3. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, the only all-sufficient and gracious Friend of miserable and perishing sinners? Have you accordingly come to him, and is this the language of your heart? "A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On thy kind arms I fall; Be thou my strength and righteous ness, My Jesus, and my all." 4. Are you gladly willing to receive the blessing of salvation as the gift of God's free grace, through Christ Jesus our Lord; and under a sense of your own ill and hell-deservings, to ascribe all the praise of your salvation to God and the Lamb? 5. Are you resolved, by the help of Divine grace, to live the remainder of your days in the service of the Lord; to love his people, obey his commands, walk in his ways, bow to his will, and seek the glory of his name? Does your heart respond in the affirmative, as in the sight of the all-knowing and heart-searching God? Then undoubtedly your way is very plain. Acknowledge the Lord by prayer, for direction in this matter; open your mind freely to some Christian or Christian minister; declare what the Lord has done for your soul, and “give a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." Receive the right hand of fellowship; come to the table of the Lord; let your deportment be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ; and the abundant grace of our God will be upon you, to bless you, and make you a blessing. Amen. J. M. L. CROSSING THE RAPIDS. MAN is not only in a state of rebellion, but awful danger, living under the wrath and curse of God, who declares he will visit on every son of man who obeys not the Gospel the punishment due to iniquity: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." As an illustration of the fearful jeopardy in which unpardoned sinners are, we may liken them to the man who fell asleep in his boat while crossing the rapids above Niagara : swept on by the current of that impetuous wave, no human power could save him; helpless he awoke, only to find himself on the brink of destruction,driven resistlessly on, he dropped his oar, and was dashed to pieces over the mighty cataract. 66 Thus thousands float on to death eternal, deaf to the call, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light;" unawakened, till they lift their eyes in hell, being in torment. The man beating the rapids with his tiny oar is an emblem of him who strives to save himself by the deeds of the law. On the tide of time a life-boat has been launched, and a Hand "mighty to save" is stretched out, to draw from the river of death the soul that clasps it by faith. But man, asleep in sin, "walking according to the course of this world," led by "the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience," knows not his danger, and says, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace;" following divers lusts and pleasures, he worships and serves the creature more than the Creator, and with his affections set on earthly things, "God is not in all his thoughts." Like the worldling described by Bunyan, so earnest is he raking together his sticks and straws, that he sees not the glorious crown that hangs above him. Whatever fills the heart and mind is the object of our worship. It may be the meanest object, or it may be the greatest; whether to rebellious Israel the leeks and garlic of Egypt, or the golden calf of Horeb, the idols of the heathen, the most deformed or the most beautiful,-it may be a dog or a picture, dress, music, poetry, friends, a child, or a father, "Whatever comes between Can fill a boundless, an immortal mind." We have read of a painter, who, having finished a gorgeous work of art, receded to admire it to the edge of the scaffold on which he stood. A friend observing that a single step backward would cause his death, hastily took his brush, and drew it across the picture, which caused him to rush forward in a rage. His friend, by destroying his master-piece, saved his life. M. P. A. EARTH, HEAVEN, AND I HAVE often tried to strip Death of The mental eye of faith and things un- its frightful colours, and make all seen, That is our world, or idol, though it wear The way God takes to draw sinners to himself is by striking down the carved images, and taking away our idols; emptying the heart, and desolating the spirit; or giving us food for our lusts, till we cry out, "I loathe it, I loathe it." Man plays with shadows, till God reveal himself! as the portion of his soul, "The source of lasting joy." And to those seeking happiness from the broken cisterns of earthly pleasure, we would say, the terrible airs of it vanish into softness and delight: to this end, among other rovings of thought, I have sometimes illustrated to myself the whole creation, as one immense building, with different apartments, all under the immediate possession and government of the great Creator. One sort of these mansions are little, narrow, dark, damp rooms; A second sort are spacious, lightsome, airy, and serene courts, open to the summer sky, or at least admitting all the valuable qualities of sun and air, without the inconveniences; where there are thousands of most delightful companions, and every "Nothing but God, and God alone, you'll thing that can give one pleasure, and make one capable and fit to give find pleasure to others. This is the heaven flight, and the sting as dreadful for we hope for. its own defence, and for the punishment of those that hurt it. What rich contrivance is there in all the invisible springs of this little engine! and yet here are thousands of them destroyed at once, and reduced to common earth. A third sort of apartments are open and spacious too, but under a wintry sky, with perpetual storms of hail, rain and wind, thunder, lightning, and everything that is painful and offensive; and all this among millions of wretched companions, cursing the place, tormenting one another, and each endeavouring to increase the public and universal', been sold for thousands of gold and misery. This is hell. Now, what a dreadful thing is it to be driven out of one of the first narrow, dusky cells into the third sort of apartment, where the change of the room is infinitely the worst! No wonder that sinners are afraid to die! But why should a soul that has good hope, through grace, of entering into the serene apartment, be unwilling to leave the narrow, smoky prison he has dwelt in so long, and under such loads of inconvenience? Death to a good man is but passing through a dark entry, out of one little dusky room of his Father's house, into another that is fair and large, lightsome and glorious, and divinely entertaining. Oh, may the rays and splendours of my heavenly apartment shoot far downward, and gild the dark entry with such a cheerful gleam, as to banish every fear when I shall be called to pass through! WATTS. If any artist among men could have framed but one such a wonderful machine as this, it would have silver, it would have been valued at the price of royal treasures, and thought fit only for the cabinet of the greatest princes. The destruction of such a rare piece of workmanship would have been an uncompensable loss among men; but it is the work of God, and here are thousands of these elegant structures demolished, and cast out to the dunghill, without any concern or injury to God or man. Glorious, indeed, and all divine is the magnificence of the great Creator! With what a profusion doth he pour out the riches of his art, even amongst the meaner parts of the creation! he makes yearly millions of these animals without labour, and he can part with millions out of his kingdom without loss. Yet these are not superfluous or useless beings in the dominions of God. There was a time when he raised an army of them, and sent them upon a great expedition, to drive the nations of the Canaanites and their kings out of their own land, when he would plant his beloved Israel there, Ex. xxiii. 28; Josh. xxiv. 12. Thus he knows how to A HORNET'S NEST. WHAT curious little creatures were these! how bright and beautiful the body of them! how nimble and sprightly the several limbs! how employ them, when and where he swift the wing of this insect for pleases; but he gives leave to every man to destroy their nests and their armies wheresoever they become a nuisance to him, for if he want them himself, he can summon them from the most distant parts of the world, and they shall come at his first call. "He can hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost parts of Egypt, and the bee that is in the land of Assyria," Isa. vii. 18, and they shall range themselves under his banner, to execute his dreadful commission. Or, if the whole creation does not afford legions of them sufficient for his purpose, He who could animate the dust of the earth into lice (Ex. viii. 16) can command all the sands of the sea into swarms of hornets; or he can call millions out of nothing into being with a word, all dressed in their proper livery, and armed with their stings, to carry on his war. What can be wanting to that God who has all the uncreated and unknown world of possibles within the reach of his voice? "He calleth the things that are not as though they were," Rom. iv. 17. WATTS. 4. That he may always be faithful as a preacher, diligent as a pastor, and exemplary as a pattern. 5. That he may never trifle with the word of God, the souls of men, or the delusions of Satan. 6. That he may be preserved from diminishing his usefulness by a political, a worldly, or a careless spirit. 7. That he may be watchful to discover, and labour to improve opportunities of usefulness. 8. That his hands may be strengthened, by God's providence restraining the wicked, his grace renewing and comforting penitent believers, and his power preserving his spiritual children in truth, righteousness, and peace. 9. That his principles and conduct may invariably be regulated by the commands and example of Christ. 10. That he may realize and diffuse such an unctional spirit as may be most salutary to himself and profitable to others. 11. That God may dispose him to ascribe the success of his labours to the Divine purpose, mercy, and power. 12. That he may be blessed with such encouragement in his work as may prove a constant stimulus for renewed exertions. Remember that the most enlightened, faithful, talented, and consistent minister is but a man; and pray for your minister as St. Paul exhorted the Romans to pray for him: "Now I beseech you, brethren, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe, and that my services may be accepted of the saints." Biography. REV. ISAAC WATTS, D.D. THERE are few of our readers who have not heard the honoured name of Dr. Watts, and who do not know that he made a Translation of the Psalms of David, wrote a multitude of Hymns for Congregations, and Songs for Children; but here their knowledge of the obligations under which Christians are laid by that great man's labours ends. They have no idea of the extent and variety of his efforts. It may serve, however, to help them to an adequate conception, to be told, that the Complete Edition of his Works constitutes no fewer than six large quarto volumes. We shall, therefore, on the present occasion, set forth the main facts of his delightful history: Isaac Watts was born at Southampton, the 17th of July, 1674. His father, Mr. Isaac Watts, was the master of a very flourishing boarding-school in that town, which was in such reputation, that gentlemen's sons were sent to it from America and the West Indies for education. He was a most pious, exemplary Christian, and an honourable deacon of the church of Protestant Dissenters assembling in that place. He was imprisoned more than once for his Nonconformity; and, during his confinement, his wife was known to sit on a stone near the prison door suckling her son Isaac. He began to learn Latin at four years old, in the knowledge of which, as well as the Greek language, he made such a swift progress under the care of the Rev. Mr. Pinhorne, a clergyman of the establishment, that he became the delight of his friends, and the admiration of the neighbourhood. In 1690, he was sent to London for academical education, under the Rev. Mr. Thomas Rowe; and, in 1693, in his nineteenth year, he joined in communion with the church under the pastoral care of his tutor. No doubt can reasonably be made but the doctor diligently applied himself to his studies, by any person who considers what a strong and overruling inclination he discovered to literature from his earliest age, and the treasures of knowledge and erudition he opened to the world, not many years after his academical education was completed. the composition of poetry; and, Dr. Watts was early attached to indeed, he stated that he had amused himself with verse from fifteen years old to fifty. In his early years, he of knowledge. The works he read, took great pains in the acquisition he generally abridged, and thus impressed more deeply on his mind the knowledge he attained. His Latin Theses, written when young, were very excellent. After the doctor had finished his academical studies, at the age only of twenty years, he returned to his father's house at Southampton, where he spent two years in reading, meditation, and prayer; in reading, to possess himself of ampler knowledge; in meditation, by which he might take a full survey of useful and sacred subjects, and make what he had acquired by reading his own; and prayer, to engage the Divine influences to prepare him for that work to which he was determined to devote his life, and the importance of which greatly affected his mind. Having thus employed two years at his father's, he was invited by Sir John Hartopp, Bart., to reside in his family at Stoke Newington, near London, as tutor to his son; where he continued five years, and by his behaviour procured himself such esteem and respect, as laid the foundation of that friendship which sub |