6. When a poor finner révolts from Satan and flies to the, Redeemer's ftandard, angels in Heaven rejoice. "There "is joy in Heaven over one finner that repenteth."

7. Wicked men must weaken and come to ruin at last, as did Saul, Pharaoh, Balaam, and others. See Pfal. xxxvii. 35, 36.

8. The ftrength of grace confifts in an holy confidence in God, attended with an unabating zeal for his fervice. and glory. This propofition might be fully confirmed and beautifully illuftrated by a statement of the characters and conduct of David, and of Paul. But as brevity is my object, I forbear to enlarge.

9. The ftrength of fome men's profeffion lies altogether in their connexions-worldly intereft-or (what is ftill worfe) in fpiritual pride.

10. It is a matter highly promifing, when we find fin weakening, and grace gaining daily ftrength.

11. The military have a method of starving an enemy to fubmiffion: thus we must karve our lufts, and it will be no cruelty to do fo. Our lufts will be our ruin if they are not ruined.

Reader, if the houfe of David, if divine grace, grows ftronger and stronger in you it will be abundantly evident in the spirit of your prayers the holiness of your converfation and the uprightness of your conduct.

OLIGOS.

SOUTH SEA MISSION.

THE following fentiments of Capt. Cook, extracted from his life written by Dr. Kippis, point out to the public the benefit the natives of the South Sea Islands may hope to receive from the Miffionaries.

"It is an obfervation of great importance, that the future felicity of the inhabitants of Otaheite, and the Society Islands, will not a little depend on their continuing to be vifited from Europe. Our Commander could not avoid expreffing it as his real opinion, that it would have been far better for these poor people, never to have known our fuperiority in the accommodation and arts,which render life comfortable, than, after once knowing it, to be again left and abandoned to their original incapacity of improvement. If the intercourfe between them and us

hould wholly be difcontinued, they cannot be restored to that happy mediocrity in which they lived before they were firft discovered. It feemed to Capt. Cook that it was become, in a manner, incumbent upon the Europeans to vifit these islands once in three or four years, in order to fupply the natives with thofe conveniences which we have introduced among them, and for which we have given. them a predilection. Perhaps they may heavily feel the want of fuch occafional fupplies, when it may be too late to go back to their old and lefs perfect contrivances, contrivances which they now defpife, and which they have difcontinued fince the introduction of ours. It is, indeed, to be apprehended, that by the time that the iron tools, of which they had become poffeffed, are worn out, they will have almoft loft the knowledge of their own. In this last voyage of our Commander, a stone hatchet was as rare a thing among the inhabitants, as an iron one was eight years before; and a chiffel of bone or stone was not to be seen. Spike-nails had fucceeded in their place; and of fpike-nails the natives were weak enough to imagine that they had gotten an inexhauftible flore. Of all our commodities, axes and hatchets remain the moft unrivalled; and they muft ever be held in the highest eftimation through the whole of the islands. Iron tools are fo ftrikingly useful, and are become fo neceffary to the comfortable exiflence of the inhabitants, that, fhould they ceafe to receive fupplies of them, their fituation, in confequence of their neither poffeffing the materials, nor being trained up to the art of fabricating them, would be rendered completely miserable. It is impoffible to reflect upon this reprefentation of things without ftrong feelings of fympathy and concern. Sincerely it is to be wifhed, that fuch may be the order of events, and fuch the intercourfe carried on with the fouthern islanders, that, instead of finally fuffering by their acquaintance with us, they may rife to a higher ftate of civilization, and permanently enjoy bleffings far fuperior to what they had heretofore known."

Dr. Kippis's Life of Capt. Cook. p. 405.

CONSIDERATIONS TO PROMOTE PEACE AND UNA

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NIMITY AMONG CHRISTIANS.

E of one mind, love as brethren; and be at peace among yourselves," were apoftolic injunctions, which will ever be binding on all profeffing Chriftians. If they be what they profefs, they have a participation of the Spirit of Chrift, which was, and is, and ever will be, a spirit of peace and love. If Chriftians ftrive, if they contend earn. eftly, let it not be about words, names, forms and circumstantials in religion, in which the wifeft of men may, and do differ; but, let it be against the common enemy; let it be for the effentials, in which they are all agreed. Let them "strive together for the faith of the Gofpel :" let them " contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the "faints." But let them not fall out among themselves by the way, merely becaufe they cannot all think exactly alike concerning certain unimportant circumftantials. To prevent their zeal from raging against one another; and to promote unanimity, peace and love among themfelves: let them confider the relations in which they ftand connected; the imperfections common to them all; the advantages given to their enemies by means of their own imprudent quarrels; and particularly, their own comfort, ftrength and beauty, when they dwell together in love and unity.

By nature they are fellow-creatures, fellow- finners, and fellow-mortals; yea, they are children of wrath, and, of difobedience; as fuch it was no wonder that in times past, they ferved divers lufts and pleafures; and lived in malice and envy; but as Christians, they are new creatures. They are begotten, born or quickened by one and the fame Spirit. They partake of the fame principle of divine and fpiritual life; and are towards God, of one heart, and one foul. They have one Father, and as fuch, are brethren. Collectively, they are the family and household of God, They are fellows in many refpects: fellow-citizens, and fellowfervants; fellow-travellers, fellow-foldiers, and fellow-fufferers. They are fellow-heirs of exceeding great and precious promifes; and, by and by, will be fellow-heirs of an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Ranfomed by the fame precious blood, and regenerated by the fame good

Spirit, they enjoy the fame liberty; they act from the fame motives, by to fame rule, and to one and the fame end. They are connected and cemented together by the closest and ftro geft ties. They are living ftones, built up a fpiritual hoafe, an habitation for the living God. They are not only members of the fame family, but even branches of one and the fame Vine. They all derive fap from the fame root, that they may produce abundantly the fame precious fruit.

If fuch confiderations will not preferve unanimity among the faints, let us in the next place confider, that they have no reafon to be hard one upon another, because there are many imperfections common to them all. Far be it from any of them to fet up for infallibility: they know that in many things they all offend. The moft difcerning of them fee only through a glafs darkly. It is no uncommon thing for them to think differently at different times; to live to alter their opinions of certain points, concerning which, they had before been far too confident. When fallible mortals exclaim, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we," and that an exclufion of all others, they do but proclaim their own arrogance. While fo many imperfections remain, we must not expect in all things to fee exactly alike. In little matters there will be fhades of difference, but if our heavenly Father bear therewith, certainly we ought. There is no doubt but he permits these things, not with a defign to excite contention about them, but to exercise our Christian charity and forbearance. Are we not all encompaffed about with infirmities? Then let us bear with one another's weaknesses, and never more contend about trifles.

Confider further the bad effects of all difcord, and uncha. ritable contentions among chriftian brethren. "Avoid fool"ifh questions and contentions," fays the Apostle, "for they are unprofitable and vain." Saints never do themselves any good thereby, but on the contrary, each party receives in jury. They injure the common caufe and ftrengthen the hands of the common enemy. Should parties of the fame army meet in the night, and, by mistake, fight against one another, caufing mutual deftruction in their contention for victory, how would they forrow when the light of the morning fhould difcover their mistake! And, how would their enemies rejoice to hear thereof! The application is eafy. The contentions of believers are the triumph of infidels. Our Saviour fays, "A houfe divided against itself cannot ftand." In all focieties, fays the pious Matthew Henry,

"Common ruin is the confequence of mutual quarrels. Divifion ends in defolation." Religious difcord is alfo difgraceful. If theep of a pasture, and birds of a feather, can agree to feed, and fold, and flock together; what a fhame is it for the ranfomed of the Lord, the household of faith, the peaceable fubjects of the Prince of peace, to bite and deyour one another? But

Finally, how pleafing, how profitable, how beautiful, for brethren to dwell together in unity! The Pfalmift compares it to the precious ointment poured on the head of Aaron, and to the dew of Hermon, and the dew that defcended upon the mountains of Zion. It is good in itself; it is pleafing to God; it is fweet to the faints. It is allur ing even to finners. In a word, it is conformity to heaven itself. Surely there is fomething weighty in thefe confiderations! Under the influence of them, let us ftrive to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace."

S. B.

REGENERATION.

Thoughts on John iii. 3.

EXCEPT a man be born again he cannot see, he cannot understand, the things of the kingdom of God, fo as to dif cern their nature and importance; to feel their influence, and to relish and enjoy their excellence. A true knowledge of these spiritual objects is communicated by the Spirit, accompanied with a tafte for them, and a delight in them. When a man has once obtained this kind of knowledge, it begins a new era in the fyftem of his experience, and in his life and conduct. It is written in the Prophets, All thy chil dren shall be taught of God, in order, doubtlefs, that they may all know and understand the things which are freely given them of God, in fuch a way as renders them precious and influential. It is evident that what in Luke viii. 10. is called knowing the myfteries of the kingdom of heaven, is the fame that is here meant by seeing them. And what is knowing when applied to fpiritual things, but the mind's perception of them, in that manner which gives them a due influence upon the mind? Something confonant to this defcription of mental vifion, is the Apostle's definition of faith in Heb. xi. 1. "It is the perception, or mental conviction of the reality (elegchos) of things not feen or invifible;" VOL. I.

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