Showeth,

"That your petitioners are fully of opinion that war, upon whatever pretext it is engaged in, is inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity, and the true interests of mankind; and that the practice of having recourse to arms for the purpose of settling disputes, cannot but be displeasing to Almighty God: whilst it is fraught with unnumbered evils to all parties connected with it, and is altogether unavailing for the equitable adjustment of such disputes:

"That your petitioners do consequently regard the existence of large military establishments as an evil on all accounts to be

deprecated by every lover of peace and good government; and as repugnant to the free spirit of the British constitution :

"Your petitioners do therefore pray your honourable house, that there may be no increase whatever made to the existing military establishments of the empire; and that your honourable house will take into their most serious consideration, the propriety of immediately adopting such measures as may, by your honourable house, be deemed most suitable and effective for removing the fearful temptation to war, which such establishments present :-and,

"Your petitioners are the more encouraged to urge this upon the attention of your honourable house, because, in common with their fellow-subjects at large, they have received with unfeigned satisfaction, the confident announcement made from the throne at the opening of the present session of parliament, that the general peace, so necessary for the happiness and prosperity of all nations,' is expected to continue uninterrupted.'

"And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."

VERNON CHAPEL, PENTONVILLE.

On Tuesday, March the 12th, 1844, the large and commodious school room under this chapel was opened for divine worship for the church and congregation under the pastoral care of the Rev. Owen Clarke, removing from Elim Chapel, Fetter Lane, until Vernon Chapel is completed, when the Rev. Mr. Davis of Keppel Street read the scriptures and offered prayer; after which the Rev. F. A. Cox, D.D., of Hackney, delivered a most appropriate and

admirable discourse to a congregation of near 400 persons. Prior to this service about 250 friends took tea together in the school room. Dr. Cox presided on the occasion, supported by several esteemed brethren in the ministry.

Lord's day, March the 17th, two sermons were preached on behalf of the building fund, in the morning by the pastor, and in the evening by the Rev. H. Dobson of Orange Street. On both occasions the attendance was of the most encouraging description, and fully sustained the hopes indulged by the friends of this truly interesting effort to enlarge the cause of the Redeemer, that by his blessing their labours will be crowned with much success. Vernon Chapel is advancing towards completion. The opening services are likely to take place in May next.

THE DESIGN OF AFFLICTION. To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. SIR, I have no wish to forestall any of your "talented correspondents" in a reply to the query of M. in your last number; but in the absence of better, perhaps the following observations may supply the querist with the information he seeks.

The question proposed is, Whether it be right or wrong for a Christian in affliction of whatever kind, to examine his character and conduct with a view to discovering what connexion there may be between past sin and present sorrow. And is this, indeed, " a subject of dispute?" In my simplicity I have always been led to believe self-examination to be the duty of every Christian under all circumstances; and to what end is it to be exercised if not to the searching out and correction of evil? So far from that ceasing to be a duty in adversity, sickness, or bereavement, which is binding in times of prosperity, health, and comfort, the Christian will surely, with humility and earnestness, make use of the dispensations of providence as aids to reflection; and "in the day of adversity, consider."

So very evident does this seem, that I cannot help suspecting another meaning than appears on the surface of our friend s inquiry. Perhaps he would ask, 1st. Should not afflictions excite a suspicion in the minds of those exercised by them that some secret sin has been previously indulged? or 2nd. Are not special trying visitations" a decided proof of God's displeasure? and 3rd. Are not fellow Christians justified in taking up a reproach against one whom the Lord so palpably condemns? Will you, sir, allow space for a few remarks on each of these supposed questions?

1st. By all means let the tried and tempted Christian suspect himself. Let him ask, "Why hast thou dealt with me thus ? Is there not a cause ?" He believes that his heavenly Father does not grieve him willingly; that he never afflicts his children without an adequate design; and that one of these designs is the punishment of sin. If, then, he have suffered in his circumstances, let him ask himself, with deep earnestness, whether he had not been cherishing a love of the world: if in his health, whether he had sufficiently consecrated it to the glory of God: if in his family, whether he had been in danger of loving father or mother, son or daughter, more than the Saviour? Searching inquiries such as

these, prompted by jealous suspicion, are never out of place; certainly not when that suspicion is induced by the appearance of a withdrawment of the divine favour. "Happy is the man that feareth always ;" and let his fear produce corresponding fruits, and he will probably have reason to say,

"Kind, gentle, is the hand that smites,
However keen the smart ;

If sorrow's discipline can chase

One evil from the heart."

2nd. No: afflictions are not decided proofs of God's displeasure; they are sometimes decided indications of his approbation and complacency. I have just observed that one design of affliction is the punishment of sin; but there are other designs. In other words, afflictions are sometimes laid upon the believer in which punishment has no part. I have no wish to contravene the plain language of the apostle Paul, to which your correspondent refers; nor can I conceive how it can be considered as "merely figurative," except as the terms "rebuking,” ""chastening," "correcting," "scourging," must be understood as applying to temporal sufferings of one kind or another; but I do not think that by these terms the idea of punishment-only is conveyed. On the contrary, another reason is given in connexion with the words quoted. It is," that we might be partakers of his holi

ness,"

Allow me also to direct your correspondent's attention to 2 Cor. iv. 17, and I think he may safely conclude that afflictions are sometimes made instrumental in increasing the holiness of their subject here, and of adding to his "weight of glory" hereafter, altogether unconnected with the idea of punishment for any particular sin. May I be allowed an illustration. The vaccination of a child is attended with pain, but a wise father does not shrink from its infliction-not as a punishment, but as a means of future purification and safety. "And lest I should be," said Paul,-not, because I was,-" Lest I should be exalted above measure, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh." And so it is sometimes with the Christian now.

3rd. "Ye have heard of the patience of Job," said the apostle; and, let it be added, Ye have heard of the friends of Job; and "ye have seen the end of the Lord."

I feel disposed to subjoin a query which ought, I think, to take its place side by side with that of M.

Is it not the duty of every Christian who has never, or very rarely, "been visited with

DEAR SIR,-The question proposed last month on the subject of affliction, viz., whether in the discipline of his people, God ever means to punish them for their sins, is one of considerable importance. Observations, from any quarter, that may contribute the smallest additional distinctness to such a subject, can hardly be unacceptable to many readers, for the difficulty implied in the mere proposal of the question, is pretty widely experienced.

It will probably not be doubted-to advert to first principles-that all affliction, that is, all suffering, has its origin in sin. It cannot possibly have any other source. God never could, from pure choice, have summoned it into existence; although, as an equitable Ruler, he could decide that it should uniformly come in the train of transgression.

Sin being universal, its consequences are also universal. It is the doom of our whole race to suffer. There is no tribe, or class, or individual who can claim exemption. The righteous and the wicked are blended in the same shipwreck, and when one casts the eye over mankind, no distinction is apparent in the manner in which they are dealt with.

This suffering, under the dispensation of mercy, within the bounds of which the whole world lives, is made to subserve good results. It is not a simple evil or an absolute punishment; it is offered as the means of moral improvement to every man. It comes to those who live in contempt of God as a witness against sin, and as a proof that happiness must be sought for in compliance with the divine requirements. The more the subject is investigated, even by natural reason, the more it becomes evident that departure from God is attended with sorrow, and that true happiness is enjoyed in exact proportion as his character is conformed to.

course is effected for him through the medium of his own vigilance and faith, and only in proportion as these are in exercise can the fruits of this harvest be gathered in; yet the general promise is "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose."

It is here that to some minds the difficulty occurs how God can afflict his people on account of sins which he has already pardoned, and evince displeasure with those whom he regards with infinite love. But a distinct conception of the relationship which a believer sustains to God removes all difficulty from this point. It is as a Judge that God acquits us of sin, and treats us as if we were innocent; but as a Father he is not blind to our transgressions, or restrained from visiting us with chastisement. He no longer views us as criminals set apart to bear the the punishment of their unrighteousness; but he certainly regards us as children who need correction for offences against his love, and whose characters cannot be improved except by such means.

Such discipline perfectly accords with the Christian's natural expectations. No general assurance of divine love; no contemplation of divine tenderness can wash away from his conscience the conviction that he has sinned, and that God, by the necessity of his own purity, must express displeasure with those sins. His instinctive cry under the first stroke of affliction is, "Show wherefore thou contendest with me."

It is to be reckoned as one of the privileges peculiar to the believer, that those chastisements are directed by an omniscient Guardian to the actual evils under which he labours. A very short, if an honest, examination, in most cases, suffices to reveal to him a significant adaptation to his soul of the time, the circumstances, the nature, and the severity of his trials. The High Priest could hardly fail to perceive in the misconduct of his sons an intimation of God's displeasure with his indolence as a parent, and his neglect as a minister of religion. The words of Shimei, which stirred up the resentment of David's followers, served only to bring to the recollection of the afflicted king, the crimes by which his later life had been stained. And the "messenger of Satan which" pursued Paul for so long a period, had such a direct bearing on certain tendencies of his naturally ambitious mind, that, although his Lord had alluded to it only in the most

object, saying without any reserve or hesitation that it was, lest he should be "exalted above measure.'

This direct reference to a particular sin, although in all cases to be sought for, may not always become discernible. But this is not necessarily a disadvantage. Such am

biguity is probably intended to lead to a more comprehensive investigation of all possible causes. Just, indeed, as in the bodily frame a local evil is often to be removed only by infusing vigour into the general system, so a particular deficiency or inconsistency in the conduct is frequently to be remedied by no other means than an elevation of the habitual spirituality of the soul. Afflictions may therefore be expected in many cases to have only this general design. But never let the child of God fear to look upon them as, for the most part, involving some degree of displeasure-a displeasure which is perfectly consistent with the exercise of love, and which is in fact a positive manifestation of love. Is it no consolation to be assured that we shall not be permitted to continue at ease in iniquity? that we shall not be suffered to sink under the fatal drowsiness of the world? Would it it not destroy all genuine comfort in a renewed soul to be required to regard God as a being of unmixed leniency, instead of one who united with that quality the attributes of holiness and fidelity, and was at all times prepared, if needful, to reveal his love in the form of disapproval, and to exhibit his tenderness in acts of paternal chastisement?

The writer, on these grounds, cannot but reply, and that thankfully, in the negative, to the inquiry of last month, "Whether it be altogether wrong to suppose that our heavenly Father ever corrects his childen while in this world for any particular declension, indulgence, or sin into which they may fall." Liverpool.

C. M. B.

WRITINGS OF EARLY ENGLISH BAPTISTS.

SIR,-Allow me to suggest as worthy of consideration, whether circumstances and the aspect of the times, do not render it important, if not necessary, that the writings of the early founders of the "baptized congregations" should be made more accessible to the members of our churches. For the most part they are scarce, and to be found only in large libraries or in private collections, and therefore, comparatively closed to the general reader. As the writings of men who held their principles often at the cost of life, they are deeply interesting,-as containing the elements, and frequently the full development, of those principles of religious and civil liberty which have ever characterized our body, -they are of great value. And these are times when the example and living energy of our forefathers may aid us in a somewhat similar conflict.

The republication of these works would prove that the baptist body were by no means deficient in able and learned expounders of their sentiments, and that a fair proportion of their number were men eminent for their attainments both in classical and divine

knowledge; and that while they maintained with the famous Samuel How, "The Sufficiency of the Spirit's Teaching without Humane Learning," they yet esteemed human learning in its appropriate sphere, and were not destitute of it. The great struggle in which they were engaged is yet to be brought to a triumphant close, and their weapons must be ours.

The historical value of these works is also great. They treat on subjects, which at the time stirred to its inmost depths the popular mind, influencing to a very great degree the development of public events. The great conflict of the seventeenth century was very much a religious one. The various combatants fought for the establishment of divine as well as civil right, and a distorted view will be taken of the one unless corrected by a knowledge of the other. As theological works they are characterized by fervour of spirit, deep study of the word of God, great facility of application of divine truths to passing events, a holy attachment to the truth as it is in Jesus, clear and pungent exhibitions of the way of life. Some of them are now regarded by the universal church as its dearest possessions next to the word of God.

There is also wanting for our congregational and family libraries works of this kind. As a body it is to be feared we are extremely ignorant of the rise, struggles, and growth of those principles which we hold, and of the great and good men who lost all in the maintenance of them. Our young people need information on these points. With the exception of a few popular works frequently reprinted, they are entirely unacquainted with them.

Such a republication is also necessary in our own defence. We may not look for a just representation of our sentiments by other bodies. Past experience forbids the hope. And now that the Parker and Wycliffe societies are reprinting the works of those who were the bitterest oppressors and calumniators of the first confessors of our faith in this land, it would ill become us to be so faithless to the character and piety of our forefathers as not to provide their own reply to the charges of their enemies, strengthened by the support which modern researches into the history of those times supply.

The success of the societies just referred to, and the desirableness of the object, seems to afford ample encouragement that sufficient subscribers would be found, and that thus works may be perpetuated which are daily becoming more precious and costly by their scarcity. It is unnecessary to discuss at present the extent to which such republication should proceed, or the form in which the works should appear. I wish only to bring the subject before your readers generally, and

PARENTAL INTERFERENCE WITH BAPTISM.

SIR,-A young man of sixteen years of age is converted under my ministry; he applies to me for baptism; I feel satisfied with his character, and agree to administer to him that ordinance. His father, a pious man, but a pædobaptist, objects to his son being immersed on a profession of faith, and requires him to abstain from carrying out his intention. I beg leave to ask on this case:-1. Should I advise the youth to postpone his baptism? 2. May I consider that the father acts, as a Christian, improperly in preventing his son following out his convictions; or would his consistency be impugned by permitting his child to observe what he regards as unscriptural ?

Yours much obliged,

March 10, 1844.

A JUNIOR PASTOR.

EDITORIAL POSTSCRIPT.

A "village pastor" complains that within the last two years he has received twenty-nine circulars, chiefly chapel cases, which have cost him four-pence each. His residence is four miles from a post office, and the custom is in such cases to charge for every letter one pennyper mile. He mentions the case of another. village pastor, whose salary is under £30 per annum, and who has to pay for every letter sixpence. This deserves the attention of all who issue circulars, especially when the object is not the advantage of the recipients but of the senders. In such cases, justice demands that in letters sent to places at a distance from post towns, as many penny stamps should be inclosed as will compensate the receiver for the compulsory payment to which he is subjected. Unless care be taken, the strenuous supporters of the voluntary system may unconsciously impose a tax for religious purposes on that very portion of the community which is the least able to bear it.

Our friend Mr. Cramp expects to embark for Canada, with his family, in five or six days. A valedictory service is to be held at Maze

The secretaries of the Baptist Union inform us that the thirty-second annual session will be held at the Mission House, Moorgate Street, and will be opened on Thursday, April the 18th, 1844, at ten o'clock. The Rev. Robert Roff of Cambridge, in the chair. The session will be further held at the same place, by adjournment, on Monday, April the 23rd, at ten o'clock. The public meeting of the Union will be held at Devonshire Square Chapel, on Thursday April the 25th, at half-past six o'clock. The Union is expected to adjourn for refreshments, and to resume business in the afternoon.

The ministers educated at Stepney College are invited to breakfast together at the Guildhall Coffee House, King Street, Cheapside, on Tuesday morning, April the 23rd, at halfpast eight o'clock precisely; the attendance of all being specially desired. The ministers educated at Bradford are also to breakfast together in the same house, and at the same time.

The day fixed for the proposed Anti-StateChurch Conference, in which many of our thirtieth of April. It is expected that it will readers doubtless take a lively interest, is the three successive days. Papers on several hold morning and evening sittings, during questions are to be read to the conference, we are informed, and will be the basis of its deliberations: these, Doctors Cox of Hackney, Young of Perth, and Wardlaw of Glasgow, and Messrs. Mursell, Boothby, and Edward Miall, have engaged to prepare. It will be open however to every representative to bring forward any relevant motion on giving a The place for meeting prescribed notice. is the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand.

Mr. J. Birch requests us to announce, as ready for publication, a work which he has translated from the German, entitled, The Religious Life and Opinions of Frederick William III., King of Prussia.