this end, any need of price, of canvaffing, or of manual labour: This complete dignity or power of man is not to be acquired by elaborate efforts: The gift of God is gratuitous and easy. As the fun fhines freely, as the fountain bubbles, as the rain bedews, fo the Celeftial Spirit infuses himself. The foul looks up to heaven and becomes confcious of its Author: It then begins actually to be what it believes itself to be: It is higher than the firmament, and fublimer than all earthly power. Only, do you, whom the heavenly warfare hath marked for divine fervice, preferve untainted and fober your Chriftian courfe by the virtues of religion. Let prayer or reading be your affiduous employment: Sometimes fpeak with God: At other times hear him fpeak to you: Let him inftruct you by his precepts; let him regulate you: Whom he hath made rich, none fhall make poor. There can be no penury with him whofe heart has once been enriched with celeftial bounty. Roofs arched with gold, and houses inlaid with marble, will be vile in your eyes, when you know that your own minds are rather to be cultivated and adorned: That this houfe is more valuable which the Lord has chosen to be his temple, in which the Holy Ghoft has begun to dwell. Let us adorn this houfe with the paintings of innocence, let us illuminate it with the light of righteoufnefs. This will never fall into ruin through the decays of age: Its ornaments fhall never fade. Whatever is not genuine is precarious, and affords to the poffeffor no fure foundation. This remains in its culture perpetually vivid; in honour, and in fplendor, fpotlefs and eternal: It can neither be abolished nor extinguished.—Is it then capable of no alteration? -Yes,-It will receive a rich improvement at the refurrection of the body.

Let

Let us be careful how we spend our time: let us rejoice; but let not an hour of entertainment be inconfiftent or unconnected with divine grace, Let the fober banquet refound with PSALMS; and as your memory is good, and voice harmonious, perform this office, as I believe you do.-It will be more than agreeable, it will be delightful,-to your dear friends to hear of your spiritual and religious harmony."

In all this the intelligent reader fees the picture of an active Christian,-poffeffed of fome rich portion of that effufion of the Holy Ghoft which, from the Apoftles' days, ftill exhibited Chrift Jefus,-and fitted by experience to communicate to others the real Gospel, and to be an happy inftrument of guiding fouls to that reft which remains for the people of God.

CHAP.

CHA P... VII.

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE PERSECUTION OF DECIUS. THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRIAN TILL HIS RETIREMENT.

HOW

TOW Cyprian conducted himself in his bifhopric, who is fufficient to relate? fays Pontius, in the fulness of his admiration. Some PARTICULAR account however might have been expected from one who had fuch large opportunity of information. He does make fome brief obfervations on his external appearance. "His looks had the due mixture of gravity and cheerfulness; fo that it was doubtful whether he was more worthy of love or of reverence. His drefs alfo was correfpondent to his looks: He had renounced the fecular pomp to which his rank in life entitled him; yet he avoided affected penury."-From a man of Cyprian's piety and good fenfe united, fuch a conduct might be expected.

While Cyprian was labouring to recover the fpirit of godlinefs among the Africans, which long peace had corrupted, Philip was flain and fucceeded by Decius. His enmity to the former emperor confpired with his pagan prejudices to bring on the moft dreadful perfecution which the Church had yet experienced. It was evident that nothing less than the deftruction of the Chriftian name was intended. The chronology is here remarkably embarraffed; nor is it an object of much confequence

confequence to trouble either myfelf or the reader with ftudious attempts to fettle it. Suffice it to fay that the eventful period before us of Cyprian's A. D. bishopric extends from the year two hundred and 248. forty-eight to two hundred and fixty, and that to Decius's fucceffion to the empire must have taken 260. place toward the beginning of it. The perfecu-' tion raged with aftonishing fury, beyond the example of former perfecutions, both in the Eaft and Weft. The latter is the fcene before us at prefent. In a treatife of Cyprian concerning the lapfed*, we have an affecting account of the declenfion from the fpirit of Chriftianity, which had taken place before his converfion, and which moved God to chaftife his Church." If the cause of our miferies," fays he, "be inveftigated, the cure of the wound may be found. The Lord would have his family to be TRIED. And be caufe long peace had corrupted the difcipline divinely revealed to us, the heavenly chaftifement hath raised up our faith which had lain almost dormant: and when, by our fins, we had deferved to fuffer ftill more, the merciful Lord fo moderated all things, that the whole fcene rather de serves the name of a trial than a perfecution: Each had been bent on improving his patrimony; and had forgotten what believers had done under the Apostles, and what they ought always to do: -They were brooding over the arts of amaffing wealth: The paftors and the deacons each forgat their duty: Works of mercy were neglected, and difcipline was at the lowest ebb.-Luxury and effeminacy prevailed: Meretricious arts in dres were cultivated: Fraud and deceit were practifed among brethren.-Chriftians could unite themfelves in matrimony with unbelievers; could fwear

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not

not only without reverence, but even without veracity. With haughty afperity they defpifed their ecclefiaftical fuperiors; They railed against one another with outrageous acrimony, and conducted quarrels with determined malice:-Even many bishops, who ought to be guides and patterns to the reft, neglecting the peculiar duties of their stations, gave themfelves up to fecular pursuits-They deferted their places of refidence and their flocks: They travelled through diftant provinces in queft of pleafure and gain; gave no affiftance to the needy brethren; but were infatiable in their thirft of money :-They poffeffed eftates by fraud, and multiplied ufury. What have we not deferved to fuffer for fuch a conduct? Even the Divine Word hath foretold us what we might expect,

IF HIS CHILDREN FORSAKE MY

LAW, AND WALK NOT IN MY JUDGMENTS, I

WILL VISIT THEIR OFFENCES WITH THE ROD, AND THEIR SIN WITH SCOURGES.". Thefe things had been denounced and foretold, but in vain: Our fins had brought our affairs to that pafs, that because we had defpifed the Lord's directions, we were obliged to undergo a correction of our multiplied evils and a trial of our faith by fevere remedies."

That a deep declenfion from Christian purity had taken place not only in the Eaft, where false philofophy aided its progrefs as we have seen, but alfo in the Weft, where the operation of no peculiar caufe can be traced beyond the common influence of profperity on human depravity, is now completely evident from this account of Cyprian: and, it deferves to be remarked, that the first grand and general declenfion, after the primary EFFUSION of the Divine Spirit, fhould be fixed about the middle of this century. The wisdom

and