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86 TH E PRACTICAL C BlUST IA~,


friend s, be trne to your principles; live them


out; be suuc tified wholly hy them in temper,


word lind deed j th en will yon have nothing


to fear, Armed with truth, inspired by love,


and clothe d with me ekness, one of you wil.


c hase a th ousand, and two pill ten thousand


to fight, It is a fhv oruhle omen, thnt no ragl't


ex ists to form Non - Resistance S oc ieties. Thi$


cause ca n not sufely follow in tim truck of'Tem­perauce


lind Anti- Sluvery. It requires too


mu ch moral principle and cha racte r. ' fhe


timber for Non- R esistance Societi es should be


se~ so ned n little, before being worked into 11


superstructure. Let th e seed of this truth be ,'


so wu, und have a natural growth. If ir - ouee


s pr ings up , it will take a gr eat many we eds


and brambles to choak it down. So thinks


th e P racti cal Ch r isria n.


O RN'A ME~ TAL DRESS.


We recei ved sometime since an other Com.


muuicat ion from · our worthy sis ter " III. H ,"


on this snhject. I1 er former inquiries in re la ­tion


to Pcrlriouing and Dress, with the s · ub­s


tan ce ofour answer, will be . recollected, The


press of matt ers c lniming our att ention, an. l


th e nbunduuce of'husin ess with which we lrave


been occupied , mu st be OUl' ap ology for hRV­ing


so lon g negl ect ed to notice the co mmuni ­cation


. ' Vii iut eurled to have publi shed it en­tire,


hut our do ck et has become so hll · ge, that


we mu st co nte nt- o urse lves with 1\ gen eral re­ply,.


It seem s we misunderstood" our sister's


inq uiry eo neerning lile meaning ' ot' c e'rtain


cl au ses in onr S tlllHlanl j viz. o:: T'we cllnnot


" arr ay oursel ves in costly ap parc l; nor weRr


nsel ess ornam ent!# j nor put on badges of


moul'llillg ; nor di stin gn isll onrselves py any


pecnlia r formalil il$ of rllim ent or Illngu age." ­.'


Ve su pposcd she meunt 10 ca ll out our views


of co ~ tl)' a ppa re l nud nseless orllalllents j Itlill


lYe an sw er ed aceord ing ly. Hut IIcr 1' 1' 01 point


o f iu cl'liry , ns we now ' ulld, m; tluHI her, waK


1I0 \\' ( llill ean d ress ill Cllri:, tiall plai nll css, with ­out


IllJ illg" di stil iguish ed lIy peenliarily 01' tiin ­gular


iry of upJlenran ce. Ifslle weurs nothing


IIl11leces:, ary , a1111 notlling impro pe r for It ,


c~. tiru.!.... s b !::_ d~,, · s not se, e...!!.:' w s l , ~ ca n ~';., o i d


, li:' t iH!,( ui:' h in g hl: rself, lIer stric t plainness


lind simplicit) ofuppnrel, ! lhe th inll s, will rcn- " r


del' her deeid edly sing ulllr and olld in th e view


oflhe fi, s hion - go verncd lIilll tiullJ C. All thi s


lIIay he tru e . T o II I: ert nin ext ellt th e chris­lialls"


ould distiugui sh hi, n or ' he rsel f, by this I


plailll leSS, and l'implic lty of IIttir e. Persolls


of stro llg co mmo n SlJnSlJ ~~ e gen el'llily distin ­gui


shable at ollce from fops 1II11! flirts, h · eltllx


anll bell es , by thi s very simplic ilY o f dress. ­An


exquisite in dress, lou ched off with much


finery of ornament lind show, wherher male Ot"


felllul e, lIIay'in uih e caRes ont of ten be safely


set down liSa shaliow- lIIrrullJll per son, \ Vheth­er,


therefore, we regard good sense; 01' great


virtn e, th crc ca n be no donht th e it' (' Irofessol ' s


ought to and will be clislingllishetl hy n style of


' d ress 1II0l'e 01' less plain and lnlfilshionable. ­Now


cOllies the qu esti on, what shll ll be the


sta~ d llrd? Ther ! J is no standard to which ' all


should co nfor lll. AllY attempt to fix the ma~


terial, th e qnality, th e form, & c. inmillute par­ticul


urs, would defeat the chr ist ian law. It


wou ld giv e ulJllll c importance to th e outwal'll.


per son ulllppenrnnce, ullli real' up a jleW · ido l


to be nllured in pillce of the world's ca pr icious


lind urhitl'llry fitshions. Good common sense


and u right heart cons titu te ea c h illdividlllli


ehristian a eOlllpe te n t jllllge. If Ihese are


wanting iu any , 1III'y who possess th em mnst


e ndc a l'o r hy precept lind eXlllll l, le to correct


the others. This WIIS the view our hrethren


took o f th is suhjlJCI, wh en · they ~ do p te d · t he


S tandurd, They Imew th at a se ns ihte minlI


/ tlld a holy heart wOlll. lrelld er th er r possessor


sin gullll' 1y plain in IIlany reRpects- morc or


less out of fash ion- d istinguishablc for sim­pli


cit y lind 11 cerlain wholesollle lIer; ligence of


I'rcscl'ibed appeur: mccs. '


But " peculiar f ormalities"- dothes made ill


sectll rian uniform , a denomilllltional costullle.


1lI0des of s peec h, arhitrary words and


phrasc s , th ey hold to be vallities of human


cont r iva nce . wholly 1Il,,; eCessllry, if not posi­tiv


ely pel'llicions, alllong ch ristians. Hence


' they do 110t feel bound to dress in black, or


hlu e, 01' grey; 0 1' Ilrah colored c loth; nor to


well " wid e 01' IIl1rl'OW hrimmed, high or JolV


crowned hats- strnigh t 01' flnl'il1 1! hon net s, & c.


- IIOI' to s'ay in IIrldrp. ss alw ayH, t" ee, t" ou,


tit;'",:, Il l' you ~ lI d yOllT'rS , They illlpll"\; 110 s uch


" Iendon, lUa~ c h 15, 1841.


==="'=


THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


ness of all. B e has no pleasure in th e deat h


of the sinner- in aught he lays upon him for


h is sins- in any punishment he suffer s. He


contends not tore vel', nor affl icts wantouly the


ch ild re n'of men, All this is clear and plain. ­No


lIlIIII can reson nbly maint ain th e con tr nry,


Then agnin it is wholly incon sist en t- with the


wisdom of God tq suppose th at he should


employ reuibutiou to ag gravate and confirm


si n- to huilr! np nnrl estnhlish wh at he de­clares


he hates. Nor can we well rea son that


lie eve r will rest conte nt with a re tri butio n


which ete rnally keeps things in one unultera ­ble


eq uipo ise of sinfulness on ' the on e hand,


and right eou sness on the ot her. Finally­th


er e is no othe r desiguwhlch we can rever­ent


ly ascribe to th e Almighty iu the di sl'el: sa­lion


of 1\ perfect righteous retrib ut ion, hut thnt


of destroyin g sin 01111 es tab lishing holiness


thro ugh ou t th e uni ver se.


S uc h are my vie ws o f't he nature, Ilesign,


a nd di sp en sati on of clivine ret ribut ion . These


view s I bel ieve th e Sc riptures will be found 10


au thorize uud co rro borate. Let us refer to


th eirtestim on y. No t to occ u py too mil ch


spuce, I co nte n t mys elf with a bar e re fere nce


to th e more pr omin ent tex ts.


l\ Ia tt, 10: 28- 1: 1: 41, 43,49, 50-: 25: : 11 to


4G- Luke 14: ]: l, I4-. lG: 19 to 3I- Juhn 5:


28, 29- 12: 2ii, 2G- Ach;; 10: 42- 17: 30, 3 ! ­ROlli.


2: 4 to ll - I4: 9- 1 COl', 15: 28- 2 COl'.


8 to II- Philip. 2: 9 to 11- 2 ' I'im, 2: II, 12­4:


6 to 8- 1 Pet. 3: 18 to 20- 2 Pet. B: 7- J ude


14: 15- Rev. 2: 10- 3: 21- 14: 13- 20: 4 to 6,


ufso 11 to 15'


N'ON- aESls TANCE IN N. H.


The forlll utiou o f a Non · Resistance flocin lY


in ~ e w Halllpshire is an eveut wh ich oll,!{ h t to


ha ve been chronic led in th e coilimns " I' thi s


paper at a mor e sc nsona ble dllt C. I t to ok plnc e


at a Co nvent ion hold eu in Concord of th at


S tlltC, ah out New Yellr's, The Co ns tiw tion is


. i. t. u~ l. t!. Je Burne \ yith rhuJ o f Jill' N,. w


England Non - R esistan ce Socie ty . Aboul 2\ i


pel'sous hceame memb er s at th e outsct . Its


officers a';' e- Jno, B. ChanlJler , Recol'll ing


, Secre ta ry; Mary P. Roger s, CO I'I'es p~ n d i ng


S ec re tary; Mary Ann F ren ch, Trcnsll rtJr;


P llrk er P illsbury, Amos ' Vood, Persi s Senl'y ,


Ad allls F OSler , )<' I'lln ces F. Ri ch ardson , E xec ­tHive


Committeu. The occasion is rel' l'esellt­ed


us onc · of g rent int erest. Henry C. ' Vright


was pr esent, and othc l' z enlou s advocates of


th e ca use . Among th e rest, a MI'. Dow, one


of the Meth odist pr esiding Elder s of that I'e­gion,


gave his testimony for Non - Resistance.


. He sta ted " he had held to th e se ntime nt more


than tw enty years. In a ll th nt til · ne he had


ncvcr voted lo r an y c iyil office r , iJnr! uot per­former!


mili tar y dnty, had nev er Ilischnrg ed a


gu n, not eve n at a mar!;,' & c. There would


he little . risk in II stranger's pr on ouncing Ihal


man nn exemplary minister of Chr ist. Il c


mu st by thi s tim e he a tHorou ghl y seasone d,


christi an Non · Resistant. ' fhis is th e third


I'egnl arly organize d Non - Resistance Sociu ly


in th e Uni ter! S tates. The nnlllller of Non­R


esistants, howev er, mll st uot be es t illlnted hy


refer en ce to th ese three Imurl fu ls . They lIl'C


hut sig ns hung out lIefor e th e public, ' showing


wh llt th er e is in th e sto re- ho use . Both th e


friends lind o ppose rs of No n · Resistllnce ~ lIgh t


to understnndthat · the leaven Gf this d octrinc


is fimnenting th e lIIa~ s in all direction s. Thou­sa


nds of minds ar e- begiuu lng' to inv estigllte


the subject, who a liule wh ile ago hllli not so


mil ch as heard of it. Lectures and di scu ssious


arc ca lled for hy lllany Lyceums, Tile write r


has with iu no long lim e becn hefore sev eral


fissemhlies, fill' th e purpose of expla in ing and


di scn ssing thi s Iloct rin e. l\ l eant im e, many of


th e purest hearted mcmh er s of christi an c h nr ­c


hes lire sil ently growing into th e knowled ge


and love of it. , A great change o f se nt ime nt is


taking pla ce, rclative to th e trcnlrn ent of ene­mi


es , in th e de cp uncleI' currents of socie ty ­such


· 1t eh an ge liS few of th e wise and prudent


in C h nrc l', 01' S tate now suspect. Hnt let


th em not be IIlul'lne d at the coming revolution


- the issnes willhc pea cefn l. Mill' tile N. H,


N OIi ~ R esi st un c e Socie ty abmHlall t ly pr osper­In


ig hti ly illc rcas i n~ in nH! uhet · s lIurl morn l


p O\~ e r, May t ile same pro~ po r i l Y ' lllf~ n d the


N: E liglall. J lind Oherlin S oci eties . Bel lwed


" ' Tis bat a par ~ we see, and not the whole."


He wh o s! JOuld qu estiou th e hen ev olcnt cle- '


sign of relribution , on th e gronllli th at th e


sli gh t, occa sion lll, incomplete retrihntions pf


tillle do not always accomplis h thut ' design,


mi ght with equal force a rg ue against allretri,


bution, and all divilie moral govem llle nt. And


the n, what othe r design clln God possibly have


in di pen sin g II righleon s retrihution? He


must hav e sOllie d esign, all admit. TJlis nHlst


be a hen el'ol ent and wise design. God is not


It se lfish being j he di d not cr eat e' man for his


own ab straet hen efit. He can hav e no glory


incon sistent with the liighest good of his c nm­tin-


es. He does not s nbject man to a moral


law for his own mer e advantag e. . He does not


reward th e I: ighteoll s as 11 recompen se for any


ben efit they have rendcred him. li e does not


punish · th e wi ck ed ' b ecan se th ey hal'e inj u re d


him- nor frolll IIny nl ot ivc of person a l eumity,


re ve nge 01' ha tred. lI u equa lly d esire; thc re­pentance,


reg enerat ion, h oli ne s ~ lind hopl'i-of


thi s happiness will be o f th e natu re ofa re­wa


rd. And wh en I. have thus explained , he


finds himself unable to gain say th e conc lus ion.


Such is th e importance of a c lear and just d is­crimination


between retribution and - m.. e.- re nat-ural


co nse que nces on th e one hand, e nd th e


infinite g ifis of grace in Chr ist J csus'on th e


other. We cfi~ no, t underst and th e Script ures ,


nor vindicate th e wa ys of 9 0d to lII11n, with­out


making th ese di stinctions. Every thing


should hav e its place, lind receive due co ns id­era


tion in our contemplation of the div ine sys ·


tem,


L et us now bri efly cons ide r the design o f


ret ribution . 1 hav e alread y assumed jjiy posi ­tion


on thi s point. 1 take for granted !, J. lUt ret -


, ributi on is a means, and not an end, God has


not iustiuued rewards and punish ments for


th e more sa ke of rewardin g 111111 pun i ~ I Jin g his


creatures, But he has in sti tuted th em as a


s uitable mean s of bri nging nhout a g rea t e nd


beyond . F or whnt d id he cr eat e nuw 11 free


mor nI agent? ) Vhy did he not lea ve him in


th e cond ition ofinauimate matter , 01' that of a


vegetable, 0' 1' that of a mer e a nimill ? Then


' he would hav e ' needed no mora i law, re-wards


01' punishments. He would never ha ve


viola ted nat ure's order- s- he would have do ne


right rnechuui cal ly, 01' from instin ct, God in


wi sdom 111111 love ull otterl mnn a nobl e sta t ion


a nd destiny. He Illude him cap abl e ofa mor e


gloriou s lind blessed existence, I/ e ga ve him


much, lind required much of hi rn, th at he might


crown him wi lh a n in concei vahl y hi!( hcr IHlp'


piu es.~. He made h im a free mornl agent, n o ~


lh at he III ight sin lind perish ; but tllllt bein g


free to sin, he mig ht hllve th e , con seio'us sa tis­faction


of prcferring righteou sn ess. He Icft


h im llt liher iy 10 s in and mak e lJi,. nsel( I; lisel'll­ole,


not as witholit hop e, bu t thal by suitH hle


menn s he lIIight c orrec t him : 1n< l hriug him


freely to pr cler right to wrong- llIHI th er ehy


lay hro lld lind deep th e foundat ion s o f hi~ hap ­pin


ess th rou gh ete rn iry. I n fiu e, G~ d insti­tuted


th e grea t proc c! OS of morlll d iscip line to


qua lify man for th c exe rcise of a pCl'fect · r ig ht­eo


us ncss, a nd th e enjoy me nt o f an en dless hal"


liuess. , Retrib.! H ion . is ! U19. ctl!' SlI r. v_ I~


d isciplinc. First th e m01' ll1 law teuI: h es man h is


duty- then rctrihu tion furni sh es ' moti, · cs : 1' 01' '


its performalll : e, lind th en th c : lclll al cxper ience


of retribntion cl? nlir ms th c righteou s, su bd nes


the wicked , und brings a ll, into per/ cct s uhjec.


t iou to th c di vin c will. W!' mn st cO; lc lude


thcn " thttt all retrihution is designed to destroy


s in a nd es ta blis h r ighteou su ess. It is di sc i­plina


ry to t his end , allll ,~' ill accomplish it


I" hen per/ ected. ' Vh ethel' we co ntertlplllte it


as a d isplay of dil' ine justice" 01' as II pr op el'


express ion of God's IIppr obation 01' d islliJp ro­bation


o f man ' s conduct , 01' as 11 dem oustratlOlI


o f h is brnlel ' olent pllr eutlli regal'll to th e liigh cst


good of th e univ p. rse, 01' li S lin e xp c, lient o f in ­fi.


nite wisdom for s us tai ning a ri ghtful author i­ty


o ver mornl ag elll s, 01' liS a s ni tllblc mcans


of in cit ing to ob erlien ce and det erring from


tr an sgr ession , 01' as fi lit and cfficac io us meth ·


od of ' lU: llifying th e c re llture for th e reception


and enjo y me n t of etel'llllI life- it scelllS to hav e


th e sa me gen eral object for its res ult : it look s


forwllrd to the final gOOiI of all mankind, ­Ncithe


r th e retributions of the pr escnt 01' in ·


tei'm ediate stlltes lIIay fully effect this" c nll. ­Hut


th e ap pare nt ill s nccess of fill th e rctribu­tion


known to us ought to cre ate no donbts of


th e issu e ; si ncc ,


intermed iate state , 01' finally - in the re surree ­tion


stat e. : It mill' be hastened, or deferred,


or mitignted , 01' wholly remitted- according


to th e firne ss of th ings, as judged of by infiuite


wisdom, It is of a nature to allow fu II scope


to th e work of rep ent ance, forgiv en ess an d ref­ormation


, It is not blind, nrbitrnry and ind is­c


r iminate, hut perfectly ad aptable , in the hand


of' nnall- wise moral Go vernor, to th e var iou s


deserts of moral ag ent s, It is capable of bein g


., , I


varied, modifi ed and regulated, to suit all pos-sibl


e circumstances, Thc ' J udge of all th e


earth always docs right,


Retribution is a lso distinguishnble from th e'


gi fts of nature, provid ence and grnce. E xist­ence


is not a reward : it is th e natural gift of


God. Whcther mer itoriou s 01' dcm eritoricu s,


- mnn mill' exist, The kind and degree of men's


natural fa culti es, tnleuts and ge nius , are not of


th e nature of retribution, They are simply


gift s, A person mny be handsom e or homely,


' strong or weak, talented 01' untalen ted , re­marknble


for ge ni us , 01' oth erwise. He is as


he is, n<.> t on accoun t of mer it 01' demerit. ­So


the thousand gi fts of Providen ce, ma y


hav e no relation at all to the 1II0rai de sert s of


th e c rea tu re, aud bc no indicat ion of merit or


dem erit. Hut ab ove a ll the unsp eakable gifts


of grace a re inde pendent. of tim pr ovince of


I e trib utiou. The g ift of God ' s Son, ' with


th at immortal ity and ete rna l life which are ill


him, secu r~ s to mankind infinite aud end less


good- cn tir ely above and beyond ' a ll retribu­tion


. R etribution may be a nec essary wh ole­~


o me dicip lin c, to pr ep are men for the recep ­tion


and enjoymen t of thi s infini te anll ete l'l1ul


go od, but is al ogetbel' d is tinc t from it. Som e


do not d iscriminate at all hetween th e rew ard


of thc righteou ~, a ncl th eir end less blessedness;


bnt confound the on e with th e oth er , and ta lk


co nfused ly of , rewards, find of rel) emtion by


grace . No doubt th e r ighteous, distincti vely


so termed, will he holy find happ y to 1111 etm · ­nity.


Hnt ar e we to conc lude thllt th eir end less


happiness is the reward oftheil' righteousness?


If so, wh er e ani th e gifts of gl'llce? wh er e is


sal vation by gracc ? They ar c not ra ised


fr.~ H n J heAe ad as a_ J:£ l.. wanLfor. t h e~


n'ess j for tlle- l;; UUSt , V'ilITis; U; th e same im ·


mortality. They will not exist to all ete rn iiy


as a reward for th eir righteou sn ess here on


mirt h, or for any thmg done by them between


d efith amI th e resnrrection ; for th e most sin­ful


ar c eq ua lly sn re of a ll e nd less existence, ­Their


perfec tion · llnd intimatc end less commu­nion


with God, will not he a r CII'ard fOl' th e


righteous ness of pr eced iug stutes of cx iste nce.


Theil' feli city will be inconceiv ab ly gloriou s,


and pe r petual liS th e rl! ign ofGod, but 1I0t as


a reward. All this will be th e grac ions gift of


God in Christ. Hut does it hence follow, th at


their rewlJrd is eithe r poOl' 01' · momentary ? ­By


110 means. Eternity is lon g enoug h for


Go~ 1 to accomplish all things widlOut con fu ­sion.


There will certainly be to e very indi­vidulll


a day ofjndgment. In th at day th ere


will ce rta inly be 11 just di stinction made he ­tween


th e righteous und wick ed. The right­eon


s will · certainly be owned and hless ed wi th


most glorious find signal expressions of the di­vin


e ai lp robati on . The wicked will certaiuly


be overwhelmed with condemnation , rebuke,


shame . llnd an gui sh of, sonl- with a most fear ­ful


ex pre ssion of th e divin e di sapprobation, ­These


rewards lind punishment s ' wil l confc r a


hllppiness 011 th e rigilleous, and c~ use 11misery


to th e wick ed, inconceivably great er thau heurt


ca n now ima gin e. This rell'ibmive happiness


lIud m isery may be of long durati ou- even for


uges of uges, for aught we know to th e contra_


ry . A nd yet hoth th e rew ar ds of the righteous,&


the punishmcnts of the wicked, may at leu gth .


' pass entire ly llway, and give place to an end less


stllte- of ho liness and bliss. This I bel iev e will


he th e ca se. I cunnot otherwise harmon izc


the testimony of S cl'ipture. When, therefore,


I am asked, " do you believe 1111 future punish ­mcnt


will end ?" I answcr, yes. I fthe qu er ist


thinks to confound me by say ing , " thlllJ yo u


b'elie ve the rewards of th e righteous will cOllie


to lin end ?" I answer, agaiu, yes. Theu" if


bc is'amazed, and says-" do you believe th e


happiness of the righteous will indeed end ?'


I answer, no, surely not. If he requires cx -,


planation , I show him the tme di st incti on b e ·


tweeu happ, iness from reward, anti hllppi n ess


from th e g ifts o f g race. I sho w him th at th e


ri gilleons wi ll be sup remely hllppy .. to all Cler ­n


ity , lJllt tlllit only an. introductory sm a ll pilI'

Page 86 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840