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MISCELLANEOUS.

COMFORT ADDRESSED TO AWA

KENED SINNERS.

To the Editor of the Orthodox Presbyterian.

Sir,-Awakenings in religion excite, in the hearts of the sub. jects of them, emotions of an impressive and exquisitely delicate character; yet from the very nature of the case, the emotions produced by the primary perception of divine truth, must be of a painful, rather than of a pleasing tendency. The sinner, carried round in the vortex of this world's dissipating pleasures, and having never till now given a moment's consideration to the things of eternity, must be sorely amazed, agitated, and alarmed, when he first becomes alive to his awful responsibility before God, when he reflects on the amount of guilt under which he lies, and when he beholds the frowns of heaven against him, which his conduct justly merits. Granting that the voice of mercy, through the Almighty Redeemer's blood, reach. ed the sinner's ear, in connection with the proclamation of the law's terror, yet the state of his perplexed mind precludes the understanding of the gracious mes. sage, and also the admission of comfort arising from it. Nay, in most cases of conversion, the penitent's sorrow increases in poignancy for a time, from the consideration, that his provocations, his base ingratitude, and his culpable offenses, were con fronted with the most astonishing patience, the richest mercy, and the most exuberant grace.

Acute, However, as may be the pains of that godly sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation, it is well for the sinner when the Holy Spirit tears the veil of ignorance from his understanding, breaks the stony heart, and imparts the feelings of quickened sensibility, of lively concern for the soul's redemption, and of absolute worthlessness, as long as he keeps at a distance from the justifying righteousness of Immanuel. Then, and not till then, shall the sinner's necessity of an interest in the Redeemer's obedience be felt; nor shall it be until this important period arrives, that the sorrowful heart shall exhaust its griefs in humble and importunate prayer unto God; nor shall it be until this eventful crisis in the sinner's history does possibly occur, that recourse will be had by him to the healing waters of the sanctuary. May I hope that some who have lately read, in this little publication, of the "Religious Revivals" in America, have been smitten with a sense of their own enormous sins; that they have felt the danger of continuing in a state of unbelief; and that, warned to flee from the wrath to come, they now earnestly seek refuge and comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ, where pure and permanent consolation can be alone obtained. Surely it cannot be deemed presumption to expect, that some high-minded transgressor, coming into contact with the converting power of the Almighty, has, like Dagon, fallen in humility to the ground before the

ark of the Lord; and surely it cannot be considered arrogance to entertain the thought, that some worshiper of Mammon has, like Achan, been detected in his Babylonish garment, and found concealing his shekels of silver and wedge of gold, which ought to have been employed to the praise and the honor of the Lord, and not to the gratification of avarice and lust. Wherever the mask of hypocrisy has been discovered, and godly humility produced in the soul, the adaptation of the gospel to give rich and growing comfort, must, either at this present moment, or at no distant period, be distinctly seen, and grate. fully felt.

"O ye afflicted, then, tossed with tempest, and not comforted," contemplate with lively interest Jehovah's character, as divine revelation unfolds it, in pardoning iniquity. This view of God's merciful procedure sustained the church in times of the greatest darkness and distress, and its attractive and amiable aspect ought to have upon your minds an equally powerful, engaging, and refreshing influence. Pardon of sin, whether it be considered external exemption from pain, both in body and in soul, or the first link in a vast concatenation of blessings, must appear of intrinsic and everlasting importance. Unless the justice of God accede to the remission of sin, the transgressor can never contemplate the divine perfections with any other feelings than those of dread and agonizing fear. Sin, being the violation of God's law, being that which he positively hates, being that malignant thing which grieves and quenches the strivings

of the Holy Spirit, as well as that which brought the Prince of Life down to the dust of death; sin thus exposes every one chargea. ble with its guilt to the most mighty calamity. As sin does truly offend God, all who remain under its power, not only forfeit the Almighty's approbation, but, dying in impenitence, they must abide for ever under the curse of his righteous law. No other alternative comes within the range of possibility, for the justice and holiness, the faithfulness and truth of God, the law and honor of the divine government, are all pledged to verify the scripture, which saith, "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished." punished." When the mind of the sinner then first becomes awakened to perceive and feel the sentence of condemnation which thus hangs over him, his situation appears to his mind in all its horror; the more he recognizes the law's spiritual extent, his sins assume a blacker and more formidable aspect; the longer he dwells on the heart's deceitfulness, and upon the accumulation of crimes with which conscience accuses him, he ad. vances nearer the verge of despair, refusing, at least for a time,to admit the cheering rays of divine consolation. To a man under such mental awakenings as these, the exhibition of the Almighty's character in the act of freely bestowing pardon upon every one who believes in Christ Jesus, must be calculated to inspire peace, confidence in God's love, and the hope of eternal life.

But perhaps we have not seen, in its most appalling form, the evil which overtakes the self

condemned sinner, at the moment when light first dawns upon his understanding, and concern for the soul enters into his heart. As long as the full glow of life continues, it tends to alleviate the mind's deepest distress, and seems to ward off the final execution of justice. But think of the awakened soul, when the idea of im. mediate death rushes upon the mind-when this world, with all its fascinating allurements, recedes from his view-when every subterfuge vanishes, and the false pillars upon which hope rested begin to totter-when the burnished sword of incensed justice flashes conviction doubly vivid into the soul-when the judgment seat stands full into view, with all its appalling grandeur-and when burning hell threatens to devour the offender. Think of the man, in such alarm. ing circumstances, whose conscience thus places in terrible array before him all his faults; and tell me what grace less than divine could sustain his shrinking spirit-what power less than faith in the Almighty Redeemer's atonement, could disperse the impending storm of Jehovah's wrath.

"Then welcome refuge and a peaceful home; O, for a shelter from the wrath to come!"

The reader, whose sins have never given him any uneasiness, whose offenses against God have at no time disturbed his repose, or roused his fears, may treat all the awakened sinner's alledged experience with derision, and as the effusion of a distempered imagination. Should this address, however, be fortunate enough to meet the eye of any humble sin

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cere Christian, smarting under "a growing dread of vengeance,' as the poet expresseth it, he can feelingly affirm that one half of the affecting accompaniments of a soul's transition from dark. ness to light have not been told; he can forcibly corroborate the statement, that human language can neither describe nor express the heart-rending sorrow occasioned by a sense of sin. But could we not appeal, in evidence upon this point, to the living Christian's expressions of poignant grief; did we witness none of his tears for sin, and hear none of his importunate prayers against the operations of its power and its pollution in the soul; the recorded experience of eminent saints in all ages of the church, would be quite sufficient to settle the question, when their voice comes to our ears in these mournful strains: "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes;" "Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips;" "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

To all who thus sigh and grieve on account of personal demerit, like as did Job, Isaiah, and Paul, the announcement of God's wrath being turned away from them who are in Christ Jesus, cannot fail to impart comfort, peace, and joy. Impressed with the rich disinterested boon which pardon bestows, and the security which it confers, that no other blessing shall be withheld, they exclaim, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his

anger forever, because he de. lighteth in mercy." If anticipated deliverance from captivity of old thus produced songs of gratitude, well may our redemp. tion from the tyranny of Satan and the punishment of sin, pro. duce the most ardent thanksgiving to God: if the scheme of forgiveness revealed in the gospel engages the attention of angels, who have never fallen from holi. ness, much more ought it to employ our minds, who owe to its accomplishment all the joy of pardon, and all the hope of hea. ven. Hence every sinner, who feels the burden of his guilt, and perceives the wonderful adaptation of Christ's salvation to the fallen condition of man, gives the message of reconciliation a most cordial acceptance, he listens to its overtures of peace, believes its doctrines, rests impli. citly upon its promises, and walks steadily in all its ordinances. The man pinched with poverty does not more gladly hear the sound of his generous benefactor's steps hastening to his relief, than does the repent ing sinner cordially welcome the harbinger of peace; the patient recovering from a dangerous malady, does not more fondly anticipate the return of joyous health, than does the burdened pilgrim behold the smiles of Zion's reconciled God; the felon long immured to a dungeon, does not submit more cheerfully to the knocking off of his fetters, in the prospect of entire liberation from his gloomy abode, than does the convicted criminal, at the bar of conscience and of divine revelation, listen to the proclamation of pardoning grace, light,

and liberty. The assurance of forgiveness, or even good hope of divine favor, chases away all his guilty fears, gives unfeigned confidence in God, and perhaps fills the heart with transports of joy.

The views of God's unmerited love then, O penitent reader, which supported the minds of patriarchs and prophets, of apostles and martyrs to the truth, ought certainly to constitute a sufficient basis for your faith and abiding hope. Such is the vastness of heaven's merciful designs, of Christ's interposition in man's behalf, that language, with all its sublimity of expression and variety of imagery, falls infinitely short of the reality. If we speak of divine love reigning to sinners through the righteousness of God's

dear Son, what can we say more of it than that it knows no limits but what the obstinacy and pride of man erect, in opposing its generous offers; if we attempt to describe its tenderness, a higher delineation of it cannot be given than that all the melting fondness of an earthly parent's feeling bears only a faint resemblance to God's yearning compassion for the human race; if we offer any remarks upon its value, all that can be affirmed of it, amounts to this, that its riches exceed all calculation, exhaustless even by the utmost desires of man; if required to expatiate upon the duration of God's mercy, nothing can be said more emphatic than this, that it is from everlasting to everlasting to them who love him; and if we dwell on the important theme, by speaking of the channel through which it flows, here also the subject baffles all power

of description, and swells beyond the grasp of the most gigantic mind; yet the mighty thought lies in these few but mysterious words: "The church which GOD HATH PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD." O divine, rich, free, sovereign mercy! what miseries hast thou not prevented from falling upon man to the uttermost-what merited punishment hast thou not averted from his guilty head-what comfort, under distress and hope in death, hast thou not imparted! Surely "the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." Let the humble, brokenhearted sinner then contemplate the Almighty's character in all its incomprehensible grandeur and glory; but let the splendid displays of his goodness engage at the same time the best affections of the soul,-let the justice which throws a solemn sacredness around Jehovah's throne, keep the mind from all irreverent levity, with respect to holy things; but let the workings of divine compassion uphold and cheer the desponding heart-let the Eternal, in one word, stripped of all vindictive feelings, for they do not belong to him, and clad in all the blandishments of love be devoutly beheld in the person and completed work of his only begotten Son; and comfort, rich and everlasting, cannot fail to be the result.

Perhaps the reader may be a total stranger to the sorrows of a broken heart. Allow me, in this case, to state, that divine mercy stands equally removed from weakness, as it does from vindictive cruelty; and, be assured, that so long as hardness of heart renders thee insensible to the VOL. I. JULY, 1831.

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I well remember the aged widow Dinning. It is now upwards of ten years since I first became acquainted with her, and yet the recollection of her is still fresh before me. It was on one of those delightful evenings, when the glow of summer was mellowing down into the rich flush of autumn, and every thing around was rejoicing under the bounty and the blessing of a God of goodness; and nature, from every plant and flower, from every hill and dale, was sending up, as from many altars, the incense and the offering of her silent praise, unto him, who "crowneth the year with his goodness, and whose paths drop fatness"-it was on one of those evenings, as returning from the labors of the day, which had been occupied in the humble and unnoticed, but 15

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