put his finger into the fire of contention. Animofity and difcord he confidered as the bane of the Church. And, under a conviction of this, he uniformly "followed the things which made for peace, and things whereby one might edify another."-His piety was genuine and exem plary. He reflected a luftre on the Chriftian character. He was much given to prayer. He lived much above the fenfible world, and in folitude and filence conversed much with God. His life thone bright with the fplendour of holinefs. He lived like a stranger on the earth, and a citizen of heaven. The people that were of his charge are witneffes, and you, my friends, are witneffes, and all the country are witneffes, and God alfo is witness, how holily, and justly, and unblameably, he behaved himself in the world.

As a Minifter, his eminence in the pulpit was confpicuous to all. The great and fubftantial doctrines of the Gofpel; the unfpeakable intereft men have in believing thefe doctrines; their bleffed influence upon the holinefs and confolation of believers in this world, and in preparing them for everlafting felicity in the world to come.These were the themes of his public miniftry, and upon thefe he dwelt with unwearied delight. A peculiar dignity in fentiment and language, a venerable prefence, a commanding voice, together with a grave, firm, and impreffive delivery, characterized hini as a preacher. Like Apollos, he was eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures; and his fuperior knowledge in thofe facred books enabled him to exhibit divine truths with fuch light, and evidence, and energy, as at once delighted, aftonished, and inftructed his hearers. His language, his voice, his manner of addrefs, were altogether peculiar to himself, and accorded with the majefty and grandeur of the truths he delivered. Even the most common and obvious truths, delivered by him, roufed the attention, and produced an effect which they reased to do when coming from the mouth of another perfon. His difcourfes afforded fubftantial food to the foul with delight; fo plain, that perfons of the lowest capacity eafily understood, and withal fo excellent, that the moft faftidious mind could not but relifh. He dipt his words in his foul, and breathed an holy fire into the breafts of his hearers. His difcourfes had in them a great deal of what has been termed Unction, which rendered them pcculiarly grateful and favoury to the taste of the renewed foul.-Were I, in a single sentence, to point out his charac

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teriftic

teristic excellence as a preacher, I would fay, that it lay in his being mafter of Scripture fentiment and Scripture imagery; with which he illuminated, enlivened, and enriched his difcourfes, which, being delivered with a grave, forcible, dignified, and impreffive utterance, peculiar to himself, never failed to make a deep and folemn impreffion upon the minds of his audience. You, my friends, can bear teftimony to the truth of what I fay. You have yet freth in your minds many of the dif courfes he delivered in your prefence. And you well remember with what attention and eagerness you would have hung upon his lips. But his majestic voice you will hear no more. He is removed far from mortals, has taken his departure from our world, and left us to lament that a great man is fallen in Ifrael. Truly we may fay of him, what our Lord faid of John the Baptift: "He was a burning and a fhining light." He burned remarkably in the law, and fhone confpicuoufly in the Gofpel. He burned in feverity against fin, and thone in compaffion toward finners. He burned in love to and zeal for God, and thone in evidence and perfpicuity of difcourfe. He was a burning and a thining light, and as often as you, my friends, of this congregation, were favoured with his occafional miniftrations, ye rejoiced in his light.

This great and good man paffed through a lengthened feries of years, increafing in knowledge and in piety, in zeal and usefulness, beloved and refpected by perfons of every rank and every defcription. As the evening of life advanced, he advanced in Chriftian and minifterial improvement. This luminous western ftar continued to fhine with increafing luftre, even to the laft. It was but a fhort time he was incapacitated for public ufefulness. When he felt himself declining under the preffure of the infirmities of age, and that he must put off this tabernacle, as the Lord had fhewed him, he exemplified an holy trust in God, and patience under his fufferings. When the harbingers of death were encamping around him, with ferenity of mind he compofed himfelf for his dying work. During his whole life he was a man given to prayer, but his two last days in this world were spent in almoft nothing else.

When afked by one with refpect to his hope, he replied, "My hope is the hope fet before me in the Gospel, and I rejoice in hope of the glory of God." He was uncommonly fresh and recollected upon the laft day of his life. He was in a posture of waiting for the coming of his Lord. VOL. IX.

At

At different times he was Leard to fav," When will Christ come in? when will Chrift come in "There are some of the detached fentences in his prayers, which were overheard by his friends who attended him. “O Lord. let patience in me have its petiest work, for the sake of Jefus Chrift. Amen.”—“ Lord. ftrengthen me with all might, according to thy glorious power, unto all patience and long-offering, with joyfulnets, for the fake of Jetus Christ! Amen."-" O Lord! enable me to leave all, and give up all, and come to thee, through Jefus Chrift! Amen."- Into thine hand I commit my ipirit. Thou haft redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth!”—“ O Lord! raile me above all my infirmities, for the fake of Jefus Chrift. Amen." The next morning. at four o'clock. Lis prayer was heard. He was then taken to be with God, to ice and enjoy for himself what he had all his life been preaching and recommending to others. “Mark the perfect man : and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace."

When the Apoftie Paul took his final farewell of the Church of Ephefus, I remember it is recorded in the Acts, that they all wept fore, and feil upon his neck, and kiffed him, forrowing, moft of all for the words which he spake,

that they should fee his face no more. Well, my friends, are we to fee the face of our worthy father in this world no more? Then, let us give thanks to God for preferving him to be fo long and fo eminently ufeful in the fervice of the Church.--- Are we to fee his face no more? Then let us pray to God that he may raise up many fuch eminent men, many fuch burning and thining lights, for a bieiling

It was truly moving, fays Mr. Young, to fee this faithful fervant of God, in his latt #truggles, when to use his own expreffion, "hands and feet and faith were all at work." But in the language of Scripture, "this poor man cried," "And the Lord heard him and faved him out of all his troubles "Some days before his death," fays Mr. Y. "while I was fupporting him in walking across the room, the day being uncom'mony dark, and the rain defcending in torrents, making the harvest an heap in the day of grief and defperate forrow, having looked out at the window, he turned to me, and faid with an energy and expreffion or counte nance, I can never forget; "O what a day! It is enough to turn melancholy into mourning. My mind would now be completely without support, but for the peace of God that paffeth all understanding.”—“ I recollect,” fay, Mr. Y. "to have asked him one evening, What he thought of Maffion's Sermons?” "They are,” replied he, "full of French declan..non, and are dry bones to hungry fouls.” But he added, "I admire that which is faid of him; that he died as all good bifhops ought to die, without wealth and without debt."

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to the Church and to the world.--Are we to fee his face no more? Then let us recollect what we have heard from him, and feen in him, for our edification. Those things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and feen in him, do, and the God of peace fhall be with you.--Are we to fee his face no more? Let us take occafion to reflect, that the time is faft approaching when we too fhall fee one another's faces in this world no more. And let all of us be concerned to be making ready for taking our departure into the world of fpirits.---Are we to fee his face no more? Then, finally, let us be followers of him, and of them, who, through faith and patience, are now inheriting the promifes: God grant that we, when dying, may be enabled, in the excrcife of a true and lively faith, to refign our departing foul into the hand of our heavenly Father, faying, like Him, "Into thine hand I commit my Spirit thou haft redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." Then fhall it be our felicity to meet him in heaven, and to be with Chrift, which is far better.

REV. SIR,

To the Editor.

THE enclofed letter breathes fuch an unaffected ftrain of piety and fubmiffion to the divine will under very trying circumftances, that it much impreffes my heart; and fhould it excite gratitude in our fouls for more abundant mercies in Providence, or teach those who are in fimilar circumftances with the author, to caft their burdens upon the fame Almighty, and never-failing Friend, you will not regret its infertion in your Magazine.-I am fure you will be glad to hear, that a few Chriftian friends, into whofe hands the letter unexpectedly came, have generously difcharged the good man's debts, and fent him a few pounds, and an ample supply of cloathing for himfelf and family. So true is that word, "The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." Pfalm xxxiv. 17. Your's,

PHILEMON.

Having often thought of calling the attention of the public to the ftate of poor Evangelical Minifters in the country, whofe incomes, through the diftreffes of their hearers, diminish, as their expences increafe, we are happy to avail ourselves of this communication, which will fpeak more forcibly to the feelings of our readers than any thing we could offer. EDITOR.

MY

LH, Nov. 26th, 1800,

Y dear and Chriftian friend in the Lord, but to me unknown, I received your kind, loving, and welcome letter, Nov. 24. Being fo loft in wonder and furprize, that I know not how to exprefs myfelf, or form my letter to you as God's diftributor to the poor of his flock with all your Chriftian helpers the Lord the Spirit help me to indite, and guide my poor hand in truth.-I have an enemy ftands at my back, whofe name is Mr. Pride, and afks me how I can for fhame, as a Chriftian Minister, ftate my cafe (it being fo unknown and deplorable) to the Church or Chriftian friends. abroad but as God refifts the proud, and gives grace unto the humble, I bid him, in the Lord's name, begone; for the Lord will have mercy on the afflicted, and I am perfuaded my dear friends will not scorn me because of my poverty.

:

My dear Sir, had you brought in your kind letter to me, I fuppofe your breaft would have heaved, your cheeks blushed, your eyes dropped, whilft you would have exclaimed,

Alas! my brother!"-I have a poor fick and weak wife, who has been ill for almost fourteen years of the rheumatifm in the ftomach, windy cholic in her breaft, dropfy in her legs, and fometimes with hyfteric fits; and we have nothing to put in her mouth befide a little water; but the water of life is very refreshing. I have a daughter, my oldest child, who has been ill almoft four years in a decline, and I am able to get very little or nothing for her ; but cry to the heavenly Phyfician for help.-I have a poor ragged boy turned thirteen years, and the country is fo poor, I cannot get any work for him; (even farmers pay off their fervants, provifions are fo dear;) and to put him apprentice is out of my power: I muft hope the Lord will hear my prayers in his behalf.-I have another boy, who is eighteen, at fervice in a farmer's place, but his wages are fo low, he cannot as yet do for himself.---My income in all is only fixteen pounds per annum, (the London Exhibition, and his Majefty's royal gift included) and the people are fo poor, whom I ferve, that they can afford me little or nothing, as they are loaded with large families, and fome of them on the parish, and their children half naked; fo that I can expect but little from them, poor dear things! As for our linen, both for back and bed, to fay I have none would be falfe; but to fay you would not thank me for it, would be true, for we are exceedingly bare of that article: yet we are happy to be clothed with the clean linen, the righteouf