132 CHRIST'S CONDESCENSION FOR MAN'S EXALTATION. thy strength be. By T. Beverley. Printed for John Harris, &c." "There is newly Published a small piece, entituled, An Antidote against a careless Indifferency in Matters of Religion. Being a Treatise in Opposition to those that believe that all Religions are indifferent, and that it imports not what men profess. Done out of French. With an Introduction, by Anthony Horneck, D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary to their Majesties. Price 1s. Printed for Henry Rhodes, at the Star, the Corner of Bride Lane, in Fleet Street, and John Harris, at the Harrow, in the Poultry." "The Gentleman's Journal; or, The Monthly Miscellany; in a Letter to a Gentleman in the Country: consisting of News, History, Philosophy, Poetry, Musick, Translations, &c., for the Month of July, 1694. To be continued Monthly. By Peter Motteux, Gent. Printed for H. Rhodes, Fleet Street. Price 6d." “A Play-book for Children, to allure them to read as soon as they can speak plain. Composed of small pages, on purpose not to tire children, and printed with a fair and pleasant letter. The Matter and Method plainer and easier than any yet extant. Price 4d. Sold by J. Harris, in the Poultry." CHRIST'S CONDESCENSION FOR MAN'S EXALTATION. THE Captain of our salvation is the Son of God; begotten, not made; the brightness of his Father, streaming from him, as light from light; his image, not according to his human nature, but according to his divine; the image and character, not of any qualities in God, but of his person; the true stamp of his substance, begotten as brightness from the light, as the character from the type, as the word from the mind, though none of these can fully declare Him. Who, then, more fit to teach us, than He who came out of the bosom of God? Who more fit to give us laws than God himself? What tongue of men or angels can so well express his will, as the Word that was made flesh, pitched his tent, dwelled amongst us? He opened a school, as it were, to teach all that would learn, the way unto true happiness. Or what expedient could wisdom have found out so apt and powerful to draw our love out of these labyrinths and mazes, wherein it wanders and divides itself, to take it from these painted and false glories, and bring it back, and fix it on that which is eternal, as this, to bow the heavens and come down, and be in our flesh; and as man to instruct men; to gain them in their own likeness; to tell them he was not that only which they saw, but of the same essence with his Father, which they could not see? So that here is majesty and humility joined, and united in one to draw them out of darkness into that great light which shall discover to them the deformity, the ugliness, the deceitfulness, of those flattering objects, in which our thoughts, desires, and endeavours meet as their centre. And if this infinite, this inconceivable love of God in manifesting himself in our flesh do not draw and oblige us, if these bonds of love will not hold and fetter us, to a regular submission and obedience in which alone our peace can begin and be perfected; then we are past the reach of any argument which men or angels can bring; and no chains can hold us, but these shall bind us for ever,-except the chains of everlasting darkness.-Anthony Farindon, B.D. (1657.) LITERARY ARTICLE. AMONGST the almost innumerable-we really might say, in reference to their number and variety, the bewildering-subjects of youthful study, those which relate to what are immediately and directly the works of God, not only stand out prominently, but possess the most powerful attractions. The Psalmist evidently felt this, even with the comparatively restricted opportunities of observation which his times afforded. "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." And that he took a comprehensive view of the subject, is evident from the references which we find to different branches of it. In one place, the objects comprised in the sublime science of astronomy are plainly contemplated. "When I consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers; the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained," &c. (Psalm viii. 3.) And in another, there is as manifest a reference to the different branches of natural history. (Psalm civ.) Since that day, the advancement of science is every way astonishing. VOL. VII. Second Series. H And especially may we mention, first, the establishment of accurate principles of arrangement and investigation; and, secondly, the accumulation of carefully-observed facts, and well-known objects,plants, minerals, animals. Science has ceased to be mere conjecture, invested, perhaps, with the garb of philosophy, but conveying no real information. Science is science, and is studied according to its own nature. He who knows not facts, is not considered as a true philosopher, even though he should have a whole dictionary of philosophic terms stored in his memory. But, speaking of the advancement of science, its movements since the days of our own youthhood have been at once decidedly marked and rapid. We have not forgotten the books on natural history which were purchaseable for young folks forty years ago, nor the sort of "cuts" with which they were illustrated. They pleased us, it is true, and gave instruction as well as pleasure. But when we look at the publications to which there is now a much cheaper access, we could almost envy our young friends who possess such high and decided advantages over those who begun their studies in less favoured days. We will not deal in vague generalities. Mr. Knight, who has brought out so many instructive publications, began this year with the issue of a work on Natural History:-The Pictorial Museum of Animated Nature. It is to be completed in twenty-five monthly Parts, forming two volumes, folio. Each Part has four Numbers, and each Number eight pages. These eight pages are thus occupied: 1. A page of engravings of animals; 2 and 3. Letter-press descriptions, arranged in columns, three on each page; 4 and 5. Two pages of engravings; and 7. Letter-press again; 8. Engravings. That is, four pages of engravings; and four of letterpress, in which the engravings are described. No. 2 (which we take only because we happened to open at it) contains, on its four pages, thirty-two engravings. The prospectus states that the whole work is to contain five thousand. We have carefully examined the first monthly Part, and feel no hesitation in saying that if the whole work be executed according to this specimen, it will be an excellent vade mecum and remembrancer for the first-rate philosopher; as well as a most interesting and instructive museum for those whose studies in this branch of science may be confined to it. The descriptions are at once popular and scientific. The engravings are admirable: they are not only accurate but spirited drawings,— drawings to the life. Our young friends will understand us when we say that the animals are full of character. Our old books used to give us their shapes, so that we could tell an elephant from a crocodile. But what books, forty years ago, provided for plain, youthful students, went further than this? The "Pictorial Museum" will almost answer the purpose of a zoological garden. We have written thus, because we think that an acquaintance with natural history will greatly enlarge the mind; and when the study is sanctified, by being referred to religious truth, may at once clear and extend our views of the divine providence. God made all these living creatures. He notices them all; provides for them all. A sparrow does not fall to the ground without him. They are a part of his great family, and He provides for them. How beautifully the Psalmist speaks on the subject:-"These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good." And when the mind is raised to thankful adoration by such a view, how full of comfort are the words of the blessed Lord Jesus: "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Natural history thus furnishes the text; but the subject of the sermon is the glorious one of Divine Providence, in its unceasing watchfulness, and inexhaustible bounty. In recommending a work which makes such a study at once interesting, and easy of access, we believe we are only fulfilling the original and continued design of "The Youth's Instructer." The "Tract Society" is likewise publishing a series of small works designed for the illustration of the works of God; first in separate Numbers, square 16mo., and then in volumes, each containing five Numbers. The plan here is condensation, rather than comprehension. Each Number refers to a particular division of the subject, which is completed in the volume. Thus, one volume is on "Remarkable Insects:" its Numbers are, the Honey-Bee, the Fly, the Ant, the Spider, the Gall-Insect. Another is on "Birds;" divided thus, The Nest, the Egg, the Feather, the Song-Bird, Instinct of Birds. Two Numbers of another series we find on our table," The Eye," and "The Hand." Every Number contains illustrative engravings, excellent alike in design and execution; so that these little volumes are as handsome as they are useful. And while they point out the wonders of nature, they continually refer the reader to the wonder-working God. We only add that though we have noticed these publications in "The Youth's Instructer," yet the older members of the family will find them far from being unworthy of their attention. NOTICES OF ANIMATED AND VEGETABLE NATURE, FOR APRIL, 1843. BY MR. WILLIAM ROGERSON, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. "Now the golden morn aloft Waves her dew-bespangled wing: Till April starts, and calls around "New-born flocks, in rustic dance, "Rise, my soul, on wings of fire, With health, with harmony, and love." GRAY. "WHEN we observe the earth gradually exchanging its winter robes for a mantle of the liveliest green, the flowers springing up in fresh luxuriance at our feet, and every shrub and tree putting forth its buds, which are soon to be beautifully expanded into blossoms and leaves, our first feelings are those of wonder and delight at the silent and marvellous change produced in the general aspect of nature; and we then naturally seek to contemplate the causes of such a universal transition. By what agency, we ask, does the vegetable world suddenly start from apparent death into all the beauty and exuberance of another spring? What second cause, under the direction of the great Ruler of the year, works the magnificent effect? "The means by which this sudden burst of vegetation is produced, is, like most of the other great agencies of nature, extremely simple. It is merely the increased temperature of the earth and atmosphere, assisting the natural tendency of the plants to awake from the lethargic state into which they are thrown during winter. The progress of the earth in its orbit toward its aphelion, or greatest distance from the sun, causes that luminary to ascend higher in the heavens, and to be longer above the horizon, and thus produces longer and warmer days. It is a well-known physical fact, formerly noticed, that the more perpendicularly the sun's rays fall upon the surface of the earth, the greater is the heat they excite. Hence, as the sun in his northward progress, in the ecliptic, daily ascends higher above the horizon, and consequently darts his rays upon our hemisphere in a more perpendicular direction, the temperature of the earth and air gradually increases, and milder and more genial weather ensues. The effect upon the economy of vegetables is more or less rapid, according to their different structures; but in no long period the increased and |