doctrine, that Christ was the immediate agent in the creation of the natural universe. The principal of these passages are the three following: John i. 3, "All things were made by him" (the Word or Logos)," and without him was not any thing made, that was made." Col. i. 16, "By him (the Son) all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth." Heb. i. 2, " By whom also (his Son) he made the worlds." Now, it is chiefly by viewing these detached passages out of their connections, under the previous impression also, that the Word signifies the Son literally, and by taking for granted that our common version represents their sense correctly, that a conclusion militating against the plain tenor of the Scriptures on this great subject, has been formed. But 1st, by turning to the respective connections, we shall perceive that, in each instance, the prerogative of God as the Author, the primary Agent at least, of what is said to have been made or created, is preserved. In John i. 1, the Word is declared to be God himself; in Col. i. 15, Christ is declared to be only "the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature," and, therefore, not the absolute and universal Creator; and verse 19, it is observed, that "it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." In the last passage, the words, with the verse preceding, show that, at most, Christ was but the subordinate agent of God, in that which is represented as being made. 2d, By turning to the original, we find that our translators have rendered two different Greek words by the same English preposition by, which, when so connected with a person, is usually understood to mean his agency in the work; while neither of those terms, for which it is substituted, were probably used to convey that idea. Indeed, it is ever extremely dangerous, not to say absolutely futile, to attempt to establish great principles on particles in speech, the use of which, even in the language to which they appertain, is often extremely difficult to be determined with precision; and when attempted to be represented by others appertaining to a different language, must often be attended with still greater difficulties. They have been ably shown, by a great philologist, to be but the vestiges of words, the primary uses of which are often very imperfectly known, and are applied merely as connecting links in a discourse, without any nice attention to their exact meaning. The

preposition en, translated by, Col. i. 16, is the same which is rendered in, Eph. ii. 10, where, to be created in Christ Jesus unto good works, plainly means no more than to become Christians under the influence of the Gospel. The connection in the former passage, appears to show, that the preposition should receive the same rendering; for if Christ is represented as a creature, ver. 15, it seems absurd to assert immediately afterwards, that, for that reason, all things were created by his agency; whereas, viewing him as the principal part of that creation, whatever it may be that is here intended, the additional assertions that all things were created in, through, and for him, concur to show, that he is the principal object and final end of that creation, in consistency with the introductory statement, that he is its first-born and chief. But the whole passage appears, from the connection, to be of the like figurative description with Eph. ii. 10. The Apostle is not treating of the literal creation either of Jesus himself, or of the natural world in general, but of the moral creation, the renovation of mankind through the instrumentality of his Gospel. He makes no mention of the mundane system, but speaks of "thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers:" he is representing, that under the divine councils and arrangements, all other authorities exist but in subservience to "the kingdom of his dear Son," the erection of which was his primary design from the commencement of the world of mankind; that it is the greatest, the most potent kingdom, into whose objects all others are resolvable, and into which they must finally subside. This interpretation is in perfect consistency with many prophecies; and in those of Daniel, and more fully, of the Apocalypse, both the figurative representations-taken indeed, like this in part, from the literal or physical creation-and the plain declarations, coincide entirely with this view of our Apostle's sentiments: see Dan. vii. 14; Rev. xi. 15. Our Lord, in describing the fate of Jerusalem (Mat. xxiv. 29), compares it to the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the starsplainly meaning, the absolute removal and extinction of the Jewish authorities; and these being withdrawn from the political heavens, "the sign of the Son of man" makes its appearance in them, ver. 30: that is, Christianity advances on the removal of Judaism. The Apostle, in declaring that "all things, whether thrones, dominions," &c.

which are in heaven, were created for him and through him, employed similar imagery, with the view of showing the absolute superiority of the kingdom of Christ to all other ruling authorities.

(No. 2. to be concluded in our next.)

Written on the blank leaves prefixed to a Library copy of the Rev. James Hews Bransby's touching Narrative of the Wreck of "the Rothesay Castle" Steam Vessel.

READER! if thou hast e'er essay'd to tread,

With holy aim, the dwelling of the dead;
And felt an awe o'er all thy senses creeping,
Which found relief perchance, in sighs or weeping-
In thoughts consoling, e'en though unexpress'd,
That they who slept below were with the bless'd-
In hopes, that when thine earthly race was o'er,
Thou might'st thyself gain heaven's elysian shore-
Peruse this tale of suffering!-'twill move

Thy soul to sorrow, sympathy, and love:
For all-the young, the beautiful, the brave,
Who found so piteously a watery grave-
Thy heart will bleed within thee, and a sigh
Will 'scape thy bosom, and a tear thine eye;
And thou wilt wish, it may be, thou'dst been there,
In that sad wreck, to save or die in prayer,
With the devoted beings who were reft

Of life scarce struggling to retain the gift!-
To those who mourn the loss of all that's dear

To man in his short troubled sojourn here,
Thou wilt thy deepest sympathy extend,

And pray that Heaven may every comfort send!—

And thou wilt give, I know, for it is due,

Thy heart's best gratitude to one whom few

Indeed have equall'd-DUCKWORTH!* he who gave

His chance of life, a stranger's life to save;

Mr. Lawrence Duckworth of Edenfield, near Bury, Lancashire, whose noble-minded and benevolent conduct, in a moment of direst peril, saved the life of Mr. Edward Jones of Bangor, Wales. "At this moment, he saw, within a few yards of him, a person kneeling on a broad board, the top of the cook's room. He at once received Mr. Duckworth's permission to avail himself of the board; but he soon discovered, that although it had kept Mr. Duckworth completely above water, it could not sustain the weight of both. Mr. Duckworth inquired of Mr. Jones whether he was able to swim, Mr. Jones told him that he was not; Mr. Duckworth then contrived to take off

Yielding his raft to one who could not swim,
At once he left it, put his trust in HIM
Who holds in hollow of his hand the sea,
And both were saved, as both deserved to be.
Oh! 'twas a deed to which the loftiest phrase
Of highest eulogy were meagre praise-
A deed that will, through many a coming age,
Make Duckworth's name illumine Bransby's page;
On earth be ever honour'd, and in heaven

Receive the high reward, to such deeds only given!

But, READER! should'st thou be of meaner mould
Than I have now imagined thee, if gold
Be all the god thou worshippest, and earth
To thee a workshop, heaven a fabled birth;
If thou'rt a wooden block, a senseless stone,
A thing in nothing human save in bone;
If thou hast ne'er at pity's tale of woe,
Wept tears of sorrow, and felt all the glow
Of holiest sympathy-away! pollute

Not thou this hallow'd volume! but refute

Thy past existence with a life amended,

And worthy Him by whom e'en thou'rt befriended:
Hence! to thy closet, sinner! and when there,
Down on thy knees, and seek thy God in prayer;
The present hour, it may be, is thy last,

The next is on the wing, the time for prayer is past!
March, 1832.

R. H.

his coat and his shoes, and immediately gave up the board to his fellowsufferer, observing that Mr. Jones's only chance would be to remain upon the board, which up to that time, he, Mr. Duckworth, had found so eminently serviceable, and that he himself would attempt to swim to Puffin Island, faint as was his hope that he should ever reach the shore alive."

"This noble-minded man, after leaving Mr. Jones, succeeded in swimming about a quarter of a mile, when he came up with a spar that was carried before him by the tide. This he eagerly grasped, but at first it was of little advantage to him, for it turned round as often as he strove to rest himself upon it. When his exhausted frame was sinking, and hope had nearly forsaken him, he found means of rendering the beam useful by placing his chin on it, so as to keep his head altogether out of the water, and happily his life was thus preserved. Between ten and eleven o'clock, he was picked up, within three miles of the Great Ormeshead, and carried to Beaumaris. After breathing forth his vows of holy gratitude, it was among his first anxieties to ascertain what had been the fate of Mr. Jones. The day passed without bringing any tidings of him, and it was natural to conclude that he had met with a watery grave. The next morning, however, Mr. Duckworth received intelligence of his extraordinary escape, and immediately went from Beaumaris to Bangor to see him. It was, as you may suppose, a meeting of great interest. They pledged themselves to do all in their power to promote each other's welfare through the remainder of their lives; and who can doubt that generosity like that of Mr. Duckworth is recorded in heaven."

REVIEW.

The Rise and Establishment in Five and Twenty Years, in the United States of America, of 1000 Unitarian Congregations; under the designation of Christians; together with a Detailed Statement and Defence of their Opinions. By Simon Clough, Corresponding Secretary of the United States General Christian Conference, &c. Re-printed; London, Hunter; Manchester, Forrest.

MORE signs of the dying state of Unitarianism! Truly, if things proceed thus, the sect will merge in the conversion of the world. A thousand congregations in 25 years! Even Wesleyan Methodism cannot bring a parallel case. For a long time after we heard of the fact, we vacillated between doubt and fear, thinking it too good to be true; or, that there was some exaggeration, or some mistake. But the evidence is now before our eyes. The English Editor of these interesting documents, has given us something to feel, handle, and see; and somewhat in the spirit of a certain Duke, has resolved to show the Unitarian public of this country, that "there is no mistake, and shall be no mistake."

We rejoice in the appearance of this tract, because it shows what our faith can do-what means should be employed to give it success, that zeal may be blended with knowledge; while it furnishes the hope of yet greater displays of Unitarianism, "in the breaking forth" to use the words of the Editor-" of light in all sects, in all quarters of the Christian, yes, and the unchristian world, till by a gradual, perhaps with many, an insensible renunciation of prevailing corruptions, and a consequent approximation to the Gospel, the majority shall find, that, with many diversities in minor points, they agree in the two fundamental principles of Christianity-the real unity and essential goodness of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.' Heartily, too, do we add our injunction to his: "Meanwhile, let every one who loves the truth, strive without ceasing and with all his powers for its diffusion," because we think with him, that "the Gospel, the whole Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel, is the ark of humanity."