but deep stream at first, passing through many countries, and receiving many tributary streams, became at length a mighty river that threatened to swell into an universal deluge. Divine pow er interposed, and arrested its progress.

Satan is not only a potent, but an active, insidious, and persevering enemy of the church. The invisibility of his operations, and the concealment of his measures, render his influence doubly pernicious. He has art to diminish the charms of religion, by throwing over them the veil of human imperfection; and to inspire disgust towards solid excellence, by giving a fictitious beauty to objects of sense. Knowing every avenue to the heart, and the relative force of temptations, he wisely selects the best means to secure his end, the destruction of the soul.

Every Christian finds a foe within his own breast. Shall I call it a propensity to indolence? The same enemy works powerfully in the church. Its opera tions are seen, in the neglect of social duties, brotherly watch fulness, prayer, the sanctuary, and the ordinances. When a church becomes remiss in its attention to its internal regulations; to its means of defence; to the conversion of souls; to the spread of the Gospel among the heathen, who shall destroy this lukewarm spirit, and excite a becoming zeal in relation to these grand and interesting objects? When the gold becomes dim, and the most fine gold is changed, who shall restore its brightness, and re-establish its value? Verily, the Lord of hosts must do this.

And whence shall Zion derive all that glory which is pledged to her hereafter? Her priests shall be clothed with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. She shall arise from the dust and shine. Her resources shall be enlarged, for all nations shall bring her tribute; and kings shall lay their crowns at her feet. Her sons and daugh ters shall come from far; she shall possess the world. Truly it is Jehovah, who will make her a crown of glory, and a royal diadem; who will permit her no more to be termed Forsaken, nor her land, Desolate.

We are disposed to indulge melancholy apprehensions, when we survey the Christian world, and observe the dissentions that rend it insunder; when we mark the subtle errors advocated by professed Christians, and the profligacy of practice, as well as sentiment, which prevails, and threatens to triumph over order and piety. But we ought to remember, that the Lord looketh from heaven upon all the inhab itants of the earth, and especially upon the righteous: their works, their charity, their service, their faith and patience are known to Him; for his eye is on them that fear him, and on them that hope in his mercy. His perfect knowledge is a shield, that parries the fiery darts of the wicked, and a buckler, that protects his children from essential injury. No garb, nor name, can hide the hostile heart from his observation; and the treacherous friend is as impotent in his devices against religion, as the avowed opposer.

It ought also to be remembered, that God loves his church;

not because they are more in number than any other people; but because he will keep the oath which he has sworn to the father of the faithful: they shall be satisfied with his goodness; yea, their soul shall be as a watered garden. The afflictions experienced by the church from age to age, by no means prove the want of love in her Almighty Protector. The flames and the floods, through which she has passed, were designed to heal her backslidings, and produce that repentance, which would demonstrate her filial relation to him. God has threatened;-no, it is a promise of grace to his true church; If they keep not my statutes-I will visit their transgressions with the rod; but my covenant I will not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. In Isaiah liv, 7-10, he addresses his ancient church in the language of most endear. ing tenderness Why then should Zion be afraid, while encircled by infinite love? Almighty power, directed by kindness that overlooks every imperfection; mercy that washes away guilt, and supplies every needful blessing, is a defence that demands our confidence, and reproves every rising doubt, as to the ultimate triumphs of the church.

Moreover, is not God express ly styled the Savior of his people? Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save

48.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong; fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with récompence; he will come and save you. "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." Hezekiah, threatened with the destruction

of his kingdom by the Assyrians, found the truth of this remark; and David, in Psalm xiv, 7, exhibits an unshaken confidence.in the power and goodness of God, to work a deliverance which was confessedly beyond the ability of any other than the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God has pledged himself to save his people. Thus saith the Lord, behold I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people in truth and righteousness. This promise secures to the Jewish church, a restoration to the land of their fathers. Notwithstanding their dispersion among the nations, and the contempt in which they are generally held, they shall be brought together, and reinstated in all their former privileges and glory. The Lord of hosts will defend Jerusalem; defending,he will deliver it, and passing over, he will preserve it. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. The arms of the saints are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Thus it appears, that all the triumphs of the church hitherto, are the fruit of divine love and power. God's arm brings salvation when there is none other to help; his cye pities, when destruction seems unavoidable. Zion prospers; her enemies are more and more confounded; and all their future efforts will result in shame, confusion, infamy, and despair.

How strong the foundation on which the church is built. It is the Rock of ages. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, into

which the righteous run and are safe. As the billows of the deep dash upon the rock that opposes their progress, and are there lost in foam, so shall it be with the enemies of the church. Their exertions, however bold and wisely directed, must be unsuccessful; for while the heavens and earth pass away, the church endures. While the throne of God remains, the church shall flourish.

Zion has no occasion of despondency in those trials to which she is subjected in her militant state. Were the religion of Christ, like the religion of Mahomet, dependent on human policy and power, and uninvested with those terrors and allurements, by which that imposture has made such astonishing progress, we might well despair of its preservation. Such is its opposition to the corruptions of human nature, that, unassisted by Omnipotence, Christianity had never made a proselyte. But without fire and sword to defend her; destitute of every incentive to sensual gratifications; absolutely forbidding all pleasures, but those which are consistent with the spiritual service of God, she has remained to this present time, and is surely, though slowly advancing to the dominion of the world. She may exclaim with truth, The Lord is with me, as a mighty terrible one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed, for they shall not prosher. We may hear the voice of exultation from the Infidel, and Vain-glorious boasting from the rational religionist; but the triumphing of the wicked is short.

Victory is as certainly ours, as there are wisdom and truth in God. Christians are deficient in faith; they are not firmly enough persuaded, that God is able and determined, to appear with great glory, and build up Zion. Hence arises their deficiency in diligence and perseverance. Hence come their sloth and timidity. Christian brethren; calmly and solemnly surveying the desolations of the church, shall we not display a burning zeal, and an undeniable importunity before the throne of grace? Shall we not be self-condemned in view of our past negligence? Shall we not feel the responsibility of our situation? Shall we not look to the everlasting hills whence cometh our help? In the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

S. S.

LETTER TO A FATHER.

Mr. Editor,

If you think the following letter worth inserting in the Panoplist, you will oblige a large circle of your readers by inserting it.

Honored Father,

I HAVE this moment received the melancholy news of the death of my brother. O that I could but have seen him, in his trying sickness, and received a parting blessing from his expiring lips. I had too fondly indulged the hope, that a kind Providence would restore him to health, and that I should yet embrace him in the land of the living. Ah! deceitful hope! thou hast robbed me of the last look, the last embrace, the last farewell of an affectionate brother.

O, my brother, art thou gone forever? hast thou left me, to re

turn no more? Shall I never again see thy countenance, nor hear thy voice in this vale of tears? O, why hast thou so soon taken thy departure, and left me to mourn thy absence.

But the will of Heaven is done. Yes, I see the hand of God. I see the blessed Jesus taking thee to his arms, and receiving thee to his bosom. O may I follow thee thither, when this frail life shall be past, and join with thee in the song of redeeming love.

My dear parent, you have lived to see another of your children called into the world of spirits. You saw him "wondering at the amazing condescension of the Savior-looking up. on death without terror-desiring to go and be with God-to be forever employed in contemplating his glory and perfections." O that you might have the Spirit of Christ to comfort and support you under the infirmities of age, and the bercavements of a holy and righteous Providence. I see your aged locks bending over the grave, and your tears bedewing the clods of the valley. But you are not as those who mourn without hope. Look then to Jesus, who alone can assuage your grief, and dry your tears. Look to the Sun of righteousness, and let his enlivening beams cheer your drooping spirits. They will give light, life, and joy, in the darkest seasons. Look to the Lamb of God, who died to save a lost and ruined world. His blood is sufficient to cleanse our guilty souls, and prepare us for a residence where sighing and sorrow shall never come. Contemplate that rest, which Christ has gone

to provide for those, who love him. Behold the crown of glory prepared for all his humble followers.

Dear parent, endeavor to live near to God. The ways of his providence, though mysterious, are all right and just. His counsels are guided by infinite wisdom and infinite goodness. Let it be the language of your heart; though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. True faith will calm your troubled mind, and shed peace through your soul. It will support you in your affliction, and inspire you with the glorious hope of a happy immortali ty. O eternity, thou art all; time to thee is nothing.

"All, all on earth is shadow, all beyond Is substance,

This is the bud of being, the dim dawn, The twilight of our day.-"

Let us then look away to that heavenly world, where we may meet our pious friends, who have gone before us into cternity; where we may behold our glorified Redeemer, and enjoy the holy presence of our God.

Full above measure! lasting beyond bound! "O ye blest scenes of permanent delight, A perpetuity of bliss is bliss."

Soon we shall have done with all things here, and our accounts will be sealed up to the judg ment of the great day. Soon Christ will descend in great splendor and glory, to judge the world. The voice of the arch. angel will summon all the sleeping dead to appear in his presence; the book of life, where all deeds are recorded, will be laid open to view; the assembly will be divided; many earthly friends, many parents and children, ma

ny brothers and sisters, will be parted, to meet no more. "The wicked will be past hope, and the righteous past fear forever." O that our present affliction may

be instrumental in preparing us to awake in the morning of the resurrection to a glorious and happy immortality.

Your affectionate son, S.

THOUGHTS ON THE MANNER IN WHICH NATIONS DECLARE AND CONDUCT WAR.

The writer of the following paragraphs has no reference in them to any war, which has existed within the last fifty years.

THE blessings of peace, like the common bounties of Providence; like the air we breathe, like the fire in winter, and the refreshing draught in summer; are so indispensable to the enjoyment of happiness, or even of comfort, that we can never appreciate their value till we have experienced their loss. To attempt a description of the tendency and the effects of peace, would be a superfluous task. The shouts of joy and gratulation, which have lately been heard in every city and village; which have wound their way in every valley, and as cended every mountain; speak volumes in praise of peace, and leave all ordinary eloquence out of comparison.

But it may be useful to dwell a few moments on the manner in which nations are ordinarily plunged into war, and the effects which this frightful calamity never fails to produce.

In a rude state of society, and under despotic governments, the rulers unsheathe the sword in a paroxysm of rage and revenge; they seize the lighted torch; and,

perhaps before the enemy is aware, they desolate whole provinces; they reduce cities to a heap of smoking ruins; they carry alarm, terror, and dismay, through extensive regions. But the disease is too violent to be of long duration. One party is either exterminated, or submits unconditionally; or the sword is used with such violence that the arm which holds it becomes weary, and the sanguinary conqueror is satiated with blood.

In more civilized communities, the process is different; but it may be questioned whether it is less destructive of happiness. When the mind is brought to think seriously on the subject, war is so odious a monster, that its abominable features must be concealed under some decent appearance; plausible pretences must be found; the passions must be gradually excited. Two nations, for instance, lie adjacent to each other. There are ancient grudges between them. The inhabitants of each, through the influence of national pride, self-flattery, and a narrow view of their own interest, think highly of themselves, and meanly and injuriously of their neighbors. As jealousies increase, some insolent officers commit acts of abuse and violence; complaints and recriminations take place on the part of the governments;