f
 
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 ses of bis procuring,) there 
 MY soulI" P- 61.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONSCIENCE 
 
 OR THE GROUNDS 
 
 SOLICITUDE AND HOPE 
 
 BY AIVIBROSE EDSON, 
 
 Late a Pastor of the 3d C6ngicgational Church, Berlin, Ct. 
 
 " / thoiight on my ways, and turned my feet 
 unto thy testimonies.'" 
 
 HARTFORD. 
 H. F. SUMNER & CO. 
 
 1835. .
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 
 1835, by A. Edson, in the Clerk's Office of the 
 District Court of Connecticut. 
 
 J. urnnARD wekls, PRmr,
 
 To the people of my former,* and more recent 
 pastoral charge, this volume is inscribed, aa 
 a testimony of affectionate regard, and of 
 an ardent desire to promote their spir- 
 itual good, and the eternal welfare of 
 those who still remain out of the 
 ark of mercy; — by their former 
 Pastor, and faithful friend, 
 
 THE AUTHOR, 
 
 * Brooklyn, Conn.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The design of this little volume is, with the 
 blessing of God, to promote the conversion of 
 sinners, and the salvation of souls. With this 
 in view, the first object has been to awaken an 
 interest' on the subject of religion, by a proper 
 exhibition of important truth; and then so to 
 deepen that interest into solicitude, for the wel- 
 fare of the soul, that, by the presentation of the 
 claims of God, in the gospel, the sinner may be 
 led by the Spirit, to yield up the controversy, and 
 give his heart to God. The latter part of the vol- 
 miie was designed to afford him some simple 
 tests, by which, to try liis character, and hope. 
 It would have been easy, to have enlarged the 
 work, by giving a fuller exhibition of the grounds 
 of " solicitude and hope;" but it was thought 
 that this would not be likely to increase its use- 
 , fulness; for, by enlarging its size, some for whom 
 it was especially designed, might be deterred 
 from the undertaking of giving it a perusal. — 
 With the present, and it is thought, natural ar- 
 rangement of the subjects of the volume, the
 
 author, in the filling up, has seized upon those 
 points, only, which seemed most important, or 
 best adapted to produce the desired impression 
 on the mind; and has designed to press them upon 
 the conscience, with as much simplicity, clear- 
 ness, and urgency as he was capable. Whether 
 he has been successful in this effort, he. of course, 
 is not the proper judge. 
 
 If this volume is adapted to promote the object 
 designed, it must depend, principally, upon the 
 efforts of those who love the prosperity of Zion, 
 and pray for the salvation of souls, to give it 
 the opportunity of doing extensive good. To 
 every professing Christian, then, into whose 
 hands this work may fall, let me say, first read 
 it through yourself; and then loan it to some im- 
 penitent friend/^whose salvation you desire, and 
 for which, you will plead with God in prayer. 
 And when it has delivered its message to him, 
 place it in the hands of another, and another, 
 until it is worn out, in so good a cause. If an 
 individual can be persuaded to read the first Let- 
 ter, attentively, it is hoped that he will not feel 
 disposed to lay down the book immediately. In 
 a time of excited interest on the subject of relig- 
 ion, it is believed, that Pastors, in its circulation
 
 IX 
 
 among their flocks, will find it an imjiortant aux- 
 iliary, in advancing the cause, for wJiich, ^vitb 
 so much solicitude, they are laboring, and pray- 
 ing. 
 
 In regard to the Theology of the volume, the 
 author has designed to divest it of every thing 
 which should appear like a polanical spirit and 
 character; — and he is not aware, that there will 
 be found any thing, in this Httle manual, partic- 
 ularly objectionable to his brethren in the minis- 
 try, who suppose they differ much from each oth- 
 er, on some minor points, in Theological debate. 
 It is not designed to advance the cause of any 
 party, but that of Jesus Christ; or help settle any 
 controversy, but that of the sinner against God. 
 Nor is it designed for literary effect; but for prac- 
 tical usefulness; adapted to the'capacity of all 
 vdio are willing to think. That the work is as 
 perfect as it might be, is not pretended; and 
 should another edition be called for, it is the de- 
 sign, to revise, and make it better adapted to pro- 
 mote the object for which it has been prepared. 
 But for the present, with all its faults, the volume 
 is sent forth into the world, with the sincere 
 prayer of the author, that, although laid aside, in 
 the providence of God, from the public ministra-
 
 tions of the sanctuary, he may yet, in his feeble 
 heahh, be instrumental in promoting the salvation 
 of dying men. 
 
 February, 1835. 

 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Letter I. — Grounds for solicitude, . . 9 
 
 Letter II. — The claims of God in the Gos- 
 pel, 28 
 
 Letter III. — The danger of grieving the 
 Spirit, ....... 49 
 
 Letter IV. — Evangelical repentance, and 
 its evidences, 67 
 
 Letter V. — Evangelical foith, and the faith 
 of assurance, . . . . . .78 
 
 Letter VI. — Prayer, .... 96 
 
 Letter VII. — Benevolent effort. . . 110
 
 I
 
 LETT E R S 
 
 CONSCIENCE 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 I HA.VE supposed that this little volume 
 would probably fall into the hands of two 
 classes of personsj those who profess a 
 hope that they are real Christians, by the 
 renewal and sanctification of their hearts 
 and those who cherish no such hope. To 
 the former, let me say, I hope the perusal of 
 these pages may prove profitable, in leading 
 to self-examination, — to a closer walk with 
 God, and a more active devotedness to the 
 interests of the Redeemer's kingdom; whilst 
 2
 
 10 TO THE READER- 
 
 I acknowledge, that, to the latter class, I 
 have had special reference in the prepara- 
 tion of this little manual. It is in your 
 welfare, my dear friend, if you are living 
 without a well grounded hope of enjoying 
 the favor of God, that I feel a deep inter- 
 est. I have addressed many such from the 
 sacred desk, — and now, that I can do this 
 no longer, suffer me to address a few con- 
 siderations, through the eye, to the con- 
 sciences of those Avhom I have not seen, 
 as well as those whom I have, who are 
 ready to admit, that they are not Christ- 
 ians. Fellow travellers to eternity, I know 
 you wish to die the death of the righteous, 
 and hope, in some way, that you shall at 
 last find admission to the kingdom of heav- 
 en; but this does not appear to be a matter 
 of such present urgency, as to call forth 
 much interest on the subject. I shall not, 
 at present, attempt to account for this; but 
 would rather offer some considerations, 
 showing that it ought not so to be, — that 
 there is ground for solicitude, respecting
 
 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 11 
 
 the salvation of the soul. This is the 
 point, to which I wish, for a few moments, 
 to call your attention. 
 
 THERE IS GROUND FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 To be satisfied of this, let me ask you, 
 to look at yourself. You are a creature, 
 — an intelligent being, — raised above the 
 lower orders of creation. You have reason 
 and conscience, which they have not; and 
 hence you are made capable of understand- 
 ing duty, and feeling the force of moral 
 obligations. As you are a creature^ so you 
 have a Creator, who has given you exist- 
 ence, and who upholds you in existence 
 every moment you live. But this Being 
 stands in another relation to you besides 
 that of Creator, and Preserver, — it is that 
 of Lawgiver, and moral Governor. Of 
 those, — whom he has given existence, and 
 whom he sustains in existence every mo- 
 ment, he has a right to make requirements. 
 These requirements, if he is reasonable, 
 will also be reasonable; and if they are.
 
 12 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 how evident appears the obligation to obey? 
 It does not need a revelation to teach 
 us, that the very relation, which children 
 bear to their parents, places them under 
 obligation to obey those parents. But what 
 have parents done for their children, com- 
 pared with what God has done, and is 
 doing, for all his creatures'? With what 
 additional force, then, may his claims to 
 obedience, be urged? But when we look at 
 his character, as perfectly Avise, righteous, 
 benevolent, and holy, — and learn that his 
 law, or his requirements, have the same im- 
 press, — where is there a creature that can 
 feel, for a moment, but that such a law, of 
 such a Being, ought to secure the respect, 
 and cheerful obedience, of every creature 
 which he has formed. But -it has not. — 
 There are those who have transgressed the 
 laws of this Being, who is glorious in ho- 
 liness, — the perfection of excellence, — who 
 has given them existence, and holds them 
 in life. They have risen in rebellion 
 against his authority. And this you have
 
 THE PENALTY. 13 
 
 done, fellow sinner. I do not accuse you of 
 any outbreaking sin, by which you have 
 forfeited the respect of the world around 
 you. But still, in thought, word, and deed, 
 you have done that which God has forbid- 
 den, and refused to do that which he re- 
 quires. And if you had done this, in but a 
 single instance, you would be a sinner 
 against this God. But you cannot count 
 a thousandth part of the sins, of which 
 God has seen you guilty, — as regular, and 
 moral, as you have been. Now, is it possi- 
 ble to think of this, and connect, with it, 
 the unspotted holiness of God's character, 
 without feeling, that there is cause for soli- 
 citude, in the case of every sinner? 
 
 THE PENALTY. *, 
 
 But further, God has not only given his 
 creatures a law, which has been violated, — 
 but there is a penalty that has been incur- 
 red; a penalty, which shows just how God 
 feels towards sin, and how he is determined
 
 14 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 to treat it: '' Whoso keepeth the whole law, 
 and offendeth in but one point is guilty." 
 "Cursed is every one that continueth not 
 in all things written in the book of the 
 law to do them." "The soul that sin- 
 neth it shall die." There is a meaning 
 to this curse, when God pronounces it. — 
 It will show the estimate which he puts 
 upon his law; and this, recollect, is for 
 a single transgression. It is not, " cursed 
 are those who continue, all their lives, to 
 trample upon the commands of the ever 
 blessed God," — but " who do not, in all 
 things, obey." I have said that this curse 
 means something. It is the " wrath of 
 God," — a God of holiness, justice, and Al- 
 mighty power, Avho does not trifle with 
 mere threats. But we cannot comprehend 
 the full amount of evil, which is implied 
 in the displeasure of a holy God, threat- 
 ened against sin; any more than we can 
 comprehend the full amount of bliss, Avhich 
 " eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has 
 entered the heart of man," which God will
 
 THE PENALTY. 15 
 
 bestow upon the righteous. It may be said 
 of the former, as Avell as the latter, that 
 '• none, but he that feels it, knows." But 
 there is enough in that imagery of wrath, 
 which God has employed in his word, to 
 describe the fearful condition and prospects 
 of the wicked, to awaken solicitude. The 
 penalty for a single sin, is the wrath and 
 curse of God, — and when millions of ages 
 shall have passed away, in a hopeless, un- 
 ending exile from God, and happiness, it 
 will still be — ''wrath to come." What then 
 must be the result, when the sinner has 
 been "treasuring up wrath against the 
 day of wrath," by the multiplied offences 
 of years'.! What '* indignation and wrath, 
 tribulation and anguish" must be its amount? 
 Can any one think of this, and think too, 
 it is that to which he is exposed, if he 
 is still out of Christ, and yet avoid feeling 
 that there is ground for solicitude? This 
 is the penalty which God has affixed to 
 sin, to show how he regards it. And He 
 is not a man that he should lie. Hath he
 
 16 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, 
 and shall he not make it good? 
 
 But there is another thought: this penal- 
 ty, which God has annexed to sin, can nev- 
 er be removed, by any subsequent obedi- 
 ence. This obedience is demanded by the 
 lavp-, and was, before the sin was commit- 
 ted. Should the sinner, therefore, obey 
 the law perfectly, after the first transgres- 
 sion, it does not remove the penalty for that 
 one sin. That stands registered in God's 
 book; and there it will stand, notwithstand- 
 ing all that the sinner can do to blot it out. 
 Let the murderer lead a life ever so regular, 
 and honest, — he remains a murderer still; 
 and the only way for him to meet the pen- 
 alty, is to suffer it! — It is so with the sin- 
 ner. So far as the law is concerned, the 
 moment he commits the first sin, all title 
 to heaven is annihilated, — and he becomes 
 an heir of perdition, that is hopeless, and 
 endless: from which no subsequent obedi- 
 ence can deliver him. Oh! is there not 
 ground for solicitude?
 
 THE PENALTY. 17 
 
 But this is not all. This penalty which 
 is incurred, may at any moment be inflict- 
 ed. In the case of the capital offender, 
 the execution of the sentence of the law, 
 is often postponed for several months, and 
 the postponement announced by the judge. 
 In this case, the criminal feels that he has 
 a guarantee, that the sentence shall not be 
 executed, until that time arrives. But sup- 
 pose the sentence of death be pronounced, 
 but, of t]ie time, the criminal is not informed, 
 — with what different feelings will he now 
 look upon his situation ? ' It is true, says 
 he to himself, I may not be executed with- 
 in a month, or even six months, — but I 
 may too, be living out my last day on 
 earth! Even the turning of the key, and 
 that distant tread, which I hear, may be that 
 of the executioner, coming to lead me forth 
 to my doom!' Oh sinner, though you may 
 live, for months, or years, — still, is not the 
 fearful uncertainty^ connected with your 
 acknowledged want of preparation for death, 
 enough to awaken solicitude on the sub-
 
 18 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 ject of your immortal interests? Can you 
 lay your head upon your pillow, conscious 
 that you are unprepared for death, and not 
 knowing but you may awake in eternity, — 
 without trembling at the thought! 
 
 There was a most solemn, and impres- 
 sive charge, brought against Belshazzar, by 
 the prophet: — " The God in whose hand 
 thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, 
 hast thou not glorified." What a thought, 
 — that the sinner's very breath is in God's 
 hand, — and in the hand of an offended 
 God too, — whose law is transgressed, and 
 whose mercy and forbearance are daily 
 abused! Will He not strike! Will he let 
 the sinner keep on breathing thus!! 
 
 O fellow sinner, if I had really made up 
 my mind, that God should not have my 
 services, and my heart, 1 should want to 
 take myself ojff, where his eye could not 
 see me, — where his hand could not reach 
 me, and stop my breathing when he pleas- 
 ed! There is no contending ysr'ith. om^wo- 
 TENCEy-^no, —Jlight is the only expedient
 
 THE PENALTY. 19 
 
 left. But flight!— ah! where? If I should 
 ascend up to heaven, God is there; if I 
 make my bed in hell, he is there! If, swift- 
 er than the beams of the morning, I could 
 fly to the utmost limits of space, God would 
 be there too, before me; and my "breath" 
 would still be in his hands! O sinner what 
 can be done? 
 
 But what is it that has so arrayed the 
 sinner against God, — and God against the 
 sinner? It is sin. " Nothing but sm.'" do 
 you say? That is enough. For it is the 
 transgression of law; — the law too, of the 
 God of the universe. It consists in the 
 doing of what he forbids; or the refusing 
 to do what he demands. And this is a vol- 
 untary doing, or refusal to do. Otherwise 
 no blame could be attached to the act. It 
 is, therefore, a voluntary violation of ohli- 
 gation. But this implies that the sinner 
 had. all the po2uer, or capacity for obedi- 
 ence, which was needed. If he had not, 
 the law making the demand, was unrea- 
 sonable; and could impose no obligation;
 
 20 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 and hence, in failing to comply, no obliga- 
 tion is violated, and therefore no sin com- 
 mitted. But further, in relation to sin, — 
 duty was either known, or might have been 
 known, by the sinner. In either case, he 
 is without excuse. 
 
 Viewed in this light, sin is not a small 
 matter. It is open voluntary rebellion 
 against Godj direct and wilful resistance 
 to His claims; and an utter disregard to 
 His authority, and this too, by a creature 
 to whom he has given being, — and whom 
 he holds in being every moment. The sin- 
 ner knows his duty, or might know it; and 
 can perform it if he will; but he iinll not; — 
 will not, when the God in whose hand his 
 breath is, demands it! I wonder that God 
 should let a sinner live a single day in His 
 worldl — wonder that He did not send the 
 first sinner of our race, and every sub- 
 sequent one, to hell, as soon as they had 
 raised the standard of rebellion against 
 him, just as he did the devil and his angels;
 
 THE PENALTY. 21 
 
 darkness, unto the judgment of the great 
 day. Had he done this, justice only would 
 have been executed, and all heaven would 
 have said, Amen. 
 
 But God has devised a method by which he 
 can connect mercy with justice, and there- 
 fore spares the sinner for a time, and places 
 him in a situation in which he may be sav- 
 ed from deserved wrath, if he will comply 
 with the most reasonable conditions. But 
 if the sinner will not do this, — and lives, 
 and dies in this refusal, and goes to the 
 judgment unreconciled to God; what would 
 holy, witnessing beings think of God, if he 
 did not execute the sentence, " Depart ye 
 cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels!" If there is a " doub- 
 le damnation " would not such sinners de- 
 serve it? The testimony of God, assures us 
 that the heathen "are without excuse;" how 
 much more, sinners in a GospeMand? Fel- 
 low sinner, if you have not given up your 
 heart to God, while he has been sparing 
 you so long, in the midst of so many means
 
 22 GROUNDS rOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 and mercies, can you feel satisfied and 
 quiet? Is there not ground for solicitude? 
 As a subject of God's moral government, 
 and a transgressor of his law, incurring its 
 fearful penalties, without the Gospel, your 
 condition would be absolutely hopeless. 
 But with the Gospel in your hands, if 
 you remain where you are, a little longer, 
 will it not be better for you, if you had 
 never known the way of life; if you had 
 been sent to hell with but the weight of a 
 single, and that your first sin, to sink your 
 soul in its woes? If the guilt of sin, my 
 dear friend, is measured by the light resist- 
 ed in its commission, O what must be the 
 amount of yours? Can you rest a single 
 day, — a single hour, where you are? 
 
 THE sinner's pleas. 
 
 But there are several pleas, which may 
 be suggested to the minds of my readers, 
 connected with this branch of the subject, 
 which I feel bound to notice in this place.
 
 THE sinner's PLfcAS. 23 
 
 1. " I am not a great sinner." Your 
 guilt, I admit, may be less than that of 
 some others. But this is not the first, and 
 principal question for you to settle; but 
 have you ever sinned at all ? — in but " one 
 point?'''' And if you have, are you not 
 already under condemnation? Has not 
 God vt^ritten " Cursed^'''' upon your condi- 
 tion and prospects? And, moreover, if 
 you look at God's character, and then at 
 what sin is, can you feel that any sin, 
 against such a Being, is a small sin ? — 
 And could you get but a glance at a single 
 page, of God's book, to see the record which 
 He has made against you for a single week 
 or day, would you feel like calling yourself 
 a small sinner? 
 
 2. " But, allowing that I have sinned in 
 some instances, still I have done a great 
 many good deeds, to balance my mis- 
 doings." 
 
 But, dear friend, there is no such thing, as 
 balancing sins, by good deeds. You have 
 performed no good deeds, which you were
 
 24 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 not under obligation to have performed, if 
 you had never sinned. How, then, could 
 their performance be any balance to your 
 sins? As well might a debtor claim, that, 
 because he had paid more debts of his con- 
 tracting, than what remain unpaid, there- 
 fore, the balance was in his favor. Suppose 
 a capital offender should attempt to balance 
 his crime, in the same way — and claim, that 
 as he had obeyed the law oftener than he 
 had broken it, he ought to he acquitted! — 
 What would you think of such a plea? But 
 
 3. It is said, " it is not in the power of 
 any man to obey God, perfectly; and He 
 does not elxpect it." 
 
 But if by "power" be meant any natu- 
 ral capacity, which is necessary to qualify 
 a man to do his duty, if he is disposed; or 
 the want of which, is any excuse, the 
 declaration is not true. It is a foul libel 
 on God's character; and I should be much 
 less astonished, to see an individual who 
 should make it, smitten by the lightning of 
 God's wrath, than to see Ananias and
 
 THE sinner's pleas. 25 
 
 Sa^hira, falling dead at the apostle's feet, 
 for Iheir crime. If the alledged want of 
 " poVer," be any thing, which, in the least 
 excuses; — the declaration is shocking impi- 
 ety:— ^if it does not excuse, the plea is 
 without force, and meaning. God require 
 that of a creature, for the doing of which 
 he had given him no power, or capacity! 
 Dare you bring such a charge against your 
 God, fellow sinner? 
 
 But it is said, God does not expect that 
 man will obey him perfectly. But this is 
 not the sinner's rule of duty, even if he 
 could prove its truth. The question which 
 he must meet at the bar of God, is not, 
 what God expects; but what He has requir- 
 ed^ — and had a right to require. With 
 this, before him, surely the sinner could not 
 have the audacity to tell God, that He did 
 not expect him to obey Him perfectly! 
 
 4. "But God is above noticing, very 
 particularly, the actions of men on his 
 footstool: He has other more important 
 business to attend to."
 
 26 GROUNDS FOR SOLICITUDE. 
 
 But, if it is not beneath the regard of Grod, 
 to create men, and sustain them in li:e, is 
 it beneath his dignity to regard their con- 
 duct, especially when that conduct is open 
 rebellion against his authority and govern- 
 ment? If a sparrow cannot fall to the 
 ground without his notice and permission, 
 and the very hairs of our heads are all num- 
 bered; is there not a fearful probability that 
 God will notice, and remember all our sins, 
 and bring up the whole catalogue to our 
 view, in the day, in which he will judge 
 the secrets of men, by Jesus Christ? 
 
 5. " But God is merciful, and hence I 
 have but little occasion for solicitude." 
 
 It is admitted that God is merciful: — that 
 you have been permitted to continue to live, 
 in the midst of your rebellion, is proof that 
 God is merciful. That he has given his 
 Son to die for your redemption, and has so 
 long been pressing his entreaties and admo- 
 nitions upon you, — " Turn ye, turn ye, for 
 why will ye die!" — "he that 6e/ierei^ shall 
 he saved, but he that believeth not, shall
 
 \ THE sinner's plea?. 27 
 
 be damned;" — and, that he is still waiting to 
 be grucious, is abundant proof that God is 
 merciful. But you have abused all this 
 mercy. And you are this moment stand- 
 ing out against all the motives that can be 
 drawn from three worlds, to lead you to 
 comply with the offers of grace. Live so, 
 and die so, — and the fact that God has been 
 merciful, will be a source of no consolation 
 to you, in eternity ! No, fellow sinner, it 
 will be the bitterest ingredient in your cup 
 of wretchedness. It will impart to your 
 perverseness, its damning energy, that you 
 have resisted all the counsels of a benevo- 
 lent God, in making your way to hell! 
 Then 
 
 " Stop ! poor sinner, stop and think, 
 Before you furtlier go." 
 
 Is there a single plea which you can now 
 offer, to quiet your conscience, upon which 
 you will dare to risk your soul, at the 
 judgment seat? O, is there not occasion 
 
 FOR SOLICITUDE ?
 
 LETTER II 
 
 THE CLAIMS OF GOD IN THE GOSPEL. 
 
 THE PROVISIONS OF GRACE. 
 
 In the previous letter, I have attempted 
 to show the reader, that while remaining 
 unreconciled to God, as a subject of his 
 moral government, and a transgressor of 
 his law, there was ground for deep, and 
 affecting solicitude, in regard to the wel- 
 fare, and interests, of the immortal soul. — 
 If, dear reac'er, this is your condition, and 
 you do not deeply feel the importance of 
 the subject, let me affectionately ask you, 
 to re-peruse that letter, and open your 
 heart to the convictions of truth, before 
 you read another page of this. But if you 
 do, in a measure, feel the force of those 
 considerations, you may be prepared to
 
 PROVISIONS OF GRACE. 29 
 
 listen to further counsel. No one can be 
 expected to apply for a remedy, who does 
 not feel that he is diseased. And the rem- 
 edy, which God has provided in the gospel, 
 will never be properly appreciated, till the 
 sinner feels that he is in a ruined, lost con- 
 dition, by sin. 
 
 With this fact in view, I have called your 
 attention to your condition, dear reader, 
 as related to God, and his law. You have 
 seen, that for one sin, you have incurred the 
 penalty of the law, — the eternal wrath of 
 God, — and this penalty, you can never 
 remove, by any obedience which you can 
 render. 
 
 But God has devised apian, by which ^.e 
 can dispense with the execution of the 
 penalty on you^ provided you comply with 
 certain conditions, which he has prescribed. 
 And this plan was, to give up his own Son, 
 to be made a sin-oflfering, to declare his 
 righteousness in the remission of sin, — so 
 that God could be just^ while he should 
 justify those, who would believe on the
 
 30 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ. From this scriptural 
 statement of the nature, and object, of the 
 atonement, we see that, without tlie death 
 of Christ, God could not righteously .^ for- 
 give the sinner, or be just to the interests 
 of his kingdom, while he pardoned any. — 
 But now, in consequence of his atonement, 
 the door of mercy is thrown wide open, 
 and all the guilty race of Adam, are invit- 
 ed to enter. " Whosoever will, let him 
 take of the water of life freely;" — " Look 
 unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye 
 saved." These, and all the offers of mercy, 
 are based upon the atonement of Christ. 
 
 Without this, God could not, consistently 
 with a regard to his law, or authority, or 
 the interests of his great moral kingdom 
 exempt the sinner from deserved Avrath, 
 and receive him into favor. 
 
 But now he can do it. And this is the 
 " good news," meant by the very term 
 Gospel. It comes to men with proposals 
 for a reconciliation to God, and the offer of 
 the eternal joys of his blessed kingdom. —
 
 REPENTANCE. 31 
 
 But what are its demands? What are the 
 conditions, upon which, all this is offered to 
 the sinner? This is the subject, to which I 
 wish, for the present, to call your attention. 
 
 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 The two duties most prominently de- 
 manded, as conditions of salvation, are 
 repentance for sin; and faith in Christ. 
 
 1. Repentance. This is a feeling of 
 guilt, or blame, for having done wrong; and 
 a sorrow for it. And as sin is committed 
 against God, so repentance, is said to be 
 " repentance toward Gody And this is a 
 reasonable duty. If God had never de- 
 manded repentance, as a condition of sal- 
 vation, it would, still, have been the duty 
 of all men, every where, to repent. 
 ., The child need not wait till his parent 
 commands him to be sorry for his disobedi- 
 ence, before he is under obligation to be so; 
 ihe obligation exists as soon as he of- 
 fends, and knows the fact. It is so with 
 the sinner. If God had never published
 
 32 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 any Gospel ; and had never promised par- 
 don upon condition of repentance, still the 
 sinner would have been, just as really^ un-. 
 der obligation to be sorry for having done 
 wrong, in disobeying God, the best Being 
 in the universe, as he is now. The obliga- 
 tion does not rest upon the fact, that he can 
 be saved if he repentsj whether he can be 
 saved, or not, he ought to repent; because 
 it is a duty, which he owes to his Creator, 
 Preserver, and Lawgiver, for having dis- 
 obeyed his reasonable demands. And 
 there is not a fallen spirit in perdition, 
 who is not under the same obligations to 
 be sorry, for having disobeyed God. — 
 Whether he would be benefited by it, or 
 not, has nothing to do with the basis of 
 obligation. Nor does this rest on the sim- 
 ple fact that God has commanded it; but 
 he has commanded it, in the case of the 
 sinner, because it is right; because in the 
 very nature of the case, he ought to be 
 sorry for having voluntarily done that 
 which is wrong.
 
 REPENTANCE. 33 
 
 But further, repentance is a reasonable 
 duty, because it is one way in which love 
 to God, will, necessarily, be manifested, as 
 soon as it exists. Love cannot exist, in 
 the bosom of the child, without leading him 
 to be sorry for having disobeyed his parent. 
 This is the way in which it shows itself, 
 when an offence has been committed. The 
 reason why Peter went out, and wept bit- 
 terly, for having denied his Master, was, 
 he loved that Master, and he could not think 
 of what he had done, without weeping. — 
 And the moment the sinner begins to love 
 God, will he repent, or be sorry, for having 
 done wrong. It is impossible to separate 
 love and repentance, in the breast of the 
 sinner. 
 
 But further, while a person refuses to be 
 sorry for his offence, he does, in effect, jus- 
 tify himself, in it. Let a child tell his pa- 
 rent that he is not sorry for his disobedience, 
 and if that parent profess to forgive him, 
 and be reconciled to him, while in that 
 state of feeling, he must in reality, as
 
 34 THE DEMANDS OP THE GOSPEL. 
 
 well as in the view of that child, sacri- 
 fice his authority, as a parent. And if the 
 sinner is not sorry for his sins, God knows 
 it, — and if He should receive him into fa- 
 vor, while thus refusing to repent; would 
 it not be, at a sacrifice of his authority as 
 a moral Governor, — and a sanction of the 
 sinner's rebellion? How much weight 
 would be attached to the law, in view of 
 His subjects, if it were known, that they 
 might trample upon it, without calling 
 forth his displeasure? God would cease 
 to be loved, or respected. But by demand- 
 ing sorrow for sin, God means that the sin- 
 ner shall feel, as well as acknowledge, 
 that he has been in the wrong, and be hum- 
 bled for it, before he will grant him any 
 tokens of reconciliation. In this view of 
 the subject, how reasonable, appears the 
 demand for repentance. Does there not 
 appear to be a moral fitness, in the declara- 
 tion of Christ, "Except ye repent ye shall 
 all likewise perish?" Could we expect less, 
 than that God should " now command all
 
 REPENTANCE. 35 
 
 men, every where, to repent?" And if 
 men will not be really sorry that they 
 have disobeyed God; and that, because it 
 is wrongs — a violation of obligations the 
 most sacred, that can exist in the universe, 
 — without any thing to palliate their guilt ; 
 do they not deserve perdition? 
 
 It is a fearful controversy that the sinner 
 is waging with his Maker, and it is most 
 obvious, that either God, or the sinner, must 
 yield. God, in demanding repentance, re- 
 quires that the sinner should lay down 
 his weapons, instantly; to this point He is 
 urging him, by his word, his providence, 
 and his Spirit; but the sinner will not re- 
 lent; he has done wrong, but he is not sorry 
 for it! O, I wonder that God does not 
 smite him down, and send him instantly 
 to hell! What a miracle of forbearance! — 
 that He should let him live a mometit in 
 His world; and especially that he should 
 condescend to reason with him, and urge 
 him to repent, and make his peace with 
 Him.
 
 36 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 Fellow sinner, have you never yielded 
 your heart to God? Has it never melted, 
 at the thought of the manner in which you 
 have treated God, and his requirements? 
 how you have disobeyed him, and refused 
 to be sorry for it, because it is so wrong, so 
 unreasonable, so wicked? Lay down your 
 book, before you read another page, and 
 drop on your knees, before your offended 
 God, and tell him, that you have done 
 wrong, and that you are sorry for it, and 
 beg him for Christ's sake to forgive you; 
 and do it sincerely repenting of your sins, 
 and the controversy between you, and God, 
 will be ended, and He will smile upon your 
 soul; and then, O what joy there would be 
 in heaven, because another sinner had re- 
 pented! Will you do it now? 
 
 But I cannot dismiss this point here; 
 and therefore request your attention to the 
 following 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 1. God. unconditionally demands repent-
 
 REPENTANCE. 37 
 
 ance " ?io w;." He " now commandeth all 
 men every where to repent." Here are no 
 provisos, — no conditions, — " all men every 
 where," being sinners, he demands of them, 
 as a matter of present duty, the exercise 
 of sorrow for their sins. No exceptions 
 are to be made, and no postponement for 
 any other duty, or business; 7ioio, — now, 
 is the time for its performance. And, 
 
 2. There is present occasion for repent- 
 ance. The occasion for repentance is sin. 
 That has already been committed. It has 
 been increasing its amount, and aggrava- 
 tion, for years. If you are not what the 
 world calls immoral; yet, weighed in the 
 balance of the sanctuary, — " Tekel" must 
 be written against you. The guilt, for hav- 
 ing lived so many years, without giving 
 your heart to God, and for resisting so 
 many calls, and warnings, to make your 
 peace with your Maker, is enough to sink 
 your soul to the very abyss of woe. O is 
 there not present occasion for repentance? 
 But I remark 
 
 3. That there is present capacity for re-
 
 38 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 pentance. I am aware that there are some, 
 who attempt to persuade themselves, that 
 Adam was created with full capacity to 
 obey God's law, perfectly; but that he lost 
 this capacity, by the fall; and that all his 
 posterity come into the world really unable 
 or without any capacity to, obey this law 
 perfectly; and yet, although the race have 
 lost all ability, to obey the law, in this 
 manner, still God has not lost his right to 
 require obedience. The ability existed in 
 Adam before he fell, but it has never exist- 
 ed since! and yet, God still continues to 
 demand obedience, just as positively, and 
 solemnly, as if men had all the capacity 
 needed to obey'.!! This is a sufficiently 
 appalling representation of God's charac- 
 ter, it must be confessed. 
 
 But in relation to repentance, it cannot 
 be said that men have lost their ability 
 to repent, by the fall. If they have not 
 that ability now, they never had it; for 
 this is not a duty prescribed to man in 
 innocence; the capacity for which, could
 
 REPENTANCE. 39 
 
 be lost by sinning; but to man as guilty, 
 — as having already fallen; and therefore 
 it was with just the powers, and capaci- 
 ties which fallen beings possess. And if 
 men have not all the power, necessary, 
 they never had it; — and God knew it, and 
 yet demanded that they should repent, un- 
 der the penalty of eternal damnation!' 
 
 But does it need any more power, to 
 exercise repentance towards God, than it 
 does to be sorry, for any other wrong, which 
 you have done? You know that you have 
 done wrong, and that you are to blame for 
 it; what more, or different power, do you 
 need, to be sorry, than the child does, who 
 has disobeyed his parent? or than the man 
 does, who has injured his neighbor? And 
 suppose that either, of these, should ac- 
 knowledge that he had done wrong, and 
 was to blame for it; but should assert, in 
 addition, that he had no power, or capacity, 
 to be sorry for it? What would you think 
 of such a plea? 
 
 But it is asked, can a sinner repent, with- 
 out the influence of the Holy Spirit?
 
 40 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 I reply in answer, that the Spirit is not 
 necessary to give power, or capacity to re- 
 pent; but to make the sinner willing to re- 
 pent, — willing to use the power which he 
 has, to be sorry, in actually being sorry. 
 Here, you perceive, that the only difficulty 
 in the way, is obstinacy, — the sinner loill 
 not yield to God; will not come to Christ 
 for life. This is the whole of the difficul- 
 ty. It is of precisely the same nature, with 
 that of the stubborn child, who will not 
 be sorry, for having voluntarily and wil- 
 fully, disobeyed his parent. And it may 
 be, that he will continue to stand out, 
 until the parent takes some effectual meas- 
 ure to subdue his obstinacy. But still, this 
 does not prove that he could not have 
 yielded before; or that he was not under 
 obligation to have yielded before. No 
 new poioer was needed, which he did not 
 before possess. And the fact that the sin- 
 ner never will yield to God, and repent of 
 sin, without the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit, does not touch the question in jegard
 
 REPENTANCE. 41 
 
 to capacity or power. It is not power that 
 is wanting, but a disposition to use the 
 power which God has given him, as He 
 demands. And there is -just as much im- 
 pudence in the sinners asking, w^here shall 
 I get the disposition? as there -would 
 be, in the same question, if proposed to a 
 parent by an obstinate child. The cases 
 are precisely as analagous. As moral 
 agents, they ought to have the disposition, 
 and they are justly punishable for not hav- 
 ing it. To say that they have no power or 
 capacity to be sorry, is to deny that they 
 can Jmow that they have done wrong, and 
 feel that they are wholly to blame for it. 
 And to deny this, is to deny that they are 
 moral agents, and thus shield them from 
 all responsibility, and moral obligation. 
 No, fellow sinner, if God should never give 
 his Spirit to you, it would not affect either 
 your obligation, or full capacity to repent, 
 immediately. These would remain entire; 
 and must remain entire, while you remain 
 3
 
 42 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 a moral agent. The fact that you would cer- 
 tainly refuse to repent, and would live, and 
 die, in that refusal; only shows your obsti- 
 nacy in refusing to yield your heart to 
 God. However you may now attempt to 
 quiet your conscience, with the plea that 
 you have no power to repent, without the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit; you never 
 will open your mouth with such a plea, at 
 the bar of Grod! 
 
 But. entire as is your capacity to repent, 
 without the influence of the Spirit, — God 
 has not left you. in this state. He has 
 given his Spirit, to warn you of danger, 
 and urge you to give up your heart to him. 
 And you have resisted his influences, and 
 refused to yield. What plea, then, can 
 you make, that will not condemn you? 
 Recollect that God demands repentance 
 '•720ir;-- that there is present occo^/o?? for 
 repentance; and present capacity to com- 
 ply with God's demand. Let me add 
 another consideration, 
 
 4. That you can perform no external re-
 
 REPENTANCE. 4? 
 
 ligious duty, acceptably to God, while you 
 neglect, or refuse to repent. This truth ap- 
 pears so plain, that I can hardly persuade 
 myself it needs illustration. How would 
 prayer be regarded by God, without peni- 
 tence for sin? Suppose you pray for repent- 
 ance, — in other words, that God would make 
 you sorry, for doing that, which you know 
 to be wrong, and for which, you are not 
 sorry, and stand out in refusing to be sorry! 
 If a child should go to his father, and tell 
 him that he had done wrong, in disobeying 
 him, but he was not sorry for it; and then 
 add "father will you not make me sorry?" 
 would not the father feel, and have oc- 
 casion for feeling, that the child intend- 
 ed to insult him? And does it alter the 
 nature of the transaction, that, while the 
 sinner refuses to be sorry that he has sin- 
 ned against God, he should yet go, and pre- 
 tend to ask Godtomake him sorry? Would 
 not God regard it as solemn mockery ? 
 
 But, suppose he should pray for pardon? 
 If he was penitent for his sins, the bestow-
 
 44 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ment of pardon, might be consistent. But 
 with what face can he ask God to forgive 
 him, while he is not sorry for his sins, — 
 while he refuses to lay down his arms of 
 rebellion, and submit to his authority? 
 What would you think of a child's plea for 
 the forgiveness of his parent, when, at the 
 same time, he acknowledges that he is not 
 sorry for his offence! 
 
 But God has not left us to the deductions 
 of reason, to determine how he regards this 
 subject. He has plainly and unequivocally 
 stamped the seal of reprobation^ upon such 
 hollow-hearted services. " The sacrifices 
 of the wicked are an abomination unto the 
 Lord." They are not merely sinful, — but 
 offensive in the highest degree; they are an 
 " abomlnatio.nI" " He that turneth away his 
 ear from hearing the law, even his prayer 
 shall be sin." This is the light, in which 
 God regards all the external religious ser- 
 vices of those, who refuse to exercise re- 
 pentance for their sin. They are all abom-
 
 REPENTANCE. 45 
 
 iNATiONs in his sight. Of this, you may 
 complain, fellow sinner. But it is God's 
 own representation of the manner in which 
 he regards the subject. 
 
 But, do you ask, shall the sinner neglect 
 to pray, and to perform the other external 
 duties of religion? I answer, no; he is 
 neither to neglect to fray, nor repent. — 
 He is to perform every duty, whether it 
 relates to external acts, or to the feelings 
 of the heart, " noui;''^ but to perform them 
 allj in the exercise of penitence for sin, and 
 love to the character of God. This is 
 what God demands of every sinner, as a 
 matter of present concern. If he does not 
 do it, with this feeling, he is adding mock- 
 ery to rebellion; and there is ground for 
 fearful apprehension, that God will not bear 
 it long! And dare you risk the issue of 
 the controversy, fellow sinner, for another 
 hour? O will you not now, drop the weap- 
 ons of your rebellion, and fall at the feet 
 of mercy, in penitence for your sins? I 
 pause for a reply. ♦ ♦ ♦ *
 
 46 THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 2. The second requirement, which is 
 made as a condition of salvation, proposed 
 to our notice, is Faith. This term means 
 trusty — and hence, faith in Christ, is trust 
 in him; or a resting on the merits and effi- 
 cacy of his atonement, alone, as the ground 
 of our acceptance with God. It is seen, 
 from this statement, that Christ is the great 
 object of evangelical, or saving faith. — 
 Hence, the force of the apostle's language, 
 as containing the substance of his preach- 
 ing; " Testifying both to the Jews, and also 
 to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and 
 faith TOWARDS our Lord Jesus Christ." — 
 Christ has stepped in, between the sword 
 of justice, and the sinner; and by the sac- 
 rifice of himself, has made it consistent with 
 God to pardon all Avho repent of sin, and 
 believe in him. If saved, therefore, they 
 must be saved by him; or by virtue of what 
 he has done; must be dependent on, and 
 indebted to him for salvation; must be 
 saved for his sake. 
 
 From what has already been said, it is
 
 REPENTANCE. 47 
 
 evident that we cannot rest upon any duty, 
 or obedience of ours, as the ground of our 
 pardon, and acceptance. This obedience 
 is just what we should have been under 
 obligation to render, if we had never incur- 
 red the penalty of the law for sin. To 
 build our hope of heaven on this, would, 
 obviously, be building it on the sand. But 
 to rest our hope, and our souls, on the 
 atonement of Jesus Christ, as the ground 
 of our acceptance with God, is believing 
 on him, as the Gospel demands. This is 
 the corner-stone, on which it is safe to build 
 for eternity. This is what Christ meant, 
 when he said, " I am the way^ " No man 
 cometh to the Father but by me." Now, we 
 cannot refuse thus to believe in Christ, 
 without casting contempt on the provision, 
 which God has made for our salvation, and 
 rejecting the only overtures of mercy, that 
 will ever reach us. It is no wonder, there- 
 fore, that the declartion should be so expli- 
 cit; " He that believeth shall be saved; but 
 he that believeth not shall be damned."
 
 48 THE DEMANDS OP THE GOSPEL. 
 
 These are the duties, my dear reader, 
 demanded as a condition of salvation. — 
 Perform them — repent of sin, and believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, — and you are a Chris- 
 tian. Refuse to do this, and you are not 
 only not a Christian, but a candidate for all 
 that woe, which God will pour out, without 
 mixture on all the finally impenitent. God 
 is waiting for your compliance. O will 
 you not 
 
 " Seize the kind promise while it waits, 
 And march to Zion's heavenly gates; 
 Believe, and take the promised rest, 
 Obey, and be forever blesti"
 
 LETTER 111. 
 
 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SPIRIT MAY BE GRIEVED. 
 
 To decide, intelligently, in what way 
 the Spirit may be grieved, and learn where 
 the danger lies, it is necessary to ascertain 
 what the Spirit would lead us to do; and 
 this brings us back to the point — the ground 
 for the necessity of the Spirit's influence, 
 to lead the sinner to repent. It is the per- 
 verseness, the obstinacy of the sinner, and 
 his unwillingness to yield his heart to God. 
 This is so great, that, left to himself, 
 not a single child of apostate Adam would 
 ever comply with the conditions of mercy. 
 This does not touch the capacity of the 
 sinner, to comply. That remains entire.
 
 60 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 But he will not comply. And it is not in 
 the power of truth, alone, urged by the 
 highest eloquence of men, or of Gabriel, 
 that could ever make the sinner yield, or 
 subdue his obstinacy. Hence, when re- 
 generated, men are said to be " born not of 
 blood, nor of the will of the Jlesh, nor of the 
 will of man, but of God." In other pla- 
 ces they are said to be " born of the Spir- 
 it," because it is by the Spirit, that their ob- 
 stinacy is subdued, and they, brought to 
 the foot of the cross. And there is noth- 
 ing but the Spirit, that will do this. He 
 does not impart any new faculty or power, 
 but, simply, makes them iDilling. And 
 this is just what they ought to have been, 
 and might have been, v/ithout, so far as 
 power is concerned, but loould not. When 
 willing^ i. e. when they have a disposition 
 for it, repentance is easy, and the whole 
 controversy, is ended. Now, this is what 
 the Spirit would lead every sinner to do. 
 And this is the point, towards which, he is 
 urging them, when he strives. It is to
 
 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 51 
 
 lead them to give up the controversy with 
 God, and submit, on the terms of the Gos- 
 pel. And the Spirit is sincere in this, and 
 God is sincere, in giving the Spirit for 
 this purpose. " As I live, saith the Lord 
 God, I have no pleasure in the death of the 
 wicked, but that he turn from his ways 
 and live. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will 
 ye die." Now to grieve the Spirit, is to 
 resist his influences, and refuse to comply 
 with the conditions of the Gospelj or to 
 refuse to do just what the Spirit would per- 
 suade us to do. This is the way, in which 
 the Spirit may be grieved, by the sinner. 
 
 But there is danger in grieving the Spir- 
 it. God has said, "My Spirit shall not 
 always strive with man." There is some- 
 thing deeply impressive in the terms of this 
 declaration. The word " strive," seems to 
 denote a kind of conflict. The nature of 
 this, is evident from what has been said 
 above. The Spirit would lead the sinner 
 to a compliance with the terms of mercy; 
 while the sinner is holding back, and re-
 
 52 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 fusing to yield, — hence, the strife. There 
 would be no striving^ if the sinner were 
 ready to do his duty, when the Spirit was 
 given to him, — any more, than there is, 
 when a parent takes a child by the hand, to 
 lead him to another apartment, and the 
 child goes cheerfully. But the moment the 
 child should begin to hold back, would 
 commence the strife^ — the parent drawing 
 one way, and the child, the other. God 
 gives his Spirit to strive with men. Why 
 does he not withdraw it, and leave the re- 
 sisting sinner to his own chosen way? He 
 does, reader, sometimes do this ; and he 
 gives the warning, in the declaration just 
 alluded to : " My Spirit shall not always 
 strive with man!" This fearful truth he 
 has often illustrated by facts. To a few 
 of these, only, can I allude, at the present 
 time. 
 
 ANCIENT SINNERS. 
 
 The closing scene of the antediluvian
 
 ANCIENT SI.MNER3. 53 
 
 history, stands out in bold relief, as fur- 
 nishing an illustration of this truth. It was 
 in direct reference to them, that God made 
 the declaration just cited. The period of 
 the Spirit's striving, and God's waiting, 
 came, — the measure of their iniquities was 
 full, and God swept them from the stage 
 of existence by a mighty flood. The over- 
 throw of the cities of the plain, furnishes 
 another illustration. When God had de- 
 termined to wait no longer, they met with 
 a fearful doom, which but faintly prefigured 
 those final flames of divine wrath, to Avhich 
 they are destined, in the coming world. — 
 Look at Pharaoh too, — at the means which 
 God used to lead him to yield to His de- 
 mands, — at the manner in Avhich those 
 were all abused and perverted, and by their 
 abuse and perversion, how he braced him- 
 self up, to a continued resistance to the 
 heavenly mandate, till God buried him, and 
 his hosts, in the depths of the sea! God 
 may, for wise reasons, wait for a time: but 
 the sinner can have no assurance of his
 
 54 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 continuing to wait. Felix too, is another 
 instance in point. Look at him, trembling 
 under the searching influence of truth, as 
 urged by the ambassador of Christ. One 
 would have said, ' thou art not far from the 
 kingdom of God.' The Spirit was striving, 
 but he Avould not yield. He did not intend 
 to abandon the subject entirely; — but mere- 
 ly to postpone it, till a convenient opportu- 
 nity. With this plea, so plausible, that it 
 served to hush the voice of conscience, he 
 grieved the Spirit to make, probably, a final 
 departure, and he was left to the dominion 
 of his sins. How many a trembling, hesi- 
 tating, delaying sinner, ought to be warn- 
 ed, by this history, of the danger of griev- 
 ing the Spirit to leave him, by a postpone- 
 ment of his submission to God, for a single 
 day, or hour. " My Spirit shall not always 
 strivel" 
 
 SOLEMN Warnings, 
 But a multitude of facts of modern date,
 
 SOLEMN WARNINGS. 55 
 
 might be quoted, illustrative of the same 
 point. Read the Tract, " duench not the 
 Spirit," and you will learn the history 
 of an aged sinner, who, while under the 
 strivings of the Spirit, had often promised, 
 at some fixed, future time, that he would 
 attend to the subject of religion; — but, it 
 was postponed from time to tim.e, until, 
 when he was laid upon his dying bed, he 
 found, that that often grieved Spirit had 
 abandoned him forever; and then, O how 
 he urged his grand children, to take warn- 
 ing by his example, not to put off the sub- 
 ject of religion to a future period. 
 
 A young lady in a certain town in New- 
 England, about the time of the visit of La- 
 fayette to this country, had her attention 
 aroused to the subject of her soul's con- 
 cerns, and was deeply anxious, in a time 
 of general awakening, around her. But 
 like many others, she lingered. The na- 
 tion's guest was to visit this town, and 
 it was feared, by the people of God, that 
 it would prove detrimental to the state of
 
 66 ON GRIEVING THV: SPIRIT. 
 
 religious feeling; and there were strong, 
 and earnest entreaties, to the God of prayer, 
 that this result might be prevented. But 
 on the morning of this day, the young lady, 
 mentioned, seemed much distressed respect- 
 ing what she should do, in relation to wit- 
 nessing the honors that should be public- 
 ly paid to the distinguished benefactor of 
 the country. She felt that they Avould not 
 be adapted to deepen her religious anxiety, 
 and she was afraid of the result; but, on 
 the other hand, curiosity was excited to see 
 the person, whom the country, so delighted 
 to honor; and the enquiry was very natural, 
 ought we not to show our gratitude to this 
 generous benefactor; and if so, can there be 
 any harm, in appropriating the day to such 
 a laudable object? Her decision was form- 
 ed, — and, to a young lady in the room, 
 she remarked, with a more brightened 
 countenance than she had, for some time 
 worn, "I have determined to lay aside 
 my seriousness for to-day, and enjoy the 
 visit of Lafayette." She had but just an-
 
 SOLEMN WARNINGS. 57 
 
 nounced her purpose, when, on turning to 
 leave the room, she fell, gasped, and expir- 
 ed!! " My Spirit shall not always strive 
 with man!" 
 
 In another town, lived an amiable young 
 lady. In the year 1822, a powerful revival 
 of religion visited that place; and in the 
 
 early part of it, the attention of C 
 
 was called up to the subject of religion. 
 For a few days she was deeply distressed. 
 But this was not of long duration. It was 
 soon evident that she had dismissed her 
 anxiety, and with it, all her seriousness. 
 A sister of her's became a hopeful subject 
 
 of grace, while C had grieved away 
 
 the Spirit, and w^as evidently abandoned 
 by this heavenly visitant. Her whole at- 
 tention was now directed to dress, fashions, 
 parties. &c. This continued for some two 
 years, or more. About this time, her health 
 began to decline, — but it produced no symp- 
 toms of seriousness. And it is recollected, 
 that, at a third service, one Sabbath after- 
 noon, — attired in the most splendid man-
 
 58 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 ner, she made her appearance, and, after 
 seating herself in a conspicuous place, 
 threw off her bonnet, and displayed a head- 
 dress of curls, ribbons, &c., in extravagant 
 profusion, which attracted the attention of 
 almost every individual present. And this 
 
 was the last meeting that poor C 
 
 attended! Her health declined rapidly, — 
 but her mind was steeled against the influ- 
 ence of truth, — and a consideration of her 
 own precious, and immortal interests; — 
 nay, she -was obviously opposed to have 
 the subject introduced, in conversation. — 
 In this state, her minister visited her, and 
 pressed truth, faithfully, upon her attention: 
 but without the least effect. He turned 
 down the leaves, of two or three Hymns, 
 which, he requested she would have read 
 to her, after he had gone. But the minis- 
 ter had no sooner left ihe room, than she 
 directed her sister, — "turn up those leaves 
 for I do not wish to hear any of his hymns." 
 Her sister, who had became a hopeful sub- 
 ject of grace, during the revival, often
 
 SOLEMN WARNINGS. 59 
 
 plead with her, when, confined to her sick 
 and dying bed, she was making her plans 
 about new dresses, &c., — to think of her 
 soul,— and giv^e up her heart to God. But 
 tears were shed, and entreaties made in 
 vain — except to excite the opposition of 
 her heart. God seemed to have said, " she 
 is joined to her idols, let her alone." In 
 this state she remained while capable of 
 expressing any feeling, or consciousness. 
 There seemed no relenting, no tender mo- 
 ment, — so far as could be ascertained. The 
 writer was providentially present, during a 
 part of her dying struggles, — and, at the 
 request of the family, prayed for her de- 
 parting soul, — while some were wring- 
 ing their hands in anguish, and all the 
 family were sobbing out their griefs. But 
 whether she was conscious of the offering 
 of the prayer, is not known. She strug- 
 gled for breath a little longer, and died!!! 
 We have no wish to lift the curtain that 
 separates the present, from the future. But 
 there is enough, in this brief history, to
 
 60 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 sound a note of warning, in the ear of every 
 awakened sinner, " Grieve not the Spirit!" 
 
 •' God's Spirit will not always strive, 
 With hardened, self-destroying man; 
 Ye, who persist his love to grieve, 
 May never hear his voice again "! 
 
 In another town, in a time of revival, 
 the attention of a young lady was called 
 up to the subject of religion, and she ap- 
 peared deeply impressed with a view of 
 her guilt, and danger. But the father, 
 though a nominal professor, was hostile to 
 the work; and, perceiving the effect upon 
 the mind of his idolized, and only daugh- 
 ter, forbade her attending the meetings. — 
 But her distress continued, and he sent her 
 from the place, for the purpose of diverting 
 her attention from this subject, by ming- 
 ling in the society of those who were in- 
 different; but she returned home, as unhap- 
 py as she went away. His next expedi- 
 ent was, to induce her, to give up her seri- 
 ousness, and join a party of pleasure, by
 
 SOLEMN WARNINGS. 61 
 
 promises. For this purpose, he made her 
 an offer of the most splendid dress, which 
 he could procure; together with its corres- 
 ponding appendages, and et ceteras, if she 
 would banish her melancholy, and try to be 
 happy. After some hesitation she consented 
 to the proposal, and received from her father, 
 all that he had promised, and dismissed her 
 seriousness effectually. But by and by, 
 Emily, (for so w^e shall call her,) was laid 
 upon a bed of sickness. Medical skill was 
 called to her relief; but the disease baffled 
 all its efforts. And it was soon apparent, 
 that Emily's end was near. One day, she 
 requested her nurse to bring that new dress, 
 and its accompaniments into her room, that 
 she might see it. It w^as done as request- 
 ed, and after having it placed upon a chair, 
 she sent for her father into the room. He 
 came; when his idolized, dying daughter 
 addressed him, with an energy, and solem- 
 nity, which showed that she felt what she 
 said; " There father," said she, (pointing 
 to the splendid dresses of his procuring,)
 
 62 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 " THERE IS THE PRICE OF MY SOUl! FoI the 
 
 sake of enjoying that^ I grieved the Spirit 
 away from my heart forever, and now I am 
 dying without an interest in Christ, and 
 am lost^ LOST, forever!" This is only the 
 substance of her dying appeal. But O! does 
 it not say in the ear of every delaying sin- 
 ner, " My Spirit shall not always strive?" 
 
 " Hath something met thee in the path, 
 
 Of worldliness, and vanity; 
 And pointed to the coming wrath, 
 
 And urged thee, from that wrath to flee? 
 
 " Sinner, — it was a heavenly voice; — 
 It was the Spirit's gracious call; 
 
 It bade thee make the better choice. 
 And haste to seek in Christ ihine all. 
 
 " Spurn not the call to hfe and light. 
 Regard, in time, the warning kind; 
 
 That call, thou may'st not always sUght, 
 And 7jet the gate of mercy find! 
 
 " Sinner,— perhaj)s this very day. 
 Thy last accepted time may be; 
 
 O! shouldst thou grieve him noio away, 
 Then hope maij never beam on thee!"
 
 " THERE IS THE PRICE OF MY SOUlI"
 
 SOLEMN WARNINGS. 65 
 
 From what has been said, upon this sub- 
 ject, it must be obvious, that when the 
 Spirit strives with a sinner, it is a solemn 
 Crisis in the history of his being! God is 
 employing his last means, to bring him 
 to the foot of the cross, — the last, in point 
 of kind^ — as, without the influences of 
 the Spirit, all other means would prove 
 unavailing, with any sinner; — and it may 
 be the last in point of time, — may be the 
 last visit of this heavenly messenger, to 
 your obdurate, unrelenting heart. Is it 
 not, then, a solemn Crisis? 
 
 "0! should' St thou grieve him now away," 
 
 may it not, — is there not danger to fear 
 that it will prove to be his farewell visit to 
 thy soul, and that, by this act, you may seal 
 your eternal doom? 
 
 But what adds to the solemnity of this 
 subject, is, the sinner may have the Spirit 
 striving with him, and yet, not be sensible 
 of it; i. e. he may be made serious, and
 
 66 ON GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 
 even feel a degree of anxiety, in relation 
 to his immortal interests, and yet not sus- 
 pect, that this very state of feeling is pro- 
 duced by the Spirit. Sinners are Tiot con- 
 scious of any sensible, or almost irresisti- 
 ble impulse, as they suppose they shall be, 
 when the Spirit strives; and therefore, by 
 those very efforts, which they make to ban- 
 ish those feelings, they are grieving the 
 Spirit to leave them; and this, without in- 
 tending such a result, because not aware 
 that it is the Spirit which has produced 
 this solicitude. O how often have individ- 
 uals, in this way, without intending it, put 
 the seal to their final, and everlasting 
 abandonment, by the Spirit, — and hence, to 
 their hopeless perdition! If you postpone 
 this subject, fellow sinner, a single day, 
 or hour, it is at a fearful hazard! It will 
 grieve the Spirit, and you 
 
 " May never hear his voice again!"
 
 LETTER. IV. 
 
 EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE AND ITS EVIDENCES. 
 
 It will be recollected, that the definition 
 which I have given of repentance, is, " a 
 feeling of guilty or blame, for having done 
 wrong, and a sorrow for it." Either of 
 these two described feelings may exist 
 separately, but could not thus constitute 
 repentance. Many an individual has been 
 conscious of guilt, or blame, in having per- 
 formed a certain act, without being at all 
 sorry for it. This, of course, could not be 
 called repentance. On the other hand, it 
 is by no means an uncommon thing, to be 
 sorry for events, which have occurred, 
 without any instrumentality of ours; and 
 hence, without any criminality of ours. — 
 We may regret, or be sorry for the exist-
 
 b» THE EVIDENCES OF 
 
 ence of a storm or tempest, — for the prev- 
 alence of Cholera, or any other sweeping, 
 providential scourge, with which God vis- 
 its our fallen world, without feeling that 
 we are personally gitilty for the prevalence 
 of these. In this, there is no repentance. 
 This must include a feeling of blame, or 
 criminality; and a sorroic for the offence,, 
 because it is wrong. 
 
 If this definition be correct, it may help 
 us to form a proper estimate of the capa- 
 city of the sinner, to obey God's demands, 
 in his law. Is it possible in the nature of 
 the case, that a sinner should feel himself 
 to blame, for not doing that, which it was 
 not possible for him to do, on account of 
 the vrant of capacity? Suppose he was 
 commanded to fly; could he feel a crimin- 
 ality, for not obeying the command? And 
 if men have no more capacity to obey God, 
 than they have to fly, they are no more 
 criminal for not obeying, than for not 
 flying. And if there is no criminality in 
 either case; there can bo no repentance
 
 EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE. 69 
 
 for either. Repentance, then, it is obvi- 
 ous, implies the admission, that we could 
 have obeyed God, if we had been disposed; 
 and that we are criminal, to the same de- 
 gree, for not obeying him. Deny this, and 
 you deny the very foundation, on which 
 repentance, from its own nature, must be 
 based; and annihilate the obligation to 
 repent. With this general statement, in 
 regard to the subject, let me call your 
 attention to some of 
 
 THE EVIDENCES OP EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE. 
 
 1. Self, alojie, is condemned, and God 
 is justified. 
 
 Just so long as men attempt to frame 
 excuses, either for their sins, or for not 
 giving up their hearts to God, do they 
 show that they have no penitence for sin. 
 The moment this feeling takes possession 
 of their hearts, they will not have one 
 word to say in extenuation. Whoever 
 may have been the occasion of their fal-
 
 70 THE EVIDENCES OF 
 
 ling into sin; — they do not attempt to 
 divide the blame. Self, alone, is con- 
 demned, because they feel that it was 
 their duty to have resisted every solicita- 
 tion, and every temptation. We do not 
 believe that Peter upbraided any one, 
 but himself, for his base denial of his 
 Master. Penitence shuts the mouth, that 
 might be opened for such a purpose. 
 " Against thee, and thee only, have / 
 sinned!" God is right, and I am wrong, 
 wholly wrong. — His law is holy, just, and 
 good, — demanding nothing but what was 
 right and reasonable, — and the blame, and 
 the whole blame, for not obeying, is my 
 own. God has long demanded repentance, 
 and the immediate, and unconditional sur- 
 render of my heart to Him, and I might 
 have done it, — and ought to have done it; 
 but the whole fault, in not complying, was 
 mine. God was right, and I was wrong, 
 wholly, and entirely wrong. This is the 
 spirit that will characterize genuine peni- 
 tence wherever it exists.
 
 EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE. 71 
 
 2. Another evidence of genuine repent- 
 ance is, the renunciation of every known 
 sin. The war that God has waged, and 
 which we must wage, against sin, is a 
 war of extermination. No truce is to be 
 made with any. As he who offends in one 
 point, although obedient in every other, 
 brings himself under condemnation; so 
 he that clings to one sin, although he gives 
 up every other, is still under condemna- 
 tion; and can have no evidence of godly 
 sorrow for sin. Let that sin be as dear, 
 and useful to him, as a right hand, or a 
 right eye, it must be given up, or the soul 
 be ruined forever. Just adopt the princi- 
 ple, that we may reserve one sin, for indul- 
 gence; and we may another, and another; 
 and no one can predetermine, where the 
 line would eventually be drawn. Besides, 
 sin is rebellion against God. To suppose, 
 therefore, that penitence is consistent with 
 holding on, upon a part of this rebellion, — 
 with an unwillingness to forsake the whole, 
 — is palpably absurd. If there is a single
 
 72 THE EVIDENCES OP 
 
 sin, then, which you are unwilling to give 
 up, dear reader, you may safely take it for 
 granted, that your heart is a stranger to 
 evangelical repentance. 
 
 3. Another evidence of repentance, is, 
 an honest determination to perform every 
 known duty. If a person cannot sincerely 
 be sorry for sin, without a determination 
 to forsake it; so neither can he be, for the 
 neglect of a known duty, unless he deter- 
 mines to perform it. To illustrate this 
 point, let me state a simple fact. Several 
 years since, in a time of revival, the pas- 
 tor of a church, in the course of his 
 visits, enquired of the father of a large 
 family, who was not a professor of relig- 
 ion, how he felt towards the subject. — 
 The reply was prompt; — " I have a hope, 
 Sir" Indeed! how long have you thought 
 yourself a Christian? " About ten years." 
 And if you have so long thought yourself 
 a Christian, why have you never acknowl- 
 edged Christ, before the world, and obeyed 
 His dying injunction, " this do in remem- 
 brance of me?" 
 
 1
 
 EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE. 73 
 
 "Why, to tell you the truth, sir, there 
 are some members of the church, who 
 have not used me very well, — one of them 
 
 is Dea. S — . He has conversed with 
 
 me on the subject of my hope, — and did not 
 seem to think that I was a Christian; and, as 
 he has been one of the Church Commit- 
 tee, who attend at the examination of can- 
 didates, I knew he would oppose my being 
 admitted. I have thought of joining a 
 church, in an adjoining town, and conversed 
 with the minister about it, but, somehow, 
 it was never done. And then, again, I 
 wanted to have my wife come forward 
 with me; — but she did not seem to see her 
 way clear, — and, for ten years, 1 have been 
 waiting for her; — and, as she has, recently, 
 indulged hope, — I trust, now, to have her 
 company." 
 
 But, said the pastor, if you are really a 
 Christian, J should not have thought these 
 excuses would have satisfied you, for so 
 long a time. The fact that some oae had 
 used you ill, — if that is the case, would 
 4
 
 74 THE EVIDENCES 
 
 hardly justify your disobeying Christ. — 
 And, as to waiting for your wife to make a 
 profession of religion, that is a very mista- 
 ken view of duty. A husband may, with 
 just as much propriety, wait for his wife 
 to repent, or love God, or pray, before he 
 would do it, as to wait for her to get ready 
 to make a profession of religion, if she is 
 not a Christian. 
 
 But to pass over this subject, for the 
 present; in relation to your hope; if it is a 
 good one, it must have led you to do all 
 that you knew to be duty. A hope that will 
 not lead to this, will prove to be but as the 
 spider's web, at last. Now sir, I presume, 
 if you think yourself a Christian, you love 
 the duty of prayer. 
 
 " I do not live without praying, sir." 
 
 And I presume, said the minister, that 
 you think family prayer to be a duty, for 
 every Christian head of a family. 
 
 " Most certainly," was the reply. 
 
 I presume, then, you have maintained 
 worship in your family, that have been 

 
 OF REPENTANCE. 75 
 
 growing up around you, since you think 
 you became a Christian? 
 
 "Why — no — sir, — I have not felt like, 
 really praying in my family." 
 
 But, you think it lo be a duly, for every 
 Christian; if I understood you. 
 
 "Why, yes sir, I think it to be a duty, 
 but you know, we are none of us perfect. 
 — we offend in many things, and in all 
 come short." 
 
 But do you not intend commencing fam- 
 ily worship? 
 
 "Why, as to that, I cannot say, exactly." 
 
 But, how, dear sir, do you get along with 
 a hope which lets you live, year after year, 
 in the neglect of what you know, and ac- 
 knowledge, lo be, a Christian duty? 
 
 " O, sir, I pray that God will forgive me." 
 
 But how do you think that God will 
 regard such a prayer? Just look at it, for a 
 moment. You go, and tell God, that you 
 have done wrong in neglecting to pray in 
 your family, — that you are sincerely sorry 
 lor it, and ask Him to forgive you. And
 
 76 EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE 
 
 suppose God should reply, ' do you intend 
 to commence family worship to-day?' — 
 O, no, you reply, I have not thought of 
 doing it to-day? ' Do you intend doing it 
 to morrow?' I hardly think I shall, you re- 
 ply. 'Do you intend ever to commence 
 praying in your family?' 'Why, as to 
 that, I cannot say exactly.' Now, my dear 
 sir, what do you suppose God will think 
 of such a prayer? You tell him, you have 
 done wrong, in not praying thus, and that 
 you are sorry for it, — but yet, at the same 
 time, you do not intend ever to perform 
 that dioty, for the neglect of which, you are 
 BO sorry! Would such a prayer be any- 
 thing less than "abomination," in the 
 sight of God? 
 
 The foregoing is the substance of a con- 
 versation which actually took place, some . 
 eight or nine years since; and the individ- 
 ual is, for aught I know, in very much the 
 5ame state, that he was then, as it regards 
 any profession of religion. 
 
 I might dwell on several points of this
 
 AND ITS EVIDENCES. 
 
 77 
 
 narration, but I introduced it to illustrate the 
 truth, that a determination to perform every 
 known duty, is an indispensible requisite, 
 as evidence of genuine repentance for sin. 
 If a child should profess to be sorry for not 
 having obeyed a reasonable requirement, 
 and should still refuse that obedience, — no 
 one could give him credit for sincerity. 
 
 And now, my dear friend, if you do not 
 determine to do all that you know to be 
 duty, — can you have any evidence that you 
 have sincerely repented of sin?
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 EVANGELICAL FAITH, AND THE FAITH OF 
 ASSURANCE. 
 
 NATURE OF FAITH ILLUSTRATED, 
 
 The faith required as a condition of sal- 
 vation, is commonly called " evangelical 
 faith." This has been defined in a pre- 
 vious letter. It is such a trusting in 
 Christ for salvation, as is implied in rest- 
 ing the soul entirely, on the merits of the 
 atonement for pardon and acceptance Avith 
 God. This, no one will do, until he has 
 been led to feel his undone, and helpless 
 condition, as a sinner against God, de- 
 serving his wrath and curse, and moment- 
 ly exposed to suffer it; without any possi- 
 bility of removing the penalty, by any
 
 FAITH ILLUSTRATED. /y 
 
 obedience which he can render. From 
 this condition, Christ offers .to deliver the 
 sinner, by virtue of what he has done, if 
 the sinner will, in the manner, already de- 
 scribed, trust himself in his hands. This 
 yielding up the soul into his hands, and 
 resting it there, for salvation, is the faith 
 which the gospel demands. " Believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, — He that believeth 
 shall be saved." 
 
 For the purpose of illustrating the na- 
 ture of this faith, let me suppose a case. 
 A man is seen hanging by a twig on the 
 brink of a fearful precipice. From this 
 condition, it is impossible for him to extri- 
 cate himself. Nor will his strength long 
 hold out, to maintain his position; and if 
 it would, the twig is liable to break at any 
 moment, and precipitate him into the 
 abyss below. While in this situation, a 
 benevolent individual comes to his relief, 
 and, extending his arms underneath him, 
 says, let go your hold now, drop into my 
 armSy and I will save yon. This proposi-
 
 80 FAITH. 
 
 tion is easily understood. But the man 
 does not, at once, yield, for several reasons. 
 He may not entirely have despaired of 
 rescuing himself. And while an expecta- 
 tion of this kind, remains, he would not, of 
 course, be anxious to avail himself of such 
 an offer. Or, he may not feel, that there is 
 any necessity of complying immediately; 
 or he may think it possible that the friend 
 who makes the offer, may not be ahle to 
 rescue him, even should he let go his hold 
 and drop; or he may fail to do it, even if 
 able, through some inadvertence. Any, or 
 all, of these, may prevent his compliance. 
 But supposing that he is satisfied, that he 
 cannot rescue himself, that he cannot 
 maintain his hold much longer, and that 
 the twig may break at any moment; — 
 what now will prevent his compliance? 
 ' If I let go, says he to himself, my whole 
 dependance is thrown on the veracity, and 
 faithfulness of this friend; and he may 
 fail of fulfilling his promise. Between 
 my letting go, and reaching his arms, —
 
 FAITH ILLUSTRATED. 81 
 
 there may, it is true, be but a moment^ — 
 but it is long enough to allow of a 'pos- 
 sibility of failure; — for he may, at that 
 very instant withdraw his arms, and then I 
 am lost. If I could feel myself in his 
 arms, before I let go, — I would not hesitate 
 a moment.' At the same time, the friend 
 repeats his assurance, ' let go your hold, 
 drop into my arms, now, and I will res- 
 cue you.' But he hesitates. Now why 
 is this? Simply, because he has not full 
 confidence^ that the pledge "will be redeem- 
 ed: in other words, he does not fully be- 
 lieve it. It i^ faith that is wanting. This 
 shows just what faith is. It is letting go 
 the twig, trusting to the promise. Hence 
 you see the reason, — if faith is to be tried, 
 — why the individual should not be allow- 
 ed to feel himself already in the arms of 
 his friend, before he quits his hold; it 
 would exhibit no trusty — the very thing 
 that is to be called forth. If he must feel 
 himself out of danger, before he will let go, 
 does it not show an absolute distrust? and
 
 82 FAITH. 
 
 is he not, thus, casting a reflection upon the 
 veracity and faithfulness of this benevolent 
 individual? 
 
 But we may view this illustration in an- 
 other point of light. Suppose the individ- 
 ual who makes the offer, has been an early 
 friend, and benefactor of the other; — re- 
 ceived him into his family, adopted him 
 as a son, — and kindly nurtured him from 
 infancy to manhood, with all the kind- 
 ness of a father's heart; and for all this, 
 he has received only unkindness, ingrati- 
 tude, hostility, and abuse. Efforts to re- 
 claim him, have been made, but have prov- 
 ed ineffectual. Now, after all this, find- 
 ing him in this condition of exposure, and 
 brought there by his own folly — the pledge 
 of rescue is made, if he will only ' let go 
 his hold, and drop into the arms of his gen- 
 erous, but abused benefactor.' If he will 
 now, so trust in his word, as to let go, and 
 drop, he shows that very kind of faith 
 that is demanded of the sinner, as a condi- 
 tion of salvation. " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
 
 ^.
 
 FAITH ILLUSTRATED. 83 
 
 The sinner has been thus ungrateful, and 
 rebellious against God, his unwearied Ben- 
 efactor; and has richly deserved to be cast 
 off forever. But God, in the person of 
 Jesus Christ, now comes forward, and of- 
 fers to rescue him, if he will let go the 
 twig, to which he is clinging, and drop 
 into his arms. How reasonable the de- 
 mand {or faith. — How deserving Christ is, 
 of that very confidence, which sho\ild 
 lead the sinner to let go, and drop., — trust- 
 ing his soul, wholly, and entirely, to the 
 faithfulness of Him who hath promised. — 
 This is demanded. 
 
 But, suppose the individual will not let 
 go, and trust himself entirely to the ve- 
 racity of his benefactor, — and the entreaty 
 is urged, " let go now, and you shall be 
 rescued;" — but he distrusts the promise, he 
 will not yield; — would you not say, that 
 he deserved to be let alone, to suffer his 
 fate? And is the sinner less guilty, who 
 will not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? 
 What a natural fitness is there, in the so-
 
 84 FAITH. 
 
 lemn declaration, " he that believeth, shall 
 be saved; but he that believeth not shall 
 be damnecV Will he not deserve it? 
 
 This is evangelical faith. Reader have 
 you exercised it? Have you let go your 
 hold of every thing beside, and cast your 
 soul on the mercy, and faithfulness of Jesus 
 Christ? The person who has done it, is a 
 Christian. He who has not done it, is not 
 a Christian. 
 
 Let me now ask your attention to what 
 is commonly called 
 
 " THE FAITH OF ASSURANCE." 
 
 The most simple definition which I can 
 give of this, is, a full, unwavering belief 
 of the Christian, that he shall be saved. 
 This, it will be perceived, is distinct from 
 evangelical faith. It is possible for the lat- 
 ter to exist, without the faith of assurance, 
 i. 6., a person may have cast his soul on 
 the mercy of God in Christ, and yet may 
 feel that he has not sufficient evidence of
 
 FALSE ASSURANCE. 85 
 
 it; and may, therefore, not feel assured 
 that he shall be saved. It is a great favor, 
 to have a gospel assurance that we shall 
 be saved. But it is not every kind of assu- 
 rance of salvation, that will answer this 
 description. 
 
 FALSE ASSURANCE. 
 
 1. That assurance of salvation, which 
 is based solely on the fact of the good- 
 ness and mercy of God, is not a gos- 
 pel assurance. That God is good, and 
 merciful, is fully admitted, but this does 
 not prove that any particular sinner will 
 be saved; because it does not prove that 
 that particular sinner will repent, and be- 
 lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the 
 goodness and mercy of God, which have 
 made salvation possible on those terms. — 
 But it does not follow of course, that every 
 sinner will comply. They have not all 
 complied, — although God is so good; — and 
 they can continue longer, to stand out, in
 
 their rejection of the gospel, just as they 
 have done; and no one can say, in relation 
 to any particular individual, that he will 
 not actually die in that state. And if he 
 does, has not Christ declared that he shall, 
 at last, be doomed to go away into everlast- 
 ing punishment, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels? — If they shall be eternally ban- 
 ished from the presence and favor of God, 
 — is there any thing to show that the sinner 
 will not be, who has rejected the mercy of 
 God in the gospel? 
 
 2. That assurance of personal salvation, 
 is ill founded, which rests solely on the 
 fact that Christ " tasted death for every 
 man." He did taste death for every man, 
 but it was in such a way, as not, of itself, 
 to make it certain that any would be sav- 
 ed. The atonement, by the death of Christ, 
 was made, to render it proper for God to 
 pardon sin; and He tasted death for all, 
 inasmuch as the door of mercy is now open, 
 in consequence of that death, and all are 
 invited to comply with the terms; and if
 
 FALSE ASSURANCE. 87 
 
 they do comply, they will be saved. But the 
 simple fact that Christ died for all, does not, 
 of itself, insure the salvation of any; because 
 it does not ensure their compliance with the 
 demands of the Gospel. Whether all will 
 comply, is to be decided by other proof. The 
 spirit of the text under consideration is hap- 
 pily illustrated by another; " God so loved 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten 
 Son, that whoso believeih in him, should not 
 perish, but have everlasting life." The 
 compassion of God flowed forth towards 
 a " world " of ruined sinners, but will the 
 "tcorZcZ" be saved as a consequence of 
 this? — " that whoso believeth in him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life." — 
 The fact, then, that Christ tasted death for 
 every man, does not prove that every man 
 will repent, and believe, and therefore does 
 not prove that every man will be saved. If 
 your assurance of salvation, dear reader, 
 rests solely on the fact, that Christ died for 
 all, you may never be saved. 
 
 3. That assurance of salvation, which
 
 S8 FAITH. 
 
 rests solely on the fact, that God ^^ will 
 have all men to be saved," is groundless. 
 
 The term " will" here used, is synony- 
 mous with willing or desirous. But the 
 fact that God is willing, or desirous that 
 all should be saved, does not prove that all 
 will be savedj because they may resist all 
 the influences which God will bring, to 
 lead them to repent, — and if they do, they 
 will go down to death. Besides, God 
 " wills " in the same sense, or is %oilling or 
 desires, that all should " come to the knowl- 
 edge of the truth," as he does, that, all 
 should be saved. But facts shoAv, that all 
 have not come to the knowledge of the 
 truth, and, as such are dying continually, 
 there is no certainty, that they ever will, — 
 the desire of God notwithstanding. This 
 proves nothing in regard to the result. — 
 Men are not very scrupulous in conform- 
 ing to the desires, or wishes, of God. — 
 He may sincerely desire, that every sin- 
 ner would repent, immediately; but he 
 may not deem it wise and best, to use all
 
 FALSE ASSURANCE. 89 
 
 that influence, which the perverseness, and 
 obstinacy of man render necessary, to se- 
 cure the result. Rather than do this, he 
 may deem it best to leave them to their own 
 refusal. 
 
 4. That person who rests his assurance 
 of salvation, on the bare fact that God 
 does not " take pleasure in the death of 
 the wicked," has no foundation at all for 
 it. 
 
 A Judge may not take pleasure in the 
 death of a criminal, but he may pass the 
 sentence of the law, notwithstanding, and 
 order its execution. But to test the princi- 
 ple, on which this assurance is built; viz. 
 that if God does not take pleasure in the 
 death of the sinner, he will not die eternal- 
 ly; — it may be remarked, that God either 
 does, or does not, take pleasure in sin. If 
 he does, where is his holiness? Can it be 
 shown that he possesses it, any more than 
 wicked men, or devils, who take pleasure 
 in sin? But, if he does not take pleasure 
 in sin, then, according to the argument,
 
 90 FAITH. 
 
 there is no such thing as sin, in existence. 
 Again, God either does, or does not, take 
 pleasure in the present suffering of his 
 creatures. If he does, he is a malevolent 
 Being. If he does not, then, according to 
 this argument for assurance, there is no 
 such thing as present suffering, and pain! 
 Because, if God does not take pleasure in 
 an event, it will not take place. What an 
 admirable method this would be, to get rid 
 of all the present suffering and pain, that 
 afflict humanity. Is not the argument 
 just as conclusive, in the one case, as in 
 the other? Does it appear certain, then, 
 dear reader, that, if God does not take 
 pleasure in the death of the wicked, none 
 of them will perish in their sins? 
 
 5. Is that assurance of being saved, a 
 gospel assurance, that rests solely, upon 
 the fact, that God has power to convert, 
 and save all men? 
 
 The fact that he has power to convert 
 any individual sinner, does not prove that 
 he will convert him^ any more than the
 
 i^ALSE ASSURANCE. 91 
 
 fact that God can annihilate him, proves 
 that he will do it. He may have wise and 
 benevolent reasons for not exerting power, 
 which he could exert; whether he has dis- 
 closed, or ever will disclose them to us, or 
 not. He will do all that He judges wise 
 and best, to bring sinners to lay down the 
 weapons of their rebellion; and he will do 
 enough to stop the mouth of every sinner, 
 at the day of judgment, who remains im- 
 penitent. And God, we have no reason to 
 doubt, would be better pleased with the 
 conduct of men, if they would all repent, 
 and love him, with the means of grace 
 which they have, than he is, with the con- 
 tinued impenitence, and final perdition of 
 any. But that he can do more for any, 
 does not prove that he will, — any more 
 than the fact, that he can do more to make 
 them rich, and happy, proves that he will do 
 it. Who, then, would be willing to risk 
 his assurance of reaching heaven, at last, 
 on the mere fact, that God has power to 
 convert and save all men? Is it not possi-
 
 92 FAITH. 
 
 ble, that he may, at last, say to some 
 Because I have called and ye have refus- 
 ed; T have stretched out my hand, and ye 
 have not regarded, therefore, I will laugh at 
 your calamity, I will mock when your fear 
 cometh?" 
 
 GOSPEL ASSURANCE. 
 
 But, a gospel assurance of salvation, is 
 based upon good evidence that the person 
 has complied with the terms of the gos- 
 pel, and is, in fact, a real Christian; and 
 also, on the definite, and unambiguous 
 pledge of God, in his word. As this assu- 
 rance rests, in the first place, on evidence 
 of being a Christian, of course, it would be 
 strong, or weak, just in proportion to the 
 fulness, or scantiness of this evidence. — 
 On the subject of evidence, too, a person 
 may mistake. He may think himself 
 a Christian, when he is not, in fact; and 
 may, on the other hand, sometimes con- 
 clude that he is not a Christian, when
 
 GOSPEL ASSURANCE. 93 
 
 he is; owing to the manner in which he 
 looks at evidence, at the time. The meth- 
 od of obtaining a well-grounded assur- 
 ance, according to this view, is, to live 
 so holy, and devoted a life, that there shall 
 be no room to doubt the fact of being a 
 Christian. Let a person do this, — and he 
 really a Christian, and his assurance of 
 being saved the7i^ rests on the simple truth 
 of God. " There is, therefore, no condem- 
 nation to them which are in Christ Jesus, 
 who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
 Spirit." "My sheep," says Christ, him- 
 self, " hear my voice, and I know them, and 
 they follow me, and / give unto them eter- 
 nal life, AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH.'' 
 
 The truth is, the sheep of Christ may some- 
 times wander, and need to be. chastised 
 back to the fold, but they never become 
 goats! — they remain sheep all the \oay to 
 Heaven: and the Shepherd's pledge is, 
 " they shall never perish." Is not here 
 ground for assurance, firmer than the " ev- 
 erlasting hills?" It is not because they
 
 94 EVANGELICAL FAITH. 
 
 cannot sin, — and continue in sin till they 
 die; but they will not, because they will 
 be " kept by the power of God, through 
 faith unto salvation." 
 
 These, reader, are the grounds of assu- 
 rance; the assurance of salvation taught 
 in the Bible. You see that it is a Scrip- 
 tural doctrine. And it is the duty, and 
 privilege, of every Christian so to live, 
 that he may have this assurance. Nor is 
 it, as some suppose, a dangerous doctrine, 
 adapted to lead to carelessness and licen- 
 tiousness. The fact is, if a person were 
 to give loose to vicious appetites and pas- 
 sions, on the assumption that he is a Christ- 
 ian, and therefore cannot fail of heaven; 
 he would furnish the most unequivocal 
 evidence that he is an utter stranger to the • 
 religion of the Gospel. The characler of 
 those, for whom " there is now no condem- 
 nation," is described, — they " walk not af- 
 ter the flesh; but after the Spirit." Let 
 no man therefore deceive himself. 
 
 To sum up the whole; from what has
 
 GOSPEL ASSURANCE. 95 
 
 been said, it is evident that I may know, 
 if I am a Christian, that I shall be saved; — 
 and if I can know that I am a Christian, 
 then I can know that I shall he saved. — 
 But I cannot know that I arn a Christian, 
 unless I lead a life devoted to God; and 
 hence, without such a life, I cannot have 
 assurance that I shall be saved.
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 This is one of the most interesting 
 facts in the history of a new born soul; and 
 I had almost said, one of the very first ex- 
 ercises. Others may pray, but the prayers 
 of the real Christian, only, are acceptable 
 to God; because he, only, has the feelings 
 which God approves. Having called your 
 attention, in the two preceding letters, to 
 the subjects oi repent mice ^ and faith, it is 
 thought that the most appropriate place for 
 the consideration of the subject of prayer, 
 is the present communication; and then 
 we shall be prepared, to consider, in con- 
 nection, the subject of benevolent effort, 
 as concluding the brief hints which I in- 
 tend, at present, to suggest.
 
 PRAYER. 97 
 
 In relation to prayer, the most simple 
 definition is, 
 
 " Prayer is the souPs sincere desire, 
 Unuttered, or expressed." 
 
 It is the desire of the heart, ascending 
 to God, whether in the use of words, or 
 without them. Nothing else is prayer. — 
 Men may have forms, and repeat them; or 
 may, without forms, make use of the most 
 elegant extempore language, in the form of 
 addresses to God, without praying at all. 
 If the language made use of, expresses the 
 desires of their hearts, it is prayer. If not, 
 it is solemn mockery — and would be abom- 
 ination in the sight of God. How much 
 sin, must have been committed, in the 
 professed addresses to God, even of those 
 who claim to be Christians! How often 
 does the judgment dictate the language 
 used,— -instead of the feelings of the heart? 
 The language expresses what we know we 
 ought to desire, rather than what we do 
 desire. This is not prayer.
 
 98 PRAYER. 
 
 Hence, it will be seen that there may- 
 be a wide difference between asking God 
 for blessings, and praying for them. We 
 may desire the things asked for; but we 
 may ask for things which we do not desire. 
 So God may grant us blessings which we 
 desire, and yet not grant the particular 
 things asked for. A hungry child comes 
 to your door, and asks for bread., — but he 
 desires food of any kind, adapted to his 
 necessities. Now, if you should not give 
 him bread, — but something equally good, 
 or better for him; although you would not 
 give him what he asked for; yet you would, 
 what he desired; for he asked for bread; but 
 he desired /ooq5 of any suitable kind: — and 
 as he has /ood, he has just what he desir- 
 ed. His desire might include bread; but it 
 did not exclude other things that would 
 answer the same purpose. 
 
 With these preliminary remarks on the 
 subject, it maybe observed, that prayer is 
 both a duty and di privilege. It is the duty 
 of every individual, whether saint or sin-
 
 PRAYER. 99 
 
 ner. " I will therefore," says the Apostle, 
 " that men pray every where, lifting up holy 
 hands, without wrath, and doubting." It 
 is not merely the duty of Christians to 
 pray, but the duty of " men," as men, as 
 the subjects of God's moral government, 
 and his dependant creatures; and hence the 
 duty of all men. But the manner in which 
 they must pray, is pointed out: — " lifting 
 up hoJy hands," &c. No prayer is accep- 
 table to Him, or is offered as he requires, 
 unless offered in this manner. Again, after 
 making promises of spiritual, as well as 
 temporal blessings to the Jews, God dis- 
 tinctly asserts, " I will, yet for this, be in- 
 quired of, by the house of Israel, to do it for 
 them." But "the house of Israel," was the 
 whole nation, and the only nation, that was 
 acquainted with the true God. It was thus 
 made the duty of all such, to plead with 
 God, for those blessings, which he had ex- 
 pressed his readiness to bestow; not mere- 
 ly the duty of the few, actively pious; but 
 the duty of all who are made acquainted
 
 100 PRAYER. 
 
 with his will. Such are bound to pray for 
 the blessings of God's providence and grace, 
 not only upon themselves, but upon others. 
 I ask then, reader, whether prayer is not 
 your duty? If you are a Christian, I know 
 you must admit it. But if you are not a 
 Christian, is it not your duty to pray? Are 
 you not bound to thank God for the bles- 
 sings you receive from his hand? — to ask 
 him for the blessings you need? — both for 
 the soul, and the body? Can you think of 
 his munificent goodness, — of his forbear- 
 ance and long-suffering, and then of your 
 own ingratitude, and multiplied offences, 
 without feeling that you ought to go, and 
 confess your sins to God, and implore his 
 pardoning mercy? With so much guilt, as 
 you have contracted, can you refuse to do 
 this, without enhancing that guilt? I ap- 
 peal, then, to your conscience, whether 
 prayer is not your duty? Admitting that 
 you are not a Christian; that you do not 
 love God, does this justify you in not plead- 
 ing, in prayer, for this mercy? Can you
 
 PRAYER. 101 
 
 think of bringing such a plea to the judg- 
 ment seat? — that the reason why you nev- 
 er asked for pardon, was, that you did not 
 love God's character! Would you not 
 shudder at the thought of such a plea! I 
 ask then, does the fact that you are not a 
 Christian, justify you in your neglect of 
 prayer? Is not the fact that you have lived 
 to the present moment, without giving 
 your heart to God, a reason why you should 
 pray for mercy? But let me not be under- 
 stood to recommend impenitent prayers; 
 or prayer with an impenitent heart. Such 
 prayers God reprobates, as " abomination " 
 in his sight; nay, he expressly forbids such 
 solemn mockery: " Bring no more vain 
 oblations." " When ye spread forth your 
 hands, before me, I will hide mine eyes 
 from you; yea, when ye make many 
 prayers, I will not hear." 
 
 Although it is the duty of every sinner, 
 now impenitent, to pray; yet he has no 
 right to do this, or any thing else, with an 
 impenitent heart, but with penitence for
 
 102 PRAYER. 
 
 sin. Not only are the sacrifices of the 
 wicked an abomination to the Lord, but 
 " the ploughing of the wicked is sin," and 
 " the thoughts of the wicked are abomina- 
 tion to the Lord." Every thing he does, 
 and says, and feels, is wrong in God's 
 view, because he has no regard to the glo- 
 ry of his Maker; and no desire to please 
 him. But what shall the sinner do? Not 
 cease acting; but begin to act light, and 
 begin now! He is to love God, and repent 
 of sin, immediately; and in the exercise 
 of these feelings, he is bound to pray, and 
 perform every other duty. Is not prayer, 
 then, a present duty binding upon every 
 individual? And is impenitence any bet- 
 ter excuse for not performing this duty, 
 than it is for committing any other sin? God 
 " now commands all men every where to 
 repent;" and in the exercise of this peni- 
 tence, it is the present duty of all men 
 every where, to pray. 
 
 Reason would seem to dictate, that, from 
 a sense of want, and of dependence on
 
 PRAYER. 103 
 
 God, prayer would be the very method to 
 express our wants, and seek for needed fa- 
 vors. But God has emphatically constitu- 
 ted it the channel of communication be- 
 tween him and his people, through which, 
 their desires ascend to him, and bring down 
 blessings, for the body and the soul, — for 
 time, and for eternity. 
 
 The person, therefore, who refuses, or 
 neglects, to pray, cuts himself off from these 
 communications of grace and love which 
 God delights to afford his people. But 
 it is not only a duty, but ought to be re- 
 garded as an unspeakable privilege, to unbo- 
 som the heart to God, at a throne of grace. 
 Love prompts to this. The society of the 
 friend beloved, is sought by us; and as 
 there is no way in which we can make so 
 near an approach to God, and enjoy so 
 much communion with him, as in prayer, 
 if we love him, we shall feel that we can- 
 not be denied the privilege. 
 
 " Prayer is the Christian's vital breathy 
 The Christian's native air."
 
 104 PRAYER. 
 
 Repentance will prompt to this duty. — 
 When sorry that we have done wrong, in 
 disobeying, we shall not feel like resting a 
 moment, until we have pleaded, for forgive- 
 ness of that Being, whom we have offended; 
 and as we are daily, and hourly offending; 
 so our heart will learn the art oP'' praying 
 ahcays, with all prayer, and supplication 
 in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with 
 all perseverance." O what a sweetness, 
 what a preciousness there is, in coming to 
 a throne of grace, melted down in contri- 
 tion for sin. In this respect emphatically 
 
 " 'Tis he who knows the worth of prayer, 
 That wishes to be often there." 
 
 BvLl faith is an ingredient in the feelings 
 which lead to a throne of grace. It is the 
 confidence with which a child goes to a 
 kind, affectionate parent, for the favors 
 which are needed. And this confidence is 
 sanctioned by the requisition of inspiration. 
 "He that cometh to God, must believe 
 that He is, and that He is the rewarder of
 
 PRAYER. 105 
 
 them that diligently seek him." " Ask 
 and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find; 
 knock and it shall be opened unto you. 
 For every one that asketh, receiveth," &c. 
 This is ground for the exercise of faith, in 
 prayer to God. Love, penitence, and faith, 
 then, are combined in leading to a throne of 
 grace. And these very graces are strength- 
 ened by the performance of this duty, and 
 every needed blessing is secured. Prayer 
 
 *' Gives exercise to faith and love, 
 Brings every blessing from above." 
 
 What an indication does that individual 
 furnish of a low state, or want of piety, 
 who demands a distinct and formal re- 
 quirement to pray in his family, or in 
 any other suitable place. It seems that 
 he is determined to do no more than he can 
 possibly help, in religious duties, lest per- 
 haps, he should be accused of being right- 
 eous overmuch; — and the solicitude often 
 seems to be,— how much may be neglected 
 5
 
 106 PRAYER. 
 
 without incurring the censure of disobey- 
 ing a positive requirement! Such a spirit 
 will never fit a soul for Heaven. To love, 
 and serve God, are not made the great bu- 
 siness of life; but things to be attended to, 
 like the taking of medicines in sickness, — 
 for the sake of the benefit to be derived 
 from them. No matter what such an indi- 
 vidual's profession, or character, may be, 
 otherwise, he ought not to indulge the 
 thought of reaching Heaven, in this state. 
 I know it is sometimes said, I cannot find 
 time to perform this duty, or that; — but 
 for what was time given us, but to perform 
 the duties which we owe to God, as well 
 as to our fellow-men, and ourselves? A 
 man might just as well plead, that he 
 could not find time to eat^ as that he can- 
 not find time to pray, — to mention but one 
 duty among others. The truth is, all such 
 excuses speak a language of no uncertain 
 character, in relation to the piety of the in- 
 dividual. Prayer, has, with not a little 
 justice, been termed the " Thermometer^^ 
 
 I
 
 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE. 107 
 
 of a Christian's piety. Compare your 
 feelings and exercises, dear reader, with 
 what has been said, above, and where on 
 the scale, must you look for the indication 
 in regard to your condition? 
 
 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE, 
 
 But in relation to prayer, there is one 
 fundamental principle which I cannot for- 
 bear noticing on the present occasion. It 
 is this-,— no appropriate effort for the at- 
 taimnent of the blessing sought, which 
 God has put within our reach, should he 
 neglected, when we pray. In regard to 
 temporal things, this proposition needs no 
 illustration. A man is sick, and prays for 
 health, but he does not think it unnecessa- 
 ry to make use of remedies to accomplish 
 his object. Suppose the house of your 
 neighbor was on fire, and instead of using 
 any efforts to extinguish the flames, where 
 the lives of his wife and children are jeop- 
 ardized, he simply kneels down and prays
 
 108 PRAYER. 
 
 that God will put out the fire. What 
 would you think of such a man? Or suppose 
 a child falls into a stream, and the father, in- 
 stead of making any efforts to rescue him, 
 prays that God will save him from a wa- 
 tery grave! What would be thought of 
 the sanity of that man? Or what w^ould be 
 thought of the man who should pray that God 
 would give him a plentiful harvest, while he 
 neither ploughs, nor sows! The principle in 
 these supposed cases, which is obviously vi- . 
 olated, is the one already named. The ap- 
 propriate means, which God has placed with- 
 in their reach, to secure the accomplishment 
 of the objects prayed for, are not used, and 
 hence, the inconsistency of the prayer. But 
 the principle is not confined, in its appli- 
 cation, to prayer for temporal things; if 
 prayer be made for the conversion of a 
 friend, or neighbor, all those means which 
 God has put within our reach, to bring 
 truth before the mind, and lead him to 
 think on his ways, must be used; or we 
 have no evidence of the sincerity of our
 
 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE. 109 
 
 prayers. Or, if we pray for the conversion 
 of the world, all the means which God has 
 placed within our reach to send the Gospel 
 to every creature, must be used, — or we 
 fail to show that we are sincere, in our 
 prayers.
 
 LETTER VII 
 
 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 The grand object of the benevolent effort 
 of the Christian church is, to bring men to 
 Christ. And this has high sanction. To 
 open the way for this, was the object which 
 brought the Son of God from heaven, to 
 assume our nature, that he might, in that 
 nature, make such an offering, — such a 
 sacrifice for sin, that God could he just, as 
 well as merciful, in its forgiveness, on con- 
 dition of repentance and faith. And hav- 
 ing opened the door of mercy to the lost,— 
 his last command to his disciples was, "go 
 ye into all the world, and preach the gos- 
 pel to every creature.*" This was to be their 
 great business; — the business of their lives; 
 — the business and the duty of the church
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. Ill 
 
 in all coming ages, until the knowledge of 
 the Lord covers the earth, as the waters do 
 the sea. To convert men to Christ, is not 
 only the great object for which the Christ- 
 ian ministry has been instituted, but for 
 which the Holy Spirit is given, to make 
 them willing' in the day of God's power; 
 — and the object for which Missionary, 
 Bible, Education, and Tract, as well as 
 other Societies, are instituted, and are la- 
 boring. It is the conversion of sinners, — 
 the conversion of the world. 
 
 O.V WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 
 
 The question, now is, dear reader, will 
 you enter into this work, and determine, 
 with God's blessing, to bring sinners to 
 ^ive up their hearts to their Maker? — 
 Whether you have ever tasted, and seen 
 ;hat the Lord is gracious, and hope that 
 'jour sins have been forgiven, or not, this 
 s your duty. I am aware that this work 
 las generally been regarded, as belonging
 
 112 BENEVOLENT EFF0RT3. 
 
 exclusively to the Church. But why is 
 the Church, any more exclusively, under 
 obligation to labor to convert men, than 
 she is to be honest, or kind, or benevolent? 
 I admit, the command of Christ, " go teach 
 all nations," was given to his disciples: 
 but this no more proves that it is their duty 
 exclusively, than the command " be ye mer- 
 ciful," addressed to the disciples, proves 
 that none but Christians are under obliga- 
 tions to be merciful. Christians may be 
 under peculiar obligations to obey the in- 
 junctions of Christ; but this does not ex- 
 clude others from obligations to obey. 
 
 The truth is, God has laid all the obli- 
 gations and sanctions of his eternal law, 
 and his blessed Gospel, upon the conscience 
 of every human sinner, whether penitent . 
 or impenitent; and no one can run away 
 from these obligations, any more than he 
 can run away from the power and neces- 
 sity of thinking, or consciousness. It is 
 true, that a right state of feeling is sup- 
 posed to be necessary to the acceptable 
 performance of some of these; but I aver
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 113 
 
 that it is necessary to the performance of 
 any, and all these duties. It is admitted 
 that a man cannot pray acceptably, with- 
 out love to God, and penitence for sin; nor 
 can he attend to any of his worldly busi- 
 ness, or even think without sinning, if he 
 does not do it from supreme love to God, 
 and regard to his glory. Not only, are "the 
 sacrifices of the wicked, abomination to 
 the Lord," but " the ploughing of the 
 wicked is sin;" and " the thoughts of the 
 wicked are abomination." But what would 
 you think of the person who should declare 
 that he would not plough, or even think! 
 because he committed sin, in not doing it 
 from right motives! If he sins when he 
 prays, without love to God; so does he 
 when he ploughs, or thinks. And he may 
 just as wisely resolve to cease doing the 
 latter, as the former. I ask then, dear 
 reader, whether you will engage in the 
 work of attempting to persuade sinners to 
 become reconciled to God? You cannot, 
 surely, hesitate, because the work is not
 
 114 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 sufficiently important, to demand the efforto 
 It is the salvation of a soulj — a soul of 
 more value than ten thousand worlds like 
 this! It is an object of such importance, 
 that it brought the Son of God from Heav- 
 en, for its redemption, — for which, he sub- 
 jected himself to a life of poverty, re- 
 proach, and toil, — to the agony, and bloody 
 sweat of Gethsemane; — and the untold, 
 unutterable sufferings of Calvary, which 
 threw a pall of mourning over the face of 
 day, and convulsed the deep foundations 
 of the trembling earth, 
 
 " When God, the mighty Maker died, 
 For man— the creature's sinl" 
 
 Is there not an importance attached to a 
 soul, the redemption of which, has cost so 
 much? 
 
 But look at the benevolent feelings of 
 Heaven. Not a single sinner on the foot- 
 stool is brought to lay down the weapons 
 of his rebellion, however poor, or degraded, 
 or guilty he may be, but another hymn of
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 115 
 
 praise, is chanted in immortal strains, — and 
 a deeper, and more rapturous tide of joy 
 spreads tiirough all the heavenly world, 
 than is felt, for the simple continuance in 
 holiness, of ninety and nine, who have nev- 
 er sinned, and who need no repentance! 
 I ask then, whether, by attempting to lead 
 sinners to repentance, you are not willing 
 to furnish fresh cause for rejoicing, among 
 the angels, and the redeemed around the 
 throne of God? Will you not engage in a 
 work which enlists all the sympathies of 
 of Heaven in its favor? 
 
 But from what is a soul saved, that is 
 converted to God? I answer in one word, 
 from eternal suffering, and eternal sinning. 
 
 In the first, is included, all that indigna- 
 tion and wrath, tribulation and anguish, 
 which God has threatened to pour out upon 
 all the finally incorrigible, through the 
 endless duration of their future existence. 
 In the second, viz; — eternally sinning, — 
 there is something truly appalling! When 
 viewed in its proper light, a single sin,
 
 116 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 against the God of the universe, has a 
 moral turpitude, and a desert of ill, which 
 none but God can fully, and properly esti- 
 mate. But the enormity is fearfully in- 
 creased, by the multiplied offences of years, 
 by vi^hich, the sinner is emphatically said 
 to " TREASURE DP Wrath against the day of 
 wrath." But even this course of sin is 
 sometimes broken off, by repentance, and 
 faith; and then the scene changes for a 
 happy eternity. But there is no breaking 
 off from sin in eternity; — he that at death 
 is filthy, will forever remain filthy. The 
 restraints of God's providence and grace 
 will, then, all be withdrawn, and rebellion, 
 — eternal rebellion will enlist the obstinate 
 unyielding energies of every unreclaimed 
 sinner forever. To convert a sinner, 
 therefore, you not only rescue him from 
 eternal suffering, but you save him from a 
 course of eternal rebellion against the God 
 of the universe. Let him go on a little 
 longer, and, by the abandonment of God, 
 he will be forever fixed in that rebellion.
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 117 
 
 Reader, can you want inducements to put 
 forth your immediate, and unceasing efforts, 
 to convert sinners around you, from the 
 error of their ways, and lead them to make 
 their peace with God? What must be 
 thought of your benevolence, your human- 
 ity, — nay, rather your destitution of all the 
 best feelings of our nature, if you will put 
 forth no effort for this object? I put it to 
 your conscience, my dear friend, what 
 ought you to do? Are you not bound to 
 love your neighbor as yourself? And could 
 you feel grateful, if a fellow creature, 
 knowing your condition of exposure to the 
 wrath of God, and, to be an eternal enemy 
 to, and rebel against Him, would not raise 
 a warning voice, to arouse you, fiom your 
 lethargy, and urge you to make your es- 
 cape? What then is your duty, on this 
 subject? 
 
 Do you say, that if you were a Christian, 
 you would not hesitate to enter into this 
 work with all your might, but, that you 
 cannot do it noK? — that you are an impeni-
 
 118 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 tent sinner yourself, and that this excuses 
 you? No, reader, it is no justification, no 
 excuse. Is the fact, that you do not love 
 God, and have not repented of your sins, a 
 justification for not doing good to your fel- 
 low creatures? Can you make one sin, a 
 justification of another? Or, will you say, 
 it is no sin in you, not to raise your warn- 
 ing voice to prevent your fellow creatures 
 from going down to hell? If a soul per- 
 ishes through your refusal to do your duty, 
 you will not wish to meet that soul at the 
 judgment seat of Christ! You will not 
 wish to hear what he will say of you 
 through eternity! 
 
 But you ask, ' shall I go, while I remain 
 impenitent, and try to persuade others to re- 
 pent?' Your duty, in regard to this, is pre- 
 cisely the same, that it is in relation to 
 prayer. It is your duty to pray now; but to 
 pray with penitence for sin, and love to God. 
 Nothing can justify you for neglecting the 
 duty a single hour. It is just so, in relation 
 to the other subject. Set about the work of
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 119 
 
 bringing others to Christ, in the very ea;- 
 ercise of penitence for your own sins, and 
 love, to God's character. You have no 
 right to defer that work for this; or this 
 work for that. They ought both to be 
 done; and done now. And God will not 
 excuse you, if you refuse to do either. Let 
 me repeat the statement of the truth; every 
 sinner, now impenitent, is under the most 
 solemn obligation to do all in his power, to 
 convert the sinners around him, and to 
 convert the world. This is not only the 
 duty of those who are Christians, but of 
 those who are not Christians, — and they, 
 as well as Christians, are answerable to 
 God for every soul that perishes through 
 their unfaithfulness. Whether, then, dear 
 reader, you are penitent or impenitent, 
 God calls upon you, to enter with right feel- 
 ings into the work of persuading sinners to 
 become reconciled to God, with all the ener- 
 gies of your soul; and a responsibility rests 
 upon you, which you cannot shake off. Will 
 you come up. then, to the point of duty?
 
 120 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 You are familiar with the prayer of Di- 
 ves in hell, that " Lazarus might be sent to 
 warn his brethren, of their danger," — as 
 well, as with the reason he assigned, " lest 
 they also come into this place of tor- 
 ment." Now, I have no idea, that this re- 
 quest was prompted by any feelings of be- 
 nevolence, for such feelings have no exis- 
 tence there. But the simple truth, un- 
 doubtedly is, that having himself exerted 
 a powerful influence upon his brethren, • to 
 render them regardless of their spiritual 
 interests, and of their future prospects, he 
 knew, that their coming into the same 
 place of torment, to be the companions of 
 his sufferings, would only increase Ms 
 Avretchedness to a still more insupportable 
 degree. From a merely selfish considera- 
 tion, therefore, he might make the request. 
 He had occasion to dread their companion- 
 ship in hell, if by his own influence he had 
 contributed to prepare them for itj or had 
 not discharged his duty, in warning them 
 to avoid it. Supposing, then, dear reader,
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 121 
 
 what I hope, and trust is not the fact, that 
 you, not only, are not a Christian, but have 
 deliberately made up your mind never to 
 attend to the subject, but to neglect your 
 immortal interests, and go down to perdi- 
 tion, as you are; even on such a supposi- 
 tion, would you not; from a regard, — I will 
 not say to your own peace in hell! — but, to 
 the lessening of your eternal wretchedness, 
 labor to prevent sinners from going to the 
 same place of suffering and woe? The 
 example of every sinner who remains im- 
 penitent, is encouraging others in the same 
 course, so that it will, with truth, be finally 
 said of each, " That man perished not 
 alone in his iniquity." The only way for 
 you to counteract this influence, if you 
 determine not to turn to God yourself, is, 
 to urge them to act with more wisdom, 
 and repent, before it be forever too late! 
 From hell, you can never make your voice 
 heard, by those you have left behind you; 
 nor will any messenger be sent back, at 
 your request, to warn your companions in
 
 122 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 sin. While, therefore, you are in life, 
 though you have already entered within 
 the eddying whirl of that vortex, that will 
 soon engulph you, raise your warning 
 voice, and cry to those approaching it, 
 stand off! stand off!! if you would not 
 go down, with me, to the woes of the sec- 
 ond death! 
 
 But let me not be understood to urge this 
 duty upon those who have not formed this 
 desperate resolution, because of yourself, 
 you can convert a single sinner. The 
 planting of Paul, and watering of ApoUos, 
 will be in vain, without the blessing of 
 God. He, and He only, can give the in- 
 crease. But how does he give it; — with 
 the planting of Paul, and watering of 
 Apollos? or, without them? Because you 
 cannot make a blade of grain to grow, 
 would you refuse to plough and sow? " In 
 the morning sow thy seed, and in the eve- 
 ning withhold not thine hand, for thou 
 knowest not, whether shall prosper, either 
 this, or that; or whether both shall be alike
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 123 
 
 good." This is all the encouragement which 
 the farmer has, or can have; he cannot 
 make a single kernel of grain grow, — for 
 this, he is entirely dependent on God. 
 And he does not know whether God will 
 make this, or that kernel grow; or whether 
 he will not make them both grow; — hence, 
 the necessity, and encouragement too, not 
 only of sowing, but of being diligent; of 
 beginning early, and working late; because 
 he "knows not whether shall prosper, ei- 
 ther this, or that: or whether both may not 
 be alike good." And this is all the encour- 
 agement, dear reader, which you need, to 
 enlist all your energies and efforts, to secure 
 the conversion, and salvation of souls. 
 You know not whether God will bless this 
 effort, or that; or whether he may not bless 
 them both. With such encouragement, 
 surely, you will not hesitate, if you have a 
 particle of the spirit of Christ; or the be- 
 nevolence of the gospel. You recollect 
 that as soon as Andrew had become ac- 
 quainted with Christ, his first solicitude was
 
 124 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 to make Simon, also, acquainted with him; 
 "he first findeth his own brother Simon, 
 and saith unto him, we have found the 
 Messiah." So likewise, Philip, as soon as 
 he was called to follow Christ, " findeth 
 Nathaniel," and was instrumental in bring- 
 ing him acquainted with Christ. The 
 same trait is also visible in the history of 
 the woman of Samaria. As soon as she 
 had her heart brought undei the renewing, 
 sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, 
 she left the well, water-pot and all, and 
 hastened to the city, with the message, 
 "Come, see a man that told me all the 
 things that ever I did: is not this the 
 Christ?" And she persuaded the whole 
 city to come out, and become acquainted 
 with the Savior of sinners. Now this was 
 acting out the very spirit of the gospel, — 
 the spirit that will exist, wherever genuine 
 religion takes possession of the heart. It 
 seeks to bring others into the same king- 
 dom, to become acquainted with the same 
 Savior, and travel the same road towards
 
 ON WHOM RESTS THE OBLIGATION. 125 
 
 Heaven. Their desire, and prayer is, that 
 Christ may be formed in them, the hope of 
 glory. Now, reader, will you labor for this? 
 He that converteth a sinner from the error 
 of his way, shall save a soul from death; — 
 a soul of more value than a thousand 
 worlds like this. Is not this an object 
 worth laboring to accomplish? It will hon- 
 or Christ; — will glorify God, and roll a 
 wave of the purest joy, over all the heav- 
 enly world. Do you ask what you can do? 
 You can converse with those who are out 
 of Christ, in your family, — and in your 
 neighborhood. You can place in the hands 
 of others, some tract, or religious book, 
 that is adapted to lead them to think on 
 their ways, and urge them to the Savior. 
 You can pray with, and for them, and 
 preach to their hearts and consciences, by 
 a holy, exemplary life; and they will feel 
 it. 
 
 Labor not to make them Presbyterians, 
 or Episcopalians, or Baptists, or Methodists; 
 but to make them Christians, the sincere
 
 126 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. 
 Do not throw off the responsibility upon 
 your minister, or elders, or deacons, or 
 upon the Church itself. To their own 
 Master they stand or fall. But enter into 
 the work yourself j without waiting for 
 others. And discharge your duty with as 
 much fidelity, as if you were the only one 
 on earth, to take the part of God, and urge 
 sinners to become reconciled to him. Do 
 this, yourself, and you will take the most 
 effectual method to arouse the attention of 
 other Christians to the subject; and you 
 may be instrumental in the conversion and 
 salvation of some precious souls. Begin 
 the work in earnest, — with faith and prayer. 
 Hold up to your view the condition of sin- 
 ners, just as the Bible represents it, under 
 the wrath and curse of God, and momently 
 exposed to sink down to an endless perdi- 
 tion; and can you, — will you, refuse to 
 raise your warning voice, and urge them to 
 escape the wrath to come? And while you 
 do this, feel that you will agonise in prayer
 
 THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. 127 
 
 for the blessing of God upon your labors, 
 until death, or the blessing comes. Should 
 you begin thus, and labor thus, it might 
 be the commencement of the outpouring 
 of God's Spirit, and of a great ingathering 
 of souls into the kingdom of God. If you 
 fail, or refuse to do this, such an event may 
 not take place. A tremendous responsibil- 
 ity then may rest upon you, which might 
 well make an angel tremble. O, then, let 
 me ask you, in God's presence, and in God's 
 name, will you discharge your duty? 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. 
 
 But I would not have you confine your 
 sympathy, or efforts, to the objects of in- 
 terest, immediately around you. There is 
 a world lying in wickedness, under the 
 curse of God, that must be converted thro' 
 the instrumentality of human effort. And 
 every friend of Jesus Christ is called upon, 
 by a voice that cannot be disregarded, with 
 impunity, to enter into this work. And
 
 128 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 there can be no neutrality in this concern. 
 " He that is not with me, is against me," 
 is the thrilling declaration of the Son of 
 God, himself. The soldier who refuses to 
 march, when the order is given, is guilty 
 of insubordination; and it may be under 
 such circumstances, as to be construed into 
 treachery to the cause, in which he is en- 
 listed. Such soldiers, Jesus Christ will 
 not own here, or hereafter. " Onward," is 
 the word of command. " Onward," must 
 be their motto. The marshalled hosts of 
 God's elect, must put forth one stronger, 
 mightier, holier, and more undying effort 
 than has ever yet been made, before the 
 god of this world will abdicate his throne, 
 and quit his usurped dominions. Are you 
 prepared, then, as one, to make the onset, 
 and stand your ground, until a voice from 
 Heaven, shall bid you, " come up higher?" 
 I have urged you to commence your ef- 
 fort in the cause of benevolence, by labor- 
 ing for the conversion of souls around you; 
 because the feeling that will lead to it, is
 
 THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. 129 
 
 the feeling that is needed in efforts for the 
 conversion of the world. I know not how 
 it is possible to feel right, in relation to the 
 salvation of the heathen, when no interest 
 is felt, and no efforts are made, for the con- 
 version of those around us, who are hast- 
 ening to perdition, with a hundred, nay, a 
 thousand fold more guilt, than the millions 
 who have never heard of a Savior. Hence, 
 when the work of God is revived, the eye 
 of the Christian affects his heart, — what 
 he sees around him, of the rebellion, stu- 
 pidity, and danger of the ungodly, leads 
 him to put forth his sympathy and efforts 
 for their salvation; and then he is prepared 
 to feel, and to act, for the salvation of a 
 world. While, therefore, you ought to be- 
 gin at home, in the manner already urged; 
 let me say, do not stop there, — if you 
 do, you stop short of discharging your 
 duty. The millions, perishing, in all the 
 guilt, and wretchedness of Paganism are 
 calling loudly for your sympathy, efforts, 
 and prayers. And there is an iirgency in
 
 130 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 the case. In thirty years, one whole gen- 
 eration of 600,000,000 of Pagan souls will 
 have gone into eternity; this would amount 
 to an average of 20,000,000, in a year; and 
 more than 1,600,000 from one monthly con- 
 cert to another! O, is this alarming fact, 
 pondered by those who statedly, or occa- 
 sionly attend that deeply interesting meet- 
 ing? If it were, could they feel satisfied 
 in doing no more to rescue them from going 
 down to death? What fields are opening, 
 — what calls for help, are soundmg in the 
 ears of the Christian church. O, shall not 
 the Bread of Life be sent to the millions 
 that are perishing? China which contains 
 a population of more than 300,000,000, is 
 now perfectly accessible by means of Bibles 
 and Tracts. Why should not truth be pour- 
 ed in upon the thick darkness that has so long 
 brooded over that empire of sin? why, — 
 when they are a reading people, and 
 are so eager to become acquainted with the 
 Christian Scriptures, and Christian truth? 
 And you, reader, may reach them ihere^ —
 
 THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. 131 
 
 if you do not go in person, you may be in- 
 strumental in communicating to them, the 
 knowledge of eternal life, and of prepar- 
 ing them for Heaven. But China is not 
 the only portion of the world that is calling 
 for the Bread of Life, — there are millions 
 in Europe, Asia, Africa, in our own coun- 
 try, and in the Islands of the Sea, that must 
 perish in the darkness of heathenism, un- 
 less saved, through the instrumentality of 
 Christian effort, by the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Dear reader, have you time, talents, prop- 
 erty, or influence? Use them, as you will 
 wish you had, when you come to stand at 
 the judgment seat. What will they all be 
 worth to you, when the world is on fire, 
 and the elements are melting with fervent 
 heat? Balance it all against a soul that 
 might have been saved, had you been faith- 
 ful to your Savior, but is now lost, lost for- 
 ever! What, dear reader, will Christ think 
 of you, if you stand idle now? What will 
 angels — O, what will lost heathen think of
 
 132 BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 you at the day of judgment if you suffer 
 them to perish in ignorance of the provis- 
 ions of mercy? And O, what will you then 
 think of yourself? Would you not want 
 to find some corner of the universe, where 
 you could hide away from every eye, and 
 weep over the guilt of your unfaithfulness, 
 before you would feel ready to commence 
 your everlasting song? O, act, with your 
 eye on those affecting scenes, and be an 
 
 ACTIVE, CONSISTENT, BiBLE CHRISTIAN; AND 
 LET ALL DO IT, — AND EARTH WOULD KEEP 
 
 ONE Grand Jubilee of praise to God. — 
 Will you do it? WILL YOU DO IT, 
 NOW? Farewell.
 
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