tinued during the second French or Canadian war, 1754-63, and through the war of the Revolution, down to the adoption of the present constitution in 1789. During that long period of agitation, men's minds were filled with the engrossing political subjects and events. War is a most unfavourable season for the promotion of religion, especially if the scene of the war is in the immediate vicinity, and affects, personally, the whole community. Besides, the immorality engendered in the army, and disseminated at its disbanding, increased the corruption of the heart of the community, and thus disposed it to embrace error. Moreover, vice flowed in upon the country from foreign shores. All these circumstances repressed the growth of piety, and were, in an inverse proportion, favourable to the propagation of Pelagian errors had commenced creeping in, although | menced with the first French war in 1744-49, and conthey were not openly avowed before 1740. I shall now take notice of some other causes which had a tendency to introduce error, and finally gross heresy. 3. One of these was, the violent opposition which was made, as might have been expected, by many ministers and people to the glorious revival of religion, which commenced in 1734 under the labours of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards at Northampton, and continued, with short intervals, under his labours, and those of Mr Whitefield, Gilbert Tennent, and others, until 1744, and which pervaded New England, and some other parts of the country, particularly some portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Great opposition was made by many to this revival. By a few, this was done from honest but unenlightened views; but by many, from hatred to the doctrines of the cross. It is not probable, that there were no mistakes committed by the friends of this work of God's signal love and grace; but the opposition on the part of many minis. ters and people, was unreasonable, and destitute of a Christian spirit. error. Soon after the Revolution 1775-83, open Unitarianism began to be promoted by the Rev. Dr Freeman, pastor of the church called King's Chapel, in Boston, by the extensive circulation, through the public libraries and otherwise, of the books of Priestly, Belsham, Lindsey, and others. All these concurring circumstances prepared the way for the introduction of heresy, or led to its development. Dur The influence of this opposition was very injurions to both the friends and enemies of the revival. The former were too often driven to harsh and exceptionable measures, and to the indulgence of an unchristian 6. Another cause which greatly promoted Unitariantemper and course of conduct towards their opposers. ism in Boston and the surrounding country, during the Whilst the latter were made more opposed to those fifty years of the great declension of religion, and of soul-stirring doctrines which the friends of the revival which the war of the Revolution constituted nearly a held and preached, became more indifferent to vital central epoch, was the influence of great names. religion, and soon avowed Arminianism, and settled ing that period of astonishing indifference to religious down into cold and formal observances and modes of doctrine, it was taken for granted, by very many, that preaching. Of those who pursued this course, the most such men as Governor Bowdoin, and General Knox, distinguished and influential was the Rev. Dr Chauncy and President Adams, and Chief Justice Parsons, and of Boston, who both preached and wrote against the many others of distinguished reputation, must be right. revival, and did more than any other man in New Eng- It is a fact, not to be denied, that most, but not all, of land to oppose that glorious work of grace, which was the great men, of that period, were Unitarian, as far as the commencement of a new era in many of the Churches they had any opinions on the subject of religion. This in New England, and the ultimate cause of the brighter had great influence, not only upon people living in and better state of things which now exists throughout Boston, which is the metropolis of New England, but it. He was at first a professed Calvinist; but in his still more upon men from the interior. Merchants, downward course of error he became an Arminian, and lawyers, legislators, and others, were in the habit of died in 1787 a strenuous advocate for the doctrine of visiting that city, on business, several times annually, universal salvation: and almost all that opposed the and thus came into company frequently with the distinrevival became Arminians. As they dreaded "excite-guished men of that city, most of whom were Uniment," their preaching became cold, speculative, and treated of general and external morality, rather than of the doctrines of total depravity, the necessity of regeneration by the Spirit of God, and their kindred truths. 4. Another circumstance connected with the state of things, which grew out of the revival above named, and which had an effect to prepare the way for the further spread of error, or rather which removed what might have retarded it in some measure, was the fact, that many of the pious and devoted members withdrew from the Churches where the preaching was so uncongenial to their feelings, and either attached themselves to those Churches of their own denomination where a better spirit prevailed, or joined the Churches of other denominations; thus leaving many Churches to hasten their downward course of error and corrup tion. In others, the light of the Gospel became extinct at the death of the old members, who had seen better days in the Church, and who still clung around those sacred abodes where so many godly ministers had preached, and where they themselves first felt the power of divine love, and consecrated themselves to the Lord. And when these venerable members of a former generation departed, and the last rays were withdrawn, then was verified the Saviour's remark, "But if the light which is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!" 5. Another cause of the corruption of religion was the long period of gloom and distraction which com To tarians. Of course, they imbibed their opinions, and 7. That this system of religion is one that is exceedingly agreeable to the natural and unrenewed heart. The thoughtless, rich, gay, pleasure-loving, and fashionable world find nothing in it which denies them their beloved enjoyments. It quiets their consciences with the names and forms of religion, and promises them happiness beyond the grave; whilst it demands few sacrifices, nor advances doctrines which are calculated to humble the pride of men. When we consider this fact, in connection with the causes which have already been mentioned, it is not a matter of wonder that Unitarianism made great progress during the times of which I have been speaking. 8. Another cause which has operated to introduce heresy into the churches of New England, and especially of the State of Massachusetts, is the influence which Harvard University has for the last thirty or forty years exerted, by sending forth men into the ministry who have imbibed a corrupted theology. This influence has been very great, and still continues to be great. That institution, which is situated in the town of Cambridge, four miles from Boston, was founded by eminently pious and devoted men in the year 1636, only sixteen years after the first colony was planted in New England, and only seven or eight years after the arrival of Governor Winthrop and the colony which settled Boston. It is the oldest university in the United States, and in some respects it possesses greater advantages than any other of the seventy or eighty colleges and universities in the country. It was founded for the express purpose of educating a pious and orthodox ministry. Funds were early given by pious individuals for the purpose of supporting a Professor of Theology, who should be required to teach the doctrines of the orthodox faith. For a long period that distinguished institution nobly answered the end which its pious founders had in view. A large number of the earlier New England ministers were educated within its walls. Its Presidents and its Professors of Theology continued for a long period to be sound in doctrine. But in 1804, the Rev. Dr Ware, a Unitarian minister, was appointed Professor of Divinity, by the Corporation or Board of Directors, who live about Boston, and almost all of whom themselves had become Unitarians. In 1810, the Rev. Dr Kirkland, another Unitarian minister, was appointed President of the institution. Since that period, this oldest literary establishment in the United States has been in the power of Unitarians, together with its liberal endowments, its library, &c. Its Pro fessors of the Theological Faculty are all Unitarian, and have under their instruction from thirty to filty young men annually, preparing for the ministry. From this institution, as from a great fountain, the doctrines of Unitarianism have emanated, and have been diffused, more or less, throughout New England, and especially throughout the State of Massachusetts. CHRISTIAN TREASURY. The Curse of Worldliness.-Let it be supposed, that at some past period in the history of Britain, news had arrived of an awful visitation of nature, by which one of her distant colonies is in a state of famine. Numbers have died, numbers are dying, all are approaching the point of starvation; besides which, a powerful enemy is gathering on their frontiers, and threatening to hasten the work of death. The government at home opens its stores; public charity bursts forth, and pours relief through a thousand channels. A fleet is freighted with the precious means of life, and dispatched to the scene of suffering, wafted by the sighs and prayers of the nation. For a time it steers direct for its object. But, having lost sight of land, the ardour of those employed, abates, though engaged in a commission which angels might convey, then impressions of its importance fade from their minds. A group of islands lies in their course, and though far short of their destination, they decide to call. Prospects of mercantile advantage here present themselves; the spirit of gain takes possession of them; they are inclined, solicited, prevailed on, to remain. Their original object of mercy is forgotten, the stores of life with which they had been intrusted, are used and bartered, as if intended only for themselves; and thus an enterprize of beneficence on which God had frowned, sinks into a bare mercantile adventure. But the supposition is impossible, impossible in the sense supposed; but in a higher sense it has been realized, and far, far, exceeded. The world was perishing, the compassion of God was moved, the means of salvation were provided, and O! at how costly a price! The Church was charged to convey them without delay to her dying-fellow men, and to pause not in her office of mercy, till the lost sinner had enjoyed the means of recovery. For a time the godlike trust was faithfully executed. "An angel flying through the midst of heaven," was an apt representation of the directness and speed with which the Church prosecuted her task. Jesus beheld the travail of his soul and was satisfied. Souls were snatched as brands from the burning. But a change came over her conduct. The spirit of the world returned, and cast a spell on her movements. Continents were yet to be visited, and millions to be rescued, when she paused in her onward course. Immortal men continued to perish by nations: but the agents of mercy had abandoned their work; as if the stores of life with which they were intrusted, had been intended solely for their own use, they began to live unto themselves. An enterprize of mercy, in which God had embarked his highest glory, and which involved the happiness of the world, was arrested, and lost to myriads, by a spirit of worldly gain. For, if at some given period after the first age of the Christian Church, the professed agents of mercy had been sought for, how would the great majority of them have been found occupied and employed, but in “buying and selling, and getting gain." Each one," says Cyprian, as early as the middle of the third century, "each one studies how to increase his patrimony, and forgetting what the faithful did in apostolic times, or what they ought always to do, their great passion is an insatiable desire of enlarging their fortunes."-HARRIS. (Mammon.) 66 God's willingness to save.- -God offers not only a truce, but a peace, and hath been most active in urging clearer methods than that of sending his Son to recona reconciliation. Can he manifest his willingness in cile the world to himself? Can he evidence more sincerity than by his repeated and reiterated pressing of our souls to the acceptance of him? God knocks at our hearts, and we are deaf to him; He thunders in our ears, and we regard him not; He waits upon us for our acceptance of his love, and we grow more mad against him; He beseecheth us, and we ungratefully and proudly reject him; He opens his bosom, and we turn our backs; He offers us his pearls, and we tread them under our feet; He would clothe us with pure linen, but we would still wear our foul rags; He would give us angels' bread, and we feed on husks with swine. The wisdom of God shines upon us, and we account it foolishness; the infinite kindness of God courts us, and we refuse it, as if it were the greatest cruelty. Christ calls and begs, and we will not hear To love God him either commanding or entreating. is our privilege, and though it be our indispensable duty, yet it had been a presumption in us to aspire so high as to think the casting our earthly affections upon so transcendant an object, should be dear to Him, had He not authorised it by his command, and encouraged it by his acceptance. But it is strange that God should court us by such varieties of kindness to that, wherein not His happiness, but our affection does consist; and much stranger, that such pieces of earth and clay should turn their backs upon so admirable an object, and be enemies to Him, who displays himself in so many allurements to their souls, and fix their hatred upon that tender God who sues for their affections.-CHARNOCK. (On Enmity to God.) Love of God.-Among all the natural passions and affections of the human heart, where is the love of God to be found? We love parent and child,-we love friends and country,--we love riches and honour,-we love sin in all its shapes, and we embrace it with all our souls; these affections take their root in our nature, they grow wild in our hearts, and scarcely require cultivation. But, instead of finding religion growing naturally within, only observe with what care and watching and anxiety it must be cherished, and refreshed, and preserved; and if once neglected, yea, but for a little, how soon it begins to wither and decay! Any of the other affections of our heart it would be almost impossible to get rid of; but to acquire and cultivate a spirit of religion, is the slow and patient work of earnest watchfulness and persevering humility.- Wolfe's Re mains. SACRED POETRY. ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN PATTERSON, A. M., Late of Falkirk. "Merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."-ISAIAH lvii. 1. AND thou art gone! O spirit bright ! Gone early to thy native sphere, And left us sad and darkling here. Gone, oh! we feel, for us too soon! Thy mind so gifted, yet so mild, So rich, so bright with classic lore, Meekly its honours won and wore; So warm, so generous, so benign, Must we that heart to dust resign! Thou human meteor! through the gloom The next-plunged in the darksome tomb! Calling lost sinners back to God, Men pile the dust and smoothe the sod! How dark, full oft, appears to man The path heaven's own cloud-pillar guides! And Mercy o'er its course presides. And few the cause discern; the Lord Yes, gentle spirit! well for thee Thy early call,-thy early crown! The moral tempest's must'ring frown! Though thine, the moral courage high, To thee the mind, soul, feelings given, Rescued; farewell, dear friend, to thee! Torphichen Manse. PRAYER. OH blessing infinite! beyond compare! How oft, when sorrow shadowing o'er the heart, A single breath of earnest, pious prayer MISCELLANEOUS. Simple Faith of an aged Greenlander.-About the year 1742, Mr Drachart, the Danish missionary in Greenland, baptized nine persons. Among these was an old man, who, when he heard that his two daughters were to be baptized, went to the missionary, and asked if he might not be baptized too. "It is true," said he, "I can say but little, and very probably I shall never learn so much as my children, for thou canst see that my hairs are quite grey, and that I am a very old man; but I believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ, and that all thou sayest of him is true." So moving a petition could not be refused, though the aged suppliant was unable to retain the usual questions and answers in his memory. He was much affected while the ordinance was performed, and moistened the place where he was baptized with his tears. Martin Luther.-In the last will and testament of this eminent reformer occurs the following remarkable passage:" Lord God, I thank thee, for that thou hast been pleased to make me a poor and indigent man upon earth. I have neither house, nor land, nor money, to leave behind me. Thou hast given me wife and children, whom I now restore to thee. Lord, nourish, teach, and preserve them, as thou hast me." Separate Numbers from the commencement may at all times be had. Now ready, Volume I., elegantly bound in embossed cloth, Price 78., or in Two Parts, Price 8s. Also, Volume II., Part 1, Price 4s. 6d. Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh, and 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; J. NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junior, & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers in Edinburgh, Leith, and Portobello, will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher.-Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner, have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses at the Publishing Office there, 19, Glassford Street. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, 18. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.--per year, of fortyeight weeks, 68.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers each, stitched in a printed wrapper, Price Sixpence, THE NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE. BY THE REV. JOHN MACFARLANE, Minister of Collessie. AN outline having been attempted in a former paper, of the essential qualities by which the grace of repentance is distinguished, we are now prepared to see how necessary it is to salvation; and what is the place which it occupies, in the process of renovation that is conducted in the heart of the redeemed sinner. When it is said that repentance is indispensable to salvation, which it most assuredly is, it is not meant to be alleged, either, that it forms a claim to the divine favour, or that it is necessary as a prerequisite to our acceptance of the invitation which the Gospel equally addresses to all. Evangelical repentance is produced by God, and is as much the result of his divine operation, as any other of the graces of the Christian life which are subsequently introduced into the soul. If it is regarded with complacency, therefore, by the Great Source of spiritual influence, that complacency is manifested because it is the work of his own hands. Its existence is not the cause, but the effect of his grace. And, it is no less evident, that true repentance being the fruit of faith,—a fruit, indeed, which grows simultaneously with the stem that produces it, the call of the Gospel must have been obeyed, before such repentance could have been exercised. The possession of this grace is not a qualification to our acceptance, but is an evidence that we have accepted of that free salvation which is held forth, not to them that are penitent, but to them that are lost. Still, however, is repentance necessary to salvation, just as the existence of every part is essential to the production of the whole. It is necessary that a work be begun, before it can be finished; it is necessary in a journey that we take the first step, before we can take the second, or the third; it is necessary that we live before we can grow; and, by a necessity no less strict and inevitable, is it necessary that we repent before we can be saved. The declaration is authoritative as it is distinct," Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." VOL. II. PRICE 1d. An important principle in the economy of grace, and one which it is of great use to understand and appreciate, here comes into view, I mean the connection that subsists between the graces of the Christian life, and the accomplishment of the promises attached to them. Various dependencies and relations among things are familiar to us, as existing, whether in nature, or in human society. There is the connection between cause and effect, between merit and reward, between compact and its fulfilment. But that which subsists between Christian qualities, and the ultimate enjoyment of eternal life, differs, in some respect, from all of these. It is, if I may so express it, the relationship of adaptation. When any quality or state of mind is represented in Scripture as necessary to salvation, the reason is, that none except those who have obtained that quality or state of mind can enjoy the kind of salvation which the Bible reveals. When a promise is made by God to any grace of the Christian life which he enjoins, the fulfilment of that promise is the necessary consequence, no less than the reward of obedience; and the reason why none but they who have attained the quality shall realize the promise is, not that others are excluded by a mere act of the divine will, but that they are altogether incapable of receiving and enjoying its fulfilment. An illustration of this great principle, which pervades the moral government of God towards our fallen race, may be found in the subject before us. Scripture breathes some of its sweetest promises into the ear of the penitent, and unfolds its brightest prospects to his view: "With him," saith" the High and Holy One," " I dwell, even with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." "He hath sent me," saith the Savicur in proclaiming the purpose of his mission, "to heal the broken-hearted, to set at liberty them that are bruised." In pronouncing his estimate of the sources of human happiness, he declares, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." And when the reclaimed and contrite wanderer shall have come home to his Father's house above, I the gentle hand of Jesus "shall wipe away all tears from his eyes." Now, by whom can this | It is pourtrayed in awful characters of judgment, peculiar blessedness be enjoyed? Does any one inflicted on prevailing wickedness; and it is hope for the fulfilment of such promises without brought before our eyes in the affecting spectacle being truly penitent? He hopes for an impossi- of death, which hath passed upon all men," for bility. There is an absolute incongruity between that all have sinned." his state of mind and the nature of the blessedness proposed. He hopes for that which, with reverence be it spoken, God himself cannot bestow. The heart cannot be healed which was never bruised. The tear that has not been shed cannot be wiped away. Yet The solemn and authoritative voice of inspira tion tells us, too, that sin has subjected to the condemnation of the divine law, that the sentence has been pronounced against the transgressor,-that the sword of justice is suspended over his head, that he cannot avoid, or avert its It is very obvious, that the peculiar blessedness stroke,-that it inflicts a wound which no endurthat consists in a sense of pardoning mercy and ance can mitigate, no power or skill can heal,reconciling love, implies a previous consciousness that it pierces with everlasting death. But where and feeling of having offended the Great and Beni- is the impenitent sinner? How is he affected? ficent Power by whom that mercy and love are He has heard all this, he knows it all. manifested to the soul. The penitent alone can behold! he goes out and in, he lies down and receive pardon. Even in regard to a fellow-rises up, he appears in the street and in the creature, if he has committed an offence against my feelings, my property, or my reputation, it is evident that he cannot receive forgiveness from me, or even give me credit for the exercise of a forgiving spirit, until he become conscious that he has offended. How sincerely soever I may forgive him, and whatever favours I may heap upon his head as expressive of my good-will, he cannot appreciate my disposition or conduct towards him. He receives my kindness as a matter of course, or misinterprets the sentiments on my part with which it is bestowed. Hence we are enjoined by Christ, "if thy brother repent, forgive him." Not that the inward exercise of a forgiving spirit is to be suspended upon the repentance of an offending brother, but his repentance is essential to his receiving the outward expression of that spirit, and to his return to the confidence which may have existed before. And so in reference to the heavenly Benefactor and Friend whom men have deserted and dishonoured by sin. The unconscious sinner can receive or enjoy no manifestation of pardoning mercy. He cannot participate in the blessedness of "the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." Nor can he know the nature of the feeling which is awakened in the bosom, by being forgiven much, and therefore loving much. In order to see more fully how indispensable a broken and contrite heart is, to the enjoyment of the blessings included in the Gospel salvation, which is essentially salvation for the lost, it is only necessary to look for a moment at the moral condition and posture of the impenitent sinner. The first glance at his state shows us that he impugns the truth of the Eternal God; for upon no one subject are the statements of Scripture more distinct and emphatic, than upon the fact of human guilt, and the sad consequences it has entailed. As if to meet the natural obduracy of the heart, and to cut off from the possibility of escaping a conviction so unwelcome, it is taught in the form of assertion, that "there is none righteous, no not one." It is brought out in the shape of elaborate and conclusive argument, that "all the world have become guilty before God." market-place,-business engrosses, or pleasure allures him, he goes to the public assembly, and retires from the place of prayer, as careless and secure as if no such sentence had gone forth against him. Whatever may be his general acknowledgments, he feels, and thinks, and acts as if sin were so slight and inconsiderable an evil, as not to be of sufficient consequence to command his attention, to interfere with his occupation, to interrupt his happiness, or to disturb his repose. What is his whole temper and conduct, but an impeachment of the veracity of heaven? The daring enormity of his presumption subjects him to a charge, which, had it not been broadly alleged against him in Scripture, we should have shrunk from exhibiting against a fellow-mortal, saying, as he does by his conduct, that he has not sinned, "he maketh God a liar, and his word is not in him." If we look again at the state of the impenitent transgressor, we see that he practically disowns the necessity of the Christian atonement. In the spectacle of the cross, Jehovah has erected an ever-during monument, inscribed with his own finger, and written in characters of expiatory blood, that "he will by no means clear the guilty." To the eye of the unhumbled sinner, too, this imperishable monument of the divine justice and love stands forth in the holy record of God's dispensations. But how does it affect him? Alas! that sublime and magnificent object, which attracts the contemplation of angels, has no beauty or grandeur in his view. His perceptions and feelings concerning sin are such as to imply the im pious charge of folly upon the greatest gift of infinite beneficence. The language of his conduct is, that Christ has died in vain. Let us look just once more at the moral aspect of the unsubdued heart, and we observe that it wants the predisposition that can alone fit for mingling with the society of heaven. The host of the redeemed assembled there is mighty. Its number has been swelled by every successive generation. Every kindred, and nation, and people, and tongue, has furnished its contribution to the happy throng. They have come from the |