have been labouring upwards of a year and a half; and, I trust, not without success. Great numbers attend to hear; and many are, I hope, really converted to God. These considerations, together with the desire of the people to have the ordinances of God's house fully administered to them by me, are the motives which have induced me thus publicly to dedicate myself to the work of the Lord. It has been with much fear and trembling that I have come forward. I am conscious of the vast importance of the Lord's work, and my own ignorance and insufficiency. Let me entreat your prayers my Rev. Fathers and Brethren in the ministry, and all my Christian friends, that we may burn with zeal for the glory of Jesus and the welfare of. precious immortal souls, and that thousands may be raised up, and thrust into the vineyard, till the glory of the Lord shall be known through every land!"

It may not be improper to observe, that after the formation of the London Itinerant Society, Mr. Densham was one of its most active members during his residence in town, and was the principal instrument of introducing the gospel into most of the following villages, viz. Lewisham, Sydenham, Dulwich, Norwood, Streatham, Ealing, Scotland-Green, and Enfield Highway. In every place the Lord blessed the word; and many souls were converted, and new places of worship were found necessary; particularly at Lewisham, where he had begun to preach in the late Mr. Whitfield's field-pulpit upon the green.

The instruction of the young in the principles of the gospel, was another thing which always lay very near his heart. Accordingly, Sunday Schools, for their benefit, went hand in hand with preaching the gospel to others.

That flame of holy zeal which burst forth in Mr. Denshain, was not a transient blaze which soon exhausted itself. Unlike the meteor which glares along the sky and confounds for a moment, and then disappears for ever, Mr. Densham, was a steady, a burning, and a shining light to the end of his earthly career; and many will for ever rejoice in his light. His removal to Petersfield, in 1797, proved a signal blessing to that town and to all the villages in its benighted neighbourhood: “The Spirit of the Lord was poured out from on high: the wilderness and the solitary place were gladdened by him; and the desert rejoiced and blossomed as the rose." Many of the principal inhabitants of the town, with a crowd of poor, flocked to hear him; and the Lord was pleased to make the word a savour of life to many.

The introduction of the gospel into Petersfield was somewhat singular. Towards the middle of the last century, there was an old minister, under whom the cause so declined, that the place was shut up; and, being totally neglected, soon fell into ruins. It pleased the Lord to send an evangelical minister to a parish in que neighbourhood a few years since, whose labours were

rendered a blessing to many; but, upon his removal, the whole neighbourhood, for several miles, became again destitute of the gospel. An application was then made to Mr. Bogue, of Gos port, for a student to come and preach to them; which accordingly was granted. Preaching was begun in a village near Petersfield, and many flocked to hear; so that it was deemed desirable to remove to a more convenient place, somewhat nearer' to the town. At this time Mr. Eyre and his benevolent friends' having expressed a willingness to encourage an itinerancy in that part of the country, they formed a Society for that purpose. Mr Eyre undertook to procure a supply of preachers,' and frequently visited them himself. In one of these visits, his generous friend, Mr. Hanson, accompanied him; and being very partial to Mr. Densham, and much delighted with the prospect of usefulness in Petersfield, liberally subscribed 500 1. towards building a new chapel, which, as soon as a convenient spot of ground could be procured, was begun, and finished under Mr. Densham's inspection. The rest of the expences was collected by Mr. Densham among his friends at Petersfield, and in other places. At the village of Harling, where the Lord had also blessed the word to many souls, a generous farmer," whose heart grace had opened, gave a strip of land; and' another neat little village chapel was also erected, capable of accommodating two hundred hearers. Mr. Densham was so impressed with his inadequacy to the great and important work of the ministry, and so very desirous of improvement, that when first he went into the country, he used to go backwards' and forwards from Petersfield to Gosport, particularly during' the leisure weeks of harvest, to receive a course of instruction as a student under Mr. Bogne; and, as might be expected, his application was so unremitting, that his profiting appeared unto all*. On his final settlement at Petersfield, his itinerant labours were resumed with greater activity than ever. At Harling and

While he duly valued human learning, and both read and wrote considerably (for his library was large for a young man, and the quantity of; writing he left behind surprizing, considering his numerous engagements) his superior regard for divine teaching, will appear from the following extract of a letter to one of his friends, then student at an academy: - "Ï hope your present situation will prove both comfortable and profitable. In all our pursuits and researches after human attainments, we should never forget that divine teaching is the essential qualification in a gospelminister; for however wise and learned we may be in the estimation of men, we are fools in the estimation of God without it. I know, my dear brother, your sentiments on these subjects are exactly congenial with my own; but we are exhorted by the apostle to stir up one another, by way of remembrance; we are not yet out of danger. Satan is ever ready to retard our progress in the divine life, and to poison those streams which, when they are sanctified by him who is the Fountain of Wisdom, would be of use to us in our important work. I greatly rejoice you will not be excluded from preaching during your residence in the academy; and I hope you will be kept increasing in zeal for promoting the Redeemer's glory, and the good of precious souls."

Hazlemere, East and Westmeon, Langridge and Lys, Sheet and Steep, Redford and Rogate, he preached every fortnight, and at some every week. By his journal, it appears that he generally preached every night in the week, except Saturday. Of the extent of his itinerant circuit we are informed in another letter:-"According to your request, I would give you a brief statement of my present circuit. Its extent is thirty miles. I regularly supply eight places, in which I preach to about 700 hearers, on an average, weekly. Occasionally we preach at other places to good congregations, some very promising, perhaps about 1200 souls. In the whole, we have seven Sundayschools, in which are instructed about 200 children. In the society we have seventy persons who are communicants at the Lord's table; but I have reasons to hope that many more, who have not yet come forward to declare what God hath done for their souls, are under serious impressions. God is still at work. among us at Petersfield, and in several of the villages."

Such an active, zealous, and lively man, cannot be supposed to be confined in his usefulness, merely to one particular circle. From the advantageous situation of Petersfield, on the borders of four counties, he frequently made preaching excursions to Midhurst and Petworth, in Sussex; to Farnham and Godalming in Surry; to Reading, Berks; and to the villages in their respective neighbourhoods. Wherever he went, he was sure to be esteemed by those who had an opportunity of knowing his true character; and at most of these places, some will have reason to bless God for his ministry to all eternity. At Reading particularly, Mr. Densham's numerous friends can hardly refrain from tears at mentioning the name of "Honest Densham:" the honourable title by which he was there distinguished.

He paid two visits to his relations in Devonshire, where he' preached with his usual acceptance to crowded auditories, both at his native town and at Plymouth; at which latter place he supplied for six weeks and in his frequent visits to his dear friend Mr. Eyre, at Hackney, as well as at Surry Chapel, and other places, his occasional labours were much esteemed.

None who have been themselves employed in preaching the gospel in dark villages, nor indeed any who know the enmity of the carnal heart against God, will be surprized to hear that his zealous exertions for the propagation of the gospel, stirred up a spirit of persecution even in a Christian land. His life was frequently endangered from stones and brick-bats; and often, in preaching out of doors, he has been almost smothered with dust and rotten eggs.

In his Diary for May, 1798, he remarks," At North Chapel, a village in Sussex, the mob behaved very riotously; and after we had concluded, a great number of fellows, of the baser sort," with bells, horns, &c. followed us out of the place, hooting after us like madmen.

"June 11, 1799. At Steep, two of the persecuting farmers, on my giving notice to preach this morning, swore they would throw me to the dogs, or into the pond. Though they had their great dogs, and I am naturally afraid of them, yet I preached, blessed be God, without fear.

Aug. 2, 1800. Preached at seven this morning at Harling, to about ninety serious persons; at eleven, at Petersfield; at two, at Eastman. Rode to Rogate, nine miles from Eastman, and preached, for the first time, in the street to near 500 people. Persecution raged; and I got pelted with rotten eggs; of which they threatened us with a whole bushel. Soon after I read my text, an egg struck me on the back of my head, and ran down my gown: the stench was almost intoler able; but, blessed be God, I never felt more comfortable. [ was enabled to keep cool, to suffer with patience, and to pray for my poor persecutors; and gave notice of preaching there to-morrow. I am told they are determined to stone me out of the parish; but I rejoice that all power is in the hands of the blessed Jesus; and that he can inake the wrath of man to` praise him!

"Oct. 1. Went to Rogate; but the opposition and noise were so great, that I could not be heard. I, however, remained on the spot the whole time. During service, the rioters continuing to walk to and fro by me in procession, with bells and other rough music, the church-bells were set a jingling also:some of the mob employed themselves in kicking and throwing dust at me in a most awful manner, endeavouring to choke me with dust:- several of my friends were covered with dust. As I could not preach, I distributed a good number of Tracts; and having obtained a little silence, I addressed them in the most suitable manner I could, pointing out to them the danger and sin of persecuting God's truth. After which I addressed the churchwarden, who was present; and expressed my regret that the clergyman was not come to see the state of his flock, and the necessity of obeying the command of God (written withinside the walls of the church, from Isaiah lviii. 1) Cry aloud, spare not," &c.

"Tuesday, the 5th, I went to Elsted, according to my appointment; but i heard on the road that we should be opposed. From the kind treatment. I met with last week, I concluded it to be a false report; but found it too true :-some of the low and profane were come over from Rogate, though the distance is several miles, in order to stir up the people against me. I preached in the field of a farmer, who is one of our friends; so that we were, in some measure, defended from the rage of the mob, which was large, and very outrageous : - so violent was their noise, that I got quite hoarse in speaking loud.”

[To be concluded in our next.]

OBSERVATIONS ON 2 CHIRON. XIX. 3.

Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee.

JEHOSHAPHAT had recently formed a dishonourable alli ance with Ahab, King of Israel, and had taken part with him in an unjust offensive war against Benhadad, King of Syria.* To say nothing of the injustice of the war, to say nothing of the drift of Micah's prophecy, which was to discourage the enterprize, the character of Ahab alone was reason enough why Jehoshaphat should have been shy of his friendship.Ahab was an ungodly, sordid, sensual man. There are many in the world, whose characters forbid a Christian's having fellowship, I mean, close and constant intimacy with them. It signifies not to say they are persons of wit, good humour, fascinating manners, or extensive knowledge in the choice of companions; we should put these questions, "Is the acquaintance of such a person likely to promote or deaden the life of religion in my soul? Will that person's example seduce me into any excess, or lead me to violate my obligations to God and conscience" If this be probable, we must say to such friendship, "I cannot buy your bliss so dear, nor part with Heaven for you." Jehoshaphat's indiscretion had nearly cost him his life +; but he was spared, to learn wisdom from his past folly. Having retired to his palace, a messenger from God follows him with. a kind and gentle rebuke: "Shouldst thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee." Hence let us extract the following lessons: Evil principles and evil actions make up the character of every natural man. God saw, ages ago, that the wickedness of man was great. How far all men are evil, let the divine verdict testify. They are all gone out of the way, they are altogether become unprofitable; there is noue that doeth good, no not one." Men talk of the innocent frailties of nature; but how do these appear before a righteous God? What they may be in the eyes of ignorance, pride, or folly, is of no moment.What is human nature in the eyes of the Most Holy? Alas! like Ahab, ungodly, and enmity against God!

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The bad character of human nature can only be improved by a divine infusion of good things. No man can be good, unless he possess the knowledge and fear of God: the condition of those who have not this knowledge, is awfully bad. Look at the nations where the Scriptures are not either received nor understood; they appear not only "without God and without hope," but in many instances without honesty, without sobriety, and even without natural affection. The knowledge of "the Chap. xviii. 31.

Chap. xvii. 1.