pious characters collected, the more likely will they be to devise a plan, which will promote the interests of Christianity. This, then, is the drift and conclusion of the whole. The common practice of men, especially Christians, the present state of the ministry and of the churches, and the genuine spirit of Christianity are considerations, which strongly urge to a general association in this commonwealth. The objections raised against it will not, we conceive, on candid examination, appear of sufficient force to invalidate the arguments in its favour. The foundation is already laid by a respectable number of associations in the western counties, who have met several times with the general union in view, and are taking prudent measures to facilitate the admission of other associations. The proposition has been respectfully laid before the Convention of Congregational ministers, who, as a Convention, thought it not best to adopt any measures in its favour, though a large part, then present, were friendly to the object. The way is now prepared for the admission of particular associations. There is nothing to debar any, who receive the great doctrines of the reformation. The union will take place on a basis, which includes all the essential articles of the orthodox faith. The next annual meeting will be at Windsor, on the last Wednesday of June, 1807. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Je sus Christ be with the ministers and churches of Massachusetts ! PASTOR. PIETY OF PRIMITIVE NEW ENG LAND RUlers. THE piety of the primitive rulers of New England is as worthy of notice, as the piety of The the primitive ministers. following directions, extracted from "Instructions for Maj. Benjamin Church, commander in chief of the Plymouth forces, &c. does honour to the religious characters of the commissioners whose names are undersigned. "You are to take effectual care that the worship of God be kept up in the army, morning and evening prayer attended as far as may be, and as the emergencies of your affairs will permit, to see that the holy Sabbath be duly sanctified. You are to take care as much as may be, to prevent or punish drunkenness, swearing, cursing, or such other sins, as do provoke the anger of God. You are from time to time to give intelligence to the Governor and Council of Massachusetts or Commissioners of the Colonies of your proceedings, and the occurrences which may happen, and how it shall please the Lord to deal with you in this present expedition," &c. THOMAS DANFORTH, Pres.' THOMAS HINKLEY, Similar directions were given by Governors Phipps, Stough ton, and Dudley. ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT. In a Series of Letters to a Friend. (Continued from p. 455.) LETTER II. to die, is ascertained by our Saviour's words. "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." A ransom is what is given and accepted instead of the person ran The Doctrine illustrated, proved, and somed. This ransom was the defended from Scripture. DEAR SIR, THAT Christ died for sinners of mankind is often expressly asserted in the Scriptures. "When we were sinners, Christ died for us. He suffered for us in the flesh. He laid down his life for his sheep." This is granted by all, who bear the name of Christians. But some pretend that no more may be meant, than that Christ died for our benefit, as a martyr or witness to the truth of the revelation he made of the will of God; as an example of patience, fortitude, and charity, under cruel and abusive treatment; and that his resurrection might be to us an assuring evidence of his divine mission, and a pledge of the resurrection of the dead. We readily acknowledge that the death of Christ was designed for our benefit in these and other respects. But this does by no means come up to the intended meaning of the sacred writers. The phrase, here used, properly signifies in the original, that Christ died in the room and stead of sinners. This is evidently the meaning of the phrase in Paul's epistle to Philemon; in which he says that he would have retained Onesimus with him "that (ume cov) in thy stead he might minister to me." That this is the sense, in which Christ died for us, that is, as substituted instead of those, who were condemned No. 11. Vol. II, Sss life of Christ, his dying in our stead, to save us from that death, to which we were condemned for our own sins. This ransom was given (arr) substituted instead of the many, who are ransomed by his death. This is the exact import of the words in the original Greek, as the great masters of that language agree. Even the most learned Socinians, however reluctantly, have seemed at least to acknowledge this; though they have taken much fruitless pains to evade the plain and obvious consequence. The words of the apostle are no less determinate. "He gave himself (avrıλurgov) a vicarious ransom.” The expression is remarkable, and exceedingly emphatical. Christ gave himself, his life, a ransom, a price of redemption. This implies that his death was instead of that of the redeemed. But the expression is strengthened, by its being termed a vicarious or substituted ransom for (vwę) instead of all the redeemed. May it not now be taken for proved, that, according to the Scriptures, Christ died in the room of sinners, that by his vicarious sufferings and death he might ransom or redeem them from death, to which as sinners they were liable, and justly con demned. Farther; the Scriptures teach us that "death is the wages of sin," that is, its deserved and threatened punishment. It was Those divines, who speak of Christ, as having suffered the punishment of sin, have not only "followed one another," but have also followed the apostles, and speak as the oracles of God. And if Christ suffered the punishment of sin for sin, can it be denied, that the sin, for which he suffered punishment, was im punished for a crime, unless it was imputed to him? But it was not for any sin of his own, that Christ received the wages of sin, and bore the curse of the law. For there was no sin in him. He was tempted, as we are, yet without sin: He did no sin: He did always those things, that pleased God, who was ever well pleased in his beloved Son. It was for our sins that he suffered sin, that brought death into the world. It is sin, that has subjected all mankind to that condemnation, to redeem or ransom them from which, Christ died in their room and stead. No one is liable to receive the wages or -punishment of sin, unless it be for sin, as the meritorious cause. Now it is certain that, when Christ died in our stead to ran-puted to him? Was any one ever som us from death, he received - the wages, or punishment of sin -in our stead. For what is death, the curse of the law, but the puncishment of sin? Christ did die in our stead, that he might ransom .us from death. He was made a curse, or bore the curse of the -law for us, that is, in our stead, ,that he might redeem us from the curse of the law. It is true, a person may suffer that, which is threatened in a law, as a punish--and died, and bore the punishment, and yet not suffer it as a punishment. The cutting off some member of the body is a legal punishment for some crimes. -But, if this be done by a surgeon to stop a gangrene, the patient -would not suffer it as a punishment. But Christ, in dying for us not only suffered, what was threatened as the punishment of sin, but he suffered for sin. The apostle Peter says that Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. Now, if Christ suffered the punishment of sin for sin; if he bore the curse of the law for sin, (indeed how could he otherwise be subject to the curse, and punishment?) how can the conclusion be refused, that he was punished for sin? How can a person's being punished be more accurately and logically expressed, than by saying he suffers what is threatened, as the punishment of sin, for sin ? ment due to us. Paul says that he died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was delivered unto death for our offences. His death was the deserved and threatened punishment of our sins, and he suffered this pun ishment for our sins. Is not this a clear evidence, that our sins were imputed, and our guilt transferred to him?25 Sund Of this we have also, I think, a farther proof in the 53d chapThe prophet, ter of Isaiah. speaking of Christ, says, "He hath borne our griefs, and carri ed our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." These griefs and sorrows are termed ours, because deserved by us, and due to us, as the wages or punishment of our sins, though they were borne by Christ. Since he for our transgressions and iniquities, as the meritorious cause, was wounded, bruised, and suffered the punishment due to us; what can be a plainer and more necessary inference, than that our obligation to suffer this punishment was transferred to him, and he took it on himself; that is, in other words, that our guilt was imput ed to him. This is also plainly expressed in the next verse, "the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquities of us all." Our sins were not infused into him, AGED MINISTER. Dear Sir, No. 5. for in him was no sin, but they ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM AN were laid upon him, judicially charged upon him, or as it is expressed in the Hebrew, they met or rushed upon him. No words could better express, what is meant by imputation. The prophet adds, "he was cut off from the earth, (but it was not for himself) he was stricken for the transgressions of God's people.", The chastisement of our peace (by which our peace was made with God, or by which our peace or happiness was obtained for us) was inflicted upon him; and born by him. And again, "My righteous servant, shall justify many, for he shall bear their in iquities," i. e. bear the guilt, the burden, or punishment of them. And yet again, "He bare the sins of many." The guilt of these sins must therefore have been laid or charged upon him. How else could he bear it? And yet farther, it is said that "His soul was to be made an offering," a sacrifice of atonement for sin, and so be substituted in the place of sinners, to die in their stead, and bear the punishment due to them, as was represented in atoning sacrifices. WHEN my last was broken off, I was going to add a hint of preferring those writers who do the best justice to the Scripture doctrine of the fall of man, and the great revolution it has produced, with reference to our moral state; the ground of our hopes toward God; the redemption and recovery we want, and I might have said, in the whole of our religion. For "as one kind of regimen (says bishop Sherlock) "is adapted to preserve a good constitution, and another to restore a broken one," so it is here. A great part of the mis takes, which learned men have committed in theology, may be traced to their not keeping this distinction sufficiently in their view. And, as when we read Pope's Essay on Man (so strik ing and beautiful in many rest pects) we are surprised to find not a single hint of a defection from primitive rectitude which has degraded our species; so we are more or less disappointed in many theological writers; and consequently in their systems at large. Sometimes, indeed, we meet with an extreme in the other way; and man's depraved condition set out with a kind of romantic extravagance. But this does not promote conviction. It diminishes the credit of the preacher, and raises a prejudice against the truth. Happy the student by whom the straight line marked by the simple doctrine of Revela tion, is well distinguished, and well kept.I am, &c, My dear Sir, No. 6. WHEN I think of you, an idea occurs afresh, which, though very simple, I have often thought might be of great use for every student in theology, viz. that of applying chiefly to the very heart of it. I mean to include all which relates to that conviction of sin, which is preparatory to real religion; the mistakes and the dangers, to which the awak ened are exposed; the directions suitable for them; the source from which their encouragements should be derived; the views and the submissions, they must be brought to after these the nature of true conversion; the difference between common and effectual operations of the Di vine Spirit on the minds of men; the specific nature of saving faith, repentance unto life, true love to God, and love to man in its distinct branches; the distinguishing nature of Christian hope, joy, humility, self-denial, every grace; and evangelical obedience at large. In these the life and substance of theology seem emphatically to consist. And yet it often happens, that preachers of con siderable talents appear not to: have bestowed a due proportion of their time upon them :-The outlines perhaps have had somę justice done to them, but the interior has been too much postponed. Upon this last branch of in quiry, I think you will find as much in President Edwards, on Religious Affections, as in any author I have seen; and as able and thorough an examination of the Scriptures. I am, &c. (To be continued.) THE DECALOGUE. No. 10. TENTH COMMANDMENT. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." No nation can produce a system of moral and religious pre cepts so perfect as that which was given to Israel from Mount Sinai. It will bear the strictest examination, and when reduced to practice it preserves us in the way of holiness. The apostate Emperor knew this, but anxious to find defects, where none exist, he could only say, that the law contains things toò simple and too trite for so high an origin. What he says in detraction, is a high eulogium. It admits, without designing it, that the law is accommodated to the meanest understanding, and thus answers the great purpose of instructing and reforming mankind. Our duty to God and to man is here brought into one point of view. The system is pure and complete. Formed on this model, a religious and useful race would |