heavy burden out of the way, and thus, by the drudgery of such good works, facilitated his way towards heaven. portance and truth of which, he has been taught from his earliest infancy. Seconded as they came, by every thing A very important source of habit he saw and heard, by every association, arises from early impressions, for upon and every thought; the nursery-the these, future habits very often depend. play-ground-the school-friends and The advice of the wisest of men, "To parents-all contributed to fasten and train up a child in the way it should fix his attention, and exercise his power, go," becomes a most imperative duty, | according as they would have his habits and demands our peculiar attention and formed and matured. Such an influregard. The moral culture of the youth- ence as this presents, bearing upon the ful mind must appear to every good mind, is a formidable barrier against man as a most important task; since all opposition. It forms a sort of Moral the kind of habits by which men are Phalanx, imperious and impregnable. governed, in after life, very much de- It effectually prevents that emancipapend upon the directions which the fa- tion of mind, which is absolutely neces culties of attention and memory may sary to the existence of a liberal spirit take in this early stage; and the pro- of inquiry and rational investigation. mise annexed to the above duty, a pro- Hence the firm and rigid adherence of misé often realized, should encourage many persons to the religion of their parents and guardians, and all who have fathers. The mind has been accustomthe superintendence of the youthfuled to view this important subject through mind, in their efforts, to give a right certain established media. The same direction and bias to the gradually un- views and notions, and the same class folding powers. of ideas that led the father, lead the son, whose mind, thus strongly bound, and deeply imbued with the same principles and feelings, is too firmly rivetted to listen, much less to yield, to arguments in favour of contrary sentiments, although amounting to demonstration. This is the effect of confirmed habit. Reason durst not venture with her queries upon ground so sacred and holy, nor examine into the truth or legitimacy of principles such as these, too sacred even to be called into question. Taught by those whom they have ever considered as incapable of deception-whose interests were theirs-whose daily example seconded the precepts which they taught—whose exhortations were constant and incessant; and whose dying lips, perhaps, sealed their sincerity, and produced conviction too strong ever to be effaced;-what a powerful effect must all these things have, and how inveterate must the habits of such men be. What a deplorable scene does such a character present us with, whose habits have all been formed in this way on the side of error, gross, delusive error; and yet, lamentable as the fact may be, and painful as it must be, to every truly Christian mind, habits such as these form the moral character of the great bulk of mankind. Hence the religion of Pagans, Mahometans, Roman Catholics, and Jews is a religion of habit, and the tenacity of habit gives birth to prejudice, prejudice to bigotry, and Delightful task this, and though sometimes painful feelings occupy the mind from present untoward appearances, yet what has not perseverance done; and have we not every reason to expect, in the steady discharge of our duty, the co-operating influence of God, to second and succeed our efforts, so as to produce permanent habits of true piety and devotion. Habits derived from early impressions, acquire such a deep-rooted hold of the mind, and are so interwoven with all the powers of thought, and reason, and affection, that they will yield to nothing short of omnipotence. Habits acquired in this way daily gain strength, gradually stealing over the faculties, bringing over one after another as it advances, till it has secured all the powers of the soul, and chained them down in one certain direction, with fetters stronger than iron. The mind of man naturally loves those things best, and cherishes those feelings and principles most, with which it has been longest and most familiarly acquainted. They become incorporated with its very nature and constitution; and the mind clings to them with the fondest affection, and holds them with the most tenacious grasp; and any opposition only tends to strengthen and increase their adherence. The mind of such a person is shocked, and recoils at any, even the least, innovation upon certain principles and actions, the in bigotry to an overbearing, intolerant, and persecuting spirit. Habit, as being a sure spring of action, may be regarded as the grand determiner of the will, since, as furnishing the strongest and most imperative maxims, its operation is inevitable and irresitible; and the man who is the subject of absolute and confirmed evil habits, is in a peculiarly high degree, labouring under a moral incapacity which, be it observed, arises in a great measure from habits which he has voluntarily chosen to become subject to. Man is, therefore, only what he wills to be-a willing slave. There is one view of the subject, in its connection with temptation, which I would just mention. The operation of temptation in the formation of habits, deserves serious attention; and here, by way of conclusion, I take the liberty of presenting you with a few pithy remarks, which dropped from the lips of a justly admired and esteemed writer and preacher, while lately speaking upon the subject of temptation, and the great duty of watchfulness and prayer. "The habits and principles of the world are formed by a yielding to temptation; this constitutes a great portion of the materials in current use amongst men. The reason why men act in such and such a manner, is, because they yield to temptation. They admit its supremacy, and in conformity to it, they act, and in all their actions, feelings, and habits, show that they are the slaves of temptation. "There is a perfect agreement and harmony-an identity almost between the depraved nature of man and temptation. Were it otherwise, it would meet with opposition, and would no more mix together than fire and water. It would be repelled; and then the destruction of one or the other must take place. But no, it meets with a congenial element. What has been our own experience as to this tendency? Did we not find an attraction between us and temptation? One evil after another amalgamating within us; for which of us dare say as our Lord did?"The tempter cometh, and findeth nothing in No; these temptations found friends within. Watch then, and pray. Pray fervently that God may do for us me.' what we find we cannot do for ourselves, and then we shall find a help, all-sufficient, that will not suffer the evil to gain upon us. If our Lord takes possession of the soul, sin must go.-Enter not into temptation-beware of a beginning. The beginning is sure to have something next; it begins but to go on. It is the beginning of a train that leads the soul from God: if we suffer it to proceed, how can we have any force to resist, after we have become the slaves of habit. "Be cautious of entering upon that which may become a temptation. It may be harmless at first, but think how it may become a temptation, when perhaps other things are mingled with it. Watch and pray should begin as early as temptation begins. No state of juvenility is exempt from temptation. Selfobservation of the beginning of temptation is a most important duty. At first there might be no perception of danger, nor perhaps until much mischief has been done. Temptation gains upon us by a series of unresisted impressions, and will occasion terrible wrestlings, and direful contests before the subject thereof is become rid of it. "We should be especially alarmed at that, where a temptation is to come first, but a good after. Suppose we should pass through the evil, and never come at the good! Beware when the good is distant. Pray to be kept wholly out of the very precincts of evil, and to be kept in the path of duty and holiness; and finally, watch against all, and pray against all temptation." SIR, Sir, Yours respectfully, TO THE EDITOR. C. Happening a short time ago to turn over the pages of your magazine for May last, in a reading-room to which I am a subscriber, in the place in which I reside, I observed a short paper dated from Norwich, relating to an affair with which I was intimately concerned; I mean, a communication which appeared in another periodical publication, about the middle of last summer, on the sub * Perhaps it would be improper to mention the author's name, as it might be considered indecorous to exhibit his thoughts in the above mutilated and detached form. ject of Missionary Ordinations. As your correspondent conjectures, another paper was written by the author of the first, and sent to the miscellany just alluded to; and, not finding admission, after some slight alterations had been made, it was sent again, but with similar success. As I am likely to have a few days of leisure while I remain here, I will endeavour to collect, from a small memorandum-book, the principal part of the paper in question, which, when finished, shall be quite at your service. It was as follows: To the Editor of the Congregational Magazine. GENTLEMEN, When I transmitted to you a short paper on Missionary Ordinations, I had no intention to address you a second time on the same subject, because I had no apprehensions that my motives and my sentiments would be seriously misunderstood. My intention was not to censure your worthy correspondent, for whom I have long entertained the highest esteem; nor did I wish to put him upon his own defence in particular, because, if our Missionary Ordinations are really indefensible, Mr. Roby is by no means a solitary offender. Neither had I the least intention to question the propriety of what are sometimes denominated Missionary Ordinations, except as it regards some of their attendant circumstances; in as much as prayer and admonition, I conceive, can never be untimely; and in proportion to the importance of the undertaking about to be engaged in, must be the importance of directing our attention to the throne of grace, and of communicating those instructions which are suggested by age and experience. Nor did I at all anticipate the inference that congregational principles are, in my mind, adverse to missionary designations. Certainly I entertain no such opinion. Were it worth while to notice trivial matters, I might remark that I did not use the adverb chiefly,* in the sense in which Mr. R. seems to understand it; and that by the terms' first Indpendents, I meant precisely the same that Mr. * CHIEFLY, principally, eminently. Turnbull does in his Essay on Church Government (p. 10.)-not the first professors of Christianity to whom the denomination might have been, but those to whom it was, first applied. Of this, Mr. R. was no doubt well aware; and the little verbal captiousness which he has been pleased to exercise, is what no person acquainted with his general character would have at all expected. In my former communication, it was my intention to express a doubt, whether, during the apostolic age, and amongst the first Christians, any appointment to office took place, in which a Christian Church was not a principal, or at least a necessary party; and I ventured to express such doubt, with no other views than that of inviting the calm and friendly discussion of a subject which I thought was of some importance. If I was wrong in entertaining any doubt upon this subject, it may certainly be remarked respecting the passage, (Acts xiii. 1—4.) to which Mr. R. more particularly refers, that the call of Barnabas and Saul to the work for which they were designed, was immediately from God; and, that so far at least, it was rather analogous to extraordinary, than ordinary designations. It seems to be almost admitted, or admitted with some unexplained reserve, that in all the appointments to office in any particular church of which we read in the New Testament, that church formed one of the parties immediately concerned. But might not your correspondent have admitted this without any limiting or excepting terms? And might he not have admitted also, that, so far as we have any information in the New Testament, we have reason to conclude, that no person was ever appointed or designated to any office whatever, of an ordinary or permanent description, among the first Christians, where the church of which he was a member, was not one of the parties present and intimately concerned. As far as I can discover, mere ministerial ordinations or appointments to office, have no foundation whatever in the New Testament. With regard to the separation of Barnabas and Saul, it may be remarked, that those two distinguished individuals JOHNSON. "All the saints salute you, chiefly (would Mr. R. say "but not in every case," they that are of Cæsar's household." Phil. iv. 22. of the church under the pastoral care of the Rev. Doctor Winter. In some churches, the names of all members who are absent from the Lord's Table a certain number of months, are erased from the church book. Now I should conceive, that such of our bre thren as have adopted this regulation, would readily admit, that Paul and Barnabas, after a year's residence at Antioch, ought at least to have become members of the church in that place; and that as they were inspired teachers, they must at once have possessed the clearest perception of their duty, and the utmost readiness to perform it. had resided a whole year at Antioch; (Acts xii. 26.) and that after such a continuance, especially as they had in all probability, been instrumental, in a great measure, in collecting and establishing the church there, they might be regarded as members. Besides, the circumstance of the church being so particularly mentioned, would very naturally lead us to conclude, that the private members of that society, had some interest in this designation beyond what is necessarily included in the exercise of mere christian sympathy. I am strongly inclined to think, that in the first ages of Christianity, there was nothing very formal in the admission of Mr. R. remarks, that "there is no church members. The term xxλσ in evidence that the members of the its more usual acceptation, simply means church, as a body, took any part in this an assembly or concourse of people; exercise;" or, " that either the persons and it is highly probable, that while designating, or the persons designated, Christianity remained in a state of per- were, strictly speaking, members of the secution, and before education could church at Antioch." Now, it is very possibly have attained any influence in strongly suspected, that had Mr. R. the production of mere professors, no been asked, under any other circumperson would attend regularly with any stances, and before the present mode of Christian assembly, but those who made ordaining missionaries, had obtained a a decided profession of faith in Christ. sort of establishment by general conHence it would follow, that all who did sent, to give the sense of the passage regularly attend in the same place, con- already alluded to repeatedly, that is, stituted a Christian church. Under Acts xiii. 1-4. it would have rather these circumstances, to worship regu- differed from this explanation. "The larly with any Christian assembly, would calling," says Calvin, in loco. was proamount pretty nearly, or perhaps alto-perly of God alone, but the external or gether to what we now mean by joining daining belonged to the church." a church. To suppose, therefore, that" Both their call and their qualification," Paul and Barnabas might assemble a says Doctor Adam Clarke," came from whole year with the church at Antioch, God; but he chose that they should a church too, which they had probably have the sanction of that church of collected, without being regarded as which they were members." members, is to add something to the church," continues the same commenidea of church membership, of which tator, put their hands on the head of we have reason to believe, the first Barnabas and Saul; thus designating Christians had no knowledge. them to be the persons whom they, under the Holy Spirit, sent to preach the gospel to the heathen." If Barnabas and Saul were regarded as no more than visitors at Antioch, should we not very materially contribute to the perspecuity of the passage alluded to above, by erasing the words "in the church." I conceive we should. The passage as it now stands, unless I am much mistaken, very clearly implies that Barnabas and Saul were considered as members of the church at Antioch. Suppose for instance, it were said, that there were certain prophets and teachers in the church in New Court, Carey-street, London, would not every reader, having no particular sentiment or practice in view which he must defend, conclude at once, that these persons were members 66 "The After Barnabas and Saul had accom plished the object of their important Mission, they returned" to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace," protection or blessing, of God" for that work which they had accomplished. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together"-" The Church," says Doctor Clarke, " by which they had been sent out on this very important Mission,"-" they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And there they abode a long time with the disciples," that is, as commentators Christian societies or churches with suppose, about five years. Now, how which they stood immediately confar these circumstances appear as the nected. recognition of a former connexion with the church at Antioch, I leave to the candid consideration of your intelligent readers. Though I am quite aware, that I shall hazard the charge of fastidiousness, I must confess to you, that I had some doubt as to the propriety of the term ordination, as applied to missionary designations; not certainly so much arising from any considerable difference in the precise meaning of the various words which are occasionally used in reference to this ceremony, as from the special and long establised appropriation of this term. I know of no likelier way to introduce the abuse of any ceremony or usage than the misapplication of the name by which it is called. The term ordination, at least among congregational dissenters, has long been regarded as conveying the idea of a highly important and interesting solemnity in which there are three parties immediately concerned-a candidate for the pastoral office-a Christian church expressing a desire for his superintendence-and a number of stated pastors who have been invited to officiate on the occasion. The two solemnities-an ordination to the pastoral office-and the designation of a missionary-are materially different, in as much as in one case, one of the parties, which in the other, I should think was by no means the least essential, must of necessity be absent. Call two ceremonies which agree in some of their circumstances by the same name; and what is more probable than that, in process of time, it may come to be admitted, that nothing more is necessary in the one case than in the other. Destroy the association of ideas alluded to above, and then you may have ordinations in the one case as well as in the other, without what has generally been regarded as one of the most indispensable parties a Christian church. Weymouth, Aug. 20, 1822. MR. EDITOR, 0.0.0. PERUSING your review of "the Rev. Mr. Leifchild's Lectures on the Beatitudes," in the last number of the New Evangelical Magazine, I find you close your critique with the following: "In parting, we beseech him to leave the word Rev.' out of his title-page. To see a minister of Christ, in a volume designed to illustrate the doctrine, and inculcate an imitation of the character of the meek and lovely Jesus, adopting one of the names of blasphemy which characterize anti-christ, is really an af fecting sight. An author should have a little more regard to consistency in his own character." I understand the term reverend to be an appellation of respect to the clergy, C October 4, 1822. ANSWER. T. N. ALTHOUGH, when we dropped the hint to Mr. Leifchild, which our correspondent has quoted, we did not mean to provoke a discussion on the point, yet, when a question is civilly asked, it would be rudeness itself to refuse a reply. It is very true that the word " reve. rend" is universally understood to be an appellation of respect to the clergy, and an honorary title to distinguish them It would appear, that in the apostolic from the laity; nevertheless, we still age, all stated officers were selected from think we are justifiable in our dislike the churches to which they belonged, of the epithet. We, indeed, intimated and then ordained in the presence, and one reason of our dislike in the paraat the desire of those churches; and graph referred to; viz. that it was one that individuals intended for more dis- of the names of blasphemy which cha tant and general services, were recom-racterize Antichrist; and we had then mended to the grace of God, were desig- directly in view, Rev. xvii. 3. where the nated or set apart by the particular woman, or false church, is described as |