The dead from their long burial-place, in ghastly troops were sent!
Earth trembled as if sorely maimed, by some tremendous rod,
Man stood appalled, and then proclaimed, "It is the Son of God!"
Oh! wondrous truth! that He who reigned, before all worlds were made,
Should be with mortal anguish pained, and in the grave be laid.
He died! but as a corn of wheat expands by perishing,
And lifts on high 'mid summer's heat, a full ear ripening,
So from the travail of his soul, when giving up the ghost,
He gathers now from pole to pole, a vast redeemed host!
Men of all lands, of every speech, have offered life through him,
Far as the ocean's waves may reach, or winds their wild song hymn!
And e'er the death-knell of the world tolls on the judgment day,
And stars from their high seat are hurled, to make his chariot way,
From north to south, from east to west, a ransomed seed shall come,
Palms in their hands, in white robes drest, to share his heavenly home.

M.

REPRINT OF DE FOE'S DISSENTING TRACTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE.

MR. EDITOR, I feel happy in indulging the conviction that the number of those persons who are conscientiously attached to evangelical dissent, and are, at the same time, capable of appreciating what is powerful and original in literature, is not so small as the malignity of their opponents would represent. That there is at least a class, however small, "qui miscuit utile dulci," is apparent from your pages, and I wish, for the respectability of the denomination to which I have conscientiously attached myself, that your miscellany may contribute yet more to increase the number. To that class it has long been a serious cause of lamentation, that the dissenting tracts of Daniel De Foe, which are in their estimation the most valuable of his works, are known to but few even of his greatest admirers, and are so rare as scarcely to permit a hope to be indulged by a poor dissenting book-collector of their acquisition. Their exceeding rarity is to be accounted for by the insular and unconnected form in which they were originally published, their never having been printed in a collective shape, and the peculiar principles advocated in them, which have never been since his days in very general estimation amongst his countrymen. It will be to those gentlemen, I hope, as it certainly is to me, exceedingly interesting to know that a literary gentleman of the present day, in an extended edition of all De Foe's works, has determined, in consequence of an application of the writer, and in accommodation to all the admirers of the dissenting Richardson, to print his nonconformist tracts in such a connected shape

as will admit of their being bound together and procured alone. This concession to the body to which he belonged, ought to be acknowledged by all who value the memory of a man who wrote more, and more powerfully, in defence of our peculiar principles, than perhaps all the layman of England unitedly have done. Those tracts may soon be procured for a few shillings, which hitherto could not have been purchased for as many pounds, nay, which in some instances were placed beyond reasonable hope of being possessed, in consequence of their almost unique rarity. I have been for many years a zealous and persevering follower in this chase, but I am sorry to say with but little success. The gentleman who has undertaken the editorial labour is William Hazlitt, son of the friend of the great Coleridge: the book will be published by Clements, Pulteney Street.

UNUS SECTATORUM FO.

ROMANS XIII. 11, 12.

The night is spent, the day is nigh;
Put on the robes of love and light.
Shake off, my soul, this lethargy,

Be clad in armour strong and bright.

The night is spent, the danger past,
The day-break shines o'er Zion's hill;

But one foe waits, and he the last,
And thou shalt be a conqueror still.

Thy weary steps, painful and slow,

Had well nigh failed in yonder vale,
But Jesus would not let thee go;

He held thee up-thou didst prevail.

Oft, when thy faith was sinking, He

Bade thee resist the tempter's power,
Gave thee divinest energy,

And kept thee through the evil hour.

And now, that night of weeping o'er,
Soon will the joy of morning come;
No foe shall then disturb thee more,
Sheltered, and safe, and blest at home.

Lo! even now it dawns! Oh, see

The morn expected, sighed for long ;

Shake off, shake off this lethargy,

And hail the light with loudest song.

G.

POETRY ON PRAYER.

The following pieces are selected from a small volume which has just appeared, entitled "The Oratory; or the Testimony of Scripture on the subject of Prayer. By Lucy Barton." The father of that lady, Bernard Barton, "the Quaker poet," has enriched his daughter's Scriptural and elegant little book with several original pieces on the vital subject of prayer. Our selection will best recommend the book to the notice of our readers.

ACTS XII. 5-11.

Peter was in prison cast,

Soldiers by him while he slept,

Then were burst his prison bands,

Chain'd and guarded, doors made fast, And his chains fell from his hands!

And, without, the watch was kept.

But the church, in ceaseless prayer,
Still was mindful of him there;
Bow'd each head, and bent each knee,
Unto God to set him free.

And behold! the church's Lord
Heard his people's prayer out-poured:
For He evermore is near
Prayer to answer as to hear.

In the silent, darksome night,
Shedding round him heavenly light,
Came an angel from the skies,
Touch'd the prisoner-bade him rise!

Girt and sandall'd, clothed and led,
Following in that angel's tread.

Through each ward they silent past,
Till the iron gate at last
Opened of its own accord
To the angel of the Lord.

In the church's earlier day,
Thus in faith did Christians pray;
Thus the promised blessing share
Given to its UNITED PRAYER.

Hath His EAR grown heavy now,
When His saints before him bow?
Or HIS ARM forgot its might,
When they pray to Him aright?

Oh believe it not ! THAT EAR
Still is open-prayer to hear;
And THAT ARM of old so brave,
Those who pray is prompt to save!

GENESIS XXXII. 24-28.

Let me go, thy hope is vain,
Day around us breaketh?
Worn with weariness and pain,
Strength thy frame forsaketh.

No, the patriarch answered, No!
Think not thus to press me,
I will never let thee go
Till thou deign to bless me.

Noble words, heroic vow,

Worthy imitation; Meet to waken even now Holy emulation.

Seed of Jacob! you who share
Aught of Israel's spirit,
Wrestle thus in fervant prayer,
Blessing to inherit.

Prayer surpassing human might,
Prayer, heaven's holy fortress,
Prayer, the saint's supreme delight,
Prayer, the sinner's fortress.

Prayer and faith can hope impart,

Hope beyond expressing,
And call down upon the heart
Israel's richest blessing.

REVIEWS.

Religion and Education in America. By John Dunmore Lang, D.D. London: Thomas Ward & Co. 1840. 12mo.

pp. 474.

Dr. Lang is a bold and decided man. Occasionally he utters his sentiments rather too much in the ex cathedrd style; but generally with such an appearance of sincerity, that we cannot be angry with him. At one he time gives hard blows to his Presbyterian brethren in the north, and anon hits the Congregationalists of the south so severely, that his smitten co-presbyters must perceive that, except on the question of voluntaryism, he has little fellowship with them. We fear there is too much of the spirit of Ishmael about him, for his own peace and comfort, while passing through a world like ours. Be this, however, as it may, his testimony on several points is of great value. He must be considered an important witness, by all who are earnestly seeking information, on several momentous questions which at present agitate the public mindand the more so, as his plain and convincing statement of facts can gain nothing for him, either in regard to emolument or the good opinion of his brethren. His early associations, his habits of thinking, his temporal interests, were so many difficulties in the way of a change of his views, as to the efficiency of the voluntary principle; and yet the volume he has published is one of the most decided that we have seen, among the many works that have left the press, in favour of that principle. The writer draws his conclusions on the subject, not from hearsay, or from the arguments of theoretical men, thousands of miles distant from the scene of its actual and practical results, but he visited the country where the experiment has been successfully made, and obtained on the spot, from innumerable facts, convincing proofs, which his conscience dare not resist, of the superiority of the voluntary to the compulsory system. We cannot but receive his testimony as true; and his Presbyterian brethren are bound to do the same-unless they can produce opposing evidence, obtained in circumstances equally favourable, and sustained by facts equally conclusive.

We rejoice in the publication of this volume, and especially on one account. The conclusions in favour of the voluntary principle, drawn from the state of religion in America, as far, at least, as English writers of religious character, are concerned, had hitherto been chiefly presented to the public by those who were the known advocates of that principle before they visited the United States. On this ground, attempts have been made to evade the force of their evidence; and it has been tauntingly remarked, that they could neither have pleased their constituents,

nor justified their own preconceived opinions, by any other view of the case. To say nothing of the baseness of such insinuations, which can neither be necessary to a good cause, nor permanently profitable to a bad one, we can now point churchmen to "a prophet of their own," and beg them to listen to his unbiassed testimony. Whether they will, on Dr. Lang's shewing, give up their cause as untenable, we cannot tell. That his unexpected advocacy of a hooted doctrine will annoy them, we cannot doubt. The facts contained in his book have not, so far as we know, been disputed. When a writer merely gives his opinions on controverted points, these are to be weighed against others that oppose them, and the judgment of the reader must decide. But in the statement of facts the only question relates to the faithfulness of the witness. We believe Dr. Lang to be an honest man, frankly giving his authorities, and thereby laying himself open to contradiction, if he has stated anything that is incorrect.

We confess that we have often longed to see an individual in Dr. Lang's circumstances pay a visit of inspection to the United States. We know that Dr. Chalmers has repeatedly received, from the lips of American Presbyterian divines, a decided testimony to the abundant efficiency of the voluntary principle. But we have wished that he for instance could land on those shores, where his presence too would be enthusiastically cheered-for amidst all those vagaries respecting national establishments on the one hand, and ecclesiastical independence on the other, with which he has vastly puzzled our Transatlantic brethren, they yet highly respect his character, and appreciate the support he has so ably rendered to the cause of our common Christianity. We can imagine the effect that would be produced on his mind on arriving amidst the scenes of the New World, and as he proceeded from place to place, marking every feature with the keen eye of a philosopher, the heart of a philanthropist, and the grateful feelings of a Christian. He could not fail to be struck with the reverence for the Sabbath which prevails in the New England towns and villages, as well as in the larger towns of the northern and middle states. But in visiting the colleges and other scholastic establishmentspreaching in the large and numerous churches-conversing with high churchmen, both Presbyterian and Episcopalian, with learned professors, and educated men of all classes-most assuredly a salutary impression would be made on him by the fact, that from the extremities of Maine to New York, and from New York to the very base of the Rocky Mountains, he could not meet with one minister of any denomination, nor one pious layman of any degree of intelligence, who would consent to substitute a national establishment for the present system, or prefer the compulsory to the voluntary method, either for the support of the Gospel or the erection of places of worship! Nay, he would find them all with one voice declare, that persecution