ble to my Redeemer than he is, and that somewhat is, ETERNAL LIFE, the gift of God through Jesus Christ !” This prelate, indeed, was not one of those "master spirits of the olden time," whom the Rev. Edward Irving devoutly worships. His composition has no quaint phrases, no obsolete expressions, which like a painted window in ecclesiastical edifices, obscures and mystifies surrounding objects. But his mind was comprehensive, his attainments multifarious, and his entire soul illuminated as well as expanded by the rays of Christian charity! Here is a model for young divines of every description. I take leave of the far-famed preacher of the Caledonian Church, with all due respect for his talents and virtues, by declaring that the eloquence of the pulpit is assuredly not the less forcible and persuasive when it is impregnated, nay, I will add sanctified, by the enlarged and liberal spirit of our COMMON CHRISTIANITY. J. EVANS. A Friendly Correspondence between A FRIEND of mine having fa voured me with the perusal of the accompanying correspondence, I was so much pleased with the style, (which may well serve as a model to future controversialists,) the benevolence and strength of argument exhibited by one of the parties to it, as to be induced to take a copy of it. And having subsequently conceived that the communication of it to the public might be attended with beneficial effects to the cause in which you are engaged, now place it at your disposal. I to N. [The letter to which this is an answer, and several others, were, unfortunately, destroyed.] DEAR N. September 20th, 1823. The only principle upon which I consider myself at issue with you, is the right of one man to dictate to another what he is to believe. If this principle had been uniforinly acted upon, the strongest must always have prescribed faith to others. We should have had no reformation, nor would there be any toleration. I solemnly protest against the right of any man thus to deal with me, and I hope never to be betrayed into the error of attempting to force my opinions upon others who may happen to be subject to my authority. I am, how ever, ready to give a reason of the hope that is in me with meekness and fear; and I also hold myself subject to instruction and reproof. Even when these may not have been offered in the spirit of love, I have frequently felt and acknowledged the force of what has been said, and I trust have in some measure profited by it. I regret that we should be debarred, by a mutual want of confidence in each other's orthodoxy, from conferring with pleasure and profit upon the most important and delightful of all subjects; but I see no help for it, so long as you continue to regard me as disqualified for forming a correct judgment as to the tenor of the Sacred Scriptures. What you say respecting the case of the Heathen, is conformable to the declarations of St. Paul. You seem to think that I am not aware of the evil of sin, and of the value of the gospel. It is more than probable that not one of us (yourself not excepted) is sufficiently alive to these matters: but I can safely appeal to Him who knows the heart, that I do consider sin as the cause of all the darkness and misery that exists, or may hereafter exist; that I feel its bitterness, and, above all things, desire to be delivered from its tyranny; and that I firmly believe that nothing can be effectual to this end but a cordial reception of the gospel of Christ; that is to say, such a faith in him as W. W.. works by love, purifies the heart, and It may, perhaps, add to the interest of the subject to inform you, that the writers, though opposed to each other in their existing opinions, were educated in the same faith; that they are upon cordial terms in the ordinary intercourse of life; and that, independently of his religious opinions, it would be hard to find a man of more kindly disposition than he that stickles so resolutely, in theory, for the condemnation of his fellow-crea tures. overcomes the world. If there be any truth in Scripture, it is, that religion consists in love, and that whatever temper or disposition is contrary to love, is also contrary to the spirit of the gospel, and (be our profession what it may) is but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. The Almighty, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, sees fit to adopt various modes of dealing with his creatures. I have been led from a very early period to feel a deep interest in the happiness of mankind, and the impressions made upon me have led me to a very careful inquiry into the revealed designs of our heavenly Father. I have my reward in such views of the Divine wisdom and benevolence as I would not exchange for the empire of the world; and unless you can blot out of the Bible all those texts which have been the foundation of my faith, hope and joy, you never can rob me of my confidence in the triumph of grace over all sin, and in the arrival of a period when God shall be all in all. Christ shall not be cheated out of the fruits of his labours, but he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. So long as one sinner remains unrepentant, the joy of heaven will be incomplete. What degree of suffering may be necessary to bring the most stubborn sinner to bow to the authority of Christ, I pretend not to determine; it is enough for me to be assured that so long as there exists the relation of Creator and creature, that saying will be true, that God does not afflict willingly, and has no pleasure in the death of a sinner. I also am certain that he will do all his pleasure, and that his counsel shall stand. You have quoted texts which are easily answered and unquestionably are overborne (be their precise meaning what it may) by plain and numerous passages of a contrary tendency. If the Almighty had intended us to believe the doctrine of endless misery, could he not have delivered himself in language as plain as that which is used by the advocates of that horrid dogma? Would he have trifled with us by holding out expectations of a period when there shall be no more sighing and pain and death, and all things shall be made new? Would he have commanded us, or could he have obliged us to love him with all our hearts and understandings? How is it possible to love a being who has the power to make his creatures happy and yet will not exercise the power he possesses? How can he, consistently with common sense, require us to be better than he is himself? You will, perhaps, say that goodness in God is different in quality from goodness in man, and I will fearlessly answer that if this be the case, I would not give a year's purchase for the inheritance of the saints in light, for if it be not of the same quality it may be of a contrary nature; and it may then consist with the goodness of God to make those the most miserable who most confide in him. Alas, this is, indeed, calling bitter sweet, and sweet bitter, putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, making hell of heaven, and heaven of hell. This, be assured, will not do.. "God is love," says John. "Love worketh no ill," says Paul. Once persuade me that the love of God can work evil to man, and you cut away the ground from under my feet, and abolish every stay of the soul. I can scarcely expect to alter your opinions. If they afford you comfort, and inspire you with confidence in your Maker, you will do well, perhaps, to abide by them, but they will not satisfy me. If God be not good to all, and his tender mercies are not over all his works, if sin is to superabound over grace, and death is finally to prevail over life, and the Devil to be an overmatch for God, there is an end of the gospel. Call Christianity by any name you please, but by no means call it good news. It is, in that case, tidings not of great joy, but of misery and despair, of grief and fear, to all people; and well would it have been for the world to have remained under a dispensation which had no other sanction than temporal rewards and temporal punishments, though loaded with cumbersome ceremonies. But I have not so learned Christ; I shall, therefore, be thankful unto him and speak good of his name: feeling assured that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he will gather together in one all things; that as in Adam all die, even so (whatever may be the sense in which men die, whether naturally or spiritually) shall the very same all be made alive; that as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, and, in due time, the whole creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, by the powerful working of him who is able to subdue all things to himself. This, then, is my consolation, and I know I have chosen a good part which shall not be taken from me. I am sensible of abundant failings, infirmities and sins, both of omission and commission, but I boldly affirm from long experience, that the moments when my confidence in the universal love of God is the weakest, I am the most in danger of falling. It has been in such seasons that I have given offence to you by indulging in an unchristian spirit, of which I am ashamed. My earnest prayer is, that we may both be rooted and grounded in love, and be enabled to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breadth and depth and height of the love of God, and be filled with his fulness, and that the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ. This peace, I doubt not, you are seeking as well as myself, and whichever of us shall first obtain it, will (be assured) manifest his acquisition in a way that shall speak an intelligible language. It is with me a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment, yea I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified, but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Yours affectionately, " I. P. S. As for the young men to whom you allude, it has been my endeavour to lead them to fear and love their Creator. If in striving to instil into them opinions calculated to drive out slavish fear, I have ever so expressed myself as to lead them to suppose that they may sin with impunity, my meaning has been totally mistaken, and I assure you, after you gave me a hint upon the took considerable pains tosubject, I them that they never could enjoy true happiness so long as sin has any dominion over them; and that the only corrective of sin is the love of Christ, shed abroad in the heart by a holy spirit. I to N. Sept, 23. You may set your mind perfectly at ease on the score of having given offence: none, I can assure you, was ever taken by me, at any time, from any thing that has ever passed between us, at least beyond a mere momentary irritation. I feel that I have quite as much to solicit as to grant in this respect, but neither have I upon my mind the consciousness of having said any thing that ought to penetrate more than skin deep. I have never been angry at heart; it was mere noise. We have both intended well, though, as is too common, we have failed by vehemence in recommending the serious truths which we had in view. With respect to supernatural power, I know nothing of any such power. All things are of God. I do, however, recognize, cordially and joyfully, extraordinary manifestations of that power both in past and in present times. The sense whereby we judge of the truth of revelation is as much the gift of God as the revelation itself. Revelation necessarily supposes and appeals to that sense, otherwise how should we discriminate between a real and a pretended revelation? Mahomet pretended to revelation: how are we to disprove his claim? And how are we to know that Moses and Jesus were divine teachers? Pardon me for expressing a doubt whether you have sufficiently considered this question. one I have for very many years bestowed all the powers of thought. Circumstances have forced me to do so, and I have been abundantly repaid for my pains. My foot had once well nigh slipped, but I trust I can, in so far as conviction goes, say with the Psalmist, that I have been extricated from the mire of doubt, and that my feet have been placed upon a rock; nevertheless, I still feel the necessity of the caution, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Again, the sense to which I have alluded, and which, be it remembered, comes from the sole Source of all good, (that is, from the author of revealed religion, who is the Creator of the world,) is as much needed for the purpose of judging what is the true meaning and purport of the Scriptures, as it was for admitting their general authenticity, as compared with pretended revelation. It is not enough for a man to tell me that the Bible says so and so, in order to justify me in accepting what he offers as scripture truth. Twenty different men shall tell me as many different things; I mean things contradictory or inconsistent with each other; and they shall all appeal to the Bible, and assure me that they have the spirit. We must then, at last, be satisfied in our own minds. Another man's conviction will not profit me; I must be wise for myself, or be content to be blown about with every wind of doctrine, and believe at the bidding of another. Do I then mean to deny that there is such a thing as certainty? By no means. Nor do I mean to say that he who is persuaded that he possesses a valuable truth, should be backward in communicating it. Only let him bear in mind that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Let him strive to commend himself to the consciences of men, by speaking the truth in love. Let him make it manifest that he offers something which has done him good, and which qualifies him to do good. Let him shew his commission as a teacher, by bring ing forth the fruits of the spirit. To all eternity these will be love, joy and peace, gentleness and kindness. And so long as sin endures, it will be evidenced by the evil tempers which spring from a bitter root. Religion is calculated to make us happy, to rejoice evermore in the hope of the glory of God. We may be sorrowful though our faces are Zionward; but while we are thus affected, we are not in a fit state to help others in the way; it is well if we can keep our own footing. This persuasion has closed my lips. I may, indeed, safely say, that I know enough of religion to be certain that it is the only thing worth seeking; and while thus employed, I may warn those who are straying from the path, but still I do not feel that I am likely to do much for others. A man cannot teach what he does not understand. Oh, how intelligible is the language of the heart! Shall we need an interpreter to explain to us the difference between the language of a whole and of a broken spirit? I trow not. The one is vociferous, the other requires a listening ear to catch its whispers. If it is ever loud, it is in its praises of divine mercy: then, indeed, it exults and shouts for joy. You have given me some traits of your experience. There is such a thing as going backwards; and I will freely confess that it appears to me, that in some respects you have lost ground since the year 1782; but as the Israelites were led by a circuitous route to the Promised Land, so, I doubt not that your pleasure and profit will be incalculably augmented by that very process, which appears to have turned you back from an object which once appeared to be within your grasp. Although you have abandoned a glorious conviction which has cheered and comforted me for thirty-five years, it is not the less true and worthy of all acceptation. I, too, have had my experience, and have had to traverse some very dark and dismal paths. It has required a very strong faith in the truth of God's promises to keep me from sinking in despair. Even now I am in a low path of the valley of humiliation, but I know this is good for us, and that in due time we shall reap if we faint not. As for the love of God, be sure that neither you nor I have yet comprehended its heights and depths. We may plunge and soar as much as we will without any danger of striking the vault or touching the bottom. You say that when you was first impressed with a lively sense of the love of God, the atonement of Jesus Christ appeared to be quite unnecessary. In this respect my experience comports not with yours, for to me this doctrine (as it is explained in Scripture) appears to be the grandest possible display of Divine wisdom and love. Christ is God's unspeakable gift, and such a demonstration of his love to the world, as is well calculated to reconcile the world unto God. are no where told in the Bible, whatever human creeds may teach, that God required the death of Christ in order to reconcile him to the world. What stronger proof could Divine We wisdom have afforded us of the folly, brutality and malignity of vice, than that it should lead men to crucify the beloved of God? The scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ is a thème on which I dwell with increasing delight, a feeling which is certainly not diminished by a firm and unshaken belief in the truth of that saying in John, that he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. This, however, is a testimony for its proper season. The great majority of good men even are not yet prepared to receive it, and it is not surprising that few comparatively are able to penetrate the clouds and darkness which environ the Divine throne; but in his own good time he will send forth his light and his truth, and then we shall see eye to eye. In the mean time the main consideration with us should undoubtedly be to obtain the pearl of great price, the hidden treasure, the well of living water, and, as I said in a former communication, whichever of us shall first succeed, will not want the means of convincing the other that he has gained the object of his quest. There will be no need of many words; a few emphatic phrases and expressive looks will speak volumes. Yours affectionately, public, to mark their sense of those services, now that our first Missionary has seen fit to retire from the labours which have been so eminently and extensively useful. I cannot doubt that numbers, like myself, were quite alive to the appeal; but did not perceive how it could be followed up. Is not a suitable opportunity afforded, by the approaching publication of Mr. Wright's Review of his Missionary Life and Labours, which has been announced in the Repository? I doubt not it will prove a work of interest and value; but I hope I may suggest with success, the desirableness of our manifesting by an ample subscription list, that we appreciate highly the services he has rendered, (the effects of which will long continue,) as well as that we are aware that he has received from us a very inadequate remuneration for the strength and time and abilities employed in our common cause. For such reward I am sure he did not labour; but the labourer is worthy of his hire. May I venture, through this channel, to propose to my brother ministers, and other fellow-labourers, that we make a common effort in the pro posed direction; and to express the hope, that should they see objections which I do not, they will not allow slight ones to interfere with such a tribute of respect and gratitude. LANT CARPENTER. P. S. If you agree with me in the mode, (in the object I am sure you will,) perhaps you will oblige me by adding your sanction. No one knows better than yourself, the merits of the individual. If during the month of February a list of names can be transmitted to Mr. Wright, it may be in time to be given in his publication. L. C. [The Editor of the Monthly Repository entirely concurs in Dr. Carpenter's proposal, which he respect of the Unitarian public. He is allowed to add, that the printer of this work, Mr. Smallfield, will cheerfully receive names and subscriptions.] The volume is advertised as in demy 12mo. price 7s. |