dispensations of his providence, their knowledge of Christ, and are often inscrutable to our feeble how confused and imperfect their understanding. Can it then be views of the grand object of his matter of wonder, that the great mission. But he taught them to mysteries of redemption should expect great things on his deparinfinitely surpass even the deepest ture-such a full measure of light, researches of human wisdom? Is after the descent of this Heavenly it surprizing that error should Teacher, as would qualify them to abound, that the same passages of become the messengers of his truth sacred writ should be so differently to others, and that should accomcoustrued? Is it not for want of a pany that truth with demonstration more copious effusion of the Spi- and with power. "But tarry ye," rit's influence? As well might an said their divine Lord, "in the unlettered peasant attempt to read city of Jerusalem, until ye be ena book in a foreign language, with- dued with power from on high." out a teacher, as poor benighted For " man read the Scriptures without this divine Guide. How frequently then should we send up the petition of the Psalmist, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

The necessity of this Agent, to instruct ignorant man in the things which belong to his everlasting peace, is neither confined to age nor clime. It is as needful to enlighten the philosopher, deeply read in all the mazes of science, as the poor benighted Hindoo, bowing down to the work of his hands, and vainly attempting, by selftorture, to appease the wrath of his imaginary deity. Shall we then send forth our missionaries, and not continually invoke the Holy Spirit to be with them? Shall we instruct the rising generation, and not be equally anxious concerning his agency? Indeed, shall we attempt any thing towards the enlargement of Christ's kingdom, and forget our entire dependence on this sacred influence? After the advent of the Messiah, his disciples were for a season instructed by the Saviour himself, who apparently designed to leave the more enlarged view of his Person and work to the Holy Spirit's teaching. Hence, during his personal ministry among them, how confined was

ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

And were their expectations disappointed? No: the memorable day of Pentecost fully realized the promise of their Lord. What was there in Peter's sermon to effect the conversion of three thousand souls? This mighty work was wrought by the energy of the Divine Spirit alone; and as it was on the day of Pentecost, so it is to the present moment, for a "Paul may plant, and an Apollos water, but God alone must give the increase.' The Saviour himself declares he shall convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. But does the Spirit's work terminate here? No: this is but the first outstretching of his great and omnipotent arm; he has a work to carry on in the heart of every real Christian. The Saviour told his disciples, that it was expedient for them that He should go away; and to console their minds in the deprivation of his visible presence, he promised to send them another Comforter, to abide with them for ever; even the Spirit of truth: declaring that he should take of the things which related to

regulated by that command of our Lord, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them;" all conformity to worldly maxims and principles, the study of our own ease and comfort, with but little disposition to take up our cross daily and fol

his work, offices, character, and kingdom, and shew them unto his people. But surely, says the reflecting Christian, there must be something in the present state of the church, indicating at least a withholding of these divine communications. Yes, there is such a thing as grieving, as well as quench-low Christ; all these things must ing the Holy Spirit. Let us then grieve the Holy Spirit, and tempt ask, what are the causes of his him to withhold his enlarged comseeming withdrawment? All un- munications. It is not so much holy tempers, actions, and motives, the outward conduct which needs. must grieve Him who is perfect purifying, as do the hidden springs holiness; and whose office it is to of action. May we constantly conform the Christian to the image pray, "Search me, O God, and of the Saviour, that, like his di- know my heart; try me, and know vine Master, it may be his meat my thoughts." "So let the mediand drink not only to do, but meek-tation of my heart and the words ly to suffer all his heavenly Fa- of my mouth be acceptable in thy ther's will; like Him, to burn with sight." universal benevolence, and be Christians are well acquainted deeply affected with the degrada- with the numerous promises relation and misery of man; to be tive to the downpouring of the stimulated to benevolence, by no Spirit, and the consequent blesslower motive than supreme love to ings to the church and to the world; Christ, and goodwill to all the that then the moral desert shall fallen sons of Adam. And while blossom as the rose, and the trees we would indulge that charity of righteousness bring forth fruit which hopeth all things, we are in their season, to the glory and constrained to ask, Have we ever praise of God. There appears to given to the cause of Christ, be- be, from the signs of the times, a cause it would have been disgrace- loud call to British Christians, to ful for us not to have done so, and rouse themselves to individual selfhave such motives determined the examination and fervent prayer, lest measure of our contributions?- it should be said of them, Have we presented our offering from the excitement of a public meeting, or from the desire of reading our names in the reports of our benevolent societies, thus acting in opposition to the injunction of the Saviour, "See that ye do not your alms before men." These are unholy motives, greatly differing from the pious resolution of Jacob"And of all that thou givest me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

Shall we enter a little further into this important scrutiny? All the transactions of life which are not

"Ye

have watered others, but your own vineyard ye have not kept."

AN APPEAL to the BENEVOLENT IN
BEHALF OF THE GYPSIES.

IT may sound strange in the ears
of many, when they are told that
there is a peculiar race existing in
Great Britain, who are, in respect
of religious knowledge, not less
heathens than the uninstructed
African; nor are they, in most
other respects, in the least degree
elevated above him in the scale

human existence. It will doubt-yond the sound of Gospel truths, less appear incredible to those who and perishing for lack of knowledge now for the first time reflect on the of a Saviour, is sufficiently momensubject, that there should be with- tous for arousing those Christian in this kingdom more than twelve energies which, as regards this thousand human beings, of whom wretched people, have too long the greater part are, by their sin-lain dormant. There are, I am gular habits of life, absolutely placed beyond the reach of the ordinary means of instruction, in those things which concern their eternal welfare. It need scarcely be stated, that my allusion is to that neglected and degraded people, the Gypsies.

persuaded, many well-disposed and pious persons, who are apt to regard this race as scarcely human, because from their earliest years they have been uniformly spoken cf and presented to their minds as irreclaimable vagabonds; not considering that the only means from which, as disciples of that blessed Saviour who was full of love and meekness, they could be justified in expecting success, have not been employed to rescue them from sin and eternal death-I mean their instruction in divine things. Let it be no longer in the

When we reflect on the labours of love which, under Providence, have originated in England, for the sake of the most remote inhabitants of the globe; when we read the reports of missionary exertions amidst the arid sands of Africa, and the deep recesses of American power of any forests; when we call to mind the man to say, that whilst we are privations and exposure to barba- sending the glorious Gospel to the rian cruelty, of those who carry uttermost parts of the earth, we forth to distant lands the glad tid- are wilfully neglecting so large a ings of the ever blessed Gospel-number of our fellow-countrymen, and matter for holy rejoicing it is, who hitherto have not, to speak that we are privileged to read of practically, had any greater opthese things, and to witness them in our times; yet is it not ground for astonishment, that no united or systematic attempt has been made to turn away from the benighted Gypsies the tide of evil, which for ages past has without intermission set in upon them? Proscription and penalties, stripes and imprisonment have been tried, but they have lamentably failed; since the constable and the gaoler, armed with the strong power of the law, have done nothing, or perhaps worse than nothing, for reclaiming these poor outcasts, is it not high time to make use of the only untried means, the peaceful efforts of Christian benevolence? Surely the circumstance of there now being in the heart of this favoured empire twelve thousand souls, placed be

portunity of hearing of a Saviour, than the inhabitants of unexplored lands. Let it be no longer said, that whilst we expend thousands and tens of thousands for the sake of remote savages, we grudge a small portion of our means for the eternal benefit of our more peculiar heathen-the Gypsy.

The severity of the laws, and the no less harsh opinions and feelings of the mass of the English people exercised towards them, have the effect of so degrading them in their own estimation, as almost to amount to a prohibition against their coming into places of public worship and instruction; so that unless you "send out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in," there is at present no channel by which you can

eight children, are settled in houses at Southampton. All the women are learning to read, and two of them have been taught different branches of shoemaking. Three of the boys are in employment, the remainder are at an infant school, with every prospect of mental improvement.

Let the awful neglect of this wretched people, which has for ages been a stain on England, be no longer chargeable on us. Let

convey to their ears a warning | decided in their abandonment of against sin, or an invitation to the Gypsy life,) three youths, and Christ. This brings us to the point. What can be done? The object of this appeal is twofold. First, to arouse Christians who hold the truth as it is in Jesus, and love to work in his service, to a sense of the duty which lies upon them to attempt something in this matter. In the next place, to inform them that a plan is now, and has been more than a year and a half, in active operation at Southampton; having for its object an amelioration of the condition, both moral not those who live in cities and and religious, of the Gypsies. One towns, still content themselves principal object of that plan was, with the unwarranted supposition, at its outset, to obtain the confi- that they have no call to this duty. dence of the Gypsies; to over- They who read this appeal can no come that reserve and suspicion longer plead ignorance of the poswhich generally characterize them sibility of reclaiming this sinful at a first interview. Success has race. I earnestly beseech them, attended this attempt, and simply as they love the Lord Jesus Christ, by an exercise of the kindly de-not to incur the condemnation of towards them which the unprofitable servant; and I trust that He, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh, and without whom we can do nothing, will so dispose the hearts of all into whose hands this address may fall, as that a systematic and zealous effort may now be made for converting these heathen from the evil of their ways, unto a knowledge of the living God.

meanour

should always accompany works of benevolence.

It has long been held to be an incontrovertible truth, that the objection manifested in general by Gypsies to giving up their children for education, and with a view to their being withdrawn from their erratic life and habits, is not to be overcome. But the experience of the Southampton provisional committee has proved that supposition to be groundless; and that it has been only for want of due means, and not from an impossibility, that such a result has been hitherto despaired of.

N. T.

N. B. We are requested to state, that donations in aid of the cause of Gypsy improvement will be thankfully received by the Committee at Southampton, addressed to Sir M. Blakiston, Bart. Anspach

To state, in a few words, the success of the efforts at South-House. ampton, will not, I hope, fail of rousing the attention of those who have the power and opportunity of stretching out a helping hand, to these their perishing fellow-crea

tures.

Four women, (of whom two are

ON FASTING.

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.
DEAR SIR,

IN

In my opinion, your Correspondent S. A. P. of Taunton, has pro

duced arguments in favour of reli- of fasting, not simply as a branch gious fasting, which the opponents of the Jewish economy, but as an of that practice will not be able to acceptable service to the Lord overturn. But while I heartily under every dispensation of his thank him for his communication, grace." I would beg leave, through your Now, Mr. Editor, I appeal to permission, most respectfully to you, whether the above recited remind him, that he has misrepre- language (and there is no other in sented the ground on which I ad- my pamphlet at variance with it) be vocated the "propriety of religious an appeal to the Jewish economy?" fasts." His words are—" Shall I think it due to myself to set the we then, with Mr. Hargreaves, matter right before your numerous appeal to the Jewish economy? readers, as I am no more inclined By no means." I am persuaded, to rest the authority of religious that if my pamphlet be read with fasts upon the Jewish economy, any degree of care, it will clearly than is your worthy Correspondent appear that this charge, or insinua- himself. I do not conceive that tion, is entirely unfounded. My he had any design to misrepresent language is, "that fasting is not my views on the subject, but that considered as belonging to those it was mere inadvertence or over(Jewish) rites, with the exception sight. His candour, I trust, will of the fast kept on the great day readily excuse the liberty I have of atonement.""But God most taken, and your known impartiality evidently manifested his approba- will insure the insertion of these tion of fasting on many other oc- lines from casions apart from the Jewish law."-"We conclude, then, that the Jewish Scriptures (namely, the

Old Testament,) recognize, countenance, and support the practice

Dear Sir,

Yours, very respectfully, JAMES HARGREAVES. Waltham Abbey, June 5, 1829.

POETRY.

PRIVATE PRAYER.

A Hymn founded on our Lord's instructions to his Disciples.

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."--Matt. vi. 6. Father of Lights! my lips prepare, When I address thy sacred name; Attune my heart to pray in prayer,

And through thy Son accept the same.

With holy awe my breast inspire;

Keep me from ostentation free;
Infuse the breath of warm desire.
And raise my suppliant soul to Thee.

When I approach th' eternal throne,

May I exclude each worldly care; Pour out my wants to Thee alone,

Who when in secret, seest me there

Retir'd from every human eye,

In humble faith; with filial fear;
To breathe in Mercy's ear-a sigh-

A prayer which none but Heaven shall
hear.

O bless'd asylum! Calm retreat,
Where burden'd hearts their cares unload;
How sacred, how divinely sweet,

Thus to converse awhile with God!
Kind Father! teach me how to pray-
Accept my vows; my tears record;
And patience grant, to wait the day
Which shall proclaim my full reward.
G. T.