therefore it becomes the fervants of the Moft High to obey, the divide command, Warn the people, whether they will hear or forbear. encouragement to continue their prayers and their exertions for the profperity of Zion. ORDINATION. On Wednesday Sept. 24, 1800, the Rev. Jofeph Rowell was or "The people generally affemble for public worship, at the time appointed, notwithstanding they regard not the word. Curiofity, ordained over the Church of Chrift the over-ruling hand of God caufes them to meet to hear the preaching of the gofpel; and many of them retire with their eyes bedewed with tears. It is in the power of God to foften the heart, and it appears as though he had, in feveral inftances, manifefted his power, but what the confequence will be, he only knows. "The Lord, I truft is about to caufe a change in the manners of many of the people in this country. Tho' an indifference to religion prevails in fome places, particularly where I now am; it is not generally fo, thro' the country, that is, there are many places in which a reformation is already begun, and I hope it will foon spread and become uni in Cornish, New-Hampfhire. The POETRY. COMMUNICATED AS ORIGINAL. verfal; when the knowledge of the Prayer for Repentance and cleansing by the Lord fhall cover the whole earth as the waters do the fea." SINCE the publication of our laft number, the Rev. David Huntington has entered on a miffion to the new fettlements in the northern parts of Vermont, and the west fide of Lake Champlain. THE Rev. William Storrs lately returned from a miffion to Vermont. He spent thirteen weeks on his miffion; was generally received with kindnefs, and the people expreffed a high fenfe of obligation to their brethren in Connecticut for fending Miffionaries among them. In feveral towns, Mr. Storrs found a more than common attention to religion, and in fome a pretty general awakening. The friends of religion have great I. blood of Jefus. ALmight Lmighty God, before thy throne, We humbly bow with penitential fighs; Laden with guilt we deeply groan; O fee our grief, and hear our mournful cries! The weary world feek fleep's recruiting aid, Piercing the fhades, high to the throne of grace, Afcend my foul and feek thy maker's face. 2. Jefus invites and I with joy obey, And try my feeble voice to praise and pray, Whilft the bleft fpirit, purchas'd with his blood, Aids my weak powers to feek the father, God. 3. My foul begins, where heaven's creating will, Firft form'd her powers, and fhap'd with wondrous fkill, This mortal body, view the curious frame ! Through which he knows the Author, learns his name ; 4. Then gratefully reviews his guardi S ON SIN. IN radically confifts in partial affection in a being capable of knowing God; or rather, in his loving the creature more than the Creator. This affection of heart is in its nature, hostile to the univerfe, and involves in itself every thing that is vile and bafe; it is most unjust, it is against reafon and the fitnefs of things; and the fubject of it must of neceffity be oppofed by the universe, as its ene my; and if the intereft of the whole is more important than the intereft of a part, fuch oppofition is fit and reafonable. er efficient caufe of his own finful nature and exercises it might be hard to fhew; but fuppofe it were admitted, that he might be the cause of his finful exercises, he muft certainly be fo by his own act; but it would not follow that the producing act must be a finful act, or if, in a given cafe, it should be, it would not follow that its finfulness is neceffary to the finfulnefs of the effect. To inftance in the first fin that existed: The queftion is, what was its caufe? And the answer, on the prefent fuppofition is, the act of the finner : But certainly the act caufing the first fin, being prior to it, and the ground of it, could not be a finful Whatever be the cause of fin, its nature will be the fame ; enmity to being; oppofition to the gen-act, because to fuppofe this would eral good. But as finful man, in order to justify himself, is difpofed to cast all the blame of fin on its caufe, and fo ultimately on God the first cause; let us fee, for a moment, whether there is any evidence that the cause of fin is to blame. be to fuppofe fin existed before the firft fin. It is clear then, that the first fin was not produced by a blameable caufe in the finner; confequently, all the blame of the first fin lay in its nature, and not at all in its caufe, if, as is now fuppofed, the finner himfelf be the cause. To the question what is the But if the blame of any one fin caufe of fin, if it have a pofitive may be wholly in its nature, and caufe, the answer muft be, God, not at all in its caufe, this may also or, the finner himself, is the caufe. be true of all fin; an attempt thereThat the finner himself is the prop-fore to caft the blame of fin VOL. I. No. 6. Bb any upon its caufe, fuppofing the finner himself to be the caufe, would not only be irrevelant but unreafonable. Again, it does not appear that the caufe of fin is to blame, en the ground that God is the caufe; even the pofitive or efficient caufe; the conclufion that it is, is built on the hypothefis that there is all that in the cause, which there is in the effect, but this hypothefis is fallacious. God created the material world, but God is not material, he has made creatures of oppofite natures, the harmlefs dove and the fpiteful ferpent, but he is not poffeffed of thefe oppofite natures in co-existence. God caufes natural evil, pain and mifery; But God is not miferable, but bleffed forever. If fin be a pofitive existence and require a pofitive caufe, fo is matter a pofitive existence and requires a pofitive caufe, and the existence of the latter proves God to be material, as much as the existence of the former proves God to be finful. It may be faid that the other effects which have been mentioned, as produced by the divine agency, are mere negations, the abfence of good, the want of perfection, and therefore they require no pofitive cause of their exiftence, and that this may be the cafe of fin itfelf; but if this be true, it is ftill more evident that the caufe, or more properly the occafion, of fin is not to blame or finful. If fin be that ftate of a moral being which neceffarily takes place on the abfence or with drawment of the divine prefence and influence, its existence will be fo far from proving God to be finful, that it will prove his purity and holiness in the cleareft manner; and on the fame evidence that natural darkness, being that ftate which fucceeds on the absence or withdrawment of the natural Sun, evinces that body to be bright and luminous. Moral evil in the effect then does not prove moral evil in the caufe; God may be the cause of fin, in either of the fenfes which have been mentioned, and yet be perfectly holy; as well as the caufe of matter and yet be perfectly fpiritual; or the caufe of pain and yet be perfectly happy. Confequently an attempt to cast the blame of fin upon its caufe, fuppofing God to be its caufe, is unreafonable, it is to charge God foolishly, for the charge cannot be proved from the relation of an effect to its caufe. But on the fuppofition that God is the cause of fin, can he be righteous in taking vengeance? Anfwer; God's being the cause of fin alters not its nature, it is still fin, enmity to being, oppofed to the total of created and uncreated good, tending, in its whole nature, to fubvert general order, and to overturn even the throne of God himself; its exiftence then being fuppofed, God, as the guardian of the general good, muft oppofe and punifh it. But why was it firft caufed? Suppofe we can affign no good reafons, it does not follow that there are none; There may be reafons for it refulting from the perfections of God, the imperfections of creatures, and the ends of the divine government, which lie beyond our fight, who are but of yefterday: But furely before we prefume to caft the blame of fin on God for caufing it, we ought to be very certain on good evidence, that in caufing it, he acted without reafon, and when we can demonstrate that he did fo, and not till then, we shall have reafon to find fault; but if we withhold our cenfures till then, the divine government will, with refpect to the existence of fin, forever remain unimpeach ant point, but has condefcended to give us two reafons, at least, of his agency in the existence of fin, or in hardening the hearts of finners, which ought to fatisfy us, (viz.) to few his wrath and make his power known ; and to make known the riches of his glory, on the veffels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory. by the church he might make ed. God has not however left us wholly uninformed on this import-known, to principalities and powers in heavenly places, the manifold wisdom of God." He caufes "all things to work together for the good of them, that love God." In the procefs of this work, he makes an immenfe advance, upon all former discoveries of the divine character. This brings glory to God, and increases the public good. The declarative glory of God confifts in the manifeftation of his perfections. These manifeftations are the riches of the univerfe. In this work, the glory of God, and the happinefs of his kingdom are infeparably connected. The happinefs of the holy Angels, as well as of those who are faved by his redemption, is unfpeakably increased, by the difcoveries which Chrift has made, of the infinite excellence of God. This is done in feveral particulars. A letter from a Gentleman to a T I friend. DEAR SIR, THINK you will not be difturbed at the length of this letter, when you are informed, that our Lord Jefus is the fubject of almost every fentence. You are not fingular in confidering him, as the distinguished character of the gofpel. The apostle Paul was determined to know nothing, among the Corinthian Chriftians, but Jefus Chrift, and him crucified. He is God manifeft in the flesh. He came to accomplish a work of infinite importance-to fave finners, and ultimately, by their falvation, and by his whole work, to glorify God. In his prayer, a little before his crucifixion, he expreffed this idea to the Father. "I have glorified thee on earth, I have finifhed the work, which thou gavest me to do." This was his errand, and this he accomplished. On this account he is called the "Brightnefs of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon." In this work, he promotes the public good. The happiness of all holy creatures is greatly increafed by it. And to this end, "All power in heaven and on earth is given unto him-the government is put upon bis fhoulders and he is made head over all things to the church-that Chrift has made a wonderful manifeftation of the justice of God in punishing finners. Something of this was done, when God caft out the apoftate angels from his blifsful prefence, and doomed them, for their first revolt, to endlefs defpair. Their punishment, doubtless appeared juft, and neceffary for the fupport of his beneficent gov. ernment. Their rebellion appeared to the elect angels an awful crime, and worthy of fignal wrath. The holy would naturally reflect on the importance of the divine law, the excellency of God, and the infinite obligations, which his creatures are under to him. And the tho'ts of rebellion would excite horror, and the punishment of rebels would meet with their approbation. In the condemnation of the revolters, God rendered his law refpectable in the fight of the holy angels. They faw it was not to be tried with: and the |