that the plan 'proposed will be generally and cordially responded to."

A general response to this appeal would afford the best opportunity of bringing before the Churches a subject intimately connected with their prosperity.

Appeal to Sunday-school Teachers.-The operations of the day-school have an important bearing on the interests of the Sunday-school. Nearly all the teachers entering the Training Institution have been engaged as Sunday-school Teachers. On these and other grounds, the Board entertains the hope that it will enlist the sympathy and aid of a Body to which this country and our Churches are so largely indebted. A small annual subscription from every Sunday-school would be a valuable contribution to the cause of popular education.

Deputations.-Arrangements are made for visiting some important towns during this and the following month. The Board will be happy to meet the views of friends who will afford facilities for the advocacy of its principles.

2. Publications. A small pamphlet, on "Education in Primary Schools; or, Hints in Aid of the Improvement and Extension of Popular Education," addressed to the Members of the Congregational Body, by the Congregational Board of Education, has been issued. This furnishes a concise view of the principles the Board is working out; and to it the attention of friends connected with the management of our schools is called. The views the Board entertains have lately been powerfully advocated in several publications which take a high position, and the influence of which must be considerable. Mr. Dove's "Theory of Human Progression," belongs to this class; and, in a work entitled "Social Statics," by Mr. Herbert Spencer, the question of National Education is discussed, and Government schemes shown to be self-defeating. The Economist has put forth similar views; and our readers will feel the truthfulness of the following remarks in a recent article in that influential Journal:

"We are acquainted with a parish in the south of England, of which the rector, administering a large family property, is the principal land-owner. He is a rabid Protectionist, a spouter at public meetings, and a determined foe to Dissenters. The churchwardens and overseers are generally his tenants and creatures. Another large land-owner of the parish entertains similar political and religious opinions to the rector, but he is non-resident, and his tenants are guided by his clerical friend. Amongst the shop-keepers and farmers there are several Dissenters, and they maintain their own chapel and a small school. If the inhabitants of that parish were authorised by law to levy school-rates, the rector would, in his own person, and by his tenants and friends, determine the amount, and how they should be appropriated; the Dissenters' school would die away; and they would be compelled to pay for a school that would be made to subserve his purposes. Would that be a pleasing result for the National Public School Association ? But a large proportion of the rural parishes are placed under similar circumstances. They are generally under the control of one or two Protectionist land-owners and clergymen, who will be able, whenever a law shall be passed compelling parishes and districts to establish public

schools by rates, to tax Dissenters to pay for the schools which they will exclusively manage,

"When the Association has got its law, the working of it will not remain in its hands. The members, in their several spheres, can answer for themselves:-Can they answer for their successors? They have the purest intentions:Will town-councils and committees elected by rate-payers be always like them? Will there never be a majority of zealous churchmen in one place, and zealous Dissenters in another, who will know how to make the school-rates subservient to their own purposes? Will the committees be always free from the influence of party, and the rates be always appropriated to the public satisfaction? Will not, in fact, all the intrigues and squabbles that are now everywhere connected with local politics, then contaminate education? and will not the compulsory rates increase the prices for which faction contends? Left to voluntary exertions, each party and sect now maintains its own schools in competition against each other. With compulsory rates, the contention would be for the management of the funds; and the Church of England, having the most followers, would generally carry off the victory. Compulsory rates would virtually add to the revenues and power of the Church. They are less injurious in Prussia, where the government regulates the whole, than they would be here, where, though ordained by law, the application of them would be an additional bone of contention between sects and parties."

3. Engagement of Teachers.-The following places have been supplied since the publication of the Report of last year.-Female Teachers: Nayland, Brixton, Poplar, Tottenham-courtroad, Paddington, Lynn, Norwich, Chigwellrow, Hackney, Coggeshall, Bury, Steeple Bumpstead, Arlington, Reading.--Male Teachers : Kingsland, Manchester, Twig Folly, Poyle, Ashton-under-Lyne, Blackburn, Barnet, Finchley, Middleton, Ryde, Bethnal-green, Pimlico, Ossett.

4. Examination Report of the Male Normal School." I have, at the request of Mr. Unwin, done myself the pleasure of going through the work which his pupils have been doing throughout the last half year; in Arithmetic, Geography, Ancient and Sacred History; in Algebra, and very particularly in Euclid; also in Trigonometry, and the principles of Mechanics. I have much satisfaction in speaking of the good ability shown by the pupils, and the great zeal and ardour exhibited by all of them. I devoted part of an evening last week to hear them read from Henry's Exercises, and two of them from the Greek of John and Luke, in the New Testament; and have to report most favourably of the interest which they have taken in the study of the elements, and of the progress which they have made. Generally speaking, they were slow, but accurate; and, for the time, their attainments reflected great credit on their capacity and diligence."

ROBERT REDPATH, A.M. 12, College-place, Camden-town,

February 24th, 1851.

5. Candidates for Admission into the Training Institution.-The Board admits pupils in March, September, and January. Information will be furnished on application to the Secretary, 10, Liverpool-street, Finsbury.

sence.

"When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together." This tremour of the edifice was the voice of Divine power in answer to earnest prayer. Its tendency was to encourage rather than to appal; it prepared the Apostles and their company for the

2. Wondrous baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was about to descend upon them.

No sooner was the shock which made the edifice to quiver to its foundation passed, than the power of the Lord came upon themselves: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." Thus the quality in which they had been most deficient, and which their coming labours most required, was just that which became the first and most strikingly manifested. Their Master had told them that they should be endued with power from on high, and that promise was now fulfilled. It appears from the narrative that

3. This baptism produced a wonderful unity.

The prayer of the Lord for his people, that they "all might be one, that the world might believe that the Father had sent him,' was in a measure realized. Here is the first-fruits of the manifestation and power by which that prayer is to be answered. The oneness is wonderful! "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul;" and it clearly arose from the effect produced upon their hearts with respect to Jesus Christ. Their knowledge was in a moment cleared and perfected; their faith was made strong; and their hearts, by this means, were filled with the fire of love to the Son of God and to each other. VOL. VIII.

4. This marvellous unity produced unexampled benevolence.

Nothing in the history of mankind is to be compared with the scene of that memorable occasion. The idea of property was abolished. "They had all things in common: as many as were possessors of land or houses sold them, and brought the price of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the Apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man, according as he had need." What an achievement! What a transformation! How unlike mankind generally! and how unlike what those men had themselves been till now! They were, in very deed, new creatures; old things are passed away, and all things are become new.' Never before did charity obtain a triumph so complete over selfishness. Now, for the first time, the disciples fairly reflected the true cha racter of their Master; but the beauty of the manifestation was somewhat marred by the conduct of Ananias and Sapphira. Let us first look at

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ANANIAS.

What was the sin of this man? It was falsehood, under circumstances of peculiar aggravation. He was the subject of a divided heart. Fit only to have the lowest place among the disciples, he was anxious to rank with those who occupied the highest. He sought the highest praise on the cheapest terms.

There

was no compulsion as to the contribution: he might have reserved the estate wholly; or having sold it, he might, on reflection, have changed his mind as to the path of duty, and have given nothing; or he might have given only a part, in such proportion as he thought good. He was torn between two passions-vanity and avarice: these passions sought to compromise the matter, and they succeeded by the aid of falsehood. The act was deliberate they had no sudden surprise to plead as an apology. The sin was further aggravated by the fact that it was a deed of collusion. The husband and wife agreed together in the impious project! That was a terrible moment! The tempter of men saw the scene of love and unity the disciples displayed, and determined, if possible, to mar it; and, through this ill-fated couple, succeeded.

Times of great spiritual manifestation are also times of great spiritual danger. Where the sons of God are, Satan is always among them. How great, therefore, is our need of prayer to be kept from temptation! Let us now ponder the facts as the Spirit of the Lord has set them forth in order; and,

1. The virtual deposition which constitutes his crime.

"He brought a certain part, and laid it at the Apostles' feet,"-a simple deed, and yet, by that deed, he uttered a lie! What words he spoke we are not told; he may have said nothing; he need not, his deed was a word-a word heard in heaven! Under such circumstances no words are so emphatic as actions! The aid of the tongue was not necessary to the awful work of falsehood. But God is not mocked; in a moment the sinner was discovered to himself, and to all around, whose praise he had sought on very disingenuous pretensions. We have

next,

2. The charge.

"Ananias! why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, to keep back part of the price of the land? Whilst it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." How terrible! It was as a voice from the eternal throne ! It shook him as the bolt of heaven! The Apostle pours out four questions in rapid succession; but there is, there can be no reply the discovered transgressor is speechless. No defence was of could be set up. He stood condemned before the Searcher of hearts! And thus will it be with all sinners before the judgment-seat of Christ! Sentence was immediately passed in the court of conscience, and nothing remained but to inflict,

3. The awful penalty.

"And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost." What a spectacle! What a lesson! With what rapidity discovery followed transgression, then judgment, then condemnation, and then destruction! No time or space for apology or repentance: the iniquity was of the most peculiar and aggravated description, and such as, therefore, demanded a prompt and awful example. The man listened, trembled, fell, expired! And death was immediately followed by

4. The interment.

No sooner was he slain by the sword of justice, than he was removed from the

face of the earth. The expedition with which the matter was gone about is awful, and most admonitory. He was dealt with as a public criminal. The body was not given up to his friends; even his wife was not sought out to superintend the sad ceremony of his sepulture. "The young men arose, and wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him." The "young men were employed to discharge this mournful duty. were young men among the converts, and it was of great moment that they who were in the way to outlive the seniors should have a special hand in the matter, that they might tell it to the generation to come. But let us note,

There

5. The impression made on the public.

Satan here, as usual, greatly miscalculated the effect of the deed to which he had prompted Ananias; that which was meant to disgrace was made to redound to the honour of the Gospel. "Great fear came on those that heard these things." It was felt that God was near -that God is holy-that God is just! But this was only the beginning of wrath and of horror. No sooner is the dead man removed from the stage, than we are presented with

SAPPHIRAI

Let us note some of the particulars of her lamentable history.

1. Her ignorance of the terrible occur

rence.

"It was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.' This is a remarkable thing. Poor Sapphira! She was the observed of all the multitude, who doubtless commiserated her mournful condition. They felt for her bereavement, and by anticipation sympathized with her in the coming sorrow, when she should learn what had actually occurred. As yet they little knew that she was a partaker of the deed, and was so soon to share the punishment. She comes in, and is beckoned by Peter. Calm in gait, though filled with conscious guilt, and without the slightest conception that the secret was out, she approaches that sharp and penetrating man, himself deeply moved, while he looks at her, and puts a question which will pierce her as a sword. 2. Peter's interrogation.

but as a conspirator, she must be faithful to her partner in iniquity-she must support her husband. So one sin leads to another, and the descent to perdition is rapid! She might have said, "No," and have explained that it was not so. But she was sold to Satan, and she coolly uttered the lie.

3. Sapphira's answer.

With a condemning conscience, she answered, "Yea, for so much." Unhappy woman! It is done! Her doom is past, and there is no reprieve! The coming question will transfix her as a dart.

4. Peter's charge.

"How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thine husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out!" Was ever human being addressed in terms so full of terror? The rapidity with which this tremendous discovery came upon her was such as to produce an effect that baffles conception. The whole thing is inconceivably dreadful. Every word uttered is a dagger to pierce her very soul! She is utterly overwhelmed by the mingled sense of guilt, shame, dread, and horror. But there was no time for reverie; she is carried away as with a whirlwind!

8. The judgment.

"Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost! The whole scene, comprising the discovery, the condemnation, the sentence, and the execution, are as rapid as in the case of her husband. Before she can well realize her fearful condition, the hand of justice falls upon her, and she is cut down as by a blow from an unseen hand! Partaker of her husband's crime, she shared, in the full, his punishment. She followed him forthwith into the world of spirits. In the twinkling of an eye she was with him, and they both appeared before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give their account of the deeds done in the body! There was no time or space for repentance; it was a "sin unto death.' The same plan was adopted as to her funeral.

6. The interment.

'The young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband." What a procession! What a tomb! What a day! It made the ears tingle to hear of it; but those before whose eyes these events took place were the subjects of impressions which it were impossible to delineate,

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This second stroke awfully enhanced the dread inspired by the first act of the terrible tragedy.

7. The effect on the public.

"Great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." These events were the voice of God to warn men of sin. They led, as they were intended to lead, to great searchings of heart. The church was thus given to understand that her God was a jealous God, and will be honoured of all them who approach him. It was seen that he is a holy God, and that great fear is due to him in the meeting of the saints. But it is time to bring the matter home, and to ponder the lessons it so impressively teaches.

LESSONS.

Here, then, we are most unequivocally taught,

1. The divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit.

This single passage serves to show that He is, in very deed, God; that as such he was displeased, and on the ground of that displeasure punished the transgressors. Christians who remember that they are temples of God, inhabited through the Spirit, are thus warned of the danger of sin living in the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit, they are to beware of griev ing the Spirit. Again, we are most solemnly taught,

2. The doctrine of Satanic agency.

There are few doctrines more dreadful or less thought of. The subject is little understood by the bulk of the professing world. The very mention of it is but too frequently the cause of a sarcastic smile, or of contemptuous ridicule. Well, thus the Wicked One would have it. Nothing could better suit his purpose. Unbelief produces security; security ministers to success in the work of destruction. Men laugh on, and while they laugh, they go down to hell! Let Chris tians, who really know in what circumstances they are placed, watch and pray that they enter not into temptation. It is here plainly taught that

3. No person, no place is secure.

Among such company, and in the midst of such employments as those of that eventful day, who would have anticipated such peril? who would have looked for the presence and the deadly activity of the Wicked One? Was it not the last place to look for the presence of the tempter and the destruction of souls? Was not Ananias one of the last persons

to be overcome? Ah! the holiest places exclude not Satan! The best company and the best acts may form the chief snares to the souls of men engaged in them! The world will know too late, both that there is a God and a devil, a heaven and a hell, fallen men and falle angels! In the present case, however

4. Satan's malice was confounded.

The sin of this pair was made to contribute to the glory of the Lord, and the honour of the Gospel, in a very extraordinary degree. It is impossible to conceive of the effect of the dispensation, in working integrity in the breasts of the believers, and inspiring a spirit of prayer and vigilance. It is difficult to conjecture by what other means such an impulse could have been given to the cause of sincere godliness. Such a manifestation could not fail to crush the first risings of hypocrisy. It showed how near the people were to God, and how he would be sanctified in all those who came nigh him. It is deserving of particular notice, that

5. The kingdom of providence is so administered as to promote that of grace.

Thus the malice of Satan is over-ruled to advance every object which he sought to obstruct, and to build up the kingdom he was bent on destroying. This cheering fact is finely exemplified in the case of which we are treating. The historian says, "And of the rest durst no man join himself to them, but the people magnified them; and believers were the more added to the Lord, MULTITUDES, both men and women." Such is all that was gained by the Prince of darkness from his malicious and cruel attempt on this ill-fated pair! It was, by Infinite Wisdom, rendered the means of giving such an impulse to the cause of Christ as could have resulted from no other. The death of the poor transgressors exceedingly redounded to the Divine glory in the salvation of man. Apart from the sin, it was worth dying a hundred times over, to have instrumentally contributed to effect so much good. Thousands upon thousands of ministersmen wise, holy, and active-have laboured hard through a long life without such success. That same Spirit to whom the lie was made was pleased to render their punishment the means of arresting, convincing, and converting these multitudes, who might otherwise have perished in ignorance and sin. So far all was gracious and glorious, but we are not thence to derive an encouragement to sin against God

After the statement of this stu

pendous fact, it may be permitted us to say, that, in God's discipline of his children,

6. Mercy often mingles with judgment.

Much of the death of our world, both among the righteous and the wicked, is regulated by unseen circumstances. It is, among the people of God, often the penalty of sin-sin which has not been repented of. His erring people must either repent, in obedience to his command, or they will be brought to it by punishment; for although it only hardens others, through the grace of God, it is made to soften them. There is no proof in the case before us that Ananias and Sapphira had not the root of the matter in them. A single sin, even such a sin as this, does not prove the contrary. There seems to us every reason to believe that they were the subjects of faith, and the children of God. They were tempted, and they fell. They desired to stand well with the Church and the Apostles; but the price was too high. Peter himself, who had enjoyed ten-fold advantages, and was called to occupy a place of the first distinction, sinned far more grievously. If his temptation was sudden, his conduct was far more atrocious and aggravated; yet it is settled by the highest authority that, notwithstanding, his heart was right with God, and that he would close his career by laying down his life rather than deny his Master; and history records the fulfilment of the prediction. In support of this view of the matter, we appeal to Paul's Letter to the Corinthians: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged; but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." Here, then, was sin, and here was the penalty of death awarded to it. In this case we see the union of justice with mercy. Here the punishment was limited to the death of the body; the second death had no place in it. Death, to these parties, was merely the messenger that called them to heaven. As the punishment of their transgression, they were severed from their friends on earth, and from their works of faith and labours of love in the service of their Lord, which, otherwise, they might have been allowed longer to perform, thus adding to their rewardable services; but they were only cut off that they might go to their Father's house, and there mingle with spirits of the just made perfect. Of

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