old; it will be a glass in which we may discern the state and prospects of the heathen in our day. "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Rom. i. 18. "He will render to every man according to his deeds, to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life-but tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, AND ALSO OF THE GENTILES." Rom. ii. 6. 9. "There is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also PERISH without law." Rom. ii. 11, 12. "We have proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." Rom. iii. 9. Now we know that what the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and the WHOLE WORLD become guilty before God."

"He

In the first of these references, we have the foundation of all our fears for the fate of every impenitent sinner: " The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." In the second we see the determination of the righteous Judge to reward holiness and punish iniquity, and this equally with respect to all mankind. will render to every man according to his deeds, the Jew first and also the Gentile ;" this may be an answer sufficient for all who are disposed to say in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil." In the third extract, to do away as it were with every doubt, as to whether responsibility might not be removed under certain circumstances, we are assured, that "there is no respect of person with God, for as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." This may be an answer sufficient for those who think that want of clear light and knowledge will be an excuse for want of obedience. No doubt, in the words of our Lord, Luke xii. 47, 48, "That servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few;" but still punishment will follow, though in a mitigated degree. The wages of sin must be death. The fourth reference, Rom. iii. 9, repeats the assurance, that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin; while the last extract clearly shews, that the claims of the law and the obligations to obedience are equal, "that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

Now apply this to the case of the heathen in the present age; give them the full benefit of the assurances, that he who is not a hard master, will give glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile;" and after giving them the advantage of this, and similar promises, what in the judgment of truth and righteousness will be their condition, when tried by the standard of the law of conscience? Weighed in this balance, and it is the balance of the sanctuary, will they not be found wanting? Does not our knowledge of their lives and characters tell us that with few, how very few exceptions, they do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, not acting up even to the glimmering light they possess?

Decisive as are these testimonies from the word of God, there is yet a stronger proof of the lost condition of those whom the Apostles addressed, (and consequently, if our deduction be correct, of the heathen at present,) in the language used, and the supposition evidently implied in the follow ing passages of Scripture-passages in which there would be no meaning left, were the supposition taken away, that those to whom they referred did require salvation: Acts xi. 14; xiii. 47; xv. 11 ; xvi. 30, 31. Rom i. 16.

1 Cor. ix. 22. Ephes. i. 13. 1 Thess. xi. 16. These are but a few, but they are abundant for our purpose. The last alone might of itself suffice; and taking them all together, they present an overpowering weight of evidence on the subject.

When Samuel addressed Saul in that remarkable scene recorded in 1 Sam. xxviii. we are informed, that he spake to him these words: "Why then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" Oh! if there remained any feeling in the breast of that rebellious monarch, or any remembrance of the time when he was the favored and the chosen of the God of Israel, how must these words have rung in his ears, and sounded the knell of all his hopes in time, and all his prospects for eternity. "The Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy!" O awful and appalling thought! The blessed God departed, and for ever, from a soul which he made for himself and framed for the enjoyment of his love-departed, and for ever, from a being who could only be happy in him, or find its appropriate rest in communion with himdeparted, and for ever, from a creature whose very happiness consists in his presence and favor. Oh! if the thought affects us in the case of a single being, what shall we say of whole nations, to every individual of whom might be said, "The Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy." The question is not of one single individual thus forsaken; of one solitary being thus cut off from the fountain of life and happiness; no, not of one single nation severed from the only source of pure and real bliss; the question is, many people, of numerous nations, of entire families of the human race, thus situated; sunk in complete and fatal ignorance of that Being with whom they have to do, unacquainted with his real charac ter and perfections, knowing nothing either of the severity, or of the goodness of God. Alas! on the brow of every individual among them might be written, Ichabod, for the glory has departed. They have lost their fa ther's image, they have forfeited their father's favor; they are exiles from their father's house. This ruin however is not irremediable; they might recover the image they have lost, they might be restored to the favor they forfeited; they are invited back to the house from which they were exiled. And why have they not been inform ed of these glad tidings; why is not the health of the daughter of this people recovered? Is the great Physician of souls less ready and able to save? Has the fountain opened in the house of David lost its cleansing and purifying power? Is the Lord's hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or has he no power to deliver? These questions require no answer, but the melancholy fact still remains an indisputable truth, that in spite of all that was planned, and all that was performed for the recovery of a fallen race, by him who is wonderful in council, and excellent in working; in spite of all that was done, and all that was suffered by a Saviour, whose last injunction to his disciples was, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature;" in spite of the opportunities which have been afforded in the eighteen hundred years which have elapsed since that injunction was delivered; in spite of the most assured knowledge that millions upon millions were dying of hunger, while we had in our possession the only bread, of which if a man eat, he shall live forever; in spite of every motive of obedience to our Lord, of zeal in his cause, of pity for the souls he came to save; in spite of all this, the larger portion of the family of man always has been, and at this moment is, in complete ignorance of all that concerns them as sinful and immortal creatures, for whom a sacrifice has been provided, so stupendous, that Heaven is bid to be astonished, and so ample and glorious, that Earth is bid to rejoice. In his holy mountain the Lord of hosts made unto

all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, and he destroyed on this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people; and the veil that was spread over all nations. He swallowed up death in victory, and the Lord God wiped away the only real cause for tears from off all faces. He accomplished a redemption worthy of himself; he meant it to be, and he made it sufficient for the salvation of the world, and then he told his disciples that, repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations. But has it been so? Have all nations had this repentance and remission of sins preached to them? Have they heard of the love of a dying, or the command of a risen Saviour? Alas! for one million who have heard the joyful sound, hundreds of millions may be written for those whose ears it never reached:-they have died in their sins. But why have they thus died? Not for want of an atonement for sin ;-bear witness the birth, the life, the sufferings, the death of the Incarnate God. Not because that atonement was limited in its efficacy ;-bear witness the assurance, that He gave himself a ransom for all. Not because there is no balm in Gilead, and no Physician there ;-bear witness, an inviting Saviour, "Behold I stand at the door and knock." Not for want of willingness on the part of God to forgive;-bear witness, the invitations, the entreaties, the promises, the word, the oath of God who cannot lie. Not because he meant this salvation to be confined to a few favoured nations ;-bear witness the declaration of the Angel," I bring you good tidings of joy, which shall be to all people." No; on no one of these accounts have they perished. They have been destroyed for lack of knowledge, because Christian love and Christian zeal were in that deep slumber, out of which they have only awoke within the last thirty or forty years; because they were never made acquainted with the message of salvation. True, there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all who call upon him; true, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. "But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent ?"

On the Church lies, we fear, much of the guilt of this state of things; it had ample means in its power, but then those means were never used. While, however, we drop a tear over past neglect, and lost opportunities, let us be stirred up to greater exertions; and though we may almost say, we have not wrought any deliverance on the earth, let us look around, and seeing the fields white unto the harvest, let us labour and pray that they may be reaped, and brought into the garner of the Son of man.

The present and future progress of the Gospel may be considered like the holy waters in the vision of Ezekiel. When the prophet was first brought through them, "the waters were to the ancles," and so, compared with the time when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, it may be deemed the case with us now; but when a little more shall be measured, they will be" to the knees;" yet a little, and they will be "to the loins," and afterwards, it will be a river that cannot be passed over, for the waters will be risen, waters to swim in, a river that cannot be passed over. In the mean while we have much cause to thank God and take courage. The means compared with the end may seem feeble and insufficient, and our hearts may almost sink on looking at the great and numerous obstacles to be overcome; but the Lord of Gideon's lamps and pitchers will never suffer the insignificance of instruments to interfere with the accomplishment of his plans; nay, from their very insignificance he will gather to himself the greater glory. The battle is

the Lord's, and sooner or later, the victory also will be his. The garrison of the uncircumcised, 1 Sam. xiv. may be strong, but we can say with Jonathan, there is no restraint to the Lord to save with many or with few. The host of the Ethiopians, 2 Chron. xiv. 9, may be a thousand thousand, and their chariots many, but we have the same resource with Asa; we can cry to the Lord our God, and say, "Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude." The event will be the same; let us not doubt it for a moment. It is not for us to know the times and the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power; it is not for us to say, how far we are advanced toward that time when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all Israel be saved; how near we are to that millennium day, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; whether its dawn has already commenced, or whether we have yet to wait for the first indications of the approach of that Sun of Righteousness, which shall then rise in splendour over the whole world. With these inquiries we have comparatively little to do.

But we have to work in our Lord's vineyard; we have to employ our talents in his service; we have to strengthen the hands and the hearts of those who are more immediately engaged in the great work of making known to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; we have a ruined world to remember before a throne of grace. Soon will the great work be accomplished, and that glorious edifice be finished, the foundation of which was laid in grace, and the top-stone of which must soon be brought forth with shoutings of "grace, grace unto it." And oh! when it is finished, when the last stone has been placed, and the whole building declared complete, with what ineffable complacency will the great Architect contemplate the work of his hands, that glorious temple of which how truly may it be said, Every whit of it uttereth his glory*. We, too, shall enter into the joy of our Lord, shall feel something of his pleasure, and partake something of his triumph, if here we have contributed at all to his work. May we then, according to our several opportunities and measures of grace, exert ourselves in this great and glorious cause, the highest in which a redeemed sinner can be engaged. At the last day it will be our greatest glory and our noblest privilege to feel, that we were permitted to do any thing in such a cause; and every employment we ever engaged in, will sink into insignificance, compared with that greatest of all honors, the having in any way hastened the approach of that event spoken of in the Revelations of the beloved Apostle :" I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.'

V.-On the Romanizing System.

F.

Every project that is proposed to public attention has its warm supporters and violent opponents. The projectors of a favorite scheme, carried away by an exaggerated idea of its excellency and utility, can seldom weigh, with sufficient coolness, the difficulties that surround it, and the strong probabilities there may exist of its failure: while, on the other hand, their oppo nents see nothing in the scheme to recommend it to general approbation. Such is the fate of almost all new schemes, and it would be rather strange if the Romanized system were an

* Ps. xxix. 9. marg.

exception to this general rule. Some of the projectors and supporters of this system seem to regard every argument brought against it, as weak and irrelevant; and the opposition they have excited, as the offspring of malice, of ignorance, or of interest. Others have gone so far as to express a wish to have the system enforced by pains and penalties. They would have Government to visit every one with its disapprobation*, who "shall not be able to write the vernacular language, in the Roman character;" whatever may be his age, or abilities, or however strong his prejudices in favour of his native language in its own character.

The sub

Missionaries cannot approve of such sentiments. stitution of the Roman character is to them a matter of little importance. They feel it their duty to propagate the Gospel of Christ, by persuasive mildness and unflinching integrity; and this, it will not be denied, can be effected as well through the native character, as by the help of the Romanized system. We know that the enemies of Christianity of the present day, like their predecessors in the time of the Vellore mutiny, are ready to accuse the Missionaries as the cause of every species of disaffection that may exist among the natives, and therefore, we feel anxious to avoid every thing that can have the least appearance of force or constraint. So far are the Missionaries from agreeing with the sentiments of the writer, who seems to think it proper to constrain the natives to use the Roman character, that a number of those connected with the Christian Observer are not satisfied as to the practicability of the scheme; and others have lent their tacit support, rather by endurance, than from a conviction, that it is likely to be universally adopted by the millions of Indiat. The system, we think, is good, and likely to become useful, and ought therefore to be encouraged by every fair and legitimate means. Uninfluenced by an idea of its supreme excellency, or by the spirit of opposition, we would advise a middle course-" Medio tutissimus ibis.”

*This is not correct. No one, we believe, has recommended a course at all interfering with the preference, much less the interests, of individuals not servants of Government. As to those who are, the friends of the Romanizing system argue (whether correctly or not) that should the members of Government become satisfied of great public advantages to be secured from a change of character, and the adoption of one system of letters equally intelligible by every functionary of every grade in Indiathey are just as much at liberty to require its adoption in their own offices, as they are to enforce the abolition of Persian, the decrease of holidays, or any thing else not interfering with previous compact.-ED.

The papers in favour of the Romanizing system which have appeared in our pages, are not editorial: they are simply the expressions of individual opinion; and, if an answer can be given to them, we shall readily admit it. This periodical, while under its present management, shall ever be open for the discussion of every plan, which is intended for good, and excites considerable attention.-ED.