neceffary to communicate inftruction to heathen people. Say not then we are difcouraged; be not difcouraged while the promise endures, but remember there must be means for the accomplishment of the promise. But it is not the heathen only who claim cur liberality. Perhaps the state of our new fettlements is a higher call to Christian exertion; and indeed, we cannot overlook either of these objects with a pure confcience. The American church is placed in a new and interefting fituation; and there is a new and more folemn obligation, than was ever found on Chriftians before, in any part of the world, arifing from the removal of our children into the wildernefs, where many of them cannot enjoy the hearing of the word and the adminiftration of ordinances, without our affift ance at the present moment. It is eftimated that there are in the wil derness on the back part of the United States, between two and three thoufand fettlements which are unable to fupport teachers of religion. The inhabitants pitched in a wildernefs, on fmall farms purchafed from the more affluent dealers in new territory; few of thefe affluent people are with them; fome of them, alfo, are regardless of religion, and indifpofed to Chrif tian doctrines in their purity. We never can depend on the great land dealers to pay much attention to this fubject. Thefe industrious inhabitants, who have good profpects after a few years are paft, are now ftruggling with the roughnefs of the wilderness; they are yet poor; their numbers are not fufficient to fupport a religious inftructor; multitudes of them have little inducement to convene on the fabbath there is among them a great fcar city of pious and inftructive books; they are exposed to the feduction of infidelity on one hand, and the enthufiafm of ignorant pretenders to religion on the other; they are gradually forgetting the religious habits and truths received in their youth; and in many places becoming infenfible of the benefits both for time and eternity, which flow from eftablishments for pious inftruction. And who are those thus fituated? They are our old neighbors; our brothers, our filters, our children. We were the inftruments of giving them life; we drew our nourishment from the fame breasts; our childhood and youth were passed together, and we called them our friends and our dear ones By our mouths they were first taught; by our hands they were baptized; by our prayers they were confecrated to God; and doubtlefs we do fometimes yet pray for them; but shall we rest in this? Ought we not to give evidence of the fincerity of our prayer to God, by furnishing them the means of inftruction fo far as is poffible to our power? It was their lot to go into the wilder nefs; ours to remain on the old feats of our common ancestors, and under the bright sunshine of gofpel means; and fhall we not confider their fituation? Shall we not help them to remember God; to feek and ferve a glorious Saviour; to form and organize churches; to obtain pious inftructors and train up their babes, who are born in the wildernefs, in the ways of God? Reader, remember, that by the Miffionary fervices furnished through thy liberality, thou art communing with thy old neighbors, thy brothers and fifters and thy children, in the things which per tain to the kingdom of heaven. Say not in thine heart these people do not need fuch affiftance; for though a few fettlements may be wealthy, far the greater number are otherwife. Say not, that they do not defire fuch affiftance, for it is a mistake, and the defire of multitudes is ardent. There are infidels and haters of piety in the new fettlements, as there are in the old, and these men will attempt to ridicule all the means of religion; but believe them not, nor be deterred from doing good by their fuggeftions. There are vast numbers who defire to hear, and they thank God for the opportunity. The labors of your Miffionaries have been greatly bleffed, to call the attention of many thousand fouls, many of whom are now rejoicing in the peace and obedience of the gofpel. In another letter I fhall lay before you an estimate of the Miffionary services furnished by this state, and fome further motives for your future liberality. MINORIS. On the nature of the Saint's perfe I verance. 'cious and finful exercifes in their hearts, in which they are perfectly holy, and perfectly finful by turns; and that nothing more is meant by the doctrine of the Saint's perfeverance than this, that all thofe who are born again, though they will fall, every fin they commit, into a totally finful state, being nevertheless fecured by the covenant of grace, fhall obtain eternal life. I beg leave to fubmit the following confiderations in fupport of the former opinion, which I believe to be the truth. It is evident that there is fuch an oppofition either of principles or of exercifes in every Saint as in the fcriptures is called a warfare. St. Paul, addreffing Timothy, fays, "That thou by them mightest war a good warfare." Alfo, Alfo, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." Of himself he fays, "So fight I, not as those who beat the air, but I keep under jection." In another place he fays, my body, and bring it into fub"We wrestle not (or not only) against flefs and blood, but against principalities and powers." Again, in the Song of Solomon, Chrift addreffing the Spouse fays, "What T is admitted by all who are denominated Calvinifts, that all those who are born again will, through the grace of God, fo perfevere in a courfe of holy obedi-will ye fee in the Shulamite ; as ence, as to obtan eternal life in it were the company of two arthe coming world. But there are mies" But certainly there can be two differing opinions concerning no warfare unlefs the armies, or the nature of this perfeverance. the combatants, are on the field One, which feems to be the most together; and this is equally true ancient and general, is, that grace of a fpiritual as of a natural waror holiness in the heart, once im- fare. If he exercises of the Saints planted, is an inamiffible principle, are all perfectly holy, or perfectly and is, in truth, the beginning finful, then the existence of the of eternal life, though at first very one fort of exercifes neceffarily imperfect. The other is, that precludes the existence of the othgrace or holiness is not a principle, er; during the prefence of a holy but merely an exercife, and that, exercife, there can be nothing to as faints are imperfectly fanctified oppofe it, and when it ceafes to in this life, there is, in the prefent be, oppofition to it comes too late, state, a conftant alternation of gra- becaufe by the fuppofition, it no longer exifts: fo during the prefence of a finful exercife, there can be nothing to oppofe that, for there can no contrary exercife coexift with it, and when it ceases to be, oppofition to it comes too late, and is utterly impoffible. Both exercifes, while they exift, hold an entire and uncontroled dominion; but this is utterly inconfiftent with a war between them. No war can exist between them unless they actually conflict and struggle with each other, as Jacob and Efau did while in their mother's womb; but this is impoffible, for there is no moment in which they coexist. That two oppofite exercifes of the will fhould coexift, I admit is impoffible, but I do not think it impoffible for two oppofite laws or principles of action. to coexift, and that they actually do fo is, I think, demonftrated by the Apoftle Paul, in his difcourfe on that fubject, in the 7th Chapter of his Epiftle to the Romans. He plainly fpeaks of two oppofite laws, the law in his members, and the law of his mind; by which, I think, he muft mean two oppofite principles of action. Diftinct, independent exercifes cannot properly be called a law; but that within us, whatever it may be, that lays a foundation for a train of exercifes of a certain kind, may be fo called, whether it be tafte, propenfity, inclination, or other divine conftitution whatever. The feat of these oppofite laws, according to the apoftle's figurative reprefentation, is not the fame; one is in the members, the other in the mind; ftill, it is evident, he fpeaks of them as coexifting. And as he would do good uniformly and conftantly, obeying the impulfe of the law of his mind, were he not dragged the other way by the law in his members; and as the mind, rather than the members, denominates the man, he concludes, that it was not prop erly he who did that which he would not, but fin that dwelt in him. Here it is evident that the new man gave denomination to Paul's perfon; and in that view of it, it was not he who did wrong, but in the old man or the body of fin within him And in the fame fenfe St. John fays, "He that is born of God doth not commit fin, for his feed re maineth in him, and he cannot fin, because he is born of God." But if the new principle called the new man or the new creature denominates the perfon of every Saint, then certainly it always exifts, and there is a vital feed in the heart that never dies. He is not therefore perfectly holy and perfectly finful, by turns, but he is always a Saint, or a holy per fon. The fame is proved by the whole of the Apostle's difcourfe. He fays, " For what I do, I allow not," that is, at the inftant I do evil, I allow it not, "for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate that do I." That is, oppofite propenfities, at the fame moment, exert themselves in op. pofite directions. "For to will that is, a propenfity to do good, is prefent with me," he muft mean always prefent, for it is afferted, without limitation," but how to perform that which is good I find not." Further he fays, "I find, then, a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me." That is, prefent at the time, when, he would do good. To will, that is a difpofition to do good, then, is always prefent, and evil is al ways prefent when he would do good, or which is the fame thing, they always coexist. The con ftant struggle there is between the two principles, or between the old man and the new man, conftitutes the spiritual warfare which exifts in every true Chriftian. "The flesh lufteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and thefe are contrary the one to the other." corn in the ear. Again he reprefents the kingdom of God as it was to exist in the world, and alfo in the foul of the believer, in its progrefs towards perfection, by a grain of muftard feed, which a man took and fowed in his field. This parable, in addition to what was reprefented by the good feed, further. fhows, that from fmall beginnings the kingdom will become immenfely great and glorious.Again, he reprefents it by leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. Now this again fhows the unceasing progrefs of the kingdom, in both the fenfes mentioned, towards perfection; not by intermitted steps, but in a gradual advance; for the nature of leaven is to produce a fermentation in the meal duly prepared, which will never ceafe to operate, till the whole mafs is fermented, and changed into its own nature. As the holy fcriptures are every where full to the fame purpose, I will felect a number of paffages which, I think, will place the matter in a still clearer light. In general, all thofe texts which prove that the faved pafs through the new-birth, or are born of God, equally prove the perpetuity of a principle of fpiritual life." The moft prominent idea in birth is the commencement of life, and the most prominent idea in the newbirth is the commencement of fpiritual life. A new creature is formed. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the fpirit is fpirit." Here the question will be, does this new creature ever die? Or, is the vital principle ever extinct? Now if all holiness and fin lie in exercise, and that exercife, in the regenerate, is alternately perfectly holy and perfectly finful; then the fpiritual life produced in the new-" being born again, not of corbirth, which is holinefs, is often extinct, or the new creature often dies; indeed, what is called the ́old man and the new man die and revive as often as the oppofite exercises alternate. But, this feems not to be the truth. On the contrary, fpiritual life in the foul is the commencement of a life which never ends, or eternal life. In the 13th chapter of Mat-Paul fays this fame word of God thew Chrift reprefents it, by feed is quick or living, and powerful, fown in good ground, which does fharper than any two-edged fword, not die in the earth, but germi- piercing, &c. and is a difcerner of nates, and progreffes forward, till the thoughts and intents of the it brings forth fruit to perfection. heart. It is, when mixed with Its progrefs is marked, firft the blade, then the ear, then the full The Apoftles, following the steps of the great teacher who came from God, frequently reprefent fpiritual life in the foal, under the fame emblem of feed fown. The Apostle Peter fays, ruptible feed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever." The feed, according to our Lord's explanation, is the word of God in the heart, or what elsewhere is called the engrafted word or the word mixed with faith; this is exprefsly faid to be incorruptible, and which liveth and abideth for ever. St. * Luke xvii. 21. Romans xiv. 17. therefore eternal. Our Saviour fays, "This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent ;" but every believer has the true knowledge of God and of Jefus Chrift, he has there fore eternal life. faith, and fo become the engrafted word, an immortal principle of life in the foul. St. John, in his firft Epiftle fays, "Whofoever is born of God doth not commit fin, for his feed remaineth in him," &c. if the feed, or fpiritual life remain eth, it is never intermitted. Again he fays, "I have written un- Again, the divine writers comto you young men, because ye are pare this principle of grace in the strong, and the word of God abid-heart to living waters, than which eth in you," &c. On which nothing has a more unceasing enerthe fame remark may be made. gy and motion. Solomon fays, He adds, "But the anointing" Keep thy heart with all diliwhich ye have received of him ;"gence, for out of it are the issues or the fanctifying influences of the of life. The mouth of the rightefpirit of God, "abideth in you, ous man is a well of life. The law &c. and as the fame anointing of the wife is a fountain of life. hath taught you, ye fhall abide in Understanding is a well-spring of him." Here is not only their ac- life unto him that hath it.” Our tual state, abiding in Chrift, but a Lord addreffing the woman of Sapromife of their continuing fo to maria, fays, "If thou knewest do, je fhall abide in him. Again, the gift of God, and who it is, "We know that we have paf that faith unto thee, give me to fed from death to life because we drink, thou wouldest have asked love the brethren. He that lov- of him, and he would have given eth not his brother, abideth in thee living water. Whofoever death. Whofoever hateth his drinketh of the water that I fhall brother, is a murderer, and ye give him, fhall never thirst; but know, that no murderer hath eter- the water that I shall give him, nal life abiding in him." Here, fhall be in him a well of water he who loves, and he who hates Springing up into everlafling life." his brother, are contrafted; the Again, "He that believeth on one hath life the other hath not me, as the fcripture hath faid, eternal life abiding in him; to make out of his belly fhall flow rivers of the antithefis complete, the life living water. No image in nawhich he who loves his brother ture could more fully illuftrate the hath, is eternal life; for if neither vital energy and perpetuity of grace of them have eternal life, he who in the heart. hates his brother is not diftinguished from him, who loves his brother, by faying, he hath not eternal life abiding in him; the confequence is, he who loves his brother, hath eternal life abiding in him; but eternal life is an indefectible principle. Conformably to this idea, St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, fays exprefsly, charity or love to God never faileth; it is and man, The fame truth is evident by what Chrift fays of himself, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven, if any man fhall eat of this bread he shall live forever. Except ye eat the flefh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whofo eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life." And much more of like import, in the fame paffage. |