capable of entertaining a refined tafte. Not void of beauty and delicacy; yet more especially adapted to enlighten the understanding, to impress the conscience, and build up the foul in faith, in holiness, and in joy.

The

* Two Letters, written to a gentleman of distinction, guilty of common fwearing. To which is added, a third letter to another gentleman in the commiffion of the peace; exciting him to the performance of his part in executing the act against curfing and fwearing. Price 1 s.

* A Sermon preached at Henley in Shropshire, Dec. 2, 1697, being the day of public thanksgiving for the peace; and for his majesty's return, quarto.

* The Bell rung to prayers, being an earnest persuasion to the daily worship of God in every family, calling upon all houses to be houses of prayer, price is.

Prayers and Offices of Devotion for families, and for particular perfons upon moft occafions, twelves, 13th edition, corrected and amended, price 3s.

Every Man's ready Companion, twelves, price Is.-As I have taken the liberty to speak my fentiments concerning the Meditations, let my friend and phyfician Dr. Stonhouse be permitted to speak the merit of this performance. His teftimony, I queftion not, will give pleasure to the reader, as it has done juftice to the author. See the Supplement to Dr. Stonhoufe's Advice to a patient, page 67, of the 7th

edition.

"Jenks' every Man's ready Companion, confifts of re"flections on fome of the most important texts of Scrip

"ture,

The method, in which our author proceeds, is, to me, peculiarly pleafing. First, He collects the moft weighty and fublime truths; He, then, forms them into a close and animated addrefs to the foul, and concludes all with a short but fervent supplication to God, which very much heightens the tenderness and folemnity of the whole. It is fomewhat like pointing the arrow, not with polished steel, but with celeftial fire. Perhaps, the reader will recollect, on this occasion, the story of the angel, appearing to Manoah. When the facrifice was laid on the rock,

"ture, with fuitable prayers. I would earnestly recommend this little piece, not only on account of its being fo cheap, in proportion to the variety of excellent inftruc❝tion it contains, and the strain of rational and lively de❝votion, for which the author was fo eminently (I had al"most faid fingularly) remarkable; but also, as I hope the "example there given, might lead the reader into a me"thod of turning into prayer, many paffages of Scripture " in fomething of a like manner; and, thus perused, thus "improved, the Scriptures would be made doubly profit"able. There are, likewife, in this book, feveral intereft❝ing confiderations fuggested on the Birth of Christ, on "the Sacrament, on the Crucifixion, Refurrection, and "Afcenfion: and to render the whole ftill more exten

fively useful, the author has added a fhort, affecting, and "judicious explanation of the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and "Ten Commandments."

*Heaven opened, tranflated from the Latin, with various improvements, twelves, price 25,

rock, and kindled into a burnt-offering, the feraph mingled himself with the facred oblation, and afcended to heaven in the flamet..

In the language, we have a noble plainness, and a happy perfpicuity; in the fentiments, we have the force of perfuafion, quickened by the glow of devotion. If, in fome few fentences, we meet with an obfolete expreffion or inelegant phrafe, methinks, it is only like a hair adhering to a fine fuit of velvet, or like a mote dropped upon a globe of chryftal. I will not offer fuch an affront to the difcernment and generofity of the reader, as to fuppofe him requiring an apology for so small a blemish; which, when magnified by the fevereft cenfure, is no more than a fpeck; when viewed with the allowances of candour and benevolence, is a mere nothing.

The feveral Meditations may be regarded, as fo many striking sermons, on the most interesting subjects of our holy religion: or rather, as a judicious abridgement of various excellent fermons, on almoft every branch of Chriftianity; in each of which, we have the spirit and energy of a copious discourse,

contracted

+ Judges xiii. 20.

contracted within the fmall compafs of two or three pages; for which reason, I cannot but apprehend, they may be particularly ferviceable in the family, as well as in the closet; that one of these short effays, diftinctly or repeatedly read amongst our domestics, may be more advantageous, than the hafty perufal of a much larger compofition.

There is fcarce any circumstance of the Chriftian life, which folicits the affiftance of a spiritual phyfician, but may be accommodated with feasonable and suitable relief, from this ample difpenfatory of edification, exhortation, and comfort *. Here are (if I may pursue the medicinal allufion) cordials, to chear the drooping; restoratives, to heal the backsliding; ftimulatives, to quicken the fupine; with lenitives, to ease the anguish of conscience, and make the bones which fin has broken, to rejoice +.-Neither are we clogged with a tedious multiplicity of remedies, in any cafe of distress; nor wearied with a dry detail of all that can be faid, upon any point of inquiry. On the contrary; the most spirited doctrines, and

the

*

I Cor. xiv. 3.

+ Pfal. li. 8.

the most sovereign confolations, are both skilfully felected, and pertinently applied; with this well. judged defign, of improving and exhilarating the mind, without over-charging or burdening the me mory.

I would fubmit it, with the utmost deference, to the confideration of my younger brethren in the miniftry, Whether it might not be a very profitable exercise, to pursue the hints, and enlarge the plan, of these compendious treatifes. Whether, by digefting them into proper divifions, and introducing, under each divifion, a more full and circumftantial difplay of the fubject, we might not form popular and useful difcourfes for the pulpit? Such a practice, I persuade myself, might confiderably facilitate our preparations for the public fervice; would stock our own minds with a fet of the most important and affecting truths; and render our miniftrations more acceptable to others, yet in no refpect difhonourable to ourselves. As fuch a transformation is very different from a theft; and the most likely way to commence originals, is, to work upon fuch excellent models.

Let me only add-That I know one perfon, to whom these books have been highly delightful, and eminently beneficial, have very much contributed

VOL. I.

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