ture from the true principles of Chris-ever turned his attention to the subject tianity." Speaking of the clergy in of religion. If the business of a dean 1817, he remarks: "The next genera- had been to give lectures on geological tion, I trust, will see fewer of these mar-science, or on the causes of the potato rying and christening-machines." These blight, then every one would see that are the words of one of the brightest the appointment was wise and proper; ornaments that ever graced the laity of but what words can describe the folly, your communion. Mr. Wilberforce was to say nothing of the sin, of appointnot the man to bear false witnessing to a religious office a man who against the church; he was not the man to make a rash and unfounded assertion on any subject; he had read much, thought much, seen much, and this is the frightful conclusion to which he was led-"that there had been for many years among the majority of the clergy, a fatal and melancholy departure from the true principles of Christianity." knows nothing of religion. I believe there is not a Protestant church in England in which such a manifest impropriety could have taken place, except your own. I am about now to call your attention to the testimony of one of the writers in the Oxford Tracts. In any question of doctrine, I should not think of adducing evidence from such a Now that I have referred to Mr. quarter when writing to you; but on a Wilberforce, permit me to remind youbare matter of fact, and fact which of the appointment consequent on the the writers of those Tracts had every elevation of his son to the see of Ox-means of being acquainted with, their ford in 1845. Before he was raised to testimony has weight, and is entitled that dignity he was dean of Westmin- to a hearing. The first of the series ster, and Dr. Buckland was appointed appeared in 1833. The writer is supby the Government to succeed him in posed to have been Dr. Pusey himself. that office. Referring to this appoint- He thus announces his fears, and hints ment, the Record, the organ of the at the object sought by him and his Evangelical section of the church, says, party in the following question ad"The single objection made to him dressed to the clergy:-" Should the (Dr. Buckland) has been couched in a Government of the country so far forcommendatory sarcasm- he knows all get their God as to cast off the church, the ologies except theology. No one to deprive it of its temporal honours whom we have heard allude to the and substance, on what will you rest subject, can call to mind anything ever the claim of respect and attention said or done by Dr. Buckland which which you make upon your flocks? showed him to have given any attention Hitherto you have been upheld by your whatever to religious subjects". Pause birth, your education, your wealth, for a moment, my brethren, and think your connections." The latter sentence on this fact. Here is a person ap- of this quotation affirms a bare fact. pointed to a high office in the church, It is for the sake of that affirmation who is reported by a friendly observer I have introduced it here. Dr. Pusey to know nothing of theology, and never had every opportunity of forming a to have given any evidence that he has judgment on that fact. His connec tion with Oxford gave to him an extensive acquaintance with the clergy spread all over the country. He had opportunities more than ordinary men of gaining an insight into the character and motives of the rising clergy, as each successive generation passed through the University. Here is the result of his knowledge, the record of his deliberate judgment; and it is one that might well make every truly pious person in the church hide his face for very shame-the clergy have hitherto been upheld in the attention and respect of their flocks, not by their piety; not by their scriptural views; not by their ability to preach Christ and him crucified; no, not a word about anything of the kind; but by their birth, education, wealth, connections. How do these qualifications look, placed by the side of those I have enumerated from the Word of God? And what must be said of the church which could harbour within its pale thousands of men, who had nothing better to recommend them to the sacred office of the ministry? I hope to return to the subject next month. A FRIEND. August 1, 1848. The Counsel Chamber. THE SPECIAL DUTY OF SABBATH-SCHOOL TEACHERS IN REFERENCE TO THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH. Read at the Monthly Meeting of the D Teachers' Union. In the following remarks it is not my intention to enter upon the general question of sabbath observance; nor shall I view the subject with reference to the various modes in which its sanctity is sought to be invaded by the enemies of pure and undefiled religion at the present time. I take it for granted that we are all of one mind respecting the Divine appointment, and permanent and universal obligation of the sabbath; and that, whatever be the individual opinions held among us respecting the proper method of securing its right observance, we are all alike anxious that the whole of God's day should be universally kept holy to himself. This is, indeed, a point of very great importance, as a due respect to the sabbath is necessarily associated with true regard to real religion. The pious man is always scrupulously strict in his improvement of the weekly day of rest; whereas the worldling either sacrifices its sacred hours to private business, or to the pursuit of pleasure; or else misspends them in idleness and listlessness, fretting in sullen impatience at the breach which the sabbath makes upon his ordinary avocations, and every now and then galled with the disagreeable thoughts and forebodings which its regular recurrence awakens in his soul. It is a remarkable circumstance, that a due regard to the sabbath is not only inseparably connected with real religion in the soul, but that it also exerts no small degree of influence on the moral character. It has been often observed, that sabbath-breaking has in very many cases formed the com mencement of a guilty career; and I doubt not, but some present can recollect instances that have come within the range of their own observation, in which malefactors on the scaffold have dated their first steps along the road to ruin from the time when they did not "Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy." This neglect was as the letting in of water. They thought little of it at the time, and it was thought little of by others; but on reflection they discovered in it the impelling power that urged them on from one sin to another, and from crime to crime, till it brought them to the gallows. It thus becomes a matter of great importance to secure the proper observance of the sabbath, as no one can foresee what the violation of its sanctity may lead to in the end. It occurred to me, while endeavouring to select a suitable subject for a few remarks at this meeting, that it might not be altogether unprofitable to direct our attention for a little to the peculiar influence which sabbath. school teachers have it in their power to exert in reference to sabbath observance; and, in considering this subject, we shall briefly notice-first, that it is the duty of teachers to impress the importance of sabbath observance on the minds of their scholars by means of direct instruction; and, secondly, we shall advert to the example they ought themselves to set in regard to the right performance of the duty. · First, then, sabbath-school teachers ought to impress upon their scholars the duty of strictly observing the sabbath-day. As this duty forms one of the precepts of the Decalogue, it will necessarily come in course under the notice of all sabbath teachers as often as the Ten Commandments form the subject of instruction in the business of the class; and the opportunity thus presented will be anxiously improved by every faithful teacher. But other opportunities will be sought and improved for the same purpose; and they will be readily found, as so many occasions occur of reminding the children of the sacred character of the sabbath, arising from their conduct when convened upon that holy day. They must be taught the origin of the sabbath; that it is a Divine appointment, instituted and ordained by the Supreme Being-the Creator, the Preserver, and the Governor of the universe. They must be taught the date of its institution, at the close of the sixth day, after God had finished the work of creation. They must be taught the primary design of the sabbaththat of commemorating the completion of creation; then its solemn proclamation to the Israelites from Mount Sinai; its perpetual and universal obligation on all mankind, as shown, not less by the date of its institution than by the place that it occupies in the moral law, which is universal and unchangeable; and its special claims on our attention and respect, manifest from the manner in which the duty is introduced to our notice: "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy." The attention of the young will also require to be directed to the change of the sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week; to the reasons for that change; the Divine sanction by which it has been effected; and to the precedent and example of apostolic times. The great event which the Christian sabbath is intended to commemorate, should be frequently brought before their minds-viz.. the resurrection of the Saviour on the first day of the week, and the evidence thereby furnished, that the great work of atonement has been finished and accepted of the Father. The spiritual advantages attending the due observance of the sabbath; the regular and very favourable opportunities which it affords of attending to the concerns of the soul, and of making attainments in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness; and of being thus made meet, through the blessed operation of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts, for the inheritance of the saints in light that glorious state of rest awaiting the people of God, of which the earthly sabbath is at once a preparation, a foretaste, and a type;-all these must be illustrated and enforced in the class, so as to inspire the young with the desire to profit in spirit by a right observance of the sabbath-day. that it is not a portion of the sabbath that is to be kept holy, but the whole of it-one complete day in seven; that on that day all such worldly employments and amusements as are lawful on other days, must be wholly suspended, and not only desisted from, but neither thought about nor spoken of: as the whole day is exclusively set apart for religious duties, public, private, and secret, except so much of it as is required for works of necessity and mercy. Children are under great temptations to indulge in their ordinary recreations as far as they can upon the sabbath, and to make them the topics of conversation when they are together. But this, they must be taught, is altogether inconsistent with the sanctity of the Lord's day, all recreation on that day being forbidden. The most common forms of this kind of sabbath desecration will require, in particular, to be brought under their notice; as, for instance, loitering with idle companions on the public streets, strolling in the fields, travelling by rail or otherwise, visiting of friends, and excursions to the country. These are forms of sabbath-breaking that are very common in the present day, and very enticing to the young; and it is the duty of teachers to warn those committed to their care, very earnestly and solemnly, against the sin and dan The proper method of spending the sabbath ought also to be explained and enforced; and to this particular attention ought to be given, on account of the infidel and falsely-called | liberal opinions inculcated on the subject in the present day. That excellent summary of Christian doctrine, the "Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism," furnishes the best account that can be given of the scriptural and only proper mode of spending the sab-ger of following such ungodly practices. bath, and forms the best text on which In many cases these forms of desecrato ground our illustrations of the sub- tion are encouraged by the parents ject. The scholars must be taught, themselves, who not only sanction the evil, but actually lead their children, as it were, by the hand into the direct commission of it; and, in cases of this as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy."-Shorter Catechism, Question 60. * "The sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much description, it is the painful duty of teachers to inculcate upon the young the necessity of declining parental obedience, and of obeying God rather than man. fore less likely to be called in question than the former; yet it can be shown that very many valuable temporal benefits attend the due observance of the sabbath; and it will be found, in regard to this as well as every other precept of the law, that, even in a temporal sense, "in the keeping of God's commandments there is a great promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come." It has been ascertained, that the human frame cannot be maintained in that state of health and vigour requisite for continued labour, without not only nightly rest in sleep, but also regularly returning seasons of relaxation; and that the exact proportion of time required for this purpose is one whole day in seven. Even the lower creation-at least that portion of it which is employed in labouring for the service of man-require the same proportion of time for rest, in order that they may recruit their exhausted energies, and retain their strength, so as to be preserved in a proper state for labour; and accordingly, some extensive coach contractors have been led, as the result of long-continued and extensive experience, to adopt the principle of only That God is jealous of the manner in which the sabbath is observed, may be taught by a reference to the case of the man of whom we read in Numbers, chap. xv., who was found gathering | reward;" and that "godliness hath the sticks on the sabbath-day, and, by God's direction, stoned to death for thus setting at nought the Divine commandment; and, though no such temporal punishment may be inflicted in the Gospel dispensation for a similar breach of the fourth commandment, yet God is as jealous of the honour of his holy law now as he was then: for his nature is unchangeable, and the impenitent transgressor shall not escape his righteous indignation in the world to come. They may be reminded of the examples of holy resting recorded in the Scripture; as, for instance, the account of the double portion of manna that was gathered by the Israelites on the sixth day, in order that it might not be necessary to gather it on the seventh. Authentic instances (and there have been many such) of the danger of violating the sabbath, as seen in the calamities and fatal disas-running on six days of the week, solely ters that have befallen sinners, and especially the young, in the very act of sabbath desecration, may, when narrated to the scholars, have the happy effect of impressing them forcibly and permanently with feelings of reverence for the sanctity of God's holy day. On the other hand, the benefits of sabbath observance ought to be enforced-the benefits both of a temporal and spiritual kind. The latter, or the spiritual benefits, are more obvious, and there from motives of self-interest, and not from any feelings of mercy to the animals. Dr. Scoresby tells us, too, that in the whale-fishing in the Greenland Seas, the result of several years' observation brought out fully the interesting fact, that those vessels which fished without distinction on sabbaths as well as week-days, did not make so well out in the end as those vessels which conscientiously abstained from fishing on sabbaths, however strongly they might |