Eliza, the blossom never fades, or transports cease; for it is the habitation of our Creator, and the portion of all those who sincerely repent of their transgressions, through the mediation of our blessed Redeemer. To Him I now look up with all the rever. ence and love that I am master of, for his intercession with my heavenly Father, to forgive one whose repentance and whose godly sorrow are true and faith ful, who is resigned to meet the will of his Maker. O Almighty and most merciful Father, may I hope, through the blood of thy beloved Son, to find rest in Heaven! Yes, my God, thou knowest I pray with all the fervency thou hast gifted me with, and that I acknowledge thee as the only true God, and my Savior as thy Son, who sits at thy right hand on the judgment-seat of heaven; and when I bow myself down to thy footstool in the other world, may my Savior say to me, Come, my beloved, to the kingdom prepared for you: your sins are for. given. O merciful and most just God, thou hast said that thou wilt receive the prayers of the most ignorant as well as the most learned, as long as it is from the heart; and now I say, O God, be merciful to me a sinner." "Yes, Eliza, day and night I have prayed for a remission of my sins; and also for you-for all-for every one: and I look forward with a blessed hope that my prayers are heard." "Sunday morning-O, Eliza, the hour draws near: the warrant is on board. Cease to beat, my throbbing heart! Keep up, my panting bosom! The Almighty bears me up: he hears my prayers: he has not forsaken me. And, O Almighty God, still be with me. Give me Christian fortitude until the last moment." "Yes, my beloved, I am still composed, though low and melancholy indeed. Ere this time to-morrow I shall be num. bered with the dead-Cold, lifeless lump of clay-returned to that Power who gave, and who has alone taken away. Almighty and ever good God, look down upon me now, and bless me. Mv beloved Jesus, be thou my Advocate in heaven, as thou art my support on earth. Soon, soon shall death wipe away all tears from these fading eyes. O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" "O my Eliza, the sensations that now rise in my bosom are beyond expression. The evening closing in, the silent crew, the dejected looks of my messmates, all add to the solemn. ity of the trial; but few can feel what I feel. Yet I thank my God that I have had time to repent, whilst thousands are every day dying by the sword, without one moment to ask pardon for their offences. I trust, that my sincere repentance and deep contrition allow me to be cool and collected. O Almighty Father! once more let me beg forgiveness, for now all my hopes are in heaven."... "This last month has indeed been a month of sorrows, of hopes, of fears; and lastly of misery, ignominy, and death. But now I can say with holy Job, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord.' In hopes of a blessed resurrection, and of a pardon for my sins, through the merits of the only Son of God, in whom I steadfastly believe, I lay me down to rest awhile." "Sunday night.-O Eliza, I have had a trying task: all the ship's company sending for some hair to keep for my sake. Sad, sad task for them! and their looks bespeak their feelings. Yes, indeed, the Griffon is now sad and silent. Always pray for the safety of the men who loved me as they do. And may the Almighty guide her safely in the boisterous deep!" To add any thing to the pathetic and impressive lesson which these extracts convey to every heart, would be to weaken their effect. Let us adopt the hope expressed by the pious clergyman, that when it is our turn to die, we may possess "such thoughts, such hopes, such resignation as he did." J. E. T. RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATIONS. For the Panoplist. ON CHRISTIAN MODERATION. It comparison is carried no further than to abstract principles, what are their respective merits. But let the Christian religion be ex professors--let its principles form the basis, its doctrines and precepts, the rule, and its promises and threatenings, the mo tives of our feelings and deport. ment; and no man, however ig. norant, or even depraved, will hesitate to say-This religion is worthy of Him, whom it claims as its Author. Abstract ideas are not easily comprehendedlet them be illustrated by objects familiar to the senses, and they are no longer incomprehensible. The divine origin of the Christian religion may be contested by those who are unwilling to reduce its principles to practice; but no one that sees the Christian, meek, patient and forgiving, and is convinced that his religion has made him thus, can deny that such a religion is divine. A RELIGION that refuses the compulsory aid of civil power-emplified in the conduct of its that rejects those ornaments, which adorn the various systems of heathen mythology, and aims a deadly blow at the corruptions of the human heart, needs a constant advocate in the conduct of its professors. Christianity claims a decided superiority over all other systems of religion, that men have adopted. claims to be superior in the simplicity, the correctness, the importance of its principles; the grendeur of its doctrines; the purity of its morals; the fervor and elevation of its piety; and the force of its motives. The justice of these claims is allow ed at once, by the candid philosopher of enlarged, and comprehensive views. A small proportion of mankind, however, are capable, either of forming the comparison between Christianity and other religious systems, or even of determining, when the Moderation was enjoined on the Philippians, (iv, 5,) by the Apostle to the Gentiles, as a vir tue of prime importance; wheth er they regarded their own happiness, or the honor of religion. It must be considered as a settled disposition of the heart, exhibiting itself in the various duties of social and religious life. 1. It includes forbearance and meekness under provocation. The precise point to which men may carry the principle of retal iation, without transgressing Gospel precepts, we shall leave to be defined by those, who, fearful of forfeiting their dignity, or their title to the Christian name, persuade themselves, that some degree of resentment on the receipt of injuries is consistent with doing to others, as we would they should do to us. That we are under obligation to defend our lives, characters, and estates from assault, is undeniable; our several relations in society render it our indispensable duty; and the measures we are to adopt in such cases, are specified in the word of God, or in the laws of the land. We are under no obligation to interfere, and suspend the operation of law against one who robs us of a reputation which we have spent our lives to establish; nor to permit the robber, or assassin to go unpunished, when in our power to see justice executed. The happiness of our families, and the welfare of the community impose a solemn obligation in such cases, to insist on all that satisfaction which the wisdom of legislators allows. By admitting thus much, do we sanction resentment? By no means. A spirit of revenge, which prompts the desire for such redress of injuries as neith. er God nor man permits; a disVOL. IX. position to return evil for evil with no regard to a higher object than personal gratification, must be unequivocally condemned, as inconsistent with Christian moderation. Meekness does not return railing for railing, it does not feast on the miseries of an enemy-blast his reputation, nor thwart his lawful exertions for the comfort of himself or his family. It lays aside all malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy and evil speaking. It disregards the insults of the ignorant and profane. It is patient under suffering-and submissive under divine chastisement. gives to superiors the respect which their situation demands, and neither envies their honors, nor derogates from their merits. It treats equals with suitable familiarity and civility, and allows to inferiors all the regard to which they are entitled. It 2. It includes forgiveness of injuries. Meekness is not inconsistent with the recollection of an unkindness, which is yet unatoned for, and which cannot publicly be forgiven, until reparation is made. Forgiveness supposes an acknowledgment of the injury on the part of the offender, and a willingness to give all the satisfaction in his power. It also supposes the offence to be designed because there is no occasion for forgiveness where the injury is unintentional; and it supposes an injury too serious to be overlooked without some kind of satisfaction. But it is no virtue to forgive an injury after we have received ample reparation; and it is something worse than negative virtue to insist on more than reparation. If a man attack my char 62 acter and circulate reports to my disadvantage, which he cannot recall, aud afterwards repent of his conduct; though it be beyond his power to restore my reputation, it is doubtless my duty, and will be my pleasure so far as I am governed by a spirit of mod. cration, to forgive him. In this manner God forgives the sins of men, on their repentance, though they are unable to make the smallest atonement. This moderation, evincing itself by hcaping coals of fire on the head of an enemy, is equally removed from pusillanimity and revenge. It is a peculiar characteristic of that Religion, which many condemn as rigid, and destructive of human happiness; and which others ridicule as an imposture-It needs only to be contrasted with that suspicious and intolerant spirit which prevails in the heathen world, to convince every candid mind of its divine origin. 3. Moderation includes a strict regard to the rule of equity in our intercourse with the world. In every human society, there are mutual and conjoined interests; there are other interests, which are personal and distinct. All these interests must be regarded, and secured by the exercise of equal justice, or no society can long subsist. Our native selfishness must be moderated, and we shall invariably render to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, and honor to whom honor. We shall owe no man any thing, but to love one another. We shall never drive an unfortunate debtor to despair, nor exact at his hands the re muneration allowed by the law, if such an exaction hazards his happiness and usefulness. Cases sometimes occur, in which even good laws operate oppressively, where they give to the creditor more than, according to the rule of equity, he can demand. Christian moderation will lead him to surrender those rights, which he holds by the laws of the land, when they interfere with the rights which another holds by the laws of God. 4. It includes candor in judg ing of the characters and actions of others. It is very common to judge of an action, before the reasons of it are understood; andto condemn motives, while they are unknown. Scarcely any more decisive proof of the native malignity of the human heart can be advanced, (except the positive testimony of God's word,) than what is derived from the fact, that men are universally disposed to attribute every thing of a doubtful character in the conduct of their fellow men to corrupt motives. Want of candor is an imperfection, that belongs to the whole human family; and perhaps none exhibit the deficiency more, than those who most loudly prate about the loveliness of charity. Candor may be overstrained; and then it is nothing more nor less, than connivance at wickedness. Genuine candor is far from confounding vice and virtue, and far from annihilating the distinction, which God has made, be. tween the saint and the sinner. It does not make the sincerity of opinions the touchstone of their correctness, nor constitute common decency of conduct the criterion of sincerity, and pro nounce every decent man a pious man. A candor like this, subversive of all Gospel principles, may happily characterize some heathen philosopher-but not an humble Christian. It may secure popularity among the Gallios of a Christian country, but it will not stand approved before God-there is no moderation in it. God has fixed the standard of piety; conformity to that stand. ard is the only sufficient evidence of a new heart; or, in other words, of a preparation for heaven. When we have ascertained that standard, we are bound to test our own feelings by it, and we are at liberty to test the conduct of others. Unless we are under obligation to believe ourselves holy, when we discover no conformity be tween ourselves and that standard, we are not under obligation to believe others holy, when we discover a similar want of conformity in them. Candor requires us to hope the best of others, even when we see the worst; but it by no means requires us to believe them Christians, when their sentiments and deportment bear uniform testimony to the contrary. 5. It includes the government of our passions. In their operation in the moral world, the passions are very aptly resembled to fire and air in the natural world. When the latter great instrumental causes of motion are properly confined and regulated, they are useful and necessary to the preservation of animal life. So the former instrumental causes of the soul's operations, when moderated by the fear of God, are sources of spiritual life and 1 joy. Jesus wept--and was touched with anger, while exempt from sinful infirmity we, too, may lawfully drop a tear over the grave of departed friends, and indulge pity and indignation, when we observe a sinner, trampling, at the same time, on his own happiness, and the laws of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, &c. Be angry and sin not. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. These passages so far from requiring us to extinguish the passions, simply require us to confine them within the bounds of propriety and re. ligion. Christian moderation requires that our feelings receive a proper direction, and be properly limited-not that they be suppressed. Indifference to objects results, not from moderation, but from destitution of passion. To be indifferent to the law and Gospel alike; to view heaven and hell with equal unconcern; may prove that a man has degraded the dignity of his nature, but not that he is a Christian. Show me the man that condemns all zeal in religion as enthusiasm; that regards the salvation of a soul, and the life of a brute, with the same apparent indifference; that estimates the religion of his neighbor, by the want of feeling he manifests; and censures the social worship of God, on any other day of the week than the Sabbath, as the fruit of fanaticism; and you show me a man, whose claims to reason are scarcely more just, than his claims to the Spirit which ani. mates heaven. Some men are excessively |