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which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teach. eth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. His sermons were usually composed with great care and diligence, and frequently enriched with striking observations, which at once evinced his intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures, and with the human heart. The same remark is applicable to his conversation. In both, a considerable degree of originality was often discernible.

throughout the whole of his ministry, certain special days for humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and it is much regretted, that the confined limits of this Memoir prevent the insertion of copious and interesting extracts from his Diary at those periods, in which he records with great simplicity, and godly sincerity, his sins, his mercies, his conflicts, his hopes, his fears, his desires, and his renewed dedications of himself to his Lord and Saviour. When any of his children or near connexions removed to a distance, he always took a particular opportunity of committing them to God in earnest and united prayer; the recollection of which they can tes-example of both their honoured tify to have had a salutary effect on their minds, in subsequent periods of temptation and trial.

As a preacher, Mr. Smith was judicious, affectionate, and experimental. He was not inordinately attached to systematic theology; but he cordially loved, and faithfully preached the glorious and distinguishing doctrines of the gospel, carefully illustrating and enforcing their holy influence on the tempers and actions of all sincere believers in Christ. His stated hearers were constrained to feel and acknowledge that the uniform tenor of his ministry made it evident, that he had determined to know nothing among them save Jesus Christ and him crucified; and that he preached under a powerful impression of the ab.

It now only remains to express the hope, that the readers of this Memoir will unite in praying, that all his surviving children may emulate the spirit and

parents, and be followers of them
to glory; that all his surviving
brethren in the ministry may,
with increasing fidelity and dili-
gence, occupy their respective
posts till their Lord shall come;
that all his surviving hearers may
solemnly anticipate the future
meeting that will take place be-
tween them and their late minis-
ter in the last great day; and
that the Lord, the God of the
spirits of all flesh, may set a man
over the congregations, who may
go out and in before them, who
may lead them out and bring
them in, that they may not be as
sheep which have no shepherd.
B.

THE

T. C.

IN THE NETHERLANDS,
Traced to its Causes.*

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.

solute necessity of the influences DECLINE OF TRUE RELIGION of the Holy Spirit to render his ministrations efficacious to the conversion of sinners, and to the edification and establishment of those who through grace had believed. He was far from being a servile imitator of any man: he thought for himself, and delivered his thoughts, not in the words

VOL. XII.

THE Missionary Society established in the Netherlands, in

*The widow of the late Rev. Mr.

Rowe has favoured us with this article.

I

1799, hold their annual meet- | sibly both their novelty and their

interest will render the following translation an acceptable article in your Magazine. Should you be of that opinion, your inserting it will oblige

Yours sincerely,

H. W. ROWE.

"Prosperity usually is the pa

favoured of the Lord; and this, with facility, erases from the memory, their greatest Benefactor. This was precisely our situation in former years, when our countrymen generally aped the levity of the French, as well in man

ings at Rotterdam; at which time the report of proceedings during the former year is read, and a sermon is delivered on subjects connected with the mission. These sermons, which breathe fervent zeal in the interest of religion, and are remarkable for their simplicity and perspicuity, have hitherto been printed.-In | rent of luxury among a people July, 1814, when the banishment of Buonaparte to Elba led the friends of religion on the Continent to hope the causes of its declension would, in measure, be removed, the venerable Jacob Engelsma Mebius, D.D. minister at Ryperkerk and Harde-ners and morals, as in their dress. garyp, in Frieseland, ascended This was accompanied with an the pulpit, and, deviating from eager desire for the perusal of the usual plan, boldly proposed novels of the most pernicious an investigation of the causes of tendency to the morals of the the declension of true reli- reader; and Paris, with its pergion. He took his text from 2 petual fluctuations in customs Chron. xxix. 10. "Now it is in and manners, gave the tone to my heart to make a covenant the polite world, and to our with the Lord God of Israel;" country among the rest; so that and after an admirable examina- scarcely an individual, without tion of the text in its connexion an introduction into this school, with the affairs of Hezekiah, and and a rigid imitation of the rules the Jews, proposed two topics it prescribed, could be proto the consideration of his au-nounced polite, or be said to know dience. the world. And what was the melancholy result of this? Many young persons, with minds imbued with this French fickleness, and thus rendered incapable of that earnest feeling of ancestral piety; of those Netherland virtues of humility, gravity, frugality, good faith, chastity, industry, and similar graces, the genuine offspring of the religion of our forefathers, became crowded with their antagonist vices. this, that while our youth haughtily turned away from the good old ways their fathers trod, and conceived their knowledge of the world to be much superior, they not only sacrificed their time,

1. The deep declension among them in religion, and some of the principal causes of the same, whereby the rod of God's indignation has been and is still merited.

II. The ground of expectation that their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, if it is commenced, advanced, and completed with zeal, and a regard to the divine glory.

The facts stated under the first observation, are not all of them generally known in England; but their operation as probable causes of decay in religion, are so judiciously examined, that pos

Add to

man superstitions in which they were attired, and thus the way was prepared to exhibit the one as well as the other to the ridicule of the age, and, as is well known, there followed not only a contemptuous rejection of all the sublime truths of the religion of Jesus, but likewise atheism itself.

their industry, and the property | revelation from the garb of hu formerly acquired, but that most important branch of all true science of the world, the knowledge and confession of the great Creator, of whom are all things, and we in him, and of Jesus Christ, who became incarnate for our salvation, and by whom are all things and we by him, and of the relation in which every creature stands to him. These great truths our youth too much despised and neglected.

"Their writings composed in a popular style, and replete with strokes of wit, and with dogmas which gained assent by the surprise they excited, found their way to these parts; and, in consequence of that levity which had prevented them from earnestly

"Another, and a still greater evil necessarily places itself as the companion of that first named. This was requisite on the one hand to confirm the fickle-investigating the evidences of the ness and pride of the age, by a Christian religion, and a strong combination of forces, and, on prepossession in favour of every the other, to weaken the influence thing called French, induced by of religion, and by that means, the high opinion formed of their to open a great and effectual door language, manners, and customs, for the admission of every species these mischievous books were of depravity in morals. In read with avidity, and circuFrance, the doctrines of religion lated in every direction. It now had been concealed by the nu- became almost indispensable to merous appendices of supersti- good taste, to make sport, if not tion, and, when men of discern- of all religions, at least of that ment in this age, who called which is revealed; and a sprightthemselves philosophers, observ-ly sally of wit against the Bible, ed how contemptible and perni- and its dogmas and sentiments cious this caricatured religion placed in a perverted view, was was, they sharpened their pens pronounced the mark of a bril and employed their acumen liant intellect. This was the meagainst it; against the collusion thod of exhibiting a superiority of priests, and the intolerance to vulgar prejudices, and of and multifarious vices that were achieving the honours of a strong its offspring. This effort found mind. It excited no surprise, acceptance, and opened the that with such persons the eyes of many persons who were public services of religion were too ready to be delighted with either entirely omitted, or only the opinions and the witticisms attended occasionally, from baof these writers. This approba-bit, or for purposes of ridicule. tion confirmed the minds and courage of the wise men of this world. And being unhappily ignorant of the spirit of genuine Christianity, as well as blinded by self-conceit, they knew not how to separate the doctrines of

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Still, however, the admirable moral doctrines of Jesus, and his inimitable personal display of virtue, yea, of such virtues as could not easily be combined in mere humanity, and so inimitably expressed in the plain unvar

nished recital of his life and 1 dered. These, I fear, have been

death, shone with too great lustre, to allow those who were not entirely bereft of understanding and reflection, or totally sunk in depravity, wholly and without delay to reject his religion. In order, therefore, to concede a little to the spirit of the age, methods of all descriptions were devised, with a view, by the rejection of many doctrines and mysteries of the sacred scriptures, to reconcile the truth of Jesus with As an instance of the abuse to those maxims of philosophy which I have alluded, is the folwhich were continually crowdedlowing paragraph, which I have on the attention of the world, just read in a treatise upon and perpetually clashing with each other."

too frequently the results which have followed from the erroneous and unscriptural statements respecting the fall of that eminent saint, of whom it is recorded, that he did that which is right in the sight of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that God commanded kim all the | days of his life, save only (awful exception!) in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 1 Kings xv. 5.

(To be continued.)

THE FALL OF DAVID.

per

Trouble of Mind, and the Disease of Melancholy." "The hand of God is so strong, his wisdom is so admirable, that he turns to our profit and advantage, not only the evils which are caused by cross events, or by the world, but those which we commit ourselves, that seem to be contrary to our salvation, even those sins which we guilty of. He changes these poisons into physic, these scandals into edification, and from the thickest darkness he does bring forth light. As by the adultery, and the murder of David, he opened the eyes of his servant to consider the horror of his fault; and that which was like to have

are

THE melancholy event to which the title of this Essay relates, is very often adverted to by evangelical ministers and writers, and inferences have been drawn from it, adapted to counteract the effects which David, after his restoration, earnestly wished to promote; as when he says, Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalm li. 13. For if, when sons have forsaken the paths of judgment, instead of being brought to repentance, of being made more circumspect in the ways of God, and more afraid of transgressing his laws, they are thus emboldened to think little of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and to continue in sin instead of confessing and forsaking it; then are men taught by his example to trample upon the divine law, and to despise divine mercy, and * A Discourse on Trouble of Mind, their conversion, instead of being and the Disease of Melancholy, &c. by promoted, will be effectually hin-Timothy Rogers, M.A. Page 131.

thrown him into perdition, by the Divine Providence, confirmed him in the way of salvation. By his fall he was made to know how feeble his nature was; and on the other side, how admirable was the grace of God; this obliged him to quit his opinion of himself, and not to seek his happiness any where else than in the mercy and grace of God.”*

On reading this, I almost invo. | that by these "he was confirmed in the way of salvation?" Was it not rather because God had heard his prayer, Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Psalm li. 11. The guilt of his sin filled him with darkness, horror, and despair; but the view he had of the mercy and grace of God, promised to those of a broken and contrite heart, inspired hope in his bosom, restored to him the joy of God's salvation, and thus confirmed him in the way of salvation;" or, as he himself expresses it," he was upheld by God's free Spirit." Thus, through the abundant mercy of God manifested to a repenting believing sinner, the “ poison" did not destroy him; the " scandal" which his conduct had occasioned did not ruin the sacred cause of religion in the world; and light of soul succeeded to the "darkness" which his sin had produced. That God can bring good out of the darkest dispensations of Divine Providence, is abundantly evident from many parts of the sacred oracles. But to say, that he who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, makes use of the sins which his people may commit through the power of temptation, for their profit and advantage; and that in this way he is changing poison to physic, and educing light from darkness; this is to violate the principles of divine truth, which plainly and uniformly assert, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John i. 5. Be not deceived, says the apostle; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit

luntarily exclaimed, Surely it was not necessary that David should commit adultery and murder, in order that he might "know how feeble his nature was!" Will not the influences of the Holy Spirit, when they are experienced, and the principles of divine truth, when they are received into the heart, teach a man his depravity and weakness, without the guilt of blood being superadded? Did not Isaiah know, from the discovery which he had of the forgiving and sanctifying mercy of God, how feeble his nature was? Without having committed either adultery or murder, he sinks humbly before the throne, and, conscious of his manifold infirmities, exclaims, Woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips. Isaiah vi. 5. Did not Daniel, of whom there is no sinful word or action recorded, acknowledge with heart-felt compunction, O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee? Daniel ix. 8. Can we admit that David had never "quitted all his opinion of himself," and had sought all his happiness in the mercy and grace of God," until his awful sins had obliged him to do so?--Is it conceivable, that David had never known, and never would have known," how admirable was the grace of God," unless he had committed sins which were like to have thrust him into perdition ?—Cannot the exceeding riches of God's grace be discovered, without our wading through impurity and blood to the footstool of mercy? Is it not absurdly incorrect to assert, that " by the adultery and murder of David, his eyes were opened to consider the horror of his fault?"-And

never "

VOL. XII.

K

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