divine grace, with which you have | dictions are always made by the but been attended. Think not that any thing, which you have done, deserved the kind remembrance of heaven. Judging from external appearances, many of your places, were in all refpects, on the principles of men's ordering, the most unlikely to be taken while others were left. You are those who have greatly abused means; grace, that it might appear to be grace, hath kindly remembered you. When finking into a hell of mifery a hell formed by your own vicious difpofitions, there was an opportunity for the infinite wifdom of God, to glorify his own goodness; and he hath not failed to take fome of the chief of finners, that it may be feen that the gates of hell fhall not prevail, and that he can build up his kingdom at what times and in what places he pleaseth. If any of you have become Chriftians indeed, your hearts will echo to the truth of thefe fentiments, and you will feel that divine fovereignty is glorified in the work of his grace. This enemies of vital religion, when the Spirit of God is poured out; and is it not finful in those who have been the fubjects of divine influence to permit fuch predictions to be fulfilled? Perhaps you will fay, we do not know that our love of the truth is abated, or that our zeal hath cooled; but if you do not know this, it may be the cafe. Have you the fame fenfe of that folemn eternity into which we all are coming, as you once had ? Have you the fame delight in the duties of religion? Do not smaller caufes prevent you from joining in prayer and the praife of God? Have you not lefs fenfe of the worth of fouls? Lefs defire that others may be awakened and faved from the judgment and mifery to come? While your visible zeal, in the caufe of God begins to abate, do you not alfo find that the du ties of the closet are lefs agreeable and that you can mingle with the world which thinks little of God, with lefs difguft than you once did? Do you not lofe your apprehenfion of the difference in character, which there is between real Chriftians and thofe who never appeared to take any pleasure in the fervice and praise of God? If you find these things in experience, they are figns of a departing fpirit, and that you are more fallen from your first love than you imagine. But why this beginning coldness and where will it end? Are you not weak as ever, and in the fame need of a divine affiftance to keep you alive to God and make you wife for eternity? Do you think that a good beginning will carry you safe thro' unless you live near to God; or are you shaming your former enga. gedaefs in the caufe of Chrift's work of God hath not yet ceafed in our land, for we are daily delighted with hearing of new revivals, in places which appeared dry when the fhowers of grace began to fall. But are not you with whom the work of God began, appearing to relapse again? Are not many, who thought themselves to have become Chriftians, returning again to the world; to its vanities and its amufements? Have not fuch loft their firft love, and their fervent zeal in ferving the Lord? Do they not begin by their conduct, to fulfil the predictions of difbelievers, who faid, "Soon we fhall fee these perfons become ⚫ cold who are now fo warm in religion, and perhaps falling into crimes like others?" Such pre-kingdom! Are your hard hearts wholly conquered; is your fin wholly taken away; or do you not begin to hope and cry peace to yourselves, without a daily evidence that you have a right to truft in the mercies of God? Perhaps you may think that it is common for fuch feafons of refrething from the prefence of the Lord to wear away and are cafy on that account. That it hath been common is not denied, but this prevents not the guilt of thofe who grieve and refift the Spirit of God. Surely it hath been common for God to depart, where he hath been oppofed, and for feafons of declenfion to follow feafons of fervor in his fervice; yet this is only a proof of fin, and not an excufe for the declenfion of thofe who have been fo highly favored. but if the Lord be a God hearing prayer, and this declenfion be noticeable, ought it not to be reproved? And whatever may be the infcrutable reafons of infinite wif dom, for difpenfing as he doth, are not you, who do even yet, notwithstanding your declenfion, coldly with for the prefence of God, the guilty caufe of his departure, from your families and the places in which you refide? Have not fome of you many friends, whom you verily think to be yet in the gall of bitterness and under the bonds of iniquity? Are not fome of you Chriftian parents, who have children that feek for nothing but the wealth and amufements of the world, and yet you are rarely feen in thofe places that are confecrated to prayer, for an outpouring of the Spirit of God.You fee that your families are paf ; The Lord is a God hearing prayer, and perhaps we cannot find an inftance, in which he hath de-fed by, and you wonder and fomeparted from a people, until they times weep that this is the cafe began to lofe a fenfe of this truth, but do not know the caufe. We and of their own need of quicken- are fenfible that the primary caufe ing grace. Do you not in many is that God hath not been pleased places fee, that it is not, as it was to take them; but a fecondary in months paft? That new inftan-caufe, and it is one that the day ces of deep impreffion have be- of judgment will difcover, is that come more rare, and the engaged-you have been fo avocated in gainnefs of the ferious declining Buting them a worldly good, that you hath this happened in a fingle place, until it might first be faid, thofe who have been accuftomed to pray are changed in their appearance, and if they have not entirely for faken the place, they ftill appear to have loft the fpirit of prayer.They do not appear fo filled with How can thofe, who have in a love of God's glory and of fouls their own fouls tafted the love and as they once were. They are not grace of God, think without pain fo careful to nurture beginning fe- on the deftruction of others? If rioufnefs and take by the hand, they be Chriftians indeed they canthofe, who they have reafon to think not do it. Let thofe who have are enquiring for the kingdom of begun to decay endeavor to revive heaven. It is well known and ourlet them live like Chriftians-let acknowledged belief, that there is them continue to pray and who po merit in the prayers of men; knoweth but God may return with could not leave your farms and your merchandize, to join with others who were praying for the Spirit of God. The Lord left. you to this that his judgments might be executed, but will this be your excufe? It is no excufe. a double bleffing in his hand. thofe, with whom God hath been prefent, have ceased to speak often one to another, let them fee their folly and call earnestly on a Saviour, who appears to be paffing by, that he would again come into their congregations and bless them. In this may minifters and people be united. 111-723 MESSRS. EDITORS, If course his influence among his neighbors increased, he began to imbibe doubts of the reality of religion and the truth of the fcriptures, and his fenfe of obligation to God and of refponsibility and rewards in an other world was loft. These fentiments he often expreffed before Diphormia, who was his favorite child; and indeed in many refpects, her natural character refembled the father. Her IN your proposals to the pub-powers of understanding were lic, you defire biographical sketches good, which joined to a confiderof perfons eminent for piety. If able degree of vivacity, made her company fought by the young of both fexes. the lives and deaths of fuch are ufeful to encourage others to virtue, it is conceived that examples of the contrary, which are real facts, will deter from vice and fhow the danger of falfe opinions. The writer is one whofe eyes were opened from the dream of falfe pleafures, by witneffing the death of Diphormia. The real name of this unhappy woman is meant to be concealed. You will publish or fupprefs as you think best. D A. C. She foon appeared to have too much understanding to be a female rake; but at the fame time to have fo little fenfe of moral obligation, that the virtuous were afraid of her intimacy. With fome the diverted herself: others whofe worldly circumstances were good the, in vain, attempted to please ; and many tious the poifoned by her infinuaof the young and incautions against religion, piety and the serious people, as the called IPHORMIA was one of them. In doing this fhe only adtwo daughters, who were miniftered the poifon fhe had rethe only children of their parents.ceived from a father. She often The elder daughter was a perfon of intimated that she believed not in weak understanding, and early mar-religion-that it would be agreearied an indolent man, with whom ble enough to visit the church, if fhe now lives, without ambition of she could hear things that fhe loved a better state, at a great diftance from the place of her birth. The parents began life in poverty. The mother hath been industrious to an extreme, and is generally called an honest, good woman; but with-fible that fhe was ruining her own out refolution to advise her huf- reputation, for even the most viband, or to reprove and control cious of mankind are afraid of a her children. The father was a female, who appears to have no man of strong reafon, great art, fenfe of moral obligation. and an infatiable love of the world. Hard labor and parfimony foon made him an affluent far As his property, and of and that her only concern about another world was, left she should at death perish like the beasts of the field, never to exist again.—In this conduct Diphormia was infen In the number of her acquaintance was the writer of Diphormia's life, for at this time he wished to difbelieve; but trembled in view of the confequences of a lofs of moral principle. Having givon the chief features of her charafter and principles, he will pafs over many circumftances, which might be mentioned, illuftrating the danger of falfe opinions, and come to the awful fcene which opened his own eyes, and was bleffed as the means of fnatching him as a brand from the burning. me for they know. I never loved them?" When exhorted to pray, by a great finner who was alarmed by her cafe, fhe faid, "There is no pleasure in praying, but if I could know I fhould be happy, then I would pray." An aged and pious aunt came in and requested, that the minifter might be called to pray; when fhe quickly replied, "My father always faid that minifters are more ⚫ dangerous in fickness than at oth for when I fee him it makes me When the serious aunt requested of the father, that public prayer might be made for his fick daughter, he faid, "She is very fick, Nearly at the age of twentyeight, Diphormia was taken with a flow fever, which on the forty-er times, but this is not the worst, fecond day closed her eyes, and ushered her into eternity. The first twenty days of her ficknefs her mind was easy, for the entertained no apprehenfion of the if fue; but at this time, was alarmed by overhearing fome words between confulting Phyficians. From this moment an anxiety of mind began, which continued to the moment of death. The writer was often in her company, and will relate noth-muft ing but what was heard by his own ears.-At one time fhe faid, "I begin to think I muft die, but it ⚫ looks like cruelty in God to take me away fo foon." Being anfwered," will it not be better to fleep forever than to endure fuch painful days?" "Ah, faid fhe, ⚫ it will be terrible enough to wake ⚫ no more, but I fear, I fhall, for ⚫tho' my body is failing, my mind doth not feel like ceafing to exift." On being exhorted to look to God for help and grace, fhe replied, "I have never heard of fuch a God as I could love, and if the God, of whom I have heard in the church, be the true ⚫ one, he and I are certainly ene mies.?' At another time fhe faid, "I cannot yet love these fe. rious people; two or three of them have come in to fee me; they took my hand and wept; but what made them weep for but I do not love to gratify fome folks." The good woman wept, went to a fecret apartment and was feen on her knees, and overheard, praying for the foul of her fick niece. At another time Diphormia was heard whispering, "It is my father hath ruined me, had I never feen him I fhould have 'been like other people, I hope I fhall not fee him in the other ' world." In her last days, altho her reafon appeared to be found, the was principally funk in a deep number, and when death actually attacked her, the laft words fhe was heard to fay, were thefe, "Ọ miferable ⚫ me." She died and was buried, and where the opened her eyes God only knows.▸ The confeffion of the Freethinker JOHN JAMES ROSSBAU, Citizen of Geneva. his answers! Such empire over his paffions! Where is the man, or the philofopher, that knows how to act, to fuffer, and to die without weakness, or oftentation? Plato, in his picture of the imaginary juft man, covered with all the opprobrioufnefs of guilt, and wor The writer was awfully alarmed for himself, and the pains of a convinced confcience continued for feveral years; but now, altho? the chief of finners, he calmly hopes in the mercy of God. The fathy of every reward of virtue, ther of Diphormia hath funk inte gives us an exact reprefentation of a ftate difficult to defcribe. Pof Chrift; fo ftriking is the refemfeffed of confiderable property, but blance, that all the fathers faw it, without an heir that he can truft and indeed there is no poffibility to grafp and fave like himself, he of miftaking it. What prejudice, is only anxious about his lands and what blindness, to compare the his bonds. A gradual decline is offspring of Sophronisca to the fon carrying him downward, without of Mary! How immense the difany great fenfe of his own decay ference between thofe two! Socwithout any love of religion or rates dying without pain, and weanednefs from the world, or without ignominy, found it eafy to perceiving the danger of his fenti- fupport his character to the very ments. He foon must meer chat last; and if his life had not been daughter, who wished never to fee honored by fo gentle a death, we him in eternity. might have doubted whether Socrates, with all his understanding, was any thing more than a Sophift. You will fay, he invented a fyftem of moral philofophy. Others had practifed it before his time; he ACKNOWLEDGE to you only related what they had perthat the majesty of the fcrip. formed, and drew lectures from tures aftonishes me, and the fanctity their example. Aristides had been of the gospel fills me with rap- juft before Socrates told us what ture. Look into the writings of juftice was; Leonidas had facrifithe philofophets, with all their ced his life for his country, before pomp and parade; how trivial they Socrates had made the love of our appear, when compared to this fa- country a duty; Sparta was fober, cred volume. Is it poffible, that before Socrates commended fobria book fo fimple and yet fo fub-ety; before he had given a definilime, fhould be the work of man?tion of virtue, Greece abounded Is it poffible, that he, whofe hifin virtuous men. But of whom tory it contains, should himself be did Chrift borrow that sublime and a mere man? Is the ftyle that of pure morality, which he, and he an enthufiaft or of a fectary infla- only, taught both by word and exted with ambition? What fweet-ample !* From the centre of the nefs, what purity in his morals! most extravagant fanatictifm the What force, what perfuafion in his highest wisdom made itself heard, inftructions! His maxims how and the vileft of nations was honfublime! His difcourfes how wife ored with the fimplicity of the and profound! Such prefence of mind, fuch beauty and precifion in * Matt. v. 21, &c |