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The pall of moral death hangs over the tainted mass of human society ; and above, are spread out the black clouds of vengeance before the throne of him, who waits but till he can gather a few out of the corrupt multitude, to save them, and then will pour out upon our heads his burning vials ; and begin, in our helpless souls, a series of torments, which shall never be mitigated and never end. In other words, the doctrine of depravity teaches us, that, having given us a nature entirely corrupt, incapable of good, and prone to all evil, God placed us in this world with a command to do what he knows we cannot do ; and then condemns us to eternal wo for doing that which he knows we cannot help doing. He continually afflicts us for sins, which can only be prevented by an in¬ fluence of his Spirit ; while that he purposely withholds. Moreover, taken in connexion with its kindred doc¬ trines, this teaches us that it was the divine will from all eternity that human beings should act just as they do, and perish everlastingly, for having acted thus. That God selected out of the human race, before they were created, or the world was , a certain definite number, con¬ cerning whom, he determined that they should be holy and happy ; and the rest he made to he sinners, that in punishing them he might glorify his vindictive justice. Or, to come nearer still, although we all have the same corrupt nature, and deserve one no more than another trom our Creator, he is pleased, by an act of his power, to make a part of us new creatures ; giving them power and disposition to do his will, arid rewarding them for obe 28 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 88 dience ; leaving the remainder as morally helpless as they were born, and then punishing them for disobe¬ dience. We can never reconcile such views of the divine go¬ vernment with what the Bible, reason, and nature, all proclaim respecting it. Is God impartial to give his Spirit, which all alike need, and for the same reason, a reason out of their reach, to a few only ? Is God just to punish us for the consequences of not possessing a new heart, when he alone can give it to us ? Is God merciful to make us w T ith a nature which is incapable of goodness ; and then inflicting endless torments on us for not being good ? Turn this doctrine which way you will, it is equally unworthy of the Creator and Father of mankind. And the only possible solution to the over¬ whelming mystery of such a method of treating his cre- tures, is divine sovereignty. God does so because he chooses to do so ; and none can say to him, u W hy dost thou this ?” A similar apology to that for the cruelties of an earthly despot ; and one as valid, in that case, as in this ; it is no apology at all. Power gives no right ; will alters not what, in itself, is bad. The very thing to be explained is, how God can thus will, what, in itself, is so unrighteous and cruel.—But He has not so willed, and blessed be his Holy Name 1 we are not compelled to receive such opinions as his truth. We have not so learned Christ. V. The doctrine of native depravity is further shewn to be false by its inconsistency with the design of our pre¬ sent life as probationary. We are placed in this world to be trained by a course 6 # ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 29 of discipline and trial, for another ; preparation is our great work here ; this all admit ; this the Scriptures teach. On any other supposition, human life cannot be explained. But in the very idea of probation, it is im¬ plied, that the subject to be proved has not yet a fixed character when the trial begins. And if we are sent into this world to prepare for another, it is to be presumed that we are not already fitted when we enter it, for the doom which that preparation is intended to decide. Nor can we imagine that God would appoint a long series of moral discipline, and provide an ample store of moral means, for the training of a creature, whom he knew to be incapable of deriving the least benefit from them. % According to thi&-doctrine, however, we come into life with a fixed character; we are then decidedly, en¬ tirely, and for aught we can ever do, incurably wicked. We are “ under the wrath and curse of God, and liable to the pains of hell forever.” If so, how can the days or years which may follow, be termed a season of probation? We deserve hell as soon a/s we are born ; can we ever deserve more ? Our doom is decided at the outset, and cannot be the consequence of a trial which it precedes . In tact, to talk of trial here, is idle and absurd. Especially when we recollect that it is also declared by the advo¬ cates of this doctrine, that nothing less than a special ir¬ resistible agency of God can ever alter the character we bring with us into the world. Such an agency, says Dr Chalmers, as would be requisite to turn stones into bread . Such an agency, says another, as was put forth in cre¬ ating the world. And to hasten, retard, or even procure this divine interposition, is alike impossible, let us do VOL i. 3* 30 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 70 what we may. It lies in the counsel of his own will, and God only knows how, when, or on whom the regenerate ing grace shall descend. If any one share the blessing, his change of character will be as much the sole act of God, as if he had himself been without sense or motion « up to the very moment of its occurrence. In his own time God will operate on the soul for its recovery. Till then, existence is a mere blank. We can lose nothing, since all was lost at the beginning ; we can gain nothing, because all we do prior to regeneration, is done in vain ; we are not made worse by the neglect of moral means, for it is impossible to be more than totally depraved ; we are not improved by the use of them, for that would de¬ tract from the sovereignty of divine grace to which as the sole unaided cause, all change for the better is attri¬ buted. Now, I may ask, if there is any probation wdiere a man is neither made better nor worse, gains nothing, and loses nothing, and is left just as he was found ? It is idle to pretend so ; as idle as to call that a race for victory, in which one is compelled to run against another, but is told, at the outset, that it is determined to crown his companion, and not him, be the result what it may. There are many important facts, which, w r hile they oo to establish the doctrine that the present life is pro¬ bationary, are not to be reconciled w T ith the doctrine that * * men are born totally depraved. For instance, how vari¬ ous are the actions of mankind. But for this variety of action, there is no room, on the supposition that we are entirely wicked before we have done any thing. Were this true, we should persist in one unvaried series of sins, with not a virtuous thought or wish intervening. Ask 71 ON HUMAN DEt>RAVlTl\ 31 now your own history for its reports ; does it give in only a tale of ceaseless guilt ? Do you remember no time when you were comparatively innocent ? Do you find far back among your early days, no sincere prayers, no pure desires, no good resolutions, no kindness for man, and no fear of God ? Be it that you feel yourself a sin¬ ner, yea, one of the deepest die ; yet, were you always as bad as you are now ? Would your chance for salva¬ tion have been no better, if you had died in infancy, than if you were summoned to day ? Admit this, and you give up native depravity ; for that teaches that all men are liable to eternal wo as soon as they come into the world ; more than that cannot be awarded in any case. But where punishment is equal* the guilt must be pre¬ sumed so. The phenomena of Habit, likewise, furnish us with an argument. By slow degrees, and the most gradual advances only, we become established in our moral habits. Here a virtue may be forsaken, and there a vice approached ; but such instances must occur often, before the indulgence can become habitual sin, and virtue be wholly renounced. There is a reluctance to be over¬ come at each stage of vice, as there is an effort to be made at each advance in improvement. But would a being whose nature is totally depraved, require much time to reconcile him to evil practice ? Could he shrink from sin in any shape ? Could he feel the least reluc¬ tance to enter the only appropriate, and therefore, it would seem, the only easy course of action for him ? Look now at Education, Example, and all other great moral instruments : their effects are infinitely diversified, ' m 32 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 72 and incalculably great. But we shall find it hard to ac¬ count for this, on the supposition that all men begin life with a settled character, and a bias toward evil so strong that divine power alone is sufficient to overcome it. In¬ deed, when external influence produces pernicious conse¬ quences, we know the subject affected, was not as bad before, as he was capable of becoming. And when they cause good results, we know the subject must have had a capacity for virtue. VI. Lastly, the Scriptures afford as a far different view of human nature from that presented by the doctrine we have attempted to refute . They every where take it for granted, that a man is a sinner only through his own act and choice. “ The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Every tree is known by its own fruit. He that committeth sin, transgresseth the law. Know ve not that to whom ve yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey ; whether of sin unto death, or of obedi¬ ence unto righteousness. He that doeth righteousness is righteous.” The sacred volume contains many severe Rebukes s pointed at offenders. But rebuke is unjust where the offence could not be avoided, and is the consequence of something else, and not our own choice. There are also numerous pathetic Lamentations and Remonstrances addressed in the name of God, to his er¬ ring creatures. “Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments. Turn ye, for why will ye die. 73 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY, 33 What could I have done more for my vineyard that I have not done. How often would I have gathered thv children together, as a bird gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not. O that thou hadst known! My people will not consider/’ Now such language as this, is mere mockery of human wo, unless it was by their own conduct, the guilt lamented, was incurred, and un¬ less they had power to do otherwise. Why lament an evil which he himself had caused, by bringing them into the world with a depraved nature, and which, none but he, can ever cure ? It is impossible to reconcile these expostulations with the idea, that, at any moment, the occasion might instantly have been removed by the di¬ vine power, and that without a special interposition on the part of God, there was no possibility of its removal. We ought to consider them as sincere ; and if we do, we must conclude that the people concerned in them, had been the authors of their own ruin, and always pos¬ sessed the ability to prevent it. The Bible abounds with Precepts. For whom ? A being, who, by his nature, is utterly unable to observe them ? The views of future Retribution , exhibited in the same volume, are so many contradictions to native depravity. We are taught that we shall be judged by our deeds . And they only, who have done evil, shall arise to condemnation. But what influence have our deeds upon that sentence, which was passed ages ago on the whole race, and by which we are 44 liable to the pains of hell ?” The judgment is already completed, when we begin the race of life, and cannot be reversed by all we M ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 74 may perform. Is this being rewarded according to our deeds ? All men are represented, as alike interested in the blessings of Christianity, and its invitations are according* ly addressed to all with the same earnestness. Jesus knew what was in man, both our strength and our weak¬ ness. He was without guile. He ever spake the truth. If, then, these calls of divine goodness were not designed for every one’s acceptance, or if none had power to com¬ ply with them, would he not have said so ? If our nat¬ ural depravity be the origin and cause of all our actual offences, would he not have said so ? He might have lamented our blindness, but he could not have asked, “ Why even of yourselves judge ye not w r hat is right ?” He might have been anxious for our unbelief, but could not have inquired, “ Why do ye not believe ?” He might have exhorted us to w r ait patiently for the coming of the Holy Ghost, but could not have upbraided us for a guilt which that coming only could terminate. He might have expatiated on the miseries of our condition, but could not have held up the promises which concern¬ ed none but the elect, to a dying w T orld ; thus adding fresh anguish to their helpless woes. But w r e are not taught in the New r Testament that our nature is depraved. Our Lord once exclaimed, “ How can ye believe, who seek honour one of another,” but never, “ How r can ye believe, who w r ere altogether born in sins.” He uniformily ascribes the ruin of the wicked to their own immediate fault, and not to any foreign cause, least of all to one prior to their existence. There are no words in the Bible, by w r hich a bare statement of the ON HUMAN DEPRAVITV. 36 doctrine we oppose, can be made out, with even a shew of fairness. From a few passages, it has been extorted, however ; and the candid reader of Scripture, may justly express surprise at the manner in which a sentiment, so inconsistent with its whole spirit and instructions, has been drawn from it. As I have before observed, most of the passages relied upon in the argument, contain vivid and striking descriptions of the vices of particular men, communities, or generations. Some only declare the general truth, 44 There is no man that liveth and sinneth not.” And scarce one can even by force, be made to al¬ lude to human nature itself, abstractly considered. Three texts are cited always on this occasion ; and they are all which I shall now notice. Both because the mode of interpretation which applies to these, may apply to every other which is referred to, and because constant use of these, shews the dearth of good proof sufficiently to indicate the weakness of the cause they are supposed to establish. One of these passages lies in the 51st Psalm. David is there giving utterance to some very strong emotions of his heart, excited by the recollections of his own crimes. The whole piece is an exercise of private, personal de¬ votion, and should be interpreted as such. Shall we take up his words and analyse them, as if they were the language, not of emotion, but cold philosophy ? Shall we read his Psalm as a lecture, instead of an humble prayer of private penitence ? If any one supposes David designed to be understood literally, when he says, 44 I was shapen in iniquity,” then let him be consistent, and equally literal in such sentences as the following ; 44 The 36 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 76 wicked go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.’' That is, infants speak as soon as they come into the world, and they speak lies too. “ Rivers of water run down mine eyes.” Here you may imagine his cheeks two channels or beds of rivers. “ Purge me with hyssop.” That is, take the herb hyssop and cleanse me. “ Break the teeth of the young lions.” “ There is no soundness in my flesh, because of my sins.” It is easily seen to what absurdities w T e are led by this mode of in- terpretaion ; yet no reason exists for applying it to the words of the penitential hymn, which does not equally require its use in those just recited. The truth is, all these passages are properly regarded as the expressions, which naturally suggest themselves to the mind of an oriental poet, in a state of strong emotion ; but not as literal representations of fact or opinion. Ephesians ii. 3, is another text much relied upon in this argument. “ And were, by nature, children of w r rath. even as others.” To whom is this said ? To persons re¬ cently converted from idolatry; who had, in times past, “ walked according to the prince of the power of the air, w r ho were Gentiles in the flesh, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.” This heathenish state with its attendant vices, Paul contrasts w r ith the condition into which Christianity had brought them. The phrase, “ by nature” occurs in another Epistle, in a manner which il¬ lustrates its meaning here. “ We, who are Jews by na¬ ture, and not sinners of the Gentiles.” Now it is certain Paul does not intend their nature as human beings, for that is peculiar to no nation, and makes us simply men , not Jews nor Gentiles. The latter clause proves that 77 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 37 we are to understand the former thus, if any proof were needed. For sin, as an attribute of man, is surely not limited by national divisions, and the phrase 44 sinners of the Gentiles” would have no sense, if we did not know that, by this title, the Jews were accustomed to distin- guish idolaters from their own people. To be a Jew by nature, is to be one by parentage, education, and affinity. 44 Children of wrath, children of disobedience,” are terms significant of the actual character of those to whom they apply, a character acquired by themselves, when they 44 gave themselves over to lasciviousness, and walk¬ ed according to the course of this world.” So Peter styles similar characters, 44 cursed children,” indicating their liability to punishment for their vices. And, in like manner, virtuous Christians walk as 44 children of the light.” If any one prefers to understand the Apostle as affirming that the Ephesians were proper subjects of di¬ vine wrath, on account of their birth simply, without any regard to their own subsequent conduct, he may enjoy his opinion. But he turns aside entirely from the argu¬ ment of the writer, to hang a fond notion of his own upon the naked words. The only remaining passage I shall notice, lies in the Epistle to the Corinthians. 44 The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God.” A wrong transla¬ tion alone, occasions the least mistake here. The Greek word does not signify what the English term implies. Its true meaning is expressed in Jude xix, 44 sensual.” So also in James iii. 15, 44 sensual” is the rendering. It is found in three places in this Epistle besides the passage just quoted. Paul, speaking of the human frame, says, vol i. 4 38 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 78 it is “ sown an atural body.” He means “ a fleshly body.” This expresses bis sentiment more clearly ; for “ flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom.” The Apostle, in the chapter containing the words under discussion, declares, respecting the future happiness of the good, that “ eye hath not seen the things which God hath pre¬ pared for them that love him, but God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.” In reference to the same things, he afterwards says, the natural or sensual man, he who is immersed in sensual indulgences, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; that is, the things which he hath revealed unto us by his Spirit. “ They are foolishness unto him.” Why ? Because spiritual joys, the bliss of virtue, has no charms for the sensual¬ ist. “ Neither can he know them.” Why ? “ Because they are spiritually discerned." They are of a purely in¬ tellectual and spiritual nature ; they are not to be un¬ derstood, or valued by one w 7 hose gross mind is bound to the earth, and who has never experienced a felicity which has no relation to the gratideations of sense. His moral perceptions and taste, are blunted, obscure, per¬ verse. He sees no attractions in the prospect of a hap¬ piness, whose nature he cannot comprehend,—whose worth he is incapable of appreciating. Let his mind be spiritualized—let it be restored to purity and virtue, he will then discern spiritual things. Before I close this protracted discussion, allow me for a moment to advert to some popular charges, brought against those who adopt our views of the subject w r e have been considering. 79 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 1. It is often alleged that we diminish the evil of sin. make it a trifling matter, and are disposed to think most men good enough as they are. But how does this ap¬ pear ? Our argument concerns a false account of the origin, and a very exaggerated statement of the amount of sin among mankind. We leave room for the whole mass of facts which have been, or may be gathered out of human history, to prove that a man is a sinner, and a great sinner too. But we stand in front of these facts, and beg our opponents not to add to them a pile of their fanciful creation. We think that there is as much danger of overstating in a case of this kind , as there is where only an individual’s reputation is concerned. We desire only to have the whole truth told. And beside the dark picture of guilt, we would hang that of virtue, and point to the one as well as to the oth¬ er, when we are describing man. It surely does not af¬ fect the magnitude of any evil to trace it to one, rather than another source. Or if it does, the evil of sin is en¬ hanced by a doctrine which attributes it to every man’s own folly, and perverse abuse of his nature, instead of deriving it from that nature itself, which, being a gift of God, ought to be presumed worthy of the giver. We do not make sin an infinite evil, for the same reason that our opponents do not make virtuous qualities infinite. There can be nothing infinite in a finite being. We do not deny that there is much wickedness among men ; we believe that the whole world once “lay in wickedness.” But we are unwilling, for the sake of accounting for this amount of guilt, to resort to a theory which makes God its author. No man, in his right mind, can regard sin as 40 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 30 a “ trifle.” We believe every form of it a subject of great sorrow. With intense anxiety have we seen the mad course of the ungodly, and we lift up our voices with our brethren, to entreat them to fly from the wrath to come. And we can do this with more consistency, for our peculiar views of the point in question. Not sheltering ourselves under the broad covering of native, hereditary, given corruption, we are compelled to feel more earnestly the danger to which we have exposed ourselves by our acquired guilt. We look at sin as it is exhibited in the individual transgressor, and are thus as¬ sisted in our efforts to impress its evil on our hearts, and fill them with apprehension at the thought of partaking it. All excuse is taken away, where each one is repre¬ sented as the author of his own ruin. The standard of Christian holiness is common to all Christians. We compare men with Jesus, and the pre¬ cepts of Jesus. Thus we judge of their virtues, and their depravity. This can hardly produce the fault of thinking the majority good enough as they are. None are good enough ; Regenerate or Unregenerate, we all come far short of the mark of our high calling. It is not always they who most decry the virtue of'mankind, that most justly appreciate their sins, or feel the most solicitude for their improvement. 2. It is also alleged that we take away the proper ground of humility. In reply, I need only remind you of a well known principle. That which we possess in com¬ mon with every body else, never makes us proud. So that which we suppose all the world has as well as we, never causes the feeling of humility. \ou are not proud 81 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 41 because you are a rational animal. You are not humble, because you are no angel ; you may be proud of that which raises you above others, and humbled by that which sinks you in their esteem. If human nature be depraved, yet it is no more so in one, than all ; and therefore, I believe few would venture to assert, that they are humbled by the thought of native depravity alone. No : humility is a just sense of our own imperfections and unworthiness ; and he will have the most of it, who compares, most faithfully, his heart and life, with the characters which deserve admiration, and perceives his want of resemblance ; who studies his duty well, and un¬ derstands the defects in his performance of it. We are not disposed to boast of our humility ; but there is noth¬ ing in our opinions which destroy it. There is a spiritual pride whose appropriate food is sought in rehearsing to others, the corruptions it really does not feel ashamed of; and bemoaning a guilt, the charge of which, it would resent, should it come from another’s lips. 3. Again, we are accused of undervaluing “ the great Salvation” by our views of human nature ; but just the opposite is true. It is for the very reason that we think as we do of our nature, that we are disposed to set a high value on the Christian scheme of mercy. We feel that by our sins, we have done a wrong to ourselves, the most mournful and dangerous. We compare the nature God has given us, which is “ but a little lower than the angels,” with our own conduct, and confess that we de¬ serve a heavy punishment for so degrading it. We look up to the bright eminence, from which the sinner falls, and bless more earnestly the hand which lifts him from 42 ON HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 82 the dust, and leads him back to virtue and to God. We * # welcome the Saviour, who comes to restore self-ruined men. But did we believe that God gave us at first, a ruined nature, and sent us helpless and abandoned into the waste, howling wilderness, with no capacity to do good, and condemned to woes eternal for doing evil, we should not value highly the grace which afterward calls home a few of us, leaving all besides, to perish without relief. We do not, and we cannot feel grateful for a Gospel made up of decrees of Election, irresistible in¬ fluences, and eternal death. But we rejoice, yea, and will rejoice, in that Gospel of the blessed God, which reveals a Saviour to the world, and opening wide the gates of Heaven, proclaims the soul-cheering words, “ Whosoever will, let him come. 5 ' We do, and we will give thanks to the Father of Jesus, and of us, that he sent his Son to turn us from our iniquities, reconcile us to himself, and, by forming us to virtue here, prepare us, for a holy rest hereafter. Brethren, while we divert your attention from false views of human nature, and strive to banish them from your minds, we still call upon you to look steadfastly to the characters you have yourselves acquired. If, for the sin of our first father, we be neither guilty nor exposed to punishment, for our own, we most assuredly are. May God incline our hearts to repentance, cherish in us every good desire and affection, fill us with the love of his own perfections, and give us fervent charity toward all mankind ! A Vi LETTER ON \ THE PRINCIPLES \ OF THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE PRINTED FOR THE American Sanitarian sassociatton. BOSTON, PRINTED BY ISAAC R. BUTTS AND CO. 1826 . Price 4 Cents. The Executive Committee of the American Unitarian Associa- lion have been induced to publish this as one of their series of tracts, by a conviction that the subject discussed is highly impor¬ tant, and the manner in which it is here treated cannot fail “ to pro- > mote the interests of pure Christianity throughout our country.”' LETTER. To The Executive Committee of the American Unitarian Association. Gentlemen, Debarred as I am at present, from the exercises of the pulpit, by the feeble state of my health, and greatly solicitous for the success of that appeal, which has re¬ cently been made to Unitarian Christians, for the cause of Christianity in India, I would ask for permission, through you, to address a few thoughts to the members of your Association, upon the principles of the foreign mis¬ sionary enterprise . There have long been, and still are, as I think, both great vagueness, and great extrava¬ gance of language upon this subject, alike among the friends and the opposers of the cause of foreign mis¬ sions. Some of our orthodox brethren have taken the ground, that all the heathen, merely as such, are con¬ demned to endless, and to irremediable misery, unless indeed they shall be converted to Christianity ; a doc¬ trine from which Unitarians turn with horror ; and others of them, in advocating the enterprise, in their care to use terms less objectionable, have employed those only which are too indefinite to bring home a strong sense of its obligation to any mind, which was not previously di«~ 4 Olf THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 158 posed to engage in it. And most Unitarians, resting on the principles, that men will be judged according to what they have, and not according to what they have not ; and that, when God will have any section of the heathen world to be enlightened by Christianity, he will himself indicate his purpose, and provide the means for its ac¬ complishment, have either thought but little upon the subject, or have waited for very distinct instructions respecting their duty in the service. A new' era, how¬ ever, seems now to have begun among Unitarians, on the question of the duty of Christians to unite in the w’ork of extending the knowledge, and the influences of our reli¬ gion. The primary objects for which your Association was formed, I know, were “ to diffuse the know ledge, and to promote the interests, of pure Christianity through¬ out our country But I observed that at the annual meeting of the Association, a resolution was unanimous¬ ly passed, “ that this Association views with high gratification the prospect, which is opened of a more extended mutual acquaintance and cooperation among Unitarian Christians throughout the world.” This shows that your thoughts have been directed to the situation of other lands, and the extent and activity of your opera¬ tions recommend an address to you in preference to any other mode of communicating my view r s to those w hom I am desirous to reach. I hope, therefore, that, as my attention has been for sometime employed on this sub¬ ject, I may, without exposure to the imputation ol arro¬ gance. call the attention of Unitarian Christians among us to the general,—the original question, in regard to foreign missions. This is a question, whi^h, I think, has not yet 159 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 5 obtained the attention, which it claims from us ; and a fair and full consideration of which, it seems to me, can hardly fail to bring Christians of every name, to a cordial cooperation in every well devised scheme, for the great¬ est possible extension of the privileges, and the blessings of christianitv. y I would then propose to the members of the Ameri¬ can Unitarian Association, and to all Unitarian Christians, the inquiries, the missionary spirit , what is it? What are its principles? Are they, or are they not among the essential principles of our religion ? Are they or are they not the principles by which our Lord and his apostles were actuated ? Does the cause, or does it not, demand the sympathy, the earnestness, and the aid of every Christian ? I am aware that there are those, and they are probably not few, who will not at once be disposed to view the missionary enterprise, as we now see it, as essentially the very enterprise of our Lord and his apostles. I know, too, that are those who consider the missionary spirit, as often as they hear of it, but as one of the many forms, which an ungoverned religious enthusiasm assumes, and that there are those also, who are accustomed to view it even more unfavourably ; and but as one of the forms, which are assumed by ambition, or by avarice, for mere party, selfish, or worldly objects. There are those, who will meet our first suggestion of this subject with the inquiries, “ have not the heathen as good a right to their religion, as you have to yours ? Is not their religion as dear to them, as yours is to you ? Are they not as sin¬ cere believers as you are ; and will not God accept them in their sincerity ?” We shall be asked, “ what injury 1 * VOL. I. 6 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 160 results to you from the faith, or practices of the heathen world ? Or, who has commissioned you to quench the fire of their sacrifices, and to overthrow their altars ? Think you, that they will be cast out from the presence and favour of God, in the life to come, because they know not him of whom they have never heard ; or that, at the bar of heaven they will be tried by a law, which they have never had an opportunity to know ? Are they not as happy in their faith as you are in yours ; and, if God intends their conversion to Christianity, will he not him- self bring them to the faith of the gospel ?”—These are inquiries which are abroad, and which are to be fairly met. They involve objections to the missionary cause, w r hich ought to be fairly answered. They may be, and they are, proposed by mere cavillers ; by men who care not for religion in any form ; and who would advocate,, or oppose any thing, by which they may either justify their own irreligion, or thwart, and vex those, who, they think, are mere pretenders to more religion than they have themselves. But they are made, too, by men, whom they restrain from sympathy in the missionary cause, only because it has not been viewed by them in all its bearings, and obligations. They are made by men, who have been disgusted w ith the cause, or at least have been rendered averse from it, by the overcharged statements that have been made in defence of it ; by the injudicious manner in w T hich it has often been conducted ; by the means which have been employed in its support; by the spirit and manner of some of its agents ; and, by what has been thought to be the waste of treasure that has been made, in most ostentatiously doing nothing. Let us then meet these inquiries, as the objections of fair minds : 161 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 7 and answer them, by an appeal to principles, which fair minds will readily acknowledge. In other words, let us follow back the missionary enterprise into its essential principles. Let us consider the subject, not as belonging to one or another of the parties of Christendom, but, purely as one belonging to our common interests, and duties, as disciples of Christ. Let it even be forgotten, if it may be, that any missionary efforts are now making; that any missionary societies are now existing ; and let us dispassionately consider the enterprise, as a subject for speculation ; as a question upon which we are to deter¬ mine, what is our duty as Christians ? If it be not a work, which God will have us to do, the sooner it comes to nought, the better. But if it be his will that we engage in it, let us not oppose it, lest haply we be found to fight against God. I resume, then, the inquiry, the missionary spirit,—what is it ? what are its principles ? I answer, the first principle of a missionary spirit, or a spirit which is earnest in the cause of diffusing the knowledge and influence of our religion,—is, a Christian sense of the moral and religious condition of those, who are living under the influences of heathenism , and of false religion . The question arises, what is a Christian sense of the religious and moral condition of those, who are living under the influences of heathenism, and of false religion ? I know of but one way, in which we can obtain a sat¬ isfactory answer to this inquiry ; or, an answer to it, with which we ought to be satisfied ; and that is, by en¬ deavouring as well as we may, to see the world, to the 3 ON THE PRINCIPLES? OF THE 162 extent to which it is unenlightened by our religion, as our Lord and his Apostles saw it ; to see the religious and moral condition of our fellow creatures, who are Unblessed with Christianity, as it is exposed to us in the light of the will and purposes of God, in regard to the world, as they are made known to us in the New Testa¬ ment. No one,—I mean, no sincere believer in Christ,— can doubt whether he ought to view those w r ho are with¬ out the pale of Christianity, as our religion itself views them ; or whether we ought to feel, to cherish, and to exercise towards them, the sentiments which our religion expresses in regard to them. What, then, are the views and sentiments of our religion, in respect to the heathen w r orld, and to all v r ho are without the knowledge of Christ ? I say not, for Christianity does not say, that among the heathen, and the believers of a false religion, none are virtuous. There were in the time of our Lord, and there are now, virtuous and good men under every form of religion in the world. Nor do I say, for our religion does not say., that the offerers of a false worship, as far as this worship is offered in simplicity, and sincerity of heart, are not accepted by God. I have not a doubt upon the question, whether they are accepted by him. I believe, for I think that our religion teaches us, that in every nation, he that fears God, according to the best conceptions w r hich he has of him, and does righteousness, as far as he understands the law of righteousness, is spir¬ itually a child of God, and will not fail of a part in the inheritance of the children of God. And I further believe, and doubt not, that no one who has lived, or who 163 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 9 will live, from the necessity of his condition, ignorant of the true God, in false religion, and in an idolatrous wor¬ ship, will at last be condemned, because he knew not what he could not know ; and did not, what he had not the means of understanding that it was his duty to do. These, I hope, will be considered as ample concessions.* But, with all these concessions distinctly before us, let us view the heathen world,—the world that is without Christianity,—as our religion views it, and as it actually is. I would not, if I could, excite a false, an artificial sympathy, in the cause of missions. Christianity needs no plotting, no trick, no concealment, no overcharged re¬ presentations, for the accomplishment of any of its pur¬ poses. But let us not shut our eyes against the truth. * I here quote with pleasure the sentiments of Macknight upon the question of the salvation of heathens. I do not know any other writer, of those who are called orthodox, who has treated this subject with equal liberality of feeling. “ That the pious hea¬ thens should have their faith counted to them for righteousness at the judgment, notwithstanding it may have been deficient in many ' particulars, and even erroneous, is not unreasonable ; provided in these instances of error, they have used their best endeavours to know the truth, and have ftot been led by these errors into habitual sin.***For it can no longer be pretended, that by making faith the means of salvation, the gospel hath consigned all the heathens to damnation. Neither can God be accused of partiality, in conferring the benefit of revelation upon so small a portion of the human race, in the false notion, that the actual knowledge of revelation is ne*» cessary to salvation. For although the number of those who have lived without revelation, hath hitherto been much greater than of those who have enjoyed that benefit, no unrighteousness can be im¬ puted to God, since he hath not excluded those from salvation, who have been denied revelation.” Translation of the Apostolical Epistles, vol. 1. pp. 197—201 10 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 164 Let us not view heathenism, and false religion, only as they are seen in the characters of a few individuals, who stand out in most honorable prominence, in the picture which has come down to us of their age ; and who, against every adverse influence, were illustrious as models of a piety and virtue, which would have made them worthy of honour in any age. Nor let us determine the charac¬ ter of heathenism, and of false religion, by considering them as they are manifested merely in their gorgeous shows ; in their pomp and splendour ; or, as they are sometimes brought before us, in their most simple and harmless rites. They have other features, which are the indices of another character. They have other princi¬ ples, and interests, and ends, that are to be seen in a casual glance at them ; other practices and consequences, which open to us very different views of their nature and character ; and which are suited to excite a corresponding difference of sentiment, in regard to those who are under .their influence. Let us, then, view them in the light in which they are brought before us by the sentiments, the feelings, and conduct, of Christ and his apostles, in re¬ gard to them. In this aspect of the subject, I would say that, even if there w T ere not to be found in the records of our reli¬ gion any clear and expressions of its sentiments in re¬ spect to the heathen, and to all to w T hom a knowledge of it has not been imparted, it still would not be doubtful what are these sentiments ; and w'hat are the feelings with which we should view the world, which is without the knowledge of Christ. Take only the conduct of our Lord and of his apostles, their labours, and their suffer- 165 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 11 ings even to death, in the cause of extending and es¬ tablishing our religion; in the cause of opposing, and of exterminating error, superstition and sin ; in the cause of rescuing men from the delusion, and the debasement* of idolatry and of all false worship ; and who that be¬ lieves that Christianity is a dispensation from God, can doubt whether the rescue of men from this delusion, and this debasement,—whether the recovery of heathens* and of those who are living under the influences of false religion, from their errors, superstitions and sins, was in itself a cause as great and important, as essential to hu¬ man good and to human happiness, as this plan in the divine economy, and these toils, and privations, and suf¬ ferings for its accomplishment, were themselves great and peculiar ? Let us conceive, as distinctly as we can, of the character of our Lord. Let us bring him before our minds, as he is brought before us in the New Testa¬ ment, as the Son of God ; the long promised Messiah, and Saviour, whom the Father had sanctified and sent into the world, for the express end, 44 that the world through him, might be saved.” Let us bring him before our minds, associated, as he is throughout the New Testament, in his mission, and life, and death, if I may so express my¬ self, with the deep interest of God himself, in the cause of suppressing every where idolatry, and false religion ; and of recovering men from the degradation, the vices and crimes, to which ignorance of himself, and supersti¬ tion had brought them. Let us conceive of this most exalted, this most holy of all the messengers of God, laboring daily, and daily suffering, that he might bring men to the truth, and sanctify them by the truth ; en¬ during the scoffs, the insults, the artifices, and the perse- 12 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 166 cutions of those, whom he came “ to save, and to bless, by turning them from their iniquities unto God and at last, in the cause of that salvation which he preached, and for which alone he lived, “ humbling himself to death, even the death of the cross.” Let us hear him, when he sends forth his apostles to preach the gospel to every creature, saying to them, “ he that believeth, and is bap¬ tized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not, shall be condemned and let us follow these apostles, who have given up every thing of this world, that they might preach everywhere “ the unsearchable riches of Christ,” as they spread themselves through Syria, Phenicia, the populous provinces of Asia Minor, and of Macedonia and Greece, comprehending the cities of Antioch, of Lystra and Derbe, of Thessalonica and Philippi, of Co¬ rinth and Ephesus, of Athens and Rome ; and, if we should believe tradition, visiting even Spain, and the shores of Gaul and Britain. Like their master, they are willing to spend, and to be spent, in the work ; and they “ account all things to be but loss, for the excellency of the knowl¬ edge of Christ ;” for the privilege, as widely as possible, of extending it over the earth ; and, like their Master, every one of them dies in the cause ; and most of them, the victims of their fidelity in it. Suppose, then, that our religion had not given to us any very definite ex¬ pressions of the religious and moral state of those, who were living in heathenism, and false religion. Must not the ; f condition, I would ask, have been most deplorable, to have excited this sympathy, this interest, stronger than death, in their recovery ; to have led to this won¬ derful plan, in God’s moral providence, and to these 167 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 1 o o wonderful means, for their rescue, their salvation ? And. can it be a question, what is the interest, the earnestness, which we should feel, in the cause of diffusing the know¬ ledge, the spirit, and the blessings of our religion ? But the language of our Lord and of his apostles, in reference to the religious and moral condition of those who are without the gospel, is not equivocal. Interpreted as they should be, by the import which his own, and the conduct of his apostles have given to them, the expres¬ sions, surely, are full of most solemn and affecting mean¬ ing, “ the Son of man came, to seek, and to save, that which was lost.*’ Again, “ God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ; for, God sent not his Son into the world, to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” Again ; “ They that are whole have no need of a physi¬ cian, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Again ; “ I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in . me, may not abide in darkness, but may have the light of life.” And, in conformity with this language, the apostle of the Gentiles represents them as “ without God in the world,” and without any rational hope. He says to them, “ ye were darkness ; but now are ye light in the Lord.” “ Ye were afar offbut now are “ made nigh by the blood of Christ.” But instead of quoting detached expressions on this subject, let me refer any one, who would conceive rightly of it, to the three first chapters of the epistle to the Romans. Here is a picture of de¬ gradation, of sin and misery, which will prepare any 2 VOL. I. 14 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 168 one, who has read the evangelists with any serious at¬ tention, for the inference of the author of this epistle, “ We have proved both of Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” Our Lord, indeed, uttered no denun¬ ciations against the mere offerers of a false worship ; nor did his apostles, great as was their zeal for the conver¬ sion of men, pronounce anathemas against them, merely as idolaters. But our religion contemplates idolatry, and all false religion, even in their best state, and least corrupting influence, as a delusion, from which God in his mercy would rescue those who are living under them. It also brings idolatry and false religion before us, as the history of all time represents them, as the prolific mothers of all the vices and crimes, that can debase our nature and disqualify for heaven. In the view of Christ and his apostles, the world was worshipping, “they knew not what.’’ Men were not only in dark¬ ness, but were “ loving darkness better than light, be¬ cause their deeds were evil.” They were immortal beings ; yet “ alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that w T as in them “ given up to un¬ cleanness, and to vile affections degraded from the condition, and lost to the purposes, for which God designed them. Let it be admitted then, that there were those, both among Jews and Gentiles, who, be¬ fore they had heard the teaching of our Lord and of his apostles, were prepared to sit down with Abra¬ ham, and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Still, the records of the evangelists, of the apostles, and of profane history, alike assure us, that offences both against piety and virtue, which are not to be named 169 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 15 among Christians, were not only established by usage, but were sanctioned by all the authority, which the opinion and example of the master spirits of the age could give to them. We do not violate charity, when we say of the decidedly virtuous heathen in the time of our Lord, that they wer efew ; that they shone as stars, appearing here and there in a night, when heavy and black clouds had gathered, and were rolling tumultuous¬ ly through the air, accumulating in their progress new elements of a storm, which was threatening to burst with tremendous violence upon the earth. And I would ask, has any important change, since that time, been made in the character of heathenism, and of false reli¬ gion ? If not, what should be our sentiments of them ? And, what are our obligations in regard to those, wdio know not God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent ? “ While Paul waited at Athens,” as we are told, “ his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given up to idolatry.” This translation of the words of the evangelist, however, expresses but feebly the emo¬ tions, which were excited in the mind of the apostle, when he saw every where about him the images, that were worshipped by the Athenians. So zealous, indeed, as is well known, were the Greeks, and especially the Athenians, for this species of worship, that, not satisfied with the number of deities, which had come down to them from their fathers, they not only often consecrated new ones of their own invention, but freely adopted also the gods of other nations. Nay, so careful were they not to omit the acknowledgment of any divine power, whether celestial, terrestrial, or infernal, which they even 16 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 170 suspected might claim their homage, that they erected altars to unknown gods ; until they had no less than thirty thousand objects of worship.* Paul, therefore, saw the city, not only given up wholly to idolatry, but full of the images of the gods of Greece. He saw the city, the most renowned in the world for the triumphs of art, the most splendid on the earth in its temples, the proudest in its schools of philosophy ; the city to which even imperial Rome sent the most distinguished of its youth, to train them for the forum, and to qualify them to be instructers at home, filled with idols. He saw the city, which was the centre of the learning of the world, lying in the darkness of utter ignorance of the one true God. He saw the human mind, there, at once exalted by eve¬ ry earthly attainment, and depraved and debased, by the most licentious and corrupt superstition. He saw those immortal beings prostituting the highest powers of their nature to the lowest and vilest services ; and dishonoring alike themselves, and God their ma¬ ker. Not only, therefore, was his spirit “ stirred with¬ in him but his was at once, a mingled emotion of indignation against those, who, “ professing themselves to be wise,” had closed their minds against the know¬ ledge of God, and were blind leaders of the blind ; of pity towards the miserably deluded multitude ; of zeal for the cause of God and of human nature ; and of earnestness for the reformation, and the salvation of men, so lost in ignorance and sin. It was the excite¬ ment of a mind, which was enlightened and sanctified by Christian conceptions of God, and by Christian senti ' Robinson’s Archeeologia Grseca, p. 195 171 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 17 merits of the worship and duty, which man owes to his Maker. It was the action of a mind, under the influence of Christian views of the condition of man, while yet in idolatry and sin ; and of the designs of God in regard to the world, by his Son Jesus Christ. It was the move¬ ment of a mind, which felt the infinite worth of the religion of Christ ; which felt an unquenchable zeal for the extension of its blessings ; and which could not be satisfied with itself, while any thing was neglected, that could be done to reform, and to save the world. We have, indeed, no reason to suppose, that Paul was more strongly affected by the spectacle of idols and of idolatry at Athens, than he was at Rome, or at Corinth, or at Ephesus, or at Thessalonica ; or than he was at any place, in which he witnessed the triumph of a false, and a debasing worship, and the corruption of heart and man¬ ners that are associated with it. We have here but the incidental expression of a feeling, or rather, of a state of mind, with which he every where, and at all times, looked upon the heathen world. He had been sent forth, like the other apostles, “ to preach the gospel to every creature to call men, “ every where, to repent, and to turn to God ; to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light and every where to establish the worship and service of the one God, “ through the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” And, in this cause, he had made the greatest personal sa¬ crifices to which man could be called ; and had endured all that man could sustain. I need not enter into a detail of his journeyings, of his labours, and of the persecutions which he suffered, while, with unimpaired fortitude and resolu- VOL. i. 18 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE m tion, he ceased not, in the city and the country, on the land and on the sea, while at liberty and while in chains, by conversation, by preaching and by his letters, to do all that man could do, to reclaim his fellow-men from idolatry and sin, to the faith of Christ ; to the know¬ ledge, and love, and worship of God ; and to holiness here, in preparation for immortal happiness hereafter. We all know that, in this work Paul persisted against all obstacles, and under every accumulation of suffering, untired, and undiscouraged ; and that, like his master, he gloriously terminated his life and his toils together in the cause.—I would then ask any one, who is opposed to the missionary cause, or who is indifferent concern¬ ing it, here to pause and seriously to consider, whence was this sympathy of Paul in the moral condition of the heathen world ? Was it unreasonable ? Was it ex¬ cessive ? Were his efforts, or his sacrifices, beyond the fair demands, or the true importance, of the object ? Or, did he in truth feel no more for this cause, than ought to be felt for it by every Christian ? The true view of heathenism is, not that it is a condition, in which, if a man die, he is therefore ne¬ cessarily under eternal condemnation. Terrible thought; and most dishonourable alike to God, and to Christ¬ ianity ! But, still, that it is a condition of darkness, of sin, and wretchedness, from which it is God’s pur¬ pose to redeem the world. Paul saw not, nor did any of the apostles see, in the heathen ♦ world, men who were doomed to endless perdition, only because they were pagans. But he saw in them the human na¬ ture degraded and debased ; and his was a deep, and 173 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 19 strong feeling of the greatness of the change, in charac¬ ter, in condition, and in happiness, which a cordial recep¬ tion of Christianity would bring to them. He saw in them men, who were groping their way, they knew not whither ; and who were sinking deeper in moral turpi¬ tude by the very efforts, the very services, to which their false and debasing conceptions of religion were leading them. He saw the moral image of God in the soul to be marred and defiled; and he saw, and felt that, by the religion of Christ alone, its beauty and its purity could be restored. In these sentiments, and these feelings, is the first element of the mission¬ ary spirit ; or, of a spirit alive to the cause of the greatest practicable extension of the gospel of Christ. Although, as a Jew, he had from his childhood known and worshipped God, yet, as a Jew, Paul had felt no interest in the cause of extending a knowledge of God to the heathen. But Christianity had given to him new conceptions of the character and designs of God ; and new views of the condition of man, while-living in igno¬ rance of God, and in sin. And if we see our fellow creatures in the darkness, and debasement, and misery of superstition, idolatry and crime, and have none of the sympathy with their condition which Paul felt, and none of the interest which our religion breathes from every page of its records, in the cause of their deliverance, their redemption, have we the spirit of the disciples of Christ ? or, are we Christians ? Different views are taken of heathenism, and of false religion, and very different sentiments are excited in re¬ gard to them, far less from the actual diversity of their 20 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 174 character,—although, indeed, it differs greatly in different places,—than from the diversity of the state of mind in * which it is contemplated by men. An infidel has told us, that “ the religion of the pagans consisted alone in morality and festivals ; in morality, which is common to men in all ages and countries ; and in festivals, which were no other than seasons of rejoicing, and which could bring with them no injury to mankind.’'*' And with a merely speculative Christian, by whom religion is regard¬ ed only as a matter of opinion,—a subject for occasional discussion, the pagan idolatry was, and is, a mere specu¬ lative absurdity. With those who view religion only as a political engine, paganism, and all religion, is good or bad, at it is favourable or unfavourable, to their views of civil policy. And by those who care little or nothing for the religion in which they have been educated, in any of its forms, or of its characteristic sentiments, no interest whatever will of course be felt, in the religious or moral condition of the world. But neither did our Lord nor his apostles, look upon heathenism with indif¬ ference ; nor alone, nor peculiarly in its political bearings ; nor as a mere error of judgment ; nor as an innocent, or a moral institution. No. Had our Lord and his apostles reasoned of the world, as too many now reason of those who are without the knowledge of God, and the blessings of his gospel ; had they said, “ the time has not come to bring Jews and heathens to the knowledge of the truth. They are not qualified to receive it. God will execute his own work, in his own time. They are safe. They will be judged in equity, and in mercy. * Voltaire’s Louis XIV. 175 MISSIONARY" ENTERPRISE. c 2i Why then interfere, where our interference is not re¬ quested?”—Had our Lord and his apostles thus rea¬ soned of the world, what would now have been our condition ? How much better than that of the ancient idolaters of Athens, or of Rome ; or the modern idola¬ ters of Hindoostan, or of China ? Let impartial justice preside over the inquiry, and I have no fear concerning the decision upon it in every mind. May I not then say to you, reader, whoever you may be, cultivate a Christian sense of the religious and moral condition of those, who are living under the influences of heathenism, and of false religion, and, like Paul’s, your spirit will be “ stirred in you,” when you look upon the nations that are “ wholly given up to idolatry ?” Yes, carry with you into those dark regions of the earth, the light and spirit of the gospel of Christ, and your heart will “ burn within you,” with compassion for their miserable condition, and with Christian zeal in the cause of their deliverance from it. What, indeed, is there, that is low, what that is vicious, or what that is wretched, which was not comprehended in ancient, and which is not compre¬ hended in modern, heathenism 1 There is nothing to be conceived either of lewdness, or of cruelty, which had not the sanctions of the religion of Greece and Rome ; and which is not now a part of the idolatrous worship of the world. Nor, in any section of the world, was moral instruction ever connected with any department, or office, of heathen worship. Nay, more. This worship, with the vices that were not only incidental to it, but which found, in some of its exercises, their very spirit and life, was not left, even in the most cultivated ages of antiqui- 22 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 17G t) r , alone to exert its full influence upon the multitude. Even legislators and philosophers, instead of endeavour¬ ing to instruct, and to reclaim their ignorant and corrupt¬ ed countrymen, encouraged this degrading service by their teaching, required it by their laws, and sanctioned it bv their examples. I ask only, then, that the world which is without our religion, should be seen by us in the light, and considered with the sentiments, with which it w F as seen and considered by our Lord and his Apos¬ tles; and we shall be secure of the first element, or prin¬ ciple, of that spirit, which will earnestly desire, and gladly seize the occasion, as widely as possible to diffuse the knowledge, and influence, of the truth as it is in Jesus. The second element, or principle, of that spirit, which feels its obligation to do all that it may for the diffusion of our religion, is, a deep and strong sense of the reality, and power, and worth of our religion; and of the inesti¬ mable blessings which it will not fail to impart to those , who shall cordially receive , and faithfully obey it. I have dwelt, perhaps, longer than it may be thought by many to have been necessary that I should have dwelt, on the sentiments with which our religion re¬ gards the heathen w r orld. But I know 7 that there are not a few 7 , even of those who have made some progress in religious knowledge, whose opinions on this subject are unformed and unsettled; and that there are not a few 7 also, who reason, as I think, most unjustly concerning it. I was willing, also, to detain attention for a few minutes longer than 1 would otherwise have done, upon the first element, or principle, of the missionary enterprise, from a conviction that, if this principle be distinctly understood 177 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. and strongly felt, a preparation will be secured for the succeeding topics of this letter. These topics I will now treat as briefly as I can. Is our religion, then, a reality ? Are its doctrines re¬ specting the character and government of God, respect¬ ing the condition of man in this world, respecting our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal life that is beyond the grave, actually a revelation from God to us 1 I appeal, then, to the consciousness which the Christian has of the power, and the worth of his religion. I appeal to his experi¬ ence of its purifying, its heavenly influence, upon the heart that receives, and loves it, and yields to it. 1 ap¬ peal to his experience of its adaptation to the strongest wants of his nature ; to the wants of his immortal nature ; to his experience of its power of exalting the soul above all that would degrade and debase it; of bringing man to the greatest nearness to God, to which he can be brought in this world ; and of giving, even here, a foretaste of the blessedness, which it assures to its obedient believers hereafter. Who that thus knows the power and the worth of the religion of Christ, will not most earnestly, most solici¬ tously desire its widest, its universal extension 1 We may possess knowledge, and riches, and other sources of great immediate gratification, and be strongly sensible of their worth, and yet not only not desire their diffusion, but even feel our own interest and happiness essentially to depend upon the very fact, of our exclusive possession of them. But so it cannot be in regard to the principles and the spirit of the religion of Christ. In each one of its principles, and in every object of it, Christianity is 24 OX THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 178 stamped with a character of universality , which belongs to no other religion; and, corresponding with this pecu¬ liarity of it, is the spirit which it awakens in its sincere believers. Christian benevolence, the love which Christ¬ ianity inspires, is a principle that cannot lie inactive in the soul that receives it. It will even expand itself be¬ yond the sphere of its capacity of action. It will wish, and it will pray for, the amelioration of the suffering, to which it can extend only the emotions, and the breath¬ ings, of its compassionate desires. It will wish, and it will pray for, the universal diffusion of truth, and purity, and happiness. Nor will it evaporate in a wish ; or think that its end is attained, only by a prayer for the good of all men. It will not indeed waste itself on the expanse of ignorance, and weakness, and suffering, and sin ; or spend its strength, where it can impart no light, or com¬ fort, or improvement. But while it diffuses itself, like that subtile, elastic, all pervading fluid, which surrounds and fills our earth, and is the life of every living thing, it will ever delight to concentrate its power; and here, and there, and every where, as it may, to accomplish the greatest good of w 7 hich it is capable. Christian benevo¬ lence will never hesitate upon the question, whether it shall act, wherever it may act, for the good of others. It can no more live without this action, than the selfish principle can live without action for its own indulgence. Do I, then, address those who have a Christian sense of the reality, and power, and worth of our religion 1 With them, the knowledge of an opportunity, and the possess¬ ion of the means, of more wddely extending it, will at once secure all that Christian earnestness, and that Christ¬ ian benevolence, can accomplish in this enterprise 179 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 25 In thinking of the early extension of our religion,— the unexampled rapidity of its extension during the life of the apostles ; and in pursuing the inquiries, “ why has it not since been more widely diffused ? Why has it not long ago penetrated into every region, where civil gov¬ ernment is established, and the arts of civilized life are cultivated, and where men are qualified to weigh the evidences of its truth ? and, why has it not overshadow¬ ed, and withered the superstitious, and exterminated the false religion, and the idolatries, of Turkey, of Persia, of Hindoostan, and of the vast empire of China ? Why has it not yet spread through Africa, and through South America ; why has it not accomplished in the islands of the Indian ocean, and in all those of the Pacific, the good w r hich it is said recently to have accomplished in the So¬ ciety isles ?”*—In thus comparing what our religion has * In the year 1773, Capt. Cook estimated the number of inhab¬ itants in the Society Islands at 200,000. The missionaries think that there must have been, at that time, at least 150,000. But in 1797, when the missionaries arrived there, the number did not ex¬ ceed 20,000 ; and before Christianity began to exert much influ¬ ence there, the number had diminished to little more than 15,000. It is believed that two thirds of the children that were born, were sacrificed to idols ; or were thrown into the sea to propitiate the sharks, which were worshipped as gods ; or were buried alive. In the years 1801 and 1802, Mr John Turnbull resided at Otaheite for commercial purposes ; and has since published “ A Voyage round the World, in the years 1800, 1,2, 3, and 4.” Of the in¬ habitants of these islands, he says, “ their pollution beggars all description ; and my mind revolts from a recollection, which re¬ calls so many objects of disgust and horror. Their wickedness is enough to call down the immediate judgment of heaven ; and un¬ less their manners change, I pronounce that they will not long VOL. I. 3 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 130 26 done, with what we are very plainly taught that it was intended to do, we too easily rest in causes of its past, and present condition, which leave the blame of the nar¬ rowness of the present bounds of Christendom any where, but where indeed it belongs ; that is, with those who have called themselves Christians. It is said too, in our own justification, that the age of miracles has passed ; and that converts are not therefore now to be made, as they were made in the days of the apostles. And then we resort to the consideration, that there is work enough to be done at home, without going abroad to proselyte. And, if still pressed upon the subject, we ask, “ where, remain in the number of nations.” Note, however, not less than 12,000, in these islands, can read the word of God intelligibly ; considerable portions of which have been translated into their lan¬ guage, printed, and circulated. Three thousand children and adults are now in the school. Many are .able to write, and some are considerably acquainted with arithmetic. The pleasures of the domestic circle are now known among them. Industry has increased. Drunkenness has become rare. Theft seldom occurs ; and murder is still more unfrequent. The aged and infirm are kindly treated. Hospitals have been established ; and charitable societies instituted, to relieve the afflicted poor. Their govern¬ ment is defined, and limited by a constitution ; and the king and his chiefs have power only to execute the laws. Their wars are ended, and the weapons of war are perishing. Family prayer is almost universal. Twenty eight houses of worship are opened on the Sabbath, and eighteen natives are employed as missionaries in the neighbouring islands. These are facts which require no comment. It would be easy to adduce many others, in regard to these islanders, which are not less interesting. But I would rather refer the reader, who would know more of this subject, to the London Quarterly Chronicle for July and October, 1823; and to the Missionary Herald for September, 1825. 181 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 27 and what, are the indications of providence, that our labours in the work of extending our religion among the heathen will be successful ?” But I would ask any one who so reasons concerning the missionary cause, to bring home to himself the inquiry, as far as respects the intellectual and moral condition of the world, “ what better indications had our Lord and his apostles, of success in the work of diffusing his religion, than we now have ?” I may ask, too, even at the hazard of startling those who have not so viewed it, if our religion be not, essentially, a religion of proselytism ? Are not its designs respecting all man¬ kind forcing themselves upon our notice, on every page of its records ? Does it offer any compromise with false religion, or with idolatry, in any of their forms ? Nay, more, I would ask, if Christianity is to be extended over the whole world, and if the age of miracles be gone by, not to return, where is the consistency of waiting for a miraculous direction in this work, and for miraculous as¬ sistance in its execution ? Shall we then wait for miracu¬ lous manifestations, to excite us to do what we may for its universal extension ? The only miracle, indeed, which is necessary for our success, in the enterprise is, that they who call themselves Christians, should strongly feel the power and worth of the religion of Christ ; and, that their hearts should be drawn out in the exercise of that benevolence, without which, I know not on what ground we can claim to be his disciples. I will even proceed a step further, and ask, if we have not some advantages for the propagation of our religion, which the apostles had not ? With them, Christianity was an experiment that was yet to be tried. But we have the evidence of its 28 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 182 truth and excellence, which is derived from the admira¬ ble institutions that have grown out of it ; and which as much belong to it, and depend upon it, as the branches of a vine belong to, and depend upon, the stock to which they are attached. We can shew, and prove, that in the degree to which it has been left to itself, unfettered by civil and ecclesiastical restrictions, it has triumphed over the strongest passions, and the most inveterate prejudices and customs ; and has repressed abuses and crimes, which have been established and sanctioned by every other religion. By the knowledge, also, which it has imparted of mutual rights and duties, it has modified, « and, we hesitate not to say, has improved civil govern¬ ment, and public morals, to an extent to which no other than Christian principles could have advanced them. Who that has thoroughly studied the history of our own country, has a doubt whether we owe our peculiar civil institutions to Christianity ?* Nor may we alone defend our religion, and recommend it, by these most obvious and grand results of it. The countless associations which it has originated, for all the conceivable purposes of be¬ nevolence ; the systems of education, that are essentially Christian, which are forming and advancing throughout Christendom ; the new responsibleness which it devolves upon woman, and the new rank which it has given to her ; the emancipation which it has effected of the poor, from the entailed ignorance, degradation and debasement, in which every other religion finds, and leaves them ; its '* I would refer the reader, who has not much time for inquiry on this subject, to the very able sermon, preached before the Le¬ gislature of the Commonwealth, on the 31st of May, by the Rey\ Mr Dewev, of New Bedford 183 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 29 efforts, and its success, in the work of abolishing slavery ; and its influence on the domestic relations, and on domes¬ tic happiness ;—these are effects of our religion, which, in proportion as they are comprehended, and are seen in their true character by the intelligent of other religions, will do much, and cannot fail to do much, lor its exten¬ sion*. From what it has done, had as Christendom is, we can demonstrate its adaptation to the condition, and to the wants of all men, and its tendency to an indefinite improvement of the human mind and character. * u Before going to war, it is right to count the cost ; and in the conflict which Christians have begun to wage for the moral sub¬ jugation of the world, it is proper to estimate whether, with their few and scattered numbers, they can cope with the myriads of their opponents. Certainly at no former period had they such means, and such promising success, as we now have. All the ancient 1 war weapons’ of victory, excepting miracles, are at their disposal; and new instruments of still greater potency, which the science of the latter days has been accumulating for a univer¬ sal revolution of the mind, are ready to be brought into action, upon a scale of overpowering magnitude. Even the single re¬ source which is lost, may yet be recompensed by equivalents; and a substitute, in many respects, may be found for mira¬ cles. The first effect of a miracle is, to arouse the atten¬ tion, and to overawe opposing prejudices. The second, to afford a proof of the truth of the religion, of which it is a sealing accom¬ paniment. The first object may be gained by experimental phi¬ losophy. And as to the second, the difference in the proof of our religion, to any to whom it shall now be proposed, from its mira¬ cles, lies rather in the fact, that this proof is at the present day more circuitous, than that it is less conclusive, than it was in the days of the apostles. Besides, the turning point of receiving Christianity, even in the apostolic age, consisted less in having seen the mira¬ cles, than in seeing their own need of a revelation, and its adapta- VOL. i. 3* 30 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 184 The third, and last element, or principle, of that spirit, which feels a paramount obligation to do all that it may for the diffusion of our religion, is the feeling, that God. in dispensing signal blessings to men, designs that they whom he so distinguishes, shall be his agents in giving the widest possible extension to these blessings. In other w r ords, God designs that man shall be his instrument, for imparting the blessings of Christianity to man; and he who has the means, and the opportunities, thus to benefit his fellow creatures, will be held responsible at the bar % lion to the present circumstances of humanity. Moral influence has always prevailed more than supernatural influence. The gen¬ eration that literally lived on miracles, and had i angels’ food’ for their daily bread, perished from unbelief in the desert; whilst their children, brought up in the loneliness of the wilderness, far from the corruptions of the surrounding nations, were even eminent to after times, as an example of 1 a right godly nation.’ ” Hints on Missions, by James Douglas, Esq. pp. 22—24. This is a sensible little book ; and far better worth reading, than have been many books upon the subject of missions, which have been, and are, more popular. A friend suggests to me the expediency of remarking here, that the effect of miracles, as a means of missionary success, has been overrated ; for the apostles seem to have resorted to them only in¬ cidentally ; and Rammohun Roy says, they are not of the value in the East, which many Christians are accustomed to ascribe to them. It is indeed well known, that the Hindoos boast of far more wonderful miracles, than are related by the Evangelists; and though these reputed miracles are as wonderful absurdities, as were ever imposed upon human credulity, they must, and will dispose unconverted natives of India, to allow but little importance to the miracles of our religion. But converts to Christianity, in that country, will obtain new sentiments of the miracles of Hindooism ; and then also will they see, in the miracles of the gospel much to confirm their faith, that it is, what it claims to be, a dispensation from God. 105 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 31 of heaven, for the execution of the work which God thus requires of him. That man should sympathize with man, that he should feel an interest, deep and strong, in the condition of his feliow-men ; and, especially, that we should be affected, and strongly affected, by the wants and sufferings, not alone of those around us, but of our whole race, I fear not to say is as much a law of our nature, as it is that we should feel a deep and strong interest in those, who are immediately connected with us, in the nearest rela¬ tions of life ; or, as it is, that we should love ourselves. This feeling may be, and it is, kept down within us, by the ascendant influence, which is obtained in our hearts by narrow, local and selfish interests. It is a feeling, which many of the circumstances in our early education are suit¬ ed to repress, and to enfeeble in us ; and w^hich our daily habits of business and of pleasure, as mere men of the world, may be counteracting, and restraining, and dead¬ ening within us. But there are occasions in the life of every one, whose heart has not been shut up by bands of brass, or iron, or adamant, when this feeling, chilled and dead as it may have seemed to be, is warmed into life, and puts forth its strength, and breaks from its enclo¬ sures, and speaks in a language not to be misunderstood ; at once vindicating our nature from the charge, that, 11 There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart, “ It does not feel for man and demonstrating that it is the purpose of God, that man shall be his instrument for the communication of all possible blessings to man. I need not refer you to the effects, which are produced within us, while w^e are read- 32 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 186 mg narratives of real, or of imaginary scenes and circum¬ stances of distress. These effects alone demonstrate, not only that God has made us for one another, but that, in an important sense, he has made each one of us for the whole of our species. Who, I ask, dwells upon the pages of history, merely that he may possess its facts ; or simply for the mere personal uses which he may make of them ? Or who that knows the blessings of civil rights, and of civil liberty, has not felt all his indignation awakened against the despot, that has trampled upon these rights, even though ages have revolved, since the tyrant and the tyranny have passed away? And who has not felt a joy, an exultation, to be surpassed only by that of an emancipated people, when the tyrant has fallen, and when at least one well directed effort has been made in the cause of human freedom ? Who, as he has pon¬ dered on the pages of history, has not gone forth with the armies, over whose dust centuries have revolved, and joined the standard of the leader whom he has chosen, and fought for the rights of man ; rejoicing, or suf¬ fering, as they were obtained, or lost; filled with the inte¬ rests, the hopes, the fears of the distant age, to which his existence for the hour has been transferred ; and prepar¬ ed for all the efforts and sacrifices of the cause which he has espoused, and w T hich he believes to be the cause of truth, and right, and human happiness ? Who has read of the wise, intrepid, persevering, disinterested benefac¬ tors of their age,—be that age as distant from us as it may,—and has not felt that they were the glory of our race ? Who has not sympathized with them in their pur¬ poses, shared their toils, triumphed in their successes. 187 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 33 and lamented their defeats ? Who has not felt, when under the influence of their examples, the true greatness and dignity of an heroic, self-denying, upright, and be¬ nevolent spirit ; struggling against the difficulties that opposed it ; sacrificing its ease, its security, its peace, and all its immediate interests, for the advancement of the condition and happiness of others ; and who has not felt himself to be raised in the scale of being, by the conscious¬ ness that he is united, by the bond of a common nature, wfith all this virtue, this greatness, this excellence ? Yes, it is not less a law of our nature, that we should go out of ourselves, that we should feel a strong interest in others, and not only in the wants and the happiness of our fami¬ ly, our neighborhood, our country and our age, but in those too of men in every country, and in all time, than it is that we should love ourselves. I say not, that one principle is as strong, and steady, and active at all times, or that it is as generally manifested in human conduct, as is the other. It is not. In many it is bound in the chains of a sordid avarice. In many, it is kept in sub¬ jection by a miserable ambition, which values nothing, but as it conduces to personal distinction. And in many, it lies buried under heaps of the rubbish of cares and interests, of appetites and propensities, of prejudices and passions, not one of which has an object beyond the in¬ dividual, to whom they are the chief, and perhaps the only good of life. But the principle of sympathy,—of sympathy, I mean, with the cause of human nature, of human good and happiness,—dead and buried as it some¬ times seems to be, does also sometimes rise, and mani¬ fest itself; and, with an electric influence, at once ani- 34 OX THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 188 mate, and give new vigor, to thousands, and millions. How has the thril of its power been felt, in the cause of the abolition of the slave trade ? How was it felt, when the first struggles of the Greeks for freedom were pub¬ lished throughout Christendom? How was it felt, when it was thought that the sun of liberty had broken through the clouds, which, for centuries, had covered Spain; and that a new day was about to open upon that dark spot of the earth ? And how was it felt, when we were assured that one and another of the oppressed nations of South America had conquered, had triumphed, had se¬ cured a government of its choice, a constitution, equal laws, independence ? And who, that has tasted the blessings, and that knows the happiness of civil liberty, does not desire, and will not pray, that it maybe univer¬ sal ? Who would not rejoice to hear, that despotism is every where at an end 1 Who would not contribute what he can, to the cause of the universal emancipation of our race, from the injustice and cruelty, the degradation and misery, of civil tyranny 1 —And is civil freedom, or are civil rights and privileges, so great a boon, that, merely to name them, is to kindle desire in every heart, that they may be universal 1 And is the sympathy that is thus excited, one of the provisions of God, for the advancement of the great cause of civil liberty through¬ out the world 1 What, then, should be our sympathy in the cause of religion ; of religious liberty ; of the rescue of man from the slavery of a superstition, a thousand times more debasing than is any civil bondage ; in the cause of bringing men to the liberty, the exaltation of condi¬ tion, and the happiness, of the sons of God ? 189 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 35 Christians, let us feel the value of our privileges, and the greatness of our responsibility for them. God has committed them to us for our own improvement, and as means of our own salvation. But is it not also his will, that we should be his instruments for the improvement, and the salvation, of our fellow-men 1 How, think you, is our religion to be extended through the world, but by the Christian earnestness, and the Christian benevolence of those, who feel its reality, its worth and its power ; and the greatness of the blessings which it will impart to those who receive it ? We believe, indeed, that it ever has been, that it is, and that it will be, in the care of him, who sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. But our Lord committed it to the immediate charge of his apostles ; and they have left it—to those who shall be¬ lieve in it. God will honor us as his agents, in the work of imparting to all the greatest of all his blessings. Is proof of the principle demanded 1 I will ask, why has God, in such diversified measures, allotted to us our talents, and our capacities 1 Why has he appointed such a diver¬ sity in the condition of men 1 Why has he connected us in bonds of families, of neighborhoods, and of communi¬ ties 1 And why has he subjected all to so many weak¬ nesses, and exposures, and wants, and sufferings 1 No one will doubt, whether one purpose of these ordina¬ tions of his providence is, the accomplishment, by the instrumentality of man, of his designs of benevolence towards man.' And is it less clearly God’s design, that we should extend, as far as we may, the bread of life, and the waters of life, to those who are suffering from the want of them, than it is that we should give of our bread to the hungry, or relieve the distress which we 36 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 190 have the means and opportunity of relieving 1 Fellow- christians, let us feel that we are to give account to God, for the use which we make of our powers of mind and ot body, of our property, of our influence, and of every means which w r e have of being good, by doing good. And if, where much has been given, much will be required, will not much be demanded from us, and mav not much be most justly demanded, in return for the most precious of God's gifts to us, the religion of his Son 1 Admit that the heathens are safe, as far as that idolatry is con¬ cerned, the evil of which they know not. The great- question to engage our attention is, are we safe, while we possess the means of their instruction, their reforma¬ tion, and their best happiness, and yet fail to employ them to the purposes, for which God has entrusted us with them 1 Are we safe, if this talent shall be kept by us, laid up in a napkin 1 Can we render our account with joy at the bar of heaven, if, having freely received this unspeakable gift, we have cared nothing for the con¬ dition of those who have it not ; and have done nothing, that they may be partakers with us of the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with everlasting glory 1 Suffer me here to sav, that I fear we do not think enough of the importance of prayer in this, as well as in all our great and important enterprises. God wills that / religious truth, like other truth, should be extended by human agency. But not by an independent agency of man. We are, in this great concern, to “ be workers to¬ gether with God and while our wills, and affections, and labors, are to be given to the service, we are “ in all our ways to acknowledge Him, that he may direct our steps.” Before our Lord elected his apostles, he was all 191 MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 37 night in prayer to God ; and we see his apostles relying not more on their miraculous powers, than on their prayers, for the cooperation of God in their work. Let us not, then, indulge narrow views of our relation to God ; of the intimacy of the communion which we may hold with him ; and of the influence w T hich may be exerted by God upon us, and by God, in cooperation with us, in perfect consistency with our own moral freedom. Let us, more than we have done, realise what we ask of God, when we pray, “ may thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven!” I address this letter, gentlemen, through you to the Unitarians of our country; and, as a Unitarian, with de¬ vout gratitude and joy I hail the beginning of a new era, in the recent, and, I hope, unequivocal demonstration, of a foreign missionary spirit among us. Scarcely less dis¬ tinct, indeed, is the voice from India to us, than was that to Paul, “come over to Macedonia and help us.” A Unitarian society in Calcutta, composed as well of natives as of foreigners, who have themselves contributed largely to the work, solicit our assistance in establishing there a perpetual Unitarian mission. Native gentlemen of In¬ dia have contributed largely to the cause of establish¬ ing Christian worship, upon Unitarian principles, in their country ; and they, with their English associates, are earnestly requesting the. aid of Unitarians in England and America, for the accomplishment of their object. And can there be a question, in this case, concerning our duty 1 I leave it with every man’s conscience, in the sight of God.* § * For information on this subject, see the Christian Examiner for VOL. i. 4 / 38 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 192 We live in a time, peculiarly favorable to every at¬ tempt that can be made for human improvement and happiness. Nor is it alone in those departments, to which science, with her new and wonderful discoveries, has extended her influence, that we find a new spirit of excitement, and of enterprise. The fact, that the long known mechanic powers are, of late, found to possess ca¬ pacities, very far beyond all the uses to which they had been applied ; and the fact too, not less interesting and important, of the discovery of a new mechanical agent, which may be applied alike to works the most simple, and the most complex ; to the greatest and grandest ope¬ rations, and to those which are most minute ; has given an impulse to inquiry, and to the spirit of discovery, and effort, in every department of human knowledge. The idea is awakened, and is abroad, that nothing is to be deemed impracticable, till it has been fairly tried ; and that no exertion for an object is to be relaxed, while any means remain, which may be employed for its attain¬ ment. It is felt, that there may be new applications of the known capacities of human nature, not yet hinted at in any of our systems of mental philosophy ; and even that new moral agents may be discovered, which maybe employed to accomplish in the moral world, changes and improvements, as great as have been extended to the various departments of art, by the power of a new physic¬ al agent. In Europe, and in our own country, great are the changes that have been accomplished, within the last fifty years, by the systems of education, which have been devised and adopted, and which are widely extending ; March and April, 1826; and Professor Ware’s address, delivered before the Berry Street conference, on the 31st May. 193 MISSIONARY ENTERFRISE. 39 by the multiplication of books, which grows with the multiplication of readers ; by the new views which have been opened, and are every where obtaining increased and increasing attention ; of religious liberty, and of re¬ ligious rights ; and which are awakening new convictions, and new interests, and are giving a new impulse to thought and action. Great are the changes of opinion, which are spreading, and which will continue to spread, through the nations, of the nature and ends of civil go¬ vernment ; of the rights of the ruled and of the duty and accountableness of rulers. And, I am happy to say, that, compared with any former time since the days of the Apostles, great, throughout Christendom, is the re¬ volution that has been produced in opinion and in feel¬ ing, concerning the relation of man to man ; and concern¬ ing our capacity, and obligation, to extend to others the blessings, with which God in his mercy has distinguished us, in the religion which he has given us by his Son, But the principle which, more than any other, has given life, and efficiency, to our systems of education, which has peculiarly multiplied and extended books, and which has spread wfidely the new sentiments, that have obtained of religious liberty, and of religious rights ; the princi¬ ples, which has given diffusion to the new views which are received of the nature and ends of civil government, and which has attempted, and done, what has never be¬ fore been done, for the universal extension of our reli¬ gion, is, the principle of voluntary association . And if we may infer what it may do, from what it has done, where shall we fix the limits of its pow 7 er, and of its con¬ sequences ? Look alone to the Bible societies, the anti- slavery societies, the peace societies, and the religious 40 ON THE PRINCIPLES, &LC. 194 missionary societies of England and of America, and say, what is to arrest their progress, and their effects ? Opin¬ ion has been called the lever, by which society is now moved, and its vast operations are directed, and con- troled. But I should rather call it the ground on which the lever is fixed, by which the world is moved. The mighty agent, by which those changes have been accom¬ plished, which are every day exciting new admiration, and new expectations concerning the moral and the po¬ litical condition of the world, is, the power of voluntary association. It is a power, which, like knowledge, and like wealth, may be made as conducive to evil as to good. But let all the virtuous and the wise feel its im¬ portance, and faithfully avail themselves of it, and em¬ ploy it with the calm, and steady, and persevering zeal which should characterise Christians ; and, with God’s blessing on the work, it will not long be doubtful to any mind, whether indeed the enterprise be feasible, of the conversion of the world. I will only add my hearty good wishes for the prosper¬ ity of your association ; and my hope that, while we are aiming at the advancement of our religion at home , we may all be excited to do what we can, to bring “ every knee to bow in the name of Jesus, and every tongue to confess him to be Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 5 ' With great respect and affection, I am, truly yours, Joseph Tuckerman. Chelsea , June Sth, 1826. Errata,— p. 10, line 14th, for that , read than. Same page, line 25th, after and , read explicit . No. 12. A DIALOGUE OX PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. PRINTED FOR THE American sanitarian Association. BOSTON, BOWLES AND DEARBORN, 72 WASHINGTON STREET. 1827. Price 4 Cents. PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. Vindicate the ways of God to man.- pope. Mr and Mrs Henderson had lately buried their eldest daughter, a lovely girl of eighteen. Their feelings on this occasion were such as affectionate parents usually experi¬ ence when thus severely afflicted. They were amiable people, and had lived together very happily twenty years. They had brought up a family of four children, and had found as much to love and approve in them as they could reasonably hope. Living in the middle ranks of society, as far removed from degradation on one side, as from reigning in the circles of fashion on the other, they had escaped, perhaps, the severest trials of virtue. They had passed along so far in life, with no other notoriety, than that of being spoken of among the circumscribed number of friends, whom they had attached to themselves, as an inoffensive, kind-hearted, unassuming couple, with a fam¬ ily of orderly and good children, the eldest of whom, now lately deceased, was very lovely in person and mind. Their two sons, one sixteen, and the other fourteen years old, were both apprenticed to substantial good men in the city of Boston, and gave reason to expect that they would 4 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 4 satisfy the affectionate and natural hopes of fond and ra¬ tional parents. Their youngest child, a daughter of eleven years, was still at school. She had been called home by the sickness of her sister, and with her parents and broth¬ ers, had attended and watched the declining young crea¬ ture, till she sunk under the pressure of her disease, and w r as relieved by death from all mortal sufferings. Mr and Mrs Henderson at this time experienced feelings, not un¬ usual on such occasions. At first their bodily fatigue, then the excitement of numerous visits of condolence, the sud¬ den relaxation from all personal and mental exertion, and the overpowering sense of their heavy loss, all combined to render their emotions agonizing. For a time they gave themselves up, without restraint, to the full indulgence of their grief. But tliey were sober, temperate people, and under the habitual restraints of reason and religion. 0 { Their minister also was kind and sympathising. He made them frequent visits, and offered them the consolations suggested by his nature, and his office. The hopes of the Christian faith, and the support of philosophy, which he said admirably harmonized with the principles of religion, were pointed out; and he endeavored to convince them of the duty and the wisdom of restraining grief, and subduing all spirit of complaint. They had indeed no disposition to murmur at the dispensations of Providence, and as¬ sured their friends they would not, if it were in their power, call back their beloved child from the happy state to which they believed her removed, and again involve her in the trials and troubles of life. “ And yet,” said % Mr Henderson, “ it is a dark and mysterious dispensation. I cannot see the hand of a merciful God in it, though I will not say I doubt of God’s mercy in any thing.” They were alone when Mr Henderson made this ob~ o PROVIDENCE, FAITH, and prayer. o servation to his wife. They had been conversing on the promising qualities of the dear girl they had buried; and the contemplation of the happiness they had hoped to en¬ joy in her mature years seemed to aggravate their sense of her loss and renew their grief for this heavy bereave¬ ment. Mr Henderson, particularly, seemed to find it difficult to reconcile his mind entirely to his trouble. He had often manifested this state of feeling, and his wfife this evening ventured to remark upon it. “ Your faith appears to me to be weaker than mine/' said she, in reply to her husband’s observation. “ It seems to me that, respecting those dispensations which are involved in the clouds and darkness that are around the throne of God, you have doubts of his mercy; though you are not willing to acknowledge your doubts.” “ Can you always perceive the benevolence of God, in every event of life that takes place ? ” asked Mr Hender¬ son. “ No my dear,” replied his wife, “I do not pretend to be so much clearer sighted than my neighbors; but my not being able to perceive it, does not cause any doubts to arise in my mind respecting the existence of that benevolence.” “ Well, I said I did not doubt the mercy of God,” in¬ terrupted Mr Henderson, “ but that I could not see his mercy in all his providences. I w ish I could see it, in the case of our dear Elizabeth’s death. I must say it would be a great comfort to me.” “ But there is certainly a difference in our state of mind,” observed Mrs H. and it seems to me that you do feel doubts and painful ones; while, at the same time, your rational convictions forbid you to doubt. I on the VOL. II. 1* 6 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 6 contrary feel no doubts whatever ; and therefore my mind is not painfully disturbed, as yours is.” “I do not exactly comprehend what you say,” said her husband. “ If you do not feel any doubts whatever, and yet you cannot see any plainer than I can the mercy of God, how do you reconcile these two opposing states of mind ? There seems some contradiction in this.” “ I will endeavor to explain what I mean ” replied Mrs Henderson. “ I am deeply convinced that, as a finite be¬ ing, it is quite impossible for me to comprehend and con¬ tain within my mind, the views, purposes, and plans of infinite mind. I reason from analogy. I know that any thing which is seen in part, any circumstance which is but partly understood, any action, the motive of which is hidden, must appear not only imperfect, but often distorted and hideous, when the whole, if seen, would display per¬ fect proportion. The secret intention would show good¬ ness and integrity. In the same way, I think it is owing to our seeing only a part of God's design, that we cannot in every event perceive beauty, consistency, and benevolence. Having satisfied myself by the clearest reasoning that God is infinite mind, and that mind infinitely good; whenever any event or course of events appears to speak a different character, instead of doubts arising as to the mercy of God, I immediately advert to my own small and imperfect powers, which are incapable of ever pene¬ trating into the mysterious arrangement of events, and which, seeing only the odds and ends of things, cannot discern the beauty and propriety of the whole design.” “ Perhaps it is so,” said Mr Henderson, “ but I confess there is so much to excite doubt, that it is difficult, at all times, to satisfy the mind that all things are ordered in mercy; and yet, as an abstract truth, I cannot but allow, PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND TRAYER. 7 that God is a merciful being, infinitely merciful. But when we see a lovely creature, one calculated to be use¬ ful, and to diffuse happiness, as well as to enjoy it; one who has lived an innocent life, and who constitutes the chief joy and hope of virtuous parents ; when we see such an one snatched away from their arms, and laid in the dismal tomb, cut off from the innocent delights of the world, and its improvements, while the hearts of all around are crushed by the heavy affliction ; when we see this, and then turn perhaps to our next door neighbor, and find a beastly, intemperate being, who is a plague to all with whom he lives, and who is incapable of either virtue or happiness himself, or increasing that of others ; and this useless, miserable wretch is left, while our lovely child is taken away; who can reconcile these things with that perfect benevolence, that is represented always to will kindness and always to be able to bring to pass, what it wills ? ” “ I am sorry to hear you use these terms, my dear,” said Mrs Henderson. “ I do not like the expression,‘ snatched away ; 5 it seems to imply that anger, and not benevolence, dictated the dispensation. Without proving any thing, such terms operate on the feelings, like argument, and therefore we should avoid them. I do not like ‘ dismal tomb ’ for the same reason. The grave is represented as the peaceful asylum of suffering, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest; and by those who believe it only the receptacle of the once loved, but now resigned body, while the released spirit has risen to happiness and its Maker, it can only be thought of with pensive and holy pleasure. The delights of life you speak of, and its improvements, what are they, compared with those w r e believe our darling is now enjoying ? Our faith 8 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. S must be aided by reflection, observation, and experience, or we may not be able, in any case, to reconcile the appa¬ rent inconsistences, that catch our attention in the course of events; and we cannot, with all our efforts, often be able to perceive and trace the love and mercy, which yet we may believe guides the superintending hand.” “ What I can see, I can believe,” said Mr Henderson, “ but respecting what I cannot see, by any view I can take of a subject, I must still confess, I can never be free from doubts.” “ But,”’ said Mrs Henderson, “ if those dispensations, which, at the time they occurred, appeared altogether op¬ posed to divine benevolence, have, by the course of sub¬ sequent events, evidently displayed that principle, would not such dispensations serve greatly to establish a reli¬ ance on God, and faith in his goodness, and prevent the same state of doubt from occurring to you again, when suffering under a painful affliction of the kind you have described ? ” “ I do not know that it would,” replied Mr Henderson. “ I have in the course of my life, several times, been thus situated, and have clearly perceived that a circumstance, which I deprecated as a great misfortune, at the time it occurred, has proved in the end a blessing, and that which I hailed as auspicious, has turned out a bad business ; and yet I have not been so established in the faith you speak of, as always to be able to rely upon it.” “ But that is because your eprly impressions were not in favor of an overruling Providence,” said his wife. I think it of very great importance that -children’s minds should be early and deeply impressed with the great and fundamental truths of religion ; for I have constantly ob¬ served, that the fullest convictions of the understanding 9 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 9 in mature life, are feeble instruments in removing strong early impressions. If our infant notions are correct, our rational convictions in mature life will confirm them, and our faith will be solid and satisfactory. If, on the contra¬ ry, our first ideas are false, and deeply impressed, it is next to impossible that the understanding, however clear in its deductions, and sincere in its purpose, should re¬ move the feeling it opposes, so that it will not recur again and again. You were brought up with the notion that chance or destiny ordered all events ; and though you have long been convinced that when you reason on the subject, there is no sound argument to be urged in favor of this opinion, but every thing to confirm that of a particular Providence, ye«t your early impressions re¬ main for your discomfort, whenever any circumstances of a distressing nature occur.” “ I wish it were possible,” she added in an affection¬ ate tone, “to transfer to you the repose and resignation which I enjoy, from having been early impressed with a belief that God is a kind and watchful guardian, who or¬ ders all our affairs from benevolent motives.” tf I do not see that I can help it,” replied Mr Hender¬ son. I read the books adapted to convince my mind, and then I feel assured I have studied the New Testament, and am satisfied of its truth. I have made a profession of religion, and wish to be a Christian. What more can I do?” My dear husband,” said Mrs Henderson, “ I will say more of you than you say for yourself. You not only wish to be a Christian, but you manifest by a life of strict conformity to the precepts of Jesus Christ, that you really are a Christian, in spirit, and life. But you fail of reap- 10 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 10 ing the joys of a Christian, from a want of those feelings of faith, which I enjoy by the blessings of early instruc¬ tions/’ Mr Henderson was affected by this proof of the tender love and approbation of his wife ; and moved by that in. ternal feeling of humility, which every real Christian must understand, he said, “ do not, my dear, bestow praise like this on a being so utterly useless and worth¬ less as I feel myself to be.” “ When we think of ourselves in relation to God and to the character exhibited by our Saviour,” replied Mrs Henderson, “ it is altogether proper, as it is entirely true, that we should esteem ourselves unworthy, and feel self-abased before our Maker and our Master. But we are taught by that master to judge ourselves and to judge others by the actions of our lives, as we judge of trees by their fruit; and in doing this, we must dis¬ criminate between our good and bad actions. We must compare ourselves with others, and when thus comparing actions, we must perceive, and it is proper to express candidly, in what we rise above, and in what we sink below others. In this view of ourselves, we may with gratitude to God rejoice that, in some instances, we have been enabled to follow the example of Jesus Christ, and trust, that our endeavors to do so, may be accepted in all cases. At the same time, we ought to search our heart, and if in any thing it is not right before God, pre¬ ferring its own will to his, we should acknowledge it, and humble ourselves accordingly. But even in the deepest devotion, we should be under the guidance of reason, and not abandon ourselves to emotions, however pious they may be.” 11 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER, 11 “ I do not think it right to abandon ourselves to feel¬ ing,said Mr Henderson, “ nor do I ever allow myself to do it. Emotions will come ; doubts will present them¬ selves. I can command my feelings as well, I believe, as most people; but I can do it only by turning my mind forcibly from what affects me, and engaging it in a dif¬ ferent train of thought. I can restore peace in no other way.” r< I never found that method effectual with my feel¬ ings, 55 said Mrs Henderson ; “ it only shuts out the tide, till accident breaks down the barrier, and then the tor¬ rent is overpowering. 55 Mr Henderson answered, “ If I attempt to reconcile my feelings to painful events, instead of banishing those feelings, I am immediately overpowered by the multitude of distressing doubts which present themselves, and which I can neither quiet nor remove. 55 “ There is only one resource in all such difficulties, 5 ' said Mrs Henderson, “ and that appears to me always effectual whether the faith is weak or powerful. At least I have found it so, in every period of my life and under all circumstances. 55 “ You mean the power of religion, I suppose, 55 said her husband; “ but, as I told you before, with me it is not sufficient; my faith is not strong enough, it is not implicit enough to answer the purpose. 55 44 No, 55 interrupted Mrs Henderson, “ I did not intend to advert to the general influence of religion ; but to the power of one act of Christian faith. It is prayer only, that, I should think effectual in relieving our minds of such thoughts as afflict you. Prayer is the greatest priv¬ ilege of a Christian. The highest, the holiest, the noblest 12 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 12 employment of men. It is also the most natural of all acts. When the mind is deeply wounded and perplexed, when we are pressed on every side, and can find no hope of re* lief from any quarter where human reason directs us, the very despair we feel prompts us to direct our thoughts to some power above ourselves, and to implore relief. In perfect conformity to this opinion is the anecdote of the Indian woman, who, seeing her child sinking in the wave where no human power could reach him, extended her arms in an agony of despair, and falling on her knees, exclaimed, “ O, thou every where, save my child. 5 '* This was instinct, and in perfect unison with this instinct, are the precepts of our Saviour. Nature and faith di¬ rect the uncorrupted mind, in every extremity, to ask of God that help, which no other power can afford. 55 “ All that would be very well, 55 replied Mr Henderson, “ if, when we ask for relief, we could be always sure of receiving it. We should then be so much encouraged as to resort to this remedy in every evil. But the truth is, that however earnestly we implore, relief is often denied us, and therefore w r e naturally doubt its efficacy. 55 “ Oh no, my dear,’ 5 exclaimed Mrs Henderson, “ it is not so. I am sure you cannot believe that a sincere and ardent prayer was ever offered in vain. 55 “1 do not know what you mean, 55 replied Mr Hen¬ derson, surprised in his turn. “ Did we not daily pray that the life of our dear child might be spared ? did we not have our minister to pray for us ? did we not seek this blessing with many tears, and with the most pious and humble state of mind ? and were not our prayers disre¬ garded, and our precious child taken from us ? 55 “ Will you let me express in my own language the state 13 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 13 of our minds, and the object of our prayers, and the dealings of God with us, in this case ? ” asked Mrs Hen¬ derson. 44 Do so, my love ; ” replied her husband ; 44 I should be glad to receive light from your way of viewing it.” 44 You say,” observed Mrs Henderson, 44 that we offered our prayers in the most pious and humble state of mind. If so, we certainly believed that God, who knows all things, could see better than we could, what events would really prove a blessing to us, and what would not; and we should pray conditionally, that he would grant what we asked, if he could see it would prove for our happiness. And, as he has ordered things otherwise, our piety and humility require us to submit with resignation to the re¬ fusal of our petitions.” 44 Very well,” interrupted Mr Henderson, 44 allow it to be as you say. Still my assertion remains uncontroverted, that we ask, and are denied. If we prayed not at all, in what should we be losers ? ” 44 1 do not view the subject in the same light,” replied Mrs Henderson. 44 1 still believe that our prayers are ac¬ cepted, and answered, if we really pray with sincere and humble minds.” 44 1 do not see how you make it out,” said Mr Hen¬ derson. 44 1 can only speak for myself,” Mrs Henderson said. 44 1 feel convinced that my petitions are heard, and are accepted, and my prayer granted, if not exactly in the way my own imperfect views would have induced me to dictate, had a choice been allowed me, yet so as to fill my heart with gratitude and resignation.” 2 VOL. II. 14 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 14 “ How is it, then, we differ so essentially,” inquired Mr Henderson, “ seeing we are both professors of the religion of Jesus Christ ? Both were piously offering prayers for the life of our child, both equally distressed by the fear of losing her; how is it we feel so differently 1 Tell me the whole process in yourself; and let us com¬ pare the state of our feelings and our conduct, step by step, and see, if we can, where the difference lies.” • “For my own part,” replied his wife, “ I never feel disposed to pray, unconditionally, for any outward cir¬ cumstance. I pray unconditionally, I plead urgently, that I may be blessed with that spirit which will unite me to my Maker, that I may have the spirit of Christ, and be enabled to view all my temporal circumstances as ordered in infinite mercy. In short, I pray not for ex¬ ternal, but internal changes ; that my mind may be con¬ formed altogether to the will of God. I pray also, for all those that are dear to me, that each one may be trans¬ formed into the spirit of meekness, of wisdom, of love, of goodness, so that we may all go on our way rejoicing, let - that way be checkered as it will. For every thing else, my dear husband, I pray only in humble submission to the wisdom and goodness of God, not daring to wish that my imperfect mind shall in any thing dictate what events shall happen to me.” “What then,” exclaimed Mr Henderson, “ did you not pray earnestly and devoutly for the life of our dear Eliz¬ abeth ? ” “ I did not pray for it, unconditionally,” replied Mrs Henderson. “ I dare not. manifest so much presumption. I did pray, if God could see it for the best good of all con¬ cerned, that he would grant her to our prayers; but I I 15 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 15 was afraid to ask more. Even Jesus Christ did not, in the greatest extremity, offer a prayer for deliverance on any other ground. ‘ Not my will,’ said he, ‘ but thine be done.’ I prayed also, and with deep earnestness, that our minds might be prepared for whatever events should be ordered by his goodness ; and that, under any circum¬ stances, we might each of us be supported by his spirit, and receive his healing mercy. “ My prayers, I am sure, were heard and granted; and though God has called us to mourn, we ought also to acknowledge and be grateful for the grace he has. given us.” “ What do you mean by the grace of God?” asked Mr Henderson ; “ This is a phrase very commonly used, but I never could exactly comprehend its meaning.” “ Grace, my dear husband, does it not mean favor ? ” asked Mrs Henderson, a little embarrassed. “I do not know,” replied her husband, “ I am no scholar ; nor am I learned in theology.’' “ Nor do I pretend to be learned in any thing,” said Mrs Henderson ; “ but I think grace means any of God’s bless¬ ings. It is by God’s grace we live, and are provided with the comforts and conveniences of life; it is by his grace we have the enjoyment of rational faculties and bodily powers. But generally, when God’s grace is spoken of, I suppose his spiritual favors are intended to be expressed.” Well, and what do you call the spiritual favors of God,” asked Mr Henderson. After a moment’s pause, during which Mrs Henderson seemed deep in thought, she replied. “ If I find my mind, on any occurrence, greatly disturbed, my spirits depressed, my feelings excited, and some deeply painful impressions made upon it by par- PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 16 16 ticular circumstances, and if, in this state, my religious / * principles and reflections are unequal to restoring my quiet and tranquillity ; if my philosophy is insufficient, and all common aid fails ine, I have then two methods left, which may bring back my peace. On the ground of philosophy, I may presume, as it is one of its principles, that nothing vio¬ lent can last loner, that when time has been allowed its influ- ence, I shall recover the cheerful tone of my feelings. Or on the ground of religion, I may hope, that God will do for me what I cannot do for myself, if I earnestly im¬ plore his mercy to calm the tumults of my feelings. The assistance I receive, the serenity and peace which are re¬ stored, is the answer to my prayer. This is the grace of God, his spiritual favor; it is that unseen, and often un¬ known operation of his power, that preserves the human mind, through all the vicissitudes of life, so capable of happiness ; and when it is under the habitual influence of religion, renders it so uniformly peaceful and contented.” “ Will you pretend to say,” asked Mr Henderson, “ that a miracle is performed, in favor of those who pray in the manner and circumstances you describe 1 and that peace and happiness are restored to their minds by the immedi¬ ate operation of God's spirit, and not by strictly natural means ? That is a fallacy to which I can never yield my mind, I am not enthusiast enough to believe that.” “ My dear husband,” replied his wife, “ it is not my mind, but yours, which is imposed upon by fallacy. The terms, natural means, and miracle, are both used so in¬ definitely, they are sc obscure and vague, that they are altogether fallacious in their common application. If, in the case we are speaking of, you intend to express by the term, strictly natural means, the mode in which 17 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 17 the human mind is always affected in similar circumstan¬ ces, I will assert that the operation of divine grace in thus producing a desirable state of feeling, when thus earnestly prayed for, is nothing more nor less than strictly natural means. For I fully believe that every sincere prayer offered to God for a proper temper of mind, is fol¬ lowed by the temper of mind desired ; and yet I do as fully believe the state of feeling would not have been pro¬ duced, without the ardent desire and humble petition. Prayer is the appointed means of obtaining the blessing, the condition on which it is promised ; and when all these circumstances occur, the effect always follows. Thus it may be called strictly natural means. I do not know any means that separates the mind from the influence of Deity. Nature is only another name to express the com¬ mon providence of God ; and this effect on the mind through the means of prayer I consider of that kind.” Mr Henderson then said, “ if you call such an effect of prayer, the operation of natural causes, what do you think produces the effect you call philosophical. 1s not that also the operation of natural causes ? and if so, what is the difference between them ? ” “ My dear husband,” said Mrs Henderson, “ does not God preserve and bless us, when we do not ask him ? when we even forget him, and disobey him ? He invites us to turn to him and find happiness, by all the variety of events in which his Providence places us. If a pain¬ ful event induces us to seek him, and ask his gracious in- fluence, ive receive it, and our peace is restored. If we do not seek him. he gradually restores our peaceful state of mind, but not such peace as prayer brings; and thus prepares us for new incitements. All the train of human VOL. II. IS PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. IS events, and all the states of mind resulting from them, are only the varied means used by our Heavenly Father to draw our hearts to him, and conform our spirits en¬ tirely to him ; by which eternal happiness will be secured to us.” “ Then,” interrupted Mr Plenderson, “ you mean to say that what is called the philosophical cause, is, in your opin¬ ion, only the operation of God on the mind, without any voluntary co-operation of that mind ; and what is called spiritual influences, is God’s operation on the mind, in co-operation with the earnest and expressed desires of the heart ? ” “ Yes, that is what I think, my dear,” replied his wife ; “ and I should like to explain my ideas more at large, if you think them worth attending to.” Mr Henderson made no reply, but appearing to listen, Mrs Henderson continued. “ With those persons who never seek the aid of God’s grace, who know nothing of religious intercourse with their Maker, God deals in a certain manner, and such as he perceives to be the most effectual in bringing them to the state of mind most con¬ formed to his own, and therefore most capable of rendering them happy. This being the case with the greatest num¬ ber of human beings, embracing barbarians, semicivilized people, heathens, infidels, idiots, insane persons, and little children, the methods pursued respecting them are the most frequently observable ; so that they who take notice and reason on the circumstances of human life, come at length to the conclusion that God has established cer¬ tain general laws by which he chooses to govern the world, which they call laws of nature, or philosoph- 19 . PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 19 ical causes ; as if God had delegated to other powers, the conduct of those circumstances, which require constant attention and superintendency, while he reserves for him¬ self only the management of those few and extraordinary events, which he deems more important, and requiring greater exertion of divine power. But it is easy to per¬ ceive that this mode of reasoning is the effect of man's imperfect faculties, which, not comprehending an idea of Deity, are disposed to circumscribe the attributes of God bv their own narrow views.” J “ This view of the subject seems rational,” observed Mr Henderson. Mrs Henderson continued. “ God deals differently with the class of persons, who come into nearer communication with him by means of religion. They are drawn, by their lively faith in divine revelation, to seek the favor of their Heavenly Father directly. They know, they feel that they are led by his spirit, whenever they do not resist it; and they desire to become more and more conformed to it, and to live by it. They know they shall be heard by their Maker, whenever they sincerely ask for his assist¬ ance and influence. They are convinced they shall be permanently united to God, if they strive to subdue the evil passions and abandon the conduct, which separate them from him, and are truly and earnestly desirous that he should reign in their hearts. To all such persons, and in all their circumstances, God uniformly grants his grace, according to his own divine measure and wisdom ; and still, as with mankind at large, effects follow causes,, uniformly and constantly ; and the reward of spiritual favor, on the urgent request for it, is as much a general mode of operation, as that adopted for the greater num- *20 FROVIDENCE, FAITH AND PRAYER. 20 hers. It is less frequent only because fewer minds are in the state to ask and receive. It is therefore, strictly speaking, as much a natural law as the other.*’ “ I like that explanation,*’ said Mr Henderson, Mrs Henderson’s countenance became irradiated, as her husband’s mind appeared impressed. She continued. “ There are other situations and circumstances of the mind in which a different mode of operation is adopted by God. In this method, God sees fit to manifest himself sensibly to his creatures, cither on their minds immedi¬ ately, or by interrupting his general course. These cir¬ cumstances, occurring much less frequently than cither of the others I have noticed, and indeed, since the Christian era, having apparently not occurred at all, are considered by mankind as the only instances of God’s directly operating on worldly affairs ; and accordingly they are distinctly called miraculous. But as such phenomena always occur in the same given situation of men, they ought to be considered as means, as strictly natural as any other mode that God uses to effect his purposes.” “ If what is called natural means, and what aie called divine interpositions, and what is called miracle, are all 4 equally the methods, uniformly pursued by God to reform and elevate the human character, and unite the spirit cf man with his Maker, why is it that such different terms have obtained such general use 1 I wish you to reca¬ pitulate a little on this subject,” said Mr Henderson. Mrs Henderson replied. The different states of the human mind, which God always regards in his dealings with us, require these different methods, to produce the same result, which is, union with him, and consequent 21 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 21 happiness. These different methods are noticed by us while the causes for them are disregarded. Mankind are prone to look out of themselves for a cause, and are too in¬ attentive to the similar states of mind, which are followed by similar providences; and hence the erroneous ideas of the different modes of operation, which are considered ar¬ bitrary in cases of providential interference and miracles, while his ordinary dealings are supposed to be by estab¬ lished laws, which, when once arranged, are afterwards abandoned by him to their own consequences. The dif¬ ferent phraseology is necessary to distinguish the different methods; and if the terms were used only to designate the different states of mind and circumstances of man¬ kind, there would be no false notions imbibed.” “ This is a different view of the subject from any I have ever before taken,” said Mr Henderson ; “ and certainly it is more consistent with the character of God, than to suppose, as I have hitherto done, that in all the common concerns of life he holds himself at a distance, and is unconcerned how the world is going on ; and that it is only on great occasions, and in uncommon circum¬ stances, he condescends to interfere with the established order of things. In the view you have given, God is intimately acquainted with every event of every individ¬ ual, even to his smallest emotion, as well as his general state of feeling ; and he adapts every circumstance to the exact state of mind of each individual, at all times, and in such a manner, as on the whole to be productive of the greatest benefit to each one of his creatures. I have never before taken such a view of our relation to God.” After a short pause, he added in a pensive tone, “ I am afraid I have never prayed as I ought.” 22 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 22 “ How have you prayed, my dear husband 1 ” asked his wife. “ You have always been sincere in your prayers, have you not?” “ Yes,” replied Mr Henderson, “ I have not been hypo¬ critical certainly. I have prayed sincerely as an act of devotion to God ; believing it a duty to acknowledge mer¬ cies received, to praise my Maker, to confess my sins and ask forgiveness. But I have never felt it a privilege, a de¬ light, the highest honor, to be allowed to disclose my feelings to my God, as really and truly my best friend. I have never asked divine aid and direction, with a full and entire conviction, that I was addressing a Being pre¬ sent with me, and able and willing to grant me every blessing proper for me ; and, especially, I have never for a moment imagined I must ask him to influence my feel¬ ings and my mind, so as to produce the state which will be most agreeable to him, and most happy for myself. I never before conceived this to be the object of prayer. I have never felt it as I ought. But, I confess, my views are changed. The ways of Providence seem lighted up anew. I perceive grounds of resignation in view of our dear Elizabeth’s death, which were concealed from me. My faith in God, as the infinitely kind Father of his children, has gained new strength. Never did my relation to this gracious Being seem so near and intimate as it does at this moment. Devotion will henceforward have delight for me that I have not before been able to derive from it. You remember the beautiful hymn on the seasons of prayer which you have so often repeated to me ? It breathes a spirit in perfect unison with my pre¬ sent feelings.” 23 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER. 23 SEASONS OF PRAYER. To prayer, to prayer ;—for the morning breaks, And earth in her Maker’s smile awakes. His light is on all below and above, The light of gladness and life and love. Oh, then, on the breath of this early air, Send upward the incense of grateful prayer. To prayer ;—for the glorious sun is gone, And the gathering darkness of night comes on. Like a curtain from God’s kind hand it flows To shade the couch where his children repose. Then kneel, while the watching stars are bright, And give your last thoughts to the Guardian of night. To prayer ;—for the day that God has blest Comes tranquilly on with its welcome rest. It speaks of creation’s early bloom; It speaks of the Prince who burst the tomb. Then summon the spirit’s exalted powers, And devote to Heaven the hallowed hours. There are smiles and tears in the mother’s eyes, For her new born infant beside her lies. Oh hour of bliss! when the heart o'erflows With rapture a mother only knows. Let it gush forth in words of fervent prayer; Let it sw r ell up to Heaven for her precious care. There are smiles and tears in that gathering band, Where the heart is pledged with the trembling hand. What trying thoughts in her bosom swell, As the bride bids parent and home farewell! Kneel down by the side of the tearful fair, And strengthen the perilous hour with prayer. 24 PROVIDENCE, FAITH, AND PRAYER*. Kneel down by the sinner's dying side, And pray for his soul through him who died. Large drops of anguish are thick on his brow : Oh what is earth and its pleasures now 1 And what shall assuage his dark despair, But the penitent cry of humble prayer ? Kneel down at the couch of departing faith, And hear the last words the believer saith. He has hidden adieu to his earthly friends ; There is peace in his eye that upward bends ; There is peace in his calm confiding air; For his last thoughts are God’s, his last words prayer The voice of prayer at the sable bier! A voice to sustain, to sooth, and to cheer. It commends the spirit to God who gave ; It lifts the thoughts from the cold dark grave ; It points to the glory where he shall reign, Who whispered, ‘ Thy brother shall rise again.’ The voice of prayer in the world of bliss ! But gladder, purer, than rose from this. The ransomed shout to their glorious King, Where no sorrow shades the soul as they sing; But a sinless and joyous song they raise, And their voice of prayer is eternal praise. Awake, awake, and gird up thy strength To join that holy band at length. To Him, who unceasing love displays, Whom the powers of nature unceasingly praise, To Him thy heart and thy hours be given; For a life of prayer is the life of heaven. No. 14. ON * * EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. PRINTED £or THE glmmcaw {Unitarian association. BOSTON, BOWLES AND DEARBORN, 72, WASHINGTON STREET 1S27. Price 4 Cents . \ BOSTON, Isaac R. Butts and Co. Printers. & f ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. One of the many random charges brought against Unitarians at the present day is, that they are no friends to Experimental Religion; that they know nothing about it, and being strangers to it themselves, do not seek to promote it in others. It is true, they are not friends to what has sometimes been called experimental religion ; for we think this is an expression, which has had the fate to be strangely abused and perverted. Many talk and write about experimental religion, as if it were a mysterious, unintelligible process or possession, the badge to be worn by those few only, who are the special favorites of heaven. They divide the whole world into but two classes, between whom there is a deep and wide gulf of separation, and take no note of the various de¬ grees, more or less imperfect, in which the true spirit of religion may be cherished, and which constitute a very great diversity in the religious characters of men. What they understand by experimental religion seems to be a certain tangible object, which is to be seized or acquired altogether, or else nothing is gained; it is the result of a peculiar call of God, comes from influences entirely 1 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 40 supernatural, and is in fact a sort of miraculous power, which enables them, and them only, to step at once out of darkness into light, to leave what is termed the world, and join what is termed the company of the saints. Hence they sometimes speak of getting religion and losing religion, as they would speak of getting or losing property, as if it were an outward possession, and not a temper of mind and heart; as if it were a certain point, at which, when they arrive, they are to stop and con¬ gratulate themselves on the possession, and not a princi¬ ple of increase and improvement in piety and holiness; as if it were a kind of charter for heaven, put into their hands they know not how nor whence, and insuring to them by one stirring process the benefits of salvation. Now these and kindred views, we believe to be as contradictory to every correct interpretation of scripture, as they are to the suggestions of the understanding and of reason. But no one, who is acquainted with the sub¬ ject, will say that, therefore, we believe that there is in reality no such thing as experimental religion. Very far from it. We do believe most firmly in its reality and power. It is an old complaint, that men are governed by words more than by things. Opinions and feelings are so much modified by associated ideas, that people are very apt to look with contempt on what have become favorite expressions with those, whose opinions they deem irrational and unscriptural, even when the expres¬ sions themselves may have a true and good meaning. That this incautious association of ideas has led some minds to an indiscriminate and unjustifiable dislike of the phrase experimental religion , w r e do not deny. But it is in itself a very significant and appropriate, phrase, and 41 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. O may be so used as to express none but good and just ideas; nor would we by any means reject it, because it has some¬ times been abused by the unskilful or the fanatical. Experimental religion, of course, signifies religion, the influence of which is and has been experienced; aud when we speak of experiencing religion, we use the same language, and in the same sense, as when we speak of experiencing the influence of any principle or emotion, as of love, joy, sorrow, &c. The language is perfectly plain and intelligible in the one case, and there is no rea¬ son why it should not be equally plain and intelligible in the other. The word experimental is sometimes opposed to theoretical ; thus we speak of an experimental farmer, meaning thereby one who carries into practice all those rules of good husbandry which he has learned from ex_ perience. It is sometimes opposed to a mere display of ivords ; as when we say such a man may talk about trouble but another knows it by experience. And in general, in connexion with whatever subject it may be used, it de¬ notes personal, practiced acquaintance with the subject. Just so it is in religion. When we speak of it as experi¬ mental, we understand by it that thorough vital religion, which is planted in the heart, and sanctifies the thoughts, the purposes and the life, and which stands opposed to mere speculation, or mere profession, to idle clamors or boastful words. I will endeavor to point out what I conceive to be the elements, which enter into the composition of experimen¬ tal religion, when it is rightly understood, and exhibited in a scriptural, just and solemn form. 1. One requisite to experimental religion is, that we should receive the truths of religion as realities; I mean VOL. ii. 1* 6 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 42 that they should stand forth to the mind, as having a dis¬ tinct existence, in bright colors, with as much definite certainty, as if they lived and breathed before us. And this is not so common nor so easy as we may suppose it to be. It is without doubt common and easy to give our as¬ sent to religious truths; but this we may do, and yet those truths may be no realities to us. We may assent to them, because the evidence which accompanies them, is too strong to be resisted or refuted ; but to have them actually present to the mind in the freshness of vivid ex¬ istence, is quite a different thing. There are certainly many truths which we do not and cannot deny, but which we never realize,—many to which the understanding con¬ sents, but which pass across the mental vision like fleet¬ ing clouds, whose changing tints die aw r ay upon the eye j or like those mists which roll off in dim and shadowy sue- cession, and are forgotten. The arm that is palsied may be as useless as if it were severed from the body ; so that belief in religion, which is weakened and neutralized by the want of a distinct and powerful feeling of reality, may be as inefficacious as if it did not exist at all. Take a few instances, in which each one may appeal to his own consciousness. We say and we believe, that there is a God, a living Spirit, who formed and who sustains the universe, and who is present in every part of it by his knowledge and agency. But do we realize this great truth ? Is it as much an object of constant and unfailing certainty to our minds as the existence of our friends and associates here on earth ? Does it attend us in our meditations and our pursuits, as a truth upon which we act, and which gives a cast and color to our views and purposes ? Is it not to be 43 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 7 feared, that after all, it is frequently only a formal consent of a mind which sees God in nothing, and nothing in God ? Thus likewise it is an object of rational belief with us, that God exercises over us a natural and moral govern* ment, designed to train us up to holiness and happiness. But let conscience say whether this truth is as much a re¬ ality to us as the civil government of our country under which we live. Are we as habitually and firmly persuaded of the one as of the other ? Do the law r s of the divine administration present themselves as actually and definite¬ ly to our minds, as the laws of the land, by which we are bound to regulate our conduct ? Must we not confess, that these truths are something less real to our feelings and conceptions in the one case, than-in the other?— Again : it is a point of belief with us, that we are account¬ able beings, that we are responsible to a high and awful tribunal for our time and our talents, our privileges and means,—that “ we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ,”—and that “ every one of us must give account of himself to God."—Now are we prepared to say that this truth is a solemn reality with us ? Do we actually feel it to be as much so as our legal and pecuni¬ ary obligations to our fellow men ? Examine it by this test, and see if the hold which we have on this most moment¬ ous truth be not quite too feeble and nominal,—if there be not that chilling want of reality, which cripples our faith and robs it of its power.—Once more ; we believe in the history of Jesus Christ, of all that he did, and taught and suffered for the salvation of man. But let us put the question to our hearts,—have we a realizing sense of what we owe to this Heavenly Benefactor ? Have we as keen and vivid a feeling of the services and love of the 8 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 44 blessed Saviour, as we have of the poor, short-lived kind, ness of our earthly friends ? Alas! for us, that God should in the Gospel reach forth the arm of his mercy to lift us up and bless us, and yet that we should look upon it with cold indifference. I have mentioned these merely as instances of the state of mind, to which I have alluded,—a state of lethargy and deadness with regard to the reality of religion. Men believe or profess to believe what you teach them of the great truths, which relate to eternity ; but they do not realize them,—they do not suffer them to be wrought into the whole texture of their thoughts and feelings, as they do with respect to those truths which prompt and regu¬ late their mechanical, agricultural or mercantile pur¬ suits.—Now it is manifest, that while they remain in such a state, they can have nothing which deserves the name of experimental religion. On such a soil, at the best, nothing but stinted shrubbery and half-formed fruits can ever grow. If we would experience the power of Christianity, we must love it; and how can we love it, if we do not realize it ? There must be a strong, vital feel¬ ing, that the great and essential principles of religion are as. true as that the sun shines upon us, or else “ the king¬ dom of God ” will be to us not “ in power,* 5 but “ in word 55 only. This persuasion must lie at the foundation of all experimental holiness of heart. I know that the sense of the reality of the great truths relating to God, to his moral government, to our account¬ ableness, and to the solemnities of a future state, may, in a peculiar state of mental weakness or in the excitement of passion, operate so blindly, and with such painful in¬ tenseness, as to produce nothing but anguish or dismay of 45 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION 9 spirit; and this distressing perversion of a good thing may induce us to dread being in earnest about religion. But, we should remember there is as much difference be¬ tween a solemn and affecting sense of the actual truth of religion, and that agonizing feeling which crushes the heart, as there is between health and sickness, between a pure atmosphere and pestilent vapors. Lay it down for a first principle, that there must be something more than a faint, nominal, misty and loose belief in the great doc. trines of Christianity, if we would have them come upon our souls in their power and purity,—that, in short, there can be no such thing as experimental religion, without a deep and earnest feeling of the reality of its truths and principles. 2. Another essential requisite to experimental religion is a sense of personal interest in the subject. It is not enough to believe in the truths of the Gospel; it is not enough even to have a deep feeling of their reality. We must go further; we must appropriate them personally to ourselves, to our own warning, our own improvement, and our own encouragement. This is an indispensable step in the process by which the power of Christianity is brought into the heart and enthroned there. No man ever experienced religion, in any rational sense, who did not consider its great and solemn truths as applicable to himself, to his own peculiar moral condition, his own spiritual wants, his sorrows, his temptations, and his sins. It is very easy to be loud in the praises of Christianity, to bestow upon it splendid and eloquent applause, to think and speak of it as a glorious and beautiful dispensation, to tell how it stimulates and fills the vast spiritual desires of the human breast, how it relieves every want, and 10 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 46 brightens all despondency ; to be wrapt into admira¬ tion at the light which it sheds on eternity, at the ever¬ lasting hopes which it holds out to the aspirations of man, at the dignity and elevation which it imparts to the affec¬ tions of our nature that cleave to immortality ; it is, I say, very easy to think and talk in this glowing strain, and yet have no feeling of a personal interest in this most blessed gift of God to man. We may consider it in every point of view, except that in which it touches our hearts, and addresses itself to our souls. We may re¬ gard it as that, in which mankind in general have an interest, but in which ice have no peculiar interest. Thus we may please ourselves with a sort of romantic warmth about it, and forget meanwhile that its vital power has never gone down into our hearts. Now this general, vague, superficial way of thinking and feeling will never be sufficient to make religion a matter of experimental acquaintance to the heart of the individual. It is certainly important to have and to cherish these large and noble views of religion, and of the benefits it has conferred on the human race. But we must penetrate more deeply into its spirit, if we would personally know its power. We must go with it into our closets, and commune with it alone, and submit our motives, desires, and purposes to its strict and unsparing scrutiny, however painful it may be. We must retire from those wide considerations, which connect it with the world around us, and view ourselves as the peculiar objects of its counsels, its precepts, its warnings, its hopes, and its fears. Religion must be permitted to ad¬ dress us, as Nathan addressed David ; it must say, “ thou art the man.” It must not stand before us in the dis* 47 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 11 tance, merely as a bright vision to gratify our sense of the moral sublime ; it must be felt in its presence and nearness, as a subject of personal concern, and as bring¬ ing an errand from God to our hearts and souls. All this it must certainly do, or it cannot be experimental religion. Does the voice of nature and of revelation teach us that there is a God, an Infinite Spirit, who rules all worlds ? Then let each one say—this God is my Father, my Creator, my Governor, and will be my Judge.—Are we taught that we stand responsible to the bar of heaven for the use of all our gifts and privileges ? Let every individual, then, consider how this awful truth bears upon him personally, and what answer lie could give, were he now summoned to his final account.—Does Christianity present to us that Saviour, who came to bring light and pardon to a world lying in darkness and sin, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works ? ” Then let every one solemnly ask himself— has Christianity been to me personally “ the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation?” Have I im¬ bibed the spirit and imitated the example of him, who lived and died for me ?—And does the Gospel teach us, that our spirits go not down to the dust with our bodies, but are made for immortality and retribution ? Does it disclose to our view the world beyond the grave, in which “ tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doeth evil, bat glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good ? ” Let this solemn thought, then, personally affect each one of us; and let every heart seek earnestly for itself, that “ an entrance may be ministered into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 12 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 48 Saviour, Jesus Christ.”—By such applications as these, of the searching truths of Christianity, our religion may become a personal concern ; and this will be one of the effectual means of making it experimental. When, there¬ fore, the instructions and exhortations of divine truth oc¬ cur to thy mind, do not meet them with the cold reflec¬ tion that they belong to others ; be assured, that they be¬ long to thee, that thou hast a personal concern in them of imperishable and everlasting value. Then shalt thou know by thine own experience the strengthening and re¬ freshing influence of heavenly truth; then shalt thou . have u rejoicing in thyself, and not in another.” 3. The last step, which I shall mention, in the acquisi¬ tion of experimental religion is, that it must be within us a governing principle of life and conduct. Without this, all the rest is useless.—It is in vain that we realize the truths of Christianity as having an actual and distinct existence ; it is in vain that we view them as applicable in a personal manner to ourselves, unless they become habitual principles of action, and manifest themselves in all the ways of good living. Till they have become so, though they may, like barren trees, stand forth in form and comeliness, yet they have no deep, vigorous roots, and are laden with no precious fruits. Let it appear that religion pervades the life, that its spirit is infused into our temper and conduct, that our daily thoughts, motives, and purposes are purified and consecrated by its influences,—then, and then only, will it be experi¬ mental religion. This is the ultimate test, by which the profession of a personal acquaintance with the spirit of Christianity is to be tried and proved. It is easy and common enough 49 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 13 to talk in vague and high-wrought strains about conver¬ sion and about experimental religion ; but to manifest, in our daily conduct and dispositions, the experience of real religion in our hearts is much more difficult, and at the same time incomparably better and more satisfactory. There is something very deceptive to many minds in the practice, which is so common, of pointing out a spe¬ cific time, when a certain swell of feeling—they scarce¬ ly know what or whence—passed over their minds ; in supposing themselves to have been brought out of dark¬ ness into marvellous light by one process, if not instantly; and in loving the mere means and observances of Chris¬ tianity. While they become deeply engaged in these things, they are apt to mistake the warmth and eagerness, which they excite, for a real, personal interest in religion itself. The object at which all the means and institutions of the Gospel aim, is purity of heart and life; without this, its purpose is not answered. Men may say what they will; but Christ and his Apostles teach us, that we have no more religion than we have moral goodness, no more piety than we have virtue. All the professions, all the fervor, all the excitement in the world are as erppty and unmeaning, as the babbling of a noisy brook, if they do not make us better. And by this, I mean really and prac¬ tically better, as Christians and as members of society. I do not mean making us think ourselves a great deal better than all the rest of the world, and say in the spirit of the Pharisee of old—“ God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are/’ and deny the name and character of Christians to those around us, whose lives and conduct are at least as near the Christian standard, as our own. VOL. II. 2 14 OX EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 50 We are free to confess, that the only experimental religion, which we deem valuable, is that which consists in being good and doing good on Christian principles and with Christian motives,—and not that, which consists only or mainly in certain floating feelings and mysterious trans¬ actions between God and the soul. The man, whose life manifests that the flame of piety is burning, like a holy fire, upon the altar of the heart within, who, like his Saviour, 44 goes about doing good,” who lives under a solemn sense of his accountableness in the sight of God, who receives the blessings, that fall to his lot, with a devout remembrance of the great source from which they come, and bows himself to affliction with a full per¬ suasion that it is administered by the hand of paternal mercy, and with the spirit of submission that says, 44 Fa¬ ther, not my will, but thine be done/' who habitually connects in his thoughts earth with heaven, and time with eternity, who “ uses this world, as not abusing it, remembering that the fashion thereof passeth away,” who daily lives “ as seeing God who is invisible,” never forgetting that 44 the things which are seen are temporal, while the things that are unseen are eternal,”—this is he, who has, in the only proper and Gospel sense, experimen¬ tal religion , for he only it is, who gives an undeniable and standing proof, that Christianity is with him a prac¬ tical, guiding, governing principle of conduct. These, then, we conceive to be the elementary prin¬ ciples of what may be truly called experimental religion ; first, that the great truths of Christianity must be hearti* ly received as strong and distinct realities ; second, that they must be embraced in their application to ourselves personally, as something in which we have a peculiar 51 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 15 concern ; and third, that they must become principles ot conduct, pervading the life, sanctifying the motives, and forming the habits of the soul. In this explanation of the subject, I think, we have the sanction alike of Scrip¬ ture and of reason, and are unembarrassed by any thing of a fanatical or visionary nature. From this statement, it is plain that experimental re¬ ligion, taken in its true sense, is not to be acquired or fin¬ ished by one effort or by one process. Some people talk of experiencing religion at a particular time, as it it were to be done but once, or all at once. This is certainly a very strange notion. We must experience religion, not once merely, or at a certain time, but every day and at all times ; that is, religion must always be at our side, as our guide, counsellor, friend, and support. It must be interwoven with our whole moral and spirit¬ ual frame. It must enter into the composition of the character in all its parts, and not be borne in upon it, as a distinct, independent, foreign substance. It does not come at a particular moment, like the sudden ar¬ rival of a stranger, who merely takes up his abode with us, without feeling any interest in our every day business and pursuits; it is rather an unreserved and familiar friend, whose intimacy grows every day more close and dear, and who enters constantly and heartily into all the common cares and duties, which “ the Providence of God hath adopted into the family of religion.” In short, its true nature cannot be so well set forth, as in that beautiful description by our Saviour; “ And he said, so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he 16 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 52 knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 75 And now if you ask, how this experimental religion is to be acquired, the answer is, by the use of the means which God has appointed for the purpose. These means are the habitual study of the Scriptures, especially of the words of Jesus Christ, devout and heartfelt prayer, attendance upon the institutions and ordinances of the Gospel, the perusal of good books, a serious improvement of the events of God’s providence, &c. Those afflictive dispensations, which bring our thoughts to a solemn pause, are our teachers ; the examples of the good and the bad are our teachers; death is our teacher: and Christianity, properly understood, is a system of means for the formation of a holy character, for the purifi¬ cation of the heart, and the salvation of the soul. In all these ways is experimental religion to be acquired. In saying this, I do not deny that spiritual influences from above are concerned in the production of a religious frame of mind. On the contrary, I believe most sincerely in those influences, when explained scripturally and ra¬ tionally ; but I do not believe that ecstacies, and visions, and vicissitudes of the animal spirits are those influences. The agency of the spirit of God comes to us now in the channel of appointed means, or coincides with the operation of these means, so as not to be distinguished from them. If it be not so, then the age of miracles has not, as is commonly supposed, gone by. Men are too apt to be dissatisfied with the moral constitution of things, as established by God. The regular means of religion seem tame and spiritless to diseased imaginations ; they crave 53 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 17 something out of the common course, an inspiration from above pointed at the individual, a peculiar call, a privileged selection from the rest of mankind. But the Gospel bids us expect no such thing ; and it deserves well to be considered by every one, whether the kind of religion, which is acquired in this way, be so likely to be strong, useful, and permanent,—in short, to be really ex¬ perimental religion , as that, which has become engrained in the whole texture of the soul by a long and gradual process, is connected with every principle of moral action, and operates like a good leaven in the whole of the life and character. The celebrated Dr Owen, who was one of the most eminent champions of “ orthodoxy” in his day, has well remarked that, £< as water, that ariseth and flow- eth from a living spring, runneth equally and constantly, unless it be obstructed or diverted by some violent oppo¬ sition, but that, which is from thunder-showers, runs furi¬ ously for a season, but is quickly dried up; so are those spiritual thoughts, which arise from a prevalent internal principle of grace in the heart; they are even and con¬ stant, unless an interruption be put upon them for a season by temptations; but those, which are excited by the thunder of convictions, however their streams may be filled for a season, quickly dry up and utterly decay.” Finally—We think that religion is experienced differ¬ ently by different individuals ; in some, by a more striking and rapid operation of the means of grace, than ordinary ; in others, by a gradual and quiet incorporation of Christ¬ ianity into the soul from childhood to old age. The remark has been made, and it is an excellent one, that “ we should neither prescribe our personal experiences and feelings as a rule for others, nor make the experiences and feelings of 18 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 54 others a law to us.” We do not think that experimental re¬ ligion is showy and noisy, that it seeks public exhibitions, and is not satisfied till it has been registered before the world, or that it loves to blow a trumpet, or hang out a flag ; for we are accustomed to believe that quick and ostenta¬ tious effects are not generally the best effects, nor the only true indications of the progress of real Christianity, nor the only sure evidences of the blessing of Heaven upon a pastor’s labors. We do not deem that sort of commo¬ tion to be very desirable, in the confusion of which the mind mistakes the glow of emotion for permanent piety, and the fervors of imagination for signs of grace ; for we have seen enough to convince us that the whole soul may be smitten down in fear and despair, or lifted up with swelling raptures, without any impressions being pro¬ duced, which are permanently religious. We think our¬ selves justified in supposing it to be spiritual pride, rather that an experience of religion, which leads men to speak of their fellow Christians as children of darkness and of wrath, to pity the whole world besides themselves, to re¬ gard and to talk of the inclosures, within which their sects have fenced themselves, as a kind of privileged Goshen, and to thank God, with a very strange sort of grat¬ itude, that he has made them so much wiser and holier than other human beings. We do not think, that an ex¬ perimental acquaintance with Christianity requires us to make boastful comparisons of ourselves with others, nor to point the finger of reproach at such of our fellow men, as do not see with our eyes on religious subjects. But we do believe, that experimental religion is a religion which is seated in the heart, and sends out thence its influences on the life ; that it is a principle of internal purity and 55 ON EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 19 heavenly mindedness ; that it is something very different from that pretended religion which enlightens perhaps, but does not warm • very different from that empty form of Christianity which floats around the heart, without ever becoming a sanctifying power, and which leaves men with a name to live, yet dead ; that it brings the truths of the Gospel home to the bosoms and consciences of » mankind, and thus awakens the sinner from the sleep of spiritual death and animates the saint to a still better pro¬ gress in the Christian course; that its essence is in that faith which works by love, without which it is impossible to please God, and in that holy life, which to use the words of a pious writer —“ is the only perfection of re¬ pentance, and the firm ground upon which we can cast the anchor of hope in the mercies of God through Jesus Christ.” Such we conceive Experimental Religion to be; and our prayer, and we trust our labor is, that it “ may have free course, and be glorified." ) 1st series. No. 20. ON THE DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES IN JESUS CHRIST. BY ALVAN BAMSOAT. PRINTED TOR THE American Unitarian Association. BOSTON, BOWLES AND DEARBORN, 50 , WASHINGTON STREET. 1828 . Price 5 Cents . The present tract is, in part, a reprint of an article contributed by the author to the fifth volume of the “ Unitarian Miscellany,” and afterwards published in a separate form, and entitled “ An Essay on the Doctrine of two natures in Jesus Christ.” The greater part has been rewritten, and some important arguments and illustrations added. BOSTON, Press of I. R. Butts & Co. DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES IN JESUS CHRIST. The doctrine of the Trinity is embarrassed with nu¬ merous difficulties, and these difficulties multiply and strengthen, in proportion as its several parts and append¬ ages are brought distinctly into view. The hypothesis of two natures in Jesus Christ we deem one of its hea¬ viest encumbrances. The trinity supposes the truth of this hypothesis ; it may be said, in fact, to rest upon it as its basis, and with it must stand or fall. This circumstance has not, we fear, received the attention it deserves. It is true that the advocates for the strict and proper unity of the Divine Being, have "oc¬ casionally argued from the absurdity of ascribing to an individual a finite and an infinite nature, but the argu¬ ment has not been urged with due frequency and earnest¬ ness. For ourselves, we place great reliance upon it *, it has a force, we think, which is not easily resisted ; and could we bring no other, we should consider this alone sufficient to put the question of the truth or false¬ hood of opposite views at rest for ever. 4 DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES 184 Let us carefully weigh the doctrine of a double nature in Jesus Christ; let us see to what it amounts, and take a view of some of the chief objections to it. But first, let us glance at its origin and history in the early ages of the church. We gather from ancient records, that the great bulk of plain unlettered believers, who derived their knowledge of Christianity from its first preachers and their immediate successors, viewed Jesus as a finite and dependent be¬ ing. That this is true of the whole body of Jewish Christians, during their existence as a church, admits of no doubt. The uneducated Gentile converts, whose minds were not fettered by the prejudices of learning, partook of the same views. The doctrine of Christ’s proper di¬ vinity appears to have encountered from them the stern¬ est opposition ; they dreaded it on account of its sup¬ posed impiety, thinking, that it infringed on the supre¬ macy of the Father, and it was not till it had sustained severe and protracted struggles, that it finally obtained currency. The learned converts from Paganism are entitled to the credit of introducing it. These converts, several of them at least, came fresh from the schools of Alexan¬ dria in Egypt, where they had become deeply imbued with the doctrines of the later Platonists, and on em¬ bracing Christianity took along with them the sentiments there imbibed. The consequence was, that as early as the former part of the second century, the religion of Jesus began to be corrupted, and its simple truths be¬ came disfigured, by an unnatural union with a specula¬ tive and earth-born philosophy. Justin Martyr, A. D. 140, led the way by transferring 185 IN JESUS CHRIST. the Platonic doctrine of the divine reason (logos) to Christianity. This reason, originally considered an attri¬ bute of the Father, he converted into a proper person, making it to constitute the divine nature of Jesus. The first step having been taken, further innovations followed, and the work of corruption soon went on apace. It was aided in its progress by Clemens of Alexandria, A. D. 192, and especially by Origen, A. D. 239, a man of subtle and fervid genius, but of an extravagant imagina¬ tion, and weak judgment, and a very prolific writer. The fame of Origen attracted numerous followers, who, after¬ wards dispersing into various parts, Cl everywhere,” to use an expression of the learned Brucker, “ sowed the field of God with tares.” The doctrine of the trinity, however, as explained by the Fathers of the first three centuries, we feel author¬ ized to say, was very different from the modern orthodox doctrine. The perfect equality of the Son with the Father they never dreamed of asserting. Justin Martyr, as the complexion of his whole language testifies, evi¬ dently held the belief of his strict and proper inferiority ; and such seems to have been the faith of all the Christian writers of any celebrity before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. It is unnecessary to adduce passages in corroboration of this statement, as its truth has been admitted by several learned trinitarians best acquainted with the writings of Christian antiquity. Among those who have conceded it fully, or in substance, it is suffi¬ cient to mention the learned Jesuit Petavius, and Cud- worth, the profound author of the “ Intellectual System,” both orthodox authorities. The Fathers of the Council of Nice asserted the di- i* VOL. II. (5 DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES 1SG vinity of the Son, but not his individual identity with the Father. He was consubstantial , as they expressed it, with the Father, that is, as they understood it, was in all respects similar, partook of the same specific nature, though not of the same numerical essence ; as one man is of the same substance, or species, with another, though possessing distinct individuality. The Councils of Ephe¬ sus, A. D. 431, and Chalcedon, A. D. 451, occasioned by the controversies of the Nestorians and Eutychians, the former of whom were accused of dividing the person, and the latter of confounding the natures, of Jesus Christ, appear to have succeeded but little better than that of Nice in defining his divinity, though they undertook to determine the nature and results of its union with hu¬ manity. The Council of Chalcedon, particularly, claims the merit of having ascertained and settled the doctrine of the incarnation, which, according to its creed, is in substance as follows. Jesus Christ is truly God and man, perfect in both natures , consiibstantial with the Fa¬ ther with respect to his divinity , and consubstantial with us with respect to his humanity; the two natures , the divine and human , are indissolubly united in him without confusion or change , each retaining all its former attri¬ butes , yet so united as to form one person . The doctrine of the union of the divine and human natures in the person of Jesu3 Christ, as held by the or¬ thodox of succeeding ages, and received by trinitarians of the present day, does not differ in any important par¬ ticulars from that established by the council of Chalce¬ don, except, perhaps, that the term consubstantial , which the Fathers of that council, to preserve consistency, must have explained to mean only a specific , would be under- 187 IN JESUS CHRIST. 4 stood by the moderns to express an individual or numer¬ ical identity. Dr Barrow, one of the most distinguished of the old English divines, thus expresses himself on the subject. “ We may, with the holy Fathers, and particularly with the great council of Chalcedon, assert, that in the incar¬ nation of our 1 ord, the two natures, the divine and hu¬ man, were united, without any confusion or commixtion ; for such a way of blending would induce a third nature different from both ; such a commixtion being supposed, our Lord would be neither God nor man, but another third kind of substance, that would destroy, diminish, or alter the properties of each; which is unsound to say, and impossible to be ; wherefore both natures in this mystery do subsist entire, distinct, and unconfused, each retaining its essential and natural properties.'’ After some further remarks of a similar character, he adds, “ The natures were joined undividedly ;—there is but one Christ , one person, to whom, being God, and being man, are truly and properly attributed.” “ The same person never ceased to be both God and man ; not even then, when our Lord as man did undergo death ; for he raised himself from the dead, he reared the temple of his own body, being fallen ; as being God, he was able to raise himself, as being man, he was capa¬ ble of being raised by himself; the union between God and man persisting, when the union between human body and soul was dissolved.”* The church of England, following in the steps of the unreformed Catholic church, determines that, “ the Son —took man’s nature—so that two whole and perfect na~ * E^rrow’s Works, Vol. ii. p. 255. Ed. 1716. 8 DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES 188 tures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood were joined together in one person, never to be divided, where¬ of is one Christ, very God and very man. 3 ' Art. sec.— It is added by an expositor, the essential properties of one nature were not communicated to the other nature —each kept his respective properties distinct, without the least confusion in their most intimate union. 33 * il In whatever way, 33 says Professor Stuart, “ the union of the two natures was effected, it neither de¬ stroyed nor essentially changed either the divine or the human nature. 33 He supposes Christ to be “ God omnis¬ cient and omnipotent; and still a feeble man of imperfect knowledge. 33 It is unnecessary to add more to show what the re¬ ceived opinion on this subject is.—The doctrine of the union of the two natures in the person of Jesus Christ, in the form in which it is stated in the above extracts, is admitted, as far as we know, by all genuine trinitarians* No one of them doubts that Christ was perfect man ; no one of them professes to doubt that he was also perfect God. According to this doctrine, when fairly stated, an infinite nature with all its essential attributes of omnis¬ cience, omnipotence, necessary and everlasting exist¬ ence, incapable of suffering or change, was indissolubly united in the person of Jesus Christ, with a finite nature, with all its properties, as imperfect knowledge, weakness, exposure to sorrow, pain, and death, in such a manner, that the two natures remain for ever distinct, each retain¬ ing unaltered all its former attributes. Now to this extraordinary doctrine we have several strong objections. Before proceeding to state them, * Prettyman, Elements of Christian Theology, Vol. ii. 189 IN JESUS CHRIST. 9 however, we will pause to make one observation suggest¬ ed by the foregoing narrative. If is this: There is a strong antecedent probability, that the doctrine will be found, upon examination, to be equally unsupported by scripture and by reason. It appears from ecclesiastical history that the simple and unlearned Christians of the earlier and purer ages of the church knew nothing about it; that the first traces of it are found among the learned Platonizing converts ; that its features were at first rudo and imperfect; that it from time to time received modifi¬ cations and additions as the disciples of the Egyptian philosophy, the most absurd that ever disgraced the hu¬ man intellect, flowed i ito the church ; that it w T as long opposed on account of its antichristian tendency ; that so late as the end of the third century, it had not succeeded in eradicating from the minds of the generality of Chris¬ tians, learned or unlearned, the great doctrine of the in¬ ferior and derived nature of the Son ; and finally, that it gathered strength and was matured amid storms of con¬ troversy, at a time when the principles of sound criticism and just reasoning had fallen into contempt. That such a doctrine, growing up with the worst philosophy of the worst times, should originally have sprung from the bo¬ som of Christianity, and not from the vicious systems of human speculation, in the midst of which it was nur¬ tured, that it should have remained hidden for years in the records of our Saviour’s instructions, and the writings of his apostles, and its existence there not have been suspected till the Alexandrian Platonists pointed it out, is a supposition altogether too extravagant for credit. Its late rise, in union with the philosophical jargon of the age, to which it was wedded, and from which it was con« 10 DOCTRINE OF TWO NATURES 190 te