And will you remain any longer in this state, my dear Brethren? Estranged from JESUS CHRIST, the source of all life, grace, and glory? Will you thus continue without GOD, and without CHRIST in the world? strangers to the hope of Israel, the forgiveness of sins through the blood of JESUS, and unacquainted with the love of God, which flows from the sense of that forgiveness? Can neither the broken law, which curses you? nor the arm of Divine justice lifted up against you, till you are grafted into CHRIST? nor hell, moved from beneath to meet you at your coming? nor the consideration of your manifold. aggraved sins, that cry for their wages, your eternal death? can none of these things drive you to JESUS CHRIST, in prayers of distress and faith? Shall he still complain, that you will not come to him that you might have life? Shall he still weep over ungrateful Jerusalem, and say, "O how often would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not! Behold I am come from heaven to seek my lost sheep: I am the good SHEPHERD, that have laid down my life for the sheep: I call them by name: my every look, my every breath, says, Sinners, come unto me for life: but you know not my voice, you follow strangers. The world never sweat blood for you, and yet you leave me for the world: the flesh never opened to you the kingdom of heaven, and yet you forsake me to fulfil the desire of the flesh: the devil never expired upon a cross for you, and yet you renounce me to cleave to the devil and his works! O hard-hearted, ungrateful sinners, what can I do more for you? Can tears move you? Behold I have poured out my soul in tears and strong cries to GoD on your behalf, Heb. v. 7. Will you not be wrought upon but by tears of blood? Behold, all my pores, like so many weeping eyes, distil blood, great drops of blood falling to the ground, to wash away your sins, and yet you will not come unto me that you might have life. Must you see me pant, and bleed, and die for you in unknown agonies of body and soul? Behold me nailed to an accursed cross, a spectacle to angels and men! I stand your Surety between earth and heaven. I discharge your debt in blood. I make reconciliation: I bring in everlasting righteousness: I expire for your sins. Now the new covenant is sealed: my heart, my loving heart is pierced for your transgressions: the fountain of purifying blood and living water is opened: you may come, wash, and be clean. And if you suppose that, because I died for your sins, I cannot give you life: see me rising triumphantly for your justification. Now the eternal conqueror of death and hell, I sit upon my throne, offering life to all mankind, and to you; and yet "ye will not come unto me that you might have life." Thus complains the LovER of SOULS in the text. Ah! my dear fellowsinners! let us yield to his gentle rebuke, and moving expostula

3

tion. Let us go to him, for He only has the words of eternal - life. This moment let us cast our helpless, guilty, damned souls upon his atoning blood. Through faith let us draw life out of his death, and more abundant life out of his resurrection. Behold, sinners! the Ark is ready. The storm of God's judgments gathers amain. A flood of Divine vengeance is going to sweep away the wicked from the earth. The patience of GoD is well nigh exhausted; and the true Noah, JESUS CRHIST, says once more, "Come unto me, that ye may have life." O come now! Enter the Ark to-day! In the Ark there is salvation. In CHRIST, and in Him alone, there is pardon and life. "But will he indeed receive me? will he take in such a leprous, guilty soul as mine?" Yes, thou poor, afflicted, dejected sinner! He will, he does take thee in: for he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Only let thy heart close with his heart, thy soul with his soul, thy sins with his blood, and thou shalt find that thy life is bound up in his life; and that, where he is, there shall his servant, his spouse, his member be. Thus shut up safe in the true Ark, thou shalt outride all the storms of sin, temptation, death, and judgment, which will soon overwhelm a Christless world.

THE WORD OF GOD ILLUSTRATED.

OBSERVATIONS ON JOB XXVIII. 4.

Extracted from PETERS on the Book of Job; and communicated by WILLIAN BEAL. The author of the Book of JOB was, perhaps, the most concise writer that ever appeared in the world: he just gives you a glimpse of things, and leaves the rest to be supplied by the imagination of the reader. His thoughts are, like the gold and jewels he speaks of, precious in themselves: but we must sometimes labour hard, and go deep for them. Of this we have a proof in what follows; where he proceeds to give another instance of the daring spirit and ingenuity of mankind. How they cross the broad rivers, and arms of the sea, for commerce; where there is no path for the foot of man; where they lesson to the sight, and are tossed upon the waves.

This I take to be the meaning of verse the 4th, which may be literally translated thus,-Paratz nachal meyim ger-The flood interrupts from with the stranger, (or me-yam ger from the stranger people, a populo hospite; the Hebrew will bear either rendering; for it is the pointing only that makes the difference :) It follows, han-nishcachim minni regel, dallu me-enosh, nayu: Forgotten of the foot, they appear less than men, they are tossed. If we were to see such a passage in PINDAR, I am persuaded we

should think that which I have given above to be the sense of it; and admire the strong and lively images here set before us.

There are but two places (that I remember) in the Book of JOB, where there is any allusion to navigation; and both shew it in its infancy. One is chapter ixth, ver. 26, where Joв compares the course of human life, and the rapidity with which it passes, to the swift ships; or, as it is in the margin of our Bibles, ships of desire; that is, such as are longed for, and long to be at their destined port, and crowd all the sail they can for this purpose.

*

This gives indeed a very poetical image. But if we will take the judgment of a very learned Commentator, he tells us, it ought rather to be rendered, ships of cane, or the papyrus; that is, such light vessels as they used in passing the river Nile, and other great rivers, and arms of the sea. This, no doubt, was the first essay made by mankind towards navigation; and perhaps the farthest that their skill had reached in JOB's time.

The other passage is this beautiful one before us, where the sea is not so much as mentioned, but a nachal, a torrent or flood: some arm of the sea, perhaps, of a few leagues over, which, dividing the several natious, must interrupt their hospitality and commerce with each other, or render it very difficult and far about; unless by the help of navigation, and the hardy mariner's venturing boldly to cross the streight.

One would think that Job had the boat and mariners in his eye, when he describes them so poetically in these three remarkable particulars: that they are forgotten of the foot, that is, their feet forget them, and are no longer serviceable to them in this very different way of travelling: that they lessen to the sight, dallu me-enosh, extenuantur præ homine; they look like crows instead of men, as they go off farther and farther from the shores: and, lastly, nayu, agitantur, are tossed up and down upon the billows. The word seems to denote any involuntary and irregular motion; and is used by the Psalmist for the staggering of a drunkard, to which he compares the unsteady motions of a ship's crew, tossed in a storm, in that fine description, Psalm cvii. 27; They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunkard, and are at their wit's end.

I cannot forbear observing, that there is another place where the word is used with the greatest beauty and propriety; but the sense of it has been unhappily overlooked by our Translators: I mean in JOTHAM's Apologue, or fable, Judges ix., where the olivetree says, Shall I leave my fatness, &c. and go to be promoted over the trees? Thus it is in our translation.

But the Hebrew word never signifies, to be promoted, or preferred; but to be moved to and fro, to wander, to stagger, to be

* Schultens.

shaken, to be tossed. The motion of trees by the wind is remarkably expressed by this word, Isaiah vii. 2.

I could wish it had been rendered, therefore, according to the exact and genuine sense of the word, Shall I leave my fatness? shall I leave my sweetness? and go to be tossed upon the trees? What a lively image of the hazards, and the cares of government! As if the king of the trees were to have his throne placed upon the top of the highest tree in the forest, and be there exposed to every storm of wind that blowed. Certainly they who experience the advantages of good government, and dwell safely, every man under his vine and fig-tree; (or, suppose it an oak or an appletree, with the fruit of the vine and fig-tree brought home to them from afar :) while they enjoy that sweetest of all earthly blessings, Liberty, civil and religious, as far as the ends of government, and the peace and order of society will admit, do not always consider how much they owe to their governors.

THE WORKS OF GOD DISPLAYED.

ACCOUNT OF THE CURRY-CURRY, AND OF THE WHITE GAULDING; By GEORGE BELLAMY, MISSIONARY IN DEMARARA.

To the short account of that majestic bird the FLAMINGO, contained in the Methodist Magazine for October, 1820, I beg leave to add the following description of a beautiful bird of a similar species, called by the Indians, the CURRY-CURRY. Like the Flamingo, it is a native of the West-Indies, but especially of the vast continent of South-America. It is common in British Guiana, and is generally found about the shallow shores of the sea, and the mouths of rivers, where it seeks its prey. When it is seen in the water, which is generally the case, its body only is visible on the surface, and seems to be swimming, though it is in fact standing on its feet. Its head, at those times, is almost constantly under water, in search of food; and it appears to be about the size of a wild goose: but with what pleasing astonishment does a stranger behold it when coming out of the water! -a beautiful, tall bird, stalking erect with peculiar majesty, clothed with a scarlet plumage of consummate richness and beauty. Indeed such is its lustre in the beams of a tropical sun, that it resembles flame, and especially when on the wing. On the 14th of April, 1820, I saw seven or eight of them flying, and truly their brilliancy and beauty were beyond all description. The wings of the Curry-Curry are large, and like those of the Flamingo, nearly cover the whole body. The quill-feathers are tipped with a deep blue, or, in some, with black. The feathers of the throat and neck, are rather of a lighter scarlet, and are

tinged at their extremities with a blue, inclining to purple, as well as those of the head, and particularly a few round the eyes. The bill is about six inches long, and curved, and the upper mandible abruptly bent at the extremity over the lower. In this it differs from the Flamingo; the bill of that creature being rather short, and strong, and of a somewhat different curve and colour. The legs of the Curry-Curry are long, and of a palish red; the upper part, and the thighs, are of a deeper tinge. It has four toes on each foot, which are partially webbed, for swimming occasionally. The tides are sometimes sudden; and while the bird is rooting for shell-fish, with its head under water, it is not unfrequently taken unexpectedly out of its depth. The least gust of air might then blow it out to sea; and as it cannot easily rise out of the water when floating, it must inevitably perish but for its webbed feet, whereby it is enabled to swim, till it can reach the bottom; and as soon as the legs are a little out of the water, it can take wing. The flesh of this bird, as well as that of the Flamingo, is excellent food; and hence, being frequently killed, the species are somewhat scarce, and very shy.

Thus an indulgent Providence has taken care, as well for the particular safety, as the general support of these beautiful birds. And he must be blind, who does not see the provision which the Creator hath made for the supply of their wants, as well as those of others of a similar kind. But a curious enquirer into nature would no sooner cast his eyes upon these extraordinary birds, than he would be satisfied that some peculiar end was to be answered by the uncommon length of their legs and neck, perhaps the longest of any of the bird kind, especially those of the Flamingo. And certainly nothing can be a stronger proof of design and wisdom in the Creator of all things, than the correspondence observable in creatures between their wants, and the provision made for them. These birds are a sufficient example, as well as

THE LARGE WHITE GAULDING. The reader has also in this remarkable bird, an additional proof of the care of the CREATOR, in adapting the form of his creatures to that mode of life which is assigned to them. The White Gaulding also has an extraordinary length of legs, as well as a bill peculiarly framed for obtaining, by wading in the water, that food which is appointed for its support. It haunts the sea-marshes, and feeds on small fishes, and fish-fry. These creatures may serve as an example, to enforce those general arguments which are so finely urged by CICERO, in a Treatise on Natural Theology.

The large WHITE GAULDING is between three and four feet in height, of a beautiful white, has a long, sharp, yellow bill, nearly straight, and two long slits for nostrils. Its eyes are bright, and situated at the base of the bill: the wings are large; VOL. XLIV. SEPTEMBER, 1821.