For the Panoplist. ON COVENANTING WITH GOD. THE word covenant has originally a general meaning. Berith, Diatheke, and Fedus, the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words, which are tranflated covenant, often fignify, teftamentum, or a will; but in general, any regulation, appointment, or declaration of the mind.* The word fometimes fignifies a law; hence the Pythagoreans denominated the rules given their pupils, Diathekai.† But covenant in general fignifies, engagement or agreement. The Hebrews fay, "to ftrike a covenant," ferire fædus. This doubtless took its rife from the ancient ceremony of striking or flay. ing an animal to ratify the covenant. Probably God taught this rite to the first inhabitants of the world; hence we find it early in different nations. "The Cynethenfes over the flaughtered victims took a folemn oath, and plighted faith to each other." Scripture fpeaks of fuch a ceremony; "Thole that have made a covenant with me by facrifice." The cutting of the animal afunder denoted that, in the fame manner, he who broke the covenant, fhould be cut afunder by the divine vengeance. Leigh, Witfius, Budeus, Ifocrates, Efchines, and Demofthenes. † Grotius. Polybius. In Num. xviii. 19. we read of "a covenant of falt." In Lev. ii. 13. we read, "with all thine offerings thou fhalt offer falt." This implied, that the covenant was fure and perpetual, as Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of falt to be a perpetual monument of divine wrath.* All falt does not melt; the Arabs build walls and houses with blocks of falt.+ There is a fpecies of falt used for money. In the kingdom of Tunis, is a mountain of purple falt, hard as ftone. The custom of offering falt with their facrifices prevailed among the Greeks and Romans, as well as Ifraelites. 66 aç Homer calls falt divine, and repeatedly mentions the rite of salt, "The facred offerings of the falted cake," and "facred falt from lifted urns." Plato says* that, cording to human laws, falt was molt agreeable to the gods;" and Pliny fays that, "the influence of falt is thought to be greatest in facrifices, fince none are performed without falted meal." According to Virgil, falt was offered with the facrifice at the treaty between Latinus and Æneas, "They ftrow the falted corn or meal." Among the ancients, falt was an emblem of fidelity and friendfhip, and on this account used in all their covenants and facrifices. Even barbarians, after eating with their enemies, keep peace inviolate, " remembering the alt."+ Baron De Tott mentions a robber, who, having broken into a house, stumbled on a piece of falt ; this fymbol of hofpitality fo affect * Rivet, Auguftine, Witfius. Bruce. Parkhurft's Hebrew Lexicon. †Theodoret. ed him, that he inftantly retired, leaving his booty. Doctor Doddridge fays, that people entering into covenant with God engage, that they will make it their care and endeavour to fender fincere and univerfal obedience to all the intimations and difcoveries of his will, not making a referve in favour of any fin whatever. Thus Abram forfook his country, his kindred, his father's house, his all. Thus when God afterward renewed covenant with him, he faid, "I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect." 66 From thefe brief remarks we fee what is professed in entering into covenant with God. There is an engagement to be the Lord's. It is devoting one's felf, unrefervedly to God. A direct appeal is made to God. Omnifcience is called to witness the fincerity of the foul. To affect the perfon, to rouse his attention, to imprefs and penetrate his heart, there was in the Jewish mode of covenanting, ceremony, pomp, and folemnity. Signs and fymbols were used. A harmless beaft was killed; blood and death were invoked as witneffes of the august scene. This 66 was the custom even with the hea then; who had never heard of the gofpel, or the Saviour, or Holy Ghoft. More was done. The victim was not only flain, but cut, and torn afunder. The language was, as has been obferved, "If I am not fincere, may I, like this bleeding lamb, or mangled dove, be feparated and torn afunder by the judgments of God." This was not all. Every facrifice was falted with falt." A token, a pledge of inviolable love, of eternal friendship, was employed. A covenant was an oath of fidelity. Every thing was done to exprefs cordiality, to give weight and importance to the tranfaction. The customs of men, and the rites of God were united; heaven and earth lent their aid to render a covenant valid, binding, and folemn. Blood and falt, types of the atonement of Christ, and the faving faith of the gospel, were ufed. When we enter into covenant we do, therefore, declare by the Saviour's blood, that we are the Lord's. In fealing this covenant we virtually eat the body and drink the blood of the Son of God; if unworthy, we eat and drink judgment to ourselves. Selections. THE MISCHIEVOUS DOCTRINE OF EXPEDIENCY EXPOSED. [From the Rev. R. Hall's Fast Sermon of Oct. 1803. p. 42, 51.] Mr. Hall enters into a full consideration of that fashionable system of expediency, by which" religion is degraded from its preeminence into the mere handmaid of social morality; social morality into an instrument of advancing PHILO. the welfare of society; and the world is all in all." The following passage, with which the discussion on the subject of expediency closes, and in which Mr. Hall expresses with uncommon strength and precision, views, which we ourselves have long entertained, would do honour to the pen, even of a Burke. As this fasl.ion of redneing every moral question to a calcula- to the same thing at the foot of the tion of expedience is a most im- account. Hence that intrepidity portant innovation, it would be in guilt, which has cased the strange if it had not produced a hearts of the greatest adepts in change in the manners of society. this system as with triple brass. In fact, it has produced an entire- Its seeds were sown by some of ly new cast of character, equally these, with an unsparing hand, in remote from the licentious gaiety France, a congenial soil, where of high life, and the low profliga- they produced a quick vegetation. cy which falls under the lash of The consequences were soon felt. the law a race of men distin- The fabrick of society tottered to guished by a calm and terrible fe- its base; the earth shook under rocity, resembling Cæsar in this their feet; the heavens were inonly, that as it was said of him, volved in darkness, and a voice, they have come with sobriety to more audible than thunder, called the ruin of their country. The upon them to desist. But ungreatest crimes no longer issue moved amidst the uproar of elefrom the strongest passions, but ments, undismayed by that voice, from the coolest head. Vice and which astonishes nature and apimpiety have made a new con- pals the guilty, these men continquest, and have added the regions ued absorbed in their calculations. of speculation to their dominion. Instead of revering the judgThe patrons of impurity and li- ments, or confessing the finger centiousness have put on the cloak of God, they only made more of the philosopher; maxims the haste, (still on the principle of exmost licentious have found their pediency) to desolate his works, way into books of pretended mo- and destroy his image, as if they rality, and have been inculcated were apprehensive the shades of with the airs of a moral sage.* a premature night might fall and "A callous indifference to all mo- cover their victims ! ral distinctions is an almost inseparable effect of the familiar application of this theory." "Crimes and virtues are equally candidates for approbation, nor must the heart betray the least preference, which would be to prejudge the cause; but must maintain a sacred neutrality, till expedience, whose hand never trembles in the midst of the greatest horrours, has weighed in her impartial balance their consequences and effects. In the mean time they are equally candidates, we repeat it, for our approbation, and equally entitled to it, provided the passions can be deceived into an opinion, and this is not difficult, that they will come "But it is time to conclude this discussion, which has perhaps, already fatigued by its length. I cannot help expressing my apprehension, that this desecration of virtue, this incessant domination of physical over moral ideas, of ideas of expedience over those of right, having already dethroned religion, and displaced virtue from her ancient basis, will, if it be suffered to proceed, ere long shake the foundation of states, and endanger the existence of the civilized world. Should it ever become popular, should it ever descend from speculation into common life, and become the practical morality of the age, we may apply to such a period the awful words of Balaam; Who shall live when God doth this? No imagina tion can pourtray, no mind can grasp its horrours."*"If the apparent simplicity of this system be alleged in its favour, I would say, it is the simplicity of meanness, a simplicity which is its shame; a daylight which reveals its beggary. If an air of obscurity, on the contrary, is objected against that of better times, let it be remembered, that every science has its ultimate questions, boundaries which cannot be passed, and that if these occur earlier in morals, than in any other inquiries, it is the natural result of the immensity of the subject, which, touching human nature in every point, and surrounding it on all sides, renders it difficult, or rather impossible, to trace it in all its relations, and view it in all its extent. Meanwhile the shades, which envelope, and will perhaps in some measure, always envelope it, are not without their use, since they teach the two most important lessons we can learn, the vanity of our reason, and the grandeur of our destination. "It is not improbable that some may be offended at the warmth and freedom of these remarks: my apology, however, rests on the infinite importance of the subject, my extreme solicitude to impress what appear to me right sentiments respecting it, together with the consideration, that the confidence which ill becomes the innovators of yesterday, however able, may be pardoned in the defenders, however weak, of a system which has stood the test and sustained the virtue of two thousand years. Let us return, then, to the safe and sober paths of our ancestors; adhering, in all moral questions, to the dictates of conscience, regulated and informed by the divine word; happy to enjoy, instead of sparks of our own kindling, the benefit of those luminaries, which, placed in the moral firmament by a potent hand, have guided the church from the beginning in her mysterious sojourn to eternity. Stand in the way, and see and ask for the old path, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. "Instead of demolishing the temple of christian virtue, from a presumptuous curiosity to inspect its foundations, let us rejoice they are laid too deep for our scrutiny. Let us worship in it; and with the nations of them that are saved, walk in its light." THE OBLIGATION OF BELIEVERS TO CONFESS CHRIST. From the Religious Monitor. Much is implied in confeffing. Chrift before men. If we would confefs our Saviour, we must not only fay nothing against chriftianity, but we must plead in its favour; we must not only allow that Jefus is the Chrift, but alfo glory in his crofs and honour his laws. To confefs Chrift, is to fhew a facred regard to his holy and rict precepts; to attend regularly on the ordinances of his appointment; to explain and inculcate the principles of his religion' on thofe over whom we have influence; to countenance and encourage thofe who appear to be his fincere followers, and with firmnefs and meeknefs to defend his caufe when attacked by his enemies. 1. Sincerity requires it. Sincerity and uprightness not only require that we never, in any inftance, profess what we do not believe; but also, in certain cafes, that we plainly and openly avow our fentiments. When the principles or character of a friend are attacked; when we hear misrepresentations made ufe of, in order to hold him up as an object of ridicule; when the laugh of the company is raifed at his expenfe, we are guilty of hypocrify if we feem to join in the entertainment; nay, unless we testify our difapprobation by words, or by withdrawing. This obfervation Opposed to the confeffion of Christ, is, denying him before men. And we deny Chrift, not only when we openly renounce our baptismal vows, and fay to every perfon we meet, "I am an unbeliever," we deny him by filence as well as by words; by not obferving his inftitutions, as well as by openly throwing contempt upon them, by fervilely following the opinions and maxims of the world as well as by faying in fo many words, "We will not have this man to reign over us." Some of this description may be furprif ed to hear themfelves ranked is plainly applicable to the cafe with avowed enemies of Chrift, and reprefented as "deniers of the Lord who bought them." They may fay, "we never speak a word against the Saviour; we never deny his divinity, nor in any way oppofe him." Let fuch confider that by actions no lefs plainly than by words, we may fhew difrespect to any character; and that by tranfgreffing one of the leaft of Chrift's commandments, we virtually deny him; we fay more ftrongly than language can exprefs, "Let us break his bands afunder, and caft his cords from us." Let not then fuch deceive themfelves with falfe hopes, becaufe they zealously proteft a gainst infidels and unbelievers; for their own inconfitency is greater, who, allowing in fo many words, that Chrift is the Saviour, yet in works they deny him, being difobedient and to every good work reprobate. The object of this effay is to point out the obligation lying upon every chriftian to confefs Christ in the manner defcribed above. before us. If we hear Christ or his words blafphemed, and inftead of teftifying difpleafure, feem well enough fatisfied, we are certainly chargeable with diffimulation, and it is unnecessary to add, how much meannefs as well as immorality this implies. "Yet if Chrift and his religion are not maligned, is there any occafion of fhewing our allegiance to him?" We anfwer, That whatever a man reckons important or valuable, he very naturally makes fometimes the subject of converfation. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Why then in religious matters alone fhould the privilege be denied, of teftifying what we do know of commending what we efteem? Why fhould a profound filence be obferved upon religious matters, when we fpeak our opinions freely upon other topicks ? There is, it must be owned, fuch a thing as giving what is holy to the dogs, and cafting pearls before fwine; this is carefully to be avoided. To introduce the more fublime and fpiritual parts of |
