Bever felt willing to be damned, and being told they must be willing, in order to be faved, have fuppofed, that God had already reprobated their fearful fouls to endless ruin! Others have been fo deceived, as to think they had better be willing to be damned, than not to be saved; defiring falvation fo much, they think they had bet ter be willing to be fhut out of heaven forever, than to mifs of falvation, and have, either honeftly or hypocritically, faid, they were willing to be damned; expecting great favors in confequence of the confeflion. The moment we have a juft idea, of the fpirit of the law making an atonement for fin, all thofe abfurdities and contradictions are removed, and their caufes taken away.

I doubt not but God communicates his grace to perfons laboring under every kind of deception; and in refpect to that grace, no difpute arifes among believers. Their difputes arife, from notions which they entertain before they were enlightened, or from certain inventions of their own, afterwards, which do not arise from the spirit of truth.

The divine efficacy of this atoning grace may be communicated to the most vile and profligate perfon in the world, and stop him in his full career of wickedness; it can show the finner, in a moment, the de

formity of fin, and the beauty of holiness. In other inftances, the morally virtuous are led a long time in concern and great trouble, about themfelves, before they find him of whom Mofes and the prophets did write.

God is not confined to character, time, or place, to work the work of atonement in the foul; he does all things well, and in the best time and way; and chriftians do very wrong, to contend about those differences which fin and deception caufed in them, before they knew Chrift.

Two perfons are difcourfing about the agreeable flavor of the pine-apple ; one says to the other, it taftes very differently from what I expected it would before I tasted it ; I thought it was a crabbed four. Says the other, I am fure you never tafted of a pine-apple; for, before I tafted of one, I thought it was a disagreeable bitter. Thus they difpute, each in his turn arguing, that the other had never tafted of the fruit, because they had different ideas about it, be. fore they actually had any knowledge of it.

Would you not, kind reader, advife thofe difputants to come to a folution of their question, in a different way? Surely you would; and if they could agree, about the real tafte of the apple, you would

advise them to let their former falfe notions alone.

Then, christian reader, go and do like. wife, in the religion of Jefus; and wherev. er you find a brother, who has, in reality, tasted that the Lord is gracious, fellow. fhip him, as one initiated into the kingdom of God.

Atonement by Chrift, was never intended to perform impoffiblities; therefore, it was never defigned to make men agree, and live in peace, while they are deftitute of love one to another; but it is calculated and defigned to infpire the mind with that true love which will produce peace in Jefus.

As atonement is a complete fulfilment of the law of the heavenly man, it caufes its recipient to love God and his fellow creatures, in as great a degree as he partakes of its nature. Afk one brought out of darknefs into the marvellous light of the gospel, how God appears to him; and he will aufwer, more glorious than he can defcribe. Afk him, how he feels towards his fellow men; and he will fay, even of his enemies, he withes them no worfe than to enjoy the bl flings of divine favor. In times of refreshing. how many thousands have been heard to speak of the goodness of the Lord, and of the infinite fullness of his grace; and with what love, affection and fervency, have they invited

their fellow men to the rich provifion of

the gofpel!

The earth, in time of drought, ceafes to be fruitful; the fireams and fprings thereof are dried up; the fields put of their robes of green, and gardens afford no fragrant delights; but when the heavens give the wonted bleffings in gentle thowers, how fuddenly is the face of nature changed! The purling rill murmurs thro' the mead, paflures and fields team with vegetation, & gardens blush with enameled beauties. So the foul, unwatered with the rain of righteoufnefs, and deftitute of the waters of eternal life, is like a barren fig tree that yields no whole fome fruit. But behold the tranfition; the moment atoning grace is effective in the mind, the parched ground becomes a pool, and the thirty land, ftreams of water. The foul is like the earth that crinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom they are dreffed; and, like a garden well watered and cultivated, yielding all manner of precious fruits. Look on the trees, afer autumn has plucked their leaves, and winter frozen their trunks and limbs: Without faith in fpring, their future life would be hopeless; but wait for the feafon of nature's appointment, when the increafing majefty of the fun-beams gently removes

the chains of froft, and warm zephyrs are breathed on the furrounding fnow, remov ing it from on the land; the embryo bloffom, nicely concealed in froft, now fwells with genial heat; and the leaf, fo nicely folded in winter's cheft, now difplays its matchlefss green, and the whole forest rejoices in expanded delights. So, if we look on man, in the finful Adam, there is no appearance of heavenly life, or divine animation; the foul is bound in the fetters of fin, frozen with covetousness, and apparently dead in the winter of iniquity. But behold the fun of righteoufnefs arifing with healing in his wings, removing fin, by the power of grace, and killing moral death, with divine life and animation, and caufing the foul to rejoice in the kingdom of grace and glory. Then it may be right. ly faid, "The winter is paft, the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, and the time of finging is come." How mysterious are the ways of God! What infinite depths of wifdom lie con cealed from the fight of mortals! He, who varies the seasons of the year, and diverfi. ies nature through fo great a number of changes, without lofing the fmallest particle of matter, can carry his rational creatures through all the difpenfations defigned in infinite wisdom, without lofing any, and confummate the whole in glory at laft.