give them as their wages happiness in heaven. Here is no uncertainty. It resembles the obtaining the just wages of a workman, who did labour upon the application and agreement of some one, and who therefore receives his pay accordingly. There is, however, this difference, that eternal life is the gift of God through the merits of Jesus Christ, to unworthy workmen, whose labours have deserved no wages.

Therefore, as a person who is somewhat skilled in the knowledge of precious stones, having discovered, among a great multitude of them, one which incomparably exceeds all others in beauty and value, doth, by selling all his property, purchase the same, forsaking the common ones; so did I examine the various religions, that are like the common stones, and being convinced of the worthlessness thereof, while I was searching for a valuable precious stone, I met with the Rev. Messrs. Twistleton, Bisset, Harvard, and Clough, exhibiting the most worthy precious stone of the Christian religion, with whom having contended for some months concerning the same, as soon as I discovered that most worthy precious one, which they hold forth to be a spotless, pure, and valuable one, I threw away all the worthless ones, of mere nominal religions, which are formed on merely temporal principles, and parted with all the possessions of my fortunes, which were connected with heathenism, and received that most worthy precious stone for the price of my faith.

Consequently, my dear friends, when one considers that I, who have acquired thousands of valuable books, and had hundreds of priests, over whom I presided as teacher and Chief. Priest; and caused to be raised a great number of priests' cells and temples; and had promoted the Budhist religion with much pains and labour; that I have given up all those honours and enjoyments, regarding the same as spittle, which one throws away, and that I did this to become a real Christian, then surely every reflecting man will be led to perceive how firm are my convictions that the Christian religion is a most certain and blessed one. Therefore, my dear friends, taking me for an example, in this respect, it will be the duty of those who wish themselves to be saved, to embrace and persevere in the religion of the true God.

I have thus endeavoured to lay before the Christian Public the circumstances of this interesting conversion. It will be unnecessary to trespass further upon their attention by endeav ouring to explain to them the causes which delayed the conclu sion of the account until the present period. Some of these. will be found in the frequent uncertainties which attend comVOL. IV.

3

munications between India and this country. The series of illnesses which ultimately led to my return to England, likewise tended to prevent a fair copy of the account being made out so soon as I had wished. This delay, however, is providental, as it enables me, in completing it, to bear testimony to the fidelity of this convert, through Divine grace, down to the time of my departure from Ceylon.-May he be kept faithful even unto death! Amen.

London, Sept. 11, 1819.

W. M. HARVARD.

Scripture Illustrated.

ILLUSTRATION OF ECCLESIASTES iii. 1—8.

NOTHING is more common than for those persons, who act under the influence of the carnal mind, and who delight in the indulgence of sinful appetites and passions, to seek a justification of their conduct from the word of God. But there is one principle which ought never to be lost sight of in the interpretation of the word of God, that, whether we ascertain the precise meaning of the inspired writer, according to his original design, or not, it is certain that any interpretation which gives a license to sin must be erroneous; because God, the author of sacred scripture, being holy, cannot, consistently with His nature, sanction any thing which is unholy; and also because the whole drift and design of divine revelation is to promote holiness among mankind. And therefore we ought ever to keep this principle in view in the interpretation of scripture, and especially in applying it to practical purposes.

In the passage under consideration, because it is said there is a "time to every purpose under heaven," and among other things, "a time to dance," some have infered the lawfulness of this, and other similar practices. But, whatever Solomon might have meant, it is certain that he could not have meant to justify any practice incompatible with holy living.

Before I enter immediately upon the primary meaning of the Wise man in this passage, permit me to observe, that we should always enter upon the study and examination of scripture, with the utmost seriousness, not with a view merely to confirm an opinion previously formed, or to justify a practice in which we may have been confirmed, but simply to ascertain the mind of the Holy Spirit, with a view to have our faith and practice corThose who do not come to the study of scripture with a a mind seriously bent in the pursuit of truth, need not expect it

rect.

will open its treasures to them-Man should be "serious in a serious cause”—and especially in a cause in which his everlasting welfare is involved-and therefore, in the investigation of sacred scripture, those explanations which are the drivellings of a light and vain mind, are to be avoided as we would avoid the burning lake.

Having made these remarks on the importance of approaching the Book of God under the influence of a serious and sincere desire to know the truth, let us see whether Solomon designed, in the passage before us, to give any countenance to vice. Let it be observed, then, in the first place, that he designed in this Book, to shew the vanity of human life, and especially the folly of accumulating riches at the expense of the lawful comforts of life. Hence he says, "There is nothing better than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour." And to enforce upon the reader's mind an humble submission to the Divine Providence in all things, he shews the unlimited controul which God exerciseth over all sublunary things, and that He amply provideth for man's subsistence and comfort-"For God giveth to man that which is good in his sight." To restrain man from that anxious solicitude after worldly greatness, which hurries him from one employment to another, in order to accumulate riches, he observes in the commencement of the passage under consideration, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." The obvious meaning of which is, that time is the gift of God to man, and that a season is appointed for every work necessary for man to do; and that man, in the exercise of his free moral powers, uses time and season according to his own choice; and hence to every thing that is done under the sun, whether it be good or bad, there is a time and a season: but it does not follow from this, that that time which was ordained of God for the benefit of man, but is abused for wicked purposes, was given to man for these wicked purposes; neither does it follow that man is justifiable when he prostitutes this precious gift of God to man, time, to the indulgence of sensual gratification. Such an inference would be a base prostitution of the word of God. He has placed man in time, and given to him every season, in which he may do all that is required of him, if he employs it with fidelity; but many, instead of using time as they ought, conscientiously to the glory of God, abuse it to their own destruction.

Let those who take shelter under this passage to screen themselves from condemnation, and from the keen reproofs of an enlightened conscience, remember that, among other things, it is said, There is a time to die. And will those pleasure-takers be willing to go from their vain amusements to the tomb and

from thence to the bar of God! However they may strive to pacify the gnawings of an accusing conscience by a lax interpretation of God's sacred word, and palliate for their immoral conduct by a comparison of themselves with others who are no better than they, when the time for death approaches, and the season of Judgment draws nigh, a sense of guilt for the misimprovement of their time, will fill their souls with the keenest anguish.

A very common complaint made by a certain class of people is, when important duties are urged upon them, that they have no time for their performance; but says Solomon, There is a time for every purpose under the sun; and if we divide our time as we might, allowing so much of every twenty-four hours for the several duties incumbent upon us, we shall find sufficient time for all we ought to do: but for want of this regular ap. portionment of time, we throw ourselves into confusion, and hurry from one thing to another, without bringing any thing of importance to pass. Dismiss, therefore, from your mind the idea that you have not time enough for the discharge of the du ties of life, seeing God hath given you time sufficient for every wise and useful purpose; for there is a "time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." Let every work, therefore, have its suitable time and place, and all that is ne cessary to be done, shall be well and faithfully done.

But let no one plead an exemption from guilt, from this passage of holy scripture, when he presumes to indulge in any of those vicious practices which both scripture and reason most obviously condemn. Can the midnight reveller, the bold blasphemer, the reeling drunkard, any more than the solemn trifler, or the proud self-righteous fop, each gratify himself in his favourite vice, and then excuse himself, because Solomon has said, there is a time for every purpose? Did God ordain time for the commission of such like abominations? As well might the midnight blush with the sun's rays, as for these sons of darkness to illumine their path with this ray of divine light! In the sixteenth verse, Solomon saith, " And moreover I saw under the sun, the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there." And did God give man time that he might have an opportunity of transforming the judgment seat into a throne of wickedness? How preposterous! This would be to adopt the blasphemous sentiment, propagated indeed by some, that all things, wickedness not excepted, are the result of an exciting agency of God upon the human heart. But as every part of the sacred writings contradict such a dangerous sentiment, so the reason and

judgment of every enlightened mind must disapprove of any explanation of particular passages which should lead to such a conclusion. The nature of God, the tendency of all his dispensations, whether of providence or grace, all unite to prove His eternal abhorrence of sin, and of his invariable love of holiness. Time, therefore, was never given to man for purposes of wickedness. Time, which, as a great man observes," is a fragment of eternity, broken off at both ends," is allotted to man that he might improve it in preparing for a blissful eternityand if conscientiously improved, according to the benevolent design of the giver, every man will find sufficient for every lawful purpose under heaven. This is, we conceive, what the wise man designed to teach.

New-York, November 16, 1820,

The Attributes of God Displayed.

From the London Methodist Magazine.

THE PROOFS OF THE BEING OF A GOD, FROM THE MANIFESTATION
OF DESIGN THROUGH THE WHOLE OF EXTERNAL NATURE.

"I read his awful name emblazon'd high,
With golden letters on the illumin'd sky;

Nor less the mystic characters I see

Wrought in each flower, inscribed on every tree!
In every creature own his forming power,

In each event his providence adore."

SURVEY this beautiful and magnificent system, this various and immense world, contemplate the azure vault of beaven, and its resplendent, and, to appearance numberless orbs, rolling with the most regular yet diversified motions; behold the sun appointed to rule the day, and the moon and the stars to rule the night. The different parts of the planetary system are placed at such convenient distances from the great fountain of vital warmth, and of exhilarating light, as to be destroyed neither by heat nor by cold; neither to be overwhelmed by effulgence, nor to be involved in darkness. Our earth is encompassed with an atmosphere so wonderfully contrived, as at once to support clouds for fertilizing rains, to afford winds for refreshment, the expulsion of noxious vapours, and navigation; to furnish vital breath to animals, to convey sound, and to transmit the rays of light. Seas and oceans, supplying vapours for the humid stores of the clouds, and for the sources of rivers, expand their liquid surface to facilitate the intercourse of men, and teem with inhabitants, subservient to their nourishment or their pleasure. The climates of the earth, though agreeably diversified,