action. We can perceive objects as they are set before us, and have a choice with refpect to themand we have a judgment of right and wrong, as applied to moral conduct, termed the confcience, which, when properly informed, will always dictate in favor of holiness. Hence, let God's true character be bro't into view, and his holy law plainly fet before us, confcience will readily appear on their fide. Let us conduct in conformity to this holy rule, and we shall feel as conducting with confiftence. But let us deviate from the law, and confcience, on reflection, will as readily condemn us, yea feverely cenfure every fuch deviation. Such is the general capacity of mankind. They are capable of convictions when the truths of God are fairly exhibited before them. In addition to the above, believers are born of God, being renewed by his fpirit in the fpirit of their minds, which gives them a spiritual discernment and relifh for divine things. This qualifies them for feelings and convictions to which natural men are ftrangers. The difpofition of the heart in believers being in a good meafure attempered to holinefs, they can feel the holy nature and force of religion. When therefore, the things of God are brought into view, they muft feel according to the moral ftate in which the objects of religion find them. To inftance On the one hand: Should the believer be confidered in an ordinary ftate of obedience, and no impending judgment nigh, yet the character of God must appear every way folemnizing. The divine fuperiority is calculated to infpire him with humility and felf abasement. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye feeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in duft and afhes." Job xlii. 5, 6. Perhaps no confideration is better adapted to convince us of our nothingness before God, than this of his independent greatnefs and fuperiority. Such was the effect it had on Job under his trials; it filenced all his complaints, and such must be the effect on every honeft heart. The confummate perfection of God's moral character as holy, will fhow the believer his deficiencies and unworthiness." Hely, holy, holy is the Lord of hofts. Then faid I, Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; for mine eyes have feen the King, the Lord of hofts." Ifaiah vi. 1—5. The law of God, as above stated, may be confidered as forming a perfect glass to ascertain moral exercifes. It requires a perfect perfevering obedience on the penalty of endless punishment. True, repentance and faith are admitted as conditions of life through Jesus Chrift the mediator. However, it is on this ground that thefe exercifes be the offspring of holiness. They must have their feat in the heart renewed and fanctified by the fpirit of God. The law, therefore, will point out all the defects, unfaithfulness and spots of believers. Who then, alas ! can look into it and not tremble? The fame view will wake up the spirit of devotion. "And Mofes made hafte, and bowed his head toward the earth and worfhipped." Exod. xxxiv. 8. On the other hand: Should impending judgment hang over us, the feelings of believers will be thoroughly alarmed. At first view this may feem a paradox. Why should the remembrance of God difturb the breafts of his dear children? Do they not rejoice to have him before them? They do. Still they are not exempt from very great anxieties and dread. They cordially believe the religion of the fcriptures. They know that God is as holy as thefe facred writings reprefent, and will carefully fulfil all his promifes and threatenings. This makes every honeft heart tremble. "My flefh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgment." Pfalm cxix. 120. Who, alas! can stand before Jehovah! The heavens are not clean in his fight. When God lifts up his hand, it is natural for believers to be jealous of themselves, left they have imbibed the hypocrite's hope, being fenfible of the exceeding deceitfulness of the human heart. They themselves are not exempt from its treachery. They are likewife fenfible, that darkness and afflictions do not fpring out of the duft. There is a holy fuperintending providence over all events, efpecially their moral conduct. Thefe judgments, then, must have a caufe. The cause may be fome great fin in believers themselves, which must be removed, before they can have ground to hope the hand of God will be with. drawn. All which will roufe them to tremble and inquire, "Lord, is it I?" They will tremble, at least, if they have been unfaithful. ed in the enjoyment of fome future good, which he had been anxiously expecting. This was feelingly verified in the cafe of Mofes at the waters of strife. He ardently wished to lead Ifrael into Canaan: But God denied his requeft. "I befought the Lord at that time, faying, O Lord, thou haft begun to fhow thy fervant thy greatnefs-I pray thee, let me go over and fee the good land that is beyond Jordan-But the Lord was wroth with me for your fakes,and would not hear me." This eminent fervant of God did not honor his facred name at the waters of ftrife, and it was followed with fuch fatal confequences. One misftep is of a serious nature. The Chriftian again trembles, left he have used the favors of heaven fo ungratefully as to be deprived of the future use of them. Such was the inftructive case of David refpecting his children. He committed adultery and murder. And tho' God forgave his fin, yet, to vindicate the rights of fociety and juflice, he fent fuch evils into the family of David, that ever after he had but little fatisfaction in his house. God can eafily embitter any enjoyment of ours, whenever we abuse the favor. The believer trembles, likewise, in a view of Zion, left God withdraw his spirit and leave her to languish; while finners are hardened to deftruction. According to the word of God we cannot live without the Holy Spirit. His departure, then, to a believer is worse than death. "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me." Pfal. li. 11. "And the piece whereupon it rained not, withered." Amos iv. 7. The believer is He is alfo jealous left he may ready to apprehend the scene rifhave acted so as to be disappoint-ing before him. The believer may, alfo, have acted such a part as to give fears that he must be feparated from God in the coming ftate. "Caft me not away from thy prefence." Pfalm li. 11. This thought is truly infupportable. "That as mer cies have been abufed, fo, per- | God. They wake up from a haps, Zion is about to experience scene of flumbering and unfaitha feafon of dreadful darkness, fulnefs, and find the Lord their barrennefs and perfecution. Her God before them, having his rod, ways muft mourn, because they and will not let the difobedience come not up to her folemn feafts!" of his people go unpunishedA more painful confideration to a neither the hypocrite to escape benevolent heart can hardly be his vengeance. Thus the rememrealized. It must give feelings brance of God must be alarming to which no one can imagine, unlefs awakened and backfliding Chrif he have the spirit of Jefus Chrift. tians at all times, but more efpe"Perhaps, too, unbelievers have cially when his judgments are afinned away their day of grace, broad, and when his fpirit revives and must be veffels of wrath fit- his work. In the laft cafe it is ted to deftruction." Who can no uncommon event for perfoss think of this and feel unconcern- who have profeffed to be Chrifed? The benevolent Jefus could tians for years, to lose their hopes, weep over fuch expofed objects; and tremble a while in expecta and must not all others who bear tion of lying down in forrow. his image? How can any pre- The obvious reafon is, They had tend to be of his family, and yet forgotten God-and now he ftands not actuated by his spirit? "If before them to bring their condu& any man have not the fpirit of to a thorough remembrance. Chrift, he is none of his." flumber with the foolish virgins, and exhibit fuch characters as to bring a wound on the cause of the Redeemer. They wander, and by and by fall into trouble. Why is it fo? They do not remember the Lord their God as always before them. The fame reafon may be given, The believer has one more con- why Chriftians make no greater fideration for trembling, of as fe- progrefs in godlinefs. However rious a nature as any mentioned. lamentable, yet it is a ferious fact, It is this: The blood of others that the friends of God sometimes may be found in his skirts. Thro' appear to make little or no adunfaithfulness we may be inftru-vances in the divine life. They mental of the damnation of others. The friends of Chrift, when carelefs and lukewarm, may be guilty of fuch wickednefs. Unfaithful minifters, parents, friends and neighbors, may contract such criminality. Hence, when God frowns, the believer may well fay, "It is poffible that thro' my mifconduct and unholy walk, fome precious immortals muft lie down in everlafting burnings !-I must give account to God, and, alas! their blood may be required at my hand -Who, Oh, who can ftand before God with fuch a bead as this! Deliver me from blood-fight, we are laid open to all the guiltinefs, O God, thou God of my falvation." No wonder David trembled! No wonder believers tremble, when they remember The fame caufe, next to fallen nature, may be affigned for the backfliding of profeffing believers the little improvement of talents and privileges for God in the Chriftian world-and for the awful troubles which arife in confequence. When God is out of deluding fnares of fin, Satan and the world. These never fail to improve the opportunity as prefented, to lead us out of the path of holiness. In fuch an expofed | fituation the proficiency of Chriftians cannot be great. They need the whole armour of God. Befides: This forgetfulness of God muft cut off the believer from all pleas to excuse his unprofitableness in religion, and faften the blame wholly on himself. Why is he not more holy and weaned from the world?-more faithful to God and men ?-and more like one who is a humble candidate for the holy and delightful employments of heaven? The mischief is, his eye is turned off from God, the centre of attraction, and is deeply captivated with diverse vanities. Hence, when the remembrance of God returns, he has nothing to fay: He finks into trouble. An important queftion may arife here, which it will not be amifs to answer. "Why is not the believer, in his remembrance of God, utterly overcome with defpair? He has no excufe for his fin, and he is exceedingly criminal." The anfwer is, " He would be overwhelmed, were it not for the confideration, There is an advocate with the Father, even Jefus Chrift the righteous." This is his refort, his theet anchor to support his fpirits under prefent troubles. The fame will be his fupport and defence in the day of judgment. Otherwife, he would fink into the glooms of endless defpair. Such an anchor is fufficient; it is fure and stedfast, and entereth into that within the vail, where no evil can intrude. If fo, how ungrateful must be all forgetfulness of Christ in believers, and all difrefpect fhewn to his perfon and intereft! How ought Chriftians to live, Chrift living in them! Finally; the fame caufe will account for the vifible ftate of the VOL. III. No. II. church in the paft, prefent and future ages of her trial. When God is remembered, the on the whole eminently profpers. But this cannot be faid of her when the forgets her Lord and Redeemer. In times of revival fhe is greatly agitated, humbled, amended and enlarged. Previous to a state of profperity, the has trouble like the billows of the ocean. How great thefe will be, preceding the millenium, the prophet reprefents in this defcriptive fcene; Zech. xii. 10. "And they fhall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they fhall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only fon; and shall be in bitterness for him, as one is in bitterness for a first-born. And in that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerufalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land fhall mourn every family apart-All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." What now would be the shock, were the remembrance of God thoroughly impreffed on the minds of Christians every where? I believe, it would open a fcene before the world as furprising as ever has been fince the church was first planted on the earth. Would we escape the ftorm, we must fet God always before us, and live as becomes the gofpel. Then the remembrance of God, inftead of giving pain, will begin a heaven of holy enjoyment, which will increase, and ripen up into the full enjoyment of God in his blissful prefence forevermore. (To be continued.) FOR THE CONNECTICUT EVAN- Iii for the righteous; and the tranf. greffor for the upright." F tion. The precious life of Chrift was given a ranfom; and he did it voluntarily he was moved to do it from love, from his infinite compaffion. The wicked are improved as a ransom for the rightcous, they pay prices for their redemption, when they do not mean fo, neither do their hearts think fo. They are in God's hands-they are his property, and he often improves them to promote the temporal and eternal happiness of his dear people. In his providence, he has made it appear, that their property, their talents, and their lives, are at his difpofal, and that he has a right to make use of them for the prefervation, the fafety, and the enlargement, of his holy and spiritual kingdom on earth. Numerous as the wicked have been in the paft ages of the world, and nume EW paffages in the holy fcriptures have oftener been propofed for explication than this. It contains two claufes, which are evidently of the fame import; the idea being expreffed in different language to give it the more emphafis and weight. In fome parts of the infpired writings, efpecially in the book of Pfalms, repetitions of this kind are not uncommon.It will be neceffary in the first place to afcertain the meaning of the word ranfom. This word, as ufed by the infpired writers, generally means a price paid for redemption. Thus Chrift is faid to give his life a ranfom for many and to give his life a ranfom for all. The idea communicated is this-Chrift gave his own life, as a price paid for the redemp-rous as they are now, and as they tion of finners. No perfon can probably will be in ages to come, be faid to be given as a ransom for God will not eventually lofe honor another, unless he be improved as and glory by them. He will a mean of working deliverance, make it appear that he was wife in fafety, or redemption for another. their creation, and in permitting The way is now prepared to their apoftacy and perfeverance in ftate the great difficulty contained rebellion. He will make the in the paffage under confideration wrath of man praise him. That -How can the wicked be a ran- the wicked are given a ransom for fom, a fubftitute, or a mean of the righteous, or improved as a bringing about the redemption of mean of promoting their fafety, the righteous -How can the and bringing about their redemptranfgreffor be improved to ad- tion, will be proved by adverting vance the good, yea the eternal to inftances recorded in facred falvation of the upright? If we history. Thefe inftances are nucan give rational and fcriptural merous; the following only will anfwers to these questions, we be mentioned. can folve all the difficulties which can be propofed from the paffage before us. The wicked do not atone for the fins of the righteous, as Chrift has done, by his fufferings and death -neither do they ever intentionally pay any price, not even the leaft, to bring about their redemp 1. The Egyptians were given a ranfom for God's people, the defcendants of Abraham. It is truly wonderful to meditate on the wifdom, power and fovereignty of God in this inftance. He made use of the labor, the property and the lives of this heathen people for the good of his chofen people, |