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"And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

"I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir."

And in the afternoon, upon Galatians iii. 13, 14.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth

on a tree :

"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

The following anthem was sent me by way of conclusion : "Praise the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, thou art become exceeding glorious; thou art clothed with majesty and honour. Thou deckest thyself with light as with a garment, and spreadest out the heavens like a curtain. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, and maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh on the wings of the wind. He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire. He laid the foundation of the earth that it may never be removed. O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all! The earth is full of thy riches, the glorious majesty of the Lord shall endure for The Lord shall rejoice in his works. Hallelujah. Amen."

ever.

The spirit of persecution is carried to great extremes in this town. God, however, who "tempereth the wind to the shorn lamb," will so overrule, as to constrain the wrath of man to praise him, and I am persuaded the remainder, which will not answer this purpose, he will by his mighty power, control.

A gentleman put into my hands the following anthem, and ode, with which he requested I would this day commence and conclude divine service.

ANTHEM.

"Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the earth, for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. Break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein, for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel. Glory be unto the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."

ODE FOR CONCLUSION.

" Plung'd in a gulf of dark despair
We wretched sinners lay,
Without one cheerful beam of hope,
Or spark of glimmering day.

"With pitying eyes the Prince of grace,
Beheld our helpless grief,

He saw, and O amazing love!

He came to our relief.

"Down from the shining seats above,
With joyful haste he fled,

Enter'd the grave in mortal flesh

And dwelt among the dead!

"O! for this love, let rocks and hills,
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues,
The Saviour's praises speak.

"Angels, assist our mighty joys,
Strike all your harps of gold;
But when you raise your highest notes
His love can ne'er be told!"

I changed my purpose with regard to the subject I had selected for consideration, and made it conformable to the anthem. I could not have a better. It is, you will recollect, in the 44th chapter of Isaiah, 23d verse. But in order to know what the Lord had done, according to the anthem, I connected the verse immediately preceding, viz. verse 22d: "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee." Then follows, " Sing, O heavens, for the Lord hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the earth, &c. &c. Thus we preached, and sang the same doctrine: and my spirit was greatly consoled.

In consequence of a pressing solicitation, I am this morning setting off on a little jaunt, ten miles distant from this place, to deliver the errand on which my Redeemer hath sent me. God all gracious, give me good success.

I am returned, and, agreeably to the dispensation of the gospel committed unto me, have discharged my commission, by preaching on the 16th chapter of John, from the 8th to the 16th verse:

" And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

"Of sin, because they believe not on me :

"Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no

more:

" Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them

now.

"Howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things

to come.

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

"All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore, said I, That he shall take of mine, and shew it unto you.

"A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again a little while, and ye shall see me; because I go to the Father."

How true the observation, "It is the survivor dies." We have been greatly shocked by a sudden death, by which a valuable character is lost to the community!

The gentleman, whose demise occasioned the above recurrence to the poet, passed the morning in the diversion of fowling; and after his return, devoted some time to conversation with his friends upon the gospel of God our Saviour. He observed it was not possible the established doctrine could be true; if it were, the whole race of Adam must inevitably be lost. But he said, there was a beautiful consistency in the doctrine of Universal Redemption. It disencumbered revelation of every absurdity, exhibiting it in a just, and rational view. Yet such, he added, is the nature of man, in his present depraved state, that it seems as if it were necessary to keep him under the fearful apprehension of punishment.

But if God hath said it, the preacher cannot be responsible for consequences, and an attempt to conceal the truth, is certainly doing evil, in the hope of producing a good result. VOL. I.

39

Thus they continued conversing, until going to put up their guns; it was proposed, to prevent mischief by discharging the pieces-and they were all discharged except Mr. ; he refused to discharge his piece, he would take it himself that he might deposit it with the requisite caution. He did so, but accidentally striking the lock, the piece went off, and its contents pierced the breast, shattered two of his ribs, and were lodged in the lungs.

His first exclamation was, "I am a dead man," and, beholding his friends nearly petrified by horror, he added, "Be not afraid, my friends, it is all very well. I behold my Saviour ready to receive me."

He was to the last composed and happy, his countenance placid, as if experiencing a foretaste of heaven. He spoke in transports of the felicity he had in prospect, of soon meeting, and being reunited, no more to separate from his departed wife, and he declared, that single prospect was more delightful to him than all that earth could give.

Thus, in perfect peace, nay, with inexpressible felicity, departed a man, who possessed every thing which could render life agreeable, and yet he left it without a single sigh. How great is the goodness of God! How frequently do we find the fear of death, subjecting the spirit to bondage, until the very period of mortality, when in an instant, the seene is changed, the king of terrors throws off his vizor, and wears an angel's form. Many have been the instances of this kind, which have come under my observation.

I preached yesterday in the morning at one place of worship, and in the evening at another. The subject of my morning's discourse is recorded in Acts, xiv. from the beginning of the 15th to the close of the 17th verse:

"Sirs, why do you these things? we also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein;

"Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

"Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

LETTER X.

In the evening the house was larger, and the concourse of people prodigious. And we selected our subject from the sixth of Romans, dwelling principally upon the last verse of that chapter :

"For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

As I entered the church, the following anthem was put into my hand. It constituted a pertinent close to our discourse.

"Arise, shine, O Zion! for the light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Sing, O heavens! and be joyful, O earth! for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace and good will toward men. For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace-Amen. Hallelujah. Amen."

The house in which we assembled is, as I observed, large. The front of the gallery was completely filled by the singing choir, and the anthem was performed with understanding, and, as I believe, with feeling hearts.

Many friends are called home since I last visited this place. How often am I constrained to make this reflection. Colonel D is no more. The parish minister attended him in his last illness, and ran through the usual forms on these occasions:

Are you willing to die, Colonel?

Perfectly so, Sir.

It is an awful thing to change worlds, Colonel.

Aye, Sir, neither you nor I know any thing of the matter; we were neither of us ever in any world but this.

You ought to know, Colonel, that Christ is your only dependance. I have known that, Sir, some years since; and I know more than that, I know I want nothing else.

Neither the priest nor the pharisee have much hope of, or for this man.

Another friend is tottering on the verge of another world, brought thither by gradual decline. He was supported into the church by his brother; I spoke to him after service. He observed he was almost gone, he had reached the church with great difficulty; but

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