perpetually to remain with us; if we lean upon them, and expect to be considered for them, we shall sink into all the bitterness of grief, as soon as these false and transitory benefits pass away; as soon as our vain and childish minds, unfraught with solid plea sures, become destitute even of those which are imaginary. But, if we do not suffer ourselves to be transported with prosperity, neither shall we be reduced by adversity. Our souls will be proof against the dangers of both these states: and having explored our strength, we shall be sure of it; for in the midst of felicity we shall have tried how we can bear misfortune. PHILIP DODDRIDGE. 1702-1751. FEW men have exerted a more happy, holy, and wide-spread influence upon the world, than the "dissenting" minister, Philip Doddridge. He was born in London, in 1702, and at an early age he became the pupil of Mr. John Jennings, who kept an academy at Kibworth, in Leicestershire, and in 1722 he entered upon the ministry at the same place. On the death of Mr. Jennings he succeeded to his place, but in 1729, being invited by the “dissenting" congregation of that place to become their pastor, he removed there. Here for nearly twenty-two years he labored with great zeal and most exemplary piety, as pastor of the church, and as the principal of the academy, with the highest credit to himself, and benefit to those under his care. his health declining in consequence of his great labors, he took a voyage to Lisbon, in the hope of deriving benefit from the relaxation and change of air and climate. But all in vain; and he died at Lisbon thirteen days after his arrival, October 26, 1751. But Of the writings of Dr. Doddridge, too much, we think, can hardly be said in praise. His "Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," forms a body of practical divinity and Christian experience that has never been surpassed by any work of the same nature. Like the works of Baxter, Bunyan, and Watts, it is a classic of the religious world. His "Sermons on the Education of Children," "Sermons to Young People," "Ten Sermons on the Power and Grace of Christ," "A Course of Lectures on the Principal Subjects in Pneumatology, Ethics, and Divinity," are held in the highest estimation by all ranks of Christians. Another work, still popular, is "Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of Colonel James Gardiner, who was slain by the Rebels at the Battle of Preston Pans, September 21, 1745."3 But his most elaborate 。 1 "Doddridge's heart was made up of all the kindlier affections of our nature, and was wholly evoted to the salvation of men's souls. Whatever he did, he appears to have done 'to the glory of God.' He read, he wrote, he preached-with a zeal which knew of no abatement, and with an earnestness which left no doubt of the sincerity of his motives. He was snatched from his flock and the world-both of which had been enlightened by his labors--in the prime of his life, and in the full possession of his faculties: but HE who has left such fruits behind him, cannot be said to have imma turely perished.”—Dibdin. 2 "And first, as a universal storehouse, necessary to him in the conduct of his theological pur suits, Doddridge's Lectures."-Bishop of Durham's Charge. 8 This Colonel Gardiner was a brave Scottish officer, who had served with distinction under Marl borough. From the life of a gay libertine he was suddenly converted te one of the strictest piety. work, the result of many years' study, was «The Family Expositor, contai ing a Version and Paraphrase of the New Testament, with Critical Notes, and a Practical Improvement of Each Section." This admirable compendium of Scriptural knowledge has, from its solid learning, critical acuteness, and the persuasive earnestness of its practical reflections, ever been held in the highest estimation by the Christian world,' and has been translated into several languages. To Doddridge, also, are we indebted for some of our best sacred lyrics, and for that epigram which Dr. Johnson calls "one of the finest in the English language."2 His letters, also, are admirable specimens of epistolary writing, and for their easy and natural style are not unlike those of Cowper. COUNTRY LIFE-LETTER TO A FEMALE FRIEND. You know I love a country life, and here we have it in perfection. I am roused in the morning with the chirping of sparrows, the cooing of pigeons, the lowing of kine, the bleating of sheep, and, to complete the concert, the grunting of swine and neighing of horses. We have a mighty pleasant garden and orchard, and a fine arbor under some tall shady limes, that form a kind of lofty dome, of which, as a native of the great city, you may perhaps catch a glimmering idea, if I name the cupola of St. Paul's. And then, on the other side of the house, there is a large space which we call a wilderness, and which, I fancy, would please you extremely. The ground is a dainty green sward; a brook runs sparkling through the middle, and there are two large fish-ponds at one end; both the ponds and the brook are surrounded with willows; and there are several shady walks under the trees, besides little knots of young willows interspersed at convenient distances. This is the nursery of our lambs and calves, with whom I have the honor to be intimately acquainted. Here I generally spend the evening, and pay my respects to the setting sun, when the variety and the beauty of the prospect inspire a pleasure that I know not how to express. I am sometimes so transported with by what he considered a supernatural interference, namely, a visible representation of Christ upon the cross, suspended in the air, amidst an unusual blaze of light, and accompanied by a declaration of the words, "Oh, sinner! did I suffer this for thee, and are these the returns " From the period of this vision till his death, twenty-six years afterward, Colonel Gardiner maintained the life of a incere Christian, so far as the military profession is compatible therewith. But the time is to come when the Christian will say what was said by those in the first and second centuries when called to inlist in the Roman armies, "I am a Christian, and therefore cannot fight." The time is to come when the military profession will be deemed not only disreputable but criminal: for what can be more diametrically opposite than the spirit of the gospel and the spirit of war! "In reading the New Testament," says the Bishop of Durham, "I recommend Doddridge's Family Expositor, as an impartial interpreter and faithful monitor. I know of no expositor whe anites so many advantages as Doddridge." 2 Live while you live, the epicure would say, these inanimate beauties, that I fancy I am like Adam in Paradise; and it is my only misfortune that I want an Eve, and have none but the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, for my companions. LIVING NEAR TO GOD-LETTER TO HIS WIFE. I hope, my dear, you will not be offended when I tell you that I am, what I hardly thought it possible, without a miracle, that I should have been, very easy and happy without you. My days begin, pass, and end in pleasure, and seem short because they are so delightful. It may seem strange to say it, but really so it is, I hardly feel that I want any thing. I often think of you, and pray for you, and bless God on your account, and please myself with the hope of many comfortable days, and weeks, and years with you; yet I am not at all anxious about your return, or, indeed, about any thing else. And the reason, the great and sufficient reason is, that I have more of the presence of God with me than I remember ever to have enjoyed in any one month of my life. He enables me to live for him, and to live with him. When I awake in the morning, which is always before it is light, I address myself to him, and converse with him, speak to him while I am lighting my candle and putting on my clothes; and have often more delight before I come out of my chamber, though it be hardly a quarter of an hour after my awaking, than I have enjoyed for whole days, or, perhaps, weeks of my life. He meets me in my study, in secret, in family devotions. It is pleasant to read, pleasant to compose, pleasant to converse with my friends at home; pleasant to visit those abroad-the poor, the sick; pleasant to write letters of necessary business by which any good can be done; pleasant to go out and preach the gospel to poor souls, of which some are thirsting for it, and others dying without it; pleasant in the week-day to think how near another Sabbath is, but, oh! much, much more pleasant, to think how near eternity is, and how short the journey through this wilderness, and that it is but a step from earth to heaven. I cannot forbear, in these circumstances, pausing a little, and considering whence this happy scene just at this time arises, and whither it tends. Whether God is about to bring upon me any peculiar trial, for which this is to prepare me; whether he is shortly about to remove me from the earth, and so is giving me more sensible prelibations of heaven, to prepare me for it; or whether he intends to do some peculiar services by me just at this time, which many other circumstances lead me sometimes to hope; or whether it be that, in answer to your prayers, and in compassion to that distress which I must otherwise have felt in the absence and illness of her who has been so exceedingly dear to me, and was never more sensibly dear to me than now, he is pleased to favor me with this teaching experience; in conse quence of which, I freely own I am less afraid than ever of event that can possibly arise, consistent with his nearness to my heart, and the tokens of his paternal and covenant love. I will muse no further on the cause. It is enough, the effect is so blessed. THE TRUE USE TO BE MADE OF GENIUS AND LEARNING. any Hath God given you genius and learning? It was not that you might amuse or deck yourself with it, and kindle a blaze which should only serve to attract and dazzle the eyes of men. It was intended to be the means of leading both yourself and them to the Father of lights. And it will be your duty, according to the pe culiar turn of that genius and capacity, either to endeavor to im prove and adorn human life, or, by a more direct application of it to Divine subjects, to plead the cause of religion, to defend its truths, to enforce and recommend its practice, to deter men from courses which would be dishonorable to God and fatal to themselves, and to try the utmost efforts of all the solemnity and tender. ness with which you can clothe your addresses, to lead them into the paths of virtue and happiness. WORLDLY CARES. Young people are generally of an enterprising disposition: having experienced comparatively little of the fatigues of business, and of the disappointments and encumbrances of life, they easily swallow them up, and annihilate them in their imagina tion, and fancy that their spirit, their application, and address, will be able to encounter and surmount every obstacle or hinderance. But the event proves it otherwise. Let me entreat you, therefore, to be cautious how you plunge yourself into a greater variety of business than you are capable of managing as you ought, that is, in consistency with the care of your souls, and the service of God, which certainly ought not on any pretence to be neglected. It is true, indeed, that a prudent regard to your worldly interest will require such a caution; as it is obvious to every care ful observer, that multitudes are undone by grasping at more than they can conveniently manage. Hence it has frequently been seen, that while they have seemed resolved to be rich, they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows, have ruined their own families, and drawn down many others into desolation with Whereas. could they have been contented with moderate employments, and moderate gains, they might have prospered in their business, and might, by sure degrees, under a Divine bless tnem ing, have advanced to great and honorable increase. But if there was no danger at all to be apprehended on this head; if you were as certain of becoming rich, and great, as you are of perplexing and fatiguing yourself in the attempt,-consider, I beseech you, how precarious these enjoyments are. Consider how often a plentiful table becomes a snare, and that which would have been for a man's welfare becomes a trap. Forget not that short lesson, which is so comprehensive of the highest wisdom-ONE THING IS NEEDFUL. THE SABBATH.1 Lord of the Sabbath, hear our vows, No more fatigue, no more distress; No rude alarms of raging foes; O long-expected day, begin; Dawn on these realms of wo and sin; SELF-EXAMINATION. Return, my roving heart, return, And chase these shadowy forms no more; And thy forsaken God implore. Wisdom and pleasure dwell at home; And thou, my God, whose piercing eye And with thy presence fill the place. 1 In printing these hymns the best London edition of Doddridge's works has been carefully followed. In a word, the hymns are Doddridge's, and not the "improvements”(i) of modern compilers of hymn-books. |