seem to deny, at first, the cries of a distressed woman; to seem afterwards as though he would plead against her; and still, in the end to say, 'be it unto thee even as thou wilt.' In view of this example, every child of sorrow, who feels his need of divine help and mercy, may thank God, and take courage. He may keep his people waiting and praying till they are deeply humbled, and their faith and patience tried, as by fire, and at last, overwhelm them with joy by an answer of peace.They are sometimes ready to say with the afflicted and unfortunate David; "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord, why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble." But if continued, with faith and fervour their requests will in due time be granted. For them it is written, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." God has not directed his people to seek him in vain. His eyes are ever "upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." "Call upon me" saith he, "in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee." An unjust judge who neither fears God, nor regards man, will hear the cries of an importunate widow, lest by her continual coming she should weary him. And shall not a merciful God "regard his own elect, who cry day and night unto him ?" We are not permited to doubt this. The desire of the righteous though delayed for a season, will in the end be granted, and to God will be the glory forever. 4. We may come to a conclusion respecting the cause, why real christians are not more prayerful; and why their prayers are not more uniformly heard and answered. The reason is, my brethren, they are not enough like the woman who is the subject of the narrative in the text. They do not feel, as she felt, their need of God's mercies, either for themselves or others. Instead of feeling that they stand in need of the crumbs which fall from their master's table, they are inclined to indulge that proud and preposterous idea, that they are "rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Nor, under these circumstances, do they feel the wants or sins of their fellow men; they confide too much in their own strength. With views of their own state so little calculated to bring them low at the feet of Jesus, they know not how to pity fellow sinners, nor how, with becoming fervour and compassion, to implore the mercy of God. Real christians, sensible of their spiritual wants, often have occasion to mourn before God, that they are so much like those among men who are " past feeling," and given over to "a reprobate mind." Their faith, and love, and hope are languid, as if ready to "give up the ghost." The prayers which they offer under such circumstances, are destitute of life and fervour; and they cannot be expected to ascend, with efficacy, to the very heavens, and reach"the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Did christians always go to the throne of grace, with that faith, humility, and lively sensibility of soul which characterized the woman of Canaan, they would be like a besieging army. The throne of heaven would be moved at their approach. The majesty of heaven would bow his gracious ear to hear them; yea he would "leave the heavens and come down" to relieve and console them. How many miserable sinners are there in every direction, who are led captive by satan, at his pleasure, and who never lift their eye to heaven for relief and salvation. To these, the effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous might be of infinite effect, might be answered with infinite blessings. O you who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth; do you not love the souls for which he agonized and died? Are your hearts never disquieted with anguish and sorrow for those who bear witness of themselves, that they are the very "children of the wicked one;" who are ta ken in his snare and made his captives? Will you not bear them on your hearts to the Son of David, and to the mercy seat of the Most High? May you not indulge the humble hope that your prayers shall come up with acceptance before God, and be answered in the salvation of some, who have no compassion on themselves? Many are the children, who are "by nature children of wrath," who are without a pious father or mother to pity them, or to implore the mercy of God for them; shall they receive no pity from you? May not your prayers be auswered in the salvation of one, nay of many souls? Then bear it, I pray you, on your hearts, that one soul is of more value than a whole world. To you who are christian parents, there is afforded from our text, singular encouragement in seeking the blessing of God upon your children. More than once you have perhaps felt your hearts ache within you, while contemplating the gloomy condition and prospects of your beloved offspring. Though not disturbed by the indwelling of some infernal spirit; yet they were born the heirs of sin and death. On such a state as this, they have entered by your means. You are solemnly bound to do all that it is within your power to do, for their deliverance. Can you look upon this child of affliction, pleading so earnestly with the Lord Jesus, in behalf of her daughter, and not think of your own children, and their need of his mercy? She, perhaps, was a widow, or, like many others, she might have had a prayerless husband, and have been under the necessity of going to Jesus alone, or of not going at all. But she went emptied of herself, and returned with a rich blessing, and a heart full of joy. My brethren and sisters, from such an example, you may thank God, and take courage. I pray you, give this subject a large place in your heart. If the grace of God has begun its work in the heart of any of your children, be very humble and thankful to the Lord, who hath dealt so bountifully with you, and with them. Are not some of your children without Christ, and without the grace of God in their hearts? To their eternal welfare, should not you be tremblingly alive, and awake? Were they sold to be bondmen and bond women for their lives, and could your supplications avail for their deliverance, would you not intercede for them daily and unceasingly, till their deliverance was accomplished? They are sold under sin," enslaved under the bondage of corruption, and in danger of being finally led away captive by satan, and of falling a prey to this devourer of souls. Therefore cease not to pray for them, till the Lord shall arise for their deliverance, till he cause his mercy to triumph gloriously in bringing them into the liberty of the sous of God. For the Christian Spectator. Is it proper for women to be employed as public teachers of religion? "What Aud in the first place, saith the scriptures ?" 1. Corinthians, xiv. 34-35. "Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." The first law of God on this subject, after man's apostacy, was addressed to the woman, in these words, Gen. iii. 16. "Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” This has been in full force down to the present day, in different forms, and is often repeated in the scriptures. It is particularly enforced, and the reason of it given, 1. Timothy, ii. 8-14. "I will therefore, that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel-which becometh women professing godliness with good works. Let the women learn in silence, with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." And the reason is given; "For Adam was first formed; then Eve. And Adam was not deceived; but the woman being deceived, was in the transgression." On this account, she is every where in scripture exhorted to be in subjection, and commanded not to teach, or to usurp authority. It is even said to be "a shame for a women to speak in the church." Again; If we attend to the commission and authority which men have had in every age of the world to be public teachers of religion, we shall find that women are excluded. During the existence of the church before the flood, we have an account of eight persons who were successively preachers of righteousness,' not one of whom was a female. After the flood succeeded the patriarchal age, in which the eldest son in the family or tribe, inherited the priesthood, as well as the civil government; and to him it belonged to teach, and offer sacrifices to the Lord, according to the divine institutions. Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob were specimens of patriarchal teaching. But we no where find that even a single female was ever commissioned of God to serve as a public teacher of religion, under the Abrahamic, or patriarchal dispensation, which extend ed down to the calling of Israel out of Egypt. At this time, the Levitical priesthood, and al! the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation, were established; and they were perpetuated to the death of Christ, who was the great sacrifice for sin. During all this long period,we do not read that a female ever served at the altar, or was publicly employed as a teacher of religion. In the ministry of John the Baptist, and of Jesus Christ, a great number of teachers were employed and commissioned to go into all the cities and villages of Judea, and preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." But not one of this multitude of teachers was a female. After the resurrection of Christ, when the new and more glorious dispensation of the gospel was ushered in, Christ called together his disciples and gave them his final commission; "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." This commission was given to Christ's disciples to be communicated by them to their successors, down to the end of the world, and clearly does not extend to females. A. B. C. For the Christian Spectator. Mr. Editor, The following remarks, on 1. Thess. v. 23, are suggested by way of inquiry. Should you think them worthy of notice, you are at liberty to publish them. AN ENQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless." Did the apostle, by a pleonasm, intend to express more forcibly, a complete sanctification? or did he, by using πvsuμa, Tʊxn and owua, spirit, soul, and body, mean to be understood as believing in a threefold distinction in the nature of men? It seems that vous is the word properly used to denote the mind with all its affections aud faculties. It is so used abundantly in the classics, and sometimes in the scriptures. But instead of vous,-vsuμa and Lux, are frequently adopted. When thus used, it is evident that supa and ʊx are synonymous, and yet, there is great latitude given to each, so that, at the maximum of their divergency, their meanings are opposite to each oth er. Let us attend to their difference, by adverting to different passages. nvsupa is used to denote a pure spirit; as distinguished from animal affections, whether in the body, or disembodied. "Into thine hands I commend (TVεupa Moυ) my spirit." "they thought they saw (VEU) a spirit." "A (Tvεupa) spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." "(sa vsupala) The spirits of the just made perfect," or "the spirits in prison." But un never denotes a disembodied spirit, or a spirit without animal affections; so far from it, that it sometimes denotes a dead body. There are four instances in the Septuagint directly in point. See Numb.v.2. "Whosoever is defiled (eux) by a dead body." Also Numb. vi. 6; and ix. 9; and Levit. xxii. 4. There is one passage in the Psalms, (xvi. 10) which must be construed in the same manner. The parallelism justifies this construction; "Thou wilt not leave (ny Luxy o) my dead body in the grave; thou wilt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption." And if this construction is legitimate, then we have two passages in the New Testament where xn expresses a dead body. Vid. Acts, ii. 27, and 31. Here we see «vɛʊμ¤ and ↓ʊxn in their greatest divergency. Again, aveva is never used to denote animal life; but un denotes the life, and animal nature, of both brutes and men. Matthew, vi. 25. "Take no thought (în Lvxn upwv) for your life, what ye shall eat. Is not (nux) the life more than meat?" Mat. xvi. 25. "He that loseth (TM Lux œUTOU) his life for my sake, shall find it." Rev. viii. 9. "And the third part of creatures in the sea (ra sxovla uxas) that had life died. Vid. also Acts, xx. 10, and xv. 26; Mark, iii. 4. Rev. xvi. 3, and the classics, passim. Again, vsuμa is not used to express the complex creature man, or a person. But x is thus used. Vid. Acts, ii. 41, 43; xxvii. 37. 1. Pet. iii. 20; and also the Greek poets. πνευμα Thus we perceive, that veuμa and ux are used very differently; and that, though the latter sometimes denotes the mind, it distinguishes one as under the influence of sensual propensities; and also that it is put for a body, from which animal life has escaped. Does not Paul give us reason to conclude, that he makes a distinction betwen the veʊua and ʊxn? Does he not use Luxxes and veuμalixos, the adjectives derived from them, as denoting distinct qualities? "gli owpa xixov, xau esti swμα TVεuμalıxov, there is an animal body, and there is a spiritual." 1. Cor. xv. 44. Besides, if he was the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, he made a distinction; chap. iv. 12. "pegiopes uxns xas arveupatos; the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit," and he believed in a threefold distinction; and is it, then, unreasonable to suppose, that he used vsupa in the passage under consideration, for the immortal mind; vxn, for the constitutional and animal propensities; and swua, for the material part? These are intimately connected, and have an important influence upon each other. Hence, may we not say, that he prayed for the Thessalonians, "that their minds might become holy; that their constitutional habits might be rectified; and that their bodies might be purified; so that they might be preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Miscellaneous. For the Christian Spectator. Mr. Editor, WHEN I wrote my last communication, A Rhetorical Praxis on the first Eclogue of Virgil-I had a special Psalm in view, as the best parallel specimen, for the illustration of similar principles to those, exhibited by the pagan bard. It seems I have been anticipated in my choice. That Psalm has already been considered (Christian Spectator, vol. ii. 66 --71.) by one whose critical decisions it would be superfluous to confirm, and presumptuous to think of confuting; and from whom the age is looking for still more important favours. I wish him all the success, which talents deserve, when they are employed in holding the torch of learning to the pages of revelation. ORBILIUS. A Rhetorical Praxis on the cxxxvii. Psalm. Poetry may be considered, in a stricter or laxer sense, as the representation of human manners. The manners of men are susceptible of, and have received two important modifications; the one from time, and the other from individuals who have attempted, or have been the subjects of the art. The first of these modifications is seen in the successive specimens of different ages, which have been preserved by chance or by merit. Of the second modification, it is unnecessary to speak. Every one knows that the poetry of Homer differs from that of Theocritus. It may be observed, however, that the more poetry represents the manners of antiquity, the less it can have of that diversity, which is derived from individuals. Men in the early stages of society, are under the influence of strong passions; and strong passions, like high wines, are characterised, from whatever substance extracted, by similar qualities. Poetry, extorted by the most vio lent emotions, must almost necessarily be of the lyric kind. Not indeed that there is any connection between the literal lyre and powerful passions; but the oldest poems have always painted the glowing thought, the rapid transitions, and the bold metaphors, to which excited passion prompts the author. All poetry of this kind has sufficient resemblance to form a class, and to deserve a generic name. The name, which has been given it, is lyric poetry. Of this kind, (at least resembling this,) is all the poetry of the sacred scriptures. Lowth, and other critics, have indeed been anxious to find, in the sacred writings, specimens of the elegy, the pastoral, the dramatic, and the didactic muse; nor would I deny but that some very imperfect and incipient germs of each of these species may be found in the Bible. But such divisions discover more pedantry than true criticism. We hesitate not to call Horace a lyrical writer, though some of his odes are interlocutory; nor would any man have discovered the pastoral in the Grecian sense of these words, by consulting his Bible alone. The poetry of the Bible then is the representation of those parts of human manners, which are modified by strong emotions. It is a picture of life in its infancy; a developement of those trains of thought and affection, which move in minds, not disciplined by modern erudition, nor elevated by later refinement; but of minds which display the virtues and imperfections of the nascent state. Man was then the child of nature. Man too, is always the pattern of the picture in poetic representation. The excellency of any author, is to be estimated by the skill with which he has copied his pattern. It will readily be seen that this kind of poetry has beauties and felicities of its own. Dr. Johnson has remarked, quoting a criticism of Den |