cannot condemn them; for as its spirituality is not binding; there can be no sinful dispositions prompting to sinful actions, consequently no condemnation. The gospel cannot condemn them, because all its precepts are confessedly spiritual; and if they be not binding, a breach is no sin. It follows fairly, then, that all may be saved. The source of this opinion is, in improper views both of law and gospel, as if the gospel changed the very essence of the law; as if the law were not spiritual till the gospel came; and as if even then its spirituality extended only to a few; whereas the law being a transcript of God's moral perfections, was always, like himself, spiritual in its essence, and immutable in its nature. In the Antediluvian age, the imagination of man's heart was only evil *.' In the days of Moses, Israel, as a body, were commanded to ‘circumcise their hearts t. In the time of David, truth was required in the inward parts ‡. Ezekiel calls upon the Jews to make them a new heart and a new spirit §.' Our Lord exhorts the woman of Samaria to worship God in spirit and in truth .' Peter exhorts Simon Magus to pray, if perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him ¶.' Do not all these passages prove that spiritual duties are binding on all men at all times? Who has a right to make innovating distinctions in the laws of Jehovah? The law is invariable in its essence and demands. The grounds and degrees of obligation may vary ad infinitum, but the law remains the same. Happy is the man who flies from it to Jesus for his salvation, and yet acknowledges its precepts to be universally binding! and let others beware how they put asunder what God himself hath joined. West Melton. * Gen. vi. 5. W. M. Ezek. xviii. 31. ON THE ORIGIN OF RELIGIOUS ERRORS. From a Manuscript by the late Rev. Dr. Joseph Bellamy, of New England. I. WRONG Sentiments in moral matters are criminal, as well as wrong actions. To think ill of God's real moral character is criminal, as well as to make another god of a different moral character, to suit our own hearts. When the Gentiles knew God, they glorified him not as God, they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.' Hence they made to themselves gods, such as they liked; and these they glorified, builded temples to their honour, and offered sacrifices to them with pleasure; and had the Israelites liked the moral character of their God, instead of adopting, they would have despised the worthless gods of : 6 their neighbours and as the Jews hated the light of the real moral character of their God, so they hated Jesus, who exhibited it to their view t; and as the Christian nations did not receive the truth in the love of it, but had pleasure in unrighteousness," this prepared them to believe a lie,' i. e. all the errors of the apostate church of Rome. Hatred of true morality, is the real source of all persecution §. 2. All the objections of the human heart against revealed religion, originate from dislike to natural religion. He that loves true morality, will love true Christianity, as soon as he knows it. He that loves the moral law, will love the gospel of Christ. Every honest man will be a Christian, as soon as he hears the word, and understands it ¶. He who loves the Father, will love his own Son, his express image **. 3. The enemies of Jesus, who hated him with a mortal hatred, alleged a variety of things against him, to keep themselves in countenance; but our Saviour, who was intimately acquainted with the whole affair, and even knew their very hearts, intimated privately to his brethren according to the flesh, who at that time took sides with his enemies, what was the real cause, and the original foundation of all this ill-will towards him. The world cannot hate you (for you think and feel as they do); but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.' Even so hath it happened ever since, that though those in Christendom who have hated and persecuted the true followers of Christ, rejected the true scheme of religion, and invented other schemes to suit their various tastes, have at all times alleged a great variety of reasons to justify themselves; yet, as Jesus was hated, so real Christianity hath always been hated, because it testifies of the world, that the works thereof are evil. This was the true secret then, and it hath been the true secret ever since, although, then, Christ Jesus himself was publicly so odious, that those who murdered him and killed his followers, thought they did God service, and were promoting the cause of morality, and although it hath frequently been so in ages since. If they persecute me, they will also persecute you: he that hateth me, hateth my Father also. Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake ‡‡; or, which is the same, for my sake:' and this hath been the real ground of all persecation for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.. 4. Right sentiments concerning the moral character of God, and concerning the moral law, morality, moral obligation, moral agency, all which belong to natural religion, would prepare us to receive and entertain right sentiments concerning the whole Rom, i. 21-28; Jer. ii. 5-13. ++ John vii. 7. Job iii. 19; vii. 7; § Matt. v. 10, 11, 12. vii. 17; 1 John v. 1. + Mall. v. 10. system of revealed religion; and if all our prejudices against natural religion were removed, we should have no prejudices left against revealed religion. To be more particular, 5. The real moral character of God, the knowledge of which was lost among the nations of the earth, but is now brought to light in the sacred writings, were it understood, and cordially viewed as an absolutely perfect character, would soon convince us that God is fit to sit at the head of the universe, and decree and conduct according to the good pleasure of his will; and all our objections against his eternal decrees and universal providence, would in effect vanish at once; and we should begin to sing, as in Psalm xcvii. 1, The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice!' 6. Right sentiments of the moral law, of true morality,of the nature, extent, and excellence of all that duty which God requireth of man, and of our obligations to yield all that love and obedience which is required of us, together with a feeling that we in fact are moral agents, with respect to the whole of that love and duty which is required, would at once prepare us to make a right estimate of the nature and degree of our moral depravity, and of our guilt and ill desert, and of our need of that Redeemer and Sanctifier, and of that pardoning mercy and sanc tifying grace revealed in the gospel; and dispose us, with candour, to understand Scripture words and phrases relative to those subjects, and answer a thousand objections which otherwise will fill our minds. 7. We ought to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves, so as to be influenced and governed by this love in the whole of our conduct; and our obligations hereunto, as they originate from, so they are equal unto, the infinite dignity of Him who requires this of us. Were this understood, and cordially acquiesced in, an end would soon be put to all the disputes about the divinity and satisfaction of Christ, and the eternity of hell torments; about the nature and necessity of regene ration; of repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ; of justification by free grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, &c. But, 8. So long as we differ in our sentiments concerning morality, moral obligation, what qualifications are necessary to constitute a moral agent, i. e. in effect, concerning the moral character of God, and of man, we shall not very readily agree in our understanding of any written revelation relative to these matters, let the revelation be ever so full, or ever so plain. Since the increase of learning in Europe, religious disputes have increased, and the number of heretics and infidels greatly multiplied; as if, in proportion to light externally exhibited, the internal vices of the human mind were the more alarmed. The true reason we find in Rom. viii. 7, 8: John iii. 19. 9. If we are not bound by the divine law any farther than our inclination corresponds, then Pharaoh was not bound to let Israel go, notwithstanding the express command of the Almighty; and not the divine law, but every man's inclination, becomes the rule of his duty in all cases whatsoever. If the infinite worthiness of the Deity doth not infinitely oblige us to love and obey him, then sin is not an infinite evil; and an atonement of infinite value, in order to our pardon, is not needed, if any at all; nor is a Saviour of infinite dignity requisite; nor will the doctrines of the divinity and satisfaction of Christ, and the eternity of Hell torments, be readily believed, how plainly soever revealed. The passions justify themselves; and if the feelings of each man's heart ought to be the rule of duty to each man, then it will come to pass, that every way of each man will be right in his own eyes; and the whole need not a physician :' and in these views, and with these feelings, men will not readily understand the Bible, or believe it to contain a revelation from Heaven; and it must be entirely new modelled or totally rejected. 10. When once the Bible is rejected by men, because they do not like to retain God in their knowledge, a new god will be formed who will approve, a new system of morality invented, which will justify, the moral character of man, without any need at all of a Redeemer or a Sanetifier; and it may then be said, That any atonement for sin, besides what the sinner him self can make, is inconsistent with the moral character of God; and that any Sanctifier whatsoever, is inconsistent with the cha racter of man, as a moral agent. 11. Miracles, they will say, are of no use to prove what by their reason, they know to be false. Natural religion is the only religion God ever gave to man; and it is sufficient to secure the welfare of every man, both here and hereafter. 12. Thus, having rejected the true God and the true morality, from disaffection to both, and framed a system of religion to suit their hearts, they cry Peace, peace to themselves, until sudden destruction cometh upon them. QUERY. MOSES, in the 33d chapter of Exodus, and 11th verse, represents the Lord talking with him in the following manner :And the Lord spake unto Moses, face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend;'-and in the 20th verse of the same chapter, the Lord says unto him, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live.' These passages seem to contradict each other; and I should esteem it a favour, if any of your learned correspondents would remove their seeming contradiction. J. P. 460 Evangelicana, DISTRIBUTION OF TIME. It has b by a sacred regard to METHOD, that some men have ef. fected wonders. Every business had its proper place, and was done at the appointed time. Dr. Cotton Mather was remarkable on this account: beaides the duties of the pastoral office, in a large church, the care of a fa, ily, an extended correspondence, and the support of numerous societies, he wrote three hundred and eighty-two pieces, great and small. That all his pursuits might have their proper places, he used to propose to himself a certain question in the morning of every day, in the following order :Lord's Day Morning, What shall I do, as the pastor of a church, for the good of the flock under my charge? Monday. What shall I do in my family, and for the good of it? Wednesday. What shal! I do for the churches of the Lord, and the more general interest of religion in the world? Thursday, What good may I do in the several societies to which I belong? Friday. What special subjects of affliction and of compassion may I Lake under my particular care, and what shail I do for them? Saturday. What more have I to do for the interests of God, in my own heart and life? See his Life, or Preface to the Essays to do Good. Ancient Testimony in Favour of the Clear Evangelical Doctrine. ABOUT the year 1100, amidst the almost universal darkness of Popery, there was a form of consolation to the dying, said to be written by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury; and in the year 1475, printed in Ger many. It ran in the following words: Go to then, as long as thou art in life, put all thy confidence in the death of Christ alone; confide in nothing else, commit thyself wholly to it, mix thyself wholly with it, roll thyself wholly on it; and if the Lord God will judge thee, say, Lord, I put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thy judgment, otherwise I contend not with thee, and if he say, "Thou art a sinner," reply, Put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thee and my sins;' and if he say "Thou hast deserved damnation," let thine answer be, Lord, I spread the death of the Lord Jesus Christ between thee and my demerits: 1 offer his merits for the merit which I should have had, and have not.' If he still insist that he is angry at thee, again reply, Lord, I put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thine anger.' Pictet's Compend. p. 485, Anecdote of Dr. Owen. Turs eminently good and great man had much trouble of mind for several years, with relation to his spiritual state. It pleased God to deliver him from this in the following manner, as he frequently owned himself, to the honour of sovereign grace. When in London he went one day with a friend, thinking to hear that eminent divine Mr. Calamy; but, by some unexpected occurrence, that worthy person was hindered from preaching, upon which many went out of the church. This disappointment added much to Mr. Owea's trouble; and his friend endeavoured to take him elsewhere, to hear another minister; and so much the more, that it was not certain whether there would be asy to supply Mr. Calamy's place; but Mr. Owen being conveniently seated, and too much indisposed to walk any further, he resolved to stay a while longer, and, if no preacher came, to return to his lodgings. At last a country minister, altogether unknown to Mr. Owen, as it seems he was also to the parish, |