situation in life is so exempt from trouble as to make us perfectly contented in it without higher enjoyments! The Christian certainly has reason to glory in tribulation, for he has the promise of God that all things shall work together for his good.. And consequently, the afflictions he is called to endure, so far from overwhelming him with unavailing distress, should operate as renewed excitements to duty and exertion. You will be pleased to hear that Mr. Huntington has, of late, been considerably encouraged by the moral appearance. of his society. Nothing has occurred deserving the name of a revival; but a spirit of inquiry in some, and of violent opposition in others, begins to prevail. Opposition to the truth is always to be regretted; but when people are roused to ask what is truth, and are enlightened to see that there is really a great difference between it and error, though some reject, and exhibit their hatred of the doctrines of Scripture, we may hope there will be a more general reception of the truth. greatest danger lies in men's believing all religions pretty much alike, and those who respectively adopt them, equally acceptable to God, if they are only sincere. The TO MISS L. OF N. H. Boston, November 4, 1810. I Do not approve of people's constantly complaining to others of their hearts; it is, in general, a concern between themselves and God only. But to my dear M. I may speak with freedom. And it is a great comfort that we can sometimes find a friend to whom we may communicate the enjoyments or discouragements of our spiritual life, whose affection for us forbids our fearing to be betrayed, and whose experience prevents the apprehensions of being misunderstood. Such a friend is my dear M. and as such, notwithstanding my many doubts concerning myself, I am sure I love her. Should we ever be so happy as finally to arrive at the spiritual Canaan, and be enabled, through Christ, to claim it as our own, we shall look back with astonishment upon the way by which we have been led. And surely a sense of the innumerable dangers which attended our journey, and the capacity we shall then have of discerning the wonderful manner in which God made them all subservient to our progress in holiness, will greatly swell the song, and enhance the enjoyments, of victory. Perhaps some of the doubts and discouragements of the Christian are of this kind; though painful to be borne, they may, by the overruling mercy of God, be made to accelerate his speed in running the race set before him, and by showing him the necessity of doing so, cause him to live nearer to God. That my doubts and discouragements may be of this kind, or rather, may be thus overruled, (for I know they are to be deprecated, and are highly criminal,) is my earnest prayer. TO THE SAME. Boston, December 20, 1810. I AM pleased that your journey to the south has been deferred. But my pleasure in this, as I often fear it is in most other things from which I derive that sensation, is selfish. I anticipate the satisfaction of hearing from you more frequently than if you were at Charleston, and possibly, of seeing you in the spring. You, my kind friend, have been more acquainted with my mental concerns than any one else; and I rejoice that heaven has blessed me with your acquaintance. I believe there are many of Bunyan's "Ignorances," whose self-deception has its foundation in incorrect apprehensions of Jehovah. They do not realize his infinite abhorrence of all sin; and thus, imagining "a God all mercy," they never discover the native opposition of their hearts to his holiness, and consequently never exercise that evangelical repentance, founded upon just views of the malignant nature, and destructive tendency of sin, without which, Christ has said, we shall perish. They do not see such a transcendent excellence and beauty in holiness, as to feel that every thing else is, comparatively, of no importance, and that the destitution of it, in a moral agent, deserves an endless punish ment, I wish you, my dear M. to pray that I may have clearer conceptions, soul-transforming conceptions, of the adorable perfections of God. Oh! with what amazing transport of wonder, love, and astonishment, does the view of them fill the angels in heaven, and those whose minds are enlightened to discern them in this world! Pray that I may see the beauty of holiness, and the deformity of sin, without that intercepting veil which Satan and a depraved nature are so apt to cast over our minds, when we attempt to view them in their true characters. Oh! for a closer walk with God! Which leads me to the Lamb. Do you not think, my dear M. that we are sometimes blame-worthy in looking with too charitable an eye upon the experiences of others? Is there not reason to fear, that, at the judgment day, some may rise up and accuse us of having been the means of lulling them to sleep, when the fire of destruction was, even then, in their bosoms? Great caution is necessary, when we attempt to administer consola tion. I would rather a friend should be too severely exact with me, than too compassionate. I hope. I shall be more cautious myself in future. But we, my beloved friend, I humbly hope, however different our experiences may have been, can unite with the Psalmist in saying, in the sincerity of our souls, "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." Our friend is to be married, in a short time, to Mr. of, whose eminent piety promises her, should God spare their lives, a long succession of happy years. Oh the importance of religion in order to render the married state a blessing! How important to render any situation in life happy! I bless God that I feel more powerfully than ever my need of it, and think I have more insatiable longings after it. Dear, dear M. what need is there of careful self-examination, to determine whether we possess it or not! How much of our apparent love to God may arise solely from the hope that he will save us! how much from erroneous views of his character! How much of what we consider our repentance may flow merely from sin's destroying our evidences, and thus taking away our hope, and not from any just apprehension of its malignant nature! How much of our obedience may spring from other causes than a desire to promote the glory of God! How much of our faith may be no more than the faith of devils—unaccompanied with love; and which, if we were only assured of our acceptance with God, would be altogether unoperative and dead! I think I have heard you say you were not acquainted with Andrew Fuller's works. I admire them very much. A volume of Essays by him has lately been published in this country. They are, like all of his works which I have seen, excellent. I have been reading some of President Edwards' sermons lately. I think they are even closer and more searching than his treatise on the affections. TO A FRIEND AT N. H. Boston, January 25, 1811. you THE loss you have sustained in the death of your brother is truly great. When reflect on his amiable disposition, his talents which promised so much, and the favour and affection which he was gaining from all who knew him, you are doubtless almost ready to exclaim, "Never was sorrow like my sorrow. Our faith is seldom, if ever, more tried than when we are called to give up those friends with whose existence our happiness is materially connected. Nor can we, perhaps, have conclusive evidence of its genuineness, till called to pass through |