whelming condescension, is, in his Word, saying to you, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; to-day, if ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts." Seek, then, by earnest prayer, that God may send forth his Holy Spirit to quicken your souls-seek that repentance to salvation that is not to be repented of-and above all, seek to that blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God, which as it is able to cleanse from all sin, is able also to remove yours. But if you will not turn at reproof, and still continue to hate knowledge, then hear what is the message of the Lord to you: Prov. i. 24, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you: then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof: therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

Or, are you as you will see from this narrative, Newton at length was-a brand plucked from the fire, and a firebrand from the burning, give all the glory to God; it is a proof of much undeserved mercy on the part of God, and calls for much gratitude on yours. Persevere in the good ways of the Lord; the struggle with your spiritual enemies may be severe, for you wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, but it will not be long, and the victory is certain and glorious; and

B

these your enemies, whom you now see, ere long you will see no more; and in the enjoyment of heavenly felicity, you will find all your present trials and your present warfare terminating in a glory which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor

hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. Or, as the beloved disciple of our Lord states it in 1 John iii. 2: "Now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is:" for then the redeemed of the Lord shall enter upon an inheritance that is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; and which is reserved for them in heaven.

And now, my friends, I present you with this Narrative of Newton's life, as a proof of my desire for your best interests, and in the hope that the Lord, who alone is able, will bless to you the perusal of it, and it will give me an unspeakable pleasure, if, through the power of the Holy Spirit acting on your souls, it should awaken in any of you a desire to seek to that Saviour whom Newton sought to and found, and—after the influences of that Holy Spirit who breathed on him the breath of spiritual life and quickened his soul, and is able to raise you also from the death of sin to a life of holiness and happiness-kindle in your hearts a flame of heavenly love, and bring you on from strength to strength, until having done with this world, you are, by the Lord Jesus, presented to his Father, holy, unrebukable, and unreprovable, accepted in the Beloved, and complete in him: which may God grant to be the case, is the earnest wish of

Your sincere friend,

MERCATOR.

NARRATIVE, &c.

I was born in London, on the 24th of July, 1725, old style. My parents though not wealthy, were respectable. My father was many years master of a ship in the Mediterranean trade. My mother (as I have heard from many) was a pious, experienced Christian: she was a dissenter, in communion with the late Dr. Jennings. I was her only child; and as she was of a weak constitution and a retired tem

per, almost her whole employment was the care of my education. I have some faint remembrance of her care and instructions. At a time when I could not be more than three years of age, she herself taught me English: and with so much success (as I had something of a forward turn), that when I was four years old, I could read with propriety in any common book that offered. She stored my memory, which was then very retentive, with many valuable pieces, chapters and portions of Scripture, catechisms, hymns, and poems. My temper at that time seemed quite suitable to her wishes. I had little inclination to the noisy sports of children, but was best pleased when in her company, and always as willing to learn as she was to teach me. How far the best education may fall short of reaching the heart, will strongly appear in the sequel of my history. Yet, I think, for the encouragement of pious parents to go on in the good way of doing their part faithfully to form their children's minds, I may properly propose myself as an instance. Though in process of time I sinned away all the advantages of these early im

pressions, yet they were for a great while a restraint upon me; they returned again and again, and it was very long before I could wholly shake them off; and when the Lord at length opened my eyes, I found a great benefit from the recollection of them. Further, my dear mother, besides the pains she took with me, often commended me with many prayers and tears to God; and I doubt not but I reap the fruits of these prayers to this hour.

My mother observed my early progress with peculiar pleasure, and intended from the first to bring me up with a view to the ministry, if the Lord should so incline my heart. In my sixth year, I began to learn Latin: but before I had time to know much about it, the intended plan of my education was broke short. The Lord's designs were far beyond the views of an earthly parent; he was pleased to reserve me for an unusual proof of his patience, providence and grace; and therefore overruled the purpose of my friends, by depriving me of this excellent parent, when I was something under seven years old.

My father was then at sea; he came home the following year, and soon after married again. Thus I passed into different hands. I was well treated in all other respects; but the loss of my mother's instructions was not repaired. I was now permitted to mingle with careless and profane children, and soon began to learn their ways. Soon after my father's marriage, I was sent to a boarding-school in Essex; where the imprudent severity of the master almost broke my spirit and relish for books. With him I forgot the first principles and rules of arithmetic, which my mother had taught me years before. I staid there two years; in the last of the two, a new usher coming, who observed and suited my temper,

I took to the Latin with great eagerness; so that before I was ten years old, I reached and maintained the first post in the second class, which in that school read Tully and Virgil. I believe I was pushed forward too fast, and therefore not being grounded, I soon lost all I had learned, for I left school in my tenth year; and when I long afterwards undertook the Latin language from books, I think I had little, if any advantage from what I had learned before.

My father's second marriage was from a family in Essex; and when I was eleven years old he took me with him to sea. He was a man of remarkable good sense, and great knowledge of the world; he took great care of my morals, but could not supply my mother's part. Having been educated himself in Spain, he always observed an air of distance and severity in his carriage, which overawed and discouraged my spirit. I was always in fear when before him, and therefore he had the less influence. From that time to the year 1742, I made several voyages, but with considerable intervals between, which were chiefly spent in the country, excepting a few months in my fifteenth year, when I was placed upon a very advantageous prospect at Alicant in Spain; but my unsettled behaviour and impatience of restraint rendered that design abortive.

In this period my temper and conduct were exceedingly various. At school, or soon after, I had little concern about religion, and easily received very ill impressions; but I was often disturbed with convictions. I was fond of reading, from a child. Among other books, Bennet's Christian Oratory often came in my way; and though I understood but little of it, the course of life therein recommended appeared very desirable, and I was inclined to attempt it. I began to pray, to read the Scriptures,