Imatges de pàgina
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caused this fear to fall upon them. Now their hearts fail them, and their magnanimity is daunted. This storm made them lower their top sails of courage and self-confidence.

The effect was, every one cried to his god; which argues the greatness of their fears. It may be, swearing by their gods had been their practice, but now it is praying to them. Storms will change mariners' notes; will make them serious, and turn their swearing into praying.

It is said

they cried; which notes the earnestness of their spirits, as persons in the

It is

utmost distress. It has been a com-
mon saying, "If you will teach a
man to pray, send him to sea."
further said, They cast forth the wares
that were in the ship into the sea to
lighten it; which still spoke the great
ness of their fears. This is one of
the last things you do at sea to save
your lives. So did they with the ship
Paul was in. Here you see all en-
deavours are used to prevent ship

wreck.

The observation now to be discoursed upon is this; that storms of danger cause storms of fear.

I begin with handling this, as the first part of my intended work is, the awakening of the souls of the poor seamen. These mariners were poor, blind heathens, as you see by their praying to their different gods. Now if the glimmering of the light of nature made them afraid, lest they should perish, well may poor sinners, who have the light of the gospel, be afraid when they come into storms, and feel conviction from it in their hearts; knowing that if they suffer shipwreck in a storm, uninterested in Christ, they shall perish, body and soul, forever. To be sinking at sea, and have no bottom for thy poor soul to build its hopes upon; to be launch-' ing out into that vast ocean of eternity under a conviction of unpardoned sin, will daunt the stoutest mariner, and terrify the most hardened sinner in the world. The disciples in a storm earnestly cried out to their Master, Carest thou not that we perish? With how much greater reason may profane sinners in storms and dangers adopt the same cry, lest their Souls perish!

Under the head of directions for preventing or allaying those

fears, which a sense of danger' creates, we select the following

1. If you would be above fears in storms, then commit the helm to him, as your pilot, whom the winds and seas" obey. Commit yourselves and your all to him by faith, and seek his directionand protection by prayer. The poor heathen mariners, you are told, when they were afraid, cried every one to his god; but their gods were vanity and

a lie; idols that could not hear nor help them. Whereas yours is the living and true God, who has all nature at his command, and who is made known as a God that heareth prayer. Commit thy way unto the Lord. In all dangers let him steer your course; in all troubles seek to upon me in the day of trouble; I will him for relief. His own word is, Call deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Saxony and a good bishop in Germa It is related, that when a duke of messengers to see what preparations ny were at variance, the duke sent the bishop was making, who, on their arations at all. return, told him he had made no prepThe duke asked,

What says he then? They replied, pel, visit the sick, and be found in his "He says that he will preach the gos duty; and as for the war, he is reGod." solved to commit the whole of it to "Oh then," said the duke, "if he be of that mind, let the devil will not. wage war with him, if he will; for I So if you commit your af fairs to God, by faith and prayer, you have nothing to fear.

sea still

2. Would ye be above storms and fears at sea? Carry not a Jonah in the vessel; carry not guilt with you. Guilt will sooner or later raise a storm. You see here, that the sea guilty person, was on board. was never quiet, while Jonah, the It was not the lightening of the ship that wrought, and was very tempestuous, till stilled the storm. The Jonah was cast overboard; and then it calmed. One Achan troubles a whole camp; and one Jonah endangers the whole ship's company, Nor did the prayers of the mariners secure them. It is related concerning one of the wise men of Greece, when aboard a vessel, on hearing some their gods, that he charged them to wicked sailors in a storm, praying to be silent; for, says he, "If the gods

know that you are there, they will drown us all for your sakes." The moral is easy. Guilt, and guilty persons, may endanger others, as well as themselves; and the prayers of such persons will be of no avail. If I regard iniquity in my heart, says the psalmist, the Lord will not hear me. Oh, then, let every sin be cast out; and let your guilt be cast into the sea of Christ's blood; then all will be calm and quiet.

3. Would ye be above fears in sea dangers? See then that your anchor be rightly cast. Hope is the anchor of the soul, as the apostle saith, which is sure and stelfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whither Jesus, the forerunner, is for us entered. Let hope, 'your best anchor, your sheet anchor, be fixed on God and Christ in heaven;

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and it will preserve you safe, and keep your vessel stedfast amidst all the winds and waves of this tempestuous sea. Heaven is the Cape of Good Hope; thither let your views ever be directed; there let your faith and hope be fixed.

4. If you would be above fear, in times of danger at sea, carry CHRIST in the vessel. Secure an interest in him; se ka discovery of that interest; and habitually exercise faith in him, as your Saviour. When Cæsar was once on a voyage, and a heavy storm arose, by which the sailors were much intimidated, he called out to them, "Fear not; you carry Cæsar." But if you have Christ with you, you may say, "A greater than Cæsar is here."

Religious Intelligence.

DOMESTIC.

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told me, they had not; that their young men had sometimes proposed to apply for a school master and teacher; but to this their old Chiefs had objected. They informed me, they were a collection of five different tribes, who speak nearly the same language; that in their town were about sixty fighting men. I told them, that as soon as they could agree to receive an instructor, they must apply to some missionary society, and they would undoubtedly obtain one.

On the 7th the same strangers made me another visit with their old Chief. After I had addressed them on the subject of religion, the old Chief answered: "Father, it is by the goodness of the great, good Spirit, that we have been brought on our journey to this place. We feel very thankful that we have been brought to your place of abode. We thank you for all the good words, you have now put into our minds. We never heard any thing about religion until -now.

We will duly consider these great things, and if we are wise and good, we may be happy both here and hereafter."

After this I showed them the great Bible with the plates it contains, and gave them a short history of mankind from the creation of the world to the time of our Saviour's death. To all which they gave good attention, and appeared to be much pleased.

Ocr. 7. A council was held, called by the Delawares from New Jersey, particularly to manifest their brotherly gratitude to the Stockbridge Indians for admitting them into their tribe. The Oneidas and Tuskaroras were invited to be pre

sent.

Capt. Hendrick, a Stockbridge Chief, addressed the Oneidas in the following words: "Brothers, when I look upon you, I see you are weeping on account of your friends, whom you expect soon to leave you [meaning the Tuscaroras, who propose moving to the Seneca country] your tears are running down your cheeks. Now I stretch my hand and wipe your tears, that you may see clear, and unstop your ears and set your hearts right as formerly."

Four strings of wampum were delivered.

After this the Delaware speaker addressed the Stockbridge Indians as follows: "Grandchildren attend, I thank the great Spirit, that through his goodness we are allowed to meet this day in order to brighten our friendship, that subsisted between our forefathers and you.

"When I look upon you I see your head is hanging down, and your tears running down, and your heart upset ; therefore remembering the custom of our forefathers, I stretch my hand, and wipe your eyes, that you may see your grandfather clearly, and unstop your ears, that you may hear, and set your tongue and heart right that you may understand right, and make your bed good, that you may rest yourself. I sweep clean the path before your face."

Six strings of wampum were then delivered the Mahhukunnuk nation.

"Grandchildren attend, a few years ago I saw you at Kawaupehtutquok [an Indian town in New Jersey] you in

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vited me to come and see your fire place in this town, and if I should like it, you would take me by the hand, and all my women and chil dren, and lead me with all my substance to this place; accordingly we came up and viewed it; and it pleased us well; the more so because the gospel was preached here, and a school kept for the instruction of children; so that all might come to the knowledge of the Saviour; but by reason of some difficulties we did not arrive till of late. Now according to your promise you have receiv ed us your own grandfather, and we have all the privileges you enjoy equal with you. Now I thank the great, good Spirit, that he has put it in your heart to have compassion on your old grandfather, and receive him cordially to partake of all the good things contained in your dish."

Here a belt of wampum was delivered. The speaker marked with two persons standing and a tree be tween them, to represent the council fire place established by the Mahhukunnuk tribe.

Nov. 27. On this day about 12 Christian women by invitation made us a visit, as we commonly practise every year. They, in broken English, spent a few hours in conversation with Mrs. Sergeant and the children. A supper was prepared for them, after which an elderly woman in the Indian language addressed Mrs. Sergeant in the following manner, and desired me to communicate the same.

"We are very thankful for the notice you have taken of us to invite us to come and see you. You have been very kind to us poor Indians. We are very sensible you have been very kind to us in times of sickness and distress; at all times ready to administer advice and medicine for the relief of the sick. We rejoice that you have such courage to live among such a poor people. It is our earnest prayer to God that the health and happiness of yourself and children may be continued for many days, and at last spend a happy eternity with our common Redeemer."

FOREIGN.

STATE OF RELIGION IN GER-
MANY.

EXTRACTED FROM THE ECLECTIC
REVIEW, A WORK OF MUCH MER-
IT, WHICH COMMENCED WITH
THE YEAR 1805.

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We have been favoured, (say the Editors) by a learned and pious Correspondent, with a very interesting account of the literary contest which has for a considerable time past, been maintained in Germany, between the friends and the opposers of Christianity. The importance of the subject, and the very imperfect knowledge which hitherto has been obtained of it in our country, induce us to present this statement to our readers, in the form in which we received it; pledg ing our own credit on the gener curacy of the representation. ↑ I APPREHEND, there has hardly been a period since the first establishment of Christianity, in which such a multitude of different and opposite opinions, on matters of religion in general, and on the Christian system in particular, has existed, as in this portentous age. It is true, errors have prevailed, more or less, in every period of the Church; yet, I am inclined to think, that our day exceeds them all. Often I am forcibly struck by that passage in the cxixth Psalm, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law." Though there is a vast difference among those, who seem to pursue the same in the main road, yet the modern philosophers and divines, in Germany, and in other parts of the Continent, apparently divide into three principal classes.

1. There is a party that rejects all revelation, and regards the religion of the Bible as a system of ignorance, fanaticism, and fraud. Writers of this class treat the Prophets, the Apostles, and our blessed Lord himself, as enthusiasts, or as wilful deceivers; they reject all the signs and wonders of the Old Testament, the miracles of our Saviour, and even the historical facts of his resurrection, ascension, &c. as mere fables; or, at least, they deny them to be the effects Vol. I. No. 8. Z z

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of any supernatural power. admit nothing in the Bible, that does not accord to the dictates of reason, which they represent as the only competent tribunal. This party, which is neither inconsiderable in numbers, nor destitute of able and learned advocates, affects what they call a superior criticism; attempting, by a perversion of Oriental languages, of history and antiquity, of ancient and modern philosophy, to destroy the foundation of a Christian's faith and hope, and to establish their own systems. In these, however, they wide. ly vary; and frequently oppose each other in the most severe and sarcastic style. There are some, who have even publicly abjured Christianity, and incline toward atheistical principles. This is evident from a recent work, entitled, What is Religion? and what alone can it be? Zerbst, 1803. Another which contains a most shameful attack on all revealed religion, entitled, "Calestion, or substance and value of natural religion compared with the revealed tle, 1803 and Mr. Fichte, one of the religion of the Bible." Wolfenbutmost celebrated modern philosophers, has thus expressed himself: "Deum non esse visaμevov aliquod, seu substantiam, sed intelligendum esse eo nomine ordinem mundi moralem; cujus non sit, quod rationem aut causam aliquam quæras, Deumque adeo non esse, nisi in conscientia nostra morali ;" i.e. "That God is not any visaμsvor, (existence) or substance, but that the moral order of the world is to be understood by that name; and that no reason or cause of this order need be sought for: therefore, that God is not, except in our moral consciousness." The same philosopher has ventured, in his "Appeal to the Public," to call the God of the Christians an idol, because he is regarded as the Creator and Governor of the world. There are even some professors of divinity, who have advanced pretty far in similar assertions. The Rev. D. Paulus, Professor of Theol. ogy, in the newly established protes. tant university in Wurtzburg, (Bavarian Electorate,) began a short time, since to publish a Commentary on the New Testament, in which he exerts

himself to the utmost to reduce every miracle, performed by our Lord and his Apostles, to merely natural circumstances. Another modern writer of this kind is Doctor Thiess, Theological Professor in the univer sity of Kiel, who, while he expresses some respect for the character and beneficent actions of Christ, openly denies all the distinguishing doctrines of Christianity, and endeavours to prove, that Christ did not expire on the cross, but merely fainted, and therefore could not be raised from the dead; that neither did he ascend to heaven, but secretly withdrew himself from the sight of his disciples, and privately died in some retired place. Many similar things are brought forward in his famous work, entitled, A devotional Treatise for enlightened Christians! (Leipzig and Gira, 1797, 2 vols.)

There is a second party, that allows of revealed religion; often, however, taking the term Revelation in a sense different from that, in which it has usually been accepted; representing the Christian system as far preferable to all other systems, that have made pretensions to Revelation; speaking of Christ in the highest terms of praise, and applauding the moral excellency of his doctrine, and the su perior worth of his character; but asserting on the other hand, that Christ, as well as his Apostles, having frequently accommodated them selves to the erroneous views and opinions of that age and people, their doctrine ought to be purified from such errors. Of the grand and fundamental principles of the Divinity of our blessed Lord, his atonement, and the operations of the Spirit of God; they either affirm that these are not contained in the Bible, as hitherto has been supposed; or, if they allow them to be found in the scriptures, they consider them as notions, which, being in contradiction to reason, ought not to be approved. Opinions to this effect, and others of a similar nature, may be met with in many doctrinal and expository writings, as well as in the reviews of the present day.

But there remains also a large party, which most conscientiously reveres the Bible as a divine Revelation, receiving it, not as the word of

men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. Writers of this description consider the Holy Scriptures as the only standard and criterion of sound doctrine and practice; and they contend for the faith, as delivered unto them by the prophets and apostles, and sealed by the blood of so many thousand martyrs. They have written, and continue to write, many excellent works, both learned and popular, in defence of Christianity; and, by a chain of solid and demonstrative arguments, prove the supreme divinity of our adorable Lord and Master. They treat with reverence the great and mysterious work of redemption, wrought by his perfect obedience, and meritorious sufferings and death upon the cross. Deeply sensible of the frailty, weakness and depravity of human nature, they rejoice in Him, who is the way, and the truth, and the life; they receive Him as of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption; they firmly hold the doctrine of justification by faith, but as strongly insist upon the necessity of good works, as fruits and evidences of a living faith; and, generally speaking, they are cordially attached to, and acquiesce in, those doctrines and articles, laid down and solemnly professed by the Protestant Reformers; though they are far from anxiously adhering to every single expression or exposition of theirs, but liberally adopt the real improvements, which have been made since their time in different branches of theological learning.

[After giving the names and works of a few very respectable divines of this latter description, our correspondent concludes,]

I could name many excellent characters of similar principles; but let these suffice to shew, that though there be numbers, who oppose the biblical system, yet it is still embraced, supported, and defended, by men of eminent talents, learning and rank.

INTELLIGENCE FROM KARASS.

A LETTER from a respectable correspondent in Edinburgh, to one of the Editors, dated Nov. 1, 1805,

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