But Mr. Row seems to lay great stress upon Proverbs viii. But is the Lord Jesus Christ the Speaker in that chapter? I think not. may be wrong, but I cannot see that he is the Speaker. The speaker there is not a man, but a woman. "She crieth at the gates," &c. And this woman speaks as a mother, and as having her origin with God. How, then, here in this 8th of Proverbs, can the Saviour be the speaker? To make him the Speaker is to make the chapter accord neither with his Godhead nor his Manhood, nor with his complexity; for you cannot say of God that it was set up, nor of Manhood or complexity, that it was from everlasting; nor am I sure by what rule this chapter should be interpreted. But with a hope of some one throwing a little light upon this chapter, I will, with all humility and deference to those of superior judgment to that of my own, offer an opinion upon it. Well, then, it appears to me that the wisdom here personified, and given in the feminine gender, is not the Person of Christ, nor a Divine attribute; that it is neither of these, yet both are relatively included. Now, as the new covenant is allegorically called a woman, (Gal. iv. 24), taking this as my guide, I find all the parts of the chapter (Prov. viii.) accord therewith. But the space here allotted me, does not, of course, allow me to demonstrate this by going through the whole of the chapter; I must, therefore, at present, be content with giving merely a sample of the same. Take first the 22nd and 23rd verses-"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting: from the beginning, or ever the earth was.'

Now, did not the Lord, in the beginning of the economy of mercy, possess this covenant? Did he not set it up from everlasting? And were not thereby his goings forth from of old, even from everlasting? And hereby is not the mercy of the Lord from everlasting from the beginning the foundation of the world, or ever the world or the earth was?

Again, take the 30th and 31st verses"Then was I by him as one brought up with him." Here is the new maiden covenant spoken of as a favourite child; and this maiden child of a new covenant a God of love has ever cherished; and ever will until she becomes the mother of thousands of millions. (Gen. xxiv. 60). Therefore she bears testi

of the people of the earth. First, the Manhood of Christ, the covenant, would rejoice because by him all her honors are for ever established. Secondly, the whole church, as consecrated to God by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by their love supreme to God. Her delights were thus with the sons of men; and as a kind mother she thus speaks to her own children-" Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children; for blessed are they that keep my ways: hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. For whoso find me, findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." Here there is a laying hold, a finding of the new covenant, which God hath promised to shew to them that fear him. And such shall obtain favour of the Lord; he will bring them to his holy hill, and make them joyful in his house of prayer.

"But he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul." And so it is, that even the children of the free woman often remain long in legal bondage, sinning against this new covenant; and thus blindly labouring to wrong their own souls; and do do so as far as they can.

"All they that hate me, love death." Yes, the dead professor loves a dead religion, and hates the covenant of life. Yet this covenant, this mystic woman, is a kind and careful mother, for "she hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars," &c.; for the first six verses of the 9th chapter of the Proverbs are evidently a continuation of the subject of the 8th chapter.

And now, let me ask, which is the more consistent of the two-to assume that Christ's human soul pre-existed, and then make this doctrine of pre-existence the rule by which to interpret this 8th chapter of the Proverbs? Which, I say, is the more consistent of the two, to make mere and gratuitous assumption the rule of interpretation, or to take the word of God as its "own interpreter." The gender in which Wisdom is here spoken of, shews the language to be figurative. The next thing then is to find some scripture by which to interpret the same. As the New Covenant is, as I have shewn, (Gal. iv. 24.) personified and called a woman, or which is the same thing, given not in the masculine, but in the feminine gender; have I then any right to alter the language of the Holy Ghost? Here then I have a mystic woman, and she is a tree of life to every one that layeth hold upon her, and happy is every one that retaineth her. Well then, if I am to be happy in retaining her, I shall be unhappy in dismissing her. I would then retain her, and by her be instructed into the meaning of all parts of this chapter; and in retaining her, I retain what God himself has given: and I do then think it much more consistent to take the bible's own rule of interpretation, than to be guided by the disput

able assumption of the pre-existence of a human soul. And, as to the doctrine of pre-existence giving to the Old Testament saints a real Mediator, were it not that Mr. Row writes like a serious man, I could hardly believe him to be serious in such inconsistent remarks.

Just as though, on the one hand, he could be complete as a Mediator without his body, his life, his death and resurrection; or as though, on the other hand, a Divine person could not appear in human form, and carry on, until the fulness of time, communion between heaven and earth. This would be limiting the Holy One with a witness.

And as to the advantages of the doctrine of which Mr. Row speaks, if the doctrine of preexistence be not of God, it must be more hurtful than healthful.

NAPHTALI.

rod to-morrow in Moses' honey-comb in the book of Exodus, and in Paul's honey-comb in his epistle to the Hebrews. God Almighty help you to stand under the banner of eternal love, cased in truth and righteousness;-so prays your brother in tribulation, G. G. KELLAWAY.

Poetry.

A VOICE FROM THE DYING CHAMBER.

[WHEN the writer of the following lines was in the arms of death, we knelt by her side, and pleaded with the Lord. She was calmly waiting to depart. We know the verses are genuine, therefore believe they will do good.-ED.] DEAR MR. EDITOR.-The enclosed lines where com

MY DEAR BROTHER,-The trumpet sounds to arms; we may therefore break silence at once, arise, buckle on the armour, and prepare for action, and fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life: we have obtained eternal victory already in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation, who hath obtained eternal redemption for us. Now we want him to fill our hearts with holy bravery, skill, zeal, power, grace, truth, faith, prayer, righteousness, and decision, that we may press toward the mark for the prize of our high calling. Cheer up, my brother; God is your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Draw out the glittering sword of the Spirit, dip its point in the blood of the lamb, and go forward!

I see that you are surrounded with some heavy clouds of smoke, and some blazing gas lamps; and one, lord Free-will, looks very formidable: fear not, a few puffs of angry breath can't blow you off the rock, nor drive you from the cross of salvation, from the music of calvary, from the banner of election, from the springs of living water, nor from the shadow of the tree of life. But lord Free-will says, "What is this that thou hast done, Jonathan?" "I did but dip the top of my rod in honey; and, lo, I must die." "God do so to me and more also, for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan." These are great stout words; but how soon they crumble to dust. See, see how every soldier's bosom burns whilst Gabriel, flying from the throne of God, dashes through the cloud, and with a countenance like lightning, and a voice like thunder, proclaims through the host, "God forbid; there shall not an hair of Jonathan's head fall to the ground." Be of good cheer, my brother, thou shalt not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord. You will find plenty of honey in the rocks, and in the word you will not fail to dip your rod in it; and it will enlighten the eyes of your understanding to know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who believe. I expect to dip my

to her departure into a better and a brighter world, and I can truly say, her end was peace; she fell asleep in her precious Saviour the 20th of last June, Mr. Wells, at the Surrey Tabernacle, for some in her twenty-first year. She had been a hearer of years; under whose savoury ministry I have every reason to believe she was first awakened to her state as a sinner before God; and in her last moments, she felt the sweet influence of pardoning buried at Nunhead Cemetry, there to await the love and mercy from a Triune Jehovah. She was resurrection morn, when Christ will come in the clouds, and the trumpet will sound, and the dead (in Christ) shall be raised incorruptible-immortal. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. is thy sting?" Many friends had a desire to see O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where the lines appear in the VESSEL; and should you think them worthy a place therein, I should be pleased. Yours respectfully,

ON DEATH.

E. APPLETON.

SHOULD death invade this mortal frame,
And lay me in the dust,

O, could I in that hour proclaim
God's sentence is but just!
Could I look on my nothingness,
And see I'm nought but sin,
A guilty wretch of filthiness,
Vile, debased, unclean!

Stand on the brink of Jordan's flood,
In such a frame as this,

And hope to live in realms above,
In everlasting bliss.

Yes, I could look on death's grim face,
And greet him as a friend,
To bear me to that heavenly place
Where tears and sorrows end.
For though in self I'm poor and weak,
IN CHRIST I'm rich and STRONG;
He came, the lame and blind to seek,
And lead them safe along.
He found me in my lost estate,
Polluted in my blood;

I looked on him-'twas not too late,
For oh, the time was love.

I stood beneath his searching eye,
Trembling, ashamed, undone;
"Fear not!" my Saviour gently cried,
"For thee I've pardon won.
Instead of you, on me was laid
The curse of sin and death;
On Calvary's tree the debt I paid,
With my expiring breath.
The monster death then lost its sting,
Its power the soul to fright,
That lives in me, and I in him,
In everlasting life."

Он, weeр not for that pallid form!

For she can hear no cry!

Weep not for her, for she has gone

To live beyond the sky.

She's taken from a world of care;

Her happy soul is blest;

She's saved from sin's bewitching snare, Her spirit is at rest.

But oh, I could not check the tear

That dims a mother's eye,

To see her only child, that's dear,
Senseless before her lie.

But oh, remember, He who gave,
Has right to take away;

There was no darkness in the grave
To her, it all was day.

ON THE DEATH OF MY COUSIN.

OUR life is like a slender web,

It snaps when scarce a breath is blown. Youth cannot keep us from the dead, Nor love, when once the arrow 's thrown. The noblest heart, the fairest form,

Must sleep, at last, in death's embrace; The gayest soul shall feel forlorn

While gazing on its pallid face.
Impartial is the hand of death;
The young, the aged, all must fall;
Careless of those he has bereft,

And deaf to their lamentous call.
Then what's the life of mortal man?
His body is but mould'ring clay;
The longest life is but a span,—
'We flourish-wither-in a day.
Then look beyond the grave, my soul,
And seek for fairer worlds on high;
That when your body's in the mould,
Your spirit lives beyond the sky.

Old Kent Road.

HANNAH LOUISA APPLeton.

A VISION.

"For God speaketh once, yea twice, in a dream, in a vision of the night; then he opened the ears of men, and sealed their instruction," Job xiv. 14---16.

Now sickness, toil, and doubt depress me,
Dark forebodings fill my breast;
And dreams of sin and death distress me:
Sin doth mar man's rosy rest.

Methought true happiness was pleasure;
And 'mid scenes of gay delight
I sought her, as men seek for treasure,
Through the day and dewy night:

To danger lost, and deaf to warning,
Still I trod sin's flowery way:

Stopt by a dream that hell was yawning
Near, I shuddered with dismay :

DEATH is still doing his work. He is executing the high commission of heaven, by taking one and another home to their eternal rest. Thus he has done with our brother, Thomas Girling, who departed this life on June the 20th, 1855.

He was many years a consistent member of that branch of the church of Christ, meeting in Meard's Court, Soho, under the pastoral care of that distinguished, and pre-eminent divine, Mr. John Stevens, but now under the pastoral care of Mr. John Edgar Bloomfield, whose labours are not in vain in the Lord.

Our brother Girling was a plain, straightforward, unpolished, but well-meaning man, and not only so, but " The root of the matter was found in him;" in other words, the principal of divine grace was implanted in his soul, or, Christ formed in his heart, the hope of glory. He was a tried man, but his heart was right with God, who sustained and supported him, amid all his tribulations, and though not enriched with the riches of this world, he was rich in faith, hope, and love, and an heir of the kingdom of glory.

His mortal remains were deposited in the Norwood cemetry, on Wednesday, June 27th, attended by his relatives, in a respectful and solemn manner, who, though they mourned and wept at their loss, yet did greatly rejoice at his eternal gain. The address delivered at the grave by Mr. Aldridge, was serious, instructive, and impressive, and comforting to the bereaved widow. The funeral was well conducted by brother Phillips, of St. Martin's Lane, who favoured us with his good company; and I trust the Lord was in our midst.

The following is the copy of a letter I received from him a short time before his decease, which will shew in whom he trusted, and on what his hopes were founded for life and salvation :

"Dear brother and sister after the flesh but I hope and trust that we are brothers and

THE OLD BAPTIST MEETING AT

CARLTON, BEDS.

CHURCHES.

think about her state was the Lord taking away from her a sweet child; and one of the young men that was baptised on Christmashim, "Would you like to see my child?" and saying he had no objection, she took him into the room where the babe lay, and while he stood looking on, he said, "Ah, the child is happy." After our good brother had left, she began to think of what he had said; after some time it came to her mind like a clap of thunder, that her child was in heaven, but if the Lord had taken her she should have been in hell; she saw and felt herself to be a great sinner in the sight of God; and stood filled with wonder, that the Lord had borne with her so long, and expected every moment that either the earth would open and swallow her up, or God would strike her dead. Well do I remember the sorrow of her heart the day that

MY DEAR BROTHER,-We have had a baptizing here again. I think a more solemn one than on Christmas-day last. We began our service at eight in the morning of Sabbath-day, the 29th of July. Our large meeting was filled by a vast number of godly persons, and by some who had been companions of those that were that morning to tell what great things the Lord had done for them. We began by singing; after which one of our deacons, in a solemn manner and with much enlargement of heart, drew near the throne and mercy-seat of our great High Priest; sought the Lord's blessing and presence; and pleaded much for those that were coming to tell out the Lord's goodness towards them: many of us could say that it was good to be there. After prayer, we sang a verse, then one of the females came forward who, after looking up to the Lord, began by saying that rather more than eighteen months she came to meeting in the afternoon, when it fell to my lot to preach a funeral sermon for one of our aged members: the text was, "For we must all die, and are like water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up" it pleased him who hath said, "Thus far shalt thou go, but no farther," to send text and sermon into her heart, and to give her such a sight and sense of her sinnership in and before the Lord, that she was laid down low in her soul's feelings; her distress of soul on account of sin and the worth and safety of her soul, appeared more than her body was able to bear up under. She became a constant visitor at the house of God; the Spirit taught her to cry for mercy; most sweetly did she tell out how she had heard different sermons; the castings down and the liftings up; the hopes and fears, till a sermon from this text "I will lead the blind in a way that they knew not: and in paths that they had not known:" this sermon was much blest to her soul; she was brought into liberty, and had peace and joy in believing. The second female began by saying, the first thing that led her to

had to commit her little one to the grave; and while at tea with her and her husband; but I did not know the state of her mind; the anguish of her heart. She continued in great distress of soul about her sinnership: some little after she came to meeting, when I spoke from the words of Paul, "I die daily." She has often told us how she did cry and pray to God that he would but permit her to hear a something that day that would do her poor soul good, and soften her hard heart; how she sat in the pew that afternoon and wept under that sermon: the Holy Ghost by that sermon made such an impression that time, trouble, or death, will never efface. From that day she came to meeting constantly: to use her own words, she came praying "Lord, let this be the time, the day, that I shall hear something to do my soul good." It was a melting season to hear both the females speak of the love of Christ before such a congregation. Then came one of the men, who had been one of the greatest drunkards that could be; he had been more like a beast than a human being; but now is proving the truth of God's word, "The lion is turned into the lamb:" he gave a pleasing and correct account of his conversion, and how he was met with under a sermon I preached from the words-" And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit." It was a solemn sight to see him stand just like a little child! to see the swearer become a praying man; who once had nothing to wear but rags, now with a good suit of clothes on his back and Christ in his heart. It brought to my mind what the late Matthew Wilks said to a young man that I then knew, as we both attended the Tabernacle; this young man had but one arm, and he was settled in life, and he went to Matthew to speak to him about joining the church; and seeing him with such a good suit of clothes on, after hearing what he had to say, said to him, "Young man, where and how did you get that good suit of clothes ?" He gave this firm an