On all subjects to which the Divine testimony extends, we would rest simply upon such testimony, to the exclusion of professed demonstrations a priori, as making any part of the foundation of faith and opinion. Nevertheless, we admit that where a prejudice, which is in itself probably some a priori hypothesis, prevents the perception of this evidence, such statements may be well employed in removing the accidental obstruction.

Now were we required to treat the question in hand independently of Scripture testimony, the following argument would appear to us satisfactory.

The universe may be considered under two different aspects, each of which affords a ground of expectation that the law of diversity in all qualities will be found to pervade the creation. In the first place, then, the universe is the result and the exercise of all the natural and moral attributes of God,-an effect corresponding to its cause; or what is the same thing for the present purpose, it is the display, so far as it is capable of being exhibited to finite minds, of the character of the Creator. In all he does God is wise, and good, and free; and he is so in a way perceptible to at least all holy intelligences. And, further, it is presumed that, in this exhibition of the Divine character to intelligent creatures, there appears to be, from all that we see, as well as from the testimony of Scripture, a special end in the structure and conduct of the universe, a first lesson, written again and again, on every page of the great Book, the lesson which we may conceive to be the most needful for creatures to learn; that is, that God is sovereign; that, as he is the direct cause of all good, he is so freely; he does good as he will. Now, as even in the present state, in which all things are veiled, every atom of the visible creation reflects something of this dazzling truth, may we not confidently expect, that in the state of consummation, it shall be much more glorious, and become the beginning and the ending of all adoration? But although power, and goodness, and other attributes, (to say wisdom would be to cede the question,) might be displayed in a system of which sameness should be the pervading law, sovereignty, whose property it is to make a difference in the bestowment of good, irrespective of any extrinsic claim, would, in such a system, be latent. merely physical diversities, although indeed they imply the exercise of sovereignty, most directly tend to illustrate a natural perfection, the wisdom of contrivance, It is in the bestowment of different portions of the ultimate good, of likeness to God, and the favour consequent upon it, that is, of happiness,-it is here that the Divine Sovereignty reigns, and is magnified; and it is on this ground, we presume to say, that "the servants of "God, both great and small," shall delight to give him glory. And thus, when the principle of self-love shall have ceased to be

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the centre of the soul, and all holy beings shall revolve with unvarying justness about the common source of good,-as the pri mary subject of felicity shall be the apprehended eternal blessedness of God,-that which is mediate, and secondary, shall spring from the apprehension of the blessedness, in their degrees, of other beings of higher and of lower orders. And when the least of the sons of God shall converse with those who "excel "in strength," these shall say, Brethren, be glad and rejoice with us, for all this glory that the Father has bestowed upon us;' and those, Brethren, help us to praise him for what he hath done for us, even for us.' The harmony of a diversified system is founded upon the recognition of sovereignty in bestowment.

But we have said that the universe may be contemplated under a second aspect, and we mean as it is a system of objects adapted to the active and passive affections of all conscious beings; and especially as affording the medium of exercise for the moral qualities of the intelligent creation.

Now, to confine ourselves to that which bears upon the particular question, we ask, Are there not qualities and dispositions in our nature, we will not say as fallen, but as restored, which most plainly indicate its destination to a state affording every possible diversity of rank, and office, and power, and employment, and excellence, and attainment? Few, we presume, will imagine the narrow pass of Death to be so strait, as to rend from the soul every thing that distinguishes man from man, and to cause him to emerge, stript of all but the naked consciousness of identity. Such a supposition derogates from the wisdom of Him who has made nothing in vain. But we will not insist upon those natural endowments which distinguish the few from the many, and fit them for peculiar employments, or those correspondent deficiencies which relate the many to the few. We pass by every distinction but that which is ultimate. And it is this ultimate difference among those who have been fellows, which seems essential to the full exercise or last finishing of those shining graces which Christianity imparts and cherishes. We can but glance at the illustration of this position, which might indeed be pursued at great length. All graces are comprehended in love. And now we must be indebted to the reflection upon their own minds, of our Christian readers. Will they not grant to us that, as it relates to creatures, the furthest, the highest and most finished exercise of love, is that which passes on to beings who, while we feel that they are fellows, are, some superior, and others inferior, to ourselves? The love that has such a field is, if we may so express ourselves, rich in pungent ingredients, compared with that which relates to an undistinguished crowd. We are ready to say there must be such a field, or the expansive energy of this

principle will be straitened, if not in its lengths and breadths, at least in its heights and depths. Is it not this hyper-action of the principle of love called forth by the superior excellence and happiness of a brother, which will be the ground of that ecstatic passion whose object is the adorable excellence and infinite blessedness of Him who will "shew us his hands and "his feet," and call us brethren? On the other hand, if love may yet be more sublimed, it must be in its direction towards inferiors. When the evil passions which are here so thickly clustered upon self, are no more,-in that world where the highest rank of creatures is the most beautiful in humbleness, there will love receive its finishing of tenderness, in looking downwards. There may the prime article of a higher reward consist in the participation, though at an infinite remove, of that ineffable sentiment with which the Father of the universe looks down upon all that he has made.

And let it be imagined how these correlative sentiments will be aggravated, if we may be allowed the expression, by the remembered circumstances of the present world. Who that reflects does not perceive something at least in the dispensations of grace and the arrangements of Providence, of a profound contrivance for urging up to the highest point the noble sentiments of which the renewed nature is susceptible? Will the reader, while he consults his best feelings, indulge himself in an anticipation that may illustrate the idea we so hastily sketch? Let him ask then, Who are the occupants of those lofty thrones? These are they who are come from wretched habitations and tattered garments, from servitude and sordid crafts, from want and loathsomeness, from obscurity and contempt; but they were rich in faith, and according to their faith, it is done unto them.-And who are they sitting at their feet, waiting their instructions, and learning there the first lessons of the celestial liturgy? These are they who shone in the world. They were great, and wise, and learned, and admired. With God all things are possible, and he is able to save to the uttermost.-But who shall now imagine the reach and force of the sentiment, on the one side, of admiration, and submission, and gratitude, on the other, of tenderness, forbearance, and beneficence, that may take place, in such a supposed relation, between those who have been great in the world though babes in grace, and those who, though but babes in the world, had attained to the fulness of the stature of men in Christ Jesus?

We presume then, (were the Scriptures silent upon the subject,) that the system of Diversity, so apparently illustrative of the Divine perfections, and so manifestly rich in moral means, possesses a large balance of probability over that of perfect equality. But the Scriptures are not silent upon the subject. Indeed, upon the general doctrine of the future state, there is

much incidentally communieated that seems often passed over by Christians, with the sentiment, When we get to heaven, we shall know all about it.' That is true: but let us take care to know now all that, the knowledge of which may influence our condition when there.

We should be pleased to see some person, qualified by devotional feeling and competent learning, employed in collecting the sacred testimony in a way of careful induction and modest inference. We should be pleased, were the result only to engage the thoughts of Christians where we fear not that they will wander too often, or rest too long, and from whence they can hardly return without some quickened movement on their road.

Art. IV. 1. An Essay on the Commutation of Tithes, to which was adjudged the Bedfordean Gold Medal, by the Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. By John Benett, Esq. of Pyt House, Wilts, 8vo. pp. 15. Ridgway, London, 1814.

2. Letter to John Benett, Esq. on his Essay relative to the Commutation of Tithes. By the Rev. William Coxe, Archdeacon of Wilts. 8vo. pp. 32. Salisbury.

3. Reply to the Letter of the Rev. William Coxe, &c. By John Benett. 8vo. pp. 71. Salisbury.

4. The Right to Church Property secured, and Commutation of Tithes vindicated. In a Letter to the Rev. William Coxe. [Signed Robert Gourlay.] 8vo. pp. 41. Highley, London, 1815,

5. Three Additional Letters to J. Benett, Esq. on the Commutation of Tithe. In Answer to his Reply. By the Rev. William Coxe. 8vo. pp. 91. Salisbury.

6. Replies to the Three Additional Letters, &c. By John Benett. pp. 117. Carpenter, London. 1816.

7. A Letter to Frankland Lewis, Esq. M. P. on Commutation of Tithes. By the Rev. John Fisher, of Wavendon. 8vo. pp. 31. Rivingtons, London. 1817.

8. The Sacred and Indefeasible Rights of the Clergy examined, recognised, and vindicated; the Origin, Moral Obligation, and Policy of the Law of Tithes enquired into, with a safe, simple, and effectual Plan for relieving the People from the Obnoxious Burthens imposed upon them by the Church, &c. Addressed to Lord Viscount Milton, M.P. for Yorkshire. 8vo. pp. 104. Gale and Fenner, London. 1817. 9. An Appeal to Equity, showing the Unreasonableness and Injustice of obliging Dissenters to contribute towards the Support of the Church of England. With some Remarks on Tythes. By Phileleutherus. 8vo, pp. 57. Longman, London. 1817.,

AT various periods of the history of the Reformed Church of England, has the subject of decimal endowment undergone controversial discussion; but it is under a complexion altogether

of a novel nature, that that discussion has been renewed of late years. It was natural enough that an institution, owing its existence in the Christian Church to the usurpations of Papacy, should come into question, when the authority of the Papal chair had been disowned, and when no countenance could be found for the continuance of the ordinance in the precepts of the Apostles, or in the practice of the primitive church. In most of the Reformed Churches on the Continent, the exhortations of Erasmus, Sagarellus, and others, had prevailed, the right to tithes being disclaimed, with the other incidents of the Popish hierarchy; and in England, the arguments of many of our own reformers, and particularly of Wickliffe, Brute, and Thorpe, were directed, though without success, to the same object. On the abolition of prelacy, at the subsequent period of the Commonwealth, the attack upon Tithes was renewed with increased asperity, and with great powers of argument; particularly by Milton, in his "Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hire"lings out of the church," and by Anthony Pearson, a justice of Westmoreland, in his "Great Case of Tithes truly stated." Since the re-establishment of an Episcopal hierarchy, the question of the divine right of tithes,' has, at various times, been a fruitful source of polemical discussion; but as the Church became secured in her legal title, by long acquiescence and uninterrupted settlement, the jus divinum was insisted on with less earnestness, and was ultimately abandoned by tacit consent, as an untenable position. Even Blackstone, the champion of all constituted ordinances, thought it prudent to drop this claim to veneration, and to rest the sanctity of Tithes on their remote antiquity; and his example has, we believe, in modern times, been followed by all who have been at the pains of informing themselves with any degree of precision on the subject.

The concession on the part of the clergy had the effect that concessions generally have. Being content to claim their tithes as a legal right, they were no longer reminded of the incompatibleness of the exaction with the practice of the primitive church, and with the scriptural character of a Christian ministry.

It was in the very nature of tithes, as a property, that long and uninterrupted enjoyment should constitute the most secure of all possible titles. It was no poll-tax which might have been abolished after any possible period of exaction, without derangement of the balances and modifications of different classes of property; it was no charge upon fluctuating income, which might have subsided into the source from which it was derived, like any other personal tax, without the smallest political inconvenience; but it was an exclusive charge upon one distinct species of possession, which, while fixed and immutable in its own nature, was a frequent subject of transfer from one individual to