The text says, that it" purifies the heart." The connexion in which these words are introduced is very observable. A controversy had arisen in the church of Antioch, as to whether or not it was necessary that the Gentile converts should undergo the rite of circumcision. Accordingly, the Apostles Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem to consult with the other apostles and elders on the subject. St. Peter, who did not consider the Jewish rites to be necessary for the new disciples, rose and declared to the assembly in what a wonderful manner God had converted the Gentiles by his ministry; and to shew that their conversion was genuine, and that they were become true Christians, and needed not any initiatory Jewish rites, he adds, "And put no difference between them and us, purifying their hearts by faith." As though he had said, "It is superfluous to contend whether or not the Gentiles can become Christians without the ceremonial rites; for I bring you a case exactly in point, of some who actually are such; who, without eircumcision, are equally privileged with ourselves, God having purified their hearts by faith. It is useless, therefore, any longer to dispute whether this rite is necessary in order to make persons holy, for these Gentiles are made holy without it; and far more effectually so than they could have been by any merely eeremonial observance." Thus we see that St. Peter speaks of faith as purifying the heart; he considers this as its undoubted character; and argues that all those must be genuine Christians whose hearts are thus cleansed by its influence. But perhaps, in applying the subject to yourselves, you may be ready to reply that you are Christians because you have been baptized. But these Gentiles also had been baptized; yet St. Peter does not urge this as an argument to shew CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 252. that they were the real disciples of Christ: he knew that persons might be outwardly baptized, and yet not prove genuine converts: he therefore appeals to a very different evidence their hearts were purified by faith. This was that inward baptism with fire by the Spirit of God which is accomplished in all the true disciples of Jesus Christ. Inquire, therefore, not merely whether you are Christians in name, or by baptism and profession, but whether you have that faith which purifies the heart. Have you become holy in your affections, and heavenly-minded in your spirit? Do you possess a new principle at war with sin, and with every thing that is opposed to God? Are the corruptions of your evil nature in any measure subdued; and are you anxious for their complete subjugation? A Christian education may enlighten the understanding, or an affecting discourse impress the feelings; but saving faith only can purify the heart. St. Paul mentions another character of saving faith-that it works by love. In the passage in which he introduces this remark, he is speaking on nearly the same subject as St. Peter in the text; namely, that in Christ Jesus the rite of cirumcision availed nothing: matters of mere form and ceremony were of very inferior consideration; faith was the great point; not, however, a dead inoperative faith, but, says St. Peter, "faith that purifieth the beart;" not a mere notion without any effect upon the principles or conduct, but, says St. Paul, "faith that worketh by love." And without this practical faith, our Christian baptism is equally useless with the Jewish corresponding rite. It is delightful to witness the operation of this principle in the life of a true Christian, elevating him in holy affection to his Maker and Redeemer and Purifier; and expanding his soul in universal be 5 F nevolence to all mankind. And is it not clear that those who do not pray to God, who do not praise him, who do not serve him, cannot have this faith which worketh by love? Is it not also equally clear, that those who indulge envy, hatred, malice, or uncharitableness towards their fellow-creatures, are uninfluenced by this heavenly principle? We have heard the language of the Apostles Peter and Paul respecting the operations of faith; a third Apostle, St. John, adds yet another property-that it “ over cometh the world." And nothing else could obtain such a conquest. "Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" Surely no one: all other persons are its willing captives. They do not desire to overcome it; on the contrary, they are grieved that they have not more of its possessions and enjoyments. They eagerly follow those pomps and vanities which they vowed in their baptism to renounce. They will not give up some favourite worldly temptation, though they are conscious that their salvation is at stake. They follow a multitude to do evil: they are in the world and of the world; and thus too plainly prove that they have not that faith whose properties have been described. Let me then, in conclusion, address a word to persons thus circumstanced. Surely you must perceive the necessity of a principle of which as yet you are destitute. In the Scriptures you read continually of walking by faith, of being purified by faith, of being sanctified by faith; of Christians being mutually comforted by faith; of living by faith, of standing by faith, of fighting the good fight of faith, of being justified by faith, of Christ dwelling in men's hearts through faith, of having access to God by faith, and various similar expressions. Now, are all these scriptural phrases devoid of meaning; or, is it that there is more in religion than you have hitherto experienced? Without doubt the latter is the right answer. You have a name, a form, but you are destitute of true faith. "All men," says the Apostle, "have not faith." And what, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, shall be the lot of those who are thus characterized? Our Lord affirms, "Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but whosoever believeth not"--even though he may have been baptized-"shall be condemned." And in another place, "Whoso believeth not is condemned already." The sentence is past, and, unless averted in time, will most certainly be executed. And how is it to be averted? You can be justified only by faith in the Saviour; for there is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. Come then to his cross; trust in his sacrifice : He is able and willing to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Your offended Creator will mercifully receive you : he will adopt you into his family; he will guide and sanctify you by his Holy Spirit; and at length, after faith and patience have had their perfect work, will receive you up into glory. He is the bestower of faith as of every other good gift: beseech him therefore to create in you this heavenly principle, and to increase it daily unto everlasting life. Emulate that illustrious band of saints and martyrs whose triumphs are recorded by St. Paul; of whom the world was not worthy, but who obtained a good report through faith. Being compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset you, and run with patience the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. In weakness, look to Him for strength; in templation, for victory; in affliction, for sup Exod. vii. 18. The Egyptians shall loath to drink of the water of the river. This was a severe infliction, especially when we consider the great estimation in which the water of the Nile was held, and the peculiar delight which the Egyptians expressed in partaking of it. Of this circumstance, the following is a remarkable instance. "The water is immediately fresh, without any brackish intermixture: but the overflowing stream being then at its height, was deeply impregnated with mud: that, however, did not deter the thirsty mariners from drinking of it profusely. If I were to live five hundred years, I shall never forget the eagerness with which they let down and pulled up the pitcher, and drank off its contents, whistling and smacking their fingers, and calling out tayeep, tayeep, good, good,' as if bid ding defiance to the whole world to produce such another draught. Most of the party, induced by their example, tasted also of the far-famed waters, and, having tasted, pronounced them of the finest relish, notwithstanding the pollution of clay and mud with which they were contaminated: a decision which we never had occasion to revoke during the whole time of our stay in Egypt, or even since. The water in Albania is good, but the water of the Nile is the finest in the world."-Richardson's Travels along the Mediterranean, vol. 1. p. 33. See also Turner's Tour in the Levant, vol. II. p. 511; Belzoni's Researches in Egypt, p. 345. Matt. vi. 5. They love to pray. standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.-Such was the ostentatious devotion of the Pharisees. Retirement and privacy were not considered either as necessary or desirable in prayer. This part of their conduct is still imitated by many persons, especially among the Mohammedans. "An aged Turk is particularly proud of a long flow-. ing white beard, a well shaved cheek and head, and a clean turban. It is a common thing to see such characters, far past the bloom of life, mounted on stone seats, with a bit of Persian carpet, at the corner of the streets, or in front of their bazars, combing their beards, smoking their pipes, or drinking their coffee, with a pitcher of water standing beside them, or saying their prayers, or reading the koran."-Richardson's Travels, vol. I. p. 75. See Job xxix. 7; 1 Sam. iv. 13; Morier's Second Journey through Persia, p. 208; Travels of Ali Bey, vol. I. p. 17. Matt. xxi. 7. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon." The fellahs, or peasants, who were engaged in cultivating the fields in the neighbourhood, observed our landing, and brought down their miserable asses withou saddles or bridles, to help us through the sand. The place of saddles was supplied by their thick woollen plaids, which were folded and laid on the backs of the animals and as the Egyptian ponies require more driving than curbing, they were guided by the same instrument by which they were knocked and goaded along on their journeys."-Richardson's Travels, vol. I. p. 120. Jer. viii. 7. The crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming. The migration and periodical flight of birds, instinctive as they must certainly be considered, are yet peculiarly demonstrative of the providential superintendence of the Creator. The natural history of the crane furnishes striking evidence of this assertion. "Immediately after landing, we were surprized and delighted with a flight of birds, which we discerned at first like a thick dark speck in the heavens, which gradually enlarged as it approached, and discovered at length the array and order of their fight. They wheeled along their airy movements, in the form of a semicircle, enclosing within itself numbers of smaller circles; the component parts of which were constantly shifting their relative positions, advancing to the front, as if by a sudden impulse, then falling back to the rear, alternately occupying and giving place to others. The lively competition was constantly maintained, each of them every instant passing or passed by his fellow. All was grace and harmony, not one discordant movement throughout the whole array; every thing appeared as if regulated by a preconcerted plan, in which every member understood and performed his part with freedom and precision, alike the subordinates and the superiors. They were too high in the air for us to hear any noise from the steerage of their wings, or to know what species of birds they were, but we judged them to be cranes. They held on their steady flight from north to south, following the course of the river, as far as the eye could accompany them." Richardson's Travels, vol. I. p. 378. Proverbs iii. 28. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee.-They had opened and explored a temple at Absambul. It is then added; " Here a most disagreeable scene occurred between the workmen and a revengeful Arab. The field of our operations was directly under the precipitous front of the temple, and the boatmen had no sooner commenced their labours, than an Arab, who had taken possession of the height immediately above, proceeded to roll down large stones upon them. Fortunately no person was hurt; but all were instantly dislodged, and greatly alarmed. The stones that he rolled down with such remorseless vengeance, were more than sufficient to have killed any man, even had they fallen from a height less considerable than that from which they were precipitated. On looking up, the enemy was soon discovered, by no means shrinking or attempting to conceal himself, but, bold and daring in his attack, threatened a renewal of hostilities on the first man who should resume the operation. He was summoned to retire; but, no, he had chosen his ground, and would not quit the advantageous post that made one man a match for so many. There was no time for parleying, he might soon have been supported by hundreds, which would have rendered negotiation more difficult, and opposition on our part less effective. Aware of this, Lord Belmore desired an English sailor, who by this time had come up with a musket in his hand, to fire a ball within a small distance of his head, so as just to let him hear the sound of it. The order was instantly obeyed, and had the effect of making him crouch down behind an elevation in the rock. Several other shots were fired at him, from other quarters, and our assailant began to feel that his post was not quite so tenable as he had at first conceived it to be: and looking up from behind his entrenchment, and seeing the same sailor, who had fired the first shot at him, now levelling a pistol to hit him more directly, he instantly got up, and took to his heels. Our swift-footed Greek, who by this time had scaled the height, pursued him for a great way into the desert, wishing to take him prisoner, and thereby prevent him from alarming his tribe, or giving us any further annoyance, till we should have satisfied ourselves with the temple, and then a short time would put us out of their reach; but the swift-footed Greek, after having for a considerable time equalled the pace of, without being able to overtake, his antagonist, abandoned the chace of the swifter footed Arab, and returned without his prey. On inquiring into the cause of this most extraordinary and unprovoked aggression on the part of the Arab, which still appeared the more unaccountable, as he had been very civil and complaisant to us the night before, we found that it arose from the following circumstance, and that we had our interpreter to blame for the whole affray. This poor man was the owner of the fine crop of barley that grew on the edge of the river, close to where we landed; and there being no grass in the place, Lord Belmore desired the interpreter to ask his permission to pasture the goats upon it till to-morrow, when we should be going away; and that he would then compensate him for whatever damage they should have done to his crop. To this the Arab most cheerfully and readily consented: and politely hinted, that two milch goats could not do much injury to his corn, for the short time that we proposed to remain: and went off to his home, happy and contented, and fricudly disposed to wards us. On returning to visit us next morning, he made up to the interpreter, and asked for his promised baxiss, that was to indemnify him for the injury which his property had sustained. The interpreter, instead of learning the amount, and satisfying him by discharging it, endeavoured to put him off, under the pretence of not having money about him, and desired him to have patience, or to wait a little. The pretence and delay made him perfectly frantic : he became quite abusive, imagining that the interpreter, by attempting to put him off a little, did not mean to indemnify him at all; for in their intercourse with one another, when a person defers any transaction of this kind till to-mor row, which he might as well do today, they think he has no very serious intention of doing it at all: and in their colloquial language, bouchára, which signifies to-morrow, is often taken in an acceptation synonymous with never. Such was the construction which the Arab put upon the words of the interpreter, and such was the plan of revenge which he adopted. On hearing this account of the business, all of us were extremely sorry for the poor Arab. It was impossible now to indemnify him in any way for his loss, or to convince him that the word of an Englishman is as good as his money: and that though wait a little,' may be equivalent to never,' in Arabic, it is not so in English; and that a whole party ought not to be attacked because the interpreter did not choose to obey the commands of his master.' - Richardson's Travels, vol. I. p. 432. See also Dodwell's Tour through Greece, vol. II. p. 15. Matt. vi. 7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.-The following extract furnishes us with an exemplification of the conduct which our Lord |