Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

from men whose wishes he was not wont to gratify. At length he broke out into passion, got hold of a knife, and, with oaths and curses, swore that he would stab them if they offered any further interference. This was the last act he essayed to do, and these the last words he uttered; or if he spoke any more it was in grudged and monosyllabic replies to the physician's enquiries, and these were the latest spontaneous effusions of his heart. Self-will, impiety, revenge, formed the leading features of his character in life; the apparent cause of his death was his own wilfulness, and his dying words were expressions of blasphemy against God, and of hatred toward brother and friend.

pened to be at sea at the time, but being anxious to have necessary in recovering from so severe a disease; and the point settled, I waited for his landing, and after talk- he was too self-willed besides, to think of obeying the ing over some other matters, told him that the desire on prescriptions of the physician, except, at least, in his the subject was general, and the consent hitherto unaniown presence. As gently as they could they pressed mous, and that it only required his concurrence to have the on him the importance of complying with the orders arrangement completed. He answered very coolly, and that had been given him. He bore their remonstrances for him very civilly, "They may all do as they please, for a little, but it was more than could well be expectbut if there is anything to be got, you may depended that he should bear them long, coming, as they did, upon it I'll go off on Sabbath." Not without bitterness of spirit I learned at his lips the meaning of the proverb, "One sinner destroyeth much good." The Sabbath indeed to him, when not a day of work, was but the rest of the drunkard, for during many years he had never entered the house of God-except, how-❘ ever, that on a few occasions he might have been present at our evening meeting. His conduct in this respect he did not defend on general principles, or contend that there was no obligation to frequent the place of prayer; but in his own individual case he held himself amply justified. The officiating clerk of the church was his cousin-german; and for any one to belong to the circle of his kindred, was in itself sufficient to mark him out as an enemy; but to him personally, over and above the common enmity of kinsmanship, he bore a grudge peculiarly bitter. So situated, and considering that it was impossible for him to enter church without seeing that man whose presence could not but most keenly excite his spleen, he looked on his attending as out of the question; and, moreover, as he had resolved never to suffer his hatred to be lulled asleep, he had determined, that during the lifetime of his cousin, he should not set his foot within the house of God.

Even his iron frame could not long endure the treatment to which, by his stubborn heedlessness, it was now subjected, and his strength speedily sunk. I visited him the following morning, and found him supporting himself on his hands and knees, tossing and rolling about, and growling with pain and rage. He had said with Sampson, "I will arise and shake myself;" but he wist not that the great strength wherein he trusted was gone; and when he found that he was weak as other men, he seemed mortified and mad at the discovery. The utterance of his feelings was like nothing I had ever heard-like nothing human, but rather the When cholera began to prevail in the village, and he growling of some savage beast; and it sounded not so saw neighbour and companion cut down, one after an- much like the expression of agony, as of anger and vexother, he seemed to be panic-struck, and trembled for ation. If he might have been likened to a tiger before, himself. He was soon seized, however, and there was in ferocity and strength, it was impossible to see him manifested no more anxiety or thought of death. He now without imagining a tiger chained and wounded. was more favoured than many others, in having several The Almighty had pierced his frame with a dart which days to prepare for his danger; but although I conversed he could not pluck out, and bound him with a secret with him two or three times a-day, on his state and fetter which he could not break; the wound was gallprospects, I could not perceive the slightest awakening ing him sore, and he murmured and bit the chain. It of desire for the salvation of his soul. He appeared to was vain now to ask any one to help him; not a creaknow his danger, and "went as an ox to the slaughter, ture would enter the dwelling, and the wretched family or as a fool to the correction of the stocks." There was left alone; the father and mother were both given was something of unusual and awful interest in seeing up as hopeless, and the children sat watching the dreadthe King of Terrors make his assault on such a man, in ful progress of the scene. In making the last round of the prime of his life, and the fulness of his strength. the patients with the surgeon at night, we found the And it almost seemed for a while as if Death had mis- boy and girl both fast asleep on the hearth, worn out taken his victim, and attacked one whom for the pre- with watching, and fear, and sorrow. It seemed needsent he could not overpower. The malady was viru- less and cruel to awake them; we left the children to lent, and even his might appeared to have sunk beneath sleep, and the parents to die. it; but under seeming weakness there was latent vigour. At a stage of the disease which is usually characterised by the complete prostration of strength, his wife, who attended him, was suddenly seized, and sunk helpless on the floor. He sprang up immediately, caught and carried her in his arms, laid her on another bed, and then, exhausted by the effort, threw himself back on his own! At length the medical attendant pronounced the disease overcome, and said that nothing but attention was requisite to ensure his recovery. But who was to pay him that attention? In the midst of numerous relatives, some of whom expressed their sorrow at his apprehended restoration, he had not a single friend. His eldest son and daughter, of thirteen and fourteen years of age, were in the house; but even had their years been less tender, they could not have waited night and day on both father and mother. After much persuasion, one of his brothers, who was himself, alas! soon to be numbered with the dead, together with a companion, was prevailed on to sit up with him for one night; and there was certainly kindness in the deed, but how did he requite it? He had never known what sickness was, and could ill conceive the care that was

The

Meanwhile the necessity of providing sick-nurses had become increasingly urgent; the nearest town at which they could be procured was twelve miles distant; and ill as I could spare the time, I determined to set out for them on the following morning. Before starting I revisited the patient, and with mingled feelings of peace and awe, I contemplated a different scene. The statue of an ancient warrior seemed reposing before me. sufferer having apparently put forth an effort which he could not repeat, had thrown himself on his back, and stretched to the uttermost every limb and muscle of his athletic frame. The height of his figure, and his amazing muscular power, which had both been partially concealed by his habitual slouch, were now fully developed. His head, covered with dark bushy hair, he had thrown quite back upon the pillow, he had uncovered his neck and breast, and from side to side of the couch had stretched, to their full length, his powerful arms. There was awful grandeur in the spectacle. I stood over him and gazed with wonder, as he lay motionless, the model of Herculean strength. How is the terrible one brought low! How has the oppressor ceased! Is this the man that made the people tremble! The vital

spark was not yet extinguished, but the struggle was over, and in so far as regards this world, "the wicked had ceased from troubling, and the weary was at rest." I returned in the evening with two sick-nurses, and finding that our physician, who for several weeks had rarely enjoyed two or three hours of unbroken rest, was in bed, worn out and unwell, I proceeded to conduct them to their respective destinations. One I left with a patient who was within a few hours of death, and repairing with the other to the shunned and desolate dwelling, I stood again by the bedside of the dying man. But the couch was forsaken and empty; the eye which had seen him saw him no more; the grave was now his bed; the green sod had covered him; his body had returned to the earth and his spirit to God who gave it.

THE FIRST FRUITS.

By the Rev. ROBERT M'CHEYNE. THERE is something peculiarly interesting about the first fruits of a work of grace in a heathen land. Even the first ripe bunch of grapes, and the first ripe sheaf of corn, bring with them peculiar emotions of joy and gratitude, -how much more where the fruit is that of souls gathered into the garner of the Saviour!

The missionary went forth weeping, bearing precious seed, long and anxiously he sowed, watering the seed with his tears, and seeking the sunshine of God's countenance with his prayers, and now, in the few blades that begin to rise above the ground," first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear,"'—we behold with exultation the work of God begun, and, with quickened hope, we look for the time when the believer "shall doubtless come again, bringing his sheaves with him."

The first fruits of the Moravian Brethren's mission to North America are of this most interesting character. Brother Christian Rauch was one of the first who resolved to leave Herrnhuth, to venture his life in preaching Christ to the American Indians. He arrived in Newport in July 1740, and having heard that an embassy of Wahikans were in the city, he went in search of them, and, to his great joy, found that they understood Dutch. Their appearance was ferocious, but he addressed two of them, Choop and Shabash, asking whether they wished a teacher, to instruct them in the way of salvation? Choop answered, "that he often felt disposed to know better things than he did, but knew not how or where to find them, therefore, if any one would come and instruct him and his people he should be thankful. They were all poor and wicked, yet he thought it might answer a good purpose if a teacher would come and dwell with them." Shabash also consented, and, with due Indian solemnity, they declared him their teacher. Rauch rejoiced to hear this declaration, and considered it a call from God. On the 16th August he arrived at Shekomeko, and was received in the Indian manner, with much kindness. He immediately told them the aim of his visit that "he had come to them from beyond the great ocean to bring unto them glad tidings of a divine Saviour, who became man, died, and rose again, and all this for us." They listened, were silent, and went away seemingly impressed. The next day he spoke again, but his words only excited derision; and at last they laughed him to scorn. Satan seemed to grasp his prey all the more, finding now that a hand was stretched out to save; drunkenness, and every vice, prevailed more and more, so that "they loved the dark

ness." Still the faithful missionary persevered, travelling from one Indian town to another, with great fatigue, visiting the Indians daily in their huts, shewing them their guilt and their depravity, and extolling the excellency of Christ. No one would receive him to lodge in his house, so that, as he said, he was always seeking and never finding. But all his pains were forgot, when, one day, Choop-the greatest drunkard of them all,-the most outrageous in every vice,—and one who had actually made a cripple of himself by his irregularities was powerfully awakened, and enquired, with intense anxiety, "what effect the blood of the Son of God, slain on the cross, could have on the heart of man?" The heart of the missionary was turned within him whilst he testified of the power of the blood of Jesus. Soon after, Shabash was also awakened, and the work of grace became remarkably evident in the hearts of these two savages. Their eyes overflowed with tears whenever Brother Rauch described to them the sufferings and death of the Redeemer. These were the first fruits of Christ among the Wahikander Indians. Both became preachers of righteousness to their heathen brethren; Choop, especially, had a peculiar gift of expressing himself plainly and convincingly. The following is his own account of his conversion:-" Brethren, I have been a heathen, and have grown old among the heathens, therefore I know how heathens think. Once a preacher came and began to explain to us that there was a God: we answered, 'Dost thou think us so ignorant as not to know that? go back to the place from whence thou camest.' When again another preacher came, and began to teach us, and to say: 'You must not steal, nor lie, nor get drunk,' we answered: Thou fool, dost thou think we don't know that? learn first thyself, and then teach the people to whom thou belongest to leave off these things; for who steals or lies, or who is more drunken than thine own people?' and thus we dismissed him. After some time Brother Christian Rauch came into my hut, and sat down by me. He spoke to me nearly as follows: I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven and earth. He sends to let you know that he will make you happy, and deliver you from the misery in which you lie at present. To this end he became a man, gave his life a ransom for man, and shed his blood for him.' When he had finished his discourse he lay down upon a board, fatigued by the journey, and fell into a sound sleep. I then thought, 'what kind of man is this? there he lies and sleeps; I might kill him, and throw him out into the wood, and who would regard it ?—but this gives him no concern.' However I could not forget his words; they constantly recurred to my mind; even when asleep I dreamed of the blood of Christ shed for us. I found this to be widely different from what I had ever heard, and I interpreted Christian's words to the other Indians. Thus, through the grace of God, an awakening took place among us. I say, therefore, Brethren, preach Christ our Saviour, and his sufferings and death, if you wish your words to gain entrance among the heathen."

The following letter, which he addressed to the Brethren in the colony of Pennsylvania, possesses the same marks of a mind taught of God:-"I have been a poor wild heathen, and for forty years as ignorant as a dog. I was the greatest drunkard, and the most willing slave of the devil; and as I knew no

thing of our Saviour, I served vain idols, which I now out holiness no man shall see the Lord;" and they feel, wish to see destroyed with fire. Of this I have repented more intensely than other men, that their whole nature with many tears. When I heard that Jesus was the should be a constant offering of devotedness to his glory. Where much is felt to have been forgiven, there will be Saviour of the heathen, and that I ought to give him much love. When there is the greatest consciousness my heart, I felt a drawing within me toward him. But of benefits, we expect the greatest measure of obedience. my nearest relations, my wife and children, were my And it is hardly doubtful, that, in this fact, we have the enemies; and my greatest enemy was my wife's mother. great secret of the world's opposition to the doctrine of She told me that I was worse than a dog, if I no more justification by faith. To admit the truth of this tenet, believed in her idol; but my eyes being opened, I unis to admit a claim on our obedience, so instantaneous derstood that what she said was altogether folly, for I and so powerful, as may not be evaded, without exposknew that she had received her idol from her grand-ing ourselves to a painful conflict, occasioned by the pangs of self-reproach, and the terrors of coming wrath. mother. It is made of leather, and decorated with There may be men base enough to abuse this truth. wampum; and she being the oldest person in the house, But what has been the general character of its disciples? made us worship it; which we have done till our teacher Who sustained the Christian cause in the early ages of came, and told us of the Lamb of God, who shed his the Church, when exposed, during several centuries, to the most subtle and powerful attacks from pagan perseblood, and died for us ignorant people. I was astonished cutors? The disciples of this doctrine. Who were the at this doctrine, and as often as I heard it preached, my lights of the world, through the long night which folheart grew warm. I even dreamed often that our teacher lowed from the fall of the Roman empire to the dawn of stood before me and preached to me. Now I feel and the Reformation, protesting, alike, against pagan and believe that our Saviour alone can help me by the power popish imposture, and doing it to the death? The disof his blood, and no other. I believe that he is my God ciples of this doctrine. Who, when the days of Reforand my Saviour, who died on the cross for me, a sinmation came, stood forth as the defenders of holy writ, ner. I wish to be baptised, and frequently long for it braving all danger, to the jeopardy, and even to the loss of life, that they might restore to mankind the free use most ardently. I am lame, and cannot travel in winter, of their noblest possession ?—The disciples of this docbut in April or May I will come to you. trine. Who were the main instruments in perpetuating our own liberties, and our own religion, during the generations which followed upon that crisis, and when both were exposed to manifold peril?—The disciples of this doctrine. And again we must ask,-Who gave and were the donors there of those best of all gifts, a existence to the most powerful states of the New World, free government, and a pure Christianity?-Is not the answer nigh thee, even in thy mouth? And, above all, who have they been, who, in ancient times, or in modern times, have been every where derided as the pure, the precise, the sanctimonious, the righteous over-much; pointed at, as being of holier aim than their neighbours; railed at, as those who would shake both hemispheres with the voice of their cry, and by the energy of their labours, in what they regard as the cause of humanity, religion, and their God?-We need not say who they are, who have been all this, who have endured, and done all this. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God. By their fruit ye shall know them."-VAUGHAN.

The enemy has frequently tried to make me unfaithful, but what I loved before I consider more and more as dung.—I am your poor wild Choop."

Owing to his inability to travel, three other Indians were baptised before Choop, but, on 16th April 1742, -the first Sacramental occasion at Shekomeko, he also was baptised, and received the name of John. His growth in grace after this was most remarkable. His love for the Brethren and the Bible increased day by day. "As soon as I felt that I loved Christ," says he, "I wished for Brethren who loved him also; therefore I love Brother Rauch, and you, and all my Brethren here, and all Brethren everywhere, even those whom I shall never see in this world! I rejoice more and more because our Saviour makes others likewise happy, and not me only. There are men who say the Bible is a hard book; but I have not come so far as to find it hard, -it is all sweet and easy."

For four years did this extraordinary man labour as an apostle among his brethren, till he was called into his rest by means of the small-pox, in 1746. It is said of the first ripe figs, that they are the sweetest and the best, so is the work of grace among the Wahikander Indians, there is a peculiarly sweet savour of Christ in the history and the words of " poor wild Choop."

CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

Value of Time.-Coming hastily into a chamber, I had almost thrown down a chrystal hour-glass. Fear, least I had, made me grieve, as if I had broken it; but alas, how much precious time have I cast away, without any regret ! The hour-glass was but chrystal; each hour a pearl; that but like to be broken, this lost outright; that but casually, this done wilfully. better hour-glass might be bought, but time lost once, lost ever. Thus we grieve more for toys than for treasure. Lord give me an hour-glass, not to be by me, but to be in me. "Teach me to number my days.' An hour-glass to turn me, "that I may apply my heart to wisdom."-THOMAS FULLER.

A

Effects of Justification. The person who shall sin wilfully and habitually, whatever be his profession, will perish; not because he has thereby fallen from a state of justification, but because he has thereby shewn that he had never attained to such a state. He is not a sanctified man, and this is the scriptural evidence of his not being a justified man; "for whom the Lord foreknew, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." These are all essential parts of the great salvation: and, in the nature of things, it must be so. The men who embrace the doctrine of justification by faith, have the most enlarged conceptions of the divine purity, and the deepest feeling of obligation to the divine goodness. They know, more certainly than other men, that "with-stupifying, for a tender conscience will no more allow

Conscience.-A tender conscience is like the apple of a man's eye, the least dust that gathers into it, affects it. There is no surer and better way to know whether our consciences are dead and stupid, than to observe what impression small sins make upon them; if we are not very careful to avoid all appearance of evil, and to shun whatever looks like sin; if we are not so much troubled at the vanity of our thoughts and words, at the rising up of sinful motions and desires in us, as we have been formerly, we may then conclude that our hearts are hardened, and our consciences are

of small sins than of great sins.-BISHOP HOPKINS,

SACRED POETRY.

ADVERSITY.

Ir ever bright the sun had shone,

The beauteous stars had ne'er been known,
Those sweet refreshing points of light

That cheer the darkest hour of night.

So had the blaze of worldly bliss

Ne'er set o'er seas of deep distress,
My eye had seen, my mind had known
Nought else but this dull earth alone.
The Star of Jacob might have been

Veiled in the light that flowed between;
That light so dazzling to the eye

Which gilds thy day,-Prosperity!
But soon as from my sight it faded,

And left my soul in sorrow shaded,
And soon as Grief her sackcloth spread
O'er earth, and sky, and ocean's bed;
The lights of heaven serenely shone;
And my eye was led to rest upon
Those orbs which roll in higher sphere
Where all is peace-while pain is here.
B.

THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
AND is there care in heaven and is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures base,
That may compassion of their evils move?
There is: else much more wretched were the case
Of men than beasts; but oh! the exceeding grace
Of highest God! that loves his creatures so,
And all his works with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed angels he sends to and fro,

To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe.
How oft do they their silver bowers leave
To come to succour us that succour want?
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant,
Against foul fiends to aid us militant?
They for us fight, they watch and duly ward,
And their bright squadrons round about us plant;
And all for love and nothing for reward;

O why should heavenly God to men have such regard?
SPENSER'S FAERY QUEEN, Book II. Canto viii.

66

MISCELLANEOUS.

The St Kilda Man.-At a meeting held in reference to the establishment of Schools in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Dr M'Leod, formerly of Campsie, now of Glasgow, related the following beautiful anecdote :-"A Highlander," observed the reverend Doctor, can give and take a joke like his neighbours on most subjects, but there is one subject on which he will not joke-I mean his religion; here he is reserved and shy, and this has led some who come to them from the land of strangers, to suppose that they in fact have no religion. To know them you must be a Highlander. A friend of mine happened to be in a boat by which a poor simple-hearted man from St Kilda was advancing for the first time in his life from his native rock to visit the world; and as he advanced towards the Island of Mull, a world in itself in the estimation of the poor St Kilda man, the boatmen commenced telling him the wonders he was so soon to see. They asked him about St Kilda; they questioned him regarding all the peculiarities of that wonderful place, and rallied him not a little on his ignorance of all those great and magnificent things which were to be seen in Mull. He parried them off with great coolness and good humour; at length a person in the boat asked him if ever he heard of God in St Kilda? Immediately he became grave and collected. To what

[ocr errors]

land do you belong,' said he; describe it to me?' 'I,' said the other, come from a place very different from your barren rock; I come from the land of flood and field, the land of wheat and barley, where nature spreads her bounty in abundance and luxuriance before us.' Is that,' said the St Kilda man, 'the kind of land you come from? Ah then you may forget God; but a St Kilda man never can. Elevated on his rock, suspended over a precipice, tossed on the wild ocean, he never can forget his God-he hangs continually on his arm.' All were silent in the boat, and not a word more was asked him regarding his religion."

A Single New Testament.-Some years ago, Mr Ward, a Christian missionary, in going through a village near Calcutta, left at a native shop a Bengalee New Testament, that it might be read by any of the villagers. About a year afterwards, three or four of the most intelligent of the inhabitants came to enquire further respecting the contents of the book left in their village. This ended in six or eight of them making a public profession of Christianity. Among these, one deserves particular notice,—an old man named Juggernath, who had long been a devotee to the idol of that name in Orissa, had made many pilgrimages thither, and had acquired such a name for sanctity, that a rich man, in Orissa, was said to have offered him a pension for life, on condition of his remaining with him. On his be coming acquainted with the New Testament, he first hung his image of Krishnoo, or Juggernath, which he had hitherto worshipped, on a tree in his garden, and, at length, cut it up to boil his rice. He remained stedfast in his profession of Christianity till his death. Two others, being men of superior natural endowments, employed themselves in publishing the doctrines of Christianity to their countrymen in the most fearless manner; while their conduct was such as to secure them universal esteem.

The Necessity of Christian Consistency.-Dr Aikim, on the authority of Sir John Cheke, relates of Linacre, whose name is well known in the annals of medical science, that a little before his death, when worn out with disease and fatigue, he first began to read the New Testament; and that when he had perused the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew, he threw down

the Bible with great violence, exclaiming, "Either that is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians."

Such is the effect produced upon the mind of an intelligent man, by the appearance of Christian conduct as too generally exhibited in the world, when compared with the view of Christian duty set before us in the Word of God. This reads to every professing Christian a most important lesson: Look well to your conduct.

[blocks in formation]

And sold by the Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and to be procured of every Bookseller in England and Ireland.

Subscribers in Edinburgh and Leith will have their copies delivered regularly at their own residences, every Saturday morning, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher, or with John Lindsay

& Co, 7, South St. Andrew Street.-Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner, have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses at the Publishing Office there, 32, Glassford Street.

Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, 1s. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.-per year, of fortyeight weeks, 68.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers each, stitched in printed wrapper, Price Sevenpence,

THE

CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF

THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.

"THE FEAR Of the lord, THAT IS WISDOM."

VOL. I. No. 7.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1836.

ON THE EVILS ARISING FROM IGNORANCE

OF RELIGION.

BY THE REV. DAVID RUNCIMAN, A. M., Minister of Newington Parish, Edinburgh. UNDERSTANDING religion in its most extended sense, we shall contemplate the evils which flow from ignorance of it under three aspects, as it affects the principles, the conduct, and the happi

ness of men.

I. From the very nature of the subject, it will be admitted by all that the religious principles which are embraced should be carefully scrutinized; and that nothing should be received as an article of faith, without the most careful and rigid examination. But, how many are there who, although they never entertained one doubt of the truth of Christianity, or never objected to any one doctrine of the Bible, could neither give a reason for their faith, nor defend the Truth if impugned by an adversary.

PRICE 1d.

who have given their assent to the truth of Christianity, and who profess to hold its doctrines without having investigated those important subjects, have not exercised their minds in such a manner as God commands. In the true sense of the expression, they are not rational Christians. Their convictions may be honest and sincere ; but they are not enlightened and enlarged. And what constitutes the guilt of such procedure often is, that they have withheld their talents, their time, and their care from this, the most momentous subject on which the mind can be engaged, and expended them on subjects trifling in themselves, and to spiritual and immortal beings useless in their results.

Not only is this a state of religious character which involves those who profess it in great guilt; but it also lays them open to tremendous hazard. There is one who, at an early period of his life, was a professed believer in Christianity. The education he received, the example he enjoyed,both tended to the formation of a religious cha

So long as this individual lived in the quiet of home, and breathed the atmosphere of truth, and had never been exposed to the poisonous influence of error, his principles were sound and uncorrupted. To the authority of the Bible he had been accustomed to bow; nor dreamt he of ever questioning its statements. Its words he had been taught to view as a law from which there was no appeal. This person, however, had taken Christianity upon credit. He had never studied with care the evidences in favour of its truth; going into the world, he soon heard the voice of the scorner; there was diligently rehearsed in his presence, the often repeated and as often answered objections of Payne, or of some other infidel declaimer. Willing to be deceived, he swallowed the poison. And he is himself, without inquiry and without effort, now an avowed unbeliever; or,-what renders him more completely beyond the reach of argument—an infidel at heart, without honesty to avow it.

Now, if it be asked what evils result from this, we affirm, that it is a state of mind contrary to the requirements of the Word of God, and fear-racter. fully open to the assaults of infidelity, and the inroads of error. The God of the Bible is a God of knowledge. He hath given to man the noble faculties of reason and understanding, and he requires him to make a legitimate exercise of them in matters of religion. He does not indeed allow any of his creatures to come to the Bible with reason as the standard of truth, and give them the privilege of receiving or rejecting whatever reason approves or condemns. But he calls on them to exercise their reason to discover what is the truth which God hath revealed. And being satisfied that any doctrine is the revealed will of God, then, however high above the grasp of reason, however enveloped in mystery, he requires reason to bend before the God of truth, and reverently to adore what it cannot comprehend. His language is, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and these are they which testify The high eulogium bestowed on the Bereans of old was, "These are more noble than those in Thessalonica. For they searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so." "Be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." Those, therefore,

of me."

There is another who had long professed to hold the faith once delivered to the saints. He had been accustomed to believe all the great leading truths of the Gospel, and to consider these as at once precious and important. But then, these

« VorigeDoorgaan »