thread of life over the abyfs of deftruction. Confidering this of vaft and infinite importance, I think it well to put you in mind of it in this place. Hereafter I fhall write more fully on the fubject. All my obfervations on doctrinal fubjects, you may confider will profit you nothing without this, nay, as they enlighten your mind, your oppofition of heart will be more heinous in the fight of God, and your foul will be prepared for greater mifery. You have come into active life in an age in which the holy word of God is denied. Many who do not deny its heavenly origin, disbelieve its fundamental doctrines, and do not practise agreeable to its facred requirements. There is great danger, therefore, that you will hefitate refpecting the divine inspiration of the fcriptures, if not positively deny it, and that if you receive the fcriptures as the word of God, your doctrinal belief will be erroneous, and inconfiftent. You will therefore attend diligently to the feeble effort of a Father to inftruct you into the great doctrines of Christianity. The fundamental doctrine of religion is the existence of a God, who created us, the world in which we live, and all the things in it. This is the bottom-ftone which fupports the whole religious fuperftructure. Hence the Atheist, disliking the system of truths revealed in nature, and the word of God, and feeing he muft believe them if there be a God, ftrikes at the root, and denies the existence of any God. You doubtlefs will hear much faid on this fubject. It will be faid, There is no God: This world, and all in it come into existence by chance, or by fome way, befide by a felf-exiftent, eternal, uncreated God. I wish you to attend, my Son, to the following chain of arguments on this important fubject, and let it ever fortify your mind against any attempt to establish you on erroneous and Atheistical principles. I cannot conceive, and I appeal to you, my Son, and to the most established Atheist, if you, or he can conceive of any other way for the exiftence of ourselves, the world, and all things in it befide thefe. They must have been created by chance, by their own creative power, by fome finite being, or they are eternal and never were created, or they were created by an uncreated God. Thefe I will take up in order. In this world and the things in it we discover perfect order, and regularity. Search into the formation of men. Extend your views to the great planetary system, of which this earth is a part. View all the parts and appendages of this world. See the various movements of the whole, and fay, if there be not fyftem and order difcoverable, and fay, my Son, if these be confiftent with chance. You are poffeffed of rational powers fufficient to fhow you that the very idea of chance excludes that of order and system. If we believe these things created themfelves, we shall be involved in this evident abfurdity that that which is not, can create. A being that. creates himfelf muft exercife creative power before he exifts. I prefume your conviction of this abfurdity makes it unneceffary for me to fay more. You will eafily fee that these things were not created by any finite being. This being must have been created ; and we cannot believe him to have been created by chance, or by himself, without involving ourfelves in the above abfurdities. And when any will show the history of an interminable line of rational beings, and produce the improvement which we may reafonably expect from them; when they will convince any candid mind that there are not in the world itfelf, evidences of its having a beginning, and of its coming to an end there will be reafonable ground to doubt the exiftence of a God. We have no history extending farther back than about fix thoufand years. The most ancient of this is quite brief, and in fome inftances obfcure. Would there not be a longer line of hiftory, would there not have been able hiftorians thousands and thousands of years ago, if the world were eternal, whofe hiftories we fhould now have free from all brevity and obfcurity? Would there not have been greater improvement than there is? Our long line of ancestors must have been very idle and ftupid people if we admit the idea. Every one must be fenfible he lives in a perifhing dying world. The beft af tronomical principles will teach us the world must come to an end, that it is not eternal. amufements and diffipated pleasures, which are but too common in the most of our towns, perhaps, it will not be unacceptable to the real friends of religion, to trace the unhappy effects of fuch fcenes of diffipation upon the heart, in rendering it cold, and unmindful of the fweet duties of fervent devotion and benevolence, and in depicting in the countenance fuch follies and vanities, as plainly fhow the prevailing influence of fin. Diffipation and religion can never dwell long together; for he, who neglects his heart, will confequently neglect his fecret prayers, and foon obliterate the foul-delighting remembrance of his God. Retirement and devotion easily mingle their joys; and the Christian in his clofet, away from the entangling fnares of a delufive world, mounts on the wings of faith, and, forgetting all earthly vanities, foars away to the throne of God, to contemplate the unspeakable glories of the Lamb, flain from the foun dation of the world, while he proftrates himself before him, in the most humble adoration. The truth of these remarks appears to have been confirmed, in the following anecdote of an amiable young Lady, extracted from the writings of Lavater." A noble, ' amiable, and innocent young Lady, who had been educated principally in the country, faw her 'face in the glafs as the paffed it ' with a candle in her hand, reti moft valuable and important ideas,ring from evening prayers, and fome of which I fhall fuggeft to you in my future letters. There is therefore no confiftent belief refpecting our own and the world's existence, but the belief that it fprung from the creative hand of an uncreated God, This argument, my Son, establith in your mind. It is conclufive in proof of the being of a God. And this is a foundation for the 'having juft laid down her bible. • Her eyes were caft to the ground, 'with inexpreffible modefty, at the fight of her own image. She paffed the winter in town, fur'rounded by adorers, hurried a way by diffipation, and plunged in trifling amufements. She forC got her bible and her devotion. In the beginning of fpring the • returned to her country-feat, her ⚫ chamber, and the table on which the bible lay. Again she had the Scandle in her hand, and again faw herself in the glafs. She ⚫ turned pale, put down the can'dle, retreated to a fofa, and fell on her knees: "O God! I no ⚫ longer know my own face. How am I degraded! My follies and vanities are all written in my ⚫ countenance. Wherefore have ⚫ they been neglected, illegible, to this instant? O come and expel, • come and utterly efface them, mild tranquillity, fweet devotion, and ye gentle cares of benevolent ' love!" AMANA. Religious Intelligence. Extract of a letter from one of the Connecticut Miffionaries, dated COOPERSTOWN, 08. 20, 1801. "NOTWITHSTANDING all the difficulties which attend my Miffionary bufinefs, I find myfelf fupported and encouraged, by confidering the excellency of the caufe, the all-feeing eye of that God whose cause it is, and that the defires and prayers of all Chriftian friends attend me and are united in my fuccefs. The promife, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," is extenfive and animating. Good Miffionaries may plead it for themselves, and the people of God may plead it for them. I hope to be fo faithful as to fhare a part of this promife, tho' unworthy of the bleffing contained in it. "I have already vifited, in my Miffionary tour, many fettlements in the counties of Delaware and Otfego; and have uniformly found a very friendly reception among the people where I have labored; a general readinefs to hear the word, and in many places a strong defire after fpiritual nourishment. Could the good people of Connecticut behold the attention, the gratitude and the joy expreffed in the countenances and language of thofe who affemble to hear fermons and religious converfation, they would not confider their annual contributions as money spent in vain. In many places which I have vifited, where the attention was fpecial the last year, I have found great engagednefs in religion. The fentiment is often expreffed by the people whom I have vifited, and expreffed with every mark of gratitude, that the Miffionary bufinefs is the most benevolent and glorious that was ever undertaken in America.' May the Lord give me grace to be faithful." MISSIONARIES. The Rev. Jeremiah Hallock lately returned from a miffion of 4 months to the upper part of Vermont. The beginning of December, Mr. Hezekiah May returned from a miffion of a few weeks to the weftern counties of New-York. About the 20th December, Mr. James W. Woodward entered on a miffion to Black River and parts adjacent. And about the fame time, it is fuppofed the Rev. Soloman Morgan commenced a miffionary tour of a few weeks to the northern counties in Vermont. All the Miffionaries continue to write that the call for miffionary labors is great, and that in many places they have reafon to hope their labors are attended with a divine bleffing. ORDINATION. On Wednesday December 22d, 1801, the Rev. Andrew Yates was ordained as colleague pastor with the Rev. Eliphalet Williams, D.D. of Eaft-Hartford. The Rev. Walter King of Norwich made the introductory prayer; the Rev. Doctor Dana of New-Haven preached the fermon; the Rev. Doctor Perkins of Hartford made the confecrating prayer; the Rev. John Marth of Wethersfield gave the charge; the Rev. William Lockwood of Glaftenbury gave the right hand of fellowship; and the Rev. Henry A. Rowland of Windfor made the concluding prayer. POETRY. COMMUNICATED AS ORIGINAL. Meff'rs. EDITORS, IF the following hymns, written under bodily weaknefs, fhall be tho't worthy a place in your invaluable Magazine, they will perhaps, if my life be fpared, be a prelude to other communications. Yours, ELPIZON. A prayer for heavenly mindedness. Glorious God, fupremely wife, Enthron'd in light above the skies: Life is a fpan, the time draws near, When at thy bar I must appear. This mortal frame will foon decay, O may a fense of this abide Upon my mind, my actions guide ; This day with me may be the last; Chriftians call'd to exertion. THE Spirit and the word Let Chriftians then arife, Left God for worthier keep, And justly make * ELPIZON. Alluding to the late revivals of religion. Attempts to propagate the gofpel heathen, in connexion with gofpelamong the Indians in New-izing them. England and parts adjacent. The hiftorical part will be abridged and compiled from various publications done by writers of information and ability; and exhibited, as far as may be practicable and convenient, in chronological order. An epitome of the life and character of the most diftin ded in the work. Indians, lie fcattered in many books; fome of which, particularly the ancient ones, are very fcarce; and probably may not have been feen and read by one in very many at the prefent day. uable Magazine, as far as neceffary documents can be collected, An A general compilation of this Hiftorical Account of the at- kind has not, as far as we can tempts made in former, and fuc- learn, been executed; and partic ceeding times, to propagate the ular accounts, refpecting the propgofpel among the Indians in New-agation of Chriftianity among the England, and parts adjacent, or not very remote-Of the fuccefs which has attended the endeavors of the Miffionaries among many of the tribes, together with the want of fuccefs among others; with fome, at leaft, of the probable caufes-Theftate of the Chriftianized churches, and congregations, in various periods, as far as can be afcertained, from the foundation of the first of them, about the middle of the feventeenth century, down to the prefent day. To which may be fubjoined, fome thoughts upon civilizing the VOL. II. No. 8. It may be useful to many, and very grateful in particular to pious perfons (provided the work shall be tolerably executed) to have a brief collection made from feveral writers in different ages, who have given an account of what was within their obfervation, or came to their knowledge; we may add, that fuch a collection may be of M m |