and reign gloriously. We look around and fee ourselves compaffed about with a great cloud of witneffes which are earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the faints. Infpired with holy fortitude, our zeal kindles to engage in the arduous conflict and fupport the bleffed caufe. Senfible that we are inefficient, yet purfuaded that we fhall be more than conquerors, through him who hath loved us, we gird up the loins of our minds, and as we wreftle not with flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darknefs of this world, against fpiritual wickednefs in high places, we put on the whole armour of God, the fhield of faith, the helmet of hope, and the breaft plate of righteousnefs, and the fword of the fpirit, having our feet fhod with the preparation of the gofpel of peace, and praying always with all prayer and fupplication, come Lord Jefus, come quickly. PEREGRINUS.

and to feel rightly, they are most ftudious to err; and with refpect to their relations and obligations to God, to refort to fhifts and excufes which they will not for a moment admit in their intercourse with each other. Thus the exiftence of fin in our world is fometimes confidered as an excufe or juftification for the committing of fin; and the implantation of a principle of grace in the heart, as an abridgement of the liberty of It is admitted that we are

man.

wholly paffive in what is termed regeneration, but not that we are thereby deprived of moral liberty, or that any constraint is laid upon our wishes or our wills. We are paffive as to many or most of our concerns. We are paffive in our creation-in the place of our birth-in the formation of our bodies-in the capacity of our underflandings-and as to the families of which we are members. To fome is given the pow er to obtain wealth and honors, while to others this power is deni ed. Some are healthy and robust, while others are fickly and deformed. Some are bleffed with all the good things of this life, while others are deprived of them. IF the following reinarks are We have no influence or agency worthy of a place in your Maga- in natural caufes and effects. We zine, you are at liberty to infert have no power to change the feathem. If you judge them not to fons, or to arreft the course of be fo, you will not difoblige the nature. Winds and ftorms which author. often produce diftreffing calamiT has often been a matter of ties neither come or go at our com

TO THE EDITORS OF THE CON-
NECTICUT EVANGELICAL MA-

GAZINE.

GENTLEMEN,

as as terreftres

to the writer, that men fhould reafon fo differently on the fubject of religion, from what they do on all other fubjects: that they fhould there deny principles and fentiments, which they avow, and adopt in common life.-On queftions where it is of the laft importance to reafon correctly,

the cold of winter, or the fcorching heat of fummer. The blaft, the mildew and the hail, lay wafte our fields against our defires and our tears. We are condemned to perpetual toil-to ficknefs, and to death in confequence of the commiffion of a fin, in which we were not the actors. In all these

things we patiently acquiefce. | immortal glory and happiness! We do not in general prefume to. I attribute all the falfe reafon.

aid the affiftance of the divine fpirit, he will treat it rather as the promifed reward of his imperfect obedience, than as the free gift of God to the unworthy; and while he is forced to admit that the gift of a Saviour was an act of grace, he will claim to himself the merit of having made the application of the atonement, to his own heart.

fault the ways of providence to using on this fubject to improper on these accounts. But we canviews of the human character. not fubmit to have our hearts He who believes himself to be by changed by the power of divine nature in fome good degree as he grace, without exclaiming, our li- fhould be, will of course deny any berty is invaded. It should not be particular divine agency in renewforgotten that as foon as grace is ing the heart and in fanctifying implanted in the heart it becomes the affections-he will condemn an active principle. It is perfect it as depriving him of moral li ly congenial with the talte and berty. He will confider himself, wifhes of the fubject. So far if he has not attained, as capable from his endeavoring to extirpate of attaining to the ftate of a good it, he defires that it may have a man, and by confequence his pri greater and more predominant in-vileges. Or if he brings to his Auence. He loves that which he once hated, and he difcerns a glory in divine things to which before he was a stranger.-Were a man on a fudden to have his tafte changed, in refpect to fome article of food, which he had always loathed, fo as to have it become delicious and agreeable to him, would he complain that his liberty had been abridged that his tafte had been improperly affected- But he who believes himfelf that a power had been exerted by nature to be wholly deftitute over him to his prejudice; or of holinefs-as an enemy to his would he blefs the power which creator-as entirely bent on evil had been exerted to enlarge the as devoid of any thing like a prinfphere of his enjoyment, and his ciple of obedience-who fees that capacity to receive good? Would he is fet on his own destruction, the blind man to whom our Sa- without any inclination to change viour reftored fight, have com- his habits, or his feelings, will plained, had it been done without never condemn the doctrine of rehis importunity, or even know- generation by the agency of the ledge that Jefus was near him?pirit of truth: he will rejoice And least of all fhould we com- that a being fuperior to himself, plain that deity can give to us a of unwilling can make him will power to become his fons; that ing, and that divine mercy can. he can, and that he fometimes accomplish that for him, which he does adorn us with moral beauty; has no defire to accomplish himself.. that he can reinftamp his image on our fouls; that he can give to us tender and benevolent feelings; that he can affimilate us to himfelf in the temper of our minds; and in confequence thereof render it confiftent to beftow on us Voi. IV. No. 1.

On the origin of evil, it be comes us to speak with diffidence, and not to be wife beyond what is written. This we know, that however it may be overruled to the greater good of the universe, it is in its nature offenfive to God.

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| who sheds his bleffings around us in rich profufion, and who has promifed us the glories of his heavenly kingdom, on repentance and obedience to his commands. He would be thought a bold and daring offender indeed, who should unblushingly and in the face of day, blazon his crimes and triumph in that wickednefs of heart which was the occasion of them; but we frequently hear fentiments

and without emotion, respecting fins against God. And there are not a few, who while they dare not charge all their fins to his account, will fpeak of them as being agreeable to his will, and as afford

The fpirit of curiofity is ever awake to devife imperfections in the divine government, and thereby to furnish pretexts to abandon and to forfake it. No subject has been drawn into more frequent difcuffions than the origin of fin;

I chufe neither to fay that he is the direct, efficient caufe of it, that he permitted, nor that he could not prevent it. Each of thefe modes of expreffion is to me unfatisfactory; and leads to confequences, which involve me in difficulties. I limit my view, to ideas more fimple. It is enough that he has in all ages punifhed fin. That he gave his Son to expiate it; and that he has declared in his word, that he will in-like the foregoing, uttered calmly "flict hereafter, on all the obftinate perpetrators of it, a deftruction adequate to its demerit. The hiftory of man from the beginning proves to us that our hearts, and not our underflandings, reafon, when we would attempt to jufti-ing them much palliation. fy fin by the existence of fin. Laws have ever been made to punifu crimes, and the more malignant the crime, the more fe vere has been the punishment. Among favages, where there are few prejudices of education to bias the understanding, punifh-on none have arguments a priori ments are common and cruel. In civilized life, the object of laws has always been, to reftrain the commiffion of evil, to guard and protect from its effects, to relax and weaken the motives to it, and finally to punifh the incorrigible. On this fubject there has ever been one common fentiment. No criminal at the bar of juftice ever pleaded his crinte, or the malice which produced it, by way of juftification, Snch an appeat would conduce to a more awful and fevere fentence. Our children who reafon lefs dextroufly than we, never attempt to excufe offences in this way they know, they feel too well the confequences. But this is the unreasonable treatment we give to an infinitely wife God; to him who made, who fupports, and who continues us in being;

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been more unfatisfactory; from none have conclufions been fo wicked. A little modesty would have filenced much impertinence; and an appeal to the common fentiments of mankind given us complete fatisfaction. The whole world is a mystery. Wherever we look around us we behold wonders which we cannot comprehend. Moft that we know is what we fee and feel. When we fin we are confcious of guilt, and we look forward to the iffue with concern. When we do our duty, we have a witnefs within us of the rectitude of our intentions, and we rejoice at the approbation which heaven gives. When we travel farther than this into the defigns of him who fuffers us to do evil, we go afide from the path of duty; and unless our attention