trust, to the enjoyment of that rest which remaineth for the people of God. The Rev. Mr. Caner, minister of King's chapel, who preached his funeral sermon, sums up his character in these words:" In short, our departed friend was a wise, a learned, and pious man; a good Christian, a faithful stew ard of the mysteries of God, a tried soldier and champion of Jesus Christ; who, in prospect of the recompense of reward that was set before him, despised the frowns and flatteries of the world, maintained his great Master's cause with undaunted courage and steadfast resolution, and is now, we trust, entered into the possession of the joy of his Lord.”

[During the illness of Dr. Cutler, his desk was supplied by the services of the neighbouring clergy, till the year 1759, when the Rev. James Greaton was employed as his assistant. In this capacity Mr. Greaton continued till the doctor's death, and, upon that event, was appointed by the society to succeed to the charge of the church, which he soon after resigned, in 1767.]

At a meeting of the proprietors of the church, on Easter Monday, 1768, the wardens and vestry were empowered and instructed to make application to Mr. Mather Byles, at that time settled as a congregational clergyman in New-London, Connecticut, to become their minister. In answer to this communication, Mr. Byles writes, April 22d, "Yesterday, with great difficulty and expense, I obtained an honourable dismission from the first ecclesiastical society in this place. I now look upon myself at full liberty to enter into a communion which I conscientiously prefer, and to accept of the invitation you have given me. I accordingly, this day, declare my acceptance; and most sincerely pray the great Head of the Church, that our union may be for his glory, and our mutual advantage, in time and to eternity."

On the 29th of the same month he arrived in Boston, in order to proceed to London, to obtain episcopal ordination. Having been furnished by the proprietors with the requisite testimonials to the bishop of London, and also with a letter to the Society for the Pro

pagation of the Gospel, soliciting the continuance of their mission to this church in the person of Mr. Byles, on his admission to holy orders, he embarked for England in May following. Having obtained episcopal orders, and an appointment as missionary to this church, he returned the latter part of September, the same year. What success attended his ministerial labours, I have found no means of ascertaining. It appears, by the records, that he continned his services till April, 1775, when he resigned his charge, for what reason does not appear, and accepted an invitation from the church in Portsmouth, New-Hampshire. From this. time the church was closed till August, 1778, when it was again supplied by the services of the Rev. Stephen Lewis. Mr. Lewis continued to officiate till the year 1784 or 1785. At what particular time, or for what reason, he discontinued his services, the records do not inform us.

[In 1786, Mr. William Montague was employed as a lay reader, and in the next year, at the request of the congregation, obtained orders, and continued his services with some interruptions till May, 1792.]

On the 29th of the same month, the Rev. William Walter, D. D., who for some time previous had officiated at the church in Cambridge, and occasionally in this church, was unanimously appointed its rector. This appoint ment was accepted by the doctor, and in this relation he closed his earthly labours. Dr. Walter was the son of the Rev. Nathaniel Walter, a congregational clergyman in Roxbury. He was born in 1737; was educated at Harvard college, and received the honours of that university in 1756. He was ordained by the bishop of London; was appointed assistant minister of Trinity church, in this town, under the Rev. Mr. Hooper, at whose decease he succeeded to the rectorship, which he held until 1776, when, on account of the troubles of the revolution, he was induced for a season to leave the country. In 1784, the honorary degree of Doctor in Divinity was conferred on him by King's college, Aberdeen. He returned to the United States in 1791.

On the 5th of December, 1800, in the 64th year of his age, he was called to give air account of his stewardship. The Rev. Dr. Parker, rector of Trinity church, preached his funeral ser mon His remains were deposited in the family tomb under this church, in which, during the last eight years of his ministry, he faithfully dispensed the word of life.

In May, 1801, the Rev. Samuel Haskell succeeded to the rectorship of the church, in which situation he remained till September, 1803, when he resigned his charge, and accepted an invitation from the church in Gardiner, in the state of Maine.

At the request of the wardens, your present rector officiated, for the first time in this church, as lay reader, on the 23d of October following. In this capacity he continued his services till the summer of 1805, when, at the solicitation of the congregation, he applied for holy orders, and was ordained deacon, on Wednesday, July 31st, and priest, on Friday, August 2d, in Trinity church, in the city of New-York, by the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., bishop of the diocese of NewYork.

During the last twenty years, my brethren, you have had the satisfaction of seeing your church gradually rising from a state of feebleness and depression, and going on from strength to strength. Through the divine blessing on your united counsels, your zealous and persevering exertions, you now be hold it in a more prosperous and flourishing state than it has enjoyed since the death of its first rector. And may we not indulge the hope, that the same period has been marked by a corresponding growth of its members in the virtues and graces of the divine life; that, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, they have been growing unto a holy temple in the Lord?

Since the year 1805, the ordinance of baptism has been administered to six hundred and fifty-four persons; two hundred and thirty-eight have been confirmed; two hundred and seventy have been admitted to the holy com

munion; two hundred and forty couple have been united in the bands of mar riage; and, over the remains of nearly two hundred, the funeral solemnities have been performed. The number of families which compose the present congregation is eighty. The number of individuals, including adults and children, about five hundred, of whom about two hundred are communicants. In June, 1815, a Sunday school was established, to which more than one thousand children have been admitted, among whom upwards of three thousand books of different sizes and descriptions have been distributed. The school at present consists of about one hundred and thirty scholars, a superin-tendent, eighteen teachers, and a visiting committee of six. The average attendance of the children is from seventyfive to one hundred.

In the copious appendix attached to the discourse, it is stated, that the old steeple, which was considered one of the most elegant in the Uni ed States, having suffered for want of seasonable repairs, was overthrown by the memo rable October gale of 1804. Through the liberality of the citizens, a new one was erected in 1807, in which the proportions and symmetry of the old one are carefully preserved.

The steeple contains a chime of eight bells, the cost of which was nearly £700 sterling. Of the quaint devices and mottos with which they are furnished, one reads “We are the first ring of bells cast for the British empire in North-America, .744." The church has a large and elegant organ of American workmanship, which has been recently rebuilt, and pronounced, by competent judges, not inferior to the best organs that have been imported from England. It has also an elegant service of silver plate for the communion table, consisting of four flagons, two chalices, one of which has a cover to it, a christening basin, one large paten, and two of a smaller size, and a vessel of an oval form, with a coverall presented by benevolent individuals in England and America. Six of the pieces bear the impress of the royal arms, and were the gift of his majesty King George H.

The Christian in the World, considered as in a Sphere of Usefulness. (From "Jay's Christian contemplated.”)

WE principally mean religious usefulness. We would not indeed limit your exertions. Do all the good that is in your power. Feed the hungry; clothe the naked; administer to the sick; visit the fatherless and widows in their affiction-but forget not, that charity to the soul is the soul of charity. There is no evil from which you can deliver a fellow-creature to be compared with sin; and there is no good you can obtain for him like that grace whose fruit is holiness, and whose end is everlasting life.

And fix in your minds, my Christian friends, not only the importance of the object, but the possibility of accomplishing it. David did not despair of success when he said, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee." And what says the apostle James? "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." God works by means; and it is by his people that he principally carries on his cause in the world. They are his witnesses. They are his servants He first makes them the subjects of his grace, and then the mediums. He first turns them from rebels into friends, and then employs them to go and beseech others to be reconciled unto God.

Let us enter more fully into this most essential part of our subject.

The persons for whom you are to be concerned are represented as without; and your object is to bring them in. They are ignorant, and you must inform them. They are prejudiced, and you must remove their objections. They are full of aversion, and you must subdue their dislike. The Scripture calls this "gaining" them; "winning" them. In order to this, address is necessary as well as zeal. "He that winneth souls is wise." Hence the apostle requires you to "walk in wisdom to wards them that are without." VOL. XI.

If, then, you would bring in those that are without-Show nothing like a contemptuous superiority or distance. Avoid every air of the Pharisee, who says, "Stand by thyself; come not near me; I am holier than thou." Convince them that you love them, and have no object in view but their own welfare. And therefore be kind, and tender, and ready to serve them. Especially be attentive to them in trouble; for nothing affects persons more deeply, than the notice you take of them in distress.

-Learn to distinguish things that differ.-Who, wishing to convince, would seize the moment of passion and irritation; and not wait the return of calmness and reason? Who, having to reprove, would not administer rebuke privately, rather than mortify and exasperate by public exposure? "Tell him his fault between him and thee alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.".

what

-Never begin in a way of attack. This puts you into the posture of an enemy, and provokes a feeling of defence and resistance. Recommend what is right, rather than oppose is wrong; and let them, by the percep tion of the one, discover and condemn the other. The best way of effecting the expulsion of evil, is by the introduction of good.

--And do not attempt every thing at once. "There is," says Henry, "not only an underdoing, but an overdoing; and such an overdoing, as sometimes proves an undoing." When the disciples of John asked our Saviour, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" He said unto them, "Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them ?"-His meaning is, that some things, proper in themselves, are yet not seasonable; and, that we may do hurt rather than good, by endeavouring to effect too much. Look to his life for an illustration of his doctrine. Did he despise the day of small things? Did he break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax? Did not he say to his disciples, "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." How

42

unlike him are they who force upon the mind every difficult sentiment, regardless of any preparation made by experience for the reception of it.

-Do not attach great importance to little things. This is the way to make people think that your religion consists of whims or trifles; and that your integrity and firmness are but squeamishness and obstinacy. Show, that though you have a tender. conscience, you have not a weak one. Show that your convictions are not opinions, but principles. Show that your object is not to make proselytes to your party, but converts to the cause of real Christianity.

-Beware of every thing in your conduct that would prove a scandal. They who see can get over stumblingblocks; but who would throw them in the way of the blind? "Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed " Administer no cause of censure but what your religion itself supplies. You are not answerable for the offence of the cross. But there are many other offences-and woe to the world because of them! The falls of professors are judgments on the neighbourhood in which they live. How far did Ezra carry the delicacy of his religious zeal! There was no real inconsistency between dependence upon God, and the use of means, but he had to deal with a poor ignorant heathen, who might easily misappre hend and pervert the language of his confidence; and therefore, says he, "I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, be cause we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us."

-While your religion is impressive by its consistency, let it be attractive by its amiableness. Therefore, think upon and pursue whatsoever things are love ly, and of good report. In excuse for the disagreeable tempers, and the repulsive manners of some Christians, it

is said that grace may be grafted on a crab-stock. Be it so. But instead of excusing the improprieties, the metaphor condemns. When a tree is grafted, it is always expected to bear fruit according to the scion, and not according to the stock.

-Nothing recommends godliness more than cheerfulness. All men desire happiness; and if, while every other candidate for the prize fails, you succeed, your success may determine others to follow your envied course.

It will be allowed that many of these advices are of a negative kind. But there are many ways in which you may positively exert yourselves. Such as by conversation; by epistolary corres pondence; by recommending good books; by bringing persons under the preaching of the word; for "faith cometh by hearing."

The opportunities and influences of individuals will be very unequal; but all should seek to obtain the commendation conferred on Mary in the Gos pel, "She hath done what she could."

Yet it is not always by direct effort that you will best succeed. A word fitly spoken is valuable; but, in general, it is better for persons to see your religion, than to hear it; it is better to hold forth the word of truth, in your lives, rather than in your language; and by your tempers, rather than by your tongues. The relations in which some pious characters are found, peculiarly require the observance of this distinction. Such, for instance, are professing servants. Their province of usefulness is not by teaching, and exhorting, and reproving. One of these was recently speaking to the preacher, of her master and mistress, and complained, "Nothing I say to them seems to do them any good." To whomknowing the class of the individual— he replied, "What you say to them! But this is not the way in which you are to expect to do them good-but by early rising; by neatness, and order, and diligence; by not answering again; by not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; it is thus that you are to adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things.”” 1 am far from ranking wives with servants and de

pendents. My female hearers, you will bear me witness that I never plead for the degradation of your sex; and I am sure you will not count me your enemy because I tell you the truth. We need not remind you of the language of the apostle: "I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp an authority over the man; but to be in silence." He can only speak comparatively. We know you are well endued with speech; and we delight to hear your readiness and skill. But we yet question whether any talent, even of this kind, be your most advantageous and successful instrument. The love of home; the concern to please; the silent tear; the graceful sacrifice; the willing conces sion; the placid temper: these upon men-and we presume you would not have married brutes-these upon in genuous and attached husbands, will seldom fail of producing their effect, really, if not instantly. "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives."

Christian Retirement.

(From the same)

RETIREMENT should be frequent. Yet, if you ask how frequent? I do not pretend absolutely to determine. The Scripture does not decide: it was needless to decide-as needless as the prescribing how often you should eat and drink. Your wants will regulate the one, and your love will regulate the

Love is the Christian's grand principle, and love does not require to be bound; it is ingenuous, it is urgent, it is contriving, and will get with all possible expedition to its object.

Besides, no rule can be laid down that will apply equally to all. There is a great difference in our conditions, and our callings. At different periods, too, the Providence of God may vary our duties. Thus the good people formerly spent much more time alone than the peculiarities of the day in which we live will allow us. It does not follow that they had more piety than Christians now; their religion

was more compressed, and flowed in a deeper channel; but that of modern Christians, though shallower, is more diffusive and rapid. They had not those openings for activities abroad→→ those calls to extensive and manifold beneficence and exertions, which the followers of Christ now have. These, therefore, cannot gratify themselves by spending hours together in their loved seclusion; they hear a thousand voices crying, "Come, and help us." They see that "the fields are already white unto harvest ;" they know that "the harvest is great ;" that "the labourers are few;" that the season is short; that the weather is uncertain; and the consequences of negligence are not only incalculable, but remediless.

Christians, however, should get as much leisure for the closet as they are able. And in order to this, they should guard against the waste of time; they should economise time; they should redeem time from indecision, and trifling, and especially from the vile and wretched consumption of unnecessary sleep. David mentions three times a day"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud." Daniel observed the same rule-"He went into his house, and his windows being opened in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." This was a custom much recommended, and observed by many of our forefathers; they thought, and they wisely thought, that a few moments of retirement in the middle of the day, as well as morning and evening, tended to check temptation and vanity, and to keep the mind in the things of God. But twice a day, at least, the Christian will withdraw. Less than this will not surely keep us "in the fear of the Lord all the day long"-and for this, the morning and evening will be deemed the most suitable peroids. Under the law, a lamb was offered every morning and every evening. How much is there in each of these returning seasons to excite and to impress! "It is a good thing," says the Psalmist, "to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.