this transitory life, all desires of filthy lucre, and all ambitious views, apply yourself wholly to kindle and cherish the flame of genuine piety. Take care that the least of Christ's sheep, which you are now appointed to feed, perish. not through your faultiness or neglect. Suffer not your sacred functions to be interrupted by any affairs which savour too much of the spirit of this world. As a faithful steward of the mysteries of God, dispense them at all times, both in public and private. On the ruins of idolatry, set up altars in the hearts of men to the only living and true God; that you may thereby extend the name and doctrine of his only begotten Son, may keep the faith which he has committed to your care, may establish his kingdom, may increase the number of his subjects, may ensure obedience to his laws, may carry on, in short, incessantly and successfully, the whole work of redemption among the Gentiles, that the blind and wandering may have light, the ignorant may be instructed, the doubting may be grounded in the truth, the wretched may be comforted, and those who are perishing may enjoy deliverance and salvation.

"And be not in any wise disheartened by the importance and number of those duties to the discharge of which you are appointed. I mean not to discourage you, but I cannot wholly pass them over in silence. It is yours then to relieve and comfort an innumerable multitude, far removed and long alienated from God, the common Father of us all, enslaved to idols, immersed in darkness through the errors and ignorance of their leaders, or rather through the deceitful wiles of the devil, depraved in their morals, and groaning under the weight of the greatest miseries; it is yours to lead them as it were by the hand to the light of Gospel-truth, to the benefits of the Covenant of Grace, to the inexhaustible fountain of Divine Mercy, to the invincible protection

of his power, and to the stedfast hope of everlasting happiness. And, if you seriously consider with yourself the importance of these duties, not only with respect to the end proposed, but likewise to the means which are to be employed in the prosecution of them, and the high degree of perfection to which they may be advanced, with what ardour will you be inflamed, how strenuously will you exert yourself, how fervently will you pray, that you may manfully and thoroughly accomplish the work which is given you to do?

"Nor are you left entirely to yourself in the design in which you are engaging; but, besides the Divine assistance enabling you to enter upon this course and to make a continual progress in it, you are so happy as to find a great and effectual door opened to you, and to have the illustrious example of your fellow-labourer, the worthy and Reverend Mr. Swartz by whose unwearied diligence, amiable discretion, and incredible labours, the work of the ministry has, within these few years, to the great joy and astonishment of this Society, made so rapid a progress in the kingdom of Tanjore. If, then, considering him not only as a friend and colleague, but as a most skilful leader, you tread in his footsteps, and imitate his faith, his zeal, and his virtues, how will the solid experience of the one, the cheerful emulation of the other, the joint endeavours of both, give weight and efficacy to pure religion, and conduce to the desired enlargement of the kingdom of Christ!

"Take courage, then, beloved brother, and seize the favourable opportunity of entering cheerfully upon this spiritual warfare, not terrified by any adversaries, nor even daunted by the powers of darkness. Your Lord and Master, in whose cause you are engaged, for whose glory you are labouring, is ever present with you, invested with boundless power in heaven and on

earth. Look up to him continually with the eye of faith, assured that he can easily observe, and will most certainly discover, whatever you think, wish, design, and execute, and that he will with the strictest equity reward you accordingly; and you will soon be sensible what sincerity there should be in your desires, what soundness in your speech, what fervency in your prayers, what fortitude under temptations, what equanimity in prosperity, what constancy in adversity, what patience in afflictions, what simplicity and wisdom in the whole course of your life."

(To be continued.)

For the Christian Observer. WILL you permit a constant reader to address a few lines, through the medium of your excellent work, to Mr. Scott, the venerable author of the Family Bible? The subject I have to propose is of general interest; and as the sentiments of so judicious and experienced a commentator are of acknowledged importance, the reply which, I make no doubt, he will kindly give to my inquiry, cannot but be gratifying to your numerous circle. In his Notes on the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, ver. 15-19, Mr. Scott says, "The thought of the supposed vast majority of those who shall eventually perish is apt to encumber our minds in these contemplations: I say, supposed; for probably we shall find our conjectures erroneous when the doom of men, through all ages and nations, shall be finally determined." And in his practical Observations on the ninth chapter of the same Epistle, ver.22-33, he remarks, "Even amongst the vast numbers of profess ing Christians, it is to be feared, that only a remnant will be saved;' and the Lord will be righteous in the destruction of an immense majority." Now as these two passages appear to be irreconcileable with each other, I am desirous to know which of them,

contains the deliberate judgment of this eminent theologian, in regard to the number of those which shall eventually perish.

CLERICUS OXONIENSIS.

To the Editor of the Christian Obsercer: As I regularly take in the Christian Observer, I attentively read your Review of Mr. Cunningham's Dissertation on the Seals and Trumpets of the Apocalypse, and the prophetical Period of 1260 Years, and felt an anxious desire to communicate my thoughts of that very important and eventful period; but recollecting what you say at the commencement of the Review, "that prophecy is that department of sacred literature in which we are never willing to notice, because we can never tolerate or excuse, an incompetent attempt," and what follows, quite silenced me. And no consideration would have induced me to request the Editor of the Christian Observer, to communicate, my opinions to the public, if they had been mine alone: but reflecting that they are the result of the closest investigation and deep research of the most learned, most pious, and wisest of men,--I mean, Lord Napier, who discovered the Logarithms, the Rev. J. Brightman, and Dr. Henry Moore, with several others, supported by the strongest scriptural arguments, and corroborated by past and recent events,— I hope on this account I shall not be refused the privilege of occupying two or three pages of your very valuable publication.

The hypothesis of these and other good men is simply this, that Chapter XI. of the Revelation of St. John contains a true statement of the situa of the Church of Christ for the space of 1260 years; during which period, it shall be trodden down or persecuted by the Gentile, Apostate, or Antichristian Church of Rome--that God's two witnesses, the Old and New Testament, shall also, during all that time, be symbolically or figu

Tatively slain and prophesy in sackcloth, but at the end of the 1260 years, they shall arise as from the dead, and be called up to the symbolical heaven; that is, by all interpreters agreed to be, they shall be patronised and supported by the great and noble of the earth, sent forth by the rich and pious to prophesy to every creature, till the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ.

To answer all the objections against this consoling hypothesis, would take up too much useful space in the Observer: I shall therefore only beg leave to answer that of Mr. Faber, with whose works you are well acquainted.

Mr. Faber, at page 54, vol. ii. 3d edition, says: "The two witnesses are expressly said by St. John to be the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. But both an olive tree and a candlestick are equally symbols of a church, consequently the two witnesses must be two churches, and therefore cannot be the two Testaments." This I conceive to be a very erroneous opinion, contradictory to that of the prophet Zechariah, and wholly unsupported by any scripture proof whatever; because an olive tree is not a scripture symbol of a church, but evidently, and by the best commentators described to be, an emblem or figure of the fruitfulness and prosperity of a nation, church, or individual, and as affording them light and nourishment. David said, "I am like a green olive tree in the house of the Lord." Was he then a church within the temple? The good man's children are like olive plants around his table. You would smile if I called them infant churches. The text, Jeremiah xi. 16, with some others, are only qualifications of the primitive flourishing state of the Jewish nation; but the quality of a thing is not the thing itself. St. Paul using the figure of a wild olive tree being grafted into a good one, is no more a proof that an olive tree is the symbol of a church,

than Jeremiah's marred girdle, which the Lord compares to his Church, can be said to be a symbol of that Church. In the Old Testament the Church of God is compared to a variety of things; a lion, a speckled bird, an olive tree, a cage of unclean birds, a potter's vessel, &c. &c.; but can all, or either of these, be strictly called symbols of churches? In this matter, the principal business of a commentator is to consult the prophet Zechariah. What does he say on the subject? His testimony must certainly be adhered to before Mr. Faber's, or any other learned and good man. Does any thing in his whole prophecy indicate, in the most distant degree, that the two olive trees are two churches? Quite the reverse. They are the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole earth, appointed by his divine command as instruments in the hand of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten and replenish the golden candlestick, the Church, by re-establishing the ancient Jewish worship, wholly neglected during the captivity. For thus it is written, " I have chosen thee, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord;" and to Joshua he declares, "Thou shalt judge my house, and keep my courts." These are the two anointed ones, the two olive trees, allowed by almost all commentators to be so; and indeed the whole of the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, confirm this statement: and if so, we must not attempt to make the Apostle John contradict the Prophet Zechariah; on the contrary, they perfectly agree, for the Prophet's two olive trees are exhibited by the Apostle as types of God's two witnesses, and the work assigned to both is nearly the same. Zerubbabel and Joshua rebuilt the temple, and restored the Jewish worship. The Old and New Testaments, the only true and faithful witnesses for God, will, in like manner, as instruments in the hand of the Spirit, instruct and illuminate the dark regions of the earth, till the kingdoms of this

world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. Having now answered (I hope satisfactorily) Mr. Faber's objection to the Old and New Testaments being the witnesses mentioned by St. John, I shall only beg leave to mention what appears to me a glaring mistake in that worthy author, when he argues and builds his hypothesis on there being two candlesticks in the ancient Jew. ish temple, (see p. 77, vol. i. and p. 56, vol. ii.) whereas there was but one. From the pattern in the mount. Moses made but one ; Zechariah saw but one; and the Apostle Paul, in describing the furniture of the temple, mentions but one. St. John, indeed, mentions two; because he had in view what then corresponded with two churches, the couverted Jewish and Gentile churches; but he clearly distinguishes them from the two olive trees, by calling them two candlesticks both standing before the God of the earth. Nor does he say the two anointed ones, as Ze. chariah calls the two olive trees: they are perfectly distinct things, and not from being four can they be reduced to two. This idea, unsupported by proof, wholly originates from Mr. Faber, and not from the Prophet or the Apostle.

My business now is, to prove from Scripture, from past and present events, and other irrefragable arguments, that the Old and New Testaments are the two witnesses mentioned by the Apostle John, Revel. xi. They answer, in the most minute manner, to every description given of them by that Apostle, which is not applicable to any thing else; in their name, their number, their power, their of fice, and in all that befel them during the long space of 1260 years. First, their name, Testamenta, from testis a witness, so called by God himself, My witnesses; and the Lord Jesus Christ positively declares he can admit of no testimony, but from the sacred word of God. "I receive not testimony from man," saith the Redeemer "Search the Scriptures, CURIST. ORSERY. No. 152.

for they are they which testify of me." They only can properly ba God's witnesses.

Secondly, their number, two; two witnesses. two prophets, typified by two olive trees; yet what is very remarkable, and can only be the distinguishing property of the sacred word of God, the two Testaments have but one mouth, see Revel. xi. 5. Though always mentioned in the plural, their testimony and work is constantly exhibited as the act of one. No church, community of holy men, or any other thing, can lay a just claim to this Divine property but the word of God, the Old and New Testaments.

Thirdly, their power. Who but the Word of God alone can denounce upon His enemies the severe plagues and heavy judgments mentioned Revel. xi. 5, 6. I just hint at this, because so many able and good men have sufficiently proved the power of the holy Scriptures in this respect.

Fourthly, their office. They were to prophesy or preach, witness or testify, to the world the revealed will of God; for He himself says, He gave them power to do so. Surely it will be allowed that the Bible is the best of all preachers; the Divine Source from which all other ambassadors of revealed truth must draw the matter of their discourses, or they cannot be said to preach according to the mind and will of God. not, on this account also, the Old and New Testaments evidently characterised as the only true and faithful witnesses for God?

Are

Fifthly, These two witnesses were to preach in sackcloth, and to be politically and symbolically slain for the space of 1260 years.-I need not describe to you, Mr. Editor, nor to your numerous readers, how the Old and New Testaments were served during that awful dark period. You know too well from history that they were shut up in cloisters in a language unknown to the vulgar, to whom it was death to read them in their mother tongue. You know

that by the decrees of councils and of the Pope, they were politically or symbolically slain, not suffered to speak their mind as they had formerly done, yet not buried, but on all occasions prophesying in sackcloth during the whole of the 1260 years. Can any fact be better ascertained than this? And is it not clearly applicable to the Old and New Testaments?

I come now to the last, the recent, and finishing proof that the Old and New Testaments are the two witnesses mentioned by the Apostle John; I mean, the wonderful institution of the British and Foreign Bible Society, formed for the express purpose of commissioning these two anointed ones to deliver their testimony pure and unadulterated to every human being under heaven. All commentators agree in this, that whoever the witnesses are, they certainly will, at the close of the 1260 years, be called up to the symbolical heaven; that is, the ruling powers and great men of the earth will espouse their cause, protect and encourage them to proceed with their faithful testimony, till the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Now, I would ask, is there in the present day, or soon likely to be, any two individuals, churches, or communities of holy men, raised to this conspicuous dignity and favour? I believe not. But the Old and New Testament, God's true and faithful witnesses, in this our day, to the joy of thousands and millions, are patronised, supported, and encouraged by emperors, kings, princes, and nobles; by great, good, and rich men through out Europe; by whose means, under God, they are enabled to deliver their sacred message to the people of every tongue and language upon earth. If this is not to be called up to the symbolical heaven, I profess myself ignorant of the symbolical language of prophecy. The contents of Rev. xi. is evidently a complete whole. The dates, though mentioned differently, are a scrip

tural and Jewish computation of the same duration, otherwise all is confusion and uncertainty. No partial slaying or rising of the witnesses ought to be admitted. They were politically, morally, or symbolically slain, during the whole of the 1260 years, and never rose again to their full and primitive usefulness till the year 1804, when they began to stand upon their feet, and soon after heard that voice from heaven, which is now sounding throughout the four quarters of the globe. These are the two anointed ones destined to bring about that happy long-wishedfor period, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. The 1260 years are expired, and the wonderful unexpected events that occur every day, announce the speedy approach of the Redeemer's teign upon earth.

I am, &c.
A. BURN, Major-General.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

In reading your Review of Mr. Cunningham's late publication on the Apocalyptic Prophecies, I was struck with the following passage. (See p. 172 of the No. for March 1814.)

"The vision of the ram contained in that prophecy of Daniel was to continue 2300 days; and this it is necessary should synchronise in its close with the 1260 years. Accordingly Mr. Cunningham dates the commencement of the vision of the ram in 508 A. C., and thereby brings its close exactly to the period required, in 1792. It is needless to observe, what Mr. Cunningham himself acknowledges, that this must be more or less the principle of all prophetic commentators, that his conjectures are often collected a posteriori; that is, that having assigned that date to which the close of the period in question ought to adapt itself, he then looks back into the page of history to discover, if pos