God of the body alfo, and beauty, activity, and vigor ought to be the adornments of it.

The perfection of the human mind is manifeft by Jehovah himfelf condefcending to become man's firft fchool-mafter, orally inftructing him into the nature of things, and by fenfible objects, trying the progreffive improvement of his mind. If Adain, formed by the hand of Jehovah, required inftruction in a ftate of purity, and furrounded only by innocence and hap pinefs, how much more needful is it now for the creatures of God to receive inftruction, feeing that he has contracted habits of impurity, and is furrounded by vice and mifery. To what aftonishing heights will the human mind foar! It stretches far beyond the confines of the mighty globe, and feeks the diftant fpheres! It defcends, it views all nature, it furveys and minutely examines the movements of his own mind, or stoops and pene trates deep beneath the furface of this earth, and ranfacks the imprisoning caverns of the deeper hell. The Deity himself is not too vaft for his contemplation, nor the smallest infect toa minute for him to meditate upon. But as the expanded human mind can thus extenfively range, fo the foul, in which knowledge has never entered, becomes equally contracted; fhadows, doubts, and darkness reft upon it; ignorant of itself, unacquainted with man, and doubting, and even denving the being of a God, leaping over that hitherto uncroffed line which feparates the man from the brute; furely, when we confider what man may be, it is worth the trial to attempt to make him what he ought to be. Oh, it is a god-like talk, to teach the fons of men to think, and train the heaven-born king to grasp the fceptre of his wide domain.

When we take a furvey of the prefent ftate of fociety, we must confefs the prefent mode of education is deficient; vice ftalks abroad in open day. The apostle Peter has well described the prefent times, as fcoffers at divine truth, walking after their own lufts, and turning into ridicule the great hope of a Chriftian, even the appearance of our Lord Jefus Chrift. This would not be the cafe was the mode of education right: they would argue and not fcoff, they would be virtuous and not walk after their own lufts, they would not reject but examine, and be convinced of the truth of Divine Revelation. How was the revelation of Divine Truth preserved of old amongst the Ifraelites, but by education? Deut. vi. 7. "And these words which I teach thee this day, fhall be in thine heart: and thou fhalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou shalt talk of them when thou fitteft in thine houfe, and when thou walkeft

walkeft by the way, and when thou lieft down, and when thou rifeft up.' Here was a life of domestic education; and, in addition to this, every city of the priests, of which there were feveral in each tribe, was a univerfity, inftructing them in divine truth. Behold the fhepherd, David, with his family education, shine with an excellence almoft fupernatural in the cabinet, in the temple, and in the field. It was education that taught the prophets, and in the most degenerate days raised up men who reformed the manners, purified the worship, and reftored the government of Ifrael. It was education that preferved them, for ages, a great and mighty nation; and had education been properly attended to, according to the commands of Jehovah, would to this day have preferved them a mighty and a holy people. It is education moulds the man, and makes him an honor or difgrace to fociety.

T.

DEAR SIR,

LETTERS ON WOMEN.

LETTER 111.

Tthough its members are not numerous, its principle is

HERE is another fociety of females in Wifbeach, and

truly benevolent, and its utility confiderable: I will give you an outline thereof.

That which led to the formation of this fociety, was the confideration of the inconveniencies many females fuffer, for want of proper linen to accommodate themselves and their offspring, at a period when their minds fhould be kept free from every anxiety--when they fhould have every poffible attention paid them-when, in various inftances, not only the complete recovery of the mother, but the prefervation of the life, of both mother and child, depends much upon proper treatment, and fuitable accommodation. If females who enjoy all the comforts, and many of the luxuries of life, who at fuch times have many friends to footh and carefs them, and who can command every accommodation their hearts can wifh, would explore the haunts of poverty and wretchednefs, and fuch the lowly habitations of the laborious part of the community will frequently be found, furely their bofoms would heave with commiferation, they would feel fympathy and compaffion :

"Their hands would not withhold the kind relief.
And tears of pity would not be repreft,"

while they beheld a modeft woman, pregnant with the fruit of virtuous love, and perceived that the utmost efforts of her hufband and herself could barely procure a feanty fubfiftence; that the procuring fuch things as decency and comfort would require, at what must appear to them an important crifis, was out of the power of the humble pair. To fuppofe women who are only placed by divine Providence in better circumftances, could view fuch a fcene without feeling any emotions of pity and benevolence, would be a libel upon the fair fex.

The above fociety is of courfe felf-formed, and all its regulations are of its own making. Each female who becomes a member of it, furnishes two complete fets of linen, each set comprehending every thing of that kind neceffary for the bed, the woman and the child, during the first month after delivery.

The linen is all lodged at a convenient place, under the care of a fuitable perfon, who keeps it in proper order. When any of the linen wants either to be repaired, or replaced by others, it is done at the expence of the perfon who firft furnifhed it. The members of this fociety meet together when neceffary, at a convenient place, to regulate the concerns thereof.

A ftock of linen being thus formed, it is lent out in the following manner: When any poor woman is defirous of being accommodated with linen from the fociety, during her lying-in, fhe applies to any two of its members, and a note from them obtains for her a complete fet, from the perfon to whofe care it is committed. This advantage has been enjoyed by many individuals, and has been of confiderable use.

This plan is not only calculated for the benefit of those who are in fuch poverty, as to be abfolutely incapable of procuring what would render them comfortable in their feelings and appearance in their lying-in, but is alfo found useful to those who would curtail their other comforts, and involve themselves in difficulties for a time, by procuring fuch articles of linen as they would not use at other times, in order that they might appear neat and comfortable when vifited by their friends in the chamber of their confinement. To relieve this latter clafs of females from the anxiety which would be an interruption to their happiness, and, perhaps, injurious both to their health and the conftitution of their offspring, and to prevent their involving themselves in expences which they cannot well bear, must be very desirable, and truly benevolent.

It ought to be remembered, that poor women are frequently found the fubjects of delicate feelings as well as those who are

in

in easy circumstances; and that many who are now poor have been formerly in better fituations, and were brought up with different expectations to what they have fince found realized; to think that they cannot enjoy thofe accommodations, and appear with that decency and neatnefs which they would wifh, in their confinement, muft create painful fenfations, which should, as much as poffible, be removed from virtuous love, and its confequences. The above fociety is calculated, at leaft in fome measure, to alleviate thofe feelings.

Wifhing that fuch benevolent focieties may be formed in every part of England, I recommend the confideration of the matter to all the female readers of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany, And remain, dear Sir, Affectionately yours,

WISBEACH, July 20, 1799.

R. W.

On the Propriety of retaining the proper Name a Jehovah, in

the Bible.

HAVE often thought, that had the tranflators of our Bible

I Jehoval

common name Lord, it would have added greatly to the force

and beauty to the Sacred Volume in general.

.

It is fomewhat fingular, that though the Great Governor of the Universe has, in his word, declared to us what name is peculiar to himself, yet we boldly oppose our judgments to his, and give the preference to thofe names which are common to other governors, and which have neither the expreffion, or beauty, with that which is proper to him alone; and this is done by our tranflators, except in a few paffages where it would have been attended with the higheft abfurdity to have done otherwife.

The Firft Cause is in our Bibles called God; but we find, that the judges under the law are called Gods; angels are called Gods; and even those which are the reprefentatives of devils are called by that name. He is there likewife called the Lord; but angels are called Lords, kings are called Lords; and every one who is another's governor is Lord, or master, to him whom he governs. Thus we perceive that neither of these names is peculiar to any one, much lefs to him who was before all things, and who is eternal; these then are only common

names.

But first I fhould obferve, that grammarians diftinguish names into proper and common: a proper name is that which is pecu

Mar to one---a common name, that which is confined to no one, but given to a fpecies: and it would be attended with the highest absurdity to give a name to Deity which is common to many of his creatures; nay, as proportionate a degree of abfurdity would attach to this nomination, as the creature is above the Creator in point of comparison.

But to return:-God fays to Mofes, (Exod. vi. 3.) " I appeared unto Abraham, unto Ifaac, and unto Jacob, by (the name of) God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them." If we take the word known here in the strictest sense, it contradicts the fenfe in many places; and to'fet up one text against an hundred, would be a very hazardous way of interpreting Scripture. But what then can be the meaning of this laft claufe-" By my name Jehovah was I not known unto them ?"---Plainly this:---" By my name Jehovah was I not DISTINGUISHED by them.

It is evident, from the foregoing history, that the true God was known, to his true worshippers, by this and many other names: fuch as El Elohim, Adoniah, Jehovah, Jehovah Elohim, El Gnelion, (the High God), El Gnolam, and, as here in this text, El Shaddai. But by none of these was he known as his one peculiar name---a name which he had appropriated to himself in preference to the others, and by which he now declares he would be diftinguifhed for the time to come. Wherefore, (v. 6.) fay unto the children of Ifrael, I am JeHOVAH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians; and I will rid you out of their bondage; and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye fhall know that I Jehovah am your God, which bringeth you out of the burdens of the Egyptians; and I will bring you in unto the land concerning which I did fwear to give it to Abraham, to Ifaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am JEHOVAH.

Grammarians obferve, that of all the names of God, this feems to be the most expreffive of his effence, as it denotes the one eternal, felf-exiftent being. And no time could be more feasonable for God to give himself fuch a name as this, than when he was about to take this little nation for his own peculiar people, and to plant, and to prefervé amongst them, the worship of himself alone, in oppofition to the polytheism and idolatry of the nations all around them. For if any thing could prevent them from worfhipping the little fubordinate deities of the Heathen nations, it must be the confideration of what this VOL. III.

I i

name