Ö, ye minifters of my God, that do his pleasure, speak to thofe heedlefs immortals of the unfearchable riches of Christ, whilft the multitude in the temple of the Lord wrestle for a bleffing on your labours!

See, too, where the glooms, more destructive than the Egyptian darknefs, fpread over the ifles of the South Sea. Precious immortals! Ye know nothing of the fe unfearchable riches, nothing of the covenant of grace, made with the fons of men! Ye feel not the joys of pardoned fin; the beams of glory from the upper fkies never fhone on your wretched heads; the pleafing fmiles of almighty love foften not your dying pillow; and, paffing through the cold waters of death, you view an unknown fhore. Ye parents dear ye brothers and fifters of affection fweet, the delightful profpect of again embracing the beloved friends of your heart is fhut up from your mournful view. Many a tear of anguish flows down your furrowed cheeks, ye fons of mifery, without any knowledge of the fountain from whence I draw my confolations. Yet, bleffed be the Lord, who is rich in mercy! there are a few willing to go "over and help you;" to reveal to you the unfearchable riches of Chrift, and point out to your benighted view the mountain of Zion, where is a feast of fat things, provided by the King of Heaven, of whom you are yet unhappily ignorant.

Here let me paufe, and, bowing in the duft, own the grand difference made by grace divine. Lord, I am aftonished at thy goodness to me, the leaft and most unworthy of all people! Thou giveft me a heart to delight myself in thy riches; away from thee, furely I am lonely and diftreffed; but in thy prefence I experience joy. Thy rich promifes are fealed to me, and fin fhall not have dominion over me. How fweetly can I pour my every care in the dear bofom of my God, and find a welcome at the throne of grace, purchased for me with the precious blood of the Lamb! There my moft fecret figh is audible in the ears of Jehovah, and faithfully attended to, according to the promise in which he has caufed me to hope. And foon fhall I fully experience the unfearchable riches of Chrift, which "eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive." SERENA.

ORIGINAL LETTER OF THE LATE REV. B. BEDDOME.

December 13, 1760.

'Tis fin diforders all my frame,
Nor can this world afford me rest;
The law does nothing but condemn,
In Christ alone I can be bleft.

'Tis in his grace, 'tis in his blood,
I fweet refreshment hope to find;
His blood can cleanse my crimson guilt,
His grace can bow my ftubborn mind.

Proftrate beneath his feet I wait,

For a kind look, or quick'ning word;
Shine in on my diftreffed foul,

My King, my Saviour, and my Lord.

Here you have the language of my lips, the language of my pen, and, I trust, the language of my heart. Though I find it hard to pray to God, and harder ftill to wait for God. "I waited patiently for the Lord," fays David. O that is not fo eafy a thing as fome may account it. We are apt to kick against the pricks, to rebel under the fmarting rod, and accufe God of feverity, when he does not immediately beftow the promised and expected bleffings. I have much reafon to complain of a stubborn and untractable heart, an unfubmiffive temper of mind,

Your's &c.

B. B.

ORIGINAL LETTER FROM AN AGED MINISTER TO A YOUNG STUDENT.

A

DEAR SIR,

CCORDING to your defire I fend you this answer to your kind letter. You find it no eafy matter to be a christian. The Bible declares this, and the experience of

exercised fouls confirms it. On this point I have met with a remark, where one fays, "When I am in a good frame, I wonder how any perfon cannot be a christian; but when I am in a bad frame, I then wonder how any person can be a chriftian." The prefent fashionable fort of christianity (which is, alas! likely to become too general) is no difficult matter, but bible chriftianity is, indeed, quite another thing. The comfort of the truly ferious and exercised christian is to be found in Phil. iv. 13. It is to be lamented that David's religion and Paul's christianity are by many now reckoned methodifm or enthusiasm, who, at the fame time, call themfelves chriftians, and would be highly offended not to be ac counted religious people.

You find it difficult to maintain a close walk and communion with God, and the fervour of your first love. This is to be done in the way of duty, and by keeping one's felf in the love of God ;* by believing the love of God in Christ to us it is thus that affurance and communion with God. are first attained, and afterwards maintained. You find within you a heart prone to backflide. Fear of backfliding is one means of our preservation from it, through the opera tion of the Holy Ghost. We fuffer most by hearts prone to reft in the cold formal, unexperimental religion of the world; for the unrenewed part within us is fo far from be ing at enmity with that religion, that it likes it: our adver fary, the devil, has no quarrel with this; for he knows well that fuch religion refted in, is fo far from hurting his intereft, that it will rather promote it.

this

You apprehend that few things hurt the growth of grace in your fouls more than your academical ftudies: but in you are certainly greatly mistaken, or elfe you profecute your ftudies in a wrong manner. Vigour and intenseness of mind, in the practice of appointed duty, is inculcated by the Holy Ghoft in fcripture. This, when fuitably performed is one's great intereft. The hardest study, confiftent with health, and fo as not to wafte the fpirits and conftitution, is one of the beft prefervatives against Satan's fiery darts, and thus is converted into a real friend to religion and the growth of grace in the foul. To my certain knowledge, the most intenfe ftudy is fo far from finking the fpirits, that, in fome conftitutions, it tends rather to preferve and raise them. One of eminent note in the learned world ftudied regularly twelve hours every day. It is of importance that our time and attention to ftudy be properly arranged. I know a gentleman who has, for many years, gone through a great deal

* Jude v. 21.

† See Prov. xxviii. 14.

of public important bufinefs by doing things in a regular ftated feries, like clock-work; never, unlefs unavoidably compelled, breaking through the order he has prefcribed for himfelf. It is of confiderable importance to know, not only if a thing be right to be done, but also, at what precise feafon it fhould be performed. We fhall find, by obfervation, that there are certain avocations which are of no benefit, but rather injurious when improperly timed, which yet may be of great use to foul or body, when practifed as duty, or connected with fome other duties, or making way for them.

As to the care of your foul, live a life of faith on Christ ; acts of faith ftrengthen the habit of it, and tend to make it of a felf-evidencing nature.* Give not up your confidence, though in ever fo bad a frame, and whatever may be the prevalence of temptation or corruption. Guard against selfrighteoufnefs by trufting in the chrift within you, instead of Chrift at the right hand of God; by making evidences of grace grounds of truft; by rifing in your confidence and expectations according as you may think yourself in a good frame, and falling in thefe when you apprehend your frame is bad. Seek grace to fubdue and regulate your fpirit by fcriptural confiderations; the way to poffefs your foul aright is pointed out in Luke xxi, 19, This recipe you will find a good prefervative from the worst of calamities befalling literary men, the difeafe termed low spirits. Act up to the light of your mind when well-informed, from the infallible rule, (fee Cor. i. 12.) Take no thought for to-morrow: fufficient to the day is both the good and evil of it. Perplex not yourself with refpect to your future profpects or difficulties. Do your duty. Leave events to the Lord, and he will perfect what concerns you. Fear not man, It is a great fnare, and involves in great danger. Serious young men are exposed to this from their companions, fuperiors, and judges; and ought to guard against it, efpecially when bible religion is out of fashion, and run down by many. Make conftant ufe of your Bible, the living word of the living God, when the words of men die away. The longer you live, and the more you know, the greater value you will put on the facred oracles, and the lefs on all human compofures when compared with them.-Get a Bible, with the best marginal notes of parallel texts. [Basket's, Canne's, Brown's, &c.] Compare them together. The beft interpreter of fcripture is fcripture. Preach often, rather than long. Meditate much on divine fubjects; this is a great duty, and an important exercife. Guard your thoughts, and especially the first and † Fab iii. 25, 26.

* 1 John v. 10.

laft during the day. Call no man mafter. Labour to divest yourself of all prejudices, prepoffeffions and predilections; and, as a Chriftian and a Proteftant, judge for yourself in a truly chriftian and manly manner.

You ask my advice concerning the profecution of your ftudies. Seek to attain a good ftyle; and, in order to this, translate a part of one of the best Latin authors, as Cicero or Pliny, in his panegyric on Trajan into English, and after laying it by you for a time, then turn it into Latin, compa ring it with the author; and perfevere till you find you have imbibed the spirit of the author, and can with ease speak and write after his ftyle. Make yourself complete maiter of the Greek language in general, and of the Greek Teftament in particular; this will be of vast use, and you will find the original Greck is more evangelical than our valuable English translation. Read daily fo much Greek and Latin as may improve you in both languages. Spare no pains to be an adept in the Hebrew-an ineftimable accomplishment! Digeft your reading. Better read a book twelve times over, if no lefs render you muter of it, than twelve books. Make yourself master of every kind of knowledge as much as you can-it all has its ufe. Endeavor to improve in knowledge by learning fomewhat from every perfon with whom you converfe; alfo, dive to the bottom of fubjects. Afpire after the character of having a great understanding of fome, rather than a fuperficial knowledge of many things. Choose for your companions perfons of more knowledge than yourself, that you may profit by them: Excufe the freedom of thefe hints which I have fuggested as they occur red in writing. I commend you to God and the word of his grace,

Your's, &c. J. L.

THE SWEARER REPROVED BY AN INFANT.

IN

N a family at Shelton lived Mr. G, a perfon much given to fwearing. Mrs. F, being a ferious woman, had a girl about four years old, that was remarkably attentive to every thing of a religious nature. This child would often remark, with great horror of mind, to her mother, how Mr, G. fwore, and would wish to reprove him; but for fome time durft not. One time fhe faid to her mother,