to ferve the Lord with fear: and then you will be intitled to rejoice unto him with reverence. The word of God, far from encouraging groundless and fuperftitious horrors, cautions against them ftrongly. In all ages and nations, men have been terrified with eclipfes of the fun and moon in many, with conjunctions, oppofitions and afpects of the ftars, and other celeftial appearances: Things altogether harmlefs. Therefore fuch frights the prophet exprefly condemns. Thus faith the Lord: learn not the way of the heathen, and be not difmayed at the signs of heaven, because the heathen are difmayed at them: for the customs of the people are vain. But whatsoever things are real inftruments of our maker's will, we are to confider as fuch; and refpect all that is wrought by them, as proceeding from his appointment. Were we fure of living ever fo long on earth; we are abfolutely in his hands all the time we live; and ought to be deeply fenfible, that our happiness or mifery, even here, depends continually upon him. But he hath paffed a fentence of death on us all, to be execut ed, at furtheit in a few years; and this furnishes a new motive to ferioufnels of heart, which we fhould be recollecting daily and hourly. But instead of that, we contrive all poffible means never to think of it; and we fucceed too well. Therefore to awaken us from this lethargy, he hath ordained befides, that the whole of life fhall be full of difeafes and accidents, to cut it fhort on a fudden, often when there was leaft caufe to expect them and here is a more preffing call to confider our latter end. But however furprifing each of thefe may be, when it happens very near us; yet, as one or another of them happens pretty frequently; for that very reason, though they ought to affect us the more, they fcarce affect us at all. Therefore he alfo brings on, from time to time, the lefs common, and more widely deftructive events, of wars and peftilences. Of the former we have for feveral years, not long past, had heavy experience. And what we fee and hear to this day of the latter amongst our cattle, tells us, one fhould think, in a very interesting manner, to what we are fubject ourselves. But if all these things fail of the good effects, which he propofes by them, as it is notorious they do with us moft lamentably: he hath in referve more alarming methods of admonition ftill: one in particular, by which he thakes whole cities, whole countries and nations, fometimes to the extent of many hundred leagues at once, notwithstanding the intervention of large and deep feas; and hath frequently taken away the lives of thoufands in a moment, by a ruin, which no wildom can foresee, no caution prevent, no ftrength withstand, no art evade. You have often read and heard of fuch threatnings and devaftations elsewhere: but did not look on them, as having the the leaft relation to yourfelves. Poffibly fome of you imagined, that this part of the world was exempt from them. But indeed your ancestors have felt them, many times recorded in hiftory, probably many more. However, that, you might think, was long ago; and would be long enough, before it happened again. Yet not a few perfons, now alive, remember one earthquake in this city and that you may not dream of being fafer than they, Providence hath taken care, that you shall feel another. Still, when you had efcaped one fhock, perhaps you thought the danger was over. Therefore you' have felt a ftronger. And which of you can be sure, that this will prove the last? But you will fay, neither thefe nor the former have done any harm and therefore why fhould we fear it from future ones? But let me tell you, earthquakes have done harm in this kingdom, in this town overturned many private houfes, many churches, not without the lofs of many lives. But if that were otherwife, have we any reafon to doubt, but the caufes of earthquakes are the fame here, as in other places? Why then may not the effects be the fame in our days, though formerly they have been lefs? Who can look into the bowels of the earth and affign a reafon? Place the caufe, if you will, contrary, I think, to plain evidence, not in the earth, but the air, what will you gain by it? Would not a very little more force, nay a few moments longer continuance of the fame force, that fhook our houses the other morning, have buried many or moft of us under them, whencefoever it came? And if it had, let us afk ourselves, were we in due readiness to have appeared before God ar This fpecimen may fuffice to give fome idea of the archbishop's talents as a preacher, which if they are not of the brightest or most perfuafive, are at leaft of the ferious and ufeful kind. L.. Letters Religious and Moral, defigned particularly for the Enter tainment of young Persons. By Daniel Turner. 8vo. 3s. Johnfon and Co. S' EVERAL of thefe letters were addreffed to a young gentleman abroad, and the rest to the Author's juvenile friends at home; but tho' intended originally for the entertainment and inftruction of youth, they may be read with profit by perfons at every period of life. They do not treat fo much of moral as of religious fubjects, which the Writer pioufly yet rationally enforces; wifely avoiding fpeculative difputes, and recommending A a 2 a practical devotion to his young correfpondents.-He does not write with fuperior abilities, but with competent parts and knowledge; and what must principally recommend him to thofe who judge with candour and rectitude of fentiment, is the attention he pays to reafon in all religious inquiries. Our reafon, fays he, is particularly concerned in the affairs of religion. However weak and impaired, it does not follow that it must not be used in humble dependence on the gracious affiftance promised us. A fyftem of religion inconfiftent with reafon, is not the fyftem of the Bible, nor any way adapted to the human nature. The paffions, indeed, muft have their fhare here, (for we are fentimental as well as rational beings) but it is only in proportion to the hold that divine truth has of the understanding, and the fubjection of the paffions to that influence, that we can ever act regularly and confiftently in religion; fix upon right objects of faith and worship; and bring forth the folid fruits of evangelical righteousness. The most violent zeal for theological opinions, and the most rapturous fervours of devotion, without a rational conviction in the mind to fupport them, deferve not the name of religion; and are very far from that" reasonable service," as the apostle ftiles it, which the bleffed God requires of us. It must be allowed, indeed, that the reasoning faculties of many of the common people, not only of the illiterate, but of those who have been driven through a courfe of education without a literary genius, are extremely low and limited; and that were it not for fome religious oddity, as I may call it, or fome party abfurdity under a religious appearance, ftrongly impreffed upon their imaginations (which, with them, is generally the ruling power) they would have no religion at all. Were you to laugh, or to reafon them out of thefe conceits, unlefs, at the fame time, you could reafon them into fome ferious truths of equal influence and authority over them, you would deprive them of the chief support of their moral character and conduct; and expofe them in a very dangerous degree to the attacks of the prophane and vicious. It is better for them, and for fociety, to let them alone in their mistakes, than attempt with fuch hazard to redify them. It is alfo poffible, that even facred truth itfelf, in fome conftitutions, may operate more fenfibly upon the imagination, than the reafon; which will naturally give their religion an air and appearance of abfurdity, to people of more rational difcernment, even though it may be real and fincere in the main. They reafon weakly, but they feel ftrongly; feel what leads them to the practice of a lower and lefs perfect kind of piety and virtue. And, therefore, though too much of their own weakness, and many miflakes and contradictions, mix with their religion, as they are right upon the whole, they juftly claim our moft tender allowances and charity. But even many of these also, we had better leave to themselves, and the good providence of God, than attempt to reason them out of their errors, and instruct them better; unless from fome particular circumftances, we are pretty fure of fuccefs. It requires a great deal of prudence and address to deal with people under deep prejudices, and of a naturally enthufiaftic temperament, fo as at once to preferve their zeal for religion, and cure them of their abfurdities. One principal thing here, I think, is to endeavour to rectify their notions about the use and importance of reason in religion; and, if poffible, convince them, that there is a real difference between reafon as fuch, and the corruption of reason, and that they put the latter for the former. And yet if this is not done with caution, it is much but you draw upon yourself fome reproachful epithet, and be esteemed no better than an heretic as the reward of your Christian compaffion; and fet them but the farther from the hope of recovery to jufter fentiments.' These observations are certainly very juft, for reafon has nothing to expect from bigotry but reproaches. L. Vectis. The Isle of Wight: a Poem in Three Cantos. By Henry Jones, Author of The Earl of Effex, Kew Gardens, &c. 4to. 2s. 6d. Flexney. POET OETICAL paintings, when executed with any degree of merit, have a charm for the imagination, which is founded in the love of nature;-that love is very powerful, particularly in fenfible hearts and cultivated minds; and Mr. Jones's defcriptive poem cannot fail of giving pleasure to readers of that cast.— The Ifle of Wight, from its romantic and agreeably wild fituation, afforded him an opportunity for the happiest descriptions: and thus, in general, he gives us an idea of its beauties: Thou little world, divided from the great, } Thy Thy fummers revel with ferenest pride, A mimic heaven in that bright mirror lives, As far from mortal reach from mortal eye; The inverted landfcape of rocks and verdure reflected in the And with the rocks and verdure feem to blend; With doubtful certainty inchant the fight; } Like the dim neutral dufk that mingles day with night. In the third canto, the mention of Carifbrooke-Castle, where Charles the First was confined, naturally leads the Author to expatiate on the fufferings of that unfortunate prince, for whom, in our opinion, he expreffes a greater regard than is confiftent with the poetical principles of freedom. But without any farther attention to that, part of his performance, we shall only take one more view with him, in this delightful ifland, and then quit the focne + Look round, fee art and nature in their pride, Beneath the callle's foot fee Carifbrooke rife; Delightful |