On Self-examination. AMONG the various du ties of the Chriftian life, it is generally agreed that felf-examination has an important place. The great fubject of enquiry is, whether we are the true children of God, and fo heirs of eternal life, through Chrift Jefus, or, in the apoftolic language, "whether we are in the faith." Because all true believers in Chrift, are, indeed, the children of God and have, in the gofpel, a fure title to eternal life. The enquiry fuppofes the fubject to be capable of a rational inveftigation and decifion, on proper evidence, and that Chriftians have the means and abilities to examine and decide. 2. The duty and importance of felf-examination, appears from various confiderations. Itrefpects the falvation of the foul, and is fo intimately connected with it, that we may reafonably fuppofe it to be practifed by all who are the heirs of falvation, and poffeffed of the abilities and means for this duty. The fubject is fo exceedingly interefting and important in itself, and in the VOL. II. No. 3. It is a fubject capable of inveftigation. Those who are in a state of dence of it, by proper examinafalvation may obtain fatisfying evi tion. If this were not the cafe it would be improper to urge it. In temporal concerns, where truth is attainable, men are difpofed to discover it, in fome proportion to its importance, their intereft in it, and the means they possess for the discovery. In the progrefs of this difcuffion it will appear that the important queftion of our title to heaven, may be decided on good fcriptural evidence. 1 felf-examination. Without this there is little ground to expect it. "Now is the accepted time and the day of falvation." Whatever is done for the falvation of the foul must be done fpeedily. ac Neither felf-examination or any other mean of falvation, will be of any avail after death. The retributions of eternity will be " cording to the things done in the body." Hence all the truly wife confider this fubject to be of the highest importance, and attend to to it, as being intimately connected with their eternal concerns. They feel the need of divine teaching, and fay with the pfalmift, "examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my reins and my heart;"* and they fubmit, with alacrity, to the apoftolic injunction, "Examine yourfelves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own felves, know ye not your own felves, how that Jefus Chrift is in you except ye be reprobates."t 3. We must endeavor to prepare our minds for this duty, by deep and folemn contemplation on the importance of it, as probably extending its influence to our eternal state. We muft enter upon it with ferious deliberation, as far as poflible with a mind fequestered from the cares of this life, and the concerns of time We must have, fixed in our mind, the most diftingishing fcriptural marks of a gracious ftate, and be well established in the belief of the truth and divinity of the facred writings, and in a full conviction of the principal doctrines, inftitutions and duties of Chriftianity, for it is by evidence of our conformity to thefe in heart and life, that our title to future happiness is to be proved to ourfelves. Pfalm xxvi. 2. ↑ 2 Cor. xiii. 5. مان The importance of this v our inefficacy in great liability to fe decept lead us to humble, fervent and fevering prayer, to the Godch grace, that he will enlighten T darknefs, make us truly wil and defirous to know the truth our state and character, and aft us in the work, and bring us to fuch a decifion as will ftand the teft of his all fearching eye. 4. At our entrance on this work, we must examine ourselves, what we believe concerning God and religion, and on what evidence. For as "all people will walk after the name of their God," if our views of the divine character are effentially wrong, our religion will be fo likewife; and our conformity to the character and inftitutions of the object of our worship, however exact, will be fo far from proving our fcriptural title to eternal life, that it will prove directly the reverse. Will a belief of the character and inftitutions of the God exhib ited in the Koran of Mahomet, and a conformity to it secure to the fubjects the eternal life which the gofpel promises to all true Christians? Again, we must enquire on what evidence we believe the holy fcriptures and the doctrines, inftitutions and duties which they teach. A belief founded on the proper divine evidence is, itfelf, a good proof of our title to eternal life, for the fcriptures affure us that "he that believeth fhall be faved," but there are many who have fome kind of faith and yet draw back to perdition. Such are thofe in the parable of the fower reprefented by the flony ground and the thorny ground. We firft obferve here, that the faith of the gofrel, which is con nected with the falvation of the believer, receiveth divine truth on the teftimony of God, fubmits to it, and embraces it, and is governed by it, and endures to the end. This implies that it is a fruit of renewing grace, that it involves reconciliation to God, repentance for fin, approbation of the law and gofpel, and effentially, all Chriftian graces, and is productive of a courfe of perfevering obedience to divine commands to the end of life. 5. We must examine, whether we experience the exercife of the Christian graces, in particular, whether we truly love the ever bleffed God? This must be determined primarily, by a confcioufnefs of what paffes in our own minds. If this be determined in the affirmative, the enquiry may be extended thus, is the prefent confcioufnefs of love to God a folitary experience, or have we a confcioufnefs of a feries of like exercifes, from the time that we have hoped that we were the children of God? There is indeed a time when the true Chriftian has the first experience of love to God, at the time of his faving converfion; but this can never be his cafe but once, and therefore doth not materially affect the prefent enquiry. If we are unconscious of a feries of exercises of love to God, from the time that we fuppofed ourselves to be renewed, no prefent impreffion of that afpect can give well grounded evidence that we are paffed from death to life. If our love to God be genuine it is perfevering. This being found on examination, we enquire after the objective ground of our love to God. Does it reft on impreffions of divine favor only? In a belief that God has given us fome great temporal or fpiritual good, or that he will do it hereafter? Or is it the refult of a view of the real excellence, or beauty of the divine character, as holy, juft, good and glorious, exhibited in the works or word of God, directly to the mind, without any refpe&t to felf or felf-intereft? For though true gratitude for divine favors is a spiritual and holy exercife of heart, totally different from selfish rejoicing in our own private advantage, and the confequent felfifh affection to the benefactor, yet, the nature of gracious affection, is more easily difcerned and diftinguished when excited by direct views of the moral beauty or loveliness of divine objects as they are in themselves. This diftinction is exceedingly important." Sinners love thofe who love them." A heart entire ly finful, may be deeply affected with the reception of perfonal favors, and this affection to the benefactor will be proportioned to the impreffion of the greatnefs of the evil to which the fubject was expofed, and the greatnefs of the good beftowed. Hence the finner, who is awakened to a realizing fenfe of the wrath of God and his extreme expofednefs to eternal mifery, and is fuddenly impreffed, (by whatever means) with a belief, that God loves him, that Chrift died with a delign to fave him, that God has pardoned his fins, or will fave him from endless torments, fuch a finner will be filled with unutterable joy, and will be full of expreffions of his great love to God and Chrift, on the principle of perfect felfifanefs, and without the least degree of true holiness, or genuine love to God and Chrift. Such was the cafe with the Ifraelites at the Red Sea, who "fang the praises of God but foon forgot his works." And | mind a conviction of the excellence fuch is the cafe of the ftony ground hearers in the parable of the fow er. and perfection of the divine law, and thus fhows the great evil of fin, which is "a tranfgreffion of the law." This view of personal fir, produces in the renewed foul, that felf-difapprobation for it, that genuine fubmiffion to the condemning fentence of the law, and that cordial defire to return to God, which conftitute the effence of true reper That we may not be deceived in this important article, we should enquire, whether our love to God is excited by a view of his law, its precepts, prohibitions and fanctions, by the mediatorial character and work of Chrift, as fupporting it, in all thofe views, and even mag-tance and diftinguish it from thofe nifying it and making it honorable? legal forrows for fin which may exWhether we love God when he ift in the unfanctified heart, and vifits us with afflictions and croffes which are excited by a conviction for our fins, and whether we love of expofedness to the wrath of God. him when we have the leaft comfortable hope of faving mercy, or only when we believe he loves us and will fave us? True love to God and repentance for fin, are attended with a conviction of our ruined state as finners, of the righteoufnefs of God 6. We must examine, whether in our condemnation, and of our our love to God be attended with perishing need of fovereign mercy; correfponding exercifes of other of courfe the mediatorial characgracious affections, fuch as repen- ter and work of Chrift appear in tance for fin, felf-abafement, cor- their glory, and the way of falvadial compliance with the gofpel tion for finners through his atoneway of falvation by Chrift, the ment deeply impreffes the mind, meck and gentle fpirit of the gof- with its unrivalled perfection, as pel, love to the word, ordinances, being in all refpects worthy of God, and people of God, mercy and fuitable to the condition of man, kindnefs to all, fubmiffion under di- and altogether divine. By this, efvine chastisement, fenfible depen- pecially, the mind is fully establishdence on God for all things, thanked in the truth and divinity of the fulness for his mercies, weanednefs | gofpel, embraces the falvation from the world and longing after which it offers, and the way in conformity to God and enjoyment of him, with the other branches of Chriftian experience. The renewed foul is poffeffed of all the graces of the fpirit, or the branches of Chriftian holinefs, and there is an agreement and proportion of all the parts. This is evident from many fcripture paffages, and from the nature of the cafe. Thus true love to God is attended with genuine repentance for fin. The primary fource of repentance is a view of the moral excellence or lovelinefs of the divine character, as this produces in the which it is procured and bestowed. The believing finner clearly fees the righteoufnefs of God difplayed and fupported, in the mediatorial work of Chrift, as God manifest in flesh; the law magnified and made honorable, fin condemned, and "grace reigning through righteoufnefs to eternal life, by Jefus Christ our Lord." In this way of falvation his heart refts, and he has joy and peace in believing, and we are fure that he who thus be lieveth fhall be faved. As repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jefus Christ are effentially connected with genuine love to God; even fo are all the graces of the Spirit, fuch as Chriftian humility, brotherly love, good will to all men, kindness to the poor and afflicted, forgiveness to the injurious, weanednefs from the world, felf-denial, heavenly mindedness; with all other branches of the Christian temper. That felf-denial which Jefus affures us is effential to difcipleship, confifts not, as many mifguided zealots have fuppofed, in tormenting the body, or excluding ourselves from thofe innocent enjoyments of life which God graciously gives us, and which are "to be received with thankfgiving, of those who believe and know the truth." But it confifts in that experimental and practical religion, Hence if we find in ourfelves an habitual and perfevering love to God, from views of his moral ex-in which a fupreme, governing love cellence, we must enquire whether this love is attended with the correfponding graces, which have been named; for if this be not the cafe we have no juft ground to conclude that we are the children of God, because there is an infeparable communion in the nature of all holy affections, and the holy fcriptures abundantly teach, that all true Christians receive from Chrift, grace for grace, and have the fame mind which was also in him. 7. We must examine, whether our love to God, and to fpiritual and divine objects be fupreme. Our bleffed Saviour has abundantly taught us that except we love him, more than all created objects, fo as to part, willingly, from them all for his fake, when they are in competition with him; we cannot be his difciples, and that except we deny ourselves and take up our crofs daily, and follow him, we have no part in him.* If our love to God be fupreme, it will be attended with the correfponding views and affections which have been named, and we fhall abide the teft of thofe difcriminating declarations of the divine Saviour. But if not, we fhall, when "weighed in the balance, be found wanting." to God and divine things bears us on through all oppofition from within and without, in the fervice of God, with a steady aim at his glory and the good of his kingdom, in contradiction to all the felfish and narrow pursuits of the carnal mind, which are ever directed to fome private, perfonal advantage, without any respect to public good and which are not fubordinate but ultimately oppofed to it. 8. We must enquire, whether our internal views and exercifes in religion, are attended and followed with the correfponding fruits of cbedience, in a practical regard to all divire inftitutions and commands.--This is the laft and crowning evidence of our difciplefhip, and title to eternal life, for "this is the love of God that we keep his comma..dments, and his commandments are not grievous."'* This fubject of enquiry might be confidered in relation to our whole life, fince we have professed to know the truth: As it is connected with all our relations to God, as a being of infinite perfection, our creator and preferver, our lawgiver, and judge,---as our Redeemer and fanctifier, our providential governor, and the object of our worship as it relates to |