
Class, 
Book. 










DECS, E) D [D)c 



LSSOR of t 



PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

BY THE 

REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D. 

PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, PRINCETON, N. J. 



CONSISTING OF HIS VARIOUS WRITINGS FOR THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 



CORRESPONDENCE ER01I THE SOCIETY'S EORHATION IN 1825, TO HIS 
DEATH IN 1851. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU- STREET, NEW YORK. 





4 



s. 



This volume comprises about forty articles written 
by Dr. Alexander, in the latter years of his life, for 
the American Messenger ; seven standard Tracts on 
high evangelical themes, for the Tract Society's gen- 
eral series ; six small books written in simple style, 
and issued in large type, to gain the attention of com- 
mon readers ; selections from his cheering correspond- 
ence with the Society, and brief sketches of his life 
and character. 



CONTENTS. 



"The Poor have the Gospel preached unto them," . . . 7 

Distribution of books no new thing, .... 9 

Value of a good book — Tennents' Views of Revivals, . 10 

The faithful Elder, 13 

Elder's eldest Son, 17 

A great truth — Eve of great events, .... 21 

Walking by faith, 22 

Evils of War, 26 

The Blind Preacher, 29 

Why will ye Die? 31 

Christianity in its nature aggressive, 32 

The almost Christian, 35 

Prayer a Privilege, 36 

A good Tree, 38 

The Godly and the Ungodly, 40 

"Thou Fool," 41 

Looking unto Jesus, 44 

The King of Terrors, . 46 

Heaven, 49 

The Judgment, 50 

A distant view of New York, 52 

What the Disciples saw, 55 

Deceitfulness of Sin, 57 

Wells of Salvation, 59 

Christ the Believer's Life, ....... 62 

Answer to Prayer long deferred, 65 

Why Halt between Two Opinions? ...... 68 

Preparation for Death, 71 

The Cross, . 72 

The Gospel no Failure, . . . . . . . 74 

Christ Standing and Knocking at the Door, . . . .75 



6 CONTENTS. 

Fixedness of Purpose, 78 

Love of the Truth, 80 

The Peace of God, . . 81 

Unsearchable Riches of Christ, 83 

What I Desire, 86 

Fasting and Prayer, . . 88 

A Disciple, . . 91 

A Word to the Young, . . . . . . . . .93 

The Importance of Salvation, . . . . . . 96 

An amiable Youth falling short of Heaven, . . .106 

The Day of Judgment, . " . . . . „ HO 

The Misery of the Lost, 125 

Justification by Faith, 137 

Sinners welcome to come to Jesus Christ, . . . .164 

Future Punishment ; or, the Universalist Refuted, . . 182 

The Poor Man's Guide and Friend, 221 

The New Settlement — a dialogue, 236 

The Colporteur and Cottager — a dialogue, .... 247 
The Colporteur and Farmer — a dialogue, . . .266 

The Colporteur and Aged Man — a dialogue, . . . 279 
The Colporteur and Roman-catholic — in dialogues, . . 293 

Counsels, Encouragement, and Aid in the Work of the American 

Tract Society, 355 

Death of Dr. Alexander, 385 



PRACTICAL TRUTHS, 



"THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED 
UNTO THEM." 

This must have been a new thing, or it would not 
have been given to John the Baptist as a proof that 
Jesus was the Messiah. In our public system of relig- 
ious instruction in cities and villages, the poor are 
too much overlooked. They cannot pay a high rent 
for a place in the house of God. They cannot appear 
in costly apparel, and they do not love to be stared 
at on account of the coarseness of their clothes. 

Go into the churches of any Protestant denomina- 
tion, and you will probably find a large, respectable 
audience of well-dressed people quietly occupying 
their own pews, and listening with more or less atten- 
tion to the instructions of the pastor ; but where are 
the miserable poor? In society they form a large 
proportion of the people, but here we see perhaps a 
few old women, the beneficiaries of the church. 

There must be some more effective measures for 
conveying the gospel to the destitute poor than our 
splendid churches furnish. The system of tract dis- 
tribution by pious men and women, who, as far as 
they have opportunity, converse with the people on 
religious subjects, is excellent. This system, in New 
York, has been the instrument of much good to the 



8 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

poor. But cannot a plan be contrived and carried 
into effect, by which they can be brought within the 
sound of the gospel ? I think there can. Let every 
rich church build a meeting-house, plain but commo- 
dious, and let them, under the direction of their pas- 
tors, employ some zealous, self-denying young minister 
to go about and collect as many of the poor as he can, 
and preach to them in a plain, familiar, affectionate 
style. At first perhaps few would come, but by de- 
grees the number would increase. The preacher must 
be assisted and encouraged by the occasional presence 
of the pastor and other officers or members. 

In every Christian church there are men and 
women who wish to do good, but they know not how 
to go about it. Let each of these go out into the 
lanes and dark alleys of the city, and persuade at 
least one to go with them to the house of prayer : all 
such exertions are useful to the person himself, what- 
ever may be the effect on others. Let the meeting- 
house be seated with benches, and every seat be in 
common ; so that the first person who comes shall 
have the right to occupy it. And let the missionary 
to these people speak kindly to them, and inquire into 
their wants and afflictions, and make known cases of 
extreme suffering to those whose office it is to relieve 
distress. 

In the villages and country places there are often 
found many poor, miserable families, who are never 
seen in the church for want of a place to sit, for want 
of decent clothing, or for want of disposition. Let 
five or six persons agree to visit these families in turn, 
and let them provide a room for evening meetings, 
and let the pastor, as often as lie can, preach to them; 



BAXTER'S BOOKS. 9 

or let some layman read to them a tract or short ser- 
mon. Time is short. Try, try what can be done. 

DISTRIBUTION OF BOOKS NO NEW THING-. 

" Another furtherance of my work," says Baxter, 
" was the * writings ' which I wrote and gave among 
them [his people.] Some small books I gave each 
family, one of which went to about eight hundred ; 
and of the bigger I gave fewer. And every family 
that was poor and had not a Bible, I gave a Bible to. 
And I had found myself the benefit of reading to be 
so great, that I could not but think it would be profit- 
able to others. 

" Many children did God work upon, at fourteen, 
fifteen, or sixteen years of age. And this did marvel- 
lously reconcile the minds of the parents and elder 
persons to godliness. They that would not hear me, 
would hear their own children. They that before 
would have talked against godliness, would not hear 
it spoken against when it was their children's case. 
Many that would not be brought to it themselves, were 
proud that they had understanding, religious children. 
We had some old persons, near eighty years of age, 
who are, I hope, in heaven ; and the conversion of 
their own children was the chief means to overcome 
their prejudice and old customs and conceits. 

"When the grievous plague visited London, I 
printed a half-sheet, to stick on a wall, for the use of 
the ignorant and ungodly who were sick or in danger 
of the sickness. And I rather did it because many 
well-minded people that are about the sick, that are 
ignorant and unprepared, and know not what to say 
to them, may see there in what method such persons 

1* 



10 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

should be dealt with in such a case of extremity ; and 
they themselves may enlarge as they see cause. 

"Mr. Nathaniel Lane wrote to me to entreat me 
to write one sheet or two for the use of poor families 
who will not read or buy any bigger books. Although 
I knew that brevity would unavoidably cause me to 
leave out much necessary matter, or else to write in 
a style so concise and close as will be little moving 
to any but close, judicious readers, yet I yielded to 
his persuasion, and thought it might be better than 
nothing, and might be read by many that would read 
no larger ; and so I wrote two sheets for poor fami- 
lies. The first containing ' The Method and Motives 
for the Conversion of the Ungodly ; 7 the second, 'The 
Description or Character of the True Christian, or 
the Necessary Part of a Christian's Duty, for the 
Direction of Beginners in a Godly Life/ " 

Selected by A. A. from Baxter's Life, etc. 
VALUE OF A aOOD BOOK. 

When we consider how much good has been done 
by the published works of such men as Baxter, Owen, 
Doddridge, Alleine, Boston, Edwards, etc., we wonder 
that men gifted with a talent for writing attractively 
and powerfully, do not devote more of their time to 
the preparation of good books. But although, in the- 
ory, we acknowledge the all-pervading power of the 
press, yet the importance of the subject is not prac- 
tically felt in all its momentous consequences. The 
man who is enabled to write a truly evangelical and 
useful book, or even a single tract of first-rate excel- 
lence, may convey the saving truth of the gospel to a 
thousand times more persons than the living preacher 



TENNENT ON REVIVALS. 11 

can ever instruct by Ms voice. And hundreds of years 
after the death of the writer, the production of his 
pen may be but just commencing its career of useful- 
ness, only to be terminated with the end of the world. 
Those men, therefore, who are blessed with the ability 
of producing one work of evangelical excellence, may 
be considered among the most highly favored of our 
race, and must enjoy a rich reward hereafter. 

The plan of first publishing important views of 
evangelical truth from the pulpit, and then from the 
press, with such changes as may serve to render them 
more popular, is a wise economy of time ; and consid- 
ering the incalculable power of the press, more of our 
learned and eloquent preachers should avail them- 
selves of this method of benefiting the public, by dif- 
fusing abroad the precious truths of the gospel. 

A. A. in Bib. Repertory. 
THE TENNENIS' VIEWS OF REVIVALS. 

The following passages give us the views enter- 
tained by the Tennents, Rev. William Tennent and 
his three sons 3 Gilbert, William, and John, who in 
the time of Whitefield and Edwards, about the year 
1740, were greatly instrumental in the revival of true 
religion. It is extracted from a late interesting work 
by Rev. Dr. Alexander, entitled, " The Log College," 
which was a school founded by William Tennent, 
senior, in which his three sons and Rev. Dr. Finley, 
President Davies, and a few other leading men in the 
great revival, pursued their theological studies. 

" It is shocking to think that any should dare to 
oppose a work attended with such commanding evi- 
dence as has been among us. We would beseech all 



12 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

such solemnly to answer the following paragraph of 
the Rev. Mr. Robe, minister of the gospel in Kilsyth, 
Scotland, in his preface to his ' Narrative/ which is 
as follows : 

"'I seriously beg of any who are prejudiced 
against this dispensation of God's extraordinary 
grace, and look upon it as a delusion, that they will 
show themselves so charitable as to direct me and 
other ministers what we shall answer distressed per- 
sons of all ages, who come to us crying bitterly "that 
they are undone, because of unbelief and other sins — 
1 What shall we do to be saved V And as a young- 
girl about twelve, who had been in distress for some 
time, called upon me in the house where I was, and 
asked me with great sedateness, ' What shall I do to 
get Christ ¥ Shall we tell them that they are not 
Christless, and are not unconverted, when we evi- 
dently see many of them to be such? Shall we tell 
them that their fears of the wrath of God is all but 
delusion, and that it is no such dreadful thing that 
they need to be much afraid of it? Shall we tell 
persons lamenting their cursing and swearing, Sab- 
bath-breaking, and other immoralities, that it is the 
devil that now makes them see these evils to be offen- 
sive to God and destructive to their souls? Shall 
we tell them who, under the greatest uneasiness, in- 
quire of us what they shall do to get an interest and 
faith in Christ, that Satan is deluding them when 
they have or show any concern this way? In fine, 
shall we pray, and recommend them to pray to God, 
to deliver them from such delusions ? It would be 
worse than devilish to treat the Lord's sighing and 
groaning prisoners at this rate. 7 ;? 



FAITHFUL ELDER. 13 

"A few minutes before the Rev. John Tennent 
expired, holding his brother William by the hand, he 
broke out into the following raptures : ' Farewell, my 
brethren ; farewell, father and mother ; farewell, world 
with all thy vain delights. Welcome, God and Fa- 
ther ; welcome, sweet Lord Jesus ! Welcome death ; 
welcome eternity. Amen V Then with a low voice, 
he said, c Lord Jesus, come, Lord Jesus V And so he 
fell asleep in Christ, and obtained an abundant en- 
trance into the everlasting kingdom of his God and 
Saviour." 



THE FAITHFUL ELDER. 

The following sketch is from memory, and relates 
to the last century. 

J. L was the son of pious parents in humble 

circumstances. He was brought up to labor on the 
farm, and was restrained from open vice by his relig- 
ious education, and by a regard to the authority and 
feelings of his parents. On a certain Sabbath, there 
being no preaching in the immediate neighborhood of 
his father's residence, he had formed the purpose to 
attend a great meeting at the distance of twelve or 
fifteen miles. He owned a young horse on which he 
intended to ride to the place, but on going to the pas- 
ture in the morning to bridle the colt, he eluded all 
his attempts to catch him, and he was obliged to 
return to the house foiled, disappointed, and much 
chagrined. How to spend the wearisome day he 
knew not. 

At length the thought struck him that he would 
take a book and go out into the woods and amuse 



Li PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

himself with reading. He stepped to the bookcase 
and seized the first book which came to hand, which 
happened to be " Doddridge's Rise and Progress of 
Religion in the Soul." It being summer, he sought a 
cool, shady, and sequestered spot, where he lay down 
and began at the beginning of his author, and there 
is reason to believe that the Holy Spirit accompanied 
every truth which engaged his thoughts with a divine 
influence, for, as he assured the writer, he was deeply 
convinced of sin on reading the first chapters," and 
when he came to the expiation of Christ and the 
method of salvation, the whole plan was opened to 
his believing mind, and he deliberately embraced the 
Saviour as offered in the gospel, and was filled with 
peace and joy. Thus, this young man went out into 
the woods in an unconverted and condemned state, 
and in a few hours returned a renewed man, freely 
justified by the grace which is in Christ Jesus. In 
due time he entered the communion of the church, 
and became an active, zealous professor, at a time 
when great lukewarmness had taken possession of 
the church. He married an intelligent woman, who 
by the force of his example and instructions embraced 
religion, and became as zealous and more communica- 
tive than her husband. They lived happily, and were 
blessed with three sons and two daughters. 

About middle age he was elected a ruling elder in 
the church to which he belonged, and in this office he 
received grace to be faithful. He held up the hands 
of his minister, and defended his character from cal- 
umnies attempted to be heaped upon him. He visited 
the poor, and contrived methods of relief; wherever 
there was sickness, J. L was to be found sympa- 



FAITHFUL ELDER. 15 

thizing with the sufferers, and offering up fervent 
prayers for the recovery of the sick, and for a bless- 
ing on the rod of affliction. By this means prayer 
was introduced into families where the voice of sup- 
plication had never before been heard. 

The writer when a boy had an awful dread of this 
man, and shunned him for fear he would speak to him 
about religion, but a little sister being very sick, he 
was pleased to see this faithful man come to the house. 
He sympathized and advised with the parents, and 
spent the night in watching with the sick child ; but 
what affected all most, was his prayer, so fervent, so 
affectionate, so appropriate. It was felt as if surely 
the Lord would hear and answer such a prayer. 

When few professors kept themselves unspotted 
from the world, this man and his wife stood firm in 
their adherence to truth and duty. Worldly amuse- 
ments were introduced by some influential professors ; 
strict religion was scorned and the liberal professor 
was lauded ; but our elder could not be moved to 
favor dancing and cards. He set his face resolutely 
against all such practices as inimical to the spirit of 
true religion. He faithfully warned professors against 
the deadening influence of these innocent amusements, 
as they were called ; and when private exhortation 
and remonstrance failed, he had the fidelity to present 
the cases of such professors to the session to be dealt 
with as acting inconsistently with their Christian 
profession. This exposed him to a load of obloquy ; 
and he was clamored against as an enemy of all cheer- 
fulness and enjoyment. Some ministers also took 
sides against him, and their opinions and example 
were published by multitudes who never remembered 



16 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

any of his pious sayings. J. L — — , however, went 
on his course unmoved ; and though hated and dread- 
ed by the wicked, whenever any one became serious 
he was immediately sought out, and his counsel and 
sympathy and prayers were always cheerfully be- 
stowed. The state of religion in the land seemed to 
grow worse and worse just after the close of the rev- 
olutionary war, until he and his wife and a few others 
seemed to be left alone. But even in this time, the 
presence of this tall gray-headed elder would strike 
an awe into the minds of the most careless. One day 
he had business with a man who was at a dancing 
party in a private house, and when he approached 
the house consternation seized the company, and at 
once the fiddling and dancing ceased. He, however, 
administered no reproof to the company, but trans- 
acted his business and departed. 

It pleased a gracious God, about the yea? 1789, to 
revive religion with extraordinary power in all the 
country around where he lived. It was what he had 
prayed for night and day, but scarcely hoped to see, 
for he had never before witnessed what is called a 
revival. Almost his whole time was now spent in 
conversing with the new converts. I have known 
him often to ride six or seven miles to see persons 
under religious impressions. And he would labor 
with them in the most earnest and affectionate man- 
ner, and would bring to them suitable books, for he 
was much conversant with the most spiritual and 
experimental authors. Many were deeply indebted 
to his faithful labors, and none more than the author 
of this article, senex. 



THE ELDER'S SON. IT 

THE ELDER'S ELDEST SON. 

Perhaps there never existed since the fall, a family 
in which there was less to corrupt youth, than in that 
of the faithful elder noticed in a former number of the 
Messenger. 

In this family there were no servants, but the 
elder's wife performed all the work of the house, 
except that, when sick or unwell, some woman of good 
character from among the neighbors assisted her ; and 
the elder himself did the whole work of the farm, 
except in the more busy seasons, when a man was 
hired for a few days. In this house purity, peace, 
and order prevailed. As soon as the children were 
capable, their aid was used both in the house and out 
of doors. The oldest child was a son, a fine healthy 
boy, large and handsome. This boy was carefully 
instructed in the principles of religion both by his 
mother and father, and he appeared remarkably do- 
cile, and learned so well that his parents felt a strong 
desire to devote him to God in the work of the holy 
ministry, if it should please God to make him early a 
subject of his grace, for which blessing they ceased 
not to pray daily. 

When the boy had arrived at the age of sixteen 
or seventeen years, it was thought advisable to send 
him to an academy at no great distance, to commence 
a course of liberal education under an approved 
teacher, a man of piety as well as learning. And it 
was hoped the young man's morals would be safe, as 
he would board in the house of an aunt who ]ived 
near the academy. 

The youth had scarcely ever lodged out of his 



18 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

father's liouse in his life, and had never been exposed 
to any temptations from bad company, and was per- 
haps as innocent as any of Adam's children in a nat- 
ural state. He had, however, much natural suscep- 
tibility of impressions from without, and a sociable 
disposition. 

At this time there were some young men in the 
academy who belonged to wealthy irreligious families, 
and from their parents and the company which fre- 
quented their houses, they had imbibed a spirit of 
hostility to religion, and had picked up some objec- 
tions to the Bible, and learned to make a jest of 
sacred things. These young men, as soon as the 
elder's son entered the school, determined to do what 
they could to seduce him from the path of morality 
and innocence. They began by throwing out hints 
and innuendoes against revealed religion, and express- 
ing pity for such as were held under the restraints 
of religion, or were conscience-bound, as they ex- 
pressed it. 

These ideas were entirely new to the elder's son, 
and he drank in the poison greedily ; for he had a 
strong inclination to sinful indulgences, which was 
only restrained by his religious education. These 
sceptical opinions were exceedingly agreeable to his 
corrupt nature, but he wanted more conviction that 
these objections to Christianity had a solid founda- 
tion. He therefore sought for books which would 
have the effect of confirming him in his infidelity, and 
the works of Hume, Voltaire, and others, were ob- 
tained by means of the young men before mentioned. 
And being now in a great measure freed from the 
restraints which had been on him, he rushed forth 



THE ELDER'S SON. 19 

into a course of dissipation and licentiousness, in emu- 
lation of his new comrades. Indeed, it was not long 
before he went beyond any of them in boldness in 
sinning. Those who become vicious in opposition to 
the restraints of a religious education, commonly run 
to greater lengths than others in transgression, be- 
cause the strength of passion necessary to overleap 
this barrier is sufficient to drive them on far in the 
paths of iniquity. 

Tor some time he was careful to conceal his irreg- 
ularities from his parents, but ere long this was im- 
practicable, and he began to appear boldly in the 
ranks of the greatest transgressors. He was a leader 
and corrupter of others, and seemed to have lost all 
sense of religion, and to be confirmed in his infidel- 
ity. It is impossible to describe the disappointment 
and anguish of his pious, parents. They could do 
nothing for him but weep and pray in secret. The 
young man had gone on in this way for several 
years, growing worse and worse, until his charac- 
ter was ruined, and all decent people shunned his 
company. 

About this time a young man, a cousin of his, came 
in from the west, where he had lived for some time, 
and had recently experienced a great change. He 
had also been very wild, and having been somewhat 
suddenly converted, he was full of zeal, and spoke 
freely to his old acquaintances of the necessity of 
religion, and did not neglect the elder 's son, to whom 
he addressed himself in a very earnest, but affection- 
ate manner ; and it was apparent that his example 
and solemn exhortation produced some impression. 
As he was now on his way to college, he asked the 



20 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

elder's son to accompany him and bring back his 
horse. Indeed, the plan was secretly agreed upon 
between his cousin and his father to get him to go, 
for at that time a powerful revival was in progress 
in the college and vicinity ; and the father being 
acquainted with the president of the college, wrote 
him a full account of his son's unhappy state of mind, 
and entreated him to try to bring him off from his 
infidelity. This letter he did not put into the hand 
of his son, but of his cousin, with a request that he 
would not let his son know that he had written. The 
Rev. President on receiving this letter invited both 
the young men to his house ; and after some general 
remarks, he commenced a conversation on the subject 
of the causes of the prevailing infidelity, and took up 
in order the arguments of deistical writers : he refuted 
them with a clearness and force which overset the 
system which the elder's son had long been building 
up. He never hinted that he had any suspicion that 
the young man belonged to this unhappy class, and 
indeed directed his discourse mainly to his cousin. 
The device answered the purpose intended. The 
young man not only renounced his infidelity, but fell 
under deep conviction before he returned home. 
What a comfort to his pious parents ! His mother 
had always entertained a confident hope of his con- 
version, and her prayers were about to be answered. 
It was some time before the young man could be 
persuaded to entertain any hope that his sins could 
be pardoned. He evidently felt that he was the chief 
of sinners. Never was a change more manifest in 
outward appearance. He now became deeply serious 
at all times, and under the impression of his exceed- 



EYE OF GREAT EVENTS. 21 

ing wickedness, he seemed little disposed to go into 
company of any kind. 

After much prayer and deliberation, he felt con- 
strained to think it a duty to enter the holy ministry. 
But before he commenced the study of theology, he 
undertook to teach a classical school for a year. He 
had scarcely commenced his school when he was 
seized with a violent bilious fever. His case from 
the first was considered dangerous. His parents 
made haste to see him, though he lay at a consider- 
able distance from their residence. While the issue 
hung in doubt, the father, a man of strong mind and 
sober principles, suffered one of those hallucinations 
to which pious persons are sometimes subject. Hav- 
ing been earnestly pleading with God for the life of 
his son, the text of Scripture, " this sickness is not 
unto death," was impressed so forcibly on his mind 
that he was fully persuaded that this was an answer 
to his prayer, and rejoiced in the prospect of receiv- 
ing his first-born from the verge of the grave. But 
alas, the young man in the midst of his days was cut 
down. Thus, again the hopes of these good people 
were sadly disappointed ; but there was now comfort 
mingled with their sorrow, for they had hope in his 

death. Senex, 



A GREAT TRUTH— EVE OF GREAT EVENTS. 

"In vain do we seek to awaken in our churches 
zeal for missions as a separate thing. To be genuine, 
it must flow from love to Christ. It is when a sense 
of personal communion with the Son of God is high- 
est, that we shall be most fit for missionary work, 



22 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

either to go ourselves or to stir up others. If we 
allow it to become a business of dollars and cents, 
we shall see no results. ' Find preachers of David 
Brainerd's spirit/ said John Wesley, 'and nothing 
can stand before them ; but without this what can 
gold or silver do V Let gushing affection to the 
Lord Jesus Christ become the ruling passion, and it 
communicates the thrill of evangelical zeal to every 
member of the electric chain. A church of such min- 
isters, of such members, would be an apostolic, a"heav- 
enly church." 

11 The impression is general that we are on the eve 
of great events. A cloud impends — perhaps of min- 
gled evil and good. It is an expectation which is 
solemn and emboldening. It leads a man to say, 
1 Away with trifles ; I must abandon all that is frivo- 
lous. Life is short. A great work is before me. I 
must gird myself. I must pray more. ? It must affect 
men in their relations as associated. ' We are on the 
eve of great things ; therefore let us be sober, let us 
be vigilant, let us be active, let us be at peace, let us 
live for Christ. 7 " 



WALKING BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT. 

Selected from Baxter by A. A. 

" Even in worldly matters you will venture upon 
the greatest cost and pains for the things that you 
see not and never saw. The merchant will sail a 
thousand miles for a commodity that he never saw. 
Must the husbandman see his harvest before he plough 
his land and sow his seed ? Must the sick man feel 
that he has health before he use the means to get it ? 



WALKING BY FAITH. 23 

Must the soldier see that he hath the victory before 
he fights? Hath God made man for any end? No 
reason can expect that he should see his end before 
he begin to travel towards it. When children first 
go to school, they do not see or enjoy the wisdom and 
learning which by time and labor they must attain. 
To look that sight, which is fruition, should go before 
a holy life, is to expect the end before we will use the 
necessary means. Shall no man be restrained from 
felony or murder, but he that sees the assizes or the 
gallows ? It is enough that he foresees them, as made 
known by the laws. 

" Till the light appear to your darkened souls, you 
cannot see the reasons of a holy, heavenly life; and 
therefore you think it pride, hypocrisy, fancy, or im- 
agination, or the foolishness of crack-brained, self- 
conceited men. If you saw a man do reverence to a 
prince, and the prince himself were invisible to you, 
would you not take him for a madman, and say that 
he cringed to the chairs, or bowed to a post, or com- 
plimented his shadow? If you saw a man's actions 
in eating and drinking, and saw not the meat and 
drink, would you not think him mad ? If you heard 
men laugh, and hear not so much as the voice of him 
that gives the jest, would you not imagine them to be 
brain-sick ? If you see men dance, and hear not the 
music ; if you see a laborer threshing, or reaping, or 
mowing, and see no corn or grass before him ; if you 
see a soldier fighting for his life, and see no enemy 
that he spends his strokes upon, will you not take all 
these for men distracted ? Why, this is the case be- 
tween you and the true believer. 

"Do you fetch your joys from earth, or heaven? 



24 PRACTICAL TRUTHS 

From things unseen, or seen? Things future, or pres- 
ent? Things hoped for, or things possessed ? What 
garden yieldeth you your sweetest flowers ? Whence 
is the food that your hopes and comforts live upon? 
Whence are the cordials that revive you, when a 
frowning world doth cast you into a swoon ? Where 
is it that you repose your soul for rest, when sin or 
sufferings have made you weary? Deal truly ; is it in 
heaven or earth ? Which world do you take for your 
pilgrimage, and which for your home ? I do iTot ask 
where you are, but where you dwell? Xot where are 
your persons, but where are your hearts ? In a word, 
are you in good earnest when you say you believe a 
heaven and hell? And do you speak and think, and 
pray and live, as those that do indeed believe these 
things? Do you spend your time, and choose your 
condition of life, and dispose of your affairs, as a man 
that is serious in his belief? Speak out : do you live 
the life of faith on things unseen, or the life of sense 
on the things you behold ? Deal truly, for your end- 
less joy or sorrow doth much depend upon it. The 
life of faith is the certain passage to the life of glory ; 
the life of sense on things here seen, is the certain 
way to endless misery. 

"Can you forget that death is ready to undress 
you, and tell you that your sport and mirth are done, 
and that now you have had all the world can do for 
them that secure it and take it for their portion? 
How quickly can a fever, or one of a hundred messen- 
gers of death, bereave you of all that earth afforded 
you, and turn your sweetest pleasures into gall, and 
turn a lord into a lump of clay ? It is but as a wink, 
an inch of time, till you must quit the stage, and 



WALKING- BY FAITH. 25 

speak and breathe, and see the face of man no more. 
If you foresee this, live as one that does foresee it. 

" I never heard of any that stole his winding-sheet, 
or fought for a coffin, or went to law for a grave. And 
if you did but see how near your honors and wealth 
and pleasures do stand to eternity, as well as your 
coffin and winding-sheet, you would then desire and 
value them as you do these. Oh, what a fading flower 
is your strength ! How will all your gallantry shrink 
into the shell ! ' If these things are yours/ saith Ber- 
nard, ' take them with you.' It is awful for persons 
of renown and honor to change their palaces for 
graves, and turn to noisome rottenness and dirt ; to 
change their power and authority for impotency, un- 
able to rebuke the poorest worm that feedeth on their 
hearts or faces. 

" Princes and nobles, you are not the rulers of the 
immovable kingdom, but of a boat that is in a rapid 
stream, or a ship under sail, that will speed both pilot 
and passengers to the shore. l I am a worm, and no 
man/ said a great king. You are the greater worms, 
and we the little worms, but we must all say with Job, 
' The grave is our house/ 

" The greater are your advantages, the wiser and 
better should you be, and therefore should better 
perceive the difference between things temporal and 
eternal. It is always dark where these glowworms 
shine, and where a rotten post doth seem a fire. 

u Write upon your palaces and your goods that 
sentence, ' Seeing all these things must be dissolved, 
what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy 
conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting 
unto the coming of the day of God V " 



26 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

EVILS OF WAR. 

No man in his senses can believe that it is a right 
thing for men to destroy each others 7 lives. For a 
man to shed the blood of his brother, is murder : to 
shed the blood of hundreds, is murder on a large 
scale. There is no excuse for war but dire necessity. 
As long as possible, every nation should avoid war; 
but a state of warfare may be forced on a nation. 
Self-defence is the first law of our nature, and is a 
duty. On the contrary principle, the lawless and 
violent would have every thing in their own hands, 
and the virtuous and peaceable would be the prey of 
the wicked. But still, it is an evident truth, that 
every case in which human life is taken in war, is a 
case of murder ; some persons must be accountable 
for the shedding of all the blood which is spilled. 
And if this be so, then that nation which, without 
sufficient reason, commences a war, or provokes a 
war, has an awful responsibility resting on it ; and 
so also, when a war is in progress, that nation which 
refuses to make peace, or insist on unreasonable con- 
ditions, is guilty of all the blood which may be shed, 
and all the misery produced. Disguise it as we may, 
a battle-field exhibits a shocking scene to the moral 
feelings. Suppose there never had been any account 
of war in the history of nations, what would be our 
feelings in reading an account of a bloody battle? 

But the loss of human life is not the only evil con- 
sequence of war : many families are left destitute of 
the support and guidance of their natural heads, and 
are thrown upon an unpitying world in a state of 
helplessness. See the widowed mother of a family 



EVILS OF WAR. 2? 

of young children. "Were she alone, she might make 
out to struggle through the world ; but when she 
looks upon her dear babes, her heart sinks, and she 
is ready to give herself up to despair. Military glory 
is a poor compensation for her loss; and the honors 
bestowed on the dead a poor solace for a broken 
heart. These remarks relate to all wars ; they are a 
horrible evil, wherever the guilt may lie. 

The moral effects of war are also most deplorable. 
Men employed as soldiers commonly become exceed- 
ingly profane, and reckless of their conduct. 

The writer is old enough to remember the evils 
brought into a retired village, by the return of a 
number of disbanded soldiers, after the war of the 
Eevolution. These men, having been habituated to a 
soldier's life, were averse to labor, and as long as 
they had any thing to spend, they met in companies 
to drink and swear and fight, to the annoyance of 
the neighborhood. And even the return of the offi- 
cers was not favorable to the cause of sobriety and 
purity. They now wished for scenes of fashionable 
amusement, such as they had enjoyed in the army. 
Cards and dancing were introduced into a society 
where such amusements had been almost entirely 
unknown. Teachers of dancing were now in demand, 
and the attention of the young was much occupied 
with this fascinating amusement. Domestic order 
was frequently interrupted, and family religion ren- 
dered odious to the young. Pious parents could not 
restrain their own children, and many professors were 
led astray by the opinion that these social meetings 
were harmless, and tended to rub off the rusticity of 
the young, and to give a polish to their manners. 



28 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

One consequence of these things was, that the church 
was brought into a cold and languishing state. The 
young manifested a great aversion to religion, and 
for years none of them applied for admission to the 
communion. Discipline was exercised, but public 
opinion being strongly against it, it failed in most 
instances of effectiug the desired end. Had matters 
remained in this village in the state into which they 
had been brought by the means mentioned, religion 
would soon have become extinct, for it seemed to be 
confined to a few aged persons. But it pleased God 
after a few years to revive religion in that place, and 
many were converted from the error of their ways, 
and were added to the church. 

The writer expresses no opinion respecting the 
necessity of the war in which our country is engaged, 
(1847.) He is no politician, and does not pretend to 
understand the reasons on which our government acts 
in the present contest; but of one thing he is fully 
persuaded, that war is a fearful calamity and a heavy 
judgment from God on any nation, whether it be en- 
tered on for sufficient or insufficient reasons. And as 
it is much easier to draw the sword than to return it 
to its scabbard, we may find much trouble and incon- 
venience before we can bring this contest to a safe 
and honorable conclusion. As far as we know, our 
government are solicitous to obtain peace, but our 
enemies seem not likely to concur in these pacific 
views. 

In these circumstances, the Christian people of 
this land should unite in earnest prayer that God 
would remove from our country the pressure of this 
heavy judgment. God may have seen that we needed 



THE BLIND PREACHER. 29 

chastisement, and therefore permitted this fierce con- 
test to take place, by which so many precious lives 
have been lost to their country and to their fami- 
lies. As in some churches days of prayer have 
been appointed, let all who know how to pray, and 
believe in the efficacy of prayer, join in supplicat- 
ing the throne of grace for mercy, and for the re- 
moval of this heavy judgment. Let them cry, "Spare 
thy people, Lord," and restore peace to our coun- 
try, which has already expended so much blood and 
treasure, Kednax. 



THE BLIND PREACHER. 

The Rev. Dr. James Waddel was as eloquent in 
private conversation as in the pulpit. He was very 
communicative, and in the company of young persons, 
would go on for a quarter, or sometimes half an hour, 
in the most animated and delightful discourse ; and, 
on the subject of practical and experimental religion, 
these discourses were most edifying. I never heard 
him preach but once, and that was when he was 
perfectly blind. The subject was the parable of the 
Pharisee and the Publican. This passage of Scrip- 
ture was repeated by him with perfect accuracy, and 
the discourse was masterly. The description of the 
Pharisee was striking, and in some respects new to 
me, as he exhibited him according to the character 
which he had among the people who had no suspicion 
of his hypocrisy, but venerated him as a man of su- 
perior sanctity and elevated devotion. His manner 
was not harsh, but highly animated. This was true 



30 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

of all his conversation. Whenever he discoursed on 
any subject, he entered into it with his whole soul. 

While Dr. Waddel was settled in Lancaster coun- 
ty, in Virginia, he was visited by Mr. Whitefield, who 
spent a week in that region, preaching, as usual, very 
frequently, and with amazing power, and leaving be- 
hind him many fruits of his ministry. But the gen" 
tlemen connected with Dr. Waddel's congregation 
greatly preferred the style of eloquence with which 
their pastor had made them familiar, to the more fer- 
vid oratory of Whitefield. I once heard the cele- 
brated Patrick Henry ; and my opinion is, that Mr. 
Henry's eloquence was better adapted to produce its 
effect on the great body of the people, and Dr. Wad- 
del's most suited to persons of education and refine- 
ment. 

He was a man of most affectionate disposition, and 
in his treatment of strangers was remarkably cour- 
teous. In the expression of his own opinions, he was 
as free and independent as any man I ever knew. 
Whatever sentiments he entertained he would express 
with perfect freedom on all occasions, however they 
might differ from those of the persons with whom he 
conversed. In his person he was tall and very slen- 
der. At home he wore a white linen cap ; in the pul- 
pit a full-bottomed wig — which was the custom of the 
clergy in his day. He was disposed to treat with 
great respect those who differed from him, even though 
he might consider them as holding serious errors; 
neither, in matters of practical religion, did he make 
a man an offender for a word. Always exemplary in 
his life, he was as far as possible from pharisaic pre- 
cision, and never frowned upon the truly innocent 



WHY WILL YE DIE? 31 

enjoyments of the young. There was great natural- 
ness, as well as great dignity, pervading his whole 
demeanor. 



WHY WILL YE DIE? 

This question seems strange, as " it is appointed 
unto men to die," and "in this warfare there is no 
discharge." But there are different kinds of death. 
There is what is called the second death ; and though 
we cannot escape that natural dissolution of the body, 
we may escape that which consists in a state of ever- 
lasting sin and misery. 

Misery no one ever loved ; it is abhorrent to every 
sentient being. Sin, however, may be loved — is loved 
by many. They who love sin, may therefore be said 
to choose death ; for sin is the cause of misery. How 
strange the delusion, that men should cleave to sin for 
the sake of happiness ; for no man ever chose sin for 
its own sake ; there is always some lure held out to 
entice the sinner. Our first mother sinned because 
the fruit of the tree of knowledge appeared to her to 
be " good for food/ 7 and to be desired to make one 
wise. Some prospect of good or pleasure, or relief 
from present misery, is uniformly the motive to sin- 
ning. But in every case this is a delusion. 

This earnest expostulation with sinners implies, 
that there is no necessity for them to die ; yea, that 
they cannot die, unless they choose the road to death. 
Life and death are set before every man ; and if any 
one perish eternally, it will be his own fault — his own 
perverse choice. Oh, what a pitiable case to see so 



32 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

many men turning their backs on heaven, and rushing 
on in the way that leads inevitably unto death ! 

But do they know their danger? have they been 
faithfully warned ? Many have been, and yet neglect 
to turn from iniquity. They do not intend to die ; 
they think of doing all that is necessary to escape 
from the second death at some more convenient sea- 
son. Alas, such a season, to most neglecters of the 
great salvation, never comes. Time bears them along 
its noiseless, rapid stream ; habits of sinning, instead 
of becoming weaker, become every day stronger by 
indulgence. And yet the delusion of a future escape 
is cherished. 

sinner, stop ! Pause in your downward course. 
God calls you to turn. God asks you, why you will 
die. He solemnly declares that he " has no pleasure 
in the death of the sinner." Repentance, or a com- 
plete turning from sin, and accepting the mercy of 
God as offered in the gospel, is the only way of es- 
cape.from the second death. Omit this a little longer, 
and your case will be hopeless. God commandeth 
all men now everywhere to repent. "Now is the 
accepted time, and now is the day of salvation." "0 
that you were wise, that you would consider your lat- 
ter end," and speedily flee from the wrath to come. 

Rednax. 



CHRISTIANITY IN ITS NATURE AGGRESSIVE. 

In the charter which Christ gave to his disciples, 
who formed the first church under the new dispensa- 
tion, the first command is one which requires action. 
" Go," says he. Every Christian must be on the alert. 
He has marching orders from the Captain of his sal- 



CHRISTIANITY AGGRESSIVE. 33 

vation. He cannot sit down in ease and idleness, and 
yet be a Christian. As the father said to his son in 
the parable, " Go, work in my vineyard," so Christ 
says to every disciple ; and it will not answer to say, 
" I go, sir," and yet refuse obedience. We must be 
doers of the word, and not mere hearers. We must be 
doers of the word, and not mere professors. The com- 
mand given by the risen Saviour is still in force, and 
as it was obligatory on all who heard it at first, so it 
is binding on all who hear it now. " Go." 

But what are we to do ? " Proselyte" Make dis- 
ciples. Convert to Christianity. The very word 
"proselyte" will frighten some people. Xo heresy 
in their view is so great as sectarism. But Christian- 
ity is so intolerant, that it will bear no other religion ; 
it seeks to overthrow every other system. If it would 
have admitted the claims of other religions, it would 
have escaped persecution. But no ; it denounced 
every other system and mode of worship as hateful 
to God, and destructive to the soul. And it made 
every disciple a proselyter. And every one now, 
whether male or female, bond or free, Jew or Greek, 
who professes Christianity, takes upon himself or her- 
self the obligation to convert others to Christianity. 

Consider the extent of the field in which we are 
called to labor. " Go into all the world." " Go, 
teach," make disciples of, " all nations." And when 
converted, let the new proselytes not be ashamed to 
avow their allegiance to the King of Zion, by assum- 
ing his badge. Let them be baptized into the name 
of the Holy Trinity. Now they are in the school 
of Christ, and must be carefully taught all his com- 
mandments. 

2* 



34 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Here is a great work, requiring the cooperation 
of all who are already initiated. The greatest char- 
ity in the world is the communication of divine truth 
to the ignorant. Must all preach the word? Yes, 
in a certain sense, and according to their ability, and 
in observance of due order. All may teach. All 
Christians are bound to teach — the parent his chil- 
dren, the master his servants, the schoolmaster his 
scholars, the citizen his more ignorant neighbors, the 
colporteur the families which he visits with books 
and tracts, the pastor his flock, and the missionary 
the unconverted Jew and heathen. Here is work 
enough for all, and all may labor in their appropriate 
sphere ; but all must labor : the duty is incumbent on 
them, and the obligation cannot be evaded. 

The time seems to be coming predicted by Daniel, 
when "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge 
shall be increased." "What a change within the last 
half century ! Then there were no Bible societies, no 
tract societies, no Sunday-schools, no colporteurs, no 
Protestant missionaries. There is, indeed, another 
time predicted, when there shall be no need for one 
to say to his neighbor, " Know the Lord ; for all shall 
know him from the least to the greatest. 77 Then the 
work will be completed ; but 0, how much teaching 
must there be before the hundreds of millions of souls 
now ignorant, shall be so instructed as that none shall 
need farther teaching. But perhaps the prophecy does 
not mean that none shall need farther instruction, but 
farther admonition — not that all shall have learned 
enough, but all will be fully disposed to learn. Bless- 
ed time! teaching will be then an easy as well as a 
delightful business. a. a. 



ALMOST CHRISTIAN. 85 

THE ALMOST CHRISTIAN. 

The almost Christian may have a speculative 
knowledge of all the leading truths of Christianity, 
and may be able to defend them. The almost Chris- 
tian entertains a great respect for religion and its 
professors and institutions. The almost Christian 
feels a strong desire to enjoy the benefits of the gos- 
pel, and may often have his affections much moved, 
and may form many good resolutions ; he may indeed 
possess a counterfeit of experimental religion, so like 
that it may deceive not only the man himself, but the 
most judicious ministers. The almost Christian may 
be exceedingly conscientious and exact in attending 
on all the external duties of religion ; as touching 
these, he may be " blameless ;" and in regard to zeal, 
he may be ardent, so as to put to the blush the real 
believer. 

He may also be liberal, and contribute liberally 
for the support of the gospel, and to feed the poor. 
He may become a popular preacher of the gospel, and 
be the means of the conversion of others. He may 
even go to foreign lands, to bear the glad tidings 
of salvation to the heathen. He may, in short, do 
every thing which the real Christian does, and feel 
every thing which the real Christian feels — but one. 
He fails in one single point, but that is an essential 
point. He never has given his heart to God. He 
loves the world better than he loves Christ. That 
most excellent gift of charity has never been poured 
into his heart. His religion may be all traced to the 
mere love of happiness, and the operations of a natu- 
ral conscience, enlightened and awakened by the doc- 
trinal knowledge of the truth. 



36 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

The apostle Paul teaches, that if a man without 
charity, that is, love to God and man, should possess 
angelic eloquence, prophetic knowledge, and the pow- 
er of working the greatest miracles ; yea, if he should 
have zeal strong enough to make him a martyr, and 
liberality great enough to induce him to give away all 
his goods, it would " profit him nothing." Such a one 
would, after all, be only an almost Christian. 

The deceitful heart of man will turn itself into 
every conceivable form and shape but that of" true 
holiness ; of this it may assume the shadow, but never 
the reality. A . A . 



PRAYER A PRIVILEGE. 

Although God is everywhere present, yet he is 
invisible. He is an all-pervading Spirit, yet is per- 
ceived by none' of our senses. We behold his glorious 
works in the heavens and in the earth, and may learn 
something, by careful observation, of the general laws 
by which the material universe is governed ; but still 
the great Architect is concealed. As far as reason 
can lead us, we seem to be shut out from all inter- 
course with our Maker ; and whether prayer is per- 
mitted would remain for ever doubtful, were it not 
for divine revelation. We are not surprised, there- 
fore, that some deists have denied that prayer is a 
duty, or that it can be available to the Deity. Indeed, 
considering man as a sinner, it would seem presumpt- 
uous for such a creature to obtrude himself into the 
presence of a holy God. Natural religion, as it is 
called, is not at all suited to the wants of sinners, but 
divine revelation teaches us that God may be accept- 



PRAYER A PRIVILEGE. 37 

ably approached by sinners only through the media- 
tion of his Son. 

Prayer is everywhere in the Bible recognized as 
proper, and inculcated as a duty. But it is also a most 
precious privilege, one of the richest blessings confer- 
red on man. It opens a method of intercourse and 
communion with our Father in heaven ; it furnishes 
a refuge for the soul oppressed with sin and sorrow ; 
it affords an opportunity to the heart overwhelmed 
with an intolerable weight of misery to unburden 
itself, to pour its griefs into the ear of one who can 
pity and help. 

The moral effect of prayer is important. It hum- 
bles the soul, and excites veneration for the august 
and holy character of God. But though prayer brings 
into exercise the noblest acts and emotions of which 
our nature is capable, yet it would be a grand mistake 
to confine the efficacy of prayer to their moral effects. 
Prayer, when offered in faith, for things agreeable to 
the will of God, actually obtains for the petitioner the 
blessings which he needs. It has an efficacy to obtain 
forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and 
deliverance from a thousand evils. Prayer enters 
into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth ; the prayer 
of faith is the mightiest engine upon earth. The 
Lord of heaven has given his word to answer prayer. 
He will be inquired of by his people, that he may 
bless them. 

God can make any means effectual ; and among 
the instituted means for the government of the world, 
and the preservation and comfort of his people, prayer 
holds a high place. The objection that God is im- 
mutable, and knows what we need, has no more force 



38 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

against prayer than any other means — no more force 
than if urged against the necessity of cultivating the 
ground in order to obtain a crop, or receiving food 
to nourish the body. The Christian life is sustained 
by prayer. By it every grace is exercised, every 
blessing is obtained. Without the sincere desires of 
the heart, prayer is nothing ; it is worse — it is a 
mockery. He is the best Christian who prays most. 
As God is ever near to us, " for in him we live, and 
move, and have our being," we are permitted toehold 
intercourse with him at all times, and in all places. 
We are commanded to " pray without ceasing " — to 
"be instant in prayer" — to "pray everywhere, lifting 
up holy hands." 

In prayer there is not only an outgoing of the soul 
to God, in acts of faith, love, and confidence, but there 
is an actual communication from God to the soul. 
Prayer is a holy converse — a fellowship with God. 
One hour spent in prayer, will accomplish more good 
than many employed in study or labor. Surely, then, 
it is good to draw nigh to God. a. a. 



A GOOD TREE. 



Trees are beautiful objects. If we had never seen 
this part of the creation, we should be filled with ad- 
miration at the sight. A stately oak or cedar is really 
a majestic object. It stands firmly by its own strength. 
It raises its head towards the heavens, and spreads 
out its arms on every side ; and when verdant, affords 
a canopy and grateful shade to the weary traveller, 
and a secure habitation for the birds of the air. Trees 
are the handsomest ornaments of gardens and pleas- 



A GOOD TREE. 39 

ure-grounds. Eden itself, without trees, would have 
been shorn of its glory. 

But a tree laden with nutritious fruit is an object 
still more beautiful and interesting than the trees of 
the forest. What spectacle is suited to give more 
pleasure to the contemplative mind than a tree bend- 
ing under the weight of precious fruit ? 

Between natural and spiritual objects there is a 
striking analogy. Of this the sacred writers often 
avail themselves, to give a lively representation of 
important truths. The discourses of our Lord are 
enriched and adorned by the employment of striking 
emblems. His figures are almost all derived from 
natural objects. 

Among fruit-trees, the vine is often mentioned in 
the Scriptures, because everywhere to be seen ; and 
when loaded with fine clusters like those of Eshcol, 
the sight is most pleasing. To represent the vital 
union of believers to himself, our Lord employs the 
union of the branches to the vine. He is the vine, 
they are the branches ; and the effect of this union is 
fruitfulness. As a branch severed from the vine can- 
not bear fruit, neither can believers without Christ. 
And the cogent motive to induce them to bear much 
fruit is, that their Father in heaven may be glorified. 

" Make the tree good, and his fruit good." " By 
their fruits shall ye know them." No man, by merely 
looking at a tree, can tell whether it will bear fruit, 
or whether the fruit will be good or bad. When we 
see persons making a good profession in the church, 
we cannot tell whether their religion is genuine or 
spurious, until we have an opportunity of seeing the 
fruits. When John the Baptist called men to repent- 



40 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ance, he required them " to bring forth fruits meet 
for repentance." A good life is the best evidence of 
sincerity in religion. How beautiful is a consistent 
Christian character. Such a one " does justice, loves 
mercy, and walks humbly with his God." To his 
prayers he joins alms, and he abounds in every good 
work. As he makes his way through this sinful world, 
his bright example sheds a light on all around, and 
others seeing his good works are led to glorify his 
Father in heaven. He makes no ostentatious display 
of his religion ; and yet his good deeds cannot be 
hid ; they are like the ointment which betrayeth 
itself. He is not ashamed of Christ and his gospel, 
but glories in the cross, and esteems all things but 
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. 

As the true Christian advances in years, his fruits 
become more mellow and mature ; and he goes on to 
bring forth fruit, even in old age. And finally, like 
a fruit fully ripe, he drops into the grave ; but his 
works follow him, and he is blessed in death, as the 
voice from heaven declared, " Blessed are the dead 
who die in the Lord." a. a. 



THE GODLY AND THE UNGODLY. 

" The godly man is one that, being formerly in a 
state of sin and misery, both strange and backward 
to God and heaven and a holy life, and prone to 
earthly, fleshly pleasures, is now, by the powerful 
work of the word and Spirit of God, converted to 
unfeigned faith and repentance ; broken-hearted for 
his former sin and misery, flying to Christ as the only 
hope and physician of his soul, and so is made a new 



"THOU FOOL." 41 

creature, having his heart set upon G-od and everlast- 
ing life, and contemning all the pleasures of the flesh 
and the things of this world, in comparison of his 
hopes of glory ; hating all known sin, and not wilfully 
living in any, and loving the highest degree of holi- 
ness, and willing to use the means that God hath 
appointed to destroy the remnants of sin, and bring 
him nearer to perfection. This is a truly godly man. 
" And he who is not such is ungodly. He that 
yet remaineth in his natural, depraved state, and is 
unacquainted with this great and holy change ; that 
hath any sin that he had rather keep than leave, and 
any that he wilfully liveth in ; and wilfully neglecteth 
known duties, as one that had rather be free from 
them than perform them, and had rather live a fleshly 
than a spiritual and holy life, and is more in love with 
the creature than with God — with his life on earth in 
flesh and sin, than a life with God and his saints in 
perfect holiness — this man is undoubtedly a wicked 
and ungodly man, how civilly or religiously soever he 

Seem tO live in the WOrld." A . A. from Baxters Life, etc. 



"THOU FOOL." 



" Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required 
of thee." What harsh language, some will be ready 
to say. But it is true ; and the occasion requires all 
earnestness. If you see your neighbor's house on fire, 
while he is sound asleep in his bed, you do not hesi- 
tate to alarm him with the most penetrating cry that 
you can utter. The reason in both cases is of the 
same nature, but much stronger in the latter, because 
the loss of the soul is infinitely greater than that of 



42 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the body ; the fires of hell are much more to be 
dreaded than any material fire, which can only de- 
stroy property, or at most, shorten life. 

But why is this man called a fool ? Surely he was 
not such in the world's estimation. He evidently pos- 
sessed the wisdom of this world. He knew how to 
manage his farm successfully. If there was any defect 
in this respect, it was in not building his barns large 
enough at first. Often enterprising, industrious men 
run far before their own anticipations. Wealth" flows 
in upon them, so that they have more than heart could 
wish. This man, no doubt, had labored hard, but now 
thinks of taking his rest, and entering on the enjoy- 
ment of his rich possessions. He said to his soul, 
"Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." No 
cloud appeared in all his horizon to darken his pros- 
pects. His expectation was, not only rest from labor, 
and ease from trouble, but actual enjoyment in feast- 
ing, and unceasing mirth. The course of this farmer 
and his success are the very objects at which thou- 
sands are constantly aiming. They look no higher ; 
they ask no more than he possessed. How then was 
he a fool? Will not the epithet apply as truly to 
more than one half the people in the world ? If this 
were our only state of existence, it would be hard to 
prove the folly of such a course and such sentiments. 
Then men might with some show of reason say, " Let 
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." But if this 
were all of man, and death the end of existence, the 
scene will so soon be over, and all joys and sorrows 
so soon buried in eternal oblivion, that it would still 
be unreasonable to be solicitous about our condition. 
If there were no hereafter, of what account would it 



"THOU FOOL." 43 

now be, whether the thousands of millions who have 
inhabited this globe were sad or merry while they 
lived? 

The arrant folly of this worldling, and of thou- 
sands like him, consisted in this, that being the crea- 
ture of a supreme Being, he neglected to serve him, 
and took no pains to secure his favor, or to arrest his 
wrath. The folly of this he must have felt when God 
spoke to him and said, " This night thy soul shall be 
required of thee/' 7 Oh, what a sudden interruption 
to his plans of future pleasure. What, must he give 
up all his possessions — his fields loaded with ripe har- 
vests, the fruit of his anxious toil ? In a moment his 
fond dream of feasting and mirth is terminated. God, 
his Maker, calls for him, and none can resist his com- 
mand. " And who knoweth the power of his anger ?" 
His soul is required. His account, whether prepared 
or unprepared, must be rendered. " Give an account 
of thy stewardship." Show in what manner you have 
improved the talents committed to you. What good 
use have you made of the riches conferred on you ? 

Poor, wretched man; what can he say for him- 
self? What justification can he offer for a life of 
disobedience and forgetfulness of God? Whither 
now can he turn ; whither flee for refuge from his 
angry Judge ? Alas, there is no escape. His riches 
cannot profit him now. The whole world could not 
redeem his soul from destruction ; and while his heirs 
are striving about his great wealth, his soul is writh- 
ing in interminable anguish. Careless reader, take 
heed lest this be thy case. Thou art in the same con- 
demnation. A . A. 



44 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 



LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 



1. A look of inquiry. Who is this Jesus? I see 
that he is a man, for I behold him a babe in Bethle- 
hem. I see him clothed with a body like other men, 
and growing in wisdom and stature. He has flesh 
and bones, and eats, drinks, and sleeps. Yes, I see 
his body wounded and bleeding, lacerated with the 
scourge, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross. 
See, he bows his head and dies 1 

But is he no more than man ? In this child do we 
not see rays of divinity encircling his sacred head, 
and indicating that in union with this child is the 
mighty God? Divine glory beams forth from his 
face. This is the only begotten Son of God — God 
manifest in the flesh, possessed of the power and know- 
ledge of the Most High. I gaze upon this mystery. 
Angels can do no more. I am lost in wonder — so are 
they. This union of the infinite and finite I cannot 
comprehend ; but I can adore the incarnate God. 

But my anxious spirit still inquires farther, Why 
such condescension — such humiliation — such unparal- 
leled sufferings ? I learn that all this was to qualify 
him to be mediator between a just God and the sinner. 
Being a daysman, he must lay his hand on both, and 
therefore he must partake of the nature of both. But 
my inquiry farther is, What work, as mediator, does 
he perform? What offices does he execute? The 
ancient prophets, from Moses downwards, have fore- 
told him as a prophet — a priest — a king. Such offices 
the sinner needs : he is ignorant, and must have a 
divine Teacher ; he is guilty and condemned, and 
needs a Saviour — a substitute — a great High-priest, 



LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 45 

to offer an atoning sacrifice sufficient to satisfy divine 
justice. It was this which required his incarnation, 
and his accursed death on the cross. And the re- 
deemed sinner needs a King to deliver him from the 
power of his enemies, and bring him to glory. 

2. The look of inquiry leads the soul to the look 
of confidence. The soul, burdened with its guilt, and 
with the fearful expectation of coming wrath, finds 
no rest nor peace, until it gets a glimpse of the cross ; 
beholding the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin 
of the world, it is assured of pardon and salvation. 
Nothing is wanting to its peace : justice is satisfied, 
the law is fulfilled, precept and penalty are satisfied, 
God is reconciled, and conscience can demand no 
more. " There is peace and joy in believing." 

3. A look of dependence. The poor beggar looks 
to his benefactor for relief and help, because he is 
benevolent, and especially because he has promised 
him all needed supplies. The believing soul, sensible 
of its own weakness, looks to Jesus for all needed 
help and strength. It relies simply on his word of 
promise, knowing that what he hath said he will most 
certainly perform. 

4. " Looking unto Jesus." This is also a longing 
look — a look of intense desire after conformity to his 
glorious and perfect character. As the child looks 
at the copy-plate when he is learning to write, so the 
Christian looks unto Christ as his perfect model. It 
is a look of imitation — copying his fair example. His 
language is, " Be ye holy, for I am holy." 

5. It is a look of hope and joyful expectation. Christ 
is absent from our sight, but we have the promise that 
he will come again. Saints are looking for his second 



46 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

appearance. This often fills their thoughts. They 
"love his appearing," " looking for and hasting to the 
coming of the day of God." This is the look of con- 
stant watchfulness, that they may be found of him 
with their loins girded and their lamps lighted. All 
Christians should be in the attitude of watchers, for 
they know not the day nor the hour when their Lord 
cometh. a. a. 



THE KING OF TERRORS. 

His dominion is wide as the world ; his subjects, 
all men except two. His tyranny is inexorable. By 
no art, by no flight, by no concealment, by no resist- 
ance, can we escape. Death is the doom of every 
man. And whatever we do, wherever we be, his 
approach is unretarded. Every moment lessens the 
narrow span between us and death. It is in vain that 
we shut our eyes to the reality of his nearness ; this 
only serves to make the surprise more terrible when 
he, at an unexpected hour, pounces on us. 

Death is terrible, because he cuts us off from all 
our possessions. However painfully and unjustly 
wealth has been accumulated, and however cautiously 
the soul clings to its treasure, death forces it away. 
As " naked we came into the world, so naked we must 
go out." Death severs the strongest, tenderest bands 
of nature ; it takes away the beloved wife at a stroke, 
or the kind husband ; snatches children, tenderly be- 
loved, from the affectionate embrace of their parents — 
even the only son is not spared ; the bond of friend- 
ship is rudely sundered, and the affections of the heart 
are torn and left bleeding with hopeless sorrow. All 



THE KING OF TERRORS. 47 

plans and projects are in a moment frustrated, and 
anticipated pleasures and honors are left behind. 

Death is a terror to men, because it drives them 
into a world unknown. "We look into the grave and 
inquire anxiously, "What is the condition of our de- 
parted friend ; or does he still exist in a conscious 
state ? We see no sign of life ; he gives no token by 
which we can learn any thing respecting him. We 
consult the oracle of reason, but there is no satisfac- 
tory response ; she mutters some ambiguous and un- 
certain answer, but casts no light on the darkness of 
the grave. Oh, how awful, to be obliged to go down 
into a world of darkness, not knowing whither we are 
going, or what is our destiny ! 

This obscurity is not all that terrifies ; there is 
something far worse. This king of terrors comes 
armed with a tremendous sting. Conscious inno- 
cence would inspire us with courage ; but guilt, a 
sense of sin, a feeling of deserved punishment, above 
all other things, renders death terrible. In the gay- 
ety and bustle of life, men may drown the voice of 
conscience ; or by repeated violations of its dictates, 
men may enjoy temporary ease ; but when death 
comes near, the voice of the monitor within sounds 
an alarm. The guilty soul would give worlds to be 
delivered from the stings of conscience. Nothing 
so corrodes the soul with anguish indescribable as 

REMORSE. 

A celebrated statesman^ and orator of our own 
country, when arrested by this king of terrors, wrote 
on a card this awful word, remorse, and nothing 
more, and then died. The sting of death is sin. 
The time of death is commonly an honest hour. 



48 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

When a man is about to appear before his Judge, 
what need is there of any concealment ? Yet some- 
times the pride of character and dread of disgrace 
lead men to dissemble even at the hour of death. 

What a transition, from time to eternity — from 
ignorance and unbelief, to the realities of the judg- 
ment ! 

Thus far, there is nothing in death but terrors. 
Has he no other aspect? Does no animating light 
from any quarter shine upon the darkness of the 
tomb ? Yes ; I see One rising from the sepulchre 
with the air of a conqueror. I hear him proclaiming, 
" I am the resurrection, and the life ; and whosoever 
liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die." I hear a 
voice from heaven, saying, " Blessed are the dead who 
die in the Lord." I see, through the narrow vista of the 
grave, a shining light. It brings to view the gates 
of the celestial city. By faith, I behold many of the 
dead entering in, clothed in robes of light. I hear 
them singing a song of gratulation and triumph to 
their great King, who has by his own death redeemed 
them from the power of the grave. Death is then no 
more " the king of terrors." He now appears with 
the face of an angel. Welcome death! Welcome 
the hour of complete deliverance from sin and sorrow, 
and all the evils to which fallen man is heir. Come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly, and receive a soul ran- 
somed by thy blood into thy bosom. 

" There shall I bathe my weary soul 

In seas of heavenly rest, 
And not a wave of trouble roll 

Across my peaceful breast." a. a. 



HEAVEN. 49 

HEAVEN, 

Heaven is a reality, not seen by eyes of flesh, but 
made known by revelation, and received by faith. 
Heaven is a rest from toil, trouble, temptation, and 
sin. Such a rest is very desirable, if it were only a 
sweet sleep ; but heaven is more. 

It is a state of delightful activity. Every faculty 
and every affection will find appropriate exercise ; 
and probably latent powers, not needed here, will 
there be waked into activity — powers suited to the 
new condition in which the soul exists. 

Heaven is full of light ; all darkness and doubt 
are absent. Knowledge will there be clear, and will 
possess a transforming efficacy ; still, knowledge in 
heaven will be progressive ; the pleasure will partly 
consist in ever learning something unknown before. 

Heaven is a region of perfect love ; all the heart 
and mind and strength will be exerted in love ; and 
if the power of loving should, in the progress of the 
immortal soul, be increased a thousand-fold, all this 
increased ability will be kept constantly in full stretch 
by the loveliness and glory of the objects of affection. 
Christ is the centre of attraction in heaven. From 
him radiate the rays of divine glory which enliven, 
attract, and beautify all the innumerable host of wor- 
shippers. Love in heaven is pure, perfect, and recip- 
rocal. He who loves, cannot be satisfied without a 
return of affection. And the more exalted and excel- 
lent the character of the person beloved, the sweeter 
the sense of his favor. Heavenly joy consists in lov- 
ing with all the heart, and in being beloved. As 
heaven is a society, the members are happy not only 



50 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

in loving their King, but in mutual love. There will 
exist no envy, nor jealousy, nor apathy ; every soul 
will be transparent to every other, and all will see 
that nothing but pure love exists in every heart. 

Heaven is a place of peace — sweet peace and unin- 
terrupted harmony ; all disturbing elements will be 
left behind. In the symbolical heavens of the Reve- 
lation, we read of wars ; but in the heaven where 
saints and angels dwell and worship, war can have 
no place. The atmosphere of heaven is exempt from 
all malaria ; it is purity itself ; all sin and impurity 
are denied admission into that holy place. 

Heaven is a place of song : high affections are 
expressed in celestial music. how elevating, how 
delightful the melodies ! Heaven is an unchanging 
state ; or all change is advancement in knowledge, in 
dignity, in happiness. a. a. 



THE JUDGMENT. 



And is it certain that I must appear at the judg- 
ment ? Yes. " We must all appear before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ." And mast I there give an ac- 
count of my actions? Undoubtedly; every one will 
be judged "according to that he hath done, whether 
it be good or bad." And will my most secret iniqui- 
ties be revealed in the light of that day? They will. 
" For God will bring every work into judgment, with 
every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it 
be evil." 

Must I render an account of my words as well as 
my actions? Even so. "But I say unto you, that 
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give 



THE JUDGMENT. 51 

account thereof, in the day of judgment." Will any 
account be taken of our thoughts, and of the desires 
and imaginations of the heart, on that day? Most 
certainly ; for the heart is the source of all wicked- 
ness, and God knows and remembers every evil 
thought which ever passed through the minds of 
men : these come under the class of " secret things f 
and it is written, " God will judge the secrets of men," 
in that day, "by Jesus Christ." Perhaps this relates 
to secret actions. Not alone ; for it is written, 
" Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the 
Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden 
things of darkness, and will make manifest the coun- 
sels of the hearts." 

Will all sinners fare alike on that day? All 
impenitent sinners will be condemned to everlasting 
misery ; but there will be a wide difference between 
the punishment of those who sinned in ignorance, and 
those who sinned in the midst of light and against 
light. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Go- 
morrah than for Bethsaida and Capernaum. " That 
servant that knew his Master's will, and committed 
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with many 
stripes ; while he that knew not his Master's will, and 
committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten 
with few stripes." Every man shall receive accord- 
ing to his work. "This is the condemnation, that 
light is come into the world, and men chose darkness 
rather than light, because their deeds were evil." 

Is the judgment day determined ? Yes. " For he 
hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world 
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained." 
Is there reason to think that t Jat day is near at hand ? 



52 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

It is nearer now than ever before. It conies on apace ; 
but of that day and that hour knoweth no man, nor 
the angels in heaven. 

Will any man be able to stand in the judgment ? 
None but such as are clothed in the righteousness of 
Christ : these shall not only be acquitted, but their 
imperfect works of faith and labors of love shall be 
richly rewarded. All others shall be condemned. 
No man's morality or good works can stand the scru- 
tiny of that day. All not interested in Christ will 
be cast into outer darkness ; they will hear the 
Judge's sentence, " Depart, accursed, into everlasting 
fire." a. a. 



A DISTANT VIEW OF NEW YORK. 

Within that small space nearly half a million of 
souls are congregated. There are the rich and luxu- 
rious, living in splendid palaces, and faring sumptu- 
ously every day ; and there are the wretched, suffering 
poor, crowded together in dark alleys, and lying sick 
in garrets and obscure corners, destitute of every com- 
fort. And yet these and all the intermediate classes 
are of one blood, and are all hastening to a similar 
end. 

If we could bring into one view the countless 
variety of feeling which at this moment agitates the 
breasts of this great multitude, what a strange spec- 
tacle would be exhibited. While some are rejoicing 
in scenes of mirth and revelry, others are groaning 
under-the pressure of excruciating disease. While 
the rich and gay are indulging in the highest exhil- 
aration, forgetful of th^ future, a far greater number 



VIEW OF NEW YORK. 53 

are oppressed with want, and bowed down with incura- 
ble disease, or with the burden of increasing years. 

As the contrast, on such a view, would be great 
between the joys and sorrows of the inhabitants of a 
large city, the difference of moral character is no less 
marked. How many are employed in works of shame, 
which shun the light of day. How many minds teem 
with schemes of wickedness, a large part of which 
they are never able to execute. Providence often 
places a barrier in the way of those who enterprise 
schemes of villainy and murder. How should we 
rejoice, and be thankful, that in this emporium of 
America, where the practisers of enormous vice so 
abound, God has provided a conservative body, by 
whose influence the wickedness of the multitude of 
evil-doers is restrained. We speak not of the efforts 
of the magistracy, and the watchfulness and energy 
of the numerous police, the benefits of which, however, 
are inestimable ; but our reference is to a class of 
men and women, found in every Christian denomina- 
tion, who are not conspicuous in society, but who labor 
incessantly to check the progress of abounding iniqui- 
ty. These true friends of man are found operating 
with inextinguishable zeal and indefatigable industry 
in disseminating gospel truth, in admonishing and 
exhorting transgressors, and in unceasing supplica- 
tions to the God of all grace, to send down, in copious 
effusions, the influences of the Holy Spirit, for the 
conviction and conversion of sinners. 

Those tall spires, which first meet the traveller's 
eye, and attract his attention in approaching the city, 
furnish interesting associations. As these point to 
heaven, they give us the delightful assurance that the 



54 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

fear of God is not banished from the place. There is 
here a worshipping people. Numerous assemblies flow 
into the spacious churches, whose doors are open to all 
on the Christian Sabbath. In these hallowed temples 
the preacher of the gospel dispenses " the word of life ;" 
thousands and tens of thousands drink in* the precious 
truth, and are enlightened, strengthened, and encour- 
aged to go forward in their contest with the powers 
of darkness. The pulpit is God's device for the de- 
struction of the works of the devil ; no wonder^ then, 
that Satan's greatest malice is directed against the 
pulpit. The influence of a sound, able, evangelical 
ministry on such a city is unspeakably great, not only 
in the positive good accomplished, but in the unknown 
evils which are prevented by the power of the truth 
on the consciences of men. It is only by the preach- 
ing of the gospel that a healthy tone of morals is pre- 
served. By means of the sentiments often advanced 
in the public periodical prints, and by the influence 
of the theatre, and even of legislative and judicial 
bodies, the standard of Christian morals is lowered. 
The conservative power against this tendency is the 
gospel. Take this away, and the deterioration of 
morals would be appalling. 

We cannot omit also those obscure, but truly 
benevolent and useful persons, who are seen pene- 
trating into the darkest recesses of vice and infamy, 
bearing in their hands precious tracts, and whose lips 
are ever ready to pour forth from a benevolent heart 
words of exhortation, admonition, and encouragement. 
The Lord prosper the self-denying company of tract 
distributers; they are more efficient, and no less 
necessary than the city watch. a. a. 



CHRIST SEEN. 55 

WHAT THE DISCIPLES SAW. 

" Blessed are the eyes which see the things that 
ye see/ 7 said our Saviour ; " for I tell you that many 
prophets and kings have desired to see those things 
which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear 
those things which ye hear, and have not heard 
them/ 7 

What things did the disciples see and hear which 
prophets and kings desired to see and were not grat- 
ified? They saw the seed of the woman, predicted 
in paradise to bruise the old serpent's head. They 
saw the person who was to descend from Abraham, in 
whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. 
They saw the Lamb of God, whom Isaac so strikingly 
typified, when he was laid upon the altar to be sacri- 
ficed. God did not suffer the stroke to fall upon 
Isaac, but he did not withhold the sword of justice 
when his own Son stood in the room of sinners ; but 
said, " Awake, sword, against the man that is my 
fellow — smite the shepherd. 77 

They saw Shiloh, to whom was to be the gather- 
ing of the people. They saw Messiah, the prophet 
whom God promised to raise up, like unto Moses — 
the King Messiah, whom God promised to sit upon 
his holy hill of power. They saw the Priest whom 
God sware that he would raise, not after the order 
of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek. 

They saw Immanuel, the wonderful child, who had 
the government on his shoulders. The branch from 
the root of Jesse and stem of David, whose kingdom 
was to be everlasting. They saw the " Word made 
flesh. 77 " God manifest in the flesh. 77 The eternal Son 



56 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

of God, the brightness of his glory, and express image 
of his person. They saw the stupendous and benefi- 
cent miracles wrought by Jesus, in the healing of all 
manner of diseases by a word or a touch, and even at a 
distance. They saw him give sight to the blind, hear- 
ing to the deaf, and life to the dead. They were wit- 
nesses of his power over the elements in commanding 
the winds and the sea to be still, and these boisterous 
elements obeyed him. Also when he multiplied a few 
loaves and fishes, so as to feed thousands of htingry 
people, they were the dispensers of his bounty to the 
multitude, and gathered up of fragments, after the 
feast was over, vastly more bread than was originally 
possessed. 

They saw the "Man of sorrows," whose visage 
was marred more than any man, and his form more 
than the sons of men. They saw the Lord of glory, 
to whom belonged the world and the fulness thereof, 
so poor, that while the foxes had holes, and the birds 
of the air nests, he had nowhere to lay his head. And 
soon after these words were spoken, they saw the 
Prince of life dying between two thieves, as though 
he had been a chief malefactor. Yes, they saw the 
author of life expire in death, and laid in the grave 
a pale and lifeless corpse. But soon they saw that 
tomb empty, and were permitted to see the Saviour 
risen to life, in the selfsame body. They inspected 
the wounds in his hands, his feet, and his side. They 
saw him transformed, so that he ascended to heaven 
before their eyes, in like manner as he will be seen 
when he makes his second appearance. All these 
were sights which prophets and kings desired to see, 
but saw them not. 



DECEITFULNESS OF SIN. 51 

And their ears were also blessed. The ear is an 
organ expressly blessed of God, for " faith cometh by 
hearing." The word of God commonly goes into the 
heart through the ear, rather than through the eye. 
The apostles heard Jesus preach, who spoke as never 
man spoke. They heard the gracious words which 
proceeded from his mouth. They heard the sermon 
on the mount. They heard all his striking and beau- 
tiful parables, and their lucid explanation. They 
heard his kind inculcations and gracious promises, 
his prayers and his predictions. They heard what 
made their hearts burn within them. 

But men may be blessed who have not seen, but 
have believed. As our Lord said to Thomas, " Thom- 
as, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed : 
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have 
believed." A . A . 

DECEITFULNESS OF SIN. 
All sin takes its origin from false views of things. 
Our first parents had never sinned, had they not 
been deceived by the tempter. Eve saw that the for- 
bidden fruit was beautiful, and she was persuaded 
also good for food, that is, pleasant to the taste and 
nutritious. Here was a deception. This fruit was 
never intended for nourishment, whatever might have 
been its flavor. It was intended for trial, and not for 
food. But the greatest deception practised on our 
first mother by the arch beguiler was, that the eating 
of this food would make her wise to know good and 
evil, even as it is known to God. The deceitful 
words of the tempter wrought this unfounded persua- 
sion in her mind. The desire of knowledge is natu- 



58 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ral, a part of man's original constitution, as well as 
the appetite for food ; but these natural propensities 
are not to be indulged by every means, and gratified 
on all occasions, but should be kept under the gov- 
ernment of reason and conscience. The brutes were 
made to be governed by appetite and instinct ; but 
man is the subject of law, and he cannot but feel the 
binding obligation of law. He is a moral agent, and 
may properly be subjected to a trial whether he will 
obey the law of his Creator. 

How widely different does sin appear after it is 
committed from what it did before. Passion or crav- 
ing appetite creates a false medium by which the 
unwary soul is deceived, and led into transgression. 
After our first parents sinned, "their eyes were open- 
ed." A sense of guilt unknown before now seized 
them, and this was like a new vision — not of beauty, 
but odious deformity. Innocence was lost. Shame 
and confusion take the place of peace and purity. 
Unhappy change ! The guilty pair are now sensible 
of their great mistake, of their guilty act, of their 
disgraceful condition, of their ruined state. Their 
whole race is ruined. What will they do when their 
Creator shall make his usual visit — heretofore so de- 
lightful and instructive ? Hark, he comes — his voice 
is heard in the garden. The wretched culprits are 
seized with terror and consternation. Guilt causes 
them to flee from the presence of the best and kindest 
of fathers. They try to hide themselves. They run 
into the densest thickets of the trees of the garden. 
But they cannot conceal themselves from the eye of 
Omniscience. They cannot escape from the arm of 
the Almighty, much less resist his power. 



WELLS OF SALVATION. 59 

Behold, the Creator not finding his creature man 
in his proper place, sends forth a voice, which must 
have been like the most terrible thunder, when the 
awful sound penetrated his ear, and resounded through 
his whole soul : "'Adam, where art thou ?" Trembling, 
the guilty pair come forth to meet the frowns of a 
displeased and righteous Judge. We need pursue the 
interesting history no farther at present. 

From this first transgression, by which sin entered 
into the world, we may form some idea of its deceitful 
nature. This first sin is a sort of exemplar of all 
other sins. As they flow from this as streams from a 
fountain, they all partake of the poison of their ori- 
gin. In all sin there is some bait — some apparent 
good — some expectation of pleasure or profit from 
unlawful indulgence. In all sin the mind is under a 
delusive influence. Eight thoughts and motives are 
for the moment forgotten or overborne ; the atten- 
tion, like the eye of a fascinated bird, is fixed on a 
point from which it cannot be withdrawn. The en- 
ticement prevails, and guilt is contracted. a. a. 



WELLS OF SALVATION. 

" With joy,' 7 says Isaiah, " shall ye draw water out 
of the wells of salvation." Pure water is often em- 
ployed by the sacred writers as the emblem of grace. 
The figure is used in several different senses. Water 
represents purity ; and the washing with water, the 
purification of the soul. "In that day," says Zecha- 
riah, " shall a fountain be opened for sin and unclean- 
ness." " Wash ye, make you clean," says Isaiah ; and 



60 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

in the New Testament, we read of " the washing of 
regeneration," of being "born of water/ 7 and of hav- 
ing our " bodies washed with pure water. 77 The ordi- 
nance of baptism evidently implies, among other 
things, this, as was said by Ananias to Paul, " Arise, 
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." 

But as water is necessary to the comfort of life, 
yea, to its very existence, we find it often used as an 
emblem of life and refreshment. "Ho, every one that 
thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 77 "On the last, the 
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, If any 
man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 77 And 
Christ said to the Samaritan woman whom he met at 
Jacob 7 s well, " If thou knewest the gift of God, and 
who it is that saith, give me to drink, thou wouldst 
have asked of him, and he would have given thee liv- 
ing water. 77 And again, " Whosoever drinketh of the 
water that I shall give him, shall never thirst : but 
the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well 
of water springing up into everlasting life. 77 And in 
the book of Revelation we have one of the sweetest, 
richest texts on this subject : " The Spirit and the 
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, 
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And who- 
soever will, let him take the water of life freely. 77 

Another use of certain waters among men is, for 
healing diseases. Medicinal springs are sought after 
and resorted to all over the world ; but I do not find 
that, except in case of miraculous healing, any men- 
tion is made of water as medicinal in the Bible. The 
pool of Bethesda was famous, in the time of our Sav- 
iour, for the healing virtue of its waters ; but this, 
we are told, was owing to a miraculous cause : " An 



WELLS OF SALVATION. 61 

angel descended into the pool, at certain seasons, and 
troubled the water ; and whosoever first, after the 
troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole 
of whatsoever disease he had." So, also, we read in 
the Old Testament, that Naaman the Syrian, by the 
direction of Elisha, was healed of an inveterate lep- 
rosy by dipping himself seven times in the river Jor- 
dan. And the blind man whom our Saviour healed 
by placing clay on his eyes, was directed to go and 
wash in the pool of Siloam ; and "he went, and wash- 
ed, and came seeing." 

If there should be a miraculous fountain opened 
in some part of the world, which had the virtue of 
curing all sorts of bodily diseases, what an amazing 
rush would there be to reach it by the rich and the 
poor. The ways leading to it would be constantly 
crowded with pilgrims seeking a cure of their various 
diseases. The sick and decrepid, as when our Lord 
was on earth, would be borne by their friends and 
bathed in the fountain of life. The superstitious hea- 
then travel hundreds and thousands of miles to visit 
some fountain supposed to possess a healing virtue; 
and in some popish countries, sacred wells are visited 
at certain seasons by a poor deluded people, who 
expect healing from waters which possess no healing 
quality but what imagination gives them. 

But when it is announced that a well op salva- 
tion is opened for the healing of the maladies of the 
soul, very little interest is felt by most in the tidings. 
Men are not sensible of their spiritual diseases, and 
therefore do not seek a cure. Yea, they are under 
such a direful delusion, that they are unwilling to be 
healed: they fondly cherish their mortal maladies, 



62 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

and are often offended when urged to come to the 
wells of salvation to be healed. 

A few, however, are thirsting for salvation, and 
they rejoice to hear that a fountain is actually spring- 
ing up in this wilderness, to which they are freely 
invited. Such come with joy to the wells of salva- 
tion. And Oh, how sweet are the repeated draughts 
of the water of life which they drink in ! Others are 
deeply affected with the conviction of their moral 
defilement. They ardently desire cleansing. To all 
such we bring glad tidings, when we announce that 
a a fountain is opened for sin and uncleanness." Do 
you ask where? In the gospel — in Christ, who is 
the centre and substance of the gospel. a. a. 



CHRIST THE BELIEVER'S LIFE. 

He is the believer's life, because he has redeemed 
himfrwn death. The sentence of death, eternal death, 
has gone forth against every sinner. " The wages of 
sin is death. 77 " Cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things written in the book of the law to do 
them. 77 From this curse all believers are delivered 
by Christ, who endured the curse for them. To such 
" there is no condemnation ; 77 and they are adopted 
into the family of God, and made heirs of eternal life. 
They stand completely justified on account of the per- 
fect righteousness of their Surety. This exemption 
from death, and title to life, could in no other way be 
obtained than by Christ's making a sacrifice of his 
own precious life. Christ is held forth as a Redeem- 
er, and his great work as a redemption. The persons 
redeemed are condemned criminals, who can be re- 



CHRIST THE BELIEVER'S LIFE. 63 

leased in no other way than by the payment of a 
ransom. This Christ has paid, satisfying, by his 
" obedience unto death/ 7 both law and justice. Thus 
the believer has life, not by virtue of his own obedi- 
ence, but only through Christ. His union with Christ 
gives him a title to the life which he has procured. 

Again, Christ is the source of spiritual life to the 
believer. By nature all men are dead in trespasses 
and sins. Spiritual life was lost to the whole human 
race by the transgression of Adam. If there were 
only a spark of life in the human soul, it might be 
cherished, and by assiduous culture, might grow to 
maturity. But in man's corrupt nature there dwell- 
eth no good thing. All the thoughts and imagina- 
tions of his heart are " only evil continually." To 
introduce life into the depraved soul, as much requires 
the exertion of omnipotence as to create man at first. 
God, who caused light to shine out of darkness, must 
shine into the heart. By the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit, which Christ sends forth, the soul is united to 
Christ, and from him derives life. Just as the branch 
derives nutriment from the vine, so the believer re- 
ceives from Christ, his spiritual head, vital influences, 
by which he lives. This communication of life is 
called regeneration, or the new birth. Persons who 
experience this change are "born of the Spirit," 
"born from above." 

And as Christ is the author of this life in its com- 
mencement, so he is the cause of its preservation and 
growth. Every kind of life requires nourishment ; 
and this spiritual principle, called by the apostle " the 
new man," must be fed. Christians are compared to 
" new-born babes," who naturally thirst for the pure 



64 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

milk of the word, that they may grow thereby. Their 
growth depends very much on their increase in know- 
ledge ; the word of God, therefore, is the means of 
the believer's advancement in the divine life. By 
the Spirit of Christ the word is made effectual ; and 
Christ himself is the sum and substance of the word. 
The word testifies of him. The word exhibits Christ 
as " the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and 
truth." As the body is supported and made to grow 
by bread, which is called " the staff of life," so Christ 
is " the bread that came down from heaven." The 
believer eats his flesh and drinks his blood, " not after 
a corporeal and carnal manner, but by faith." " The 
flesh profiteth nothing." Christ guards against any 
gross interpretation of his words by saying, "The 
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they 
are life." Spiritual life cannot be nourished by flesh. 

Another respect in which Christ is the life of the 
believer, is the resurrection of the body. " I am," says 
he, " the resurrection and the life." " He that believ- 
eth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; 
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
die." " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all 
be made alive." The bodies of believers are united 
to Christ as well as their souls. The saints do there- 
fore wait and hope for " the redemption of the body," 
and they shall not be disappointed. For we " look 
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like 
unto his glorious body, according to the working 
whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto 
himself." 

Finally, Christ will be the source of the believer's 



ANSWER TO PRAYER. 65 

life through eternity. The union between Christ and 
his members shall never be dissolved. He will for 
ever be the fountain from which their happiness flows. 
" He that hath the Son, hath life." " The gift of God 
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." " And 
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son." How emphatically 
may it then be said, that Christ is the believer's 
life. He is indeed " all in all." And they who have 
received the Lord Jesus, possess every thing which 
they can really need. They are complete in him ; 
for " of God, he is made unto them wisdom, and right- 
eousness, and sanctification, and redemption." "All 
things are theirs, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, 
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; 
all are theirs : and they are Christ's, and Christ is 
God's." A . A . 

answer to prayer long deferred. 

Half a century past, the writer was accustomed 
to frequent places of worship where the houses were 
situated in a grove, or rather in the midst of the trees 
of a dense forest, and far from any human habitation. 
Although the meeting-houses, as they were then called, 
were frequently unfurnished — a mere shell without 
ceiling — yet there was a solemnity in these places of 
worship which was better adapted to promote devo- 
tion, than all the most splendid achievements of archi- 
tecture. No sombre light let in through painted win- 
dows ever affected my mind like the solemn shade 
and stillness of the natural growth of the forest. 

On a certain occasion, when the Lord's supper was 
about to be solemnized in one of these humble church- 



66 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

es, I went early, that I might avoid the conversation 
and dust of the multitude on the road, and might have 
an opportunity of solitary meditation under the ven- 
erable trees which encompassed the house of prayer. 
I thought surely that I should be first on the ground ; 
but I was mistaken. I saw an elderly gentleman, who 
had just secured his horse to a bough of a tree, coming 
towards the house to meet me ; and upon his nearing 
me, I recognized an old acquaintance, at whose house 
I had lodged in my journeyings more than once. He 
had formerly been an elder in a Presbyterian church 
of some note, but had removed into a neighborhood 
where there were then scarcely any Presbyterians. 
Travelling ministers, however, often called upon him 
and preached in his house, or at some place in his 
vicinity. As I believed him to be a very pious man, 
well informed and zealous for the truth, I was pleased 
to meet with him and hold communion with him. 

After some general remarks, we got upon the sub- 
ject of the efficacy of prayer ; and as I was young, and 
he was aged and experienced, I was glad to throw the 
burden of the conversation on him, and he was not 
unwilling to speak on a subject which seemed to lie 
near his heart. In the course of conversation, he 
related to me a piece of his own experience. He said 
that his oldest son, who was a lawyer of some emi- 
nence, had as unblemished a moral character as any 
man in the land ; and yet, though respectful to relig- 
ion, he never had manifested any serious concern 
about his own salvation. "But/ 7 said he, "I have 
had such nearness to God, and such liberty in prayer 
for his conversion, that I believe those prayers will 
be answered in due time, whether I live to see it or 



ANSWER TO PRAYER, 6? 

not. Indeed/' said he, "on one occasion I am per- 
suaded that God gave me an assurance that my prayer 
in his behalf would be answered.' 7 

This, I confess, appeared to me somewhat like 
enthusiasm, but I made no reply ; and soon our con- 
versation was terminated by the gathering of the 
people. I thought, however, that I would remember 
this matter, and from time to time make inquiry re- 
specting the person whose conversion was so confi- 
dently expected by his father. Soon after this, the 
old elder was gathered to his fathers, and died in 
faith and peace. But residing far from his abode, I 
know not the particular exercises of his mind as he 
approached the borders of the other world. For some 
years I forgot the conversation, and made no inquiry ; 
but some person who was acquainted with the family, 
informed me that after his father's death, this son fell 
into habits of intemperance ; that, in fact, he became 
a mere sot, remaining at home and stupefying himself 
with alcoholic drinks every day. Such a case ap- 
peared to me nearly hopeless. I had seldom known 
a man thus brought under the power of strong drink 
to recover himself. I now thought that the good old 
father had been deluded by a lively imagination. And 
for many years every report respecting the son seemed 
to render the case more hopeless. 

But behold the truth and faithfulness of a prayer- 
hearing God. See an example of the efficacy of fer- 
vent and importunate prayer, though the answer was 
long deferred. This man, after continuing in intem- 
perate habits until the age of seventy or more, has 
recently been completely reclaimed, and not only 
delivered from that vice, but soundly converted to 



68 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

God. He not only gives evidence of a change, but 
appears to be eminent in the practice of piety. If 
now living, and I have not heard of his decease, he 
must be about eighty years of age. How wonderful 
are the ways of God. His faithfulness never faileth ; 
it reacheth unto the clouds. "Thy faithfulness is unto 
all generations." " that men would praise the Lord 
for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
children of men." " For the vision is yet for an ap- 
pointed time ; but at the end it shall speak, and not 
lie : though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely 
come, it will not tarry." Hab. 2 : 3. 

Let pious parents learn never to give over praying 
for their unconverted children, however hopeless the 
case may seem to be, for God will in faithfulness hear 
their supplications, and answer them sooner or later 
in one way or another. a. a. 



WHY HALT BETWEEN TWO OPINIONS? 

Between truth and error, light and darkness, 
there is a perpetual conflict. Every human soul ex- 
periences something of this. Evidence is always on 
the side of truth ; but by the mind blinded by preju- 
dice and passion the evidence of truth is not seen, or 
not perceived with sufficient clearness to give it effi- 
cacy. A mind under the influence of depraved disposi- 
tions is incapable of judging impartially of the nature 
and evidence of truth ; it is strongly biassed by incli- 
nation to sinful indulgence, and by a fixed aversion 
to every thing which tends to restrain the evil desires 
of the corrupt heart. Yet some rays of light will at 
times dart into such a soul, and awaken serious reflcc- 



HALTING. 69 

tion ; and conscience cannot be easy when the obliga- 
tion of duty is felt, and the course pursued is seen to 
be a series of trangressions of God's holy law. Con- 
science asserts the rightful authority of God, and tes- 
tifies against known sin. 

The sinner is brought to a pause. The thoughts 
of death, judgment, and eternity, are awful. He be- 
gins to think of a reformation, the necessity of which 
he cannot doubt ; but some darling lust puts in its 
plea and solicits indulgence. The deceitful heart 
promises, that if now indulged, it will consent to for- 
sake the beloved sin at some future time — perhaps it 
promises never to solicit for indulgence again. " This 
once only " has been the plea which has often decided 
the eternal destiny of an immortal soul. 

"When the truth is heard from the pulpit, the sin- 
ner is often brought to a stand. He is convinced that 
his course of life is wrong, and that if persisted in, it 
must end in ruin. For a moment he hesitates — halts 
between two opinions — between truth and error, be- 
tween duty and transgression, between the choice of 
life or death ; but too often the pause is momentary, 
the hesitation which is painful is brought abruptly to 
a close. 

The young man just entering on the path of sinful 
indulgence, whose conscience is not yet seared, and 
who has some knowledge of the truth, has to pass 
through many a tremendous struggle with his own 
conscience before he can go on in his sinful course 
without opposition. Often is he brought to halt be- 
tween two opinions. Often does he resolve to break 
the chains of iniquity which begin to entwine around 
him ; but these resolutions are like the cords on Sam- 



70 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

son's arms — under the power of the next temptation, 
they are like tow before the fire. Repeated efforts 
proving ineffectual, the vanquished soul gives itself 
up a willing captive to Satan. All serious opposition 
ceases. And now the sinner begins to justify his 
course by error and infidelity. He becomes ingenious 
in finding out arguments in favor of his licentious 
course. Hereafter there is no more halting between 
two opinions ; he is carried down the strong current, 
until he plunges into the abyss of perdition. 

The prophet addressed the idolatrous Israelites 
with the question, "How long halt ye between two 
opinions ? If the Lord be God, follow him ; but if 
Baal, then follow him." The object of Elijah was to 
bring them to a decision, one way or the other. Noth- 
ing is more unreasonable than hesitation in a matter 
so important, and where the duty and interest of those 
addressed were so manifest. But still they are left to 
choose. If they are willing to serve God, well ; if 
not, choose whom ye will serve. Only halt no longer. 
God hates this perpetual vacillation. " I would thou 
wert cold or hot," says Christ. " So then, because 
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will 
spue thee out of my mouth." 

Sinner, make up your mind. You are left at 
perfect liberty. There is no constraint, no coercion. 
God will have none but willing servants. But know, 
that if you make a wrong choice, if your mind adopt 
a wrong purpose, and determine to follow an evil 
course, you will have no one to blame but yourself. 

A. A. 



PREPARE FOR DEATH. U 

PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 

You are placed in solemn circumstances. Eter- 
nity rolls its boundless waves just before you. Every 
year, every month, every week, every day, every hour 
lessens the distance between you and the unchange- 
able state to which you are hastening. The precise 
moment of your entrance into this untried, unknown 
world is hidden from you. Death often comes and 
knocks at the door at a time when least expected. 
At a time when men think not they receive the awful 
summons. And often they are hurried away, little 
time being allowed for preparation. Many, while 
they know they must die at some time, never in their 
lives think seriously of the matter. When the sum- 
mons reaches them, they are taken by surprise. It is 
practically a new subject ; they are alarmed, and filled 
with consternation. They cling to hope as long as 
there is a ray of hope that they may be spared a little 
longer. But when it is announced to the unhappy 
sufferer that there is no hope of recovery — that the 
physician has given him up, what a poignant an- 
guish pierces the soul ! Who can describe the horror 
by which the guilty sinner is overwhelmed ? 

Are you prepared for death? Some one is per- 
haps ready to say, " I am no worse than my neighbors. 
I have never done any thing very bad. I have tried 
to live a good life ; I hope that I shall find favor of 
the Lord when I come to die." And is this all the 
ground of hope you have ? Are you willing to appear 
before the judgment-seat with no better righteousness 
than this? Though you may have lived a decent 
moral life, yet you have failed to love God with all 



72 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

your heart. His service you have habitually neglect- 
ed. The offers of mercy made in the gospel you have 
rejected- Unless you obtain a better preparation, 
your soul will be lost, and your misery will be great. 
And though you may be in no worse a condition than 
many of your neighbors, yet it will be small allevia- 
tion, when enduring the torments of the damned, that 
many others are in the same condemnation. No 
doubt they that perish will have company enough, 
but this will be no alleviation, but perhaps an aggra- 
vation of their misery. " Wide is the gate and broad 
is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many 
there be that go in thereat." The Judge is at the 
door. Be ye therefore ready. a. a. 



THE CROSS. 

Whence came the tree from which the cross was 
made ? What has become of the particles of which it 
was composed ? What hands were employed in pre- 
paring this instrument of a cruel death? To such 
questions no answer can be given, and none is needed. 
The cross was a common mode of punishment among 
several nations, and among the Romans was reserved 
for the punishment of slaves and the vilest malefac- 
tors. It was never made use of by the Jews. If they 
bad had the power of life and death in their hands 
when Christ suffered, the punishment for the offence 
alleged against him would have been stoning. But 
by the ordering of divine Providence, our Lord was 
put to death in that way which was accursed, accord- 
ing to the Jewish law ; for it was written, " Cursed 
is every one that hangeth on a tree." 



THE CROSS, 73 

The death of Christ on the cross may well be reck- 
oned mysterious, for it was at the same time a cursed 
and a blessed death. Christ was "made a curse for 
us," that he might deliver us from the curse of the 
law. And yet Christ's death on the cross is the most 
blessed event which ever occurred in the world ; for 
on the cross the price of our redemption was paid. 
Christ " bore our sins in his own body on the tree." 
He died, "the just for the unjust," to bring us unto 
God. This led Paul to say, " God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
The cross is a centre in which many lines of truth 
meet. The cross is an incomprehensible mystery. 
That God should be manifest in the flesh, is the great 
" mystery of godliness." That the Prince of life should 
be crucified, was an event which caused the angels to 
stoop from their celestial thrones, that they might gaze 
upon it. The prophets who predicted these events 
were perplexed at their own prophecies, " searching 
what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ 
which was in them did signify, when it testified be- 
forehand the sufferings of -Christ." 

The truths which are exhibited in a clear and strong 
light by the crucifixion of Christ, are such as these : 

1. The infinite evil of sin, which in order to its 
pardon required such a sacrifice. 

2. The holiness and justice of God, which would 
not suffer sin to pass without full evidence of the 
divine disapprobation, and his inflexible purpose to 
visit it with condign punishment. 

3. The wisdom of God, in contriving a method of 
salvation by which his own glory would be promoted 
in the eternal salvation of hell-deserving sinners ; and 



U PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

this wisdom is chiefly manifest in the incarnation of 
the Son of God, by which the divine and human 
natures are united in one person. 

4. But the most wonderful exhibition of the cross 
is the mercy of God, the love of God to sinners — such 
love as never could have been conceived of, had it not 
been manifest by the gift of his own Son : " God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." a. a. 



THE GOSPEL NO FAILURE. 

The first sermon preached after the institution of 
the Christian church was the means of converting 
three thousand souls, and some of these stained with 
the crimson guilt of having participated in the cru- 
cifixion of Christ. Surely there was no failure here. 
Soon afterwards five thousand more were added to 
the church in Jerusalem. And not long afterwards 
a large number of the priests became obedient to the 
faith. 

The power of the gospel was manifest in the con- 
version of the people of Samaria, under the preaching 
of Philip the evangelist. And at Antioch a glorious 
work of grace was wrought through the preaching of 
the gospel. So also at Corinth, at Ephesus, at Phi- 
lippi, at Thessalonica, and even at Rome. Glorious 
indeed was the success of the gospel when first pro- 
mulgated. It was to the world as "life from the 
dead." It shed a marvellous light over those who 
had all their lives been walking in darkness, and 
dwelling in the region and shadow of death. 



CHRIST KNOCKING. 15 

We behold the triumph of the gospel in the con- 
version of the man who was its most bitter and deter- 
mined opposer. Saul of Tarsus, who had wasted the 
church by a cruel persecution, dragging both men and 
women to prison and death, and whose burning zeal 
led him to extend the persecution to a foreign city, 
was arrested by the persecuted Saviour, and made a 
chosen vessel to preach the unsearchable riches of 
Christ to many heathen nations, and was the honored 
instrument of founding many famous churches. He 
did not find the gospel a failure. No ; he found it to 
be the power of God unto salvation to both Jews and 
Gentiles. And in his days the joyful sound had gone 
out through all the world. 

Some good people are dreaming of a new dispen- 
sation, as though the present were ineffectual for the 
conversion of the world. To such we would say, Do 
you expect another gospel to be revealed? Can you 
conceive of any better means for the conviction and 
conversion of sinners than the truths which we already 
have in the gospel ? And can you conceive of a more 
powerful efficiency than that of the Holy Spirit ? If 
not, then discourage not the hearts and the hopes of 
God's people, but preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture, and pray incessantly for the outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit. a. a. 

CHRIST STANDING AND KNOCKING AT THE 
DOOR. 

We add a well-known signature to this beautiful 
and striking testimony. — Eds. 

An aged professor was gratified to see that the 
American Tract Society had resolved to bring out 



76 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

from their press another of the precious works of 
dear Mr. Flavel. The volumes of this excellent 
author already published are a rich treasure in many 
houses ; they are replete with evangelical doctrine 
and spiritual instruction. But the writer has special 
reasons for esteeming the work now published. 

When a young man, he resided for some time in 
a part of the country where the gospel was seldom 
preached, and we were doomed for the most part to 
silent Sabbaths. Once a month, it is true, there was 
preaching at the distance of five miles ; but the min- 
ister, though zealous, was very illiterate, and very 
little benefit we thought could be derived from his 
ranting vociferation ; therefore we seldom attended. 
Indeed the family, with one exception, were little 
sensible of their need of religion. The writer con- 
fesses, to his shame, that he was ignorant of the nature 
of religion, and consequently did not feel its necessity. 
He thought that religion consisted in becoming good; 
and this, he was persuaded, he could do whenever he 
should so determine. And he therefore felt no con- 
cern about the matter. 

But there was an old, infirm lady who, though she 
had once lived in affluence, was now, through the 
profligacy of a bad husband, reduced to poverty and 
dependence, and occupied the situation of a super- 
intendent of the nursery in the family in which the 
writer was a teacher. This old lady possessed a 
large folio, containing all the published works of 
Flavel, and greatly delighted in reading his writ- 
ings ; but having weak eyes, she was able to read 
but little at a time, and would often request other 
members of the family to read to her. Sometimes 



.CHRIST KNOCKING. 11 

this favor was asked of the writer, who through cour- 
tesy complied, though the subjects were in no wise 
congenial to his taste. 

One of these vacant Sabbaths, when we were at a 
loss how to dispose of the lingering hours, she brought 
her book into the parlor, and requested me to read to 
the family, and pointed out the part which she wished 
read. It was a part of the discourse on the text, 
" Behold, I stand at the door and knock/ 7 etc. I took 
the book with reluctance, and read until I came to 
the word " stand," on which the author expatiates on 
the long-suffering and patience of Christ in waiting 
so long on sinners, while they pay no attention to his 
calls. This discourse impressed my mind in a manner 
it never had been before \ and I was so affected with 
the truth that I was unable to proceed, but making 
an apology, closed the book and sought a place of 
retirement, where I wept profusely. And this was 
the commencement of impressions which were never 
entirely effaced. From this time secret prayer, before 
neglected, was frequently engaged in ; and although 
I had no idea that I was converted until months after 
these first impressions, yet from this time my views in 
regard to religion were entirely changed. I now found 
a pleasure in reading out of Flavel to the good old 
lady, and even borrowed the book to peruse it alone ; 
so that my first practical knowledge of the nature and 
evidences of true religion were derived from this 
excellent author. This pious woman, who had a fine 
understanding, and had received a good education, 
often spoke to me on the subject, and related her own 
experience, yet I never disclosed any thing of my 
feelings to her. But before she died, she had the 



78 PRACTICAL TRUTHS, 

opportunity of learning that I had made a public pro- 
fession of religion, in which I understood she greatly 
rejoiced. 

You may well suppose, therefore, Messrs. Editors, 
that I was gratified in observing that you had pub- 
lished a book from which I received my first religious 
impressions, which have continued for no less than 
threescore years. No doubt this attachment to an 
author, and esteem for his writings, may be accounted 
for without the supposition of any extraordinary in- 
trinsic excellence ; but now, when I impartially judge 
of Flavel's writings, I cannot help coming to the con- 
clusion that they are among the very best of the many 
valuable writings of the Puritans. a. a. 



FIXEDNESS OF PURPOSE. 

" My heart is fixed, God, my heart is fixed." 
Men are often the subject of strong impressions, and 
have their feelings strongly excited, when they are 
far from a fixed and deliberate purpose to devote 
themselves unreservedly to the service of God. What- 
ever vicissitudes of feeling and fluctuation of hope the 
real Christian may experience, his purpose never wav- 
ers. He may be strongly tempted, and carnal desires 
may plead against his course, and his self-denial may 
be painful, like plucking out a right eye, or cutting 
off a right hand ; but still his determination is fixed 
that he will serve the Lord. Yea, when by some 
powerful temptation he is overcome, and is betrayed 
into sin, though he may for a season be in despair, yet 
his purpose is, that if he perish, he will perish. seeking 
mercy and trying to serve the Lord. Fixedness of 



FIXEDNESS OF PURPOSE. 19 

purpose is a much better evidence of genuine piety 
than the most elevated feelings of joy ; and this is an 
evidence which the Christian possesses in his darkest 
hours of discouragement. Our sensible feelings are 
much more connected with the state of the nervous 
system than is commonly supposed ; but the steady, 
fixed purpose of the will is a good evidence that the 
heart has been renewed. Our purpose may be stronger 
at one time than another, but it is always fixed. 

The following case occurs to the writer. A care- 
less and profane young man was awakened, and pro- 
fessed to be converted. His zeal was ardent, and 
his confidence strong. He relinquished a lucrative 
business that he might commence a course of educa- 
tion for the holy ministry. After a while his zeal 
began to cool, and his prospect of success in preparing 
for the ministry being somewhat uncertain, he began 
to regret that he had commenced such a course. And 
worse than this, he began to repent that he had left 
the world, and had relinquished a profitable business 
for the sake of religion. In a conversation which the 
writer had with him, he. acknowledged that he often 
hesitated whether he should continue to seek God, or 
go back to the world. This confession struck the 
writer with surprise, as he had before entertained a 
very favorable opinion of this man, and he could not 
reconcile such wavering with sincerity. After some 
time, the young man suddenly relinquished his stud- 
ies, gave up his religious profession, and plunged into 
more than his former dissipation. He became openly 
profane, and it is believed avowed his disbelief in the 
reality of religion. The change in his course affected 
the pious with grief, and furnished occasion of tri- 



80 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

umph to the enemies of vital piety. But his course 
was short. Though possessed of a strong and healthy 
constitution, he was seized with an inflammatory fever, 
and died in horror and despair. a. a. 



LOYE OF THE TRUTH. 

I think it is John Newton who somewhere says 
that he never knew any person who appeared to be 
actuated by a sincere love of the truth, who did not 
come right after a while, however far off he might be 
when he began to feel this motive operating. The 
case of the Rev. Thomas Scott is a remarkable illus- 
tration of this remark. When he commenced his cor- 
respondence with Mr. Newton, he was a Socinian, and 
was solicitous to engage his correspondent in a con- 
troversy on the points of difference. Mr. Newton, 
however, while he avoided controversy, still enter- 
tained and expressed the hope that Mr. Scott would 
come to a right belief, because he thought he per- 
ceived in him a sincere desire to know the truth. 

It seems to me that this is one of the first lessons 
which they learn who are taught of God. The Holy 
Spirit, when he would lead any one to the saving 
knowledge of the truth, produces in him a spirit of 
humble docility. The soul led by the Spirit thirsts 
for the knowledge of the truth. This is a very differ- 
ent thing from ardent attachment to particular opin- 
ions which have been imbibed from education, or from 
the connection with a particular sect. Such attach- 
ment cleaves to error as tenaciously as to truth. A 
man may be willing to lay down his life in defence of 
his opinions, and yet may be destitute of the love of 



THE PEACE OF GOD. 81 

truth. The genuine love of truth makes its possessor 
willing to relinquish his most cherished opinions as 
soon as it shall be satisfactorily demonstrated that 
they are not true. The love of the truth renders a 
man not only earnest in the pursuit of the beloved 
object^ but impartial in his judgment of evidence. He 
fears deception, and admits new opinions only after 
the evidence has been thoroughly sifted and weighed. 
This disposition is commonly accompanied with a 
deep sense of our ignorance and liableness to error. 
The lover of truth cannot be satisfied with mere 
plausible appearances, he must have solid ground to 
rest upon ; he therefore digs deep until he comes to a 
rock. And as the Holy Bible is the treasure of divine 
truth, he searches the Scriptures daily to find out what 
God has revealed. But conscious of his liableness to 
be misled by ignorance or prejudice in interpreting 
the oracles of God, he is incessant in his prayers for 
divine illumination. Such a one trusts little to his 
own reason or human authority ; he wants to hear 
what saith the Lord. And they who search for truth 
as for hid treasure shall not be disappointed. There 
is a gracious promise that if we seek, we shall find. 
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that 
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it 
shall be given him." a. a. 



THE PEACE OF GOD. 



There are three words, pregnant with precious 
and important meaning, commonly used by the apos- 
tles in their salutations and benedictions, grace, 

mercy, and peace. These words include every thing 

4* 



82 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

which man needs or can desire. Peace is the legacy 
which Christ gave to his disciples : " Peace I leave 
With you, my peace I give unto you." And after his 
resurrection, the first time he met with his disciples 
when assembled together, he said, " Peace be unto you." 

He gives peace not as the world giveth. .He is 
the Prince of peace, and his gospel is the " gospel 
of peace." It is called " the peace of God," because 
he is its author. It is a sweet and gentle siream 
which flows from the fountain of life beneath his 
throne. Happy is he who has received this heavenly 
gift ; it will, in the midst of external storms and 
troubles, preserve his mind in a tranquil state. It is 
independent of external circumstances. It is most 
exquisitely enjoyed in times of affliction and per- 
secution. " In the world ye shall have tribulation ; 
but these things have I spoken unto you, that in me 
ye might have peace." It is a fruit of the Spirit : 
"love, joy, peace." It includes reconciliation with 
God. " Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Peace of conscience is a fruit of reconciliation 
with God. The blood which reconciles, when sprin- 
kled on the conscience, produces a sweet peace which 
can be obtained in no other way. If the atonement 
of Christ satisfies the law which condemned us, and 
we are assured that this atonement is accepted for us, 
conscience, which before condemned, as being the echo 
of the law, is now pacified. The peace of God also 
includes freedom from jarring, discordant passions of 
the mind. The wicked, however prosperous exter- 
nally, can have no true peace within. Their ambition 
and pride and avarice, and love of ease and carnal 



RICHES OF CHRIST. 83 

indulgence, can never be harmonized. One may be 
the master-passion, but the others will arise and create 
disturbance and turmoil within. 

The only passion which effectually harmonizes the 
discordant passions of human nature, is the love of 
God. Wherever this is introduced, it will not only 
be predominant, but bring all other desires into will- 
ing subjection. The peace of God is not a mere neg- 
ative blessing, consisting in exemption from the misery 
of discord ; it is a positive enjoyment of the purest, 
sweetest kind. It is a foretaste of the bliss of heaven. 
Nothing on earth is so delightful. It is therefore said 
to " pass understanding." No one could have thought 
man's miserable soul could possess such enjoyment in 
this world. But why is so little known of it in the 
experience of professing Christians? I leave every 
one to answer for himself. a. a. 



UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST. 

Ephesians 3 : 8. 

It is recorded of Christ, that "though he was rich, 
yet for our sakes he became poor." But this poverty 
related only to external condition and earthly goods. 
He was indeed poor in the riches of this world. He 
was born in the most abject poverty. He lived poor ; 
for he said to one who expressed a desire to be his 
follower, probably from a hope of worldly benefit, 
" The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have 
nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his 
head." He had neither house nor home ; and some- 
times was a hungered for want of food, while laboring 
in Jerusalem, from morning to night. No one in that 



84 PRACTICAL TRUTHS, 

city seems to have invited him to a night's lodging ; 
for when he had spent the day in preaching in the 
temple, and healing the sick who resorted to him, it 
was his custom in the evening to retire to the mount 
of Olives. And when journeying — which was always 
on foot — he was sometimes refused the privilege of 
lodging in a village by the way. When a prophecy 
respecting him as king was to be fulfilled by his rid- 
ing on the foal of an ass, the animal must be_ bor- 
rowed ; and when tribute was demanded of him, he 
was not in possession of so much money as half a 
shekel, and therefore sent Peter to the sea to catch a 
fish, which he knew had the sum necessary for the two 
in its mouth. Indeed, the owner of heaven and earth, 
in his voluntary humiliation, was content to live upon 
the charitable contributions of the pious women who 
accompanied him from Galilee. And when dying, he 
had nothing to leave for the sustenance of his bereav- 
ed mother, but committed her to the care of his be- 
loved disciple, who did possess a home, to which he 
immediately took her. And when dead, he had no 
sepulchre of his own where his body might rest, but 
his lifeless corpse was laid in the tomb of another — a 
rich man, who graciously gave up for its use a new 
tomb prepared for himself. But though poor in this 
world's goods, he was even then rich — rich in divine 
power, for whenever it was necessary, he could provide 
food for thousands of hungry people. Pie was rich in 
the possession of every divine perfection, for the ful- 
ness of the Godhead " dwelt in him bodily f his riches, 
as being infinite, were indeed unsearchable. 

But the riches op Christ which Paul preached 
among the Gentiles, were the riches of grace. Who 



RICHES OF CHRIST. 85 

can fathom the depth of the love of Christ ? Surely 
it " passeth knowledge ;" it hath a depth, and height, 
and length, and breadth, which an angel's mind can- 
not compass. If we would trace this stream to its 
source, we must go back before the foundation of the 
world. This fountain of divine mercy is hidden in 
the depths of eternity ; yea, more, in the unsearchable 
depths of the infinite mind of God. " the depth of 
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ; 
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 
past finding out. 77 

Christ is not only rich in his divine attributes and 
love, but in his mediatorial character and possessions. 
The richest creature ever formed was the human na- 
ture of Christ, which he has assumed into intimate 
personal union with his divine nature. This human 
nature is enriched with knowledge and sublime prop- 
erties, which, though finite, as every creature must be, 
yet far surpass all the richest endowments of the high- 
est angel or archangel who stands in the immediate 
presence of God. Here is an object to call forth the 
wonder and adoration of the innumerable hosts who 
encircle the throne of the great I AM. 

This divine mediatorial Person is the foundation 
of the whole plan of redemption. As God-man, he 
was born, and lived, and taught, and died, and rose 
again; and now "ever liveth to make intercession 77 
for all who have by faith committed their souls into 
his hands. And in this character of Mediator he has 
become heir to a glorious inheritance ; and of this 
inestimable riches he has made every true believer a 
co-heir, " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. 77 
There are unsearchable riches for the Gentiles, and 



86 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

also for the Jew ; for he makes no difference. All 
genuine disciples will have their allotment in the 
celestial Canaan. "It is a broad land of wealth 
unknown." And these inestimable, inexhaustible 
riches are freely offered to all. who will consent 
to make known these glad tidings to the hundreds of 
millions of Gentiles now on the earth, and spend their 
lives in preaching to them the unsearchable riches of 
Christ ? Ar. A. 

WHAT I DESIRE. 

Spiritual knowledge, that view of divine truth 
which arises from the illumination of the Holy Spirit. 
With this, a lively exercise of faith, not merely in the 
tvay of assenting to the truth, but confiding in the 
promises ; a holy susceptibility of heart, so that every 
thought of Christ may be a warm emotion of love and 
delight : godly fear — a profound veneration, yea, ad- 
oration of the divine majesty ; deep humility, not only 
a feeling of littleness and weakness and ignorance, 
but of un worthiness and ill desert, together with con- 
trition of spirit, a godly sorrow that works repent- 
ance ; a devotional spirit, a constant breathing after 
God, the living God ; fervent ejaculations in the midst 
of business and company ; good- will to all men ; broth- 
erly love; tender compassion for the afflicted, and 
" charity, which is the bond of perfectness f inward 
peace — peace with God, peace of conscience, tranquil- 
lity of mind, a peaceable temper ; courage in opposing 
spiritual foes, and in aggressive assaults on the king- 
dom of darkness ; a spirit of wise enterprise in doing 
good ; promptitude in seizing on opportunities of being 
useful ; constancy and perseverance in well-doing — 



WHAT I DESIRE. 87 

bringing forth much fruit, and continuing to bear fruit 
even in old age ; assurance of pardon and acceptance, 
with a good hope, entering into that within the veil ; 
patience under suffering, and the salutary benefits of 
sanctified affliction ; a grateful temper, ever disposed 
to give thanks, and to praise the Father of lights, 
from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift ; 
contentment with an obscure and humble condition in 
the world, without envy of the rich and great. 

Let these things be in me and abound, and I ask 
no more. Let the worldlings have the world, and 
make the most of it. I will never envy their prosper- 
ity, for it is but for a moment, and then, like a passing 
scene in a drama, disappears for ever. * Their feet 
stand on slippery places, and in due time their steps 
will slide, and all their music, their mirth, and their 
wine will cease for ever. And when they sink, they 
will rise no more. They plunge into a horrible abyss, 
where no ray of hope ever enters. Oh, their end, their 
dreadful end! 

Give me my place and portion with the humble 
poor ; lift upon me, God, the light of thy reconciled 
face, and scatter the dismal gloom with which guilt 
and unbelief envelops the soul. Speak to my troub- 
led conscience the word "peace," and darkness shall 
be light, the weeping of the night converted into the 
joy of the morning. 

Lights and shades alternate during our earthly 
pilgrimage. But often the nights are long and win- 
try ; we long for the genial, reviving warmth of 
spring. Our spirits seek to be regaled by the sweet 
odors of the fragrant flowers, and with the joyful 
singing of birds. Oh for a serene, unclouded sky. 



88 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

But see that dark, deep valley. See how many de- 
scend into the sides of the pit, but none ever return. 
Most are driven away — they are suddenly cast down. 
They were not aware of their nearness to the brink — 
they were not prepared for this sudden, awful change. 
the blindness of man! How deep his sleep of 
carnal security ! Will nothing awaken him ? 

My desire is to meditate on my latter end until I 
become wise unto salvation ; to stand ready with my 
lamp trimmed and my loins girded, and thus to wait 
for the coming of my Lord. Soon I shall need earthly 
blessings, and even means of grace, no more. what 
scenes will soon burst on my astonished vision ! Lord 
Jesus, come quickly. a. a. 



A SHORT CONVERSATION ON FASTING AND 
PRAYER. 

Yesterday a pious young minister of the Baptist 
denomination called upon me, and said he wished I 
would write a short article for the Messenger on the 
duty of fasting. He observed, that among Christians 
of our day he feared this duty was much neglected. 

I referred him to a valuable discourse of the late 
venerable Doctor Miller on that subject, published 
some years since in the National Preacher, which he 
said he had not seen. I told him that I was not in 
favor of periodical fasts once a week or once a month ; 
that there were times when we ought not to fast : as 
our blessed Saviour said to the disciples of John, in 
answer to their question, " Why do we and the Phar- 
isees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? Can the 
children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the 



FASTING AND PRAYER. %9 

bridegroom is with them? But the days will come 
when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, 
then shall they fast." 

To this my young friend assented, and observed, 
that soon after his conversion he determined to fast 
one day in the week ; but after practising this for 
some time, he found that it was degenerating into a 
formal observance, and he gave up the practice. He 
remarked that it was evident from one declaration of 
our Lord, that there were cases of obstinate evils from 
which deliverance was not obtained without adding 
fasting to our prayers. The reference was to Matt. 
17 : 21 : " Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by 
prayer and fasting." 

Fasting has made a part of all religions, true and 
false, and is much practised among the heathen, the 
Jews, the Mohammedans, the Romanists, and the ori- 
ental Christians. And because the practice has been 
turned to superstition, Protestants have too much 
neglected this duty. But eminently devout men in 
all ages have found fasting an auxiliary to devotion 
and to the mortification of sin. 

Some professors neglect it altogether, under the 
false notion that literal fasting is not enjoined, but 
only penitence and abstaining from sin. There are, 
however, degrees of fasting, both as to the time of 
abstinence from food, and whether the abstinence be 
total or partial. The Ninevites, when brought to 
repentance by the preaching of Jonah, tasted neither 
bread nor water for three whole days. This was a 
severe fast. Daniel fasted for three full weeks ; but 
this was not a total abstinence, for he says, " I ate no 
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my 



90 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

mouth." And Peter's fast, when he saw the vision of 
the sheet let down, was only until the ninth hour, that 
is, three o'clock of our day. 

External fasting, without corresponding internal 
penitence and humiliation, is hypocrisy, and such fast- 
ing is severely reproved by the prophet. See Isaiah 
63. And God says, " Therefore also now, saith the 
Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and 
with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning ; 
and rend your heart, and not your garments." And 
our Lord warns us against ostentation in our fasting : 
" Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of 
a sad countenance ; for they disfigure their faces, that 
they may appear unto men to. fast. Verily, I say unto 
you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou 
fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face ; that 
thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father 
who is in secret ; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, 
shall reward thee openly." 

One special occasion on which the apostles and 
their companions were accustomed to fast, was when 
ministers were to be ordained and sent forth. Thus we 
read in Acts 13 : 2, "As they ministered to the Lord 
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barna- 
bas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and 
laid their hands on them, they sent them away." And 
again, chap. 14 : 23, " And when they had ordained 
elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, 
they commended them to the Lord." Is this practice 
now followed by those who ordain ? As fasting ren- 
ders some persons sick, so that it hinders their devo- 
tion, such should adopt partial abstinence ; for the 



A DISCIPLE. 91 

Lord will have mercy, and not sacrifice, But its 
causing pain is one end of fasting, that we may "afflict 
our souls." a. A. 



A DISCIPLE. 



A disciple is a learner, but a learner supposes a 
teacher. The church is properly a universal school, 
where Christ is the great teacher. The word of God 
contains all the lessons which are inculcated in this 
school. But as Christ is the sum and substance of 
the word, he is not only the teacher, but the subject 
of the lesson taught ; according to that saying of his, 
u This is eternal life, to know thee the only true God, 
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Or that of 
Paul, "Ye have not so learned Christ, if so be ye 
have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the 
truth is in Jesus." Do you ask how we can gain 
access to Christ, to become his disciples? "Say not 
in thy heart, who shall ascend into heaven ? that is, 
to bring Christ from above. Or who shall descend 
into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from 
the dead. But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, 
even in thy mouth, and in thy heart ; that is, the word 
of faith which we preach." 

A genuine disciple is not only taught out of the 
word, but by the Spirit also. External teaching, 
however correct, is not sufficient ; man needs internal 
illumination by the Spirit. " If any man have not the 
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Not that this 
divine instructor teaches any thing different from the 
word. No ; He takes of the things of Christ and 
shows them unto us. He is the Spirit of truth, and 



92 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

will guide the disciples into all truth. He " reproves 
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." 

But what are some of the lessons learned by the 
disciple in this school? 1. The worth of his soul, and 
the value of time. 2. Veneration for the holy Scrip- 
tures as the infallible rule to guide our faith and prac- 
tice. 3. Our ruined and condemned state — "children 
of wrath, even as others," " dead in trespasses and 
sins/ 7 " without hope and without God in the wprld." 
4. He convinces the human heart, or rather, gives the 
soul a glimpse of the indwelling sin, by which it is 
convinced of total depravity. Oh, what a host of 
evils ; what a fountain of impurity ; what a mass of 
corruption ! The heart is found to be deceitful above 
all things, and desperately wicked. There is found 
nothing in it truly good. 

What can be done ? Where shall the sinner fly 
for relief? Whither, but to the house of mercy — to 
the city of refuge? There stands One with wounded 
hands widely extended, who invites the perishing 
sinner to come to him for safety. The guilty soul 
hesitates — fears this invitation cannot be for one so 
unworthy. But no other door is open, and the kind, 
entreating voice is still heard, Come — " and him that 
cometh, I will in no wise cast out." It ventures — 
trembling, it advances — it throws itself into the arms 
of divine mercy, and is graciously received, without 
merit, without upbraiding ; becomes a son or daugh- 
ter by adoption, and if a son, then an heir of God and 
a joint-heir with Christ. It learns to prize Christ 
above all persons and above all treasures. " To you 
who believe, he is precious." It values him above all 
price as a teacher and as a ruler, as well as an aton- 



A WORD TO THE YOUNG. 93 

ing priest. It learns to roll all its burdens on the 
Lord, and learns to live out of itself, by desiring vital 
supplies from Christ, day by day, as says a disciple, 
" I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet 
not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I 
now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who 
loved me, and gave himself for me.' ? 

Again, the disciple is taught the beauty of holi- 
ness. Moral or spiritual beauty is the glory of 
heaven. External glory is nothing ; but moral, di- 
vine excellence is the glory of God, comprehending 
all his divine perfections. To view this excellence, 
is the beatific vision in which the happiness of heaven 
consists. Oh, glorious state ! Oh, blessed abode ! 

Finally, the disciple learns to know the reality 
and sweetness of communion with God. While many 
are contented to worship in the outward court, he 
desires to penetrate into the holy of holies, where he 
can hear the words of the divine oracle, and see the 
resplendent face of Immanuel. The apostle teaches 
that the most holy place is a type of heaven ; and 
surely nothing on earth is more like heaven than inti- 
mate communion with God. a. a. 



A WORD TO THE YOUNG. 

The ravages of death in the removal of the ven- 
erated Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander, as noticed in 
another column, make it proper that we should say 
that the spiritual articles with the signature "A. A.," 
and some others, which for some years have adorned 
the columns of the Messenger, were from his pen. He 
knew the Messenger visits nearly two hundred thou- 



94 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

sand families, and almost every month he sent those 
families his message of love in reference to their sal- 
vation. We have a melancholy pleasure in now in- 
serting the last appeal written by him for our columns. 
It is the affectionate counsel of a Christian of four- 
score years to those entering upon life. Eds. 

Beloved youth, when I, who am old, look upon 
your condition, I cannot but pity you. I do not envy 
your gayety and pleasure. The cup which you, hold 
in your hand is inebriating, it is poisoned. The pleas- 
ures which you are seeking are " the pleasures of sin," 
which are short-lived, unsatisfactory, and leave a sting 
behind. Many are cut down like the flower of the 
field in the midst of their earthly career. Oh how 
many are hurried away in an unprepared state. Many 
others, when the season of youthful gayety and thought- 
lessness is past, are visited with sore afflictions, in the 
suffering of which all their former pleasures are for- 
gotten, and often imbittered by the reflection that they 
were sinful pleasures, or were mixed with sin. Re- 
morse for the sins of youth is an unwelcome visitant, 
but one which cannot easily be shaken off. When 
afflictions are sanctified they become real blessings. 
But many suffer who, instead of being made better, 
are made worse by all their sufferings. They become 
impatient, and murmur at the dispensations of God 
towards them, as though they were punished more 
than their sins deserved. 

Oh, young man, permit me to call your attention 
to your soul's salvation. This you cannot but know 
is your great, your highest interest. And why do you 
neglect it ? Why do you put far off the evil day ? 
Your continuance on earth is altogether uncertain. 



A WORD TO THE YOUNG. 95 

Prepare, I beseech you, to meet your God. "Behold, 
now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 
You will lose nothing, but be great gainers, by giving 
your hearts to God in the days of your youth. " Wis- 
dom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths 
are peace." 

A good conscience, and a lively hope of everlasting 
life, are the purest sources of joy upon earth. When 
affliction falls on the pious — and they are not exempt — 
there is a gracious promise that it will be for their 
good ; yea, that it will work out for them an " exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory." Let the summons of 
death come when it will, they are ready. The day of 
death to such is far better than the day of their birth. 

Young man, as you have but one short life to live 
upon earth, have you no desire that it should be occu- 
pied in doing good? Are you willing, at the last 
account, which all must give, to be in the class of 
those who have lived to no good purpose, who have 
done nothing for the benefit of their race ? You say 
that you intend to be religious hereafter. What a 
delusion ! Evil habits will grow with your age, sinful 
desires will not be lessened but increased by indul- 
gence. Old age, if you are permitted to reach it, will 
find you a hardened sinner ; your conscience seared, 
and all your habits of iniquity confirmed. Oh, could 
you hear the wailings of a multitude of souls now in 
hell, methinks their lamentation would be that they 
procrastinated attention to the salvation of their souls. 
Why will you run the dangerous risk ? Consider that 
eternal life and eternal death are now set before you ; 
and God calls on you to choose which you will have. 

A. A. 



96 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION, 



In comparison with salvation, all other subjects 
are trivial. To waste time in the pursuit of wealth, 
or in the chase of sensual pleasure, while our salva- 
tion is not secure, is more than folly — it is madness. 
What, would you agree to dwell in the dark dungeon 
of despair for ever and ever, for the sake of living a 
few years upon earth in a sumptuous house ? Would 
you consent to endure the sting of the never-dying 
worm, and the torment of unquenchable fire, to all 
eternity, for the sake of gratifying your appetites and 
senses for a moment? No man would deliberately 
make such a determination ; yet such is the language 
which many speak by their conduct. The world is 
pursued daily, at the risk of salvation. 

The resolution of attending to the concerns of the 
soul hereafter, answers no other purpose than to lull 
the conscience asleep. Where have we known a per- 
son, by virtue of these flattering resolutions, change 
his conduct? The next day is like the one that pre- 
ceded it. Every succeeding year passes by like those 
that went before. No convenient time for repentance 
and reformation ever comes. Youth soon runs out in 
the giddy circle of pleasure and amusement. Middle 
age is completely occupied with cares and business ; 
and old age, if it ever arrives, finds the heart hard- 
ened, the habits fixed, and the conscience seared. 
Death overtakes the unfortunate wretch. He dies as 
he lived, either goaded by guilt, or benumbed with 
stupidity. He dies, and sinks to hell, where there 



IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. 97 

are no amusements to entertain, no business to engage, 
no error to becloud the mind. To fall into the hands 
of the living God, as an avenging Judge, is dreadful 
beyond conception : to be eternally miserable, over- 
whelms the thoughts, and we turn away from it with, 
instinctive horror. 

Can you reconcile yourself to such sufferings? Can 
you dwell with everlasting burnings? Only try the 
torment of fire for a moment, and you will soon be 
convinced that the pains of hell are not to be sup- 
ported with patience, if they are comparable to fire ; 
but they are worse. Remorse and despair are worse 
than Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, heated seven times. 
Xo flames are equal to the raging of unrepented sin ; 
no strokes of any enemy like the taunts of infernal 
spirits. If you had to endure this punishment only 
for a limited time, the hope of deliverance might help 
you to bear up under the dreadful weight of sorrow ; 
but although many support themselves by such a hope 
here, the miserable in hell have no such alleviation. 
The darkness which surrounds them is thick and hor- 
rible. No ray of light ever penetrates it. No gleam 
of hope ever mitigates the raging anguish of the lost 
soul. Consider also, that although your sins may not 
be openly flagrant, yet, as you have heard the gospel, 
and enjoyed many calls and warnings, and also many 
strivings of the Spirit, these will exceedingly aggra- 
vate your misery, and make your hell hotter than that 
of the miserable inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
The more comfortable you are in your worldly cir- 
cumstances, the more miserable will your condition 
be. To be cast out from among affectionate friends, 
to keep company with monsters of depravity : from 



98 PRACTICAL TRUTHS, 

fine houses, pleasant gardens, fertile farms, and downy 
beds, to be east into a lake of fire ! from well-furnished 
tables, and generous wines and cordials, to be eter- 
nally famished with burning thirst, and no gratifica- 
tion ever obtained — no, not so much as a drop of wa- 
ter to cool the tongue ; this is hell indeed ! Suppose 
you were doomed to suffer the torment which a sinner 
in hell must eternally endure, for one hour in this 
world, would not the prospect of this doleful hour mar 
all your pleasures ? In the midst of mirth, would it 
not make your heart sad ; and would it not be ever 
present in your thoughts? You would be unable to 
compose yourself to sleep, or to betake yourself to 
your necessary business. You would consider your- 
self as an unfortunate wretch, and would perhaps 
regret that you had ever been born. Your friends 
would sympathize with you, and all around would 
look upon you with compassion. 

But if, from an hour, the term of your punishment 
should be enlarged to a year, what would you do ; 
how would you feel ? Suppose you could endure the 
pain of a fiery furnace for a year without dying or 
losing your sensibility, and you knew that this was 
your certain doom, could you be at ease ; could you 
contain yourself? Would you not disregard all pur- 
suits and enjoyments which the world could propose ; 
and would you not take up a continual lamentation 
over your unhappy case? "Would you not call upon 
all to pity you, as the most miserable wretch that ever 
was born ? And would you consider the wealth of a 
prince, the honor of a conqueror, or the pleasure of 
an epicure, any compensation for such dreadful suffer- 
ings? Would you not despise all these things, and 






IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. 99 

say, "The. more I enjoy these earthly delights, and 
the more I forget the misery which is coming upon 
me, the more intolerable will be my anguish when it 
arrives ?" Should we be thus affected with an hour's 
or year's continuation of such sufferings as must be 
endured in hell, and shall we be indifferent to these 
same torments when their duration will be without 
end? God, what kind of infatuated beings are 
we ? Surely man, of all creatures, is the most stupid 
in those things which relate to his salvation. Eter- 
nal punishment! Eternal fire! Everlasting 
destruction ! What awful sounds are these ! Who 
can fully understand their import ? 

I extend my views forward to the day of judgment ; 
but this great day, instead of bringing these sufferings 
to an end, is the date of their beginning in all their 
terror. What shall be endured before, is nothing to 
what comes after. The fire will then be kindled 
around both soul and body, which will never cease to 
burn. The sufferings of the soul in a separate state, 
will be like the anticipations of a criminal who is 
conscious of guilt, while confined in a prison before 
the day of trial. They shall then go away into ever- 
lasting punishment. Only put yourself for a moment 
in the place of one of those who are commanded by 
the Judge to depart, under the vengeance of an ever- 
lasting curse. The feeling mind recoils from such 
suppositions with such repulsive violence, that it is 
almost impossible to induce men to fix their thoughts 
steadily on such subjects. But try, for once, the ex- 
periment. Overcome your natural reluctance, and 
imagine yourself to be in the company that will be 
driven off, by the command of the Judge, from the 



100 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

awful tribunal, into outer darkness, where there is weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth. May I venture to suggest a 
few reflections which would probably arise in your 
mind in such a situation. 

" Well, the scene is ended — I now know, I feel the 
misery of my situation ! Hope, my last comforter, is 
eternally fled. Despair has full possession ; all is lost, 
eternally lost ! All that I now have is a miserable, 
accursed existence ! that I could sink into noth- 
ing, and thus escape the wrath of my avenging ene- 
my ! But I wish in vain ; exist I must. Hell is my 
portion! I already feel its overwhelming horrors! 
I am tortured with agonies, and rent with pangs 
which no words can describe. All passions assist in 
increasing my misery. I see others glorious and 
happy, but the sight greatly enhances my woe. I 
feel my envy and malice raging against them, and 
against their God and Saviour ; but my wrath is 
impotent; it recoils upon myself, and inflicts new 
wounds on my tormented soul. Was this the price 
at which I purchased the world and its pleasures? 
wretch and fool that I was ! We are commanded to 
go away. Ah, whither can we go? Is there any 
secure or even obscure retreat for us? No, no. We 
sink in flames. We go into everlasting misery ! We 
go to be companions of devils ! We plunge into the 
dark abyss, never to rise again ! And these bodies, 
our old companions in sin, must be also tormented. 
They are made strong and incorruptible, to bear their 
part in the unquenchable fire !" 

But we cannot describe the anguish and despair 
of a lost sinner. The mere possibility of falling into 
such a state of indescribable anguish ought to fill us 



IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. 101 

with trembling ; and so it would, were not our minds 
blinded by the god of this world. Now, reader, do 
you feel no concern about your salvation ; or have 
you some method of easing your mind under these 
thoughts ? I beseech you to consider well what the 
nature of that resource is. 

The first thought which occurs, by way of relief 
to your mind, is, perhaps, that these things cannot be 
so — that such torments will never be inflicted by a 
good and merciful God. This ground appears to 
many very plausible, and they rest upon it with the 
greater confidence, because it has the appearance of 
honoring the character of God, at the same time that 
it promises safety to themselves. But before you lean 
on this prop, look well, I beseech you, to its founda- 
tion. Consider, that before you can derive any ra- 
tional comfort from this consideration, you must be 
able to demonstrate that the tremendous denuncia- 
tions of God's word against sinners are false, or that 
he will forfeit his veracity, and never execute his own 
threatenings. Wretched indeed is that subterfuge, 
the safety of which depends on proving the God of 
truth a liar. No, sinner, God will not deny himself 
for the sake of your ease ; he will not suffer his word 
to fall to the ground to enable you to realize your 
vain and impious hopes. " He will by no means clear 
the guilty. Surely, God, thou wilt slay the wicked. 
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God. Upon the wicked he shall 
rain snares, fire and brimstone ; this shall be the por- 
tion of their cup." 

If you have imbibed the pernicious heresy of those 
false teachers who tell you that there is no future 



102 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

punishment for transgressors, even if they should die 
in the commission of the most atrocious crimes ; if 
you believe these men who dare contradict the plain 
declarations of God's word, your delusion will afford 
you only a temporary relief. It will be like shutting 
your eyes when borne by an irresistible torrent tow- 
ards a frightful cataract. Your own conscience, if it 
has not lost all sensibility, will intimate to you, too 
plainly to be misunderstood, that there is punishment 
reserved for the wicked in the world to come. Lean 
not, then, I beseech you, on this broken reed, which 
will not only fail to support you, but will pierce you 
to the heart. 

But it is more probable that you seek relief from 
the apprehension of the wrath to come, in a vague 
hope of the mercy of God, of which so much is said in 
Scripture. The mercy of God is indeed a sure refuge 
for sinners, but it is never extended to the impenitent, 
who refuse to forsake their evil ways. If you will 
repent and believe the gospel, then will the Lord most 
graciously and freely forgive all your sins ; but if you 
depend on the mercy of God to save you from hell, 
without being saved from sin, you trust to that which 
has no existence. God will not show mercy to obsti- 
nate rebels. The whole tenor of his word assures us 
of the certainty of this truth. 

But perhaps you expect and intend to turn from 
your sinful ways hereafter, and thus bring yourself 
within the influence of God's pardoning mercy. Well, 
if you should become a true penitent, and humble be- 
liever in Jesus, you will be saved ; but before you cry 
peace to yourself from this expectation, I beg you to 
consider that your continuance on earth is uncertain. 



IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. 103 

What is your life? It is a vapor. We have ocular 
demonstration that death comes upon many very un- 
expectedly ; and although they had entertained the 
same hope of future repentance, we have awful reason 
to fear that it was never realized. They died as they 
lived, and went to meet their Judge with the guilt of 
all their heinous sins upon their heads. And very 
often men are taken suddenly away, and have not a 
moment allowed for that last hope of the sinner, a 
death-bed repentance. And in other cases, reason is 
bewildered, and the feelings are stupefied ; so that 
the person who lived carelessly has no bands in his 
death. And when it is otherwise, and alarm seizes 
the guilty person, no help or comfort can be obtained, 
and he dies in fearful horror and despair. 

But if you should live for scores of years, you will 
never see the day when there will not be as many 
obstructions to your turning to God as there are now, 
and as many inducements to cleave to the present 
world. Do you see men commonly forsaking the 
courses to which they have long been habituated? 
Or do you observe that disinclination to piety be- 
comes less by increase of years? You may live to be 
old and gray-headed, and yet remain unconverted, 
and go down to hell with a double curse on your 
head. There is no greater nor more dangerous delu- 
sion among men, than the procrastination of their 
conversion. While thousands lose their souls in con- 
sequence of it, not one ever puts his resolution into 
practice, unless some other influence than his own 
former purposes operates on him. Reader, awake! 
Eternity is just before you ; heaven or hell will soon 
be your abode. For the first, you know you are not 



104 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

prepared. If you were admitted to that holy place, 
the exercises and employments of the inhabitants 
would be no way in accordance with the state of 
your heart. You love not the service and worship 
of God here, and death will make no reformation in 
the sinner's heart. Then you must be excluded from 
heaven by the necessity of the case, unless you acquire 
new principles and a new taste. " Except a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
" Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. ?r 

What you intend to do, do quickly, for the time u 
short. While you are halting between two opinions, 
the door of mercy may be shut for ever. Seize the 
present moment ; break off your sins by repentance ; 
renounce all confidence in your own good deeds or 
righteousness, and trust alone in the atoning sacrifice 
of Christ. " Whosoever believeth in him shall not be 
ashamed.' 7 Cry mightily to him for mercy, and for 
the Holy Spirit to sanctify you and aid you in every 
duty. 

Search the Scriptures daily. Attend on the preach- 
ing of the word. Make one among the company who 
surround the throne of grace in social prayer. Avoid 
ensnaring company and dissipating amusements. For- 
sake all known sin, and see that you perform those 
external duties which have hitherto been neglected. 
If you have wronged or injured any, make restitution, 
or give satisfaction, as far as is in your power. Aban- 
don all quarrels and strife with your neighbors, and 
promote piety and good order in your own house, by 
reading the Scriptures, and calling upon God, and 
requiring all within your gates to observe with rev- 
erence the Lord's day. 



AN AMIABLE YOUTH. 105 

But never think that external duties, or attend- 
ance on means and ordinances, however exact, is an 
evidence that your soul is saved. Never rest satisfied 
with your spiritual state, until you have evidence in 
a heart-felt sense of the burden of your sins, that you 
have in truth fled for refuge to the hope set before you in 
the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ, apprehended and 
received by faith, is the only safe sanctuary for a soul 
pursued by the demands of a broken law. 

man, flee to this dear refuge, before the storm, 
which is black and lowering, overtake you. " Lay 

HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE." " NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME ; 
BEHOLD, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION." See, the door 

of reconciliation is open. Jesus invites you to come 
to him for rest, and promises that he will not cast you 
out ; yea, complains that you will not come unto him, 
that you may have life. Others are entering in at 
the strait gate — why do you delay ? Instead of losing 
by the change, even in this world, you will gain a 
hundred-fold. Godliness with contentment is great gain. 



106 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 



AN AMIABLE YOUTH FALLING SHORT 
OF HEAVEN. 



1 One thing thou iackest." Mark 10 : 21. 



The history of this young man is given by three 
of the evangelists, Matt. 19, Mark 10, Luke 18, in 
nearly the same words. It is therefore doubtless 
worthy of our marked attention. 

This youth possessed many things, and yet was 
deficient in one. He was rich ; he was possessed of 
power, for Luke calls him "a ruler :" he was remark- 
able for his morality. Few young men in our day 
could compare with him in this respect. When our 
Saviour, to try him, mentioned several of the com- 
mandments of the second table, in which our duty to 
our fellow-men is enjoined, this young man was able 
to say, "All these have I kept from my youth up." 
And our Lord did not deny the truth of his assertion ; 
yea, he admitted it, for Mark says, "Then Jesus be- 
holding him, loved him." He was pleased with the 
purity and blamelessness of his external conduct. 

Yet this youth had no proper knowledge of the 
state of his own heart. His obedience was only like 
that of Paul when a Pharisee, "touching the right- 
eousness which is in the law, blameless." 

This young ruler, however, was not ashamed to 
accost Christ in the most respectful manner. He 
came, regardless of the sneers of his compeers, and 
kneeling, said, " Good Master." He came to him as a 
serious inquirer. The question which he asked was 
the most important that he could ask, or that any 



AN AMIABLE YOUTH. 10? 

man ever asked : " What must I do to inherit eternal 
life?" He was convinced that something was still 
needful, but he knew not what. He had heard of the 
teachings of Christ, and he was impelled by the seri- 
ous impressions on his mind to break through every 
difficulty, and to inquire of the Master, believing that 
he could tell him what to do to secure this object of 
infinite value. 

And evidently, he was confident that he was will- 
ing to do whatever should be prescribed. Oh, deceitful 
heart ; how little did he know of its true state ! But 
Jesus knew, and in a moment brought him to a fair 
test. He knew that, notwithstanding all his fair pro- 
fessions, amiable character, and courteous demeanor, 
he was an idolater in his heart, and worshipped mam- 
mon with supreme affection. He therefore said, Go, 
sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor ; and 
come, follow me ; and thou shalt have treasure in 
heaven. 

what a test for a lover of riches! See, the 
young man's countenance changes ; he remains silent. 
His heart is undergoing an evident conflict. Heaven 
and earth, with all their charms, are before him. For 
a moment, perhaps, he hesitates; for he sincerely 
wishes to possess eternal life — but, hard condition ! 
to give away all his riches, to which his heart was 
wedded ! No, no ; he cannot do it. 

See, he turns his back on the Saviour ; he turns 
his back on all the treasures of heaven. He goes 
away sorrowful indeed, very sorrowful to lose the 
opportunity of securing eternal happiness, but delib- 
erately resolved not to relinquish his hold of this 
world. He will have his "good things" in this life, 



108 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

whatever may become of him in the next. Here is a 
picture of the true state of thousands — of thousands 
of well-instructed, moral, and amiable youth. 

But was not this a hard test? Was it not more 
than is required of others ? Not at all. All may 
not, in fact, be put to this test ; but every true disci- 
ple has already passed this ordeal, and has renounced 
the world as a portion — as an object of supreme affec- 
tion. And every true Christian, however much of 
this world he may possess, would instantly resign it 
all at the command of Christ. It is the characteristic 
of every genuine disciple, that, for the sake of Christ, 
he has been made willing to forsake father, mother, 
wife and children, house and lands, yea, life itself. 

It is true, this test, if made practical in our church- 
es, would detect the hypocrisy of a multitude of pro- 
fessors ; or rather, their want of supreme love to 
Christ is already but too evident, from the ardor with 
which they pursue the world, and from their unwill- 
ingness to part with even a small portion of their 
wealth to promote the cause of Christ. 

This young man possessed many excellent quali- 
ties and advantages, and lacked but one thing ; yet 
that was the main thing — the one thing needful : a 
heart to love God supremely — a heart to prefer heav- 
enly treasures to earthly riches. Though his charac- 
ter and conduct were so correct and amiable, yet his 
heart was not right in the sight of God. He went 
away sorrowful. 

But did he ever come back with a better mind? 
We do not read that he ever did. His sorrow was 
not that of true repentance, repentance unto life, but 
" the sorrow of the world, which worketh death ;" a 



AN AMIABLE YOUTH, 109 

sorrow which probably he has bitterly felt for eigh- 
teen centuries, and which will never cease. 

What good can his riches do him now? They 
only furnish fuel to the flame in which he is torment- 
ed. Let young men look at this. Let the lovers of 
riches look at this. 

Although neither the future course of this rich 
young man in this world, nor his final destiny, is 
given in the Scriptures, the probability is, that having 
turned his back on the Saviour and on the heavenly 
inheritance, he relinquished all thought about his sal- 
vation from this time, and abandoned himself to the 
enjoyment of his idolized riches. Men who have for 
a time been under serious concern about the salvation 
of their souls, and afterwards turn back to the world, 
because they find the terms of salvation too difficult, 
commonly become more careless and more hardened 
than others. "Their last state is worse than the 
first." 

But though we have no record of the end of this 
rich young man,, we have, from the lips of the Saviour 
himself, an affecting account of the end of another 
rich man, who lived in splendor and pleasure on earth, 
but neglected piety and charity. The transition, in 
his case, from a sumptuous table, and from being 
clothed in purple and fine linen, to the torments of 
hell, is as great as the imagination can conceive. 
When he began to experience the keen anguish of 
future misery, how bitter was his cry ! " Send Laz- 
arus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue, 
for I am tormented in this flame." But it was too 
late to pray. He had enjoyed his good things here, 
and torment awaited him in the world of woe. 



110 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



That a just God will render to every man accord- 
ing to his character and works, is a dictate of reason. 
Conscience also intimates to every man, when he-sins, 
that he deserves to be punished ; and when we see 
or hear of great crimes committed by others, such 
as murders, perjuries, robbery, or treachery, we feel 
something within us demanding that such should 
receive condign punishment. But we see that the 
wicked are not always punished in this world accord- 
ing to their evil deeds ; it seems reasonable, there- 
fore, to expect that there will be a judgment after 
death. 

We are not left, however, to the mere dictates of 
reason on this subject : God, in his word, has revealed 
in the clearest manner that there will be a day of 
reckoning at the end of the world. This day is ap- 
pointed, and will certainly come. It is not so certain 
that we shall ever see the sun rise again, as it is that we 
shall see the day of judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ 
is also appointed to act as Judge on that day : " be- 
cause he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge 
the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath 
ordained." Acts 17:31. "Tor we must all appear 
before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one 
may receive the things done in his body, according 
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 
2 Cor. 5 : 10. 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. Hi 

When this awful day will arrive is a profound 
secret, not revealed to any creature in the universe. 
But we know that it will come suddenly and unex- 
pectedly on those who shall then be on the earth. As 
it was in the days of Noah and of Lot, so will it be 
in the day of judgment. Men will be pursuing their 
common worldly business and amusements, without 
apprehension of danger, when the sound of the last 
trump shall be heard— for the trumpet shall sound— 
and the Son of man shall be seen coming in the clouds 
of heaven. 

The race of man shall not cease from the earth 
until that day comes. There will then be a genera- 
tion of living inhabitants, probably very numerous, in 
the world. These will never die as other men, but 
they will undergo a change equivalent to death and 
a resurrection ; in a moment, in the twinkling of an 
eye, they shall be changed. But all they that are in 
their graves shall hear the voice of God, and shall 
come forth, great and small. No sooner shall the 
trumpet sound, than the scattered dust of unnumbered 
millions shall resume its proper place in every man. 
No matter where it lies, or how widely it may have 
been scattered, one word of the Almighty God is suffi- 
cient to bring it to its place, and animate it with new 
Mfe. The multitude which will then start up into life 
tannot be conceived, it will be so great. There will 
stand Adam and all his posterity ; there will stand 
those who lived before the flood, and those who have 
lived since ; there will be seen the ancient patriarchs, 
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the inspired 
prophets and apostles ; there will appear kings, em- 
perors, nobles, and their subjects ; the learned philos- 



112 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

opher and the ignorant multitude ; ministers and their 
congregations, parents and their children, masters and 
their servants — all, all coming forward to the grand 
tribunal. Not one of our whole race will be absent 
from this great assembly. There, reader, shall you 
and I stand, trembling or rejoicing. 

It is useless to inquire where room can be found 
for so great a multitude to stand, for this will be a day 
of miracles. All the wonders ever exhibited before 
will be nothing to the wonders of that day. Indeed, 
all that is natural will end on that day, and every thing 
will be miraculous. The sun will no longer rise and 
set, the moon no longer give her light, and the stars 
shall no longer appear in the firmament. Heaven 
will appear to have come down to earth, for the King 
of kings and Lord of heaven will be visible to all, 
with all his own glory and that of his Father. And 
all the holy angels will appear in attendance, stand- 
ing round his throne, ready to execute his orders, 
whether of justice or of mercy. 

When all things are prepared — when the Judge 
has taken his seat on the tribunal, and all men are 
brought before him, the judicial process will begin ; 
"and the books will be opened. 11 What books these are, 
except one, which is " the book of life/ 7 we are not 
informed ; but we may be sure that one is the book 
of God's law, and another the record of human ac- 
tions which is in the " book of 77 God's "remembrance." 
It is not necessary to think of more. These contain 
all that is necessary for conducting the trial of every 
man. The one contains the law, and the other the 
testimony. But every thing will be conducted with 
the most perfect equity. Every man will be judged 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 113 

for his own deeds, and according to that knowledge of 
the law which he had opportunity of acquiring. The 
omniscience of the Judge will enable him to estimate 
with perfect exactness all the circumstances of every 
action ; every thing which aggravates guilt, and every 
thing which palliates it, will have due consideration. 
They who lived under the patriarchal dispensation, 
will be judged according to the light and advantages 
then enjoyed ; they who lived under the Mosaical 
economv, will be judged by the law of Moses ; and 
they who enjoyed the clear light of the gospel, will 
be dealt with in a manner accordant to their advan- 
tages ; while they who enjoyed no external revela- 
tion, will be judged bv that law written on the hearts 
of all men. 

The things which shall be brought under the eye 
of the Judge, and exhibited to the view of the uni- 
verse, are, all deeds done in the body — whatsoever a 
man hath done, whether good or bad. Every secret 
thing. "For God shall bring every work into judg- 
ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, 
or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:14. Every idle 
word. " I say unto you, that every idle word that 
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in 
the day of judgment.'' Matt. 12 : 36. The thoughts 
of the heart shall also be made manifest. Every 
unholy desire ; every proud, envious, or malicious 
thought : every secret purpose of iniquity ; every 
unhallowed temper ; every rebellious and discontent- 
ed and ungrateful feeling towards God and his gov- 
ernment, will be brought into judgment. 

And the inquiry will extend not only to positive 
acts, but also to omissions of duty. Great as is the 



114 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

number of the acts of wickedness, the catalogue of 
omissions will be greater, and not less criminal. The 
first sin of this sort which will claim the attention of 
the Judge, will be the omission to entertain and cher- 
ish right sentiments towards God. No more heavy 
charge will be brought against any individual on that 
day, than that he neglected to love the Lord his God 
with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. 
This is the total violation of the first and greatest 
command, and the fountain of all other iniquities. 
The neglect to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ when 
he was offered to us a complete Saviour in the gos- 
pel, will, to the unfruitful hearers of the word, be an 
accusation of the highest kind. The heinousness and 
enormity of unbelief which now affects the consciences 
of men so little, will on that day appear in a glaring 
light. It will not be strange if it should call forth 
reproaches upon the unhappy culprit, from devils who 
never had a Saviour provided, and from heathen who 
never had a Saviour offered to them. In that account 
which our Lord has given of the process of the judg- 
ment, in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, the neg- 
lect of kindness to the saints, by visiting, comforting, 
and aiding them, is the only thing mentioned. What- 
ever else, then, may be noticed, we are sure this will 
not be forgotten. The whole passage is so solemn 
and interesting, that it deserves our deepest atten- 
tion : " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, 
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit 
upon the throne of his glory : and before him shall 
be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them 
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 115 

right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall 
the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world. For I was 
a hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me 
in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye 
visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, 
when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or 
thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a 
stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed 
thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and 
came unto thee ? And the King shall answer and say 
unto them, Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye 
have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto 
them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, 
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels. For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no 
meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was 
a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye 
clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited 
me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, 
Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a 
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not 
minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, say- 
ing, Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not 
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And 
these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but 
the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25 : 31-46. 

And let it be well considered, that most of the 
sins which are mentioned in the discourses of Christ 



116 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

as the ground of condemnation, are sins of omission. 
The slothful servant, who prepares not himself, is the 
wicked servant, who will be cast into outer darkness. 
The man who wrapped his talent in a napkin and 
buried it, is condemned out of his own mouth. For 
" to him that knoweth to do good," of any kind, " and 
doeth it not, to him it is sin. 77 James 4 : 17. 

Many who prided themselves in their inoffensive 
lives and harmless behavior, will find, when the 
books are opened, a catalogue of omissions which will 
startle them with horror, and overwhelm them with 
confusion. And as actions externally good will then 
be examined by One who has a full view of the mo- 
tives from which they proceeded, and the end which 
the agent had in view, is it not certain that many 
religious actions will then appear to have been mere 
hypocrisy? that many actions, apparently just and 
benevolent, were mere efforts of pride and selfishness? 
and that a life civil and blameless in the eyes of men, 
was a mere cloak which covered a heart full of un- 
clean lusts? Our most intimate friends here will be 
astonished when they see our secret iniquities and 
wicked motives exposed to view. Crimes the most 
detestable will be found in the skirts of those who 
passed through life without suspicion. how many 
secret murders, perjuries, thefts, blasphemies, and 
adulteries, will then be brought to light! How much 
injustice, fraud, cruelty, oppression, pride, malice, re- 
venge! The cries of the injured, the widow, and the 
orphan, always enter into the ears of the Lord, and 
he now comes to avenge them. Cruel persecutors of 
God ? s church and people, though clothed in purple, 
and almost adored when living in the world, will now 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 117 

be brought to a severe account. The blood of the 
martyred saints from beneath the altar has been long 
crying out, "How long, Lord, holy and true, dost 
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that 
dwell on the earth ?" Eev. 6 : 10. And now the day 
of retribution has arrived. 

What will be the length of time occupied with the 
judgment we know not. It is called a day, but it will 
differ exceedingly from all other days ; and in its du- 
ration, probably, as well as in other respects. Our 
wisdom is to attend to what is revealed, and to re- 
press a vain curiosity in regard to other matters. 
We may rest assured that the whole process will be 
wisely conducted, and that complete justice will be 
done. The Judge of all the earth will do right. He 
will not condemn the innocent, nor clear the guilty. 
And his judgment will be most impartial. There will 
be no respecting of persons. The king and the beg- 
gar will stand upon equal ground, and will be judged 
by the same rule. Those who in this world were 
reviled and slandered, and had no opportunity of 
clearing up their character, will then be vindicated, 
and lies and reproaches will have effect no more. 

But here a serious difficulty occurs. It may be 
said, " If the law of God is the rule of judgment, and 
if all sins are brought into judgment, then certainly 
every human being must be condemned ; ' for all have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God. 7 Accord- 
ing to this view, none can be saved." To remove this 
difficulty, let it be remembered, that besides the book 
of the law, there is another book which will be pro- 
duced there, written from the foundation of the world. 
This is called the book of life. This contains the 



118 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

names — and they shall never be blotted out — of all 
those who have washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. These he has under- 
taken to present to God without spot or wrinkle, or 
any such thing. They will appear on that day clothed 
with the righteousness of the Redeemer. The Judge 
on the throne is their covenanted Surety. He answers 
to every accusation made against them. But notwith- 
standing " there is no condemnation to them that are 
in Christ Jesus f notwithstanding none can "lay any 
thing to the charge of God's elect f yet they also 
shall be brought into judgment. When all things 
are prepared, and the whole assembly is collected 
before the august tribunal, a separation will be made 
of the great congregation into two parts, the right- 
eous, and the wicked. The former will be placed on 
the right hand of the Judge, and with them he will 
commence. But no sooner shall their numerous sins 
be brought to view, than it will be made to appear 
that they are pardoned through the blood of Christ. 
When the books are opened, a long account will ap- 
pear against them ; but on the other hand, it will be 
seen that the whole is freely forgiven through the 
riches of grace in Christ Jesus. But a most exact 
account will be taken of all their good works ; and 
they will be mentioned to their honor, and rewarded 
as though no imperfection had cleaved to them. The 
least act of kindness done to any of Christ's followers 
will be magnified and rewarded as if done to Christ 
himself. Even the giving a cup of cold water to a 
disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose its 
reward. Persons in the lowest state, servants and 
slaves, who performed their duty faithfully, shall not 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 119 

be forgotten in that day, for " whatsoever good thing 
any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, 
whether he be bond or free." Eph. 6 : 8. But they 
who suffered persecution and death for righteousness' 
sake, will be most highly distinguished, and most sig- 
nally rewarded. " Blessed are ye when men shall 
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all man- 
ner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, 
and be exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in 
heaven." Matt. 5:11, 12. They also who have 
labored much in promoting the Redeemer's kingdom, 
will receive a reward proportioned to their works of 
faith and labors of love. But none who have done 
good shall fail of their reward. Every one shall 
receive according to what he hath done ; and every 
one will be satisfied ; for the lowest place in glory is 
a situation too dazzling for our present conceptions, 
and the whole is a matter of pure grace. These 
works, considered in themselves, deserve no reward. 
But it is the will of God that every holy desire, every 
good word and work, in the members of Christ's body, 
should receive a mark of his favor, to the honor and 
glory of him who is their Head, and who died for 
their salvation. 

When the gracious sentence, "Come, ye blessed, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world,' 7 is pronounced, the righteous shall 
be caught up to the Lord, and shall be seated by his 
side, and be united with him in the remaining trans- 
actions of that great day; for it is written, "The 
saints shall judge the world," and, " Know ye not that 
ye shall judge angels ?" 

The case of the righteous being disposed of, then 



120 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

will come the awful transaction of pronouncing sen- 
tence on the wicked. They will, indeed, have antici- 
pated the sentence. By this time they will be certain 
of their doom ; but the scene itself will far exceed all 
apprehensions before entertained. To behold the face 
of inflexible justice turned towards them — to hear the 
irreversible sentence of condemnation, and that too 
from the mouth of the benevolent Son of God — to 
feel in the inmost soul the justice of the sentence — to 
be as certain of everlasting damnation as they are of 
existence — are things concerning which we can speak 
now, but of which we can form but very feeble con- 
ceptions, compared with the dreadful reality. In all 
his existence there will probably be no moment in 
which the sinner's anguish will be so poignant as in 
this, when the Judge shall say, " Depart, ye cursed, 

INTO EVERLASTING FIRE, PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND 

his angels. 77 Matt. 25 : 41. Every word in this tre- 
mendous denunciation will pierce through the soul 
with more insufferable pain than ten thousand dag- 
gers. It is reasonable to think that every person 
against whom it is pronounced, will endure as much 
misery at that moment as in the nature of things is 
possible. And if this were all, the prospect would be 
appalling; but to be doomed to endless misery in fire, 
with the devil and his angels! — who can bear the 
thought without horror and dismay? Yet, as sure as 
God is true, will this sentence be executed on every 
impenitent sinner. Men may reason and cavil now, 
but then every mouth shall be stopped. That the cry 
of despair and horror will be heard through the great 
multitude, is certain — such a great and bitter cry as 
was never heard before. But it is all in vain ; repent- 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 121 

ance comes too late. The day of grace is for ever 
past. The gospel dispensation is ended. This is the 
consummation of all things. No change in condition 
can ever be expected. They that are saved, have 
their salvation secured by the oath and promise of 
God; and they who are lost, have their damnation 
sealed for ever and ever by a judicial sentence which 
can never be revoked. And from this sentence there 
is no appeal. There is no higher tribunal to which 
the cause may be transferred. Neither can any re- 
sistance be made to the execution of the sentence. 
They who are now bold and daring in their blasphe- 
mies and rebellion, will then find that they are in the 
hands of a sin-avenging God. It will belong to the 
holy angels, who are mighty in power, to execute the 
sentence of the Judge. " So shall it be," said our 
blessed Saviour, " at the end of the world : the angels 
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among 
the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 
13:49, 50. And it will be as impossible to escape 
as to resist. The rocks and mountains will not cover 
them. They cannot cease to exist. Go where they 
will, God is there to execute deserved wrath upon 
them. They will therefore be obliged " to go away 
into everlasting punishment." Matt. 25 : 46. 

The devil and his angels will also be judged on 
that day ; but of the particular nature of the trial we 
are not informed. All that we know is, that "the 
angels which kept not their first estate, but left their 
own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains 
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." 
Jude, ver. 6. They are now miserable, but their cup 



122 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

is not full ; therefore they cried out when they saw 
Jesus," Art thou come to torment us before the time?" 
Matt. 8 : 29. At the breaking np of this great assem- 
bly, the present system of the world will be destroyed. 
For u the heavens and the earth, which are now, by 
the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire 
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly 
men. 77 2 Pet. 3 : 7. 

Reader, deeply fix in your mind the certainty and 
importance of the transactions of this last, great day. 
Meditate upon it as a reality in which you have a mo- 
mentous interest. Let every other day, as it passes, 
put you in mind of this in which all others will end. 
Consider also that it draws near. Every moment 
bears us on towards the ^reat tribunal. Mockers 
may say, Where is the promise of his coming? "But 
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; 
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; 
the earth also, and the works therein, shall be burned 
up." 2 Pet. 3 : 10. 

reader, whoever thou art, let me entreat you to 
inquire without delay, whether you are prepared for 
the scrutiny and judgment of this coming day. Have 
you made your peace with God? Have you repented 
of all your sins ? Are you in union with Christ by 
faith ? Have you any clear scriptural evidence that 
your sins are pardoned? What says conscience to 
these inquiries? Be assured, if your own heart con- 
demns you, God, who is greater than your heart, and 
knoweth all things, will much more condemn you. 
But your situation is not like that of them whose day 
of grace is ended. You are yet in the place of recon- 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 123 

ciliation. You have yet a little time before you — 
God only knows how much. Now, then, hear the 
voice of warning — hear the voice of mercy. Now 
"strive to enter in at the strait gate" Now forsake 
your sins, and live. Accept the offered grace — "lay 
hold on eternal life" 

Let no consideration induce you to delay your 
conversion. The importance of salvation — the un- 
certainty of life — the danger of provoking the Holy 
Spirit to abandon you — the example of thousands 
who have perished by procrastination — should urge 
you to lose no time, but to fall in with the gracious 
invitation of the gospel. But if you will refuse, then 
prepare to meet an angry God. Harden yourself 
against the terrors of the Almighty ; summon all 
your fortitude to hear your dreadful doom from the 
Judge of quick and dead. But I forbear — there is 
no fortitude or patience in hell. 

Reader, art thou advanced in years? Let thy 
gray hairs and pains and wrinkles admonish thee 
that thou art near to judgment ; for what if death 
intervene, yet after death all preparation is impossi- 
ble. Just as death finds us, so will judgment. " In 
the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." 
Eccl. 11 : 3. Consider also that the number of your 
sins is in proportion to the number of your days. 
Long life will prove a dreadful curse to those who 
die in their sins. 

But if thou art in youth, or in the vigor of man- 
hood, remember that thy life is a vapor ; that most 
men do not live out half their days ; and that of those 
who shall appear before the judgment-seat, compara- 
tively few will have finished their course of threescore 



124 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

years and ten. " Remember now thy Creator in the 
days of thy youth. 77 Eecl. 12 : 1. " Behold, the Judge 
standeth before the door. 77 James 5 : 9. Others have 
been suddenly taken away from your side. They 
also intended to make preparation hereafter ; but 
while they were pleasing themselves with the pros- 
pect of many years, and were saying, " Soul, take 
thine ease, thou hast much goods laid up for many 
years, 77 God said, " Thou fool, this night thy- soul 
shall be required of thee. Be ye therefore ready 
also, for at such an hour as ye think not, the Son of 
man cometh. 77 "Behold, tJie axe is laid at the root of 
the tree" and now perhaps thou art spared, on account 
of the prayer of some kind intercessor, for one year. 
This, for aught thou knowest, may be thy last year. 
If so, it behooves you to make good use of your time 
and privileges. Let the idea of the judgment be ever 
before your mind. There you must appear — there 
you must stand and render up your account — there 
you must be filled with overwhelming shame and ter- 
ror — there you must hear the awful final sentence, 
which will fix your doom irreversibly, unless by a 
speedy repentance, and by faith in Jesus Christ, you 
flee from the wrath to come. 

May God, of his infinite mercy, cause the truths 
which you have read in this tract to sink deeply into 
your mind ; and by the light of his Holy Spirit lead 
you to just views of your own condition, and to saving 
views of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer of 
lost sinners. Amen. 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 125 

THE MISERY OF THE LOST. 



The soul of man is susceptible of an intense degree 
of unhappiness. Even in this world much, misery is 
endured ; but in the world to come, hope is a stran- 
ger, and there are no alleviating circumstances. 

The misery of the damned has by theologians been 
divided into that of loss and that of sense : the one 
produced by the loss of good possessed or once attain- 
able, the other arising from the positive infliction of 
punishment. But though this distinction has a foun- 
dation as it relates to the cause of the sinner's misery, 
yet, as it regards the feeling itself, there is no reason 
for making any distinction. All misery is felt accord- 
ing to its nature and intensity, and therefore is pain 
of sense, or sensible pain, whatever may be its cause. 
So the question whether the fire of hell is a material 
fire, is of no importance ; for if I feel a pang of mis- 
ery at any moment, it matters nothing whether it is 
produced by a material or immaterial, by a privative 
or positive cause. 

Under the general name of misery, many species 
of suffering are included; all, however, agreeing in 
this, that the sensation is painful. The feeling of 
fear is a very painful emotion, but in its nature very 
different from remorse. Excessive pain, in our pres- 
ent state, may be experienced through the nerves of 
sensation ; but even here these sufferings differ, not 
only in degree, but in kind. The headache, tooth- 
ache, and lumbago, are all severe pains, but they are 
not the same ; and these bodily pains differ exceed- 
ingly from the feelings of remorse, or despair. 



126 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Our capacity of pain seems to bear an exact pro- 
portion to our susceptibility of pleasure. Indeed, the 
same faculties and affections which are the sources of 
our happiness when the objects suited to them are 
possessed, become the causes of our misery when de- 
prived of those objects. By the same faculty we per- 
ceive the beauties and the deformities of objects ; the 
same moral sense is the instrument of the most exalted 
and soul-satisfying pleasure, and of the most intoler- 
able anguish of which the soul is capable. Every 
affection and appetite affords pleasure when duly 
exercised on its proper object ; but deprived of this, 
becomes a source of intense pain. 

Though the nature of future misery to all lost souls 
is the same, yet the degree may differ to an extent 
which no man can estimate. Some divines have main- 
tained that the future happiness of the righteous will 
be equal, as eternal life is the free gift of God ; but 
none, I believe, have ever held that the punishment 
of the lost will be equal. The Scriptures abundantly 
teach that every man will be judged according to the 
deeds done in the body ; and as the sins of different 
individuals are immensely different in guilt, justice 
demands that their punishment should be proportioned 
to the demerit of the sinner. Our Saviour most ex- 
plicitly teaches this doctrine when he says, "That ser- 
vant who knew his master's will, and prepared not 
himself, shall be beaten with many stripes ; but he 
who knew not his master's will, and yet committed 
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few 
stripes." 

The guilt of sin is not measured merely or princi- 
pally by the external act, but by the light and ad van- 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 12t 

tages enjoyed by some above others. The difference 
between sins against light and sins of ignorance, is a 
matter concerning which common-sense gives a judg- 
ment consonant with the rule laid down by our Lord. 
It does not appear that the cities of Galilee, where 
Christ spent most of his time, and where he wrought 
most of his beneficent miracles, were remarkable for 
external acts of immorality ; and yet their sins were 
greater than those of cities proverbial for their wick- 
edness, and consequently their punishment would be 
greater. His words should never be forgotten : u Woe 
unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if 
the mighty works which have been done in thee had 
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have re- 
pented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And thou, 
Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be 
thrust down to hell ; for if the mighty works which 
had been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it 
would have remained unto this day : therefore I say 
unto thee, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the 
day of judgment than for this city. 77 

These are words of awful import, and are as appli- 
cable to neglecters of the gospel and impenitent sin- 
ners now, as to those devoted cities. Many, because 
their external conduct is decent and moral, persuade 
themselves that their punishment will be light ; but 
in view of the words cited above, it will be far more 
tolerable for the vilest of the heathen than for them, 
if they continue in their impenitence and neglect of 
the great salvation. Certainly gospel-neglecters, 
however decent in their external behavior, will sink 
very deep into the abyss of misery. Among these, 
however, there will be a great difference. Some, 



128 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

alas, who sinned malignantly against light, will sink 
to the lowest gulf in hell. 

To describe the extreme misery of lost souls is 
painful, both to the writer and the reader. If we 
should give way to our sympathies and compassionate 
feelings, we should not only exclude this awful subject 
from our discourses, but from our creed. Indeed, it 
must be acknowledged that it occasions a conflict to 
reconcile our reason to the reality of such intense and 
interminable sufferings as are described in the word 
of God ; and plausible arguments, derived from the 
goodness of God, might be constructed against the 
doctrine of so great future misery ; but all such argu- 
ments would operate equally against the existence of 
sin and misery in this world, which, alas, are known 
too well to be facts which none can deny, and of 
which every individual is a witness. 

When God speaks, reason and feeling should be 
silent. He knows what justice demands, and what 
can be done consistently with his attributes ; but man 
is of yesterday, and knows nothing. Suppose a child 
five or six years old should undertake to sit in judg- 
ment on the acts of government, and to decide whether 
its penal laws were just or unjust, and whether cap- 
ital punishments ought to be inflicted on murderers, 
or whether a war was just and necessary, who would 
expect a correct judgment from an infant ? But such 
a child is better qualified to decide on the most com- 
plicated schemes of human policy, than man to judge 
of the propriety of the divine administration. 

Impenitent men are apt to harden themselves 
against the awful denunciations of divine wrath con- 
tained in the Bible, and to cherish unkind feelings 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 129 

towards the ministers who bring out plainly and au- 
thoritatively the doctrine of the New Testament on 
this subject. And it cannot be denied, that some 
preachers denounce the terrors of the law against 
transgressors in a style and manner adapted rather 
to irritate than to convince. They speak almost as 
if they took pleasure in these awful threatenings, and 
as if they had nothing to fear for themselves. No 
doubt many a zealous preacher has passed sentence 
on himself, and has actually suffered those torments 
which he denounced against others. 

I am therefore disposed to present this subject in 
a light which cannot give offence. Instead of repre- 
senting the danger to which others are exposed, I will 
make the case my own. It behooves me to " tremble 
at the word of the Lord," as much as others ; and as 
I am a sinner, and therefore naturally subject to the 
penalty of the law, and liable to be misled by the 
deceitfulness of my heart to cherish false hopes, I will 
endeavor to realize to myself the feelings which I 
shall experience, if it should be my unhappy lot to 
die out of the favor of God. 

It would seem that the first moment after death 
must be one of unparalleled misery. My first reflec- 
tion would be, 

" I am lost for ever — all hope of happiness or relief 
is gone from my miserable soul. The blackness of 
darkness is round about me ; no ray of light dawns 
on my wretched soul. Despair, fell despair has now 
seized upon me, and must blacken every prospect to 
all eternity. While in the world, I could contrive to 
turn away my thoughts from the disagreeable subject ; 

6* 



130 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

but now, my misery, like a heavy burden, presses on 
me, and is ever present — go where I will, do what I 
will. 

" While in the body, and engaged in secular pur- 
suits, I entertained a secret hope that there might be 
some mistake respecting the extreme misery of the 
damned, or that there might possibly be some way of 
escape not revealed ; but now all these idle notions 
have fled like a dream when one awakes. I find- hell 
to be no fable, but an awful reality. I find that the 
preachers, so far from exaggerating the misery of the 
lost, had no adequate conception of the wretchedness 
of a soul cast off from God for ever, and doomed to 
dwell in everlasting burnings. Oh horrible, horrible ! 
I am then undone — for ever undone ! In all former 
distresses I could cry for mercy ; but now I have 
passed beyond the reach of mercy ! 

"For the sake of momentary enjoyments, and 
worthless riches and honors, I have bartered away 
my soul. Accursed folly ! What benefit can I now 
derive from those earthly pleasures and possessions ? 
they only serve as fuel to the flames which consume 
me. O for one drop of water to cool my tongue. 
But for this I beg in vain. The time for prayer and 
for mercy has gone by, and my soul is lost, lost, lost ! 
and through eternity I must expect no deliverance, no 
relief, nor even the slightest mitigation of my misery. 
Woe, woe, woe is me ! It had been infinitely better 
for me never to have been born ! 

" If I had not enjoyed the offers of the gospel, if 
pardon and reconciliation had not been within my 
reach, and often urged upon me, my anguish would 
not be so excruciating. But this it is which wrings 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 131 

my heart with unspeakable anguish, that I might have 
escaped all this misery. Had it not been for my own 
sin and folly, I might ere now have been in heaven. 
Others who heard the same sermons, and belonged to 
the same family, are now in Abraham's bosom, while 
I am tormented in this flame. Oh that I could cease 
to be ; but to fly from existence is impossible. 

"Here I am surrounded by wretches as miserable 
as myself, but their company rather aggravates than 
mitigates my soul's anguish. I am reproached and 
cursed by all who were ever led by my counsel or 
example into the ways of iniquity. They dreadfully 
scowl upon me. 

u And the fiends of the pit, who were my seducers, 
now combine to taunt me with my folly. They never 
had the offers of mercy. The merits of a dying Sav- 
iour were never offered to them. They seem to en- 
tertain a malignant pleasure — if pleasure it can be 
called — in witnessing my extreme misery. wretch- 
ed man, whither can I flee? Is there no possible 
escape from this prison of despair? Can no one ever 
pass the gulf which separates this dismal abode from 
the regions of the blessed ? Xone — none ! 

" Oh, if there could be a suicide of the soul, how 
happy should I be to escape from existence, and to 
plunge into the gulf of annihilation, which once 
seemed horrible to my apprehension, but now desira- 
ble. This would be an oblivion of all my misery. 
But in vain do I seek to die. Death flies from me. 
And here I see those deluded souls who, by doing 
violence to their own lives, vainly dreamed that they 
were escaping from misery ; but alas, from a burden 
which with faith and patience might have been borne, 



132 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

they have leaped into a fiery furnace. They are now 
convinced of the dreadful sin and folly of suicide, but 
they cannot repeat the act here. 

" May I hope that time will lessen the horrors and 
anguish of my wretched soul ? Will my heart, so sus- 
ceptible of the emotions of bitter anguish, by degrees 
become less sensible to these piercing pains, and be 
more able to bear up under this overwhelming weight 
of misery ? This question can only be solved by expe- 
rience : let me ask some one who has been suffering 
for thousands of years. 

"Here comes Cain the first murderer, who is 
known still by having upon him the stain of a broth- 
er's blood. Suppose I speak to him. Tell me, fellow- 
prisoner, who hast long endured the pains of this 
infernal prison, whether by long continuance these 
miseries become more tolerable ? But why do I ask ? 
the wretched fratricide is evidently writhing in keen- 
est anguish. He is too miserable to speak, and too 
full of malignity to gratify any one. His guilty 
stain — the blood-spot — has not been burnt out by the 
fiercest fires of hell. No ; see, he defies the Almighty. 
He blasphemes the God of heaven. He asks for no 
mitigation of his punishment now. His malignant, 
fiery spirit feeds on despair, and challenges his Aven- 
ger to do his worst. 

" Oh, then, I see there is a progression in wicked- 
ness even in hell. This is the most appalling pros- 
pect of all — an endless progression in sin, and conse- 
quently an increase, instead of a diminution of misery, 
through the endless ages of eternity." 

Another awful point in the existence of the damned, 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 133 

will be the day of judgment. Great as is the misery 
of a lost soul when separated from the body, this is 
probably small when compared with the exceeding 
weight of misery which shall overtake it at the day 
of judgment. I musj; then endeavor to imagine what 
will be my feelings if I should be found on the left 
hand on that dreadful day. i 

As here a large portion of our pleasures and pains 
are experienced through the body, I know no reason 
why it should not be so in the future world. Cer- 
tainly the disembodied spirit is capable of none of 
these pains or pleasures. It seems reasonable to con- 
clude, therefore, that the bodies of the damned will 
be so constructed as to be inlets to excruciating pains, 
as the bodies of the saints will be instruments of re- 
fined, celestial pleasures. The person of the man is 
not complete without the body, and therefore the final 
sentence of condemnation will not be denounced until 
the body — the selfsame body — is raised from the 
dead, and reunited to the soul ; that having been 
partners in transgression, they may be associated in 
enduring the condign punishment of the deeds done 
in the body. 

The state of the lost soul before the judgment, may 
be compared to that of a criminal confined in prison 
waiting for his trial. Let me then imagine myself to 
have died unreconciled and impenitent. At an unex- 
pected time the sound of the last trumpet will be 
heard ; and as it is the last trumpet, so it will be the 
loudest. The departed spirits confined in prison shall 
hear it, and their bodies, Jong crumbled to dust, shall 
hear it • and I shall certainly hear that awful, deeply 
penetrating sound, and I shall come forth, coerced by 



134 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

an irresistible power. I shall again be clothed with 
a body ; but 0, what sort of a body ! 

Among millions of millions I am forced to appear. 
what terrible majesty in the Judge, now coming 
with all his holy angels — now seated on his great 
white throne. Awful moment ! The books are open- 
ed. There all my crimes of thought, word, and deed, 
are recorded — sins of omission as well as commission. 
O for a hiding-place under the rocks or caves ! -But 
no ; I must appear — I must hear my sentence of con- 
demnation and banishment. The misery of an age 
seems condensed into this moment. The tremendous 
sentence comes forth, ." Depart, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
Imagination fails — I can write no more ; experience 
must teach the rest 

The misery of the eternally lost cannot be ade- 
quately conceived, much less expressed. It cannot 
be exaggerated by any description ; and this will be 
manifest if we consider what they know they have 
lost. 

All the good things which they enjoyed in this 
life they must leave behind. All their riches, honors, 
and sensual pleasures are left at death ; and for these 
there will be no substitute in eternity. The vicious 
cravings of the immortal soul will continue, but there 
will be no longer any objects to gratify them ; for 
want of which, like some venomous creatures when 
wounded, they will turn and prey upon themselves. 

A soul with its active powers and passions, must 
be miserable if deprived of all objects suited to its 
gratification. We know scarcely any misery on earth 



MISERY OF THE LOST. 135 

more intolerable than a human being perishing for 
lack of bread or water. Hunger and thirst, if not 
seasonably gratified, are the sources of most excruciat- 
ing pain. Now the soul can never lose its desire of 
happiness ; how miserable, then, must it be when this 
insatiable desire meets with nothing to gratify it. It 
is strongly represented by our Saviour in the case of 
the rich man in hell, who cried for one drop of water, 
and said, M I am tormented in this flame." The soul 
of the sinner will be its own chief tormentor. It is 
possible that all the torment experienced in hell will 
be the natural consequence of sin. 

Malignant passions are in their very nature at- 
tended with misery ; for as benevolent affections are 
beatific, so malevolent feelings are accompanied with 
misery. Here these malignant passions are held under 
restraint ; and while we are in the body, there are 
instinctive natural affections which counteract the 
malevolent feelings which exist in the depraved heart ; 
but in eternity all restraint will be removed, and the 
native wickedness of the heart will act itself out: 
there are no natural affections there — all will be un- 
mixed malice, envy, and wickedness. Let any moral 
agent who is totally depraved be abandoned to him- 
self, and he must be miserable. His own passions 
will become his everlasting tormentors. He will 
carry a hell in his own bosom. 

But of all feelings of misery, none is so intolerable 
as remorse. The conscience, or moral faculty, as it is 
the principal source of the most pure and sublime 
enjoyment to the righteous ; so it is, to the lost, the 
scorpion which will for ever sting the soul with inex- 
pressible anguish. The consciousness of having done 



13fr PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

wrong, of having sinned against God, and of being 
the cause of our own destruction, is a kind of hell as 
dreadful as any of which we can conceive. The lost 
soul will for ever have the conviction clearly impressed 
that it is its own destroyer, and that heaven with all its 
joys has been lost by its own sinful folly and neglect. 

And the bitterest ingredient of all in the cup of 
misery is despair — black despair. Oh, if there was the 
most distant hope of release at some future perigd, it 
would mitigate the anguish of the suffering sinner. 
But despair admits of no alleviation. 

Men may here dream of a deliverance from hell 
after a long time of suffering, but the delusion will 
vanish as soon as they enter eternity. They will then 
find that the word of God, which denounced eternal 
destruction on impenitent sinners, was not a vain 
threat ; that God will not spare the guilty, but will 
punish them with everlasting destruction. 

my soul, consider now how you will be able to 
endure such misery as must be experienced by all the 
lost, but especially by those who enjoyed the light of 
the gospel. Canst thou fortify thyself against all this 
misery ? Wilt thou be able to endure it with patience ? 
Only imagine your condition millions of ages hence. 
Still writhing in anguish — still belching out horrid 
blasphemies — still covered with the blackness of dark- 
ness — still without a ray of hope. Not a moment's 
ease during this long period. my soul, will you not 
make one vigorous effort to escape so great misery? 
Will you not strive to flee from the wrath to come? 
Life, eternal life, is still within your reach. Lay hold 
on the prize. Press on to the kingdom. Take refuge 
in the cross, and you will be safe. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 137 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

WITH A. SUMMARY VIEW OF THE DOCTRINE, AKD 
ITS MOMENTOUS IMPORT. 



It shall be our endeavor to set before our readers 
a plain exposition of this great Christian doctrine as 
taught in the holy Scriptures, and as generally held 
by sound Protestants. 

We commence with some remarks on the scrip- 
tural meaning of the word "justification" as a mistake 
here may spread darkness over the whole discus- 
sion. 

The common acceptation of the word " to justify/ 7 
in the Bible, is, to acquit from all charge, to declare 
the person to stand right in the eye of the law. It is 
the very opposite of " condemnation. 77 And in this 
sense is the word commonly used among us. To "jus- 
tify 77 is not, therefore, to infuse a principle of justice 
into the soul. It does not produce an inherent change 
of moral character. The import of this word is en- 
tirely distinct from that of " sanctification ; 77 and this 
distinction must be carefully kept in view, if we would 
avoid error and confusion in the investigation of the 
subject. 

That the word is commonly used in this declara- 
tive or forensic sense in the holy Scriptures, might be 
evinced by an induction of numerous passages ; let a 
few, however, suffice. God is said to be "justified 77 
when he speaks ; that is, he appears to be just. Christ 



138 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

is declared to be " justified in the Spirit;" his true 
character was manifested and vindicated. " If there 
be a controversy between men, and they come unto 
judgment, that the judges may judge them, then they 
shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." 
Deut. 25 : 1. Here we have the true import of the 
word as a forensic term, and standing in direct oppo- 
sition to condemnation. And in Exodus 23 : 7, it is 
said, "For I will not justify the wicked ;" that is, I will 
not pronounce the wicked to be just. And in Prov- 
erbs 17 : 15, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he 
that condemneth the just, even they both are abom- 
ination to the Lord." But to render a wicked man 
inherently righteous, is so far from being an abomina- 
tion to the Lord, that even to be the instrument of 
such a change is followed by a great reward. 

In the same sense is the word employed, Isaiah 
5 : 23, where transgressors are characterized as those 
who "justify the wicked for reward." Solomon, in 
his dedicatory prayer, 1 Kings, 8 : 32, says, " Then 
hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, 
condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head ; 
and justifying the righteous, to give him according to 
his righteousness." Thus also is the word used by 
Paul : " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of 
God's elect ? It is God that justifieth ; who is he 
that condemneth ?" " By the deeds of the law shall 
no flesh be justified in his sight." " Being justified by 
faith — freely by his grace." And in Romans 4:5, 
God is said to "justify the ungodly." 

Let it be distinctly borne in mind, that a state of 
justification is the very opposite of a state of condemna- 
tion, and there can be no material mistake respecting 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 139 

the true import of the word. He who is condemned 
is considered as a transgressor of the law, whose sins 
are still imputed to him ; he who is justified is viewed 
as having, though not of his own, that which satisfies 
the law— he has the blessedness of the man to whom 
the Lord imputeth not sin, but to whom he " imputes 
righteousness without works." 

The only method of obtaining the favor of God 
which reason and conscience dictate, is doing the will 
of God. Moral agents, put on probation, if they per- 
severe in obedience during the period of their trial, 
are "justified," and confirmed in a state of integrity 
and happiness. 

When an accountable creature, or a race of ac- 
countable creatures, fails in obedience, the penalty of 
the law, whatever it may be, is incurred, and must be 
endured. Both justice and truth require the infliction 
of the punishment deserved, and threatened to trans- 
gressors. The justification of a sinner appears, there- 
fore, at first sight, to be a thing impossible, in consist- 
ence with the divine attributes. To devise a plan by 
which sinners may be saved, and yet the law be main- 
tained and justice satisfied, was beyond the wisdom of 
any creature ; but what finite wisdom could not ac- 
complish, the wisdom of God has found out ; and to 
reveal this plan of salvation, and the terms on which 
the condemned creature may be made a partaker of 
it, is the great design of divine revelation. This is 
the mystery into which angels desire to look. It is 
the " good news " which the gospel announces. It will 
be a theme of adoration and grateful praise in heaven 
through eternal ages; and all who shall arrive at 



140 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

heaven by this method of salvation, will sing a song 
peculiar to themselves, in which no others of the heav- 
enly host can join, " Unto Him that loved us, and 
washed us from our sins in his own blood." 

To understand how God can be just, and justify the 
ungodly, let us contemplate the acknowledged circum- 
stances of the case. God is a holy being, and his law 
is like himself, " holy, just, and good." This law can- 
not be set aside or changed, in mercy to the offender, 
without reflecting dishonor on the Lawgiver. Better 
there were no law, than that its claims should be dis- 
regarded. Better that all creatures should cease to 
exist, than that any dishonor should be cast on the 
truth or justice of God. If the infliction of the pen- 
alty incurred was not a righteous act, such a penalty 
never would have been annexed to the law. All hope 
of escape founded on the idea that the law of God 
may be set aside, or its demands relaxed, must be 
vain ; and all such hopes are impious, as they are 
founded on the supposition that God will "deny him- 
self." Docs not every transgressor, then, appear to 
be shut up to death ? 

Some may be ready to reply, that God is merciful 
as well as just, and the sinner may hope in his mercy ; 
and that to insist upon the rigid execution of law in 
all cases, would expunge mercy from the divine attri- 
butes. It will also be alleged, that to represent the 
supreme Ruler as inflexible in his justice, and requir- 
ing the utmost farthing of what is due from his frail 
creatures, is to exhibit him in an unamiable light. 

This view of the subject seems plausible, and falls 
in with the prevalent opinions and feelings of men. 
But it ought to be considered, that if mercy be so 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 141 

essential to God that lie cannot but exercise it unless 
he show himself severe and unamiable, then there is 
an end of justice. There can be no place for it in the 
dispensations of a merciful God. But "a God all 
mercy is a God unjust." 

And let it be considered again, that upon these 
principles there was no need of a Mediator to expiate 
our sins, and propitiate an offended God. To the 
sinner God may indeed appear lovely, as divested of 
his righteousness, and equally good to the transgres- 
sor and the obedient subject ; just as the criminal 
condemned by human laws would esteem that judge 
amiable who pardoned his crimes, while upright citi- 
zens might view it to be inconsistent with his charac- 
ter as a righteous judge. But the inquiry should be, 
how would the divine character appear to intelligent 
and impartial spectators, if sin should go unpunished ; 
how would this be viewed by the "holy angels?" 
And surely, with the word of God in our hands, we 
cannot hesitate to believe that God is just and holy, 
and that he " will by no means clear the guilty." 

But do not the Scriptures represent God as a merciful 
being ; and are not all invited to take refuge under 
the wings of his mercy ? Yes ; this is undoubtedly 
true. No attribute is more frequently and emphati- 
cally ascribed to God than mercy, and by no other is 
his infinite and divine perfection more gloriously man- 
ifested. Throughout the holy Scriptures we have set 
before us a God both just and merciful. Those attri- 
butes, therefore, as they exist in God, must be harmo- 
nious, and the exercise of the one must somehow be 
consistent with that of the other. Let us, therefore, 
endeavor to discover how they may be harmonized, 



142 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

how the great Creator can be at the same time both 
" a just God and a Saviour." 

One remark, before we proceed farther, seems nec- 
essary to prevent mistakes. There exists not the same 
necessity for the exercise of mercy as of justice. God 
is obliged by the rectitude of his nature to be always 
and in all cases just ; but he is not bound in all cases 
where there are miserable sinners to exercise mercy. 
The example of the fallen angels settles this question. 
Such an idea of mercy would destroy every idea of 
justice. There could remain no place for its exercise. 
Mercy, from its very nature, is free. To suppose any 
binding obligation to show mercy destroys its nature ; 
it would then be confounded with justice. The true 
ground of distinction between justice and mercy is, 
that while the first is obligatory, the last is free, and 
may be bestowed or withheld at the pleasure of him 
who exercises it. 

The true principle on which justice and mercy 
may be reconciled is, that the claims of justice must be 
satisfied in order to make way for the exercise of 
mercy. If no plan could have been devised by which 
the demands of the law — which are the same as the 
claims of justice — could be satisfied, then had the 
exercise of mercy been impossible in the government 
of a righteous God. But herein has the infinite wis- 
dom of God been gloriously displayed by the plan of 
redemption : " Mercy and truth have met together ; 
righteousness and peace have kissed each other." 
According to this glorious plan, justice and mercy are 
both manifested in the most conspicuous manner in 
the obedience of Christ unto death. In the cross 
these divine attributes not only harmonize, but shine 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 143 

forth with brighter rays than anywhere else. Let it 
not be forgotten, that. the difficulty in the way of the 
exercise of mercy to sinners required to be overcome, 
was nothing else than the demands of inflexible justice, 
and the truth of God pledged in annexing the penalty of 
death to the law. No plan of reconciliation or justifi- 
cation which does not provide for the removal of this 
difficulty is admissible or possible. I wish this point 
to be clearly understood, and indelibly fixed in the 
memory of the reader, for otherwise he will be in 
danger of being misled by false theories. 

Let us then take an accurate survey of the con- 
dition of A sinful max under the righteous govern- 
ment of God. We take for granted that the demands 
of the law of God are neither annihilated nor dimin- 
ished in consequence of his transgression. Fallen man 
is as much under obligation to love God with all the 
heart, mind, and strength, as innocent man. It is a 
dictate of reason, that the obligation of no law is re- 
moved by transgressing it. Neither does the fact that 
the sinner has fallen under the condemnation of the 
law, free him from the obligation to obey it. Although 
some have held this opinion to prop up a rotten system, 
nothing can be conceived more absurd. This supposes 
the enduring the penalty of the law to be a full equiv- 
alent for perfect obedience. According to this, the 
man who had stood in the pillory for perjury as long 
as the penalty of the law required, would be as de- 
serving of esteem and of a reward as the man who 
had completely obeyed the laws of his country. Then 
let it be distinctly kept in mind, that on a transgressor 
the law has a double demand : first, the original requi- 



144 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

sition of perfect obedience ; and secondly, a demand 
that the penalty, according to the demerit of the 
offence, be endured. And before he can be justified 
according to this law, both these demands must be met 
and satisfied. r 

A mistake on this point has led many astray in 
regard to the nature of a sinner's justification. They 
have maintained that nothing else was necessary but 
that the Surety endure the penalty of the law, or make 
atonement for sin ; and that nothing more is included 
in justification than the forgiveness of our sins. But 
if this were all, justification would leave the person in 
the same relation to the law in which Adam stood 
w T hen created ; that is, he would be free from the pen- 
alty, but would have no title to the reward of a right- 
eous person. But the very word "justify 77 expresses 
much more. Strictly speaking, and excluding the 
merits of Christ, pardon and justification are incom- 
patible ; for the first supposes the person to have been 
a transgressor, the last that lie has a righteousness 
fully answering the demands of the law ; but when a 
sinner is justified by faith in Christ, while he receives 
remission of sins through his blood, he is accounted 
righteous by reason of the perfect obedience unto 
death of his Surety rendered in his behalf. 

Those who deny the necessity of the active obedi- 
ence of Christ as included in the meritorious ground 
of a sinner's justification, are driven to the necessity 
of maintaining that the person must acquire a title to 
eternal life by his own obedience ; and they suppose 
that this doctrine is inculcated in all those texts 
which speak of believers being rewarded "according 
to their works ;" whereas, if eternal life was granted 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 145 

only in consequence of Christ's obedience, they allege 
all would share alike, and there would not be differ- 
ent degrees of glory among the saints in heaven. But 
this is to confound the title to eternal life with the 
degree of happiness to be enjoyed. As to the title, 
all do stand upon a perfect equality. Heaven is as 
sure to the weakest believer as to the strongest ; to 
the man who lived only to perform one good work, 
as to him that abounded in good works through a 
long life. But it does not follow from this that the 
happiness and glory of all believers shall be equal. 
All, it is reasonable to believe, will not have the same 
capacity of heavenly happiness ; and it is meet that 
they who have labored most and suffered most, should 
enjoy most hereafter. This furnishes a good reason 
for what we find clearly taught by our Lord and his 
apostles, that in the day of judgment the good works 
of the righteous will be brought into public view, as 
well that they may furnish a measure of their respect- 
ive rewards, as that they may furnish conclusive evi- 
dence of the sincerity of their profession. 

Although the active obedience of Christ, as well 
as his sufferings and death, are necessary to a justify- 
ing righteousness, yet there is no necessity nor pro- 
priety in curiously endeavoring to separate the parts 
of our Saviour's finished work. As has been well 
remarked by a profound theologian, " In his sufferings 
he obeyed, and in his obedience he suffered" His media- 
torial work, like his robe, cannot be divided into sep- 
arate parts. Still, we can conceive of a distinction 
between that which was necessary to satisfy the pre- 
cept, and that which was required to satisfy the pen- 
alty of the law, And if there were any uncertainty 



146 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

whether all the acts of Christ's obedience were strictly 
vicarious, yet it would be our safe course to exclude 
nothing which God has not excluded. When the 
apostle says, " by his obedience many are constituted 
righteous/ 7 no man has a right to limit the word, 
which is left in the holy Scriptures without limita* 
tion. 

Having seen that in order to a sinner's justifica- 
tion, the law demands a righteousness which shall 
answer both its precept and its penalty, let us next 
inquire, Has Jesus Christ the Mediator provided 
such a righteousness ? And here it is comfortable 
to the convinced sinner to learn that " He is the end 
of the law for righteousness to every one that believ- 
eth. 77 That " He of God is made unto us righteous- 
ness/ 7 and is called " The Lord our righteousness. 77 
And that " there is no condemnation to them that are 
in Christ Jesus. 77 That " He who knew no sin, was 
made sin for us, that we might be made the righteous- 
ness of God in him. 77 

But why may not a sinner be justified by his own 
righteousness ? For the best reason in the world : 
because he has none which will answer the law 7 s de- 
mand. All will admit that the external obedience of 
an unrenewed man, whether to the moral or ceremo- 
nial law, cannot be a righteousness that a holy God 
can accept as the ground of his justification. Such a 
righteousness is indeed well described by the prophet 
as " filthy rags. 77 That which has no particle of real 
holiness in it surely cannot answer the demands of 
that holy law which requires "truth in the inward 
parts/ 7 and perfect rectitude in every thought and 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. Ul 

desire, It is therefore universally agreed among 
Protestants that "dead works/' 7 or mere external 
obedience, can justify no one. 

Still it is contended by some that the "new obedi- 
ence ;; of a sanctified soul may, by a gracious God, be 
received as a justifying righteousness. Others, to be 
more conformable to the language of Scripture, ascribe 
our justification to the single grace of faith or act of 
believing. But we will now show that no works of 
ours, nor any holiness wrought in us, is the ground of 
our justification. 

The arguments from which it is evident that our 
justification is not on account of inherent holiness, or good 
works proceeding from faith, are these : 

Justification is a sentence according to law J but the 
law demands a perfect righteousness : the imperfect, 
though sincere obedience of the believer, is not a 
ground on which God, as a righteous Judge, can pro- 
nounce the sinner justified. Even if the believer 
could attain to perfection in this life — which none 
ever did — this would not answer for a perfect right- 
eousness; for when a man stands in judgment before 
God, he must answer for the whole of his life, and 
not a part only. The believer cannot be justified by 
his evangelical obedience, because this follows his ac- 
ceptance with God, and cannot therefore be its cause. 
The ungodly are the persons whom God justifies ; 
therefore they are not justified by their own obedi- 
ence, for they remain ungodly up to the very moment 
when they are justified. 

The justification of the sinner, according to the 
apostle Paul, excludes boasting; but if a man is justi- 
fied by his own works, of whatever kind, he has a 



148 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ground of glorying ; therefore justification is not by 
" works of righteousness which we have done." 

Again Justification is entirely gratuitous, and there- 
fore not by works of any kind. " Being justified freely 
by his grace." Now between works and grace there 
is, according to Paul, an irreconcilable opposition as it 
relates to the ground of a sinner's acceptance. " And 
if by grace, it is then no more of works ; otherwise 
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it 
is no more grace ; otherwise work is no more work." 

It detracts from the honor of Christ and the merit 
of his mediatorial work to ascribe justification, in 
whole or in part, to man's obedience. If it had been 
consistent with God's perfections to accept of an im- 
perfect obedience from the creature, where was the 
need of a divine Mediator ? Did Christ the Son of 
God come into the world and die on the cross merely 
to render the imperfect obedience of the sinner accept- 
able ? This supposition is not honorable to the divine 
Eedeemer, neither is it in accordance with holy Scrip- 
ture. There all is ascribed to Christ's redemption — 
to his blood — to his righteousness — to his obedience. 
Christ is the foundation — the corner-stone — the way, 
the truth, and the life — the alpha and omega — the 
beginning and end of our salvation. He that glories, 
must glory in the Lord. The everlasting song of the 
redeemed will be, "Not unto us, but unto Him that 
loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." 

And what says the experience of the children of 
God ? Are they willing to trust for salvation to such 
a broken reed as their own obedience ; and are they 
disposed to detract any thing from the glory of the 
Redeemer in their salvation? Is there one among 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 149 

them who would wish to put in a claim for any part 
of the honor of this work? 

But what need is there to argue a point which is 
so explicitly and positively decided by the pen of 
inspiration ? " Therefore/ 7 says Paul, " by the deeds 
of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his 
sight." And as if to cut off all pretence that he 
meant the ceremonial law of Moses, he immediately 
adds, " for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Now 
Paul tells us in another place what law produced in 
him the knowledge of sin, namely, the law contained 
in the ten commandments ; " for," says he, " I had not 
known sin, unless the law had said, Thou shalt not 
covet." And this is given as a reason by the apostle 
why there could be no justification by the law ; for if 
a man was only convicted of one sin by the law, it is 
evident that justification- to him by that law is as 
impossible as if he had violated every precept. As 
justification and condemnation are opposite states in 
relation to the law, he who is condemned, if it were 
only for one sin, and that the smallest, never can be 
justified by a broken law. For one sin incurs the 
penalty ; as it is written, " Cursed is every one that 
continueth not in all things written in the book of 
the law to do them." 

Some dream of a new and milder law under the 
gospel by which believers are justified ; but there is 
none such — there can be none such. The Scriptures 
never mention any other moral law than the law re- 
quiring perfect love, and which is summarily compre- 
hended in the ten commandments. To this our Sav- 
iour continually appeals as universally binding — as 
intended originally to give life to those who obeyed 



150 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

it, and as the perfect rule which all should follow. 
The apostles refer to no other law, as might be proved 
by numerous testimonies. Indeed, the very supposi- 
tion of a change in the moral law is monstrous ; it 
would imply a change in the Lawgiver, which is noth- 
ing less than blasphemy. 

God does, it is true, accept from his people an 
obedience mingled with defects and imperfections, 
but not as their justifying righteousness ; it is for 
Christ's sake, and because they are already " accepted 
in the Beloved." " Being justified freely by his grace, 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," they 
are adopted into the number of sons and daughters ; 
and having his righteousness imputed to them, or set 
down to their account, there is no condemnation to 
them. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of 
God's elect? It is God that justifieth ; who is he that 
condemneth ?" It is said of believers, that " they are 
passed from death unto life, and shall never come 
into condemnation." 

But we are said to be justified by faith : how 
is this to be understood ? This doctrine stands out 
prominently in the New Testament, and the Reform- 
ers considered it the cardinal point, or the centre of 
the Christian religion. Luther, as far as doctrine 
was concerned, commenced the Reformation by restoring 
this doctrine to its proper place ; and all true reformers 
ever since have placed justification by faith at the 
foundation of their system, and made it the burden 
of their preaching ; and the neglect of this doctrine, 
or a disposition to explain it away, or not to maintain 
it in its simple and obvious meaning, is an evidence of 
a corrupt system of theology, and marks a deviation 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 151 

from the truth in other particulars. This doctrine is 
as essential in the system of divine truth, as the centre 
of gravity in bodies ; in both cases these points must 
be firmly supported, or the system falls. 

But we return to the important question, How 
does faith justify a sinner? Certainly not on account 
of any merit in the act of faith. They who maintain 
this, fall into no less an error than substituting an act 
of our minds for Christ and his righteousness. Faith 
may, in a certain sense, be called a work ; but it is 
not as a work that it justifies, or it would never have 
been, as it is, placed in strong contrast with works. 
Though faith be an act of obedience to the law of 
God, it is not as such that it justifies. Hear what 
Paul teaches on this point : " Therefore we conclude, 
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of 
the law." " Now to him that worketh is the reward 
not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that 
worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the 
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." To 
interpret this last phrase as though Paul intended to 
teach that the act of believing was the righteousness by 
which the ungodly are justified, would be to make him 
most palpably contradict himself ; for that construc- 
tion would not only make faith a work in the affair 
of justification, but a substitute for all other works; 
whereas the apostle, in this passage, says, "But to him 
that worketh ?iot, but believeth on Him that justifieth 
the ungodly f that is, who performs no works as a 
righteousness by which he expects to obtain the favor 
of God ; but in regard to works, is considered, when 
justified, as an ungodly person — one who has no good- 
ness of his own to plead, "but believeth" Here faith 



152 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

must be considered as a mere instrument, or organ, 
by which Christ is received. 

But why is it said to be " counted for righteous- 
ness?" For no other reason but because it is that 
act of the soul by which Christ, who is the Lord our 
righteousness, is apprehended, appreciated, and ap- 
propriated. A reprieve is obtained by a great price 
from the king ; the benevolent person who procured 
it offers it to the condemned criminal, who eagerly 
stretches out his hand to receive it. If his acceptance 
were made the condition of his deliverance, the case 
would be a striking parallel to the offer of pardon 
and the divine favor to a sinner. The blessings of 
the gospel are suspended on the act of believing. 
This is, in fact, the cordial reception of the blessing. 
But who would think of ascribing merit to the mere 
act of receiving a pardon by a condemned criminal ? 
As little reason is there for considering the act of 
faith by which we receive Christ's righteousness as 
either meritorious, or as standing in the place of a 
perfect righteousness, and accepted as such, though 
manifestly very far short of being all that the law 
demands. 

But how can the righteousness of the Redeemer be avail- 
able to the justification of the sinner ? To this I reply, 
that from eternity Christ undertook, in the covenant 
of redemption, to satisfy law and justice for all who 
were given to him by the Father in that covenant — 
all who should believe on him. When incarnate, he 
bore their sins, and for them fulfilled all righteous- 
ness — did all that was required as a satisfaction to 
law and justice. "As by the disobedience of one 
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 153 

shall many be made," constituted, " righteous." " He 
is the end of the law for righteousness to every one 
that believeth." Now if the union, by covenant be- 
tween the first Adam and his posterity, was so close 
that by his fatal transgression they all died, why may 
there not be formed a union as intimate between 
Christ and his people ? This is the very principle on 
which the apostle argues in the fifth of Romans. But 
the children of God are, "by nature, children of 
wrath, even as others." They, in their natural con- 
dition, are under the curse of the law ; for we read 
that " Christ was made a curse for us, to redeem us 
from the curse of the law." They continue aliens 
from the commonwealth of Israel until, by the gra- 
cious intercession of their Redeemer, the Holy Spirit 
is sent to bring them to Christ. On their part, faith 
is the act by which they receive Christ. This con- 
summates the spiritual union between him as the head, 
and them as the members. This union is of such a 
nature that, in law, whatever the Surety has done or 
suffered, can be set down to their account ; or, as the 
apostle's phrase is, " righteousness is imputed to them." 
By having this perfect righteousness reckoned to them, 
they are instantly and completely justified. God is 
now reconciled to them through the death of his Son. 
All their sins are freely pardoned, and they are adopt- 
ed as sons, and immediately made heirs of eternal 
life. Here then we see how faith justifies as an in- 
strument of union and reception, and in what sense 
it is " counted for righteousness." We also see how 
a contrast can be set up between faith and works — 
between grace and debt. 

But although faith alone justifies, and justifies not 



154 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

as a work, yet it is a working faith which justifies. It 
is the fruitful principle of sanctification, and of all 
evangelical obedience or good works. And as there 
is a " dead " as well as a living faith, and many have 
been deceived by glorying in the former, while they 
were destitute of the latter, we should guard this 
point with especial care. The doctrine of justification 
by faith without works, is very liable to be perverted 
and abused by carnal men, who vainly dream of being 
saved in, not from their sins. This corrupt leaven 
began to ferment in the church in the days of the 
apostles. James wrote his epistle with a view to de- 
tect and expose this dangerous error. He seems, at 
first view, expressly to contradict what the apostle 
Paul had taught ; for he says, " Ye see then, how that 
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." 
But when the context is impartially considered, the 
appearance of contradiction vanishes, and we find his 
doctrine harmonious with that of Paul ; for he is 
speaking of a mere nominal " dead faith," which 
manifested itself by no good works. No man was 
ever justified by such a faith. He is not speaking of 
that justification which takes place when a sinner 
first believes — the only foundation of which is the 
merit of Christ — but he is speaking of that justifica- 
tion arising from the evangelical works of believers, 
by which their faith is proved to be genuine, and their 
profession is evidenced to be sincere ; and with which 
acts of obedience God is also well pleased, for he will 
not " forget the works of faith and labors of love " of 
his own dear children. The instances which he gives, 
especially that of Abraham, show his meaning plainly 
enough. " Was not Abraham our father justified by 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 155 

works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the al- 
tar ?" But Abraham was in covenant with God, and 
of course justified, a long time before he performed 
this act ; but this proved his sincerity and the strength 
of his faith. By that extraordinary act of obedience 
in which Abraham, without hesitation or reluctance, 
offered up his only and well-beloved son at the com- 
mand of God, he met the approbation of his Maker ; 
and this approbation was publicly expressed, which 
expression of divine favor is, by James, without much 
departure from the usual signification of the word, 
termed "justification," and is of the same kind with 
that public approbation of the good works of the 
righteous which will take place at the day of judg- 
ment, which is also called justification by our Lord. 
"For," says he, "by thy words thou shalt be justified." 
Matt. 12 : 37. Many, however, in reconciling James 
with Paul, choose to interpret the word justify, as 
used by James, to signify the manifestation of the sin- 
cerity of our profession of faith in the sight of men ; 
to which I make no objection, as this interpretation 
doubtless accords with truth, but I consider what I 
before stated as the precise meaning of this apostle. 

As the word justification is borrowed from the pro- 
ceedings of courts of justice, and is therefore said to 
be a forensic term, I will, by way of illustration and 
practical application of the subject, suppose the case 
of a convinced sinner arraigned before the tribunal of God, 
to be tried for the actions of his whole life. The 
Judge being omniscient and infinitely just, can nei- 
ther be deceived nor biassed. The rule of judgment 
must be his own perfect law : no other standard of 



156 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

right can be admitted or conceived of in this court. 
The demands of this law are perfect obedience in 
heart and life : all deviations from the law, even in 
thought and desire, as well as in word and deed, are 
marked as sins. If any man had uniformly done all 
that the law required, he might be adjudged to the 
possession of eternal life on account of his own obe- 
dience ; that is, he would be justified by his own 
works. The language of the law is, " He that doeth 
these things, shall live in them." " This do, and thou 
shalt live." " The law was given unto life." 

But the person arraigned is conscious that he is a 
siiiiier, and therefore cannot possibly be justified in 
this way. While his conviction is partial, and his 
knowledge of sin indistinct, he very naturally makes 
efforts at amendment and reformation. His igno- 
rance of the extent and spirituality of the law leads 
him to hope that he can make, by future obedience, 
a compensation for the past. But increasing light 
convinces him that these hopes are utterly fallacious, 
for he finds that no future obedience, however perfect, 
would have any effect to cancel the debt already con- 
tracted ; and he now finds, by sad experience, that he 
cannot keep the law perfectly for one moment. 

Under this conviction we suppose him to stand 
arraigned before the heart-searching Judge, and when 
confronted with the law and a list of his sins — of 
omission as well as commission — of thought, word, 
and deed, with all their aggravations — what plea can 
he offer, what defence can he make? Alas, he at- 
tempts nothing of the kind. His mouth is stopped. He 
stands speechless before his Judge. Or rather, he 
acknowledges every thing. He admits every charge 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 157 

to be true. He joins in his own condemnation, and 
justifies God for the sentence which he is convinced 
that justice requires him to pronounce. He sees no 
way of escape, for all his vain refuges in which he 
once trusted are now swept away. And he expects 
nothing else but that he shall be sent away into ever- 
lasting punishment. But under this awful conviction 
he brings no complaint against the law which con- 
demns him, nor against his righteous Judge. He 
takes all the blame and guilt to himself, and fully 
" accepts the punishment of his sins/' as a just award. 
His language is like that of David, "Against thee, 
thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy 
sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou 
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." 

He has, indeed, heard of a proclamation of mercy ; 
but though it excites a vague, trembling hope that 
relief is possible, yet he sees not haw it is possible for 
him to escape from the grasp of inflexible justice in 
which he is held, for now he dares not even ask that 
the law which condemns him should be either set 
aside, suspended, or relaxed. Any thing of this kind 
his enlightened conscience correctly judges to be al- 
together out of the question. No doubt this is an 
awful moment in the existence of the sinner, and he is 
ready to give himself up for lost. 

But behold, an Advocate rises in the court, and 
offers to undertake his cause. And it is Oxe who has 
the ear of the Judge, and who appears in the sinner's 
own nature. It is the incarnate Son of God, who 
says to the convicted sinner, " Commit your cause to 
me with confidence, and I will bring you off victori- 
ous. However deep your guilt, however multiplied 



158 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

your transgressions, a full and free pardon will be 
sure the moment you trust yourself into my hands" 
And then, to encourage confidence in his ability, he 
shows that he has rendered an infinitely meritorious obe- 
dience to this very law, and has in his own body en- 
dured the curse which it denounces upon transgress- 
ors ; and that he has acquired the right to obtain the 
redemption of all to whom this righteousness shall be 
applied. 

The convinced sinner sees, with joy and astonish- 
ment, that there is a way in which all his grievous sins 
can be pardoned, and he be restored to the favor of a 
justly offended God. Now he believes with all his 
heart. Now he accepts the kind offer of the Saviour 
to be his advocate. Now he commits himself, and all 
his soul's concerns, into the hands of a faithful Re- 
deemer. Now his burden of grief is removed, and he 
rejoices in the riches of grace in Christ Jesus ; and 
his heart, hitherto so insensible, melts into love and 
gratitude. And now, though he may have confidence 
that his sins are all blotted out, and shall never rise 
in remembrance against him, yet his heart breaks with 
ingenuous relentings, and godly sorrow gushes out 
in a flood. 

He can now look up with humble confidence to 
his Judge, and plead the perfect righteousness of his 
Surety. He sees that God is propitiated by the 
meritorious sacrifice of his own Son, and feels that a 
blessed reconciliation has taken place between him 
and his God. For, on the part of God, his anger is 
appeased. He is well pleased with his own dear Son, 
and with all who stand robed in his perfect righteous- 
ness : and as to his own enmity against God and his 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 159 

government, he finds that it is slain by a view of the 
cross ; and already he begins to experience something 
of the sweet spirit of adoption, and the hope which 
maketh not ashamed springs up in his breast never 
more to leave him, but to be, in all temptations, trou- 
bles, and storms, as " an anchor to his soul, sure and 
steadfast, entering into that within the veil." 

Thus is the sinner actually justified by faith in 
Christ Jesus. There is no longer any legal condem- 
nation to him, for though he sin — and there is no man 
that liveth, and sinneth not — his Advocate ever lives 
to intercede for him, and to plead, for his pardon, the 
complete atonement which he has made. And a soul 
once justified never can fall again under the condem- 
nation of the law, unless Christ should cease to inter- 
cede, or should no longer apply to his benefit his own 
perfect righteousness. Clouds and darkness may of- 
ten obscure his evidences of sonship, and his comfort 
may be greatly interrupted through his own remain- 
ing unbelief, and the temptations of the adversary; 
but none shall be able to pluck him out of the hands 
of his heavenly Father, nor out of the hands of his 
ever-faithful Shepherd. 

After this account of the gospel method of a sin- 
ner's gratuitous justification, will any still bring for- 
ward the old stale objection, that by this plan we are 
overthrowing the obligation of the moral law, and 
undermining the foundations of morality and good works ? 
If there be any such objectors, let Paul answer them : 
"Do we make void the law through faith? God for- 
bid ; nay, we establish the law." " Shall we continue 
in sin, that grace may abound ? God forbid ; how 
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer there- 



160 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

in ?" Some did, indeed, slanderously report of the 
apostle and his fellow-teachers, that they said, " Let 
us do evil, that good may come." Concerning all who 
would say this, Paul declares that " their damnation 
is just." 

And what does uniform experience testify in re- 
gard to the lives of those who maintain this doctrine ? 
Are they more loose in their lives than others? Have 
they not, in all ages, rather been the humble, self de- 
nying, faithful imitators of Christ? So far are they 
from pleading any exemption from the law as a rule 
of life, or taking occasion to indulge in sin because 
grace abounds, that they " delight in the law of God 
after the inner man " — hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness — and feel the remainder of sin dwell ins: in 
them to be their greatest burden and sorest affliction, 
which causes them to groan, and to exclaim with Paul, 
"0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me 
from this body of death?" Justifying faith works by 
love, and love is the very spring and essence of all 
holy obedience. Gratitude impels the reconciled sin- 
ner to be zealous for good works. " The love of Christ 
constraineth him." He feels that being " bought with 
a price," he is "not his own," and should "glorify 
God in his body and spirit, which are God's." 

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. 

The Scripture doctrine of justification may be 
briefly summed up in the following particulars. 

1. It is God that justifies. 

2. Justification is wholly gratuitous, without merit 
and without any works of our own as its ground. 

3. The merit of Christ, as Mediator, expressed in 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 161 

Scripture by his righteousness, his obedience, his 
blood, his death, his life, his sacrifice, is the true and 
only meritorious ground of a sinner's pardon and 
acceptance. 

4. The justification of the ungodly includes the 
remission of sins, by which often it is expressed in 
Scripture ; but it also includes their acceptance as 
righteous, for the sake of Christ's perfect righteous- 
ness reckoned to their account. 

5. Justification is by faith, as the instrument of 
union to Christ, and the reception of his righteousness. 

6. The faith which justifies is always a living, op- 
erative, fruitful faith. No one is justified by a faith 
which is alone, or unattended with good works. 

7. Justification and sanctification, though insepa- 
rably connected, and equally necessary to salvation, 
are nevertheless distinct blessings of the new cove- 
nant ; and the latter is the only certain evidence of 
the possession of the former. 

8. Justification takes place at the moment of be- 
lieving, and is as perfect at once as it can ever be, 
and there can be no place for a second justification in 
the sight of God, and in relation to his law ; but there 
is a manifestation of the genuineness of our faith and 
sincerity of our profession, both in this world and at 
the day of judgment, which is also sometimes called 
justification. 

9. No plan of justification which does not make a 
complete provision for the satisfaction of all the de- 
mands of law and justice, is honorable to God or 
agreeable to Scripture. By this single test may all 
erroneous theories of justification be tried and con- 
demned. 



162 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

The importance of the doctrine of a sinner's jus- 
tification before God, is not exceeded by that of any 
other in the whole circle of divine truth. Without 
justification it is evident that no man can be saved. 
It is then a vital subject. Eternal life is involved in 
it. For let it be considered, that there is here no 
middle ground. He that is not in a state of justifica- 
tion must be in a state of condemnation ; and if he 
continues in that state, he must perish for ever. _ One 
unpardoned sin will sink the soul to hell. What then 
must be the condition of sinners who are pressed 
down with the guilt of innumerable transgressions ? 

reader, let me entreat you to apply this truth to 
your own case. You are, at this moment, either in a 
state of condemnation or justification. You are now 
either reconciled to God, and his adopted child, or 
his wrath abideth on you. If the latter, how can you 
be at ease? How can you sleep quietly in your bed? 
How can you partake, with any pleasure, of your daily 
food? Alas, your condition is far more dangerous, 
far more deplorable, than any words are capable of 
describing. And now, while the moments pass, you 
are approaching nearer and nearer to the lake of fire. 

And are you determined to take no warning, to 
listen to no advice? Will you shut your eyes against 
a danger so imminent and so dreadful? How will 
you regret this carelessness, when perhaps the day 
of mercy is ended. Those words of our Saviour to 
Jerusalem are most touching : " that thou hadst 
known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which 
belong unto thy peace ; but now they are hid from 
thine eyes." In a little time your eternal destiny will 
be immutably fixed. There is a limit beyond which 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 163 

the call of mercy and the strivings of the Spirit do 
not reach. When once the sinner has passed that 
awful boundary, his soul is completely lost ; his hopes 
are extinguished ; the blackness of darkness for ever 
lies before him. His sins will cluster round him like 
so many ghosts, to torment him. The fire which can 
never be quenched already is enkindled, and the worm 
which never dies begins to gnaw his vitals. wretch- 
ed creature ! how dearly didst thou buy a little mirth 
and ease in the world ; how little profit hast thou 
now in all thy worldly riches and honors! They can- 
not purchase for thee one moment's relief, one drop of 
water for thy scorched tongue. 

" Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we would per- 
suade men." If you were now actually beyond the 
reach of mercy, it would be no kindness to disturb 
you : but while there is life, there is hope. The sound 
of mercy is still heard, the door of hope is open, sal- 
vation is yet attainable. But there is no time to be 
lost. The least delay may be ruinous. Escape for 
your life. Flee from the coming wrath ; seek safety 
in the house of refuge ; press into the ark ; flee to the 
altar, and seize on its blood-sprinkled horns. This 
very day may be the accepted time, and the day of 
your salvation. 



164 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

SINNERS WELCOME TO COME TO JESUS 
CHRIST. 



Our blessed Lord knew how prone convinced sin- 
ners are to unbelief as it regards the reception which 
he is disposed to give them if they come to him, and 
therefore he graciously uttered, and has left on record 
this precious encouragement, " Him that cometh unto 

ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." No, though VOUl* 

sins are very great, the kind Redeemer will not cast 
you out ; even if that were true which you sometimes 
think, that you are the greatest sinner who ever lived 
upon earth, he will not cast you out. "His blood 
cleanseth from all sin." It is as easy for him to save 
a great as a small sinner. No one was ever saved 
because his sins were small ; no one was ever rejected 
on account of the greatness of his sins. Where sin 
abounded, grace shall much more abound. If your 
guilt is very enormous, the greater honor will redound 
to that Deliverer who plucks such a brand from the 
burning. " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
be white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, 
they shall be as wool." 

But is there not one sin which never has pardon, 
neither in this world nor in that which is to come? 
There is ; but no one who has committed that sin 
ever desires to come to Christ; and even that sin 
would not be unpardonable, if the sinner who is bur- 
dened with its guilt should come to him. It is not 
unpardonable because the blood of Christ has not 
adequate efficacy to remove it, but because the miser- 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 165 

able blasphemer is abandoned by the Spirit of God to 
his own malignity, and therefore never does nor can 
desire to believe on Christ. 

Christ will not cast you off because you have long 
continued to sin against God, though it be even to 
gray hairs and the decrepitude of old age. It is 
indeed a wicked thing to continue one day in rebel- 
lion against the King of heaven ; and no one can cal- 
culate the debt of guilt incurred by spending a long 
life in continued acts of transgression. But however 
long you may have continued in rebellion, and how- 
ever black and long the catalogue of your sins, yet if 
you will now turn to God by a sincere repentance, 
and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall not 
be cast out. He that cannot lie hath declared, "Him 
that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." I 
heard a preacher declare from the pulpit that there 
was no example in the Bible of any one being con- 
verted in old age ; but he was undoubtedly under a 
mistake. Was not Manasseh, one of the wickedest 
men who ever lived, brought to repentance in old 
age? The ages of those converted on the day of 
Pentecost and at other times are not given. It is 
enough for us to know that the aged no more than 
the young are excluded from the free invitations of 
the blessed Saviour. He invites all the laboring and 
heavy-laden, and of course those who are burdened 
with the infirmities of declining years as well as of 
unnumbered sins. 

Aged sinner, you are not excluded from mercy by 
any word of God in the whole book of divine revela- 
tion. God has set before you an open door which no 
man has a right or power to shut. If you should be 



166 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

shut out, it will be by your own unbelief, and not for 
want of a warrant to come. Enter, then, without 
delay or hesitation. None can less afford to delay 
than the aged sinner. Now is the time. Now or 
never. You have, as it were, one foot already in the 
grave. Your opportunities will soon be over. Strive, 
then, I entreat you, to enter in at the strait gate. 

But do you ask whether a man may not outlive his 
day of grace, and be given over to judicial blindness 
before life is ended ? Undoubtedly he may ; but as 
I said before, such a one, I believe, is never found 
inquiring what he must do to be saved. The devil 
often tempts aged sinners, and others too, to believe 
that it is now too late for them to repent ; that the 
time of their visitation is gone by, and that there is 
no hope for them. And many miserable souls are 
long held entangled in this snare. He may even 
quote Scripture to prove that there is a boundary 
which, when passed, all hope of salvation is to be 
relinquished. But as long as we are in the body we 
have the overtures of mercy made to us by the author- 
ity of God, and whether we be young or old, " he that 
cometh," Christ has declared, shall not be cast out. 
Take him at his word. Venture on him. If you stay 
away you must perish, and you can but perish if you 
go. But see, the golden sceptre is held out. This 
affords full assurance that if you draw near and touch 
it you shall live. 

Some are convinced that there is salvation in no 
other but Christ the Lord, yet they hesitate to come 
because they feel themselves to be so vile and unworthy. 
They cannot be persuaded that so great and holy a 
being as the Son of God will look with favor on 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 167 

creatures so abominably polluted and stained with 
iniquity. Such feelings as these very naturally arise 
in the minds of persons made sensible of the sinful 
defilement of their nature ; but they are most unrea- 
sonable when we take into view the character of 
Jesus Christ, and the errand on which he came into 
the world. If he had become incarnate and had 
died on the cross only for the benefit of the pure and 
righteous, then this excuse for not coming to him 
would have some validity ; but when we know that 
he bears the character of a Saviour of sinners, and 
that his name was called Jesus by the angel who 
announced his birth, because he should save his people 
from their sins ; when we consider his repeated decla- 
ration, that he came to seek and save the lost — not 
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, and 
that he exhibits himself as the Physician, not of the 
whole, but the sick, we must pronounce this objection 
most unreasonable. 

If you were not a sinful, polluted, helpless, and 
miserable creature, this Saviour would not be suited 
to you, and you would not be comprehended in his 
gracious invitations to the children of men. But the 
deeper you are sunk in sin and misery, the greater 
reason you have for coming to one who is able to save 
to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. If 
you were covered with leprosy, and a fountain was 
opened for washing away every sort of uncleanness, 
would you stay away because you were so polluted ? 
Or if deadly sick, would you refuse to apply to the 
physician? The awakened, convinced sinner is the 
Very one to whom Jesus especially directs his atten- 
tion. And it is a preposterous thing for such to delay 



168 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

coming, under the delusive hope of making themselves 
fit. This they never can do, and if they could they 
would not need a Saviour. What, will you wash 
yourselves in a muddy pool to prepare for being 
cleansed in a pure fountain ? 

But some one may be ready to say, " All admit 
that none ever come to Christ until they experience 
conviction of sin, but J have no conviction, or none 
worth mentioning. My mind is so blind that -I can 
perceive nothing clearly, and my heart is so hard that 
what I do see to be true I cannot feel. if I could 
experience some tender relenting — if I could get this 
adamant heart broken into contrition — if I could even 
feel pungent pain or alarm on account of my sins, 
my case would not appear so hopeless. But how 
can I come to Christ with this blind and stupid 
heart? 77 

Now, my friend, I beg you to consider that this 
blindness and unyielding hardness is the very core of 
your iniquity, and to be convinced that you are thus 
blind and stupid is true conviction of sin. If you had 
those feelings which you so much covet, they would 
not answer the end of conviction, which is, to show 
you how sinful and helpless your condition is. But if 
you felt as you wish to feel, you would not think your 
heart so wicked as you now see it to be. And the 
truth is, that you are now in a better situation to 
come to Christ than you would be if you had less 
conviction of the hardness and stubbornness of your 
heart. The use of conviction is to show your need of 
a Saviour, and to set clearly before your mind your 
utterly helpless and hopeless condition in yourself, 
and that a holy God would be perfectly just in leav- 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 169 

ing you to your own fruitless efforts, and in punishing 
you for ever for your sins. 

"Let not conscience make you linger, 
Nor of fitness fondly dream ; 
All the fitness he requireth 
Is to feel your need of him." 

Take words, therefore, and go immediately and 
fall down before him, and say, " Against thee, thee 
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, 
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, 
and be clear when thou judgest. 77 Confess the right- 
eousness of the sentence which condemns you, and 
accept the punishment of your sins as just. Cry with 
Peter, when sinking in the sea, " Lord, save ; I per- 
ish* 77 Or with the blind man, " thou Son of David, 
have mercy on me! 77 Or with the Syrophenician 
woman, " Lord, help me. 77 Or with the penitent pub- 
lican, " God be merciful to me a sinner. 77 Say, like 
the royal penitent, 

" My lips with shame my sins confess 
Against thy law, against thy grace. 
Lord, should thy judgment grow severe, 
I am condemned, but thou art clear. 

Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord, 
Whose hope, still hovering round thy word, 
Would light on some sweet promise there, 
Some sure support against despair." 

But here is another poor soul, more bowed down 
than any which we have considered. It is an awak- 
ened backslider. This man verily thought that he was 
a true Christian, and under that impression applied 
for admittance into the church, and was received, and 
for a season seemed to run well ; but by the snares 



HO PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

and baits of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, 
and insidious lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life, 
was by degrees seduced from the paths of piety. 
After a while the profession of religion was laid aside 
as an inconvenient thing ; since which time, until late- 
ly, he has been sinking deeper and deeper into the 
spirit of the world which lies in wickedness. But 
recently, by a sore visitation of affliction, his con- 
science has loeen awakened to a consideration of his 
woful state, and he inquires with the most earnest 
solicitude whether there is any ground of hope for 
such a backslider, who has sinned much more egre- 
giously since he made a profession of religion than he 
ever did before. Now to such a one I feel authorized 
to say, Christ invites even backsliders like you to 
come and be saved. I find no clause excluding the 
returning backslider, guilty as he is in the sight of 
God. He says in regard to this man as well as oth- 
ers, " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast 
out." 

There is indeed mention made in Scripture of some 
backsliders who turn back unto perdition, and never 
can be renewed again unto repentance ; these never 
come to Christ, and never truly desire to come. For 
them nothing remains "but a fearful looking for of 
judgment and fiery indignation to devour the adver- 
saries." 

But we read in Jeremiah of the Lord calling upon 
his backsliding Israel to return, Jer. 3 : 12 ; and in 
Hosea, God says, " I will heal their backsliding, I will 
love them freely." Hos. 14 : 4. This is a most gra- 
cious and encouraging promise, and we find in fact 
that God has received great backsliders upon their 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 1U 

repentance, and has freely pardoned their enormous 
sins. I believe that the deplorable backslidings of 
David, and his subsequent pardon and restoration, 
were left on record that convinced backsliders might 
not despair of mercy. And our Lord intimates that 
Peter, when recovered from his shameful fall, should 
make it his business "to strengthen his brethren.' 7 
Some of this class may perhaps allege that they are 
afraid that they never were truly of the number of 
the Israel of God. That perhaps is a question which 
you will never be able to solve in this life. But as to 
the point in hand it matters not ; if you will now come 
to Christ, you will be received. Come, and he will in 
no wise cast you out. 

It is commonly said that men are forward to be- 
lieve whatever is connected with their own interest. 
This in common cases is true ; but it is also true, that 
when some very great and unexpected good news is 
brought to us, we find it very difficult to credit it. It 
seems too good to be true. When Jacob's sons returned 
to their father after Joseph had made himself known 
to them, and informed him that his son Joseph was 
alive and governor of all Egypt, the old man could 
not believe the report until he lifted up his eyes and 
saw the wagons which had been sent to convey him 
to Egypt. So the convinced sinner finds it very hard 
to believe that a free and full salvation is offered to 
him, and that Christ stands ready to receive him, and 
not only to pardon all his sins, but give him a sure 
title to the heavenly inheritance. It seems a thing 
almost impossible that he should be thus highly fa- 
vored, and therefore, when he should with humble 
confidence lay hold on eternal life, he stands "parley- 



172 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ing, hesitating, and demurring. He is prone to think 
that there must be some mistake in the business, and 
that this good news cannot be true, at least in relation 
to himself. But when the truth stands out clearly 
revealed, he begins to understand what he never did 
before, the absolute and perfect freeness of salvation, 
and how it is that Christ receives the coming sinner 
just as he is, in all his guilt and vileness. Then, 
indeed, he cannot but rejoice and wonder at the -suit- 
ableness of the plan of salvation to his character and 
necessities ; that it comes down to his wretched and 
helpless circumstances, and takes him out of the hor- 
rible pit and the miry clay, and sets his feet on a rock, 
establishes his goings, and puts a new song into his 
mouth, even praise unto God. 

Since awakened, convicted sinners are so prone 
to unbelief on this point, it will not be a superfluous 
labor to offer some cogent reasons to convince such 
that Christ will not cast off any who come to him, 
whatever may have been their former character or 
sins. 

And I would first mention, that all who come are 
drawn by the Father. " No man/ 7 says Christ, " can 
come unto me except the Father which sent me draw 
him." Those who do truly come are such as were 
.given to him by the Father. " All that the Father 
giveth me shall come to me." Now this drawing of 
the Father is the fruit of his everlasting love. " We 
love him, because he first loved us." And surely 
Christ will not cast out those whom the Father has 
loved and given to him, and effectually drawn by his 
grace. 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 173 

But ) t ou may be ready to reply, "How shall I 
know that I am of the number given by the Father 
to the Son?" I answer, that you need no other or 
better evidence of it than your being willing to come. 
Surely you know that you did not make yourself will- 
ing. If you have come to Christ, or are willing to 
come, I am sure that you will ascribe it entirely to 
the grace of God. Others, as good by nature and 
practice as you, remain in love with the world and 
under the power of sin. Why is this? You must 
say with Paul, " By the grace of God I am what I 
am." The choice did not commence with you, but 
with him. " Ye have not chosen me, but I have cho- 
sen you." And as Christ concurs with the Father in 
this drawing, for he says, " And I, if I be lifted up, 
will draw all men unto me," he surely will not cast 
out the poor penitent whom he has drawn to his feet. 
No, no ; never. " Him that cometh he will in no wise 
cast out." 

Again, Christ redeemed, by the shedding of his pre- 
cious blood, every soul that comes to him, and the im- 
pelling motive which induced him to die for sinners 
was love, unspeakable love : " who loved us, and gave 
himself for us." Can any one then think or suspect 
that when Christ sees the travail of his soul coming 
to him, he will cast them out? It would be like blas- 
phemy to say that he would. No ; he delights to see 
the fruit of his painful sufferings even unto death. It 
was predicted, in connection with the impressive de- 
scription of his sufferings and death, that he should 
" see the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." 

Again, the Holy Spirit is the agent in convincing 
men of sin and bringing them to Christ; and this 



174 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Holy Spirit is sent by the Son as well as the Father 
to accomplish this work ; and when it is effected, 
when the soul is made willing to bow his neck to 
the easy yoke of Christ will he cast him out? Im- 
possible. 

But the honor and glory of the Redeemer is con- 
cerned in this matter. God is not glorified in any 
transaction upon earth so much as in the conversion 
of a sinner. There is joy in heaven at the repentance 
of one sinner, more than over ninety and nine just 
persons who need no repentance. And every re- 
deemed and renewed soul is a jewel in the mediato- 
rial crown. 

We may learn the willingness of Jesus Christ to 
receive sinners, not only by his frequent gracious 
declarations, but by his conduct in regard to such as 
applied to him. Christ's personal ministry was con- 
fined to the people of Israel, and when he sent out 
the twelve, and afterwards the seventy, their commis- 
sion was restricted within the same limits. Yet when 
a woman of Canaan came to implore his aid, he did not 
reject her, though she was descended from an accursed 
race. At first, indeed, he seemed to give her a re- 
pulse, but it was intended only to bring more clearly 
to view the strength of her faith. And his address 
to her in the end is truly remarkable : " woman, 
great is thy faith ; be it unto thee as thou wilt." 
And when the centurion, another pagan, applied to 
him to come and heal his child, he did not reject his 
suit because he was a heathen, but said of him, 
" Verily, I have not found so great faith, no, not in 
Israel." 

When the vilest sinners, as publicans and harlots, 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 115 

came penitently to his feet, he rejected none of them, 
although his gracious attention to such greatly injured 
his reputation in the view of the scribes and Phari- 
sees. His condescending behavior towards that woman 
who was notorious as a sinner, is in the highest degree 
touching. He was dining in the house of a Pharisee, 
and this infamous but penitent woman, urged by the 
strength of her feelings, found her way into the house, 
and while he was reclining on a couch at dinner, she 
came up behind him and wept such a flood of tears on 
his feet, that she is said to have washed his feet with 
her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 
This led the Pharisee to entertain a suspicion that 
Christ could not be a teacher sent from God, or he 
would have known the infamous character of this 
woman. Jesus knowing his thoughts, uttered the 
beautiful parable of the two debtors, and then making 
the application to the case of the penitent woman, 
said, " Wherefore I say unto you, her sins, which are 
many, are forgiven." 

When our blessed Lord was hanging on the cross, 
he was applied to by one of the malefactors crucified 
with him. This man being one of the two selected 
from all the prisoners in Jerusalem for public execu- 
tion on this occasion, was no doubt deeply stained 
with the guilt of enormous crimes ; but was Jiis suit 
denied ? no ; the response was full of mercy : 
" This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Who 
can fathom the freeness and riches of the grace of 
Christ? It is indeed " unsearchable riches." 

Paul may with propriety be here introduced. 
According to his own acknowledgment, he was a 
murderer and a blasphemer, but he obtained mercy, 



176 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

and was made an apostle, a chief instrument in prop- 
agating that gospel which he once attempted to de- 
stroy, among the Gentiles. Many of the first converts 
from among the heathen were notorious for the foulest 
and vilest crimes, for the apostle in writing to the 
Corinthians, after giving a black list of crimes which 
exclude the persons guilty of them from the kingdom 
of heaven, says, " And such were some of you ; but ye 
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified 
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of 
our God." 

But perhaps no example of the extent of divine 
mercy and its sovereign freedom can equal the par- 
don extended to the very persons who had imbrued 
their hands in Christ's own blood. The blood which 
they shed procured their salvation. And Christ seems 
to have had special compassion for the bloody city of 
Jerusalem. Before his death he wept over it and 
lamented its doom ; and after his resurrection, when 
he met his disciples in a body, he gave direction that 
"repentance and remission of sins should be preached 
in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." 
Accordingly, on the day of Pentecost, Peter charges 
the sin of crucifying the Lord Jesus upon the con- 
sciences of those whom he addressed, saying, " There- 
fore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that 
God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have cruci- 
fied, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard 
this they were pricked in their heart, and said unto 
Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, 
what shall we do?" Did Peter tell them that as they 
had committed this enormous crime, Christ would not 
pardon them ? By no means. He calls upon them to 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. HT 

repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. And 
these greatest of sinners were that very day received 
into the church, and continued steadfast in their at- 
tachment to Christ and profession of his name. 

Innumerable instances since that day have occur- 
red of the repentance of the greatest sinners, and no 
true penitent has ever been rejected. If one instance 
could be produced of any sinner being rejected who 
ever came to Christ, this might create some doubt in 
the soul agonized with a sense of guilt. But as there 
is no such example, the trembling sinner, feeling that 
he is justly exposed to the wrath of God, need not 
hesitate nor delay to come at once to Christ, with the 
assurance that however vile and guilty he may be, he 
shall meet a welcome reception. sinner, you are 
welcome to come to Jesus Christ. 

All difficulty as to Christ's willingness to receive 
returning sinners being, as it is hoped, removed, the 
only thing which remains to be considered is, what is 
to be understood by coming to Christ, and what are 
the steps which the sinner must take to come. It is 
too obvious to need any remark, that a mere bodily 
approach is not the thing intended. Many of Christ's 
bitterest enemies were often near his person, as Judas 
when he betrayed him with a kiss, the soldiers that 
bound him, that smote him, that scourged him, that 
nailed him to the cross ; but this kind of approach to 
Christ did those who came near him no good. The 
coming to Christ of which we have been treating, is 
the act of the anxious mind which seeks salvation from the 
burden of sin, and apprehending that Christ is the only 
Redeemer, trusts in him. Christ is exhibited in the 

8* 



118 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

gospel as the only Mediator by whom we can be rec- 
onciled to God, and offers to do for the sinner what- 
ever is requisite to save him from the curse of the 
law, and from the blindness and pollution of sin itself ; 
and coming to him is the same as receiving him in that 
character, or as sustaining those offices which relate 
to salvation. 

There is but one step to be taken, strictly speak- 
ing, in coming to Christ, and that is believing in him 
with all the heart. We are not required to repent and 
do good works before we come, but to come to him 
to give us repentance unto life, and to create us anew 
to good works. But though the act of coming is a 
single act, yet there are some things which are expe- 
rienced before this act can be rationally performed. 
No unawakened, careless sinner, remaining in that 
state, will come ; for the " whole need not a physician, 
but they that are sick." The sinner who knows noth- 
ing of Christ as he is revealed in the Scriptures, can- 
not come until he is instructed in regard to the char- 
acter of Christ. Faith therefore comes by hearing 
the word. A soul perverted by erroneous opinions 
respecting the fundamental doctrines of religion, can- 
not come until he is delivered from these errors. That 
man who believes Christ to be the promised Messiah, 
but thinks that he is no more than a good man and a 
prophet, cannot come to Christ until this fundamental 
error be removed. The soul that truly comes to Christ 
must be persuaded that he is indeed the Son of God, 
and possessed of divine perfections. 

The soul convinced of its sins first seeks Christ as 
he is an atoning Priest. That which it wants is the 
pardon of sin, and reconciliation with an offended 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 179 

God. Christ, as the great High-priest, has offered up 
himself as an atoning sacrifice for sin ; and as a priest 
he has entered into the holy place made without hands, 
there to sprinkle, as it were, his life-giving blood, 
and to intercede for all who come unto him. When 
in this character he is apprehended by the seeking 
sinner, confidence in him is produced. It is seen now 
how God can be just, and yet the justifier of the un- 
godly who believes in Christ. It is seen that God 
having accepted Christ's atoning sacrifice, can receive 
the guilty sinner into favor and adopt the rebel as a 
child. These views, accompanied by this trust in the 
Lord Jesus as having made a complete atonement for 
our sins, is the act of coming to Christ. But as the 
soul that is regenerated feels sin itself to be a burden, 
it looks to Christ for a deliverance from all the dis- 
orders of the depraved mind. He is therefore receiv- 
ed and trusted, to deliver the soul from the deep stains 
of iniquity, and by the light of his truth to guide it in 
the right way. 

Let it be remembered that this coming to Christ 
is not a solitary act of the believing soul ; it is one 
which must be continually repeated. The justified 
sinner is every moment dependent on his Saviour, 
without whom he can do nothing. As he is at first 
justified by faith, so he lives by faith, walks by faith, 
and by faith overcomes all his enemies, and brings 
forth the fruits of holiness and peace. 

But some will be ready to say, " There is no com- 
ing to Christ unless we are drawn, and why then are 
we blamed for not coming?' 7 

This is not the language of the truly convinced 
sinner, for he sees and feels that he is guilty of the 



180 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

damning sin of unbelief, and that he deserves to be 
punished for this sin above all others; for it is this 
which seals the guilt of all others upon his soul. 
Dead in sin, it is certain that he will perform no holy 
action, but he is still a rational and accountable be- 
ing. The law of God does not lose its authority to 
command because we have become sinful. It will 
never do to plead sin as an excuse for sin, or to 
attempt to justify sinful acts by pleading th^t we 
have an evil heart. This instead of being a valid 
apology, is the very ground of our condemnation. If 
you feel that your heart is thus blinded and depraved, 
this conviction of your miserable, sinful state should 
humble you deeply in the dust, and induce you to cry 
more earnestly to God for his life-giving Spirit. Often, 
however, when Christ sends forth his gracious invita- 
tion to believe, he enables the soul by the energy of 
his Spirit accompanying the call to come and receive 
his grace. He accompanies his word with a quicken- 
ing efficacy, and " the dead hear the voice of the Son 
of God and live." Our whole dependence is on the 
influence of the Holy Spirit. "Paul may plant and 
Apollos water, but God giveth the increase." 

Let us now review the truths which have been in- 
culcated. 

1. Christ is an able and willing Saviour, who will 
in no wise cast out any soul that comes to him. 

2. The grace of God, through Christ, is perfectly 
free ; that is, he requires no qualification or merit in 
those who come. They are invited to apply to him 
in all their guilt and pollution, that they may from 
his gracious hands receive pardon and renovation. 



SINNERS WELCOME TO CHRIST. 181 

3. There is no obstacle in the way of any sinner's 
coming but what exists in himself. The door of mer- 
cy cannot be set wider open than it is • the invitations 
of Christ could not be more kind and full. 

4. The whole blame of the sinner's ruin who re- 
fuses to come to Christ, will lie at his own door. The 
only obstacle is his own perverseness and unwilling- 
ness. Christ was willing to give life to his greatest 
enemies if they would come to him ; for he complains, 
"Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life." 

5. The conversion of a single soul is the work of 
God only. The same power which caused light to 
shine out of darkness, must shine into our hearts. 
Creation is a work proper to God only, but conver- 
sion is a "new creation," and requires power as really 
divine as that by which the worlds were formed. 

6. God has directed the gospel to be preached to 
every creature without discrimination ; and every one 
who hears it has a divine warrant to receive it ; and 
if he does, he has the faithfulness of God pledged for 
his everlasting salvation. 

7. As the efficacy of the word depends on the energy 
of the Holy Spirit, all Christians should be incessant 
and fervent in their supplications for this Spirit of 
grace to be poured out, that sinners may be converted. 

8. We have encouragement to hope that the time 
is coming, and perhaps drawing near, when conver- 
sions will be multiplied far beyond the experience of 
former ages ; when the Jews shall, as a nation, obtain 
mercy of the Lord, and when all the kingdoms of this 
world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
his Christ. " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen. 



182 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

FUTURE PUNISHMENT; 

OR, 

THE UNIVEESALIST REFUTED. 

No benevolent being delights in the suffering of 
others, for its own sake ; but it is one of the clearest 
dictates of reason, that sin should be visited with, pun- 
ishment. Men may differ widely in opinion as to what 
sin is, in regard to many particulars, but every one 
sees and feels the propriety of punishing crimes, which 
he acknowledges to be such, in proportion to their 
evil. Indeed, it would be difficult to give a definition 
of sin which does not involve this idea ; and a better 
definition of moral evil could not easily be given, than 
that it is that which deserves punishment. None are 
found, therefore, who, while they acknowledge a dif- 
ference between virtue and vice, deny that the latter 
deserves punishment. And as all sinful acts are not of 
equal malignity or turpitude, it will be agreed by all, 
that, in justice, every one ought to receive according 
to his deeds; and that he whose sins are less, should 
not suffer equally with him whose sins are greater. 

Whether the end of punishment is always the 
good of the sufferer, is disputed. On this point it 
may here be observed, that that intuitive percep- 
tion, which exists in every mind, of the connection 
between sin and punishment, has no respect what- 
ever to the good of the guilty person. Punishment, 
according to the clearest and simplest idea of its na- 
ture, is some pain or loss to the person who endures 
it. Suffering which brings no injury to the sufferer, 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 183 

can scarcely be called punishment in a strict sense. 
In our intuitive, original judgment of the connection 
between sin and punishment, we regard nothing but 
the nature of the crime, the demerit of the act. No 
man needs to know more, or think of more, in deter- 
mining that punishment is deserved, than that a crime 
has been committed. We may conclude, or rather 
conjecture, that the reason why we are so constituted 
as to be under the necessity of forming such a judg- 
ment, is because sin obstructs the general good, or is 
injurious to others, as we see that this is its tendency ; 
but this enters not into our original conception. It 
is a clear dictate of the human mind, that if there be 
a crime, some punishment is due to it ; and when the 
sin contemplated is atrocious, there is not merely a 
dispassionate judgment that it ought to be punished, 
but an earnest demand, an indignant feeling, a vehe- 
ment desire that the guilty perpetrator of the act 
should suffer condign punishment. These are the 
genuine feelings of nature, experienced by all men, in 
all countries, and in all ages ; and no one is conscious 
that when they rise in his breast, they are excited by 
a regard to the welfare of the guilty person. The 
truth is, his welfare is so far from being regarded, 
that as far as he is considered as deserving of punish- 
ment, we do not consult his felicity ; but on the con- 
trary, our judgment is, that his happiness ought to be 
lessened, or taken away, to the extent of his guilt. 

Although we are so constituted as to perceive and 
feel that sin deserves punishment according to its 
evil, yet we have no precise standard of the degree of 
punishment which any sin deserves. Reason cannot 
tell how much pain is due to any particular offence : 



184 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

its clear perception goes no further than to the gene- 
ral proposition that it ought to be punished according 
to its desert, whatever that may be. Yet it has ap- 
peared exceedingly evident to most men, that although 
some degree of punishment follows sinful actions in 
this life, men do not receive here a full retribution 
for their crimes ; since very often great transgressors 
are prosperous, and some of them die in the commis- 
sion of atrocious sins. This has furnished the strong- 
est of all the arguments which reason can discover, 
for a future state of existence. Indeed, admitting the 
fact that men are not rewarded and punished here 
according to their respective deserts, the conclusion 
is inevitable, if God be just. But some moral deists 
who could not deny the difference between virtue and 
vice, and that the former ought to be rewarded and 
the latter punished, held that virtue is its own reward, 
and vice its own punishment : that is, that good men, 
in the performance of good actions, and in the conse- 
quences which naturally follow them, have their re- 
ward ; and that wicked men, in the remorse which 
attends the commission of sin and in its effects, suffer 
all the punishment which they deserve. Therefore they 
maintained that there is no future existence to be ex- 
pected or feared. This theory, however grateful it may 
be to the wishes of wicked men, as freeing them from 
all apprehension of a future judgment, has found but 
few abettors. The reason is, that the evidence against 
its truth is obvious. All men must see that crimes are 
not punished in this life according to their demerit. 

But in our times and in our country, a new phe- 
nomenon has appeared in the religious world. A 
sect has risen up calling themselves Universalists, 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 185 

who profess to receive the Bible as the word of God, 
and yet utterly deny all future punishment. From 
early times there have been a few persons, among 
whom were some men of learning, who entertained 
the opinion that the punishment of the wicked in a 
future world would not be strictly eternal, or without 
end ; but they all held that the impenitent would cer- 
tainly suffer condign punishment after death. This 
scheme was defended on various principles, by differ- 
ent persons ; and the arguments of the same persons 
were not commonly consistent with one another. At one 
time, they asserted that it would be unjust in the 
Ruler of the universe to make his creatures eternally 
miserable on account of the sins committed here in 
the course of a short life. But again, not satisfied 
with this ground, they resorted to the mercy and good- 
ness of God as revealed in the gospel, and endeavored 
to prove that as God loved all his creatures equally, 
and that as Christ died equally for all, all would cer- 
tainly be saved — if not here, yet, without doubt, here- 
after. These topics of argument were popular, and 
many would have been the converts to this system, 
had it not been for a number of plain and stubborn 
texts of Scripture, which these men, with all their 
critical efforts, found to be rather intractable. Most 
people, too, feared to trust their eternal salvation on 
the criticisms of fallible men. They did not know 
but that at last it might be found, that the words ever- 
lastiixg and eternal might mean endless punishment. 
Moreover, it was demonstrated by the defenders of 
the orthodox doctrine, that the two grand topics of 
argument used by the Universalists, were perfectly 
incompatible with each other ; for if, in the nature of 



186 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

things, it was unjust to punish men with eternal mis- 
ery, there was 710 need for a Saviour to come into the 
world and die to prevent the Almighty from doing an 
act of flagrant injustice. Upon this principle, uni- 
versal salvation would have occurred in due time as 
a matter of course ; and therefore the death of Christ 
was unnecessary, and there was no occasion for mercy 
or pardon. But if they built their argument on the 
principle of God's mercy and Christ's death, and as- 
cribe the salvation of all men to free grace, then it 
was manifest that had not this mediatorial scheme 
intervened, men must have perished for ever ; for 
there is no mercy or grace in redeeming from misery 
to which men were never exposed. This therefore, 
which was the principal argument, could not be em- 
ployed without recognizing the justice of condemning 
men to endless punishment for their sins. But if that 
was the punishment to which men were condemned by 
the law, no reason could be assigned why rejecters of 
the gospel might not be left to suffer what was before 
due to them. Upon this ground, there was no pre- 
sumption against the plain, literal interpretation of 
those texts which seem to represent future punishment 
to be eternal. And that which perplexed the subject 
still more, was the fact that no punishment mentioned 
in the Scriptures was so great as that threatened 
against those who refused to believe the gospel ; where- 
as, according to this theory, the penalty of the law 
ought to be endless punishment, and the misery actu- 
ally inflicted on those redeemed from the curse of the 
law ought to be something very different. Indeed, it 
was difficult to explain why they should suffer in the 
future world at all. if Christ died for them so as to 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 187 

free them from the curse of the law ; especially, it 
was almost incredible that they should suffer so long 
as the phrases used in Scripture, limit them as they 
would, must import. It was also a perplexing point 
to determine whether those severe sufferings for ages 
of ages, were penal, expiatory, or merely castigatory. If 
they maintained the first, how could they reconcile it 
with their cardinal position, that Christ redeemed all 
men from the curse of the law ? If, after all, sinners 
might be left to suffer part of the penalty, why not 
all ? But if the sufferings of the wicked in a future 
world are held to be expiatory, then they are saved 
independently of Christ, or their expiation must be 
added to his; both of which suppositions are deroga- 
tory to the Saviour, and inconsistent with the radical 
principle of their system, that all are saved by grace, 
through the merit of Christ. And finally, if the pun- 
ishment which sinners endure in hell is merely casti- 
gatory, why is it so long and so tremendously severe? 
This idea, however, is manifestly repugnant to the 
whole tenor of Scripture, which uniformly represents 
the sufferings of the damned as destructive, and never 
as salutary. 

But even on the supposition that the punishment 
due to each sin was limited, and as short as any one 
might choose to make it ; yet the punishment of the 
sinner might be justly without end, because, being a 
moral agent still, and under obligations to obey his 
Creator, from which he never can be released, he 
may be continually contracting new guilt; so that if one 
should suppose that the punishment of one sin was 
momentary, yet if the sinner in hell is every moment 
committing fresh sin, it does not appear how he can 



188 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ever be released. There is no way by which this con- 
clusion can be evaded but by supposing that men and 
devils in hell are incapable of sinning, or that the sins 
which they commit there do not incur any additional 
punishment. But neither of these positions can be 
maintained. That men whose nature is sinful, and 
who by long custom have formed inveterate habits of 
sinning, when removed to another world should cease 
to commit sin, is an unreasonable supposition ;-and to 
suppose that sin, in a future state, does not incur the 
curse of the law, or the displeasure of God, is equally 
unreasonable. God, from the holiness of his nature, 
must hate sin wherever it appears, and he always acts 
agreeably to his nature. To suppose men in hell to 
be divested of their moral agency, would be to sup- 
pose them in such a condition as scarcely to be capa- 
ble of suffering for their sins. No doubt the devil 
sinned when he tempted our first parents, and in all 
his other temptations ; otherwise he could not be 
called a murderer from the beginning, and a liar, and 
the father of lies. Indeed, no one who believes that 
there is a devil, doubts that he is continually sinning 
and rebelling against God ; and I think it can scarcely 
be doubted that he will suffer punishment for these 
sins. Then what reason can be assigned why the 
reprobate from among men will not continue to sin 
in another world, and to heap up fresh wrath upon 
their guilty souls? 

Other formidable difficulties encumber this scheme 
of universal salvation. It was not easy to understand 
how the inmates of this prison were to be released : wheth- 
er by a due course of law they should come out after 
having suffered the full demand of justice, and after 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 189 

having paid the last farthing, as the Scriptures speak ; 
or whether the offers of the gospel should follow them 
there, and they should not be delivered until they cor- 
dially embrace the terms of salvation. Each of these 
plans has its peculiar difficulties. According to the 
first, Christ and his merits are completely set aside, 
and the sinner gets to heaven upon the strict princi- 
ples of retributive justice ; just as, among us, the con- 
vict comes out of the penitentiary and enjoys his lib- 
erty and the rights of a citizen when he has served 
out his time, in pursuance of the sentence of the law. 
But if the sinner comes out of hell by believing the 
gospel, then the gospel must be preached in hell — but 
by whom does not appear. And its efficacy there 
must depend on the Holy Spirit, or on the freewill 
of the creature. If the former, the Holy Spirit — I 
tremble to write it — must be poured out in hell — if 
the latter, it remains to be shown that severe pain 
will make men willing to believe. But if it depend 
on our freewill, and this may resist for ages of ages, 
why not for ever? It may happen then, after all, 
according to this theory, that some sinners, by their 
obstinacy, will never be saved. And if efficacious 
grace rescues them, what reason can be assigned why 
that grace did not operate effectually in this world to 
prevent them from going to that infernal prison. • 

But the difficulties do not end here. Suppose the 
prison doors thrown open, and the law to make no 
further demands, how is the miserable sinner to be 
fitted for the pure and blessed society of heaven? 
Whatever hell may be in other respects, surely it is 
no school of virtue — no place to acquire holy habits, 
and relish for the praises of the heavenly hosts ; un- 



190 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

less ages of blasphemy should be thought to prepare 
a sinner for the exalted hallelujahs of heaven, or the 
society of devils to qualify for the society of angels 
and the spirits of just men made perfect ; since it is 
true for ever, that without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord, and it is demonstrable that there can be no 
enjoyment in that pure and blessed place for those 
whose minds are full of malignant passions. Univer- 
salists must therefore make it a part of their system 
to have the soul purified by regeneration and sanctifi- 
cation by the Holy Spirit. Or will they cast indignity 
on the office and work of the Holy Spirit, as before 
on that of the Redeemer, by maintaining that his pe- 
culiar work can be performed by the fire of hell ? It 
is very remarkable that the holy Scriptures shed a 
clear light on the path which leads to future misery, 
but not a solitary ray on the way of escape from that 
dismal place. Yet, if this is a doctrine of the Scrip- 
tures, it is marvellous that they have never mentioned 
the case of any one saved from hell, nor left us a sin- 
gle hint respecting the method of passing the wide 
gulf which separates the two places. When the rich 
man in torment begged Abraham for a drop of water, 
we surely might have expected some word of encour- 
agement to the poor sufferer, if that venerable patri- 
arch had known any thing of a passage from hell to 
heaven. But no ; he seems to preclude all hope of 
the kind. " Between us and you," says he, " there is 
a great gulf fixed : so that they who would pass from 
hence to you, cannot ; neither can they pass to us that 
would come from thence." Call this discourse a par- 
able, or what you will, it matters not : no word is spo- 
ken respecting a way of escape from torment. Nor is 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 191 

there, from the beginning to the end of the Bible, one 
word to inform us of the method of being delivered 
from hell and prepared for heaven for those who once 
go away into everlasting punishment. 

There was still another defect in this scheme 
which, I doubt not, has had practically more efficacy 
in exploding it than all the rest. It cannot be con- 
cealed, and perhaps will not be denied, that the pri- 
mary motive which has led men to Universalism, is 
the desire of removing from the minds of worldly and 
wicked men the dreadful apprehension of endless tor- 
ments. I say worldly and wicked men, for the true 
Christian does not need this doctrine for his consola- 
tion. He is safe without it. Therefore the humble 
and devoted Christian is not commonly, if ever, the 
advocate of this system. It was a doctrine invented 
for the lawless and disobedient — a doctrine to bring 
comfort, not to penitent believers, but to impenitent 
sinners, who are not willing to forsake their sins. 
Now, it is manifest that the old scheme of Universal- 
ism, which admitted not only of future punishment, 
but of a duration of punishment which might, in some 
sense, be called everlasting, did but half answer the 
purpose contemplated. When the abandoned profli- 
gate, the murderer, the robber, the debauchee, the de- 
frauder of the orphan and widow, and every descrip- 
tion of ungodly men, saw eternity approaching, sup- 
posing that they firmly believed their own tenets, 
the prospect before them was appalling. What, to 
lie for ages of ages in fire, or in torment comparable 
to fire ! The thought was intolerable. This subject 
brings to recollection a fact which occurred more 
than thirty years ago. A popular preacher of uni- 



192 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

versal salvation thought it necessary to guard his doc- 
trine against the common objection that its tendency 
was to encourage wicked men to continue in sin, 
whereupon he undertook to represent to his hearers 
how long future punishment might possibly last. And 
he took the illustration so often used by preachers 
who wish to give some faint idea of eternity, of a bird 
taking one grain of sand from the earth every thou- 
sand or million years until the whole was taken away, 
and bringing it back, grain by grain, after the same 
intervals : " so long," said he, " may some atrocious 
and obstinate sinners have to suffer in hell." A young 
man who had become a convert to this flesh-pleasing 
doctrine, upon hearing this representation, was struck 
with horror. No idea of a duration so long had ever 
before entered his mind, and he began to be seriously 
concerned how he should escape from sufferings so 
tremendous. And it is said that his conviction of 
danger was only removed by a believing application 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. But, as might be expected, 
he was no longer an advocate for the salvation of 
impenitent sinners. 

The reader, I think, will now be able to under- 
stand why Universalists* in this country — or at least 
some of them — have forsaken their old ground, and 
are now endeavoring to build on an entirely new foun- 
dation. They certainly avoid the last-mentioned diffi- 
culty of their predecessors. They now have made 
their doctrine palatable enough to the worst of sin- 

* The Universalists of the old school have recently separated 
from those of the new school, and have taken the name of Restora- 
tiontsts, leaving the old name Universalists to those who deny 
all future punishment. 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 193 

ners. There is no danger that the new doctrine, by 
its terrors, will drive any poor sinner to seek refuge 
in a crucified Saviour. They preach no appalling 
doctrine of burning torments in hell for ages of ages. 
According to the new theory, all that the most 

ENORMOUS SINNER HAS TO PEAR OR SUFFER IS CONFINED 

to this world. Even if he should die blaspheming ; 
by his own hand, as Judas ; or in the act of giving 
command to commit complicated murder, as Herod, it 
matters not, all is safe : there is no judgment after 
death, no casting of soul and body into hell, except 
what takes place here ; for as to hell itself, what is it, 
they ask, when critically explained, but the valley of 
Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem f Sinners, if this doc- 
trine be true, may dismiss all their foreboding appre- 
hensions. They may, indeed, " eat, drink, and be 
merry ;" and if they will only make up their minds 
to bear the inconvenience which sin may bring upon 
them here — and few are restrained from the indul- 
gence of revenge, ambition, avarice, and lust by this 
consideration — they may give full swing to their cor- 
rupt inclinations, and be just as wicked as they please. 
And indeed, if there be no future reckoning, the prin- 
cipal source of uneasiness to the sinner here will be 
removed, namely, the fear of judgment to come. This 
is indeed a glorious doctrine for impenitent sinners. 
They may even set their Maker at defiance, for they 
have nothing to fear from him after this life. Noth- 
ing which they can do will either retard or hinder 
their eternal happiness. 

I was perhaps wrong in calling this a new doc- 
trine. It is as old as the fall of man, and was dis- 
tinctly preached in the garden of Eden, when the 



194 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

tempter said to the woman, Thou shalt not surely die ; 
and it has had a willing reception in the minds of 
many abandoned profligates and hardened apostates 
from the truth ; but I do suppose they never antici- 
pated the time when it should be gravely preached to 
them from the Bible, as the very essence of the gos- 
pel. In this respect, then, it may be called new ; for 
surely no sect before our times, who professed to re- 
ceive the Scripture in whole or in part, whether in the 
church or among heretics, ever held and taught such 
a doctrine as this. 

What I propose further in this tract is, to show 

that THIS DOCTRINE HAS NOT THE SHADOW OF EVIDENCE 
FROM THE WORD OF GOD TO SUPPORT IT. 

But here, I confess, I feel a difficulty in the very 
commencement. What, am I called upon to prove 
that doctrine false, which maintains that the New 
Testament teaches that the impenitent sinner will not 
be punished for his crimes after death? Why, it 
would be almost as reasonable to be required to re- 
fute the assertion that there were neither words nor 
letters in the Bible, or to demonstrate that he spoke 
falsely who should declare that there was no such 
book in existence. Some things are so manifest, that 
it would be ridiculous to attempt their proof by rea- 
soning. In fact, reasoning and argument are not 
intended for truths so plain that he that runs may 
read them. Who would undertake to refute the fool 
who should insist upon it that the sun did not shine at 
noonday? Much like this, it seems to me, is the task 
I have taken upon myself. When I first heard of men 
who professed to believe the Scriptures, and at the 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 195 

same time denied all future punishment, I knew not 
how to believe it. But since that time I have had 
evidence enough of their existence, and have had the 
humiliation to be convinced that many follow their 
pernicious ways. But it may be asked, Why do these 
deceivers connect their doctrine with the Bible? 
Would it not be much easier to take the ground of 
infidelity at once, and depend upon reason for sup- 
port, instead of Scripture ? It would seem so at first 
view, but this ground has been heretofore occupied 
without success. Infidelity is out of fashion, and as 
most people have a veneration for the Bible, they wish 
to avail themselves of these common sentiments in 
favor of the Scriptures ; and by this means they get 
a handle for working on the credulity and prejudice 
of unstable souls, who are ever gaping after some- 
thing new and strange in religion ; " ever learning, 
and never able to come to the knowledge of the 
truth." By the perversion of the sacred Scriptures, 
also, they are able to promise their followers not only 
exemption from future misery, but positive felicity in 
heaven, which they could not do on the principles of 
infidelity. 

Let us see, then, in what way the advocates of the 
complete and unconditional salvation of impenitent 
sinners attempt to defend their doctrine. The texts 
relied on are such as these : 

1. "All the ends of the earth shall remember 
and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the 
nations shall come and worship before him" — "all 
nations whom he hath made shall come and worship 
before him, and glorify his name." Now, this text 
has nothing to do with the subject, more or less. It 



196 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

is obviously a prophecy of the universal spread of the 
gospel in the millennium, or glorious latter days of 
the church. This is a kind of universalism in which 
we rejoice to believe ; for it is predicted by Him who 
cannot lie, that the earth shall in those latter days be 
full of the glory of God. Then, indeed, shall " the ends 
of the earth turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds 
of the nations come and worship before him." But I 
ask, What has this to do with the future salvation of 
those who never turn unto the Lord, nor render him 
any worship, but die in their sins ? Whether the lan- 
guage of this prophecy is to be taken in its most 
unlimited signification, is a matter of no consequence. 
If not one unconverted sinner should, in those blessed 
times of gospel grace, be found upon earth, that will 
have no effect on the condition of those who continue 
in their obstinate rebellion until death. The text 
asserts nothing respecting past times, nor any times 
that may intervene before the blessed era of universal 
grace shall commence. 

2. "The righteous shall be recompensed in the 
earth ; much more the wicked and the sinner." This, 
I find, is a favorite text with the advocates of the 
doctrine under consideration. They have caught at 
the words recompensed in the earth, as if they furnished 
a proof that the sinner received in this world a full 
retribution for his crimes. But they must be very 
short-sighted critics, or must be confident that their 
followers have no discernment at all, or they would 
never have selected this passage of Scripture as the 
corner-stone of their fabric. The plain meaning of 
the wise man in this text is, that in the righteous dis- 
pensations of divine Providence, the righteous man 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 197 

shall receive some recompense for his good deeds, 
and much more will the wicked and the sinner be 
visited, even here, more or less, with divine judg- 
ments, by which a holy God testifies his displeasure 
against their evil ways. But does the text assert that 
their whole recompense shall be received in this 
world? It does not. And if it did, it would con- 
tradict the whole tenor of Scripture. But these 
pretended critics, in their haste to prove that the 
wicked sinners receive their whole recompense in the 
earth, forget to notice that the words are spoken pri- 
marily of the righteous, and therefore if the bare use 
of the word recompense proves that the wicked receive 
all their punishment here, then the righteous, as they 
receive their full recompense here, must expect no 
felicity hereafter. And so we have got round to the 
conclusion of the atheist or moral deist, that there is 
neither good nor evil beyond the grave. And let 
them escape from this conclusion if they can. But 
this is not all. Their interpretation of this text 
utterly sets aside the gospel of Jesus Christ. There 
is, according to this, no manner of need that Christ 
should die to atone for sin, or rescue the sinner from 
its punishment, for he bears the whole himself in the 
earth. He has his full recompense, and what need of 
a Saviour to interfere in his behalf? 

3. A third text alleged in proof of the non-exist- 
ence of future punishment is, " The Lord is good unto 
all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. 77 
Now it is plain, if this text furnishes conclusive proof 
that there will be no punishment of sin in the future 
world, it is equally as strong to prove that there is no 
punishment of sin in this world ; and so it overthrows 



198 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

their fundamental principle, that sin is recompensed 
here. If sin deserves punishment, it is no how incon- 
sistent with God's goodness to inflict it ; and it is as 
little incompatible with this amiable attribute to in- 
flict deserved punishment in the future world as in the 
present. All that it is requisite to be assured of is, 
that the pain inflicted is just. Manifestly, then, noth- 
ing can be inferred from this and similar texts unless 
we will draw conclusions in direct opposition to plain 
facts, and also to principles acknowledged by those 
who use the argument. Declamation concerning the 
goodness and tender mercy of God may beguile the 
simple, but will have no effect on those who know 
that the name of Jehovah, as given by himself, is, 
"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 
slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth — 
but will by no means clear the guilty." Exod. 34 : 6, 7. 

4. Another text adduced in favor of the salvation 
of all without future punishment is, that Christ 
" must reign till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet ; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 
But what has this to do with the question, whether 
the impenitent sinner shall be punished in a future 
state ? And who before ever thought that in order 
to subdue an enemy, and put him under one's feet, it 
was requisite that he must be made completely and 
everlastingly happy ? The apostle Paul, in this chap- 
ter, is treating of the resurrection of the bodies of 
believers to immortality and glory, and says nothing 
of the unbelieving and impenitent. But even if we 
should admit that by the all made alive in Christ the 
whole of mankind should be understood, the only con- 
sequence that can legitimately be derived from the 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 199 

words is, that all men will be raised from the dead by 
the power of Christ ; a doctrine clearly taught in 
other parts of Scripture. But because all men shall 
be raised from the dead, that they may be judged 
according to the -deeds done in the body, it does by 
no means follow that they shall all be received into 
heaven ; for some will rise, as our Saviour declares, 
unto the resurrection of damnation. 

5. The only other text which I shall now consider, 
is, that " all things shall be reconciled to God. ;; There 
are many texts in the Bible in which general expres- 
sions of this sort are used ; but it is very evident that 
they are not always intended to embrace every indi- 
vidual of the human family. If we should interpret 
them without limitation or qualification, wherever they 
are found, we should inevitably be involved in contra- 
dictions and absurdities. According to this mode of 
interpretation, it might be proved as easily that all 
men will be lost, as that all will be saved. Every 
good interpreter of the Bible feels the necessity of 
comparing Scripture with Scripture, and deducing 
such a meaning from each passage as shall not be 
repugnant to the plain dictates of the Spirit in other 
places. Because it is said that the whole icorld lieth in 
wickedness, we do not so understand the apostle as if 
he meant to teach that every man in the world was 
lying in wickedness, and that there was no Christian 
sanctified in part ; but this is spoken of the greater 
number of men, or rather, of the heathen nations, who 
are commonly called the world in the Xew Testament. 

But we will now adduce texts of Scripture suf- 
ficient TO CONVINCE ALL CANDID INQUIRERS, THAT 



200 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

THE DOCTRINE OF UnIVERSALISTS IS IN UTTER CONTRA- 
DICTION TO THE WORD OF GOD. 

1. Our blessed Saviour says, " Fear not them that 
kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but 
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and 
body in hell." The same awful truth is repeated in 
Luke : " But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : 
fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath power to 
cast into hell." Matt. 10 : 28 ; Luke 12 : 5. . Here 
the casting into hell comes after the death of the body, 
and must therefore mean future punishment beyond 
the grave. The truth is so plain, that argument or 
comment seems to be superfluous : it cannot be made 
more evident. Feeling, however, a curiosity to know 
what gloss these deniers of all future punishment 
could put on a text so plain, we turned to a pamphlet 
written by one of their most popular preachers, and 
found that by being cast into heU, he understands, being 
thrown into the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem. 
The body, indeed, after being killed, might have been 
cast into this valley, but how the soul could be pun- 
ished in this valley lie lias not explained ; nor has he 
assigned any reason why being cast into this valley 
is so much more fearful than having the body killed 
by men. Such an interpretation is too absurd to 
require refutation. 

2. " The hour is coming, in the which all that are 
in the graves shall come forth : they that have done 
good, to the resurrection of life ; and they that have 
done evil, to the resurrection of damnation." John 
5 : 29. These are also the words of Him who is Truth 
itself, and they teach as clearly as words can teach, 
that after the bodies of the wicked have lain for a time 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 201 

in the grave, they will come forth unto the resurrection 
of damnation. Is not this future punishment? What 
evasion can the most perverse ingenuity find here? 
They tell us that by graves we are not to understand 
literal graves, and that the death here spoken of is a 
moral, not a natural death. Well, then, what is the 
import of the passage? What, according to this 
interpretation, is the meaning of the resurrection to 
damnation ? 

3. " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels." " These shall go 
away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous 
into life eternal." Matt., chap. 25. Is there no refer- 
ence to future punishment in these solemn declara- 
tions of our Lord ? If not, then there is no reference 
to the future blessedness of the righteous. If ten 
thousand persons were set to read this portion of 
Scripture, and each to declare what he believed to be 
the plain import of the words, can it be believed that 
there would be found one individual who would doubt 
whether or not future punishment was threatened 
here? Certainly not, unless he had been perverted 
by the false glosses of Universalist teachers. One of 
them, whose words are now before me, calls this a 
parable : " It is supposed," says he, " to furnish an 
argument in favor of endless happiness on the one 
hand, and ceaseless perdition on the other. But is 
there any thing said in the parable about either end- 
less happiness or ceaseless misery? No ; there is not." 
What unblushing assurance must the man possess, who 
could allow himself to utter and print such a decla- 

9* 



202 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ration. With such all reasoning is useless ; and if 
Scripture testimony of the clearest and most solemn 
kind can be set aside by a positive denial of the plain, 
common meaning of the words, surely it is vain to 
cite Scripture in proof of any position. But these 
opposers of the truth, when a text is too evidently 
against their doctrine, and when they are not satis- 
fied with their own attempts at perverting its mean- 
ing, do not scruple to call its authenticity in question. 
Thus, in regard to this text, the writer already refer- 
red to, after denominating the whole passage a parable, 
and denying that it contains the doctrine of endless 
happiness and ceaseless misery, apparently dissatis- 
fied with his own exposition, says, " If Mark, Luke, 
and John believed that Christ taught the awful doc- 
trine of endless woe and misery to any part of the 
human race, why did none of them record the para- 
ble ? But neither the parable of the tares, nor any 
part of the 30th chapter of Matthew is to be found in 
cither of the other evangelists. If they had known 
any thing about these parables, and believed that 
they contained proof of so awful a doctrine as that of 
ceaseless perdition, would they have passed them over 
in silence?' 7 Here the disregard to the authority of 
Scripture is manifest. Is not the clear testimony of 
one inspired apostle sufficient to establish a doctrine ? 
A great part of what is read in the gospel of John is 
not recorded by any of the other evangelists ; must it 
on this account be rejected ? And if the passage does 
not teach the doctrine of future punishment, why are 
they so solicitous to get rid of it? 

4. Our Lord, in the explanation of the parable of 
the tares, says, " As therefore the tares are gathered 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 203 

and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the 
world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, 
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall 
cast them into a furnace of fire ; there shall be wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth.* 7 Matt. 13 : 40-43. And 
in the parable of the net cast into the sea, in the same 
chapter, our Lord, in the application, says, "So shall 
it be at the end of the world : the angels shall come 
forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and 
shall cast them into the furnace of fire ; there shall 
be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13 : 47-50. 
In these passages the punishment threatened is to 
be inflicted by the ministry of angels at the end of 
the world, and must, of course, be future punishment. 
And as this tremendous punishment of being cast into 
a furnace of fire is threatened to all workers of iniqui- 
ty, it must be endured after the resurrection. There 
is here no need of exposition. Every word is as plain 
as it is terrible. There is no room for plausible eva- 
sion. The Universalis t may say, as in the former 
case, that there is no account of this in the other 
evangelists. If that was an argument of any force, 
we might as well lay aside the Bible ; but one " thus 
saith the Lord " is enough : the testimony of one in- 
spired apostle will satisfy every one who believes in 
the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. But although 
these parables are not repeated by the other evange- 
lists, the same doctrine of future punishment is incul- 
cated with equal clearness by them all, as will appear 
by the following testimonies. 

5. Mark, chapter 9, records a discourse of Christ, 
in which the certainty and perpetuity of future pun- 



204 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ishment are taught as explicitly and strongly as they 
can be in words. " And if thy hand offend thee, cut 
it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, 
than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire 
that never shall be quenched ; where the worm dieth 
not, and the fire is not quenched." And to give em- 
phasis to this awful declaration, our Lord repeats it 
three several times. Surely it becomes us to tremble 
at the word of the Lord, and to obey his voice, by 
denying ourselves and repenting of our sins, rather 
than to invent such glosses as would make him speak 
in a way totally unworthy of a divine teacher. 

6. Our next testimony for future punishment shall 
be taken from the gospel of Luke, chapter 16 : 19-31. 
Here we have set before us the different conditions of 
men in the state after death, in the case of two per- 
sons — the rich man and Lazarus. It matters not 
whether this be considered the history of real per- 
sonages, or a parable ; the doctrine inculcated is the 
same. If the plainest words can teach any thing, we 
are here taught that to some the state after death is 
a state of misery — hopeless, excruciating misery. The 
man here spoken of is expressly said to be dead and 
buried ; and what our Lord testifies that he suffered, 
was after his death and burial. " The rich man also 
died, and was buried ; and in hell he lifted up his 
eyes, being in torments. " The dreadful nature of his 
suffering is strongly described in the words which he 
is represented as employing in his address to Abra- 
ham : " Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his 
finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tor- 
mented in this flame." And the hopelessness of his 
miserable condition may be learned from Abraham's 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 205 

answer: "Besides all this, between us and yon there 
is a great gulf fixed : so that they which would pass 
from hence to you, cannot ; neither can they pass to 
us, that would come from thence." If this discourse 
of our Lord does not teach that there is misery to 
some men after death, then we may give up all hope 
of learning any thing from his plainest and most 
pointed discourses. 

7. The evangelist John also records clear and fre- 
quent testimonies of this doctrine. We have already 
cited one testimony from him. We give another : 
" He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life ; 
and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, 
but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3 : 36. 
Here there is no room for any doubt on account of 
the import of particular terms. That the life here 
spoken of is life in a future state, cannot be denied, 
for it is expressly called everlasting life ; and it is ex- 
pressly asserted that unbelievers shall not partake of 
this life. Now if they are deprived of life in the 
future world, they are deprived of happiness ; there 
is no medium between life and death, happiness and 
misery. Unbelievers must therefore be miserable in 
the future world. And this seems to be asserted 
strongly in the last words quoted : " And the wrath 
of God abideth on him." These words do not merely 
signify that the final unbeliever is under wrath while 
in this world, but that this is an abiding state. It is 
the contrast to the possession of eternal life. While 
the wicked are in this world, they are indeed under a 
sentence of wrath, but the execution of this wrath is 
reserved for a future state. The greatest sinners and 
most obstinate unbelievers live in ease and pleasure 



206 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

here, and do not suffer the wrath under the sentence 
of which they lie. But it will abide upon them, and 
the vials of this divine wrath will be poured out upon 
them to all eternity. 

8. " I said, therefore, that ye shall die in your sins ; 
and whither I go, ye cannot come." John 8 : 21. With 
this may be connected several other testimonies in 
which it is clearly implied that the wicked cannot 
escape future punishment: "Strive to enter in at the 
strait gate ; for many shall seek to enter in, and shall 
not be able." " How shall we escape, if we neglect 
so great salvation?" "For what is a man profited, if 
he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" 
Luke 13 : 24 ; Heb. 2:3; Matt. 16 : 26. 

9. "But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost 
shall not be forgiven unto men. Whosoever speaketh 
against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, 
neither in this world, neither in the world to come." 
" There is a sin unto death : I do not say that he shall 
pray for it." Matt. 12 : 31, 32 ; 1 John, 5 : 16. But 
if there is no future punishment, then this sin must be 
forgiven ; or forgiveness is of no consequence to ob- 
tain future happiness. 

10. " But woe unto that man by whom the Son of 
man is betrayed ; it had been good for that man if he 
had not been born." Matt. 26 : 24. But if there will 
be no future punishment, Judas will fare as well as 
the greatest saint. Indeed, his case was more eligible 
than that of any of the apostles ; for they lived in the 
midst of persecution, while he was enjoying pleasure. 
How, then, could it have been good for him never to 
have been born? According to Universalists, he has 
an eternity of bliss before him, and therefore, if he 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 207 

had suffered a thousand ages of years, it would be an 
infinite benefit to be born. 

11. Let us now attend to a few testimonies from 
the apostle Paul. " For the wages of sin is death ; 
but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." Rom. 6 : 23. Here the just rules 
of interpretation require us to consider death, as it 
stands in contrast with eternal life, to be eternal death, 

" For many walk, of whom I have told you often, 
and now tell you even weeping, that they are the ene- 
mies of the cross of Christ ; whose end is destruction." 
Phil. 3:18, 19. This destruction, which comes at the 
end of the sinner's course, cannot be natural death ; 
for to this all are subject, the friends as well as the 
enemies of the cross. It is certainly a destruction 
which is peculiar to the wicked, and as it is their end, 
must be future punishment, or the second death. 

"And thinkest thou this, man, that judges! them 
which do such things, that thou shalt escape the judg- 
ment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his 
goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering ; not 
knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to 
repentance? but after thy hardness and impenitent 
heart, treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath 
and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who 
will render to every man according to his deeds : to 
them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek 
for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life ; 
but unto them that are contentious, and obey not 
the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and 
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of 
man that doeth evil ; of the Jew first, and also of the 
Gentile : but glory, honor, and peace, to every man 



208 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek ; for there is no respect of persons with God. 
For as many as have sinned without law, shall also 
perish without law ; and as many as have sinned in 
the law, shall be judged by the law. 77 Rom. 2 : 3-12. 
The apostle is here laying down the principles on 
which the whole world will be judged at the last 
day ; and can there be a doubt in any mind that the 
wicked are here threatened with future punishment? 
" When the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with 
his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on 
them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
and from the glory of his power, when he shall come 
to be glorified in his saints. 77 2 Thess. 1 : 7-10. The 
punishment here threatened is of the nature of ven- 
geance — taking vengeance : it is to be inflicted on all 
who obey not the gospel when the Lord shall come ; 
that is, at the day of judgment. The duration of the 
punishment is everlasting. In whatever sense this 
word is understood, the argument is equally conclu- 
sive in favor of future punishment. No testimony can 
be made more direct and explicit to prove future pun- 
ishment than these words of Paul. We should be at 
a loss, if required to frame a declaration which should 
fully express the doctrine of the future punishment of 
the wicked, to invent one more clear and positive. 

" For if we sin wilfully after that we have received 
the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more 
sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of 
judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour 
the adversaries. For we know Him that hath said, 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 209 

Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, 
saith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the 
hands of the living God." Heb. 10 : 26, 27, 30, 31. 
Perhaps we have adduced more texts than are neces- 
sary • for if one were to rise from the dead and testify 
that there was a dreadful hell, these Universalists 
would not believe him. They will not believe Moses 
and the prophets; yea, they refuse to give credit to 
the repeated declarations of Christ himself and his 
inspired apostles. It is to be feared that some of 
them are of the number whom God hath given up " to 
believe a lie" in just judgment, because they were 
unwilling to obey the truth. In regard to such our 
labor will be altogether in vain ; but there are many 
others who have been induced to lend a favorable ear 
to this flesh-pleasing doctrine, who have yet some 
respect for the holy Scriptures, and whose consciences 
are not yet seared as with a hot iron. To pluck some 
of these as brands from the burning, may be practi- 
cable. But our chief hope is to secure those from 
falling into the snare of the devil who are exposed to 
this soul-destroying heresy. 

The legitimate and practical consequences of 
this doctrine are of such an appalling nature, that 
if the propagators of it were not reckless of conse- 
quences, they would pause in their course, and hesi- 
tate about casting around them firebrands, arrows, 
and death. Greater mischief cannot be done to men. 
than by disseminating among them such erroneous 
opinions as remove from their minds those salutary 
restraints which preserve them from giving indul- 
gence to sin, or such as lull them into a false security, 



210 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

and persuade them to neglect attention to that prep- 
aration which is necessary to fit them for death and 
judgment. And if any opinion is dangerous above 
all others to the best interests of men, it is the one 
which I have refuted in this tract. Among the many 
evil consequences of this doctrine I would mention the 
following. 

1. It does violence to the holy Scriptures, and perverts 
the plain and obvious meaning of numerous passages 
which speak of the future punishment of impenitent 
sinners. And if in one case we may thus set aside 
the express and repeated declarations of God, to ac- 
commodate the doctrine to our own reason and incli- 
nations, the volume of inspiration is dishonored and 
rendered useless; for upon these principles we may 
reject every fundamental truth of the Bible. If the 
doctrine of future punishment is not taught in the 
Bible, neither is the doctrine of future happiness ; for 
they are commonly inculcated in the same passages, 
and in similar language. 

2. If it be true that sin is not punished in the fu- 
ture world, then it would follow that God exercises 
no moral government over the world ; for in the present 
life the wicked often live at ease and are prosperous, 
while the virtuous are afflicted. This doctrine goes 
far to annihilate all difference between virtue and 
vice, for we must judge of these according to the 
treatment which they respectively receive from the 
supreme Ruler ; but if there be no future punishment, 
there is no strong mark of disapprobation set on vice. 
A doctrine which involves such a consequence as this, 
must be false and dangerous. 

3. If this doctrine should become general, human 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT, 211 

society could not exist. Like atheism, to which it is 
near akin, its malignant tendency is not fully seen 
while society at large is under the influence of a con- 
trary belief. But take away from the minds of all 
men the fear of judgment and eternity, and this world 
becomes a scene of violence — an aceldama. All con- 
fidence among men would be destroyed ; all the bonds 
of civil society would be severed. Do not say that 
vice might be coerced by the civil law — a vain hope. 
Where the whole mass is corrupt, laws are useless. 
What means of ascertaining the truth in courts of 
justice will remain, without which justice cannot be 
administered, if no man fears the consequences of 
perjury ? Suppose a man who has no fear of judg- 
ment, to be solemnly called upon to declare the truth 
in a case where his own honor and interest, or that of 
some friend, is at stake ; what is there to prevent him 
from perjuring himself? Or if he can gratify secret 
malice by swearing against the life of an enemy, 
what shall restrain him? He may reason with him- 
self thus : " I know this is a wicked act, but it will 
serve my purpose, it will enable me to gratify my re- 
venge ; I have nothing to fear. Detection here is 
impossible, and hereafter I am sure of heaven, do as I 
will. 77 What security should we have that our food 
and medicine would not be mingled with poison in 
every house ? The men who propagate such doctrines, 
are manifestly pursuing a course destructive to the 
peace and good order of society. I would fully as 
soon have an atheist to bear witness against me on 
oath, or to sit in judgment as a juror, as one of these 
new-fangled Universalists. 

4. If there is no future punishment, the wicked, who 



212 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

are driven away in their wickedness, are happier than 
the righteous who are preserved to suffer. The wicked 
antediluvians who perished in the flood, had a better 
portion and a richer reward than Noah ; for they all 
escaped the troubles of life and went to heaven, while 
Noah and his family were subjected to innumerable 
hardships for some hundreds of years. The inhabi- 
tants of Sodom and Gomorrah were better off, though 
they were destroyed by fire from heaven, than -right- 
eous Lot, who escaped ; for they were released at once 
from all pain and sorrow, but his afflictions were many. 
The wicked Canaanites were too bad to live upon 
earth, and therefore God enjoined it on Joshua to 
extirpate them ; but not too bad to be admitted at 
once to heaven without any repentance or sanctifica- 
tion ! Their lot was, therefore, greatly preferable to 
that of the Israelites, who endured many toils and suf- 
ferings. Upon this theory, Judas was rather benefit- 
ed than injured by his base and ungrateful crime of 
betraying his Lord, and by his suicide. Indeed, if 
there be no future punishment, and the next world be 
better than this, not only will suicide be innocent and 
beneficial, but there can be no great harm in murder. 
It only ushers a fellow-creature into superior bliss a 
little earlier than if he were left to die a natural 
death. 

5. Upon the supposition that this doctrine is true, 
repentance is useless ; neither is there any need of sancti- 
jication. Heaven is the sinner's right, without any 
condition or preparation. How the ungodly will be 
pleased with the place and its exercises, is another 
question. Whether dying will take away their dis- 
relish for devotional exercises, is not explained. But 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 213 

there is no need of undergoing the sorrows of repent- 
ance for sin. This the Universalist acknowledges. 
A writer before referred to declares, that " there is 
not the least occasion for solicitude about salvation, 
neither is it in our power to promote or hinder it." 
We did suppose that the advocates of this doctrine 
would have pleaded for repentance, which is nothing 
else but a turning from sin to God, as useful to pre- 
vent evil in this life ; but we find that in this we mis- 
took their views, for the same writer asserts, concern- 
ing the evils which sin produce here, that " these con- 
sequences are inevitable, .and cannot be escaped, even 
by repentance." What these men can preach, or why 
they should preach at all, we do not see. 

6. Upon this theory there is no need of religion of 
any kind; no connection exists between religion and 
salvation — between the man who loves and serves 
God, and him who hates him and despises his service. 
Atheism is as good as piety ; idolatry and heresy as 
safe as a way to heaven as truth and righteousness. 
The one thing needful is, to be fully persuaded that nothing 
is needful. If men are Only informed that there will 
be no future reckoning, no condemnation of the wick- 
ed, no future punishment, they need know nothing 
else ; and whether they believe it or not, all are in 
the safe way to heaven ! We presume that the prin- 
cipal preaching of Universalists is on the single point, 
that the wicked have nothing to fear on account of 
their sins ; for why should they disturb their hearers 
about believing or doing other things? But the bene- 
fits of this system will, in the future world, be as fully 
enjoyed by those who oppose the doctrine, as by those 
who believe and preach it. 



214 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

7. This doctrine encourages men to continue in 
sin, by removing all fear of future judgment and punish- 
ment. In this respect its tendency is as bad as athe- 
ism itself, for the most impious denial of a divine 
Being cannot promise more to its foolish votaries than 
exemption from judgment and future punishment. 
This species of Universalism is fraught with the very 
worst poison of atheism. It tells the sinner, that, 
let him act as wickedly as he will, or as he can; there 
is no fear of future misery. Indeed, it is in some 
respects worse than atheism, for it not only promises 
exemption from punishment, but the reward of eter- 
nal happiness to the impenitent sinner. It says to the 
atrocious murderer and cruel assassin, " You need fear 
kio evil hereafter ; though you should die in the com- 
mission of the foulest deeds, heaven, with all its glory 
and happiness, is yours." Is not this shocking to 
every honest mind ? And what must the effect be on 
profane, cruel, and abandoned profligates? How per- 
nicious its influence in the hour of temptation ! Sup- 
pose an inexperienced youth in a place of trust to 
have imbibed this doctrine. An opportunity occurs 
of defrauding his employer of a vast sum of money, 
with the prospect of escaping detection. Well, what 
shall hinder him from enriching himself at once ? ' If 
the belief of a future judgment were now to rise in 
his mind, he would be ready, like Joseph, to say, 
" How can I do this great evil, and sin against God?" 
But having no apprehension of any judgment to come, 
and sure of heaven, let him do what he will, he is led 
into temptation, and is deprived of every considera- 
tion which would lead him to resist it. Even the 
faint hope that there is no future punishment, has a 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 215 

powerful effect in leading corrupt men to commit atro- 
cious crimes, although this hope is contrary to all that 
they have ever been taught ; but who can calculate 
the influence of a persuasion that there is no future 
punishment for the greatest crimes, derived from men 
who pretend to be preachers of the gospel ? Doubt- 
less a large portion of the most abominable crimes 
that ever were perpetrated, owe their existence to a 
secret belief or hope of the truth of the very doctrine 
which Universalists preach. 

8. It is a horrible consequence of this doctrine, 
that it puts it in the power of the sinner to set God 
himself at defiance with impunity. The malignant, un- 
grateful wretch, instead of praising, may blaspheme 
the great Jehovah every day of his life, and may die 
with horrid blasphemies on his lips, and yet he shall 
be rewarded with everlasting happiness ! Indeed, as 
all the punishment of sin is supposed to be in this 
life, when a sinner commits some horrible crime in the 
last moments of his life, as in a late case where a man 
first shot an innocent person, and then blew out his 
own brains, where or how will he receive his due pun- 
ishment? His death is but the pang of a moment, 
and if there be no retribution for such crimes in the 
government of God, it cannot be believed that he is a 
righteous moral Governor. 

9. But how are sinners prepared for the enjoyment 
of the pure and elevated pleasures of heaven ? The 
Scriptures everywhere teach the necessity of a change 
of heart, before sinners can enjoy the kingdom of 
God ; and this is not an arbitrary appointment, but 
arises from the nature of the case. Reason and expe- 
rience assure us that there must be a congruity be- 



216 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

tween the state of the mind and those objects from 
which it derives its pleasure. Where no such suita- 
bleness exists, there is a natural incapacity for that 
particular species of pleasure. This is a fact so evi- 
dent and so well understood, that it stands in no need 
of illustration. How then, we ask, can men of de- 
praved habits, all whose moral sensibilities have been 
blunted by a long course of sinning, relish the pure 
and sublime joys of heaven without a change-? Such 
men cannot endure the mention, much less the partici- 
pation of holy exercises while here ; nothing is so 
much the object of their detestation as spiritual relig- 
ion. And there is no ground for the opinion, that 
death can make any radical change in the moral char- 
acter and feelings. The wicked, therefore, who die 
in impenitence, never can go to heaven ; and if admit- 
ted, they could have no real enjoyment themselves, 
while they would disturb the harmony and interrupt 
the felicity of that high and holy place. 

10. This doctrine renders totally unnecessary the 
mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ. For if the 
sinner be fully recompensed for his sin here, what 
need of a Saviour to die for those sins, the punish- 
ment of which he himself endures in this world ? 

But if the Universalist should choose to rest his 
doctrine on the ground that sinners would have suf- 
fered hereafter if Christ had not atoned for their sins, 
I would ask how long they would have suffered ? Or 
in other words, what is the original penalty of the 
law of God ? Now, if it can be shown that any fu- 
ture punishment in the Scriptures is threatened, it will 
be easy to show that the rejecters of the gospel, or 
impenitent sinners, will suffer that punishment; for 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 21T 

what can be plainer than that the heaviest penalties, 
and those most clearly and repeatedly expressed in 
the word of God, are those denounced by Christ 
against them who refuse to believe his doctrine ? If, 
then, men were exposed to any future punishment be- 
fore Christ came, it is most evident that the impeni- 
tent are still exposed to the same, and greater. There- 
fore the Universalist doctrine cannot rest on this 
ground. And it is clear as any thing can be, that, 
according to this system, there was no need of a Sav- 
iour. Christ came without an errand, and shed his 
blood for no purpose, which is blasphemy. 

In conclusion, I would solemnly warn all who may 
cast their eyes on these pages, to beware of this per- 
nicious doctrine, and not to encourage those who go 
about the country preaching this soul-destroying 
error. Only suppose for a moment that their doc- 
trine is false, and in what a deplorable condition are 
their disciples ! How dreadful their mistake ! These 
deceivers endeavor to seduce men from the doctrine 
of Christ by a great show of philanthropy and be- 
nevolence. They call the doctrine of endless punish- 
ment cruel and unmerciful, and rail against pious and 
orthodox ministers who hold it and preach it, as mon- 
sters of cruelty. This is a cheap way of showing be- 
nevolence. It is just that sort of philanthropy which 
an unfaithful watchman would exhibit, who should 
pertinaciously insist that there was no danger near, 
even when the enemy was in sight, and boast of his 
kindness because he would not suffer the citizens to be 
awakened from their sleep. The belief that many 
millions of our race are living in misery, and that all 

Practical Truthg. 1 



218 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

of the hundreds of millions now on earth will, in a 
short time, be cut off by death, is no evidence of a 
want of philanthropy. Benevolence does not consist 
in holding and teaching that men are liable to little 
or no misery, but in active exertions to relieve them 
from that evil which they suffer, and to arouse them 
to flee from the misery which impends. Which then, 
I ask, are the friends of men ; they who endeavor to 
lull them into a fatal security in regard to the future, 
or those who faithfully warn them of their danger? 
Are they to be reckoned the truly benevolent, whose 
doctrine tends to encourage men in sin, and to induce 
them to think that repentance and reformation are 
useless ; or they who labor to bring their fellow-crea- 
tures to forsake sin, and live piously and justly? Sup- 
pose the latter even to be mistaken, their error is on 
the safe side, and will hurt nobody ; but if the Uni- 
versalist should be in error, what imagination can 
conceive the dreadful consequences of his mistake? 
They say that the doctrine of endless punishment is 
" cruel and unmerciful ;" but this is not true, unless it 
is unjust — and this they cannot prove. It is custom- 
ary with them to appeal to the tender feelings and 
sympathies of their hearers, and to conclude that if a 
parent would not inflict such a punishment on his 
children, much less will God on his creatures. But 
this is a false method of reasoning. An amiable 
child shudders at seeing a criminal suffer the just 
punishment of the law, but this is no argument against 
the punishment of the guilty. 

It would be easy to persuade a set of convicted 
felons that the law which condemned them was cruel 
and unmerciful, because they are deeply interested 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 219 

persons, and do not take into consideration the im- 
portant ends to be answered to the public by their 
punishment. Thus wicked men are easily brought to 
believe that the penalties threatened in the Scriptures 
arc cruel and unmerciful ; but such opinions ought to 
have no weight with the candid and impartial inquirer 
after truth. All comparisons on this subject fail ; for 
neither parents nor civil rulers, nor any other beings 
in the universe, except the supreme Ruler, are under 
obligations to punish sin according to its merit. " Ven- 
geance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." No 
other is capable of estimating the evil of sin, and of 
inflicting punishment in exact proportion to its evil. 
If reasoning from the sympathies of our nature, and 
especially from the tender feelings of parents, were 
of real force, it would be as conclusive against the 
judgments of God on individuals and communities in 
this world, as against future punishment. For what 
benevolent parent would subject his children to the 
innumerable forms of evil and suffering which are 
everywhere witnessed in our world ? How many per- 
ish by shipwreck, by pestilence, by earthquakes, by 
oppression, by war, and by persecution ! But because 
a kind earthly father could not endure to see his chil- 
dren suffer such things, must we conclude that it is an 
unrighteous thing in the Governor of the universe to 
recompense the wicked by such judgments ? Or will 
these men deny that God has any thing to do in bring- 
ing these evils upon men ? 

How is it possible that reasonable men, with the 
Bible in their hands, can believe in the doctrine of 
Universalists ? If they would only listen to the dic- 
tates of conscience, they never could think that there 



220 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

was no future punishment for sinners of the deepest 
dye. The very heathen, as many of them as believe 
in a future state, hold the doctrine of future punish- 
ment for the crimes of a wicked life. There never 
before was a sect of heretics who altogether denied 
the doctrine of future punishment. Even the Moham- 
medans maintain the doctrine of eternal punishment. 
Most Unitarians, however they may hesitate about 
everlasting punishment, teach the doctrine of future 
punishment. The maintenance of a tenet so absurd 
and dangerous seems to have been reserved for these 
last times, and is even now almost entirely confined to 
these United States. It seems to be the most despe- 
rate effort of the father of lies. As we said before, 
this doctrine had its origin in paradise, and was the 
very doctrine by which the grand adversary murdered 
our whole race ; but never, until recently, could any 
number of men be found of sufficient hardihood to 
avow it as the main article of their creed. It con- 
tains within itself the virulent poison of all other 
errors and heresies ; yea, it leaves in the distance 
every form of infidelity. Atheism, black and blas- 
phemous as it is, is not so dangerous as this doctrine ; 
for it as completely removes all restraint from the 
sinner as atheism, assuring the vilest sinners that they 
have nothing to fear hereafter ; and not only so, but 
promising them the rich reward of eternal life. The 
prevalence of this soul-destroying error, in some parts 
of our land, is truly alarming. Every patriot, as 
well as every Christian, is bound to use his best en- 
deavors to check the progress of an error fraught 
with so many dreadful consequences. 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 221 



THE POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 

WRITTEN FOR A SERIES OF TRACTS IN LARGE 
TYPE AND SIMPLE STYLE. 



My little book I make for the poor rather than 
the rich, first, because our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ preached the gospel especially to the poor. 
Matt. 11 : 5. Secondly, because God commonly choos- 
es his people from among the poor of this world, to 
be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. James 
2 : 5. And thirdly, because the poor have less time 
and opportunity to learn those things which belong to 
their peace than others. 

In some parts of the country, the people have pas- 
tors to watch over them and visit them ; and if their 
teachers are faithful, they will, as often as they can, 
come to the dwellings of the poor with such lessons 
of instruction as they need. But there are other 
places, in which the people are as sheep without a 
shepherd. They have no one to guide them in relig- 
ion, and perhaps seldom have the opportunity of hear- 
ing a gospel sermon. Now for the sake of such I 
write, especially for the poor. Let no man be asham- 
ed of honest poverty. Our blessed Lord, though he 
w;as rich, yet for our sakes became poor. None are 
poorer in this world's goods than he was ; for he was 
born in a stable, and had a manger or trough for his 
cradle. And when grown up to be a man, he could 



222 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

say, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 
have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay 
his head." 

When I say that this little book is for the poor 
man, I do not mean to pass by the woman : no ; I 
consider her as perhaps more likely to profit by what 
I may write than the other sex. "In Christ there is 
neither male nor female." All partake of the same 
sinful nature, and all are children of wrath. All need 
the atoning blood of Christ, and no other foundation 
can be laid than that which is laid, which is Christ 
Jesus the Lord. 

Let, I pray you, this little book come into your 
house, and be read, and taken care of. Let it be con- 
sidered a friend, for the feelings of the writer, be 
assured, are of a friendly kind ; and though he can- 
not go with his book, he will accompany it with his 
prayers. And he wishes to speak to every one into 
whose hands it may fall, as if he were present. By 
this he desires to converse with the reader. And if it 
should happen to fall into the hands of some who can- 
not read, let them get the aid of their neighbors to 
read it to them. Join me in this short prayer for the 
blessing of God on the truth it contains. 

A PRAYER. 

Lord, our Almighty Creator, kind Preserver, 
bountiful Benefactor, and merciful Redeemer, be gra- 
ciously pleased to send light into our dark minds by 
the reading of this little book. So far as it contains 
a correct statement of truth, may it be made the 
means of leading our poor souls in the way of duty 
and of salvation, which we humbly ask, not on ac- 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 223 

count of any worthiness in ourselves, but only for the 
sake of Christ, thy beloved Son and our Mediator. 
Amen. 

FIRST VISIT. 

Friends, I perceive that you are poor, and have 
many troubles and difficulties to distress and disturb 
you. While others have more than heart can wish, 
and spend their days in ease and pleasure, your lot is 
to labor hard, and to eat your bread with the sweat of 
your brow. And often, with all your toil, you are 
scarcely able to obtain food and raiment. In the day 
of calamity, when sickness comes upon you, or on the 
mother of your children, you are brought into great 
trouble. The children cry for bread when, alas, there 
is none in the house, and no money to buy a single 
loaf. At the same time, the very dogs of your rich 
neighbor have more food than they can devour. The 
thought of your poverty, and the abounding wealth of 
others, is apt to stir up a feeling of discontent and 
envy in your hearts. But this is wrong. God gives 
to whom he will, and withholds from whom he will. 
Besides, though the rich man has his good things in 
this world, he is in great danger of having nothing 
but evil in the world to come. I assure you, the rich 
man is not to be envied. He also has his vexatious 
cares and troubles in this life, as well as the poor ; 
yea, often, while the laboring poor enjoy robust health, 
he is pining with disease. And while the poor man's 
sleep is sweet after his labor, the rich man is pre- 
vented from sleeping by care and anxiety for fear of 
losing his wealth. While the poor man has a keen 
relish for his coarse and homely fare, the rich man 
turns away in disgust from a table loaded with dain- 



224 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ties ; so that the rich man has not so much the advan- 
tage of the poor man as he seems to have. And the 
poor man has this in his favor, that there are fewer 
hinderarices in his way to heaven than stand in the 
path of the rich man. Our Lord has told us that 
riches so stop the way to heaven, to those who pos- 
sess them, that " it is easier for a camel to go through 
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into 
the kingdom of heaven." This single consideration 
should make you contented with your condition. Not 
that it is a matter of course for a poor man to get to 
heaven. Alas, no ; " strait is the gate, and narrow is 
the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be 
that find it ;" but " wide is the gate and broad is the 
way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be 
that go in thereat." 

I have not found a more alarming text than this 
within the lids of the Bible. Those words, few there 
be that find it, should continue to sound in our ears 
until we have clean escaped from the " wrath to come," 
and have found refuge in the house of God's mercy. 
The poor man can no more enter heaven, without be- 
coming a new creature, than the rich. Our Lord's 
words are, " Except a man be born again he cannot 
Bee the kingdom of heaven." Some poor people who 
are great sufferers in this world, think that their many 
troubles here will somehow be an atonement for the 
sins which they have committed, so that they hope to 
escape punishment in the world to come. 

"When I was itinerating in the mountains of Vir- 
ginia, I spent a few days at the house of an aged wid- 
ow. She was not poor, but she seemed to have more 
trouble than the poorest people I met with. From 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 225 

morning to night she was bustling and running hither 
and thither, and calling to the servants, and scolding 
at such a rate that I wondered that she did not weary 
herself to death. And this was not the course of one 
day only, but of every day. But let me say to her 
credit that I was never treated more kindly by any 
body, and she was particularly kind to ministers of 
the gospel. 

I took the liberty one day of saying to her mildly, 
"Why do you trouble yourself so much about the 
things of this world ? You are now aged, and must 
very soon leave all these concerns ; better turn your 
attention to the necessary preparation for another 
world." 

She burst out a crying, and said, " I cannot help it. 
I am a lone widow, and no man on the place to take 
the management ; and if I did not scuffle as you see 
me doing, every thing would soon go to wreck and 
ruin." 

"Madam," said I, "I approve of your industry and 
energy in managing your affairs ; but I think that 
some portion of your time and attention should be 
given to the concerns of your soul, which is undoubt- 
edly ' the one thing needful. 7 " 

Upon this her feelings became more violent, and 
in a crying tone she said, " I do not think that any 
poor creature ever suffered more than I have done. 
My husband died, and left me to take care of seven 
young children ; and ever since I have been toiling 
and striving to keep things together, and to bring up 
my family in a Christian way ; but I have had one 
trouble after another, so that my poor heart has often 
been almost broke. And I hope," said she, " that my 

10* 



226 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Maker will consider what I have suffered in this 
world, and that he will not be so hard as to make me 
miserable in the world to come. I am sure I have 
suffered enough already/' 

" Dear madam/ 7 said I, " your worldly sorrows will 
never atone for one of your sins. The Bible teaches 
that godly sorrow worketh repentance unto life, but 
the sorrow of the world worketh death." She now 
became more composed, and listened with apparent 
seriousness to what I judged it proper to say. 

This brings to my recollection a scene which I 
witnessed a few days afterwards, in the most out-of- 
the-way place I ever was in. It was at the foot of 
the Blue Ridge, on the head of Smith's river, a branch 
of the Roanoke. This settlement is completely shut 
out from the rest of the world by high and steep 
mountains, and there was only one road by which a 
horse or wagon could go in or come out. The women 
rarely or never come out, and retain all the fashions 
of dress which were customary in the time of their 
grandmothers. Here I found a man who had been 
eighteen years an elder in the Presbyterian church, 
but had never had any true religion until within a 
few months of the time I visited the place. Two 
zealous ministers had found their way into this cove, 
and spent a week in preaching to the people. Among 
other fruits of their labors was the conversion of this 
elder, now nearly threescore years of age; and I do 
not know that I ever met with a young convert who 
seemed to have such a flow of tender feeling. He 
could not speak of his own wonderful conversion, 
after having been a professor in the church for nearly 
forty years, and an elder for eighteen years, without 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 22? 

a flood of tears. He went about from house to house, 
and warned the people of their danger ; and he seem- 
ed to feel that it was especially his duty to go to pro- 
fessors, many of whom he feared were asleep in their 
sins, shielded from conviction by the profession which 
they had made. 

But to come to the point. This old man, but young 
Christian, had got hold of a Tract, which in those 
days was a rare thing in that country. Having read 
it himself, he could not rest until all his neighbors 
had heard it. It was, I think, on Saturday afternoon, 
a number of persons, by his invitation, assembled in 
the log-house in which he dwelt. Though I was pres- 
ent, he did not ask me to read the Tract, but chose to 
do this himself. And seldom have I anywhere seen, 
so many tears shed by the same number of persons. 
When he came to any thing of an affecting nature, he 
would stop to weep, and in the midst of his tears 
would give a fervent exhortation to the young people 
present. And what do you think this Tract was? 
Why, " Gregory's Legacy to a Daughter/ 7 which thou- 
sands have read without a tear. 

I have related the foregoing anecdote for two 
reasons. First, to show the importance of faithful 
ministers occasionally leaving their flocks and going 
into the dark corners, where the gospel is seldom 
heard. I could relate many facts to prove the benefit 
of such a course. In a single fortnight they may do 
more good than in the whole year besides. The other 
reason is, to show the value of Tracts in the distant 
and dark settlements of our country. Because those 
little messengers are often undervalued near great 
cities and in old settlements, we must not suppose 



228 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

that they will not be valued where books are scarce, 
and where the gospel is seldom heard. 

And now, my friends, it is time that you and I 
should rest for a while. Let this pass for my first 
visit. You see that I am a plain-spoken man, and do 
not stick very close to any one subject. Put the little 
book on the shelf till another opportunity, which I 
hope will be soon. 

SECOND VISIT. 

I see, friends, that you have hard work to make 
out to live in the world. This has been a hard win- 
ter, and your children have suffered for want of good 
shoes and warm clothing. But now the spring comes 
on apace, and the grass begins to spring, and the early 
flowers to peep out of the ground. Now the sun rises 
high in the heavens, the days begin sensibly to length- 
en, and the warm breezes to blow. 

I always rejoice in the return of spring, on account 
of the poor ; for though it is a time of labor, to the 
industrious poor it is a time of enjoyment. The plough- 
man relishes his homely fare, when in the evening he 
returns to his cottage ; and the sleep of the laboring 
man is sweet. In the morning he rises with the first 
appearance of dawn, and is soon seen following his 
plough, or sowing his grain, or clearing up his new 
ground. If peace and temperance are guests there, 
the cottager has as much contentment as the rich : he 
relishes his food as well, he enjoys his sleep as sweetly, 
and experiences as much pleasure from the cheerful- 
ness and affection and innocent prattle of his little 
ones. The rich man often is obliged, on account of 
diseases contracted by idleness and luxury, to live on 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 229 

brown bread and lie on a hard bed ; his physician 
forbids him the use of the dainties with which his 
table is loaded, and he must undergo voluntary labor 
to exercise his diseased frame ; while the poor man, 
who is industrious, enjoys robust health, and has no 
experience of those miserable feelings which arise 
from a diseased stomach and deranged nerves. He 
scarcely ever reflects that he has a stomach, except 
when he is hungry ; and as to nerves, he is happily 
innocent of any knowledge of those sensitive chords. 

The great curse of poverty is vice. Brutal anger 
and rudeness, sullen discontent, and rankling envy and 
hatred, are sufficient to bring misery into a paradise. 
And when you add to bad passions, which naturally 
spring up in the human bosom, the complicated evils 
of intemperance, you have some idea of the real mis- 
eries which are found in many cottages of the poor. 
Filth, disorder, and want, render them the seats of 
almost uninterrupted wretchedness. And soon dis- 
ease will follow in the train of the evils mentioned — 
often chronic disease, painful and loathsome, and reme- 
diless. The whole mass has become corrupt ; and the 
malady is often aggravated instead of being cured by 
quack medicines. 

The poetical idea of a cottage can seldom be 
realized ; yet sometimes there is an approximation 
to it. 

When settled first as a pastor, I observed coming 
regularly to church a tall, neat, but plainly dressed 
young woman, whose manners were exceedingly retir- 
ing and reserved. She seemed to shun every oppor- 
tunity of acquaintance ; for as soon as the service was 
over she would be off, and on her way home. I 



230 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

learned, however, from a female friend of hers, that 
she was a girl of uncommon intelligence, and very 
considerable reading, and above all, that she was in 
reality what she appeared to be, eminently pious. 

I was told that one reason of her shyness was 
continual mortification on account of the foolish and 
eccentric conduct of her father, who was a talkative 
and opinionated old man. In early life he had ap- 
peared very zealous in religion, and began study with 
his pastor, with a view to the ministry ; but he had 
not steadiness to persevere, and having got a little 
smattering of learning, he became exceedingly vain 
and boastful. He had, indeed, an extraordinary mem- 
ory for words, and would repeat whole chapters of 
the Bible verbatim. But he was not contented with 
the common creed, and adopted many strange notions, 
which he brought out and defended on all occasions. 
Sometimes, indeed, he would hold forth in public, and 
professed to have a divine call to make known the 
truths which he said had been made known to him ; 
and the only thing which prevented him from often 
speaking in public was, that he could get no audience 
to remain to hear him. Besides this amiable and 
accomplished daughter, he had one son, who, though 
industrious in cultivating the farm, had much of his 
father's vain-glorious disposition. In all religious 
excitements this young man became very conspicuous, 
and by his ostentatious display produced disgust in 
almost every mind. The mother of this young woman 
was also still living, but being infirm and somewhat 
melancholy, she seldom left the house even to attend 
church. 

On account of these circumstances, Eusebia gener- 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 231 

ally appeared alone, and seldom was any one invited 
to the house, which stood in a recluse spot. 

It was evident, however, that disease was secretly 
undermining her constitution, and after a while she 
was no longer able to come to church ; her seat be- 
came vacant. As the pastor of the church, I felt it to 
be my duty to visit her ; but knowing the extreme 
sensibility of her feelings, I thought it prudent to use 
the mediation of her female friend before mentioned. 
After a considerable struggle, she consented to see me 
in company with her friend. 

I was struck, on entering the cottage, with the 
perfect neatness and cleanliness of every article of 
furniture. Every curtain and bed-cover was purely 
white, and wove and spun with her own hands. She 
was unable to sit up, but lay reclined on a low bed in 
a small room adjoining the one which we first entered. 
Though distant always before, she now expressed 
strong satisfaction in seeing me, and said she had 
often derived much comfort from my preaching, but 
could never, until now, summon confidence enough to 
speak to me. 

"I have," said she, "been kept back by foolish 
feelings of diffidence, with which I now find much 
pride has been mingled. But I am persuaded that I 
am soon to leave the world. I am desirous of avail- 
ing myself of the instruction and advice of one who is 
invested with the office of a teacher." 

I asked her respecting her spiritual condition, and 
her views of death and eternity. 

She said, that " during the few years which she 
had been a member of the church, darkness and doubt 
had hung over her mind in an almost perpetual cloud ; 



232 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

that she had been looking for something in her own 
heart which she could never find. She heard others 
speak of their ardent love to Christ, and of their 
overflowing joys ; but her heart remained cold and 
insensible. At some rare times/ 7 said she, "I expe- 
rienced a little reviving, and felt a degree of tender- 
ness, being able to weep freely, which gave me some 
relief. But on cool reflection, I attributed those melt- 
ing frames to the peculiar state of my body ; for on 
examination I could not find that my views of divine 
truth were at all brighter than before. And," said 
she, " thus I continued until I heard you preach from 
the text, l By grace are ye saved/ etc., when you told 
us, if we wanted solid comfort, we must look out of 
ourselves, and away from ourselves, to Christ and his 
perfect work. 

" At that moment I seemed first fully to apprehend 
the freeness of divine grace. My crushed heart was 
encouraged and comforted. Christ appeared to me 
in a new light ; and though some dark clouds have 
passed over my mind since, and some doubts have 
occasionally risen, they have been transient. And 
through the blessing of divine grace, I remain from 
day to day in a state of sweet composure. My sense 
of unworthiness and sinfulness is as great as before, 
but I have learned no longer to look for comfort to 
any thing in myself, but only to Christ. I see a suffi- 
ciency in him for every want, and I am enabled to 
confide in him. He is my all and in all ; my Prophet, 
Priest, and King. He of God is made unto me wis- 
dom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption ; 
and what more do I want ? 

" Considering how naturally timid I am, I feel 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 233 

astonished at my own confidence and composure of 
mind. I hope, my dear pastor, there is no mistake 
in this matter ■ I hope that I am not embracing a 
delusion for the reality of God's faithfulness in his 
promises." 

I told her that there could be no mistake in trust- 
ing every thing into the hands of Christ; that the 
stronger our confidence in him the better, and the 
less danger of deception. 

Though her frame was emaciated, there was a 
heavenly calmness and sweet serenity in her counte- 
nance. Not having been accustomed to such scenes, 
my own feelings were unusual. I could think of little 
else when absent from her, than the sweet and heav- 
enly appearance of her countenance ; and being urged 
to come often, I did not fail to avail myself of the 
privilege of sitting by her bedside and receiving edi- 
fication from the gracious words which proceeded 
from her lips. Often have I wished, while beholding 
her countenance lighted up with pure and spiritual 
hope and joy, and beaming with the feelings of benev- 
olence, that some infidels whom I know could have 
witnessed this scene ; it would have been more effec- 
tual to convince them of the blessed reality of religion 
than a thousand logical arguments. 

She continued in the same calm and comfortable 
state unto her death. A few days before her end, I 
visited her, and on my taking leave, anticipating her 
departure, she clasped my hand in hers and said, 

" My dear pastor, before I see you again, I shall 
be gone from this world of sorrow and sin. I thank 
you for all your kind attention to an unworthy crea^ 
ture. I go to meet my Saviour — my best friend — ■ 



234 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Him who shed his blood for my salvation — I go to 
dwell with saints and angels in heaven for ever. 
Farewell — I shall see your face no more in this 
world." 

Being a young pastor, the scene made a deep and 
lasting impression on my mind. 

As I expected, the next tidings which I heard from 
Eusebia was a summons to attend her funeral. " Oh 
let me die the death of the righteous," for they have 
hope in their end. They are blessed, " and their works 
do follow them." 

The foregoing narrative will furnish us with some 
profitable reflections. 

1. We see that no situation in life is exempt from 
trouble. Piety in a cottage, with almost perfect 
seclusion from the world, with books, a few select 
friends, and access to the means of grace, would seem 
to furnish as complete an idea of happiness as we can 
readily conceive. All these advantages were fully 
enjoyed by this pious female, but still there was a 
worm gnawing at the root. Every rose has its thorn. 
Her affliction arose from a too exquisite sensibility, 
and too anxious a solicitude for the reputation of a 
parent. A corroding feeling of mortification depressed 
her spirits and undermined her health, and brought 
her to an untimely grave. 

2. Some of the most perfect specimens of genuine 
piety are to be found far from the view of the gay 
and busy world, and often little noticed even by the 
majority of the members of the church. It flourishes 
and brings forth its precious fruit in the shade of 
retirement, observed only by a few select friends, and 
by that august Being who, though his throne be in the 



POOR MAN'S GUIDE AND FRIEND. 235 

heavens, and eternity his dwelling-place, yet looks 
down with complacency on every humble, contrite 
spirit ; yea, condescends to dwell with them. 
" The humble spirit and contrite, 
Is an abode of his delight : 
The humble souls my words revive, 
I bid the mourning sinner live." 

3. We learn from the facts related above the 
superlative excellence of true religion. What else 
could produce such a dying scene as this? The death- 
bed was undoubtedly rendered the happiest on which 
this pious woman ever lay. There was here no sting, 
no terror, no pain ; all was peace and joyful hope, 
and sweet and heavenly serenity. Could a fiction, a 
cunningly devised fable, produce such effects ? Who 
can believe it ? 

If the mere prospect of heaven can afford such 
happiness, what must heaven itself be? If one drop, a 
mere foretaste, can so disarm pain, and fill the soul with 
divine consolations, who can conceive of the views of 
never-ending bliss which flow from the throne of God ? 

And to whom do we owe these high hopes and brill- 
iant prospects ? Not to ourselves, not to man, not to 
any creature ; but to the eternal Son of God, to the 
beloved Redeemer, to Jesus, who knows by experience 
the miseries of death as a curse. He bore the curse, 
that his people might be exempt — the sting pierced 
his inmost soul, and henceforth lost its venom. He 
drank the bitter cup which sin had mingled, that it 
might for ever pass from us. 

" Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are, 
While on his breast I lean my head, 
And breathe my life out sweetly there." 



236 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 

A TRUE STORr. 



About a hundred years ago, four young married 
men left Pennsylvania to seek their fortune in New 
Virginia, then the most distant frontier, and still ex- 
posed to the invasion of the savages. But the- coun- 
try was inviting, the land fertile and well watered. 
They took up land in the same neighborhood. They 
did not consider the evil of bringing up families where 
there was no gospel preached, no public worship on 
the Sabbath, and no school for their children. 

Indeed, there is some reason to think that one of 
them, at least, sought a dwelling in the wilderness to 
get far away from the sound of faithful preaching ; for 
the great revival which occurred a little before, had 
prevailed in that part of Pennsylvania where he lived, 
and probably he had for a while been under serious 
impressions, but had shaken them all off. This man 
cherished a hatred to vital piety, which is seldom 
found so strong in any as in those who have once been 
somewhat concerned for their salvation. The last 
state of apostates is worse than the first. 

One day a shoemaker came directly from this aged 
man's house to my father's to make winter shoes for 
the children ; for in those days, and in that new coun- 
try, both shoemakers and tailors were itinerant. This 
man was piously disposed, and very fond of reading 
pious books and sermons, and commonly had some in 
his wallet with his tools, which he was accustomed to 
read to the family where he was at work. On com- 



THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 237 

ing into the house he appeared somewhat agitated, 
and immediately told what had occurred at the house 
of this aged man. Being well acquainted, as he was 
passing through his yard, he stepped in to say " how 
do ye " to the family, and to warm himself ; and while 
sitting by the fire he said to the old gentleman, tt I 
have with me one of the most delightful books I ever 
saw." The old gentleman, who was fond of reading, 
asked him what it was. He answered, " Whitefield's 
Sermons," which had been recently published. In a 
moment the wrath of the master of the house was kin- 
dled to fury. His eyes flashed, and his countenance 
was inflamed. He rose to his feet, and with a threat- 
ening gesture said, " You Ye a liar, so you are ; you 're 
a liar." The shoemaker, alarmed lest he should re- 
ceive a stroke, stepped out of the house, and pursued 
his way through the fields ; but the old farmer went 
out after him, and stood in the yard, and hallooed at 
the top of his voice, as long as he could hear him ? 
" You We a liar, you're a liar" 

This event, which occurred long after the settle- 
ment of these four men, is here related to show the 
violent antipathy which one of them cherished towards 
good men and evangelical preachers. 

But to return. Each of these men secured land of 
the very best quality, and as the country around be- 
came settled, their land every year increased in value. 
But they had no preaching for their families, nor 
schools for their children. The boys of each of them 
were taught to work, but as they grew up to man- 
hood, they spent much of their time in hunting deer ; 
and in the autumn a whole company would go out 
into the neighboring mountains to hunt bears, where 



238 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

they would remain encamped in the woods until they 
had taken as many as they wanted. 

As these young men had received no religious in- 
struction, they were under no restraint, except from 
the presence of their fathers, which was thrown off as 
soon as they got out of their sight. 

In a new country there are many occasions on 
which the people come together to help one another, 
such as house-raisings, corn-huskings, log-rolling, etc. 
These, to the young men, were seasons of athletic 
sports, which frequently ended in bloody battles. Or, 
if prevented from seeking revenge at the time by the 
presence of superiors, they would harbor vindictive 
feelings until a fit occasion for venting them would 
occur. Thus the worst passions were generated and 
cherished. And as to religion, they knew nothing of 
it, except that it was intended to be a restraint on 
them, and therefore they hated it, and every one who 
professed it. 

At length, when the country became more thickly 
settled, itinerant preachers visited these destitute set- 
tlements. The first who visited this new country was 
the celebrated evangelist William Robinson, who pen- 
etrated into every part of the country where little 
knots of Presbyterians were settled, that he might 
preach the gospel where Christ had not been yet 
named. This being then the remotest settlement of 
white people towards the west, he here ended his 
journey in that direction, and crossing the Blue Ridge, 
pursued his course to North Carolina. In every 
other place where this devoted servant of Christ 
preached, I have found seals of his ministry, except in 
this neighborhood. Whether these men attended his 






THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 239 

ministry, is not certain. One of them, whose temper 
has already been described, in all probability did not ; 
but the writer recollects hearing another of them 
speak of Mr. Robinson's visit as though he had heard 
him. And it is probable that some of the female 
members of these families derived saving benefit from 
the gospel at this time, for it is known that some of 
them were pious and exemplary even to extreme old 
age. 

These merciful visits of evangelical preachers to 
new settlements are generally attended with a bless- 
ing to some precious souls. The writer, when young, 
was employed in preaching to people in such a situa- 
tion, and he has never seen anywhere congregations 
which so interested him, and which appeared to be so 
much interested themselves. On the morning of the 
Sabbath, long before the time of meeting, you might 
see companies coming out of the woods by narrow 
paths, some on horseback, and not unfrequently two 
or three on one horse, and more on foot, all eagerly 
pressing on to the place of preaching, which was 
commonly a tent, as it was called, in a grove or forest. 
When the preacher appeared, all eyes would be fixed 
upon him, and the congregation, old and young, would 
seem to catch every thought, and drink in the word 
as a thirsty man drinks from a cool spring. Every 
word of divine truth, in such circumstances, seemed 
to take effect. Old Christians, long deprived of the 
public means of grace, would weep for joy, and hard- 
ly know how to contain themselves; and often the 
younger part of the assembly, who had scarcely ever 
heard a sermon before, would be affected to tears at 
hearing of the love of God, of the sufferings of Christ, 



240 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

of heaven, and of hell. Sometimes, under an impres- 
sive discourse, the whole- congregation would be moved 
like the trees of the forest under a mighty wind, and 
would, as though all partook of one feeling, be melt- 
ed into tears. Preaching to people in such circum- 
stances is truly delightful. The pleasure, to a benev- 
olent mind, is far greater than feeding a famished 
multitude with the bread that perishes. True, these 
impressions are, in many cases, transient ; but they 
are salutary, and leave on the mind an impression 
favorable to religion, and lodge convictions of the 
necessity of a change deep in the conscience. But, as 
was said, preaching to those who are not gospel-hard- 
ened, is commonly attended with a saving effect on 
some hearers ; an arrow is made to transfix the mind 
of some careless sinner, and the wound is not healed 
until application is made of the balm of Gilead. 

But whosoever else might be benefited, our four 
farmers and their sons received no profit. They con- 
tinued as irreligious and worldly-minded as before, 
after all these evangelical visits. When it was pro- 
posed to erect a meeting-house, they were, though the 
wealthiest in the neighborhood, the most lukewarm 
and backward in promoting the object, and their con- 
tributions, grudgingly given, were smaller than those 
of some poor men. They were, however, very for- 
ward in getting up a dancing-school, and setting on 
foot balls for the young people. They, it is true, had 
never been taught this fascinating art, but they said 
they felt the want of it, and were determined that 
their children should have the opportunity of rub- 
bing off that rusticity and awkwardness which they 
would be sure to contract, unless they had some 



THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 241 

means of this kind to polish their manners, and give 
them ease in company. These arguments prevailed 
with some not very consistent professors of religion, 
and especially with such as were well off in the 
world. 

When the new settlement became more populous, 
the want of regular preaching on the Sabbath began 
to be felt by serious people who had once enjoyed 
gospel privileges, and some measures were taken to 
get ministers from the north to come and preach for 
them; and these efforts were not unsuccessful, for 
one and another were sent by some northern presby- 
tery ; but the people were solicitous to get a minister 
to abide with them constantly, and several attempts 
were made which proved unsuccessful, either because 
they could not raise a sufficient salary, or because 
these itinerant preachers were unwilling to settle in a 
country so new and so little improved. 

But preachers make a great mistake when they 
wait for society to be formed, before they will cast in 
their lot among a people ; for it is exceedingly impor- 
tant that there should be a good seasoning of religion 
in the mass while it is assuming a fixed form. Pious 
and able ministers are, therefore, more needed while 
society is in a forming state, than at any other pe- 
riod. 

For the want of regular worship on the Sabbath, 
the young people could not be controlled ; they would 
run about, and spend the day unprofitably. In one 
neighborhood, where there was a cluster of warm- 
hearted, pious people, they met at each others' houses 
on the Sabbath, and sung and prayed ; and if any of 
them had met with a good evangelical sermon, it was 

Prac. Truths. 1 1 



242 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

read at these meetings. But the young men could not 
be persuaded to attend these prayer-meetings. They 
said, " Get a good preacher, and we shall be pleased 
to attend." But in the neighborhood of the four fam- 
ilies which had settled together, there was no kind of 
worship attempted ; and their young men were noted 
through the country for their profanity and for their 
ferocity. Wherever they went, they picked quarrels 
with other young men ; which disputes were cpmmon- 
ly decided by bloody battles with the fist. 

Affairs went on thus until, at length, a young man 
from the north, who had come on as a teacher, obtain- 
ed license to preach, and agreed to give one half his 
time to this settlement. These four families, however, 
which were the wealthiest in the neighborhood, mani- 
fested no anxiety to have a minister ; and when he 
came, they soon pretended to* take offence at some- 
thing which he said, or which they had heard that he 
had said, and in consequence absented themselves from 
his ministry. Their families, however, attended, and 
they paid a moderate sum to aid in supporting the 
preacher. A great exertion was now made to put up 
a meeting-house ; and by getting the members of the 
congregation to furnish the materials, and to do much 
of the work, a shell of a frame building sufficient to 
hold several hundred people, was erected and covered, 
and the floor laid down. These dissipated young- 
men were sure to be at meeting, but they seldom came 
into the house ; but would sit at a distance under 
some large trees, and spend the time in cursing and 
abusing the minister and all good people. They were 
accustomed also to carry a flask of whiskey in their 
pockets, and sometimes would carry it in large 



THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 243 

reeds used as walking-canes, and while the minis- 
ter was preaching, they would be drinking at the 
spring. 

One day, while they were amusing themselves out- 
side the house, a stone, thrown by one of them, hit the 
side of the house, and made a startling noise. On 
which one of the elders came out and reproved them 
sharply, and directed his discourse especially to one 
who was the least wicked of them all, in the public 
opinion. This young man had not thrown the stone, 
and being exasperated that he should be thus reproved, 
as soon as the congregation was dismissed, he went 
into the house and in great anger swore that the thing 
was not done by him, and that he would not suffer 
himself to be thus falsely accused. He then, in the 
presence of the minister and elders, and of such of the 
people as had not left the house, swore by his Maker 
that he would never enter that house while he lived. 
Everybody was shocked at the daring impiety of this 
young man, and great surprise was expressed too, as 
he had been considered of a more quiet, sober turn 
than any of the others. The minister was indeed 
horror-struck. 

It was a custom, brought by the Scotch-Irish peo- 
ple from the north of Ireland, that when any person 
died they held a wake ; that is, all the neighbors, and 
especially the young people, sat up all night with the 
corpse. The house would commonly be crowded with 
people, who sat on boards or benches placed for the 
purpose. This custom was intended, doubtless, to 
prevent the sad feeling of loneliness in the family of 
the deceased, and to express sympathy with them in 
their affliction. But many evils attended such meet- 



244 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ings. One was, that it became customary to carry 
about several times during the night stewed whiskey 
or hot punch, made very sweet, and many drank to 
excess. Other evil consequences, any one may see, 
would naturally be produced by such promiscuous 
meetings of both sexes. No religious exercises were 
ever permitted at these wakes, and the wildest and 
most irreligious were fond of attending them. 

Another evil custom brought from Ireland*- now 
obsolete, it is to be hoped, was the presenting strong 
drink to every man, woman, and child who came to a 
funeral. A person would stand without and meet the 
people as they arrived, and urge them to drink out of 
a bottle or jug which he held in his hand, and to re- 
fuse was counted disrespectful to the family. 

But to return to the thread of my story. The 
young man who had behaved so impiously in the meet- 
ing-house, a few weeks after was about to go to a 
wake, where the wife of one of the four farmers lay a 
corpse ; and his family understood that he was going 
directly to the place, not a mile off. But next morn- 
ing one of his cousins, who had been sitting up at the 
wake, called to learn why he had not been there ; and 
was informed that he had set out to go soon after 
dark. The young man, fearing some accident had 
happened, stepped to the barn, and there, on the barn 
floor, lay the unhappy man weltering in his blood, 
and stiff in death. He had gone up to the hay-loft to 
throw down some hay for his horses ; his foot had 
slipped, and being a heavy man, he fell head foremost 
on the hard floor, and his brains were dashed out. 
The wretched young man's oath was verified, that 
"while he lived he would never enter that church 



THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 245 

again." For, the next time he came, it was a corpse, 
to be laid in the silent grave. The minister preached 
on the occasion an alarming discourse, which for a 
time made an awful impression on the young man's 
companions. But this soon wore off, and they be- 
came, if possible, worse than before. 

One of the three concerned in disturbing the wor- 
ship of God, was a handsome young man of robust 
health, who had just brought home a beautiful woman 
for his wife. Being fond of sporting, and being in- 
vited by a man who had recently come to the settle- 
ment, to go out with him a hunting, he went; but 
never returned alive. The gun of this man, while 
they were passing through a thick wood, went off, and 
shot him through the body. Whether the act was 
accidental or designed, will never be known till the 
judgment-day. There were suspicious circumstances 
attending the case. The man, after his companion 
was shot, instead of coming and declaring what had 
happened, went and shut himself up in his own house, 
and would suffer no one to come in for some time. A 
court of inquiry was held, but nothing positive could 
be proved. One man, however, swore, that riding 
with this man at a certain time, in a certain lane, he 
declared that he would be revenged on the deceased 
for some offence received. 

A circumstance which renders this testimony re- 
markable, is, that this man whose gun had killed the 
deceased, a few months afterwards, riding along the 
public way, in this same lane, was thrown from his 
horse, and fell across a sharp rock, and broke his spine 
about the middle. He was a man of giant size and 
strength. His lower parts remained immovable, and 



246 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

his agony was great for a number of weeks, when he 
died miserably. 

The third of these young men came to an early, 
but not a violent death, yet more shocking than either 
of the others ; for he not only died impenitent, but 
with every expression of hardened impiety. When 
the minister came to see him, he would have nothing 
to say to him. And when he asked him whether he 
should pray for him, he said that he might pray^ if he 
chose, but he wanted none of his prayers. 

Verily there is a God that ruleth upon the earth, 
and though he often forbears to punish impious con- 
duct in this life, yet sometimes he does seem to follow 
the open contempt of his worship with a signal mani- 
festation of his displeasure. This has been a matter 
of observation in all ages of the world. 

Other people have now come in the place of those 
four wealthy families. Scarcely a descendant of any 
of them is now to be found in the fertile region which 
their fathers possessed. "I have seen the wicked in 
great power, and spreading himself like a green bay- 
tree : yet he passed away, and lo, he was not ; yea, I 
sought him, but he could not be found." "For yet a 
little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou 
shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not 
be." " The ivicked is driven away in his wickedness" 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 24? 

THE COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 

A DIALOGUE. 



Colporteur. Well, friends, I am glad to meet so 
many of you together, as I have some choice books : 
shall I have the pleasure of showing them to you? 

Cottager. You need not trouble yourself to un- 
pack your books, as we have other use for our money 
than to buy such things as we can well do without. 

Colp. I have read in a very old and very good 
book, that for " the soul to be without knowledge is 
not good." If we labor so hard to get bread to sup- 
port the body, we ought not to grudge some little 
expense to feed the mind, which is our better part. 

Cott. I never had any learning, and yet I have 
got along as well as my neighbors who can read; 
and more than that, I think that learning makes some 
people do things which they never could do, if they 
had never learned to read and write. There is Billy 
Hinds, who was reckoned the best scholar in all these 
parts, and now he is in the state prison for forgery, 
and his poor wife and children are near starvation. 

Colp. You ought to consider that a good thing 
may be abused. It would never do to throw away 
every thing which has by some been put to a bad use. 
It is true, Billy Hinds never could have committed 
the crime for which he is suffering in prison, if he had 
not been able to write ; but neither could he have 
committed the crime if he had been destitute of eyes 
or hands. Would you say, then, that it would be bet- 
ter if men were without eyes and hands ? 



248 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Cott. Well, I will agree that learning is needful 
for some persons ; but I cannot see that it would be 
of any service to me, or my children. We are poor 
people, and must make our living by hard labor ; and 
we have no time to spend in reading books if we 
knew how to read, which no one in my family does 
except my wife, and her learning is of no use to her ; 
for the good woman has not the leaf of a book to 
read, ever since the children tore up her Testament. 

Colp. I am glad to find that you have one reader 
in your house, and I hope that your wife will not be 
suffered to be without a book to read after this day. 
Here is a cheap Bible ; and here is a New Testament 
with fine large print. Come, gratify your wife with 
a present this morning. 

Cott. Well, I believe I may as well take one ; but 
do both these books contain the same reading? 

Colp. The Bible contains all that is in the New 
Testament, word for word, and much more which 
every man ought to know. It contains an account of 
the creation of the world and of man, and an account 
of his sin and fall, by which death came into the 
world and all our woes ; and many other interesting 
histories. 

Cott. I think, then, I will take the Bible; for 
though I cannot read myself, I have a cousin who 
often spends Sunday at my house, who is a very good 
reader. He often brings a book or a newspaper in 
his pocket; and my boys are fond of listening to 
him. 

Colp. And do you intend to bring up your boys 
without schooling ? I hope not. If you deprive them 
of this advantage, I do not know how you will be able 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 249 

to answer for it. Learning is more valuable than all 
riches, for a man's property often, as we say, makes 
to itself wings ; but whatever knowledge any one 
acquires, nobody can deprive him of it. A while ago 
you said that poor laborers had no time for reading ; 
but they all have one day in the week which ought 
not to be spent at work or in any amusement, nor in 
idleness, but in the service of our Creator ; for when 
he made man he gave him only six days for his own 
work, and set apart the seventh for himself. You 
know the commandments, I presume, which God gave 
for the regulation of our conduct ? 

Cott. I told you that I had no learning. I know 
what is right and what wrong. I see that we ought 
not to murder, rob, or steal, nor do any thing to hurt 
our fellow-creature, but I never saw there was any 
harm in working on Sunday ; yet as people say this 
is wrong, we commonly spend the day in hunting or 
fishing, or in visiting our neighbors. 

Colp. If our Creator has set apart one day of the 
week for his own worship and service, we ought cer- 
tainly to obey his commandments. 

Cott. But I should like to know how any man 
can be sure that he ever made such a law. Doctor 
Hilder says "we may do what we please on Sunday, 
and l the better the day the better the deed.' " And 
as for religion, he says it is all priestcraft or king- 
craft, brought in to keep ignorant people in subjection, 
and to draw money out of their pockets. 

Colp. I am truly sorry that you have among you 
men who utter such irreligious sentiments, and unset- 
tle the minds of ignorant people ; but this shows how 
necessary it is that every man should be able to read 

11* 



250 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the Bible, that he may learn from the book of God 
what he requires of man. You cannot deny that the 
Almighty ought to be obeyed, and if he has forbidden 
working and sporting on the Sabbath, these things 
ought not to be done. Our own conscience tells us, 
that whatever God commands should be obeyed ; and 
nothing is more reasonable than that a certain por- 
tion of our time should be devoted to reading the 
word of God, and to his worship, both in public and 
private. What, have we received our very being 
from God, with all our faculties, together with food 
and raiment, and light and air, and other innumerable 
blessings, and shall we be so ungrateful as to refuse 
to acknowledge the goodness of God in these things? 
Shall we refuse to spend one seventh part of our time 
in his service, and in praising and worshipping his 
holy name ? Besides, we are all sinners — we cannot 
deny it — " we have done many things which we ought 
not to have done, and have left undone many things 
which we ought to have done." Now it is all-impor- 
tant that we understand in what way we may hope 
for the pardon of our sins. Permit me, friend, to ask 
you on what ground you look for forgiveness ? 

Cott. Why, sir, you seem to take me for a very 
bad man. I believe that I can appeal to all who 
know me, that I am not worse than most of my neigh- 
bors — I defy my worst enemy to charge me with any 
dishonesty. I shall fare as well as others, and that 's 
enough. 

Colp. Pardon me, friend, that is not enough ; if 
your neighbors were all sick with a mortal disease, 
such as the plague or cholera, would it satisfy you to 
think you were in no worse condition than others ; 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 251 

and especially, if there was found out a method of 
cure, which you might use ? You make entirely too 
light of this matter. It is the most important subject 
in the world : and this shows how necessary it is that 
men should become acquainted with what God has 
said in his holy word, for there we find the only 
method of obtaining pardon ; and without pardon 
there can be no salvation for a sinner ; he has 
nothing before him but fiery indignation. Old as 
you are, it would be well worth your while to learn 
to read. 

Lately one of our colporteurs met with a man in 
Western Virginia who could not read, and he gave 
him a Tract, entitled " The Dairyman's Daughter/ 7 and 
he read a part of it to him, and the man would not 
rest until he heard the whole, and immediately applied 
himself to learn to read ; and when after some months 
the colporteur came that way, this poor man cordially 
embraced him, and thanked him for the Tract which 
he had given him, and said that but for that he never 
should have learned to read, and better than all, he 
said that by means of that Tract he hoped he had 
found peace with God. 

Cott. I feel that I am too old to attempt any thing 
of this sort — but I begin to feel some concern about 
my boys, who are growing up without learning. But 
what can I do ? we have no schools near us. 

Colp. I know that families living in this sparsely 
settled region are badly off for schools ; but I will tell 
you of a plan that some benevolent persons have 
formed for the benefit of such destitute parts of the 
country : it is to send a teacher to instruct the chil- 
dren for a few hours for two or three days in the 



252 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

week, and then to pass on to another settlement simi- 
larly situated. Is there any house here where the 
children could meet, and any place where the teacher 
could board and lodge, while in the neighborhood ? 

Cott. Widow Oakland has the largest house of 
any among us, and she has a small family, only a son 
and daughter, neither of whom have been to school ; 
and I think it probable that she would receive the 
teacher as a boarder, and could thus pay for the school- 
ing of her children. 

Colp. Very well — no more need be said at pres- 
ent. I will consult our friends, and see what can be 
done. 

But here are several of your neighbors ; shall I 
not have the pleasure of selling them some of my 
books? Come, old gentleman, I guess you can read. 
Look at these excellent works and select such as you 
like. 

Old Man. I have heard what you just now said 
in praise of the Bible, and I like your sentiments very 
well. I have never been without that blessed book 
in my house since I was a housekeeper ; and I don't 
care if I never have another book, for I think if we 
pay attention to that, it will guide us in the right 
way, and if we do not listen to the word of God, we 
shall not be likely to attend to the words of man. 

Colp. I agree with you, that the Bible does con- 
tain all that is necessary for faith and practice ; and 
if we diligently follow its directions, we shall be 
guided in the way in which we ought to go ; but I 
think you a little misapprehend our object in circulat- 
ing the writings of good men. It is not to teach any 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 253 

thing different from what we read in the Bible ; it is 
to explain and enforce the truths there inculcated. 
To the Bible we always appeal for the truth of every 
thing taught in our books : " To the law and to the 
testimony ; if they speak not according to these, it is 
because there is no light in them." For want of such 
helps, many persons never come to a clear understand- 
ing of what the Bible teaches. Even ministers, who 
make the Bible their constant study f need commenta- 
ries, which explain the sacred text ; and much more 
do common people need some helps of this kind ; and 
they need "line upon line" to stir them up to the 
diligent performance of their known duties. As you 
have had the Bible in your house for many years, and 
I suppose have read it often, permit me to ask you ? 
what in your opinion is the method of salvation which 
it teaches ? 

Old Man. Why, sir, I would have you to know 
that I am not the ignoramus you take me to be. The 
Bible tells us that the way to be saved is to keep the 
commandments. It says, "Do this and liv%" "Not 
every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my 
Father which is in heaven." 

Colp. I see that you are somewhat acquainted 
with the Bible, and have learnt correctly what is 
required of us by our Maker ; but I wish to know 
whether you have so kept the commandments that 
you can depend on your own obedience for acceptance 
with a holy God? As for myself, if I had no other 
dependence but my own obedience, I should entertain 
no hope of salvation — I should be in black despair. 
And if I read the Scriptures right "by the deeds of 



254 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the law, no flesh shall be justified in his sight ; for by 
the law is the knowledge of sin." 

If men could be saved by their own obedience, 
then I do not see why the Son of God came into the 
world ; or why it was necessary for Christ to die on 
the cross. You seem to me to have fallen into the 
very error of the Jews, in the time of Paul, who, 
"being ignorant of God's righteousness, went about 
to establish their own righteousness, not submitting 
themselves to the righteousness of God." But as I 
have not time to argue this point with you now, I will 
give you a Tract on the subject of a sinner's justifica- 
tion. Read it carefully, and I think you will be con- 
vinced that you have been in a dangerous error hith- 
erto. Not but that we must love and obey God still, 
but our pardon and justification is entirely of free 
grace. And at any rate, I think that you need some 
help to enable you to come to a saving knowledge of 
what the Bible teaches. 

Permit me, my friend, again to ask you what your 
opinion is of regeneration ? 

Cott. Regeneration? I don't exactly know what 
you mean. 

Colp. Conversion, or the new birth. 

Cott. Oh, yes — yes. I believe you are something 
of a Methodist. I would have you to know that I 
don't hold to any such nonsensical doctrine. I be- 
lieve that if we do as well as we can, a merciful God 
will not require impossibilities of us. We are poor, 
frail creatures — but God is merciful. 

As to this new birth of which you speak, I know 
nothing about it, and do not wish to know. Two of 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 255 

my neighbors— no better than they should be — went 
last summer to a great meeting, and they both pro- 
fessed, as I have heard, to be converted, as they call 
it ; and it produced a great talk through the neighbor- 
hood. And when they came home, to be sure, they 
put on a very demure, long face, and sighed and 
groaned and exhorted their old companions ; and we 
were all glad to see a reformation, if it would only 
last. Well, to make a long story short, the boldest 
of the two held out a month, and then he swore a 
great oath and said he neither could nor would play 
the hypocrite any longer ; and he is now more profane 
than ever. The other, a sly kind of man, still wore 
the mask, and was very devout and zealous ; but with- 
in a week he has been clearly detected in stealing a 
quantity of yarn from a poor woman, and in several 
other disgraceful acts. If such conversions as these 
are what you speak of, I want to know no more about 
them, for I hate hypocrisy. 

Colp. My good sir, you seem to have read your 
Bible to little purpose, if you have not learned from 
that holy book, that " except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God ;" and " except ye 
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall 
not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 

Cott. I don't believe that such things apply to us 
in this Christian country. In the beginning, when 
the people were Jews or pagans, they were required 
to undergo a change, but not so with those who have 
been born and baptized in a Christian land. 

Colp. Men are now born in sin as much as they 
ever were ; and unless this sinful nature be removed, 
they never can be admitted into heaven ; and if they 



256 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

could be admitted to that holy place, they could have 
no enjoyment in the presence of a God of infinite 
holiness, and in the society of holy angels who stand 
around the throne of God. Common-sense teaches 
you that you cannot be happy in exercises and em- 
ployments for which you have neither taste nor relish. 
Men who do not love to think of God now, and take 
no pleasure in praying to him and praising him, would 
be entirely out of their element in heaven. Well, we 
know that most men do take no delight in these 
religious exercises, and it is evident therefore that 
they have no fitness for heaven. There must be an 
inward change in us before we can enter into the 
kingdom of heaven. I have here several small books 
which clearly prove from the word of God the neces- 
sity of being born again. Do take one of them and 
read it with care, and if you do not like it, when I 
return this way I will take it back, and return you 
your money. 

Cott. That indeed is fair. I will take one ; for 
if I do not read I know my wife will be glad to see 
it, for she is for ever borrowing old books, and spends 
much. But what can you say respecting the two men 
of whom I spoke to you, who professed to be converted, 
and are now worse than before ? 

Colp. I would say, that they never experienced 
the new birth. They probably got alarmed at the 
great meeting, and some injudicious guides persuaded 
them that they were converted ; or rather, I would 
say that the devil put this into their minds, for every 
instance of counterfeit conversion helps him to main- 
tain his power over the souls of men. You know that 
men who make counterfeit money are very injurious 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 257 

to society, for they impose upon the people a worth- 
less currency for the genuine, and destroy their con- 
fidence in the true currency; just so spurious relig- 
ion, like counterfeit coin, imposes on the people and 
destroys their confidence in true religion. But be- 
cause we discover some money to be counterfeit, it 
would not do to infer that there was no genuine 
money in the country. No ; if there was not some 
good money, we may be sure there would be no coun- 
terfeits. 

I wonder that you should judge of all professors 
of religion by those two deceived men. You certainly 
know some men who have for years maintained a con- 
sistent Christian character; these ought not to be 
put in the same class with those whose conduct 
shows that they never had any religious principle, 
but were for a few days and weeks under a violent 
excitement, and when this wore off they were the 
same as before ; or rather, they were worse, for noth- 
ing hardens the heart and sears the conscience more 
than a spurious conversion. You profess to be an 
honest man, and nobody doubts it ; but the two men 
who were condemned for robbing McGruder's store 
were thought to be honest men before their villany 
was discovered. Would it be a fair inference, be- 
cause these men professed honesty, that all others who 
made that profession, or maintained that character, 
were also dishonest? Now, if this conclusion would 
not be correct in regard to honesty, neither is it in 
regard to religion. 

Cott. If your doctrine be true, then a man has 
nothing to do to obtain salvation. He cannot change 
his own heart, he is therefore not to be blamed. 



258 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Colp. Man is not excusable for not having a new 
heart and a right spirit. This is the essence of what 
the holy law of God requires of us all ; and just so 
far as we fall short of it, just so far are we counted 
sinners in the sight of God. If a man is not to be 
blamed for a hard, a proud, a selfish, and impenitent 
heart, what can he be blamed for ? This is the very 
core of his iniquity. This is the " evil heart of unbe- 
lief 7 ' of which the Scriptures speak. "Why cannot a 
sinner change his own heart? Only because it is so 
entirely wicked, so entirely destitute of all love to 
God and holiness. And can this be any excuse? 
Why, it is the main thing for which he is now con- 
demned, and for which he will be publicly condemned 
at the judgment, unless God give him forgiveness and 
repentance unto life. I do therefore beseech you all, 
my dear friends, to lay aside excuses and seriously 
engage in seeking God while he may be found, and 
calling upon him while he is near. 

The colporteur was now about to return his books 
into his pack and proceed on his journey, when a col- 
lier, who had stood listening to the conversation, 
came forward and said, 

Collier. Friend, I hope you will not go yet awhile. 
I wish to hear more about these matters. You have 
touched upon a subject which has been on my mind 
for months. I have been a very thoughtless, and if I 
must tell the whole truth, a very wicked man. I 
never had any education, and fell into bad company, 
and soon was equal to the worst of them in sin and 
folly. But of late the thought of the sins of my youth 
troubles me much ; often I am so troubled when I lie 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 259 

down at night, that I cannot sleep, And often I ask 
myself the question, What will become of me when I 
die ? A few nights ago, while I was tending my coal- 
pit, I looked up and beheld the moon and stars shin- 
ing very bright, and the thought came into my mind, 
Above all these, and beyond the sky, there is a brighter 
world than this. That is the place they call heaven ; 
but how can such a sinful creature as I am ever get 
to heaven? Well, I thought I must try hereafter to 
please God, and quit sinning. I determined that 
I would begin to amend my ways and lead a new 
life. 

But after a while the thought came into my mind 
that I was going to judgment, and if I could live with- 
out sinning all the rest of my life, how should I be 
able to answer for the ten thousand sins already com- 
mitted? these would sink me to hell. I thought there 
could be no mercy for me. Ever since, all has looked 
dark before me, and I would have given the world 
for some one to tell me what I should do ; and when 
I heard you talk to my neighbors, I thought you were 
the man I wanted to see ; and now, my dear friend, 
do tell me if there is any salvation for such a sinner 
as I am. 

Colp. I feel thankful that Providence has brought 
me this way ; if for no other reason, that I might give 
some counsel to one who seems to be groping in dark- 
ness, and yet anxiously desires to know the way of 
life. And I do not think, friend, that I can answer 
your question better than by telling you a bit of my 
own experience. I was once as wicked as ever you 
were, and worse, because I ran counter to the instruc- 
tions of a pious mother, who often took me into a pri- 



260 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

vate place, when a child, and kneeled down and prayed 
for me. 

I followed the sea, and there I had all sorts of bad 
examples, which I too readily imitated. But when I 
was leaving home on a long voyage, my mother, when 
she put up my clothes, slipped a small volume into the 
bottom of my trunk. When I opened the book I 
found that it was on religion, and I shut it up and 
laid it by, resolved never to read a page in it* But 
our vessel was wrecked, and by and by I returned to 
the book, and before I had proceeded half through 
it I became deeply interested. I found that it de- 
scribed my case exactly, and showed it to be very 
bad ; and convinced me that I was a wretched sinner 
against God, and was now lying under his wrath and 
curse. I could think of nothing else. My comrades 
saw that I was growing serious, and tried their best 
to laugh me out of my religious whims, as they called 
them. They swore they would take the book and 
burn it, if I did not give over reading it. But their 
opposition had no effect to remove my concern. I 
felt myself to be a lost and perishing sinner, and I 
cared nothing for the ridicule of them or of the whole 
world. I was like a man sinking in deep water, who 
needed some one to throw him a rope. 

As I proceeded in reading, I found that the author 
not only pointed out the mortal disease which had 
seized upon me, but also described an all-sufficient rem- 
edy. He showed me that no righteousness of mine 
could be of any avail ; that God, viewing the wretched 
condition of the world, had so loved it as to give his 
well-beloved Son to be our Redeemer, to die in our 
place, to make an atonement for our sins, and to bring 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 261 

in everlasting righteousness. The glorious gospel the 
author opened up, and what surprised me above meas- 
ure, he showed that the greatest sinner might, on this 
plan, obtain salvation as readily as the least. I had 
often heard the word grace, but never before did I 
know its meaning. I had, until now, supposed that I 
must bring some price in my hand, or undergo some 
preparation, before I could come to Christ ; but now 
I found that I was warranted by the word of God to 
come at once, and receive salvation as a free gift, 
without money and without price. "When the light 
of this truth broke in first on my mind, I was so full of 
joy that I seemed as one that dreamed. It seemed to 
be too good and too favorable to be true. I asked 
myself, Do I understand the author ; or may not he 
be mistaken ? I turned again to the book, and found 
that the meaning could not be mistaken, for the same 
doctrine was taught over and over again ; and that 
the author was correct, I clearly saw from the many 
plain passages of Scripture which he brought to 
prove his doctrine. Indeed, the whole scheme of 
salvation inculcated was precisely what is found in 
the Bible. 

Collier. And do you still enjoy the same com- 
fortable assurance which you had at first ? 

Colp. No, I cannot say that my joy is as full as 
it was when I first believed, bat I think I understand 
the gospel plan better. At first I was too much dis- 
posed to live upon joyful frames, but now I live more 
by faith. 

Collier. And do you think that there is mercy 
for such a poor, miserable, ignorant sinner as I am? 
I am afraid that glorious Saviour would drive me from 



262 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

his presence if he should see me coming. Oh yes, I 
am too vile, too ignorant to be saved. 

Colp. Do not talk in this strain. Would you 
make God a liar ? Has he said, and will he not make it 
good? Has he not invited the weary and heavy-laden 
to come to him ? Has he not declared that he came 
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance? 
To seek and save the lost ? 

Collier. What you tell me is indeed goocl news. 
I had pretty much given up all hope of salvation ; 
but now I begin to see that it is possible, and even 
this is a relief. But how shall I obtain a part in this 
salvation ? 

Colp. Only believe. " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "All things are 
possible to him that believeth." Christ stands with 
open arms ready to receive you. Cast your soul con- 
fidingly on his almighty arm. Trust in him. 

Collier. I do not clearly know what you would 
have me to do. I desire to be saved, and I am willing 
to be saved by Christ ; is that the thing? 

Colp. Suppose you owed ten thousand pounds 
and had nothing to pay, and some prince should offer 
to pay the debt for you if you would rely upon him. 
The favor is so great that at first you might hesitate. 
You might doubt his ability or his sincerity in making 
the offer, but this would be very base and ungrateful ; 
yet this is the way in which Christ is dishonored, even 
by those who arc seeking salvation. 

Collier. I understand what is required, but I am 
afraid that I have it not in me to comply. Do tell 
me how to believe. 

Colp. Faith is the gift of God, and unless the 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 263 

Holy Spirit enlightens your mind and renews your 
heart, you will for ever remain in unbelief. To be- 
lieve in Christ is most reasonable, and is the duty of 
all who hear the gospel ; but such is the blindness 
and perverseness which sin has brought on the heart, 
that no man ever cometh to Christ unless the Father 
draw him, The Holy Spirit is now evidently striving 
with you. It is he that has opened your eyes to see 
your sins ; cherish his influences, and in answer to 
your prayer, humbly trusting in the merits of Christ, 
he will enable you to believe to the saving of your 
soul. The man with the withered hand might have 
cavilled as sinners do now ; but he hesitated not, he 
made the effort, and in making it found the vigor of 
his arm restored ; so in thousands of cases, while men 
have renounced their sins and cried for mercy, they 
have been enabled by the divine Spirit to believe, and 
receive Christ as he is offered in the gospel. 

Collier. Oh that I could believe. Lord, help 
me. 

Colp. You seem to be in the very case of the man 
mentioned in the gospel who brought his lunatic son 
to Christ to be healed, and said, "If thou canst do 
any thing, have compassion on us and help us. And 
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things 
are possible to him that believeth. And straightway 
the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, 
Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 

Collier. Yes, that is my case. Lord, help me to 
believe. Lord, give me faith. If thou wilt thou canst 
make me whole. 

Colp. Friend, let me ask you a few plain ques- 
tions, that it may appear whether or not you believe. 



264 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

And first, do you feel and acknowledge that you are a 
great sinner, and unable to help yourself? 

Collier. I do. I am a great sinner — a vile, un- 
grateful wretch — the worst perhaps out of hell. 

Colp. Do you see that sin, your own sin, is hate- 
ful, and deserving of God's wrath and curse ? 

Collier. I am as much convinced that I deserve 
to be sent to hell, as that I am now a living man. 
Indeed, I do not see how a holy God can do otherwise 
than send me to hell. 

Colp. Here you go too far. Were it not for the 
atonement of Christ, God could not do otherwise, 
consistently with justice, than send every sinner to 
hell. Do you believe that the death of Christ is a 
sufficient atonement for your sins? 

Collier. I cannot deny it. yes, it is a glorious 
sacrifice — it is of infinite value — that precious blood 
which he shed cleanseth from all sin. Oh, if I had an 
interest in this blood I should be safe. 

Colp. Well, you have it — it is yours — you do be- 
lieve, and therefore your sins are pardoned. 

Collier. 1 am not satisfied of that. I am afraid 
something is wanting. I heard you speak of the great 
joy which you felt when you believed ; should not 
I experience the same, if my faith were of the right 
kind? 

Colp. There are degrees of faith. There is faith 
as a grain of mustard-seed, and a strong faith like 
Abraham's, " who against hope believed in hope." 
Now, most commonly, in our day, the first exercises of 
faith are feeble and obscure ; but by proper culture, it 
becomes stronger every day. Let me ask you whether 
you do not approve the gospel method of salvation by 



COLPORTEUR AND COTTAGER. 265 

grace, and whether you do not renounce all dependence 
on your own works and merits ? 

Collier. As to my works, I have none — none 
good, and I see no fault in the plan of redemption. 
It is a glorious plan. My soul rejoices in it. It 
brings glory to God, and salvation to the sinner. 
And I want no other Saviour than Christ; give 
me Christ, and I want no more. 

Colp. And what think you of the people of God, 
the true disciples of Christ? 

Collier. It is my misfortune to know very few 
true Christians, but I am sure, if I should become ac- 
quainted with such, I should esteem them the excel- 
lent of the earth. And I do feel at this moment a 
tender compassion for sinners. that I could take 
them in my arms and bring them to Christ ! I desire 
the salvation of the whole world. 

Colp. Friend, my time is out ; I have an appoint- 
ment for a prayer-meeting this evening many miles off. 
Here 's a New Testament, which I give to you. 

Collier. Why, sir, I do not know a letter in the 
book. 

Colp. I want that you should learn. Begin with 
the first chapter of John. Your wife can aid you, and 
you will soon be able to read for yourself the wonder- 
ful works of God. and the unsearchable riches of Christ. 
Farewell. 



12 



266 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

THE COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 

A DIALOGUE. 



Farmer. Well, friend, you seem to be weary ; will 
you step into the house and rest yourself? 

Colporteur. I will, and would thank you for a 
drink of cold water. 

Far. Will you not take a little something with 
it? I have some good old whiskey. 

Colp. No, my friend, I have seen so much evil 
from drinking whiskey and such like liquors, that I 
have resolved never to take any intoxicating drink. 

Far. I guess you belong to a Temperance Society. 

Colp. I profess to be a Christian, and I feel my- 
self bound to prevent evil and do good to the utmost 
of my power ; and I am of opinion that few things 
have occasioned more vice and misery than strong 
drink. It has rendered thousands of families wretch- 
ed, and brought many a promising man to a drunk- 
ard's grave. Besides, it has burdened the country 
with taxes to support prisons, poor-houses, and hospi- 
tals, which are principally filled by persons brought 
there by strong drink. 

Far. To drink to excess is bad, but a little will 
hurt nobody. I have taken a little every day for 
twenty years, and am nothing the worse for it. I 
think it does me good, and I cannot do without it 
now any more than I can do without my tobacco. 

Colp. How old may you be, friend ? 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 267 

Tar. If I live I shall be four and forty the tenth 
day of next June. 

Colp. Well, sir, I will tell you what I know and 
have seen. Many moderate drinkers continue to be 
sober men until they reach the age of fifty or fifty-five, 
and then become sots the remainder of their days. 

Far. How can that be accounted for ? 

Colp. I will tell you. While the vigor of their 
constitution remains, the spirit which they are accus- 
tomed to take every day does not affect them ; but at 
the turn of life, when their strength is weakened, they 
cannot bear the same quantity which they took before, 
and they become drunkards by taking just the same 
quantity they had been used to take for twenty years. 
But I believe moderate drinkers never lessen the 
quantity of whiskey or rum which they put into their 
grog. Do you not find, friend, that you require that 
your daily drink should be somewhat stronger the 
longer you continue at it ? 

Tar. Well, I must confess that what you say is 
true ; and it accounts for what appeared strange to 
me here in our neighborhood. Two men that were 
thought to be very religious — now I don't pretend to 
any religion myself — but we all did believe that J. 

M and W. B were good men, if there were 

any in the land : one of them was an elder in the Pres- 
byterian church, and the other a deacon in the Bap- 
tist church, and no one ever suspected that they 
drank too much ; but about the same time they were 
both had under dealings for intoxication, and both 
are now suspended from their societies. . And as you 
say, this came upon them just at the turn of life, when, 
as we may say, old age begins. 



268 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Colp. Is there any appearance of a reformation 
since they have been dealt with by their churches ? 

Far. Far from it. They drink harder since than 
before, and though they both helped to turn many a 
one out for drunkenness, they are both greatly offended 
that the same measure has been dealt to them which 
they measured to others. 

Colp. Mark me now. There is scarcely the shad- 
ow of hope for such. Men who drink by spells may 
sometimes be reclaimed ; but when did you ever see 
a sot who takes too much every day in the year, turn 
to be a sober man? What you say of these two neigh- 
bors is true of many thousands in our land ; they 
drink, without being intoxicated, for ten, fifteen, or 
twenty years, and then, to the grief and astonishment 
of all their friends, become sots. But I will tell you 
another reason why some men and some whole fami- 
lies become drunkards about the turn of life. About 
that time the spirits are apt to flag, and men com- 
monly leave off active business. Now these two 
things go together. Men who have lived an active, 
bustling life, when they retire from business and ex- 
pect to enjoy themselves at home, are almost sure to 
become low-spirited, and feeling restless and uneasy 
they take to the bottle and find a temporary relief; 
and so they go on, from bad to worse, until they are 
drunk all the time. 

Far. Really, friend, you alarm me by what you 
say. I have never before felt that I was in any dan- 
ger of becoming a drunkard ; but I must think my 
two neighbors had as good a right and better to feel 
sure than I have. And so much of what you say I 
know to be true, that I really begin to fear for my- 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 269 

self. Now, suppose I should wish to quit drinking 
whiskey, would you advise me to taper off by degrees, 
or to break off at once ? 

Colp. By all means at once. I believe no one 
ever was successful on the other plan. Be resolute, 
keep in view your danger and the ruin which you 
would bring on your family if you should become a 
drunkard, and determine never to taste another drop 
unless as a medicine ; and there is danger in taking 
spirits even as a medicine, to those who have been 
much addicted to its use. 

Far. Did you not say that some whole families 
are more in danger of falling under the influence of 
this evil habit than others? How do you account for 
that? 

Colp. Upon the principle already stated, that 
some whole families are at a certain age very apt to 
become somewhat melancholy, hypped as we say, and 
then they are very apt to take to drink. It is a sad 
remedy, but it answers for the moment. I recollect a 
case of this kind : a very respectable and apparently 
religious man, who had served in the legislature of the 
state, and was a magistrate, and as well informed as 
any man who had not received a liberal education. 
He was in easy, or rather affluent circumstances, had 
a large family around him, sons and daughters, the 
oldest of whom were well educated and very promis- 
ing. This gentleman had, as was common with 
almost every body, been accustomed to take one or 
two drinks of grog before dinner, but was never sus- 
pected of intoxication, until at about the age of fifty 
or fifty-five he became almost at once a drunkard of 
the worst kind ; that is, he was when in liquor as rav- 



210 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ing a madman as ever was in bedlam. I need not 
tell you of the mortification and distress of his wife 
and children. The former did not live long to suffer 
the overwhelming calamity which had come on the 
family. Whether this was the cause of her disease 
and death is what I do not know. Many said it was. 
The family being among the first in the society where 
they lived, and possessing wealth and uncommon tal- 
ents, were struck down to the dust ; for perhaps they 
had been accustomed, as we say, to carry their heads 
a little too high. The church also in which he was 
an officer felt the stroke most keenly. He had been 
a leading man in all religious concerns, and was lib- 
eral in the support and propagation of the gospel. 
None were pleased but the enemies of religion, and 
even some of them seemed to feel badly about it ; but 
the confirmed infidel scoffed louder than ever, and 
said, "Here is one of your saints: they are all alike; 
and all their religion is nothing but hypocrisy.' 7 The 
calamity had, I think, a good effect on the children. 
Not one of them would taste ardent spirits, at a time 
when it was commonly used by all classes, and their 
pride was evidently brought down. 

Far. Well, was he ever reclaimed ? 

Colp. If he was, it was on his death-bed. I have 
heard that he was truly penitent ; but of the reality 
of such repentance there must always be great reason 
to doubt. 

Far. Did all his children continue to be temper- 
ate? 

Colp. I was going to tell about his oldest son, to 
show the truth of what I said about families having 
sometimes a something that led to drunkenness. I 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 211 

was conversing one day with a sensible old gentleman 
who had been long the friend and companion of the 
person described above. I asked him how he could 
account for his falling so suddenly into the open prac- 
tice of this vice. He said it was "owing to a kind of 
melancholy or miserable depression to which at a cer- 
tain age the family are subject ; and you '11 see," said 
he, " that the oldest son, when he arrives at that age, 
will become a drunkard too." 

I was, I confess, shocked at the very supposition, 
as he was a pattern of sobriety, and from his youth 
had drunk nothing stronger than water or household 
beer. I said it was impossible that this man should 
take to drink, especially as he appeared to be a con- 
sistent Christian, and devout and pious in all his con- 
duct at home and abroad. 

« Very true, very true," said the shrewd old gen- 
tleman, "but not more so than his father, and you'll 
see that he will go the same way." 

Some years afterwards, when I had forgotten this 
conversation, the gentleman of whom he spoke, having 
retired from active business to enjoy the repose which 
he supposed he needed, fell into a state of depression 
which alarmed his friends. A more miserable man I 
never saw ; and then I began to fear that the word 
of the old gentleman would come true. He had every 
thing about him that heart could wish, but still he 
was miserable. He was so restless that he could not 
contain himself many minutes in any position. 

Far. Well, did he take to the bottle at last? 

Colp. No ; blessed be God, he had grace given 
him to resist the most powerful temptations. His 
physician prescribed old Madeira as the best remedy. 



272 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

He tried it, but it increased his malady. Some recom- 
mended brown stout; some, old whiskey; and some, 
a gill of French brandy every morning in a quart of 
new milk. But his aversion to the use of spirits pre- 
vented him from trying any of these remedies. The 
only thing which he did find any relief from was the 
pipe. It was curious to see a man who had detested 
the use of tobacco in every form all his life before, 
now sitting and puffing at the pipe by the hour. In- 
deed, he became so attached to it that he smoked as 
he rode on horseback, lighting his pipe from a tinder- 
box. 

Far. And did he ever get well again ? 

Colp. Yes ; but not until he returned to an active 
life. He engaged in a business which required him 
to be much on horseback, and was himself again, ex- 
cept that a tinge of melancholy remained. 

Far. One thing I would ask, as you seem to have 
studied much on this subject, why is it that strong 
drink kills many stout young men in a few years ; 
while others who drink hard, and are scarcely ever 
sober, live as long as other men ? 

Colp. The same question I once asked a very 
wise man on the following occasion. I had gone to a 
public meeting of the people, I think on a court-day, 
and while conversing with this man, there came up 
one of the tallest men I ever saw, and he was as 
straight as an Indian. I recollected as soon as he 
came near that I had known him some years before, 
but I soon saw that he had lost all recollection of me. 
He spoke to the gentleman who was talking with me, 
but his speech was so thick that I could scarcely un- 
derstand a word he said. His face was pale and 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 273 

much bloated, and the black under his eyes looked as 
if he had been bruised. But what surprised me most, 
not only his hands but his whole flesh trembled in 
a remarkable manner. When he had passed by us, 
the sage with whom I was conversing said, "There is 
one of our finest young men destroyed with accursed 
alcohol" 

"With what?" said I, not knowing then the mean- 
ing of the word. 

" With ardent spirits," said he. " A more promis- 
ing young man we had not in this community, and 
now you see he has the premonitory symptoms of a 
most horrible death by delirium tremens:'' 

"What?" said I, being again at a loss for his 
meaning. 

" It may," said he, " be called in English the trem- 
bling madness. Of all horrible scenes that ever I wit- 
nessed," added he, " the worst was the death of a near 
relation of mine with this dreadful disease, brought 
on by drinking. I hope I shall never have my feel- 
ings so harrowed again ; and the awful and terrific 
impressions made on my imagination I am afraid will 
never be removed. He was a stout, strong man, a 
little turned of thirty years of age. It took four men 
to hold him, and after seeming to sleep a few moments, 
he would start up, his eyes staring like fire-balls, and 
would scream with a voice of such agony as I had 
never conceived ; and throwing himself back he would 
exclaim with horror, ' Hell-fire, hell-fire ; keep them off ; 
keep them off me ; they have come to drag me down 
to the lake of fire. 7 Then he broke forth in the most 
horrid blasphemies which the tongue could utter ; 
soon after which he fell into one convulsion fit after 

12* 



274 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

another until he expired, with the most frightful con- 
tortions of countenance I ever beheld. 

" And/ 7 said he, " the man who passed us just now, 
though walking abroad, is very near a death of the 
same kind. I have observed this fell disease in all its 
stages, and know all its symptoms. That large, strong 
man who spoke to me is the son of an old friend who 
himself came to the drunkard's grave. His sons were 
early initiated into the practice of dram-drinking in 
the morning, and grog-drinking at noon, and toddy- 
drinking at dinner. This is the youngest and the last 
of the family. The others have already finished their 
mad career, and you will hear that this one has fol- 
lowed them in a few weeks." 

I asked if he had a family. 

"Yes," said he, "as amiable and affectionate a 
wife as any man in the land, a lady of the first family 
in the county ; but her heart is already broken. She 
is never seen abroad ; and when her nearest friends 
visit her she makes a great exertion to assume an air 
of cheerfulness, and never alludes in the most distant 
manner to the intemperate habits of her husband. 
But when left alone with her four sweet little chil- 
dren about her knee, she weeps almost perpetually. 
One of her two little daughters the other day, looking 
up into her mother's face, said in the most tender, 
affecting tone, 'Dear mother, what ails you? why do 
you cry so? 7 She made no answer; but clasped the 
dear little girl to her bosom, foreseeing that in a little 
time she would be fatherless." 

But, said I, how comes it that this hale young 
man is killed so soon by this poison, and here is 
old John Tarry, who has been a hard drinker for 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 275 

.forty years, and yet seems likely to live a long time 
yet? " 

"O," said he, "that is easily explained. The hu- 
man constitution can by slow degrees be accommo- 
dated to almost any poison, so that the dose which 
would produce certain death in another will not de- 
stroy it. For example, there is a lady in my immedi- 
ate vicinity who swallows as much morphine every 
day, and several times in the day, as would kill you 
or me without a doubt. And you have heard of a cer- 
tain queen of England who fortified herself against 
poison by gradually increasing the dose until it had 
little effect on her constitution. So it is with alcohol ; 
taken by degrees, the constitution becomes hardened 
against its deleterious effects." 

I begged him to tell me what the poison was which 
he mentioned as being taken by the lady in his neigh- 
borhood. He smiled, and said he thought that every 
body knew that morphine was a purified extract of 
opium. 

Far. Well, friend, I must confess that what you 
have said brings me to a pause. I never saw the 
danger of moderate drinking as I do now. And were 
it not for one thing, I think I could muster up resolu- 
tion to leave off the practice. But I have some neigh- 
bors with whom I am in the habit of spending a social 
hour. Now if I should quit drinking altogether these 
men would ridicule me beyond measure, and I can 
bear any thing better than to be laughed at. 

Colp. Never mind the jeers and scoffs of such 
men. I dare say many that have joined your club 
have already become drunkards, and the rest, if they 
continue to drink, will probably go the same way. 



216 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Act the part of a reasonable man. The wise man # 
says, " The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth 
himself, but the foolish pass on and are punished. " 
These very men, in their serious moments, will secretly 
approve your course, however in self-defence they may 
ridicule you. And who knows but your example, 
when you explain the reasons of it, may have a happy 
influence on them, to induce them to leave off a prac- 
tice which leads so many to ruin. And rest assured, 
that the trial which you fear will soon be over. Your 
old companions, if they cannot be persuaded to follow 
your example, will soon cut your society and trouble 
you no more. 

Far. Well, a thought has come into my mind that 
I will not break off abruptly, but will taper off by 
degrees, and thus the thing will scarcely be noticed. 

Colp. I tell you, friend, this will not do. I never 
yet knew any one weaned from the use of strong 
drink in this way. I have known fond mothers at- 
tempt to wean their children in this gradual way : it 
never succeeded. The difficulty was as great at. the 
last as the first. There is no safety or certainty here 
but in total abstinence. All that is wanted is a strong- 
resolution to deny yourself, and moral courage to meet 
the jeers of your old comrades. 

Far. I feel much inclined to follow your advice, 
but I cannot conveniently begin just now, for I have 
an appointment to meet some persons on public busi- 
ness, and it has ever been our custom at these meet- 
ings to treat each other in turn, and it so happens 
that this will be expected of me at our next meeting ; 
and I never can endure to have it said that I was too 
niggardly to do my part, and be as free with my 



COLPORTEUR AND FARMER. 271 

money as another. But after this meeting is over I 
am resolved to begin a new course. 

Colp. Now, my dear sir, if you will listen to the 
advice of a stranger who sincerely desires your wel- 
fare, you will not postpone putting your resolution 
into practice at once. Delays are dangerous, and in 
nothing more dangerous than reforming what is amiss 
in our own conduct, especially where inveterate habit 
is to be overcome. No, sir, if instead of treating your 
friends whom you expect to meet, you frankly inform 
them of your change of view, and of your purpose to 
relinquish all use of intoxicating liquors, you will 
have no difficulty ; and that they may have no reason 
to attribute your course to stinginess, you can propose 
to them to spend the money commonly given for drink, 
in the purchase of useful books for the poor, or in 
schooling some poor child. 

Far. What you say has weight. I will think of 
it ; and I know nothing would better please my wife, 
for she has a mortal hatred of drunkards, and often 
wishes that there was not a drop of whiskey in the 
land ; for two of her brothers have already gone 
down to the drunkard's grave, as you call it. 

But come, friend, let us go into the house ; it must 
be near our dinner-time ; and you seem to have trav- 
elled far this morning with that heavy pack. But 
what do you carry ? What notions to suit the women ? 
they are always glad to see the pedlar coming, and are 
sure to have a little cash laid up to buy some trifles. 

Colp. I carry nothing but books and tracts. 

Far. Very good. We often buy cheap books to 
amuse us in the long winter nights. Have you any 
novels or funny stories in your collection ? 



278 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Colp. No, friend ; my books are of a very different 
kind ; they are all religious books, calculated to make 
men wise unto salvation. We have certain evidence 
that many have been savingly benefited by the books 
and tracts we circulate. Come, make a trial of one 
or two, and if you become interested in them you will 
not care for fictitious narratives and funny stories any 
more* Here is " Doddridge's Rise and Progress of 
Religion in the Soul ;" also " Alleine's Alarm to the 
Unconverted, 7 ' "Baxter's Call to the Unconverted," 
and this one with cuts is " Bunyan's Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress." Now, if you will take the whole of these, you 
shall have them for one dollar and eight cents. 

Far. I am afraid we shall not be amused by these 
religious books, and that they will lie on the shelf un- 
opened, and we shall have nothing for our money. 

Colp. Well, I will tell you what I will do. You 
may keep these books until I return in the winter ; 
when if, on examination, you do not think proper to 
buy them, I will take them back ; but I beg that you 
will not neglect to peruse them. On the Lord's day, 
when you have no preaching near, you might read a 
portion out of one of them to your family, in the place 
of a sermon. 

Far. Your proposal is not only fair, but generous. 
I will keep the books until you return, and will read 
so much as to find whether they suit me ; and if you 
should never return, I suppose the books will be mine. 

Colp. Yes, if you will promise to lend them to 
any of your neighbors who may wish to peruse them. 

Far. Well, that is fair enough ; and if I should 
not want to read them, my wife will, for she often 
borrows religious books. 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 219 

THE COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 

A DIALOaUE. 



Colporteur. You seem, friend, to have lived long 
in the world, and must have had much experience of 
the trials incident to mortals in this vale of sorrow. 

Aged Man. Yes, yes ; I have been spared long 
upon earth ; most of my early friends and acquaint- 
ances are gone, and most of my own family also. I 
have buried two wives, and have lost five children out 
of seven, so that I seem to be left almost alone in the 
world. I am become a stranger in the place where I 
have always lived. The former generation to which 
I belonged have gone and left me alone, like an old 
dead tree in the midst of a field ; and a new genera- 
tion have sprung up, who appear as strangers to me, 
though they are the children of my old neighbors; 
and often when my own grandchildren come to see 
me, I am under the necessity of asking their names, 
so forgetful have I become. 

Colp. I hope, sir, that you enjoy comfortable 
health in your advanced age. You seem not to be 
afflicted with any painful disease, if one may judge 
from your healthy appearance. 

Aged Man. Appearances in my case are deceitful. 
I am at this moment free from distressing illness, but 
no day of my life passes in which I do not experience 
the growing infirmities of age ; and I have seasons of 
excruciating pain, which if it should continue long, 



280 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

would bring me to my end ; but, thank God, these 
spells are commonly of short continuance. 

Colp. It does not seem desirable, from what I 
have observed, for persons to live to extreme old age : 
very few pass the age of seventy-five without experi- 
encing manifold infirmities of body, and in most cases 
a great decay of the mental faculties ; and this often 
happens when there is no decline in the health. Where 
the aged are prepared for death, I see no reason why 
they should be solicitous to have their days pro- 
tracted. 

Aged Man. Very true, very true : after a certain 
age, there is very little pleasure to be enjoyed, and 
there are many troubles to be endured ; but how long 
a man shall live is not left to his option. He must 
patiently wait until his change cometh. But in regard 
to preparation for death, I do not know any thing 
which deserves to be so called, but an upright, well- 
spent life ; at any rate, that is all my dependence. 

Colp. That must indeed be a good life to em- 
bolden a man to be willing to meet his almighty Judge. 
For my part, when I look back upon my past life, I 
see so many glaring defects, so many sinful acts, so 
many omissions of what ought to have been done, 
and especially such a want of purity in my motives, 
even when my actions were externally correct, that I 
should dread . the scrutiny of the omniscient eye of 
God; knowing from his own word that "He is of 
purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon 
iniquity." If, therefore, my own good works were 
my only ground of hope, I should utterly despair. 

Aged Man. Really, sir, I do not understand you. 
To my reason, nothing can be more evident, than that 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 281 

our beneficent Creator will deal with men according 
to their behavior. And if we do as well as we can, 
and act honestly, uprightly, and charitably, He is not 
so unjust as to require more of us than we, poor frail 
creatures, are able to perform. I do not see, there- 
fore, why you, or any other honest man, should be 
afraid to meet your Judge. I should be very unwill- 
ing to entertain an opinion so derogatory to his 
character, as that he would not be satisfied with 
such obedience as his creatures are able to render 
to him? 

Colp. I find that we agree in the general principle 
that God will deal with men according to their real 
character and conduct ; and if these are in exact con- 
formity with his law and will, undoubtedly we have 
nothing to fear, " The Judge of all the earth will do 
right." He will never condemn the innocent — but 
he has declared that he will not clear the guilty. The 
only question before us is, whether, indeed, we have 
complied with the will of God. You seem to have 
low ideas of what the law of God requires of man. 
Let us understand one another on this point, and Ave 
shall not be likely to differ in other things. Now, I 
know of no other way to determine this point but to 
have recourse to the word of God, where the requisi- 
tions of his law are clearly expressed, and where the 
duties of man, in all the relations of life, are plainly 
inculcated. Here I find it written, " Thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as thy- 
self." Now if any man has perfectly complied with 
this requisition, I admit that he may appear with con- 
fidence before his Judge, and claim justification or 



282 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the footing of his own obedience. But if a man seeks 
justification by his own obedience, he should see to it 
that there is no flaw in it ; for it is written, " Cursed is 
every one who continueth not in all things written in 
the law of God." And, "he who offendeth in one 
point, is guilty of all." Now this is a judgment 
which I cannot stand ; for I am conscious of guilt. I 
have often done the things which I ought not to have 
done, and left undone those which I ought Jo have 
done. And instead of loving God with all my heart 
from the earliest dawn of reason, much of my life 
has been spent in almost total forgetfulness of God. 
My youthful prime was devoted to pleasure, and I 
may say, to sin and folly ; so that, even now, I am 
often constrained to cry out, " Remember not against 
me the sins of my youth and my transgressions." Yet 
I cannot say that I ran to greater excesses than the 
majority of my companions, and at the time I thought 
little of the evil of my ways ; but since it pleased God 
to open my eyes to understand the extent of his law 
and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, I have mourned 
over my misspent life. Even now I dare not plead 
any work which I have ever performed as a ground 
of acceptance before God ; for I know that if he 
should enter into judgment with me, there is imper- 
fection enough in my very best performances to sub- 
ject me to condemnation. 

Aged Man. I must confess that you astonish me 
with your doctrine. I am sure there are very few 
who think as you do. I know, indeed, that Metho- 
dists, and some others of an enthusiastic turn, insist 
on what they call the new birth, but I thought all 
sensible men rejected such notions with scorn. I sat 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 283 

for years under the ministry of old Mr. Sadler, who 
was reckoned by all to be a learned and able divine, 
and he never preached any of these new-fangled doc- 
trines, but always insisted on moral honesty, and 
charity to the poor. His favorite text, which he often 
quoted, was, " What, man, does the Lord require 
of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk 
humbly with thy God?' 7 I have often heard him say, 
that if a good life was not the way to heaven, he knew 
not what was. And as to our slips and defects, he 
said that our Maker was not so severe as to mark 
every fault, and that Christ would make up for all our 
deficiencies. 

Colp. I am not surprised to hear these senti- 
ments. I believe they are held by many nominal Chris- 
tians, and some reputable ministers know no other 
method of salvation. In fact it is the system of na- 
ture. Every man, without instruction, naturally 
adopts such opinions ; but though I once knew no 
better, and foolishly rested on my own good works 
when in reality I had none, yet now I am as well 
persuaded as I can be of any thing, that this is a false 
and sandy foundation, and whoever builds upon it 
will experience a fatal overthrow. This scheme goes 
on the supposition that man is not in a fallen, ruined 
state ; it supposes also that God will not be strict in 
requiring obedience to his own law, but that men may 
fail of their duty in the most essential respect, and 
never serve God at all from pure motives, and yet 
incur no penalty. His threatening against all and 
every transgression, according to these sentiments, is 
a mere empty sound at which nobody need be alarmed, 
as there is no danger that it will ever be executed. 



284 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Besides, if men may be saved by their own imperfect 
works, the whole Christian system is superfluous, and 
Christ has died in vain ; for as to calling upon him 
to eke out the defects of our own righteousness, it is 
so derogatory to the Saviour that I wonder that any 
one should defend the opinion. The truth is, if our 
imperfect works can be, in any degree, a safe founda- 
tion for our hopes of acceptance with God, they can 
accomplish the whole work as well as a part. - The 
Deist has as good a religion as this ; indeed, he has 
the very same : it is a system which supersedes all 
necessity of the mediatorial scheme, and derives no 
hope nor comfort from the atonement and intercession 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. However well satisfied 
men may remain while they rely on their own works, 
if ever their consciences are awakened and their minds 
enlightened to apprehend their real condition under 
the law, every vestige of hope will be swept from 
under them. It is a religion which can never heal a 
wounded spirit, or give solid peace to the soul troubled 
with a deep conviction of sin. Nor will it be likely to 
remove our fears when death approaches ; and certainly 
at the judgment it will be found utterly to fail all those 
who have no better righteousness than their own. 

Aged Man. You seem to me to forget that God 
is merciful as well as just, and that he has promised 
freely to pardon all our sins, provided we sincerely 
repent of them. His merit covers all our defects, 
and his intercession recommends us unto God. You 
see that I do not exclude Christ from my religion, as 
you seem to suggest, but find an important place for 
the blessed Redeemer, as the ground of all my hopes 
of pardon. 



COLPORTEUU AND AGED MAN. 285 

Colp. I am gratified to learn that you make so 
much of the Saviour, and at last find so much need of 
his merit ; but these sentiments which you have now 
uttered never can be made to harmonize with those 
which you expressed a while ago. If the former the- 
ory of salvation be true, there is no room for a Medi- 
ator, no room for his expiatory work. Either then 
you must renounce the expectation of being accepted 
on account of your honest and upright life ; or if you 
cleave to this as the foundation of your hope, then you 
have no place for the Saviour and his righteousness. 
The two plans are perfectly incompatible. " If by 
grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is 
no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no 
more of grace, otherwise work is no more work." 
The Scriptures, however, positively and repeatedly 
declare, that salvation is by grace, through faith, and 
that not of ourselves, but the gift of God. " Not by 
works of righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of 
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." 

Aged Man. As you admit that God is merciful, 
why may not I hope to be accepted as well as you ? 
Will his mercy be confined, as some teach, to a few 
favorites, while all the rest of mankind, do what they 
can, must be reprobated ? That is a doctrine which 
my soul abhors. I never will believe that God is 
partial. I am persuaded that he loves all his crea- 
tures, and never created any body to be damned. 
His mercy is free to all, and the door of hope is open 
to all. 

Colp. My aged friend, I do not hold any of the 
opinions which you so strongly disapprove, as you 



286 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

have expressed them. But I have often observed, 
that precious truth, by a little misrepresentation, may 
be made to appear exceeding odious and repulsive. I 
never in my life heard an opposer of the gospel give 
a fair and impartial statement of the truth which he 
endeavored to overthrow. And often truth is so 
intermingled with error in the statements which men 
make of their opinions, that it is very difficult to op- 
pose the one without seeming to reject the truth impli- 
cated with it. This, I must be permitted to say, is 
the case in regard to the sentiments just now uttered. 
But I have found religious controversy so very un- 
profitable, that I have resolved as far as possible to 
avoid it. In all cases, however, I feel it to be my 
duty to give my humble testimony in favor of plain, 
important, scriptural truth. There are many deep 
things in religion which I do not pretend to explain, 
and some things in God's dealings with men which 
are to me inscrutable : I leave all such things to wiser 
heads. I find that my best course is, to speculate but 
little, and to receive with humility and simplicity of 
heart whatever God has revealed, whether I can ex- 
plain it or not. Objections may be offered to demon- 
strated truths, which no man can answer. But do we 
reject such truths on this account? By no means. 
We attribute the difficulty to the weakness of the hu- 
man understanding. There are things relating to the 
purposes of God, the fall of man, the doctrine of atone- 
ment, and supernatural grace, which are beyond my 
comprehension ; but finding things as incomprehen- 
sible and inexplicable in my own nature, and in every 
thing around me, I am prepared to expect profound 
mysteries in religion. And when, on account of these, 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 281 

men find fault and cavil, I always think of the words 
of Paul, " Nay, but man, who art thou that repliest 
against God? Shall the thing formed say to him 
who formed it, why hast thou made me thus ?" Noth- 
ing, I am persuaded, is more requisite to the study of 
divine truth than a humble, docile disposition. To 
enter the kingdom of heaven, we must be converted, 
and become as little children. There are many truths 
which the proud, self-confident disputer of this world 
never can receive. They are repugnant to all his 
feelings ; and when this is the fact, the voice of rea- 
son and Scripture is lost, and the force of argument is 
unfelt. I have long observed that the creed of many 
is dictated by their feelings rather than their judg- 
ment. If any doctrine be advanced which is repug- 
nant to their feelings, they instantly, I was going to 
say instinctively, reject it without any impartial inquiry 
into its authority and evidence. Even the plain and 
repeated declarations of God's word will not overcome 
their opposition to such truths. 

As, then, I do not mean to enter into any abstruse 
disquisitions of theological points, for which indeed I 
am incompetent, I will simply state the clear doctrine 
of Scripture on two essential questions. First, How 
is sinful man to find acceptance with God? Secondly, 
How can man be cleansed from the pollution of sin? 
It seems to me that an answer to these two questions 
will embrace all that is essential in religion ; for, as 
far as I can see, there are only two obstacles in the 
way of any sinner's getting to heaven. The first is, 
the condemnation under which by nature he lies ; for 
we are all by nature children of wrath, and the whole 
world is guilty before God. The second obstacle is 



288 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

man's corrupt nature, which disqualifies him for the 
enjoyment of the holy happiness of heaven. The great 
object of the holy Scriptures is to teach sinful man a 
way by which these two grand obstacles may be re- 
moved. And we are there taught over and over again, 
and in almost every possible form, that no man can 
obtain justification or salvation by the deeds of the 
law, or by any works of righteousness which he can 
perform ; but that salvation from beginning to end is 
by grace, that is, of mere favor, on the ground, not 
of our own merit, but the merit of Christ And as 
justification is the commencement of salvation, the 
doctrine of justification by faith is the prominent doc- 
trine of the New Testament ; and it is evident that 
it is not from any merit in the act of faith which is 
the ground of acceptance, but it is the object which 
faith apprehends, and on which it relies, even the 
merit and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And 
it must never be forgotten, that the faith which justi- 
fies is never a dead, but always a living, operative 
faith, which " works by love, and purifies the heart." 

The second great hinderance to salvation, our de- 
pravity of nature, is removed by regeneration and sane- 
tification. This is a real, spiritual renovation of man's 
corrupt nature, inculcated in Scripture by many strik- 
ing metaphors, and its necessity insisted on in the 
most decisive and peremptory manner : " Except a 
man be born again w — " Except ye be converted '' — 
"Except ye repent " — "Without holiness no man 
shall sec the Lord." The efficient agent in this 
change is the Holy Spirit ; the instrument, the word. 
These are truths so plainly taught in the Scriptures, 
that respecting them there should be no dispute. 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 289 

Aged Man. What you say may be very true, for 
what I know ; but if so, there are few that will 
be saved. The people around here know nothing of 
the great change which you speak of, except a small 
number of weak enthusiasts, 'who are trying to be 
" righteous overmuch." Now, friend, I will change 
the conversation. I am too old to think of making 
an entire change in my way of living ; and I am con- 
tented to take my chance for future happiness with 
the majority of my neighbors : and so, good morning 
to you, sir. 

Colp. Before you go, I beg you to hear one word 
more from one who has no other motive for address- 
ing you but love to your soul. You have here a com- 
fortable house and a good farm, which you have ob- 
tained by your own industry. Suppose, now, that 
some friend should come to you and say, " I have been 
examining the recorded deed which you received when 
you bought this land, and I find it to be defective ; 
and there are persons interested who begin to suspect 
the existence of a flaw." What would you do ? Would 
you say, I am too old to trouble myself about this 
matter ; I will take my chance with many others whose 
titles to their lands may be as defective as mine? 
No, sir ; you would not sleep until you had carefully 
examined your deed, and not trusting to your own 
judgment, you would consult some one learned in the 
law, and would not rest until the flaw was rectified, 
and every ground of suspicion of the validity of your 
title removed. This would be acting like a reason- 
able man, who, when he had a great interest at stake t 
would not be reluctant to give himself some trouble 
to have every thing made safe. 

Prac, Truths. 1 3 



290 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

But is your farm of more value to you than your 
soul ? Would the loss of your farm be greater and 
more irreparable than the loss of your soul for ever ? 
The Saviour said, " What shall it profit a man if he 
gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? or what 
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Now, 
my dear sir, I do not ask you to adopt my sentiments. 
I wish you honestly and earnestly to examine for 
yourself. Your age furnishes an argument jn favor 
of an immediate attention to this concern, for two 
reasons : first, because you cannot expect in the course 
of nature to remain long here ; therefore, whatever is 
done must be done quickly. The young and robust 
may hope for a life of many years to come, but you 
are certainly near your journey's end. And another 
reason is, that the loss of the soul to an aged man is 
greater and more terrible than to a young person, be- 
cause he has committed so many more sins, and lived 
so much longer in impenitence and the rejection of 
the gospel. If your state is good, it cannot hurt you 
to examine into it, but must afford great consolation 
in the near prospect of death; but if it should be 
found, on impartial examination, not to be safe, it 
would be of infinite importance to know it before the 
day of grace is past. Such a discovery would, indeed, 
give you some pain and anxiety, but this would be 
salutary, and might lead to an application to Christ, 
the Saviour of lost sinners, for pardon and grace. 

Do consider, friend, I beseech you, whether it 
would be wise for you to suffer now the pangs of con- 
viction of sin and of the new birth, or to be tormented 
in hell for ever. Now is the accepted time, and now 
is the day of salvation. The door of mercy is still 



COLPORTEUR AND AGED MAN. 291 

open. The gracious invitations of the gospel are still 
addressed to you. God commandeth all men every- 
where to repent, and says, "Except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish." Christ says, " Ye will not come 
unto me, that you may have life." " If any man thirst, 
let him come unto me and drink." Though you are 
far advanced in years, it may not be too late. The 
laborers that entered the vineyard at the eleventh 
hour were employed, and received the same reward as 
the others. Turn not your thoughts away from this 
subject, I entreat you. Let not the example of your 
careless neighbors influence you to neglect your sal- 
vation. They, for aught you know, may experience 
true religion when your head is laid under the clods 
of the valley. Let there be no delay in attending to 
this great concern. 

Aged Man. I own that what you say is reason- 
able, and I begin to feel that I have too long neglected 
to attend to religion ; but if I should wish to become 
religious, I know not where to begin. 

Colp. I hope, sir, you have a Bible. This is the 
guide-book to heaven. 

Aged Man. I must confess that I have not. When 
I began housekeeping my wife brought a Bible with 
her, but the children used it as a reading-book at 
school, and it got used up. 

Colp. Here, sir, is a Bible which you can have at 
a very cheap rate ; and here are some other small 
books and tracts, which have been the means of guid- 
ing many inquiring souls in the way of life. "Al- 
leine's Alarm," "Baxter's Call," and "Doddridge's 
Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." And 
here for a few cents you may have "James' Anxious 



292 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Inquirer." And here are some tracts well suited to 
your case. I will leave these books with you, and as 
I expect in a few weeks to return this way, if after 
perusing them you should not wish to retain them, I 
will take them back again. 

Aged Man. What you propose is reasonable ; but 
at all events I must have the Bible. I am ashamed 
not to have one in the house. But I wish to ask you 
one question. Do you get any profit from th£ sale of 
these books, or do the Society who publish them make 
any thing by them ? 

Colp. I have no profit whatever on the sale of 
these books. I receive so much a year for my ser- 
vices, and that is all, though I could make much more 
at my trade, but I have a desire to be useful to my 
fellow-creatures. And the American Tract Society 
do not make a cent by their millions of publications. 
Their agents and secretaries, who devote their whole 
time to the work, receive a bare support ; and the 
books are sold at what they cost, and thousands are 
given away every year. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 293 



THE COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN- 
CATHOLIC. 

DIALOG-UE I. 



Colporteur. Can I sell you a Bible or Testament 
this morning ? they are very cheap. 

Roman-catholic. We do not approve of your 
Bibles. They are not correct ; and our priests warn 
us against them. 

Colp. Do they furnish you with such as are cor- 
rect ? Have you a Bible in the house ? 

Rom. No ; our priest says the common people have 
no need of the Bible ; they do not know how to inter- 
pret it ; and reading it would do them more harm 
than good. He says that whatever is necessary he 
will teach us ; and if we believe as the church be- 
lieves it is enough. 

Colp. But may not a priest be a bad man? Is it 
not possible that he may not know the truth, and 
therefore cannot lead you in the right way? Is it 
wise to venture your salvation upon the fidelity of a 
fallible man? 

Rom. The thing which you suppose is possible ; 
priests are but men, and some of them frail men ; but 
we can do no better than commit our souls to their 
keeping. If we should offend them they might refuse 
to give us absolution. 

Colp. We never read that Christ or his apostles 
ever forbade the people to read the Scriptures ; on 
the contrary, they exhorted men to search the Scrip- 



294 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

tures, and blamed them for not knowing what was 
written in them. " All Scripture " is said to be " prof- 
itable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may 
be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
The law, under the old dispensation, was read in the 
hearing of all the people every seventh year ; and in 
the synagogues the law and the prophets were read 
every Sabbath-day. Timothy is said to have- known 
the Scriptures from his childhood, and the Bible con- 
tains instructions and exhortations addressed to all 
sorts of men. If the priest should be ignorant, or 
negligent, the people must perish for lack of know- 
ledge, if they are not permitted to read the Scriptures. 
You speak of absolution. You do not really believe 
that any sinful man has power to forgive sin. The 
thing is incredible. Man can only declare the terms 
on which God will grant forgiveness ; but he cannot 
tell when those conditions are complied with. Sup- 
pose a man to confess his sins to the priest in hypoc- 
risy, still regarding iniquity in his heart, can the 
priest forgive him ? certainly not. He can only pro- 
nounce the true penitent forgiven. The priest's abso- 
lution of an impenitent sinner cannot avail. But, 
friend, you have now arrived at mature age, and have 
from your infancy been under the instruction of your 
priests, do tell me what you have learned about the 
way of salvation ? How shall a sinful man obtain the 
favor of God ; and what is necessary to prepare him 
for heaven ? 

Rom. "Why, sir, we must lead a good life, and when 
we commit sin — and what man is there that sinneth 
not? — we must confess our sins to the priest and ob- 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 295 

tain absolution, and then submit to the penances which 
he lays upon us ; and as to preparation for heaven, we 
must make satisfaction for our venial offences while 
we live; or if that is not done, we must suffer the 
fires of purgatory until we are prepared for heaven. 
Besides, when we are near to death, we have a sacra- 
ment intended for the express purpose of preparing 
the soul for death. This sacrament is called extreme 
unction, and consists in anointing the sick with conse- 
crated oil, by which grace is communicated to the 
departing soul. Thus you see our religion contains 
all that is needful to gain the favor of God and prep- 
aration for heaven. 

Colp. Now, my friend, be not offended at my 
plainness, when I tell you that this is not the religion 
of the Bible. If your priest has taught you this sys- 
tem as the way of salvation revealed in the Bible, he 
has deceived you ; and as your salvation is at stake, 
you ought, like the Bereans, to examine for yourself, 
" whether these things are so." Acts 17 : 11. The re- 
ligion inculcated in the Bible is essentially different 
from this. It is a method of saving sinners by grace, 
without the merit of good works. Pardon is freely 
granted to every penitent believer, only for the sake 
of the obedience of Christ unto death. His blood is 
the only sacrifice which atones for sin. We never 
read in the New Testament of sinners being directed 
to make satisfaction for their own sins. Justification 
is declared to be by faith, and not by the works of 
the law ; so that God is said to justify, not the right- 
eous, but the ungodly who believeth in Jesus. Our 
works and merit have no part in the business. In- 
deed, the sinner is justified before he begins to per- 



296 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

form any works that are truly good ; and even these 
could never be the ground of justification, because 
they are all imperfect. I know that your Douay 
Bible has the phrase do penance — unless you do pen- 
ance — but unless by penance you understand sincere 
repentance, the translation is evidently wrong, as 
every scholar must confess. Where in all the New 
Testament do you find any such thing commanded, or 
ever once spoken of, as is now called penance? But 
as to repentance, the best preachers in your church 
allow, that repentance of the heart is the essence of 
all true penance. And the Scriptures speak of noth- 
ing else, except the evidence which we- must give of 
our sincerity, namely, " works meet for repentance." 

And this leads me to remark, that according to 
the teaching of .the New Testament, a thorough change 
of heart is necessary to our entering the kingdom of 
heaven. Your priest, no doubt, has taught you that 
you were regenerated in infant baptism, and that no 
other conversion is needed. But in the Bible there 
is no such doctrine. If all who have received infant 
baptism were truly regenerated, they would show the 
evidence of the change in their conduct and conver- 
sation. They would lead holy lives. But in many 
such persons we see no such thing. They give no 
evidence of a holy nature. But "without holiness no 
Juan shall see the Lord." Your outward ceremonies, 
and sacraments as you call them, cannot prepare you 
for heaven. The Jews gloried in their circumcision ; 
but the apostle Paul in many places teaches, that this 
and other ceremonies profited nothing. "Neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing 
but faith which worketh by love—the new creature." 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 297 

True religion is spiritual, has its seat in the heart, 
and does not consist in meats or drinks, that is, in out- 
ward ceremonies, but in righteousness and peace and 
joy in the Holy Ghost. What Paul says about the 
real Jew is equally true in regard to the Christian, 
for true religion has ever been the same. He says, 
" He is not a Jew, who is one outwardly," that is, 
only by complying with external ceremonies; "but 
he is a Jew, who is one inwardly ; and circumcision 
is that of the heart, and not of the letter ; whose praise 
is not of men, but of God/ 1 

And as to purgatory, it is entirely a human inven- 
tion. There is not one word in the whole Bible that 
makes the least mention of any such place. Besides, 
the whole doctrine of making satisfaction for our own 
sins is unscriptural, and is highly derogatory to the 
sacrifice of Christ, as though that was insufficient. 
This doctrine too has introduced the most shameful 
abuses, through the cunning and avarice of the priests, 
who have found it to be a gold-mine, certainly a most 
successful device for drawing money from the people, 
by working on their tender feelings of compassion. 
Ask your priest to put his finger on a single text in 
the Bible which speaks of purgatory, and if I cannot 
show that it is misinterpreted I will give up the point. 

And again, you say that by the sacrament of " ex- 
treme unction," as you call it, the dying are prepared 
for their change. But if the dying person be impeni- 
tent, will anointing him with oil save him? But the 
Scriptures speaks of no such sacrament. The custom 
of anointing with oil was anciently a very common 
remedy in sickness ; and when the disciples were sent 
forth to heal the sick, they were commanded by the 

13* 



298 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Lord to anoint them with oil, as a sign of healing. 
And James directs the sick to send for the elders of 
the church, who should pray over them, anointing 
them with oil in the name of the Lord. But this 
ceremony or remedy was not used to prepare the 
dying for death ; it was used to preserve them from 
death, by the miraculous healing power which attend- 
ed it. 

And here I think we have the true reason why 
the priests do not encourage the people to read the 
Bible. It is, that they fear lest they should discover 
that the religion which they teach is not taken from 
the Bible. And if you go to tradition, you will find 
nothing like a prohibition of reading the holy Scrip- 
tures in all the writings of the Christian fathers for 
many centuries. It was always the undisputed privi- 
lege of men, women, and children, of every rank, who 
could read, to read the sacred Scriptures. Nay, it 
was always considered an incumbent duty, which no 
Christian was at liberty to neglect. I must think, 
therefore, that in taking away the holy Scriptures 
from the people, the priests are guilty of an enormous 
crime. They have taken away the key of knowledge. 
They have shut up the fountain of life, which God 
had opened for all mankind. There is nothing in the 
whole Romish system which strikes me as more im- 
pious, or more unreasonable. This single thing is 
enough to convince any unprejudiced man that their 
religion is not true Christianity : if it were, they 
would be glad to appeal to the Bible for proof of all 
their doctrines and all their practices ; whereas, if a 
person acquainted with the Scriptures should be 
brought into a Romish chapel, and should carefully 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 299 

attend to all the ceremonies in celebrating mass, he 
would be ready to think that he had been introduced 
into a heathen temple, rather than a Christian church. 
Eom. You have your way of thinking, and I have 
mine, and we are not likely to convince one another. 
We live in a free country, where every man has an 
equal right with others to form his own opinions, and 
be of what religion he pleases. Yet, though I believe 
firmly in the old mother church, as being the only 
true church, and the only safe way to heaven, yet I 
must confess I never could see the reason why the 
Scriptures are kept from us. 

DIALOG-UE II. 

Eom. I do not like any of your novelties in relig- 
ion. I am for following the good old way. Yours 
is a new religion, only about three hundred years 
old; but ours is more than eighteen hundred years 
old. Ours has come down in a right line from 
Christ and his apostles; yours began with Luther 
and Calvin. 

Colp. Did you never hear, friend', that Paul pre- 
dicted that there would be a great falling away be- 
fore the end of the world ? Suppose now that apos- 
tasy to have taken place; and suppose some pious 
men, by reading the Scriptures, to have discovered 
that the church was become corrupt, and should en- 
deavor to bring the people back to the religion incul- 
cated by Christ and his apostles ; which ought to be 
called the good old way, the errors and corruptions 
of an apostate church, or the doctrines and worship 
of the New Testament restored? Certainly the lat- 
ter. Now this is precisely the case. Your church 



300 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

has evidently departed from the Scriptures ; and we 
are endeavoring to bring the people back to the true 
religion, which by degrees was forsaken by the whole 
Roman-catholic church. Popery then is the novelty, 
and Protestantism the old religion of the Bible. I 
have here a book with this very title, " Popery a 
Novelty f and the thing is proved by undoubted tes- 
timonies, that a large part of the Romish religion has 
sprung up long since the times of the apostles- 

Rom. I never can believe that Christ would leave 
his church to apostatize ; for he has promised that the 
" gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

Colp. Certainly the church of God will never 
become extinct. If it becomes corrupt, it will be 
reformed and restored to its primitive purity ; and 
God is accomplishing something of this kind now. 
He has put it into the hearts of many to search the 
Scriptures ; and they have found that the Romish 
church, and also the Oriental churches, have become 
very degenerate. Still, there has been a seed to 
serve Him. In the midst of corruption, a few faithful 
souls have been found who have testified against the 
errors and sins of the times. And in sequestered 
valleys a people have lived who continued to profess 
the true doctrines of Christianity. These have been 
long and cruelly persecuted, but not exterminated. 
These held the same doctrines as the Reformers whom 
God raised up in these latter ages. The Jewish 
church fell away to idolatry in the time of Elijah, so 
that he thought that he alone was left of the worship- 
pers of the true God ; but God informed him that 
there were seven thousand who had not bowed the 
knee to Baal. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 301 

A similar defection took place in the time of Ma- 
nasseh and Amon ; in which time the Scriptures were 
unknown among the people, as we learn from the fact, 
that the book of Moses was found among the rub- 
bish, and the pious young king Josiah, when he heard 
it read, rent his clothes, and expressed the utmost 
grief, because the prescriptions of the divine law had 
not been obeyed for a long time. As it was then, so 
it is now with the Romish church. The Scriptures, 
though not lost, are kept back from the people by 
their priests and prelates. They are kept in igno- 
rance, and have no opportunity of judging whether 
what their friends teach them is agreeable to Scrip- 
ture or not. Now certainly this is not a safe condition 
to rest in. 

But my object in seeking this conversation was 
not to enter into any dispute, but to have a serious 
discourse about vital piety. If your religion is right, 
it brings those who receive it to love God supremely, 
and to love their fellow-men. The question then 
which I would propose for your consideration is a 
personal one. It is simply the question which our 
Saviour, after his resurrection, propounded to Peter, 
" Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ?" I put it to 
your conscience, do you feel a sincere love to the Lord 
Jesus Christ? 

Rom. To be sure I do. Do you take me for a hea- 
then or a reprobate, that you ask me, a Christian man, 
such a question ? 

Colp. I mean no offence. But a mere profession 
of love with the lips is easily made. Christ said of 
some that had a high opinion of themselves, " I know 
you, that you have not the love of God in you." And 



802 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

he also said to his disciples, " If ye love me, keep my 
commandments." " He that hath my commandments 
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. 77 Do you 
then obey from the heart all the commandments of 
God ? One of these commandments is, " Thou shalt 
not make unto thee any graven image, or any like- 
ness of any thing that is in heaven abovej or in the 
earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth ; thou 
shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them. 77 -" Now, 
it is a notorious fact, that in all your churches you 
have images, and that you bow down to them and 
worship them. 

Rom. I have the ten commandments in my cate- 
chism at home, but there is no command forbidding 
us to worship images. You Protestants must have 
invented this to impose on the ignorant. 

Colp. Here is a plain evidence of the craft and 
dishonesty of your priests. They have left out almost 
the whole of the second commandment of the Deca- 
logue, and have made one commandment out of the 
first two ; and that they might make out the number 
ten, they have divided the tenth into two. 

Rom. I never can believe that any of our priests 
would change the word of God, or leave out any of 
the commandments of God. If you could convince 
me of the truth of what you say, it would go further 
to shake my faith in their honesty than all that you 
have yet said. But it cannot be. Here is a cate- 
chism which has the ten commandments, and there, 
is no prohibition of worshipping images. The first 
is, " Thou shalt not have any other gods before me. 77 
And the second commandment is, " Thou shalt not 
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 303 

Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name 
in vain." I wonder at the effrontery of men, that in 
the face of day will make so heinous a charge against 
our priests. They certainly break the commandment 
that says, " Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor.' 7 

Colp. I admit that the charge is a grievous one, 
and if it is not true, I will consent to be considered 
a false accuser. You admit that the Douay transla- 
tion of the Bible is correct ; it was made by Romish 
priests, and is the version in use among you, as far as 
you have liberty to read the Bible. Then, friend, I 
have a copy in my leather bag, and you shall read 
for yourself, and compare what is there written with 
the commandments which you have in your manual ; 
for though they have omitted the second command- 
ment in the catechisms and manuals, which are put 
into the hands of the people, they have not had the 
impious audacity to strike it out of the Bible. 

Rom. [Reads the commandments out of the Douay 
Bible.] This, I confess, surprises me not a little. This 
is a thing I never heard of before. I must get my 
confessor to explain how this comes. Surely there 
must be some good reason for this, or it would never 
have been done. 

Colp. My dear sir, the thing admits of no expla- 
nation, and needs none. You see with your own 
eyes that one of the commandments has been omitted, 
or so mutilated, that you never knew till this moment 
that God had given such a commandment, and this 
furnishes the strongest reason why the people should 
have the Bible in their own hands, and not trust im- 
plicitly to the priest. And it shows clearly enough 



304 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

why the priests are so reluctant to let the people have 
the Bible to read. It is a fear lest they should see 
the contrast between the Romish religion and that of 
the Bible. Remember the words of our Saviour, " He 
that breaketh one of the least of these commandments 
and teacheth men so, shall be called least in the king- 
dom of heaven.'' 

But what I wish, as I said, is not to dispute, but 
to come to the vitals of religion. A man may profess 
the true religion, and yet have no experience of its 
vital power. The essence of all true piety is in the 
affections and purposes of the heart. God looketh 
on the heart, while man can only look on the outward 
appearance. You and I must soon stand before the 
judgment-seat of Christ ; and if we are then found to 
have built our hopes on a false foundation, it will be 
too late to remedy the evil. Our Saviour expressly 
and solemnly declares, " Except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.' 7 Let me ask 
you, friend, have you good reason to think that you 
have ever been truly converted ? You talk of your 
penances, and of the priest's absolution, but believe 
me, no human priest ever had power on earth to for- 
give sins ; and be assured, that without repentance 
towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, you 
must perish. " He that believeth not is condemned 
already, and the wrath of God abideth on him." 

Rom. You preach very well, but I am not going to 
forsake mother church, and Mary the mother of God, 
and all the saints, for the heresy of Luther, Zuingle, 
and such like. 

Colp. I do not wish you to have any thing to do 
with Luther and Calvin : what I bring before you is 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 305 

not taken from them, nor from any other man ; it is 
from the holy Scriptures — from the words of Christ 
himself, and from Paul and the other apostles. They 
all agree in this, that " without holiness no man shall 
see the Lord ;" and this holiness does not belong to 
our nature, for we are " by nature, children of wrath," 
and " dead in sin." "We must' come to Christ by faith, 
that we may have life. And as to the Virgin Mary, 
I admit that she was a blessed saint; but no mere 
creature should be worshipped. Show me one text 
of Scripture which commands us to worship her or 
any other saint or angel, and I will join your church ; 
but there is none such. Almost all your religion is 
the invention of men — mere will-worship. Even your 
adoration of the cross, and making the sign of the 
cross so often, is superstitious. There is not one 
word in the Bible, from beginning to end, which 
gives the least encouragement to any such thing. 
Your religious ceremonies were for the most part 
borrowed from the Pagans, as some writers have 
clearly demonstrated. 

DIALOG-U-E III. 

Rom. Well, friend, I see you are still travelling 
about with your pack of books. I have been thinking 
much about our last conversation respecting the love 
of Christ, and what you call the new birth, and have 
come to the conclusion that the religion of Protes- 
tants is mere enthusiasm. Who would give any credit 
to a man who should profess to have experienced a 
new or heavenly birth? The thing is foolish and 
absurd, and this shows how dangerous it is to leave 
every one to interpret the Scriptures for himself. 



306 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Ignorant and conceited people catch up certain words 
of Scripture by the mere sound, and put a meaning 
upon them which they were never intended to bear 
by the inspired writer. 

Colp. Then you do not believe any change of 
heart necessary to fit a man to enter into the king- 
dom of heaven. I thought your authors did hold that 
the sinful heart must be renewed before it can go to 
heaven, but insisted that all who were properly bap- 
tized were regenerated, or received grace at the mo- 
ment of their infant baptism. This you before acknow- 
ledged. And what is there more foolish or absurd 
in supposing the Spirit of God to renew the soul of 
an adult under the preaching of the word, than the 
regeneration of a child by infant baptism? If the 
Spirit of God operates at all on the minds of men in 
these latter days, there is no reason why he may not 
operate on the minds of poor lost sinners, to bring 
them to repentance. If it were not so, there would 
be no hope of salvation for any sinner ; for even if 
the priest could give him absolution, as you think, an 
unholy soul never could be received into heaven ; and 
if admitted there, never could enjoy the holy pleasures 
of the place. Verily there must be a new birth, by 
which is meant nothing else but a sincere conversion, 
or a true repentance, by which a sinner obtains new 
views, experiences new affections, forms new purposes, 
enjoys new hopes and pleasures, and immediately be- 
gins to live a new life. And as you acknowledge that 
many of your people lead a profane and wicked life, 
these, even if they were regenerated in their baptism, 
have lost the grace then received, and need to be 
renewed again to repentance. You recollect that in 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 307 

a former conversation, you said that the reason why 
all baptized persons did not give evidence of a re- 
newed heart was, that they through negligence and 
sin lost the grace then received ; and if they needed 
regeneration in infancy, when they had no sin but 
original sin to be removed, how much more do they 
need renovation now, when they have added to their 
original sin so many actual transgressions, and have 
formed evil habits and dispositions of the most invet- 
erate kind? As to enthusiasm, I am no friend to it. 
But you have no right to charge it upon Protestants, 
and especially for professing a change of heart, which 
you cannot deny to be necessary. 

But if you are disposed to cavil, I think we had 
better close the conversation and say no more. My 
earnest wish* has been to quit disputing, and to con- 
verse about the vital parts of true religion ; and there- 
fore I proposed the subject of the love of God, con- 
cerning which there can be no dispute, as all must 
allow that this is necessary ; and I asked you what 
you believed to be the evidence that a man did love 
Christ, and whether you possessed such evidence. 
But you seem unwilling to come to the point ; and I 
have no right to compel you to answer. But, my dear 
sir, it is your own concern. Your eternal interests 
are at stake, and time is fast rolling away. Soon, 
both you and I must appear at the judgment-seat of 
Christ, to answer for the deeds done in the body, 
whether they have been good or bad. And I am per- 
suaded that no absolution by a priest will avail any 
thing to the impenitent sinner on that day. Whether 
he be calle*d Papist or Protestant will then be of no 
account ; but the point of great, yea, of infinite impor- 



308 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

tance will be, whether he is robed in the justifying 
righteousness of Jesus Christ, and whether he has 
become a new creature, and has exercised that faith 
which works by love and purifies the heart. 

As I may possibly not see you again, I solemnly 
warn you of the danger which, in my opinion, hangs 
over you ; for though it is not my place to judge any 
man, yet when we think a fellow-creature is exposed 
to misery, charity requires that we should wa^n them, 
whether they will hear or forbear. I cannot be un- 
charitable in supposing that you are an unconverted 
man, as you do not profess to have experienced any 
such change, and, indeed, do not believe in its reality. 
But as I feel a real love for your soul, I would affec- 
tionately entreat you to look well into this matter, 
and do not trust so implicitly to the teaghing of your 
priests. They may mislead you to your ruin. Christ 
said of the scribes and Pharisees, "In vain do they 
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments 
of men." Do, friend, take this New Testament and 
compare it with your own, and you will find that they 
agree in all important points. You will find that a 
change of heart is no enthusiastic notion, but clearly 
taught in your own Bible. 

Rom. You are mistaken, sir, in supposing I possess 
a Testament. I wish I had one which our priest will 
approve. 

Colp. I am sorry to part with you; but do take 
this book. You need say nothing about it to the 
priest, lest he take it from you and burn it. But lest 
he should extort the secret from you at confession, I 
only lend you the book till I come again. • And may 
God bless the reading of it to your soul. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 309 
DIALOGUE IV. 

Colp. Well, friend, have you read any in the Bible 
•which I left with you when I was last here, and will 
you let me know what you think of the book ? 

Rom. To be sure, we all agree that the Bible is a 
good book — the best of all books, and was given by 
inspiration of God. No good Catholic disputes that ; 
and I must confess that I have taken much interest in 
reading many things both in the Old and New Testa- 
ments. 

Colp. What right then has the priest to deprive 
you of the benefit of reading the word of God, which 
St. Paul says "is able to make you wise unto salva- 
tion, through faith that is in Christ Jesus?" And 
from this same passage we learn that children were 
allowed in old times to read the holy Scriptures, for 
the apostle says, "from a child thou hast known the 
holy Scriptures. 77 And in all the Bible, from Genesis 
to Revelation, there is not one word forbidding or 
discouraging any one from reading the word of God, 
but frequent exhortations to " search the Scriptures ; 77 
and the errors of some are attributed to their igno- 
rance of the Scriptures. Of all the errors of Roman- 
ism, this practical one of denying the Scriptures to 
the people is the most unreasonable and the most in- 
jurious. In this free country, I wonder that any man 
who has the spirit of independence in him can submit 
to such tyranny, attended with effects so disastrous. 
That must be a fearful superstition which binds a 
man 7 s conscience to relinquish such a privilege, when 
his own judgment is convinced that the thing is right 
and good. 

Rom. You have now touched upon the key which 



310 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

will explain what at first sight seems to be a paradox. 
The truth is, that we must not be governed by our 
own private judgment, but by the decisions of the 
church. No scripture is of private interpretation. 
No man has a right to judge for himself in matters of 
religion. And here is the true ground why the Bible 
is not put into the hands of the people. They are not 
competent to judge of its doctrines and precepts, and 
their reading the Scriptures can therefore be of no 
use to the common people, and might fill their minds 
with notions contrary to the established doctrines of 
the church. See among Protestants the sad effects 
of leaving people to form their own opinions from 
reading the Scriptures. You are cut up into innumer- 
able sects and parties, all professing to take their 
tenets from the Bible. 

Colp. I see how the matter stands. You are un- 
der an intolerable yoke of slavery ; for no slavery on 
earth is so dreadful as that which binds fast the under- 
standing and conscience of men. Why did our Cre- 
ator endow us with rational minds, if we are not per- 
mitted to exercise them in searching for and judging 
of truth ? And how deplorable the condition of those 
who are secretly convinced that certain things would 
be both right and beneficial, but dare not follow the 
dictates of their own reason and conscience, because 
a set of domineering priests have undertaken to judge 
for them. This is a bondage to which I never could 
submit. I never will pin my faith to another man's 
sleeve. Suppose he is mistaken or designedly mis- 
leads you, will he be answerable for the loss of your 
soul, or for the injury which your spiritual interests 
may sustain ? No ; every man must bear his own bur- 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 311 

den. Every man must account for the improvement 
of his own talents and opportunities of knowing the 
truth. Christ addressed himself to the understand- 
ings and consciences of the people, and called upon 
them to judge of the truth of what he said. Paul ad- 
dressed the Corinthians as rational men, saying, " I 
speak as unto wise men, judge ye what I say." Upon 
this principle it is perfectly useless for me to endeavor 
to convince you of the truth ; for if you should see the 
truth ever so clearly, you dare not profess it, or act in 
accordance with it. You must believe what the church 
tells you to believe, however absurd or impossible the 
thing may be ; and you can only know what the church 
requires you to believe from the priest. And if he 
should happen to be an ignorant or hypocritical man, 
you will of course be led astray, perhaps to your eter- 
nal undoing. It would be just as reasonable to shut 
your own eyes, and blindly follow the lead of others, 
when you have the right and the ability to see and 
choose your own path. And the only text that can 
be adduced which has the semblance of proving that 
all men may not read the Scriptures, is the one referred 
to by you, that " no prophecy is of any private inter- 
pretation." But this text is, in my opinion, altogether 
perverted when thus applied. I am confident that 
that is not its true meaning. It implies nothing con- 
trary to the right of private judgment or interpreta- 
tion ; but warns every one not to pervert an obscure 
prophecy by interpreting it according to his own 
pleasure or fancy, contrary to the design of God in 
uttering it. The prophecy, we are told in the next 
verse, was spoken by " holy men, as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost," and God will fulfil it, not accord- 



312 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ing to our false glosses, but in its real import. What 
could be more absurd than for the apostles to address 
long epistles to the people, if they were not allowed 
to judge of the meaning of those epistles ? I am sure 
you must admit that you are abused by your spiritual 
guides, and deprived of most important rights and 
privileges. 

But, my friend, I have no desire to dispute with 
you, or any other man. I am not fond of controversy. 
It seldom does any good, and often increases the prej- 
udices of those whom we wish to convince. All I 
aim at in what I have said is, what you will acknow- 
ledge to be right, namely, to give the subject a fair 
examination ; and I do not see how you can do this, 
without the Scriptures as your guide ; for if you are 
inclined to give implicit credit to every thing your 
priest tells you, then there is an end of all inquiry. 
But if you wish to be sure that what he teaches you 
is right, or if not, that you may know in what he errs, 
then you must refer to the Bible, as you believe that 
to be the word of God. 

One thing, the importance of which you cannot 
deny, I would earnestly request of you, which is, that 
you accompany your examination with earnest prayer 
for divine direction. I have the opinion that no 
one ever sincerely sought divine direction who was 
not directed essentially in the right way. Indeed y it 
is a divine promise, "Seek, and ye shall find. 77 "If 
any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth 
to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be 
given him. 77 And seek not merely to have your un- 
derstanding convinced, but pray that the truth may, 
by the power of the Spirit, have its due effect on your 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 313 

heart. I should think it a small matter to be able to 
persuade you to become a Protestant ; my heart's de- 
sire is that you become a true Christian, whether you 
become a Protestant or not. If your heart is truly 
renewed, and your faith fixed on the blessed Redeem- 
er, whom your creed holds to be both God and man 
in one person — if your trust for salvation shall be in 
his atoning sacrifice and prevalent intercession, I shall 
be satisfied. My chief aim is to bring my fellow-sin- 
ners to that Saviour in whom I trust I have found 
redemption for my own soul. I would rather by far 
see you an humble Christian in the Catholic church 
than a zealous Protestant of any denomination, with- 
out giving evidence of being actuated by the Spirit of 
Christ ; for " if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," 
says Paul, "he is none of his." I am far from think- 
ing that all Protestants are in a safe state, or that all 
Roman-catholics will be lost. I believe that every 
one, of whatever nation or religious denomination, 
who truly repents of his sins, and sincerely believes 
in Christ, will be saved ; and that all who are desti- 
tute of cordial faith and repentance must be lost. 

The point then which above all others I wish to 
press upon your attention is, the religion of the heart, 
a saving interest in the blessings of the covenant of 
grace. If your heart be right in the sight of God, 
then you will be led in the right way in your external 
conduct. Without vital piety, consisting in supreme 
love to God and love to our neighbor, it matters little ■ 
what profession we make, or in what connection we 
stand. My dear fellow-sinner, I exhort and beseech 
you, by the love of God, and by the tender compas- 
sions of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you turn not 

Prar. Trn«.s. 14 



314 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

away from the consideration of this subject. Look 
back on your past life, from your infancy up to this 
day, and consider how many sins you have committed. 
Deceive not yourself, I entreat you, with the notion 
that the priest has forgiven them. No, no ; he has no 
such power. If you have not sincerely repented of 
them all, and been washed in the blood of Jesus, ap- 
plied by faith, the guilt of all these sins lies heavy on 
your soul. Listen then to the word of friendly exhor- 
tation. Look not unto man, but unto God for pardon. 
He is able and willing " to take away all iniquity, 
and to receive you graciously/ 7 if you will come unto 
him in the new and living way which he has ordained. 
Christ stands and knocks for admittance into your 
heart. Christ, as suspended on the cross, cries unto 
sinners, " Look unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and 
be ye saved. 77 Christ invites the weary and heavy- 
laden to come unto him and find rest. He says, " If 
any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 77 
Behold, the fountain of life is open, and the water- of 
life is freely offered. "The Spirit and the bride say, 
Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and who- 
soever will, let him take the water of life freely.' 7 " Be- 
hold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the day 
of salvation. 77 " Seek/ 7 therefore, " the Lord, while he 
may be found, and call upon him while he is near. 
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous 
man his thoughts ; let him return unto the Lord, and 
he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he 
will abundantly pardon. 77 Lay to heart these solemn, 
tender exhortations from the word of God, and let 
your heart bend in humble submission to the will of 
God, Behold, he waits to be gracious. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 315 
DIALOGUE V. 

Rom. I find that you are disposed to refer to the 
Bible for the proof of all your doctrines ; but we main- 
tain that many things which Christ and his apostles 
ordered in the church can be learned only by tradition. 
It is a matter of no consequence whether a law is 
written or not, provided we know it emanates from 
the proper authority. And we know that the Chris- 
tian church existed before any book of the New Tes- 
tament was published. It is certain, then, that the 
primitive churches were first instructed by oral com- 
munication, and not by the Scriptures ; and what they 
thus received, they handed down to their successors. 
And our learned men say that the church might have 
existed, flourished, and continued unto this time, with- 
out any of the books of the New Testament. For it 
was easy for one generation to teach the next genera- 
tion what had been communicated to them by the 
apostles, and thus the original revelations and institu- 
tions would be handed down from age to age. 

Colp. What you say is true, that an oral, or spoken 
law, if it can be proved to have been uttered by the 
lawgiver, is as binding as a written law ; but such is 
the uncertainty of oral tradition, that it is impossible 
to know what is true and what false which comes 
down to us along this muddy stream, especially as it 
had to pass through many dark periods, when the 
learning and information of the people were at a very 
low ebb. It is impossible for doctrines and rules of 
conduct to be transmitted through a period of eighteen 
hundred years, without being grievously corrupted. 
In the beginning of the world, the revelations made to 
the first man were soon entirely lost or corrupted. 



316 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Whatever knowledge existed after the flood, was pre- 
served by frequent divine communications. 

I would ask any of your most learned priests to 
furnish a single discourse of Christ, or any one of the 
apostles, not recorded in the New Testament; yea, 
let them produce one single sentence from any inspired 
man which we can be sure was uttered by him. Now, 
if they cannot furnish the very words spoken by Christ 
or his apostles, they ought not to pretend that they 
are in possession of a portion of the word of God 
which was never committed to writing. And if we 
go up near to the times of the apostles, when it might 
be thought that many things would have come down 
by tradition to men living in the second and third 
centuries, yet we find by the writings of that age 
which remain, that the most learned doctors of the 
church knew nothing of the sayings and doings of 
Christ and his apostles, but what they read in the 
New Testament ; or if some real facts did float down 
this stream, they were mingled with so much that was 
false, that it was impossible to distinguish the true 
facts from the lying legends. 

When the early fathers, as Iraeneus, Tertullian, 
etc., appeal to tradition to prove the doctrine and 
usages of the church, they did not refer to doctrines 
and facts not in the New Testament, but to those 
which were commonly known and believed by all 
Christians ; for when these fathers mention the things 
handed down by tradition, they are found to be the 
articles of the early creeds which were drawn up for 
the use of the new converts. 

Rom. But if they had these things recorded in 
Scripture, why appeal to tradition? 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 31? 

Colp. Because they were contending with heretics 
who denied the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, 
and did not receive the Scriptures as a true account 
of the Christian religion. Against such they appealed 
to the universal tradition of all the churches, all of 
which, in every part of the world, had received the 
same leading facts and doctrines. 

Eom. In regard to the books of the Xew Testa- 
ment, you are, after all, obliged to resort to tradition ; 
for how do you know that the gospels and the epis- 
tles were really written by the evangelists and apos- 
tles, but by tradition? 

Colp. This, I know, is an argument greatly boasted 
of by your writers ; but if it were granted, that it is 
by the testimony of the early church that we know 
what books are canonical, it would go but a very 
little way to establish the Romish doctrine of tradi- 
tion as a rule of faith. The fact that certain books 
were received as inspired by the universal church, is 
one of so public a nature, that it could easily be trans- 
mitted by written testimony of the successive ages ; 
but this does not prove that a revelation distinct 
from that in the Xew Testament could be safely hand- 
ed down in this way. 

We know by tradition that Cicero delivered many 
orations, which were committed to writing, and have 
reached our times : and that Livy wrote a history of 
Roman affairs, a part of which has come down to us. 
That these authors did write these books has come 
down by an uncontradicted tradition, and on this 
ground is credible. But suppose some one should 
pretend that other orations of Cicero, which were 
never committed to writing, and other histories which 



318 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Llvy recited, but never -wrote, had come down to us 
by tradition, every man of sense would laugh at such 
a pretension. You see, friend, the vast difference be- 
tween receiving by tradition a single fact in relation 
to the author of a book, and receiving a revelation — 
an unwritten word of God. It may be admitted that 
a ceremonial institution, such as baptism or the Lord's 
supper, might be handed down by tradition ; but so 
prone are men to add to and alter such institutions, 
and to invent others, that if we had no written record 
we should be at a loss to know what had been insti- 
tuted. Just so is it now with respect to the sacra* 
ments. 

In the New Testament we read of no more than 
two ordinances of this kind, but in the Romish church 
there are seven ; and such changes have been made in 
the two which were instituted by Christ, that they 
can scarcely be recognized as the same. The exist- 
ence of these seven sacraments, as they are called, in 
the Roman-catholic church, shows how uncertain is 
tradition ; and in regard to a multitude of other cere- 
monies, they may be traced up, not to the apostles, but 
to a heathen origin. The holy water, the incense, the 
altar, the sacerdotal vestments, the holy days, and 
dedication of churches to saints and angels, are all 
borrowed manifestly from the pagan ritual, as has 
been demonstrated by learned men. 

Rom. You are now going off in a strain in which 
my limited information does not permit me to follow 
you. Whether what you say is true or not I cannot 
judge. I only wish that our learned bishop, or even 
father Benedict were here — they would soon put an 
end to your boasting. But one thing I must say, that 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 319 

our church, is infallible ; it cannot err in matters of 
faith. The decision of popes and councils is sufficient 
to satisfy the mind of any reasonable man. 

Colp. If you could prove what you now say, all 
your other arguments are superfluous. Even tradi- 
tion is of no use. All that is necessary is to hear the 
pope ; for if he is infallible, he can decide every ques- 
tion of doctrine. An inspired man needs to bring no 
far-fetched arguments, or to resort to tradition for 
proof of any thing. All you have to do is to get the 
pope to open his mouth and utter his decree, or to 
send his bull to the whole church. But how is it pos- 
sible that you can believe the pope to be infallible, 
when it is notorious that some of the popes have been 
among the wickedest of men. They have, in a number 
of instances, acknowledged themselves to be in error. 
They have, in numerous instances, contradicted one 
another, and reversed each other's decrees. They 
have contradicted the plain declarations of Scripture ; 
and as to councils, we are sure that any number of 
fallible men met together, cannot by merely assem- 
bling become infallible. The acts or canons of the 
councils have often been contradictory to one another ; 
so that we are sure infallibility does not reside in 
them. The truth is, the claim to infallibility is ridicu- 
lous. There is no infallible tribunal upon earth, but 
the word of God. This is infallible, for " all Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God." "Holy men of 
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 

DIALOaUE VT. 

Rom. I never wished for learning so much as I do 
now. I find that a man may have the right side, and 



320 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

yet not be able to maintain his cause for want of 
learning. There is one point, however, on which a 
child may confute a Protestant, because the Scrip- 
tures are plain and express on the subject. I lately 
heard our priest lecture on it, and he made it to my 
mind clear as the light at noon. 

Colp. Pray let me know to what you refer? 

Rom. Why, that Peter was the prince of the apos- 
tles, and had the whole church built on him,^and the 
popes of Rome are the regular successors of Peter, and in- 
herit his authority. Now, according to this, which can 
be clearly established, all the churches in the world 
should be subject to the pope ; for he has the keys — 
he has the power of binding and loosing — and the 
church founded on this rock, Peter, can never fail, 
and therefore can never fall into fatal error ; for if 
that was possible, then would the promise of Christ 
fail, who declared that the gates of hell should never 
prevail against the church. The whole passage is 
found in Matt. 16:18, 19: "And 1 say unto thee, 
that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind 
on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever 
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 
Our doctor says, as long as this text stands in the 
Bible the Catholic church cannot be overthrown ; 
yea, he went so far as to say, that no Protestant had 
been able, even plausibly, to interpret this text to suit 
their scheme. He told us of several weak attempts 
to rescue the text from the hands of the Catholics, 
the mention of which caused a smile in his audience. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 321 

He said that the name Peter, in Greek, signified a 
rock, and that our Saviour gave him this name when 
he called him to be an apostle, because he knew that 
he would make him the foundation-stone of the church 
which he was about to establish in the world. 

Colp. I wonder that any one should presume to 
maintain that one of the apostles was set up as a supe- 
rior to the rest, who has ever read the reproof which 
Christ gave to the disciples for contending which 
should be the greatest. " And there was also a strife 
among them which of them should be the greatest. And 
he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise 
lordship over them ; and they that exercise authority 
upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not 
be so : but he that is greatest among you, let him be 
as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he that doth 
serve." Luke 22 : 24-26. Christ says nothing about 
any superiority of Peter over the other apostles. In- 
deed, as Peter spoke in the name of his brethren, in 
the noble confession which he made, what Christ ad- 
dresses to him in reply should be understood as apply- 
ing to them all. And this is found to be correct from 
consulting the parallel passage in John 20 : 21, where 
the same power is expressly given to them all which 
is here given to Peter. " And Jesus said unto them, 
As my Father hath sent me, so send I you. And 
when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said, 
Eeceive ye the Holy Ghost : whosesoever sins ye remit, 
they are remitted: and whosesoever sins ye retain, 
they are retained." Here the power granted by the 
risen Saviour is the same to all. If Peter was to have 
a preeminence over the rest, now was the time to de- 
clare it, that all might understand that he was chief. 

14* 



322 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Bat such a superiority is neither given here nor any- 
where else. Neither did Peter ever claim such supe- 
riority, nor was it ever in fact conceded to him, as the 
whole history of the apostles shows. 

But if Peter had been constituted the pope over 
the other apostles, that does not prove that the same 
preeminence belongs to those falsely called his suc- 
cessors. The bishops of Rome were no successors of 
Peter. We never read in the New Testament that he 
had even visited Rome. He was the apostle of the 
circumcision, and Antioch seems to have been his 
head-quarters, and Asia Minor the field of his labors. 
But let us admit, in accordance with ancient tradition, 
that Peter visited Rome toward the close of his life, 
and that he governed the church there while he lived, 
and that he suffered martyrdom in that famous city ; 
what does this prove in regard to the men who have 
been placed as bishops in that see ever since? Surely 
nothing. The bishops of Rome acquired their author- 
ity, not from being successors of Peter, but because 
this was the metropolis of the empire. We find that 
bishops, after ambition began to work, assumed author- 
ity from the dignity of the city where they resided. 
But why should the bishop of Rome, now when the 
glory of the city has departed for ever, claim not only 
a superiority, but an arbitrary authority over all other 
bishops? The claim is full of arrogance. If any 
church had a right to preeminence it was Jerusalem, 
the mother church ; and if the bishops of any church 
had any peculiar claims as successors of Peter, the 
bishops of Antioch ought to have the preeminence. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 323 

DIALOGUE VIT. 

Rom. There is one point where we Catholics have 
a great advantage over you Protestants, and that is 
in regard to the holy sacrament. In the eucharist you 
profess to have nothing but the naked bread and wine, 
whereas we have the real body and blood of Christ, 
which we take into our mouths for the nourishment 
of our souls ; and when the priest celebrates mass, the 
body and blood of Christ are as truly present and 
offered as a present sacrifice for our sins, as when he 
was crucified on Golgotha. 

Colp. On this point I admit that there is a great 
difference between us ; and if all that you say was the 
truth, we should be in great error ; but on the other 
hand, if your doctrine of transubstantiation is false 
and unscriptural, you will be convicted of the grossest 
idolatry in worshipping a wafer for a god ; and if this 
doctrine is false, your mass, which your priests offer 
up with so much solemnity, is a vain offering, and is 
calculated to bring dishonor on the real sacrifice of 
Christ on the cross — "the one offering" by which the 
sins of his people are purged. 

Rom. How can you, a Bible man, and so great a 
stickler for going according to the very letter of the 
Scriptures, pretend that the doctrine of transubstan- 
tiation is unscriptural? Does not our Lord say ex- 
pressly, when he held the bread in his hand, "This is 
my body? 77 Now, every one knows that the bread 
could not be his body without being changed into his 
body. We insist on the literal interpretation of the 
words. No doubt this is a great mystery, and so is 
the Trinity, and the incarnation of the Son of God ; 
but a true faith embraces all mysteries, and the greater 



324 PRACTICAL TRUTHS, 

the mystery the greater the miracle, and the more 
worthy of God, with whom all things are possible. 

Colp. Surely you will not say that every thing in 
the Bible must be taken literally. When it is said 
that God is a rock, a shield, a sun, a tower, or a con- 
suming fire, we cannot take these words in any other 
than a metaphorical or figurative sense. So when 
Christ says, "I am the vine/ 7 would any one be so 
insane as to say that the phrase must be takeg. liter- 
ally ? In this very passage it is said, " This cup is the 
new testament," or covenant, " in my blood ;" but taken 
literally it would make no sense, for a cup is not a 
covenant. The question to be decided is, whether the 
words "this is my body 77 should be taken literally 
or metaphorically. And I will assign such reasons 
against the literal interpretation as I think sufficient 
to convince any impartial man. They are these. 

First, there is no apparent change in the bread, or 
wafer, after the priest's benediction. To the eyes of 
every one it is still the same ; to the feeling, to the 
smell, to the taste, it is bread, and nothing but bread. 
Take a piece of the same loaf not consecrated, com- 
pare them together, there is no difference perceptible 
by any of the senses. Now, in all miracles the appeal 
is made to our senses. The water is changed visibly 
into blood in Egypt. The water at the marriage 
feast in Cana is changed into wine, which the master 
of the feast judged to be good, better than what they 
had drunk before. When the loaves and fishes were 
multiplied, the abundance produced is visible to all, 
and is eaten by the whole multitude. When the dead 
were raised, the person no longer appeared to be 
dead, but came forth and spoke and acted ; and so of 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 325 

all miracles. If the bread in the Lord's supper were 
changed into flesh, and the wine into blood, instead 
of seeing the bread and wine remaining the same, we 
should see a piece of flesh dripping with blood. We 
have no conception of any substance but by its quali- 
ties. When these remain evidently the same, accord- 
ing to the testimony of all our senses, there can be no 
change in the substance. Besides, if we are to disbe- 
lieve our senses in this case, which is never required 
in any other case, the doctrine will overthrow itself; 
for how do we know that there is any such word in 
the New Testament ? You may say, Here it is in plain 
letters. But how am I to know that those letters 
are written there? I see them, it is true, and I can 
run my hand over them, and they seem to be such as 
you say they are ; but I see this consecrated wafer as 
plainly as I see the letters in the book, and I can 
examine it by more of my senses ; and it is precisely, 
after consecration, what it was before. 

Rom. I think there is something profane in your 
reasoning on such a sacred subject. There is no 
room for reasoning. What God says must be true, 
though all our senses and our reason should judge the 
contrary. Christ positively said, " This is my body/ 7 
and it is our duty to believe his declaration. God 
is omnipotent, and can change any substance into 
another ; and he can do this while to all appearance 
it remains the same. All we need is an implicit faith 
in the word of God. 

Colp. You evidently take for granted what should 
be proved, namely, that those words must be taken 
literally. Surely this is not self-evident. Of a thou« 
sand intelligent readers who had never seen a New 



326 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Testament, I doubt whether one would ever dream 
that Christ, when he held up the bread, meant that 
that piece of bread was his body literally, No ; he 
would naturally suppose that the words were used 
figuratively, and signified that the bread resembled 
his broken body, or represented his broken body. 

But this brings me to my second reason against a 
literal interpretation, and that is, that unless Christ 
had two bodies, it was literally impossible th&t the 
piece of bread which he held in his hand was his 
body ; for there was his real, living body present to 
the view. There was his whole body, and no part 
had been severed from it ; therefore it was impossible 
for this bread to be his real body. According to this 
monstrous doctrine, one living body of Christ, visible 
and palpable, yet living, held another body in its 
hand, and distributed it to be eaten, while this real, 
living body remained entire and undivided. Can you 
believe this? or how do you explain it? 

Rom. It is an awful mystery ; I do not pretend to 
explain it. 

Colp. It is much more than a mystery ; it is an 
evident impossibility. But I am not done: I will 
now offer a third conclusive argument against the 
literal interpretation, which is this. Christ says, 
" This is my body, which is broken for you." If we 
take these words literally, then we must believe that 
Christ was already crucified, before he was crucified. 
If we take one part of the declaration literally, we 
must take the whole literally. And can you believe 
that the body of Christ was already broken for us? 
Then he must not only have had two bodies, but was 
twice crucified ; for all admit that by his body broken 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 827 

is meant crucified for us. But -when was this cruci- 
fixion? It must have been while the bread was bro- 
ken in his hands. Then the living Christ crucified or 
broke the body, made out of the bread. But no one 
can believe that Christ was already crucified, or that 
his body was already broken; therefore the whole 
sentence must be interpreted metaphorically ; and the 
meaning is, this bread broken is a lively representa- 
tion of that death which I am shortly to endure. Here 
is evidently the true meaning. And I believe this 
with all my heart ; and the charge of profaneness and 
infidelity may be rolled back on yourself, for making 
Christ declare what was in the first place impossible, 
and in the next place what was false, namely, that his 
body was already broken while he sat with his disci- 
ples at the sacred supper. What do you say to this? 

Kom. I have told you that I receive the whole as 
an awful mystery ; not a fit subject for reasoning, but 
only for faith. The more wonderful it is, the more 
readily I assent to it. 

Colp. If this be the state of your mind, I do not 
see that any benefit can arise from continuing the con- 
versation. But I intended to offer one other reason 
against the doctrine of transubstantiation, which I 
will briefly mention, and then quit the subject. It is 
this. The flesh of Christ being a natural substance, 
in its physical qualities like other human flesh, except 
that it never had the least stain of impurity, cannot 
be considered to be adapted to the nourishment of the 
divine life in the soul. No corporeal substance enter- 
ing the mouth, and going thence into the stomach, can 
have any effect on the spiritual life — all that it can do 
is to nourish the body ; and we cannot understand that 



328 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

any benefit could be spiritually derived from such eat- 
ing of the body of our Lord, but by the internal oper- 
ation of the Holy Spirit on the mind itself ; and this 
divine efficacy would be as beneficial to the soul, if it 
accompanied sacramental bread, as if it accompanied 
the flesh of Christ. 

Besides, we are at a loss to understand what be- 
comes of the sacred body of Christ, after it is eaten 
and digested. Does it become, like other nutritious 
food, a part of our bodies? The idea is abhorrent; 
and more so the alternative, that it is rejected with 
that part of our food which is not incorporated with 
the human body. But indeed, sir, there are so many 
repulsive consequences flowing from this doctrine, 
that it becomes distressing to pursue the subject into 
all the legitimate conclusions which may be deduced 
from the literal interpretation. And the rule univer- 
sally admitted is, that when taking a word or sentence 
literally leads to absurdity, impossibility, or falsehood, 
it should be understood figuratively. Indeed, the very 
idea of devouring the flesh and blood of Christ has 
something exceedingly repulsive to our feelings. 

Rom. You seem to forget that Christ himself, in 
the sixth chapter of the gospel of John, speaks repeat- 
edly of eating his flesh and drinking his blood ; yea, 
makes such eating and drinking absolutely necessary 
to eternal life. 

Colp. No, friend, the forgetfulness is on your 
side. Christ explains his own words, and already 
shows that they were misapprehended by the Jews, 
who understood them literally; for at the close he 
says, " It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profit- 
eth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 329 

are spirit, and they are life." Now these words do 

most clearly teach, that the eating his flesh, if it were 
possible, would profit nothing : that all vivifying 
energy was not from carnal and corporeal eating and 
drinking, but from the Spirit : and that all vrhich he 
had spoken vras to be understood in a spiritual sense. 
What other interpretation can be put on his declara- 
tion. "The words that I speak unto you. they are 
spirit, and they are life?" 

DIALOGUE VIII. 

Rom. You went away the other clay before I had 
time to say all that was in my mind. Bui I do not 
care to go back to the subject we were on. about fast- 
ing on Friday. I know that you Protestants are not 
fond of fasting. Our priest called here since you 
passed, and I told him something of our conversation. 
He laughed heartily, and observed that a dislike of 
fasting and other restraints of religion was the true 
secret of Protestantism. He said there was more of 
appetite and the love of ease, than of conscience, in 
what was falsely called a reformation. Luther, he 
said, being a priest and not being permitted to marry, 
broke his vow. and tempted a nun to break hers, and 
so they struck up an impious match. A reformation 
founded on perjury, he said, was a thing abhorrent to 
every honest man. He moreover said. Protestantism 
was downright heresy, no religion at all : or if it 
might be called religion, it was a system of the devil, 
to lead men to destruction. They have, said he. no 
priests rightly consecrated,, none who have derived 
their commission by an uninterrupted succession from 
the apostles. They therefore have no power to remit 



330 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the sins of any, and they do not pretend to it. But 
what is more important than all, they have not the 
body of Christ to give ; but our Lord says, " Except 
ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no life in 
you. 77 And above all, the sacrifice of the mass they 
utterly reject, and it is by this offering that God is 
propitiated for the living and the dead. What, said 
he, would become of your unhappy friends now suffer- 
ing the torment of fire in purgatory, were it not for 
the masses which are said for them? 

I told him, that from not knowing the Scriptures 
I was unable to dispute with you, and on that account 
I wished to obtain a Bible. 

He answered, that I had no business to enter into 
any controversy with these men. "Turn away from 
them/ 7 said he, "or turn them over to me. I will 
soon dispose of half a dozen of these vagrants, who 
go about the country deceiving the simple-hearted 
people. 77 

I confess, however, that I am not perfectly satis- 
fied with this kind of implicit faith ; I do want to be 
able to give a reason for my religious belief. Friend, 
what is your opinion of the mass? 

Colp. My dear sir, it is the most barefaced idola- 
try that was ever practised. It not only has no foun- 
dation in the holy Scriptures, but it is an institution 
of the most abominable idolatrous worship. It is 
nothing else than the worship of a piece of bread, 
under the notion that this bit of bread, by the priest's 
words, has been changed into the real body of Jesus 
Christ. The whole superstition of the mass is founded 
on the absurd doctrine of transubstantiation. When 
they have converted the sacred elements of bread and 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 331 

wine into the body and blood of Christ, then the priest 
offers it up as a sacrifice, a real sacrifice of the broken 
body and shed blood of Christ. This is the sacrifice 
of the mass, which the priests offer for the living and 
the dead. Well, if Christ be there visibly present, he 
ought to be worshipped ; accordingly they elevate 
the host, that is, Christ, just formed out of the bread 
and wine, and that the object of divine worship may 
be fairly present, they maintain not only the presence 
of Christ's flesh and blood, but of his soul and divin- 
ity ; and yet the worshipper sees nothing but the out- 
ward appearance of a wafer and some wine in a vial, 
and this celebration of the mass forms now a principal 
part of the worship of the priests. And many are 
hired to say a multitude of masses for the deceased, 
which they celebrate in private. Now the very wafer 
which they pretend is the real body of Christ, may be 
kept until it is corrupted like any other bread : or it 
may be eaten by mice, or other vermin. 

This whole service of the mass, celebrated with so 
much pomp and ceremony, has no manner of support 
from the holy Scriptures. Indeed, if a person well 
acquainted with the New Testament, should be intro- 
duced into a popish chapel while the priests were cele- 
brating high mass, he would never suspect that he 
was in a Christian church. He would be ready to 
suppose that he was witnessing the worship of some 
heathen temple. 

Rom. What you said about the doctrine of tran- 
substantiation has made a considerable impression on 
my mind, and I told my father confessor that I could 
not disbelieve my own senses. I told him that I 
would not hesitate to believe that it was the real 



332 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

body and blood of Christ, if I could see any appearance 
of, or change of the bread into flesh. Upon this he 
solemnly assured me that in more instances than one 
blood had actually been seen dripping from the host 
when laid up in the sacred vessel where it was kept. 
But this rather makes the matter worse ; for where 
there is no appearance of flesh or blood, we must think 
that no change has taken place. And then a want of 
right intention in the priest nullifies the sacrament ; 
and who can ever know when the real body is present, 
since the appearance is the same, whether the change 
takes place or not? 

Colp. Upon speaking of the errors of the Roman- 
ists respecting the sacraments, I neglected one, which 
all must admit to be in direct opposition to the plain 
words of our Lord ; and this is so manifest, that even 
the most zealous advocates of the church of Rome do 
not pretend to deny the fact, that there has been a 
departure from what Christ ordained and practised 
when he instituted the sacred supper. You will un- 
derstand me to refer to the universal practice in the 
Romish church of administering the bread only to the 
people, and withholding the wine, which is partaken 
of by the priests alone. Now, our Lord took the cup, 
and having blessed it, he gave it to his disciples, say- 
ing, This cup is the new testament in my blood, shed 
for the remission of the sins of many ; take, and " drink 
ye all of it." Matt. 26 : 27. And Paul, who received 
his instructions for administering this ordinance im- 
mediately from the Lord Jesus Christ, makes mention 
of the wine equally with the bread ; for he says, "After 
the same manner also, he took the cup, when he had 
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 333 

blood. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remem- 
brance of me. For as oft as ye eat this bread, and 
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he 
come." Now we would ask, what human being has a 
right to change the ordinances of the Lord? Who 
has authority to break one of Christ's commandments, 
and teach men to do the same? Here is an evident 
usurpation of divine authority. If the pope or a 
council can do this, then they may change the religion 
of Christ into something entirely different from the 
original institution — which in fact they have done. 
Neither prophets nor apostles ever pretended, without 
divine direction, to change the ordinances of the Al- 
mighty. 

Rom. No doubt there was some weighty reason 
for this change. I have understood that it was 
found impracticable to administer the cup, without 
the risk of spilling some drops when the cup was 
placed in the hands of aged and paralytic persons. 
And when the wine was changed into the blood of 
Christ, it would have been a horrible profanity for 
a single drop of this precious blood to be suffered to 
be lost. 

Colp. This impious mutilation of a divine ordi- 
nance, I find, is closely connected with the monstrous 
doctrine of transubstantiation, the unreasonableness 
of which has already been demonstrated. But I would 
ask, whether the danger of profaning the blood of 
Christ was not as great when the supper was first 
instituted as at present? Why did not the omniscient 
Saviour foresee this danger and provide against it? 
The apology for the change is really too ridiculous to 
deserve a serious consideration. 



334: PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Rom. Our priests assure us, that by having the 
cup withheld, we suffer the loss of no real privilege ; 
for the whole body and blood of Christ is contained 
in every particle of the bread ; so that he who par- 
takes of what appears to be bread, receives a whole 
Christ, just as much as if he partook of the cup also. 

Colp. If this were true, it would furnish no apol- 
ogy for violating the plain command of our Lord, and 
mutilating a sacrament instituted by him. But if the 
use of the cup is altogether superfluous, why do the 
priests partake of the wine? Christ never appointed 
the bread to be a sign of the pouring out of his blood ; 
and there is nothing in the breaking and eating of 
bread which is suited to represent the shedding of 
blood, which is strikingly represented by the use of 
the cup. I would appeal to your own good sense, 
whether this mutilation of the ordinance of the Lord 
can be justified. You have brought forward what 
your priests have told you ; but do their apologies 
satisfy your own mind ? Do you not see, that if they 
may do this, they may, on one pretext or another, set 
aside all the commandments of God, and pretend to 
bind the consciences of men by devices and institutions 
of their own ? To them may be applied, in all its 
force, the rebuke of our Saviour to the Jews, "In 
vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the 
commandments of nien." I am sure that no mind 
which is not blinded by prejudice can believe that 
the priests can be justified in this thing. Now, friend, 
speak plainly the convictions of your conscience. Do 
you in your heart believe that they are right in thus 
violating the command, and going contrary to the 
example of the Lord Jesus? Come, speak. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 385 

Rom. Well, if I must tell the truth, I do not think 
that there is any warrant for this change ; but I do 
not know what light father Benedict may be able to 
cast on the subject. 

There is another point I would mention. I cannot 
understand what you Protestants have to bring against 
our clergy for not mar vying. Certainly your own 
Bible, which you put into my hands, clearly teaches 
that unmarried men can serve the Lord with less dis- 
traction and obstruction than those who have wives. 
Xo doubt you remember the passage. Surely then, 
priests, who should be entirely devoted to the sacred 
duties of their calling, ought not to encumber them- 
selves with the cares of a family. 

Colp. Let him who is able to act on this principle 
do so, according to that of our Lord, ,; He that is able 
to receive it, let him receive it." And Paul, in the 
epistle to which you have referred, speaks of some 
who had not the gift of continence, and he advises 
such to marry ; for he says, ; ' It is better to marry than 
to burn." But your system makes no provision for 
such cases ; and yet these are so common, that Paul 
advises, on a consideration of the whole case, that 
" every man should have his own wife, and every 
woman her own husband." 

Besides, what the apostle says about the inconven- 
ience of married persons, has special relation to the 
times of distress in which they lived. Therefore he 
prefaces his discourse respecting marriage with these 
words : " I suppose therefore that this is good for the 
present distress ; I say, that it is good for a man so to 
be. Art thou bound to a wife, seek not to be loosed," 
etc. 1 Cor. T. 



336 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

We do not maintain that it is the duty of all men 
to marry, but we believe with Paul, that " marriage 
is honorable in all." And we believe that any law or 
canon forbidding a whole class of men to marry, is 
contrary to the law of God, and is one of the signs 
given by the apostle Paul to Timothy of those evil 
times which at a future period would certainly come : 
" Forbidding," says he, " to marry, and commanding 
to abstain from meats, which God hath given to be 
received with thanksgiving." 

Rom. I have always understood that celibacy was 
a holier state than marriage, and on this principle we 
encourage young virgins to devote themselves to God, 
that they may give their hearts entirely to the Lord, 
and be free from every pollution. 

Colp. I am aware that such is the doctrine incul- 
cated in the Romish church ; but it is one of the marks 
of an apostate church, which by its traditions sets 
aside the laws of God, and counteracts the principles 
of our nature. If marriage was an unholy state, it 
would have been forbidden to all men as well as the 
clergy. And it should not be overlooked, that in the 
passage where Paul seems to prefer a state of celibacy 
to a state of marriage, he has no special reference to 
the clergy. And Paul asserts his own liberty to " lead 
about a wife," 1 Cor. 9:5, as well as the other apos- 
tles. Evidently then, marriage was not forbidden to 
the apostles, and in giving the characteristics of those 
who should be put into the ministry, he seems to take 
it for granted that the pastors would be married men ; 
for he also gives the character of their wives, and 
rules for the government of their families. The only 
restriction he lays upon the bishop in regard to mar- 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 337 

riage is, that he should be " the husband of one wife," 
which some interpret to mean, that every bishop must 
have a wife ; but the better interpretation is, that he 
must not have more than one. 

Rom. I think that in one respect an unmarried 
clergy has a great advantage ; the church is not re- 
quired to support their families, which I believe is 
felt to be a heavy burden among Protestants. 

Colp. This disadvantage is greatly overbalanced 
by the fact, that marriage connects the clergy by inti- 
mate bonds with the rest of society ; whereas celibacy 
cuts off the priesthood from all common interest in 
the affairs of men, and leads ecclesiastics to form a 
society entirely distinct from others, whose interests 
are opposed to those of society in general. The church 
is thus a separate concern, and the priests use every 
art and influence to draw into their hallowed circle 
all the wealth which they possibly can, And when 
once gained it never can be distributed for the benefit 
of society, but remains perpetually the property of 
the church in mortmain, as the lawyers say ; and by 
this means, before the Reformation, a large part of 
the best landed property in England and Scotland be- 
longed to the church. 

But it would require a volume to reveal all the 
secret licentiousness and unnatural crimes which have 
been produced by this single cause. And these facts 
can be established by the testimony of Popish writers, 
and these witnesses not few but many. But I wish 
not to enter on this disgusting subject. 



Practical Truths. \ 5 



338 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

DIALOGUE IX. 

Rom. I see, friend, that you continue, like one of 
old, to walk up and down through the earth — but ob- 
serve, I do not say that your object is the same, 
though our father confessor thinks you are not a whit 
better than the person referred to. He says you are 
a troubler of the church, an emissary of the devil, 
and that the books you circulate are full of deadly 
poison, calculated to be ruinous to souls, and that 
already you have seduced some unwary souls by good 
words and fair pretences. I told him plainly that I 
could not entirely agree with him. I assured him 
that you had been a number of times in my house, and 
that I had never observed any thing in your conduct 
and conversation but what was becoming a Christian 
man. And as to your books, I told him that here was 
one, the Douay Bible, which I was sure he could not 
say was full of poison. And here, said I, is another, 
which the colporteur gave to my wife, written, as he 
says, by a good Catholic. Look at it ; it is entitled, 
"The Imitation of Christ.' 7 And what objection, said 
I, can you have to this, "A Call to the Unconverted?" 
I have been perusing it, and find nothing but what 
every good man must approve. Often, reverend father, 
you have warned us against sinful practices, and told 
us to forsake our evil ways. Yes, yes, said he, all 
this is true ; but, John, do you not know that of all 
the sins which you can commit heresy is the worst, 
for it shuts the door of mercy, and cuts you off from 
forgiveness, by separating you from the true and only 
.church, and from the holy sacraments, without which 
there can be no absolution? He then got very warm, 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 339 

and chided me sharply for having any thing to say to 
you, and warned me most solemnly never to look into 
any of your books again, and took his leave rather 
abruptly. 

Colp. I do suppose that the man is conscientious 
in opposition to me and to the truths which I endeavor 
to circulate. Paul said, " I verily thought that I 
ought to do many things contrary to the name of Je- 
sus." And while dragging men and women to prison, 
and while assisting in the murder of unoffending 
Christians, he acted agreeably to the dictates of an 
erring conscience. I have learned to pity and pray 
for such as are thus misled by their education, and by 
the errors which they have drunk in as it were with 
their mother's milk. The power of prejudice, espe- 
cially when it has become inveterate, can hardly ever 
be removed but by the special operations of the Holy 
Spirit. I know it by experience. I was as much op- 
posed to evangelical truth as any one I ever met with. 
I was a self-righteous moralist, and when I heard 
men preach the necessity of the new birth, and of jus- 
tification by the righteousness of another, I was often 
provoked to anger, and felt as if I would be glad to 
have it in my power to stop the mouths of all who 
preached such doctrines ; and if I had been left to 
myself, I should have continued under the same delu- 
sion. But it pleased God to lead me to see some- 
thing of the wickedness of my heart and life, and to 
show me that I was in the broad way to ruin. And 
my distress increased at such a rate, that if I had not 
found relief it must have driven me to distraction or 
despair. 

Rom. I should like to know, friend, how you found 



340 ' PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

relief; and my anxiety to know this is not a matter 
of vain curiosity, but ever since I read that little 
book, "A Call to the Unconverted," I have had a 
strange sound in my ears, and many fearful thoughts 
starting in my mind. I have striven to banish these 
unpleasant thoughts, but my efforts are ineffectual. 
It is continually running in my mind, " You must be 
born again" — you must repent, or perish. I would 
have opened my mind to our priest, but I knew what 
he would say ; and I had no thought of revealing the 
state of my mind to you until I found, by what you 
said just now, that you have once experienced distress 
of the same kind and found relief. Now, dear sir, do 
tell me how I am to get deliverance from this trouble 
of mind which has come upon me. 

Colp. Yes, friend, I can point you to the effectual 
and only remedy for a soul wounded with a convic- 
tion of its sin and danger. The remedy is most sim- 
ple, it is only to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" 
with all your heart. It is to look to a crucified Re- 
deemer, who invites all laboring and heavy-laden sin- 
ners to come to him and learn of him, and they shall 
find rest. " Look unto me/' says he, " all ye ends of 
the earth, and be saved." If you are enabled to trust 
in the righteousness of Christ alone, and to renounce 
all dependence on your own works and on the absolu- 
tion of your priests, you will find relief. 

Rom. But I cannot think he will receive such a 
sinner as I am. I once thought that I was in a fair 
way for heaven, but all my former hopes are fled, and 
I know not what to do ; for I am so vile and unwor- 
thy that if I should come to Christ, I am afraid he 
would cast me off and spurn me from his presence. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 341 

Colp. Never, never. He has said, "Him that 
cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out/ 7 Hear 
what Paul says : " It is a faithful saying, and worthy 
of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the 
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief/ 7 Christ 
says that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners 
to repentance ; to seek and save the lost. But here, 
take this little treatise of John Bunyan, " Grace 
Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.' 7 

DIALOG-UE X. 

Colp. I am glad to meet with you. When I last 
was this way I left you in great trouble of mind. I 
do not believe you have been out of my thoughts a 
single day since ; and to say the truth, I should not 
be here now, but for my anxiety to know what issue 
God had given to your concern of mind. 

Rom. Friend, I thank you for the interest you 
take in my salvation. My trouble of mind continued 
for some weeks without abatement. I read over the 
little book which you were so kind as to lend me, but 
it did not seem to suit my case. Indeed, I was fully 
persuaded that no one had ever been in my sad con- 
dition. I fully believed that I was given over to a 
reprobate mind. I heard that God had mercy on 
whom he would have mercy, and whom he would he 
hardened. I said, Surely I am one whom God has 
hardened ; for my heart felt as hard as any rock — as 
hard as the nether millstone. If my salvation had 
depended on it, I could not have shed a tear. And 
when I attempted to pray I was shut up — I could 
scarcely speak a word. I spent much time in reading 
the Bible ; but every thing was dark and mysterious 



342 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

except one, and that was that I was a lost sinner — a 
castaway — a reprobate. Sleep departed from my 
eyes, or I was frightened with dreams. I almost for- 
got to eat my daily food, and my business was much 
neglected. 

My wife, a good woman and conscientious Catho- 
lic, observed the change in me, and was much con- 
cerned about me. I had not revealed to her the 
cause of my trouble, but she suspected that jt was 
connected with my talking with you and reading your 
books. And one day she said to me, "John, what 
ails you ? "Why are you melancholy, and so restless ? 
We never see a smile on your face, and you seem to 
take pleasure in nothing. This has come from your 
acquaintance with that pedler and his vile books. I 
never wanted the man to come to the house, for I ob- 
served that he had an oily tongue which might easily 
mislead such simple folks as we are ; and as to his 
tracts and books, I wish they were all this moment in 
the fire. Oh, John, go to father Benedict ; he will 
give you comfort. Often have I gone to confession 
with a troubled mind, but father Benedict always had 
a kind word for me ; and if you will go and confess 
your fault in meddling with those heretical books, you 
will find relief." 

I said, " Mary, I believe you are very sincere in 
your advice ; but I tell you that I will never confess 
to a priest again as long as I live : I am sure he can- 
not pardon my sins. How can a poor sinful worm of 
the dust like ourselves pardon our sins ? No, Mary, 
if I ever find rest it must come in a different way 
from that." 

" Well, John," said she, " if you will not go to con- 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 343 

fession, throw away those heretical books which have 
already well-nigh turned your brain." 

" Why, my dear wife/' said I, " I read scarcely any 
thing now but the Bible, and do you call God's holy 
word a heretical book ?" 

She replied, " It may be good for them to read it 
who are capable of understanding it ; but it is not for 
such poor simple folks as we are to undertake to inter- 
pret the sacred Scriptures ; let those who have learn- 
ing do this, and we will hear what they say." 

" But," said I, " what if they tell us wrong ? What 
if they are ignorant of the truth themselves ? How 
can we find out whether what they tell us is true, but 
by searching the Scriptures to see whether these 
things are so ?" 

"Well, John, I can't dispute, but I can believe 
every thing which father Benedict tells me. And, 
John, I wish to let you know, that when the father was 
here he said it was full time that our daughter Susan 
should come to confession ; that in the spring the 
bishop would come round to administer the sacrament 
of confirmation, and he wished to have all the young 
people in his parish ready." I told her to do as she 
pleased ; that I would not advise the girl to go, nei- 
ther would I hinder her. Accordingly, she talked 
with Susan, who is distressingly diffident, and the girl 
was thrown into an agony. 

After a severe conflict with her feelings, she agreed 
to go. But when they came to the priest's residence, 
they found that he was confined to his room with a 
severe attack of the sciatica. But calling my wife into 
the room, he said that there was a young priest in the 
house just from Ireland, from Maynooth college, a 



344 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

fine, discreet, and learned young man. Let your 
daughter confess to him. Susan at first refused, but 
after much coaxing, and some threatening, she went 
into the confessional, and the mother remained in an 
adjoining room. In less than a quarter of an hour 
Susan ran to her mother and burst into tears, and 
seemed at the same time full of indignation. " What 's 
the matter, Susan?" said the mother. " Oh," said the 
girl, " I will never go to confession again. The priest 
asked such questions as I am ashamed to mention to 
you. 1 7 11 never go again." My wife went immedi- 
ately to father Benedict, who seemed much concerned, 
and sent for the young priest, and asked him what 
sort of questions he had asked the young woman. 
No others, said the young priest, than we are taught 
by our text-book to ask. What text-book ? said 
father Benedict. " Dens' Theology," answered the 
young man. The old priest seemed to be confounded, 
but said, " Young man, that book will not answer for 
this country ; the people here are wide awake on that 
subject, and an enemy of the Catholics has extracted 
many things from that book which greatly shock the 
feelings of the people. That book has done us much 
harm already. Several persons brought up in the 
true church have lately forbidden their wives and 
daughters to go any more to confession. I know 
that Dens' Theology is in high repute at Maynooth, 
and is studied there ; but we must denounce it here, 
or it will throw a mighty obstacle in our way." 

Colp. All this is very interesting, but I wish to 
learn from you how you obtained deliverance from 
the burden of sin which oppressed you. 

Rom. I was about to tell you. One day I was sit- 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 345 

ting musing on my deplorable state. It was Sunday, 
and I was alone in a retired spot. The sun was near 
the horizon, and every thing was still. I opened my 
Bible and read, " This is a faithful saying, and worthy 
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief. 77 1 Tim. 
1 : 15. The thought struck me, If Jesus Christ can 
save the chief of sinners, why cannot he save me? 
Casting my eyes on the book, as I turned over the 
leaves, they fastened on these words : " For he is able 
to save to the uttermost all that come to God by 
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for 
us." The thought again occurred with more force 
than before, If he is able to save to the uttermost, 
why is he not able to save even me? At that mo- 
ment a ray of hope gleamed on my dark and desolate 
mind. It seemed to me as if a voice said within me, 
He is able, he is able to save to the uttermost. My 
heart was filled with joy ; its hardness was melted 
into tenderness. I fell upon my knees and thanked 
God that I was out of hell, and that salvation for my 
soul was possible. If a world had been given me, it 
could not have produced a joy so great ; and yet I 
perceived nothing but that my case was not desperate, 
as for a long time I had supposed. Oh, how precious 
did Christ appear ! I felt my heart overflowing with 
gratitude to him as my Saviour, and I beheld a divine 
glory in his person : his love in dying for poor sinners 
affected me beyond expression. I said, Lord Jesus, 
I will follow thee whithersoever thou leadest me. 
Though I did not dream that I was a believer, yet I 
felt happy beyond any thing I ever experienced ; and 
I cannot but believe that at that moment God gave 

15# 



846 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

me a new heart. All my views were from this time 
greatly changed, and my heart went out not only in 
strong affection to my Saviour, but I felt a wonderful 
affection for all that I believed to be real Christians, 
and an unspeakable compassion for poor perishing 
sinners. I could have gone on my knees to entreat 
them to forsake their sins and come to Christ, who 
was " able to save to the uttermost. 77 I could have 
taken my worst enemy in my arms; my heart was so 
full of love that it embraced the whole world. 

Colp. How long did these joyful feelings last? 

Rom. Not long. I turned away my thoughts too 
much from the blessed Saviour, and began to think 
what a happy change I had experienced, and some 
proud thoughts arose in my mind. Soon after this, 
thick darkness came over me. I thought that all I 
had experienced was a delusion. My old feelings in 
some measure returned, and I was sunk very low ; but 
still there seemed to be a voice within me saying, 
"He is able, he is able. 77 Then thought I, Oh, if he 
were as willing as he is able, then I should still have 
hope. And after laboring in the dark a few days, 
light broke in on my mind clearer than before. I now 
seemed to see clearly why it was necessary for Christ 
to die, and that salvation would have been impossi- 
ble without the shedding of his blood. It was now 
clearly revealed to my mind that God could be just, 
and justify my soul on account of Christ 7 s merit. The 
plan of redemption appeared more glorious than any 
thing I had ever contemplated, and ever since I enjoy a 
settled peace, and entertain a good hope through grace. 

Colp. Have you spoken to your wife respecting 
your new views and comforts ? 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 347 

Rom. I have, and she appears to be brought to a 
stand. She is dreadfully afraid of incurring the anath- 
ema of the priests ; and though she now reads the 
Bible, she seems afraid of being seen with the Scrip- 
tures in her hand. But I hope the Spirit of God is at 
work with her conscience. 

And poor Susan receives the truths of the gospel 
with an astonishing readiness. She spends all her 
spare time in reading, and she tells me that she prays 
every day for a new heart. May the Lord hear her 
supplications, and grant her requests. 

Colp. But what will the priest say, when he 
comes to visit you? Will he not be filled with 
wrath ? 

Rom. I care not for his anger. I mean to tell him 
all my mind, and to declare my intention of leaving 
the Roman-catholic church. I am now convinced, 
that though there may be a few pious souls in that 
communion, the church is in an awful state of apos- 
tasy. May God have mercy on the people. 

DIALOGUE XI. 

Rom. My good friend, I never wanted to see any 
body in my life so much as I have wished to see you 
these many weeks. I have had sore conflicts since I 
saw you last. " Without were fightings, and within 
were fears." But, my dear friend, I must tell you all. 
I have dishonored my Saviour, and betrayed him, like 
Judas, to his enemies. My soul has been worse bur- 
dened with a load of guilt than ever before. Oh, 
what a wretch am I ! What a heinous sin I have com- 
mitted ! Do pray for me, if perad venture the Lord 
may give me repentance and forgiveness. 



348 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

Colp. I beg you to tell me what ? s the matter ? 
What crime have you committed that has cast you 
down into such depths of distress ? 

Rom. I will tell you all. And may the Lord ena- 
ble you to speak a comfortable word to my poor, 
wretched soul. 

As I expected, the old priest, as soon as he was 
able to go about, came round to our house, to make 
an apology for the imprudence of the young priest in 
the shameful questions which he put to Susan at the 
confessional. He said the young man, who had but 
just arrived from Ireland, was deeply mortified at 
what had happened, and solemnly declared that he 
had no other motive in proposing the objectionable 
questions than to do his duty, as he had been instructed 
at Maynooth. And he went and brought the book 
and showed the very questions which he had proposed 
to the young woman. I believe that he is a very 
pious young man. And, said he, in the old country 
they have very different notions about these things 
from what you have here in America. There they 
think it very necessary to search the secret sins of 
such as come to confession ; and especially to bring 
young and bashful females to a free confession of their 
secret sins, who would otherwise be guilty of the 
dreadful sin of covering over their transgressions, and 
thus, as it were, lying unto the Lord. And, said he, 
John, I tell you these squeamish notions which are 
lately getting into the heads of our young females 
are all borrowed from the heretics. Formerly, John, 
I asked such questions and worse of some of the finest 
ladies in the land, and received their candid and peni- 
tent confession. Yes, John, I would have you to 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 349 

know, that your own wife has often been questioned 
in this manner, and it never offended her. 

Upon this I could no longer restrain my wrath: 
said I, "It's a lie, you old hypocrite, you yile old 
lecher ; I believe that your whole religion is a vile 
system of hypocrisy and iniquity - and I will now call 
Mary, and see whether she will confirm what you say." 

Said father Benedict, " You need not do that, for 
no good Catholic dare tell what is said in confession. 
If your wife were to affirm or deny what I have told 
you, she would incur the heaviest excommunication of 
the church, a crime so flagrant that in other days it 
would have brought her to the stake." My passion 
upon this rose higher, and I became very abusive, 
and, alas, was tempted to use profane language. O 
Lord, forgive my sin ! My conscience is burdened. 
And I have not told you all. When Mary came in, I 
asked her whether any such questions had ever been 
put to her at confession, and she promptly answered, 
" Never" Upon finding that the old priest had delib- 
erately told a shameful falsehood, to the dishonor of 
as virtuous a woman as ever lived, I was so incensed 
that I took him by the shoulders and pushed him out 
of the house. As soon as my passion cooled I regret- 
ted what I had said and done. I went out, like 
Peter, and wept bitterly. Lately I was one of the 
happiest men living. All day my heart seemed full 
of joy and peace, and even in the night, when I awoke, 
I would be singing the praises of my divine Saviour. 
But now, for three weeks, no sinner out of hell, I 
think, has suffered more. Oh, do you think it possi- 
ble that I can be forgiven ? 

Colp. Yes ; "the blood of Christ cleanseth from 



350 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

all sin.' 7 Peter cursed and swore, and three times 
denied his Master, even in his presence, and he ob- 
tained forgiveness ; and so may you, if you are penitent 
as he was. 

Rom. But Judas repented, and yet found no for- 
giveness, though he restored the money which he had 
taken as the price of betraying his Lord. And often, 
often it has come powerfully into my mind, " Go and 
do as he did. There is no pardon for those who have 
sinned as you have done. The sooner you know the 
worst of your case the better. Go and hang your- 
self." If I had not believed that this was a tempta- 
tion of the devil, I know not what desperate act I 
mio;ht have committed against my own life. Do tell 
me, my dear friend, what you think. Let me know 
the worst of my case. 

Colp. As I think you have truly repented, I can- 
not doubt that God hath pardoned your sin, and Christ 
seems to say to you as he did thrice to Peter, after 
his sin and repentance, "Lovest thou me?" What 
answer can you give to this ? 

Rom. Oh, if my heart does not deceive me, I can 
say with Peter, " Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou 
knowest that I love thee." 

Colp. Then set your heart at rest. " My little 
children," says the apostle John, " sin not : but if any 
man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus 
Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for 
our sins ; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the 
whole world." 

Rom. Thank God, thank God, for this visit. My 
heart is relieved. Oh, what a dear Saviour! Christ 
is more precious to my soul than ever. 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 351 

DIALOGUE XII. 

Rom. I am truly glad to see you at this time. I 
am like to be brought into trouble for my change of 
religion. My landlord, who has heretofore been very 
favorable, has sent me word that when the year is out 
I must remove. I know that he has been influenced 
by father Benedict to adopt this measure. Now, 
friend, I want your advice what course to pursue. I 
have been able to lay up but little, and I do not see 
where I shall find another home for myself and little 
family. 

Colp. You need not disturb yourself about what 
you shall eat, and what you shall drink. Has not our 
blessed Lord pledged his word, that if we seek first 
the kingdom of God, all these things shall be added ? 
" Consider/' said he, " the lilies, how they grow ; they 
toil not, neither do they spin ; yet Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, 
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day 
is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much 
more will he clothe you, ye of little faith?' 7 The 
world is wide, and there are thousands of better places 
than this from which you are so reluctant to part. 
Next month I expect to go to the west as far as Iowa, 
and I will look out a place for you ; and there you 
will soon be able to procure a farm for yourself, and 
not be any longer dependent for a home on the will 
of another. But let me hear how your soul prospers, 
and how it is with your wife and daughter. Have 
the rulers of the synagogue excommunicated you, or 
do they still hope to gain you back ? 

Rom. I have no doubt that we shall all be excom- 



352 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

municated by " bell, book, and candle," but this re- 
quires some time. The bishop must be consulted, and 
he will not be round here for six months. As to my- 
self I have but little to say that is favorable. I begin 
to find that I carry about with me a heart " deceitful 
above all things, and desperately wicked." I com- 
pare my inner man to a chamber in which filth has 
been accumulating for years, and into which the light 
has begun gradually to shine, revealing a degree of 
loathsome defilement which was never suspected to 
exist. I am sometimes greatly cast down, and much 
troubled ; but then I speak to myself in the language 
of David, " Why art thou cast down, my soul, and 
why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in 
God, who is the health of my countenance, and my 
God." 

Mary finds it very hard to give up the mother 
church, and her prayers to the blessed Virgin ; but 
has at length come to the conclusion that she will 
study the Bible, and go by that, for she has lost all 
confidence in man. Father Benedict, she thought, 
was free from fault, and she was willing to trust her 
soul in his hands ; but since he told a deliberate false- 
hood, and stuck to it, she thinks no man can be trusted, 
but God only. Had it not been for this detection of 
her father confessor in a known falsehood, I am of opin- 
ion that she never could have been induced to leave 
the old church. But this has broken the strongest 
tie that held her ; and she says, If father Benedict is 
a false man, what must I think of the herd of priests 
and Jesuits who go about the country? Still, she 
makes this excuse for father Benedict, that he was 
brought up among the Jesuits, and belonged to that 



COLPORTEUR AND ROMAN-CATHOLIC. 353 

society, and I have heard that their doctrine is, that 
we may tell a lie to answer a good end ; as, for exam- 
pie, to save the Catholic church from reproach, or to 
prevent its being known what secret doctrines are 
held and taught among them. This no doubt is the 
true secret of the old priest's conduct. He was afraid 
that the imprudence of the young priest, in asking a 
young woman such indelicate questions from Dens' 
Theology, would get abroad, and he wished to hush 
the matter up, and so pretended that such questions 
had been always common, and proposed by himself to 
the most virtuous matrons in the country. And he 
calculated that my wife would be afraid to say whether 
or not such questions had been propounded to her. 
But she is now on the right track, studying the Bible 
night and day. Sometimes she reads in the common 
English Bible, and then she will turn to the Douay 
Bible and compare them, and I am persuaded that 
she is incessant in her prayers at a throne of grace. 

And as for Susan, she is as happy as the day is 
long. One of our neighbors lent her a hymn-book, 
and taught her to sing some of the hymns ; and while 
at her wheel is either singing hymns, or has her New 
Testament spread out before her, on which she fixes 
her eye long enough to catch a verse, which she soon 
has committed to memory. She rejoices in her deliv- 
erance from the confessional and from the priests, 
and says Christ is her Priest, to whom she will con- 
fess ; that she wants no other, and she reads of no 
other in the New Testament. Dear girl, she has 
greatly outstripped her father in the gospel race. 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 355 



COUNSELS, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND AID 

IN THE 

WORK OF THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 



The following letter was written just after the 
Society's formation. 

11 Princeton, August 31, 1825. 

"Dear Sir — - ... I have no other object in writ- 
ing but to acknowledge the receipt of your favor, and 
to express my warm attachment to your institution, 
and my ardent wishes that it may prosper to the ut- 
most hopes of its founders and friends ; and also to 
express my willingness to aid the Society in any way 
in my power. If my pen could be serviceable on any 
subject within the range of my studies, I will not de- 
cline the attempt, with the full understanding that 
nothing which I may write may be circulated as a 
tract unless it meets the entire approbation of the 
committee of publication. I would therefore prefer 
that any thing which I may write may be communi- 
cated as anonymous. To some the production of 
good tracts seems easy, to me it appears the most dif- 
ficult kind of composition to execute well ; but I am 
so convinced of the efficacy of this mode of 'diffusing 
the knowledge of truth, that if I thought myself capa- 
ble of writing good tracts, I should be willing to spend 
the remainder of my days in that service. But when 



356 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

I have made some small efforts in that way, I have 
not succeeded in gaining my own approbation. 
" Yours very respectfully, 

"A. ALEXANDER. 

"Rev. Wm. A. Hallock, 

u Cor. Sec. Amer. Tract Soc.*' 

" Princeton, February 25, 1826. 
" Dear Sir — I hardly know what to say respecting 
the tract on universal salvation which I have been re- 
quested to furnish. I could, I believe, write a volume 
on that interesting subject, but how to discuss the im- 
portant matter which it embraces within the limits of 
a tract, I know not. I wish that such a work might 
fall into some abler hands, for I am sensible that I 
possess not the qualifications to produce such a lumin- 
ous, condensed view of the subject as would answer 
the purpose of the Tract Society. I will, however, 
return to the consideration of the subject, and if I can 
write any thing which shall in any measure satisfy 
myself, I will transmit the manuscript to you in a few 
weeks. If you should receive nothing, you may con- 
clude that I have failed in my attempt. If such a 
communication should be made, it is my sincere and 
earnest request that, unless it meets the views of the 
Committee satisfactorily, it may not be published, but 
returned to me. I have no feelings that need be in the 
least consulted in such a case.* 
" I am with great regard, 

" Your brother and fellow-laborer, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

* Dr. Alexander prepared an able tract on this subject, which 
was printed and afterwards presented to the Society. It consti- 
tutes No. 350 of the series, entitled, "Future Punishment; or, the 
Universalist Refuted." 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT, 35T 

'•Princeton. August 24. 1S29. 

(; Rev. and dear Sir — I take this method of ex- 
pressing to your Committee my hearty thanks for the 
seven volumes of the Society's tracts, which through 
you they were pleased to present me. I did not rec- 
ollect that I had ever spoken to Mr. R. Brown on the 
subject of obtaining a set for me. I presume that his 
purpose of obtaining them for me was suggested by 
the generosity of his own heart. But I assure you, 
my dear sir, they are not the less welcome for being 
unexpected. 

" You know the opinion which I entertain of the 
value of tracts. And I shall now feel myself laid 
under an additional obligation to promote their cir- 
culation ; and more than that, if Providence spares 
my health and life through the ensuing winter. I will 
make an exertion to add to their number. If I could 
persuade myself that I was able to write in that pe- 
culiar style of point, simplicity, and spirituality, in which 
tracts should be penned. I would even rob sleep cf 
some of its hours to furnish a greater variety of sub- 
jects to the American Tract Society. I have, however, 
since the reading of the last report of the Society, felt 
some degree of guilt for my negligence, when I ob- 
served, with humble gratitude to God. that the tract 
on The Day of Judgment had been made a special bless- 
ing to so many immortal souls during the last year. 
I observe in the list of tracts stereotyped the last 
year, one on The Importance of Salvation. I know not 
whether it is the same as that published by Professor 
Maclean in his series : if so. it was written by me 
manv years as:o. and was taken out from some old 



358 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

papers, and sent to him, perhaps without any notice 
of its origin. Of this, however, I am uncertain.* 

"I feel so much indebted to the Committee for the 
treasure which they have presented to me, that I in- 
tend to volunteer in the service, and write one or 
two tracts as soon as I can find leisure from my 
almost incessant occupations. 

"In Christian love, I am your brother, etc., 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

u Princeton, June 22, 1832. 
"Rev. and dear Sir — In answer to yours, received 
this morning,t I would remark, that in this age of 
excitement, people more than ever need treatises cal- 
culated to draw the line of distinction clearly between 
those exercises of religion which are true, and such 
as are spurious. It will do professors no harm to 
have their hope shaken by reading such a book as 
Edwards on the Affections. The marks of genuine 
piety laid down in that work are, in my judgment, 
altogether scriptural ; so that those who do not find 
in themselves what he requires, have no right to 
esteem themselves converted persons. The great dif- 
ficulty, I confess, is to apply the tests which he has 
given : some of them, though perfectly correct, furnish 
little aid in practice, to the sincere soul engaged in 
the examination of its own state ; but it is useful for 
Christians to be well acquainted with the true theory 
of experimental religion, and I am acquainted with 
no book in which this is given so fully and so clearly 
as in the work under consideration. In reading it, I 

* This tract is No. 215 of the Society's series, 
t In a previous letter, Dr. Alexander had recommended for publi- 
cation Flavel's Touchstone and Keeping the Heart, and other works. 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 359 

have been so struck with the correctness of the senti- 
ments, and the judicious sobriety and spirituality of 
the author's remarks, that I have felt ready to deter- 
mine to introduce it as a class-book in our semi- 
nary. . . , The truth is, that Edwards speaks in 
Ellerby's abridgment as really as in the original 
work ; the language and structure of the sentences 
are still his own, and Ellerby has done little else than 
omit repetitions of the same idea. I am free to ac- 
knowledge, however, that my only reason for prefer- 
ring the abridgment is, that it is by one half shorter 
than the original, for I am pleased with President 
Edwards' repetitions. 

" It cannot be denied that this work is not adapted 
to all sincere Christians, and perhaps ought not im- 
mediately to be put into the hands of young converts, 
unless they have had their minds disciplined by a good 
education ; but your object should be, not only to pro- 
vide milk for babes, but meat for strong men. Books adapt- 
ed to every stage and period of the Christian life are 
needed. Other books will be more read, but few books, 
in my opinion, will be more useful to those who are capa- 
ble of understanding and applying what is contained in 
this treatise ; and one Christian who has his mind exer- 
cised to nice discrimination on this subject, will proba- 
bly be useful to a whole society of common professors. 

" "When I recommend this work, I speak from some 
experience of its value. I have known private Chris- 
tians who studied the treatise with untiring assiduity 
and with undoubted profit. I speak of the original 
work, from which the abridgment only differs by be- 
ing shorter. I am with true regard, yours, etc. 

-A. ALEXANDER." 



360 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 



"Princeton, April 26, 1833. 
" Kev. and dear Sir — Agreeably to your request, 
I have written the following on the subject of circu- 
lating bound books. It contains nothing which is not 
familiar to your thought, but if you are of opinion 
that it can in any degree subserve the good work in 
which you labor, you may make what use of it your 
discretion and that of the Committee may direct." 

"I rejoice to learn that the Committee of the 
American Tract Society are turning their attention 
specially to the preparation and circulation of small 
bound volumes. These are as really tracts (treatises) 
as any of the pamphlets or sheets which are sent forth 
from the institution. I would be very sorry to say a 
word which would have the effect of diminishing the 
zeal and activity of the Committee in the distribution 
of tracts in the usual form. Let this good work, by 
which the knowledge of the truth is extended to so 
many thousands of needy souls, be prosecuted with 
increasing ardor. The circulation of tracts is clearly 
marked out as one of God's appointed means for the 
conversion of the world. The facts from heathen 
lands, now before the public, are of the most animat- 
ing description, and are calculated to inspire all the 
friends of the Society with lively hope and zeal. 

" But as the same truths may be circulated in dif- 
ferent forms, so the laborers in this field ought wisely 
to adapt their modes of operation to the circumstances, 
tastes, and exigencies of the people. And I am per- 
suaded that there are some peculiar advantages in the 
distribution of small, well-selected treatises in the 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 361 

form of bound volumes. Some are disposed to think 
lightly of every thing in the shape of tracts, from the 
circumstance of their commonness, and from the im- 
portunity which has sometimes attended their distri- 
bution. I do not mention this as a thing which can 
be unknown to the Committee, nor do I mean to con- 
nect with it the least insinuation that the business of 
distribution has been unwisely conducted. The feel- 
ing to which I have referred, as existing to a consid- 
erable extent, is indeed most unreasonable ; but if it 
exists, we should as far as possible contrive means to 
counteract it. This undervaluing of the cheapest of 
all vehicles for divine truth, very much resembles the 
conduct of the Israelites in regard to the manna with 
which they were so constantly and abundantly sup- 
plied. They said, " Our soul loatheth this light 
bread." But the same prejudice does not exist against 
bound books. These the people are willing to buy 
at a fair price. 

" There can be no doubt that it is right to avail 
ourselves of this preference, and to provide, for those 
who wish it, cheap volumes of important religious 
instruction. It is also a fact, that small tracts in 
sheets are but in few cases preserved with care. They 
often perish almost as soon as read, and I know of no 
method of preventing this waste so effectual as to 
substitute small bound books. The Society's tracts 
are now bound in this manner for such as prefer them 
in that form. And let other treatises be selected for 
publication, for which purpose there are many excel- 
lently adapted. 

"I have attentively read over the list of books 
which the Committee have already put into circula- 

Prac. Truths 1 C 



362 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

tion, and the selection meets with my cordial appro- 
bation. Works of a more evangelical and spiritual 
kind do not exist, and I am gratified to see that they 
are printed and bound in a neat and handsome style. 
I am deeply persuaded that great public benefit will 
arise from the appropriation of a portion of your funds 
in this way ; and that the event will prove, that how- 
ever expensive it may be in the commencement, it will 
be wise economy in the end. When I consider how 
many copies of ' Doddridge's Rise and Progress/ 
'Baxter's Call to the Unconverted/ 'Alleine's Alarm/ 
1 Edwards on the Affections/ and such like works, 
will be circulated through the whole length and 
breadth of this land, I am filled with pleasing antici- 
pations of the good which your Society will be the 
means of accomplishing. 

" I do sincerely hope that the Committee will per- 
severe in the prosecution of this object, and as their 
circumstances may permit, increase the number of 
their publications of this description. I did think it 
important that a society for the circulation of relig- 
ious books should be formed, but I do not see why the 
American Tract Society may not manage this whole 
concern more economically and successfully than any 
new society. The success which has already attended 
your efforts in this way is calculated to inspire you 
with confidence to go on in the name of the Lord. 
" With sincere regard, yours truly, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

In October, 1833, the Committee of the American 
Tract Society, having invited a meeting of gentlemen, 
with a special view to raising funds for foreign and 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT, 363 

Pagan lands, requested Dr. Alexander to be present. 
To their request he replied : 

"Princeton, Oct, 10, 1833. 

"Rev. and dear Sir — As my bodily infirmities 
Trill prevent my meeting with you, I beg that you 
will express to the Committee of the American Tract 
Society my regret at not being able to afford them 
any effectual aid in the accomplishment of the impor- 
tant object which they have in view, and also assure 
them of my cordial good wishes and prayers for the 
success of their noble enterprise. I am deeply con- 
vinced that the time has arrived when the friends of 
the Redeemer are called upon to make more vigorous 
exertions than ever before in extending the know- 
ledge of salvation to the ends of the earth. There 
never was a time when God in his providence had so 
opened the door of effectual operation among the 
heathen, in all quarters of the world, as at this time ; 
and they are happy to whom God has committed many 
talents, and to whom he has given a heart to occupy 
them for the advancement of his cause and glory. 

11 Every person who loves the Lord Jesus should 
strive, by all lawful means, to acquire something to 
expend in this holy cause ; and no Christian ought, 
in this day, to think of accumulating property for any 
other purpose, than for the promotion of Christ's 
kingdom. The Master needs now all that his disciples 
have it in their power to give. The hundreds of mill- 
ions of the heathen who are perishing for lack of 
knowledge, call for our exertions and our liberal 
charities. 

" I was greatly struck with Dr. Morrison's letter. 
It appears that at least one-third of the population of 



364 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

the globe read the Chinese character, and that the 
same books are understood by those whose spoken 
language is quite different. If we allow two hundred 
millions of inhabitants to China Proper, we may safely 
reckon another hundred millions beyond these limits, 
who are able to read the Chinese language. Hitherto 
Christians seemed to be shut out from this immense 
field. This vast empire seemed indeed to be sur- 
rounded by an insurmountable barrier. But the bra- 
zen wall, it is found, may be passed. Tracts have 
already found their way into the heart of China, pos- 
sibly into the very palace of the august emperor. 
And let it be remembered, that in this conquest tracts 
must be the pioneers. These can find their way, and 
accomplish much, where the living preacher cannot 
go, and where the Bible would not be received. Let 
no one suppose that the missionary and the Bible 
supersede the necessity of tracts. The way for the 
introduction of these appointed means of salvation is 
often prepared by the circulation of tracts. And these 
contain the very same truths which are revealed in 
the Bible, and the same matter which the living 
preacher proclaims. The truth is God's instrument 
for the conversion and sanctification of men, and it 
matters little how this is conveyed to the mind ; if at- 
tended by the Holy Spirit, it is able to make men 
wise unto salvation, whether heard from the lips of a 
preacher, or read in an evangelical tract. And even 
where the Bible is possessed, and the gospel constantly 
preached, tracts may be eminently useful. This daily 
experience teaches. And surely it is of all methods 
of communicating religious knowledge the most eco- 
nomical. In thousands of cases you may freely scat- 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 365 

ter tracts where it would not be expedient to give a 
Bible. 

" It ought not to be objected that a large portion 
of the tracts which are circulated are never read, and 
consequently produce no effect. If one in a thousand 
is read with profit, there is a rich compensation for 
all the expense incurred. The husbandman is not 
discouraged from liberally casting his precious seed 
into the prepared ground because he knows that much 
of it will be devoured by the birds, or fall where it 
cannot be fruitful ; neither does he withhold his hand 
because it is possible that the greater part of it may 
perish by unpropitious seasons. In the morning he 
sows his seed, and in the evening he withholds not 
his hand ; not knowing whether this or that will 
prosper, or whether both may be alike good. Neither 
should he be deterred from sowing his seed by the 
threatening appearance of the clouds ; but with tears 
he goeth forth, and with humble trust in Providence, 
he casts his precious seed into the earth. Let us 
imitate his diligence, and also his confidence and 
patience. 

"I sincerely hope and pray that the great Master 
of assemblies may be remarkably in the midst of your 
meeting, and that he may graciously grant to all pres- 
ent hearts which will prompt them to devise liberal 
things. ' Work/ says our Lord, ' while it is called to- 
day. 7 The door which is now so widely opened, may 
soon be closed if Christians neglect to improve the 
opportunity. 

" I am, with sincere regard, 

" Your brother and fellow-laborer, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 



3G6 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

"Princeton, October 26, 1833. 

" Rev. and dear Sir — Upon the reception of your 
note yesterday, informing me of the postponement of 
the Tract meeting until this evening, I determined to 
make an effort and be with you ; but I had an uncom- 
fortable night, and feel my system so ruuch disordered 
this morning, that I think it would be imprudent to 
venture abroad, especially when I should be liable to 
the excitement of speaking at a public meeting* 

" As I wish to manifest my zeal and good will in 
the Tract cause, to which you have so unreservedly 
devoted yourself, I would, in addition to what I have 
before said, respectfully propose the following queries, 
which probably include the substance of what I would 
have said, if I had been present. 

"1, Ought not the love of Christ and his kingdom 
to be the governing motive with every Christian ? 

"2. Will not this motive, in proportion as it is 
felt, induce every one to make exertions to advance 
his kingdom, and thus promote the glory of God in 
the world? 

" 3. Is there any way by which this object can so 
effectually be accomplished, as by extending the know- 
ledge of the truth throughout the whole earth ? 

" 4. Is there not a crisis in things of this kind, when 
much may be done by seasonable and energetic exer- 
tions, which, if it be suffered to pass without improve- 
ment, may not return for ages ; just as if the seasons 
of seed-time and harvest be neglected, we labor in 
vain during the remainder of the year ? 

"5. Is there not good reason to think that the age 
in which we live is such a time ; that Providence has 
now furnished the church with such facilities for oper- 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 36T 

ation, and opened such, a door of usefulness, especially 
among the heathen nations, that we shall be greatly 
wanting in duty to our Master, if we do not endeavor 
to avail ourselves of these opportunities of doing 
good, which were never so abundantly afforded to 
any other age ? 

"6, Is it not evident that the distribution of evan- 
gelical Tracts is one of the most effectual methods of 
disseminating the truth of God ; and has not the 
blessing which has hitherto attended this enterprise, 
both in Christian and heathen lands, warranted the 
conclusion that it is one of God's chosen means for 
the accomplishment of his purposes and predictions 
relating to the conversion of the world ? 

" 7. The prosecution of this object obstructs no 
other benevolent operation, but is a necessary auxil- 
iary to all others ; while then other Societies, as par- 
ticularly Bible Societies and Missionary Societies, are 
engaged in making extraordinary exertions, ought not 
the Tract Society also to move forward with renewed 
zeal and enlarged plans of operation ? 

" 8. Can the genuine disciples of Christ who pos- 
sess the means of promoting this cause, hold back 
when so loud a call is addressed to them from almost 
every quarter of the globe for the bread of life ? 

" 9. Ought not mercantile enterprises now to be 
entered on for the very purpose of making gain to be 
applied to the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom? 
And should not those whose efforts to increase their 
property God has signally blessed, make a free-will 
offering of a portion of their profits to his service ? 

" 10. Would not the consecration of first-fruits, 
redemption for the first-born, and tenths laid upon the 



368 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

altar of God, probably bring down a blessing on all 
their possessions? 

"11. When a contest is going on in our minds 
between selfishness and benevolence, is it not the part 
of wisdom to lean to the side of benevolence ? 

"12. When was it known that any man was im- 
poverished by giving to the Lord? And if the time 
should come when men shall become poor by giving 
all their goods to promote the cause of Christ, will 
they not become infinitely rich by such a blessed pov- 
erty? 

" 13. Is not the time for doing any thing in this 
cause short? Ought we not therefore to work while 
it is called to-day ? Is it not certain that we shall 
never have another life upon earth? Ought we not, 
therefore, to do the best we can with the talents com- 
mitted to us, that when our Lord shall come to reckon 
with us, he may say, ' Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vants V " 

"Princeton, May 14, 1834. 
"Eev. and dear Sir — I am much gratified to 
learn from the published abstract, that you have 
resolved to prosecute effectually the plan of circulat- 
ing the stereotyped bound volumes of the Society. I 
greatly rejoice in the prospect of the incalculable 
good which you will effect in this way, and I only 
wish you to increase your means by adding such other 
works to your publications as have stood the test of 
time and thorough examination. I have several to 
propose, but at present I confine myself to ' Halybur- 

ton's Great Concern.' 

"A. ALEXANDER." 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 369 

" Princeton, March 18, 1835. 

"To S. V. S. Wilder, Esq., Rev. James Milnor, D. D., Rev. 
Mr. Hallock, and Rev. Mr. Eastman. 

" Gentlemen — I have perused your circular, ad- 
dressed to me, with heartfelt satisfaction. I rejoice 
sincerely in the success with which you are enabled 
to prosecute the benevolent plan of supplying every 
family, in several of the southern states, with a copy 
of one or more of your bound volumes. I have no 
doubt but the light of eternity will discover that this 
enterprise has been the means of bringing, through 
Christ, many sons and daughters to glory. As the 
destitute cannot be everywhere supplied with living 
preachers, let the pious dead be sent to speak to them 
" all the words of this life." Send Baxter, and Flavel, 
and Alleine, and Edwards, and Bunyan, etc., to preach 
to them that gospel by which they have long since 
been guided to heaven. And if every village and 
remote settlement had a faithful pastor, what better 
aid could they have than one of these precious vol- 
umes in every family of their respective charges? 
The truth is, that such books do more good where 
the gospel is preached than where its sound is seldom 
heard, because there a taste for such reading has 
been generated. In every part of the country, there- 
fore, these books will be found exceedingly useful; 
and there is no room to doubt that the effort should 
be extended to every state and territory in the Union. 
I do not, I confess, know of any means in our power 
by which so muck good may immediately be effected ; 
and as human life is short, and men are perishing for 
lack of knowledge, there should be no delay nor pro- 
crastination of this work. Let it be urged forward 

16* 



370 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

with a zeal and energy proportioned to the magnitude 
of the interests at stake. Let agents be found run- 
ning in all directions bearing in their hands these 
books, which explain the true and only method of 
salvation. 

" That the general circulation of these books would 
be desirable, there can be no doubt in the mind of any 
one who believes in the Christian religion. 

" In this region I think most would prefer purchas- 
ing them, to receiving them as a gratuity. All min- 
isters and members of evangelical churches, I should 
hope, would help forward the object. If God send 
down his Holy Spirit, the interest will be excited. 

" The work which you propose is great, and no 
one can tell how long it may take to accomplish it. 
Exert all your energy, but guard against a collapse 
of zeal. Determine to do all that you can, but prom- 
ise not definitely what you will do. Still, the object 
must be definitely proposed, and all proper motives 
presented to induce a vigorous cooperation. It is a 
gratifying consideration that, in all such enterprises, 
whatever is effected is so much gained for the cause 
of Christ. One book has often been the means of 
much good. More than forty years ago I visited a 
neighborhood shut up by mountains on all sides. The 
females never left the place. Here an elderly man, 
who had recently been converted by the labors of a 
missionary, had received a tract or pamphlet contain- 
ing the dying advice of a parent to his children. The 
neighbors came in to hear it read, and during the 
time of its being read there was scarcely a dry eye in 
the house, and the man who read it shed abundance 
of tears, so that frequently his voice was obstructed. 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 3H 

At another time, I saw a whole congregation melted 
into tears by the preacher, whose text was, £ It is a 
faithful saying,' etc., telling them that he had lately 
read a tract called 'Poor Joseph' which a woman 
had put into his hands, and relating its contents. 

" I have only two or three suggestions to make. 
The first is, that if you could find persons that would 
go about and read your books to the people, the end which 
you propose would be accomplished ; but the truth is, 
that while many cannot read at all, a large part of 
those who have been to school are so little accus- 
tomed to read, that they can derive but small benefit 
from a book read by themselves. I have noticed how 
difficult a work reading is to those unaccustomed to 
the exercise ; and they are so much occupied in spell- 
ing out the word, that the meaning of the sentence is 
lost in the painful effort which they are obliged to 
make. If you suppose there are few readers who 
would meet with these obstructions, I am persuaded 
that you misjudge respecting a great multitude in the 
state of New Jersey. It is a solemn truth, that many 
of your tracts and books .are entirely too elevated for 
more than one half of the population of this land. 
You need instructions for such in the simplest language 
of colloquial intercourse. If pious men and women, that 
can read well, would spend a few hours every week 
in reading to these people, the effect would be great : 
all such persons are quick in understanding what 
comes in by the ear. l Faith comes by hearing. 7 

"Another suggestion is, that your agents propose 
to every congregation to purchase a set of your books 
and bound tracts, to be lent out by the minister. A bor- 
rowed book is more commonly read speedily than one 



372 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

which is purchased ; a borrowed book, if read at all, 
must be read soon, as it must be returned. Such a cir- 
culating library would do more good than can be cal- 
culated, and there is no congregation so poor as not to 
be able to provide it. In many cases the minister would 
procure it at his own expense — the pious females of 
his congregation would quickly defray the expense — 
often a liberal individual would contribute a sufficient 
sum. This does not fall in precisely with your plan 
of giving a volume to every family, but I am sure it 
would promote that plan. If a person became deeply 
interested in a book, he or she would not rest until a 
book of the same kind was constantly at hand. 

" My only other suggestion is, that you should send 
forth more books on the ' evidences of revelation.' 
Deists and infidels would probably not read them, but 
young people would be prevented from becoming such. 
There is often a leaven of infidelity at work in the 
midst of the most orderly and retired congregations. 
Unless you can counteract this, the effect of your 
other tracts will be limited. The British Tract Soci- 
ety are bending their attention strongly to this point. 
Again, you must have a greater variety in your col- 
lection ; something to suit different tastes ; but all 
must be spiritual and good. 

"I am, with great respect, your friend, etc., 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

"Princeton, March 22, 1837. 
" Dear Sir — I have now finished the Life of Bu- 
chanan, but in a different way from that first contem- 
plated. After mature deliberation, after learning that 
you wished a volume of about four hundred pages, I 
resolved to throw aside my own manuscript abridg- 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 313 

ment, and form a volume from Pearson ; omitting 
only such parts as are little adapted to our institu- 
tions, and are of no permanent importance ; and also 
the extended extracts from his sermons. But as 
much of the volume of Pearson as is retained remains 
unaltered, except where an introductory or connect- 
ing sentence was required. But besides the work of 
Pearson, Phave introduced the most interesting part 
of Dr. Buchanan's ' Christian Researches/ which has 
been done at your suggestion, and will render this 
volume much more valuable for your purpose than 
the original. The division into parts I have omitted^, 
and arranged the materials into consecutive chapters 
from one to seventeen. 

"The transactions of Dr. Buchanan's life from 
the time of his arrival in England to his death, I have 
condensed into a single chapter, and I have subjoined 
some concluding remarks on the character of Dr. Bu- 
chanan, as it appeared to me that Mr. Pearson, for 
some reason, was not as full on this head as he might 
have been. This conclusion, however, may be omitted, 
if it should appear to the Committee superfluous, or 
if the volume should appear to swell to an inconven- 
ient size. 

" I will again request, that in all future editions of 
the tract on Universalism, my name on the cover may be 
omitted. I have already seen an abusive article from 
the Universalist press. I care not for their censure, 
but I think it will be best that it should be anon- 
ymous. 

" I am continually gratified with the intelligence 
of your great success in the volume enterprise. For 
this I bless God. It is doing good upon a very large 



374 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

scale, and without any drawback. I hope that you 
will be able to increase the number of your volumes. 
If I can be of any service to the cause, please to com- 
mand me. 

" Yours truly and respectfully, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

"Princeton, April 26, 1836. 

" Dear Sir — Since you were here I have been 
looking over Baxter's l Treatise on Conversion/* in 
the seventh volume of his Practical Works. It has 
in it much that is excellent, written with amazing 
power and pungency, and ought to accompany his 
1 Call. ? I marked with my pencil such parts as might 
advantageously be omitted, and upon comparison find 
that the parts marked out are equal to one-fourth of 
the work. I think it would be well to get some judi- 
cious member of the Publishing Committee to examine 
this treatise, and if it should be judged expedient to 
add it to your library, it will give me pleasure to 
transfer the marks which I have made on the vol- 
ume here, to another which you may forward for the 
purpose. 

" I intend to pay some attention to this subject, as 
I have time and opportunity, and when I meet with 
any work which strikes me favorably will communi- 
cate my opinion. 

" I am respectfully and truly yours, etc., 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

" December 14, 1837. 
" . . • The success of the volume enterprise gladdens 
my heart every time I think of it, and I sincerely 

* This work is now published by the Society. 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 3*5 

wish that instead of a dozen volumes you had a hun- 
dred in circulation. A compendious history of modem 
Protestant missions would, at this time, be an accept- 
able present to the public.' 7 

" Princeton, February 24, 1838. 

"Kev. and dear Sir — Your favor of the 19th 
inst. is received. I am willing to bestow all the 
little remainder of my days in that way which will 
most effectually advance the cause of our blessed Re- 
deemer. 

u I will take into consideration your suggestions. 
Certainly, if I could believe that I should be able to 
produce a volume fit to be added to those which you 
have in such extensive circulation, I would without 
delay address myself to the work ; but without any 
affectation of modesty, my common conviction is, 
that there are already in print much better books 
than I could write, and that there are other persons 
much more competent to supply what is wanted than 
myself. Almost every thing which I have ever pub- 
lished has been drawn from me by some peculiar cir- 
cumstances ; otherwise I never should have appeared 
before the public as an author. My ' Letters/ to 
which you kindly allude, were commenced at the ear- 
nest request of some of my old friends in Virginia, 
and were not expected by me to circulate farther than 
they would be conveyed by ' The Watchman of the 
South.' I have now brought them to a close, princi- 
pally because it is painful to me to be so long before 
the Christian public. I have therefore no plan for 
the republication of them in a volume. What Rev. 
Mr. Plumer may be disposed to do in relation to them 



376 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

I know not. He has earnestly solicited from me a 
series of letters on experimental religion, but I have 
not thought that I could execute such a work as it 
ought to be done. I consider it one of the most deli- 
cate, as well as difficult of all subjects to treat ; and I 
have not been sufficiently abroad in the world to 
observe all the indications of spurious religion which 
have been exhibited in our country within the last 
twenty years ; but since I received your lettej sug- 
gesting that I should think of writing something of a 
practical nature, the thought has occurred that pos- 
sibly these objects might be advantageously united ; 
that is, I might write a series of letters or essays, 
which might be published in a weekly paper, and 
afterwards, if approved, might be collected into a 
duodecimo volume for your Society. This plan would 
have the advantage of subjecting to the impartial 
examination of your Committee every letter or essay 
as it came from the press, and suggested improve- 
ments and alterations might be made before the book 
was adopted. But I do not mean to intimate that I 
have deliberately adopted any purpose of this kind. 
I merely throw out the idea, that if it should seem to 
you worthy of any remarks, you may communicate 
your thoughts when you shall enjoy leisure, which, by 
the way, I suspect seldom falls to your lot. 

" I reflect on no part of my life with more satisfac- 
tion than any little agency which I have had in en- 
couraging and promoting the volume circulation by 
your Society. I do consider the success of this enter- 
prise as intimately connected with the prosperity of 
vital, scriptural piety in our land : not in any one 
church, but in all evangelical churches, and beyond 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 3 1 1 

them all, by conveying a sound and practical know- 
ledge of the gospel to multitudes who enjoy no public 
means of grace, or have not attended on them. If I 
could do any thing more to urge on this blessed work, 
which has been so auspiciously commenced, I would 
cordially lend my aid. 

" Neither am I indifferent to your more recent 
enterprise of furnishing tracts in various languages 
for the instruction and conversion of the heathen. It 
is a noble enterprise. It is doubtless one important 
link in the chain of means intended for the conver- 
sion of the world. Go on, and prosper. Fear not 
the want of means. God will supply them as they 
are needed. 

" I am, respectfully and affectionately, 
" Your brother, etc., 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

To a circular letter issued by the Rev. Dr. Milnor, 
and Rev. Messrs. Hallock, Eastman, and Cook, Secre- 
taries, requesting an opinion on the desirableness of 
the Society's introducing a Christian library into 
schools, families, etc., Dr. Alexander replied, January 
23, 1840, in substance as follows : 

" As the principles of all sound morality are con- 
tained in a sincere belief in the fundamental truths of 
religion, if the prevalence of good morals be essential 
to the welfare and prosperity of the republic, then 
the minds of children should be imbued with the 
essential doctrines of religion in their earliest years. 
And as parents are often incapable of instructing 
their children, or neglect to afford them religious 



3-8 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

instruction, it is exceedingly important, even in a 
political view, that primary schools should possess 
such a library as is proposed. 

"As far as I am acquainted with the character 
and contents of the books in the list, I think that the 
selection is judicious, and will meet with the approba- 
tion of all denominations of evangelical Christians ; 
there are, however, several books in the proposed 
library which I have never read, and concerning 
which, of course, I can with propriety express no 
opinion. 

" In many of these authors there is an excellence 
of spirit and sentiment, which has the effect of causing 
the attentive reader to forget the mere circumstance 
of the external dress in which they are exhibited ; 
yet the style is eminently suited to the subject treated, 
and certainly possesses all the most important char- 
acteristics which a cultivated taste would wish for in 
writings of this description. The style of most of 
these works is, though not elegant and ornamented, 
simple, chaste, vigorous, perspicuous, and animated. 

" As these books contain the marrow of the gospel, 
without inculcating the peculiarities of any particular 
sect, they cannot but extend the knowledge of gospel 
truth wherever they are introduced ; and where other 
means of religious instruction are not plentifully en- 
joyed, they would be a treasure of inestimable value, 
not only to the rising generation, but to the adult 
population. 

" It would undoubtedly be the duty of every good 
man to encourage and promote this enterprise by all 
the influence which he could exert ; and from what 
I have observed respecting the reception of your vol- 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 379 

umes, I am persuaded that a ready and cordial coop- 
eration might be calculated on from the pious of all 
denominations. 

" I am, respectfully and truly, 

" Your brother in Christ, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

"Princeton, July 4, 1842. 

"Rev. and dear Sir — . . . The country between 
the Blue Ridge and the Ohio river is one of great 
extent, and contains as many utterly destitute settle- 
ments as any equal territory in the United States. 
Part of this field, however, (the great valley,) is one 
of the finest farming countries in the Union, and is 
settled by Presbyterians and German Protestants. 
An agent suited to the latter class, who are almost 
entirely without books, would be exceedingly impor- 
tant. The Presbyterians are of the Scotch-Irish class, 
and are steady in their adherence to the confession of 
faith, and accustomed to read the works of Boston, 
Flavel, Owen, Baxter, etc. Among these your vol- 
umes would sell well, if the people are not already 
supplied. Between the North mountain, which bounds 
the great valley on the north-west, and the Ohio, is a 
mountainous region of nearly two hundred miles in 
extent, comprehending some rich and compact settle- 
ments; but in general the people are strung along 
narrow intervals hemmed in by inaccessible moun- 
tains, where they seldom hear the gospel, and where 
the stated ministry can never be supported, the inhab- 
itants are so widely separated from each other. 

" Now, my plan would be to assign all west of the 
Blue Ridge to Mr. , and if you could place under 



380 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

his supervision three or four colporteurs — there is no 
country where the services of this class of men are 
more needed — he could spend the whole year most 
profitably. 

" I have freely thrown out my thoughts ; consider 
them as mere hints, and then do the best you can. 
"I am truly yours, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

October 25, 26, and 27, 1842, a public deliberative 
meeting of the Board and friends of the American 
Tract Society was held in the Broadway Tabernacle, 
New York, and the Rev. Dr. Alexander, who was 
providentially detained, sent in the following commu- 
nication, which was read with deep interest : 

" After a full survey of all the plans of doing good 
to the souls of men which are now in operation, it is 
my deliberate opinion, that with the exception of the 
preaching of the gospel and circulating the holy Scrip- 
tures, there is none which promises to be more effi- 
cient, and more extensively useful, in promoting the 
spiritual and eternal interests of men, than the publi- 
cation and wide circulation of sound evangelical books 
and tracts. And if I were to undertake to select a 
set of volumes which in my judgment it * would be 
most beneficial to circulate, I should undoubtedly 
make choice of a large proportion of the volumes 
which have been published by the American Tract 
Society. No books that were ever written by unin- 
spired men are better adapted to promote true relig- 
ion among the people, and none were ever more suc- 
cessful in the conversion of sinners and the edification 
of the people of God, than many of those on your list, 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 381 

and which are now in the course of rapid circulation. 
Many of these authors have received the approbation 
and sanction of the judicious and pious for two hun- 
dred years, and their value is as highly appreci- 
ated now as it ever was. When I reflect on the 
number of these pious and excellent works which 
within a few years have been scattered through the 
length and breadth of this land, I cannot but rejoice 
and give thanks to God that so much precious seed 
has been sown, which there is every reason to hope 
will in due time spring up and bring forth a rich har- 
vest, when the present generation shall have passed 
away. 

"Two millions of volumes and sixty millions of 
smaller treatises have been put into the hands of our 
reading population. And the bound volumes possess 
this advantage over even the preaching of the gospel, 
that they furnish permanent lessons of instruction. 
The book may be perused again and again by the 
same person, and the same book may be read, before 
it perishes by the lapse of time, by some hundreds of 
individuals ; for many of these precious volumes will 
be preserved for centuries, and will descend as a 
valued legacy from father to son, and from the mother 
to the daughter. There are now, in good preserva- 
tion, many books which have been in common use 
for more than two hundred years, and which have 
been read by some half dozen successive generations, 
and by many others besides the owners. The writer 
can well recollect when such books as Alleine's Alarm, 
Baxter's Saints' Rest and Call to the Unconverted, 
and the excellent treatises of Owen and Flavel, passed 
through the hands of most families in the neighborhood. 



382 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

He has known more instances than one, in which 
aged men of piety made it a practice to borrow such 
books, and carry them to persons who stood in par- 
ticular need of them. Let the person who contributes 
enough to pay the expense of publishing a single vol- 
ume, reflect that he is providing spiritual nutriment 
not only for the present generation, but for genera- 
tions yet to be born. And if, instead of giving cir- 
culation to one, he contributes funds sufficient for a 
hundred or a thousand volumes, who can calculate 
the amount of good which a Christian in moderate 
circumstances may accomplish?" 

" Princeton, April 10, 1843. 

"Rev. and dear Sir — In answer to yours re- 
ceived some time since I would say, that as you sup- 
pose, I am well pleased to learn that you are about 
to add to your volumes ' Owen on the One Hundred and 
Thirtieth PsalmJ It is a work which expresses fairly 
and strongly the desires and exercises of a truly pious 
and devout heart. It was that very psalm, as we 
learn from Orme's life of the author, which first 
afforded him consolation after a long season of dark- 
ness. I wish it were consistent with the views of all 
concerned to publish the work entitled ' Spiritual 
Mindedness/ by the same author ; and also his trea- 
tise on i Indwelling Sin ' and ' On Temptation/ His 
work * On the Spirit/ also, is the best on the whole 
subject that I am acquainted with. The entangled 
and exuberant style of the author, in all these pieces, 
has been pruned and rendered more perspicuous by 
one and another. 

" The tracts which you forwarded to me I read, 



COUNSELS AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 383 

and found nothing to censure. But I wish to make a 
single remark on the subject of increasing your num- 
ber of tracts. It is, that it would be good policy to 
diminish rather than increase the number, unless such 
are offered as possess superior excellence. Mere com- 
monplace exhortations need not be multiplied, but 
when you get a tract of first-rate excellence, it is of 
more value than can be estimated in gold. 

"I remain, very sincerely, yours, etc., 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

" Princeton, January 1, 1844. 
. . . " The Society's twofold agency, by books and 
colporteurs, is perhaps better calculated to reach the 
destitutions of our country than any thing which has 
ever been put into operation. Often in thinking of 
the condition of multitudes of people, it has appeared 
to me their case never could be reached, unless proper 
teachers were sent to visit them in their houses. I 
thought of a plan of itinerant readers, as in Ireland ; 
but the colporteur system is the very thing needed, and 
if you can. only procure the right kind of men, the 
work will go on prosperously." 

"Julyl, 1847. 

" Dear Sir — I was from home when your letter 
arrived, or you might have had an earlier answer. 
But since I came home, though in the midst of com- 
pany and bustle, I have scribbled something for the 
' American Messenger. 7 

" Instruction is the main thing to render a period- 
ical most permanently useful. I know you cannot 
furnish such a variety as is requisite without the 
friendly aid of some coadjutors ; and as you have 



384 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

been pleased to honor me with the preparation of 
articles, I intend, Deo volente, to give short biograph- 
ical sketches of Bible characters. At my time of life 
I should promise nothing. But I seem to hear the 
Master say, ' Work while it is day, for the night Com- 
eth/ If, however, you should prefer short practical, 
hortatory essays, they will be easier to be composed. 
Please to send me a bundle of tracts, and any new 
publications which you have made. 
" Yours truly, 

"A. ALEXANDER." 

" Princeton, December 11, 1849. 

" Rev. and dear Sir — I am glad to learn that the 
circulation of the American Messenger has reached 
the amazing number of one hundred and fifty thousand. 
This devolves a vast weight of responsibility upon the 
publishers. I do not know that they could render it 
more effective than they have done, but it has appeared 
to me, that as it reaches thousands who are ignorant of 
the true method of salvation, it should more frequently 
bring into view the fundamental points of Christian- 
ity. I am aware that what is not read will not profit, 
and articles doctrinal and instructive would probably 
not be read. But as the ' Messenger ' is the only paper 
which thousands of families take, it may be supposed 
that these read every article it contains. 

" I would certainly have furnished more articles 
than I have done, if I had not believed that your 
numerous correspondents could supply you with arti- 
cles better suited to the taste of the publishers than 
any which could proceed from my pen. Vivacity and 
originality are not to be expected from aged men. 
And they have less relish for such composition as 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 385 

pleases the young, and by its point and striking thought 
engages the attention of most men, than they once 
had. As, however, I take a pleasure in scribbling when 
the fit comes upon me, I shall probably, from time to 
time, give you the offer of some of my lucubrations, 
and if they should not suit the views of the publishers, 
no offence will be given to the writer by their not 
being inserted. All I ask in that case is, that they 
be sent back, as I may find that I can make some 
other use of them. Never publish an article of mine 
unless you really approve it. 

" What I do I must do quickly, for I am admon- 
ished that my time of working is coming to a close. 
My sun will soon go down, and then all my earthly 
labors must terminate. 

" My prayer is, that the next year may be more 
prosperous to the cause of truth and piety than any 
which has preceded it. In God is our help. From 
God is all our hope. He will do all his pleasure. 
"I am very truly yours, etc., 

" Rev. R. S. Cook, Sec. "A. ALEXANDER." 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 

From the Twenty-seventh Annual Report of the American Tract Society. 

"The venerable Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander, a 
Vice-president of this Society, and for three years 
from 1842 a member of the Publishing Committee, 
and who was ever a firm friend and counsellor, has 
rested from his labors. Almost forty years he was 
professor in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, 
sixty years he labored in the ministry, and he" died 
peacefully in his eightieth year, October 22, 1851. 

Prac Tr-iti.s. 1 7 



386 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

" While the Secretary in the publishing depart- 
ment was reading with him portions of ' Flavel's 
Method of Grace/ he said, with a glowing, tender 
spirit, ' All this carries me back to past scenes as if 
they were but yesterday. When I was a thoughtless 
youth, I passed some time in a family where was a 
venerable, pious lady, whose sight was dim, but who 
was greatly attached to Flavel 7 s works, and often 
requested me to read them to her. I read -to her 
this very work, I would read till the truths pierced 
my own heart, and affected me so that I was obliged 
to stop, when I would excuse myself till the next day. 
I would then read again, and again be obliged to 
stop ; and those impressions never left me till I found 
peace in Christ. 7 A communication in the Messenger 
of February, 1851, refers to the sermon on the word 
1 Stand/ in Flavel 7 s Knocking at the Door, as spe- 
cially blessed to him. In these works of Flavel was 
the type of the great practical views of theology from 
which he never swerved till, on his dying bed, he 
uttered to his family these memorable words : ! All my 
theology is reduced to this narrow compass, Jesus 
Christ came into the world to save sinners.' 

" Fired with this glorious theme, he went out, at 
the age of twenty, as a missionary, through the moun- 
tainous regions of Central and Western Virginia, his 
native state, and preached to the ignorant and per- 
ishing, with great power and success, 'the glorious 
gospel of the blessed God. 7 In prosecuting these 
labors, two great principles became fixed in his mind : 
the value of sound practical books and evangelical writ- 
ings, and the necessity of going to the destitute and ten- 
dering the gospel to them at their homes. He saw both 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER 38T 

in this Society and its colporteur system, and cheer- 
fully gave his cordial love, counsel, cooperation, and 
support to the close of his useful life. 

" He was the author of seven tracts of the Society's 
principal series : No. 32, { The Day of Judgment ;' 
51, ' Misery of the Lost ;' 65, 4 The Amiable Youth 
falling short of Heaven ; 215, ' Importance of Salva- 
tion ;' 350, ' Future Punishment Endless ;' 393, ' Jus- 
tification by Faith ;' and 462, ' Sinners Welcome to 
Come to Christ/ A few years since, he suggested 
the desirableness of issuing a series in a very simple 
style, in large type, and in the form of a little book, 
for which series he himself wrote the six following : 
Dialogues with a Farmer, with an Aged Man, and 
with a Cottager ; The Poor Man's Guide and Friend ; 
The New Settlement ; and a Dialogue with a Roman- 
Catholic, eighty-four pages, which is one of the Soci- 
ety's best practical volumes. When he observed how 
wide a circulation the American Messenger was gain- 
ing, he availed himself of the opportunity afforded to 
speak to multitudes for Christ, most of his articles 
for the last five years bearing his well-known signa- 
ture, ' a. a; 

" But his counsel and encouragement in the issuing 
of the Society's volumes, exerted a preeminent influ- 
ence in giving direction and success to its extended 
operations. As early as 1832, when the Society had 
issued but about half a dozen of its larger works, he 
suggested adding Edwards on the Affections, and in 
May, 1833, cheered the Society by communicating the 
following views of this enterprise : 

" ' I rejoice to learn that the Committee of the 
American Tract Society are turning their attention 



388 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

specially to the preparation and circulation of small 
hound volumes. These are as really tracts (treatises) 
as any of the pamphlets or sheets which are sent forth 
from the institution. The Society's tracts are now 
bound for such as prefer them in that form. And let 
other treatises be selected for publication, for which 
purpose there are many excellently adapted. I have 
attentively read over the list of books which the 
Committee have already put into circulation, and the 
selection meets with my cordial approbation. Works 
of a more evangelical and spiritual kind do not exist ; 
and I am gratified to see that they are printed and 
bound in a neat and handsome style. I am deeply 
persuaded that great public benefit will arise from 
the appropriation of a portion of your funds in this 
way ; and that the event will prove, that however 
expensive it may be in the commencement, it will be 
wise economy in the end. When I consider how 
many copies of ' Doddridge's Rise and Progress/ 
1 Baxter's Call to the Unconverted/ ' Alleine's 
Alarm/ 'Edwards on the Affections/ and such like 
works, will be circulated through the whole length 
and breadth of this land, I am filled with pleasing 
anticipations of the good which your Society will be 
the means of accomplishing. 

"'I do sincerely hope that the Committee will per- 
severe in the prosecution of this object, and as their 
circumstances may permit, increase the number of 
their publications of this description. The success 
which has already attended your efforts in this way, 
is calculated to inspire you with confidence to go on 
in the name of the Lord. 7 - fc 

" Again he says, five years afterwards, ' I reflect 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 389 

on no part of my life with more satisfaction than any 
little agency I have had in encouraging and promot- 
ing the Society's volume circulation. I do consider 
the success of this enterprise as intimately connected 
with the prosperity of vital scriptural piety in our land — 
not in any one church, but in all evangelical churches, 
and beyond them all, by conveying a sound and prac- 
tical knowledge of the gospel to multitudes who enjoy 
no public means of grace, or have not attended on 
them. If I could do any thing more to urge on this 
blessed work which has been so auspiciously com- 
menced, I would cordially lend my aid.' 

" Again he says, under a later date, ' The success 
of the volume circulation gladdens my heart every 
time I think of it ; and I sincerely wish that, instead 
of twenty volumes, you had a hundred in circula- 
tion. 7 

" A valuable work, stereotyped by the Society since 
his death, ' Baxter on Conversion/ was suggested to 
the Committee by him ; and on his dying bed, calling 
to mind a. wish which had been expressed by a desti- 
tute pastor for more good books, he requested his 
family to find the pastor's address, and gave ten dol- 
lars to procure for him the Society's Religious (or 
Pastor's) Library of twenty-four volumes." 



From the American Messenger of December, 1851, in addition to facts above given 
from the Annual Report. 

"REV. DR. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER. 

" We shall doubtless gratify our readers by some 
memorial of this distinguished servant of Christ, whom 
we loved as a father, and whose cooperation we en- 
joyed to the very close of his long and useful life. 

11° 



390 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

"He was born April 17, 1772, in Rockbridge 
county, in the valley of Virginia, between the Blue 
Ridge and the Alleghanies ; and was of Scotch de- 
scent, both his parents having emigrated first to the 
north of Ireland, and then to this country. He re- 
ceived a classical education at Liberty Hall, near the 
residence of his parents, under the charge of the Rev. 
William Graham, with whom he studied theology two 
years, when, at the age of about twenty, October 1, 
1791, he was commissioned to preach the gospel. 

"Before professing Christ he was led through 
severe spiritual conflicts, that he might know how to 
sympathize with others, and guide them in the right 
way ; and when Christ was revealed to him in his 
fulness, and he was commissioned as a herald of the 
cross, he went out immediately as a missionary 
preacher through the mountainous and destitute re- 
gions of his native state, with a glowing heart ' pro- 
claiming the way of life to the ignorant and destitute, 
and gathering the lost into the fold of Christ. Preach- 
ing without notes, with strange discrimination for 
one so young, and with an energy of thought and 
pathos of delivery rare in the young or aged, he 
spread the doctrines of divine truth wherever he 
went.' These arduous evangelical labors doubtless 
exerted an influence in training his mind to that clear- 
ness and simplicity, as well as richness of thought 
and expression, which characterized his preaching, his 
instructions, his conversation, and his extensive writ- 
ings through life. He regarded it as a high compli- 
ment, when told of a plain woman who had heard 
him in a destitute place, and said, ' I guess he aint a 
very lamed man.' 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 391 

" At twenty-five, he was elected president of Hamp- 
den Sydney college in his native state, and became 
also pastor of three adjacent churches. He married 
a daughter of Rev. James Waddell, the eloquent blind 
preacher, celebrated in the sketches' by William Wirt. 
At his death she survived him, as did all their children, 
an only daughter and six sons, three of whom are 
clergymen, one a distinguished professor at Princeton, 
and another, Rev. Dr. James W. Alexander, pastor in 
New York city. 

" From the age of thirty-four to forty, he was an 
able and beloved pastor in Philadelphia, till 1812, 
when he was called to lay the foundations of the 
Theological Seminary in Princeton. He was then 
the only professor, but was soon joined by his loved 
colleague, the Rev. Dr. Miller, whose funeral-sermon, 
after thirty-seven years of harmonious labor, he 
preached in January, 1850. For the whole term of 
his connection with that seminary, almost forty years, 
he labored incessantly, till his last illness of a few 
weeks : fulfilling the duties of his professorship ; 
watching over the students as a father, and guiding 
in an eminent degree by his affectionate advice their 
future course ; constantly appealed to for counsel in 
all the varied interests of the churches and of the 
cause of benevolence ; and with a discernment of 
character, a sound, practical judgment, a modesty and 
humility, and a singleness of purpose for the welfare 
of the Redeemer's kingdom, that gained universal 
confidence. It was kindly ordered that the Synod of 
New Jersey, of which he was a member, and out of 
which he named on his bed of weakness, one hundred 
and fifteen who had been his pupils, were in session 



392 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

at Princeton when he died, and were permitted, with 
a great concourse of clergymen and citizens, to unite 
in the solemnities of his funeral. 

"'Death never appeared to me so delightful as 
now when it is near/ he said to those around his sick- 
bed ; and often, as strength allowed, he spoke of the 
peace that dwelt in his soul. The records of his 
last hours will be precious to the church, and they 
will be found to illustrate and confirm the experience 
he has written in his sermons and letters as the fit- 
ting close of a life of faith. His great work on the 
Evidences and the Canon of Scripture, several other 
excellent treatises, and all the productions of his ac- 
tive and able pen, bear the impress of his singleness 
of purpose to honor Christ. "H." 



From the American Messenger for February, 1852. 
"IMPRESSIONS OF DR. ALEXANDER. 

" This Christian patriarch of fourscore years is 
one of the few whose fame and usefulness are immor- 
tal. Having given a long life of wtee and constant 
devotion to the Redeemer's kingdom, he has be- 
queathed to the church a name redolent with piety 
and honor. We would gratefully cherish the bequest, 
and contribute our humble influence to embalm it in 
every Christian heart. Perhaps we cannot better 
subserve the purpose than by a brief record of our 
impressions of the person, character, and influence of 
the venerable man who has so recently passed to his 
heavenly rest. 

" Dr. Alexander was of medium height, rotund, 
slightly stooping form, broad and high forehead, and 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 393 

piercing eye. His head was slightly inclined to one 
side, like Wilberforce's. His manners were simple, 
frank, and dignified, eminently suited to inspire con- 
fidence and respect. A single interview would im- 
press the visitor with his affability as a man, his ma- 
turity as a scholar, and his ripeness as a Christian. 

" The simplicity of character which marked Dr. 
Alexander is worthy of notice. True greatness is 
always simple. In Dr. Alexander it pervaded his 
tastes, language, manners, piety, every thing. In his 
writings, as our readers know, his thoughts were not 
only readily apprehended, but he could not well be 
misunderstood. So of his sermons and public appeals. 

" Modesty was a related trait. He seemed to know 
nothing of his own greatness. One who had been on 
terms of the closest intimacy for a generation, stated 
in our hearing, that he had never heard Dr. Alexander 
allude to his own influence . 

" Symmetry of character distinguished Dr. Alex- 
ander from most men. He was not so remarkable for 
logic, or rhetoric, or judgment, or zeal, or learning, 
singly, as for an admirable combination, which left 
nothing to be desired in the completeness of the man, 
the divine, and the Christian. 

u Penetration of mind, and an intuitive apprehen- 
sion of the character and motives of those he met, 
were peculiarly characteristic of Dr. Alexander. He 
saw through a subject or a person apparently at a 
glance. 

" Candor and firmness were finely combined. He 
had not a jot of that pertinacity of opinion and pur- 
pose which too often characterizes even good men in 
their declining years. To the last, he seemed as 



394 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

ready for new projects of usefulness, if they were 
well planned and had obvious bearings on the Re- 
deemer's cause, as he could have been in the days of 
his youth. Witness his attachment to colportage, his 
seminary plans, and the readiness with which, in his 
eightieth year, he undertook elaborate preparation 
for an entirely new department assigned to his pro- 
fessorship, and innumerable other illustrations. At 
the same time, he was firm as a rock in resisting what 
he deemed false principles of reform, or religious 
action. A hot-headed reformer once spent hours in 
endeavoring to enlist the influence of Dr. Alexander 
for his movement, plying him with argument, entreaty, 
and other means less gentle. After magnifying suffi- 
ciently his own zeal in the reform, he turned taunt- 
ingly to Dr. Alexander and inquired if he thought he 
(Dr. A.) had any piety. "None to boast o/J" was the 
searching reply of Dr. Alexander, sent home to the 
conscience with one of those glances of his speaking 
eye, which none will ever forget who have had occa- 
sion to remember its lightning-like power. 

"A noble-hearted catholicity could not but be a 
characteristic of such a man. No man loved his own 
honored church more sincerely and ardently than Dr. 
Alexander. But his love and preference for his own 
communion was not so exclusive as to reject all who 
worshipped God in other forms, or who had a like 
attachment to the church of their fathers. Nor did it 
deter him from an intelligent and whole-souled coop- 
eration with evangelical Christians in heaven-blessed 
enterprises for spreading abroad the knowledge of 
Christ. Perhaps no better illustration can be found 
of the true combination of denominational and catholic 



DEATH OF DR. ALEXANDER. 395 

affinities, in just proportions. He was none the less a 
Presbyterian, that he gave a quarter of a century and 
more of counsel and aid, in a thousand effective ways, 
to the Bible and Tract and other kindred organiza- 
tions. He loved and confided in them to the last ; 
indeed, almost the last act of his life, as before stated 
in the Messenger, was to provide a destitute minister 
at his own cost with the Tract Society's ' Beligious? 
or Pastor's Library/ as if he would leave at once a 
legacy of attachment to the ministry of his own church 
he had so long labored to rear, and a legacy of confi- 
dence and approbation to the institution he had so 
highly appreciated, and to whose usefulness he had so 
largely contributed. 

" Unceasing usefulness marked Dr. Alexander's ca- 
reer. The measure and amount of his labors for 
Christ's kingdom can never be fully known till the 
last day. But some sixty years of uninterrupted toil 
in the pulpit, in the professor's chair, and with the 
pen, have made a broad mark on this country and the 
world. A whole communion of Christians owe more 
to him than to any other man, perhaps, for the emi- 
nent scholarship and earnest zeal of their honored 
ministry. The cause of sacred learning is largely 
indebted to Dr. Alexander for his patient toil. And 
Oh, how much do the Tract Society, and the related 
Board of his own church and sister institutions, owe 
to his unwearied efforts with his pen! His early 
training and associations gave him a lively sympathy 
with the mass of plain, poor people scattered abroad 
over our land. For them he loved to write. He 
knew their heart, and could afford to write simply 
enough to be understood in his teachings. His earnest 



396 PRACTICAL TRUTHS. 

desire for the salvation of these masses inspired his 
zeal for the system of colportage and other enterprises 
which took the direction downward with gospel influ- 
ences. He wrote, and planned, and counselled, and 
inspired the zeal of others, with unflinching steadfast- 
ness ; and he still lives, and will live while the world 
stands, in his practical writings, which are loved and 
treasured by tens of thousands beyond the pale of his 
own communion as well as within its bounds.^ May 
the Holy Spirit own them for the spiritual good of 
untold thousands of dying immortals. "C." 



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