after the catechifing, he went out of the church, to look round, and perceived the thunder ftorm hovering over the village, and lowering over the very church. He feemed to feel an unusual intimation of fome impending dan-' ger and difafter, but could not, for a confiderable time, come to a determination whether he should ascend the pulpit to preach, or clofe divine fervice, and difmifs the congregation. It was not till during the last verse of the hymn, when he was to go into the pulpit, that he refolved to drop the preaching. He stepped before the communion table, and addreffed the congregation in words to this effect, "That a heavy thunder ftorm was hanging over them, and it was ftrongly impreffed on his mind, that God was about to visit them on this very day; but it might, perhaps, be most proper for every one to be at his own houfe; he therefore would now clofe divine fervice for this time." Having read the collect, and pronounced the bleffing, the congregation fung the ufual closing verfe, "Blefs our going out, O God! when we come in alfo blefs us, &c." During these laft words, the minister being upon the point of entering the vestry, a mighty flash of lightning ftruck into the wall of the steeple behind the organ, and fell upon the gallery, in which about thirty perfons ftood, chiefly school-boys, and among them three fons of the clergyman. The lightning ran from behind thro' the floor of the organ loft, along a beam towards the front of it, and then downward along a pillar which supported the loft. On both fides of this pillar, on the lower gallery, a number of people were standing. A youth was killed, and another man, ftupefied, was fixed immoveable on his feat. From this lower gallery the lightning pierced through the floor into the pews of the women below, where one perfon was fo ftunned, that fhe was carried out of the church for dead. From thence the lightning ran along the ground toward the church-door, out of which it forced a nail and a fplinter. The whole church was fuddenly filled with sinoke and a fulphureous fmell, infomuch, that it could not be difcovered whether any one of thofe in the gallery was fill alive. But after most people from the other galleries had, in the utmost confufion, thrown themfelves down, as it were, tumbling over each other, on the only fair-cafe which leads to all the galleries, the Rev. Mr. G ventured to go up to the organ-loft, where he found most of the boys, together with his own fons, quite fenfelefs, lying on the floor, or leaning against fome object or other. However, they all

foon

foon recovered. Nine of them were curiously marked by the lightning on their arms, hands, thighs, and feet. Some had round red fpots, about as large as a half-crown piece. Others had marks like branches of trees on the said parts of their bodies. But in all of them thefe fpots vanished entirely after three or four days. Every one of thefe retained, for two days, a moft loathfome fmell and tafte of fulphur. The man in the lower gallery, who was ftupefied, came foon to himself; and the woman who had been carried out for dead, having been sprinkled and refreshed with cold water and vinegar, was likewife foon reftored to her fenfes. Upon the whole, no one fuffered any effential injury but the youth who was killed, who had been in fuch a lamentable condition, that every one confidered his fudden death as a great mercy. For he was not only extremely poor, but fo weak in his intellects, that he could not have been capable of doing the leaft work by which he might have earned a morfel of bread; yea, the minister declared he had not a fufficient capacity to learn how to beg. His mother, a widow, who had maintained him partly by her own industry, and partly by the kind donations the received, was far advanced in years, and her death would have rendered her poor fon a most miserable object, and a burthen to the parish. Thus the Lord, amidst the difplay of that mighty power, which could have inflicted the most awful judgments, was pleased to remember mercy, and we hope he extended it alfo to the foul of this poor ideot.

A MEDITATION,

AM furrounded on every fide with mercies, and yet feel

I myfelf a vile, unthankful wretch. I feem to grow more

infenfible of them, as they are poured upon me more abundantly from the Lord. Nothing fuits my evil nature but a furnace. I am seldom well, except when I am ill.' Bitter cups fweeten my heart, ftrengthen my appetite, and melt my foul. Lord, blefs me with a broken heart, and lead me weeping all the way to Canaan-weeping at my own vilenefs, and weeping at the love of Jefus. Oh! the depth of that mercy which can look on fuch vilenefs!

Oh! the riches of that love which has purchafed this mercy! Seldom do we think of the agonizing woe of Jefus; ard when we do think of it, how little are our hearts affected' wi hit! They fhall look on him whom they have pierced, Y 2

and

and mourn." But, where is this Gofpel mourning? We are piercing him daily, but who is mourning daily?-mourning with fweet forrow, made up of fhame and love? Some are mourning for the world-fome are mourning for perfection -fome are mourning for their own fins, and caufe enough they have yet who is mourning at the fight of a crucified Jefus? Oh! the wonders of that Crofs! Here let me lie, and love and weep. Nothing crucifies fin and felf like this crofs, and nothing kindles humble love like it.

J.

UN

ON UNBELIEF.

NBELIEF is the root from which every other evil is produced. It fets a man's face, yea, more, his heart against the Bible-raifes a man's prejudice against those who love the Bible-infpires light thoughts of fin, and, confequently, light thoughts of the Saviour-allows a man to purfue his inclinations though ever fo vile-makes him outbrave all the thunders of the Divine law and eternal vengeance-allows him to fleep at the worship of God, and to laugh at what he does not understand-intoxicates his fenfes, drowns his reafon till he ftaggers from the truth, and falls into perdition. This leads men to forfake God, the fountain of living waters, and to hew out to themselves cifterns, broken cifterns, which can hold no water. And where God is forfaken, every device of man will and must fail to yield real happiness. Unbelief made Adam eat the forbidden fruit, and Achan take the wedge of gold; made Peter deny his Master, and many a one fince to imitate his crime. It was this made Ananias and his wife unite to coin a base falfehood, and has influenced many fince to the fame folly, This is that fin of which the Holy Spirit alone can convince a man. Dear Reader, may he thoroughly convince thee, and fave thee from it!

T. H.

ANECDOTES.

RCHBISHOP USHER was a man of diftinguished

A learning, piety, and diligence. The following circum

ftance will fhew that his humility equalled his other valuable

- endowments.

A friend of the Archbishop repeatedly urged him to write his thoughts on SANCTIFICATION, which at length he en

gaged

gaged to do; but a confiderable time elapfing, the performance of his promife was importunately claimed. The Bishop replied to this purpose: "I have not written, and yet I cannot charge myself with a breach of promife; for I began to write; but when I came to treat of the new creature, which God formeth by his own Spirit, in every regenerate foul, I found fo little of it wrought in myself, that I could speak of it only as parrots, or by rote, but without the knowledge of what I might have expreffed; and therefore I durft not prefume to proceed any further upon it."

It is no

Upon this, his friend stood amazed to hear such an humble confeffion from fo grave, holy, and eminent a perfon. The Bishop then added"1 muft tell you, we do not well underftand what fanctification and the new creature are. lefs than for a man to be brought to an entire refignation of his own will to the will of God; and to live in the offering up of his foul continually in the flames of love, as an whole burnt-offering to Chrift; and O, how many who profefs Christianity, are unacquainted, experimentally, with this work upon their fouls!"

Some months ago, a parcel was fent to George Liele, the Negro Baptift Preacher in Jamaica, containing 50 copies of Christian Inftructions, a little piece printed by their Miffion Society, 50 Baptist Catechifms, and 12 of Mr. Beddome's Expofition of the Catechifm: the fhip was taken by a French privateer, but the English Captain relates, that the Frenchman opened the parcel, and diftributed the books among his men, who received them very thankfully; and many who could not understand English, were eager to engage others who did to read them to them. The Captain of the privateer also gave two or three to the English Captain, faying, "Here, do you take a copy or two of these books, perhaps they may do you fome good."-If a grain or two of that feed which was intended to have been fown among the flaves in Jamaica, fhould be made to take root in the hearts of French failors, the angels will be glad, and no Englishman, who is of their mind, can be forry.

The celebrated Mr. Locke, in the latter part of his life, which he chiefly devoted to the perufal of the fcriptures, recommended them in these words: "Study the holy fcripstures, particularly the New Testament, wherein are con"the words of eternal life. It has God for its author, fal"vation

"vation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error "for its matter." Dr. Robinson, the natural philofopher, alfo has this expreffion: "The fcriptures of the Old and "New Teftament, (fays he) contain a fyftem of human na*ture, the grandeft, the moft extenfive and complete, that "ever was divulged to mankind fince the foundation of na❝ture."

SELECT SENTENCES.

INLESS perfection and tearless joy constitute the fu

Spreme felicity of Heaven.

The wicked, though furrounded with pleafure, only refemble the Syracufian tyrant's gueft, who feafted with a fword fufpended over him by a hair.

All the gifts of Providence are in themselves excellent, and only become hurtful when perverted to improper ufes. The difference between a peafant and a philofopher may be fcarcely perceptible to the eye of a fuperior being.

Inftability is marked on every object under the fun; for Providence preferves the world by keeping the things of it in a courfe of perpetual viciffitude.

Sinners reverse the very order of nature: offer pardon to a criminal, he accepts it with joy, they reject it with disdain : offer pleasure to a man of the world, he embraces it with gratitude; place true pleasure in their view, they avoid it as deftructive.

Our love to man should be a reflexion of our love to God;" nor can the latter be genuine without the former.

The love of the generality of mankind is mixed and vi→ tiated; a commerce of interefts or of pleasures; but the univerfal charity enjoined on Chriftians has a far different fource.

The only way to be happy is to be holy; and it is a libel on religion, which God will profecute, to fay that there is no pleasure in it.

You may go asleep to hell, but not to Heaven; every step thither muft needs be a ftep of difficulty and exertion,

The Old Teftament is a treasure locked up, of which Chrift alone has the key; without him, the Bible is like the earth without the fun; it has beauties, but they are all invifible.

RELIGIOUS