the knowledge of Chrift, with which God had fo wonderfully favoured her. But that which enhances this wonderful mercy is, that this very child has proved an eminent preacher of Christ among the Indians. He is living at this time, fays our author*, (1696), a very religious Christian, and a laborious Minifter; he is paftor of an Indian church, compofed of fome fcores of regenerate fouls, and has taken pains to extend the Gospel to other Indians on the main land with great fuccefs. His name is Japhet. Who can tell how often the good Spirit may impress the mind of an Heathen? Who can tell how many Qtaheitans, Indians, and Africans may now be under fimilar impreffions, "a people prepared for the Lord," to whom a Miffionary may addrefs the words of St. Paul-" Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unte you!" THE DEADLY FRUIT OF INFIDELITY. THE HE mutiny among the feamen having had also a partial operation in the ranks of the Marine Forces at Plymouth, hath induced an awful example of its ill effects in the punishment, by death of three private Marines last week under the fentence of a Court Martial. One of these unhappy and misguided fufferers was a Mr. Lee, of Dublin, a man of confiderable natural and acquired talents, and who had reasoned himself into a disbelief of the principles of reAvealed religion from the writings of fceptics, and particularly from the pamphlet entitled The Age of Reason. The fallacy of these principles, and their fad confequences, cannot better be defcribed than in the following letter, with which we are favoured from one of our correfpondents, who was an eye-witness of their flimfinefs in this man's inftance in the hour of death. We only detain our readers from the perufal with just obferving, that, from the circumstances which attended the writer's behaviour in his laft hours, there is great reafon to hope that God's grace triumphed over infidelity in this inftance, and faved him as a brand from the fire through the fovereignty of his mercy. Dr. Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia Christi Americana, From my Cell, Citadel Prison, Plymouth, MY DEAR BROTHER, YOU July 6, 1797. OUR exertions to fave my life cannot now avail. Yesterday the order for my execution this day arrived. I have but a few short moments to live, and I trust that, therefore, what I wish to impart to you will be received by you with that seriousness with which it must come from the heart of a dying man. Like you, I have been misled by the "sophistications of those who deny the truths of the Gofpel, and deride the evidence of God's word; like you, I gave them implicit confidence; but the awfulness of my prefent ftate has induced a candid examination of them; and the arguments of the enemies of divine revelation appear now to me in the vilest colours. I have thought it neceffary to feek the aid of a Minister of the Gospel, who, I truft, is a witnefs to my conversion, to my regeneration, and will testify it, as far as he can be fuppofed to place a confidence in the fincerity of it. On this fubject I have no time to add more, than to exhort you to avail yourfelf of the opportunity you have to renounce thofe opinions, which were near proving fatal to my eternal happiness here. after, through the merits of his dear Son, Jefus Chrift, the Redeemer of mankind. The gentleman who has been confiderably inftrumental in producing my converfion, will, I prefume, at my request, take up the pen to offer you fuch arguments as his fuperior abilities and experience will dictate; and I have no doubt, but if you investigate the truth with a due impartiality, your mind will foon acknowledge that conviction I do, and your soul will be filled with it. Whatever family claims I have, I transfer to my fifter Aldridge, and request you will do all in your power to render the evening of her days as comfortable as poffible.-For ever farewell, dear Brother, (here).-Remember my last dying advice, and confult your eternal welfare.--Recom mend my affection to my fifters and brothers, and all friends. Your fincere Brother, ROBERT LEE. AN ADDRESS TO SLEEPERS IN THE HOUSE OF CH GOD. HILDREN of floth! Your crimes need not be provedyou are your own accufers; and, as though you gloried in your fhame, you are repeatedly expofing yourselves to fresh guilt and difgrace before many witneffes. Hardened in your fin, neither the voice of the preacher, the fubject of his miniftry, the eyes of fpectators, no the prefence of the GREAT GOD himself have hitherto restrained you! Suffer one among the many, whose grief and indignation your inexcufeable indolence repeatedly provokes, and whofe devo tional pleasures it interrupts, to addrefs you in the language of faithful remonstrance. What mean ye, O Sleepers! by choofing the day of God above all others, for a day of flumber, and the time of his worship above all other, for flothful indulgence? Have ye not houfes and couches to fleep in at home, that you must convert your pews into bed-chambers? Are there no feafons of repofe you can enjoy befide, that you must choose those which are confecrated to God? O Sleepers! know, that every pillow in your habitations unites with every fetting fun, to leave your flumbers in the fanctuary without excufe. Or will ye find that excufe in the nature of the service? Will you plead that the Gofpel of Chrift is a thing fo uninterefting, or devotional exercifes fo ftupifying, that in vain you endeavour to preferve your attention to them? Ah think, what a teftimony fuch a plea will bear to the extreme hardness and carnality of your own hearts. What can engage your attention, if a God incarnate, fhedding his precious blood for guilty men, cannot? What fubject fo interefting as this, or what more deferving your regard! When the Redeemer expired, the rocks trembled-the earth fhook-the graves opened-the dead arofe-the fun hid his beams, and a Centurion exclaimed, "this is the Son of God." But you-harder than the rock-more stupid than the earth-more unfeeling than the grave, or the dead carcafes it contains, can prefent, to a difgufted affembly, a yawning countenance at that very fcene which made the lamp of heaven afhamed to appear before an admiring world, and tacitly declare, that an idolatrous Gentile foldier felt more like a Chriftian than yourfelves. But you profefs to be Christians, and would be offended with the man who fhould call your piety in question. Is this then the evidence you give of it, and are these the fruits by which we muft judge of your religion? Enter the mofque of a Muffelman-the pagod of an Indian, or the fynagogue of a Jew, and, if you are ingenuous enough to draw a fair inference, confefs, that if attention be the criterion, they are better worshippers than you. Yes it is the infamy of Christian assemblies above all other, to dishonour their religion, belie their profeffion, aud infult their God! And at your door, O Sleepers! that infamy lies. Where is your refpect for your Minister? For fix days he labours, and on the feventh he brings into the pulpit what he has in fecret prepared. Unhappy man! Thy hear ers tell thee to thy face that thy labours for a week are not worthy their attention for an hour. O how often has it been, that when the faithful, zealous man of God has had his heart warmed with his fubject, and has fondly thought each attendant's feelings were in unifon with his own, that by your indecent yawning, your filthy fnoring, or repeated nodding before his eyes, his pleasure hath yielded to furprize his furprize to grief, and his grief to difcouragement, until he has fcarcely poffeffed fufficient fortitude to clofe the fentence he had begun, and a seafon which promifed univerfal delight, becomes, through your accurfed indolence, tormenting to the preacher, and unprofitable to attentive hearers. What mean you thus to fleep and break our hearts! Have we not difcouragements enough in the world, that you must bring yours into the fanctuary! Shall we labour to exclude every thing from our recollection that would fadden our fpirits whilft we are worshipping in the beauty of Holiness, and will you, to our faces, counteract our efforts; and inftead of animating our devotion by your cheerful attention, refign yourselves to the infenfibility of logs, till you diffufe ftupidity or grief over all around? Will you apologize by urging a drowsy habit of body which induces a natural lethargy? I ask you, why are you not lethargic in your bufinefs? Which of your customers do you infult as you do the congregation and the Minifter with whom you profefs to unite in divine worship? who fees you afleep in your fhops, or in the circle of your friends? When do you clofe your eyes over a newspaper? or your ears to a tale of fcandal?Abufe your confcience no longer. This is the fact—either you make the day of God a day of intemperate indulgence, and fo criminally induce that drow nefs which is your conftant difgrace, and renders you com mon nuifances to every congregation that you vifit, or elfe your reverence for God and attachment to the Gospel of Jefus, is little more than mere profeffion; for nothing can be more evident or eafy to be understood than this, that if the concerns of the world will keep you awake at the fame hours, and in the fame circumstances as those in which you fleep in the houfe of God, it must be because you have not fo much relish for, nor feel your heart fo much interested in religion as about the world. You may draw your own conclufion. Be perfuaded to answer the following queftions.-Do you believe that public worship is an ordinance of God? Do you believe that Christ is always present where two or three are met in his name? Do you believe there is a day of reckoning at hand, when he who infpects his churches now, will call you to his bar? Will not all fuch despisers of Chrift and his worship, as you are, be afhamed before him at his coming? Becaufe efforts from the pulpit have been unfuccessful, this is made from the prefs. Should it fail of its defign, you must fleep on, till an infulted God fhall meet you in awful retribution, Of your guilt, your Minifters wash their hands, and appeal to Heaven and to you, that they are not partakers of your fins. I CURE FOR DROWSINESS IN WORSHIP. HAVE frequently heard the people of God complain of the infirmity of drowsiness, and an almost irresistible propenfity to fleep whilft under the word. This has been matter of the greatest uneafinefs to them, and they have not been able altogether to conquer it, notwithstanding their utmost care and watchfulnefs. I fhall not attempt to lay down any certain method, by which this may always be prevented; but only to drop a hint or two, which has been ufeful to me, and may be fo to many. The afternoon is the time when this difpofition is moft particularly felt, and on the Sabbath the time between fervice is fo fhort, that people rife almost directly from their tables to go to the houfe of God, where for want of the ac cuftomed exercife of the week, the body experiences an unusual load, and confequently produces a languid frame |