10. Jonah was the meffenger of God to Nineveh. The Divine wrath againft fin, of which he was a meffenger to the Ninevites, had broken forth upon himfelf, while he fought to ftifle the revelation of it. God repented and turned from his wrath against him, miraculoufly preferved and delivered him, and gave him a new grant of life to fulfil his commiffion. His appearing alive then in the midft of the Ninevites, when he preached to them, was a living demonftration that his God was a God of great kindnefs, repenting of evil as well as fierce in his anger. So they fay, "Who can tell, if God will repent? or cause a change not in his will, but in wrath will remember mercy?"

II. But then the reafon why Jonah oppofed the revelation of God's wrath against Nineveh was because he knew that mercy was the fpring of this revelation, and that mercy would be the iffue of it. The wickedness of Nineveh was great, thro' their violence and want of mercy: the principles of all the wickedness of Nineveh, then, were found and punifhed in Jonah; and the Divine mercy that after all relieved him, appeared very fuitable for them; even as the event fhewed it was for their fake. Yea, the very declaration God made of his wrath against their unmerciful difpofition, gave a broad intimation of the oppofite character in himself, and that he delights in mercy. And when this view of God, which led thern to repentance, was confirmed by their efcape from the threatened destruction, we may well fuppofe them to have been affected in fome fuch manner towards the true God as the idolatrous mariners were.

12. On the whole, this preaching to Nineveh, their repentance, and the restoring of their tranquility, and that about the time of the difperfion of Ifrael, may be confidered as a very proper fign of Chrift's coming in his kingdom, and preaching by his crofs peace to them that were afar off, even to the idolatrous gentiles, while the self-righteous Jews were rejected. Here likewife was a fign that reftoration to the whole world fhould come of Ifrael; even as Chrift fays to the woman of Samaria, "Salvation (or restoration) is of the Jews." And as the feverity of God is denounced against these gentiles, called to 'repentance by the gospel, who should not continue in the Divine goodrefs, but fall from it, so what is faid concerning Nineveh's deftruction, in the prophecy of Nahum, is a plain prophecy of the deftruction of antichrift, under the fign of Nineveh.

(To be continued.)

SELECT

SELECT SENTENCES

ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.

THE

HE fubjects of God's providence are fometimes like the fhip-wrecked mariner, who is brought fafe to his defired haven by the very ftorms which threatened his deftruction.

II.

The providence of God appears, to those who attend to it, like a ftream, which in fome places a lamb may walk through, but in others an elephant may swim.

III.

When we look into the ways of Providence, we must nat expect to be able to comprehend every thing at once; this is but the infant ftate of man: the callous eaglet does not aspire to the skies at once; no, fhe makes effays at small distances, and encreases the length of her flights by degrees, till at laft fhe learns to foar to the heavens.

IV.

When we fee the rough sketch of a painting, the outlines, ground, &c. in feeming confufion, and the picture intended to be produced entirely hid in that confufion, we have but a mean and indifferent opinion of it; but when in time the mafterly touches of the artift are put to it, the finishing stroke given it, and we behold a compleat and finished piece, we then fee the utility of the rough fketch, and bestow on the artist deserved encomiums. Such is the way of God---observe, be filent, and adore him.

ง.

It is faid (Rom. viii. 28.) "All things work together for good to them them that love God." They do fo; like the compounded medicine of the phyfician---in the compofition, perhaps, there are ingredients, which, adminiftered by themfelves, would poifon the patient, but when mixed judicially, work together for his good---the chaftifements of God are all mixed with love.

VI.

In the afflictive difpenfations of God's, providence, we fhould, like the camel, receive our burden on our knees.

W.B.

MATHEMATICAL QUESTIONS.

Answer to Question, P. 188.

earth's diameter.

7964 miles
=25020 its circumference.

height of the zone, or furface

Put 2 a

b

feen.

In the high wind of November, 1795, which was N. W. a building, which faced the north-weft by weft, was thrown down the building being 60 feet in length and 30 feet high, it is required to find the force of the wind acting on the fame, by which it was overturned, fuppofing the wind to move with a velocity of 60 miles in an hour, which by experiment it is found to do in ftorms.

Note. The specific gravity of air to water is as I to 860, nearly.

Queftion II.

It is required to find from what height a ball of a quarter of a pound weight muft fall to have the fame force on a plane that inclines to the horizon in an angle of 39 degrees, as another ball of half a pound, falling from the height of 14 feet, has on a plane whose inclination is 27 degrees.

POETRY.

POETRY.

ROBESPIERRE'S EPITAPH,

Compofed by Monf. Maron, in prifon, and within a few hours of being car ried out to execution; when the bell-man cried the arreft of the tyrant, he immediately wrote the following lines:

Ci git un monftre abreuve de forfaits:

Tigre alte e de fang, tyrant fuant le crime;
Caligula, Neron, Phalaris, traits pour traits.

La foudre, helas! trop tard l'a plonge dans l'abime.