The National Register. — London, England, 1812-04-12 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. APRII 12. Ebe ivuiptt. No. XLIII. Such discourse bring on As may advise him of his happy state, Happiness in his power—left free to will, 1 ,eft to his own free-will; his will, though free, Yc t mutab!c—whence warn him to beware, • • • • . . lest, wilfully transgressing, lie pretend Surprisal. unadmonish'd, unforwarn'd.—•P. L. v. 233. In this beaatifnl passage of the inimitable Poem of MILTON, the DI- E will find the very themes upon which his pulpit-duty ought to he incessantly ex.rci .ed. Our immortal Bard, who was most conversant with theological topic; and disquisitions, has divided here the subjects of al: sermons, all discourses, all exhortations into two grand points. T! e first is to show what man has to enjoy, the other what he has to f •ar; his privileges and his deficiencies; his power and his weak m°.. ; bis present and future state. Raised above the brute creation by the bountiful band of his Maker, man is the only one, among animated bAngs, who, by the gift of intellect and the exercise of I.is judgment, can make a free choice, between good and had ; between what is right and what repugnates to the dictates of his conscience. The rest of the animals, led merely by the dim and unsteady glimmerings of instinct, can chuse (if we can style a choice the blind impulsion of appetite) what is necessary for the support of temporary existence, but caii go no far t' a-. hat iis inct is lip the more than the ratural faculties of al: living bodies. It may be compar.Ai to the throbbing of the heart, the inhal ing motion of the lungs, which, as they are indispensible for the pre servatio., of the individual, Providence has most wisely placed out of his elective power. But man has perceptions and ideas, which, pro perly weighed in the scales of his judgment, enable him to make a choice, and to use fully and uninterruptedly the singular prerogative of a free will. When we consider the " sociable spirit, RA PHAEL," sent by the Al miz,hty, to warn, admonish, and advise the feeble creatures, just ema nated from his plastic hands—although this fiction is nothing else than the elf: rvescence of a great and lively genius, and has little to do with the exact records of holy truth, yet we cannot help recognizing in the Archangel the most perfect prototype of a DIVINE. His message ori tinates front the same high authority ; his ministry is the same, and the object of his mission implies duties of the like importance. It is from the pulpit that the DIVINE ought to make his Christian hearers consci ous of the dignity of their station in this world, of the dangers which surround them, and of the advantages they will ultimately reai, from their obtemporating with the salutary advice which they receive front his mouth. To convince his auditors that " happiness is in their power, left to free will," for this life and for eternity, is the task, the angelic task he has to perform ; and, when descending the steps of the evange lica' tribune, where his orations have been delivered with sincerity,. and heard with attention; when returning home, he can, within himself, say, without pride, but with 'humble consciousness and religious hope, " I have made several of my fellow-creatures more happy than they were before ;" is there any pecuniary reward equal to such a recom rense ? No! the laurels of the Olympic games, the crown of the capi ta!, the shouts of the multitude, and applauses of theatrical assemblies, are n.)t to be compared with this self-bestowed and just ly-earned com pensation for his assiduity and labour. It is then that he can boast of being the good Shepherd so simply, but so energetically described by Christ himself in the Gospel of this day. He has tended his flock, and hi, flock knows his voice, because there exists between thcm that red- Pr )city of affection and respect, of care and submission, of devotedness and gratitude, without which all ties between the pastor and sheep arc of no avail. Of all the discourses which the son of God, when upon earth, held lx::h his apostles Lnd disciples, in the hearing of the concourse of people htch used to follow the step of HIM who was light to the blind, sound to the deaf, word to the dumb, and health to the sick ; of all what Christ ever said, during the shutt time (4 his conversation with man, this, which has been selected for the reading of this day, is acknow ledged to be stamped with the most expressive marks of that unspeak able afloction .which the SaviJur felt fur mankind. It is an alkgory, 233 but it is fraught with sentiments of unlv.unded love ; the thypherd has not only to lead hip flock in wholesome and plentiful pastures, but he must defend his tnti fisted wards against their enemies, and lay down his life for their sake. It is a prophetic criterion, by which the congrega tion will always be enatled to discern the: true and real shepherd from the hireling as long as the church of Christ will , tand, that is till that last and awful hour when time will sink into eternity. Were we to follow these observations a few stcp: farther, they would naturally lead us to discuss the propriety of .1?:.:,Ne):,-c for Clergy.. men in all the degrees of their hierarchy—a topic too extensive and too delicate to be cursorily treated here, and which we leave fur this nin. ment, to the consideration of our intelligent readers. Sl:ffice it to say that the principles laid down by Christ himself, and recorded by the Evangelist, arc indisputable, and independent of opinions and circurn cunastances ; and that they emanate from him who said—" Heaven and earth shall pass away ; but my words shall not pass away. Calimi et terra transibunt ; verba twain men non transilnint . Luke I . 33. I'HILAGORETES. FINE AEl's. BRITISH INS rrru noN. Conscious of the duties, and faithful to the obligations of a NATIONAL REGISTER, we do not only adult necessary to recurd those momentous events, in the political world, which shake or consolidate the blsis of kingdoms and empires; those highly important debates, which elicit in the Senate the arguments of reason, the coruscati:ws of genius, and the splendour of eloquence ;—we do not confine etirselves to accidental transactions, which, though of minor interest, are yet of ,0 eat eiket in giving a physiognomy to society, and a character to the pre , , e ut age; but we grasp at any branch of human life, and embrace all that i 3 wor thy of the attention of our numerous and discriminating Readers.— Among these objects of public importance, the Fine rts hold a princi pal rank, inasmuch as they considerably contribute to the glory of the nation who fosters and rotects them, and, as the assiduous none.: wi•ich we have taken of them has been hitherto so kindly rewarded by the ap plause and patronage of the Public, we shall endeavour to continue our strictures upon their productions with as much zeal and impartiality as we have already done. According to the most laudable plan of the British Institution, the Gallery, which will open again to-morrow, has been closed since Satur day last, in order to remove those performances which are sold, and to admit Mr. WEs r's grand Picture of CHRIST HEALING THE SICK IN THE TEMPLE. We have often seen, attentively studied, and sincerely admired this wonderful performance of an Artist, who, after a life of ut , :easing ey:- ertion, and of brilliant success in the art of painting, clines forward at the advanced age of seventy-three years, and evinces still all the wamth and vigour of genius, and the activity and steadiness of youth. We are acquainted with, and join, in the general praise of his Regulus, his St. Stephen, his Lust Supper, and of all his best works, and yet we are happy to find that his lAA Picture contains all the beauties, and none of the faults, which may have been remarked in the other-. It stands among the rest, like the superior lustre of the moon amidst the starry host, and exhibits, in its author, that plmenomenon of nature, when the God of Day sets with a much greater splendour than he emitted at his meridian, as if man, who is made " in the itme.e, and after the likeness" of 1,4 Creator, was to imitate Him sometimes in that point, that his last work should be the most perfect. The fact is, when a man of talents. pro ceeding stedfastly in the career which he has chosen, and where the ac clamations and shouts of his competitors encourage him to exert him self, continues his studies with unabated assiduity, fully convinced of the truth hinted by 'he words in Horace, disce docendus adbue, "learn, for you want still to he taught ;" he cannot fail of an lying at that gree of perfection which Providence has permitted us to attain. The subject is told with simplicity, energy, and majesty --tie whole scene, which occupies a space of canvas of about one hundred and seventy-seven square feet, presents to the eye between fifty and sixty figures all intent upon the transaction, all at their respective posts, and all finishA after living models. The disposition of the groups is happily conceived. and the execution surpasses the most eager expectation. The figure of the dying man, brought by two strong porters to the He iiing Power, is a chi . 1 receuvre of expression and of anaomical knowledge Stamped with all the concomitant and distressing symptoms approach-