DEATHS. On the 3d instant, the Lady of Sir Hugh Monro, of Fowlis, went to the Bay of Cromarty, to bathe, taking three of her servant maids along with her. Mr. F. a merchant, coming near, was alarmed by loud cries and shrieks, and made for the place, which he had no sooner reached, than he saw the four bodies floating on the water. He soon got them into the boat, and made for the shore. One of the servants revived when in the boat. Medical assistance was immediately procured for the Lady and the other two servants, but though every effort was made to recover them, all proved ineffectual. It is supposed that some of them had gone beyond their depth, and the others, in attempting to save them, shared their fate; but no positive information has yet been obtained. The Reverend N. CROSS, of Trowbridge, aged 72. At Croydon, Mrs. HECKFORD, aged 90. At Bristol, Mrs. ARTHUR, in her 80th year. At her son's house, South Lambeth, Mrs. ALEXANDER, aged 82. Mr. WILLIAM WOODFALL, So well known as a Parliamentary Reporter. At Coombe Florey, near Taunton, Mrs. MANNING, Relict of the Rev. T. Manning. At Kendal, Westmoreland, the Rev. HEBBLETHWAITE LAMBERT, Rector of Fersfield, Norfolk. At Newington, Surrey, the Reverend W. COLLIER, B. D. a Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Lately, the Rev. CHARLES GREEN, Rector of Hemingford-Abbots, Huntingdonshire, and grandson of Dr. Green, formerly Bishop of Ely. Lately, at North Walsham, in Norfolk, the Rev. JOSEPH HEPWORTH, Rector of Gunton, with the Vicarage of Hanworth annexed, Rector of Suffield and Vicar of the Mediety of Felmingham, all in Norfolk. A few days since, the Rev. THOMAS JOHNSON, M. A. nearly forty-eight years Vicar of Wickham-market. Lately, the Rev. Dr. HUSSEY, titular Bishop of Waterford. He was seized with an apoplectic fit, when he instantly expired, at his seat near Waterford. July 9. At Cheltenham, after a long and severe illness, Miss ELIZABETH BENTHAM, only daughter of the late Reverend Edward Bentham, D. D. Canon of Christ The Rev. MATT. KENRICK, Rector of Church, Oxford. Bletchingley, Surrey., At Bath, Mrs. EDWARDS, wife of the Rev. Dr. Edwards. At Woodbridge, suddenly, the Reverend JOHN LUMPKIN, Rector of Monewden. July 14. In Sun-court, Cornhill, ANTHONY MANGIN, Esq. Consul General and Agent of the Ligurian Republic, in consequence of the rupture of a blood vessel in the lungs. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. DUNELMENSIS is respectfully informed that his communication, though highly creditable to him, is too long for insertion. Three Papers from C. L. have been received: we fear that his reverie, however applicable, would give needless offence. In reply to A LAYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, we beg leave to state our opinion that no one can be considered as a Member of that Church, who uniformly neglects to attend her offices, as those do to whom his Query alludes. The Review of SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED, Will not suit our work. B.'s Paper will require much correction to fit it for the press. C. L. A. on Church Music, and AMBULATOR'S Lines, we must decline inserting. We have already made some progress in the work, in which D. L. A. A. M., has kindly afforded us his aid; but we shall nevertheless be obliged to him for his communications. CAIUS and A TRUE FRIEND TO CHURCH AND KING, have this moment reached us. page 436, col. 2, line 6 dele is. Number 18, page 445, col. 1, line 24, dele to that effect, and insert for leave. CHRISTIAN OBSERVER. No. 21. SEPTEMBER, 1803. Religious Communications. [No. 9. VOL. II. IGNA EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA. GNATIUS, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Smyrna in Asia. Health. I glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath so plentifully endued you with wisdom; for I know that ye are perfect in unshaken faith, fixed to the cross of Christ both in flesh and spirit, and confirmed in charity by his blood: I know that ye are fully persuaded of his real existence in the flesh as the Son of David, that he was the Son of God according to the will and power of the Almighty, really born of a virgin, baptized of John that all righteousness might be fulfilled, and really nailed to the cross in the flesh for us under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch. Of this divine passion we are the fruit, that he might raise up a sign for ever by his resurrection to all his holy and faithful people, whether Jews or Gentiles, in one body, which is his Church. All these things he suffered for us, that we might obtain salvation; and he really suffered and really raised up himself again, not, as some unbelievers say, that he suffered in appearance only, which, if he did, they exist only in appearance, and according to their wisdom so shall it happen unto them, for they are fantastic and possessed with devils. For I know, and am persuaded, that he was alive after his resurrection: and when he came to Peter and those who were with him, he said -"Handle me and see, for I am not * Some persons have contended that day is the true reading instead of ode, others that ada will bear the sense of I saw, which undoubtedly it will; but the reference to Peter and his companions in the third person puts it out of doubt with me, that the ground of Ignatius's faith was their testimony. CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 21. an unembodied dæmont:" and they touched him and believed, being convinced both by his flesh and spiritt; for this cause they despised and overcame death, and to this end he both eat and drank with them after his resurrection in the flesh, although spiritually united to the Father. Of these things I admonish you, beloved brethren, though I know that ye are thus minded already; but I labour to fortify you against wild beasts in the shape of men, whom it becomes you not to receive, nay more, not even to meet. One duty only is owing to such men, namely, to pray for them, if, perhaps, they may repent, which is a very difficult work. Yet all is in the hands of Christ, our real life; for if these things were accomplished by our Lord in opinion only, then am I bound only in opinions. Why then have I willingly offered myself to fire and sword, to the wild beasts and to death? But he that is near unto the sword is near unto God, he that is in the jaws of the beasts is in the hand of God. I endure all things in the name of Christ, that I may suffer with him through his strength, who was made perfect man. Η δαιμόνιον ασωμάλον. This is one of a thousand examples, which might be produred of the loose manner in which all the fathers quote from the sacred text. Copies were rare, and they frequently cited from memory, retaining the sense but not the words. expression which may be overlooked. There is a peculiar propriety in this They were convinced by the sight and touch of his flesh, but even this evidence required the co-operation of the spirit of Christ to render it effectual. § Ignatius argues against the Doceta very rationally, that in order to be consistent they must allow every appearance, presented to our senses, to be illusory as well as the crucifixion of Christ, 3 U Of this truth some are ignorant, and therefore deny it; yea rather are denied of him, advocates of death and not of the truth. Such men neither prophecies, nor the law of Moses, nor the Gospel, nor our sufferings are able to convince; for they are of the same opinion concerning us. But what availeth it if I am applauded and my Lord blasphemed, by those who maintain that he did not come in the flesh For he who denieth this hath denied Christ, and carries about him a body really dead with the sem→ blance of life. The names of these men, being unbelievers, it seemed not good to me even to write; God forbid that I should name them until they repent and confess the truth. Let no one deceive himself; even the angelic and heavenly powers, things visible and invisible, if they believe not in the blood of Christ, it shall turn to their condemnation. Let him that is able to receive this saying receive it. Consider too the temper and behaviour of those who maintain the contrary opinion; they have no regard to charity, no care of the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, the prisoner, the hungry, or the thirsty. They abstain from prayer and the eucharist, because they do not acknowledge that the eucharist is that flesh of Christ which suffered for our sins, and was raised again by the love of the Father. They, therefore, who contradict this gift of God are dying of questions. How much better were it for them to believe and love+! It is necessary for believers to withdraw from such men's conversation, and not even to speak of them in public or in private; but rather to study the prophets, and especially the Gospel, in which the true passion of Christ is displayed, and his resurrection fully proved. By this means ye will avoid divisions, which are the beginnings of all evil. And see that ye all follow your bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the Presbytery as Apostles. Reverence * But then it seems, in the next place, as if they really allowed the absurd consequence with which he presses them. This paragraph well illustrates the connexion between heresy in opinion and declension in practical religion. also the deacons as the appointment of God. Neither let any one do without the bishop any thing which concerns the Church. Let that eucharist only be accounted valid, which is ce lebrated by the bishop or by his concession. Where the bishop appears there let the multitude be gathered together, as the Catholic Church is there wherever Christ is found. It is unlawful, without the bishop's consent, either to baptize or to celebrate a feast of charity; but whatsoever he approves, that is well pleasing unto God. It becomes us for the future to look back, and, while we have yet time, to return to God by repentance. Let every thing which ye do abound in grace, for ye are worthy. Ye have refreshed me in every way: ye have loved me present and absent. May the Almighty be your recompence through whom ye sustain all things! Ye have received Philo, and Rhæus Agathopodes, who followed me in the word of God, as the ministers of Christ, and in so doing have approved yourselves to him. None of your good deeds will be lost. Your prayers have reached the Church of Antioch, from whence I salute you all in the becoming chains of the Gospel; but by the will of God I am made worthy not according to any consciousness of my own deservings, but by grace, which I pray for, that it may be poured out upon me perfect and wanting nothing. But in order that your works may be accomplished on earth as well as in heaven, it is fitting that your Church should chuse a deputy, who, when he arrives in Syria, may congratulate the brethren that they have attained unto peace, and recovered their former greatness*. And the matter appeared to me of sufficient importance to induce me to charge some one of your number with an Epistle, in order that with them he may glorify God for the peace which they now enjoy. The love of our brethren in the Troad saluteth you, whence I write unto you by Burrhus, whom ye sent on the way with me, together with the Ephesian brethren. Would that all were followers of *Literally translated, for the word is yes, of which it seemed necessary to admonish the reader. I salute your worthy bishop, your presbyters, and my fellow-servants the deacons, singly and in a body. May grace, mercy, and peace be with them! I salute also the families of my brethren, the virgins and widows. May they be strong in the power of the spirit! Remember me to Favia and her household, for whom I pray that they may be confirmed in faith and love, together with Alce my beloved, and Daphnus and Eutechnus. Farewell, in the grace of God. OBSERVATIONS ON AN ARTICLE INSERTED IN THE CHRISTIAN OBSERVER OF JANUARY 1802, CONCERNING ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECII. Of all the holy men spoken of in the Old Testament, there is not one to be compared with Abraham; for God spake with him as with Moses, the greatest of all the prophets, face to face, as a man speaketh with his friend. But Abraham is distinguished and exalted above Moses, in that he is called, the father of the faithful, not only of the circumcision, but also of the uncircumcision. It is also impossible for a man to be more honourably noticed than Abraham was in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus -spoken by our Saviour, and in which he represents Lazarus as carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom, that is, into the blissful state of the righteous. If, therefore, we perceive, or fancy that we perceive, any thing disingenuous or blame-worthy in the beliaviour of this father of the faithful, we ought rather to follow the example of Bhem and Japhet than that of Ham. Your correspondent B. R. appears to me to have deviated from this rule, in his remarks concerning Abraham and Abimelech inserted in your Observer of January 1802, in which the patriarch is represented as having been guilty of a lie. Abraham, however, spoke truth in the strictest sense, in telling the inhabitants of Gerar that Sarah was his sister. But it will be said, should not Abraham have trusted the care of his person to God, who had called him from his father's house, and ought he to have exposed his wife to the danger of becoming an adulteress ? I answer, that Abraham was called by God to dwell in a country, the inhabitants of which were exceedingly corrupt, and of whom the most favourable account that could be given, was this, that they had not yet filled up the measure of their iniquity. He, therefore, consulted with Sarah, in what manner they might conduct themselves, and what prudence would require of them, (see Gen. xx. 13.) which is a duty incumbent on us; for we are not to tempt God. They ran the risk of two dangers: one, that Abraham might be killed for the possession of his wife; and the other, that Sarah might be taken away to become the wife of another man. The first danger was in all respects the greater, and the second was an inevitable consequence of the first. Was it not consistent with prudence to guard against the first, and to leave to the care and protection of him who had called them, to guard against the second? Might not God as well prevent Sarah from being taken to be another man's wife, as indeed he did, as save Abraham from destruction? Who will affirm that Abraham was not led to act as he did by a particular direction of the Holy Spirit? Was that not a means of encreasing the riches and respectability of Abraham, both in Egypt and Gerar? And thus may we not pre-suppose, that the patriarch conducted himself in this case according to God's intention? One ought to be more cautious in condemning, if one would not run the risk of becoming unjust. B. R. says, it is worthy of remark that Abraham gained nothing by the deception. I do not mean to say, that Abraham profited by a lie, for he did not tell a lie. But what he gained by the transaction that took place between him and Abimelech, one may learn by reading from the fourteenth to the eighteenth verses of the twentieth chapter of Genesis. Abraham answered Abimelech's reproaches with a freedom, ingenuousness, and firmness, to which nothing can be added, and quite to the satisfaction of Abimelech; the proof of which is, that the king made no reply, but shewed he was perfectly convinced of the propriety of his conduct, by loading Abraham with presents, and assuring him that he and his household might dwell among his people in perfect safety. B. R. supposes that Abraham's fears were chimerical, "because," says he, "the inhabitants of Gerar were not so destitute of the fear of God as he imagined." But may not he himself be mistaken, and may one conclude from their behaviour on this occasion, that they were a people fearing God? The fact stands thus: A stranger having his wife with him (who is said to be his sister), arrives among them. Their prince, Abimelech, causes her to be taken from him to be his wife, contrary to the will of either; for one cannot suppose that Abraham and Sarah willingly agreed to it. But God appears in the night following to AbimeJech, and says, "Behold thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. Now, therefore, restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine." Let us suppose, without meaning to impeach the character of Abimelech, that a gang of robbers infesting a forest, have plundered a traveller, in whose behalf God interposes miraculously, as he did in behalf of Abraham, may we not conceive, that the dread and horror produced within them would procure to that traveller as much regard as that which Abimelech showed to Abraham? There is no doubt but that God directed all this to concur for the satety of his servant, by inspiring the inhabitants of the country with dread. We may presume, that without it Abraham would have been in danger among them, for it is not consistent with wisdom touse precautions against chimerical fears, nor for a wise physician to give medicines without cause. A holy man, such as Abraham was, ought not, without sufficient reason, to be charged with acting "according to mere worldly policy, with want of faith and confidence in God, and trusting alone to the arts and contrivances of his own cunning;" as B. R. charges Abraham, when that holy man hesitated not to obey the call of his God, to forsake his own country and his father's house, to wander into a strange land; when God himself could bear him the testimony, that "Abra ham believed in the Lord, and his faith was counted unto him for righteousness;" when this holy man did not hesitate to execute the command— "Take now thy son, thine onlyson, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee;" and when, at the moment he was about to sacrifice his son, God spake to him thus by his angel-" Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” G. EXTRACTS FROM DR. NOWELL'S (Continued from p. 469.J THE FOURTH PART, CONCERNING THE SACRAMENTS. A SACRAMENT is an external testimony of the divine mercy and goodness to us through Christ, representing by an outward visible sign an inward and spiritual grace; by which God's promises of forgiveness, and eternal salvation through Christ, are sealed, and their truth more deeply impressed on our hearts. There are in a sacrament two parts; the outward element, or visible sign, and the invisible grace. We are not so far possessed of a hea venly mind as to be able to see the bounties of God without the help of outward means; God, therefore, in pity to our infirmity, has provided for us external elements and figures, that we might behold in these, as in a glass, his heavenly communications, which otherwise we should not see. So long as we remain in this world, we possess but a small and imperfect degree of faith; we are bound, however, to make a continual progress to the end of our life, and to aim at the perfection of faith. In this endeavour we receive much assistance from the use of the sacraments. The Lord instituted his mysteries also, that they might be signals and marks of our profession, by which we might give a testimony of our faith before men, and make it known that we, with all the pious, have had a participation of divine benefits, and do with them confess one and the same religion; and that we are by no means ashamed of the name of Chris |