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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Lewis F. Langfeld 
 
^LETTERS 
 
 A BROTHER, 
 
 OI PRACTICAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 By a Clergyman. 
 
 LOWELL: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY BROOKS SHATTUCK AND CO., 
 
 No. 2 Suffolk Square. 
 
 BOSfON: PEIRCE AND PARKER, 
 
 No. 9 Cornhill. 
 
 1832. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 
 
 1832, by BROOKS SHATTUCK &Co., in the Clerk's 
 
 Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 Observer Press.... Lowell. 
 
 U 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The following letters were commenced 
 with the design of explaining some of the 
 simple truths of the Gospel to the mind of 
 a younger brother in the hope that they 
 might be of essential service to him in a 
 practical respect. 
 
 It has since been a matter of serious 
 inquiry with me, whether the minds of the 
 young have been sufficiently instructed 
 and enlightened on the subjects embra- 
 ced in the letters. The result of my in- 
 quiries is, a firm conviction that, while the 
 world abounds with story books and with 
 
 M890812 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 toys for children, there are very few reli- 
 gious works of a thorough, practical kind. 
 A knowledge of this fact has induced me 
 to throw these letters, in a printed form, 
 before the public, with the hope that they 
 may influence some youthful minds to em- 
 brace cordially the religion of the Saviour. 
 The plan is, in many respects, new, and 
 the truths contained in the letters are pre- 
 sented singly that the mind may distinct- 
 ly apprehend one truth before it under- 
 takes to grapple with another. It is be- 
 lieved that, in this way, more vivid im- 
 pressions of duty will be received than in 
 any other way. The exhibition of sever- 
 al important and fundamental truths in 
 a single letter would confuse the mind so 
 that it would be able to distinguish no one 
 truth clearly. The colors of the solar 
 ray cannot be distinguished when com- 
 mingled, but when separated by the prism 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 each can be distinguished from every 
 other. 
 
 The doctrinal views contained in this 
 little volume, are, I believe, accordant 
 with the views of evangelical Christians 
 generally. I have studied to make my 
 directions and explanations conform to the 
 word of God. The letters were not writ- 
 ten for criticism, but for practical use. 
 
 It may be said that many of the illus- 
 trations, contained in this work, are too 
 difficult to be understood by those for 
 whose particular use it has been published. 
 In reply, I have only to say to the indi- 
 vidual who thinks so, place these letters 
 in the hands of any intelligent child of 
 twelve years, and when he has finished the 
 reading of it, question him in regard to 
 the meaning of the several parts of it, and 
 you will find that you have mistaken the 
 power of a child's intellect. 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Most youths of from ten years old and 
 upwards will understand all in these let- 
 ters that it is necessary for them to know 
 in order to secure their object. 
 
 Let parents give a copy of this work .to 
 each of their children with the prayer that 
 it may awaken their attention and be ac- 
 companied by the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit and that it may result in their con- 
 version to God. 
 
 Hitherto the souls of the young have 
 been too much neglected. It has been 
 too generally thought that efforts for the 
 conversion of children between the ages 
 of six and fourteen years, are useless and 
 hopeless. The times are changed, and the 
 feelings of Christians have changed with 
 them. The importance and success of 
 efforts made in behalf of children of the 
 ages above mentioned, can n> longer be 
 doubted. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vii 
 
 The influence of the examples of JVo- 
 than W. Dickerman and John Mooney Mead, 
 has been powerfully felt and will be till 
 the end of time. It has excited parents to 
 greater faithfulness and will result, proba- 
 bly, in the future salvation of thousands of 
 children and youth. 
 
 That this work may help the efforts of 
 Christians to instruct the young, and to 
 unfold the truths of the gospel to them, 
 is my earnest prayer ! 
 
 To all impenitent sinners, of whatever 
 age or attainments, this little book may 
 afford instruction. The way of reconcil- 
 iation with God is, I believe, truly and 
 faithfuly traced ; and the consequences of 
 a neglect to embrace the religion of Jesus 
 are honestly set forth. If any, who are 
 now delaying -to make preparation for 
 heaven, and are "treasuring up wrath 
 against the day of wrath," shall be indu- 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ced, by these humble efforts, to repent of 
 their sins and to turn unto the Lord, the 
 author will have occasion to bless God 
 that he has not labored in vain. 
 Lowell, Dec. 20, 1832. 
 
LETTER I. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 Your long residence in my family has 
 interested me much in your welfare, spir- 
 itual and eternal. And I know of no bet- 
 ter way to express that interest than to 
 spend what leisure moments I can com- 
 mand in writing down some thoughts 
 which may be of special use to you in your 
 future life. 
 
 My object is not now to make rules for 
 the regulation of life, but to dwell upon 
 some points of great practical importance 
 to elucidate and enforce some subjects 
 in which you ought to feel yourself par- 
 ticularly interested. 
 
 In this letter I wish to make you feel 
 yourself entirely destitute of love to God 
 
10 LETTERS TO 
 
 in other words, that you are completely un- 
 der the dominion of sin. I say you, be- 
 cause, from your own confession, your 
 heart is still in a state of nature having 
 experienced no change from sin to holi- 
 ness. 
 
 It would be easy for me to adduce many 
 passages of Scripture to prove that the 
 heart of every man is entirely under sub- 
 jection to sin, unless it has been renova- 
 ted in the manner which I shall describe 
 in another letter. But as one passage, 
 the meaning of which is well ascertained, 
 is as good as a thousand, because it is the 
 truth of God, I shall spare you the trouble 
 of examining many. 
 
 When David exclaimed, " Behold I was 
 shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
 mother conceive me," (Ps. 51: 5) there can 
 be no doubt that he intended to express 
 the native depravity of his heart. And 
 when the prophet, Jeremiah, said " The 
 heart is deceitful above all things, and 
 desperately wicked," (Jer. 17:9.) it is 
 very plain that he meant to affirm the ut- 
 
A BROTHER. 11 
 
 ter depravity of mankind in a state of un- 
 regeneracy. But the passage which I 
 wish you to observe more particularly, is 
 John 3: 3, where Christ says, " Except a 
 man be born again, he cannot see the 
 kingdom of God." Now if a man natu- 
 rally has any holiness in his heart, Christ 
 would not have made such a requisition. 
 For the change, which he demands, as 
 necessary to salvation, is one from sin to 
 holiness. The holiness, which supervenes 
 upon regeneration, is indeed partial, but 
 is capable of growth expansion and it 
 does so expand till it becomes perfect in 
 heaven. Why then may not the holiness, 
 which we have supposed to exist in the 
 heart, by nature, grow and expand till it 
 becomes perfect *? And then may not a 
 perfectly holy being be admitted to the 
 kingdom of heaven ? You see, therefore, 
 that the requisition of a new heart in or- 
 der to salvation, would be unmeaning if 
 that, which is to be obtained by a new 
 heart, exists already in the sinner. The 
 Scripture argument is, therefore, clear, and 
 
12 LETTERS TO 
 
 the evidence conclusive that people, in a 
 state of nature, are entirely destitute of holi- 
 ness completely under the power of sin. 
 You will see also much evidence of cor- 
 ruption of heart in unregenerate men, in 
 their conduct. From the first periods of 
 their moral existence they pursue after the 
 world and seek not after God. In the ex- 
 pressive language of David, "They go 
 astray as soon as they be born," (Psalm 
 58: 3.) You cannot find one instance of 
 obedience to God in children whose 
 hearts are in a state of nature. Indeed, 
 such is the universal corruption of the hu- 
 man heart, that we do not, in any case, 
 expect the exhibition of holiness. Who, 
 among your playmates, is, and has been, 
 from his infancy, devoted to God'? Do 
 you know of any one who, unless convert- 
 ed by the Spirit of God, loves to pray and 
 talk about religion and thinks more about 
 God than about any thing else *? And why 
 can you not find such an one ? Because 
 no one exists who possesses such a char- 
 acter. 
 
A BROTHER. 13 
 
 But perhaps you will say that many of 
 your associates are amiable that they are 
 kind to each other obedient to their pa- 
 rents and do no outward acts of wicked- 
 ness. I believe fully this statement. But 
 all these amiable traits of character may 
 and do often exist without any holiness in 
 the heart. 
 
 Suppose now, that a parent should say 
 to his child, " If you will love me and do 
 all that I tell you to do, and give me an 
 account every day of what you have been 
 doing during the day, and ask my forgive- 
 ness when you have done wrong, I will 
 give you, when you are twenty years old, 
 all I possess, which amounts to many 
 thousand dollars. But if you do not obey 
 me in these particulars, you must look out 
 for your support from some other quarter, 
 for I shall not give you one cent of my 
 property." 
 
 The child rejoices at the prospect of the 
 
 happiness which he believes just before 
 
 him. He expects to obtain possession of 
 
 his father's large estates. But, in the 
 
 2 
 
14 LETTERS TO 
 
 mean time, a thousand childish sports oc- 
 cupy his mind. He feels under obliga- 
 tion to his father, but cannot bear the re- 
 straints imposed upon him. He thinks 
 more of his associates and of his play than 
 he thinks of his parent. By degrees he 
 neglects to go to him daily with an ac- 
 count of his conduct disobeys every com- 
 mand which relates to his duty to his fa- 
 ther and loves him only as he supplies his 
 wants and as he expects from him a rich 
 inheritance. Still he loves every body 
 else deals justly with all is kind to his 
 companions beloved by every one that 
 knows him. Twenty years of his life are 
 at length passed, and his father calls him 
 to his presence, in order to reckon with 
 him. The son comes with some misgiv- 
 ings, it is true, but confirmed in the ex- 
 pectation of his father's possessions by the 
 thought that his kindness to others amply 
 compensated for his want of obedience to 
 his father. How is he astonished, then, 
 to hear from the paternal lips, " Thou 
 canst have no part in my possessions. I 
 
A BROTHER. 15 
 
 had fondly hoped that the motives to obe- 
 dience would have been sufficient to in- 
 duce thee to submit to my commands, but 
 as they have failed to do it, I disinherit 
 thee forever !" 
 
 " But," says the disobedient son, " Have 
 I not, by rny conduct towards others, gain- 
 ed their esteem and love *? Have I not 
 aided the helpless relieved the distressed 
 had compassion on the poor which 
 you have always allowed to be right and 
 which every body loves me for *?" 
 
 "Yes, my son, you have done all this, 
 and this was right. But where have you 
 exhibited your love for him who bare you 
 and supported you and promised you vast 
 wealth on condition of your obedience to 
 him'? Had I no claims to your regard 6 ? 
 Must you neglect the only being on earth 
 to whom you owe most *? And then will 
 you expect to be rewarded by the very in- 
 dividual towards whom you have shown 
 no respect at all ? Go from my presence ! 
 For, though I weep over your disgrace, 
 
16 LETTERS TO 
 
 justice will not permit me to alleviate your 
 wretchedness !" 
 
 Do you not perceive, now, that all the 
 kindness and love of that child to others 
 was, in fact, no evidence that he loved his 
 father ? Was not his heart, so far as his 
 father was concerned, entirely destitute of 
 love ? You must acknowledge it. 
 
 Now this illustration will show you 
 what I mean when I say that all acts of 
 benevolence and kindness the posses- 
 sion of the most amiable qualities of hu- 
 man nature are not evidences of true 
 love to God. They do not prove that the 
 heart is not entirely destitute of holiness. 
 We know that there are many who pos- 
 sess all these traits of character who are 
 yet opposed bitterly opposed to the true 
 character of God. If a person has not 
 love to God if his soul does not swell 
 with gratitude to Him for all he has done 
 to save his soul rely upon it, he is under 
 the complete dominion of sin he is entirely 
 depraved. 
 
A BROTHER. 17 
 
 I hope, my dear brother, that you are, 
 by this time, convinced that mankind, in 
 a state of nature, are utterly destitute of 
 the love of God or completely depraved. 
 And if so, I know you will not try to es- 
 cape from the inevitable conclusion to 
 which I am brought, that you are living 
 without holiness and without God in the 
 world ! The solemn truth that you are, in 
 heart, utterly destitute of affection for the 
 only Being in the universe who ought to 
 command your supreme love, should lead 
 you to feel your guilt. You stand in a 
 relation to God at once dangerous and 
 alarming. It is on His arm that you must 
 lean for the support of your natural life. 
 If he removes his sustaining hand, your 
 soul will escape from its mortal tenement 
 and go away alone into eternity. And 
 have you no fears respecting the final is- 
 sue of your apostacy *? Have you no fear 
 of that God whom you have never loved 
 and towards whom you have not a single 
 right affection *? Reflect upon your situa- 
 tion as you close this letter a creature 
 2* 
 
18 LETTERS TO 
 
 of God sustained and blessed in a thou- 
 sand ways by Him yet perfectly void of 
 love to Him nay, evidently opposed to 
 His character and laws. It may do you 
 good, thus to look at your true character 
 in the light m which heaven looks upon 
 it. It may prepare you to appreciate, in 
 a measure, the reasonableness of God's an- 
 ger towards all those who are in your sit- 
 uation. That God is thus offended with 
 all unregenerate men will be the subject 
 of my next letter. Commending you to 
 the grace of God, I remain, as ever, 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
A BROTHER. ID 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 In my last letter I attempted to show 
 you the strange position which you hold 
 in relation to God. If, on the review of 
 your past life, you are convinced of the 
 fact that your heart is totally void of love 
 to God completely depraved, you are 
 prepared to hear, without surprise, that 
 you are in a state of condemnation exposed 
 to the wrath of God. 
 
 The language of God's law is stern and 
 unyielding, " Cursed is every one that 
 continueth not in all things which are 
 written in the book of the law to do them." 
 (Gal. 3: 10.) "The soul that sinneth, it 
 shall die. (Ezek. 18: 4.) Now these are 
 plain passages and you will perceive, by 
 them, that the curse rests upon you who 
 
20 LETTERS TO 
 
 have broken the law ten thousand times. 
 .There is a verse in the New Testament 
 which confirms this fact, "He that be- 
 lieveth not is condemned already" I will 
 add only one other passage, but it is an 
 awfully impressive one, " God is angry 
 with the wicked every day." (Ps. 7: 11.) 
 
 The evidence from the Bible is, there- 
 fore, conclusive, that Jehovah regards you 
 as justly the object of his wrath. And 
 you must be sensible, my brother, that 
 you deserve the infliction of the severest 
 punishment for your guilt. Why should 
 not God feel displeased with one who has 
 spent twelve years of his life in continued 
 apostacy and impenitence'? One sin is 
 enough to lay you under the curse of the 
 law, for, "Cursed is every one that con- 
 tinueth not in all things," &c. Now, then, 
 if you had committed but one sin and had 
 lived, the rest of your life, in perfect obe- 
 dience to the commands of God, you would 
 not be able to claim acquittance from the 
 curse. How could you make reparation 
 for that one sin*} Suppose you should 
 
A BROTHER. 21 
 
 break some important law of your coun- 
 try to which is attached the penalty of im- 
 prisonment for life. Would your past 
 good conduct or your future perfect ad- 
 herence to the laws of the country atone 
 for that one failure ? You ought to have 
 failed in no one point ; and, having fail- 
 ed, you cannot live so perfectly as to make 
 up for that failure. 
 
 A king once made a law that no one 
 should pass the limits between his and 
 his enemy's country on the penalty of per- 
 petual banishment to a far distant land. 
 From this penalty there should be no re- 
 prieve. It chanced, that one of his best 
 and most useful subjects, in a moment of 
 thoughtlessness, and in the heat of the 
 chase, pursued a deer into the borders of 
 the enemy. The matter is reported to the 
 king. With a heavy heart he calls the 
 culprit into his presence, and says, "You, 
 like others, are amenable to the laws of 
 the empire and, with a full knowledge of 
 those laws, you have broken the one to 
 which the penalty of banishment is affix- 
 
22 LETTERS TO 
 
 ed. You must submit to your punishment. 
 To-morrow, you are to leave my realms 
 forever !" What can the offender say to 
 the execution of the sentence *? Does he 
 plead that his whole conduct previously 
 had been unexceptionable that he had 
 never before been in fault ? The fact is 
 admitted but the stability of the throne 
 would be destroyed, if pardon should be 
 granted contrary to the express previous 
 declaration that there should be no re- 
 prieve. 
 
 So, if you had committed but a single 
 sin during your whole life that would 
 not secure you from the execution of the 
 appalling sentence, " The soul that sin- 
 neth, it shall die." The sentence of death 
 would still be on the records of God 
 against you to be accomplished in God's 
 own time. 
 
 But, my dear brother, if the wrath of 
 God lies on you for a single sin how great 
 that wrath increased as it is by the con- 
 tinued guilt of many years ! All your sins 
 are laid up with God and will be publish- 
 
A BROTHER. 23 
 
 ed to the world at the judgment day. How 
 solemn the thought that even now, while 
 I am penning this letter, your soul is con- 
 demned to everlasting woe ! That is ter- 
 rific language, " He that believeth not is 
 condemned ALREADY !" (John 3: 18.) 
 
 No new sentence is to be pronounced 
 upon you that which is upon you now is 
 to be executed. That is all. While you 
 are engaged in your sinful pastimes and 
 follies, remember, I entreat you, that you 
 are a living monument of wrath that you 
 are. now enjoying a respite from punish- 
 ment similar to that of the prisoner whose 
 days are numbered and the time of whose 
 execution is fixed. The sentence of death 
 has been passed upon him, but the time 
 for its accomplishment is delayed. 
 
 God has uttered the sentence of death 
 eternal upon you, and it is through his 
 forbearance that you have not experien- 
 ced the commencement of its execution. 
 But your days are all numbered. Your 
 respite from the awful penalty of your sin 
 will soon be ended. Death will termi- 
 
24 LETTERS TO 
 
 nate it. Unless, before that time, you find 
 a remedy for which the law does not pro- 
 vide, you will feel forever the wrath of 
 God upon your immortal soul ! 
 
 You may, indeed, think that God is toa 
 strict in maintaining His law with such un- 
 bending firmness and with such unyield- 
 ing severity. But how otherwise could 
 He sustain, in dependance upon Him and 
 in unbroken order, the millions of intelli- 
 gent beings upon His footstool ^ If He 
 should permit a law to be broken with im- 
 punity to which He had attached a specific 
 and certain penalty, what confusion what 
 anarchy would ensue ! There would be no 
 obedience, if disobedience should go un- 
 punished; especially, after God had af- 
 firmed that it should be punished without 
 failure. And do you suppose that, in or- 
 der to secure the happiness of a few 
 wretched and sinful persons, God will per- 
 mit His wide dominions to be coursed by 
 treachery, anarchy and ruin *? Never. 
 Though heaven and earth pass away, His 
 words shall never pass away. His threat- 
 
A BROTHER 25 
 
 ening against the sinner will never be re- 
 called, even though eternity is the term of 
 the punishment. 
 
 You see, therefore, my dear brother, 
 that the curse of God, that remains upon 
 you, is a fearful thing. And what ren- 
 ders the fact still more serious is, that it 
 rests upon you justly. It is for sin that 
 you are condemned not for a few errors 
 which could not be foreseen or averted. It 
 is not for the guilt of one day or of one 
 week or of one year, but for the depravity 
 of a whole life that you are soon to suffer 
 the execution of a most dreadful punish- 
 ment, unless it is averted in some way of 
 which the law knows nothing. 
 
 Nor is your case a solitary one. You 
 are surrounded with youthful companions, 
 nearly all of whom are, doubtless, exposed 
 to the same "wrath which impends over 
 you. For they are sinners without the 
 love of God in their hearts entirely des- 
 titute of holiness. God is angry with all 
 such. And they are all equally exposed 
 to the dreadful penalty of a broken law. 
 3 
 
26 LETTERS TO 
 
 Will you not read to them this letter and 
 try to show them that it is best for them 
 to look into their condition and to see the 
 worst of their case l It will not alleviate 
 your miseries to know that others are alike 
 suffering the punishment of their sins. 
 It will, on the contrary, enhance your 
 wretchedness, as you will see by a mo- 
 ment's consideration. 
 
 Suppose that you should be attacked 
 with some dreadful disease that should 
 render you wretched and hopeless, would 
 it be any relief to you to know that many 
 of your associates are in the same condi- 
 tion ? Would it comfort you to see one af- 
 ter another brought into the same room 
 with you, all writhing in the extremity of 
 their anguish *? O no ! it would surely 
 give keenness to the edge of your own 
 sorrows. Especially would this be the 
 case, if your conduct or your wickedness 
 were the guilty cause of their sickness and 
 their pain. 
 
 The guilt of many of your young friends 
 may have been greatly encreased through 
 
A BROTHER. 27 
 
 your wicked example. Your evil influence 
 may have led them on may have encour- 
 aged them to continue in sin, till they are 
 more wicked and guilty by far than they 
 would otherwise have been. Of course 
 their misery the wrath of God which is 
 on them will be indefinitely increased 
 by your means. Will you be comforted, 
 then, when you are meeting the execution 
 of the awful penalty due to sin, by seeing 
 those, who have been thus sustained by 
 your example in sin, take their places by 
 your side in the world of despair 9 Will 
 not the very sight of your injured compan- 
 ions bring additional anguish to your bo- 
 soms ? That will be an agonized reflec- 
 tion, " them I have helped to ruin for- 
 ever !" 
 
 Seek not, therefore, to brace yourself 
 up in impenitence by the thought, that 
 many others are in the same case with 
 yourself, and will share, if you perish, 
 your punishment. Let the solemn facts, 
 which I have stated in this letter, bear up- 
 on your mind with their proper force. 
 
28 LETTERS TO 
 
 You must confess the justice of God in 
 uttering the sentence of death upon you. 
 Your own heart will, doubtless, acknow- 
 ledge its guilt. You are convinced that no 
 love to God has ever swelled your bosom. 
 It cannot be wrong, then, for God to pour 
 out the vials of his wrath upon one who, 
 acknowhdgedly, has filled up his life with 
 sin. Your condition is o-ne of immense 
 hazard. Oh, forget not that the execution 
 of the tremendous penalty of the law de- 
 lays, only till death shall hurry your soul 
 into eternity ! Think what must then be 
 the desolation the woe the everlasting 
 woe that shall come over you ! I leave 
 you to your own thoughts and pray God 
 that you may deeply realize the justice of 
 the doom which hangs over you. 
 I am with many prayers for your welfare, 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
A BROTHER. 29 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 I trust you have weighed well the re- 
 marks which I made in my last letter res- 
 pecting your condition as a sinner expos- 
 ed to the severest displeasure of a holy 
 God. The subject of my present com- 
 munication will have suggested itself, 
 doubtless, to your mind before this. It 
 must have occurred to you with great 
 force, that it is a duty you owe to God and 
 to yourself to repent immediately of your sins. 
 
 The duty of repentance results princi- 
 pally from your relation to God. He is 
 your Creator. It is His arm that has ever 
 sustained you in existence, and upon which 
 you must depend for your future support. 
 You have freely refused to give Him the 
 love which was His due. You have un- 
 
30 LETTERS TO 
 
 reasonably and voluntarily disobeyed Him. 
 There was no compulsion used no force 
 no deception by God. Your sins were 
 all the result of your perfect freedom, else 
 they would not have been rightly called 
 sins. There can be no guilt which has 
 not been contracted in the free exercise 
 of a free mind. 
 
 You can, therefore, plead no excuse for 
 living, as you have done, in the neglect of 
 God's laws and in opposition to His ex- 
 pressed will. You are, probably, sensible 
 that all excuses of this kind are vain and 
 will not be accepted by Jehovah nay, 
 that they cannot be accepted by Him with- 
 out a forfeiture of his noblest attributes. 
 
 The duty of repentance would seem to 
 be a given point which need not be dis- 
 cussed. If you have disobeyed God who, 
 by creation, has a perfect right to com- 
 mand you and to enforce obedience, what 
 can be more called for than immediate re- 
 pentance ? 
 
 A father tells his son to remain at 
 home during his absence which would 
 
A BROTHER. 31 
 
 continue till night. As soon as his fath- 
 er is gone, the son says to himself, " It 
 will never be discovered if I take my gun 
 arid spend the afternoon in hunting." He, 
 accordingly, follows the bent of his incli- 
 nations and returns at an early hour. But 
 his conscience troubles him. He feels that 
 he has done wrong that he ought not to 
 have disobeyed his father's command. 
 He considers that his father has a perfect 
 right to command him and that he has 
 treated him very unkindly in return for all 
 the goodness which he had received from 
 him. He goes to him, as soon as he re- 
 turns, and, with an appearance which 
 shows him sincere, confesses his sin and 
 begs his father's forgiveness. Here was 
 repentance. And what could be more nat- 
 ural than that such a course should be 
 pursued by the son who was thoroughly 
 convinced that he had sinned and exposed 
 himself to the just punishment which his 
 father might see fit to inflict? Would 
 not an increase of guilt have been con- 
 
32 LETTERS TO 
 
 traded, if the repentance had not been 
 exercised 9 
 
 Do you not see then, my dear brother, 
 that it is your indispensable duty to turn 
 from your sins to repent at once of your 
 iniquity *? You have broken the commands 
 of a kind parent. I have tried to show 
 you your guilt in so doing. Ought you 
 not, therefore, to repent sincerely and go 
 to God whom you have offended and plead 
 for pardon ? If you do not pursue this 
 course your sins will be increased your 
 guilt rendered immensely greater. 
 
 Nor will it be enough for you to grieve 
 that you have sinned, simply because there 
 is a retribution coming because eternal 
 misery is threatened. This is to be sorry, 
 not for sin as committed against a kind 
 and merciful God, but for the results of 
 sin for the impending punishment* Sup- 
 pose the son, above mentioned, had, on 
 returning from his hunting excursion, re- 
 flected upon the punishment which his 
 father had threatened in case of disobe- 
 
A BROTHER. 33 
 
 dience and, simply in view of that, had re- 
 gretted that he did not stay at home, 
 would such regret be sincere repentance ? 
 Would it have been all that the sin of dis- 
 obedience called for l No. He ought to 
 have been sorry that he had not regarded 
 his father with more affection than to be 
 willing to disobey him. 
 
 So, if you feel aright in reference to 
 your sin, you will be sorry that you have 
 offended God by it that you have not 
 more regarded his commands which are 
 all right holy and good. To repent be- 
 cause you have done something for which 
 you expect punishment, is not true peni- 
 tence. The feeling of your heart should 
 be, " I have sinned against my Creator 
 and Preserver and it grieves me to think 
 how I have abused his love." 
 
 But perhaps you will ask, " Will my re- 
 pentance secure God's blessing *? Will He 
 pardon my sins if I repent of them ? In 
 other words, shall I be reinstated into His 
 favour ?" 
 
 And what has your duty to do, my broth- 
 
34 LETTERS TO 
 
 er, with the negative or affirmative answer 
 to such questions *? Does not your duty, 
 in regard to repentance for your voluntary 
 sin against God, remain the same whether 
 you are ever to receive or expect forgive- 
 ness or not 9 Does the fact, that God re- 
 fuses to pardon your guilt, change the na- 
 ture of that guilt <? Is not its enormity 
 the same ? its demerits, are they not pre- 
 cisely the same ? 
 
 In the case supposed, if the son had 
 been convinced that he had done wrong 
 in breaking the command of a kind and 
 indulgent father, and yet was doubtful 
 whether he should repent or not, because 
 he was in doubt as to his father's forgive- 
 ness of his disobedience, he would have 
 exhibited a heart totally unfit to receive 
 the blessing of forgiveness. If his feel- 
 ings were such as they should have been, 
 he would have been melted into contri- 
 tion in view of his sin, not in view of his 
 father's forgiveness of that sin. Nay, I go 
 further, and affirm that his obligations to 
 repent would have been the same, if he 
 
A BROTHER. 35 
 
 had known that he should not receive his 
 father's pardon. His duty could not have 
 been affected by any course pursued by 
 his father. 
 
 You will see then, my dear brother, that 
 the inquiry of a sinner against God should 
 not be, " will He forgive me if I repent ?" 
 Such a question ought not to be agitated 
 by him. It is his duty to be broken- 
 hearted for sin, whatever God's course in 
 relation to him may be. Even if he could 
 know, to a certainty, that for the sins he 
 has committed God would cast him off for- 
 ever, his duty would be the same. He has 
 done wrong he ought to be sorry for it. 
 He could not do less than this, were it an 
 enemy whom he had wrongfully offended. 
 
 Your duty, therefore, is clear and expli- 
 cit. You owe it to God, whom you have 
 offended, to repent and turn from your evil 
 way. Whatever becomes of you- wheth- 
 er God pardons your sins or executes the 
 sentence of death upon you in its fullest 
 extent you have wronged him in a thou- 
 sand ways and you ought to be sorry*- 
 
36 LETTERS TO 
 
 sincerely, heartily, sorry for it. If you are 
 not, it exhibits an alarming hardness of 
 heart and a stupidity of soul to the demer- 
 its of sin truly affecting. 
 
 But I stated, at the commencement of 
 this letter, not only that you owed it to 
 God to repent of your sins, but that you 
 owed it to yourself. 
 
 There is a conscience in man which is 
 rarely so seared as to be entirely unsus- 
 ceptible to excitement. It is a monitor 
 appointed by God over human thoughts 
 and actions. Now, whenever you do 
 wrong, you doubtless feel a conviction of 
 guilt that troubles you. And as you are 
 continually engaged in sin, your mind is 
 continually agitated with fears and is the 
 prey of remorse. Now, why is this, if not 
 to show you the necessity of feeling your 
 guilt so as to lead you to repentance ? Re- 
 pentance of sin will be to you a relief. It 
 will take from your mind a heavy bur-den. 
 You will, at least, not be chargeable with 
 the guilt of impenitence. You will show 
 that you are not, at least, indifferent to 
 
A BROTHER. 37 
 
 your sins. You owe it to yourself to re- 
 pent. 
 
 I must illustrate what I have now said 
 by one more reference to the undutiful 
 Son. Suppose the Son had hardened his 
 heart and felt no penitence for his sin of 
 disobedience and had concealed the truth 
 from his Father when he returned, would 
 he not have been much more unhappy 
 than if he had repented of it and confes- 
 sed it to his Father *? And if he had neg- 
 lected to confess it for several days and 
 then had come to the resolution of doing 
 it and executed his resolution, would not 
 a heavy weight have been thrown off his 
 mind? 
 
 Thus you will find great relief, if you 
 are sorry for your sins and if (as is impli- 
 ed in repentance) you confess them to 
 God and beg his forgiveness. 
 
 I hope that you are already convinced 
 of the truth of the statements I have now 
 made. Your mind will yield, I am per- 
 suaded, to the firm conviction that you 
 need to repent of your sins that your du- 
 4 
 
38 LETTERS TO 
 
 ty to God, whom you have injured and to 
 yourself, requires it. Look directly at 
 your duty. You have done wrong.. Ask 
 no questions in regard to the result of 
 your repentance. Be assured that, what- 
 ever be your destiny hereafter, you cannot 
 turn too soon from the evil of your ways. 
 You cannot be too sensible to your guilt 
 in the sight of God or too broken-heart- 
 ed in view of it. It is true, the sentence 
 of wrath is gone forth against you you 
 are under the curse, and the arm of jus- 
 tice is lifted to destroy you forever ; and 
 the question, how you shall find a refuge 
 from that wrath, is an important question. 
 But your first business is to feel your 
 guilt to be humbled under a sense of it 
 and to repent of it, with the resolution 
 to forsake it forever. This is your solemn 
 duty your first duty. You cannot delay 
 the work a single day without incurring 
 great guilt in addition to that already laid 
 up in the remembrance of God against 
 you. Will you not, my brother, attend 
 to the claims of God upon your repent- 
 
A BROTHER. 39 
 
 ance immediately. Be assured, it will ease 
 your own mind of a heavy burden. And 
 even if it does not, the claim ought to 
 be met and that without delay. You may 
 expect to hear from me again soon. 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
40 LETTERS TO 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 In my last letter, I endeavored to con- 
 vince you that it is your duty to repent, 
 simply because you have done wrong 
 because your conduct has been rebellious 
 against God. I hope you have repented 
 that, upon the conviction of your guilt, 
 you saw your duty and fulfilled it. I hope, 
 however, that your repentance is not 
 grounded on the supposition that it will 
 purchase pardon, for, then, your repentance 
 is not genuine. True repentance is, as I 
 have already shown you, sorrow for sin, 
 not for its results. 
 
 And my object in this communication 
 is to show the utter inefficacy of repentance 
 to atone for sins in reference to which it is ex- 
 ercised. 
 
A BROTHER. 41 
 
 You need not be startled at an asser- 
 tion which renders the sinner's case so ap- 
 parently hopeless, nor need you exclaim, 
 " who then can be saved V 9 (Matt. 19: 25.) 
 I am not now bound to answer such a 
 question. It does not belong to the top- 
 ic of this letter. My present object is 
 simply to prove or substantiate the fact, 
 that repentance cannot clear you from guilt. 
 No matter what startling inferences are 
 drawn from it. The truth is still the same 
 and it must be submitted to. 
 
 An atonement for sin cannot be made 
 unless an equivalent is paid for the debt 
 which has been contracted. Now, on 
 your own acknowledgement, and as I have 
 shown in a previous letter, you have bro- 
 ken God's law not once or twice but a 
 thousand times. And the penalty, attach- 
 ed to the law for transgression, is eternal 
 death. Suppose, then, upon considera- 
 tion, that you feel deeply sensible of the 
 guilt of your conduct and come to God 
 with a penitent confession of your sin, 
 will such penitence be an equivalent for 
 
42 LETTERS TO 
 
 the debt? You have, if I may so speak, 
 borrowed, or, more correctly, taken of God 
 the affections of a whole life and devoted 
 them to sin. How shall these affections 
 be regained by God ? What remuneration 
 can you make ? You cannot pay Him 
 surely by living a more holy life hence- 
 forth, for that is your duty without taking 
 into the account the past. It would have 
 been your duty thus to live if you had 
 never laid yourself under additional obli- 
 gations by sin. Nor will the most sincere 
 regret the most hearty sorrow for your 
 life of sin, cancel your debt to God. Does 
 such sorrow affect a positive obligation ? 
 Can it obliterate the sense of guilt from 
 your mind? Never. After repentance 
 you will still feel as guilty as deserving 
 of the wrath of God as before. , 
 
 A child disobeys his parents' commands 
 and, afterwards, sees how wicked and un- 
 kind the act of disobedience was. He 
 feels grieved that he has so done and con- 
 fesses it to his parents. Now, how does 
 that child feel in relation to his sin ? Is 
 
A BROTHER. 43 
 
 his conscience relieved ? Has he made 
 satisfaction *? No ; he still reflects upon 
 his guilt and is sensible that he has madfe 
 no reparation of a broken law. It still re- 
 mains a truth and as serious a truth as 
 ever that the commands of his parents 
 were disobeyed by him. The guilt is in 
 no degree, diminished by his sorrow for it. 
 
 So your penitence in view of your sin 
 against a kind and merciful God will nev- 
 er, in the least, diminish the guilt of it. It 
 will forever be true, that the law of God 
 has been broken by you unkindly and re- 
 belliously. No groans, nor tears, nor 
 confessions will alter the debt you have 
 contracted by sin. They can never atone 
 for one transgression. 
 
 The law does not demand repentance of 
 the infringer of it. It has nothing to do 
 with it. If it were available in restoring 
 innocence to one who has sinned by diso- 
 beying any of the commands of God, sure- 
 ly a promise to that effect would have 
 been included in the law. But no such 
 promise is made. So far then is repen- 
 
44 LETTERS TO 
 
 tance from reinstating the transgressor in 
 a condition of innocence so far is it from 
 satisfying the law, that the law recognizes 
 no such thing as repentance. 
 
 Your sorrow for sin, then, my brother, 
 gives you no advantage in regard to free- 
 dom from guilt. You stand still accused 
 as a rebel against God and a transgressor 
 of the law. 
 
 Neither is repentance, in itself, aground 
 of pardon. The sentence of the law 
 against those who break it is positive and 
 unconditional. " The soul that sinneth, it 
 shall die." " Cursed is every one who con- 
 tinueth not in all things written in the 
 book of the law to do them !" God's word 
 has gone forth that whoever breaks one 
 command of the law shall perish misera- 
 bly. Repentance alone cannot avail to 
 hold unexecuted the sentence. Shall God 
 forbear to inflict punishment on the infrin- 
 gers of his law which is backed by such 
 tremendous penalties, merely because 
 they are sorry for having so done l What 
 will become of his veracity *? Who would 
 
A BROTHER. 45 
 
 fear God, if it was generally understood 
 that He would forgive those who are sorry 
 for their sins 9 Either God is not a God of 
 truth and integrity or H e will not pardon 
 the breach of His law for repentance as a 
 ground. It is not an equivalent. So that 
 the sentence of the law stands against you 
 in full force even after repentance is ex- 
 ercised, unless it can be shown that an 
 equivalent has been paid in some other 
 way. 
 
 I might illustrate this truth by a famil- 
 iar case which occurs to my mind. A 
 certain man, not long since, forged a 
 check upon one of our most respectable 
 banks, for which he received 10,000 dol- 
 lars which he soon put out of his hands in 
 payment of his debts. It was providen- 
 tially discovered, and the fraud was pro- 
 ved to have been committed by him. 
 Meanwhile, on reflecting upon his crime, 
 he felt a sense of guilt and repented that 
 he had so done. He felt truly penitent for 
 his sin. And when the sheriff was con- 
 ducting him to prison he exhibited eve- 
 
46 LETTERS TO 
 
 ry mark of genuine sorrow for his wicked- 
 ness. The magistrate, who had the pow- 
 er to pardon him, was convinced of his sin- 
 cerity and believed that he was truly pen- 
 itent. Yet when application was made to 
 him, by a large number of respectable 
 friends, for his release, he would not grant 
 it. Now I ask you, if you suppose the re- 
 pentance of that forger laid the magistrate 
 under any obligation to pardon him ! Did 
 his penitence remove all difficulties in the 
 way of his forgiveness *? If so, then in 
 every case, where there is evidence of re- 
 pentance, pardon ought to be bestowed. 
 On this principle many a murderer would 
 escape the gallows, for many have truly 
 repented of their crime. No; there are 
 other questions to be considered than 
 whether a criminal has repented or not *? 
 Will the laiv permit his pardon ? Will no in- 
 jury result to community from it ? Will not 
 others become bold in sin in the hope of 
 pardon if convicted ? " Will his peni- 
 tence, (the magistrate may say) secure my 
 justification, if I pardon one who, all are 
 
A BROTHER 47 
 
 convinced, is guilty, and on whom the law 
 requires me to inflict a specific punish- 
 ment ?" You will perceive that these ques- 
 tions must be answered satisfactorily, be- 
 fore the culprit can safely be pardoned. 
 And even then, there is, confessedly, no 
 obligation broken if pardon is refused. If 
 granted, it is a mere act of mercy. It may 
 have been suggested, indeed, by the evi- 
 dence which was given of repentance. 
 Repentance may have been the occasion 
 but not the ground of pardon. 
 
 Now God's laws were made for intelli- 
 gent men. They were communicated, in 
 substance, to Adam while in a state of ho- 
 liness. All the motives, w r hich can be 
 conceived to influence a holy mind, were 
 urged upon him, and that too while his 
 heart was uncorrupted. Who does not 
 see that for him to break the law of God 
 was a crime of fearful magnitude and that 
 his repentance, if genuine, could not, con- 
 sistently, be accepted as a reparation of 
 the broken law <? All the descendants of 
 Adam are subjected to the same holy and 
 
48 LETTERS TO 
 
 perfect law, because no other less perfect 
 law would consist with the holiness and 
 perfection of God. And, although we 
 are in circumstances less favorable to per- 
 fect obedience than those in which Adam 
 was placed, yet no one can reasonably 
 doubt that we have the ability (either 
 natural or moral) to yield such obedience. 
 If, then, contrary to our complete know- 
 ledge of duty, we commit sin, we lay our- 
 selves, as I have before said, under the 
 curse. And can we suppose that God is 
 under the necessity of pardoning us, because 
 we repent ? It is not so. We must repent, 
 because we have done wrong, but we must 
 never suppose that it will be the ground or 
 reason of our forgiveness. If it is a condi- 
 tion of pardon, it certainly is not the reason 
 of it 
 
 Now I know the tendency of the natu- 
 ral mind to look for given and advanta- 
 geous results from all its movements. And 
 if it cannot see an intrinsic value in repen- 
 tance in reference to the security of some 
 permanent good, it will discard the very 
 
A BROTHER. 49 
 
 thought of it. But the reason is, it does 
 not feel its guilt. It may have a specula- 
 tive knowledge of it 3 but not an efficient 
 knowledge. If the fact of a sinner's re- 
 pentance has any value, it is a factitious 
 value, that is to say, a value acquired by 
 the occurrence of some other fact foreign 
 to it. It will, as I have proved, never be 
 admitted by God as a ground of justifica- 
 tion or pardon. 
 
 You see then, my dear brother, that 
 so far as our investigations have yet 
 gone, you are in a most hopeless and des- 
 perate state. A broken law unrepaired, 
 utters still against you its fearful curses. 
 The mount of Sinai sends forth still its 
 awful notes of alarm. No bow of hope 
 arches the sky. Darkness and clouds are 
 about the throne of God. Oh ! what 
 wrecks has sin made ! What ruins are all 
 around us ! On the examination of your 
 condition in relation to God, you find 
 yourself a wretched sinner whom no 
 prayers no tears no penitence can de- 
 
60 LETTERS TO 
 
 liver from the guilt of having broken the 
 law a thousand times. No reparation of 
 a single breach can you ever make. Re- 
 pentance, so much your duty and so much 
 your privilege^ possesses no merit atones 
 for no sin will never be accepted as THE 
 REASON of salvation or pardon. God has 
 said himself, " All our righteousnesses are 
 as filthy rags." (Isa. 64: 6.) What, then, 
 can you do <? What refuge, then, is there 
 for you from the full execution of all the 
 woes threatened in the law *? Let this 
 thought fill your mind, that past guilt can- 
 not be pardoned by repentance as a 
 ground ! Feel that you have brought your- 
 self into a condition from which no hu- 
 man efforts can save you a condition of 
 wrath and final woe ! And feel too, that it 
 is a just punishment which impends over 
 you and from which no earthly power can 
 snatch you ! Nor does the fearfulness of 
 your condition release you from the per- 
 formance of a single duty. Be sensible 
 of your guilt and repent and confess your 
 
A BROTHER. 61 
 
 sins to God which are your reasonable 
 service. I shall write again soon. 
 Your affectionate brother. 
 
52 LETTERS TO 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 The question, which most naturally 
 arises in view of statements and argu- 
 ments like those contained in my four for- 
 mer letters, is a most solemn and inter- 
 esting one. " Is there no hope for me ?" 
 
 How can there be any hope for a sinner 
 like you, or for any of the fallen race of 
 man *? Has not GOD uttered the curse *? 
 Is not the sentence of death eternal seal- 
 ed with his name *? And with acknowledg- 
 ed justice too ? Who then can save you 
 from the devouring fire ? Who can re- 
 deem you from everlasting burnings? 
 Solemn, momentous questions ! 
 
 My dear brother, there is there is hope. 
 I rejoice to communicate the cheering in- 
 telligence. God, from His high throne, 
 
A BROTHER. 6* 
 
 seems even now commissioning his mes- 
 sengers of mercy to bring aid to your des- 
 pairing soul. "Deliver him from going 
 down to the pit ; I have found a RAN- 
 SOM !" (Job 33: 24.) O ! does not your 
 soul glow with the thought that you are 
 yet a prisoner of hope ? That there is a 
 power which can pour light into the dark 
 prison in which you have been so long 
 confined 9 
 
 If the prisoner, who has long worn the 
 galling chain in the depths of a gloomy 
 dungeon without the most distant idea of 
 ever being permitted to ascend to the light 
 of day, should be told that a way of es- 
 cape had been provided which was secure 
 from pursuit and that he was required on- 
 ly to follow the leadings of his informer, 
 what strength of joy what enthusiasm 
 would swell his soul as he immediately 
 made ready for his departure ! And shall 
 not the glad tidings from heaven to the 
 soul of a dying sinner revive the decaying 
 energies of his nature ? Even the angels 
 evinced their joy in the redeeming work 
 5* 
 
64 LETTERS TO 
 
 of God. " Glory to God in the highest, 
 peace, good-will towards men !" (Luke 2: 
 14.) Alas ! what would have become of 
 man, if he had been left to fill up the mea- 
 sure of his days without an object of hope 
 upon which to fix his affections ! 
 
 Do you ask, with incredulity, how can 
 God's law be sustained if he saves those 
 who have broken it ? Or, How can a bro- 
 ken law be repaired ? I answer, it can only 
 be done by a vicarious atonement. Some 
 one must take the sinner's place. The 
 law condemns you to death for your sins 
 now some one, of sufficient qualifica- 
 tions, must assume the debt which you 
 have long owed to God. He must take 
 upon himself the responsibility of set- 
 tling the demands of the law. There 
 can be no other way. The sword of jus- 
 tice MUST fall. The sentence of the law 
 must be executed. There may possibly 
 be a transfer of exposure to punishment 
 from you to some one else. In no other 
 way can you be quit of the punishment 
 which now hangs over you. 
 
A BROTHER. 65 
 
 Who then, my brother, is competent to 
 the high task of atoning for the sins of 
 men ? There are many opinions on this 
 question, some of which I shall mention 
 in order that your mind may be forever 
 set at rest in regard to their strength or 
 weakness. All believers in a revelation 
 made by God, agree in this, that Jesus of 
 Nazareth, whose history is contained in 
 the New Testament, was either the effi- 
 cient or instrumental agent in accomplish- 
 ing an atonement for sin. They all be- 
 lieve that his appearance on earth his 
 life his sufferings and his death were, in 
 some way, connected with human salva- 
 tion. But there are wide differences of 
 opinion in regard to the character of Christ 
 differences so important as to exclude 
 the one class of professed believers from 
 the Christian charity and communion of 
 the other. 
 
 It is believed by some that the Redeem- 
 er was a mere man only a man. Let us 
 inquire now if an atonement for sin could 
 have been made by him. We will sup- 
 
56 LETTERS TO 
 
 pose him perfect in character and posses- 
 sed of all those pure principles which 
 were the original inheritance of the first 
 man. Can Tie restore fallen men to the 
 favour of God 9 Can he repair a shattered 
 law 9 Can he, by subjecting himself to 
 the curse which has gone forth against 
 the sinner, bear it for him, so that it shall 
 be removed from its rightful owner l How 
 can he do this 9 By taking the sinner's 
 place 9 By subjecting himself to the same 
 punishment 9 But what more will such an 
 act of a perfectly holy man effect than to 
 set one sinner free. One man cannot sure- 
 ly stand in the place of more than one man. 
 Now would God suffer a sinner to escape 
 from justice and inflict punishment upon 
 a perfectly holy man ? There are two rea- 
 sons why he would not do this. One is, 
 that he sees his own image in the face of 
 the substitute and he cannot deface it. 
 He cannot inflict punishment upon one 
 who has ever loved him and given him his 
 best affections. Another reason is, his 
 character would not, by such an event, be 
 
A BROTHER. 57 
 
 justified if he should save the sinner. He 
 has pledged his word that the sinner shall 
 die. He made no reserve in favour of 
 the sinner, as that he might escape, if he 
 could obtain one to supply his place. 
 Men would inquire, what has become of 
 God's truth *? They would be unable to 
 see any justification of his character in 
 the fact that he inflicted punishment on 
 an innocent man in order to set a guilty 
 wretch free. Besides, as we have seen, 
 one holy man could take the place of only 
 one sinner even if such substitution were 
 permitted. If Christ, then, was a man 
 a mere man he was not competent to the 
 work of atonement. His sufferings and 
 death would not be available in reconcil- 
 ing the world unto God or in justifying the 
 act of God in saving any sinners from 
 eternal death. If he was a mere man, 
 you can hope for no advantage from his 
 death. 
 
 Another class of professed believers in 
 Revelation admit that Christ was more 
 than a mere man they acknowledge him 
 
58 LETTERS TO 
 
 to be higher than the angels even the 
 highest created being in the universe. 
 Those who hold to this opinion are usual- 
 ly denominated Unitarians although that 
 term includes many of the former class of 
 believers. Can then Christ, considered 
 in this light, accomplish an atonement for 
 sin'? 
 
 Are not the difficulties in this case as 
 great or greater than in the other *? Here 
 is a being, more glorious than the highest 
 archangels, yet a creature of God, mani- 
 fested in human flesh living a life of re- 
 proach and misery and submitting at 
 length to the death of the cross. He does 
 this voluntarily, when he might have re- 
 mained in his glory, chanting his songs of 
 praise to God and being filled with the joys 
 of His presence. O ! it was love that indu- 
 ced him him to come down from heaven 
 to suffer to bleed and to die ! What phi- 
 lanthropy ! What enthusiasm of love ! 
 to exhibit such condescension that man 
 might be saved! But, my dear brother, what 
 other feeling is mingled with our admira- 
 
A BROTHER. 59 
 
 tion of his holy philanthropy ? Is not here 
 a sufficient sacrifice *? Is not God now jus- 
 tified in saving sinners whom he has 
 doomed to death eternal *? Will He not 
 heed the condescension the love the 
 sufferings the sympathy of the noblest 
 and best of His creatures ? 
 
 Alas ! alas ! There is no comfort here ! 
 'Tis but the voice of love that addresses 
 the compassion of God ! 'Tis the plea of 
 mercy only, which the sufferings of such a 
 being presents ! Is justice satisfied l Has 
 she put up her sword in its scabbard'? 
 No ; she holds it uplifted over the sinner 
 still. 
 
 Such a being, as we are now supposing 
 Christ to have been, can have no more ho- 
 liness than it is necessary for him to have 
 in order to sustain his place in the ranks 
 of the heavenly hosts. He can spare none 
 for the dying sinner. His sufferings and 
 death would be derogatory to the charac- 
 ter of Jehovah. Though He has a perfect 
 right to do what he will with His own, yet 
 he will never inflict punishment upon one 
 
60 LETTERS TO 
 
 who is not guilty. He says himself, " the 
 soul that sinneth, it shall die." Nor would 
 the death of such a being show the love of 
 God. It would show a love for sinners in 
 the mind of the substitute, but not in the 
 mind of God. It would not show a regard 
 to the honor of His law it would not 
 convince the world, that God loved justice, 
 because, it would imply no sacrifice on His 
 part. 
 
 I will illustrate my meaning to make 
 it more intelligible. An individual is 
 brought before a king, who has broken a 
 law to which a severe penalty is annexed 
 viz : the loss of both his eyes. The 
 fact of his having broken the law has been 
 clearly proved so as to leave no room for 
 doubt. The king orders the sentence to 
 be executed. At this moment, a person, 
 who has conceived a strong affection for 
 the criminal, offers to submit to the penal- 
 ty himself on condition of a pardon for the 
 other. What impressions now would 
 spectators have in regard to such a sub- 
 stitution as is here proposed ? They would 
 
A BROTHER. 61 
 
 be affected by such a generous exhibition of 
 love to the criminal in the proposed sub- 
 stitute. Suppose, then, the king should 
 ask their opinion of * the proposal, and 
 whether he had better consent to it, 
 would they not all, to a man, exclaim 
 against it ? Would they not all say, Let 
 the real criminal bear his own punishment ? 
 In their view, could the conduct of the 
 king be justified if he should cause the 
 sentence to be executed, according to re- 
 quest, upon any other than the true cul- 
 prit ? And if he felt as he should feel, 
 would he not say to the man, who so kind- 
 ly offered to lose his eyes that his friend's 
 might be preserved to him, "I cannot 
 spare your services who have ever obeyed 
 my laws and have been a pattern of obe- 
 dience to others ? I can better spare his, 
 who has rebelled and introduced confu- 
 sion into the kingdom ? Besides, my word 
 is pledged, and your standing in his place, 
 instead of justifying me in releasing him 
 from punishment, will render it necessa- 
 6 
 
62 LETTERS TO 
 
 ry for me to justify myself in condemning 
 you, an innocent person." 
 
 So the case would be in reference to 
 God, if He should receive, as a substitute 
 for the sinner, any created being, however 
 high. Such a substitute would avail no- 
 thing in regard to the sinner's salvation. 
 The character of God would suffer if he 
 should consent to it. His law so strict 
 so unrelenting would utter its sanc- 
 tions in vain. 
 
 In short, there is nothing striking 
 nothing that meets the mind nothing that 
 enobles the law and exhibits the dignity 
 and glory of God in such a scheme of re- 
 demption. There is in it, on the contrary, 
 a lowering down of the rigid principles of 
 truth there is a seeming show of regard to 
 law without the reality. It does not satis- 
 fy a mind oppressed with a sense of guilt 
 and longing for relief. You would not 
 feel, my brother, like going to such a per- 
 son for pardon and peace. There is a 
 want of greatness in the work of redemp- 
 
A BROTHER. 63 
 
 tion as professedly accomplished by a 
 creature of God, endued, as he might be, 
 with supernatural power and glory. Your 
 soul would be ever agitated with doubts as 
 to his ability to save. You would never 
 rely on his power nor trust yourself upon 
 the ocean of eternity without a more un- 
 doubted support a surer refuge. I shall, 
 in my next letter, endeavor to solve the 
 difficulty the seeming difficulty in the 
 way of a sinner's salvation. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
64 LETTERS TO 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Mr BEAR BROTHER, 
 
 In my last letter, I affirmed that a way 
 of escape was open to the condemned sin- 
 ner from the execution of his sentence. 
 I then examined some opinions in regard 
 to the mode of the sinner's salvation by a 
 substitute as that of a perfect man or a 
 super-angelic being. I trust you were con- 
 vinced that no created being could have 
 taken the sinner's place so as to transfer 
 the sentence to himself, and prevent its in- 
 fliction upon the guilty; and that such a 
 theory solves none of the difficulties with 
 which your mind has been pressed. No; 
 my brother, rely not on such dangerous 
 such fatal opinions. There must always 
 be ^restlessness in the minds of all who em- 
 brace them. 
 
A BROTHER. 65 
 
 You may be desirous, then, to inquire, 
 "Who can stand in my place in the place 
 of all dying sinners *?" I answer, GOB ! 
 "God manifest in the flesh!" He and He a- 
 lone could have accomplished the work 
 of man's redemption. And He has actu- 
 ally accomplished it ! But Oh ! how mys- 
 teriously He wrought in its execution ! 
 Adore, my dear brother, the riches of the 
 grace which induced Jehovah to stoop so 
 low from His high throne to save such 
 sinners as you and I ! 
 
 In dwelling upon this scheme of Re- 
 demption a scheme worthy of its glori- 
 ous Designer I can touch only upon a 
 few points in its history. As the scripture 
 expresses it, "JHe saw that there was no 
 man and w r ondered that there was no in- 
 tercessor; therefore His arm brought sal- 
 vation unto Him, and His righteousness, 
 it sustained Him." (Isa. 59: 16.) "God 
 so loved the world that He gave His only 
 begotten Son that whosever believeth in 
 Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life." (John 3: 16.) 
 6* 
 
66 LETTERS TO 
 
 The Bible, in many parts of it, describes 
 God as existing in three Persons to which 
 mode of existence there is no human an- 
 alogy. Nor can we conceive of such a 
 thing for the very plain reason that we 
 have not now the senses by which we can 
 perceive spirit. As we have no conception 
 of the nature of spirit, we can know noth- 
 ing of the mode of its existence. This is 
 a matter of pure Revelation, which it is 
 not the province of reason to impugn. To 
 these three Persons in the Godhead, the 
 terms, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are 
 affixed in Scripture in reference to the 
 work which They have accomplished and 
 are still to accomplish. It was the SON 
 to whom was committed the work of 
 atonement. He left the throne in the 
 heavens and descended into a bodily form. 
 He "was made flesh and dwelt among 
 us (and we beheld His glory the glory as 
 of the only Begotten of the Father,) full 
 of grace and truth." (John ] : 14.) 
 
 I need not set down the history of His 
 life on earth, as you may read it in the 
 
A BROTHER, 67 
 
 four Gospels expressed in more affecting 
 language than any I can employ. It is 
 sufficient to say that He suffered much 
 from the rage of his enemies and from the 
 suspicions of his friends. After passing- 
 through about thirty years of reproaches 
 and privations and trials of which we can 
 form little conception. He finished his 
 work of atonement by crucifixion on the 
 hill of Calvary. Oh ! what agony He en- 
 dured in the garden of Gethsemane, when 
 borne down with the weight of a world's 
 sins He sweat, as it were, great drops of 
 blood falling down to the ground ! And 
 who can conceive the anguish that swell- 
 ed His holy soul as the wicked men, whom 
 He came to save, nailed Him to the cross 
 and pierced Him with a spear! There "He 
 bare our griefs and carried our sorrows." 
 (Isa. 53: 4.) There He bore upon his 
 shoulders the guilt of a rebellious and 
 hell-deserving world ! Thy sins, too, and 
 mine were there ! For He looked down the 
 interval of years between us and Him and 
 knew every sin we should commit and 
 
68 LETTERS TO 
 
 made expiation for them there ! And 
 when amidst the darkness of sympathizing 
 nature, He exclaimed, " It is finished !" 
 (John 19: 30.) and gave up the Ghost, 
 then it was that earth and heaven and all 
 created beings exclaimed, " Let man be 
 saved, for Thou hast paid the ransom !" 
 
 And was not the law the stern, un- 
 yielding law of God maintained ? Was it 
 not honored by such a costly sacrifice? 
 Could it demand a more precious victim 
 than the Son of God? The Author of the 
 law has taken the sinner's place and re- 
 ceived the curse upon Himself, rather 
 than dishonor and destroy the efficiency 
 of it by omitting to exact the penalty, of 
 the transgressors. 
 
 The object of the penalties of the law 
 was to secure obedience. If no atonement 
 had been made, and those penalties had 
 not been inflicted on sinners, the law 
 would have been rendered inefficient. 
 But now sinners will not take license to 
 break the commands of God, merely be- 
 cause they see that its penalties have not 
 
A BROTHER. 69 
 
 been invariably imposed. They see in the 
 condescension and incarnation and death 
 of the Son of God, in order to justify Him 
 in saving the guilty, an awful result of a 
 violated law. " What !" will be the feel- 
 ing of the heart, " Must the Infinite God 
 connect Himself with corrupt humanity, 
 and, in that mysterious connection, pass 
 through sufferings and through the grave, 
 that the sanctions of His law may not be 
 annulled? It is, then, a fearful thing to 
 break the law of God, backed by such 
 sanctions !" 
 
 The sinner, who has ever thought upon 
 the way of reconciliation between him 
 and God upon the sacrifices made to 
 open it will feel that no particle of li- 
 cense is afforded to sin by the justification 
 which God gives to the repenting and re- 
 turning soul. 
 
 Satisfaction has indeed been made by 
 the death of Christ for the sins of those 
 who come to Him in faith. The door of 
 salvation is now open to admit all the 
 
70 LETTERS TO 
 
 descendants of Adam who may wish to 
 enter. 
 
 It is impossible to show, by an illustra- 
 tion, the power given to the law by the 
 sacrifice of Calvary. But the nature of 
 the influence imparted to it may be seen 
 imperfectly in the following facts of his- 
 tory : 
 
 An ancient king made a law that if 
 any individual should be guilty of a cer- 
 tain specified crime throughout his do- 
 minions, he should be deprived of both 
 his eyes. His own son was soon after 
 proved to be a transgressor of this law 
 and the first transgressor. The sympa- 
 thies of the father were excited. He 
 loved his son. If the sentence of the law 
 were executed upon him, his usefulness 
 would be at an end. The thought too, 
 that he must himself issue the orders for 
 the execution of the sentence upon his 
 own son, was heart-rending. His ene- 
 mies supposed that the father would spare 
 his son and thus he would be under the 
 
A BROTHER. 71 
 
 necessity of abolishing the law and weak- 
 ening the strength of his government. 
 What did the unhappy father do ? He 
 caused the executioner to put out one of 
 his eyes. Will not this satisfy the law? 
 Will not men see that the king intends 
 to put the penalties of the law in full ex- 
 ecution? No; the whole sentence must re- 
 ceive its fulfilment. The king, to show 
 that the law could not be broken without 
 incurring its full penalities, causes one of 
 his own eyes to be put out ! Here he mani- 
 fested a father's sympathy and love, and, 
 at the same time, his determination to main- 
 tain the sanctions of his law. Nor would 
 his subjects venture to transgress a sec- 
 ond time, because the first transgressor did 
 not receive the punishment in full which 
 was threatened. They would not hope 
 to escape in such a case. Was not the 
 king justified in the view of all his sub- 
 jects, in forbearing to exact the whole of 
 the sentence ? Was not the object of the 
 sentence accomplished as much as it 
 
72 LETTERS TO 
 
 would have been if the full penalty had 
 been inflicted? 
 
 Now, much more was the object of the 
 Divine law secured by the substitution of 
 an Infinite Being in the place of created 
 and sinful beings to bear their guilt and 
 to suffer Himself the infliction of the pen- 
 alty due to them. The law stands unin- 
 jured still. It still demands obedience 
 and its penalties are still terrible to those 
 who incur them. No one expects to es- 
 cape the sentence of death on account of 
 any past forbearance of God. 
 
 Thus I have described the only found- 
 ation of a sinner's hope, an atonement 
 made by Jesus Christ, " who, as to his hu- 
 manity, was descended from the Israelites, 
 but who was, in fact, THE SUPREME AND 
 EVER BLESSED GOD !" (Rom. 9: 5.) If his 
 blood had not been shed, you could never 
 have hoped rationally for salvation. "With- 
 out the shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion of sins," is the affirmation of the Bi- 
 ble. And John says, " The blood of Je- 
 
A BROTHER. 73 
 
 sus Christ cleanse th us from all sin." (1 
 John 1: 7.) These passages show that 
 there is no other foundation of hope than 
 Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. If he 
 had not died none would have lived. Be- 
 cause he has died all may live. 
 
 How wonderful the ways of God ! They 
 are past finding out ! Who would have 
 thought that such a plan would have 
 been devised for the sinner's salvation ? 
 What one redeeming quality did man pos- 
 sess, fallen as he was in rebellion and 
 guilt ? What did God behold in him that 
 he should love him and work so mysteri- 
 ously to raise him up from his ruins ? God 
 did, indeed, " commend His love to us in 
 that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
 for us !" (Rom. 5: 8.) 
 
 But I have not ventured to 'say, I wish 
 you fully to understand, that the atone- 
 ment the glorious atonement has secur- 
 ed your salvation. It has not secured it, 
 unless something has been done on your 
 part. The death of Christ places you in 
 a state of probation from which state Ad- 
 7' 
 
74 LETTERS TO 
 
 am fell ; i. e. it has opened a door through 
 which all who are so disposed MAY pass and 
 find mercy and be heirs of endless bles- 
 sedness. 
 
 But there are conditions to be complied 
 with on your part and on every sinner's 
 part, before you can receive benefit from 
 the atonement. The door is wide open 
 that leads to happiness and ultimate sal- 
 vation ; but still it is true that if you are 
 disposed to continue where you are, you 
 will perish.' Millions, doubtless, go down 
 to death notwithstanding Christ died. And 
 millions more will go. Strange that dying 
 souls will not seek after life that when 
 all things are ready they will not come ! 
 
 Some criminals are confined in a dun- 
 geon awaiting their execution. The or- 
 der arrives from the magistrate for their 
 freedom on a few simple, easy, and proper 
 conditions. All may accept the offer and 
 live. But some reject the conditions and 
 are executed. Strange infatuation ! 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
A BROTHER. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 The sufferings and death of Christ, I 
 remarked in my last letter, have removed 
 every obstacle to your reconciliation with 
 God which resulted from the original 
 threatening that the sinner should surely 
 die. They rendered it possible for you to 
 be saved. But the benefits of this atone- 
 ment will be conferred on those only who ful- 
 fil certain conditions. The object of this 
 letter is to state and explain those condi- 
 tions. 
 
 One condition is that you repent of your 
 sins. I have, in a previous letter, attempt- 
 ed to convince you of your duty in this 
 respect that it is the duty of every one 
 to be heartily sorry for the wrong he has 
 done. But I now affirm not only that it 
 
76 LETTERS TO 
 
 is your duty, but that it is necessary to your 
 salvation. 
 
 The nature of repentance has been al- 
 ready explained and its utter inefficiency 
 to atone for sin. Your sorrow for having 
 broken the law does not repair it. But 
 since Christ has effected an atonement for 
 sin, God requires no satisfaction from the 
 sinner as a condition of mercy. He does, 
 however, require the transgressor of His 
 law to repent sincerely of his guilt and to 
 turn from his evil ways and from his un- 
 righteous thoughts. And He has made 
 it a requisition without complying with 
 which no sinner can ever find mercy. 
 " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
 perish." 
 
 If you are heartily grieved on account 
 of having sinned against God, you may 
 hope that God will receive you for the sake 
 of Christ. But, then, your penitence must 
 be the result of a clear sense of the wrong 
 you have clone, not of a confident assu- 
 rance that it will issue in your salvation. 
 
 Many persons suppose that they can 
 
A BROTHER. 77 
 
 repent at any moment of their lives and, 
 therefore, delay the work till some future 
 time. Now, although it is strictly true 
 that they will ever have the power the 
 natural ability to repent, yet it is ex- 
 tremely improbable that they will be dis- 
 posed to repent, after repeatedly deferring 
 it till a future period. There are multi- 
 tudes of examples to show the extreme 
 danger of such delays, both as it respects 
 opportunities for repentance and as it res- 
 pects the disposition. Many have become 
 so hardened through the influence of sin 
 as to be apparently unsusceptible to any 
 serious impressions. Let those who are 
 disposed to delay repentance, expecting 
 to find a better opportunity or time, re- 
 member that repentance is not an act of 
 the will, but a particular state of mind 
 which does not depend on the will except 
 remotely, and they will see at once that 
 delay is dangerous. 
 
 You may, doubtless, by earnestly con- 
 templating the connexions of your sin with 
 the great interests of the universe and with 
 
78 LETTERS TO 
 
 the glory of God, be led to feel your guilt 
 and to be in that state of mind which is 
 properly termed repentance. But the will 
 has nothing more to do with it than to de- 
 termine upon the use of the means by 
 which this penitent state of the mind may 
 be induced. It is not, therefore, strictly 
 proper for me to tell you to resolve to re- 
 pent. But I may tell you to feel your 
 guilt to be sensible that you are a sinner 
 and to be sorry for it. It is wholly a mat- 
 ter of feeling not of will. 
 
 If you ask me, therefore, how you must 
 proceed in order to obtain a penitent 
 mind, I can give you no other direction 
 than that you have often received from the 
 pulpit ; " Go to the garden of Gethsemane 
 and to the cross of Calvary, and there view 
 the results of your rebellion and guilt ! 
 And when you think of the greatness of 
 Him who suffered there, and that your 
 own sins helped to weigh Him down with 
 untold anguish, if you do not feel your 
 guilt and turn away from it forever, the 
 evidence is clear that your soul is in im- 
 
A BROTHER. 79 
 
 minent danger of being eternally lost !" 
 Oh ! it would seem as if the blood of 
 atonement would melt into contrition 
 every soul ! If, my brother, you ever feel 
 your guilt and are led to forsake it, it will 
 doubtless, be at the foot of the cross, 
 when you are fixing your eye upon the 
 spectacle of a bleeding, dying Saviour. 
 Yes, " He was exalted to the cross to give 
 repentance to Israel and forgiveness of 
 sins." (Acts 5: 31.) 
 
 There is, moreover, another condition of 
 salvation which you are required to ful- 
 fil. It is contained in the following pas- 
 sage of Scripture ; " God so loved the 
 world that he gave His only Begotten 
 Son, that ivhosoever believeth in him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 (John 3: 16.) In this passage you see 
 not only that Christ died, but that He 
 died to save them who believe, and, by in- 
 ference, them only. Faith, then, is essen- 
 tial to salvation. As I have already said, 
 God does not now require, in order to sal- 
 vation, perfect obedience to His law, aU 
 
80 LETTERS TO 
 
 though its claims to our obedience are as 
 imperative as ever, but He has required 
 that which is more congruous to our fall- 
 en nature, " repentance towards God and 
 faith toward our Lord, Jesus Christ." Acts 
 20: 21. A broken law we cannot repair, 
 but, with God's help, we can repent and 
 believe. What is, then, faith in Christ? 
 
 You must not suppose that to believe 
 Christ to be divine, is faith in Him ; nor 
 is it faith in Him to believe that such a 
 Being once lived incarnate on earth, and 
 that He suffered many years and was, in 
 the end, crucified by those He came to 
 save. Such a simple belief in a historical 
 fact is not what the gospel requires under 
 the name of faith. Faith is of more exten- 
 sive signification. The English word does 
 not express all the meaning of the Greek 
 from which it is translated. But as it was 
 designed to express all that is included in 
 the original word it is proper that we 
 should so understand it. 
 
 Faith in Christ, then, includes a full and 
 hearty belief in His character as repre- 
 
A BROTHER. 81 
 
 sen ted in the bible, and a confidential com- 
 mittal of one' s self to His divine guidance a 
 throwing one's self upon Him in perfect confi- 
 dence. 
 
 You see, my dear brother, that the heart 
 must be interested, or faith is not genuine . 
 You are required to believe in Christ as 
 your only Saviour and to receive Him as 
 the object of your supreme affection. 
 Love to the world is inconsistent with 
 such an affection for Christ. Unless you 
 have thus received Christ, your specula- 
 tive faith is utterly vain. He will be sat- 
 isfied only with your heart your whole 
 heart. You must so commit yourself to 
 Him as to feel yourself wholly at his dis- 
 posal ready to be guided by Him and to 
 follow Him wherever He leads the way. 
 This is the only way in which you can 
 give practical evidence of living faith. 
 
 Let me illustrate these remarks by a 
 familiar example. 
 
 A traveller is benighted on an intricate 
 and dangerous road full of pitfalls and 
 lined with bye-paths. He dares not ad- 
 
8* LETTERS TO 
 
 vance or retire lest he should fall or be 
 led astray and be destroyed. In this sit- 
 uation he is overtaken by a man who pro- 
 fesses to be perfectly acquainted with the 
 way. He receives from him the most sat- 
 isfactory evidence that what he professes 
 is true. The traveller perceives, in his 
 new acquaintance, a sure guide. He is 
 perfectly assured of his kind interest in 
 his own preservation. He acknowledges 
 him to be every way qualified to under- 
 take his rescue and to conduct it to a suc- 
 cessful issue. " Well then, (says the 
 stranger) take my arm confide in my 
 ability and disposition to extricate you 
 from your difficulties be guided wholly 
 by me and I will conduct you safely 
 through this dangerous pass." The trav- 
 eller hesitates. He says to himself, " He 
 is certainly a competent guide He will 
 do as he says I believe all this but I 
 am unwilling to be guided by him. I am 
 resolved to act independently and I hope 
 I shall get through safely." The kind 
 stranger passes on his way ; the travel- 
 
A BROTHER. 8S 
 
 ler is bewildered and lost. Now of what 
 use was his speculative faith in the stran- 
 ger's ability and disposition to do him a 
 favor'? Of no possible use. If his faith 
 had been effective or practical if he had 
 thrown himself upon the kind offer of his 
 friend and accepted gratefully his proffer- 
 ed assistance, he would have been saved 
 from a melancholy death. 
 
 Now, my brother, you see what I mean 
 when I say that your speculative faith in 
 Christ will not save you. Christ has pro- 
 ved to you his perfect ability and readi- 
 ness to act as your guide to eternal bles- 
 sedness. He has an intimate knowledge 
 of the way for He has himself passed it 
 and consecrated it. He only requires 
 you to throw yourself upon His arm confi- 
 dentially and to be guided by Him, and 
 He promises to bear you safely through 
 the desert of life to the everlasting ver- 
 dure and glory of heaven. If you simply 
 believe that He can save you if you only 
 acknowledge that he is milling and ready 
 to save you, it will be of no avail. You 
 
84 LETTERS TO 
 
 must have confidence in His power and 
 will, and,moreover, you must commit your- 
 self to His actual guidance following 
 wherever He leads and you will be safe. 
 
 And why should you not be willing to 
 lay aside your confidence in an arm of 
 flesh and commit yourself wholly to the 
 guidance of Jesus Christ ? You have seen, 
 from a former letter, that nothing, which 
 you can do, will, in the least, alter your 
 eternal destinies as an independent act. 
 Here now is an offer, freely made by Je- 
 sus Christ, that if you .will repent of hav- 
 ing sinned against Him and commit your- 
 self to His care and guidance, He will 
 bring you to His heavenly rest. These 
 are the only conditions He requires they 
 are simple and easy. Oh ! how simple 
 when we consider the greatness of our 
 guilt ! 
 
 The sufferings and death of Jesus have 
 made it consistent with the strictness of 
 God's law that H should save such as He 
 pleases. He requires now only repentance 
 and faith in the sinner in order to his sal- 
 
A BROTHER. 85 
 
 vation. He promises that if you will obey 
 these requirements, the penalties of a just 
 law shall be averted from you and that 
 He will treat you hereafter in the same 
 manner as if you had never broken the 
 law, Christ having borne its curse for you, 
 (Gal. 3: 13.) Oh! then, my dear brother, 
 come at once to the Saviour with peni- 
 tence and cast yourself CONFIDENTIALLY up- 
 on him, pledging yourself to be His for- 
 ever. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
86 LETTERS TO 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 I have already explained the principles 
 on which the atonement of Jesus Christ 
 will be effectual in securing your salva- 
 tion. You have seen, however, that the 
 hearts of natural men are exceedingly 
 prone to evil that they are wholly cor- 
 rupt. Now, although the way for your 
 escape from sin and the results of sin, is 
 open although Christ has died to secure 
 to you the inestimable privileges of salva- 
 tion yet the tendency of your affections 
 is towards earthly things downwards. 
 The fact the simple fact that Jesus 
 Christ has died to secure pardon for the 
 penitent and believing sinner, is not suffi- 
 cient of itself to bring the work to a suc- 
 cessful issue. The heart is too hard. The 
 
A BROTHER. 87 
 
 soul is under the power of sin, and is so 
 influenced by the great adversary of man 
 that it will never alone and unaided rise 
 from its ruins. It has the power to cast it- 
 self on God confidentially and find salva- 
 tion, but it has not the will, the disposition 
 so to do. It may, upon the conviction 
 of its sin by the conscience which God 
 has implanted in every man, struggle to 
 rise above, to overcome its tendencies to 
 sin, but in vain till aided by another and 
 a higher Power. 
 
 Here, then, as if God was determined 
 to pour all His blessings upon self-ruined 
 man and to leave him no excuse for re- 
 maining in his guilt, the third person of 
 the Trinity offers His aid. The Holy 
 Spirit presents Himself to the heart of 
 every sinner and knocks for admittance. 
 He helps the sinner, who is " sold under 
 sin," (Rom. 7: 14.) to escape from the iron 
 bondage. 
 
 This messenger of heaven to man con- 
 tinually pours light upon the dark path 
 of the benighted wanderer and directs 
 
88 LETTERS TO 
 
 him in the way to eternal life. Ever since 
 the ascension of our Saviour He has ope- 
 rated on the hearts of the unregenerate, 
 leading them quietly and calmly to view 
 the consequences of sin and the ingrati- 
 tude to God which it evinces. And with 
 His aid thousands and millions have been 
 changed in the temper of their minds and 
 have accepted Jesus Christ in faith and 
 with true penitence for sin. He is even 
 now silently, like the " still small voice," 
 (1 Kings 19: 12.) that conversed with Eli- 
 jah on Mount Horeb, speaking to the im- 
 penitent and pointing them to Christ cru- 
 cified for them. You have heard of the 
 extensive revivals which prevailed during 
 the past year, and you yourself witnessed 
 the religious awakening as it was called 
 
 in C , where you resided. Now those 
 
 revivals and this awakening were the re- 
 sult of the Holy Spirit's influence on the 
 minds of those who were particularly in- 
 terested in them. All the great revivals 
 which have occurred since Christ's time, 
 were His work. 
 
A BROTHER. 89 
 
 God has, therefore, furnished you, my 
 brother, with aid competent to the suc- 
 cessful accomplishment of the great work 
 before you. You will never repent and 
 embrace Christ in faith, till you are assist- 
 ed by this Divine agent. Still your re- 
 pentance and your faith are your own. The 
 Spirit cannot repent for you He cannot have 
 faith for you. They are exercises of your 
 own mind freely put forth. But then the 
 special influences of the Spirit must be 
 felt by you before you will have a disposi- 
 tion to exercise either repentance or faith. 
 
 Nor does He, by His influence on the 
 mind, interfere in the least with your mor- 
 al freedom. He exerts His influence 
 through the medium of truth. The Bible 
 was composed by men inspired by Him ; 
 consequently all its instructions all its 
 promises all its threatenings are so ma- 
 ny addresses of the Divine Spirit to the 
 conscience of the sinner. 
 
 And there is another influence, exerted 
 upon the mind in regeneration by the Ho- 
 ly Spirit, in a manner with which we are 
 *8 
 
90 LETTERS TO 
 
 wholly unacquainted. We only know 
 that the truths of scripture, faithfully pre- 
 sented to an audience of sinners, produce 
 a wonderful and speedy transformation of 
 feeling and character in some, while the 
 minds of others are wholly unaffected. 
 We attribute the effective power of those 
 truths to the speciality of the Divine Spir- 
 it's influence. And this is all we know. 
 A change occurs we know the power 
 that produced it but we seek in vain for 
 the mode in which that power was exert- 
 ed. We know too, that the sinner is ac- 
 tive in regeneration. He repents and em- 
 braces in faith a crucified Redeemer. 
 There is, therefore, a co-operation of the 
 sinner with the Holy Spirit. And this is 
 conformable to the sentiment expressed 
 in the following passage of Scripture ; 
 " Work out your own salvation, with fear 
 and trembling, for it is God which work- 
 eth in you to will and to do." (Phil. 2: 12, 
 13.) That is, it is He that works with you 
 both in the willing and in the doing. 
 Many objections may be made to this 
 
A BROTHER. 91 
 
 statement of the doctrine of the Holy 
 Spirit's agency, but I think every humble 
 and conscientious Christian will agree 
 with me that it is substantially correct. 
 
 From these remarks, then, you see that 
 even the atonement does not secure ne- 
 cessarily the salvation of every sinner, and 
 that the promise, made to the impenitentj 
 of salvation upon repentance and faith in 
 consequence of the atonement, may be of 
 no avail, because repentance and faith 
 will never be exercised till another power 
 comes in to the sinner's aid, co-operating 
 with him both in willing and in doing. 
 And that power is the Holy Spirit. 
 
 How necessary, therefore, my dear 
 brother, that you secure the aid the ef- 
 ficient aid of the Holy Spirit ! With the 
 natural powers of mind to repent, it is 
 morally certain that you will never have 
 the disposition to do it, till specially aided 
 from above. But the assistance, you need, 
 is within your reach it is ready to meet 
 your call. The Scriptures say " To-day 
 if ye will hear His voice, harden not your 
 
92 LETTERS TO 
 
 hearts !" (Heb. 4: 7.) " The Spirit and 
 the bride say, come !" (Rev. 22: 17.) 
 Every preparation is, therefore, made for 
 your salvation and you are even urged by 
 the persuasive strivings of the Spirit, to 
 turn and live. O ! How wonderful is the 
 mercy of God ! How long-suffering ! How 
 prolific in blessings ! Who would have 
 thought it 9 That when we were in our 
 sins rebelling against his laws and king- 
 dom God should have made such an 
 atonement and accompanied it with such 
 an- exhibition of continued love as is seen 
 in the descent of the Holy Spirit! And is 
 not here a powerful reason for your sub- 
 mission to Him'? Is not here provision 
 enough for your salvation *? Oh ! let the 
 powerful strivings of the Divine Agent in 
 your heart lead you to embrace with pen- 
 itence and in faith a crucified Saviour. 
 
 Now, while you hear his voice gently 
 calling upon you to lay aside your world- 
 ly affections and to give to God your 
 heart, be resolved to obey his call. Let 
 not his influences be quenched forever 
 
A BROTHER 93 
 
 but cherish them ; they will lead you to 
 happiness and heaven. The Spirit will 
 not always, strive. You may resist Him so 
 that He shall turn away from you and 
 leave you, like Pharaoh, a monument of 
 Divine indignation. I say, you may do it, 
 for God has so revealed it in the Scrip- 
 ture. Else there were no appropriate- 
 ness in the exhortation, " Quench not the 
 Spirit!" (1 Thess. 5: 19.) Indeed it 
 would impair your moral freedom it 
 would utterly destroy it if you were not 
 at liberty to comply with or reject the per- 
 suasions of any agent according to your 
 pleasure. It is infinitely important, there- 
 fore, that you avoid the terrible conclu- 
 sion to which a rejection of the Holy 
 Spirit's influences would lead you. While 
 the aid of such a powerful Agent is offer- 
 ed, I counsel you to accept of the aid and 
 be at peace with God. 
 
 You cannot too soon be reconciled to 
 God. There is danger of quenching for- 
 ever the influences of God's Spirit so 
 that He shall strive no more, no more 
 
94 LETTERS TO 
 
 persuade or excite the seared conscience. 
 You have already felt some relentings on 
 account of sin the result of the divine 
 Spirit's agency. You have looked in up- 
 on your heart and seen its deep depravity 
 and guilt and have been led to feel that 
 you ought to repent and exercise faith in 
 Jesus. More than once has your con- 
 science been awakened by the voice of 
 the Spirit, and it has seemed as though 
 your soul would be humbled before God 
 and that you would accept his love. But 
 you have not yet done so. The heart re- 
 mains unchanged. The affections are 
 yet enchained to the earth. Oh ! when 
 will you prepare for heaven ? When will 
 you love a dying Saviour*? When will 
 you cease to grieve the Blessed Spirit of 
 God l Are you not afraid of His with- 
 drawing His influences so that you shall 
 be left barren and desolate *? Your duty 
 has been pointed out to you in a previous 
 letter. It has been proved that, even if 
 there were no hope of future felicity no 
 expectation of happiness yet it would be 
 
A BROTHER. 95 
 
 your duty to be sorry for having done 
 wrong. But now that Jesus has died for 
 you to make your penitence effectual and 
 now that the Holy Spirit has been sent to 
 strive with you and to urge you to repent- 
 ance and faith, it will be, indeed, ungrate- 
 ful it will be amazing if you still per- 
 sist in unrepented sin ! 
 
 Many very many have delayed to 
 hear the voice of the Spirit till it was for- 
 ever too late ! Examples are numerous 
 where His strivings have been silenced, 
 and His influences quenched ! But Oh, 
 how sad the consequences ! How fearful 
 the dying bed ! There was a dreadful 
 freezing horror-struck complexion a 
 doleful crying for mercy which it made 
 the heart ache to see and to hear ! Oh ! 
 I would not for the universe, die the death 
 of one from whom the Blessed Spirit has 
 taken His last departure ! What dreary 
 scenes are in prospect ! And how will eter- 
 nity burst in all its horrors upon his dis- 
 tracted and immortal soul ! My dear 
 brother, avoid, I beseech you such a doom 
 
90 LETTERS TO A BROTHER. 
 
 by escaping, as for your life, to the cross 
 of Jesus whither the Holy Spirit would 
 lead you. There cast yourself upon the 
 mercy of your God, as exhibited in the 
 blood of atonement, and all may yet be 
 well! 
 
 Your affectionate brother. 
 
HYMNS. 
 
HYMNS. 
 
 HYMN 1. 
 
 The Exhortation. 
 
 1 Turn, wand'rer, from the dang'rous path 
 
 Thy wayward feet have trod ; 
 Long hast thou braved Almighty wrath, 
 Turn homeward to thy God ! 
 
 2 Turn, wand'rer, from thy course of sin, 
 
 Thy Saviour bids thee turn ; 
 Sweetly He tries thy soul to win, 
 O try His will to learn ! 
 
 3 Turn, for the Spirit's voice is heard 
 
 In whisp'ring notes of love, 
 Inviting thee to trust His word, 
 And seek thy rest above. 
 
 4 Turn, for thy Father calls, "return !" 
 
 Thy Father long forgot ! 
 Come to His feet, and humbly mourn 
 That thou hast loved Him not. 
 
100 HYMNS. 
 
 5 Turn, wand'rer, while His mercy calls, 
 
 Oh, seek His face to-day ! 
 Haste, 'ere His sword of justice falls ! 
 Oh sinner, why delay ? 
 
 HYMN 2. 
 
 The Warning. 
 
 1 To-day God's voice is heard 
 Inviting thee to come, 
 
 And the sure promise of His word 
 Declares, there yet is room. 
 
 2 To-day the Saviour sits 
 Upon His throne of love, 
 
 And many a guilty wretch permits 
 His promises to prove. 
 
 3 To-day, salvation's sure, 
 
 To those who seek the Lord, 
 And who unto the end endure 
 Abiding in His word. 
 
 4 But 'ere to-morrow's sun 
 Shall send his beams abroad, 
 
 Death may his fatal work have done, 
 And called thee to thy God ! 
 
HYMNS. 101 
 
 Then where, O sinner, where, 
 Will thy poor spirit dwell ? 
 Unrobed and desolate and drear, 
 'T will sink, unsaved, to hell ! 
 
 HYMN 3. 
 
 The Invitation. 
 
 1 Come, sinner, in thy mis'ry come ! 
 
 And seek thy injured God ! 
 He calls thee from thy wand'rings home, 
 By His atoning blood ! 
 
 2 Long hast thou lived without His love, 
 
 And long abused His grace, 
 
 But Jesus left His throne above, 
 
 And took the sinner's place. 
 
 3 How rich the flowing purple stream 
 
 That sealed His cov'nant sure ! 
 How full His glorious pledges seem 
 Forever to endure ! 
 
 4 Come, then, O sinner, in thy guilt, 
 
 Thy Saviour calls thee, come ! 
 The blood, which He on Calv'ry spilt, 
 He spilt to bring thee home. 
 9* 
 
102 HYMNS. 
 
 HYMN 4. 
 
 The same. 
 
 1 Now, sinner, wipe thy tears away, 
 And give to God thy breaking heart; 
 Come to His footstool, come to-day, 
 Before thou hear'st the sound, depart ! 
 
 2 Hast thou not heard His melting voice, 
 Utt'ring rich promises of love, 
 Inviting thee to make thy choice, 
 And sweetly calling thee above ? 
 
 3 O, listen to His gracious call, 
 
 Nor grieve His Blessed Spirit more ! 
 Give Him with cheerfulness thy all, 
 And thy ungrateful sins deplore ! 
 
 HYMN 6. 
 
 The Cross. 
 
 1 Behold Him, on th' accursed tree, 
 
 In anguish and in blood ! 
 He bore these griefs for you and me, 
 To bring us back to God ! 
 
HYMNS. 103 
 
 2 And wiltthou yet, O sinner, dare 
 
 The path of guilt to tread ? 
 Behold the clouds of vengeance there 
 That flash above thy head ! 
 
 3 Haste thee to Calv'ry's mournful height, 
 
 'Ere yet thy day is past ! 
 Speed, speed, O sinner, for the night 
 Is gathering round thee fast ! 
 
 4 There with a full and melting heart, 
 
 Thy bleeding Saviour see ! 
 Say to thy sovereign God, "I part 
 With all things else for Thee ! 
 
 5 Jesus, Thou son of David, hear 
 
 My supplicating cry ! 
 Send me a sweet release from fear, 
 And save me when I die !" 
 
 HYMN 6. 
 
 Conviction. 
 
 1 Jesus ! hear my feeble prayer, 
 Leans my helpless soul on Thee ; 
 O my Saviour ! can'st Thou hear, 
 Can'st Thou save a wretch like me ? 
 
104 HYMNS. 
 
 2 I approach thy awful seat, 
 Doubtful, anxious and oppressed, 
 Here I lie before Thy feet, 
 Broken-hearted and distressed ! 
 
 3 Oh my soul ! thou canst not live ! 
 What a Saviour I've abused ! 
 How can He my guilt forgive, 
 Who have long his grace refused ? 
 
 4 I have heard His pleading voice, 
 As I passed along in sin, 
 Urging me to make my choice, 
 And His service to begin. 
 
 5 But I spurned the call of love 
 Trampled on His blood divine ! 
 Jesus ! can Thy pity move ? 
 Can Fever call Thee mine ? 
 
 6 Wretched, helpless, tempest-tost, 
 Saviour, to Thy arms I fly ! 
 Thou, who cam's t to save the lost, 
 Save, Oh save me or I die ! 
 
HYMNS. 105 
 
 HYMN 7. 
 
 The Release. 
 
 1 Sweetly from the upper skies 
 Breathes the soft and soothing strain, 
 "Sinner! wipe thy weeping eyes, 
 
 " All thy sins by Me are slain ! 
 
 2 " On the cross in pain I hung 
 "To procure this grace for thee ! 
 "There with grief my soul was wrung, 
 " There was filled with agony ! 
 
 3 " Broken-hearted and abased, 
 
 " Thou hast cast thyself on Me ; 
 "Sinner! I my word have passed 
 " From thy sins to set thee free. 
 
 4 " Rise and take thy crown of joy ! 
 "Here I breathe upon thy soul, 
 
 " And the judgments I employ, 
 
 " O'er thy head shall harmless roll." 
 
 5 Saviour ! why, O why 1 " for me 
 
 Hast Thou shown such glowing love ? 
 Here I give myself to Thee, 
 Bear, O bear my thoughts above ! 
 
106 HYMNS. 
 
 HYMN 8. 
 
 Christ. (Selected.) 
 
 1 Oh, could I speak/the matchless worth, 
 Oh, could I sound the glories forth, 
 
 Which in my Saviour shine ! 
 I'd soar, and touch the heavenly strings, 
 And vie with Gabriel, while he sings, 
 
 In notes almost divine. 
 
 2 I'd sing the precious blood he spilt, 
 My ransom from the dreadful guilt 
 
 Of sin and wrath divine: 
 I'd sing his glorious righteousness, 
 In which all-perfect, heavenly dress 
 
 My soul shall ever shine. 
 
 3 I'd sing the characters he bears, 
 And all the forms of love he wears, 
 
 Exalted on his throne : 
 In loftiest songs of sweetest praise, 
 I would to everlasting days 
 
 Make all his glories known. 
 
 4 Well the delightful day will come, 
 When my dear Lord will bring me home, 
 
 And I shall see his face : 
 Then, with my Saviour, brother, friend, 
 A blest eternity I'll, spend, 
 
 Triumphant in his grace. 
 
HYMNS. 107 
 
 HYMN 9. 
 
 Heaven. (Selected.) 
 
 1 Jerusalem ! my glorious home ! 
 
 Name ever dear to me ! 
 When shall my labors have an end, 
 In joy, and peace, in thee ? 
 
 2 Oh, when, thou city of my God, 
 
 Shall I thy courts ascend, 
 Where congregations ne'er break up, 
 And Sabbaths have no end ! 
 
 3 There happier bowers, than Eden's, bloom, 
 
 No sin nor sorrow know ; 
 Blest seats ! through rude and stormy scenes 
 I onward press to you. 
 
 4 Why should I shrink at pain and woe ! 
 
 Or feel at death dismay ? 
 I've Canaan's goodly land in view, 
 And realms of endless day. 
 
 5 Jerusalem ! my glorious home ! 
 
 My soul still pants for thee ; 
 Then shall my labors have an end, 
 When I thy joys shall see. 
 
106 HYMNS. 
 
 HYMN 
 
 ON THE IMMORTALITY OP THE SOUL. 
 
 1 There is joy in the thought that the soul shall survive 
 
 When the clay that enfolds it expires ; 
 That its withering powers, e'en in death, shall revive 
 And vigor and beauty immortal, derive, 
 
 From the Spirit that kindled its fires. 
 
 2 It brightens our path through this valley of tears, 
 
 And scatters the clouds of despair ; 
 The bosom of pain and affliction it cheers, 
 It lights up a smile on the wrinkles of years, 
 
 And smooths the deep furrows of care. 
 
 3 O pure are the hopes, it excites in the breast ; 
 
 And the transports we feel shall increase, 
 When anticipation, all glowing, shall rest 
 On scenes that are passing in realms of the blest 
 
 On pleasures that never will cease. 
 
 4 More joyous and brighter and purer the ray, 
 
 That will burst on our vision above, 
 When the veil, that obscures it, is taken away 
 And when we can look on the splendors of day, 
 
 In regions of glory and love.