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de upon her. The church has often been more endangered by her own negligence and unfaithfulness, than by all her external enemies; and from these dangers she has been delivered by means apparently the most incompetent. Early in the last century, when every thing seemed to be languishing and freezing, throughout almost the whole of Christendom, a small number of obscure young men formed a society in one of the British Universities. The most prominet characters that came from that society were Wesley, Whitfield and Hervey. And these few men, under the blessing of God, kindled up a sacred spark, which extended its light and heat through many of the European and American churches, and which, we trust, will extend its light and heat onward to the latter day glory of the church on earth. To this society we are much indebted for the benevolent efforts of the present day. But how inadequate the means to the end! Surely nothing but the power of God has effected this work. And we now rely on the same God to go forth with our missionaries for the conversion of the world. When we look at the work before us, every man's heart would fail, if we did not trust to an Almighty arm. All our means and preparation are like a drop to the ocean considered in themselves; but when we remember that we go forward at the command of Him who declares the end from the beginning-saying "my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure,” we know that our labor is not in vain. That God who shook the length and breadth of the Roman Empire when apostles preached; who made the blood of the martyrs the seed of the church in former times, can make the ashes of our missionaries the seed of the churches in foreign lands. All this we believe, because the counsel of God shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure.

In the next place, the belief of divine sovereignty, lays the only foundationf or encouragement in prayer. We have already seen that ali Christians, and even those who appear to be most opposed to this doctrine on other occasions, believe it when they pray. Indeed, to pray to God for what we did not believe he could accomplish or give, would be a most egregious trifling with our duty. How could we pray to God for the conversion of sinners, if we did not believe that he could convert them? How should we pray for the conversion of the world, without believing that he can convert all sinners? And how could we pray for the sanctification of the church, without believing that he can sustain his people in holiness? We may admit that those who have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, or those who by perseverance in sin, are given up by the Divine Spirit, are placed beyond the mercy of God, though not beyond his converting power, and if we knew the persons to whom these cases applied, we ought not to pray for them, but with these exceptions, it is our duty to pray for all men, and to pray in the faith that God is able to convert them all.

But again this doctrine furnishes our only hope, when we look forward to the immortal interests of man. A duration beyond the grave and beyond the judgment, which millions and millions of ages will not bring nearer to a close, is a startling subject of contemplation. "Through what varieties of untried being," through what wonderful scenes of enjoyment or misery must we pass, and how immense the interests which such duration must involve! And to whose hands shall we confide those interests? Shall we trust to our own rectitude to sustain our holiness and happiness through eternity, or shall we commit our concerns, to the tender mercies and faithful keeping of our God?

BY REV. R. W. BAILEY,

OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

THE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH HINDERED BY ONE SIN.

JOSHUA 7:10, 13. "And the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?-Up, sanctify the people, and say, sanctify yourselves against to-morrow; for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O, Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accur sed thing from among you."

Success in the gospel ministry, is a subject of paramount importance and engrossing interest with all, who exercise the sacred office. It is directly in the order of God's gracious providence to bestow success, and when it does not attend on the stated means, there is a cause well worthy of being inquired out and removed.

When the chosen people of God, under the conduct of Joshua, went for ward to take possession of the promised land, and the walls of Jericho fell down at their approach. Ai was the next city to be taken, for the subjuga. tion of which, three thousand men were detached and sent out. But instead of the expected and promised success, they fled before their enemies, and were utterly destroyed by an inferior force: for the Lord gave them into the hands of their enemies. "And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on his face before the ark of the Lord.-And the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up, why liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned.-Therefore, the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, because they were accursed. Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you." "UP, sanctify the people, and say, sanctify yourselves, against to-morrow; for thus saith the Lord God of Is rael, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O, Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you."

So Joshua rose up on the morrow, early in the morning, and assembled the tribes to make search for the transgressor who had brought the anger of the Lord on the whole nation. And Achan was detected, and made confession to Joshua, saying-indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. "When I saw among the spoils, a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them, and behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Here was an adequate cause for the judgments visited upon the people. This was the evil which the Lord saw among them. Therefore, he said to Joshua-"thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye put away the accursed thing from among you."

The important DOCTRINE, to which the text invites our particular attention, is this-ONE SIN, unrepented, cherished or concealed in the church, may prevent its prosperity.

In the first place, we say this will certainly be the case, where the offender has, either, not experienced that watchful care of his brethren, which might have prevented the crime, or, been neglected as a subject of discipline when his offence is known. It is far from being certain that I am guiltless in the sin of my neighbor. He may have confided in me for advice and reproof. Perhaps he ventured a little, and then looked to me for approbation or censure. My silence encouraged him to proceed. After he had actually fallen, perhaps an early and kind reproof might have gained him, and wiped away the reproach while his conscience was yet tender. Thus the weaker brethren often lean on the stronger, and those, who have besetting sins, peculiarly importunate, need the prompt influence of faithful friends. A neglect on the part of Christians to be faithful, may doubtless bring on those, who stand as deep a guilt as that, which attaches to those who fall. They are in a sense held responsible for those, with whom they are in covenant, and God will come into the church and say " -"where is thy brother?" We are made the keepers of one another; and it is one of the peculiar privileges of the Christian, that he has secured to him by solemn covenant, the faithful watch and care of his brethren, that he may be gently reproved when he sins, and find faithful friends to help him up even after he is in disgrace. When the obligations of the church to deal kindly and faithfully with offenders are violated, God will hold the church as partakers of the guilt, and deal with them as offenders. The people of God, under the conduct of Joshua, proceeded prosperously in crossing the flood, which divided them from the promised land, and without bloodshed, had taken one of the principal cities. But unexpectedly, the whole army is stayed. Israel flees before the enemy, and is smitten. What is the matter? At the subjugation of Jericho, one man had indulged in the sin of covetousness. He had been tempted by the sight of a goodly Babylonish garment, and took it with fifty shekles of silver and a wedge of gold. Against this sin, the people had been specially warned before the temptation presented. Joshua inquired of the Lord, and receives for answer" Israel hath sinned, and taken of the accursed thing." There was an offender unreclaimed, and unpunished. Perhaps there had been a general fault in not watching over this offender with sufficient care. If all had done their duty, perhaps this evil might have been entirely prevented. Perhaps the fact was known to others, who neglected to take the proper cognizance of it, and thereby a door might have been opened for greater liberties, had this passed with impunity. Or, going as Israel was into a scene of temptation, they might be found destitute of a spirit of watchfulness suited to the exigency of the times, and this severe method might have been adopted to prevent greater evils. Whatever be the cause of this melancholy fall, and severe Divine dispensation, the lesson it furnishes to us is an impressive one. Open guilt exposes to reproach, and must always have a hardening influence on the church that harbors it. In such a condition, a church can never be in a healthy state. Remedies must be applied to eradicate the disease or remove the infected limb, or the whole body will sink under the malady.

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Secondly, we may perceive how one sin, unrepented, may prevent the prosperity of the church, if we reflect that others will probably be contaminated, and led astray by this example. A sin, a single sin, cherished concealed, or unrepented, must prevent the prosperity of the individual who harbors it, though it produce no other and more extensive calamity. soul cannot flourish and grow in grace. If the effects are felt no farther, therefore, it will spoil the joys, hinder the safety, and put in geopardy the salvation of one soul. But it will probably do more. If the sin be known to others, its baneful effects cannot be confined; if concealed, its effects will be felt through its influence on the general christian character of the man, in whose heart it is cherished. Let him be covetous, and this disposition of heart will have a pervading influence in forming his character and regulating his intercourse with others. The same will be true if he be vain, proud, ambitious or undevout. If he be a prominent and influential individual, the evil of his example will run parallel with the extent of his influence; if the head of a family, he casts in the rigid mould of his own cherished habits, the minds of his children and dependents.

If this be true of an individual, then a prevailing sin in the church will be felt to a corresponding extent. If a church be covetous, or proud, or ambitious, or worldly, its sin will be visited upon it in spiritual leanness and desolation; and the influence of its example will spread blight and mildew on every benevolent and moral enterprise. The work assigned it to do will not prosper. They will be smitten and flee before their enemies, and the cause of the Lord suffer reproach. If the example of one christian is liable to exert an influence so injurious on all others, what must be the state of that church where a general declension prevails? The few, who may remain faithful, will be likely soon to be swallowed up in the vortex, and general ruin ensue.

Thirdly, when others are not lǝd astray by the direct example of offenders, they ace often found to be abettors in the transgression. Calamities came on the family of Isaac in consequence of the sins of the children, in which the mother was too much concerned. Many judgments were, in the same way, visited on the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness for particular sins. The sons of Eli did wickedly, and he restrained them not; therefore wrath came on the whole house of Israel. The iniquity of David was visited on his family, and on his people. It is often the case that open sins, which bring reproach on an individual, have many secret abettors, who are involved in the guilt and the consequences. When Stephen was stoned, Paul stood by, and consented unto his death, and he afterwards confesses this among his crying sins. The influence of example is powerful; but it ought to be considered that apparent complacency, or even silence, is often no less encouraging to one disposed to transgress. Hence we see the decided manner, in which we are producing an impression on one another. Those who give their consent to sin, are its abettors, and involved in its guilt. The profane swearer, who is unreproved, is emboldened; and the christian professor, who sees his brother wander from duty, and witholds the voice of warning, is giving him countenance, and is partaker of his guilt. The magistrate is the life of the civil law, without whom it sleeps and exerts no restraining power. When he neglects to interpose his authority in the support of the law, he is giving countenance and boldness

to the offender. When he looks on transgression in silence, the law is dishonored under his administration, and he becomes the minister of sin. When the christian sins or approves it in others, he weakens the dignity of the law and brings the Gospel he professes to embrace into disrepute. In all such cases, they become direct transgressors, will be held and punished as offenders, and are liable to bring calamities on others also.

We have decided examples to show that sin prevents the prosperity of a church, and retards its progress and influence in the world. Religion cannot flourish where the means used for its advancement are defective or inad. equate. God will not hear those who regard iniquity in their hearts, and he will not give effect to an example, which does not present the true religion of Christ. Three thousand may be enroled, and go up against an hundred, but if they are coveting Babylonish garments, and seeking shekels of silver, and wedges of gold, the Lord will not go with them nor prosper them. The church may come forward in a body, and pray for a revival of religion, but the whole effort may be vain and fruitless. Perhaps the want of success may grow out of a neglect to seek out and expose an offender; or else in a general consent to his sin; or in a participation of his crime.

It is necessary that the church come to God with the way cleared, and press the throne of grace with no hindrances. It cannot otherwise be expected that God will hear. While guilt rests on the conscience, no individual can draw near to God; and while a church is involved in the same em

barrassment, their intercessions will not prevail. The Lord will not go with them, and therefore they will fall before their enemies.

The subject, thus illustrated, furnishes impressive lesssons of practical importance.

1. When churches are not prospered, we see the reason why. They have sinned. God will not own and prosper a wicked church. Unless they live in the love and practice of religion, they will neither commend it to others, nor feel the blessing of it themselves. God will visit them with leanness of soul, although they may be prospered in the business of life. Their riches shall be a snare to them and their prosperity vain. Sometimes God punishes a church by giving them an unfaithful minister; sometimes by sending them strong delusions that they may believe a lie; sometimes, even by giving them their desires, so that their lives are crowned with plenty. In the same way, God deals with individuals. Yet he sometimes visits with

a blessing individual members of the church, although the multitude live in sin. He is faithful to fulfil his promise to every soul, and if any will draw nigh to him, all that has been promised shall be realized. That soul shall be enlightened and blessed. It is sometimes the case that heavy judgments are averted not only from the impenitent but from the church through the faithful intercessions of one fervent christian. As general declensions often commence with the sin of one, so great revivals of religion are often traced to the efforts of one. The promise shall not fail to the least saint through the neglect of the many. If that church where he dwells cannot be saved through his intercessions, when the Lord comes down in judgment, he shall be led out as Lot was from Sodom, and shall be saved. But when there are none to plead for the church, it becomes ripe for judgments.

2. God will visit his professing people with severe chastisements for their sins. He is a jealous God, and will not be mocked. When hypocrites

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