down without human instrumentality. And to these displays of his power he now added a new miracle, similar in its nature and tendency. The various nations of the Amorites had combined to arrest them in their course of conquest, and prevent their reception of the promised inheritance. And God not only gave them a victory over their enemies, but, at the request of their leader, arrested the course of the luminaries of heaven, thereby facilitating the conquest of the country, both by the opportunity it afforded of completing their triumph over the Amorites, and by its influence in encouraging them, and in dispiriting their foes. How strikingly did he proclaim his regard to his church, and the certainty of the accomplishment of his promises! For its sake, and to secure his gracious purposes on its behalf, the course of nature is suspended, and the sun and moon stayed in their progress through the sky. And his care over his people, and his faithfulness to his engagements, are the same as ever they were. He not work miracles now, or interpose as visibly, or in as extraordinary a form as in ancient times; but he will order all events in providence, so as to secure the preservation of the church in the midst of persecution, and its ultimate triumph over all opposition; and, whatever may be the perils to which his people individually are exposed, they will be kept by his mighty power through faith unto salvation, and put in full and everlasting possession of the incorruptible inheritance assigned to them in the promises of his holy covenant. If he does not interpose miraculously on their behalf, it is because such visible interposition is not consistent with the present dispensation, and not necessary to the accomplishment of his gracious purposes.

may

"The

Fourthly, The miracle indicated the efficacy of prayer; and in this view it testifies against the ungodliness of mankind. The address of Joshua, though it had the form of a command to the sun and moon, was substantially, and in reality, a prayer to God. It is, accordingly, stated, that he spake to the Lord, and that the Lord hearkened to his voice. The miracle was wrought, not by Joshua, but by the power of God; and, by working it, he attested his readiness to listen to the requests of his people. And may we not, and should we not, take encouragement from it, to ask from God the blessings which we need? The case was, indeed, an extraordinary one; but this does not prove its inapplicability to us, for the purpose of direction or encouragement; for the apostle James appeals to an equally extraordinary instance of the power of prayer as a motive to the performance of this duty: effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are; and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." The very extraordinariness of the instances of the efficacy of prayer, furnished by the miracles wrought at the request of Joshua and Elijah, strengthens the argument founded upon them; for all the objections which men are disposed to urge to the reasonableness and utility of prayer, and which are usually taken from the uniformity of the course of nature, or the divine predetermination of all events, apply with greater force to them than to our petitions. Let it not, however, be supposed, because the success of these prayers

presented as an encouragement to us, that the hope of obtaining similar favours may be cherished by us. Our position is different from that of Joshua. He prayed in faith, with a full persuasion, produced by the influence of the Spirit, that his request would be granted. We cannot pray in faith for the performance of a miracle. We may, indeed, cherish the persuasion, that at our request it will be wrought, for many have done so; but this persuasion is not faith-it is a delusion, unsupported by any divine revelation to us. God, however, in his word, has promised to give spiritual blessings to those who sincerely desire them. For these we can pray in faith; and thus praying for them, we shall receive them. "All things," says Christ, "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Let no consideration, then, betray us into the ungodliness of a prayerless life. God not only commands us to pray, not only encourages us to pray by his promise to answer our petitions; but has furnished, in his word, many examples of the efficacy of prayer, and these should be sufficient to overthrow all the objections which our own hearts, or Satan, or ungodly men, may suggest. D. D. H.

VISITS TO THE ISLAND OF P— W—, 1824. BY A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.*

THE beautiful and fertile Island of P— W—, lying about three miles east from W—, is about four miles in length, and about one in breadth. Its population, amounting to about 300 souls, obtain their livelihood by farming and fishing. At the time of my first visit, which was in 1824, the only religious instruction they enjoyed, was a sermon every third Sabbath, when the weather was favourable, from the parish minister, who resided in the island of W-. There was one week-day school for the children, no Sabbath school for the young people, no prayer-meeting; and I have reason to believe that, at the period referred to, not one family could be found in the island, in which the worship of God was regularly observed. Nor have I much reason to congratulate myself on having been the means of doing much good to the people of P-W-. The only visible effects of my visits to them, are to be seen in the commencement of a Sabbath school, which has for twenty years been attended by a number of the young people; and the erection of a week-day school, which has, during nearly the same period, been attended by between thirty and forty children; and in the formation of a weekly prayer meeting, attended only by a few individuals, who had joined our society, and in fine weather worshipped with us in W. When I preached there was always a good audience, but the people seemed not to understand me; or, if they did understand what was said, they certainly did not feel its importance. This was very discouraging, but a young minister ought not to imagine that he is labouring in vain, although the great object for which he is labouring and praying, is not accomplished at the time, and in the way he had anticipated. A time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord was in store for the neglected

* A narrative of facts. Names are withheld from considerations of propriety.

people of P-W-, and the agent by which he was to accomplish that blessed work, was already among them, and they knew it not. It was in the spring of 1824, and on a Sabbath forenoon, that I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with that much honoured agent. I had been preaching for the first time in the island, and had accompanied the proprietor to the house of H- for the purpose of taking some refreshment, before sailing for W. My kind host was engaged in pressing the party accompanying me to help themselves to what was before them, when his voice suddenly changed, and he began to address some one who had not as yet been noticed by us, saying, Oh! you are there too. “Well, come in, Ann, and see if you can tell which is the new church minister." Looking toward the door, I saw a child of about four years of age, leaning with her shoulder upon the door-post, directing her eyes alternately to the strangers and to the bright morocco shoes in which her little feet were encased. This was the eldest child of my host; and his second, who is now the present laird, was then in his nurse's arms. "Come in, Ann," continued her father, in a soft and engaging tone, "Come in, and welcome the minister of the new church to P." Encouraged by these kind invitations, she stretched out her arms, and ran towards me, apparently with the intention of throwing herself into mine, which were now held out to receive her; but, before she reached the middle of the apartment, she stumbled, and fell upon her face. "Oh!" exclaimed her father, " your new shoes have upset you." I raised the sweet child from the floor, and placed her on my knee. Her face being bruised by the fall, made her weep, but she soon forgot her sorrows, and began to smile through her tears. Little did I then think that the lovely babe that sat on my knee was destined to do more for the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, in P— W—, in two or three years, than I should be enabled to do in twenty; but so it was to be. The knowledge of the way of salvation was to be communicated to the hitherto neglected islanders, by the distribution of tracts, the circulation of suitable books, and friendly visitations. A monthly missionary prayer-meeting was to be formed, at which missionary intelligence was to be listened to with wonder and delight, by a people who had till then been indifferent to the things that belonged to their own peace. Weekly prayer-meetings were to be established, the family altar was to be erected in almost every house, and the people in general were to become willing contributors to the support of the gospel at home, and to its extension throughout the world. A commodious place of worship was to be erected, capable of containing the entire population, and the people were finally to enjoy all the advantages to be derived from the permanent settlement of a gospel minister. All these blessings were in store for the people of P-W—, and they were ultimately to be brought into the possession of them by the instrumentality of that little child, who was destined by her divine Master to continue here only until she should have accomplished this happy change, and then to enter into the joy of her Lord.

AN ACCIDENT IN P— W, MARCH 1827.

The swell of the sea upon the shores upon some of the north isles is far greater than in any quarter of the south of Scotland. A stranger, walking

along the beach, is apt to be surprised by the swell of the approaching wave; and, should he be traversing a rugged part of the shore, he may soon find himself in dangerous circumstances. A young man, in the island of P-, having observed a plank floating upon the surface of the water, lay down upon a projecting rock, with a rope in his hand, to watch an opportunity of securing the piece of wood; but he had not lain long in that position, when a swelling wave swept him from his restingplace, and, in the view of his companions, who could afford him no aid, he sunk to rise no more. Being in the isle at the time of the accident, I went, accompanied by two ladies of the family at the house of H-, and Miss T., who was now in her seventh year, to visit the bereaved parents, and found them grossly ignorant of divine things. Their sorrow was of such a violent and clamorous description, that nothing that could be said was likely to produce any salutary effect. "That infant," said the father, pointing to a child of about three years of age, "is an orphan a second time. He brought it home when it was deprived of both father and mother, and said, 'I will be a father to it as long as I live;' and now it is fatherless again." This drew a burst of sorrow from all present, and the child, though ignorant of the extent of its loss, wept also. During the time I was taking leave of the disconsolate parents, and presenting them with a few suitable tracts, I heard an individual whispering to another, "I wonder if he would like to see Jean." "Jean," replied the other, "is not caring for him (the deceased); have you not heard that Captain S. (Jean's brother) has written home, that he will disown her if she had any thing to do with him (the deceased); she is caring very little about him." A third whispered, "She is only displeased at what the people are thinking and saying about it. She has not shed a tear, nor spoken a word, since he was drowned." From this conversation, I discovered not only the circumstances of Jean, but also where to find her; and I resolved not to leave the island without seeing her. On entering her father's house, I found it crowded with gossips, whose conversation, instead of relieving, tended only to tease and torment the mind of the sufferer. Jean was sitting upon her bed, dressed in her working attire. Her age did not appear to exceed nineteen. Her complexion was dark, and her countenance lovely and intelligent. Her eyes appeared resting upon an object visible only to herself, and she seemed totally indifferent to all that was passing around her. A scene of this kind generally excites pity; but the appearance of Jean overwhelmed me with awe-I felt as if in the presence of a superior being. To speak to her was out of the question; and I could scarcely conceal the displeasure I felt at the conversation of those who stood or sat by the fire. I remembered the conduct of Job's friends, and now admired the wisdom and delicacy manifested by them "when they sat down upon the ground with him seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him, for they saw that his grief was very great." "She never speaks," said her mother; "when we offer her any thing, or do any thing for her, she is just like a body without life; and when we speak to her she gives us no answer." "Good woman," said I, "that ought not to surprise you; you cannot enter into her feelings, for you know not how much she is suffering. Nor can any thing you may do or say yafford relief to

NO. VIII. VOL. III.

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her mind. Were I in your place, I would not allow people to annoy her with their conversation. I would place every thing near her that she could require, and would take care that she should be kept warm; I would not even speak to her myself, but I would pray to the Lord for her; for He only is able to fill up that blank in her mind which has changed the blessing of life into a burden."

At these words, Jean, for the first time, directed her eyes towards me. A struggling tremor seized her frame, and something like a tear seemed to be forming in her eye. This was what I wished to see; but I was disappointed, for she instantly sank back into her former state. After praying with her, and requesting a person whom I could trust to watch her recovery, &c., I left the island.

I was soon gratified with hearing very pleasing accounts of this interesting young woman. Her affliction had been a blessing in disguise. After recovering from the shock her feelings had sustained, she continued in a thoughtful frame of mind. Her leisure hours, it was observed, were spent in retirement, and, feeling her need of religious instruction, she joined the Sabbath school, and entered a class of young women of her own age, where she is still, 1829, continuing to rise in the estimation of her teachers, and to store her young mind with the doctrines of the gospel.

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A few months after the period referred to, I had the pleasure of recognising Jean among some young people who were applying for admission to the Lord's table. Her manners seemed rather above her station in life, and a confirmed melancholy, which time will probably never efface, was strongly marked on her countenance. Young woman,” said I, “if I am not mistaken, I saw you once in a very trying condition. I trust you can now say with the Psalmist, It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth is better than thousands of gold and silver!' She heaved a deep sigh, and burst into tears. “You could not weep, then, at the time referred to," I continued. "I could not," she replied; "but I had then greater reason to weep than now." "How?" I inquired. "Because," she said, "I was then friendless indeed; but now, I hope, I have found a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

"

About the same time, an advertisement was to be seen posted up in the different quarters of this island, in which it was intimated, that any person or persons who had lately lost something valuable, and wished to recover it, might apply to J. M. of G., who would give it only to the person who could describe the quality and quantity of the article lost. While the intimation was attracting no small attention, and exciting in not a few a strong desire to discover the nature and value of the property of which J. M. of G. was the guardian, I received a visit from Jean, who presented me with a number of silver pieces. "A few weeks ago," she said, "when on a visit to this island, I found these pieces lying scattered upon the shore. Having picked them up, I began to think of the sorrow and disappointment of the person who had lost them; and, calling upon J. M. of G., I gave them to him, requesting him to take steps for the discovery of the person who had lost the property; and since the owner cannot be found, I have brought it to you, that it may be expended in the purchase of tracts." Jean had