gressions; nor even could the united tears of angels erase the
record of those offences for which man is brought in guilty before
God! Can, then, subsequent obedience achieve the work of the sinner's
justification? This, alas! will prove as ineffectual as repentance;
for though we should render to God a perfect obedience for the
remainder of our lives, still the sin we have committed is sufficient
to procure our conviction and condemnation; for the wages of sin is
death! Shall we, then, have recourse to the abstract mercy of God, as
the foundation upon which to rest our hope of pardon? This is the
Unitarian's plea: "I believe," he says, "that God is merciful; and I
repose in his kindness, and trust he will have compassion on me."
Alas, my friends! it was bad enough that Mr. Porter should have
yesterday adopted the algebraic principle of neutralizing one text of
scripture by another; but to carry up this principle to a
contemplation of the character of God, and to bring it into collision
with the attributes of Jehovah, and thus to set his mercy against his
justice--his compassion against his truth--his grace against his
holiness, and thereby to neutralize and annihilate one class of
attributes by another, is a guilt that is direful, blasphemous, and
indescribable.--_From speech of the Rev. Daniel Bagot, at the Belfast
Unitarian [Socinian] discussion._

POETRY.

LAYS OF PALESTINE.

No. IX.

(_For the Church of England Magazine._)

By T. G. Nicholas.

"She hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while
it was yet day."--Jer. xv. 9.

"Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to
shine, and we shall be saved."--Ps. lxxx. 19.

'Tis eventide; the golden tints are dying
Along the horizon's glowing verge away;
Far in the groves the nightingale is sighing
Her requiem to the last receding ray;
And still thou holdest thy appointed way.
But Salem's light is quench'd.--Majestic sun!
Her beauteous flock hath wandered far astray,
Led by their guides the path of life to shun;
Her orb hath sunk ere yet his wonted course was run.

In ages past all glorious was thy land,
And lovely were thy borders, Palestine!
The heavens were wont to shed their influence bland
On all those mountains and those vales of thine;
For o'er thy coasts resplendent then did shine
The light of God's approving