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Title: The Christian Recorder Vol. 1, Issue 4 (1819-June)

Date of first publication: 1819

Author: Various

Date first posted: January 24 2013

Date last updated: January 24 2013

Faded Page eBook #20130128

This eBook was produced by: L. Harrison, Marcia Brooks & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net

THE

CHRISTIAN RECORDER,

Vol. I.           JUNE, 1819.           No. 4.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

DR. CHALMERS ON UNIVERSAL PEACE.

The continuance of the late war in Europe, which experienced little or no interruption for nearly twenty five years, has excited a degree of serious reflection upon the miseries by which it was attended and is still followed, more deep and general than upon those produced by the wars of any former period.

For centuries back the direful evils promoted by this scourge of humanity were confined to very few nations at one and the same time. They fought with various success, their existence, as independent states, was seldom in danger, and though the victor rejoiced in obtaining the mastery, the prize was commonly insignificant, and rather excited in the vanquished a desire to renew the contest, than a wish to remain at peace. In these wars, the mass of the several nations felt little or no interest—fleets and armies were sent to fight at a distance from home. A remote colony was frequently the object of contention, and the scene of action, while the parent state remained quiet and tranquil. Even to those continental wars which desolated Germany, during the last century, and which brought upon the inhabitants of many of its states the severest evils, were not so strongly felt as might have been expected; for the government of their petty Princes was so tyrannical and oppressive, as to make a state of hostility little or no addition to their common hardships. The knowledge of this fact prevented any [Pg 124] great sympathy among their neighbours, and when the war ended, the calamities which accompanied its progress were soon forgotten.

The intercourse between different nations has increased prodigiously within these forty years, and knowledge, both civil and religious, has been more widely diffused; hence in many points, nations advanced in improvement may be considered united, and what happens in one is immediately felt and known in all. Any great excitement that may be produced, is not therefore confined to one or two nations, which was the case some years ago, but circulates instantly through the civilized world. A wider field for improvement is consequently opened, and better prospects of success afforded, than when nations were ignorant of and strangers to one another. Accordingly we find, in the history of the last forty years, greater improvements in the arts of life in the dissemination of the Christian Faith, and in breaking down the partitions which separated nations, than many previous centuries had accomplished.

These benefits have not been obtained without great sacrifices and the most dreadful convulsions, which clearly prove the truth of the Scripture, that the wrath of man shall praise the Lord, and that his judgments have been abroad in the earth. For ten years before the French revolution, the nations of Europe enjoyed profound tranquility, and having recovered in a great measure from the miseries of former wars, they were most actively employed in promoting civilization, ameliorating their different constitutions, softening the rigorous spirit of their laws, extending to all, the benefits of a full toleration, and paying more attention to the feelings and rights of their people than had ever been done before. But the wars produced by the French revolution were different from all others. The very foundations of Society were assaulted, existing Governments overthrown, the laws and policy of the conquered States disregarded, their independence swept away by annexing them to France, or making them tributary without regarding the feelings or wishes of the people. In this terrible contest, every thing dear to man was at stake, the whole of society was convulsed, and the meanest individual involved in calamity. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at though the most serious reflections on the nature and [Pg 125] causes of war have been cherished, and Societies formed for the express purpose of discouraging this awful appeal to arms, in which innumerable evils are felt and no advantages gained. And, if they are not made subservient to other purposes than those for which they are intended, they may be of great advantage. By disseminating tracts on the folly and guilt of war, the public mind would be gradually informed, and wars become unpopular and cease, and those millennial days would arrive when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. To those who consider this a visionary scheme, we remark, that when the meritorious Clarkson commenced his opposition to the slave trade, success appeared equally hopeless. At the first meeting of the friends of humanity, in June, 1787, only twelve appeared, and yet in twenty years this disgrace to civilization was repealed. We should never despair in the cause of truth and justice, for it is the cause of God and must prevail. Many peace societies have been established both in America and England, whose object is not to dictate to their several Governments, nor to claim exemption from the laws, nor to adopt the Quaker tenets of not defending their country if attacked, but to point out the wickedness of all offensive wars, and to remove the delusions which poison the public mind, for it is only when vital Christianity reigns upon the earth, that an enduring peace shall come along with it.

Dr. Chalmers most justly observes, that he sees causes at work on every side of him, which go to spread a most delusive colouring over war, and to remove its shocking barbarities into the back ground. History, poetry, and music, all combine to render this diabolical scourge fascinating to the youthful mind. How much more usefully would these arts be employed in disseminating principles of forbearance and forgiveness. The distinguished Preacher, feeling the miseries which still continue to exist, though the war itself had ceased, urges upon his audience the practice of patience and resignation.

The last division of this excellent sermon displays a profound knowledge of the effects which naturally flow from certain causes, and proves, in the most convincing manner, the good which would very soon arise from the exertions recommended.

ON THE REUNION OF FRIENDS IN HEAVEN.

As a Christian, consequently a firm believer in a future state, I am very desirous of proposing, through the medium of your admirable magazine, a query, which, though in no manner connected with belief, bears an inseparable relation not only to my own comfort, but probably to that of the greater part of your readers. The head upon which I wish for information is this: on what solid or Scriptural ground are we taught to believe in the personal reunion of departed friends in a future state; and what will be the nature of that reunion, I mean more particularly with respect to those mutual affections and remembrances by which they are connected in this life? Will friendships here revive as friendship there; or, in other words, are we to suppose, that with the reunion of our individual persons, however spiritualized, [Pg 129] we are to expect the resuscitation also of those several feelings, which, as they constitute the chief sting of death, we as naturally look forward to, in that case, as the brightest jewels in the crown of immortality? The expression in Scripture, "When I was a child, I thought as a child, &c. but when I was a man I put away childish things," some people have thought to imply, that the strongest attachments of this world will, in that improved and exalted state of being, be looked back upon merely as the playthings of infancy; and that we are thus in some measure to drink the Lethean cup, as to those mutual sentiments and feelings, which here form the chief enjoyment of parent and child, of husband and wife! Our blessed Saviour tells the penitent thief on the cross, that he shall be with him that night in Paradise; but, on another occasion he positively states, that, there shall no marrying or giving in marriage. St. Paul's admonition, in his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, (chap. 4, verse 13,) where he forbids their giving way to immoderate grief for their deceased friends as men without hope, would almost seem conclusive on this head, were it not that this passage is interpreted by some as relating chiefly to an erroneous opinion then prevalent among those Thessalonians, that our Saviour's second coming was to take place in their life time, and that all those who might on that occasion be found alive would have an advantage over their deceased friends. As this inquiry is not made with any view of idle or speculative curiosity, but as opening a source as well of solid comfort, as of powerful incitement to a virtuous life, I trust your valuable magazine, which is a means of affording so much useful information, will not exclude a query which so nearly interests every affectionate parent, brother, wife, or husband, throughout the circle of your numerous readers.

ANSWER.

Our correspondent informs us in a note, that his letter is adopted from the New Monthly Magazine, which so completely accords with his feelings, that he suppresses one that he had written and sends this as being much better composed [Pg 130] in its stead. We attempt an answer, as the subject is interesting, but with what success we leave to our correspondent and readers to judge.

Our present life is the commencement of an existence that shall never have an end. It is the root of a tree that shall bloom for ever. What an exquisite pleasure will it be, said the amiable Socrates, to live with Palamedes and others who have suffered unjustly! What a happiness to converse in another world with Ulysses and Sisyphus! Who would not purchase at a great price, a meeting with Orpheus, Hesiod and Homer? O happy day! cries the Roman orator, when I shall be transported from this den of corruption, and shall mingle with the Divine assembly of souls. I shall go not only to those illustrious sages about whom I have been speaking, but also to my own dear Cato, than whom a more excellent man, or one more distinguished for piety, never existed. I am joined, you see, by those illustrious Philosophers, and such was the more general opinion among the Heathen. I am sensible, that in a question of this kind, the suffrage of the most enlightened of the ancients is of little weight, but I am pleased to discover an agreement on a subject so interesting, and if it do not add force to the evidence, it gives incredible satisfaction to the mind. Allow me to consider what grounds we have from Scripture for believing that we shall meet and know each other in the life to come. The picture drawn of the day of judgment, in the Scriptures, makes it evident, that every person appears as he was upon earth, and is rewarded accordingly. Indeed, we are also informed, that all will be convinced of the justice of their sentence.—But we never could acquire this conviction, if we were not in the same moment conscious of what we had done in the world—and shall this consciousness leave us after our doom is fixed? Shall we forget after sentence hath been pronounced, whether it be equitable or not? No, certainly.—In the realms of bliss we shall always retain the knowledge of the past as a source of pleasure. Conscience has much more to do with our happiness and misery in a future state, than is commonly apprehended. Were the recollection of the past taken away, the greatest source of misery would be taken from the wicked, and of happiness from the good.—Can you imagine it possible that any thing could increase the misery of that man, whose conscience, assisted by a vivid [Pg 131] recollection brought the whole of an ill spent life instantaneously before him—every crime that he had committed, every opportunity of doing good which he had neglected—the great ease with which he might have escaped the temptations which have ruined him, and the exquisite felicity which he has lost? And will not a similar recollection afford the greatest satisfaction to the good? Happiness and virtue must always go hand in hand, but whence came this virtue? surely from the right use of our faculties copying after Jesus and keeping his precepts. As a perfection of the Deity, and indeed the essence of all his perfections, virtue is eternal, and surely its fruits are eternal.

Were not the soul to retain its primitive and essential powers in Heaven, which it possessed and cultivated here, it would be a new Being, and in that case, whatever felicity it enjoyed, it would not be the same, but a different Being. Take away consciousness, and the soul is no longer the same. Now, as we are expressly told that we shall be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body—consciousness must remain, and if we remember what we have been doing, this necessarily implies the recollection of those with whom we have been acting. So distinctly will our merits be known, and so minutely will they be examined, that we shall be rewarded by different measures. He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully.—They that be wise shall shine bright as the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.—As one star differeth from another in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. We find particular persons discriminated in Heaven.—And I say unto you, that many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven.—This passage is certainly absurd, if we are not able to distinguish those blessed Patriarchs from the multitude which surround the throne.—Surely they will be made known to us, and their sanctity will shed a Divine odour around us in Heaven. It is unreasonable to suppose that the Prophets and Apostles, the Saints and Martyrs shall be hid from us under the appearance of kindred spirits, without any mark of distinction. We are informed that there will be hierarchies, or governments, in which the blessed shall be arranged one [Pg 132] above another, which will no doubt promote the general happiness—for there is no contest for power—every one finds his station and is completely happy.

Some have supposed that Heaven is distributed into divisions which have no connexion, but this is not the language of Scripture. "And I heard a voice from heaven saying, behold the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God." The inhabitants are described as composing one blessed Society. "After this I beheld and lo! a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes and with palms in their hands." The evangelist is taught to distinguish them, for a little after one of the Elders tells him that those arrayed in white robes came out of great tribulation. This presupposes a recollection of what they had been. The state of the Blessed is frequently described as a city, that is, a community or regular society, at the head of which is Christ. Can we behold his glory and yet remain strangers to one another? Shall we be lost in the immensity of the multitude; Can our friends and relations be with us in the same society, and remain unknown?

We cannot indeed describe the various occupations of the heavenly host, nor can we form any adequate conception of their felicity, for St. Paul saith "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those that love him." Athanasius makes a curious distinction, which I think rather whimsical, as he does not support it by any solid reasons. He admits that the saints know each other in Heaven, but the miserable do not in Gehenna.

What congratulations, what rejoicings, when we meet with our friends in heaven, what tender recollections of the past will rush upon our minds. We had begun life together, we had overcome the same difficulties and dangers, the gates of death are past, and we are now together in the realms of bliss. No longer liable to infirmities or exposed to temptation, we are gratified with the most delightful sensations. The turbulence of passion, the allurements of false pleasure, rash opinions, the bitterness of guilt, and the storms of adversity are all unknown in the happy abode to [Pg 133] which we are admitted. Separations from those we love no longer rend our hearts, by breaking asunder the most tender connections. Alas! we have hardly time here to begin friendships, when they are broken, we have hardly tasted the exquisite enjoyment of the purest affections, when they are dissolved by death. To-day we rejoice, thinking our happiness founded on a rock, to-morrow it is gone and we are left to mourn. Ye who have been called to follow to the grave the parents whom ye have venerated and loved, who have seen the early companions of your youth dropping around you—who have watered with your tears the tomb of the partner of your affections, who have beheld your tender babes in the agonies of death, and caught their departing spirits—what a glorious consolation is here. The kingdom of God allows of no loss of existence. Your sorrows are at an end, you are all met in that region of purity, where there is joy for evermore. Nor will our happiness confine itself within the circle of those, whom we have formerly loved—selfishness can have no place, but being purified from every thing base and wicked, we shall rejoice to see many of those, whom we had thought debarred from all hopes of immortal felicity. With what pleasure will they who have spent much of their time in the acquisition of knowledge, look back upon the clouds which obscured their sight, and compare the small progress they made with their present illumination. Those doubts and uncertainties which had distracted and bewildered them are now dispelled, and the discoveries made by the most admired geniuses are only as a drop in the bucket, to what they now comprehend. But if we can look back upon earth, will not the difficulties, the sorrows and the dangers of those whom we have left behind throw a gloom over our felicity—they are still in tribulation, still exposed to allurements which they may not be able to withstand. The goodness and justice of God will now appear reconciled, his tenderness and mercy will present themselves, operating in full force; and the very punishments which he allows, bringing about so much good, not only to the individual sufferer, but to the whole creation, as to present any distressing feelings. The moral Government of God will appear directing all things to the general good.—Men will indeed be seen struggling with difficulties, but they are the steps of their improvement—the trials of their virtue. [Pg 134] The emotions of tenderness and pity may perhaps be excited by their wanderings and their folly, but it will be an affectionate indulgent anxiety, a kindness of feeling which tends rather to increase than diminish the sum of our happiness.

I wish not to conclude, though I have detained you long, without a more direct application of this most comfortable doctrine to our present state. What is human life without the prospect of future bliss? It is a passing shadow, a dream—but an uneasy and turbulent dream, which admits of little consolation. The darkness which overshadows it never gives way till heaven is presented, and this is a remedy which delivers us from despair, at the dissolution of the most tender connexions. Life being only the beginning of our existence and a separation only for a short time, our affections rest in hope of blooming with redoubled freshness, and we carefully employ the intermediate space in such preparations as shall make us more worthy of the meeting we implore. Friendships in this view, when founded on virtue and esteem, a union of interests and affections, a sympathy of feeling and inclination, assume a new value, they are not for a day, but for eternity—they may be suspended for a short time, but they will be renewed. For we are not to suppose, that there are no friendships in heaven. Every intelligent Being augments his felicity by participation—he that has never had a friend is a stranger to some of the finest emotions, and to one of the most exquisite affections of the human heart; and what augments our virtuous felicity here, must augment it hereafter. Yes, my Friend, our connexions will be renewed with a thousand advantages unattainable here—we shall be still more deserving of mutual esteem, and we shall no longer be liable to change. Such are some of the reflections which establish the position that we shall know each other in heaven—they will sooth if they cannot cure our present afflictions, which will be no longer intolerable, but like a cloud obstructing the beams of the Sun—you walk a few steps and get from under its shade. The grave to the Christian has little in it dreadful, it is a sleep till the morning of the joyful resurrection.

Dr. M. of Edinburgh, lost his amiable Partner, whom he tenderly loved, at the birth of her fourth child. Being a man of exquisite feelings, his grief knew no bounds. He [Pg 135] took the greatest delight in cherishing it, and though he received politely the attentions of his friends, it was evident that they afforded him no consolation. His health began rapidly to decline, and his Friends were filled with anxiety and alarm. To himself the approach of death gave the greatest satisfaction. A dream restored him to himself and to Society. The purified Saint that he had lost appeared before him, and pointing to their children she seemed to say, "I adjure you by our tender affection, to moderate the grief that consumes you. Look at the dear and innocent pledges of our love, from them let your happiness spring—their claims are sacred. They have no other earthly Protector—prove your affection for me, not by shedding unavailing tears, but by animating them with the purest religious principles, that when we meet again in the mansions above, they may be with us."

Dissertations on the Christian Doctrines.

No. 4.
THE CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE.

As these essays aim rather at a practical view of the different doctrines of the Christian revelation, than a minute examination of the proofs by which they are supported, we do not think it necessary to enter deeply upon the evidence, contenting ourselves with such a view as will satisfy the sincere inquirers after truth. It is a singular advantage which accompanies these doctrines, that they find proofs of their truth in our own bosoms, and this is particularly the case with the corruption of human nature. It is matter of daily experience. Those who give themselves the trouble to reflect upon what is passing around them, must perceive the wickedness of the greater part of mankind. All have disappointments, calamities, or complaints, and prove by their wailings the truth of the Scripture, that man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. On all sides we hear the cries of the afflicted, or the groans of the dying; the whole world appears one vast house of misery and woe. And how can we account for this sorrow and pain, if we are not all [Pg 136] tainted, all partakers of the sin of our first Parents. We know that they were created upright, but we feel that their nature has been perverted, and therefore transmitted in a corrupted state to their posterity. Were we not all sinners, we should not be subjected to sufferings, for God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and repenteth him of the evil. It is on account of our sins that we are exposed to the penalties of transgression, for as God never willingly afflicts the children of men, we should be happy, were not suffering and death the consequences of that sin of which we are hourly guilty. But our experience is only the continuation of the history of the world, which presents a record of similar evils.—Nor is it the history of rude and barbarous nations to which we refer, who may be thought to be exposed to many more evils than those advanced in the arts of refinement. The descriptions given by sacred and profane historians of the vices of the refined nations of antiquity sufficiently prove, that in this respect they surpassed the nations of the present age. In pride, cruelty and ambition, violence, discord and licentiousness, the Romans attained a dreadful pre-eminence. In Greece the most disgraceful vices were so common as to lose their character of baseness—gross ignorance of religion, a total disregard to the rights and privileges of their fellow creatures universally prevailed. Something very different might have been expected of those nations, to whom the Lord hath communicated the words of eternal life. The purity and beauty of the Christian dispensation, the holiness of its founder, the perfection of his whole nature, the sublimity of its doctrines and glorious display which it gives of the goodness of God and his tenderness to man, might have had a visible effect upon their conduct. But alas! how little the progress that they have made in solid improvement. These inestimable privileges have produced in many no good effects, thousands have surpassed the Heathen in the race of folly and crime, and refused light because their deeds were evil.

Wherever you have men you have numberless proofs of the corruption of human nature. It is found in every breast, it is not a rare production, but universal; or if this be denied, point at the exceptions. Formerly, says Plato, that part of us which partakes of the Divine nature had preserved for some time all its vigour and dignity. But the vicious [Pg 137] propensity of mortal man got at last the upper hand, to the great prejudice of the human species. Hence are come all the miseries that afflict us. The vice of our nature we have from our ancestors, which is the reason why we cannot get rid of those evil inclinations which cause us to fall into the primitive transgression of our first Parents, for the nature and powers of man have been corrupted in the first of the race, ever since his birth. There is not a town, says an eminent writer, without an hospital and gallows, because man is wretched and wicked. Iniquity abounds in every street—rivalry, discord, murders, lasciviousness, swearing, blasphemy, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, robbery, are hourly plunging multitudes into irreparable ruin. All seem disposed to forget their true interests, and to prefer the things of this life more than those of Heaven.

"It is the doctrine of Saint Paul," says the Rev. J. Sumner, an author of singular merit, "that through the sin of Adam, man is born with a corrupt heart, prone to sin, averse from holiness, and unable of himself to please God. This truth, however humiliating and ungrateful, the Apostle does not allow to be forgotten, even by those who are renewed; but keeps them perpetually reminded of their natural depravity, their actual transgressions, and of the unsoundness of the little fruit they have in holiness, so that throughout the whole of their probation they may bear in mind that Christ's death alone placed them in a state of justification, and that their sanctification is only to be ascribed to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

"To leave therefore out of sight the corruption of human nature, is to set aside the basis which St. Paul has laid to the whole system of the Gospel; in which our Church too has followed the example of the great Apostle, placing the declaration of man's natural corruption as the first of her doctrinal articles. To relinquish this is to relinquish the strongest hold possessed by the Preacher over the feelings and consciences of his hearers—it is to give up a truth which is declared by the world without, and receives a concurrent testimony from the experience of the heart within. The cause of the degeneracy is known from revelation, and could not have been otherwise explained; but the fact is familiar to all, it meets our eyes abroad, and is felt by our souls at home, and requires only to be stated [Pg 138] to produce conviction. It is this which accounts to the Christian for the irregular appearances which the human mind presents; for the infirmity of purpose which even its loftiest designs betray; for the inconsistent mixture of low desires with noble enterprize; for the union of meanness with greatness; of much that is abject with much that is august in the same character; bearing evidence alike to the high original and the grievous fall which the Scriptures record, and thus give an additional proof of their authenticity, by explaining the mystery which is otherwise inexplicable.

"The Preacher therefore who follows the statement of St. Paul on the subject of natural corruption has all history and experience on his side, and will alone be able to trace to their real source those inconsistencies, which the best of his hearers will be most forward to acknowledge in their own hearts. To bring mankind to a sense of their personal guilt and humiliation, was the first step of the Apostle, and must be the first object of every preacher; to point out the existence of the disease, in order to check its growth, to prove the necessity of the remedy that men may be willing to receive it; to teach them the value of their Saviour, by showing that they are lost without him. 'They that are whole need not a Physician, but they that are sick.'"

As the Apostle does not precisely state the extent or degree of human corruption, much controversy hath arisen among Christians, for not satisfied to leave the doctrine as St. Paul had left it, they proceeded to define the degree and extent of this corruption and to quarrel with those who refused to adopt their interpretations. Our forefathers, said an eminent divine, were too fond of definitions; and, accordingly, those given of this important doctrine have frequently raised the most bitter divisions. All Christians admit that mankind are under sin and condemnation; that an evil principle is always lurking in the flesh, which can only be successfully opposed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; that man has a constant propensity to sin and therefore must be subject to punishment: but some go farther than this, and assert that man, instead of the image of God, is now become the image of the Devil; instead of the citizen of heaven, he is become [Pg 139] the bond slave of hell, having in himself no one part of his former purity and cleanness, but being altogether spotted and defiled, insomuch that now he seemed to be nothing else but a lump of sin. Again, man is of his own nature fleshly and corrupt, without any spark of goodness in him, only given to evil thoughts and evil deeds. Had we left the matter with the blessed Apostle and contented ourselves with what he had been permitted to reveal, it would have been advantageous to the progress of religion, but, this not being the case, the different interpretations have given rise to much violence and cruelty. It is, however, pleasing to reflect that of late years the difference is rather in words than in matter, and as to all practical purposes, a circumstance of little consideration. The language of Calvin is softened or explained, and those who call themselves by his name are daily approaching nearer and nearer to the language of the Church, "that the condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God." This does not differ from what Doctor Williams, in his answer to the Bishop of Lincoln, calls an effectual or prevailing inclination to good, which was lost through original sin.

Much of the difficulty appears to arise from the inaccuracy of language, and the neglect of giving clear and distinct meanings to different words, or of using them exactly in the sense prescribed. Thus, from carelessness in distinguishing original from actual sin, endless reasonings are engendered. By original sin, we are to understand a disgrace in which we are born. First, because we are the children of a criminal father, deprived of the advantages granted to him in person and to his posterity. Secondly, because our faculties have been impaired and vitiated by this deprivation, and by the total revolution effected in Adam, when, by his sin, he lost the image of his Creator, who could neither abide with nor love him any longer. As to the consequences of this apostacy in his posterity, which so many have considered inconsistent with the divine goodness and mercy of God, we may be permitted to remark, that we ought not to judge of the Supreme Being's justice by ours. Ours is from equal to equal, his from the infinite to the finite, from the Creator to the Creature. We [Pg 140] daily see that the dreadful effects of the follies and crimes of Parents are suffered by their posterity, why then should we wonder that the iniquity of our first parents should be visited upon their children.

That the existence of the corruption of our nature is incontestible, must be evident not only to the eyes of the Christian, but even to the Philosopher. All that we read in the Scriptures recall us to this belief, all the truths that we learn of Christianity remind us of the corruption of our nature; and to doubt of this doctrine would be to shake the foundation of all the others. It is scarce possible to withstand the proofs that reason offers upon this subject. How can we reconcile in man so much grandeur with so much meanness, his love of truth his esteem for virtue with so many frivolous and shameful desires—how comprehend that man should stand in continual opposition to his own happiness, unless some great derangement had taken place in his nature that prevents him, as St. Paul says, from doing the good he means, and prompts him to do the evil he means not. To be convinced of the corruption of our nature, we need only observe in little children those perverse passions, which afterwards in life break forth and fill our houses with violence,—what anger may you remark in their little breasts when crossed or contradicted—what obstinacy and self will do they shew under correction. I have seen, says St. Augustine, a child who could not yet speak, and yet, with paleness on his cheeks and rage in his eyes, behold another child at the breast along with him. Some have been seen to die with spite and jealousy, upon getting a brother or a sister.

Is it possible to account for the phrenzy with which people rush into the vanities and illusions of the age, though they know the fatal consequences which follow, or the eagerness with which they devote themselves to the world which they know to be perfidious and treacherous, or the facility with which they venerate and believe, or the alacrity with which they sacrifice to the folly of a moment an eternity of happiness, upon any other principle than the degradation of our nature. Such blindness, such inconsistency, so general, so constant, for so many ages, cannot be the effect of sound reason. "Who," says St. Augustine, "will [Pg 141] be able to account for the intolerable yoke with which the children of Adam are oppressed? who will believe that a good and just God could lay us under such a load of misery, had not original sin brought it upon us?"

To conclude, the Christian himself has daily the saddest experience of sin, even in his most sacred moments, when pouring out his whole soul to God, when all his attention should be engrossed with this sublime exercise, he feels the infirmities of his nature and laments his weakness and distraction.

From all these particulars we find that there has been none without sin, our Lord Jesus Christ only excepted, but that the wickedness of man is great on the Earth, and the imaginations of his heart are naturally evil, nor is this transmission of sin inconsistent with what we remark in the natural world. How frequently do we see the vices of parents entailed upon their children—poverty and disease afflicting the offspring of prodigal and wicked parents, in much the same way as Adam's disobedience has made us sinners and liable to misery. To dispute and cavil against this doctrine, and to muster up objections against it, is to cherish pride and to banish humility, to harden our hearts and render us insensible of our miserable situation and dependence upon God.

"In treating of this subject," says Mr. Sumner, whom we have already largely quoted with practical advantage, "we should first preach of the corruption of human nature, so as to shew our absolute dependence upon the atonement of Christ for Salvation, and upon the Holy Spirit for sanctification: secondly, that we should so preach it as to vindicate the ways of God to man, by proving that he offers a remedy co-extensive with the evil: thirdly, that we should so preach it as to make the hearer understand that sin, however congenial to the depraved mind, is alike inconsistent with the original innocency of the human race, and with their final destination, in as much as they have been bought with a price, and become the sons of God and joint heirs with Christ, and are expected to be holy, even as he who hath called them, is holy."

"Christian," says the amiable Saville, "thou who hast seen the malignity of sin, and hast wept for it in secret before God, be not discouraged; that precious blood of sprinkling, [Pg 142] to which thou hast applied, will soon cleanse thee from every stain: once thy wickedness too was great in the earth, and the imaginations of thy heart evil; and still thou groanest, being burdened with the sad remains of sin within thee, but keep the faith, be patient and endure unto the end, and when he who cometh quickly shall come, thou shalt be completely holy and completely happy; Angels shall joy over thee with singing; Christ himself shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied in the glory that shall be revealed in thee—a glory great as the extent of thy capacity, and lasting as the days of immortality."

THE CONFESSOR.

No. 4.

It is thirteen months this very day, since I landed at York. On getting my land, I settled immediately upon it, and began to clear and bring it into cultivation.

Having a very large family of children, four boys and three girls, I soon found that the greatest evil attending my new situation was the want of religious instruction. Ah! Sir, it was a pleasant sight to see me, my wife, and our seven children going to Church, of a Sunday, and when we came home, asking our little ones to look up the prayers and psalms and lessons of the day—where the text was, and what they remembered of the Sermon. There are times, when I think that this advantage counterbalances all that we can expect to reap from leaving our native land—times, when I feel the words of the poet.

We have several neighbours, who are very kind to us—they have assisted us in raising a log-house—shewed us the best method of cutting down trees, fencing, planting, &c. Our several occupations engross all our time on common days, and we do not feel the solitude of the woods by any [Pg 143] means disagreeable—but Sunday, that day of cheerfulness and peace, and of refreshing to our souls—that day, which we were accustomed to spend in attendance on public worship and religious conversation at home, seemed a kind of blank. Some of the settlers did indeed visit us, but their conversation had nothing in it profitable, for few of them being accustomed to the charms of the Sabbath, the subject of religion was never mentioned.

I found that this would not answer, for my children would soon become as indifferent to their religious duties as many around us, and if they forgot their Heavenly Parent, they would very quickly forget their earthly.

After some deliberation, my wife and I agreed to spend the Sunday as we used to do, or as nearly as possible.—All unnecessary labour was prohibited, our best clothes were put on, and being all collected, after breakfast I proceeded to read the morning service, and having some good sermons with me, I concluded by reading one of them. After service we admit a little recreation to the children, but of a tranquil and innocent nature, or we endeavour to make the conversation interesting, by asking questions concerning the historical parts of the Old and New Testament.

At first our neighbours, when they came to visit us of a Sunday morning, and saw what we were about, went away, but lately many of them remain, and two serious families, who were here before we came, attend regularly and bring their children with them. We think that we shall soon have a goodly company, and as many young people as will compose a good Sunday's School, for the beneficial effects of our attention to religion are already visible. None of the settlers do any work on Sunday, as they sometimes did before, they dress better, and are more careful of their behaviour when they meet.

I wish, Sir, that in the Christian Recorder, which we get among us, you would descend to our situation and wants.—Tell us how we ought to conduct our Worship on the Lord's day, till such time as we have a Clergyman, and especially, give us a Prayer suitable for a Family, and a little longer than those beautiful ones found in our excellent Liturgy, and in return I will point at some of the doubts and difficulties, which my indifferent neighbours urge as an apology for not embracing the Gospel, that you may from time to time [Pg 144] explain and remove them. For it is chiefly thoughtlessness and ignorance, that prevent them from becoming Christians.

We are much gratified with the correspondence of this pious and intelligent Farmer, and shall be ready to give him every assistance in our power. The doubts and difficulties shall meet with speedy attention, and as they will be such as are experienced by many of our readers, by expounding them we are rendering the Recorder more extensively useful. In the mean time we furnish the Prayer required.

A PRAYER FOR SUNDAY MORNING.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thy unworthy servants, present ourselves, with all humility, before thy Divine Majesty, to offer unto thee our morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all thy goodness and loving kindness, vouchsafed to us thy sinful creatures.

Blessed be thy name for thy great glory in that stupendous effect of thy power and wisdom, the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, the Sea and all that in them is; more especially for the creation of man, the conclusion of thy great work for making him after thine own image and likeness, capable of loving and enjoying thee eternally.

But above all, we praise and magnify thy name, for thine inestimable love to lost mankind, in the redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ: for his meritorious death and passion, his glorious and triumphant resurrection and ascension, and the mission of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

Glory be to thee, Oh God, who, in compassion to human weakness, hast appointed a solemn day, on purpose for the remembrance of these thine inestimable blessings of creation and redemption—Oh, let us ever esteem it our privilege and happiness, to have a day of rest set apart for thy service and the concerns of our souls—a day, free from the distractions and allurements of the world, wherein we have nothing to do but to praise and to love thee—Oh, let it ever be to us a day sacred to Divine love, a day of Heavenly rest and refreshment.

Let thy Holy Spirit descend on us thine unworthy servants, that we may be always in the spirit on the Lord's [Pg 145] day, that we may worship thee as we ought, both in our closets and in the congregation—that our wandering thoughts may be fixed on thee—our tumultuous affections composed, and our cold desires quickened into serious devotion.

Oh, may we join in the prayers and praises of thy Church, with ardent and heavenly affections; hear thy word with earnest attention, and a firm resolution of mind to observe and obey it; and when we approach thine Altar pour into our hearts those most excellent graces of humility, patience, faith, love, and all those holy dispositions which become the solemn remembrance of a crucified Saviour.

Let us devote this day to all those holy purposes thou hast appointed, in works of necessity, devotion and charity; in prayer, praise and meditation; and let the words of our mouths, and thoughts of our hearts, be always acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.

Let the prayers and sacrifices of thy holy Catholic Church, this day offered unto thee, be in mercy graciously accepted; accompany thine institutions with thy blessings—let thy ministers be clothed with righteousness, and pardon all thy people, who are not prepared according to the preparation of the Sanctuary.

Accept our supplications for all states and conditions of men; give thy Son the Heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the world for his possession; prosper the endeavours of all those, who are sincerely engaged in propagating Christian knowledge. And grant that all who confess thine holy name, may agree in the truth of thine holy word, and live in unity and godly love, devoutly serving thee in all good works to the glory of thy Majesty, that they may inherit thine Everlasting Kingdom, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for ever.

Amen.

LIFE OF CAPT. BRANT.

(Concluded.)

It is indeed a matter of deep commiseration, to reflect upon the mutual desolation produced by this unnatural war. Not [Pg 146] only men and warriors, but the women and children of whole settlements, were involved in complete ruin; nor can there be any justification offered on either side—it is only when the American writers conceal the shocking conduct of their own people, and endeavour to throw the whole odium on the British and Indians, that it becomes necessary to point out the truth, and to shew that the cruelties exercised upon the Indians and Loyalists were greater than it was in the power of the latter, to inflict upon the Insurgents.

To do this appears now more necessary than ever, when the best Poet of the age has embalmed in imperishable verse, the cruelties of his countrymen united with the savages. In this beautiful Poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, for beautiful and sweet it is notwithstanding the unfortunate choice of the story, every thing that is tender, affectionate and lovely, is attached to the Rebels, and all the opposite vices given to their enemies. The Reviewer, instead of correcting the visions of the Poet, and stating the situation of Wyoming as it really was, describes that Township (a large District he ought to have said) "as a situation which, at the commencement of the American rebellion, might have passed for an earthly Paradise. The beauty and fertility of the country, the simple and unlaborious plenty which reigned among the scattered inhabitants, but above all the singular purity and innocence of their manners, and the tranquil and unenvious equality in which they passed their days, form altogether a scene on which the eye of Philanthropy is never wearied with gazing, and to which perhaps no parallel can be found in the annals of the fallen world. The heart turns with delight from the feverish scenes of European history to the sweet repose of this true Atlantis, but sinks to reflect that though its reality may still be attested by surviving witnesses, no such spot is now left on the whole face of the earth, as a refuge from corruption and misery." Who would suppose that this splendid description of an earthly paradise, sunk into the following facts, when touched by the hand of history, even partial history! "Wyoming consisted of eight Townships, each five miles square, beautifully placed on each side of the River Susquehannah. It had increased so rapidly in population, that a thousand men were sent to serve in the Continental army. Four forts were constructed to cover the remainder from the irruptions of the [Pg 147] Indians. But it was their unhappiness to have a considerable number of Loyalists among them, and the two parties were actuated by sentiments of the most violent animosity, which was not confined to particular families or places, but creeping within the roofs and to the hearths and floors where it was least to be expected, served equally to poison the sources of domestic security and happiness, and to cancel the laws of nature and humanity." Doctor Ramsay mentions that at one time the Rebels sent twenty seven Royalists to Hartford, in Connecticut; "to be tried for their lives," says Doctor Gordon, "and many others were driven from the settlement." These measures excited the rage of the Tories (i. e. Loyalists) to the most extreme degree, and the threats formerly denounced against the settlers were now renewed with aggravated vengeance. The soil of the District of Wyoming, according to Doctor Ramsay, was claimed both by Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and from the collision of contradictory claims, the laws of neither were steadily enforced; so that this spot, so happy, &c. was more contaminated with rancour and animosity than any other part of the United States: and instead of being pure and innocent, &c. the inhabitants were lawless and cruel and oppressive to the weaker party. It is not either for the purpose of defending or excusing the dreadful attack made upon this settlement that these particulars are mentioned, but to shew that as the inhabitants had engaged most actively in the support of rebellion, and as they had purged themselves, as they termed it, of all the Loyalists in the most violent and cruel manner, they could not reasonably expect to be exempted from the horrors of civil war. This digression is not foreign to Captain Brant's memoir, for he was said to be of the expedition, and one of the principal authors of the cruelties committed. It is expected that in a new edition of his beautiful Poem, Mr. Campbell will adhere to historical truth in relating the story; and indeed, by way of atonement, he ought to select a subject more honorable to the British character on which to display his exquisite poetical talents, for though a Poet has an undoubted right to choose his subject, yet I would like to see so much patriotism prevail as to select at least a story that shall not disgrace our native land, and if it could be so ordered as to exalt our national character, at the same time that it did justice to [Pg 148] foreign nations, so much the better. Captain Brant was present with the Indians on many trying occasions, and no doubt adopted their mode of warfare, but it should be universally known that no money or reward was ever given for scalps, but for prisoners only.

To proceed from this digression, Captain Brant was more distinguished for his civil than his military qualifications. Several Indians were War Chiefs by birth, and claimed a superiority in the field, to which Captain Brant was obliged to submit; and in all hostile excursions his authority was indirect, and flowed rather from the respect entertained for his political talents, than that he had a right to command in war,—a right which was never acknowledged by the Indians.

"'At my first interview with him,' says the Rev. Doctor Stuart, 'at Niagara, in 1784, I found him much changed in his manners and principles.' In his first journey to England he had been greatly caressed—introduced by the military officers who had served in America into all companies, flattered by the ministers, and gratified in all his caprices and desires, it was no wonder that he was greatly changed. In two respects especially this was the case; in his religious principles and in his reverence for the King. He, who had been very early impressed with the deepest reverence for religion, who had never heard its truth called in question, now found it ridiculed and condemned by persons whose weight and consideration in society gave a sort of sanction to their opinions. He found himself engrossed with novelties, every hour his vanity puffed up, his appetites and passions gratified; and he began to look with contempt on his former associates, and to think that even his friend Doctor Stuart was deceived or a deceiver. His own experience might have convinced him of the consolations of religion, when bereaved of his wife and busy assisting in translating the sacred volume. At that time he felt its power and reaped from it the purest consolation. It was most criminal of those who caressed and flattered this miserable man to deprive him of the only restraint on his savage ferocity. There were times when he felt the injury that had thus been done him, and when he acknowledged with tears that many of his faults sprang from the doubts that had been raised in his mind respecting the truths of Christianity."

[Pg 149] This voyage to England was no less pernicious to his political, than to his religious principles. Taught on the Mohawk river, while young, never to mention or hear the King's name mentioned without the greatest reverence, he was much astonished to find on his arrival in England, the measures of Government arraigned, the King abused, and his servants vilified; to see the administration changing hands every month or two, and the whole country a scene of confusion; the House of Commons voting resolutions which were disregarded by the Crown, and the utmost licentiousness of speech used by both parties in defence of their favourite opinions. He who had considered it a crime of the deepest cast to think ill, much less to speak disrespectfully of the King, found his scruples laughed at and the utmost freedom of remark indulged. In fine, he heard many things which had a tendency to weaken the hold which the principles of the Christian religion had taken of him, and also the free opinions which were given in his presence of the King and his Ministers, had by degrees such an effect as to induce him to entertain a mean opinion of the Government—induced by wicked example, he began after this period to speak very freely of people in power, and of course to entertain a very high opinion of his own talents and importance, as the auxiliary of our Government, and as the primum mobile of Indian politics. And he really persuaded himself at length that he had it in his power to render the Indian nations, when properly linked together by treaties and leagues, independent of us. At the head of which confederacy he had no doubt but he could place himself.

At the end of the American war he found himself in a more important situation than ever. The British and Americans, as he conceived, stood ready to outbid each other for his friendship and influence, both looking upon him as the only person that could turn the scale. Puffed up with his own importance, he frequently discovered a want of gratitude to the British Government. But in truth he had been so greatly flattered and indulged, that it is rather wonderful that he behaved no worse.

At the reduction he obtained a very large and valuable tract of land for the five nations, who had acted as our allies during the war, and had consequently left their American [Pg 150] possessions. This land was given, as it then seemed, at a great distance from Niagara, the nearest settlement, so as not to interfere with its progress; but so rapidly has the Province filled with inhabitants that it has been long since surrounded by the white population. Captain Brant saw much sooner than the Government the value of this tract of land, and determined to make it the subject of lucrative speculation by leasing or selling it to white people. This disposition of the lands not having been foreseen, or not sufficiently guarded against in making the grant, proved the fruitful source of disagreement between him and the Colonial Government. These contentions, however, were not sufficient to employ so restless a mind. He saw the Indians sinking into insignificance, and his own influence daily growing less, as there was now nothing to call forth his talents either in the village or in the field. Having too much leisure and his views of advancement becoming less and less probable he began to indulge in spirituous liquors. This exposed him to the hatred of his enemies among his countrymen, and gave them a handle against him which they knew well how to employ: indeed he became callous, and at length drank to excess. In a short time he lost his popularity, not only with the Indians at large, but even with the Mohawks in the village which they erected at Oswego, on the Grand River.

The loss of his influence among his own tribe gave rise to a most deplorable event, which embittered the evening of his life. His eldest son, who lived in the village of Oswego, on the Grand River, instead of being his friend, was his most strenuous opposer. He inflamed the Indians against his father, and was continually undermining his influence.—"I knew the young man," said Doctor Stuart, "he was the son of Captain Brant's first wife. No pains or expence were spared in his education. But he seemed to be of a sullen, morose, savage disposition. When he returned from Montreal, where he was educated, he came up with me. I remember well that he avoided all society and intercourse with the white people at whose houses we happened to stop; and after he went to his father at the Grand River, he was remarked for a ferocious and unfriendly temper, sometimes maliciously and wantonly shooting horses belonging to white people, and when intoxicated, which often happened, endangering the lives of persons also."

[Pg 151] This young man, connected himself, at length, with the faction in the village that opposed his father in political measures, and to so great a pitch had his animosity arisen, that he frequently declared he would kill him. Being in his father's house one day, a conversation took place on the subject of their differences. The son attempted to stab the father with a penknife, but Captain Brant parried the blows, and having always a great variety of arms in his room, in a paroxysm of passion, snatched down a pistol, and struck the son with it, on his head, (but not, as he frequently declared, with a design to kill him) by which he wounded him badly. Much blood issued from the wound; the blood was stopped and the young man went home to his own house. But continuing to drink and act in a riotous manner, the blood burst out again from the wound. He refused to have it bound up a second time and bled to death. This is the best account I can give you of that fatal and unnatural accident.

Soon after this dreadful event Captain Brant removed from the village and lived upon a tract of land given him at the head of Lake Ontario, where he built a very excellent two story wooden house. His habit of drinking, however, increased, and hastened his death, which happened in 1810, at the advanced age of 70 years.

ON GOOD AND BAD TEMPERS.

It is generally understood, that by temper we mean that prevailing mental disposition of each individual, which is chiefly discovered in social intercourse. It has been justly remarked, that temper is distinguished from passions, as they by degrees subside; whereas temper is the peculiar disposition habitually remaining after such commotions of the mind are over. There are some dispositions that cannot be called good, and yet, strictly speaking, are not radically evil, such as a fearful, a fretful, or a capricious temper. These must be very trying to amiable persons, who are obliged to live with, or submit to their ill humours; but there are some which are really bad, being evil in their very nature, and disturbing the peace of society. Of these we may reckon the few following:—The first is an ungoverned [Pg 152] passionate temper. There are many most excellent characters who are naturally choleric, yet, restraining their irritability, they cannot be said to be ill-tempered; but where a disposition of this kind is not under due government, there is no knowing what excesses such persons may be guilty of; and indeed we very often see or hear of some dreadful effects of indulging sinful anger and passion. The second is a contradicting disposition. A regard to truth or integrity will often put us under the necessity not only of thinking differently from others, but in discharging our duty, we are obliged sometimes to use contradiction. This, however, is quite different from a vexatious humour, which habitually takes a malignant pleasure in contradicting others, in order to assume superiority, or to gratify a contentious spirit. Such a disposition must disturb the repose of society, as it provokes even the gentle part of it, and often raises the passions of the irritable to a high degree. The third is a revengeful temper. To shew a temperate resentment for any wrong done to us, is proper, but there are too many who, if you do them any injury, or if they take an affront, will be sure to seek revenge, or at least will not forgive. This is such a diabolical disposition, and often productive of so many direful consequences, that there is no need farther to enlarge on it. The fourth is a stubborn temper. To be firm and decided in what we believe to be right, after due deliberation, is commendable; but many are quite pertinacious in their opinion, or who, having once resolved on any thing, will listen to no advice, but persist in doing it. This obstinacy is generally founded on pride or haughtiness, and frequently some of the weakest persons are the most stubborn and self-willed, many of this temper are so perverse as not to be persuaded to the contrary, though their own interest and happiness are obviously connected with taking such advice. Let us now take a view of some of the chief good tempers; and the first I shall mention is an open, benevolent disposition. There certainly is a prudent reserve that is becoming especially before designing persons and strangers; and none should be indiscriminate in their benevolence. But where the heart is closed to what is generous, there must be a selfish, sordid, and narrow mind. Persons of good character have no need to have recourse to concealment, or what is mysterious, [Pg 153] in their deportment; and they should do good according to their ability, without injuring their families. Secondly, a peaceable temper. It is to be deeply regretted, that there are so many of such a spirit, that they often disturb their own peace, and that of others, in matters of a trifling nature. On the contrary, there a few who are so very mild, as to be almost willing to give up truth and justice, so that they can enjoy quietness. The latter disposition is much better than the former, yet it is not necessary that any one should make such sacrifices in order to procure peace. A temper may be truly pacific, gentle, and condescending, and yet firmly determined to maintain what is right, by resisting injustice. Thirdly, a cheerful disposition. Some are constitutionally gloomy, and others, from mistaken notions of religion, think that, in order to be serious, they must in some measure be sad. A truly cheerful temper is lively, but not too light, and animated without being too volatile. Lastly, there is an equanimity of temper. Perhaps this is the most desirable of any, especially as it respects personal happiness. Not that there is any person of so even a disposition as never to be ruffled; but some have so much self command as to be seldom very much elated or too much depressed.

Having offered many discriminating reflections on good and bad tempers, I shall now propose some admonitory advice respecting tempers in general. And in the first place, Never indulge an improper disposition. We are naturally so blind to our own failings, that many ill-tempered persons do not know they are so, and very few are humble enough to own it. But as the mischiefs arising from cherishing such a disposition are manifold, therefore all possible means should be continually used to curb an improper temper. On this part of the subject an excellent modern author thus writes:—"It will be readily acknowledged, that some are born with unhappy tempers, but more derive them from habitual indulgence. Persons in high life, or in easy circumstances, too often cherish their evil humours, having it in their power to gratify them, and being surrounded with flatterers. We may attribute most of the evils of domestic life to an unhappy determination of some bad-tempered persons to have their own way, and the want of condescension in others at the beginning of a disagreement. Habits of [Pg 154] strict temperance, and especially the restraints of religion, are the very best means to prevent improper indulgences of this kind." Secondly, let not trifles put you out of temper. We frequently see that small matters ruffle the mind more than such as are really important, especially where the natural temper is not good: and it is a lamentable fact, that more families have been divided, or friends separated by the indulgence of evil tempers, than by most other occurrences. The following advice of a lady, to one of her late pupils, is worthy of serious consideration, particularly by females:—"As our sex have quicker sensations than men, we have been charged with having sharper tempers, and being more unwilling than the other sex. I will not take upon me to say how far in general such a charge is true, but I hope, my dear, that it will not be so with you. O never forget that one great point to your present and future comfort, is the due regulation of your temper, as an individual, and more particularly if you should become a wife and a mother. The character of Serena, in Mr. Hayley's poem on the Triumphs of Temper, is truly amiable, and such a lovely picture, as I wish you, my dear, and all females, frequently to view, in order to imitate." Finally, let every one strive to possess and preserve a good temper. An amiable disposition is often the gift of nature, in the conformation of the individual; but a proper education and a regular life, with the influence of vital religion, will contribute very much to form a good temper, and to sweeten and regulate one that is not so. It must also be remembered that as old age, poverty, or disappointments, have a tendency by degrees, to render excellent dispositions less amiable, persons under such circumstances should be on their guard, lest their tempers, by such changes, be materially injured. I shall leave the subject on the minds of the readers with the following appropriate quotation:—"Much has been written of late years respecting the miseries of life; but I am persuaded, that the principal source of most of them is the indulgence of bad tempers. Thus they poison the comforts of life, set a bad example, and are ungrateful to God for his bountiful goodness. Some of this cast wear it in their visage, or to use a phrase of Shakespeare, they have a vinegar aspect. However, this is no certain rule; for it is well known, that many with an open and smiling countenance had very bad [Pg 155] tempers. But now let us take a short view of the man who is habitually good tempered. Having only a good moral character, and common sense, he will be well received in life, though he may have no riches, learning, wit, or comeliness of person to recommend him. His pleasant behaviour and kind treatment of others will excite them to make suitable returns; and those who cannot serve him, will at least be gentle towards his errors and faults. He may not shine in conversation, but his affability and cheerfulness will please and enliven every company into which he comes. In sickness, poverty, or sorrow, he will always meet with some to help or sympathise with him, and his death will be sincerely lamented by all who were acquainted with him."

ORIENTAL CUSTOMS.

No. 4.

The one is the natural, and almost necessary consequence of the other. Ishmael lived by prey and rapine in the wilderness; and his posterity have all along infested Arabia and the neighbouring countries with their robberies and incursions. They live in a state of continual war with the rest of the world, and are both robbers by land and pirates by sea. As they have been such enemies to mankind, it is no wonder that mankind have been enemies to them again.

Several attempts have been made to extirpate them; and even now, as well as formerly, travellers are forced to go with arms, and in caravans, or large companies, and to march and keep watch like a little army, to defend themselves from the assaults of these free-booters, who run about in troops and rob and plunder all whom they can by any means subdue. These robberies they also justify by alledging the hard usage of their father Ishmael, who being turned out of doors by Abraham, had the open plains and deserts given him by God for his patrimony, with permission [Pg 156] to take whatever he could find there; and on this account they think they may, with a safe conscience, indemnify themselves, as well as they can, not only on the posterity of Isaac, but also on every body else; always supposing a kind of kindred between themselves and those they plunder; and in relating their adventures of this kind, they think it sufficient to change the expression, and instead of, I robbed a man of such and such a thing, to say, "I gained it."

THE FATE OF PERSECUTORS OF CHRISTIANITY.

(Continued.)

Saturninus, Proconsul of Afric, in the reign of Severus, persecuted the Christians, and put several of them to death. He lost his eyesight some time after.

Heliogabalus brought a new Deity to Rome, and intended to compel all his subjects to adore this God and no other, or at least to give him the preference to all other Deities, and to make them no better than his Gentlemen Ushers; which must inevitably have brought on a persecution of the Christians: but this vile monster was slain soon after by his Soldiers.

Decius persecuted the Christians with great severity.—He seems to have distressed them, partly out of spite to his predecessor Philip, who had treated them kindly, and who is thought by several to have been himself a Christian, tho' surely a worthless one, and no credit to us.

Gallus persecuted the Christians in 251, and was killed the next year.

Valerian, who had many good qualities, yet was not only an enemy, but a very cruel enemy, to the Christians. He was taken prisoner by Sapor, the Persian King, and used like a slave and a dog, and as no Roman Emperor was ever treated, and died a poor miserable captive.

Æmilian, Governor of Egypt, and a violent persecutor of the Christians, set up for Emperor, and was taken prisoner and sent to Gallienus, who ordered him to be strangled.

Aurelian, just intending to begin a persecution, was killed A. D. 274.

Maximinus the first, a persecutor, reigned three years and was killed.

[Pg 157]

ANECDOTE OF BISHOP LATIMER.

Bishop Latimer having one day preached a sermon before King Henry eighth, which much displeased his Most Excellent Majesty, he was ordered to preach again the following sabbath, and make an apology for the offence he had given. This he did. Upon naming his text, he thus began his sermon, "Hugh Latimer, dost thou know to whom thou art this day to preach? To the high and mighty monarch, the King's Most Excellent Majesty, who can take away thy life if thou offendest; therefore take heed that thou speak not a word which may displease: but consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou camest, and upon whose message thou art sent? even by the great and mighty God, who is always all present, and who beholdeth all thy ways, and who is able to cast both soul and body into hell."

The Sermon being finished the court were anxious to know what would be the fate of the honest plain dealing Bishop. After dinner the King called for Latimer, and with a stern countenance asked him how he durst be so bold as preach in that manner? The good man then, falling on his knees, replied, "That his duty to his God and to his Prince had forced him thereunto; and that he had only discharged his duty and his conscience in what he had spoken, but his life was in His Majesty's hand."

Upon this the King, rising from his seat, took the Bishop from off his knees and embraced him, saying, "Blessed be God I have so honest a servant."

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

HISTORY
OF
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.

No. 1.

(Concluded.)

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN
KNOWLEDGE.

"Go thou, and do likewise."

In 1710 the Society undertook the superintendence of such charities as should be intrusted to them, for the support and enlargement of the Protestant Mission at Tranquebar; pursuance of which resolution, they published, the same year, (1710) a Proposal, inviting benefactions for an impression of the New Testament in Portuguese, and to enable them to set up Charity Schools among the heathens in Malabar; both which objects were speedily effected; and a correspondence [Pg 158] was settled with many persons of worth and influence in the most eminent places subject to Great Britain in India: by which expedient the Society is informed, from time to time, of the state of religion, the conduct and success of their Missionaries, and other particulars connected with the propagation of the Christian Faith in those regions. Since the date above specified, (1710) the Mission has gradually been extended to Madras, Cudalore, Tritchinapally, and Tanjore.

To the assistance derived from the Society, by its regular transmission of money, printing paper, presses, and other requisite materials, it has likewise been in a great degree owing, that the Missionaries have been enabled, at different times, to translate and publish several editions of the whole, or parts of the Holy Scriptures, the Book of Common Prayer, Psalter, and many books and tracts, connected with religion and civilization, in the Tamulian, Bengalee, and Portuguese languages: in which department, as well as in every thing else relating to these Missions, the views of the Society were for many years very successfully promoted by the active services of their lamented Missionaries, the apostolical Swartz and Gericke.

In the year 1720, the Society extended their regard to the Greek Church in Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Egypt; and for their use printed in the Arabic language an edition of above 6000 Psalters, 10,000 New Testaments, and 5000 Catechetical Instructions, with an abridgement of the History of the Bible annexed, at an expence amounting to nearly 3000l. to which his Majesty King George I. in testimony of his approbation of the proceedings of the Society, was a bountiful contributor, by a gracious benefaction of 500l. Most of these books have been sent to those parts; into Syria by means of the Society's correspondents at Aleppo, by the Patriarch of Antioch, &c. &c. into Persia through their correspondents in Russia; into India, through the hands of their Missionaries; and into Africa, latterly by means of the Sierra Leone Company.

Recently (1809, &c.) the Society have been liberal contributors to the Arabic Bible, begun by the late Rev. Professor Carlyle, which is now finished, and is ready for distribution, as opportunity shall arise.

In addition to the above threefold division of the principal designs of the Society, there yet remain some other undertakings of a more specific character, highly interesting to every friend to religion and his country, which cannot therefore be passed over in silence, even in a brief abstract like the present.

In the beginning of the year 1732 the Society, when they heard the melancholy account of the sufferings of the Protestants in Saltzburgh, having first obtained his Majesty's leave, resolved upon doing all that laid in their power to raise collections for their persecuted brethren. To this end, about the middle of the same year, they published An Account of the sufferings of the persecuted Protestants in the Archbishopric Saltzburgh, and appointed certain of their members to receive and collect contributions.—Afterwards they published a further account of the sufferings &c. and thirdly, an Extract of the Journals of Mr. Commissary Von Reck, who conducted the first Transport of Saltzburghers to Georgia, &c. &c. (1734.) These Accounts, being enforced by the generous example of many noble and honorable persons, as also by liberal contributions, and earnest exhortations from the Right Reverend the Bishops and [Pg 159] their Clergy, had, through God's blessing, so good an effect upon the minds of charitable and well disposed Christians, of every rank and denomination, that the Society, besides making many large remittances to Germany, was enabled to send over to the English colony in Georgia, in four different years, four transports, containing more than two hundred Protestant emigrants, chiefly Saltzburghers, who, with two Missionaries and a Schoolmaster, settled themselves at Ebenezer, upon lands assigned to them by the trustees for establishing the said colony.

The revolution in America ending in a separation between that country and this, the Mission is now discontinued; and the funds which the Society had appropriated to its support, have been applied to the general designs. The last Missionary still continues to receive an annual pension from the Society.

From a very early period of our operations, the spiritual necessities of the Army and Navy have constituted one important department of the Society's concern; and from its stores copies of the Holy Scriptures and certain other books, have frequently been granted to both those great National Establishments. In the year 1701, 3000 Soldier's Monitors, and the same number of a Pastoral Letter from a Minister to his Parishioners, were sent over to the English army in Holland; and in the same year the Seaman's Monitor and some other tracts were very extensively distributed in the Navy. In the year 1722, the Society projected another very large distribution of the Soldier's Monitor amongst his Majesty's land forces. The design was communicated to some individuals of the Privy Council, and upon their encouragement and approbation a large impression was prepared. In the following year similar proceedings were instituted with respect to the Seaman's Monitor for the Navy; and so acceptable were both these undertakings to His Majesty King George I. that he directed the whole charge of the printing, binding, and distribution of those works, amounting to nearly 500l. to be defrayed from his Majesty's treasury.

With regard to the Navy, especially, the Society was, for a great many years, and at a very considerable annual expense, accustomed regularly to furnish to the commanders of vessels, gratuitously, on their special application, for the use of the crews under their command, Bibles, Common Prayer Books, Psalters containing the Church Service, and some short select practical Tracts, in proportion to the number of each ship's company; and while these, together with similar applications from the commanders of the shipping of the Hon. East-India Company, have, especially of late years, kept continually increasing to the very great increasing charge upon the funds of the Society, the Board have had peculiar satisfaction in observing that this branch of their designs has, through the Divine blessing, in many instances been productive of very salutary effects.

In the year 1812, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, in token of their approbation of the Society's past services in this department, and with a desire that the benefits of Christian knowledge might be still more extensively diffused throughout the Navy, through the medium, as heretofore, of this Society, were pleased to direct a communication to be made to the General Board, that their Lordships had ordered the Commissioners of the several Dock-Yards to receive such books as shall be sent to them by the Society, on the suggestion of the Chaplain General, and to form depots; [Pg 160] which books are, from time to time, to be given to the Captains of his Majesty's ships in the proportions directed by their Lordships. And their Lordships have further signified their pleasure, that a special account be kept by the Society of all books thus issued, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the same. This pious and beneficent purpose promises to be attended with the happiest effects: and every good man will rejoice at the contemplation of the enlarged opportunities thereby afforded of the consolations and the instructions of religion to the defenders of our country.

In like manner, from the earliest period of its institution, the attention of the Society has been directed, as occasion required, and their means would allow, to the religious wants of the poor and afflicted in Hospitals, Prisons, Work-Houses, Alms-Houses, and other public institutions. In the year 1710, they promoted a subscription for fixing large 4to. Bibles, and other Religious books, in the prisons in and about the cities of London & Westminster. In 1725, they presented a packet of books to every County Gaol in the kingdom; and in the year 1731, and at other periods, they exerted themselves, not without considerable effect, (printing in 1732 one thousand copies of a Proposal, &c.) to promote the introduction of Divine Service into those institutions; as they did about the year 1729, and at other times, to establish family prayer, and to set up schools for the education of poor children in Work-Houses. And, with regard to all those establishments above enumerated, which are not provided with any proper fund for the purchase of books, the Society, desirous that a repository should be known, to which they might have the power to resort in the hour of necessity, did, in the year 1811, extend to them also its offers of gratuitous supplies, not doubting but that upon a public representation (should such representation at any future time become necessary) any extraordinary pressure upon the Society, hereby occasioned, would speedily be relieved by the bounty of the charitable and well-disposed: and still further, from the same motives, and with similar hopes, it invited the making of inquiries generally, through the parochial Clergy and other Members of the Society, into the wants of the indigent and labouring classes in all parts of the kingdom, in order to a removal of those deficiencies, so far as the means reposed in its trust shall allow, by grants of the Holy Scriptures, and other publications of the Society, at the usual reduced prices.

The sources from which the Society has hitherto been enabled to carry on all these and other important and extensive designs, have been the annual subscriptions of its Members, together with the legacies and occasional donations of very many pious and charitable benefactors; and the General Board, when they adopted those very considerable enlargements of the beneficent and gratuitous undertakings last mentioned, did not take that step, but in the humble trust that the same gracious Providence, which for so many years has enabled them to carry on their designs for promoting Christian knowledge, and edifying the body of Christ, will still furnish the means whereby those objects may be pursued with increased activity and vigour.

And, while the General Board express reverently this their assured reliance in the Divine protection, and add their persuasion that the above statement of the designs of the Society will not have been in vain, but will continue to call forth, from year to year, the cordial aid of many [Pg 161] pious and public spirited Benefactors, it must not be omitted, that among the instrumental means for the accomplishment of these its expectations, and for success in all its undertakings, the Society looks with peculiar hope and satisfaction to the permanent zealous aid and co-operation of the Diocesan and District Committees, which, in compliance with the resolutions of the Society, bearing date June 12, 1810, and March 5, 1811, and under the direction and approbation of our Prelates, have been established in almost all parts of the kingdom.

The end aimed at in these institutions, was to extend the usefulness of this Society; to increase its influence; and to promote the union and co-operation of the Clergy and Laity throughout the kingdom, in all its sundry important charitable designs.

In prosecution of these purposes, the Committees have provided for their meetings on a certain day in each quarter of the year, and oftener, as occasion may require. They have severally appointed a Secretary and Treasurer. They receive and transmit to this Board voluntary benefactions and donations, annual subscriptions, and payments for packets of books. They transmit requests for books and tracts dispersed by the Society; and the usual recommendations of persons proposed to become Members; which, by their means, have been very largely augmented. They promote annual or occasional parochial or general contributions throughout their respective districts; in return for which they obtain books to the amount of two thirds of the sums so raised, at the usual reduced prices of the Society; whereby the capital annually devoted to pious uses is incalculably increased; the number of persons united in bands of co-operation and sympathy with this Society proportionably enlarged; the sphere of charitable offices extended; and the pecuniary pressure upon the parochial Clergy greatly diminished, at the same time that their means of doing good are multiplied. In one word, these Committees direct their attention to such objects within their several districts, as occupy on a larger scale in London the deliberations of the General Board.

In fine, no one can be able to form an adequate estimate of the importance of this Society to the prosperity of religion and charity, but by taking into the calculation that such as the transactions are of this Board, as imperfectly detailed in the present account, such, likewise, according to their measure, are the proceedings of the several Diocesan and District Committees, wheresoever dispersed throughout the kingdom.

And when it is considered, that, by these means, in many districts almost every clergyman is a member of this Society, and thus stands at the head of his parish, in that situation, in which the Providence of the Great Head of the Church has placed him, in a capacity by associating to himself the most respectable part of the laity, as subscribing members, or as contributors to the parochial, or other local collection, to extend effectually to all parts of his charge the many spiritual advantages which are to be obtained in connexion with this Society; and when it is further considered, that these members, both of the Clergy and Laity, are occasionally brought together, beyond the limits of their own parishes, to the meetings of the Committees, to lend their aid to provide for the necessities of their respective districts and neighbourhoods; to consult upon the promotion of religious education; upon the dispersion of books of Christian edification; and upon a provision [Pg 162] for the spiritual wants of the afflicted and needy in work-houses, hospitals, prisons, and other public institutions; and when, at the same time, all this is prosecuted in strict conformity with the principles of the English Constitution, both in Church and State, and for the purpose of preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, no true friend to our country and religion can, it is presumed, contemplate the whole scheme without feelings of devout thankfulness to the Author of all good, and without looking forward with cheerful hope to the preservation amongst us, and to the enlargement and stability of the inestimable interests of peace, and piety, and true religion.

BRITISH NATIONAL EDUCATION
SOCIETY.

Continued.

INCORPORATION OF THE SOCIETY.

After stating the steps which had been taken in obtaining a Charter of Incorporation from the Prince Regent, it is remarked—

Thus has the National Society obtained, under royal favour, a place among the great incorporated charitable institutions of the country. The fixed and permanent character which it has now assumed, will, it is confidently anticipated, prove to it the source of essential strength, and materially enlarge its means of carrying into effect its important objects; while the pleasing hope is indulged, that its continuance is now ensured, to confirm and to perpetuate to future generations those invaluable blessings, with the successful diffusion of which, to the present generation, it has so auspiciously begun.

CENTRAL SCHOOL.

The committee announce, with great satisfaction, "that this school continues to afford, in the same perfection as they have noticed in former years, a practical exhibition of the principles of the National System." The Rev. W. Johnson, as Chaplain and Assistant Superintendent of the Masters, has manifested his accustomed zeal and ability. The Rev. Dr. Bell has given his personal superintendence, whenever practicable. The children have, according to custom, been twice publicly examined, before the Archbishop of Canterbury, and numerous visitors of the first rank and respectability. Of these examinations, it is said—

The high state of discipline to which the children are brought, the decorum which marks their whole demeanour, the clear articulate manner in which they read, the readiness and correctness with which they answer questions connected with what they read, and the actual degree of improvement which they have made in useful elementary knowledge, especially in the knowledge of the truths and doctrines of religion, have on these, as on former occasions, excited general admiration.

The demand for the admission of children is greater than can be complied with: the committee have, however, by a new arrangement, been enabled to receive a larger number than before.

The average number of boys for the whole of this last year has been 579; the number actually on the list at the present period, 634; being an increase of 71 on the number reported last year. The average number of girls for this last year has been 273; the number actually attending the school at the present time, 340; being an increase of 98 on the number reported last year.

(To be continued.)

[The end of The Christian Recorder Vol. 1, Issue 4 (1819-June) by Various]