which will be had in everlasting remembrance. The recollection of that scene often reminds us of the select Missionary Hymn with which we shall close this article. When shall we three meet again? When shall we three meet again? Though in distant lands we sigh, When around this youthful pine, When the dreams of life are fled, TO CORRESPONDENTS. Several original communications have been received, but too late for insertion in this number. We shall use some of them, with the usual liberties of Editors, to mould them to our object and limits, preserving ENTIRE the writer's sentiments. We recommend that all contributors to our pages designate their communications by signatures. THE MONITOR. VOL. I. APRIL, 1823. NO. 4. THE FOLLOWING IS THE COPY OF PART OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY A YOUNG MAN AT SEA TO A FRIEND IN THE UNITED STATES. WHILE sitting in my cabin and walking the deck, memory often retraces the scenes that are past, and dwells upon the friends who have taken a lively interest in all my concerns. I often think of you, my dear Sir, and you have often been the subject of my prayers, when I have entered into my closet and shut the door. Much as I should be gratified to see you suited with regard to business, property, and every outward circumstance, my chief concern is about the soul. The soul! the soul of man! who can tell its worth? who can estimate its value? "It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and chrystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for the price is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with fine gold." There is nothing I desire so much for you, as that you may be taught by the Holy Spirit your true situation as a sinner before God; that you are by nature possessed of a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked;-that you are not only sick, but absolutely dead in trespasses and sins;-that you are poor, and miserable, and wretched, and blind, and naked, and that there is no help or hope for you, except in the rich, and free grace of God in Christ-that you may be made acquainted, savingly acquainted with 2d Edit. 10 the Lord the Redeemer, and being born again, and having a new heart, may be enabled to walk in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless; live above the world, enjoy communion with God day by day, a communion or intercourse, which imparts a happiness which “ he that feels it knows," and that you may finally be received to realms of light, and life, and love, and peace, and joy. Bone but I fear you will think, that you are not quite so bad, as I wish to have you feel yourself to be; but I believe that you and I and every child of Adam, are entirely destitute of any good principle, until renewed by the Holy Spirit. I know that to this proposition, the carnal heart is opposed. Probably you will never feel it to be true, until enlightened by the Divine Agent. A person of an amiable natural disposition, came one day to converse with Mr. Whitefield. On his discovering an inclination in him to rely on his own agreeable temper and sweetness of manners, he told him, that he apprehended Satan was cheating him, by leading him to mistake a good disposition for the grace of God. "I would rather you had the roughness of that man," said he, pointing to a by-stander," than that the tempter should thus deceive you." That our hearts need to be radically changed, so that we love what we before bated, and hate what we before loved; so that old things are passed away and all things are become new with us, I firmly believe the Scriptures teach. Also that we are absolutely unable to change our own hearts, and that this change can only be wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost, accompanying the means of grace; such as prayer, reading the Scriptares, attending on the public ordinances of God, religious conversation, &c. We must not rest on these means, but wholly on the obedience, and death of Christ. It would be an easy matter to write a long letter upon business, or news, or some other topic, but I choose to select for my principal subject, one of greater consequence than any, or all of these. I am willing that each of these should have its proper place: i. e. that we should attend to them just so far as will be most for the glory of God, and our best interests. But we should be careful, that the soul is not robbed of its due attention. Much as I value the cultivation of the mind, and every important addition to our stock of knowledge, yet surely we should keep in view our high destiny, and not loiter on the short road we have to travel, nor stop to pluck every flower that presents itself to our view. I was struck with some unusual reflections, on reading the other day, of the death of Matis, the friend of Liuæus, who had devoted upwards of fifty years to the examination of the vegetable productions of America. Supposing now that the life of this celebrated botanist had been lengthened out to as great a period as that of Methuselah, and that he had devoted half a century to similar researches in each quarter of the globe-that he had then turned his attention from what appears above the surface, to what lies concealed in the bowels of the earth, and continued his researches there for several generations; that he had then travelled through every other department of science, and united in himself all the wisdom of the schools, of what real, solid, permanent advantage would it be to him, when he should be called from this busy scene? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and until, or unless this be added to our other acquirements, they will all be in vain, and worse than in vain. My friend, have you attained this wisdom? Have you an interest in Christ? O this is an important point; an error here would be fatal. And doubtless there are thousands who are deceiving themselves; who instead of entering into heaven by the only Door, are striving to climb up some other way. Our Saviour has sail," Many are called, but few are chosen." Are we of the chosen few? Do we love Christ, more than we do every thing else? If he should require it of us, as he did of his immediate followers, would we be willing to be called fools, and fanatics, and lose our reputation, and part with money, and friends, and ease? Can we appeal to the Searcher of hearts, and say with Simon Peter, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Do we evince this love, by loving and keeping his commandments ? Jesus Christ has said, "he that doth not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple." Do we deny ourselves, and are we determined, that we will serve the Lord, and do our duty, how ever much, and how often it may be contrary to our inelination? Do we every day strive to do every thing that we can to please and obey God? We know he is every where present, and knows our thoughts, and whether we do indeed love him, and make it our busimess to obey his will. How is it with the Scriptures? Do we love to obey daily this command of our Redeemer, search the Scriptures? Is it merely of form, or as a task that we do this, or do we turn over the sacred pages with delight, and find them sweeter than honey, or the honey comb? Do we let little time pass every day without looking to God in prayer? Do we like Jacob, wrestle with God in prayer? Do we have a sense of his presence, and a rich experience of his blessing, when we are in our closets, and alone with God? On the Sabbath, do we delight to be employed wholly in prayer and praise, and the other duties of the day, refraining from all worldly thoughts and conversation; or do we indulge in thinking of business, or news, or other concerns, which on this day shonld find no place in the mind, or in the mouth of one who is rapidly passing over this little space of life, and very soon will be an inhabitant of an entirely different state? (To be concluded in our next Number.) ANALOGIES BETWEEN THE KINGDOMS OF NATURE AND OF GRACE. ESSAY No. IV, The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. SOLOMON, An inspired direction is," prove all things, and hold fast that which is good." It is sometimes asserted that sinless perfection may be the privilege of Christians in this life, even at the commencement of their religious course. That Christians should pray and strive to be holy in heart, in life and in all manner of conversation |