more speculative points of theo- topics connected with an eternal logy with great judgment, and he state. But he surveyed them withalways did it with exemplary cau-out dread or dismay. He knew tion and humility. He well knew whom he had believed: not a muralso that Christianity has its myste- mur passed his lips; benevolence ries the deep things of God, and sweet submission reigned on which man in his present state his countenance, and his languid must be content to see darkly; eye still sparkled at any intelligence but he was extremely jealous of favourable to the progress of the any thing that tended to convert gospel. A little before he left the religion into a mere matter of spe- world, he joined with the beloved culation, or a system of mysticism. pastor of the church in exercises In his eyes it was something far of devotion, and took leave of him higher; he saw that it is intended with fervently imploring the blessto regulate the heart, the temper, ing of God upon his ministerial laand the practice; that it is the bours. He died on the 16th of Jan. armour to fortify us against the 1815, in the 55th year of his age. rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places: that it consists in the renewal, not of our intellectual, so much as of our moral and spiritual nature; that it is the conformation of man to the image of God. Hence prayer, submission, deep humility, continual reliance on the aids of the Holy Spirit, reading and meditation on the sacred Scriptures, and that faith in Christ which unites the soul to him-these were in his view the essentials of religion. "He feared the Lord and thought upon his name," and strove in all things, by divine grace, to apply the great truths of the gospel to his own conscience and life. And the principles which he held through life were the support of his heart, as he approached the dark valley where the rich and the poor meet together. The indisposition which brought this amiable man to the grave was tedious and consuming, but so deceitful in its operation, that till his last mortal day, his friends continued to indulge hope that a life so valuable might yet be spared. In the earlier stages of his illness, he had himself little or no reason to apprehend danger; but the long though painful leisure to which he was reduced, and the fixed habit of his mind, threw him much on a contemplation of the important Mr. Thornton married in 1796, the only daughter of Joseph Sykes, Esq. of West Ella, a lady eminently qualified to assist him in his benevolent undertakings, and every way worthy to be the wife of such a husband. He has left her, and a numerous family, to lament his loss, and to be consoled by the recollection of his virtues. ON THE DUTY OF CARING FOR 1 He THE genuine Christian must ever be a man of feeling. Like his divine Master, a portion of whose spirit he has imbibed and breathes, his sympathies are excited by the wants and miseries-the sorrows and dangers of mankind; all of whom he considers as his brethren, and, consequently, possessing a claim upon his affections. commiserates their sufferings, endeavours to relieve their necessities, and feels his happiness augmented by their enjoyments. The cold insensible character, who has no heart to feel for the condition of others, who neither " weeps with those that weep, nor rejoices with them that do rejoice," wants one of the distinguishing features of the children of God; nor has he any right to conclude, that he is a sincere disciple of that compassionate Redeemer, "Whose heart is made of tenderness, Whose bowels melt with love." tion. What parent is there, that could see the hectic glow of consumption tinging the faded cheek of a beloved child; or a raging fever preying upon its vitals; or a ponderous and destructive engine threatening to crush its tender frame, without emotions of alarm and sorrow, which baffle all description. And shall a christian parent be less affected by the conviction that those "other selves," who are dear to him as his own soul, languish under a loathsome and fatal disease, by which their souls draw nigh to death; that they are in danger of being consumed by the devouring flames of divine wrath; or crushed beneath the tremendous weight of the wrath of the Almighty? Especially when he reflects, that the danger incurred is the ruin of a soul, whose price our Saviour has taught us to estimate above the world—a soul that is capable of boundless enjoyment or of endless woe-a soul, which, unless renewed and purified by divine grace, must inevitably become the prey of that "worm that dieth not, and that fire which is not quenched." But if the susceptible mind of the Christian be deeply affected by the external circumstances of adversity in which his brethren of mankind are placed, how much more by the imminent danger which threatens their souls, and, most of all, by perceiving that everlasting destruction impends over those who are "bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh," those who have entwined themselves by a thousand endearing ties around his heart, and have become the most beloved objects of his earthly affection. How, for example, can the husband, that fears God, observe, without the deepest sorrow, enmity against the truth, and either contempt or indifference to sacred things filling the heart and influencing the conduct of the wife of his bosom? or, how can the wife, who has been called by divine grace, endure the thought of a final, an everlasting separation from the beloved companion of her mortal existence? With what bitterness of soul does the Christian parent perceive that, notwithstanding a diligent use of all the But is it enough to deplore the means which conscience and duty moral and spiritual condition of have suggested for the spiritual in- our ungodly relatives? Shall we struction of their children, folly is be satisfied to weep in secret still bound up in their hearts, places on account of their pride that vanity is still the idol of their and obduracy? In ordinary cases, affections, and sin the object of the discovery of disease is deemed their deliberate choice-that they a sufficient reason for the prompt are still in danger of perdition. and diligent use of all probable But, if possible, yet keener are the means for the recovery of health. sorrows of the child, who weeps The mother who sees her infant over the hoary hairs of a parent, envelloped in flames, is not satisfied tottering on the brink of the grave, to look on with an aching heart and and yet wholly unprepared for the streaming eyes; she rushes forward, tremendous change, because desti- regardless of her own ease and pertute of "repentance towards God, sonal safety, with the hope of being and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." the happy instrument of rescuing In such cases the anguish of her helpless offspring from destrucmind that is endured, will bear a tion. Christian sympathy will, in proportion to the degree of attach-like manner, prompt to the most ment felt to the objects of their unwearied and strenuous exertions solicitude, and the apprehension in behalf of those whom we see entertained of their final destruc- around us sporting on the brink of be farther remembered, on the one hand, that the season for such exertions is short and uncertain; and,' on the other, that these efforts, when made in a humble dependence upon the divine blessing, have frequently proved successful. Many who have long continued to sow in tears, have at length reaped in joy; and in proportion to the hended destruction of these relatives had occasioned, has been the ecstacy with which they have witnessed their conversion to God, and anticipated their eternal salvation! AMICUS. FUTURE TROUBLES WISELY ruin. It will dictate the most fer- with what fidelity and affection vent and unceasing prayers to God will they point them to the Lamb for them, that they may be saved. of God, who taketh away the sin It will stimulate to constant en- of the world! To stimulate all who deavours for their spiritual instruc-weep over ungodly relatives to such tion; lest if any of them should offices of christian friendship, let it perish for lack of knowledge, the blood of those who perish should be required at their hands. It will lead them to present such salutary instructions in the most winning form-to urge them by the most powerful motives--and to accompany them with the most earnest intercessions at a throne of grace. It will induce them to do violence to their own feelings, by adminis-anguish of mind which the appretering such reproofs to their impenitent relatives, as may, by a divine blessing, produce a salutary effect; and even to make use of "the terrors of the Lord," to persuade them to be reconciled to God. No false and criminal delicacy-no selfish sensibility will deter them from the attempt at CONCEALED FROM US. least to probe their consciences, and awaken the guilty slumberers THERE is in the human mind a to a sense of their danger and strong propensity to pry into fumisery. Though for a time it should turity, and we are generally more cause the most pungent sorrow, anxious to know what shall be they will not forbear to warn them hereafter, than to derive instruction of their danger, unmask their hy- from either the present or the past. pocrisy, and expose them to them- Whether this arises merely from selves—or, according to the apos- curiosity, from the dread of untle's direction, to reprove, rebuke, certainty, or from the wish to and exhort them with all long-regulate our future conduct in a suffering and doctrine. The heart-proper manner, it is evident that rending thought, that it is possible the course pursued by an unerring between them and their endeared Providence is but little adapted to relatives a wide and impassable gratify either the vanity or the gulph may be fixed;" that per- worthiness of such a motive. chance they may see the dearest None of us can review our own objects of their earthly affection on past lives, or the events of the prethe left hand of the Judge, accursed ceding year only, without acknowof God, and doomed to everlasting ledging our entire ignorance of the destruction-O! how calculated to future, or perceiving that it is a part rouse all their energies in efforts to of the divine economy to render pluck these brands from the fire! that ignorance invincible, and also Under the impression of such a at the same time conducive to some thought, with what ardour and im- wise and holy purpose. We know portunity will they besiege a throne indeed that man is born to trouble of grace on their behalf-with what as the sparks fly upward; and that' unwearied diligence will they in-through much tribulation we must struct them in the holy Scriptures enter the kingdom; but what these troubles are, when they shall hap-minds than a due consideration of pen, or from what quarter they shall proceed-who can tell? We know not what a day may bring forth; and it is not impossible but the events of the current year may effect such a change in our connections and circumstances as shall cause us feelingly to exclaim, "O that it were with us as in months past." the state of entire helplessness in which we are placed, and the uncertainty which attends all our future prospects. When we rise in a morning, we know not what the day may bring forth; what temptations, what difficulties, what trials, may take place. A very short time may deprive us of all our comforts, and of all our friends; and the day which commenced with orient brightness, may close in a dark and stormy night. How necessary then, that we should always be bringing our case before God, that we may be prepared for every event, and helped in every time of need. The uncertainty, however, in which we are placed with regard to futurity, may teach us the necessity of habitual dependence on God of living by faith, and not by sight. Israel in the wilderness knew not how long they were to abide, nor which way they were to move, but as the cloudy pillar directed them. All this was intended to teach them that man must not live by bread only, but by every word which God hath spoken. Were we to know beforehand all the trials that are ordained for us, we should be in danger of depend-time, and may find our strength ing less on God, and more on an arm of flesh, both for our deliverance and support, than is compatible with our duty. A little reflection therefore may be sufficient to shew how much this wise appointment of Heaven is calculated to promote a spirit of resignation to the divine will, and of confidence in the divine power and goodness. Oh, how desirable is it to say with David, "Here am I, let the Lord do with me as seemeth good in his sight!" If we could see our path through the wilderness, we should not feel our need of a guide; nor should we need to cast all our cares on HIM who careth for us, if they were to be committed to our own management. Nothing is more essential to the life and power of true religion than a spirit of prayer, or an habitual disposition to seek every thing at the hand of God, and to live daily dependent upon his bounty; nor can any thing have a stronger tendency to excite this feeling in our Living in the general expectation of trouble, as the common lot of man, may arm us against it before it overtake us; but a knowledge of all the particular events that may arise, would sink us in despair. Not knowing them beforehand, we have to encounter them one at a equal to our day; but did we know the whole at once, our spirits would feel dismayed, and we should be unfitted for present duties. Anticipated evils frequently produce this effect, and we suffer as much from what is feared as from what is felt. "Take therefore no thought for tomorrow; sufficient to the day is the evil thereof." The present state of things is also adapted to a life of habitual preparedness for heaven; for tho' we know not, any more than Jacob, the day of our death, yet we know, as did another patriarch, that when a few more years are come, we must go the way whence we shall not return; and if we love God, we shall know enough to make us happy in the prospect of another world. The certainty of the event, without knowing the time when, or the manner how, powerfully reiterates that solemn warning: also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh." PAULINUS. "Be ye DR. COLLYER DEFENDED AGAINST THE "BRITISH CRITIC." We stand in admiration of the impudence of that man who shall term an herd of fanatics a church-a church governed by no discipline. To the Editor of the New Evangelical but that of their own wavering con Magazine. ceit, instructed by no ministers but those whom they elect to-day, and may turn off to-morrow, and preachChrist not only out of contention but in contention." SIR, "When truth or virtue an affront endures, The affront is mine, my friend, and should be yours." Thus the enlightened and temperate "British Critic," introduces the Doctor's Sermon to the notice of his readers. "Dr. Collyer is elected it appears to the pulpit of Salters' Hall, Cannon-street. We shall not inquire where the redoubted Doctor was dubbed D.D. nor shall we remark upon the audacia perdita [the irreclaimable impudence] of calling such an assembly A CHURCH. An assembly that sets at defiance every notion which we derive from laws human or divine of the nature of a church. VOL. I. Now on this extraordinary quotation, I cannot help remarking, that it is always unfortunate when a writer suffers the violence of his passion so far to get the ascendency over his judgment, as to hurry him on to the rash act of committing the cause which he is engaged to defend, by advancing positions which cannot be maintained. It is scarcely necessary to remark on the temper of mind in which this critic has penned his animadversions. The terms, "redoubted doctor," "impudence," " herd of fanatics," &c. &c. which, as Junius would have expressed it, "dance through his paragraphs in all the mazes of metaphorical confusion," are indeed a sufficient indication of the irritated state of the writer's mind. He is very angry, it seems, that Dr. Collyer should presume to dignify with the sacred name of a church, a company of "well-meaning men," assembling together at Salters' Hall, for the public worship of God, and voluntarily choosing the minister that is to preach Christ unto them, and administer the ordinances of his house amongst them. This, he tells us, sets at defiance every notion which we derive from laws human and divine of the nature of a church;" and, as though this were not sufficiently strong, the "Critic" afterwards adds, that when such persons "call themselves a church, they can have no good nor honest end in view. A wilful perversion of the commonest terms can arise from no other source but DECEIT and FRAUD!" 66 I am quite aware, Sir, that to attempt to convince this " British P |