Page094

Page094

94 ' THE PRAcTICAL CHRISTIAN".


blasphemy, filthy communication out of your


mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that


ye have put off'the old man with his ' deells j


arid have pill on lire new man, which is re­newedin


knowledge, after the image of him


thatcreuted him." Col, 3: 5- 10. " Walk in


. t he Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the IUSIS of'the


flesh j and ~ hey that are Christ's have crucified


the flesh with the affections and lusts," Gal. 5


16, 24~


This ' is the same doctrine in substance


which our Lord laughI when he said- Ulfany


man will come after me, let him deny himself,


and take up his cross and follow me." Matt ·


16: 24. " Whosoever he h/ l ofyou that forsak­eth


not all that he hath, ' he cannot lie my dis ­ciple;"


Luke 14:~, Helice also he declares


himself to he the light and life of the world,


through whom alone men may el'cape from


, darkness and death. Indeed, the N. ew T esta.


ment is wholly inexplicable, a'nd th!:. gospel a '


fallacy throughout, ifwe deny that man is nat­urally


in a lost, sinful and perish ing state. ­Nothing


can be , plainer, than the contrast


which the Scriptures of the new dispensation


make between man in his fallen Slate under


the first Adam, and man in his restored state


' u nder the second Adam.


' Vhen, therefore, we have fully understood


that all munkind ale naturally predisposed to


the carnal mind, averse to holy restraint, and


prone to sin j when we clearly perceive that


without the interposition of divine grace every


human being would have utterly perished ;


then for the first time do we hegin to see the


love of God, the excellency of Chrisr, lind the


beaut)' of rhleemiug grace, in their true light.


But without'tmderstanding and realizing this


wretchedness of our fallen condition, how can


we appreciate the sublime truths of that gospel


whi ch hrings life and immortality to ' light? ­Show


me the r; l8n who feels that he is nntu­rally


wise and good enough- the lIlan who


dreams that he is in health and safety- the


lIlan who is insensible of any deep spiritual


wanlS- who virtnally says-" Iet- me cat, and


' d r ink , and flourish in the flesh, fur to- mo.... ow


shall he ns this day j" aud what to hiin is the


gosl'dorChrist?, ~ WIJlit to hir r'il! ra- GOiJ';) r


love? What to him is nn all- j'ie.. fect SlIvior?


' Vhat to him is) mmortaliry? What to him


- nre all those heavenly themes which stir up the


J; . • • .


deep fountains of holy raptu.. e, nnd . swe ll the


peans ofangels? What to him are the oper) ­ing


gates of Paradise, and the soft whispel's of


miuistering spi'rits calling the lost up Ihe , ave­nue


( the ladde.. Christ,) to the tree of Iife? ­He


is blind, aud deaf, and nnked, and misera­ble;


he knows not his owiJ wretchedness j he


lies down in tbe filth of his own stye, dream­ing


of another feast Ii'orn th, e swill · tnb of this


world's grovelling gmtifications, and .. eady to


be aroused only by , Slime, vulgar stimuJous to


his ol~ pleasures. HiJw ollght wc to moul'll


over such proofs of the fallen statc of beings


, c.. eated ' a little lower th~ n the angels, But


the.. e are those who see anr:! feel thei.. ruin­prodigals,


who have a.. isep to .. eturn to lheir


Father's house, who are on their tear- sprink­led


path homeward, watched from heaven by


ben, ignam ( md auxious angels, as they draw


near in contrition unto am, who ever wnits to


be , gra cious. And behold, the God of love


comes forth to meet them; he embraces them


in the arms, of. patemal cumpassion j he kisses ,


away the tears of lheir pe, nitencej he ar.. ays


them in beautiful \ garments; he adoms them


with precious ornaments j he ~ feast s them on


the fatted calf; he causes his household to .. e­'


joice and be glad, becanse these' his sons, WJIO


were dead, are now alive; were lost, but are


found.


The fall , and ruin of man by sin might I well


bave drawn forth the sighs and tears ofangel-


- ic orders. Well might " Earth feel the wound,


and nature from her seat give signs of \ voe


thatall was lost," But when through this


dense cloud of da .. kness aud despair the rays


ofsmiling hope descend j ' when infinite good­ness


looks down from heaven and, reaches


thence a ' strong right; hand of salvation j ' how


.. ich ; the'cunsolation, and how sweet the joy of


the helieving spirit! How is the soul- pel! e­trated


with thrills ofadoring gratitude to AI:


mighty lo ~ e! How is the heavenly image '


impressed on'the ' yieldiug' softened J; eart! ­What


chords of love, what bonds of h9Jy obli­gation,


then'bind us to ' t1iesinless Son of God,


llnd ill him to that Eternal Fathe.., wro foils


the stealthy Serpent's craftiest wiles, and plu cks


the prey from Death. ' " Thanks be to God


who giv eth us the victory through our Lord


Jesus Christ."


THE PRACTICAL CHRIST~ N.


Mendon, April 15,1841.


TAKE NOTtCE, ,


, The first volume of our paper is now com­plete,


No. 1, ofthe second volume, would be


du e in regular course ou the Ist day of. May j


, bill will not appeal' until the 15tlr- in order


that we Dlay conveniently arrllnge affairs for


its puhllcation; ' All who intend to di;~ ontinue


the work lire once Inore ' requested to 11e sure


and give us notice, Also, all who intend to


become subscribers for the second volilllle, ­\


Ve sha ll commence sending th e second vol­ume


to such ~ f our present subscriher;;' as ,10


not notify us to the, contrary- tr, nsting that


. none of them will disappoint our confideuce.:


CLOSE OF VOLUME I.


This being the laseNo, of volume 1, tile , oc ­casion


calls for a few passing refl ections. The


Practical Christian is but an humble ' .; is lr ll:


ment at the best, and occupies of course but.


an obscure corner of the public miad. Has it


been thu » far :,( 1 that its intelligent friewls ex­pecred


P We think it Iius. ' Ve believe th ey


will al'l say as much as t his. Has il succeeded


as well as th ey ex pected ? ' Ve think itlws­and


even better Its resources have heen


small, and its disadvunrages great. It J :~ been


edited and pnblished at arm's end, lIud in the


mid st ot nnmerous other cares, Could tfle


\~ ork bave received more devote, 1 all elllion


from th e editor and puhlishing agent, it ! n ig lil


huve been rendered in ~ many i'es pec ts IIlnch


more interesting and profitable to the rellder.


This, however, has been sufficiently under­stood


from , th e hcginning. The ' n nmher of


subscribers has been barely large enough to


defray the current expenses for paper, print­ing,


& c. j but thesecame in with \' eiT liltle


importunity, and l uere... gen ~ rally t!. 1 1l ,)~~'!


vohult eers, Most of tlJem- lire lierso/) s dis ­posed


to make a good u~ e of th e malleI' pre­sented


in our colulllns. Sueh have found , tl; e


themes of this paper fnll of interest lind profit


to their minds, Turning awny Ii'om the


wilchery of Romance, the intoxication of Pol- ,


ities, nud the medley of Ne'ws- served out to


them by the ' daily and weekly ' p reSSf? S of the


counlry, they have sOllght and fouud ' entel' ­tainment


in sobel' di scussions of the- lgreat


q'uestions of Practicnl Christianity, To ' thc


multitude these discussions have lIeen unsllvo­ry,


insipid and foolish. They are looking


away from God for wisdom, and out of them­selves


for happiuess. But we rejoice that light


is incr'lasing, 1lI1l1 that converts to ' truth all, 1


righteonsness are multiplying. ' \ Ve remain


firm in the great prin ~ iples hercitofore avowed,


and are more thulI , ever convinced that man­kind


can never i le refurmed without Ii close


and fhithfill application of them. It is no


small satisfaction to feel, as we do, lhat '! ur la­bors


in this hehalf, however feehle and ineffi­cient,


have rill gOI; e into the scale of c11!' jstian '


philanthropy, lind wholesome mural reStraint,


\ Ve are sure no readet, of the Pr'acticIII Chr is ­tian


can hnve been made worse by its con­tents.


Some we tl'Ust have been made better.


\ Ve have aimed to spe~ th, e tmth in1love,


wh ereinsoever we have , lisbu rthenc,} _ our


mindS- lind we feel confidelll that the llnpop ­ular


doctrines, and novel measnres, we have


advocllted, will ultimately cOlllmand consider­ation


and respect. ' Ve shall th erefore perse­vere


in onr course, without fultering, IIl1til we


have fulfilled our mis sion. ' Ve rely on th e


in£ inite UPHOLDER of truth and righteou~ Jess


for success, res ' pectfllily inviting the co- opel'a­tion


of 1111 who can conscientiously unite with


I~ S in carrying forwanl the work of pu ~ e reli­gion"


morality and philanthropy. ' Ve cannot.


descend to leasing and flattery to gain friends,


or to rerain those who are already wilh us. ­But


we can appeal to those whose hearts are


right, and beseech . them to consider ou r hllr­dens-


to do their duty in respect to this pa­per-


allll thus to contribute their portion tow­ards


rhe refOl'mation, holiness al, d happiness of


the human race. The Practical Ch ristian,


looks to its friends for an ample support, ~ n d


will not look in vain.


A QUERY . FOR RESTORATIONISTS,


' Whut will lie the employment of the sinful


being while suffering in , another world? If


he is a creature of moral powers, he must he


loving 01' hating God. If he is hating God,


when will he he punished for that hatred ?- ,


Suppose he is to spend a thousnnd years in


suffering for his sins here, when will he sutler


for the sins committed during that thousand


years? If he must spend another thousand


, in misery to expiatethem, und another, apd an­other,


wh en will the end be ?- lv" ew York Ob;


IeI" ver.


ANSWER, ,


The author of the foregoing " Qnery" should


have addressed allot her to his own Doctors j


which, for his and th eir improvement, we will ,


now propound, viz .: a: T" lf justice require that


the Non- Elect should he punished to all eter­nity


for the sins committed during the present


life, when will they he pun lsherl justl. lJ' tiH-,,!! le


sin s they nre to commit rhrnugh endlessdum­tion?,


Perhaps this is quir e llS pertinent, and


withal as hard a ' 1uery Ill' he has put to us, ­,~


Il d wethink we should he justified in l!, r0m­ising


10 answer his when they answer 01l\" S, ­BUI


us his is much less difficult of solutioII, we


will answer it at once, leaving them to dispose


of our's a~ their lei sure.


" ' e" will grant that sinful heings, while suf­fering


in another world, may for a tim e hate


God- in other words , that their rebellious


hearts will remain for a time uusuhduerl 10 his


will. This will occaslon them just so much


ndditional mlsery- i- just so much the greater


punishment for the time being'. There is no


conceivahle reason why the inll ictiou of this


adflitional punishment should be deferred to a


then fururtl day, It will be suffered dllring rhe


time heing. But the gr eat llifficlIlry with


which our Querist supposes he has elllharrasc


sed us gro\\ ls out of a gl'Oss errol' cOllceming


the doctrine of Restorationil'ts" He has heen


led to heiieve that we hoid to the expiatory llI~ d


meritorious efficacy of tillure I'unishmcllt, ­Hence


he talks of the sinnel" l1 sufferiug on e


thnusRud years to " expiate" the s ins ofthe pre­sent


life, and another long period to " exniate',


tlle- 8inll, committed,. i" ring, th. at'thous3ml~~


& c, Now \ ve rllust ' entirely spoil his pur..


zle hy ~ I en)' ing, tilr the hundredth time, tht\ t


we hol, 1 the ahsurd notion of an . expiatory; 0 I'


atoning punishment, either in the present or


future state. PiJ'uislllllelll clln merit nothing.


It is no eqllivalelll fur obedience, God dlles


not IIct IIpon the prili ~ iple that the sinner may


, lischar~ e his obligations; and oflSet his sillS,


hy sllffering n cerlnin amollnt of punishment.


Though a sinner were to sutTer punishment a


million of ages, he could thereby merit nothiug


at the hand of God. If those who die impen­itent


n'ever rt- ach · heaven till they have suffered


punishment enough to merit salvation and


eternal life, their restoration is IJOpeless,: ' Vhat


then / TIllY we expect from pnni8hlllent? \ Ve


may expect it wi II be an importaut means, and


by the overruling direction of God, an 1Jiea.


douy means of subduing the sinful heart, nnd


therehy preparing it for the perfect washing


of regeneration. Let it he remembered that ,


' with us l" estomtion always presupposes regell­eration.


I'unishment lIlay preplll'e th~ way


for regeneration, but nover supersedes it.


TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS.


Dem' fl'iends, thl'OlIg:- t your patronage we '


hav e been enabled to complete"' the fil'st volume


of tile Practical Christian; and you have al­ready


been solicited, hy our'worthy EditOl', to


~ o n t i n u e your support- provided you can do


It consistently and ch eerfully. \ Ve are cer­tainly


grateful to you fill' the assisiance you


have rendered us j and perhaps enollgh has al­ready


been said in reference to the sultj ect IIp­on


which we have taken up ollr peu to write.


But the most of you, we doubt not, feel deeply


int er '! sted in the principles which our paper


advocates, and consir'er t1ui diffusion of Ihem


liSessential to the world's regeneration. Some


ofyou too- it may be th ~ t there is only a rem­nant-


hut some of )' OU 81' e probably ahle~ to


become' su bscribers for severnl copies of it j'


and we therefore feel auxious to call YOUI' at­tenrion


to the point,'- pl'esuming this "' ill he


sufficient to secure Wh!! tel'el; aid y, o'! can in


this way render us, Indeed not a few ot; you


! Iave done nobly for us, and we will not forget


YOIII' labors",! f love , or ask you ' to do more. ­You


have th e testimony of YOIII' own, con­sciences


that you have dO! le ' what! Jou eotdd .'~


NOI' will you lose , your reward. The con.:


sciousness of not being idle rin the vineyard 0


your Lord, will lie yours here, ; lInd; hereafier,


the plnudii-' Well done, good a~ d fdithful


servants.' 1\ Iay you continue to devote time,


tnIents and m oney. Ijo the advancemen. t o. f th'at


kingdom which is not of this world !- choos­ing


yourow n WlI)' S and instrumentalnies, '


But to you who are blessed with faiUi and


hope and pewniary reseurces, ' a nd have yet only


favored us with with a single name,': we ad­dress


ourselves, hoping to say a wonl that will


induc, e you to consider it a pleasure to' ' Co · me' ' .


over into Macedonia and help us.' Still we


would not press you ' beyond measure,' nor


any farther indeed than is necessary, just to ,


opelJ YOllr eyes to whnt we deem t he ' exce l- ~


lent way' we urepoinring out. And we/ ove


10 think that our readers lire generally of tila'!'


class, who only need to be shown · hpw.. they ',


can do good, in oi', lel: to make it, their~ lIleat


and drink' to engage in th e work. L et me then


ask yOll, deur friends, if ) ' 011 ~ re satisfied,


. that the Practical Christiun is an important


insrrumentality in the field of Re fOrm ?- that


its influence is to ul1llermi~, e the great evils


that afflict our race, and hasten the reign or


Truth and Love P I f you think it . is not, of'


course we , cannot expect YOUI' co- operation ;.


hut if ): ou have decided that it is, then we trust


we shall hear n favorable report frorn you, at


tho commencem ent of our New Volume.


. T he Correspond ents otihe Paper, ' including


the Editor even, ~ I s k no earthly reward fOI'


their labors, thoughtheselabors, you must be


aWllre, orcupy no little of th eir time. Hr , Bal­luu


himself, certainly ~ aerificesas much, in the


COln'se ofa year, as lIny one woul, lto become


responsihle for. n't Icast, a hundred subs~ ribe.. s.


But we only a, h'ertln these filcts that those


upeeiallyinterested ; in Ihe snecess of our en­terprize-


ollr Christian 1J/' ethren, immediately ,


c01l1ueted with us- limy soe thnt it would he­imp08siLJle


fUI' Ill' to go filj',,: nrd, IInless solizI:


were disposed to 110 more IlltIn render theil'


nid' hy tnking a siugle ~ lRper. AIIII yet it is,


Ii'equenrly the ense that eveu wealthy profes-


' sors ofChristianily, think that to do lhis, is do­ffg'


Il" great'd ea l.!- ' HlIt" We~ wullld ~ urge" lf" ils~ a:


duty, ' fOl' Ihose who are Christ's, ' to Ilu what


lies' ill their power to spre/ al Ilis pure gosjl el,


as they underslanll it. ' He died 1' 01' lIlI, th at


_ t hey wllich live, should not henceforth livo


uuto themselves, hnt to save and hless 1111­mallity.'


N eve rlhe less, we do not ' IIy that it


is illcllmhent IIpon lilly to do more for the'


Practical Vlu'istian, thun merely to take one


copy of it, or so much- tor we would leave alii


to choose their own 1l1ethod of ' doing good,~


But ifliny one is satisfied it ougl '- t to be SIlS­tained,


anl( ll8ve' a wide circlliation, if he is '


able- and we leave it to conseie7lee to decide­let


him imitate the example of su ~ h ' of our


frienlls as have suhscrihed five and ten dollars


for irs graiuitolls c il'Culation. Some have even ·


done this whose faces ' we h8l'e never seen"


an'd who were never cOImecterl with us relig­iously-


liberality which we take gl'eatsatisfilc­tion


in record ing. And are we too sRnguiiJe,


brethren, \\' h ~ n we say thllt we have 710 doub IS­that


more of you who hnve long heen one


with us, as it wel: e, and whom God has bless­e,


1 with this world's goods, will the comiug


yeur do likewise? , We IHive great confidence


I iu YOII, anrl we cnn plead eam estly with you


on the suhject, inllsmuch as we are 1I0tplead­ing'


for self, hut fOI' l\ lankind- fOl' Freedom ,


nnd T emperance, and P ui- ity, and RighteonS' ­ness-


plearling that you would do what you


can to aid liS in hringin~ ahout that hlessed


ern, wheiJ th e killgl! OIllS of this world shall he ­COllle


the kingdom ofollr Lord ani! Saviorie-


SIIS Christ. '


Think, then, dear friends, if there 8re 1I0t


some poor ones ' l\ mOl) g your rcla. tives or ac­~


J1milJlances,. whose hearts you can he the


rJlea~ Js of purifying and mak ing glad, by send':


ing them the word ; of life, th rough the medi­III1l


of' our I) ress. We would not thin~ p1Qre


high Iy of our humble sheet than we ollght to !


think, or of its influeuce fur good, hut we


w01l1,1 have it - understood, thut we noiv~ Rar-,


tieularly speak to tjloso. who do thiRk high Iy


of it- either justly or . unj ustly- for its ' works'


sulle,' allli who are persuade, 1 that , wherever


it goes, it will enlighten rcmd bless. And if


such arc not fav ored , with voice llor pen,. them­&


elves'to preach and write- or i~ their circum­stlluces


do n~ t admit of tjleir Inhoring in this


I

Page 94 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840