for the excellent parents thou didst give me, and for prolonging their lives and affections for me to a good old age. I thank thee for the education, good examples, and counsels wherewith thou hast favored me; and for the competent provision thou hast always made for me as to the things of this world. I thank thee for preserving me through the dangers, troubles, and sickness I have experienced -for thy long-continued patience with me, and for the manifold blessings, spiritual and temporal, which thou hast vouchsafed unto me. I thank thee for my children-for thy kind Providence over them-for their doing and promising to do well-and for the comforts which, through them, I receive from thy goodness.

Above all, I thank thee for thy mercy to our fallen race, as declared in thy holy Gospel, by thy beloved Son, "who gave himself a ransom for all." I thank thee for the gift of thy Holy Spirit, and for thy goodness in encouraging us all to ask for it. thank thee for the hope of remission of sins, of regeneration, and of life and happiness everlasting, through the merits and intercession of our Saviour. I thank thee for having admitted me into the covenant of this grace and mercy by baptism; for reminding me of its duties and privileges, and for the influences of thy Holy Spirit, with which thou hast favored me.

Enable me, merciful Father! to understand thy holy Gospel aright, and to distinguish the doctrines thereof from erroneous expositions of them; and bless me with that fear of offending thee, which is the beginning of wisdom. Let thy Holy Spirit purify and unite me to my Saviour for ever, and enable me to cleave unto him as unto my very life, as indeed he is. Perfect and confirm my faith, my trust, and hope of salvation in him, and in him only. Wean me from undue and unreasonable attachments and attentions to the things of this transitory world, and raise my thoughts, desires and affections continually unto thee, and to the blessings of the better and eternal world which is to succeed this.

Protect me from becoming a prey to temptations to evil, cause the new and spiritual life which of thy goodness thou hast begun in me, to increase daily in growth and strength, by that spiritual bread which cometh down from heaven, even thy holy and beloved Son, who of thee is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: by whose precious blood atonement hath been made for the sins of the world, and especially of penitent believers. Establish my faith in that great atonement, and my gratitude for it. And I thank thee for giving me grace and opportunities to partake in thy holy communion, instituted in remembrance of our Saviour, and of that great atonement. Prepare me to partake thereof again, more worthily, and more to the edification of my soul.

Be pleased to impress my heart and mind with a deep and permanent sense and recollection of the manifold and unmerited blessings and mercies, spiritual and temporal, which throughout my life thou hast conferred upon me. Give me grace to love and obey, and be thankful unto thee, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength; and to worship and to serve thee in humility, in spirit, and in truth. Give me grace also to love my neighbor as myself, and wisely and diligent

ly to do the duties incumbent upon me, according to thy holy will, and because it is thy holy will, and not from worldly consid

erations.

Be pleased also to impress my heart and mind with a deep and unceasing sense and recollection of the evil of sin, and of my disobedience and ingratitude to thee, my gracious and merciful Father, my constant and bountiful benefactor. Give me grace, I humbly beseech thee, to repent of my sins, with such repentance as thy Gospel requires; and to loathe, and forsake, and detest all sin forever. For the sake of our merciful and compassionate High Priest and Intercessor, who directed repentance and remission of sins to be preached to all sinners, be pleased to bless me with the remission of my sins, and to let the light and the consolations of thy pardoning and reconciled countenance be and remain upon me. Let thy Holy Spirit lead and keep me in the way in which I should walk, and enable me to commit myself entirely to thy kind and gracious providence and protection, as to all my spiritual and temporal concerns; so that my thoughts and desires, my hopes and fears, and my words and actions, being constantly under thy guidance, may be conformable to thy holy will.

Be pleased to bless me and my family, my friends and enemies, and all for whom I ought to pray in the manner and measure which thou, and thou only, knowest to be best for us. Create in us all, clean, and contrite, and thoughtful hearts, and renew within us a right spirit.

I thank thee, the great Sovereign of the universe, for thy longcontinued goodness to these countries, notwithstanding our ingratitude and disobedience to thee, our merciful deliverer and benefactor. Give us grace to turn unto thee with true repentance, and implore thy forgiveness. And be pleased to forgive us; and bless us with such portions of prosperity as thou seest to be fit for us, and with rulers who fear thee, and walk in the paths which our Saviour hath set before us. Be pleased to bless all nations with the knowledge of thy gospel-and may thy holy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Condescend, merciful Father! to grant as far as proper these imperfect petitions, to accept these inadequate thanksgivings, and to pardon whatever of sin hath mingled in them, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour; unto whom, with thee, and the blessed Spirit, ever one God, be rendered all honor, and glory, now and for ever.

My gracious Saviour! Continue, I beseech thee, to look down with compassion and mercy upon me, and to intercede for me.

Be pleased to deliver me entirely from the bondage of sin, and to heal the maladies of my soul. Bless it with that health, and rest, and peace which thou, and thou only canst give. Bless it with wisdom and righteousness, with sanctification and redemption, that I may be and remain a new creature.

Without thee we can do nothing; condescend to abide in me, and enable me to abide in thee, as the branch in the vine. Let thy Holy Spirit purify, and cause it to produce fruit meet for repentance and amendment of life.

Impress my heart and mind with a constant sense and recol

lection of the evil of sin, and of the degeneracy and miseries to which it has subjected our fallen race. Make and keep me convinced and mindful of thine infinite and unmerited goodness, in what thou hast done and suffered, and art doing to save us from our sins, and from the punishment and perdition they deserve; and ever to fit and prepare us for everlasting life and happiness. Give me grace to meditate with faith and gratitude on thy kind, redeeming love, all the days of my life. When thou shalt call me hence, be with me in the hour of death, and bless me with a full assurance of faith and hope, that I may fear no evil.”

NOTE S.

Having given my own opinion, without consulting authority, of the intrinsic, and inestimable value of the Bible, which, were it to be lost, the world does not contain a man, or any set of men, with sufficient talent to replace it, even in a temporal point of view; I will here subjoin, for the information of the young reader, the opinions, which a few of the most learned and illustrious men who ever lived, have seriously entertained, and solemnly avowed, of the sacred Volume.

Mr. LOCKE stands at the very head of the modern metaphysical schools; and metaphysics, it must be recollected, requires the profoundest intellect to grapple with it as a science. His opinion of the Holy Scriptures is expressed in his public defence of them ; but I prefer, on this occasion, to quote a letter which he wrote to a friend just before he died, because a man is more likely to give a candid opinon in a private letter, than he is in a public essay or discourse.

"Study the Holy Scriptures," says he, "especially the New Testament; for therein are contained the words of eternal life. The Bible has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth for its matter, without any mixture of error."

I believe it may be safely added, that JOHN LOCKE had as large a portion of that "knowledge," of which we have lately heard so much from Robert Owen and Company, as any or all of your ancient or modern Infidels.

Chief Justice HALE, one of the most venerable names which adorn the British History, in a letter to his children, says :

"It has been my practice to require you to be frequent in reading the Scriptures, with due observance and understanding, which will make you wise for this world, and that which is to come.' In a letter to his son, he says:

"There is no book like the Bible for excellent learning, wisdom and use: It is want of understanding in those who think or speak otherwise."

Lord ROCHESTER, who had led a vicious life, and had much of the talent, but none of the virtue of HALE to boast of, was brought, however, to a due sense of his condition before he died. In his last illness he would frequently lay his hand on the Bible, and say:

"There is true Philosophy. There is the wisdom that speaks to the heart. A bad life is the only grand objection to this book." The illustrious Dr. Johnson, in his last illness, called a young

gentleman, who sat up with him during the night, to his bed-side, and addressed him in these words :

"Young man, attend to the advice of one who has possessed a certain degree of fame in the world, and who will shortly appear before his Maker. Read the Bible every day of your life."

No writer of the last century evinced more brilliant genius, extensive learning, or profound research, than Sir WILLIAM JONES. The scientific world is indebted to him for more light than was ever before thrown upon Oriental Literature, Law, &c. English jurisprudence likewise owes to his pen one of the most able and elegant Treatises of which it can boast to this day. We allude to his Essay on the Law of Bailment. If any man ever possessed the deep spirit of investigation, which the law requires of all who who would thoroughly understand it, he was that man. The testimony of such a man to the value of any book is conclusive : And his testimony was found in his own hand-writing, at the end of his Bible, as follows:

"I have regularly and attentively perused the Holy Scriptures; and am of opinion, that this volume, independently of its divine origin, contains more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strians of poetry and eloquence, than can be collected from all other books, in whatever age or language they may have been written. unrestrained application of them to events, which took place long after the publication, is a solid ground for belief, that they are genuine productions and consequently inspired."

The

To these illustrious names might be added, those of Lord Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. Boyle, Mr. West, Lord George Lyttleton, Milton and others, all of them great in intellect, and distinguished for moral worth; and all of them LAYMEN too, who could have had no other end in view, in their commendations of the Bible, but truth and the true happiness of mankind. Tell me, that these men were the dupes of Priestcraft! That these men were deluded, blinded, and led by the nose! No-they were neither priest-ridden nor party-ridden; neither deceived nor interested : But they had explored the depths of human science: And after all, had found the divine science of the heart, which the sacred Volume alone unfolds, superior to all human science; and as such they embraced it, and rested upon it their hopes of eternal happiness: And though I am not a stickler for authority; yet I cheerfully submit the question-Whether it does not require of every modest man, however great, a series of long, laborious and profound investigation, before he ventures to dispute the conclusions of such men as I have named, and especially on such a subject! And whether, if he do so on slight grounds, he does not run the risk of committing an awful error?

NOTE T.

[As this Note was not promised in our Prospectus, and is not very material, and as we have already exceeded the number of pages prescribed, it is omitted.]

TO MY READERS.

I feel that I owe an Apology, especially to those of my Readers who have patronised this work in anticipation, for the delay which has occurred in its publication: And that Apology, I trust, is to be found in the fact that I had not only to write the book; but for a reason, which does not concern the public, have been under the necessity of procuring a list of subscribers, sufficient in number and responsibility to ensure the printer and book-binder remuneration for their stock and labor. This has been a task, of which no one can form an adequate idea, without undertaking it in person as I have done: For in almost nine cases out of ten, gentlemen had vowed, never again to subscribe for any book, owing to repeated impositions. But regardless of rash vows, and all other obstacles, I have persevered, sometimes against hope itself, till my exertions, by the blessing of God, have been crowned with success, so far at least as to get the work before the public, with whom it must be left to make its own way hereafter. And now, next to "the giver of every good and perfect gift," I have to express my unfeigned thanks and gratitude to the Ladies and Gentlemen who have liberally patronised this small literary concern; which, though it will not make a very conspicuous figure in the Republic of Letters, may, I hope, be the means of drawing the attention of the people to an important subject, in which they are all deeply interested. To two gentlemen, whose piety and patriotism are unquestionable, and whose pecuniary aid was essential to my success, I owe a particular expression of my thanks; and I should mention their names in this place, did I not believe, that it is their disposition" to do good by stealth, and blush to call it fame."

Having thus sincerely expressed my gratitude to patrons and benefactors, I have a few words more to say on another subject.

Whatever my readers, you may think of this work, I have, for certain reasons, to crave your justice on one point; and that is, whatever may have been, or may be, insinuated to the contrary, I have not written it as a political partizan. I can affirm, with perfect truth, that to any sensation like a party feeling, my heart has long been not merely chilled, but entirely dead. I am perfectly satisfied, by long experience, that "party spirit is the madness of many for the gain of a few." And whenever, or wherever, I see or hear the movements and the war cries of party strife, they "pass by me like the idle wind." My eyes are shut to them-my ears are deaf to them-my mind and my heart are closed against them.

For this state of feeling, on my part, I could give a volume of reasons-a larger volume than this-with as much ease and facility as I can discuss a cup of coffee or a cranberry tart: But I shall content myself at present with stating briefly, that I have seen so many of the gross inconsistencies, intrigues, and corruptions, of party; I have so often witnessed the hollow-hearted and hypocritical pretensions of party demagogues: I have heard them so often, both in public assemblies and private circles, profess one thing, and seen them at the same time, without a blush, or a moment's hesitation, do another: I have seen the honest multitude so often deluded and betrayed by their false professions and left-handed wisdom: I have so repeatedly, and almost continually for the last forty years, seen and heard these things in all the parties, and in all the factions that have risen among us; and have beheld so many deplorable effects of all this moral and political turpitude and tergiversation, on the character and conduct of this people, that so far from cherishing any longer the least spark of party feeling, I have more than once been ready to exclaim with Cowper :

"O for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless continuity of shade,
Where rumor of oppression and deceit,
Can never come!"

Let no one suppose, however, that because I sincerely deprecate party spirit, I have adopted, or ever shall adopt, that most selfish and reprehensible of all principles, called non-committal a principle equally repugnant to the feelings of a gentleman, a republican or a Christian: And especially the last: For in relation to any specific proposition, or measure, in which the happiness and prosperity of his country, or of mankind, is at stake, the true Christian can never hesitate to give his opinion frankly, freely and fully, whenever properly called upon to give it. It is not, then, the suppression of honest feeling, or the concealment of candid opinion, that I would inculcate; but the sacrifice of prejudice and selfishness, and the submersion of a contracted party spirit, in the nobler and more diffusive spirit of patriotism. He is but half a citizen, at