to the earth and upwards to heaven, and thus let it excite our songs. Let celestial music in all its charms be employed to celebrate it; to celebrate what? the deliverance from Babylon. If it were so, how poor to our triumph. To come back to an earthly Canaan, where some of their fathers, some of their grandfathers lived, where so many risks were to be run, and so many conveniences were to be resigned, that the greater part, when they had liberty to do it, chose still to reside at Babylon. But these, if they had found occasion to weep the diminished glory of their temple, how much more cause have we. The Lord has comforted his people. He has a people; and if he sees them in places that need comfort, he provides it. Who else could have comforted but the Lord? Had we understood our true case, we might have derived grief from every circumstance that had given us affliction. Was it bodily pain, gout, or stone; could it be scarcely endured only a few days. Oh, what would it be to endure such anguish and agony for ever? If it be grievous to support the distress of a wounded spirit but for a little while, what are the agonies of eternal despair? If the loss of a friend be grievous, what must the everlasting loss and absence of God be? If I grieve to see a dear child in pain, what must it be to behold all that are dear to me in torment? Oh, what must the situation of my mind be, if I can behold this with a strange kind of pleasure, rather than sympathy? If the insult of enemies in any degree be grievous, what must the scorn and insult of infernal spirits be, wherewith they shall seize me as their helpless prey, "there shall be no deliverer?" Thus might we have argued, had not Redemption taken place; and what then should comfort us? But now, I, even I am he, saith the Lord, that comforteth you. I speak forgiveness and peace; and then who shall give trouble? He speaks it through Christ, and by this memorial of that Saviour's

and cry,

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love, he will have mercy on his afflicted servants. His people may be afflicted, as in my text, they may pass through the fire and the water; but still he has mercy, He will support them, and that wonderfully. To the upright there ariseth light out of darkness. Have we not experienced it? Have we not found the blessed interposition, when he has commanded it; when bewildered in midnight obscurity, we have perceived a sudden light arise in the mind, we knew not when or how, and as if day was born from the womb of the night! He will deliver them certainly, and speedily;-deliver from Death; for what is human life, and how many years can remain of it? He will deliver them from all their afflictions, he will wipe off every tear; he will not merely put off their sackcloth, in which they lay down in the dress of death, but he will gird them with gladness. Therefore, O Sion, sing of his goodness. Say not, my God has forsaken me. Say rather, he will never forsake me. He will multiply his comforts, till he completes my deliverance. In the administration of the elements, I observed, what if Christ were here in person, and said, "Let all that love me, all that trust me, all that believe in me, and obey me, come down and take these meats at the table, and let the rest stay." What would you say? Perhaps, "Lord, I desire to love thee. Lord, take away every thing in my heart that opposes." Well, all shall be well. That desire shows that thou art his, and that thou hast a right to be here, whatever thou mayst conceive of the matter. This was the substance.

REFLECTIONS ON THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1749.

LODGING at Maidwell on Friday night, I took some time yesterday morning for a review of the past year; and I have this evening been looking over what I wrote at the beginning of it. Many thoughts collected abroad are marked down on the beginning for reflection; but I think

it proper to insert some of them here, lest they be lost or mislaid, if I should desire to review them hereafter, and particularly at the close of the opening year, if that should happen, though I think of it with a deep sense of the uncertainty of such an event; and I hope, with an entire submission to God, as wishing to live only for his glory.

I find the mercies of this year to have been many and great; I am particularly struck with the thoughts of that uninterrupted state of health which God has given me; so that I think I have not been one Lord's day through the whole year entirely silent, and seldom prevented once from preaching by any indisposition; and I have actually written some of my Family Expositor every day this year, having been urged to it by a solicitation to print much earlier than I intended. I have not only ended all the other notes, but a few on the last chapter of the Revelations; and I have also transcribed, since the end of the vacation, the whole Epistle to the Romans, and the six first chapters of the first Epistle to the Corinthians. I have also this year composed and published a Thanksgiving Sermon on the Peace, and have transcribed and sent to the press, though after immense hindrances, which I thought would have defeated the purpose, my Letter to Heads of Families on the important subject of Family Religion. I have also prepared, but not transcribed, a Letter to Count Zinzindorf, whose enormous errors and enthusiasm have filled the whole Protestant world with wonder and with horror. God has this year given me many choice and happy opportunities of speaking in his name, insomuch that I have found upon a review, that besides repetitions which have been thronged, I have preached a hundred and fifty times, and our auditory has been generally as full as it has been for some time, though I cannot say that many new families or persons known to me have been added. Yet I bless God, that twenty-two persons have been ad

mitted into communion; but as twenty-two have either died or removed, the number is the same; but blessed be God, if we do not decline. There is a comfortable prospect with regard to the young persons in particular; and I think the meetings on Lord's day mornings at the vestry was never better attended; and I am told by young Mr. B. that there was never a greater number under serious. impressions. It is much satisfaction to me to learn, that some societies have been formed among the young people, who have sometimes been ready to form societies of a very different kind; and that some who were despisers of the gospel are now much attached to it. This I ascribe to the riches and freedom of divine grace, and to that be all the glory.

I have this year received increasing tokens of the acceptance of my works abroad. As the translation of my Rise and Progress into French has met with great encouragement from the Prince and Princess of Orange, and most of the Dutch nobility and gentry, and from many in Switzerland and Germany, so the providence of God has engaged that pious and elegant writer, M. Vernade, to go through the work, which would else have been undertaken in the hands of M. Castlegony; and the Abbot Steinmetz has engaged M. Rambach to translate the Family Expositor into High Dutch. But as some opposition was made to it by the Lutheran clergy, it gave an opportunity of translating the Sermons on Regeneration into that language, the moderation of which quieted much opposition. Two eminent German divines, one of Hanover, the other a son-in-law of the celebrated Schoepling, have undertaken the translation of the Rise and Progress into that language; and application has been made to me for my picture by several persons. This is but a little circumstance, but it is produced by others of much greater importance, in which I desire humbly to acknowledge the divine goodness. I

think it is since the above year that I received the Sermons on the Power and Grace of Christ in Low Dutch.

God has been pleased this year to make the largest accession of students to my Academy than it has ever received in any one year, I think fifteen in number; Cappe, Cutler, Mercer, Gillebrand, Bradfoot, White, More, Rocquet, Walker, Beman, De Hondt, Murray, Rose, Brown. Three of these, Rocquet, Beman, and De Hondt come from Holland, from whence I hope there is a prospect of a further accession, which may by the divine blessing be of considerable service. And the two last are remarkable on another account: Mr. Murray being likely to rise to a seat in the House of Lords, as Earl of Dunmore, and Mr. Rose, his private tutor, is an excellent man. I see much of the hand of Providence in this, and so much the more, as there have been several removes; notwithstanding which my Academy is more numerous than it has been for a long time. I think upwards of thirty pupils. At present thirty-three, besides Mr. Clark.

I bless God, I have been lately delivered from the extraordinary fear I had of losing my dear daughter Mary, who has been extremely ill, but is I hope in a way of recovery. I solemnly put her, and all my other comforts, for the continuance of which I would be humbly thankful, into the hands of my father and my God; and particularly I commend the dear, but now much afflicted youths, Clayton and K. to his gracious care, protection, and favour.

God has been pleased to give me some steadiness in pursuing my schemes, but not equal to what I could wish, and I find many just causes of humiliation; especially that my evening time has not been filled up, and my evening duties performed as I could have desired. Neither have I been so careful of late in talking and praying with my pupils and servants as I might and ought to have been.