LETTER II. I HAVE spoken to you of the study of the sacred Scriptures, but it seems desirable to dwell a little more particularly on a branch of knowledge, the History of the Church of Christ, which does not always receive that portion of attention to which it is entitled. As a preliminary to this study, a very clear, distinct, and chronological view of the dealings of God with his own chosen people, prior to the coming of Christ, ought to be obtained. We study the history of empires and of kingdoms; how much more deeply interesting is the course of Providence illustrated in the history of the descendants of Abraham, and in that of the Catholic and Apostolic Church!' You must not misunderstand me as putting these two branches of history on a level: in the one we have inspired and infallible historians; in the other, we are dependent on the reports and opinions of uninspired men, who, from the dulness of human perception, and the feebleness of human reason, often fall unintentionally into error, and from the fallibility of human judgment, are often led to express and propagate incorrect opinions upon facts, sentiments, and events. Scriptural history, a narrative of divine origin, and unpolluted truth, ought to receive your most serious attention; and you will find that a good knowledge of it will throw light upon many prophetical passages, otherwise obscure. In connexion with Scriptural history, I recommend some attention to Scriptural chronology. They, who cannot enter deeply into this study, may nevertheless remember, without much burden to the memory, that the creation took place about 4,000 years B. C.; that Abraham was born about 2,000 years B. C.; that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt about 1,500 years B. C.; that is half way between Abraham and Solomon; that Solomon lived 1,000 years after Abraham; that the second temple was begun rather more than 500 years B. C., that is half way between Solomon and our blessed Saviour; that the Old Testament history closed about 400 years before the birth of Christ, and that the canon of the New Testament was completed If you about one hundred years after that event. recollect with distinctness these facts, intermediate events will fall in with less confusion than if you had no landmarks whatever to measure your course. It is of importance to distinguish the histories of Israel and Judah, after the division of the kingdom of Solomon into two parts under his son Rehoboam. You must observe the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes, governed by a succession of monarchs of different families; but all wicked from the time of Jeroboam, B. C. 975, till Shalmaneser carried them into captivity B. C. 721. And you must not confound any part of this history with the separate one of the kingdom of Judah, or the two tribes, which continued to be governed by sovereigns of the house of David, some of whom were pious men, until Zedekiah was carried into captivity by Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards to Nebuchadnezzar B. C. 588. The capital of the ten tribes was Samaria; that of the two tribes was Jerusalem. ten tribes have never returned to their own country; the two tribes received permission to do so under the decree of Cyrus. If you bear these few The hints in mind, it will be a key to much that is intricate in the historical books of the Old Testament, where two separate histories are in some parts carried on at once, the transitions not being always very easy to follow. The ecclesiastical historians chiefly consulted in England are Milner and Mosheim.-Mosheim, I should say, is, for ladies at least, most valuable as an occasional book of reference. It is more a history of heretics than of the Church itself, and you would find the perusal of it dry and uninteresting. Not so Milner.-The Rev. Joseph Milner who began, and his brother, the Dean of Carlisle, who continued the great work of the history of the Church of Christ, were men whose hearts were warmed with the love of the truth as it is in Jesus, and their history, distinguished as it is for deep research and accurate statement, is distinguished also for the glowings of Gospel light and of Gospel love. Mr. Bickersteth in his Christian Student, places Milner's Church History,' among those books in our language which have been most extensively useful. The study of Church history is, in our days, of great importance, while new doctrines, new opinions, and we might even say, new sects are continually 6 springing up, and the good old way,' the way trodden by the primitive martyrs and confessors, is in danger of being forgotten. It is extremely satisfactory to take a connected view of the history of the Church from the apostles of Christ downwards, and to observe how God was pleased to keep alive the light of divine truth, though the clouds of error often rose to obscure it, and the strong hand of power was frequently stretched forth to extinguish it. You will find it interesting to read Milner by centuries, and at the close of each century to close the book, and write down your reminiscences. For example-the state of the Church during the century; the places where divine truth had spread, and where declined; the orthodox men who adorned the Church; the heretics who opposed her doctrines; the encouragement or opposition which divine truth met with from those in authority, &c. Mr. Bickersteth, in the work before referred to, considers that we want a history of the Church of Christ in our own country. We have voluminous authors for particular periods, as Fox, Strype, &c., but no one author (with the exception of Southey in his Book of the Church, and that is not exactly what |