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them or their order to manage and economically improve and apply the monies, and other property and estate of the fociety-to appoint, contract with, send out, direct, recal and pay missionaries, catechifts and fchoolmafters, as fhall beft answer the defign of the inftitution to purchase and difperfe among the Indians and the inhabitants of the new-fettlements, copies of the holy bible, and other pious and Chriftian writings, and neceffary school-books-to appoint fuch fubordinate officers and agents as shall be neceffary in managing the interefts and property of the fociety to maintain a diligent and friendly correfpondence with other Miffionary Societies-to call fpecial meetings of the fociety upon emergent occafions-and to do every other thing conformably to the general directions of the fociety and the first principles of the inftitution as expreffed in the fecond article of this Conftitution, which fhall be advantageous to the propagation of the gospel of Chrift.

The truftees fhall meet twice in each year and as much oftener as they find neceffary, and seven members at any meeting fhall be a quorum for doing bufinefs.

VI. The Trustees fhall report to the Society at every annual meeting their doings the preceding year, and propofe fuch meatures as they fhall judge to be useful to the Society.

VII. The Society fhall annually appoint a Committee to examine the accounts of the Treafurer, and make a report of the state of the treafury at the next annual meeting.

VIII. Any amendment may be made to this Conftitution, provided it be proposed in writing at an annual meeting of the Society, and adopted at a fubfequent meeting by

two thirds of the members prefent. IX. The officers of the Society in the first instance shall be chofen by the Convention by whom this Conftitution is ratified.

The above Conftitution was paffed and ratified as the Conftitution of the Hampshire Miffionary Society.

Sam'l Hopkins, Vice-Prefid. Attest Enoch Hale, Secr'y.

The officers of the Hampfire Miffionary Society, appointed by the Convention to ferve until the annual meeting in August next, are His Excellency

CALEB STRONG, Efq. Prefident.
Rev. SAM'L HOPKINS, Vice-Prefi
Hon. John Haftings, Efq.
Rev. Jofeph Lathrop, D. D.
Hon. Ebenezer Hunt, Efq.
Rev. Jofeph Lyman, D. D.
Juftin Ely, Efq.

Rev. Solomon Williams,
William Billings, Efq.
Rev. David Parfons, D. D.
Charles Phelps, Efq.

Rev. Rich'd S. Storrs, Trustees. Ruggles Woodbridge, Efq. Treafurer.

Rev. Enoch Hale, Correfponding Secretary.

Rev. Samuel Taggart, Recording Secretary.

Subfcription papers for obtaining monies for the funds of the Society are lodged with each Minister in the County, and in vacant parifhes with the Senior Deacon; to which the attention and patronage of the liberal approvers of the defign are folicited.

QUESTION.

An explanation is requested of 2 Corinthians, i. 9. " But we had the fentence of death in ourselves, that we fhould not truft in ourfelves, but in God who raifeth the dead."

Further account of the fales, c. of the first twelve numbers of the Con necticut Evangelical Magazine, to the end of the year 1801.

Number on hand, June 20th, 1801, as per laft statement,

2034

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The above fum of 611 Dollars 93 Cents, was paid, January 6th, 1802, to the Committee appointed by the Trustees of the Mishonary Society of Connecticut, to receive the fame, and by faid Committee paid to the Treasurer of the Society, as per the Treasurer's receipt, as follows:

Hartford, January 6th, 1802.

Received from the Hon. John Treadwell, Rev. Nathan -Strong and Abel Flint, Committee of the Truftees of the Miffionary Society of Connecticut, the fum of Six Hundred Eleven Dollars and 93 Cents, for which I am accountable as Treasurer of the Miffionary Society, having given a duplicate of this receipt therefor; it being avails of the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine.

A. KINGSBURY:

Donations to the Miffionary Society of Connecticut.

From Rev. David Higgins, contributed in New fettlements,

Avails of Connecticut Evangelical Magazine,

Rev. Jedidiah Bushnell,

Do.

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A friend of Miffions,

Erratum. In the lift of names at the end of the letter from Londou;

page 312, for W. HERS, read WM. ALERS.

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Letter from a Father to his Son on the perfections of God. DEAR SON,

IN

N my former letter I attempted to establish you in the belief of a first cause of all things, of the being of an uncreated God, without which belief it is unneceffary to fay or even think of what I fhall now write you. The principal ideas in this letter flow from the fubftance of the other.

All things being made by God, we are enabled to learn from them his true character. They exhibit perfections which can belong to none but the Creator, and which place him before us in an infinitely exalted and amiable view.

But what benefit fhall we receive, my fon, if we fearch into and defcribe the character of the great Creator of the world and our hearts be oppofed to him? We have, by nature, oppofition of heart to God. Though you may now think you feel tolerably well pleafed with him, yet if ever you are awakened to a fenfe of your ftate, you will find the most inveterate oppofition, waked up in your heart against every exhibition God has made of himself in his works. VOL. II. No. 9.

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Thefe effects will arife even from my prefent endeavors if your heart be oppofed to God. If you attend, your understanding will be enlightened and you will be prepared to exercife love to the cha racter of God fhould he ever renew your heart. And should it never be renewed, thefe endeavors will be means of vindicating the divine conduct toward you in that folemn and important day, when, my own and your state will be unalterably fixed. The justice of God in your condemnation will be evident when it appears you have continued in ftupid oppofition, notwithstanding your mind had been enlightened by thefe kind exertions. And the way will be prepared for every holy being to fay amen, and to fing" Juft and true are thy ways, thou king of faints," when your fentence fhall be pronounced by the judge of all the world.

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foul. Think of the union of fpirit and matter so that at the volition of one the other moves.

no finite power can raise heaps of earth in mountains to the kies, or pile together ponderous bodies of mafly rock, or make the unfa-Think that the body contains that thomable deep. No one ever faw which can call up the tranfactions finite power produce any thing that of past years, ftretch forward on had no being before. Á finite arm the wing of imagination into futunever gave existence to inanimate rity, contemplate and reafon with things, much lefs existence and fa- precifion, and communicate knowculties to animate and rational be. ledge by fpeech, and fay, if God ings. who created him be not infinitely wife. The ftatuary may form images in the likeness of men. But can he form thinking images or were they ever heard to speak?

*

By the fame kind of reafoning we must believe God has infinite wisdom. If we fearch the anatomy of the human frame, fee the delicate and fine fpun parts that From the fame fource we learn compofe it, and the neceffity of the goodnefs of God, er his moral every part being in tune to promote rectitude. If the perfections which health and life, we are led to be- have been mentioned exist in God lieve no finite wisdom created it or separate from mere rectitude, he is keeps it alive. But this is not a dangerous being, capable of domore expreffive of infinite wifdoming infinite hurt. His moral recthan most, if not all the works of titude or his goodness difposes him creation. to bring about the greatest good of his kingdom, and makes his character infinitely lovely.

When we fee the earth created for man's refidence,producing objects to delight the eye and employ the mind, producing food for his table and fuftenance for his cattle, fee the elements so ordered that man can breathe and enjoy health, fee him fupplied with a fuitable degree of light, vifited with alternate periods of darkness

The fame may be faid of the world, of the regularity and order of the heavenly bodies, of the motion of the earth around the great centre, producing years and their feveral feafons, and on its own axis producing a regular fucceffion of day and night, the earth being fufpended and moving in the wide expanse, and in the rapidity of its motion all beings and things cleaving to its furface, among other things the ocean rolling its loftyfuited for his retirement, nourishbillows and yet keeping its own ment and reft, and all things alimits, of the fruits and productions dapted to his convenience and hapof the earth, of every plant and piness, we have fufficient evidence blade, every beaft and reptile, and that God is infinitely good. indeed of all the things we fee. They fhow that the great Creator is infinitely wife. Finite wifdom can not make one kernel of grain to fprout, one blade to fhoot forth, or one infect to live. Even the moft fimple things in creation outftrip it in an infinite degree.

If you yet fufpend your affent, my-fon, think of men poffeffing a

There are in the nature of things, motives to virtue and difcouragements to vice, which should teach us that the great God of nature is a friend to the former and an enemy to the latter.

The moral rectitude of God, which may be difcovered in nature, is what makes the impenitent heathen without excufe. The apof

You may also object to the idea, upon the fuppofition that it fupercedes the neceffity of a divine reve

tle Paul, in the firft chapter of his | is enough to teach him that the epiftle to the Romans, twentieth God of nature is good. verfe, faith, So then they are without excufe. They have no revelation of God's moral character but in nature, and their obli-lation and flings a weapon into the gation to love and ferve him is hands of deifts against revealed rebuilt on this alone. They there ligion. It is one thing to have difore cannot be inexcufable for neg- vine goodness revealed in nature, lecting to love and ferve God, if and another for men to discover it. his moral rectitude is not discover-Man is fo depraved that he never able in nature.

The fcriptures represent that God's moral character is discoverable in his works. Pfalm xix. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament fhoweth his handy work. The glory of God is his moral character. Rom. i. 20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly feen, being understood by the things that are made, &c. The invisible things of God are his moral character,his holinefs. This is clearly feen from the creation of the world or the things that are made. You may think, my fon, that the evils in this life, the pain and mifery we endure will operate a gainst the idea that there is evidence of divine goodness in nature. You may think there is more evidence from nature that God is malevolent than that he is good. It is true God permits pain and mifery to be in his world. But if we confider the moral state of man, that he is depraved and deferving no good, we must fuppofe God to be good in beftowing upon him one favor, even if he brings upon him innumerable evils. Yea, confidering his defert, if God fhow him no favor it will not prove that he is malevolent. Man may know he is a finner and therefore deferving the indignation of God. He may fee himself at the fame time in the enjoyment of many favors, which

would discover the moral character of God from his works. The nations without divine revelation in the fcriptures never have difcovered it, and it has been owing to their depravity of heart. But this does not prove that it is not difcoverable. If these nations were holy they doubtless would have difcovered and rejoiced in the moral character of God in all his works.

Befides, the revelation in the fcriptures is neceffary to discover to finners the way of falvation through Chrift. Though we may learn that God is good from his works, yet we cannot learn that he will fave finners, or how he will fave them. We may learn from nature that we do wrong and therefore deferve punishment. Our reafon will teach us that our punishment fhould be proportionate to our crime, which must be infinite, fin being against a Being of infinite authority and who has an infinite right to our love and service. If infinite, how can we know, how can we even hope that God will fave us. Though he may fhow us fome favors, yet we do not know that he will hereafter. And if we fhould know that he would fave us, we could difcover no way for God to maintain the honor of his law and fave finners. That glorious plan which fills heaven with wonder and praife, which holy beings defire to look into, would be unknown to us. There therefore

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