Paul, to say, with the Germans, that he was mistaken-' to be sure, he taught the Evangelical system, but this is no reason why we, in this enlightened age, should believe or teach it,'-far better to take this open ground, than to break away from the usual meaning of words, set at naught the established principles of interpretation, and throw doubt and uncertainty over the whole science of language, in the attempt to force upon the Epistles of Paul a meaning which he obviously did not intend to convey.

But to return to our author: his first inference is, "that we know with moral certainty, what is the true Gospel." 2. "With equal certainty we know, that to proclaim pardon upon any conditions whatever, without an atonement, is to preach another gospel."

"To represent the natural affections, sympathies, and amiable dispositions of men as conditions and evidence of pardon, is to preach another gospel-for they are neither faith, nor evidences of faith. It is nowhere said, 'being justified by natural affections, and amiable dispositions, we have peace with God.' Atheists possess natural affections, and amiable dispositions; and so do many wicked men, whose vices declare that they shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

"Those who teach their hearers to rely on moral honesty, and a faithful discharge of relative duties, preach another gospe!; for it is nowhere said, who soever shall pay his honest debts, and be a kind father, husband, and friend, shall be saved.' Honesty is not faith; domestic affections are not faith; for a man may love father and mother more than Christ, and in doing so, may forfeit

heaven.

"To associate the hope of pardon with powerful talents, great literary eminence, or public usefulness, is to preach another gospel. And yet there are many, who hesitate not a moment to canonize great orators, poets, statesmen, and the literary luminaries and benefacters of human kind of these and other ages. The Bible represents it as a matter of great difficulty, for a man to know even his own heart; and once those were deemed fanatical, who supposed that they could discover grace in a man's countenance, voice, or movements. But in these days of illumination, the hearts of great men may be searched and grace detected though ages and oceans intervene-merely from the stature of their intellect, or the providential results of their labors,-principles that, with equal efficacy, might canonize archangel ruined.'

"To represent the sincere belief of error, as a condition of pardon and acceptance, is to preach another gospel; for it is not said, he that believeth that he is right shall be saved,' but he that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ. Mere intellectual belief is no more an evangelical condition of pardon, than mere morality. Neither is the faith which justifies.

"To hold up charity, as the sum of Christian graces and a sure passport to heaven, is to preach another gospel; for the charity which is a Christian grace, is holiness of heart,-while the charity which is thus eulogised, means only a blind confidence in our neighbor's honesty, piety, and safe estate. A hard way to heaven, indeed, if we must, of course, believe our neighbors honest, and pious, and safe, as the condition of our own salvation. But where is it said, he that believeth his neighbor to be honest, and pious, shall be saved; and he that believeth not his neighbor to be honest and pious shall be damned'?

"Those who represent rites, and forms, duly administered, and followed by a moral life, as efficacious to save, by a sort of silent, unperceived sanctification, preach another gospel. It was such teaching, exactly, which the apostle opposed, and which he calls another gospel-and which is another gospel.

"Those who hold out the promise of pardon to all who believe intellectually that Jesus is the Messiah, without reference to what is included in the term, or to any corresponding affection of heart,-preach another gospel. Our disease is of the heart; and faith, the condition of pardon, is an affectionate reliance on Jesus Christ. But what is the efficacy of believing in a name, which means we know not what? Or of mere intellectual perception and admission of truth? The intellectual faith of devils, who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, neither reconciled nor saved them. And how should it save us?

Correct eyesight might as well be prescribed as the condition of pardon, as a mere intellectual, undefined belief, that Jesus is the Messiah.

"The omission to preach the doctrine of the atonement, and justification by faith, is to preach another gospel. For if men encourage the hope of pardon, and do not propose the grounds of pardon, they do by implication admit the possibility, and authorise the hope of pardon by deeds of law. So they will be understood by their people; so they are understood-for, without exception, all who confide in them expect to be justified by the mercy of God and good works. And yet there are some who dare to take this course. With great and good men, they doubt, and have not exactly yet made up their minds, whether the doctrine of the atonement, and justification by faith, be the Gospel, or not. Therefore, lest they should offend some of their people, or be found fighting against God, they say nothing against these doctrines; and not being sure that they are true, nothing for them-but preach good morality, visit their people, attend marriages and funerals, and hope for the best. But in effect, they preach another gospel; for Jesus Christ himself said, he that is not for me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'"

pp. 31-33.

3. "We may perceive the reasons of the practical inefficiency of the new gospel, compared with that which includes the doctrine of the atonement, and of justification by faith." "It abates the requirements of the law," and "the penalty for the transgression of such parts of the law as are not most mercifully given up, is most mercifully abolished."

4. "A renunciation of the atonement and of justification by faith is a renunciation of Christianity."

"We do not invade or withold the rights of those whom we cannot recognize as Christians. We do not deprive them of the Christian name; they have a perfect right to call themselves Christians, and to be called Christians, by all whom they can persuade to believe them such. But they have no right to insist that we shall believe or call them Christians; for this would be, to deny to us the liberty of thinking for ourselves, and to insist that we shall judge of others according to their judgement of themselves, instead of our own; a requisition which would annihilate all liberty of conscience." p. 38.

5. "This Discourse provides an answer to the oft reiterated complaints of exclusion and persecution, preferred against evangelical ministers, for refusing to hold ministerial intercourse by exchanges with those who discard the doctrines of the atonement and justification by faith."

"The act of exchange is, in our view, a practical expression of our belief that the person, to whose instruction we commit our people, preaches the Gospel. But we do not believe that those who discard the atonement do preach the Gospel. And we cannot, by word or by deed, say to our people, that we believe what we do not believe. The act of exchange is saying also, practically, that we consider cur doctrinal differences of little consequence. But it is not true that we do consider our difference from those who deny the atonement and justification by faith, of little consequence. And we cannot, by our deeds, say to our people what we do not believe. It is a practical declaration of our belief that no injury will be done to our people and the cause of truth by the exchange. But we do not believe this; for it sustains their confidence in men who, in our view, preach another gospel; and gives them an opportunity which they are not slow to embrace, to create and to foment dissatisfaction in our congregations with evangelical doctrines, and to form and mature conspiracies among our people for their expulsion." p. 42.

6. "The rejection of the atonement by those who have possessed the evidence of its reality is inevitable destruction."

"This is not said invidiously, or as a mere assertion, but as the logical inference from what we have proved. I may say on this subject, as the apostle said, 'that I have great heaviness, and continual sorrow in my heart, for my

brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. But by all the laws of reasoning which give us certainty on other subjects, we have come to the conclusion, that Paul did preach the doctrines of the atonement, and of justification by faith, as the Gospel; and that the Gospel which he preached is the true Gospel. To reject the atonement, then, is to reject the Gospel. And we know that the rejection of the Gospel is fatal. It was fatal to the Jews. It will be fatal to all who reject it now." p. 47.

We have devoted to this discourse such attention as our limits allow-not such, by any means, as we think it deserves. Our readers must have the book for themselves. They will find it worth much more than it costs. They are wronging themselves and their families if they do not have it. It is written in the author's usual energetic manner, and in point of interest and usefulness is not a whit behind his best printed discourses.

2. A Sermon preached in the second Presbyterian Church, Charles ton (S. C.) May 24, 1829, on assuming the Pastoral Charge of said Church. BY WILLIAM ASHMEAD. Charleston. pp. 47.

The leading object of this discourse is to shew, that the faithful "servant of Christ cannot please men."

"They may respect him, and treat him with politeness. They may acknowl edge his usefulness. They may admire his learning, and applaud his talents. They may attend, with a certain sort of pleasure, on his ministrations. But, after all, the truths which he inculcates must conflict with their habitual prac tice, and disturb, in some degree, their peace of mind. In one word, his preach ing, in exact proportion to its efficacy and real utility, must render them dissatis fied with themselves. And this, let it be observed, it just what we mean, when we say, that he cannot please them." p. 10.

The faithful minister of Christ cannot expect to please men, on account of the exclusive and uncompromising character of the religion which he inculcates.

"The early believers in Christ were persecuted, as Gibbon informs us, not because they had embraced a new religion, but because they had the unparalleled presumption and effrontery to assert, that this religion was the only truc one, and obstinately refused, under the influence of such an illiberal notion, to have anything to do with the superstitions, or the criminal pleasures, of the rest of the world." p. 17.

3. Obligations of Christians to the Heathen. A Sermon preached before the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States, in the Baptist Meeting House in Sansom st. Phila delphia, April 29, 1829. BY DANIEL SHARP, Pastor of the Charles street Baptist Church, Boston. Boston: Lincoln and Edmands, pp. 24.

cause.

cause

of

It affords us pleasure to meet and encourage our brethren of other denominations, in all their endeavors to promote the sacred missions. In our last, we recorded our satisfaction at a recent ani mated appeal to the American Episcopal church, in behalf of this With equal satisfaction, we now introduce to the notice of our readers a similar appeal to the General Convention of the Bap tist churches. The discourses of Mr. Potter and of Dr. Sharp, though different in some respects the former exhibiting sprightliness of manner and apparent ardor of feeling, and the latter more maturity of thought and a deeper because a longer acquain

more

The

tance with the subject are still, in many respects, similar. religious sentiments advanced in each are the same; they aim at the same important object; and advocate, with nearly equal ability, the same cause. To excite his brethren to "zealous, systematic and persevering measures for the conversion of the heathen to Christianity," Dr. S. urges "the command of Christ"-" that the truths to be taught are adapted to the character and condition of all nations" -that they constitute, so far as we know, the only means by which the heathen can be saved"-and that the labors of Missionaries have been already, in a high degree, successful.

"While the profane have made their benevolent and pious ministrations the subject of ridicule; while the sceptic has been doubting, and the mere worldly philosopher has been speculating; and while the nominal friends of Christianity have been predicting a total failure; the leaven of truth has been fermenting, the work of conversion progressing, and the devoted servants of Christ in foreign and sickly climes have been reaping the fruit of their toils. Whole nations have given up their gods. One island after another has renounced its superstitions, and assumed the Christian name. The word of God has mightily prevailed, and churches have been established in the order of the Gospel. Beings in the lowest scale of social and intellectual existence, have felt the elevating principles of this Gospel, and have started into new and glorious life."

In conclusion, Dr. S. suggests to his brethren, as the most effectual means of co-operation in the work of missions, that "they feel the power of religion in their own hearts"-that they "endeavor to convince others of their duty"-that they "keep alive a missionary spirit in the churches"-and that they contribute generously and systematically for the support of those who have left their homes, and gone to the distant heathen.-This discourse indicates much thought on the subject of missions, a deep sense of its importance and its obligation, and the ability to plead on its behalf with a discreet, a chastened, and an earnest eloquence.

4. Reasons for not embracing the Doctrine of Universal Salvation. In a Series of Letters to a Friend. Published by the American Tract Society. No. 224.

This Tract, which we are unwilling to let pass without calling to it the particular attention of our readers, consists of nine letters, written with much plainness, candor and true Christian charity, on one of the most impressive and awful subjects of revealed religion. In the three first letters, several general and substantial reasons are urged "for not embracing the doctrine of Universal Salvation." In the next four, the testimony of Scripture is adduced, and the various methods by which this testimony is evaded are considered. In the eighth and ninth, the objections of Universalists are removed, the consequences of their system are unfolded, and the whole is concluded with a direct and solemn appeal to their consciences. The writer evidently is one of no ordinary power. He has learning without the parade of it, and his eloquence is that of plain, direct, impressive truth. If we have a reader who is inclined to embrace the doctrine of Universal Salvation, we beg of him (as he approaches the vortex in which, if he persists, he will shortly be ingulphed forever) to procure and read this little tract. We know of nothing

better calculated to arrest his attention, enlighten his understanding, awaken his conscience, affect his heart, and prove (by the accom panying blessing of God) the commencement of eternal life in his soul.

5. Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, on a new plan; designed for Academies and Schools. BY CHARLES A. GOODRICH. Illustrated by Engravings. Hartford: H. & F. J. Huntington. 1829. pp. 424.

The public are already acquainted with Mr. Goodrich, as the author of several popular works intended for the use of schools. His small History of the United States has been received with a degree of favor, and has had a circulation, which it is the lot of few productions in this country to obtain. The work before us is on the same general plan, and is executed with equal fidelity and judge ment. There are inherent difficulties, however, in the subject of Ecclesiastical History, of which the author seems to be conscious, which may prevent this work from receiving that degree of patronage which was extended to the History of the United States. It is impossible to state the more prominent facts connected with the History of the Church, and go into a necessary explanation of them, as to their nature, causes and results, without seeming to favor a particular religious system, and consequently to decide against its opposite. And those who find their religious notions condemned, instead of reviewing and renouncing them, will be much more like ly to condemn the work, and prevent it, so far as they have influence, from obtaining currency and favor. We think Mr. G. has met this difficulty in the only proper way. He has not endeavored to frame a history which should be equally agreeable to all religious denominations: This would have been the extreme of folly. Nether has he endeavored, so far as appears, to disguise or conceal his own religious principles. He has not gone out of his way to cross the track of opposing systems; nor has he kept back what the reg ular course of the narrative seemed to require, for the purpose of saving the opinions of others. He appears rather to have gone rectly forward, stating facts as they took place, explaining them ac cording to the best of his judgement, and always treating those who may be disposed to cherish different opinions with candor and respect. The incidents, in this work, are well selected and arranged; the style is sufficiently elevated and always perspicuous; and the volume will be found interesting and useful, not only in academies and schools, but in private families. The plan of making Ecclesi astical History the subject of attention and recitation in the higher schools, is obviously important, and we know of no work more suitable to be adopted as a text book, than the one before us.

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