great sinner, for they had considered her as a pattern of virtue. They asked one and another, what made her weep so much; and at last concluded that her mind was impaired by some unknown cause, and advised her to seek relief from a voyage!! Soon, however, she came to them with a countenance full of heaven, and said, 'I have found Christ; but this language was as unintelligible to them as her previous distress. This is one case out of the multitudes which occur in our congregations almost every month. Under the preaching of evangelical religion, these instances of deep. conviction are frequent; but to those of an opposite system they are a stumbling block and foolishness. No one could receive conviction of sin by reading the book before us. We are here taught that we are imperfect and frail, and this is all. Nevertheless we were surprised to find allusions made to individuals in such a state of anxiety as we have described, and could not account for it, until we remembered that we had seen members of other congregations than our own in this state, in consequence of occasionally listening to evangelical instructions, or the faithful admonitions of evangelical 26 Directions to an Anxious Sinner. friends; and that the book had been frequently given to members of our own societies, who were alarmed for the safety of their souls. The manner in which the whole subject of religious anxiety is treated is well adapted to allay the fears of the inquirer, while it seems to approve of them, and then it directs his eyes away from "the sinner's hope," to his own efforts after moral culture. "If a person " it is here observed, "is in this state of mind, he is to be congratulated upon it." "We are to be thankful to God in his behalf, that another immortal soul is awake to its responsibility, and seeking real happiness. We would urge him to cherish the feelings which possess him; not with melancholy despondency; not with superstitious gloom; not with unmanly and unmeaning debasement; but with thoughtful, self-distrusting concern, with deliberate study for the path of duty, and a resolute purpose not to swerve from it. "Remember that much depends, I might say, every thing depends, on the use you make of this your present disposition." The anxious inquirer is then directed to "avoid every pursuit, engagement, company, inconsistent with" his anxiety. "Say nothing of your thoughts and feelings to any but one Directions to an Anxious Sinner. 27 Apply therefore or two confidential friends." to your minister.” way along quietly, silently, steadily." "Be anxious to establish yourself firmly in the power of godliness, before you exhibit its form." Especially, "Do not spend too much time in public meetings." "It is at times a higher duty to attend to your family." "Ye wives be in subjection to your own husbands." “In this manner, feel your Thus "form your character in private." The chapter immediately succeeding points out “The Means of Religious Improvement,” viz. Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Hearing the Word, and the Lord's supper. In all these directions, there is not one which is not, in its place, important. But oh, how insufficient they are to the wants of an awakened sinner! We are not surprised that it was thought necessary to publish a tract, vindicating this system of Religion "from the charge of not going far enough." The words of Dr. Watts came forcibly to our minds : "Not the most perfect rules they gave The Saviour of sinners is not mentioned in these directions! There is, however, so much 28 Encouragement of False Hope. said respecting religious anxiety, apparently to encourage and deepen it, that an awakened sinner, meeting with sympathy in his distress, might possibly be induced to rely upon these directions, though they would be to him for a support only as a bruised reed. We sincerely believe that the author wrote with an honest intention to direct the inquirer according to the light which was in him; that he spake that which he knew and testified those things which he had seen; but there are other things, essential to salvation, which, judging from this Book, he did not know and had not seen; and therefore could not be expected to testify, as Cecil says, beyond his experience. If conviction of sin has taken deep hold of an inquirer, we do not apprehend any danger from his perusing these directions; they will be to him like the advice of one who turned "Pilgrim " aside to seek help from Mr.Legality; but as Pilgrim passed near a mountain at the entrance of the town, the lightnings flashed out before him, and the mountain and earth heaved, and a voice as from the Law, cried, 'The soul that sinneth shall die,' and drove the trembling sinner once more to seek refuge from the Cross.-To one, however, who Evangelical Terms. 29 had received only slight impressions of his sinfulness, we should fear the book would in this respect be a voice crying, Peace, Peace. In order to a faithful discharge of the duty which we have undertaken in reviewing the book before us, we are obliged to refer to another circumstance which makes it, in our opinion, of an injurious tendency. The author by interweaving Orthodox terms into his composition, gives it a savour of evangelical piety. Having attended upon Unitarian preaching for a period of four years, we have several times listened to Sermons, in which terms and phrases such as we all knew to be peculiar to another denomination of Christians were so frequent, that there was often an interchange of significant looks amongst a portion of the hearers during the service; and the inquiry was made more than once, in a very serious manner, whether the preacher was changing his sentiments. From all we have heard, we have no doubt that such a manner of writing does injury, as well as good; the first, by deceiving, (we do not say, intentionally) those who cannot discriminate, and infusing error into their minds with a seasoning of truth and the second, by unconscious |