livery, and the energy of his expressions, thrilled through all iny soul. He prayed, and I wept: he preached, and I cried for mercy." Mr. Whittenbury continued a long time in a state of distress, bordering almost on despair. He had dreadful apprehensions of a judgment to come; and he has said, that the least noise sometimes made him tremble, and look round, fearing that Satan was coming to seize him. At this time he was awfully tempted to cherish Atheism in his heart: his sins, which had appeared dead, revived, and struggled with ten-fold vigor: he summoned every excuse which he could plead, for their indulgence: he was afraid of reading his Bible, lest he should find his favourite carnal pleasures condemned by the word of God: he prayed that he might forsake every sin; but, with the famous St. Augustine, it was with this secret reserve," Lord, not yet." He was greatly perplexed about the doctrine of Election. Being naturally very shy, he could not open his case to every one. To use his own words: "Like a lonely dove, in silent grief he bewailed his depravity and wretchedness." This shews the importance of persons under convictions of sin, disclosing their feeling to some judicious Christian friend. However, the Lord at length shone into his mind, and he was enabled to believe the gospel-testimony. He found, that faith in a crucified Saviour mortified those corruptions, which neither vows, repentance, nor his own strength could subdue. He saw that salvation was entirely of sovereign grace, which, traced up to its source, was no other than eternal electing love. After the death of Mr. Hitchin, he sat under the ininistry of Mr. Romaine, whose public and private instructions were greatly blessed in confirming Mr. Whittenbury in the faith of Christ.

In the year 1778, he removed to Manchester, where he continued til his death. He carefully observed the apostle's direction: "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." He was a striking proof, that a person may use the world, and not abuse it; may be assiduous in his temporal concerns, and yet pay supreme regard to his immortal interests. For though Mr. Whittenbury was very extensively engaged in commercial affairs, yet he generally devoted ree or four hours every day to reading. He was, therefore, very frugal of time. His favourite authors were the most celebrated of the Puritans and Nonconformists. Possessing an enlarged capacity and a retentive memory, he became skilful in the word of righteousness. For many years past, he had been accustomed to write skeletons of serious, on which he enlarged on Lord's Day evenings, in his numerous family. Being mighty in the Scriptures, and having considerable power of language at command, on these occasions he was very edifying. Indeed, a day seldom passed on which he did not compose some pious meditations:

a specimen of this sort is the following, called "A Saturday Evening's Meditation," from Amos iv. 12, " Prepare to meet thy God."

"Awful thought! awakening call!to meet thy God! Where? when? and how? To meet thy God! Who speaks? Art thou conscious he sees thee, knows thy ways, and notices thy designs? And dost thou listen to his calls? - calls of his word, cails of his rod, calls of his providence, by which he repeatedly, yea, continually, says, "Where art thou? Behold, I come quickly!"

"Now I come in mine ordinances to refresh thy soul, to hear thy prayers, to accept thy praises, and to smell the fragrancy of my own graces in believing exercise within thy breast. These are the pleasant fruits I delight to find flourishing in those who are planted in my house; and I will meet thee there.

"The day which I have consecrated for thy rest is at hand;

the day on which I rose from the tomb, the Conqueror of Death and Hell for you; -the day on which I made myself known to my first disciples, to their exceeding joy; the day on which my people now meet to contemplate my works, and commeinorate my love. Wilt thou neglect to prepare thyself for these enjoyments? When I knock, must I wait for admittance until my locks be filled with dew, because thou art too lukewarm to rise and let me in? Must worldly cares, with which the temple of thy heart has been defiled, still occupy my throne, and their foul stains remain unwashed by blood divine, by secret prayer, and pious meditation? Are these the returns of my love to thee, thus to make me serve with thy sins? Thou wilt outwardly adorn thy body, to appear decent with thy fellow- worshippers to-morrow; and must my temple remain a den of thieves, filled with buyers and sellers, or more filthy guests? Retire, retire. Seek the purifying influences of my Spirit; entreat his enlivening and enlightening rays; - plead to enjoy that liberty of access to thy Father, which he only can give; request him to shew thee my glory, and communicate to thee a fresh taste of my love. Oh, ask him to unloose thy bonds, to enlarge thy heart, to assit thee to ascend the Mount of Communion, that thou mayest, in lively faith, get near to me, and with holy boldness in my name, cry Abba Father!

-

"Have I not presented thee before him without spot, and caused thee to triumph in my righteousness? Hast thou not known the unspeakable sweetness of sitting at my feet, and receiving the law at my mouth as a law of love, when I have 3 aitted thee into my banqueting-house, and eaused thee to cry out, My Lord and my God? And wilt thou not prepare thyself for the renewal of these enjoyments, which are foretastes of the pleasures at my right hand for evermore? and for nought, that they who seek shill find

Hove I promised, in vain and that I will come in

Now I stand

and sup with him who heareth and attendoth to my voice, and openeth unto me? Trust, and put honour upon my faithtuiness. at the door, and knock again. What says thy sluggish soul ?

"Lord, I obey thy call. I would prepare thee Toom: I would gladly entertain thee! Awake, O north wind, and come thou south! blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out; let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. I long to meet thee in thine earthly temple, to see thy glory, and feel the power of thy love, as in days past! Oh, my soul, prepare him room! Bid him welcome. Entreat him to draw near, to unveil his beauties, to let thee gaze upon his lovely face, to view the love-prints in his hands and pierced side, from whence flows that precious blood, the price of thy redemption, that blood divine, on which he calls thee to exercise thy faith whenever thou comest to his church, that mount Zion which he loves, that mountain of

myrrh and hill of frankincense, whercon he will appear as a Lamb that has been slain, until he descends in awful majesty and glory as Judge of quick and dead, of which event he says, "Behold, I come quickly!" My soul, hearest thou? Art thou preparing hereunto? Art thou daily, by faith, washing in his blood, putting on his righteousness, exercising the graces of his Spirit, desiring a renewal in his image, and an increasing sanctification through the belief of the truth? Hast thou a stedfast faith of being perfectiy and eternally accepted in the Beloved! Art thou habitually waiting for the coming of thy Saviour, thy Judge ? Does thy heart echo, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly?” Amen.

--

"Lock well, my soul, that this be thy state; that thou art building upon this foundation, and hast no other hope. Examine thyseli often, and keep thy evidences bright with constant use. Thy Lord hath said, "I will shortly call thee by death, and then thou shalt meet me in judg ment." Oh! consider thy latter end! Death is advancing; wait for it, expect it, look for it daily; for then thou must undress. This mortal body will drop into the tomb, and return to dust; but thy disembodied spirit will fly to realms unknown. Where will she rest? — in what will she find her happiness? If unrenewed her state, and unatoned her guilt, where a holy God is she cannot come; but will flee like Adam from the presence of Jehovah! And if she fly to hide herself from God, whither, but to the abodes of Death and the horrors of damnation, will the fallen angels convey their lawful captive? And canst thou dwell in the devouring flames? My soul, how feelest thou under these reflections?

"If thou hast no desire to meet thy God now, in the way of his appointments on his Sabbaths, thou wilt not be meet to enter into his rest at death. If not disposed for the employments of perfect holiness, as the perfection of thy immortal spirit, must thou not be banished from him for ever > Therefore, try thyself by this unerring touchstone. Rest assured, if Death summon thee, unprepared, to meet thy Judge, that horrors will seize thy conscious breast, when he declares, "I never knew thee !"

"Let these reflections stir thee up to seek the Lord while he may be found; and call upon him while he is near. Now is the accepted time: this is the day of thy salvation! Wherefore, draw nigh to the throne of grace; and if thou hast not liberty, try to use in faith the following breathings, in order to excite in thee a spirit of supplication suited to thy present frame.

Oh, Father of mercies and God of grace, look upon me a guilty worm, in the Son of thy love, in whom thou art well pleased, in whom I trust! May the eternal Spirit enlighten my mind in the knowledge of Jesus, and assist me afresh to exercise faith upon him whom my soul loveth, that I may discover more of his beauties and excellencies, and attain a more animating assurance of my interest in him as my Saviour ! May I cleave unto him with real affection, and be helped to yield up all my powers without reserve to his service, that the fragrance of his graces in lively exercise may send forth a sweet savour unto my Lord! Oh, bless me with such an increase of faith and fervency of mind, that, in the spirit of prayer and love, I may plead the promises, till I attain a full assurance of their fulfilment, and find a Heaven of joy in my soul! Lay me lower and lower in mine own eyes, while I contemplate the exceeding riches of the glory of that grace whereby I, a Hell-deserving wretch, am become an inheritor of Heaven; and now feel an earnest of the eternal enjoyments which are at thy right hand for evermore !

"Gracious God! thus let it be with me, in some measure, on the ensuing day, that thine ordinances may be to me as a feast of fat things, with wine on the lees well kept. May my soul be so refreshed, and my spiritual strength so renewed, that I may be enabled, as one on eagles wings, to spar in holy contemplation to the mount Zion above, to run in

thy commandments without weariness, and to carry whatever cross thou layest upon me without fainting! Even so, amen."

Mr. Whittenbury was an admirer of the sacred muses: he himself had no inconsiderable poetic talents. On every New Year's Day he presented his friends with an Ode, comprehending the events of the past year. Many of these effusions would have done credit to names of high repute among the poets; but he had so mean an opinion of his own productions, that he never suffered any of them to pass beyond the circle of his most intimate friends.

Though he possessed a large share of religious knowledge, yet he was a remarkably candid hearer of the gospel. While a captious conceited person might pretend that he was not benefitted unless he heard novelties, set forth in a flowery style, Mr. Whittenbury was always pleased and editied, if the preacher's aim were to do good to souls, and to honour Christ and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes he said, that he feared ministers, in their sermons, did not sufficiently dwell on the need of divine influence; and he often mentioned, with peculiar pleasure, that Mr. Hitchin almost invariably offered up a few petitions for the assistance of the Spirit, before he entered on the discussion of his text.

Mr. Whittenbury greatly excelled in prayer. In confession of sin he was very minute; and discovered a deep insight into the deceitfulness of the human heart. He delighted in meetings for social prayer: he was uncommonly pathetic in bewailing indwelling sin, and in pleading for mercy. The souls of many have been moved by his holy ardour. He loved the habitation of God's house: nothing kept him from it but severe affliction. Throughout his life he had sharp trials, in consequence of a nervous disorder, which grew worse with his years. Hence, he experienced many a cloudy sky. Although the Sun of Righteousness often broke through on his soul, and enabled him to see that his darkness arose from the humours of his body, yet whenever the light withdrew, his anxiety instantly returned. This made him nearly all his days a mourner in Zion.

His disorder was

His last illness continued but a fortnight. a carbuncle in his neck. Neither he nor his friends supposed it to be dangerous, till about a week before his decease. Extraordinary advice being called in, he was abruptly told, "It is a lost case!" The unexpected news produced no agitation: his mind was kept in perfect peace; he commended himself and all his family, separately, into the hands of God. For the space of half an hour, he was most earnest in prayer; it astonished all who were present; it seemed as if he was indulged with a temporary inspiration from on high.

An operation in the neck, it was suggested, might issue fa

vourably. It was, therefore, proposed to him by one of his attendants, a very eminent surgeon, but of undisguised scep tical principles. Mr. Whittenbury said, that he had always seen it his duty to use means as they were connected with the end. He was, therefore, willing for the trial to be made; but he added, that for the success, he depended entirely on God. The gentleman seemed to be powerfully impressed, and incapable of making any reply. Mr. Whittenbury then fervently prayed that wisdom and integrity might be given to those who were going to operate. He bore the whole with invincible patience; and, while his wound was dressed, he sang part of an hymn.

In conversation, he said, "I must come to the Saviour as a poor sinner; for if the least degree of merit were required to recommend me, I have none to bring: I must perish!"— On the Lord's Day evening he said, "I thank my God, that thro' the whole of this day, I have not had one unbelieving thought I have not had one temptation to question his faithfulness!"- On another occasion, when he had been severely exercised with pain, he said to those around him, who wondered at his composure, "Religion brings this peace!" - On the day before his death, he appeared as though he were expiring; and while all his family were about his bed, waiting to see him breathe his last, he rose up, walked across the room, and joined in singing the sixteenth and sixty-fifth of Dr. Watts's Hymns, Book 11. When he came to the words, "When I can say my God is mine," one observed, 'I hope you can say he is yours? With energy he replied, "Do you doubt it? What, but an assurance that he is mine, could have supported me in my affliction?" After a few struggles, on the 10th of March, 1805, his spirit fled into the arms of his Saviour. On the following Lord's Day, the Rev. S. Bradley, his pastor, improved the providence, in a discourse from John xi. 28, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee:" words which he often repeated in his illness.

Mr. Whittenbury was a man generally respected: his integrity was inflexible; his attachments were cautiously formed, but unshaken; his manners were unaffected, yet dignified; he despised all cunning and art, especially under the cloke of Religion. For many years, he was the Treasurer to the Lunatie Hospital in Manchester. He felt a lively concern, and took an active part for the welfare of that important institution. He often visited and conversed with the lunatics; and he was greatly beloved by them. His family have received a very handsome testimonid of the honour with which he discharged that delicate and responsible station.

From a review of the experience of this good man, a few reflections arise, suited especially to Discousolate Christians.