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thought me too fevere and illiberal, and that my bodings were ill founded; but by your own account, you are expofed to the company of infidel declaimers; you liften to their wit, their brilliancy, and gay rhetoric, and you filently applaud them for their skill in reafoning, their boldnefs of thought, and the polish of their manners. No perfon will all at once difcard the early impreffions, of a religious education, inculcated by pious parents, and adopt fentiments in their ftead, which are addreffed only to the paffions. "From carly life, fome perfons grow up into a state of confirmed infidelity, "from a froward, perverfe natural temper." But this frowardness of natural temper and difpofition, I am far from thinking, applies to you; I am ready to acknowledge that you have been an obedient and pleafant child from your infancy. You have been thoughtful and ferious in childhood, and your mind has been tenderly impreffed with religious truths. The awful realities of a future ftate have ftared you in the face, and you have formed refolutions, that you would live a religious life. The divine law has been brought home to your confcience. When the Holy Spirit has vifited you, and earneftly offered you the rewards of an heavenly inheritance, how exceedingly important was it for you then to accept of the terms of falvation, thus offered by your Redeemer! The ordinary way that God deals with finners, is to fend his Holy Spirit; he urges, he ftrives and impreffes their minds with the great and folemn truths, that relate to their eternal interest and welfare. And upon a finner's refufing to fubmit and accept falvation, the divine energies are VOL. III. No. 6.

withdrawn from him. It is rare for perfons who have had a religious education, not to have fome fober reflections, and bitter remorfe of confcience for their fins, but by frequent relapfes, af. ter repeated calls aud warnings, their hearts become more and more hardened, their confciences become feared and callous, till finally God gives up fuch finners to judicial hardness of heart, or as it is expreffed in the language of holy writ, "He fwears in his wrath, that they fhall never enter into his reft." After the repeated warnings, and visitations of God's Holy Spirit, and after as many rejections by the finner, with what fitnefs, with what propriety, may Wisdom utter her voice and fay-" Because I have. called, and ye have refused, I have ftretched out my hand," yes repeatedly, and in the most pathetic and tender manner have "I ftretched out my hand, and ye have not regarded"-Yes, "ye. have fet at nought my counfel and would none of my reproof, I will now laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh." Yea, when the terrors of death fhall feize upon you; when the ftings of an abused and affrighted confcience fhall pierce your very foul on a death bed, I will be fo far from affording you any comfort or confolation that I will laugh and mock. Alas! how terrible, and awful is the ftate of the dying finner, be reft by an avenging and holy God of a fingle gleam of hope! In the common courfe of God's dealings with finners he omits nothing, on his part, to withdraw them from evil; he is ready to grant them freely his grace and Holy Spirit, and God does not forfake them till after they have Gg

thus repeatedly defpifed his coun- [ fels and abufed his patience. This fets the faithfulncfs, the goodnefs and juftice of God in a clear point of light, and fhews that men may be happy if they will-and if they refufe, the fault lies at their own door, and they themfelves are the procurers of their own ruin and anal perdition. Reflect, my fon, a moment and confider-Remember that he who takes himself out of the divine protection, is doomed to perplexities, and gloomy, foreboding fears -he often flics from object to object in pursuit of fome momentary pleasure that he may lofe in them the remembrance of his real condition. Your happinefs, your real good lies near the heart of your father, and when he even fufpects that any of his children are fwerving from principle, and deviating from the pleafant paths of wifdom and duty, it pierces him to the heart.

"Towards the conclufion of your letter, from a confcioufnefs that you had fuggefted wrong fentiments, you fuppofe that your letter would be unentertaining to me; "iffo," you fay, "deftroy it." No, my fon, I No, my fon, I don't deftroy letters, and I hope you will not be fo ungrateful, and unfilial, as to deftroy this.Read it over and over again, and think of it and I pray God to give you a heart to know the things that belong to your peace before they are forever hidden from your eyes. O my fon, let not the fafcinating charms of a delufive and tempting world lead you aftray from duty, for in refufing to obey the calls of wifdom, and by fetting at nought courfel and reproof, the heart ftrangely becomes at variance both with religion and principle.

"I fubfcribe with the utmost

tendernefs, your very affectionate father."

Extracts from the Son's letter, in refly to the foregoing. Yale-College, Aug. 2, 1802. "DEAR FATHER,

"TH

HIS day completes one year fince I received your letter dated Aug. zd, 1801, fince which time various events have occurred, which may not be uninterefting or unentertaining to you. When I received your kind and affectionate letter, dated as above, it excited fuch emotions in my mind, as ought never to be indulged by a fon, towards a parent. At that time I thought you to be exceedingly cruel towards me, and that you were unreasonably fevere, in urging and preffing me to attend to thofe things, which then appeared to me calculated only to render my life unhappy, if not completely miferable. Your letter, together with fundry other letters which you wrote before and afterwards, was replete with fuch ideas and fentiments, that my reafon compelled me to yield to their truth, while my heart was totally oppofed to every thing you fuggefted for my confideration. At the fame time, I ftudiously employed myself to find out fomething either from feripture, or from the fophiftry of Voltaire, or other infidel writers, which would in fome measure obviate your remarks and quiet me in my own fentiments. In combatting the fubject with you, you will recollect that I quoted the following texts of feripture, viz. Eccl. vii. 16. "Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwife: why fhouldeft thou destroy thyfelf" or as it is expreffed in

1802.] Extras from the Son's Letter in reply to the foregoing.

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were required, and that I should never be any better-I was led to believe that to rid myself of the troubles and perplexities of this life, and go into a future state, would be far preferable. I believed alfo that God had given me up to hardness of heart, and to blindnefs of mind, and had configned me to eternal mifery. With thefe dreadful apprehenfions, I fuppofed no good could refult from my continuing here in this world, a day or a moment longer."

In this fituation, his mind being greatly agitated, and affailed, at times, by the most shocking temptations, he continued during the fall of 1801-after giving the particulars of which, he proceeds.

the Hebrew, Why fhouldeft thou | be defolate? Also chap. xi. 9. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the fight of thine eyes." You will notice here, that I did not include the latter part of the verfe, (viz.) But know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Thus I collected detached texts to answer my purpofe. In fhort, I had recourfe to a "Refuge of lies," and to that falfehood which fmiled on my guilt." Not fatisfying myself with arguments derived from feripture, I turned my attention to the writings of thofe men who had boldness -enough to affert that the fcriptures were falfe, and an impofition on unankind-that religion was prieftcraft, and "death was eternal fleep." Pondering over their sophistical arguments for fome weeks, I almost reafoned myself into a belief of them, yet in my retired moments, the truths of divine revelation ftared me in the face and I could not but acknowledge their worth and im-portance. I had, at times, dreadful apprehenfions of the confequences that would refult from a difbelief of them. I conceived that the doctrines of the divine decrees, election and fovereignty, were altogether inconfiftent with my free agency--and that for God to punith a finner forever, when he had determined all his actions, was arbitrary, partial and unjuft. During thefe conflicts, and ftruggles of my mind, and knowing that God must be holy, juft and good, and that his word was true-I thought that as I - could not ferve him here with fuch a temper and frame of mind asing or repining figh, and submit

"In the beginning of the laft winter I came to this determination (viz.) to live a life of external morality in order to render my friends happy-Still believing that when death fhould clofe my earthly career, hell would be my portion forever. I thus refolved to think no more of a future ftate, but I was now and then overtaken with this terrible truth, that my works must be brought into judgment. The fudden death of a friend, or an acquaintance, would alarm. me. I often called to my remembrance the awakening fermons that I had heard from the defk; nor could I wipe from my mind the awful denunciations of my bible. All these combined would occafion the deepeft anguifh in my foul. At thefe times I was extremely unhappy. Life appeared to be a burden, and what heightened my mifery, was the peace and happinefs that Chriftians enjoyed. To fce thofe of my clafsinates, who were religious, walking calmly along thro' this vale of tears, without a murmur

five to the divine law and govern- | end to the other, I happened to
ment, was a fource to me of the caft my eyes on this paffage in the
deepest affliction.
Thus was I cxxxviii. Pfalm, "In the day
alternately calm and fecure, and af- when I cried, thou answeredit

Upon

peared like a new creation. The
day which had appeared before
this time, dark, difmal and gloomy,
ant.
now appeared uncommonly pleaf-

Every thing now ap

flicted with bitter remorfe. Some-me, and ftrengthenedft me with times I was unable to purfue my ftrength in my foul." ftudies, and at others, I ftudied reading this paffage, fomething merely to expel thofe thoughts, which never entered into my heart which lay with fo much weight to conceive now poured in upon on my mind. I continued in my foul like a " mighty rufhing this fituation, that I have now wind." related, till the 6th of May laft, when upon reviewing my life for months paft, and reflecting on the courfe that I had purfued, and the many refolutions that I had formed of deftroying my life, I fell into a ftate of dejection and despair. I more fully believed, than ever, that the torments of hell, were to be my everlafting portion, and that remaining here ́on earth enhanced the mifery to which I thought myself inevitably doomed. I felt fully confident that God in his wrath had faid, Depart from me thou worker of iniquity."

From this, to the 9th of May, which was the fabbath, the anguifh of his mind feems to have rifen to its height; during which period, he was powerfully attacked by the adverfary, and his mind filled with horrid temptations. The ftate of his mind, and the relief which he experienced, on the fabbath, he relates as follows:

"I was very much diftreffed all the forenoon, was in pain of body, as well as in exquifite horror of mind, and concluded that nothing but death could mitigate my fufferings. But alas! who can fathom the love and benevolence of an all-wife creator? He had referved me for fomething which I did not expect. About one o'clock in the afternoon, having my bible in my hands, and turning from one

whom I had fo long despised and Chrift my only Saviour, perfecuted, now appeared altogether lovely. The bible above all other books appeared the beft and the moft important. The pain of body under which I labored, but a few hours before, was gone.

the moft agreeable afternoons that In fhort this was one of I ever spent in my life. Every thing appeared perfectly right in miffive, and rejoiced that God the divine government; I felt subrefigned to his holy law, as being was on the throne, and I felt fully juft and good, and I hope I fhall day to the prefent I have enjoynever feel otherwife. From that ed myfelf uncommonly well. My chief delight has been to worship goodness, has been pleased to God, who from his boundlefs me, who am the greatest of finmanifeft himself, by his grace to ners.-I confider myfelf, dear father, as a brand fnatched from the burning. I am now refolved to devote the remainder of my life to the fervice of my Redeemer; made a trophy of his grace in his and finally I hope that I may be heavenly kingdom.

brief account of the scene through "Thus I have given you a which I have pafed, and with all

filial affection I fubfcribe myfelf | Bibles and other pious Chriftian

your dutiful fon."

Religious Intelligence. Hampshire Miffionary Society. Extras from the Report of the Truflees to the Hampfbire Mif, fionary Society: at their annual meeting at Northampton, on the laft Thursday in Auguft, A. D.

1802.

HE Trustees of the Hampshire

writings to be distributed in the New Settlements.

Under the appointment of the Truftees, Rev. Samuel Taggart, and Rev. John Taylor have entered on a miffion to the counties of Montgomery, Herkemer and Oneida in the ftate of New-York, of Mohawk river. Mr. Taggart to be employed on the north fide began his tour about the laft of June, to continue in the fervice of the Society fixteen weeks, with liberty to vifit for three weeks the counties of Chenango and

Trees city, Onondago, to preach to the people

and gain information of their religious ftate. Mr. Taylor follow

and is to join and co-operate with him for the term of twelve weeks.

formity to the fixth article of the Conftitution, make to the Society the following Report of their do-ed him about the middle of July, ings, fince their appointment in January laft ;-of the pleafing profpects before the Society ;and of the meafures which the Trustees judge to be proper for accomplishing the benevolent and pious defigns of the Inftitution.

The Trustees entered, immediately, upon the important duties affigned to them. Copies of the Conftitution of the Society and papers, to obtain fubfcriptions to its funds, were feat into the feveral towns, and parishes of the county; and expedients were employed to procure returns of the donations and fubfcriptions obtained. Inftructions for the direction of the Miffionaries and an addrefs to the inhabitants of the New-Settlements were formed and printed.

Under like appointment Rev. Jonathan Grout, early in July, began a miffion to the new fettlements in the District of Maine. His engagement is for fixteen weeks. In the fecond week of Auguft, Rev. Enoch Hale followed Mr. Grout with directions to join and co-operate with him for twelve. weeks.

Thefe Miffionaries have fo lately commenced their labors, that the Trustees have not been able to obtain any very interesting intelligence from them to com municate to the Society, excepting that the three first named have arrived, in good health, at the places of their destination, and have entered upon their work with a becoming activity and zeal and with flattering profpects of accomplishing the object of their miffion with happy fuccefs. The

As foon as fufficient information could be obtained of the ftate of the Society's funds, meafures were adopted for proeuring fuitable Miffionaries; and five hun-acquaintance which the members dred dollars were appropriated for of the Society have with the char the payment of Miflionaries the acters of their Miffionaries will, prefent feafon; and three hun- it is prefumed, excite, in addition hed dollars for the purchase of to their fervent prayers, and

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