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SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES.

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JULY 31, 1839.

BY THE REV. EDWARD YOUNG, M.A. WHATEVER be the mysteriousness of the subject of spiritual influences, and the utter hopelessness of all attempts of the mere philosopher to comprehend it, there is a practical sense in which it is intelligible to the humble believer. The God whom we adore is "a God of order, and not of confusion;" and the religion he has been pleased so graciously to reveal is stamped with his image. The religion of the Bible is not, as some have misconceived it, a system of blind and unintelligible impulses a sort of frenzy, unconnected with any rational cause, and unproductive of any rational end. Mysterious indeed it is, and unsearchable by man's wisdom; yet in this respect it differs not from a vast variety of things, about which, though they may seem at first sight less remote from our grasp, the most indefatigable scrutiny has left us utterly ignorant. Of the real essence and proper nature, for instance, of our natural no less than of our spiritual life, it may be truly said, that man, in all his wisdom, is absolutely ignorant; and all we can affirm of the one, as well as all we know of the other, is wrapped up in what the apostle told the Athenians long ago, " in Him we live, and move, and have our being."

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I will send the scoffer, who makes miserable mockery of the things of the Spirit, and charges us with believing what we cannot understand, and depending upon a something which we cannot explain to the inquirer-I will send him to the school of anatomy for correction, and bid him define the nature of that mysterious principle,

VOL. VII.-NO. CLXXVI.

PRICE 1d.

which makes him to differ from unconscious clay on which he gazes, once endued with sensation and impulse, now motionless and senseless as the dust beneath his feet; and unless he tell me (he cannot) what the principle is, I will leave him the alternative of absurdly denying his own existence, or of believing what he cannot understand, and depending upon and exercising what he cannot explain.

But the analogy is instructive, as well as convincing. Of spiritual life, no less than of natural, it may be affirmed that, though it is a mystery, it manifests itself by its effects. Our blessed Lord affirmed to Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." "Thou hearest the sound thereof." There are sensible effects, though the cause be mysterious; and even so it is with regard to the work of the Spirit. It is a mystery that will bear examination. It will stand the test of proper investigation. It is set before us as a subject of reverent observation and of blessed experience.

"That

Again: what says St. John? which was from the beginning, which we have heard," (and what is more,) "which we have seen with our eyes," (further yet,) "and our hands have handled of the Word of life, declare we unto you" (1 John, i. 1). It was a practical acquaintance with the incarnate Word, from which the apostle spoke and wrote; and he did this, be it observed, for a practical end, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ;"

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[London: Robson, Levey, and Franklyn, 46 St. Martin's Lane.]

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and (which is also of further moment to ob- | animals are enabled to live in particular spots. As I have shewn, in my letter on the adaptation of animals to their various stations, there can be little doubt that

serve,)" he that saith he abideth in him
ought himself to walk even as he walked."
Here, then, is the answer to foolish men, who
know nothing of true religion, and who de-
ride it in consequence.
We are not, as such
unhappy persons may suppose, mad in our
profession of this great doctrine, or deceived
as to the great mystery of godliness which
we rejoice in. We neither utter the dream
of a distempered fancy, nor follow a cun-
ningly devised fable; but speak forth in our
profession the words of truth and soberness.
We declare truths which may be felt as well
as heard, and which lead to consequences
distinctly cognisable. Spiritual life has its
proper instincts and its proper actings. Its
experience has an established standard by
which it will be identified, and its workings
are in accordance with established rules.
Its model, as well as source, has been in-
scribed, under God's bidding and God's
guidance, by those who declare what they
had "heard and seen" and "handled of the
Word of life;" and the objects with which it
is conversant, and after which it aspires, are
matters which cannot be thrown aside as
visionary; for "whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any
virtue, or if there be any praise," spiritual
life exercises itself in thinking on, and in
following after these things.

particular regions have been set apart for their habitations, to which they are attached, not only by the circumstances of climate, food, &c., but also by the propensity we are at present considering, which in many cases operates so as to impel them, at certain periods, to quit one country and resort to another far

distant land, in alternate succession. In proof of the influence of this propensity, I may mention, that turtlers affirm, that if a turtle be transported many hundred miles from its usual abode, and again liberated in the ocean, it will return to its former place of habitation. Pigeons conveyed to great distances in close cages, so as to be unable to observe the distinguishing features of the country through which they pass, are capable of finding their way back to the spot from which they were taken. By this power animals in the earliest stages of their existence are impelled to seek their natural element. Thus, turtles and ducks, for

example, need no monitor to direct them to the water as soon as they are hatched. And it is this power also which causes the various tribes of birds to choose different elevations and localities for building their nests; some in rocks, some in the tops of trees, some in their trunks, some in their roots. It is not generally known that there are several species of rats, each of which lives in a different locality; one species lives always in cellars and ditches, another in the higher parts of houses and upon high ground.

The operation of this power is further exemplified in the choice of situation made by the chamois, the ptarmigan, and many other animals. When this faculty predominates very much, it gives rise to conduct almost surpassing belief. A dog was transported in a carriage from Vienna to Petersburg; six months afterwards it returned to Vienna. Another dog was transported from Vienna to London, and found its way back by attaching itself to a traveller in the packet-boat. Jesse mentions the circumstance of a dog finding its way from London to Scotland, and another from America to England; also of an ass that found its way from the Point de Gat to Gibraltar, though it had been conveyed thither by ship. This faculty also explains the wonderful phenomenon of migration, which has puzzled so many learned naturalists. At different periods of the year, directly after the summer solstice has passed, we observe a variety of birds beginning to prepare for their departure from this to other countries, many thousand miles distant. It has been well ascertained, that in many instances they leave our country for a more temperate and uniform climate. It is by no

THE POWER OF LOCALITY IN ANIMALS.* LOCALITY, or the faculty of finding and recognising places, is a power inherent in animals, without the assistance afforded them by which they could not even exist. They could neither find their dwellings, their offspring, nor their food, having once quitted them, unless they were able to distinguish the places in which they were left. This would not fail to be the case, were the objects quitted within even a short distance; and therefore the possession by animals of some such faculty is sufficiently proved by the well-authenticated accounts, which are so frequent in works on natural history, of the return of many animals from distant countries to the place whence they had been taken, surmounting difficulties which would seem to be insuperable. The readiness with which dogs distinguish their masters' houses from neighbouring ones, is merely an inferior manifestation of this power, and may be explained without supposing any exertion of intelligence. This faculty is very active in some animals; and, like other powers, it varies in individuals of the same species. Some possess it to an extraordinary degree, while others appear completely destitute of it. By it, appropriate organisation being superadded, plumage of its resident, which, as we all know, in winter, like

From "The Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as displayed in the Animal Creation." By C. M. Burnet, Esq.

"The habits of this bird are well known; but they cannot fail to strike every one who observes them as an instance of the adaptation of animal life to peculiar and unpromising localities. Closely resembling as they do the grouse, they seem to abhor the heather, in which the latter delights; and in no instance did I find a single bird of the species within the verge of that vegetation. It is only where the bare rock juts out of the earth that they are to be found; and no painter could imitate more accurately the general hue of the rock than does the summer

the mountain-hare, becomes as white as the snow it then inhabits." JESSE's Angler's Rambles, p. 261.

+ Spurzheim's Phrenology.

in expressing their strong disapprobation at the appearance of the first symptoms of a desire to gamble in their children, though such a desire is too fre

means certain, however, that all birds have this object | it. And Christian parents cannot be too particular in migrating from one country to another. The cuckoo visits us first in April, when our climate is cold and unequal, and leaves us the first week in July.quently countenanced and encouraged. Little, indeed,

Judging from the various periods at which migratory birds arrive and depart, it would seem certain of them are appointed to change their habitations at fixed seasons, in order to keep up the due equilibrium of life in the different countries which they frequent. For this purpose they are endowed with the power of transporting themselves from one region to another widely distant.

When the purpose for the attainment of which they were conveyed to one country has been fulfilled, they instinctively seek another, regardless of all opposing difficulties. The chief object accomplished by the migration of birds appears to be the destruction of innumerable myriads of insects and worms of all sorts, which, but for this check to their multiplication, would increase to so awful an extent as to threaten the earth with famine and desolation. He who cannot perceive the hand of God in this wise and merciful arrangement must be blind indeed. We need no longer marvel, then, to see the little swallow or the house-martin return to our land with such faithful exactness; and not only to the same country, but to the same place-the same window or the same hole; for we know that the power by which they are guided is given to them by their Creator, and that it is his hand which directs their movements.

It is well known that birds kept in a cage, though fed with an abundance of food, become restless at the period in which they would, if at liberty, migrate-an indication that the propensity to transport their bodies to some other clime is not attributable to external causes alone-such as food, temperature, and the like; but is an innate feeling, given to them by their Maker.

GAMBLING AND ITS CONCOMITANT VICES. No. I.-Horse-Racing.

BY A CLERGYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND,

THE vice of gambling, in the train of which a multitude of others invariably follow, prevails amongst all classes to a most pernicious extent; from the man who squanders his thousands, forfeits his estates, and reduces himself to a condition little removed from pauperism, to the pauper himself, who is willing to risk his few pence in hopes that he may add to them by some lucky hit. Whether carried on in the splendid saloon, amidst all that can pamper the appetite and madden the brain, or amidst the obscenity which too often disgraces the proceedings of the beershop, the effect is little different, as far as hardening the heart is concerned. It is needless to say, that any legislative enactment, with the view effectually to prevent gambling, would be a most important addition to the code of our country's laws; and that he would be indeed a true benefactor to his fellow-men, who could devise some such expedient as would prevent or at least modify this crying evil. When it is considered how much time is wasted, how much money is squandered, how many evil tempers are cherished, how much poverty is caused, and not unfrequently reason lost or life sacrificed, by gambling, it is assuredly the imperative duty of the Christian philanthropist to endeavour to check, if he cannot wholly remove

is the parent aware of the evils which may result from his permitting his children to play at cards, or to bet on a horse-race, or even on the issue of a game at cricket or marbles. It may be for a very small stake; but the principle is bad, the spirit called forth is pernicious. A bias is given to the mind detrimental to its proper culture; and many a wretched spendthrift may trace his headlong career of folly to indulgence of a spirit of gambling in boyish days.

It is the writer's purpose to point out, in a few papers, some of the evils connected with the vice of

gambling; and in the present, to confine his remarks

to horse-racing.

Horse racing is regarded by many, who take no great interest in it in a gambling point of view, as a very innocent and rational amusement. The time of the races is looked forward to as a joyous season; and many preparations are made in the way of dress and family arrangements for their due celebration. A large influx of company is expected into the town, which as a consequence circulates money, and renders the race-week profitable to many tradesmen as well as publicans; and consequently the removal of the nuisance would meet with strong opposition on the part of many who never attend the race. The races are not unfrequently patronised by persons of distinction in the neighbourhood, whom it would be dangerous to offend. The very representatives in parliament are expected, as a matter of course, to keep up the members' plate; while corporate bodies have been known, in their official capacity, and attended by the insignia of their city or borough, to sanction the race-course with their presence. It is maintained that races have a tendency to keep up a fine breed of horses in the country; that they are a source of emolument, and give employment to many persons; and the respectable company which usually is to be found on the course, with the large list of patrons, some of whom move in the highest ranks, is esteemed a sufficient guarantee that they cannot be of that immoral and licentious tendency which some affirm. The writer would regard the subject, however, in a Christian spirit, and in a Christian point of view; and he has no hesitation in affirming, that no real Christian will countenance, in the remotest degree, the vices of a race-course-nay, further, that every true Christian will use his influence, be it small or great, to discourage them. Happy that neighbourhood which is free from this moral pest; unfortunate the neighbourhood where races are periodically held. Every friend to humanity and morality will use his exertions against their institution near the place of his residence.

First, as concerns humanity confined to the brute creation. It is impossible to prove that horseracing is unattended with cruelty. The horses are, indeed, well fed and well attended to-it is the owner's interest that they should be so: but is there no cruelty in urging the horse beyond its natural strength-in goading and pushing it to the goal - no cruelty in the lashes inflicted upon it? Let any one observe the race-horse just arrived at the winningpost; and he surely, if not blinded by love of his favourite amusement, will declare that the whole transaction, which he has witnessed with interest and delight, is replete with barbarity. A statement lately appeared in the newspapers, of the fate of some of the noblest race-horses in England in their declining years It would appear that many of them had passed through every species of drudgery, until the knacker's yard relieved them from their woes; and the series of prints, "The High-mettled Racer," known to many

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who read these remarks, is too lamentably descriptive of his career. But even could it be proved, which is utterly out of the question, that there was no cruelty in horse-racing, its immoral tendency were sufficient to induce every right-thinking man to discountenance it. Look at the roads from London to Ascot or Epsom at the time of the races; and is it possible to conceive a more lamentable picture of human nature, a more depressing manifestation of the fearful prevalence of vice? Examine the character of those who congregate, not merely at Newmarket or Doncaster, but at the more private country races; and say if such a mass of moral pollution in every shape can elsewhere be congregated. Perhaps there is no situation more entirely adverse to the reception of religious impressions than that of a horse-jockey or a training-groom; they live in heathenism in a Christian land. true there may be carriages filled with the families of the neighbourhood, with females ignorant of the polluted atmosphere which has surrounded them, who drive off from the course as soon as the race is over, to prepare for the afternoon ordinary or the evening ball; but if this sanctions the race-course in the eyes of the worldling, who may have some little scruple as to its propriety, it cannot sanctify it in the eyes of a true Christian. The circumstance that races are attended by families of respectability, is only the more to be deplored. The effect on the minds of their members cannot fail to be pernicious. The consequence is often ruinous in the last degree; and the parent who countenances the attendance of his children, sons or daughters, at such a scene, may be leading them into temptations which may embitter the remainder of their lives, and cause himself inexpressible remorse and self-condemnation. Surely it is not too much to say, that the circumstance of a family countenancing horse-racing is a certain evidence that, whatever its professions may be, it has not been brought under the influence of vital and soul-saving religion.

But let the advocate for, or at least the palliator of, horse-racing witness the angry passions which are called forth on the stands, or on the course-let him enter the booths for refreshment, resounding with the drunken roar of licentious revelry-let him extend his walk to the outskirts of the course, and witness the gambling, in a humbler degree, going on among the humbler classes-let him linger till night draws on,and then assuredly, unless the eyes of his understanding are darkened, he will be led to the acknowledgment, that the tendency of such scenes as he has witnessed, must be to demoralise the minds of those who take a part in them. It were impossible to soil these pages with an account of the obscenities, in various shapes, which are almost the invariable accompaniments of the race; or to portray the total want of principle in those who resort to such scenes for the purpose of swindling, and to whose wiles many a thoughtless man becomes a dupe. Can any character be more awful than that of a black-leg? and yet with such, not a few of the great and wealthy of the land are not ashamed to associate. Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the excellent "Society for the Suppression of Vice," for the energetic endeavours of its managing committee to stem the tide of moral pollution. It is impossible to urge its claims too strongly on the support of the public. It has done much already, and, if its funds will allow it, may do much

more.

But it will be said, that though this may be no exaggerated description of the vice abounding on the course, yet a person may simply go and see the races, and return home when they are over. But may not indirect evil arise from this? Such a mode of arguing is very much like that adopted by those who think there is no harm in attending a theatre, provided there be no intercourse with its usually licentious

attendants. The cases, indeed, do not entirely coincide; for in the latter he who witnesses the play must have in all probability paid a sum for admission to the theatre, which so far tends to its support; whereas on the race-course, no pecuniary support may be given. Let it be recollected, however, that this very attendance is an indirect support to its vices and enormities.

Perhaps there is nothing more disgusting to a cultivated mind, even uninfluenced by Christian principle, than the perusal of what is termed a sporting newspaper. Having occasion lately to call for refreshment at a small country inn, the hostess brought a newspaper into the room, remarking, however, at the same time, with a confused look," Perhaps you would not like to read it, sir. It is a Sunday sporting newspaper; and we take in no other." It might have been more consistent had I refused to receive it; but I confess I was anxious to ascertain its contents with reference to those very remarks.I am now making. Glancing over its pages, I had little difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that such a publication must have the worst effect on the minds of its readers; though it could not be ranked exactly with those grossly licentious publications which are issuing almost daily from the press, and undermining the principles of thousands of the rising generation.* It testified to the full extent the evils of the racecourse. It recorded Sabbaths spent in preparation for the festivities of the coming week, as well as in betting on the probable results of the races. One single paper, containing the record of one week's sport, was enough to convince every right-minded man of the irreligious tendency of such amusements, and how much the subject bears on the desecration of the Lord's day. 1 grieved to find that, at the village-inn referred to, the afternoon of the Sabbath was invariably spent, by those who frequented the tap, in the perusal of the publication referred to. Need I add, the effect was

most pernicious?

The object of these remarks is to dissuade, if possible, any before whom they may be brought from attending the races, or countenancing them in any way; and to impress upon parents and masters, who have the responsibility of the conduct of others committed to their care, the absolute duty of forbidding their being present. Need I remind my clerical brethren, that they should make the evils of such places of amusement a frequent subject of exhortation and remark, and that they should use their influence to remove, if possible, these moral pests? Obloquy will probably be heaped upon them, as many have experienced; and they will be abused as the enemies of rational recreation: be it so; still they have a Master to serve, whose will is to be their law; they have souls to labour to be instrumental in saving; and these souls may receive unspeakable injury from the moral pestilence with which they are surrounded.

Incalculable indeed is the mischief that may arise on the race-ground. To that dangerous spot may be traced the ruin of many of the young of both sexes. There the wicked heart may find much to nourish the rank, obnoxious weeds which luxuriate in its soil; there the first decisive step may be taken from the paths of rectitude, which will lead to the chambers of never-ending woe. Surely, then, no effort should be spared, no caution should be lost, to remove from unhallowed ground those who, in the thoughtlessness and gaiety of youth, may perceive no harm at all as likely to result from their attendance.

We shall very speedily bring this subject, an exceedingly delicate one, before our readers.-ED.

+ See our Mag. No. xxxv. p. 34, containing an extract from the Bp. of London's (Blomfield) Letter on the present Neglect of the Lord's day.

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS.-No. XIV.

BY MRS. RILEY.

THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS,
Luke, xxiv. 13, &c.

EMMAUS, though only an insignificant village in a distant land, yet seems stamped by affection upon our imagination, as a place we should delight to visit, and while traversing its rocky road, recall the narrative of a journey thither, begun in sorrow, but ended in joy.

When Cleopas and his companion, with burdened hearts and saddened countenances, began their pilgrimage, perhaps to convey to some fellow-disciple the strange tidings they almost feared to credit, how little did they imagine they should so soon retrace their steps, all doubt and fear dispelled, and hope confirmed by certainty! And even yet, how frequently do those who set out upon some toilsome path of duty, find, ere they have journeyed long, that there is still a companion on the way, whose cheering influence dispels its danger or its difficulty, while their hearts are warmed by the gracious encouragement of his words, though their eyes may be withholden from knowing him in all his fulness!

Cleopas, the husband of one of the Marys, who had lingered by the cross of her Lord and visited his tomb at sunrise, was a kinsman of the mother of Jesus; and being himself also a disciple, would feel disposed to yield credence to the information of his wife, that He whom they mourned was risen. St. Luke does not tell us the name of his companion on the journey to Emmaus:-might it be the evangelist himself? By some commentators, St. Luke has been supposed to have been one of the seventy disciples selected by Christ himself to spread the glad tidings of the Gospel. If this were the case, we can easily imagine that he would accompany his Master to Jerusalem at his last passover. And there is a minuteness with which the details of this little episode are related, that seems to betray the accuracy of an eye-witness; while the omission of the name of the "other disciple" who accompanied Cleopas, would only accord with the modesty apparent in the writings of another evangelist, who describes himself as him "whom Jesus loved."

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Then they who feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it" (Mal. iii. 16). And so engrossed were these travellers with the all-absorbing subject of their Master's passion, that he had joined them unperceived, and now condescended to mingle in their conversation, and inquire the cause of their anxiety. They felt that the recent transactions at Jerusalem were so important, that absence from the scene could alone excuse ignorance. "Art thou a stranger?" O no! their new companion was no stranger, either to their perplexity, or to their trembling faith; he knew that the desire of their hearts was, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief:" and now he was about to repeat his gracious declaration," according to your faith be it unto you." Still, though regarding him as a stranger, or it might even prove a persecutor, they feared not to bear testimony to the honour of the despised Jesus, as “a prophet mighty in word and in deed," nor to confess the faith they had reposed in the

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crucified Nazarene-" we trusted that it had been he that should have redeemed Israel." That stumblingblock of the Jews yet lay in their way; the vail yet remained upon their hearts: but he was come to roll away the rock of offence, and lay a precious cornerstone for their faith; to rend the vail of unbelief, and shew the spiritual nature of that salvation they looked for as temporal; and while they beheld in his sufferings and death the overthrow of their hope, he was about to prove those very sufferings its only sure foundation: "for without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin."

Referring to the Scriptures as the ground of their belief, he began at the books of Moses, tracing the current of prophecy from its rise in paradise, the gleam of hope vouchsafed to our fallen parents in a future seed who should bruise the serpent's head; the promise to Abraham, "in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed," confirmed to Isaac, and rendered more definite to Jacob; the testimony of Moses, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken;" and the traditionary prophecy of Balaam, "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." Although the voice of prophecy slumbered for awhile, it awoke in Hannah's triumphant strain, "The Lord shall give strength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his Anointed" (or Messiah); and David delighted to dwell upon the glory of Him who was to be at once his Lord and his son. As the fulness of time drew nigh, prophecy grew more distinct; the circumstances of his miraculous birth, its time and place, were minutely recorded; and the sacred canon was closed by the promise of a messenger, to announce the coming of Him thus fully and clearly revealed.

Still, this recital would only recall the sorrow of the dejected disciples. Alas! we delighted to trace these glorious promises to our nation fulfilled in Jesus; we acknowledged him to be the Son of God, the King of Israel; and we vainly "trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed his people." Then again did the gracious Teacher retrace his lesson, and opened to them the Scriptures; shewing that not more clearly did they reveal his future triumphs than they did his previous humiliation. The bruised heel-the promised seed yielded a willing sacrifice- the contradiction of sinners endured by Moses the sorrowful strains from David's harp, when the awful scenes of the crucifixion passed in their minuteness before his vision-the desponding complaint of Isaiah, “Who hath believed our report?" or in that marred visage and stricken form beheld either beauty or comeliness, "that they should desire him”-the summons, "Awake, O sword, against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts"-the smitten shepherd-the scattered flock-the goodly price for which he should be betrayed,—all these evidences of his sufferings and rejection, previously passed over with wonder or repugnance, would now flash upon the minds of the disciples with the light of conviction; and when applied by such an Expounder, no wonder that their hearts burned within them, and that they wished for lengthened communion with so gentle yet powerful a Teacher. But it was finished; his errand

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