a timorous difpofition is of infinitely bad tendency in a minifter, and may draw upon him the eternal damnation of thoufands, and of himself in the most tremendous form.* Study an heavenly temper, as having your Saviour, Master, and portion in heaven; as employed in walking and bringing others to heaven; and as expecting your infinitely great and gracious reward in heaven.† Study univerfal decency or becomingnefs, in all your words, deeds, geftures, and dress, fuitable to your office, your age, your gifts, the graces which you ought to exercife, and the circumstances in which Providence hath placed you and the church of Chrift. This will render your honeft and pious actions, lovely, even to the enemies of your religion. In bearing adverfity, efpecially fufferings for righteoufnefs' fake, ftudy to exercife an earneft and vigorous faith in God's promifes; hope of his gracious and feafonable fupport, and deliverance; patience, fortitude and conftancy under his correction, and kindly refignation to it; wifdom and prudence in judging of the troubles and their caufes, and in ufing proper means for removing them. Thus you will attain to the most honourable as well as profitable part of the chriftian life, and be fitted for directing and comforting others in their adverfity. In your family, you ought carefully to choose fervants that are prudent and fearers of God. But much more circumfpection, and gracious direction from God are neceffary in your choice of a pious, prudent, active, frugal, kind, and affable wife, who may be an help and ornament to you and your family; not an hurt, hindrance, reproach and grief. T In your family, a more than ordinary knowledge of divine things, holiness, devotion, love, harmony, order and gravity, ought to prevail:** while you retain your authority over them,++ and prudently provide neceffaries for them,‡‡ you ought to manifeft an affectionate delight in your wife, fympathy with her in trouble, and patient bearing of her infirmities.gg The children whom God may give you, should be * If. lvi. 10, 11. Ezek. ii, 6. Matth. xxiv. 48-51. and xxv. 24-30. 1 Cor. ix. 16, 27, †2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Col. iii. 1, 2. Phil. iii. 20. Heb. xii, 1, 2. Job xxxii. 6. 1 Cor. xiv. 30, 40. § 2 Tim. ii. 1, 3, 10. and i. 8. P. xxxix. 9. 1 Sam. iii. 18. Acts xx. 24. and xxi. 13. 2 Sam. xv. 26. and xvi. 10-12. 2 Cór. vi. 4. 2 Chron. xx. 12-20. If. vii. 17. Mic, vii. 7—9. || James i. 4. Heb. xii. 1—11. 2 Cor, i. 3—11. 1 Theff. iii. 7. 8. 2 Cor. vi. 14. 1 Cor. ix. 5. and vii. 39. Prov. xxxi. ** Gen, xviii. 19. Ex. xx. 10. Josh. xxiv. 15. tt Tim. ii. 11, 12. 1 Deut. xxvi. 11. 1 Tim. v. 8. §§ Prov. xix. Eph. v. 25. Col. iij. 19. & Pet. iii. 7. 3 R 2 brought brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, without either finful indulgence or cruelty in your dealings with them, and in due time appointed to fome proper business anfwerable to their inclinations, abilities, and ftation in life.* Your fervants fhould have not only proper work and wages, but ought to be carefully inftructed, along with your chil dren, in the principles of religion, and required and encourraged to obferve the fecret, private, and public ordinances thereof. + I I am yours, THE ADVANTAGES OF PIETY. J. B. [IN A LETTER FROM A GUARDIAN TO A YOUNG DEAR June 9, 1798. AM obliged to you for your attention to my request. Your letters will always give me pleafure; as I feel more interested, perhaps in your behalf, than any perfon upon earth does befide, except your mother.-I was forry you took leave of me fo unexpectedly; as I intended to have given you fome books that might be ufeful. Don't fail, however, to read well thofe you have, especially your bible. Whether you are by fea or land, you are under the eye of God, and accountable to him for all your thoughts, words, and actions. In his favour is life, and mifery unavoidably attends his anger. You should therefore feek, with your whole heart, his mercy and grace; and never be fatisfied till you know that he has accepted you in Chrift Jefus, the Son of his love, and given you the earnest of his Spirit. Confider, my dear A- what an awful state you would be in, fhould death come upon you unawares, before your fins are blotted out; and before you have experienced the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghoft. Many of your companions, may, perhaps, think there is no danger. But you, who have had the advantage of fitting under the Gofpel, and living with religious people, muft know that you could not enter into heaven, till this bleffed change has taken place. You know that it will be too late when death arrives to feek God; and that dying in fin, you must be banished from his prefence, into endless punishment. • Eph. vi 4. Col, iii. 21. Prov. xxii. 6. † Gen. xviii. 19. Josh. xxiv. 15. Pf. ci. 6. Col. iv. z. Confider Confider alfo the bleffings and advantages of a holy life. They who are reconciled to God through Chrift, and believe on the adorable Saviour, have all their fins forgiven; have peace in their confcience, accefs to God in prayer; have the affurance of his favour, the Holy Ghoft witneffing with their fpirits that they are his; have exceeding great and precious promifes to animate and fupport them in life and death; and have a prospect of a bleffed eternity always before their eyes. Their time is spent in pleafure and in peace. They live to the glory of God their Saviour, and endeavour to do good to all men. Confequently they are free from the trouble in which tranfgreffors are involved; whofe wicked conduct does mifchief to others, and pierces through their own fouls with many forrows. But if in this life, the righteous have the advantage, by enjoying purer pleasures and feeling fewer forrows, what will be their fuperiority in the world to come? When life draws near to a clofe, God fhines upon their fouls with peculiar tenderness and care. They fleep in Jefus; and with Jefus fhall they appear in glory, when he cometh to judge the world. They shall ftand before his feat with boldnefs. They fhall be openly acknowledged as his redeemed people, before an affembled univerfe. And when the wicked fhall be driven away into everlafting fire, they fhall be triumphantly admitted into everlafting glory and felicity. Read, therefore, your bible. Learn to know Christ, and him crucified. Pray often; and pray carneftly. Never be fatisfied, till your fins are forgiven; and your foul is renewed by the Holy Ghoft; till you can be affured that God is your reconciled God and Father, and that you are his adopted child. And ceafe not daily to pray for me, and be affured I fhall never forget you in my prayers, nor in my affections. Yours, &c. REFLECTIONS ON THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LATE HARVEST. ACTS xiv. 17. "Nevertheless he left not himself without witnefs; in that he "did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful fea"fons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." WHEN HEN we look back on the late harveft, these beautiful words of the Apostle Paul appear to be exceedingly applicable to the prefent period. Such abundant crops, corn of fuch excellent quality, and weather fo fa vourable vourable for the in-gathering of the fruits of the earth, have seldom been known. And now, what fhall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits? Surely we should render him praife, and acknowledge with grateful affection his paternal kindness. It is "the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." * "He did good," fays the Apostle. Were we to enquire when he did good; the anfwer would be, he did good always. There never was a year, a month, a day, an hour, in which the great Creator did not do good to his creatures. He has been doing good continually, and he is not yet weary of manifefting his kindnefs. He doth good fill, nothing but good, abundance of good. The goodnefs of God, is a boundlefs ocean, an inexhauftible spring, a fountain ever-flowing and over-flowing. When we confider the conftancy of Jehovah's care, the number of his favours, the magnitude of his bleffings, may we not exclaim with the Prophet, + "How great is his goodnefs!" And then furely we may add, "How great is his beauty!" He did good; but to whom? Let David the fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael give the answer: "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." Let Jefus also, the faithful witnefs, reply: §" He maketh his Sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and fendeth rain on the juft, and on the unjuft." Our Lord informs us in another place, who are the objects of the Divine goodness, in these striking words, "He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil," Unparalleled is the goodness of God! The objects of it were previous to the reception of his favours, entirely unworthy of them; yet, notwithstanding their unworthinefs, he did them good. And after they partook of his bounty, they rendered not again according to the benefit done them," but were unthankful; yet, the Lord continued to do them good. When we meditate on these two parts of the character of thofe on whom the bleffed God confers his kindness, how greatly is the divine benignity enhanced thereby. He is kind to the unthankful, and the evil! But let us furvey the particular inftances of almighty goodness on which the Apoftle dwells in this paffage. "He gave us rain from heaven and fruitful feafons, filling our hearts with food and gladnefs." It should never be forgotten that the rain which comes from the heavens, or de↑ Pf. cxlv. 9. 1 Tim. vi. 17. + Zech. ix. 17. § Matt. v. 45. 2 Luke vi. 35. 2 Chron. xxxii. 25. fcends 66 fcends from the clouds, is the gift of God; of that "God who made heaven and earth, the fea, and all things that are therein."* And his giving rain, is an evidence of his divine power and providential care. This is one proof, among many others, of his glorious Deity. +" Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens (of themfelves) give showers? Art not thou He, O Lord God? Therefore we will wait upon thee; for thou haft made all these things." "When clouds distil in fruitful showers, "The Author is divine.” WATTS. In fending rain upon the earth, the Lord manifefts his free and unmerited kindness. This thought is expressed by the word "gave." He gave us rain from heaven. He might justly have withheld his rain, we did not deserve it; but of his fovereign pleasure and free bounty he gave it us. Therefore "let us now fear the Lord our God that giveth rain; both the former and the latter in his feafon: he referveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest." I When the Apoftle fays, he gave us rain from heaven, he adds, "and fruitful feafons." Here is an additional display of Jehovah's bounty. We might have had rain without fruitful feasons. But when, together with rain, the earth was bleffed with the fun's fructifying rays, by their concurring influence, the corn was ripened, and the various fruits brought to perfection. Thus by providing food for the fupport and refreshment of our bodies, the Lord hath filled "our hearts with gladnefs." Let this joy terminate in God: And let us unite in praise to him, "Whole bounty fhines in Autumn unconfined, "And spreads a common feast for all that lives." THOMSON. After confidering the account given in this verfe of the divine conduct towards men, we may truly fay, he left not himself without witnefs. All thefe works of his are witneffes for him. They are teftimonies of his Almighty power, unbounded goodnefs, and paternal care. And does not every feafon of the revolving year manifeft his wifdem and his faithfulness too? He hath faid, "While the earth § remaineth, feed-time and harveft, and cold and heat, and fummer and winter, and day and night fhall not ceafe." And while we are every year beholding the fulfilment of this promife, let us adore that inviolable truth and faithfulness to which we owe the accomplishment thereof. 'The' Acts xvi, 15. ↑ Jer, xvi. 22, ‡ Jer. v. 24. Gen. viii. 22. wildom |