neficial result of their reflections, a contrast will best exhibit the difference.

The aged Christian reflects on the past with conscious shame and deep self-abhorrence; but the aged sinner adverts to the past scenes of his life with excuse, or self-flattery. The one utters the language of his heart when he says 'I am less than the least of all thy mercies;' while the other self-complacently exclaims, 'I thank God I am not as other men!' The one looks up to the source of all good, and gratefully says, 'Goodness and mercy have followed me all my days; the other is silent, or pays his homage to his industry, prudence, or good fortune. The one, conscious that a radical change of principle, of feeling, and of action, has taken place during his past lite, thankfully enquires,' Who hath made me to differ? and what have I that I have not received?' the other, merely restrained by the chill of age, or loss of means, or of companions, feels unconscious of any change, and therefore feels no gratitude, and has, therefore, no thank-offering to present at God's altar.

They both look at present scenes: the Christian sees that the world is perishing, with its unrighteousness; but the sinner clings to it, in one form or other, with fond avidity, as tho' he were certain of a century to come. The former says, 'Having obtained help of God, I continue to the present day;' the latter érects no Ebenezer, no stone of help, and cherishes no memorial of God's incessant care and preserving mercy. The one has an increasing desire to be useful, that he may shine as a light in the world; to gratify himself or a few more, or per haps to tyrannize over his connections, seems the highest ambition of the other. Behold, I am vile,' is still the penitent language of the former :''Behold, I stand in no need of repentance,' is the sentiment of the other.

They both look forward to the future. Ah! there is the ordeal by which' every man's work will be tried of what sort it is!' The one reflects that Time is short;' Death is at the door; the Lord is at hand.' He may not close the year, nor survive the winter. The increasing infirmities of others must remind him in a solitary hour, that he too is hastening to 'the house appointed for all the living. His friends and physicians, if they dare be faithful, and his conscience that will not flatter, all remind him, that he is going the way of all the earth. The one feels he has no merit, no plea, no palliation, nothing in himself from which to derive a solitary ray of hope to light him to the tomb. He relies on his Saviour's righteousness, grace, and fidelity to his promises. But the other presumes on his own goodness of heart, on a comparison of himself with others, on his selfrighteousness, on the forms of godliness, and on a vague hope of the mercy of God. The former looks forward, in the exercise of a lively hope and faith, to the end of his faith, the sai

vation of his soul, and the fruition of Heaven: the latter cannot look forward nor upward without terror!-he cannot look beyond himself; he has no perfect righteousness, no everlasting covenant, no faithfulness of. God on which he can fix his expectation.

'Behold the aged sinner goes,

Laden with guilt and heavy woes !'

A word or two to each character shall close this fragment. Let the aged Christian be humble and resigned; let him bring forth more fruit in old age; and never forget that'the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.' Let not the old sinner be a self-deceiver. Know the worst of yourself; fly from all your false refuges to Christ, the true refuge, and the only hope set before you in the gospel. Then, as the poet reminds you, 'One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heav'n, Becomes a mortal and immortal man'

MONITOR.

LETTER FROM THE LATE REV. MR. NEWTON, TO MR. C

Southampton, Sept. 22, 1789.

OUR friend Dr. B. has doubtless given you a piece of information concerning us; that we had a safe and pleasant journey hither, that my dear is tolerably well,-Miss C. and myself as usual,-that we are in excellent quarters, with friends whom we dearly love, and so on. From all this you will justly infer, that we, and especially that I, ought to be very thankful. Pray for us, that we may be so.

There is a good distinction in our Thanksgiving Collect,'That we may shew forth thy praises not only with our lips, but in our lives. All this lip-service, and all this pen-service are Comparatively easy but if the heart is not concerned ;—if the life be not influenced, all that can be said or written is but like a receipt without a stamp; however full and exact the particulars may be expressed, the essential qualification is wanting.So I could give my pride a breakfast this morning by making a particular humiliating confession to you what a poor, weak, unworthy creature I am, while something may whisper in my ear,' Good man, how humble he is! Indeed, I must stop; for the whisper says, 'How you disclaim Humility; she will think you humbler still!'

Indeed, the heart is very deceitful and very deep; I can compare it to nothing more fitly than the sea. It is sometimes like a looking-glass; but then you may be sure it is a calm: a small breeze will ruffle the surface; and in proportion as the wind rises, so does the sea:-oh! how it raves and rages in a moment! So sometimes the heart is smooth and

quiet, if it be a calm season with us; if husband, wife, child, be all well, and things go on tolerably to our mind; especially if with this we have some present taste of the Lord's goodness, then the heart promises mighty fair, and teaches the mouth to talk of gratitude and submission, and to give abundance of good advice to our friends who are in trouble: but presently comes a blast of temptation, and all is in an uproar at once. Nay, the heart is worse than the sea, which will not greatly swell unless the wind be very strong; but a mere trifle, a cross word, a seeming slight, or something which we should be ashamed to mention, even to a friend, is sufficient to make the heart swell, and foam, and toss up its billows even to the clouds, as it were. Again, if you look upon the sea, you perceive nothing but water: but if you suppose there is nothing but water, it will prove you are no sailor; for it abounds with inhabitants, and some of them very formidable. Who can enumerate the monsters of the deep? Some of them at times appear upon the surface; but whether seen or not, they are all there, and always there. Who can enumerate or conceive of the hidden things of the heart? Occasions frequently draw some of them into view, and disclose such things as make us tremble; but it is a mercy that many of them are hidden from us were it possible that we could see them all, and all at once, I think the stoutest believer would stand aghast. When I hear some well-meaning persons intreat the Lord to make them acquainted with the evil of their hearts, I dare not say Amen to their petitions, either for them or for myself, without adding a limitation:-Lord, shew me only so much as I can bear to see, and let me take thy word for the rest. kiah had one lurking evil, which caused him much trouble. He was not aware that it was in his heart till he saw and felt it; and how often have I been wounded by some enormity, of which, till the trial discovered it, I had no more apprehension than I have of what is doing in the moon.

Heze

Let me turn my thoughts to another sea, which has neither bottom nor shore, the ocean of grace and mercy in Christ Jesus. Oh! what unsearchable riches! What depth of love! How delightful to stand upon the shore and admire its fulness! But here, likewise, we must believe; for we cannot comprehend. A shepherd, placed on a clift, may say, I have seen the sea; and in a sense he speaks truly: it is the sea he looks upon; but how small is the part that is within the reach of his eye! Here is our relief, that though our sins are as numerous as the sands, or enormous as the mountains, there is a capaciousness in this sea sufficient to bury them all; so that they shall be found no more. Here millions of sinners may wash and be cleansed from all their defilements: millions of thirsty souls may here drink and be satisfied! Blessed be God for

Jesus Christ, our all in all! may he be more glorious in our eyes, and his name more precious to our hearts!

The country is very pleasant. I love to wander in lands and fields, to penetrate into woods, or climb to the tops of hills, from whence I can see far around me. How different from Holborn or Cheapside! But London is my post: I shall therefore soon say, Farewell, retired walks and pleasing prospects, and welcome crowds, noise, and smoke! May I be honoured with some usefulness during the uncertain remnant of life; and at length die the life of the righteous; and it will not much signify whether I live in town or country.

I am, &c.

PRISONERS.

JOHN NEWTON.

To the Directors and other active Friends of the Missionary Society, a Memoir concerning the Prisoners of War in this country.

I DOUBT not, dear friends, that the subject to which I now solicit your attention, has often occupied your thoughts; but as you have a world before you, many objects may have acquired more minute attention from others than you could possibly have paid to them. Satisfied, therefore, of your readiness to listen to every suggestion from others which may promote your great design of evangelizing the world, I have addressed to you these observations;

Your original constitution pledges you to seek the conversion, not only of the heathen, but also of other unenlightened nations. Hence your attention has more than once been directed to the continent of Europe; and, among all the European nations, none are of so much importance as France, not only for the millions of immortal souls which it contains, but for the opportunities which they would enjoy if converted to God, of diffusing the sweet savour of Christ through all the nations around. A long protracted war has shut us out from all intercourse with that country; and while the merchant sighs for peace, that he may again enjoy the advantages of commerce, the Christian prays for it, that he may spread the knowledge of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.'

But if we cannot go to the continent, the continent is come to us. Sixty thousand prisoners of war, chiefly Frenchmen, are now in this country. To these, I apprehend, sufficient attention has not been paid.

Why should we not then consider that God has brought them into this land of evangelical light, and not suffered the equal exchange of prisoners to take place, in order to give us an opportunity of preaching deliverance to the captives? In this work three or four Missionaries might be constantly employed. If i had said sixty, it might be observed that each one would then have a thousand persons for his charge. But if one person, acquainted with the French language, were stationed at each depôt, and as many others as could be procured, who understand Italian, Dutch, and German, immense good might be ? done. They might exchange every three months, so as to combine the advantages of variety with those of pastoral inspection. The permission of the government, I take for granted: they are favourable to the object.

XX.

3 X

It is not supposed that we should go and preach in the midst of the promiscuous multitude; for this would be like attempting to preach in the midst of Bartholomew Fair. But a part of the prison, perhaps the mess-room, should be appropriated for a couple of hours to that object. No one should be compelled to come; and no one suffered to make any disturbance. The reading of the Scriptures should form a principal part of the service, and short comments should be introduced en passant; for many of the prisoners cannot read, many very imperfectly, and the greater part have scarcely ever read the Bible, having been engaged in war from the time they were twelve cr fourteen years of age. Having grown up amidst the infidel mania of the revolution, they are as ignorant as any heathens; but I forbear to enlarge. May God give us grace to seize this golden opportunity of making Christ known to foreign nations, and thus to occupy the talent which our Lord has put into our hands. If funds are wanted, a subscription for this specific object, I am persuaded, would succeed.

On this highly important subject we are persuaded that the Di rectors would be thankful for further communication, and especially the offers of service of persons well acquainted with the French language. They are happy to say, that an order has been kindly granted, by the Government, for a respectable French Minister from Jersey, and two of the Students at the Missionary Seminary at Gosport, who are natives of that island, to preach to the French prisoners at Forton, and on board the prison ships in Portsmouth harbour. A new edition having been printed, in the French language, of the Essay on the Divine Authority of the New Testament, which was drawn up by Mr. Bogue, at the request of the Missionary Society, and printed at Paris, during the last peace; and also a large edition of Dr. Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion; also, in the Italian language, it is proposed to establish circulating libraries of these and other foreign books and tracts, and versions of the scriptures, as the most eligible mode of preserving and circulating them among these poor prisoners. Many of our own countrymen, in their captivity in France, we rejoice to hear, are enjoying the holy liberty of the children of God, as appears by the following letter. May similar effects follow our exertions among the French prisoners in England!

Extract of a Letter from a French Prisoner at Verdun to his Mother. Very dear and honoured Mother,

Your long-wished-for and much valued letter, dated the 20th of March, 1812, is come safe to hand, and has filled my breast with the most pleasing sensations of filial love and gratitude to God for such a pious mother, whose precepts and example have been, I trust, indeed blest to her children. Accept, my dear parent, my warmest thanks for this fresh proof of your concern for my best interests; thousands of gold and silver would not have been so acceptable to me as your blessing and prayers. O! may they be answered! that whenever tempted to sin, I may be enabled to say with Joseph, 'How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God!' I assure you, that your letter, with that of my reverend friend, are carefully preserved, and often, very often, read with tears of thankfulness. You will, no doubt, expect me to say something about my little concerns in this state of captivity; and your first wish is to know how religion grows