Finally, let all who have the faculty, engage in singing the praises of God; and let each one do it with a believing and holy heart. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." You have received this faculty from God; and therefore should improve it for him, and with a single eye to his glory. Come then, one and all, before his presence with singing; and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

R. W.

MR. PILGRIM,

Town of Stupidity, Oct. 14, 1822.

Dear Sir, It is about a month since I came into this place, and I have witnessed many things which I shall communicate to you at length in a short time, but being busily employed just now, I will only send you a short sketch of one family scene. It was a few mornings ago, I went to visit a man that I heard talking very unadvisedly the day previous, and as he was a professor of religion, I called with a view of mentioning the subject to him, and endeavouring to convince him of the impropriety of such conduct. It was early in the morning when I arrived at his house; and he was just about to attend family prayer as I entered the room. I requested them notto be interrupted by me; so he proceeded and read a chapter in the bible; and then called, or pretended to call his family together, though two apprentices who were in the shop never came in, and the hired girl in the kitchen kept at work, and paid no more attention to the reading of the scriptures than if he had been reading an Almanack; and his wife sat by the kitchen door, where she could see that the maid attended properly to her work, (on which subject she occasionally gave her an admonition while her husband was reading,) and also see to cooking the breakfast, which was in the room where we sat. The man requested me to pray with them; but believing, as I do, that it belongs in all ordinary circumstances to the head of the family to offer the morning and evening sacrifices of his house, and as it is a great trial to my mind to pray where there is such confusion as there frequently is in families, (children running about, laughing and playing, and their mother contending with them, and both together making such a noise that nothing else can be heard,) I excused myself. As soon as I refused, he jumped up and said, "let us pray." The family assumed such positions as seemed to accommodate their feelings best. The old fady maintained the post of observation which she had assumed; and whether she was able to add the spirit of devotion to her system of espionage, he who searcheth the heart knoweth. Their eldest son, a young man of seventeen, got up and leaned over the back of a chair in a very uncomely posture, and amused himself with holding up a crust of bread in his hand, and making the dog jump at it. Two children,

*See frontispiece.

one about seven and the other five years old, were catching flies at the window; and another about three years old was on the floor at play, and made very little disturbance. About the middle of the prayer, the boy, in his manoevres with the dog, accidentally catched his foot under the chair; the dog immediately set up a piteous yelling, which attracted the attention of the whole family. The gentleman hesitated for a moment, but proceeded with his prayer. The children from the window ran to see what was the matter, and to sympathize with the little animal; the youngest child began to cry; and such a scene of noise and confusion followed, that I was scarce able to hear another word of the prayer. When the prayer ended the scene was somewhat changed, but not much improved. The children were mourning for the misfortunes of the poor dogthe mother was scolding about, and increased the confusion by endeavouring to restore quiet,--and the father reprimanded the lad in a very loud and harsh tone for making such disturbance, and ordered him out to work, as a punishment for his crime.

I soon left the house, rejoicing to escape from a scene so very trying to my feelings. Upon further reflection, however, I am led to believe that similar scenes are not uncommon. I have therefore thought proper to give you this short account of a family in the town of Stupidity. Perhaps some of your readers will see in this description what may, in a greater or less degree, be true in their

own case.

men.

Men seem to forget the sacred nature of the obligation which rests on them as heads of families. What a glorious place is the family altar! It is there the christian parent offers up his morning and evening sacrifice to God, in a tribute of praise and thanksgiving, for the dearest and choicest blessings which are bestowed upon It is there he prays for grace to assist him in acting in the most responsible situation in which a man can be placed ; viz. at the head of a family, as the father of children; as a component part of the society in which he moves, and as a daily christian. All the the members of a family ought to appear at least with decency, and demean themselves orderly on such occasions, and make no disturbance. But to see part of a family standing up and part sitting down, and part kneeling, shews a want of respect to the ordinance of family prayer, and to God also; which is very unbecoming in those who profess to regard his character at all. One thing I would observe further, and that is, the necessity of brevity. Men cannot maintain, in common cases, the spirit of devotion through a long prayer; but they fatigue those who unite with them, and disgust those who are merely hearers. But I close. May God grant to all heads of families the spirit of true devotion, that they and their families may unite in a pure offering to him who grants them all things richly to enjoy, and be accepted of him, through Jesus Christ. PETER VALDO.

LETTER FROM A FEMALE TO HER SISTER.

Boston, December 30, 1755.

MY DEAR SISTER,-The welfare of the soul is of such vast importance, that to be careless about it argues stupidity, not to be paralleled; and yet so wretchedly are we sunk by the first apostacy, so dark are our understandings, so carnal our affections, so stupid our consciences, so corrupt our whole hearts, that while we remain in our natural state, we are thoughtless and unconcerned about it; and may in this respect, as well as others, be said to be "dead in trespasses and sins." It is true, our consciences may sometimes be awakened by some awful providence, or by some apprehension of danger, and we begin to think about God, our souls, and eternity-but alas! the danger is no sooner over than we return to our former security; and that, notwithstanding a multitude of resolutions and purposes to the contrary. Thus will every awakening prove ineffectual, and we thereby become more and more hardened in sin, more difficult to receive impressions; thus aggravate our guilt and ripen ourselves for distinguished punishment. This is and will be the case with a multitude of souls, and nothing can prevent our ruin, unless the spirit of God works effectually on us; nothing less than an Almighty agent can thoroughly rouse us from our native inattention. I mention these thoughts to shew you the importance of cherishing every serious impression he favours you with. Is the spirit of God now striving with you? Do not for a world resist him. Remember that awful declaration of God himself, " My spirit shall not always strive with man," and let it excite you to hearken now to his voice, lest he be provoked by your delay to leave striving with you, and give you up to walk in your own counsels. Though he has been long waiting on you, and calling on you, yet if you resist him any longer, you know not whether he will ever give you one call more. O then, dear sister, now be entreated to open your heart to him; now is the accepted time; to-morrow may be too late. Now is the only time you are sure of; to-morrow your fate may be decided. Can you put off an affair of this moment to an hereafter, when you are not sure of life a day, no, not an hour ?-Let me ask you, my dear sister, with all humility, how you find your case? Are you really convinced of the danger of a Christless state? Do you see that you are at enmity with the blessed God; that you are under his wrath, and exposed every moment to the execution of the sentence of his righteous law? Do you see your infinite hazard of perishing eternally; and do you find you are utterly unable to help yourself out of this miserable case, and that you can do nothing towards your salvation? Why then don't you apply to the only Saviour? What prevents your receiving him and resting on him for salvation? If you see your misery and the remedy God has provided, why don't you embrace it? Have you not some secret plea for this delay? Perhaps you think you are not fit, and that Christ will

not receive you as you are; but pray, when will you be fit? or what can you do towards fitting yourself? Suppose you were to live ten thousand years and keep on a constant course of serious exercises, would this change the temper of your heart? Would you not still have a principle of enmity to God, and the seeds of all sin in you? Believe me, you can never be welcome to Christ, unless you go to him just as you are; vile, ignorant, guilty, impotent, and every way miserable; the more you see of your own unworthiness and unholiness, the more likely you are to accept of God's free mercy through Jesus Christ. If you are saved, you must be brought off from all dependance on yourself, and made willing to have Christ on his own terms; that he should take the work into his own hands; willing to lie at his feet, as nothing, as one who has merited damnation, and has nothing to plead but the merit of Christ, and then assent to that way God has opened, through the obedience, sufferings and righteousness of the Mediator. O! my dear sister, my heart is enlarged with a tender concern for your best good; would to God I might be an instrument of promoting it: I long to have you acquainted with the altogether lovely Redeemer. I can't bear to have you estranged from him; and not only does my heart yearn towards you, but Christ himself pities you; or why has he stood "till his head is wet with dews and his locks with the drops of the night," pleading for admittance? Why has he followed you with one call after another; calls of providence, mercies, and afflictions; calls of grace, Sabbath after Sabbath, and sermon after sermon, awakenings of conscience, convictions of his spirit, and when you have resisted all, still he renews his calls; waits to be gracious; and seems loth to give you over. Can you refuse any longer to hearken he entreats you, he beseeches you in such endearing language as this: O miserable sinner! you are in danger of eternal death; you. are condemned to it, and every moment liable to it, and there is no escape but by accepting my offered grace. I have undertaken your ransom; I have borne your sins; I have suffered amazing punishment for them; for this I became incarnate; for this I suffered such cruelties and indignities from men, and such temptations from Satan; for this I bled and died; and oh! for this I suffered the wrath of God; for this I was made a curse; for this I underwent such agonies, as would have sunk all mankind in the lowest hell; and will you refuse me? Every drop of blood I shed calls loudly for your acceptance of me; will you frustrate my designs of love, and by resisting my offer, cause all those sufferings, and that very blood which I spilt for you, to plead for vengeance against you? Hearken to my voice, come to me for pardon, righteousness, and eternal life, and I will accept you, and will bestow all upon you: only be willing to let me save you from your sins. Be willing to let me reign in you and be your king and Saviour, and I will save you. Thus I believe the dear Jesus is knocking at your heart, and I beseech you, do not trifle. What! trifle with God himself! I hope you will not dare to do it; but open to him immediately; receive and rely upon him as the Lord your righteousness. If so, he will enter in and dwell in you forever; he will make an ever

lasting covenant with you; will be your all-sufficient portion; you will have heaven begin in you; will feel a happiness inconceivably transcending all the delights of the world; a happiness always growing by new discoveries, gracious manifestations, new views of God, more and more acquaintance with his ways, his truth, and gracious dealings with you; and by all be fitted for the inheritance of the saints in light. That this may be the happy issue of your present solicitude about salvation, and that we may be joint travellers in the ways of God here, and at last meet in his holy, happy kingdom above, is the sincere desire, and the most earnest and fervent prayer of your most affectionate sister.

MIRIAM MASON.

FROM THE RELIGIOUS REMEMBRANCER.

ON PRAYER.-BY CHRYSOSTOM.

[If the following remarks are characteristic of pious enthusiasm, it is an enthusiasm most desirable; an enthusiasm, which, if more prevalent, would be accompanied with blessings to the world beyond the highest calculations of the theoretical christian.]

Prayer is an all-sufficient panoply; a treasure undiminished; a mine which is never exhausted; a sky unobscured by clouds; a haven unruffled by the storm; it is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings.-I speak not of the prayer which is cold and feeble, and devoid of energy; I speak of that which is the child of a contrite spirit, the offspring of a soul converted, born in a blaze of unutterable inspiration, and winged like lightning for the

skies.

The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions; hushed anarchy to rest; extinguished wars; appeased the elements; expelled demons; burst the chains of death; expanded the gates of heaven; assuaged diseases; repelled frauds; rescued cities from destruction; it hath stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt; in a word, it has destroyed whatever is an enemy to man. I again repeat, that I speak not of the prayer engendered by the lips but of that which ascends from the recesses of the heart. Assuredly, there is nothing more potent than prayer; yea, there is nothing comparable to it. A monarch vested in gorgeous habiliment, is far less illustrious than a kneeling supplicant, ennobled and adorned by communion with his God. Consider how august a privilege it is, when angels are present, and archangels throng around; when cherubim and seraphim encircle with their blaze the throne; that a mortal may approach with unrestrained confidence, and converse with heaven's dread Sovereign! O, what honour was ever conferred like this! When a christian stretches forth his hands and invokes his God, in that moment he leaves behind him all terrestrial pursuits and traverses on the wings of intellect the realms of life ;