Father, full of grace and truth." Being asked when h had seen that glory, he answered, "Just now I have seu it. What glory is that! A glory which no eye has seen no ear heard, no heart felt. That glory I have seen!" Oi the 11th of May, in the evening, asking what time it was and being answered that the clock had struck nine, he ut tered these his last words, "Now I have overcome!" ant with the fervent prayers of his relations and friends sur rounding his dying bed, he breathed his last in the 66t year of his age His mortal remains were interred at Zell and in the funeral procession there were two dukes o Brunswick. The Rev. Wm. Storch preached his funeral scrmon, from 2 Tim. iv. 7: "I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course," &c. Upon his tomb-stone his image is hewn in stone, at full length, with this inscription: Qui Jesum vidit, qui mundum et demona vicit, He was a man endowed with uncommon natural gifts sanctified by grace; and in the use and application of his talent he exceeded the generality of his brethren as much as the eagle, from which he bears his name as (Arend or Arndt, fignifying, in the lower Saxon dialect, an eagle) soars above the other birds towards the sun. In him sound learning was united with true piety, and he was an exact pattern of a minister of Christ. He not only taught true Christianity in his discourses, but experienced it in his heart, and prac tised it in his life. The functions of his sacred office he fulfilled with unwearied attention and faithfulness; in his ser mons he endeavoured, not to please the ear, but to touch the heart; in his unmerited persecutions he was, like his Master, meek, patient, and forgiving; and in his works of love to the poor he was liberal beyond even the resources of his income. He could do so much good with a little, by fru gality in his own domestic concerns, that his enemies ascribed it to a secret art of making gold. From his person we proceed to consider his writings, particularly his books on "True Christianity." The foundation of these he laid by preaching on the texts placed over each chapter, and having revised the matter as well as the style, he published the first book of it, printed separately, in 1605, at Jena, by Stegman. It was an uncommon phenomenon in those polemical times, in which disputes about the speculative doctrines of religion, rose so high, and were carried on with so much warmth and rancour rancour by different parties, to see a divine steering his course clear of the rocks of contention and animosity, and reducing every thing in religion to the grand principles of faith and love. That his envious opponents might not in volve him in any of their useless disputes, in his second edition, which was soon called for, he left out every expression which could resemble even the shadow of dissention or he terodoxy. Many learned and pious men now joined in expressing their desire, that he might soon publish the other books, which he had sent before in manuscript to be revi sed by John Gerhard, an eminent divine of the Lutheran church, under whose care and inspection they were printed in the year 1608 *. Arndt's book has been, next to the Bible, In this inestimable work the author maintains, that Christ is and must be our all in all, as being the only source of our salvation; that we should however know and receive him, not only as Christ for us, whose righteousness is imputed to us, but also as Christ in us, who works in us every good gift, which renders us acceptable in the sight of God:-That human nature is in a corrupted state, from which it is impossible for us, by our natural capacities, to extricate ourselves; and that therefore regeneration, or a change of heart, is absolutely necessary:-That faith is the mean of our justification, and that the gifts and works of the new life must not be brought into the account: but that the righteousness of faith must be clearly distinguished from that of life:-That, however, true and sincere faith daily renews, purifies, and reforms the heart; and, consequently, true Christianity is nothing but the living and active principle of faith, shew ing itself in genuine piety, and like a sound root of a tree producing good fruits:-That such a divine knowledge and experience is derived from the Word of God; not from a mere cold literal contemplation of it, but from the illumination of Christ and his Holy Spirit, who with the word kindles in our hearts the light and fire of a living and ever active repentance, faith, and obedience. Such is the substance of John Arndt's doctrine of the fall and recovery of man! The scare the leading points in every page of his fine Christianity; and can any man form a better system of practical divinity? The ground-work, upon which he built, was the Bible, and he was péculiarly happy in selecting the most striking and pertinent passages therefrom. The motive which actuated him to pursue such a plan, was evidently, not a vain desire of making a noise in the literary world, because so diffident was he as to his own abilities, that he could hardly be persuaded to publish the other books, even after the first had been applauded; but a sincere and heart-felt compassion for the state of the church, and an hoDest and pious desire to reclaim hypocritical Christians from their lethargy and supineness, to repentance, faith, and the imitation of Jesus Christ, their great exemplar. The glorious work of the reformation by Luther in Germany, and by Calvin in Switzerland, though necessary and useful in itself, had given rise to numberless disputes among the leaders of different parties about the speculative doctrines of religion, when lo! John Arndt was raised up by God, to call the disputamus from the rugged paths of controversy into the way of peace and holiness; and to unite them in N 2 the Bible, the chief source from which many a Christian minis ter has drawn the materials of his discourses; and there is hardly any religious family upon the continent, in which is not to be found the Bible, and Arndt's "True Christianity." General le Garde is said to have been so fond of it, that he carried it with him to his campaigns. The editions of this work in High Dutch, the language in which it was originally written, were various and rapid; and it has been tran slated into the Latin, French, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Swedish, Sclavonian, Turkish, and other languages. The English translation was made by that eminent man of God, Anthony William Boehm, chaplain to Prince George of Denmark, the royal consort of Queen Anne, under whose reign he contributed much to the establishment of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. The first volume appeared 1712; the second 1714; and in the year 1716, he added the "Garden of Paradise," a precious collection of Arndt's prayers and devotions. Many hundred copies were sent to the bonds of mutual love and harmony, by calling sinners of every denomi nation to repentance. It was not his intention to lay down the articles of the Christian faith in a systematical order, and in the form of the schools; but to promote the living knowledge of our depravity, and of the all-sufficiency of Christ for our spiritual wants, in every heart; that men might be awakened from their sinful sleep, and brought into a saving state, by a divine application to themselves of the call and privileges of the gospel, and bring forth in their lives the fruits of faith. If it be enquired why the writings of this excellent man met with so much abuse and opposition, one reason may be found in the circumstances of the times in which he wrote. Luther, in all his works, particularly i his excellent preface to the epistle to the Romans, had described that fait by which a man is justified and saved, as an ever-living and active principle in the heart, exerting itself outwardly in acts of love, piety, and virtue; but many of his followers had deviated from this sound and scriptural doctrine, and represented faith as a mere creature of their own fancy, the work of the head, without a change of heart. To pull down this Dagon of dead faith from his throne, Arndt began, like the Apostle Jame to rouse professing Christians to a just sense of their situation, by thus addressing them, Shew me thy faith by thy works?" and his leading design was evidently to revive the spirit and practice of true piety and godliness. He, therefore, did not so much act the part of a defender of the faith, who with sword in hand opposes the invasion of the enemy, as that of the ploughman and the sower, who prepare the ground for profitable fruit. Yet, after the minutest scrutiny, Arndt's purity in doctrine, and the foundation upon which he raised so fine a superstructure, have been found in all their parts sound and solid, though he may have used some expressions not entirely in the modern taste. God has stamped Arnd: work with numberless testimonies of his divine approbation; and should we reject it on account of some few doubtful or inaccurate expressions Would it not be caprice in any man, to shut his eyes against the sun, be cause some astronomers have discovered spots in it? the the American provinces, and to the missionaries on the coast of Coromandel in the East Indies, there to be given away; which is probably one of the reasons why so few copies are to be found in England; and those few copies are dear and scarce. ASHBURNER, EDWARD, M. A. was born at Olney, in Buckinghamshire, in October 1734. His parents, whom he believed to be truly pious, were members of the Independent church in the above town, of which the Rev. Mr. John Drake was then pastor, and on whom Mr. Ashburner attended with his parents. Mr. Ashburner, sen. was a grazier; and brought up his son to some agricultural business. Prior to his conversion, Mr. Ashburner pursued sin with eagerness, against the dictates of a religious education, and the expostulations of an enlightened conscience. The first abiding impressions of a serious nature that his mind received, were occasioned by hearing the Rev. W. Walker, the Baptist minister at Olney, deliver an address at the grave; and on whose ministry he attended for some time. He also found considerable benefit from the ministry of the Rev. James Hervey. Although he travelled on foot eleven miles to hear him, and almost without food, he obtained so much instruction from his preaching, as amply to compensate all his toils. When it was known that he attended Mr. Hervey, his father from whom it had been concealed, was much displeased; being prejudiced against that clergyman, because he was what the world called a Methodist ;-a most odious nick-name at that time! The good old man was afterward brought to think very respectfully of the rector of Weston Flavel, in consequence of reading his excellent Dialogues. Mr. Ashburner being, however, brought up a Dissenter, at length joined the church under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Grant, of Wellingborough, under whose ministry he enjoyed so much pleasure, as to induce him to walk, regularly, not less than eleven miles, in all kinds of weather, to hear him. Once he related to a friend, that after hearing Mr. Grant on a particular subject, and musing on it, in the intervals of worship, in the meetinghouse, such was the mental refreshment experienced by him, that he would not but have been there, to use his own expression, for his hat-fuil of guineas. While he lived at Olhey, at one season, being much distressed in mind, he retired to a solitary walk; and, drawing near a particular spot, where there was a small well of water, he was led to pour forth forth his heart before God: there it pleased the Lord, in a most remarkable manner, to manifest himself to his soul. His doubts were dissipated, and he was enabled to sing of the loving kindness of the Lord. To this beloved spot he used constantly to repair whenever he visited Olney, tracing by the stream the way up to the well, which has since been in closed; and here, doubtless, he remembered, like Jacob, where he had "wept and made supplication, and the Bethel where the Lord spake unto him." At the age of twenty. six, having long entertained a desire to engage in the work of the ministry, he was introduced into the academy at Mile End, then under the care of the Rev. Drs. Conder, Gibbons, and Walker. Here at first he met with great difficulty, having been acquainted with no other language than his own; and was nearly on the point of relinquishing his studies. But it was so ordered, by him who does all things well, that, at this critical season, a young student, who had been educated from his earliest years in public schools, became intimate with him. His young friend encouraged him to persevere with resolution, assuring him the difficulties which laid in his way would soon be surmounted. The youth it should be observed, at that time laboured under much oppression of mind, on account of his own sinful and wretched condition; for, though he knew the doctrines of the gospel, yet he could not obtain the relief he sighed after :-he wanted a spiritual friend, who could afford him counsel resulting from experience. Such a friend he found in Mr. Ashburner, who was even then an adept in doctrinal, polemical, and experimental divinity; and who, in return for the spiritual consolation he was instrumental in affording, received considerable assistance from his young companion, in the commencement of his classical studies. Thus while the letterlearned youth was imparting his literary knowledge, he was obtaining instruction in the most important of all sciences,the humbling knowledge of the human heart, and the consolatory knowledge of Jesus Christ the Lord. Strengthened by divine assistance, and persevering with unwearied labour and patience, at length he went through most of the Latin and Greek authors used in public schools; and also read through the whole of the Old Testament, in Hebrew and Chaldee, three times; and the New Testament in Greek as often; and afterwards those books became almost as familiar as his English Bible. The learned Dr. J. Walker, who was considered as one of the greatest linguists of this age, was so much attached to him, on account of his assiduity and progress, |