In the second grand division of the sermon, that on the influence of the female character, there appears, at first view, to be a slight inaccuracy in the location of the first consideration-the influence upon herself alone. The obscurity, however, is rather in the expression than in the idea, the influence of such a character upon the condition of its possessor being the object intended, although hardly designated with sufficient clearness. a The influence of a virtuous female upon her own happiness-upon that of those with whom she is connected in the conjugal relation-in that of a mother or head of a family-as daughter, sister, or assistant in domestic toils as a member of the Church or of civil society-is accurately, for cibly, and eloquently displayed. The influence of a wife, and of a mother, are touched with peculiar tenderness and truth, and must come home to the heart of every reader of the other sex. The style of the discourse is, in general, peculiarly chaste, and frequently manifests no small degree of elegance. The description of a pious female, while it affords no unfair specimen of the general manner, is well worthy of transcription, on account of its truth and importance. that pride of life. Hers is the piety which urges to the unbending attachment to every truth, the assiduous cultivation of every grace, and the diligent and self-denying performance of every duty. Add to the excellence of such a woman, all the peculiar excellencies of her sex-all that native tenderness and kindness-all that cheerfulness and sweetness of dispositionall that untiring patience and submission to suffering-and all that immutable love, in which she has a glorious superiority over the other sex; and as you contemplate her virtues, tell me, what empire has true excellence on the earth like the bosom of such a wo man p. 15. Notwithstanding the general purity of the style, there are some few of those anomalous expressions which appear to be peculiar to the pulpit exercises of our dissenting brethren. The unauthorized words, "prayerful," p. 13, "heavenliness," p. 21, "subordinate," in a verbal form, p. 19; the uncouth epithet " oneness," p. 19, and the phrase, "throwing one's self within the ranks of God's covenant people,' p. 21, may be cited as examples. The appropriate title of "Revelator," applied to the beloved disciple, p. 30, is scarcely conformable to usage. We would take our leave of this interesting production, by warmly recommending it to the careful perusal of our fair readers, and by expressing our confident hope, that it will be the instrument of much good to those for whom it was designed, and through them, to the Church at large. For the Christian Journal. R. U. "It has frequently been remarked, that pious women are not only more numerous, but more pious than pious men.' In a woman, piety is more apt to be uniform and persevering, amid multiplied obstacles and accumulated discouragements. And if she possesses large measures of grace, her religion will be more ardent than the religion of the other sex. Such was [were] Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna; and such have been a multitude of others, of whom the world was not worthy. If woman was first in her REVIEW of the proposed Additions to transgression, she is most lovely in her penitence. If she was first in her infidelity, she is most faithful in her attachment- last at his cross, and earliest at his grave.' Hers is the piety which purifies the heart, and overcomes the world. Hers is the piety which raises the eye and heart to God; which consecrates to him those ardent affections, that youth, that beauty, and the HYMNS. WHEN the new hymns shall be laid before the General Convention, there will probably be too little time for much debate on each individual piece. The sessions of that body are usually limited to a few days, or at most to parts of two weeks; and there are various matters of importance to be transacted within that period. The hymns that may be proposed must, of course, be despatched with but little opportunity for argument. It is important, therefore, that their merits be discussed beforehand, and discussed in such a manner as may bring them under the notice of those who may be members of the Convention: in this way they will be prepared to vote upon them with due understanding. This was one of our motives for giving such publicity to the present collection as the Christian Journal could afford, and for accompanying them with critical remarks. This collection, though some of the hymns may not eventually be reported by the committee, though some of them may be altered, and though additions may be made from other sources, will probably be the basis of the report; and, as such, it may properly be brought into discussion. When the Convention shall be in session, the opportunity of full discussion will be past. There are two hymns on the subject of SALVATION BY GRACE. Hymn LX-Doddridge. 1 Grace 'tis a charming sound, Heav'n with the echo shall resound, 2 Grace first contriv'd a way To save rebellious man; 4 Grace all the work shall crown It lays in heav'n the topmost stone, We must ask, what is the allusion in the 4th verse, 3d and 4th lines? the 66 topmost stone" of what? and what "praise"? The Saviour is indeed to his Church "the head stone in the corner;" this he is of "the Lord's doing;" and he "became" such when rejected of the builders, his own people. But the allusion in the hymn is to the laying of some stone in the "everlasting days;" they being first mentioned, and the return of thought from eternity to an act done in time being too great an anticlimax to be allowable.--If we VOL. IX. are right in our scruples, we would offer the following substitutes for the two last lines And shine for ever from the throne, Hymn LXI.-Scotch Paraphrase. 1 My grateful soul, for ever praise, 2 Vain and presumptuous is the trust 8 'Tis from the mercy of our God His mercy sav'd our souls from death, 4 His Spirit, through the Saviour shed, Refines our dross, and love divine 5 Thus rais'd from death, we live anew; And see our Father's face. A truly excellent hymn. Though we made no general objection to the one before it, we cannot but ask our readers to compare the two, and they will see the substantial superiority of a good paraphrase over an uninspired composition. Next follow three hymns classed under the head of THE CHURCH. Hymn LXII.-Doddridge.-Isaiah lii. 1, 2. 1 Triumphant Zion, lift thy head From dust, and darkness, and the dead; Though humbled long, awake at length, And gird thee with thy Saviour's strength. 2 Put all thy beauteous garments on, And let thy various charms be known: The world thy glories shall confess, Deck'd in the robes of righteousness. 3 No more shall foes unclean invade, And fill thy hallow'd walls with dread; No more shall hell's insulting host Their vict'ry and thy sorrows boast. 4 God from on high has heard thy prayer, His hand thy ruins shall repair; Rear'd and adorn'd by love divine, Thy tow'rs and battlements shall shine. 5 Grace shall dispose my heart and voice To share and echo back thy joys; Nor will the watchful monarch cease To guard thee in eternal peace. To this hymn also, with one or two corrections, we may appeal in proof of the superiority of good paraphrases.Our corrections are these. For "vari 11 kr ous charms," verse 2d, line 2d, we propose "excellence" and in the same verse we would make a transposition, by placing the 4th line before the 3d. In verse 5th, line 1st, for "my" we propose our:" but a more thorough amendment would be, to condense the 4th and 5th verses into one, by omitting the two last lines of the 4th, and the two first lines of the 5th, the condensed passage to read thus : God from on high has heard thy prayer, His hand thy ruins shall repair; Nor will thy watchful monarch cease To guard thee in eternal peace. By this alteration we escape the want of connection between the two last lines of verse 5th, and the two lines which precede them in the same verse. Hymn LXIII.-Watts. Sinai and Zion.-Heb. xii. 18, &c. The tempest, fire, and smoke; Where milder words declare his will, 3 Behold th' innumerable host 4 Behold the bless'd assembly there, 5 The saints on earth and all the dead We are not quite satisfied with the idea (verse 3d, lines 3d and 4th) that "faith is turned to sight" in the case of the departed "spirits of the just:" though their reward is certain, it is but expect ed, and expectation implies faith; besides, it may be questioned whether the "sight" intended, the beatific vision, does not require the "spirit' to be united to the glorified body,-if so, it will not take place till the resurrection: perhaps we shall improve the verse, and engraft into it a better expression of the idea ❝ made perfect" in the original passage, by reading line 4th, verse 3d, thus 66 Enrob'd in stainless white: as the authority for which see Rev. vii. 9, &c. In verse 4th, line 3d, for "And" read "Hear;" and for " declares," which destroys the rhyme, read "declare:" in line 4th, for "vilest sins" read "sins, through Christ." Verse 5th, line 1st, we would read thus, to make it include the angels as part of the church, as is done in the passage in Hebrews The saints on earth, in heav'n, the dead, &c. The next hymn is still under the head of the Church. Hymn LXIV.-Christian Fellowship 1 Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love: 2 Before our Father's throne We pour our ardent prayers; 3 We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear; 4 When we asunder part, It gives us inward pain; But we shall still be join'd in heart, 5 This glorious hope revives 6 From sorrow, toil, and pain, And perfect love and friendship reign Surely it is an imperfection in a hymn on "Christian fellowship," to make no mention of the Church: to remedy this defect, we would insert the following between the 1st and 2d verses One God, one Lord our head, One faith, one baptism, own'd, Our everlasting bond To correspond with this, for "Before," verse 2d, line 1st, we may perhaps read "There, at"-i. e. in the church we "pour our prayers." Verse 4th presents an idea of " parting" which we at first mistook for earthly separation; to guard against this mistake, and to avoid the awkward phrase “inwurd pain," may we propose the following in place of the two first lines of that verse? When, mortal, we must part, How keen, how deep the pain! Or, are we mistaken in presuming the separation mentioned to be that of death?-the 5th verse speaks of " our courage by the way," the courage through life of "each" of the parties separated,-neither of them, of course, can be deceased: if therefore our interpretation of the 4th verse be correct, we must propose the omission of the 5th. With this omission, the final verse becomes more appropriate. Our present number can extend to only a part of the sixteen hymns which next follow under the title of THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Hymn LXV.-Newton. 1 Let worldly minds the world pursue, 2 Those follies now no longer please, Far from my heart be joys like these, 3 As by the light of op'ning day 4 Creatures no more divide my choice; His name, and love, and gracious voice, 5 Now, Lord, I would be thine alone, And, oh, I trust that thou wilt own A good hymn in the main; but with rather too much of profession. For this objection we would expunge the 4th verse, where it is most glaring; and where the avowal of being indifferent to the "creatures" and having the "heart fixed" upon God, is at variance with the 5th verse, which utters a wish for such devotedness. Verse 5th, lines 3d and 4th, appear to intimate that God will "own" us because we are "worthless worms :" might we change the 4th line ?— An heir of bliss in me. Hymn LXVI-Gregg. 1 Jesus! and shall it ever be, 3 Asham'd of Jesus! just as soon 66 .6 6 Till then-nor is my boasting vainTill then, I'll boast a Saviour slain; And, oh, may this my portion be, My Saviour not asham'd of me! The 5th verse will unquestionably be omitted; the thought contained in it is both overstrained and untrue,-for why should those who have no guilt” or tears," (the holy angels, for example,) be ashamed of Jesus?-or, if it were that a man had no "soul to save," though he might choose to be indifferent to Jesus, why should he be ashamed of him? This verse excluded, the two first lines of the final verse must be altered, which might be done thus: Asham'd of Jesus! empty pride! I'll boast a Saviour crucified; &c. With these amendments, the hymn is a sufficiently good one. The next hymn we deem far inferior. Pilgrim through this barren land; Whence the living waters flow; Lead me all my journey through. 4 When I tread the verge of Jordan, Without one fault in the matter of this hymn, it yet is not to our taste. But others may view it more favourably; and we will, for their sakes, offer humbly our corrections.-The hymn is a petition for guidance through the wilderness of this world, grounded on the type of the pilgrimage of Israel in the desert. In this view, "crystal fountains," verse 2d, line 1st, does not ap ply definitely to the rock of which the Israelites drank. The same objection, of being an idea foreign to the type, applies to verse 3d, line 4th; nothing, we believe, is expressed in scripture, of the Lord being then particularly their "righteousness." Besides, the allusions to the "waters" and to the "manna" should be in one verse, as naturally related; instead of which, the "cloudy fiery pillar" is so introduced as to separate them, bringing the pilgrim "through" his " journey," though he asks afterwards for "manna," &c., as being yet "in" the "wilderness." The word "banner" too makes. a second rhyme, though a bad one, in the 3d verse, while the other verses have only one rhyme in each. May we, to expunge all these defects, offer the two following verses in place of the 2d and 3d ? 2 Feed me with the heav'nly manna In this desert world below; Open, in the Rock, the fountain Whence the living waters flow. 3 Keep me near thy sacred dwelling, There before thy shrine to bend ; Let the fire and cloud, thy presence, Lead me to my journey's end. In the 4th verse, line 3d, for "and bell's," we propose "the grave's," as agreeing better with Hos. xiii. 14, from which the thought is taken.-After all, we like the amendment almost as little as the original. Hymn LXVIII.-Duties 1 A charge to keep I have,- A never dying soul to save, 2 To serve the present age, may it all my pow'rs engage To do my Master's will. 3 Arm me with jealous care As in thy sight to live; And, O, thy servant, Lord, prepare 4 Help me to watch and pray, How mild, how ready to forgive! Was his employment and delight; Shone through his life, divinely bright. 5 But, ah, how blind, how weak we are! Hymn LXX-Wesley. A heart resign'd, submissive, meek, 3 A heart in ev'ry thought renew'd, 4 Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart; Write thy new name upon my heart, Thy new, best name of love. "Feels thy blood," (verse 1st, line 3d) is there such a phrase in Scripture? gious feeling be expressed in other than scriptural terms? May we suggest a substitute for the line?— and should so delicate a matter as reli And grateful for the precious blood, &c. in line 4th, for "spilt," we would pre |