LINES ON SPRING. POETRY. TOW Winter clad in fnowy veft, Departs at Heaven's fupreme beheft; And Nature deck'd in vernal grecu, Again affumes her milder mien. The choral fongfters of the grove, Now echo forth their tales of love; On every tender fhoot they fing, They hail the glad return of Spring. Creation with a placid fmile, Foretells reward for all our toil; And earth refresh'd, uprears the ftem, More coftly than the choiceft gem! The bow'rs of Flora now unfold Her hidden beauties, ting'd with gold: Each verdant mead, and fruitful field, Their odorif'rous bleffings yield. With gladd'ning fight, fee yonder too, The fportive lamb, the tender ewe, In wanton frolicks fkip and play, And welcome life's reviving day. Plants, herbs, and trees, to life reftor'd, Their fruits and virtues foon afford :" And ev'ry weed, and graffy clod Affert the being of a GOD. Deny ye Atheists if you dare, The mighty Ruler of the fphere: But man prefumes not to advance, That lovely "Nature came by chance;" When yearly ev'ry ripening bud, Declares an All-fufficient good; And ev'ry plant, though e'er fo fmall, Proclaims the Sov'rcign Lord of all! W. H. HORACE, ODE XIV. Book Second. LAS, my Friend! the fleeting years, How foon they glide away! Α' Nor can thy unavailing tears, Protract the fatal day: Ah, no! they cannot lend thee breath,' What though thy perfum'd altars fmoke, Say, when th' eternal PowER hath spoke, What is by Heaven decreed? With every charm of life, Forlorn, forfaken wife, IMITATION of the FIFTH ONE of the From "Lucem redde tuæ," to "Patriæ WEET the returns of Jefu's love, My night of gloomy fears. And knows no theme but this. Until my light returns, But burns my breaft with fiercer fires, T. R. Free Verfion of fome beautiful Perfic Verses. DE EAR cup of woe, I welcome thee, I make, by forrow taught, to thee PRINTED AT THE CONFERENCE-OFFICE, 14, CITY-ROAD, LONDON, By JOHN JONES, Agent. T. R THE METHODIST MAGAZINE, FOR MAY, 1810. BIOGRAPHY AND CHURCH HISTORY MR. THEOPHILUS GROSGEBAUER, AS a Deacon of the Church of Roftock, who in the year 1661, left in manufcript, in High Dutch, which was afterwards published, a treatife called the Watchman's Voice, in which were defcribed the causes of the decay of Chriftian piety in the world, and the want of fuccefs in the preaching of the word of God.. This book was a great bleffing to many; and, by the mercy of God, was the mean of opening the eyes of Dr. Spener, and of inducing him to fearch for inward and outward religion. About this time. lived also at Rostock, DR. MULLER, Ί Who laboured much for the increase of piety in the Lutheran Church. But he was oppofed and perfecuted, particularly on account of fome expreffions which he used in a Sermon on the 1 Cor.. xii. 2, Ye know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. "Our modern Chriftians, and fuperficial pretenders to religion, (faid he,) have four dumb idols which they worship, and thefe are, 1, The pulpit. 2, The font. 3, The altar. And, 4, The ftool of confeffion." He died in the year 1676, choofing for his funeral text, Jer. 51. 9, We would have healed Babylon but he is not healed: forfake her, and let us go every one into his own Country. DR. PHILIP JACOB SPENER, Became, under God, the principal fupport of the caufe of Pietism, and having long been convinced of the lapfed state of Christendom, before even the name of Pietifm was known, he published his Pia VOL. XXXIII. MAY, 1810. Defideria, Y Defideria, in which he fhews the apoftacy of the Church, and propofes methods for her recovery; and for the benefit of his countrymen, he republished such spiritual books as had been neglected or forgotten, and amongst others, the German Theology, Arndt's True Chriftianity, and Thomas a Kempis. In Frankfort, in the Year 1666, he kept Collegia Pietatis, or exercifes of piety, in his own houfe, twice a week, where he gave firft his own expofition of fome chapter of the facred Scriptures, and then allowed others, whofe thoughts had been employed on the word of God, whether Laymen or Clergymen, to exercife their religious gifts, in fpeaking of their own experience or views of the fubjects under confideration. This was accompanied with a great bleffing, as it excited attention to the Scriptures, and real religion was much increafed by it. When this private college or meeting was first opened, it was much talked of, fome praifing and others blaming it; but Dr. Spener knew how to go through evil report and good report, through honour and difhonour, which apoftolical language he often cited, and he was not deterred from his purpose by any thing that was faid of him. Abundance of people flocked to this meeting, to hear what this religious novelty was; and although many persons went from mere curiofity, and fome from a worse principle, the Lord made this an hour of vilitation to many fouls, and many were bleffed by the comments and exhortations which they heard from Dr. Spener and other Chriftians. The perfons who endeavoured to suppress this meeting spread the fame of it, and it was occafionally attended by men of great learning and high rank. Dr. Spener preached publickly at Frankfort, for a whole year, on the neceffity of practical religion, befides which he laboured to bring both rich and poor to the knowledge of experimental and practical godlinefs, by vifiting them from houfe to houfe. He was much esteemed, both by the Lutherans and Calvinifts, and many. of the latter frequented his Church. His love to the poor, induced him to apply to the magiftrates for leave to build an hofpital at Frankfort in which he fucceeded. But Dr. Spener's labours did not terminate at Frankfort. This, excellent man was called to Drefden in the year 1689, to be the first Chaplain to the Elector of Saxony. Here he was of great ufe to fome young minifters of, the Gospel whose minds God had impreffed with the importance of true religion, and among whom Pietifm was beginning to fpread. At Drefden, Dr. Spener was in derifion called the Patriarch of the Pietifts. The Elector did not admire his public fermons, which were generally feasoned with divine wisdom, and piercing to the very heart. Nor did he approve of his private vifits in which he would keep him in conference about |