Let us pray, down the blessing of heaven on your family before we go." Especially, when he came into a society of ministers, before he had sat long with them, they would look to hear him urging, "Brethren, the Lord Jesus takes much notice of what is done and said among his ministers when they are together; come, let us pray before we -part." It is thought, that he was very frequent in the performance of the duty of ejaculatory prayer a practice which devout persons find specially useful as a powerful antidote against the infection of temptations ;* and a happy "When we observe in ourselves the least approaches towards anger, Just, envy, and discontent, we are not to put off our application to God for his grace to some prefixed distance of time: No, we should forthwith desire his assistance, and pray for the succors of his Holy Spirit. For by immediately recollecting ourselves, and desiring his assistance upon the first solicitation of any vice, which we may do silently in public, as well as in private, in a crowd, as well as in our closet, we stop the progress of evil by introducing another train of thinking: Whereas by delaying our addresses till the stated periods of prayer return, we let the poison work in us without applying the proper antidote in time. No doubt morning and evening prayers are indispensible du ties; and some part of our time ought every day to be dedicated to God, as an acknowledgment, that the whole of our time is his gift. But we ought to take care, that our formal petitions do not supersede our habitual, and constant endeavors. If upon the first motions towards anger, impatience, uncharitableness, &c. we, without de. lay, upon the spot, prayed to God, and invoked his aid, this would be upon every incident, an expedient to expel bad thoughts before they had gotten full possession of the heart, by bringing others more worthy into their room. We must feel, if we are mean to promote the life of God in the soul-a duty which may be performed without ostentation-in the midst of company as well as in solitude. The whole tenor of his life made it evident, that his zeal for prayer was not an ostentatious display of superior piety; but a deep, and affecting sense of the obligations to it, and bene-fits resulting from it; especially of its importance to keep up a lively sense of religion in the heart; of man's dependence upon God; and an affecting view of the divine benefits. Mr. Eliot was a very diligent student of the holy scriptures from his youth; and they were to him as his necessary food. He made the bible his companion, and his counsellor. He would not, upon any terms, have passed one day, without using a portion of the sacred writings as an antidote against the infection of temptations: And, in this view, he would prescribe it to others from his own happy experience. By a frequent perusal of the sacred volume, he became an eminent textuary, which was of singular benefit to him, not only in his Christian course, but in his pastoral labors.† attentive, the disorders of the mind, as well as the distempers of the body. We must know, when any glance of ill nature, lust, or discontent comes across our minds: And to turn our thoughts to God upon that emergent occasion, by a mental prayer, is instantly to withdraw the mind from evil, to retract the bad design, before it has made any advance in our hearts, and to endeavor after the opposite virtue." Seed's Sermons, vol. i. p. 250, &c. +"Dr. Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister in London, in the 17th century, took up a custom, in early studies and labors, as he was, at home, engaged in, he could possibly repair to so many lectures abroad and herein he aimed, not only to promote his own edification, but to countenance and encourage the lectures to which he resorted. Thus he took heed that he might hear; and he took as much care how he heard. He sat himself as in the presence of the eternal God; he expressed a dil Moreover, he, as much as almost any man, exhibited that evidence of uprightness, which the psalmist lays down, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thine house." For besides his weekly attendance there, to which he was obliged by his office; he had a lecture once a fortnight in his own congregation; and he made his weekly visits to the lectures in the neighboring towns; how often was he seen at Boston, Charlestown, Cam-igent attention by a watchful and bridge, and Dorchester, paying wakeful posture, and by turning attention to the word of God, to the texts quoted by the preachand counting a day in the courts er. And they who were so hapof the Lord better than a thou-py as to go home with him, were sand? It is hardly conceivable, sure of having another sermon how, in the midst of so many by the way, till their very hearts burned within them. He indeed always carried much of religion with him from the house of God. childhood, which he always observed, viz. reading twenty chapters in the bible every day.-By his very frequently reading the scriptures from his childhood, he became a great textuary; and by texts readily, and pertinently produced, he often surprised eminent ministers, as his solution of cases of conscience (which his sermons much consisted of) did instruct and edify them.” Dr. Daniel Williams' works, vol. i. p. 368, 373. "The famous Beza, at eighty years of age, when his memory was so impaired, that he could not retain what he read an hour before, or even the names of those about him, was yet able to repeat St. Paul's epistles in Greek, which he learned in his youth." Such examples as far as other necessary studies and pursuits will permit, are worthy of the imitation of all young persons; especially of young ministers, that, like Apollos, they may become mighty in the scriptures.' "The best help to memory, when we grow old, is to read the scriptures much when we are young; and to get them well fixed in our mind; the traces are made deeper in the vigor of our nature, and the images of things most likely to remain with us." London ministers sermons on reading the scriptures, p. 181. Among the many instances, in which the piety of Mr. Eliot was remarkable, his exact remembrance of the Christian Sab bath to keep it holy must not be omitted. It has been truly and justly observed, that our whole religion fares according to our Sabbaths-that when Christians do not devoutly regard and keep the Lord's day, their graces visibly decline, and that often times by swift degrees; and that a strictness in our Sabbaths inspires a vigor into all our other duties. Mr. Eliot knew this, and discovered a fervent zeal in support of this sacred institution. The sun did not set at the evening before the Sabbath, till he began his preparation for it; and when the Lord's day came, he appeared, in a pecular manner, to be in the spirit. Every day was a sort of Sabbath to him; but the Sabbath day was a type, a taste of heaven with him. He labored that he might, on this high day, | ble gravity mixed with it, and a have no words or thoughts but such as were correspondent to it. He then allowed in himself no actions but those of an elevated, and refined soul. And if he beheld in any person whatsoever any profanation of this day, he would not fail to give faithful reproofs.* And hence also, to the general engagements of a covenant with God, which it was his desire to bring the Indians into, he added a particular article, in which they bind themselves, "To remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as long as we live." His conversation was such as singular skill in raising some pious observation out of whatever matter of discourse lay before him: Nor would ordinarily dismiss any theme without some weighty and divine sentence, which might be naturally, and pertinently introduced. Doubtless he imposed it as a law upon himself, that he would leave something of God, of heaven, and of religion with all who should come near him. In ali places he appeared with that dignity, which induced the company to revere him, and to pay particular attention to his con versation. He had a particular turn for became the gospel of Christ- making religious reflections upas became a Christian minister: on various occurrences in comIt was good to the use of edify-mon life, as well as upon special ing, and well calculated, at Providences. that day particularly, to minister grace to the hearers. He took delight in speaking of God in serious and pleasing discourses. He was indeed sufficiently pleasant and witty in company He had a special art of spiritualizing earthly objects, and of raising high thoughts from mean things. Once going with some weariness, and feebleness up the hill on which his meeting house now stands, he said to the person that led him, This is very like the way to heaven; it is up was affable and innocently facetious at times, rather than rigid, and morose in conversation † But he had a remarka-hill: The Lord, by his grace fetch *The profanation of the Lord's day is, indeed, the inlet to all other vices." Seed's Sermons, vol. i. p. 98. †Rev. Mr. Prince of Boston, in his Memoirs of Mr. Walter, ordained colleague with Mr. Eliot, gives a specimen of his pleasant, facetious turn, which was so natural to him, that it was difficult to suppress it, even at a very advanced age. "Mr. Elliot, then in his 84th year, presided at Mr. Walter's Ordination, and gave the charge: And though a distinction was wont to be made between the characters of Pastor and Teacher, when two Ministers were together in the same Church, one of them being ordained under the for cerning him, that they were never with him, but they got, or might have got some good by him. From such a frame of spirit it was, that once on a visit, finding a merchant in his counting room, where he saw books of business only on his table, but all his books of devotion on his shelf, he gave this advice to him, Sir, here's earth on the table, and heaven on the shelf; pray don't sit so mnch at the table as altogether to forget the shelf; let not earth, by any means, thrust heaven out your mind. Many thousands were his occasional reflections in the course of his life.* Mr. Eliot, on various occasions, exhibited agreeable evi dence that he had made good proficience in the grace of humility. He sought not the praise of men, but that which cometh from God. When most diligent and most successful, and much applauded by good men, and the public in general, for his faithful and incessant labors as a minister, and particularly as a missionary, he desired not to be thought of more highly than was fit-had a deep sense of his natural and moral imperfections; and entertained a pious fear, lest he himself, or his friends should dorogate from the grace of God. An honorable person did, once in print, put the name of an Evangelist upon him: Upon which, in a letter of his to that person, afterwards printed, his expressions were, "There is a *Such things as have been just redundancy, while you put the mentioned, may be treated by some with contempt, as puritanical. But title of an Evangelist upon me : the age in which Mr. Eliot lived is to I beseech you suppress all such be considered, and the approved usa-things: Let us do, and speak, ges of many of the religious at that and carry all things with hu day. Making reflections of this kind, mility: It is the Lord who has not been infrequent with serious and pious persons in various ages. has done, what is done; and it The learned and devout Robert Boyle is most becoming the Spirit of wrote a book of this kind, with the Jesus Christ, to lift him up and title of "Occasional Reflections,' lay ourselves low. I wish that which was very entertaining and in-word could be obliterated."*. structive, and discovered the religious turn of this great and excellent man. It would be happy if such a devout spirit were more generally prevalent in the present age. At the same time, it must be granted, that great regard is to be had to the different ways of pursuing the same general end, which are customary among serious people in different ages. The end is to be kept in view; and such measures to be pursued as are adapted to promote the end The inno cent taste of those we converse with is to be consulted. However, even at this day, they who have a natural turn for such occasional reflections, may, with some persons, do more good, than by long, labored discourwas in another form. * When I read this, it reminded me of a gentle reproof, given by Dr. Secker, then (if I mistake not) Bishop of London, to a gentleman of eminence, who had praised him and his writings, as he judged, in too complimental a strain: "I return you many thanks, says the Bishop, for your favorable opinion both of my sermon, and its author, though expressed in a manner, which you would have forborne, if you had known me better. Plain men should be treated in a plain way; and no body should have things said to him," which he does not deserve, and ought not to hear, if he did. Let us all endeavor to do what good we can The same humble temper other, though very young, was> discovered itself near his disso-yet old enough to exhibit pleas lution, as well as at other times. ing evidence of sincere piety. Mr. Eliot possessed a wonderful resignation to the will of God in all events. He resigned his children to God with such a sacred serenity, as made all the spectators to say, "This could not be done without the fear of God." He bore all his trials with an admirable patience; and seemed loth to have any will of his own, that should not be wholly moulded into the will of his heavenly Father. However, in these trying scenes, he had such things to support and console him, as many under similar calamities are destitute of; not only a consciousness of his own sincerity in religion, and a well established persuasion of an interest in the gratious and everlasting promises of the gospel; but a well grounded and firm hope, that all his dear departed children had entered into eternal rest; and that those who survived, were truly pious, and candidates for heaven. They In common with other men he met with some very heavy trials, which he bore with exemplary submission. Long before his own dissolution he was called to follow to the grave three of his sons; one a settled minister, whose excellent char-all gave such demonstrations of acter was delineated in a former number-Another, a tutor of Harvard College, and a candidate of the ministry a most amiable young man, eminent for learning and goodness. The their conversion to God, that the good old man would sometimes say, with great complacency; "I have had six children; and I bless God for his free grace; they are all either with Christ, or in Christ; and my mind is now at rest con and give those who seem to endeavor it faithfully, the comfort of know-cerning them."-And when ing we think they do ; but never tempt one another to forget, we are nprofitable servants." Dr. Kippis's Life of Dr. Doddridge prefixed to Fam. Expos. 156. some asked him, how he could children, his humble reply to |