der concern, he, in the person of a Man of Sorrows, invites the guilty, the weary, the trembling, and the tempted, to come unto him; assuring them that he will neither break the bruised reed,' nor quench the smoking flax:' Matt. xii. 20.

If God is love,' 1 John iv. 16, "Christ is God, stooping to the senses, and speaking to the heart of man:" ever saying, "Look to my Cross, take my Yoke, and lean upon my Arm, and ye shall find rest." He sought the House of Mourning to comfort the sisters of Lazarus: he met a widow following her only child, and 'when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not: Luke vii. 13. May he meet you at this time, my dear friend, with consolations which none but himself can afford! and then, at the very grave, shall 'that saying be brought to pass, Death is swallowed up in victory: 1 Cor. xv. 54. Let such fear as despise our heavenly Friend, our Prospects, Provisions, Companions, and sense of Duty. God with us, and all things in God, is light in darkness, life in death. The words, which revived him, who styles himself 'your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,' Rev. i. 9, remain to cheer a solitude darker, if possible, than his : 'Fear not: I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen and have the keys of hell and of death :' Rev. i. 17, 18.

To conclude the late event solemnly repeats its author's charge, BE YE ALSO READY: Matt. xxiv. 44.

Your friend is gone: your following is certain: it may be sudden: it may be next. But, should it take place this night, and find you provided with nothing better for the change than the miserable subterfuges of the profane, or the scarcely less miserable supports of

the formal, what an alarm (if you are not left to the most affecting delusion or stupidity) will it occasion! What an awful transition, to pass from the SAVIOUR to the JUDGE! without love to him; without even an acquaintance with him: unwilling, unreconciled, unrenewed !—and to him, who has so often invited you, warned you, and, at times, affected your conscience with the truths which we have been considering! What a subject for eternal reflection. 'You would not come to him that you might have life: John v. 40.

God forbid, however, that this should be your case! I only suppose it, lest it should: and it is too common to render the supposition improper. Erom such a danger we cannot be too secure; and, therefore, having lately seen how soon 'the night cometh when no man can work,' John ix. 4, let us seek to-day, in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, that peace and safety, which you must be conscious can never be found out of it, and which it may be too late to seek to-morrow. Some things belonging to our important change are wisely hid from us. Nothing, however, is more plain than that it is near; and, therefore, demands our most serious attention: that it is finally decisive, Matt. xxv. 46; and, therefore, warns us to watch against those errors which eternity cannot rectify; and, that the hour is uncertain; and, therefore, calls us to stand prepared. With our loins girded, and our lights burning, may we thus wait for our Lord.

IMPRESSED with such views, I have often wished to take the afflicted by the hand, and lead them to a Resource which their passions have obscured. I have wished them to see that the Christian Hope is then most alive and full of immortality, when every other hope perishes. These wishes, and the request of a

friend, (who was solicitous to obtain something of this kind more compendious than he had yet seen) have drawn from me some imperfect hints. Imperfect, however, as they are, like a few words, presented by the road's side to the eye of a weary traveller, they may afford you some present direction and relief. And should he, who is pleased to employ the feeblest means in his greatest work, conduct you by them (though but a single step on your way) towards a Morning without clouds- a House without mourning,-the service of your affectionate friend will obtain a high reward.

FRIENDLY ADVICE

FROM

A MINISTER TO THE SERVANTS OF HIS PARISH.

He, that hearkeneth unto counsel, is wise,-PROV. xii. 15.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

THE Author of this Address calls himself your FRIEND, because he wishes you well, and would serve you to the utmost of his power. If he has not silver and gold, such as he has he freely gives. He has been taught himself, that there are truths more valuable than either; and he would fain teach you the same: 'For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth LIFE to them that have it :' Eccl. vii. 12.

I have an easy access to many of those whom you serve; and can remind them of their duty privately, as well as from the pulpit: but some of their servants I have no opportunity of conversing with; and therefore have composed the present little Tract for your use.

A minister, who rightly regards his situation, feels an affection for every class of his people: as the spiritual parent of a large family, he has a concern for every part of it; and, as the servant of Him who made himself the servant of all, he cannot overlook those who have a name so like his own.

But the service I am endeavouring to render you will very much depend upon your being willing to be served. There are minds in so unhappy a state, that nothing serious nor important can gain their attention. If they read at all, they either amuse themselves with trifles, or poison themselves with trash. Such will, probably, throw away this tract in contempt, if it should fall into their hands. Should it, however, fall into the hands of one more thoughtful, I will endeavour that he shall be repaid for looking it over.

I have been often encouraged, when, from the pulpit, I have met a servant's attentive eye; or when I have seen him listening to a profitable remark while waiting in the parlour. I have been pleased to meet them at a bookseller's, inquiring for some instructive publication; and have been ready to say upon such occasions, 'Happy is the man,' whatever be his station, 'that getteth understanding,' for 'she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her :' Prov. iii. 13, 18.

'The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men that can render a reason,' Prov. xxvi. 16; but the man of understanding will think and listen. He will seriously consider the shortness of life, and how stupid and brutish it is to waste it without improvement: much more so to sink it in folly, sensuality, and vice; and instead of making provision for a happy immortality, only lay the ground for bitter repentance.

Thinking persons, I say, cannot but feel the weight of these considerations; and, accordingly, they will listen to such hints as they meet with on the subject, and they will improve as they listen. In this temper and in this way, some of the first characters for usefulness and respectability have arisen from among servants; agreeably to that Scripture, 'A wise servant shall have