manifest that he embraced in his desires, and in his prayers to God, many who were never saved? Rom. ix. 1--3; x. 1. Acts xxvi. 29.

Let it not seem strange that God should give to his children desires which he does not formally gratify; for he has such desires himself. He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; and yet he does not design to save all men. When the God of Israel had declared concerning his people, that they were a nation void of counsel and understanding, he immediately adds this pathetic wish, "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" Deut. xxxii. 29. This wish serves to exhibit the benevolent feelings of the Most High, but not his purposes. The things which he declares shall come to pass, his veracity obliges him to accomplish: but his wishes, even when they are expressed, lay him under no such obligation. Now if it is proper for God himself to express a wish for the salvation of those who are finally to be lost, it cannot be improper for him to excite such wishes in his people; and what can be more natural than that they should pour forth these benevolent desires into the bosom of their heavenly Father, who allows them to cast all their cares upon him?

"But is it not said, that the Spirit maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God?" Rom. viii. 27. The word will, appears not to be in the Greek of this text; but it is found in a parallel passage, John v. 14, and is here well supplied by the translators. The phrase," will of God," means either his purpose in relation to future events, or his holy nature, particularly as it is made known in the laws he has given us If in the text under consideration, the will of God be understood to mean his purpose, it will follow, that every desire, which the Spirit of God excites in our hearts, is equivalent to a prophetic communication; and as such qualifies us to foretell what is to happen. According to this, as soon as we are helped to pray for the conversion of any of the impenitent, we become qualified to foretell their conversion, with as much precision as if an angel had been dispatched to give us the information.

We are now led to discover a practical evil resulting from the sentiment in question-the sentiment which supposes that the decretive will of God can be known with certainty by the desires we have in prayer. They who adopt this sentiment, imagine they can tell beforehand what individuals will experience the grace of regeneration. The revelation of God's purpose, which they suppose he has made known to them, they will be apt to communicate to others. Nor will it be strange should they communicate it to the individuals, of whose conversion they think they are as much assured as they are of the divine veracity. They may be induced to make this communication to them, for the purpose of arresting their attention, or of promoting their convictions. But is there no danger it will prove a fatal soporifie? The false prophets in Israel were charged with strengthening the hands of the wicked, that he should not turn from his wicked way, by promising him life. Were I to tell a particular man, it had been revealed to me, that he would be converted and saved, would

this have a tendency to bring about his conversion? Would not its tendency be directly the reverse of this? It might indeed give him a religious joy, which is of a selfish character, similar to what is produced in an audience sitting under a preacher, who assures them, that they will all eventually be converted, and received to the endless felicity of heaven. But it is certain it would have no tendency to alarm his fears, and lead him to escape for his life to the mountain of safety. Perhaps it will be said, that a similar objection can be made against deriving any evidence of an approaching awakening among the sinners around us, from an increase of the spirit of prayer among Christians. The cases are manifestly dissimilar. It is calculated to arrest the attention of sinners, and promote their conversion, to let them know that God has purposed to save some of our fallen race, and that the particular persons can be known only by their repentance. In like manner, it may be calculated to arrest the attention of the unregenerate in a particular congregation, to tell them that the church is praying for them, and that this is a circumstance which makes their case more hopeful than if nobody thought of them.-But were we to tell them, (and make them believe it,) that the prayers of the church rendered them all perfectly sure of becoming converted, it would directly tend to prevent their conversion; for while men have no love to God, there is nothing to stir them up to flee from the wrath to come, except the fear of that abiding wrath.-"Sinners in Zion are afraid." It is a mercy that they can be moved with fear. Whatever religious opinion is ealculated to divest impenitent sinners of fear, and to make them feel that they are safe, seems to present an insuperable obstacle in the way of their salvation; and we are to presume that such an opinion is not founded on the word of God.

If the phrase," will of God," in the text in question, does not mean the same as the divine purpose, the text can furnish no proof that every petition which is the fruit of the Spirit, will be answered in the very way specified by the petitioner. In this text, the Spirit is said to help our infirmities when we pray. But what are those infirmities which we need the Spirit to help? Are they not manifestly of a moral kind. Natural infirmities, i. e. when they belong to the mind, can be helped by education and by reading the scriptures. But no mere, expansion of the mind, which can be effected by science, either human or divine, will so help our infirmities, as to enable us in the least degree to pray as we ought. The help, which we specially need from the Spirit of God, is not light, but love. If we should be enlightened so as to have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, still we could make no acceptable prayer, unless the love of God were shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

As to the subject matter of prayer, men who are sensual, not having the spirit, may often exceed some of those who worship in spirit and in truth. The petitions of the unsanctified, as well as those of the saints, may coincide with the divine decrees; but with that holy nature of God, which is what is more usually intended by his will, they have no agreement. Nor do the prayers of the saints them

selves agree with this will of God, any farther than they are the fruit of the Spirit's influence.

To me it seems a matter of no small importance that we form a correct and definite idea of that help which we are to expect from the Spirit of God, to enable us to make acceptable prayers. None will dispute that we need his help, to create in our hearts holy desires. And is not this the whole of that which is his office-work, and peculiar to the Holy Ghost? A ministering angel, as well as the Spirit of God, may be employed secretly to present to our minds subjects for prayer, or to turn our attention to those which otherwise we should not have thought of; but the thing which makes it proper to call our prayers "the mind of the spirit," is something of a different nature. Our prayers are the mind of the Spirit, when our affections agree with his-when we love what he loves, and hate what he hates; and when the arguments, by which we feelingly urge our petitions, are drawn from those sacred writings which he himself inspired. It is proper to ask God to guide our minds, as to the matter as well as the spirit of our devotions; but if the matter should perfectly harmonize with the counsels of his will, after the pattern of which he worketh all things, this would not constitute us acceptable worshippers, nor render our worship the mind of the Spirit. Let it be our great concern, to offer on God's altar "a pure offering." To do this, we need the Spirit to help our infirmities-to help our unbelief-to help us to come to the throne of grace with godly sorrow, humility, submission, a forgiving, self-denying, thankful and obedient spirit. Let these, and such like things, be in us and abound, and we shall find our hearts prepared to pray. SILVANUS.

TO EDITORS OF RELIGIOUS PERIODICALS.

Sabbath breaking has become so common--threatening the destruction, not only of our religious, but civil privileges-it is very desirable that you should devote a part of your paper each week, to the Sabbath cause.

Every Christian is called upon to lend his influence to promote the sanctification of the Sabbath; for already great opposition has been excited, and deists and atheists are laboring to cast contempt upon the institution; and banish all reverence for it from the mind of Christians and infidels.

An Agent for the Sabbath Union has just been appointed, and efforts are making to excite, in the mind of ministers, churches, editors, and private Christians, a deeper interest on this subject. And I know of no means by which this object can be accomplished more readily than by opening your columns, publishing something valuable every week, and giving it your constant and undivided support.

This evil increases with the increase of our numbers and the facities of communication; and thousands and tens of thousands of

poor people, employed on our lakes, rivers, canals, great stage roads, and in our large public houses, have no Sabbath priviledges; and many of them have told me, with streaming eyes, that they scarcely know when the Sabbath returns. When they have remonstrated against working on this holy day, their consciences have been quieted by being told by their employers, that the works they do are "works of necessity and mercy." O, will you not plead the cause of these injured sons and daughters, who are going on to the judgment without any preparation for the awful scenes which await them? Will you not, with all the energies of your soul, plead the cause of the Sabbath, that God may be honored and souls saved, that the docile ox and submissive horse, borne down with continual labor, may have time to rest their weary limbs, "and be refreshed?" For their benefit, as well as for the benefit of man, was the Sabbath made; and this is a strong argument that this institution was designed for all people, in every land and of every name.

If we wish to know what this nation would be without a Sabbath, we have only to look to those nations who keep no Sabbath. And would we make the fearful experiment, let us first make up our minds to bid farewell to liberty and peace, to go blindfolded to the grave, and finally "to awake to shame and everlasting contempt." Those who disregard the Sabbath, are at heart, opposed to the religion of the bible, and would were it in their power, blot out our every hope of heaven.

Editors are requested to give this an insertion in their papers. HARMON KINGSBURY, A. of the S. Union

New York, Jan. 7 1831.

The fifth number on "Revival Measures," is received; but it came too late for this paper: it shall appear in our next.

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AN ESSAY ON THE STATE OF INFANTS, by Rev. Alvan Hyde, D. D. Price 10 cents. For sale by HUTCHENS & SHEPARD.

VOL. IV.

JUNE 30, 1831.

NO. 9.

SERMON.

DEUTERONOMY, VI. 4, 5-Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Moses, in the fortieth year of his leading the people of God in the wilderness, which was the last year of his life, called the twelve tribes together, and in a public and solemn manner, repeated the various precepts and prohibitions, which God had given them by his instrumentality. And the same divine influence, which moved him to rehearse the laws and conduct of God, moved him in various parts of his discourse, to exhibit the most weighty motives to obedience. Thus, in our text, he exhorts the people of God to obey his first and great command, from a consideration of his supreme and absolute right to give it. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord " This was as much as to say, the God of Israel is the one only living and true God, who has an absolute right to give law to all intelligent creatures; and therefore it becomes him to speak with authority, and say to every Israelite, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." These words in the connection plainly teach us, that God has a right to command his reasonable creatures to love him perfectly. I shall,

1. Show that he has a right to command his reasonable creat

ures.

2. Show what is implied in his right to command them. And, 3. Show what is implied in his commanding them to love him perfectly.

I. God has a right to command his reasonable creatures. This right is original and underived. It grows ont of the nature and perfections of the Deity. His supremacy over, and propriety in his creatures necessarily constitute him the universal lawgiver. It is the part of a superior to give law to an inferior, and not the part of an inferior to give law to a superior. It is essential to any lawgiver to be supreme, in respect to those to whom he gives law. In a civil community, the lawgivers are supreme in respect to all executive officers, as well as to the body of the people. In the army, the chief is supreme in respect to the soldiers and all insubordinate authority. And in every other society, the legislator is supreme. The supremacy of human lawgivers, however, is always in some measure derived; but still they cannot be real lawgivers unless they are really supreme. Now God is by nature supreme in all his perfections.