[THE Sermons of Dr. Ogden are well known to the theological student. They are distinguished by that combination of earnestness and acute reasoning which many of the divines of the last century inherited from their great predecessors. Samuel Ogden, the son of poor parents, was born at Manchester in 1716. His merits were rewarded by considerable preferment in the Church. He died at Cambridge in 1778.]

You may remember a little ancient fable to the following purpose:-"An old man upon his death-bed said to his sons, as they stood round him, I am possessed, my dear children, of a treasure of great value, which, as it is fit, must now be yours: they drew nearer: nay, added the sick man, I have it not here in my hands; it is deposited somewhere in my fields; dig, and you will be sure to find. They followed his directions, though they mistook his meaning. Treasure of gold or silver there was none; but, by means of this extraordinary culture, the land yielded in the time of harvest such an abundant crop, as both rewarded them for their obedience to their parent, and at the same time explained the nature of his command."

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Our Father, who is in heaven, hath commanded us in our wants to apply to him In prayer, with an assurance of success:- Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find." Now, it is certain, that without his immediate interposition, were his ear "heavy," as the Scripture phrase is, "that he could not hear," there is a natural efficacy in our prayers themselves to work in our minds those graces and good dispositions which we beg of the Almighty, and by consequence to make us fitter objects of his mercy. Thus it is that we ask, and receive; we seek, and, like the children of the sagacious old husbandman, find also the very thing which we were seeking, though in another form: our petitions produce in fact the good effect which we desired, though not in the manner which we ignorantly expected.

But yet, allowing this consideration its full force, there is no necessity of stopping here, and confining the power of prayer to this single method of operation. Does the clear assurance of its use in this way preclude the hopes of every other advantage? Must we needs be made acquainted with all the efficacy of every thing that is our duty, and know the whole ground and reason of all the actions which Almighty God can possibly require of us?

When the Israelites under the conduct of Joshua were commanded, upon hearing the sound of the trumpet, to shout "with a great shout; and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city;' was the reason of this command, and the operation of the means to be made use of, understood by all that were concerned? Was it the undulation of the air, think you, the physical effect of many concurrent voices, that overthrew the walls of Jericho? or, suppose the people were commanded to shout in token of their faith (for it was by faith, as the Apostle speaks, that the walls of Jericho fell down), which way is it that faith operates in the performance of such wonders ?

You will say, no doubt, that these were wonders, and the case miraculous; and that we are not from such extraordinary events to draw conclusions concerning the geral duties of Christianity.

The drought that was in the land of Israel in the time of Elijah, I suppose no one will deny to have been miraculous. Yet we have the authority of an Apostle to conclude from it in general, that good men's petitions are efficacious and powerful. "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." What is this brought to prove? That "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." And this is the Apostle's argument:-the prayer of the Prophet produced first a famine, and then plenty in all the land or Israel; and if you, Christians, exercise yourselves in confession and prayer, the disposition of your minds will be the better for your devotions.

But the prayer, concerning which St. James is speaking, may seem to you to belong to the same class with that of Elijah, and to be the prayer of men that could work miracles.

Hear another Apostle:-"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." The plainest places in the Scriptures will be mysteries, if the sense be this, that we can expect no help from God in our distresses; but may try, by acts of devotion, to bring our own minds to a state of resignation and contentment.

"Give us this day our daily bread. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father. The hairs of your head are numbered." Can the meaning of all this be, that God Almighty made the world; that it is not to be altered; and we must take the best care we can of ourselves while we live in it?

"King Agrippa, believest thou the Prophets?" said the great Apostle, arguing with equal solidity and eloquence in defence of that capital doctrine-the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. He desired no other concession than the belief of the Scripture; on this foundation he undertook to erect the whole fabric of Christianity.

Do you believe the Scriptures? If not, it is to no purpose to stand disputing concerning the duty of prayer, or any other duty commanded in the Gospel. We must rather return back to the first principles of religion, and lay again, as the same Apostle speaks, the foundation of faith towards God.

But there is no occasion for this; you are desirous to go on to perfection; admitting the truth of Christianity, and believing the Scriptures to be the word of God. The Scriptures teach you, that our Lord Christ being crucified, dead, and buried, the third day he rose again from the dead. Now this is a great and astonishing miracle; it is a thing of which we have no experience; it is against all our rules and observations; and directly contrary to the established order of the world, and the course of nature: yet you believe this.

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The Scriptures also tell you, that hereafter your own bodies, in like manner, shall be raised from the grave, and stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. event, too, whenever it shall take place, will surely be another most amazing miracle, brought about by no rules or laws that are made known to us, or ever fell within the limits of our observation and experience. Yet we believe it; and live, or should do, under the influence of this persuasion.

The same Scripture to which we give credit, while it records past miracles, is equally entitled to our assent, when it predicts, as in this instance, miracles to

come.

Suppose, then, the Scriptures were to acquaint us that there are miracles performed at this present time, but either at such a distance from us, or else in such a latent manner, that we could not know by experience whether they were wrought or no ; still there could be no room to doubt; a ready assent must be yielded to such a revelation by all who believe the Scripture.

Now, if the Gospel teach doctrines from which the existence of these miracles may be inferred, or if it command duties in which these interpositions of Providence are supposed or implied, it does enough to prove the reality of them though we see

them not, any more than we see yet the resurrection of the dead; or, than we did ever behold any of those miracles which were performed by our Lord when he was here on earth.

There appears to be no difficulty in this matter to those who believe that any miracles were ever wrought, that is, who believe the Scriptures to be true; nor any inducement or occasion to put ourselves to trouble in giving hard interpretations of texts, or forced and unnatural explications of any part of our duty, in order to avoid what can be no impediment in the way of a Christian, the acknowledgment of God's government and providence, his particular interposition, and continual operation; as it is written, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."

How magnificent is this idea of God's government! That he inspects the whole and every part of his universe every moment, and orders it according to the counsels of his infinite wisdom and goodness, by his omnipotent will; whose thought is power; and his acts ten thousand times quicker than the light; unconfused in a multiplicity exceeding number, and unwearied through eternity!

How much comfort and encouragement to all good and devout persons are contained in this thought! That Almighty God, as he hath his eye continually upon them, so he is employed in directing, or doing what is best for them. Thus may

they be sure, indeed, that "all things work together for their good." They may have the comfort of understanding all the promises of God's protection, in their natural, full, and perfect sense, not spoiled by that philosophy which is vain deceit. The Lord is truly their shepherd; not leaving them to chance or fate, but watching over them himself, and therefore can they lack nothing.

What a fund of encouragement is here, as for all manner of virtue and piety, that we may be fit objects of God's gracious care and providence, so particularly or devotion; when we can reflect that every petition of a good man is heard and regarded by him who holds the reins of nature in his hand. When God, from his throne of celestial glory, issues out that uncontrollable command to which all events are subject, even your desires, humble pious Christians, are not overlooked or forgotten by him. The good man's prayer is among the reasons by which the Omnipotent is moved in the administration of the universe.

How little is all earthly greatness! how low and impotent the proudest monarchs, if compared with the poorest person in the world who leads but a good life! for their influence, even in their highest prosperity, is only among weak men like themselves, and not seldom their designs are blasted from Heaven, for the insolence of those that formed them. "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?" While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from Heaven, saying, "The kingdom is departed from thee." But the poor man's prayer pierceth the clouds: and, weak and contemptible as he seems, he can draw down the host of Heaven, and arm the Almighty in his defence, so long as he is able only to utter his wants, or can but turn the thought of his heart to God.

204.-THE INDUSTRY OF THE BRITISH NATION.

CHENEVIX.

[The following extract is from a posthumous work, in two volumes, entitled 'An Essay upon National Character,' published in 1832. There are many striking reflections in this book, which is now little read. Richard Chenevix was well known in the literary and scientific circles of his day; and was the author of two plays, which were considered a most successful imitation of the old dramatists.]

England, now the most renowned scat of industry, was not always thus active in pursuing her industrious speculations. Like every country in which early obstacles are great, she was retarded at her first outset in the career; but, like every country where those difficulties are no more than enough to awaken salutary exertions, she has finally taken a lead, and has left all her early competitors in amaze at her inexplicable progress. The other advantages which she possesses, her laws, her constitution, her Shakspere, her Newton, other nations are more apt to dispute; and, as the Grecian officers did to Themistocles after the battle of Salamis, each allows her only the second place next to itself. But in industry all are compelled to own, as did the Athenian generals to Miltiades, before the day of Marathon, that she has no rival, and to give her up the place of eminence.

Many were the nations who had the start of England in industry; and the Italians, the Germans, the Flemish, and in some respects the Dutch were her predecessors. In very early times, indeed, she possessed neither manufactures nor commerce, although the aptitude of her mind for the mechanical arts was observed by the Romans, at the end of the third century, to be superior to that of the Gauls. Still, however, sharpened as it was by necessity, it was not applied to general purposes even in the time of Alfred; nor does the history of her trade or manufacture present any memorable feature, except its backwardness, till long afterwards. The thirteenth century, indeed, can boast of some commercial treaties with Norway and Flanders, a considerable exportation of wool, the manufacture of some fine linens, the society of the staple, the merchants of the steelyard, &c. But these were far from being even the prognostics of the future development of British industry; for the principal business was in the hands of foreigners, and the mint was conducted by Italians. The next century witnessed much greater progress, and opened under the favourable auspices of the Charta Mercatoria, given by Edward I., granting safety to all merchants of Almaine, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c., who traffic with England—a measure the more expedient, because as yet the natives did not much navigate to other countries, and the produce was carried away by foreigners in foreign ships. Some English vessels did, indeed, trade to the Baltic, but none had penetrated into the Mediterranean. The condition of the shipping, too, was mean and poor, as may be learned from the navy lent by Edward I. to Philip the Fair, the largest vessels of which were manned by forty men; and in 1338 the galleys of Edward III, were built at Nice. Notwithstanding this, however, the balance in favour of Britain must have been considerable, since the exports were

equal to more than seven times the value of the imports. But, unfortunately, they still consisted in raw produce, as wool, woolfells, lead, tin, &c., with the exception of some leather and some coarse cloths; for the natives did not learn how to fabricate those materials for themselves until the conclusion of this era, when manufactured articles became a little less uncommon among the goods exported. The navigation act, prohibiting all British subjects to carry merchandise, except in British ships, manned mostly by Britons, dates from 1381, and the importation of woollen cloths was forbidden in 1399.

The fifteenth century, which revealed so many important secrets to the world, could not fail to be beneficial to England, although it contained the most disastrous period of her history. Still, however, she found means to apply much attention to her woollen manufactures; and a long list of foreign wares, prohibited in 1463, shows that their fabrication at home had made their importation useless. These. too, principally consisted in woollens of all descriptions; in a variety of articles of which leather and iron are the immediate ingredients; and in a few silken goods; and prove that necessary industry had made more progress than luxury.

But the advantages which she was destined to reap from the general proficiency of Europe were to accrue to her more largely at a later period; and not even the sixteenth century saw them fully expand. Nevertheless, her trade increased, and her ships ventured into the seas of the Levant, where they carried woollen stuffs and calf skins. She traded also with the west coast of Africa, with Brazil, with Turkey, with the islands of the Mediterranean; and her commerce with the Netherlands became most extensive. Although the exportation of wool continued, that of woollen cloths increased to an incredible amount; and the ruin of Antwerp gave her the manufacture of silk. So much, indeed, had her traffic augmented, that in 1590, her customs, which Queen Elizabeth had farmed for fourteen thousand pounds, were raised to fifty thousand pounds; and while her ships, both royal and commercial, were increasing in burden and in number, her ports, docks, storehouses, &c., were improved; and she undertook voyages of discoveries and circumnavigation.

The events in which England was engaged during the seventeenth century produced a very different effect upon the enterprising spirit of the nation from those which occurred two hundred years before. The age of Henry V. was the chivalrous age of that country, and chivalry is not propitious to the plodding drudgery of commerce. In the civil wars between the two Roses, the people took no more part than did the Roman people in the wars of Marius and Sylla. No improvement, then, could accrue to them from such ill-directed efforts. But the civil wars of the seventeenth century were for liberty. Every victory, every defeat, enlightened the people, and rapid strides were made; colonies were planted in the New World— the foundation of Anglo-American prosperity was laid-commercial treaties were formed, and manufactures received an increase which would appear incredible did not a later period far surpass it. Such was the prosperity of trade, that in 1613 the customs, which but twenty-three years earlier were farmed for fifty thousand pounds sterling, amounted to one hundred and forty-eight thousand pounds; and between the year 1641 and 1647, the parliament levied forty millions, to wage war against the king. Even in the worst times of the republic, commerce was protected, as the generalization of the navigation act and other wise measures of Cromwell sufficiently prove. Sir James Childe, in his 'Discourses on Trade,' states that, in 1670, the exportation of home manufactures, notwithstanding the loss of some branches, had, upon the whole, increased one-third; and another high authority, Sir William Petty, including a a period of forty years, rates this proportion even at a greater average; for, besides that, many things had doubled during that time, any had trebled and quadrupled, and the revenues of the post-office, a sure crite