that nothing could tend more to render the attempt lawful to me, (if it were lawful at all) than by his gracious help to prepare myself for it; first, by a steady course of Christian faith and practice; and secondly, by a humble and diligent study of Holy Scripture, nature, and natural science.

When the march of the Carnatic detachment from Madras back to Bengal was concluded, and we arrived in Calcutta, I remained there only long enough to provide myself with necessaries, and avoided as much as possible to mix with the vain society of the place; but, as may well be supposed, I embraced with unfeigned joy the opportunity thus afforded me of joining in the public worship of my God and Saviour. When I entered the church, to me indeed the temple of the living God, and compared my actual blessed state, with that in which I had quitted Calcutta, to join the Carnatic detachment, my emotions of joy, faith, gratitude, and humble love to our Lord and Saviour were indescribable! But when the organ broke on my ear, which I had not particularly expected, neither was thinking of, the solemn and heavenly tones of the instrument were so perfectly in unison with the

cluded every thing that I heard, and infinitely more than I am able to think or utter, even with the help of analogy.

sentiments then awakened in the harp of my heart, that I was quite overpowered; and in spite of all my efforts to restrain myself before so many spectators, I burst into a flood of joyful rapturous tears.

This sudden and powerful emotion was fully illustrative of the nature and operations of music, as connected with the spiritual harmonies of divine truth in love. Musical instruments are nothing more or less than images of the human heart, which the strong threefold combined energy of reason, imagination, and sentiment, under the divine teaching, has invented. My heart, in itself a musical instrument, was in perfect unison with the organ, whose tones were shadows of sentiments of piety and devotion; or, divine vital airs of grace and love; and, therefore, when the fundamental tone of grateful love (then the master passion) was thus powerfully agitated by its half spiritual shadow in natural music, the sympathetic, symphonious vibrations were full and perfect; and my inmost soul, being thus forcibly shaken, communicated its vibrations to my body, which being also in tune trembled in like manner with joyful harmony.

I made a point of receiving the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which was to me "meat indeed, and drink indeed," (John). In performing these duties, I felt an inexpressible

pleasure, because I did them from my heart. The peace of God which passeth understanding was there, as well as gratitude, which, blended with the sense of my own unworthiness and weakness, penetrated my heart in an indescribable manner.

I embraced the opportunity afforded me by being in Calcutta, of purchasing some medical and chemical books, which would, as I trusted, by divine blessing, give me much assistance. Yet, even at this more advanced period, I was still so much afraid of being impious and presumptuous, that I debated the matter within myself repeatedly, before I was able to decide on the lawfulness of using such a means to promote my good designs; that is to say, of using the labours of probable infidels, to increase and establish true faith. But at last, I was persuaded and satisfied that they contained "the heritage of the heathen*," which the Lord in His good pleasure had given to me, as he had formerly given the Kingdoms of Canaan to His own people; and that it was my duty to take them in possession, and use them to His honour and glory, through Jesus Christ. Thus

* That is to say, true, natural, and experimental philosophy and science, which, figuratively, is the outer court of the temple of religion, which is given to the Gentiles, who often, too often, trample prophanely on the temple.

the Psalmist says, Psalm cxi. "He hath showed "His people THE POWER OF HIS WORKS, that He

may give them the HERITAGE OF THE HEATHEN.” Thus, the natural works of God have been proverbially, as it were, given to the heathen, or to infidel natural philosophers, who have abused them, as mentioned by St. Paul in the first chapter to the Romans; and as in our own days the selfcalled philosophers of the revolutionary school have done. But when it pleases God to open the understanding of any believer, to see the secret analogy existing between His word and His works, then "He shows them THE POWER OF HIS WORKS, that He may give them THE

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HERITAGE OF THE HEATHEN." It was given kindly to the heathen, to lead them on, if possible, to the secret spirit, which is the proper heritage of His own people. As our Lord says, " To you it is given to know the mysteries of the

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kingdom of heaven; but to them it is not given. "Therefore speak I to them in parables." This is like the outer court given to the Gentiles.See Revelations, xi.

I soon perceived, that the ignorance of infidel writers, concerning the true spirit and meaning of the testimonies which they recorded, was a pledge in general of their veracity; for had they suspected that they were thus undermining their own foundations, and pulling down their own house, not a word would they

3

But the power and

have truly published. wisdom of God were displayed more gloriously in thus making his enemies bear witness for Him, in those things which they intended against HIM. Thus, "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."-1 Cor.

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Perhaps, nothing tended more to assist me in my progress, and to obviate all the difficulties which impeded my advance, than the gradual application of a discovery which had been made to me at a very early period of my researches; viz. that all things in nature were algebraic, or double, as well as in the moral and spiritual worlds; that is, both plus and minus, good and evil, although there was only one common set of symbols, to express both of these opposite scales, For instance, to begin with a very simple case, a vertical straight line produced from the earth towards heaven, typifies in Scripture language, as well as in its own natural conditions, a perfect religious tendency in a man, who is therefore called an upright man; but if the tendency of the same line be inverted, or supposed to tend from heaven towards the centre of the earth, then it will denote an apostacy, or a falling from spiritual to carnal things.

Again, the action of leaven, which is an intestine war, between two opposite principles, is by our Lord compared to the progress of the