that the "lawless and disobedient" are so numerous and for midable, it is dangerous meddling with them. And is it come to this to this in New England? Must the friends of virtue and piety quake and flee before the wicked? Who are these Sanballats, Geshems, and Tobiahs that will oppose, by force, the great and good work of rebuilding our broken walls? Who are these modern Anakims, these vaunting and uncircumcised Philistinis, who, while they trample on our Sabbaths and blaspheme the name of our God, will assuredly crush` every association that can be formed to oppose them? In what country were they born-from what terrible race of the giants are they descended? Let them be courageously met, and they will easily be put to flight.

It may possibly be said, that if the public teachers of religion, and the appointed guardians of the laws would do their duty, moral societies would be unnecessary. We reply, if all men would do their duty, there would be less occasion for preaching, or legislation, than there is at present.

We must take men and things as they are, not as they should be; and the supposition, that ministers and magis. trates can do every thing, is certainly incorrect. Ministers can exhort their people to fear God and keep his commandments, but cannot compel them. Magistrates can do a great deal, to discourage drunkenness, swearing, Sabbath breaking, and gaming, but not all that is necessary. They must be supported. They must be assisted. If you wish them to pursue vice through all

its windings, and drag it forth to execution from all its dark lurke ing places, you must stand by them, and strengthen their hands, and this, as it appears to us, can be more effectually done by the institution of moral societies, than in any other way.

answer.

There is, however, one more objection, which we think it. right very briefly to It is this, that such associations will be in danger of having all their operations embarrassed, by the intrusion of artful men, unfriendly to the general object. But how, we would ask, are such characters to gain admittance? When a society is to be formed, let a few persons meet and draw up a constitution, containing among other necessary provisions, one article requiring a major vote to bring in any new member, and it seems to us, that very little danger need be apprehended. Or even, should the door be set open much wider, as it is in the constitution of the Connecticut society, we cannot think that any considerable number of bad men, will be likely to enter. But supposing a few, of exceptionable moral characters and suspicious views, should enter? Can no means be devised, of withdrawing from their connexion? Or, finally, we would beg leave to ask our hesitating readers, if any such there are, will you never associate for any purpose till you can be certain, that every man, who may join you, will be true to the cause? Then, you can have no ecclesiastical societies and no churches. Then, as far as you are concerned, every civi compact must be at an end. Then, if your country is invaded,,

if your families are threatened with death by an exterminating enemy, you must, to be consistent, decline marching out with others to oppose him, because in each of these cases, if you act at all, you may find yourselves associated with bad men.

Upon the whole, it does not appear, unless we err in judgment exceedingly, that the friends of morality have any reason for despondency, in view of the difficulties which lie in the way of a general reformation. But on the contrary, they have many obvious and animating encouragements to go forward.

God and his luw is on their side. If they are faithful, if they are actuated by right motives, they will march under his banner and be covered by his shield. He will impart to them wisdom and discretion, and will strengthen them in time of need.

The laws of the land and the civil arm are on their side. These will be to them like walls and bulwarks. If some of our best penal statutes sleep, they are not dead. If the magistrate's arm is palsied, it is not torn from its socket. And surely, since sad experience proves, that so much can be done to undermine and weaken the most important moral institutions, in spite of the laws and penalties by which they are guarded, it it cannot be doubted, that by the help of the same laws, these institutions may yet be strengthened and effectually defended.

The prayers of good people are on the side of reformers. Thousands and thousands are, at this moment, feelingly alive, to the inestimable value of our moral and religious establish

ments, and we have not a single doubt, that these establishments are fervently remembered by them, in their daily approach. es tu a throne of grace If the effectual fervent prayer of a single righteous man availeth much, what may not be expected from the prayers of all the righteous in the land? Nothing gave the persecuting Mary more inquietude, than the prayers of John Knox, the famous and fearless Scotch reformer. She dreaded their efficacy more, according to her own acknowledgment, than she did the strength and military skill of ten thousand enemies! Moreover, the conscien ces of the wicked are on the side of reformers. Intemperance is universally felt and admitted to be a ruinous vice. Profane swearing, gaming, falsehood and Sabbath breaking, are so manifestly subversive of individual and public happiness, even in this life, that self-condemnation can scarcely fail to accompany indulgence in these sinful courses. That memorable declaration of the royal preacher commends itself to every man's conscience, that Righteousness exalleth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.

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Let then, all the friends of good order and true religion unite and "take courage." Let them set their faces as a flint against immorality, in all its menacing and seductive forms. Let every separating wall between Christians of different denominations be demolished. As in the greater work of Christianizing the world, so in this of defending the outworks of piety at home, let them feel and act as brethren. Too long has the ene

my been permitted to profit by their jealousies and dissensions. Let them, every where, cordial ly associate; and let them consider that the great thing after all is to act. Men may talk and

subscribe constitutions to their dying day, with little effect, unless they step forward and put their hands to the work. In fact, those who say and do not rather injure, than subserve the cause which they pretend to espouse.

May the smiles of a merciful God accompany every prudent and faithful endeavor to stem the torrents of iniquity. May the interests of pure and undefiled religion, be every where promoted. May every reformer deeply feel the necessity of possessing a good, a new heart, as well as a blameless moral character; of loving God supremely as well as laboring to promote the happiness of his fellow men. May the weak and the timid, wax strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. May the moral societies of Massachusetts and Connecticut, to

which we have thought it our duty to call the attention of our readers, like trees in a good soil, strike their roots deep and shoot their tops high. May their branches be vigorous, flourishing and fruitful. May every good man find himself protected by their strength, and refreshed by their shade. May similar associations be formed in every sister state, and flourish in the same manner. And, finally, as some of the great rivers of our country first receive innumerable tributary streams, then mingle their mighty waters and roll on majestically to the ocean, so may the larger moral societies receive the ever flowing contributions of the smaller; then may these benevolent associations, together with all our Missionary and Bible societies, unite in one vast and flowing tide of influence, to sweep away every thing, that may oppose evangelical morality and evangelical principles, and to fill the land with peace and righteousness, as the waters cover the sea.

EDINBURGH AUXILIARY MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

THE Address, composed by the Rev. Andrew Lothian, which follows the acCount of this Society, commends itself powerfully to the understanding and conscience of every intelligent Christian. It proceeded from a mind deeply impressed with the important truths, which it contains. The arguments are pressed home with an ardor and zeal highly honorable to a faithful ambassador of Christ. We have heard from different quarters, that the speech of Mr. Chalmers, published in the Panoplist for November, (part I,) p. 420, is greatly admired. Our readers

will be pleased, we doubt not, with anoth er importunate exhortation, partaking of the same characteristics.

As Mr. Lothian dwells upon many of the same topics of argument, which were discussed by the Commitee of the Ameriican Board of Commisioners for Foreign Missions, in their late annual address, it is proper to state, that no member of the Committee had seen the address now to be inserted till after their address had been sometime published; nor had any copy of Mr. Lothian's address, as they believe,reached this country. ED. PAN.

THE following is a short account of the

constituent General Meeting of the

Edinburgh Auxiliary Missionary Society, drawn up agreeably to the request of the Directors which it records.

Edinburgh, 19th January 1813.—This day the first general meeting of the Edinburgh Auxiliary Missionary Society was held in Bristo-Street Chapel.

The meeting was numerously and respectably attended. The Rev. Andrew Lothian, of this city, was called to the Chair. Having opened the meeting with prayer, he stated shortly the reason and object of the institution. The Society, he observed, was just in its infancy, but commencing its operations with a spirit which he hoped would lead to the happiest results. After congratulating those assembled, and the Christian public at large, on the formation of the Society, and on the very favorable appearance of the meeting, he expressed his wish, rather to hear the sentiments of some of the many others who were present, than to take up the time of the meeting with any farther, observations from the chair.

The Rev. David Dickson junior, and the Rev. James Peddie of this city, and the Rev. Walter Dunlop of Duntries, then in succession congratulated the meeting, and the public in general, on the formation of the Society, and favored the meeting with their sentiments at great length, and with very impressive effect. Several other gentlemen, particularly one from London, whose modesty withholds his name, and Mr. William Fraser, &c. delivered appropriate speeches, which were well received on the occasion. The whole assembly were of one heart and one mind, and were manifestly actuated by the spirit of pure Christian harmony, zeal, intelligence, benevolence, and generosity. There is the best reason for believing, that what was said, and heard, and seen, and felt, at this interesting meeting, will be long and happily remembered, and productive of many blessed fruits.

The following gentlemen were unanifously chosen to be the Office-bearers and directors of the Society for this year. President.

The Rev. Andrew Lothian.

Vice-Presidents.
The Rev. David Dickson, jun.
James Peddie,
--George Payne,
Christopher Mowbray, Esq.
William Fraser senior, Esq.

Mess. Alex. Shiells, Joint Secretaries. તે and Joseph Liddle, S

The ordinary routine of business being gone through and finished with perfect unanimity, the thauks of the meeting were, on the mo tion of Mr. George Yule, unanimously voted to the President, for his conduct in the chair.

The meeting was closed with prayer by the Rev. James Peddie.

The directors of the Society then adjourned to the session-house. There, after finishing the smaller business which required their attention, and after encouraging one another to be active in the important business committed to their care by the constituent general meeting of the Society, it was unanimously agreed, that a short account of said meeting should be drawn up, and inserted in the Magazines and public Papers. It was also agreed unanimously, that an Address, fully detailing the sentiments and views of the Directors, and of the whole Society, and calculated to impress the public, and promote the object of the institution, should be prepared and published in the Magazines, and also in a small pamphlet, along with the Rules of the Society, and the short account of its first general meeting, for the due information of the Public, and as one of the best means of promoting the very important object of the Institution. The president, on the request of the Directors, agreed to draw up said account of the meeting, and also the proposed Address to the Public.

Address to the Public.

In many respects, the present period is singular and interesting: Never were the sciences cultivated with such ardor, and success. Society is more enriched and adorned by the arts, than it has been in any former age. The principles of intellectual, moral, civil, political and religious liberty, were never before so fully discussed, so clearly unfolded, or so well understood. In no former age has there ever been such prompt and liberal attention to the condition of the poor, the diseased, the outcasts, the ignorant, and the helpless. It is with wonder and delight that, in these and other respects, we see crowded together, as it were, within the short space of a few years, those honors, felicities, aud glories, which were wont to be scattered thinly over many centuries. If we view the other side of the picture, still we must say, that this period in which we live is very singular and wonderful. Improving science has armed ambition with energies before unknown. Refinement in the arts, and the accumulation of their products, have proved a source of very great distress to many by whom they have been cultivated. Glowing zeal for

liberty, insidiously turned aside from its proper object, has led into galling bondage many who fondly expected to be free. It has strangely happened, that those veryimprovements in art and science, and those very researches of history, and investigations of philosopby, which promised to compose and to bless the nations, have, on the contrary, woefully inflamed their contentions, and aggravated their miseries exceedingly. By the perverseness of men, and in the just displeasure of Heaven, the milk and the honey have been turned into gall and wormwood. In the east and west, in the south and north, on the sea and the dry land, over all the globe, and for twenty years together, what blood, burning and desolation, what insurrection, convulsion, and revolution, have afflicted the world, and confounded all things! What the wisest foretold has not happened, and what they thought impossible is realized. Princes and peoples, who were expected to hold the balance of empire in the world, have been laid low, and others have come forth suddenly from obscurity to occupy their place. "Jehovah setteth up one, and casteth down another; and doth according to his will, in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth." How awful and striking that recent interposition of his providence, by which the arm that seemed invincible has been shattered, and that power before which the world trembled, paralyzed by the deadly cold of a few nights! Still the nations are uneasy and angry. Their need of repose is manifestly great, yet policy and pride seem to be preparing still greater troubles for this burdened and groaning generation. What new events are about once more to confoud or to confirm the calculations of statesmen and politicians, time, that great revealer of secrets, will make known in due season. He in whose hands are the times and seasons, holds back the face of his throne, and conceals it by his cloud from our view. Still most certain it is, and most consoling, that when the "judgments of the Almighty are made manifest," Zion is called not to mourn as if her hope was lost, but to rejoice because her redemption draweth

near.

In the overthrow of thrones and kingdoms, and amidst the convulsions of the world, she may seem to be laid desolate; but the word of infallible prophecy assures us, that her streets shall be built again, and her walls, (not when seasons of tranquillity shall have returned, but,) even, in troublous times. All that we have seen for the last twenty years, and all that is now before us, accords remarkably with this prediction. During this period, we have beheld, and we now see, on the one VOL. IX.

hand, unparalleled distress of nations, inextricable perplexity in the politics of the world, and men's hearts failing them through fear of what they dread is approaching. The times are indeed troublous. During the same period, we on the other hand, have seen, and still see with pleasing emotion, the church of the living God lifting up her head with singular strength and majesty, and with apostolio zeal, union, and love, holding forth the word of life, the glad tidings of salvation, to remove distress, perplexity, and fear, from all who dwell on the carth, and to bless mankind with righteousness, and peace, and purity, with rest, love, and glorious liberty, and with assurance of all these for ever. How striking this contrast! how interesting the spectacle! and surely it is just what the prophets foretold, and what the righteous and wise have always desired, and sought, and expected.

The order of those afflicting and consoling events, which have now been mentioned, ought not to be forgotten. When the spring of troubles were but just opened in the heart of Europe, the seals were taken from the fountain of life, and the streams of living water began to flow more freely than before, in our favored Isle. Scarcely had the spirit of discord and desolation commenced his dreadful career, when the spirit of restoring love began those missionary operations, which have so benign an aspect on the condition of the world. In many respects has Britain been peculiarly favored and honored, in the dispensations of Providence. Let others speak of her agriculture and commerce, her manufactures and trade, of the greatness of her wealth, and the extent of her dominion, of her liberty and power, of her rank and influence, among the nations, and of many other such topics, on which ignorant pride, and enlightened patriotism have so much room to enlarge, and to declaim; but we will hail it as the highest honor, as the greatest felicity and glory of our country, that in her first the spirit of the apostolic age seems to be revived, and from her to be propagating its celestial influence, with great energy and rapidity, over all the earth. It is not long since the sacred spark fell from heaven. While the flax on which it fell was yet but smoking, there were ignorant and earth-born spirits who wished to extinguish it; but wisdom was justified of her children. Fuel was soon collected, and the spark blown into a flame. Its glowing influence is diffused over all the land, and portions of the holy fire are on their way to most of the cold and dark regions of the earth.

During the short period which has e66