or to those we meet in the streets. When we stop at an inn for a night, let us speak to those in the room, give tracts to the servants and family of the inn, and to the men in the yard. Let us call at houses in the town; give tracts, and speak to the people in them; ask if any in the town are ill, visit them, and both late at night, and early in the morning, be doing good. Let us speak to as many as we can. Whenever and wherever, in the streets or elsewhere, we see or hear sin, let us, if we can, speak kindly, and yet faithfully, to him who sins. In many such cases, we can give the person a tract against the sin he is committing. We can always put up a prayer for him, and show, by our very looks, that his sin grieves us. In general, if we know the person, and can speak to him alone, and reprove him in secret, it is perhaps best to do so, and more likely to prevail upon him. Do not waste or misspend the least time or money, that you may have as much as you can of both to do good with. Lay both out to the very best advantage. Much time is wasted and misspent by most of us in many ways. But since it is so precious, let us "gather up the fragments of it, that nothing be lost." Let us not be longer than is really necessary over washing, dressing, meals, and any other earthly engagement. Many give more time than is necessary to sleep and recreation. Much time is also wasted by making mere long and unnecessary calls, by stopping longer than is necessary at friends and other houses, in shops and elsewhere, by going to parties, by having them, by reading unprofitable books and newspapers, in useless conversation, by being talkative. Money also is wasted and misspent by most in many ways. Much more than is really necessary is spent upon food, clothes, furniture, books, and other things. Much upon luxuries, unnecessary and expensive presents, unnecessary travelling and riding, feasting, friends, &c. But when so many poor are struggling with want, when there are so many noble societies to give money to, and so many of them are so much in want of funds, and cannot do near so much as they wish to do for a perishing world, surely every one who loves his Saviour, and his fellow-men, should rejoice to be most economical, and to give as much as he can to the cause of Christ. That we may have the more to give, let us never allow the least waste of any thing in our houses, and avoid every unnecssary expense. Let us not pamper our appetites, and thereby waste money, and make our bodies less fit for the service of God. Who can doubt that if persons lived very plainly and moderately, their health, strength, and spirits would be better? "It is surprising, and deserves to be generally known, what a small quantity of food is necessary not only to preserve life, but also to maintain perfect health." (Robertson on diet.) Let every one think whether he cannot manage to give more time and money to the cause of Christ. Every family can have a missionary or other box in their sitting-room, so placed that all entering it may see it; so that any of the family, or any who call, can put into it whenever they like. Persons who called might often be asked to put in. Every pious tradesman might have a box in his shop or counting-house, and sometimes get customers to put in. Every Sunday and other school might have one for the children and teachers to be brought round to them. Every place of worship, hospital, and other public building might have one at its entrance. Parents, and all you that have the care of children, teach them to care for the souls of others, and to do good, and to delight in doing it. Give them such an education as may fit them to do the greatest possible good. Let them not learn mere accomplishments, but what is solidly useful. Encourage them to subscribe weekly, or to give money, to religious societies, and to help the distressed. Train them up to be Sunday-school teachers, tract-lenders, to collect for societies, to visit the poor and others, and to do all the good they can. Children, you can do much good. Some children have done much, You can speak to your parents, brothers and sisters, servants, companions, friends, and many others, about their souls. You can give money to societies, and ask your friends to give something. You can write to your friends, speak and give tracts to bakers and others who call at your parents' houses, and lend and give tracts to many persons. Pious tradesmen, you can do much. You can get some time every day, either very early in the morning, in the course of the day, or very late in the evening, for doing good, either by visiting people at their houses, or by speaking to those whom you find about in the streets or elsewhere. On the Sabbath you have very much time for the work. You can often drop a word to your customers. Whenever you, or pious mothers of families, or any other Christians, have, on any day, an odd five or ten minutes to spare, how can you spend them better than in visiting and speaking to some poor or other neighbour? In those minutes you can speak to some one, and God may bless what you say to that one, he may do good to many more, and they to many more, and so on to the end of the world, so that the fruits of a well-spent five minutes may be amazing. Oh! that all Christians would thus fill up their intervals of leisure. Pious servants, you can do much. We have read of one who was a very great blessing to the family in which she lived. You can speak to your fellow-servants and to the children of the families in which you are, and read to them. When sent with things to the poor and sick, you can speak to them. You can often ask leave to visit the poor. When you have a holiday, you can visit the poor and ignorant, making a short visit to each, so as to see as many as you can. When going to the house of God, or elsewhere, you can often speak to those whom you see or hear sinning in the streets or any where else; for instance, to children quarrelling or doing wrong on any day, or running and playing about on Sundays. In shops, you can sometimes speak a word; sometimes to bakers and others who call at your masters' houses, The poor also can do much good. They can bring up their children rightly, visit and speak to their neighbours and many others, beg them to go to God's house, to read the Bible, to bring up their children rightly, and so on. When any are ill, they can speak to them, and also get some pious minister or other Christian to see them. They can give something to societies. Christian ministers, we beseech you to exhort all you can, both from the pulpit and in private, to be most active themselves, and to beg others to do their utmost. Oh! that the Lord may pour out a truly missionary spirit upon all his people, and make them all missionaries in their different spheres, and be most earnest and unceasing in prayer for a revival of religion and for the salvation of others, most self-denying and laborious in their efforts to do good, most liberal in giving to his cause, willing "to spend and be spent in his service," be blessed themselves, and blessings to others, for Christ's sake. Amen. "As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men." (Gal. vi. 10.) "They that turn many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars, for ever and ever.” (Dan. xii. 3.) Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death." (James v. 19, 20.) S. D. OF THE TIMELY ASSISTANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD IN TIMES OF AFFLICTION AND GROWING INIQUITY. OF LAN A LETTER FROM THE REV. GRIFFITH JONES, RECTOR COUNTY. Landowror, Feb. 15, 1732. That excellent text in Isaiah, chap. lix. 19. "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him," contains in it a most comfortable, promissory prophecy. When the sins of men grow to such a height as not only to keep precious mercies from us, but also to bring many grievous judgments upon us, (as you have in that chapter) yet then, when iniquity abounds, and sin grows exceedingly sinful, grace shall abound more, and appear more exceedingly gracious; when things in the course of Providence are suffered to come to the last and utmost extremity, then commonly follows the most surprising and remarkable relief. As prophecies have many accomplishments, so this prophecy was accomplished in the relief and deliverance of the distressed Jews from their Babylonish captivity; the Spirit of God did not only deliver them from their bondage, but raised up men of undaunted zeal to retrieve the purity and honour of religion, when it had been almost quite buried in oblivion. But this prophecy had a more remarkable accomplishment in the first ages of Christianity, when severe and bloody enemies ran their course in a furious persecution of the Church, like an incontrollable torrent that would carry all before it, yet still the Spirit of God did lift up a standard, and caused the number of believers to increase, who bore a noble evidence for the truth of the Gospel; and we hope that this prophecy will still have a further accomplishment. Yet if we consider how numerous and shameless, I may say, how common and impudent the despisers and opposers of serious piety are in our days, what shall we think, but that the enemy is coming in like a water-flood, and threatens to overflow our land with a worse deluge than that which drowned the world in the days of Noah; and though for any thing I know, it may be suffered to proceed to a greater extremity than we have yet seen, yet in God's due time, I trust God will seasonably and surprisingly lift up a standard against the enemies and persecutors of Jesus Christ, for such in reality are all the despisers and opposers of his holy religion. Reason and human means only will not serve to stop the tide of iniquity, that now flows so fast upon us; no standard will suffice to oppose it but that of the Holy Spirit's lifting up, which should remind us always to have recourse to the Spirit of God for direction, assistance, and success in every thing we attempt for the improvement of religion in ourselves or others. Every sincere private Christian may every day experience the truth of this in his own soul, when he is beset with crowds of temptations, that the enemy may be said to be coming in like a flood. Where comes his light to see them? How comes he to be awakened and strengthened to resist them but by the Holy Spirit lifting up his standard within him; whereby he gains a conquest over them. I am so much in love with this text, |