires any good man to leave the comparatively safe retreat of his own house, to encounter the dangers of a thunder-storm, and his journey be such, that if things were to take their uninterrupted course, the electric fluid would strike him dead at a certain spot, how many causes of acceleration or delay in the journey can be originated by messengers from the heavenly world? Or, at the suggestion of some kind angel, a thought may occur to the mind of the pious traveller, that some road to the right or left may have its advantages; and this single idea may lead him altogether to miss the unsafe spot: and yet he may never know till he reaches the eternal world, either the danger he escapes, or the means by which his life is saved. Besides, at the very creation, and in every alteration since made by miracles, God well considered the safety of his people in the arrangement he made for all the subsequent operations of the

may so happen, too, that an affliction sent in mercy to the righteous, and an affliction sent in judgment to a wicked man, may verify the declaration-" One event happeneth to all;" and yet every thing besides the outward appearance of the affliction may be as diverse as any two things in nature. For "to them that love God, all things work together for good :"+ so that even in death by lightning, the electric fluid would be but like the chariot of fire that took Elijah from this vale of tears to regions of indescribable felicity. The promise of angelic ministration, however, implies a very extensive agency, which protects those who trust in God, and which never fails to avert a natural "evil," as long as it is evil; and which, in fact, only permits such an evil to approach the righteous as a positive good.

Thus death, the most dreaded of all calamities, becomes death without a sting; and so modified has his approach been in some intances, that the Christian, in his passage through the Jordan, has declared that the waters were truly refreshing.

Let it not be thought, however,

laws of nature. Thus creation See Isa. x. 5—15. + See Rom. viii. 28.

Stratford, Essex.

ADVERTISEMENT EXTRAORDINARY.
To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.
SIR,

that the individual now numbered | amidst all this conviction and fear, with the dead was a sinner above the demons wished the Saviour all others. For it is but too evi- afar off. When, however, the pedent that there is among the living nitent thief said, "Lord, remema generation assimilated to those ber me when thou comest into thy Jerusalem scorners whom Isaiah kingdom," belief was so mingled thus addressed: "Hear the word with love as to make Jesus altoof the Lord, ye scornful men, that gether lovely. In that short prayer, rule this people which is in Jeru- therefore, we have an instructive salem; because ye have said, We instance of taking refuge in Christ, have made a covenant with death, and, in the Saviour's gracious anand with the subterraneous regions swer, we see the fulfilment of his are we at agreement; when the own encouraging promise, "Him overflowing scourge shall pass that cometh to me I will in no wise through it shall not come unto us; cast out." J. F. for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." Isa. xxviii. 14, 15. But what is the sentence which the Judge of all the earth passes on these presumptuous sinners?"Judgment," says he, "will I THE following extraordinary admete out by the rule, and strict vertisement appeared in the Mornjustice by the plummet, and the ing Herald of the 6th inst. hail shall sweep away the refuge "DISSENTERS.-It ought to be of lies, and the waters shall over-known, that towards the close of whelm the hiding-place." ver. 17. the last century, a meeting was With respect to those men, indeed, held in London of Dissenting Miwho took refuge from the late tem-nisters, to take into consideration pest amidst an inefficient collection the propriety of resolving to disof reeds and boards, they did the continue the use of the title REbest they could, and are so far to VEREND." be commended: but there are those who have nothing better than such a deceptive refuge to protect them from eternal fire; and what makes this case so affecting is, that an all-sufficient refuge is at hand. "A man," says Jehovah, "shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest." Isa. xxxii. 2. And from Mark xvi. 16. we learn, that 'He that taketh refuge shall be saved, and he that doth not take refuge shall be lost." Something more than mere belief, therefore, is essential to safety; for demons believe, and even add trembling to their belief. Hence, under overwhelming evidence, one of them said to the Saviour, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark i. 24. But Kent, Aug. 14, 1829.

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Can you furnish your readers with any account of the above mentioned meeting?

Will you endeavour to prevail on some of your learned Correspondents to send answers to the following queries?

1. When, where, and by whom was the title REVEREND first introduced?

2. Are Ministers of the Gospel justifiable, on scriptural grounds, in adopting the title, or sanctioning its use? If so, let the evidence. be adduced: if not, are they not bound to disclaim it, publicly, and for ever?

I am, Sir,,
Yours truly,
PHILALETHES.

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RESIGNATION IN AFFLICTION.

Huge billows beat upon my soul,

And clouds tempestuous o'er me break; Saviour divine, my fears control,

And save me for thy mercy's sake.
The floods of grief around me swell,

And piercing cares my heart invade;
Thy word the tempest's rage can quell,
And dissipate the darkest shade.
Yet, if thy sovereign will ordain,

The conflict still my faith must prove; Resigned, I'll bear the sharpest pain, Confiding in unchanging love.

Thou wilt not leave me in despair,

To spend my tears, and waste my sighs; Subdued by thy restraining care, Passion in meek obedience lies.

I fall beneath thy sacred feet,

And calmly say "Thy will be done!" Thy promises on record sweet, Disperse the clouds that shroud thy throne.

SARISSA.

THE MISSIONARY'S LAMENT OVER HIS FELLOW LABOURER.

But worthless and poor are the earth's fleeting treasures

Compared with the joys of blest friendship so rare,

And shallow and tasteless the world's sweetest pleasures,

To those which the minds of the heavenly

share.

How oft when the heart to the heart hath been speaking,

And each to the other blest pledges hath given,

The clouds have dispers'd, and the dawn appeared breaking,

And their souls seem'd as though on the margin of heaven.

But pure and unearthly as is their commu

nion,

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"I passed by his grave, but he could not How bitter the pangs, and how sad are the speak to me.”—Missionary Herald.

O sweet are the joys from kindredship flowing,

Of hearts knit together by heavenly love, And sweet are the fruits from hope's fair

tree growing,

woes,

When the fond heart, alas! by death's stroke hath been riven;

But how sweet is the balm, and how dear

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When faith and affection are fixed above. Wellington, Somerset.

J. B.

REVIEW.

Hora Phrenologica; being Three Phre- attachment? If the organ of ADHEnological Essays-I. On Morality; II. SIVENESS does not include the one, why On the best Means of obtaining Happi- should it be made to include the other? ness; III. On Veneration. By JOHN EPPS, M.D. Lecturer of Materia Me- If mamma's fondness for her babe is to dica and Chemistry, Member of the be marked and numbered, why not Edinburgh Phrenological Society, baby's fondness for mamma? Both, as Member and Secretary of the Lon- they exist in nature, are distinct and don Phrenological Society, and Au- independent expressions of personal preference. Does not consistency then require, that they should be equally apparent in the system, that has undertaken to represent it?

thor of "The Internal Evidences of Christianity deduced from Phrenology." Simpkin and Co.

(Continued from p. 335.) IV. THE division of the brain into six and thirty parts, as the organic repreAgain, we have BENEVOLENCE exsentatives of the various passions, pro- pressly nominated; but for Gratitude pensities, energies, tastes, and habitudes we search the phrenological nomenclaof the mind, appears to us such a waste- ture in vain. There is found no place for ful prodigality on the one hand, and it. Will it be pretended that Benevosuch an inconsistent niggardliness on lence and Gratitude are the same feelthe other, as can only be accounted for ings, or that the latter is not as much on the principle that this science of entitled to a respectful notice as the Cranioscopy, as it is sometimes called, former? has its foundation in fancy, and not in nature.

For example, we have not one primitive independent organ to denote attachment generally, in reference to persons, places, and things; but we have special organs appropriated for each nor in respect to the first of these divisions, persons, is it confined to a single organ to express love under all its modifications, but the aid of different organs is called in, according to the nature of the object towards which our regard is to be directed. Some of these varieties are amply provided for, while others are shamefully neglected.

Thus in ADHESIVENESS, we have attachment to particular persons, but this it appears is not sufficiently comprehensive to include all persons, or to determine the nature of the attachment; for two removes from it, situated at the posterior of the head, we have PHILOPROGENITIVENESS, or attachment to offspring. But we beg leave to ask, is not filial affection equally an instinctive part of animal nature with the paternal, and as prominent a modification of personal

The same indefiniteness occurs respecting our desires. We have the organ of ACQUISITIVENESS, or a desire to possess. But to possess what? It may be a wife, it may be a guinea, it may be one of queen Anne's farthings; thus denoting either of three very different characters--the lover, the miser, or the antiquarian. If the organ represent the three-and we might have supposed three and thirty-it is too indefinite to be of any use whatever in ascertaining a man's character. If it include only one of the trio,—perhaps the miser,—the remaining two, whose desires are as pure as his, and possibly as intense too, are left destitute of any organic representative. And yet, notwithstanding this omission, in Nos, 1 and 11, we have the specification of particular desires, both of animal and mental origin.

What a difference there is between these fancy organs, and those with which nature has supplied us. The organs which connect the mind with the external world, of whose existence and exercise we are conscious, are as compre

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