your loving Father, PHILIP HENRY. LETTER FROM THE REV. P. HENRY TO THE REV. F. TALLENTS. Dear Brother Tallents, June 25, 1695. You are acquaint yourself with persons, Pearl of price sure, and the field too places, affairs, &c. which you have in which it is. Farewell. Much hitherto much wanted opportunity love is to you from all here, and to acquaint yourself with, having particularly from some ground of hope that you will improve by it, letting go the chaff and refuse, and retaining that which may do you good hereafter. For this present time, you are to look upon as your gathering-time; and to be as busy as the ant in summer, As oft as I can I rejoice, both the factor in the fair or market, to hear from you and to write to -the industrious merchant when you. Seeing this is not the world in the Indies. You purposed to lay we must be together in, it is some hold on opportunities for hearing satisfaction to converse so; but it sermons, not Latin ones only. I is in hope of being together for hope you do perform, and also reflect ever, and with the Lord. after, and pen the heads at home,- solacing yourselves awhile in one which both engages present atten- another; but it passes away, Our tion, and lays up for time to come. time is posting into eternity. We It is the talk and wonder of many have here no continuing city; but of our friends what we mean by this there is one to come, a city that' sudden change of your course and hath foundations, whose builder and way; but I hope, thro' God's good- maker is God: :-an inheritance, inness and mercy, they will shortly see corruptible and undefiled! Why it was for good. With yours I re- should we not both long for it, and ceived one from dear Mr. Steel, rejoice in the hope of it? It is at who will be glad to see you often, hand; a few stiles more, and we as I know my worthy friend Mr. are at home. If the clusters from Lawrence will also; but their cir- it are so sweet in the wilderness, cumstances prohibit their coming what is the full vintage like to be! to you; and, therefore, you must To have Christ with us in ordigo to them; not to be burdensome, nances is refreshing; but to be with but like a bee to the flowers, to him, without them, is far better. gather from them. Just now, this The eternal God be your strength morning, your sisters Katharine and and song! Amen. This from, Ann are gone towards Salop, to be dear Sir, there awhile. It is a change with us to want three of you at once; but hoping it will be for your improvement and theirs, we are well satisfied in the will of God ordering it so. Ere long, there will be greater partings: how soon know not; but if we may be with you together for ever, and with the Lord, that will be happiness indeed! Be careful, my dear child, in the main matter. Keep yourself always in the love of God. Let nothing come, however not abide, as a cloud between you and his favour; for in that is life. Rejoice in the great Auction, and make the we your brother, cousin, friend, and servant, Sir, PHILIP HENRY. BIBLES FOR SEAMEN. To the Editor. IN your valuable Magazine, some months back, I was rejoiced to find a Plan proposed for distributing the Word of God among the Seamen in the Merchants' Service. I wish it God-speed! I have been brought up to the sea; and, in the course of 40 years, have experienced many wonderful deliverances; but in every difficulty I always found in my Bible that which enabled me to trust in Him whom winds and seas obey. In every storm I sought direction from it, and never was disappointed it is the seaman's true guide. I therefore endeavoured to impress its value on the minds of my children, that they might continue to seek directions from it, as I had done. In 1814, my son sailed from London for Canada. When he got as far as the Banks of Newfoundland, the ship sprung a leak. The wind being contrary, they bore up, to enable them to ply the pumps the better. Being a small vessel, they could relieve but one at a time; which they continued to do for six days and nights. In this period they broke up and hove over board great part of the cargo; yet the water gained to four feet. At eight in the evening of the sixth day, it being my son's turn to be relieved, he, with his passengers, went down to wrestle with God in prayer; which, with reading of the Scriptures, was their usual evenings employ. Before the time expired that he was to return to the pump, they were condoling with each other, and had given over all hopes that they would be able to keep the ship through the night. As they were standing, one on each side the table on which the Bible was laid, he opened the precious book, and the first passage that met his eye was Acts xxvii. 22. Now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life amongst you, but the ship.' They encouraged each other with these words, and returned to the pump; and though before, he says, their arms were ready to fall from their sockets, their fears now fled, their strength was renewed, and they believed the Lord would deliver them. In the course of the night the wind fell, and the weather became fine. When day appeared, the man and to their great joy the vessel was steering direct for them, They laid-to (as it is termed) took to their boats, and had but just time to save themselves and clothes; for a few hours after they had got on board the other ship, they saw their own go down. This is an instance of the value of the Bible. Though I am no advocate for cutting, as some have done, to find a promise to our case; but had they not possessed the Bible, and made it the man of their counsel,' they could not have taken the encouragement from it. In this case it not only strengthened their faith, but imparted, as it appeared, bodily strength also. I rejoice, therefore, at the proposal. May the Lord make it effectual to the turning some from their vain courses! For a seaman to go without a Bible, he may as well go without a chart; but taking it for his guide, he need not fear; for in the greatest extremity he will find in it a course laid down, that will in the end direct him in safety to the haven of Eternal Rest. It is my sincere desire and prayer that every brother sailor may avail himself of this most valuable direction, and abide by its truths. Had I a voice to reach them all, I would say, Tempt not the faithless Ocean without this precious guide;' and to the owners I would say, ' Rather attempt to send your ship without a rudder than her crew without a Bible. A SAILOR. Hull. ON SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. Mr. Editor, IN reading your Magazine for October, I was particularly struck with the following Query, p.386 :Is the practice of neglecting the public ordinances of religion, to teach at Sunday Schools, to be justified from the Scriptures? From the wording of this query as imply. ing that Sunday - School teaching necessarily produced a neglect of public ordinances, I was ready to say, Surely, an enemy hath done this! The insinuation being directly opposed, both to the fact and the reason of the case, I was tempted to consider it as an artifice of the great enemy of souls, to procure desertion in the camp of Israel, and diminish the number of hands (already far too few) employed in this important service. However, not willing toencourage evil surmisings, I sit down to repel the insinuation, and if possible to satisfy the Querist. If by neglecting public ordinances' be simply meant that those who conscientiously attend their duty at Sunday Schools, cannot run about the town to hear so many sermons as otherwise they might, the fact is granted, and it may surely be considered as an advantage. Those whose religion consists in the number of sermons which they hear, may be perly classed with the Pharisees, who boasted in the number of their ablutions, or the Papists, who calculate their devotion by their beads; they may be considered as a sort of religious tipplers, who are always sipping at divine truth, but never drink deep enough to cure their thirst. See John iv. 14. pro If the Querist only mean, that the attending upon Sunday-School children interrupts the pleasure and comfort of the service, it is only saying that the teachers sacrifice a part of their own comfort and edification for the good of the scholars; which is no more than what most Christians who have families are called to, and make the sacrifice with pleasure. Christians are not to look upon their own things only, but on the things of others; i. e. consult their mutual benefit, Phil.ii. 4. Mr. Giles Firmin mentions a woman who, because the Scripture says Men ought always to pray,' was continually engaged in eitner public or private devotion; and though several ministers reasoned with her, it was all in vain, till old Mr. Richardson, a pious and learned puritan, called on her, and finding her children running about naked and hungry, he cried out with a loud and stern voice, 'Is there no fear of God in this house?' This roused her from her knees, convinced her of her error, and she no more disgraced her profession by her family neglect. There are many cases in which the 'Lord will have mercy, and not sacrifices; and when they are offered to the neglect of moral duties, his language is, Bring no more vain oblations,' &c. Isaiah i. 11-15. But if we take up the subject on the broad question, whether Sunday Schools do, or do not promote public worship? I appeal to facts, numerous, public, and incontrovertible. The origin of Sunday-Schools was owing to Mr. Raikes, their founder, observing the great number of poor children playing in the streets of Gloucester on the Sabbath-days. He had them taught to read, and brought to attend on public worship: the effect is more or less similar in all cases; at least, I know of no schools in which the children are not either taken to public worship, or public worship set up in the school. Many teachers also who have been used to neglect the Sabbath, have been thus brought to ob serve it; and both to teachers and scholars have these Schools been the means of salvation. And now I hesitate not to say, that every Sabbath-day ten thousand persons attend on public worship, who, but for this institution, would scarcely ever hear a sermon. But on the moral effects of these Schools, I beg leave to refer to the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, on the Education of the Poor,' and particularly to the Evidence of Mr. Butterworth, who was one of the Committee. be lawful to read it himself. Of to them that are in Christ Jesus. what use is the Bible to those who How doth Paul exult over death cannot read? And shall we cir- and the grave! 1 Cor. xv. 56. (Mr. culate the Scriptures without the Henry, who wrote this, expired means of using them? while uttering the sentence 0 death, where is thy It may be said that children may go to church, and learn their duty 3. That, to them that fear the from the minister; but will they? is Lord, immediately beyond death is the question. So the Papists say, let heaven. Luke xvi. 25. Phil. i. 23. them learn religion from the Priest. 4. That the body will certainly But I hope the time is come, that rise again, a glorious body, 1 Cor. neither Protestant nor Papist will xv. 43. be longer kept in ignorance. The 5. That God will certainly take Lord gave the word,' and woe be to care of poor disconsolate relations those who impede its circulation; left behind. Ps. xxvii. 10. Jer. xlix. and I see no difference between the 11. This helped to make Jacob's guilt of withholding the book it- death comfortable to him. Gen. self and the power to read it, ex- xlviii. 21. and Joseph's, Gen. I. 24. cept that the latter adds insult to 6. That God will certainly acrobbery, is a solemn mockery of complish and fulfil, in due time, all God, and a cruel insult to human the great things that he hath premisery. pared and promised concerning his church and people in the latter days. INGENUUS. REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE OF A MORAVIAN MISSIONARY. ** With respect to teaching Writing in Sunday-Schools, as that is evidently not essential to the acquisition of religious knowledge, the same arguments will not apply; but the elements of writing once acquired, perhaps some of the elder scholars might "ON one of my voyages either to be well employed in imitating Scrip- or from Queda, a Danish ship hailture-copies, as nothing so much im- ed us, and approaching incautiously presses an idea upon the mind as wri- ran foul of our stern, and broke our ting it. flag-staff. We therefore put into a creek; and some of our men landed near a wood, to cut down a tree to CONSOLATION IN DEATH. make a new one. Hoping to be able to procure some fresh meat for The following Considerations, by the excellent Philip Henry, were writ- supper, I accompanied them, armed with ten to H. Ashurst, Esqr. in the year they were at their work, I walked a double-barrelled gun. While 1687, and are copied from a note appended to Mr. P. Henry's 18 Ser- on the outside of the wood, and soon inons, lately published from his ma- discovered among the high grass nuscripts, by Mr. Williams, of an object, which, by its motions, I Shrewsbury. mistook for the back of a hare. I took aim, and was just going to fire when the animal rose up, and prov ed to be a tiger, of which only the top of the head had been visible. My arm involuntarily sunk down, I stood motionless with horror, expecting that the creature would immediately make a spring at me, and gave myself up for lost but by God's pro2. That death has no sting in it vidence watching over me, the beast THERE are six things, the firm belief whereof will exceedingly promote our comfort in dying. 1. That at what time soever, and in what way soever death comes, it comes by the will and appointment of our heavenly Father. He cuts no corn of his down till it is fully ripe. Job v. 26. Rev. xi. 7. : seemed as much alarmed as I was; turn three Librarians attend in I should be happy to hear that there was such a Library in every place of worship. I am, Ir knowledge be important, ant. We are dying creatures, our race is short, our sphere contracted. What can be devised to promote this object? wards the water, I altered my religious knowledge is most importcourse, and went to their assistance. No sooner had I entered the boat than I discovered, on that side of the jungle to which I was first going, close to the beach, a large kayman, watching our motions, whom I should certainly have met had I gone round by the way I intended."-Huensel's Letters on Nicobar Islands. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. the Mr. Editor, As the instruction of the rising generation is a desirable object, I take the liberty of making the following communication, through the medium of your excellent Magazine: It occurred to me some time since, that a Public Library might be easily formed, by means of contributions of books from individuals, which when collected and arranged, might afterwards be lent out freely to any person that should apply, under certain regulations. Aceordingly I intimated this from the pulpit; and very soon after, received donations of books of various descriptions, to the amount of nearly A place has been fitted up in our Chapel to receive them; and 500. XXIV. Books are the depositaries of knowledge. What can be done to promote the sale of valuable books? We purchase what we wish to read: We this is not benevolence, any more than purchasing what we wish to eat and drink;-it is self-gratification. But some cannot read. will not uncharitably suppose they have not learned; but they are ac customed to active life, and cannot bear sitting; or they are full of business, and cannot spare time; or their eyes are weak, or they are subject to head-ache in reading. What have these to do with buying books? Let us see, 1st, What work is there that may be useful to our minister, that may assist his stuimprove his mind, dies, enlarge his means of information,- and so eventually be useful to ourselves and the rest of the congregation? 2d, What book shall we put into the hands of our sick friends,our afflicted neighbours? Perhaps we have not the talent of religious conversation; but we can slip a 3 U |