LETTERS ADDRESSED TO A YOUNGER BROTHER DURING HIS APPRENTICESHIP. MY DEAR BROTHER, LETTER III. YOUR last letter is a very great improvement upon the former in every respect; and your apology for the faults I pointed out, fully satisfies me. I should have written to you sooner, but my whole time has been taken up in removing to our new residence. You tell me you have been confirmed. Had you apprised me of your intention, I should have offered some seasonable remarks on the subject. I do not, however, imagine that you were ignorant of or thoughtless about the nature or intent of confirmation, and I doubt not Mr. Goode, your pastor, assisted you in those particulars with which you were unacquainted. It only remains, therefore, for me to express my affectionate solicitude, that as you have considered and submitted to it as a religious solemnity, you will endeavour conscientiously to fulfil all its requirements, carefully remembering, that it is an idle and profaned ceremony, except as it tends in some measure to establish you in Christian knowledge, experience, and practice, and in love to God and your fellowcreatures. Pray, then, that the pure word of Christ may "dwell in you richly," and that you may be built up thereby in your most holy faith:" this is spiritual confirmation, and will happily distinguish you from the mere formal attendant on religious ordinances. The time I hope will arrive, when upon mature examination, under the divine direction, you will make up your mind on even the less important points of religion; for which purpose, as in every other religious concern, I hope you will "search the Scriptures diligently." You have hitherto been brought up in the communion of the Established Church; and it is your duty to abide by the mature opinions of your parents, &c. till your own diligent examination shall determine you to adopt or depart from them; for, although the opinions of one fallible being neither can nor ought to be the standard of another, yet your own decision on every subject of importance should be the conscientious result of considerable time, thought, and inquiry:-nothing is more contemptible than for a youth to affect premature independence of mind. The following seems to me to be the obvious meaning of the verses you wish me to explain. The Scribes and Pharisees having accused the disciples to Jesus for transgressing the traditions of the elders by eating with unwashed hands, he undertakes to justify them, by proving that there can be no moral evil in it, and that they were not bound to observe any human ceremonial tradition. This he enforces by a parable (Matt. xv.11). Wherefore, Peter, who knew not his Master's meaning therein, requested an explanation for the satisfaction of himself and the other disciples: and Jesus, after gently reproving them for their want of spiritual understanding (ver. 16), condescended thus to explain himself (ver. 17): Do ye not know, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth for bodily sustenance, though it be taken with unwashen hands, cannot morally defile a man? since, after having answered this single purpose, it passes through the body without at all influencing the mind to good or evil. "But (ver. 18) those evil things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.” These he enumerates in ver. 19, and then draws the conclusion in 470 A monitory Epistle to a young Friend intending to travel. A MONITORY EPISTLE TO A YOUNG FRIEND INTENDING TO TRAVEL*. FROM the gentle breast that fed thee, Of its tempests wild and dark. My heart once thus whisper'd too; To attest my warning true. As I deem'd, life's listless way; Deep my tortur'd bosom stung. With me still, unchang'd by time†. Which thine eye ne'er wept before! Lamentable, indeed, have been the wrecks made by many a gallant bark on foreign shores, and loudly do they call upon us to warn unthinking youth of the danger to which they are exposed in quitting their native land.. + Cœlum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt.-HOR. Thus paraphrased by the amiable poet of Olney: The mind unnerv'd, or indispos'd to bear The weight of subjects worthiest of her care, Whatever hopes a change of scene inspires, Must change her nature, or in vain retires. Will thy morning smile for ever? Cease to deck thy noontide bower? No avenging God be nigh? From that lone sepulchral gloom; Lean convuls'd thy aching head; While Despair and Anguish wander, Shrieking round thy cold death-bed. There no voice of love to cheer thee From the healing page of life; Mother, no, nor father near thee, To o'erwatch the last sad strife. Think, O think then, ere to ocean Thou commit thy belmless bark, Think of its delirious motion, Of its waters waste and dark. In the path alone of duty Can th' immortal mind repose; There Religion walks in beauty, There breathes sweetly Sharon's rose. In those shades where Jesus mildly Medicates the wounded breast, Thou shalt find, now roaming wildly, Where thy poor tost soul may rest. Come with me, and I will guide thee Whence yon smile of mercy sped; See that hallow'd spot beside thee— It was there the Saviour bled! R. T. * Walking one morning over the public cemetery at Geneva, I was invited by the grave-digger to look at a tomb-stone, which had lately been erected to one of my countrymen. I followed him-he stopped: it was the sad memorial of a friend, whom I had thought in life and health. He had left England some months before me, intending to remain three years abroad. But, alas! he reached Geneva, took a fever, and went to render his account to God. "Poor M-e!" I said to myself, as I read the monumental inscription; "is it thus have terminated thy visionary dreams of happiness?" AN ADDRESS TO THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. MY DEAR FRIENDS, THE following address, dictated by the sincerest desire for your present and eternal happiness, will, I trust, be perused with that serious attention which the important nature of its contents demands. Considering the relation in which I stand to you as your Minister, I could not acquit myself of the charge of criminal indifference, were I not to have recourse to every means in my power by which your spiritual prosperity might be promoted. This is a day of pride, of rebuke, and of blasphemy; and it is incumbent on all the friends of God and religion to exert themselves to repel those shafts of invective and contempt which are hurled at every thing of a sacred nature. And who does not see, it is only in proportion as genuine Christianity gains ground that the interests of infidelity will sink into all the infamy and disgrace they merit? It does appear to me that our discourses from the pulpit would acquire consider able force from an address now and then recalling to the recollection of those that heard them their awful responsibility, and impressing their minds with a proper conviction of the influence which they ought to have on the heart and life. That there is great danger of resting in the externals of religion to the neglect of all that is essential, will not, I believe, be denied. But surely this is a miserable substitute for experience the healing waters of the sanctuary, and be restored to the enjoyment of God. And is it not a point of serious inquiry with you, my dear friends, whether this be your happy experience? Your fellow-creatures are dropping around you like leaves in autumn; and called away from all their worldly employments, possessions, and connexions, most solemnly admonish you to prepare to meet your God. Every tolling bell you hear, every funeral procession you see, every bereaved family whose sorrows you witness, addresses each of you as the Prophet did Hezekiah, "Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live." This admonition every one of you would do well to apply to himself. The current of time is rapidly carrying you into the ocean of eternity; and the place which now knows you, will shortly know you no more for ever. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? Three years have now elapsed since I entered on my ministry amongst you. In this short period death has made great havock in the parish, and has in some instances appeared in a peculiarly awful form. Two houses has the king of terrors entered, in each of which the husband and wife have been summoned into the eternal world nearly at the same time, and their remains consigned together to the gloomy mansions of the tomb. How impressive the lecture which these solemn events read to all those who are connected by the same endearing tie! and how strongly does it urge them to be daily disengaging their affections from this sinful world, and to give all diligence to secure, after their mortal life shall end, their reunion in those blissful abodes where their peace and happiness shall be com 472 An Address to the Parishioners of St. Alkmond's, Shrewsbury. plete, and meet with no interrup- would interrupt the harmony of There is a holy energy attending ties of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, is the delight of your souls, the language of which is, Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee. Think, my dear friends, on your distinguished privileges as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, until your hearts burn within In this world you are you. to look on yourselves as pilgrims travelling to a city which hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God. Beware of the dangerous snares and temptations which beset you on your journey. Never lose sight of the Author and Finisher of your faith; but taking his word and spirit for your guide, and his promises for your comfort and support, run with patience the race set before you. Let it be deeply engraven on your hearts, that God's covenant is ordered in all things and sure, that his love and faithfulness are unchangeable, and that his mercy endureth for ever. Justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; never doubt his love, trifle with his mercy, distrust his watchfulness and care, disbelieve his promises, nor quarrel with the dispensations of his providence. He loves you no less when he afflicts, than when he comforts you; no less in adversity, than in prosperity; no less in seasons of spiritual darkness, than when he is lifting up upon you the light of his countenance, and giving you the sensible enjoyment of the blessings of his grace. Your conflicts will soon end, your trials all be over, your doubts and fears dispelled, and your corruptions no longer harass and distress you. He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Be strong then and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord your God is with you whithersoever you go. Let me beseech you all to reflect much on your solemn obligations as professing Christians, never for→ getting that the Gospel is either the savour of life unto life, or of death unto death, to all who hear it. Remember, the time is at no very great distance, when you and your Minister will meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where this solemn admonition, if it be despised and rejected, will appear as a swift witness against you. That you may all find mercy of the Lord in that day, is the sincere prayer of, My dear friends, Your faithful and affectionate 1822. LETTERS FROM A FATHER TO HIS SON. [Continued from Page 65.] As you are no longer favoured with the sound of the glorious Gospel, I wish it were in my power to supply even in a small degree that defect: as enabled, it is my privilege and bounden duty to do all I can; and here let me entreat you frequently to call to mind the many advantages you have enjoyed in sitting so long under the joyful sound, and seeing the effects produced by it through the teaching of the Divine Spirit upon the soul of the true believer: it makes men power wise to salvation, for it is the of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; it introduceth into the soul the true fear of God, enabling it to sanctify him in the heart as its fear and dread, so that there is a quick sensibility in the mind when sin approaches, as in the case of Joseph, David, and the three Hebrew worthies, or like what experienced when the sail you mention appeared, preparation was instantly made for defence; the success was not certain: in the Chris you |