his mind; fo by judgment we understand the judgment oranger of that God who is a fearcher of the heart. But if a man proceed from angry thoughts to reproachful language, fuch as the calling of his brother (or what is all one, any of his fellow creatures, for we are all brethren) Racha, he fhall be in danger of the counsel; that is, fuch contumelious ufage (to alledge to Fob) is an heinous crime, yet it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. But if he advance (out of malice and revenge, as we muft fuppofe alfo in the preceding cafe) to the higheft degree of contumely, to that flanderous reproach of thous fool; the penalty inflicted by the counsel will be the fmalleft of his punifhment; for he will be more particularly fubject to the vengeance of eternal fire. How different is this paffage (as is obferv'd by Dr. Hammond) from Homer's morals in the cafe before us? who introduces the goddefs Minerva forbidding indeed Achilles to draw his fword to fight his antagonift Agamemnon, but giving him permiffion to rail and flander as he pleas'd. But our Lord (fo pure, fo refin'd is his fyftem of morality) commands us not only to forbear all manner of contumelious language, but also to restrain the very motions of the heart, out of the abundance of which the mouth speaketh. Q. Whether the receiving the Lord's Supper be abfolutely neceffary to falvation, to those who are of an age to partake of it? 4. The Apoftle fays, we muft bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Chrift. How much more muft our actions be conformable to his holy laws, to his divine commandments? And yet our attendance on the holy Eucharift, is what he propofes to us under the authority of a peremptory command, do this in remembrance of me. While then we ftand indictable of a noncompliance with fo indifpenfible an injunction, we unhappily come under that farcaftical reprehenfion, why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the thing that I command you? If we neglect the affembling our felves together, (as the manner of too many many is) at the Lord's Table, whatever formal confeffions we may pretend to make, we do in effect difown our master, deny the Lord that bought us, and impiously cry out with the mifcreants in the Gospel, we will not have this man to reign over us. Is not ingratitude a heinous, a damning fin? and confequently gratitude neceffary to falvation? And yet by neglecting the bleffed facrament, we add bafeness to difobedience, and ingratitude to rebellion. For is it not an unheard of inftance of ingratitude to refuse to remember him, who in fo wonderful a manner remembred us; to refuse to do so small a thing for him, who has done fuch great things for us, whereof we rejoyce to refufe to banquet with him, who fafted forty days for us; to refuse to eat bread and drink wine for his fake, who for our fakes had gall to eat and vinegar to drink? From fuch a complication of disobedience and ingratitude, good Lord, deliver us. In 1 Cor. x. 16. we read, The cup of blessing, which we blefs, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Chrift? From which paffage it naturally follows, that the bleffed confequences of our Saviour's fufferings, to wit, the overtures of fion of our fins, the opportunities of repentance, the the remif grace, affiftance of the Holy Spirit; that they are all confin'd to the inftitution of fo heavenly a repaft. And if Chrift has enacted a peculiar ordinance to beflow his favours by, can we expect to partake of them, tho' thus appropriated, while we neglect the proper conduits of conveyance? As well might Naaman, the Syrian leper, have been cur'd of his leprofy by washing in Abana or Pharpar, which he boafted to be better than all the rivers of Ifrael. He therefore did well at laft to comply with the entreaties of his fervants, and follow the directions of Elisha. For no fooner did he wash in the river Fordan, the river appointed by the prophet, but he was immediately clean. Come then to the bleffed facrament, frequently partake of that heavenly banquet, if ye would be cur'd of the VOL. III. M m leprofy leprofy of fin, would be made whole, would wash and be clean. Q. Whether a bird dies a natural death? I have for feveral years obferved, that I never found in any place a bird dead, unless starved, or shot, or by fome untimely death. 4. All living creatures, converfant in this lower world, are fubject to a natural diffolution; and therefore birds are not exempt from the common lot. As their compofure contains the principles of corruption, fo what you feem willing to believe, cannot poffibly be true upon any other foundation, than the prepofterous fuppofition, that in all birds, an untimely death prevents a natural. In fuch cafes, the experience of one man is not fufficient to found a truth upon. For tho' you in the courfe of many years might never have found one fuch, yet it does not follow but that others might have found many. For a flight obfervation will furnish you with many instances of a refembling nature. But fince you fpeak of fome birds you met with that were ftarved, how do you know but that it might be a natural diftemper, that fo pall'd their appetite and weakned their ftomach, that they could not eat, and therefore were reduc'd to fo lean a condition before their expiration? You may confider too, that the birds which are kill'd are more ready to be met with than thofe which die a natural death, before which they may retire to obfcure, and fometimes to impervious places. It's well known alfo to all that deal in birds, that many die of the pip, the rank, &c. tho' every way provided for with the greatest care. Q. I defire you would teach me the etymology of your Stile in your paper of Friday the 17th of December, in the laft fide, firft column, under the article of Leghorn, you Jay (inter alia) where there was a garifon, c. Pray does not the particle there redound, where being immediately prefix'd? It is the opinion of feveral as well as my felf, that the whole claufe is nonfenfe by reason of that word": I defire at your leifure you would either convince me, as well well as others, of my error, or confirm me in my opinion of yours. A. If the word there in the place alledg'd, were an adverb of place, we would allow the criticism to be good. But in that article it is no more than what grammarians call an expletive, and rhetoricians a pleonafm. Both which terms import a redundant or infignificant word. And this expletive is usually attendant on the verb fubftantive thro' all the tenfes. And the propriety of the English tongue has fo far adopted this pleonaftical word, that in many instances it cannot be omitted. So that it is at once (a feeming paradox) both redundant and neceffary too. We hope you will allow the following fentence to be.no ways improper, There was a time, when, &c. Now you cannot but perceive, that the word there is no adverb of place, fince the fentence speaks only of time, which is diftinct from place. Q. In a morning, when I rife out of my bed, as foon as I am got upon my feet, I have a violent pain in my bead, and a little giddinefs, which does not last above a minute or two; I defire to know the cause? A. The cause of this your pain and giddiness, we take to be a great weakness of the brain and nervous ftock, whence the motion of rifing may caufe a perturbation of the animal fpirits, or quicken the motion of the blood for fo fmall a time, in fuch a manner as to produce this disorder. Q. I have frequently obferv'd, and have heard it affirm'd by feveral, nay, even grave-diggers, That the earth which is dug out of a grave will not fill it after the coffin is in, which, without difpute, adds to the repletion of it. A. Notwithstanding this curious obfervation of yours and the grave-diggers, give us leave to doubt of the matter of fact, fince it is fo common to fee the graves in every church-yard rais'd in proportion to the coffin within it. Q. There is a contest between the fon and the fon-inlaw of a deceas'd Gentlewoman, which shall defray the charges of her funeral. They are of equal circumstances, &c. M m 2 4. Their A. Their circumstances being equal, the fon ftands much more engag'd than the fon-in-law, both by duty and natural affection. Q. Ye british youths, who all things undertake, With hatred and contempt upon the fool, 4. The libertine, with brutal fenfe alone, And give a loofe, uncheck'd by confcious guilt; The beauties of the mind thefe captivate, Sicken and die, with the deficient caufe. Q. Tell me, bright God, (for thou, or none can't tell, The mystick powers, that in bleft numbers dwell, Thou their great nature know'ft, nor is it fit This nobleft gem of thine own crown t'omit.) Tell |