NEW YEAR'S DAY REFLECTIONS. AVING obtained help of God, I continue to this day. condefcenfion of the Lamb of God, in his incarnation, and in the affumption of a human foul, our holy brother, into union with the uncreated, eternal Word, the fecond perfon of the adorable Trinity. A moft venerable mystery! I have, this day, been reviewing the feries of the divine goodness to me, ever fince my birth. How graciously hath my heavenly Father dealt with me! Blefs the Lord, O my foul! and forget not all his benefits. God hath fo ordered, that I have spent my life, from my earliest youth, among books; but the most valuable knowledge, which I have obtained, is not the mathematical and philofophical sciences; not the ancient learned languages; not ecclefiaftical history, and the hiftory of nations and empires; not the knowledge of law, and the political conftitutions of Europe :-but that, in which I have found the greatest entertainment and fatisfaction, is, the knowledge of Jefus Chrift, and the redemption of the crofs. The facred oracles open the most wonderful difcoveries, and enlarged views, of the auguft councils of infinite wifdom and grace. Through the blood of the crofs, Jefus has laid the foundation of our reconciliation, and union alfo, to the Divinity. Glorious falvation this! God manifeft in the flesh, feen of angels, taken up to glory. Of the bleffed Jefus I am an unworthy minifter. O that I could ferve him equal to his deferts from man! But, alas! what little fervour have I, in the fervice of fo glorious a Master! When I review my ministry, it has been fo poor and mean, fo felfifh, fo unfaithful, fo little animated with the fpirit and great caufe of Chrift, fo filled with neglect, ill conduct, and imperfection, that I blufh to think of a reward from a Mafter, to whom I owe my all; and can think of nothing but of going to receive (if I can efcape rebuke) mercy and forgivenefs only, if poffible, for doing his work fo poorly. The good Lord pardon me for Jefus' fake; and lay not iniquity to my charge. O that I may be quickened by his grace, and enlivened in fo glorious a work, as teftifying the grace of God to a finful world, the remaining moments of my life! I rejoice that God fo ordered it in his providence, that I was put into the ministry: miniftry: I delight in the fervice-But fhudder at the thoughts of the reckoning. This accounting for the blood of fouls, laid to the charge of an ungracious, an unfaithful ministry, is awful and tremendous. In the view of this, O Jefus! I fly to thy holy facrifice, thy all-atoning blood. May I be refolved, more and more, to stand in the lot affigned, not in my own weakness, but in the strength of thy grace, without which I am, and shall be, nothing. Direct my miniftrations, and give efficacy to them; that, teftifying repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift, I may perfuade at least some few of this world of millions of rebels to be reconciled to God. When I review my life, from my earliest years to this day, I find it filled with the care, protection and goodness of Heavenfilled with infirmities of body and mind-filled with imperfection and fin. My fins are fo numerous, so constant, fo prevailing, and fo uncontrollable, that I am covered with remorfe and confufion. I know that the atonement and merits of my Redeemer are all-fufficient; and fo they are for all the miferable in hell. But, the imperfections, follies, and iniquities of my life, and of my very heart, excite in me great doubts and fears, left I fhall prove a caft-away. I keep up, indeed, a conftant, daily, and unremitted courfe of prayer, reading of the Scriptures, meditation, and mental devotion; and am habitually feeking God's grace, and energetic influence, to enlighten and fanctify me. But, alas! how little progress do I make in religion! INTERESTING INCIDENT. N the evening that the Hottentots were in the Scots years old, anxious to fee the converts to Christianity from his quarter of the world, of whom every body was speaking, pref fed through the crowd, and, at length, reached the veftry-door. The fervice had closed; and the Hottentots were taking a little wine with the minifter and friends, who were standing around them. The moment that Mary's eye caught the face of the boy, the flew to him, took him eagerly to her arms, fondled over him with much maternal affection; and Martha having now come forward, they put fome queftions to him in Dutch, repeated them again and again with great earnestness of manner, and feemed feemed much difappointed at his giving them no answer. Recollecting, at last, that the lad did not understand Dutch, Mary haftened to her minister, Mr. Kicherer, brought him to the boy, requesting him to put the queftion to him in English. He did fo. The question which they had, with so much concern, been addreffing to the negro boy, was, "Do you love the Lord Jefus Chrift? Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?"The poor boy who, may be, had heard little of Jefus Chrift, fave in the blafphemies of nominal profeffors, looked blank, confused, and gave no answer. Their mortification was extreme; their countenances fell; they were grieved to find a native of Africa, who had enjoyed the privileges of this country, unacquainted with the Redeemer.-Reader, thou haft long enjoyed these spiritual privileges! How stands thy heart affected to the Son of God?-Liften to the following_awful words, as if feven thunders uttered their voices :-"If any man love not the Lord Jefus Chrift, let him be anathema maranatha." WORLDLY ATTACHMENTS UNNECESSARY. T is reported by the Rabbinical writers, that Melchifedec, that he had yet 500 years to live,-answered, That for so short a time it was not worth the labour. Whether this story be true or false, we may learn from it the exceffive folly of modern worldlings, who muft calculate their lives, not by hundreds of years,-but by the day, by the span, by the inch, and yet are as folicitous about worldly matters, as if they were fure of ages to come! "Lord! make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am!" ANECDOTE. THE Gospel having been fent, by Lady Huntingdon's influence, to a place of public refort, it pleafed God to bring nearly all the domeftic fervants of a noble perfonage under ferious ferious impreffions. Their converfion was not merely to opin ions; they lived under the influence of the gospel, and became diftinguished for their exemplary conduct and zealous endea vours to promote the falvation of their neighbours. Their noble mafter was jeered by fome of the company, upon the revolution which had taken place among his fervants by a change of their religion. His Lordfhip replied, "As to the change of their religion, or what their religious fentiments are, I cannot tell; but one thing I know, that fince they have changed their religion, they have been much better fervants, and fhall meet with no oppofition from me."-How happy is it for hearers and profeffors of the gofpel, when their good conduct puts to filence the ignorance of foolish fpeakers! BLASPHEMOUS ABUSE OF SCRIPTURE. REPROOF to thofe who lightly and irreverently A make me of Scripture-phrafes in common converfation may be of ufe. This should be restrained in time, or perfons may go as far as a wretch in the island of Jersey did. He was a notorious drunkard, he would often drink half a pint of neat Holland's at a time, and with these words in his mouth :"Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excefs, but be filled with the Spirit." On other occafions, when drinking off a small glafs, he would profanely quote thefe words: "Take heed that ye defpife not one of these little ones." I mention this fad inftance, to warn others againft perverting and abufing that facred book, which is able to make us wife unto falvation. The Inattentive Worshipper. "MYRTILLA does, 'tis true, repair Myrtilla may the trouble fpare, Her portrait let her fend. POETRY. POETRY. THE HIDING PLACE. "The Hiding Place, I am informed, was occafioned by an incident in our revolutionary war. A British officer, in the time of an engagement, fecreted bimfelf under a bridge to avoid the danger to which he was expofed; and when in that fituation, or foon afterwards, found our bleffed Redeemer as his fure HIDING PLACE. Thefe lines were written by a poor, unfortunate, but pious man, of but a com mon education, who, after this event, besame acquainted with the officer. I know the writer, he is still living, and an object of charity. His parents I well knew. They were poor, but pious; his mother eminently fo. She died like a Chriflian in the full hope of eternal glory." Extract of a Letter from a worthy Correspondent. $ H AIL fovereign love, which first began A fcheme to refcue fallen man! Hail matchlefs, free, eternal grace, 11. Against the God, who rules the fky, III. Enwrapt in dark Egyptian night, Secure without a Hiding Place. IV. When, lo! the eternal counfels ran, Vindictive |