wounded; the firft, fecond, and fifth Lieutenants were killed, and most of the feamen and marines on the poop or quarter deck were either killed or wounded, befides a number on the main and lower gun decks. At ten o'clock, perceiving the L'Orient on fire in feveral places, we cut our cable and fet the fprit-fail, the only remaining fail we had. Here I would with to declare the Lord's goodness, for at this time our wreck being part overboard, which prevented our way through the water, we must have drifted down to fome of the French fhips, which at this time had not been in action, and to all appearance, we must have been fent to the bottom; but God was with us, for the wind at this very juncture came in our favour, fo that we were carried from them. I never was more refigned in my life, and can fay, unworthy as I am, the Lord was with me.

Our foremaft at this time going over the larboard bow, the enemy in the mean time keeping a very heavy fire upon us from their rearmoft fhips, raked us very much, as the light from the L'Orient, which was now all in a blaze, gave them a full view of our difabled condition: but the wind being now favourable, we fet what fail we could upon the ftumps of our mafts, and cut the wreck away from the ship, as that prevented our way through the water. Our ship had now caught fire in feveral places, by the enemy's firing carcafe thot into us, which we happily got out without doing much damage. At eleven o'clock, the L'Orient, which we had been engaging was blown to atoms, with a moft dreadful explosion. Two of her men we took out of the fea, and faved their lives, but we find that eight hundred men perished when the blew up. At two o'clock on Thursday morning we came to anchor in feven fathoms water, and then buried our dead which were not thrown overboard in the time of the action. We were now fully employed in clearing our hip of the wreck of the mafts and boats which were all shot to pieces. At eight o'clock this morning one of the enemy's frigates coming to us and feeing our difabled condition, we beat to quarters and cleared our main lower gun decks for action. The quarter deck guns were difabled by the engagement in the night, but one of our fhips came to our affistance, upon which the frigate run back to the rest of her shattered fleet. The two fleets were in action the whole night, though ftill at anchor: we were at anchor two leagues from them.

Soon we faw a fhip of 74 guns and a frigate of 40 guns fet fire to and blown up, and a frigate of 36 guns run on fhore by our fleet.-This afternoon two fhips of the line and two frigates belonging to the enemy went to fea; the Au

dacious, a 74 gun fhip came down and anchored clofe to us, to give us what help he could. We found our lofs to be 49 killed, and 148 wounded; and now we got up jury mafts and made the fhip fit for fea, but fhe is very much damaged; it will be well if the makes England. Eleven more men have died of their wounds fince the action, which makes the killed lift amount to 60.

We took and deftroyed in all 11 fail of the line and twe frigates. Our fleet confifted of 13 fale of the line, one 50 gun fhip, and a brig. I have only fent you particulars concerning our own fhip, being what I faw, and the Lord be praised that I can give you this information, instead of being cut off!-Here, fir, you may admire the goodnefs of the Lord to me, who am not worthy of the leaft of his mercies: while I am from the Church of God, I hope the Lord will fulfil that promife to me, Ezek, i. 16. "Thus faith the "Lord God, although I have caft them far off among the "heathen, and although I have fcattered them among the "countries, yet will I be to them as a little fanctuary in the "countries where they fhall come." I can truly fay, that I have feen as happy days in this fhip as ever I have feen in all my life; for I have feen the Lord's goodness and mercy following me in all my troubles, fo that I am obliged to confefs, from experience, that God is good to Ifrael; and while I live I hope never to forget it, for he has fulfilled that promife to me, Pfalm 1. 15. "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." The Lord grant I may glorify him!

If I never come home, yet pray for me, for I fee myself fo weak, and feel myfelf fo corrupt, that nothing but his Almighty arm can hold me up.-May the Lord of heaven and earth keep the younger members of the church from falling as I have done!-He is juft in banishing me from his ordinances, but yet I hope he will fulfil his promise to me, Ezek. xxxiv. 11 to 16. For thus faith the Lord God, "Behold I, even I, will both fearch my fheep and feek "them out; as a fhepherd fecketh out his flock, &c.—I will "feek that which was loft and bring again that which was "driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and "will ftrengthen that which was fick; but I will deftroy the "fat and the ftreng, I will feed them with judgment"-I truft you will join me in your prayers for it, and I have fome hope that the Lord will fulfil it in me, but he must be enquired of for thefe things. I fhould be glad to have public thanks offered for me the next Lord's Day after you receive this, for my late temporal falvation, on the 1ft and 2d of Auguft.-Now the Lord be with you and yours, and the

houshold of Faith! Pray give my love to our paftor; am forry I have not heard from him, as a letter from him and you would be very acceptable to me and my brethren with me, who I believe are godly men, and have been of great fervice to me; we are feven in number. Letters come often to this fhip, but none to me: yours was the last I received, dated December, '97.-The Lord be with you and yours, and keep you in a land of liberty, there to enjoy the fruits of your labours, and to fit under your own vine and fig tree, none making you afraid!-You know I am brought here by my own rafh and inconfiderate conduct; but I hope I fhall yet once more be brought to worship with you and my family around me, in my own land; mean time I beg to be remembered to all my friends; fhall be glad to hear of their welfare, and that the Lord may be with them all is the prayer of

Yours fincerely,

J. W.

P. S. I have fent to none but you-therefore if you hear of my wife, or my father and mother, let them know I am yet fpared as a monument of mercy. We put into St. Auguftin's Bay, Sicily, September 16th and left it 21ft, fo here we got water and fresh beef, which we greatly wanted, as we were on fhort allowance, and the wind not fair.

Dear fir, my dear children coft me many an unhappy hour; let me know where they are, and how they do: the Lord forgive me for leaving them!-Got fafe into Gibraltar 18th October, after a very long and bad voyage; but the Lord, who orders all things, has brought us to port. We have been short of every thing fince the action, as you will fuppofe.

I believe this fhip will come to England foon, as she is a proper wreck.

THE

ON UNION WITH CHRIST.

HE union of a believer with Chrift is fo intimate, fo unalterable, fo rich in privilege, fo powerful in influence, that it cannot be fully reprefented by any description or fimilitude taken from earthly things. The mind, like the fight, is incapable of apprehending a great object, with

out viewing it on different fides. To help our weakness the nature of this union is illuftrated in the fcripture by four comparisons, each throwing an additional light on the subject, yet all falling fhort of the thing fignified.

In our natural flate we are driven and toffed about by the changing winds of opinion, and the waves of trouble, which hourly disturb and threaten us upon the uncertain fea of human life. But faith, uniting us to Chrift, fixes us on the Rock of Ages, as a fure foundation, where we stand immoveable, though ftorms and floods unite their firength and violence against us.

By nature we are feparated from the divine life, as branches broken off, withered, and fruitlefs; but faith ingrafts us into Chrift, the living Vine, from whom, as the root and stock of all fulness, a conftant fupply of fap and influence is derived by all the myftical branches, enabling them to bring forth fruit unto God, and to preferve and abound therein.

By nature we are hateful and abominable in the fight of a holy God, and full of enmity and hatred toward each other. By faith, uniting us to Chrift, we have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and joint communion amongst ourfelves, even as the members of the fame body have each of them union, communion, and sympathy with the head, and with their fellow members.

In our natural ftate, we were cast out naked and defțitute, without pity and without help; but faith, uniting us to Chrift, interefts us in his righteoufnefs, his riches, and his honours. Our Redeemer is our hufband; our debts are paid, our fettlements fecured, and our names honourably changed.

Thus the Lord Jefus in declaring himself the foundation, root, head, and husband of his people, takes in all the ideas we can frame, of an intimate, vital, and infeparable union. Yet all thefe fall fhort of truth, and he has given us one farther fimilitude, of which we can by no means form a juft conception, till we fhall be brought to see him as he is, in his kingdom" That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they alfo may be one in us!"*

Well may we fay, what hath God wrought! How inviolate is the fecurity, how ineftimable the privilege, how inexpreffible the happiness of a believer! How much is he indebted to the grace of God! He was once afar off, but he is brought nigh to God by the blood of Chrift; he was once

* John. xvii, 21,

a child of wrath, but he is now an heir of everlasting falva. tion. How ftrong, then, are his obligations to walk worthy of God, who has called him "to glory and to virtue !" VIGILARIUS.

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.

Y Kingdom is not of this world," fays Chrift; it is not like unto the kingdoms of this world, many of which shine in exterior grandeur. It is a fpiritual kingdom. All things that belong to it are fpiritual, not worldly, and have not much influence to ftrike the carnal mind. Chrift himself, who is the Sovereign of this kingdom, when in the world, was not arrayed with grandeur, nor furrounded with exterior pomp, like an earthly king; but on the contrary came clothed with humility, and furrounded with poverty: hence it is faid by one of the Prophets, "Rejoice "greatly, O Daughter of Zion; fhout, O Daughter of Je"rufalem. Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, "and having falvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and 66 upon a colt the foal of an afs." How unlike to an earthly king was the Lord Jefus! "Though the foxes have holes, "and the birds of the air have nefts, yet he had no where to "lay his head." He appeared" without form or comeliness, as a root out of a dry ground," not to be defired.

His throne is not an earthly one, like thofe of worldly potentates, but divine and heavenly. "The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens," and he is feated upon it, "to establish it with juftice and judgment, world without end;" and from thence he fcatters his favours to the poor and needy.

His enfigns of royalty are not fuch as the princes of this world wear; he has a fceptre, but not like theirs. A fceptre denotes power and authority, and these the Lord Jefus poffeffes and exercifes over his people with gentlenefs: he rules by a fceptre, but it is the fceptre of his word and Spirit. "I am not afhamed," fays the Apoftle, " of the gospel of "Chrift;" Why? becaufe "it is the power of God unto fal"vation." This rod, or fceptre, "the Lord has fent out of "Zion," and to this fhould we yield fubjection.

. The fubjects of Chrift's kingdom are not carnal and worldly men, but men of nobler extraction. They are born.