onward career? Are no new paths of usefulness to be struck out ? shall no additional agency be employed? no other means adopted to improve the condition of the sailor temporally, as well as spiritually? Shall we leave him a prey to the evils which have hitherto ensnared and ruined him? Who will say, "Be satisfied with what has been done?" “Let your present sphere of exertion content you?" Rather let the aim of all be to stimulate each other to more vigorous efforts to rescue and to save the objects of our sympathy. Our motto must be "onward;" and our hope,—the promise “I will be with thee." May HE who spake that promise, give wisdom to our counsels, energy to our exertions, fervour to our charity, and success to our cause. his faults and failings. His language is "Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other men are: I am no robber, or whoremonger, or adulterer; I am honest and industrious; I am no man's enemy; and I frequently bestow charity, and do a kindness to my neighbour; and, I trust, that I shall get safe and comfortably through the swellings of Jordan." Let this man beware, or his soul will be lost for ever. It is very right, and his bounden duty that he should refrain from those sins he has mentioned; and that he should perform those duties which he says he does perform towards men. But this is only a small part of what is his duty to do. And, moreover, had he done all that God has commanded him, he would then be considered an unprofitable servant; having done no more than was his duty to do: but, alas, no creature living has done any thing like this; therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh living can be justified. By the merit of human actions, no man can be saved. We have all left undone ten thousand things we ought to have done, and done, and thought, and said, as many which we ought not; in all things, and in every duty we fall short of rendering unto the Lord the glory which is due unto his holy name. We are all guilty before God. We were born in sin, and conceived in iniquity; we are by nature children of wrath; we are by practice condemned criminals. If we ever pass through the swellings of Jordan safely, it must then be, not because we have any thing of our own to bear us up, or to deserve and obtain for us the supporting and comforting presence of the Almighty; but it must be because Christ Jesus has, by the sacrifice of himself, obtained for us a full, free, and unmerited pardon and salvation. taken soul, if thou dost go down into the river of death, leaning on the spar of thine own deeds and doings, thy support will fail thee, the waves of judgment will overwhelm thee, and thou wilt sink into the bottomless pit! Oh, look unto Jesus now, and seek pardon through his atoning blood; and then he will be the life-buoy of thy soul in the swellings of Jordan, on which thou shalt ride through the stream, and on which thou shalt be landed in the heavenly Canaan ! Oh, poor mis Sixthly.-The ungodly professors. These men often use great swelling words, and tell us they are the dear children, and the taught of the Lord; that they know the liberty of the gospel, and that sin cannot hurt the believer. Such is frequently their language; while their conduct is a disgrace to their profession, and a sad stumbling-block in the way of many. But how will it be with such characters at the swellings of Jordan? So far as the writer of this address has had an opportunity of A HAPPY NEW Most heartily we wish our friends and readersYEAR; and hope that the sun of prosperity will shine with increased lustre on every step of their future progress. It is no less delightful than customary for friends and relations to exchange their best wishes for each other's comfort and happiness. And who does not enter into this feeling? Who does not love to be in the midst of glowing hearts, and beaming eyes, and inspiring voices? But where is the SAILOR? Far-far from home, it may be, and tossed upon the wide world of waters, despairing of ever again looking on the circle whom he loves, or of embracing those to whom he is most tenderly attached. A watery grave is before him. The deep is opening to receive him. Can you forget him? In your happy moments of congratulation and joy, will you not resolve to do something for the sailor? You have it in your power to help him. Will you turn away from the poor sailor? We do not believe it. We therefore, with great confidence, submit the following statement, and have not the shadow of a doubt but it will excite many to yet nobler and more generous acts. The commerce of Britain is now carried over the world. For this we are indebted not only to the spirit and enterprise of our merchants and men of business, but also to the intrepidity, self-denial, and enduring toil of our seamen. They are the men who conduct our commerce, and without whom our commercial relations and influence would soon cease to exist. It must be confessed, therefore, that these men have no common claim on the B hear what each of these will have to say in reply to the inquiry-"What wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan?" Each replies "I will look unto him, even to Christ Jesus, whom I have pierced with my sins and wounded with my transgressions. I will cast myself, as a guilty, helpless, polluted creature on him, although I am unworthy of the least of all his mercies; for he has died the just for the unjust, that he might become the Saviour and Redeemer of all who repent and believe; I will lay all my sins before him; I will open the secret chambers of my heart, and implore him to blot out all these my unnumbered transgressions in his own most precious blood. Oh, I will beseech him to cleanse and purify the very thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Forsaking all other hope and trust, I will, with the publican, exclaim-'Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,' and like Peter on the swelling waves, I will cry out-' Lord, save, or I perish.' I will plead his grace and mercy, his agony and bloody sweat, his death and sufferings, his resurrection and ascension, and I will say 'I pray thee, O Lord, by all these to save and deliver a soul that deserves to die the second death."" Such will be the feelings and the reply of a sinconvinced, humble-hearted, mourning penitent, when brought within view of the swellings of Jordan. And will such an one perish in that hour, or be left unsupported? No, for there are many great and precious promises given to such. Although a thousand unbelievers should fall at his right hand, and ten thousand hypocrites and hardened sinners on his left, the Lord Jesus on whom he calls and depends will not let the destruction of judgment come near him. Where sin has abounded, grace and forgiveness shall much more abound. The blood of Jesus Christ shall cleanse him from all his sins. Death will wreck the body, but the soul shall live, and because it is redeemed, it shall live and reign with Christ for ever. APPLICATION. We are all approaching this Jordan. We must all go down into its swellings. Heart and flesh must fail with every one of us. Soon the mists of death will gather over our eyes, the pulse will, ere long, flutter their last, the blood stagnate, the heart will stop, and the spirit will depart. This will be our case, even if we end our days in peace and quiet on shore. But as to some that hear or read this address, they may perhaps, ere long, be called to pass through the swellings of a breaking surf, or an overwhelming sea, and be swept from the spar or from the |