to other religious assemblies on the right hand or on the left. Let not this happen through your fault.

22. Be careful not to be after the fixed time: some people have a great way to go home; some are servants, and have masters and mistresses to please; some women have ungodly husbands that are very hard to be pleased; some have young children to take care of; and if you neglect to keep the time, you may burthen them unnecessarily, and do thereby much harm. Begin aiways precisely at the set time if you can. "Let all things be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. xiv. 40. (To be continued.)

THE TRUTH OF GOD DEFENDED.

To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine.

The following article, containing Reflections on the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, aud the faith of the Patri archs; taken from a Discourse of MoN. SAURIN, is sent for insertion in your Magazine, if you judge it worthy a place therein. Your's, affectionately,

Port au Prince, Dec. 1818.

JOHN BROWN.

The death of Abraham, which is to be the subject of this discourse, appears at first to offer to our consideration only an event of the most ordinary kind. What is more natural? He dies at the age of 175; and we have more reason to be surprized that he lived so long, than that he lived no longer. His children buried him: this was the duty of a pious family; a duty even in the course of human virtues. They chose for his sepulchre the cave of Macpelah, which he himself had bought of the children of Heth; this was the only place which belonged to him in all the land of Canaan, and the most proper to receive the precious deposit of his body.

Nevertheless, this event, according to the different lights in which we view it, opens either a source of difficulties, which appear to combat the leading truths of religion, or an abundant source of proofs to establish them.

This Abraham, who dies, and whose remains are about to be committed to the dust, is that favourite of heaven, to whom God himself had said, "I will be thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward:" but who can suppose that the land of Canaan, though flowing with milk and honey, is all that is implied in the promise given to Abraham by the mouth of God himself; "I will be thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." It is God who speaks, who speaks to the most faithful of men ; and I see nothing in all the

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temporal favours that Abraham received, which answers either to the greatness of God who makes the promise, or the fidelity of that servant to whom the promise is made. God who makes the promise, is the God of nature, who made the universe of nothing, and on whose word a thousand new worlds attend to rise from the same nothing, and display their glories; but shall a few oxen and sheep, a few acres of land, a few years of life, exhaust the liberality of a God, so powerful, and so magnificent?

The servant to whom the promise is made, is a man, consequently a sinner, and as such can claim no recompence; but on the other hand he is the father of the faithful, and a model of faith and obedience to all ages. For God he left his possessions, his country, and his relations; for God he believed what seemed incredible, and hoped against hope. For God he sacrificed his on, his only son; subdued the force of paternal affection, reared the pile, draw the knife, and lifted his arm, about to pierce the bosom of the innocent victim; if God himself, who pronounced the sentence, had not revoked it. But who can believe that the land of Canaan is the only blessing, with which a God so powerful and so magnificent, has crowned the life of a servant so faithful and obedient?

Moreover, the promise made to Abraham, of possessing the land of Canaan was not literally accomplished. It is true this patriarch had great riches, but his life was traversed by numberless afflictions, by family divisions, domestic quarrels, continual fatigues, and journeyings. If we seek through the whole of his life, for a period when the promise made to him had its accomplishment, we shall not find any; on the contrary, we shall find that he was a stranger, a traveller, "Dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;" wisnessing thereby that they "expected a better country" than that which had been promised them, (these are the expressions of Scripture,) we shall see that of all this country he possessed but a few inches, to make himself a sepulchre, and these too he had bought with his

money.

To make himself a sepulchre.-We cannot too carefully observe this circumstance of sacred history. The great promises made 10 Abraham; the conquests that he was to obtain; the possessions that were pledged to him; the country in which he was to be Sovereign: all end in a sepulchre. Is it thus God fulfils his pronises? Or rather shall we not from hence infer the immortality of Abraham's soul, and the resurrection of his body? "I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob." This promise cannot be fulfilled in the grave amidst rottenness, infection and worms; it must therefore be fulfilled in the immortality of Abraham's soul, and the resurrection of his body: "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

It is true the mode of reasoning appears liable to an objection

of another kind, and to prove at most only the immortality of Abraham's soul, and not the resurrection of the body. The body is incapable of happiness; the soul is the only seat of bliss. And God would acquit himself fully of his promise, should he communicate to Abraham's soul that happiness of which it is capable, without raising up his body from the dust; seeing it was only by a particular dispensation of Providence, that the body of this patriarch contributed to his happiness even in this world.

This objection is not contemptible, nor ought we to refute it without giving it its due praise. It tends to make us sensible of man's true greatness, and to convince us that our nobler and more exalted part, is not that material flesh which enters into the composition of our being, but that soul which places us on a level with pure intelligences, who are not clothed with mortal flesh.

If our fathers, by I know not what metaphysical ignorance, could not conceive that a spirit disengaged from the senses, should be capable of the same operations as during its union with matter, we, perhaps, by an excessive refinement deny to matter, that influence on our souls that the inviolable will of our Creator has given it.

Men are not pure spirits: a pure spirit is capable of perfect = happiness without the concurrence of matter; because a pure spirit has no natural union with matter. But man is not a pure spirit; and the Creator in forming him of two substances, has so ordained, that the one substance cannot be perfectly happy without union with the other. Thus we may presume, that whatever happiness we may enjoy in the interval between death and the resurrection, and however this happiness may exceed all that we experience in this world, yet it is not till after the re-union of the soul and body, that we shall be perfectly happy. It is on this account that so many passages of Scripture refer our perfect happiness to this period, (see 2 Tim. i. 12.-iv. 8.-1 John iii. 2. -Col. iii. 4.-Psal. xvii. 15.) These passages have puzzled interpreters, and given rise to several erroneous systems. Some have thought that the soul is insensible after death, others that it is annihilated. In Louis Cappel's Treatise on the state of souls after death, may be seen a list of ancient and modern errors on this subject. This celebrated author, in solidly refuting those who have preceded him, has not, however, himself adopted a system which is free from objections. But it appears to me that our hypothesis is the key to those Scriptures, in which all the theologians have gone astray; man is composed of a body and a soul. He may enjoy a degree of happiness whilst these two parts are separated, but he cannot be perfectly happy till after their reanion. Therefore the promise of perfect happiness to Abraham, requires equally the immortality of his son!, and the resurrection of his body. This is what was to be proved.

To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine.

Ir the following observations, upon what I deem an inconsist ency in some persons' views, respecting power to obey the Gospel, meet your approbation, and you judge them in any measure calculated to serve the interests of Christianity, your inserting them in your valuable periodical Work, will oblige,

Your's, with esteem and affection,

Kettering, May 25, 1819.

W. H.

Lately, in walking a few miles to a village, my thoughts were led to the consideration of that great and glorious commission given by our Lord to his disciples, a little before his ascension; Mark xvi 15, 16. "And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature," &c. I reflected upon the extent of this commission, and could not help observing how widely different, in this respect, this commission was from that which Jesus had before given them in Matt. x. 5, 6. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Here we find their labours were to be confined to one nation. The sphere of action allotted them was very circumscribed; but in the commission referred to above, given by our Divine Master to the eleven after his resurrection, there is no restriction, no limitation whatever. No nation, city, town, or village; no family, nor individual was excepted; the commission was altogether unlimited. These heralds of free grace were to proclaim the glad tidings of a Saviour, and of a glorious salvation through him, to all mankind, to every rational and intelligent creature under heaven. How pleasing, how joyous, how delightful a commission this! and no doubt with feelings of transport, those Divine messengers, often delivered their message. Now, Sir, from this command to preach the Gospel thus universally, "to every creature," I could not help inferring that, surely there is a Gospel for every creature, or in other words, that the Gospel with all its attendant blessings, was designed for all; that every man may possess all its invaluable privileges. Without admitting this, I could not understand how an offer of these blessings could be made to all with propriety, or sincetity. If any man were excluded from having a share in the rich provisions of the gospel, I could not possibly conceive how a sincere invitation to this feast, could be given to all; and therefore how, consistently with the belief of the dectrines of unconditional election and reprobation, the great gospel commission to ministers, can be properly obeyed, I was utterly at a loss to discover. And now it occurred to my mind, that an

attempt had been made to defend the practice of preaching the gospel, of making a tender of its blessings to all men, on the ground of what is termed, man's natural ability to obey the gospel. Man is said to have a natural ability to do this, but at the same time, he is represented as destitute of a moral ability. I was now led, Sir, to reflect upon this distinction which some have made, between a natural and moral ability, and to inquire whether a man destitute of the latter, can possibly obey the gospel; whether he can perform gospel commands, or be a proper subject for gospel invitations.

The natural ability which all men are said to possess, to obey the gospel, is understood to consist in the following things; namely, an ability to go to the house of God, the place where his worship is performed; to attend to, and reflect upon the great truths which are there declared; and to read the word of God, or to hear it read, and to reflect upon its contents: in a word, to join in all the external acts of Divine worship; and because an unregenerate man has power to do these things, he is said to possess a natural ability to obey the gospel; although at the same time he is declared to be destitute of moral power. Now, Sir, a moral ability is understood to imply, not only a power to do the things before mentioned, but also, an inclination to do them. Not only a power to go to the house of God, and to hearken to the important truths there declared, but a power truly to embrace those truths. Not only a power to read, or hear the word read, and to meditate thereon, but likewise to believe and keep it: a power not only to hear, but a disposition, through Divine grace, to accept and comply with gospel invitations. Not only to listen when Christ is offered as a Saviour, but so to believe in, as to receive him in all his offices and characters; in a word, a positive power not only to hear, but to obey the gospel. Now, Sir, this power, or this ability, none are said to possess, but such as are the objects of God's everlasting love; such as he is supposed to have unconditionally elected to eternal life. Nevertheless, it is contended that the gospel should be preached to all, because all have, as before stated, a natural ability to obey it. But with what shadow of reason this can be done, I am indeed, utterly at a loss to discover. The want of moral ability is allowed to be a sufficient reason why men do not, and indeed why they cannot, obey the gospel. They cannot, it is said, accept the invitations of the gospel, because they have no desire for the blessings offered. They cannot believe in Jesus Christ, because they are destitute of a disposition, to believe in him. Without a moral power it therefore follows, no man can properly obey the gospel. Then, Sir, in the name of common sense, we inquire, why preach the gospel to men who are placed, and left in a state of utter incaVOL. XLII. OCTOBER, 1819.