CHAPLirs 
 
 RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 
 
2 ^^ /.2.. 
 
 Stom t^e feifirari? of 
 
 rofeBBor TTiffiam (gXiffer ^(Kxio% ©,©„ fe&.S 
 
 ^reeenfe^ 6l? (gits, ^arton 
 
 to t^e fetfirari? of 
 
 Q()tincefon C^eofogicaf ^eminarg 
 
 BV 4501 .C45 1837 
 Chaplin, Jeremiah, 1813- 
 
 1886. 
 Causes of religious 
 
 declension 
 
CAUSES/ FEB 191912. 
 OP ^^gjCAl ^ 
 
 RELIGIOUS DECLENSION; 
 
 PARTICULARLY THOSE WHICH HAVE OCCASIONED 
 THE 
 
 PRESENT LOW STATE OP RELIGION 
 
 AMONG DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTIANS, 
 
 v^ 
 
 BY JEREMIAH CHAPLIN, D. D. 
 
 Pastor of the Baptist Church in Willington, Con. 
 
 HARTFORD: 
 CANFIELD AND ROBINS 
 
 1837. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 183"?, ty JEREMiAtf 
 Chaplin, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of ConnectieiH. 
 
In compliance with the earnest desire of several individuals, al- 
 so of the Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, as expressed 
 in the annexed resolution, the undersigned take pleasure in stating 
 that the Rev. Dr. Chaplin has consented to present to the Christian 
 pubhc, in the form in which it now appears, his essay, originally 
 prepared for an annual address of the Board to our churches in 
 this state. It being adapted to the condition of churches of every 
 denomination — embracing no denominational pecuHarity — it was 
 thought that it would be acceptable to professors of rehgion gene- 
 rally. May the Lord bless this effort of his servant to all Chris- 
 tians, and cause him to feel that his labor has not been in vain. 
 
 In behalf of the Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, 
 
 HENRY JACKSON, 
 GURDON ROBINS, 
 
 Hartford, May ^Sth, 1837. Committee. 
 
 The Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, at their 
 Quarterly Meeting, held in Hartford on Tuesday, December 13th, 
 1836, having heard an essay, prepared by Rev. J. Chaphn, D. D., 
 on the present low state of religion in the churches, passed the fol- 
 lowing Resolution : 
 
 Resolved, That the Rev. Dr. Chaphn be requested to pubhsh 
 his Essay in the form of a volume, and that the Rev. Henry Jack- 
 son and Rev. Gurdon Robins be associated with him to make ar- 
 rangements for its pubhcation. 
 
 Attect, ORSAMUS ALLEN, Sec'y. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION— The low state of religion among Chris- 
 tians considered, and the importance of ascertaining 
 the causes of the evil. Primary cause, the depravity of 
 the human heart. Other causes stated and illustrated in 
 the following chapters. ....-- 5 
 
 CHAP. I._Neglect of the Bread of Life, ... 9 
 
 CHAP. II. — Improper connections with the ungodly, - 19 
 
 CHAP, m.— Spiritual Indolence, .... 23 
 
 CHAP. IV.— Want of a suitable control over our Thoughts, 26 
 
 CHAP. V. — Neglect of Prayer; particularly of secret Prayer, 33 
 
 CHAP. VI.— Temporal Prosperity, ... 44 
 
 CHAP. VII.— Desecration of the Sabbath, ... 54 
 
 CHAP. VIII. — Too great precipitancy in the admission of 
 
 candidates to Church Fellowship, .... 60 
 
 CHAP. IX. — Violent Religious Excitements, ... 66 
 
 CHAP. X. — Extensive prevalence of the opinion that the 
 influence of religious principle cannot be expected in 
 most cases to be steady and constant ... 69 
 
 CHAP. XI. — Perversion of the Doctrine of Grace, . . 75 
 
 CHAP, XII. — The manner in which Christian ministers too 
 
 often spend their time when out of the Pulpit, - - 81 
 
 CHAP. XIII. — Prevalence of the opinion that on the pastor 
 of a church is devolved nearly the whole work of promo- 
 ting the interests of religion in the place where he resides, 86 
 
 CHAP. XIV. — Manner in which Christians frequently treat 
 
 the Holy Spirit, 92 
 
 CHAP. XV. — Neglect of the daily exercise of Repentance 
 
 towards God and of faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, 100 
 
 CLOSING ADDRESS. - . _ _ . 103 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The low state of religion among Christians considered, 
 and the imjjortance of ascertaining the causes of the 
 evil. Primary cause, the depravity of the human heart. 
 Other causes stated and illustrated in the following 
 chapters. 
 
 That religion is, at present, in a low state, will, it 
 is believed, be generally admitted. There is, in- 
 deed, a vast deal said, especially on great public oc- 
 casions, in relation to the interests of Christ's king- 
 dom in the world. An abundance of warmth and 
 zeal is frequently manifested on these occasions ; 
 and very touching things are uttered by many of 
 the watchmen on Zion's walls, and by such of our 
 lay brethren as come forward to advocate her cause. 
 A kind of bustling activity is exhibited throughout 
 the ranks of " the sacramental host of God's elect.'' 
 The noble design in which the church has recently 
 embarked — that of extendino: the empire of her 
 King and Saviour through the world — has attract- 
 ed the attention of multitudes, and has elicited 
 from great numbers, not only expressions of ap- 
 probation and applause, but very liberal subscrip- 
 tions. The imposing grandeur of the enterprise 
 has contributed much to its popularity ; more has, 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 accordingly, been done for its promotion than the 
 most sanguine of its friends presumed to antici- 
 pate. But amidst all this stir and bustle, there seems 
 to be but little of the vitality and pov^^er of religion 
 — but little of that deep, sober, unostentatious 
 piety v^hich once characterized the Christian com- 
 munity. And in those v^^ho are destitute of the 
 grace of God, there is, generally speaking, scarce 
 any appearance of anxiety to flee from the v^rath 
 to come, and lay hold on eternal life. The riches, 
 honors, and pleasures of the world, most evidently 
 engross their time and thoughts. Many of them 
 take no pains to obtain that religious instruction 
 which is God's appointed means of saving souls ; 
 while those who visit our worshipping assemblies, 
 and pay a respectful attention to the public offices 
 of religion, appear to receive no salutary impres- 
 sions ; they seem as easy in their sins, and as much 
 devoted to worldly pursuits as they would natural- 
 ly be did they know that the gospel was a cunning- 
 ly devised fable, and that its whole system of doc- 
 trines, promises and duties, was founded in falsehood 
 or delusion. 
 
 At such a time the friends of God should be 
 alarmed, and labor to ascertain the cause of the de- 
 clension which so extensively prevails. Such an ef- 
 fort is, undoubtedly, the first step towards effecting a 
 removal of the existing evil. Till the cause be ascer- 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 tained, no remedy can be applied with any cer- 
 tainty of success. And when the cause is ascer- 
 tained, the proper remedy will soon be discovered. 
 It will, undoubtedly, be admitted by orthodox 
 Christians of every name, that the depravity of the 
 human heart lies at the foundation of the evil in 
 question. This depravity involves a constant ten- 
 dency towards the world — a tendency which, unless 
 counteracted, will effectually prevent each individual 
 in whom it exists from exercising those holy affec- 
 tions which the word of God requires. And as its 
 influence is great, so it is universal. It is not, in- 
 deed, equally powerful in all the individuals of our 
 race. In unconverted men it is supreme. In them 
 it has little, if any thing to contend with, except the 
 power of natural conscience, occasionally excited 
 by the common influences of the Spirit of God, and 
 those social principles which exist in the breast of 
 every human being, however depraved ; and which, 
 except in cases where depravity is fearfully aggra- 
 vated by long custom in sin, exert some influence 
 in opposition to the unholy dispositions of the heart. 
 In persons renewed by the grace of God, this de- 
 pravity has to contend, not only with conscience 
 and the social affections, but with the principle of 
 holiness implanted in the breast of every real Chris- 
 tian by the Divine Spirit. This principle is the 
 proper and direct antagonist of moral depravity, 
 
VlU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and exerts at times a powerful and most salutary in- 
 fluence in favor of God and holiness. But it too 
 often resembles a tender plant growing in an unpro- 
 pitious soil — a soil full of the seeds of useless and 
 noxious herbs, which require the unremitting atten- 
 tion of the cultivator to check their progress. The 
 heart even of the pious man, is sadly depraved ; 
 and this depravity is the grand, primary cause of 
 that decline in religion which we have so much rea- 
 son to lament. But this is a cause which always 
 exists ; when religion maintains its most elevated 
 stand, as well as when it is in its lowest state. There 
 are certain other things which exist and operate at 
 particular times, and which give to the depravity 
 of the heart that powerful, predominating influence, 
 which it occasionally exerts. To some of these the 
 attention of the Christian reader will be directed in 
 the following chapters. 
 
CAUSES 
 
 OF 
 
 RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Neglect of the Bread of Life. 
 
 Men in their unrenewed state are dead in tres- 
 passes and sins ; and they continue in this fearful 
 condition, till " God who is rich in mercy, for his 
 ^reat love wherewith he has loved them," is pleased 
 to " quicken them" by the communication of his Ho- 
 ly Spirit to their hearts. 
 
 This great moral change, commonly called re- 
 generation, is the commencement of spiritual life in 
 the soul ; a life which is destined to be eternal, and to 
 increase in strength both in the present and future 
 world. But this requires the use of certain means 
 which Divine wisdom has provided. Among these, 
 a competent supply of spiritual food is not the least 
 important. Does any one inquire, what is meant 
 by spiritual food ? The answer is ready : it is that 
 2 
 
10 CAUSES OF 
 
 system of truth contained in the sacred scriptures. 
 Divine truth is the proper aliment of the soul. Ac- 
 cordingly, St. Peter, addressing his brethren, says : 
 " As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the 
 word, that ye may grow thereby." It may be thought 
 an objection, that our Saviour calls himself " the 
 bread of life." But the difficulty will instantly van- 
 ish when we consider that it is by means of the truth 
 contained in the Bible, that Christ is presented to 
 the soul as the bread of life. It is from this holy 
 book we obtain our knowledge of Christ, and of 
 the fullness of grace and truth which is to be found 
 in him. We are, accordingly, sometimes represent- 
 ed as feeding upon Christ, and sometimes upon the 
 truth, or word of God. Both expressions have sub- 
 stantially the same meaning. 
 
 Let it be further remarked, that there are two 
 principal methods by which this food is obtained. 
 The first is, by going directly to the Bible, the grand 
 repository of sacred truth. This, every Christian, 
 in ordinary circumstances, is bound to do daily, and 
 more than once in a day. Most people partake of 
 temporal food thrice a day. And if Christians would 
 enjoy spiritual health, they must do the same in re- 
 lation to " that meat which endureth to everlasting 
 life." Besides, as we have our stated seasons for 
 partaking of temporal food, it is highly important 
 that we adopt a similar arrangement in regard to 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 11 
 
 spiritual food. Particular portions of each day — 
 say in the morning, at noon, and at night — should 
 be devoted to the work of perusing the sacred vol- 
 ume, and meditating on its precious and glorious 
 truths. And it is very important that, in attending 
 to the Bible, we peruse it in course ; otherwise por- 
 tions, perhaps some very interesting portions of it, 
 will be wholly neglected. Besides, we should la- 
 bour to understand what we read ; to read, and not 
 understand, will be of no use to us. Our food does 
 us no good unless it be digested : and divine truth, 
 precious and glorious as it is, is equally useless, un- 
 less it be understood. It is almost equally important 
 that much of the Bible be treasured up in memory. 
 Truths read and forgotten, are not likely to be of 
 any permanent benefit to the soul. They are of no 
 use any longer than they are remembered. I could 
 name an individual who, in early life, adopted the 
 following method of perusing the Scriptures. He 
 divided the whole Bible into three sections ; the 
 first comprising the Old Testament as far as the end 
 of Esther ; the second, all the remainder of the Old 
 Testament ; while the third contained the whole of 
 the New. He read each of the three sections in 
 course, and a portion of each every day. And it 
 was his practice when he found a passage uncom- 
 monly interesting, to pay particular attention to it. 
 If, for example, it furnished proof of any doctrine, 
 
12 CAUSES OF 
 
 or contained a promise, or a threat, or an invitation, 
 or any thing remarkably pathetic, sublime, or beau- 
 tiful, or proper to be used in prayer, he was accus- 
 tomed to stop, and read the passage over, leisurely, 
 several times, until it v\^as pretty thoroughly imprint- 
 ed on his memory. He would then read on as 
 usual. And this course he pursued for months and 
 years. The result was that, in process of time, and 
 without much labor, he had treasured up a very 
 considerable portion of the whole Bible in memory, 
 and such parts of it, too, as are peculiarly important 
 and valuable. Hence, he found himself furnished 
 with plenty of materials for the most profitable 
 meditation — materials always in readiness ; so that 
 when he was engaged in secular business, or was on 
 a journey, or was hindered in any other way from 
 reading the Bible, its contents were so familiar that 
 he could proceed with the most interesting trains of 
 thought, with nearly the same pleasure and success, 
 as he could expect to enjoy with the Bible in his 
 hand. Such was the course adopted by the individ- 
 ual in question : and such were some of the benefits 
 he derived from it. And would it not be well for 
 all Christians who can read, to adopt a similar 
 course ? Would it not contribute greatly to pro- 
 mote the spirit and power of religion in their souls ? 
 And is not the neglect of this holy book one great 
 reason why so many Christians at the present time 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 13 
 
 are in a feeble, famished, languishing condition ? It 
 is as certain as any thing demonstrated in the math- 
 ematics, that holy exercises of heart are all depend- 
 ent on the truths of the Bible. Without the influ- 
 ence of these truths, the greatest Christian in 
 the world would lose his spiritual life, and sink into 
 the condition of those who are dead in tresspasses and 
 sins. And can we wonder that such multitudes of 
 professed Christians are at present laboring under 
 a sad decline in regard to their spiritual hfe, and 
 seem hardly adequate to the performance of any spi- 
 ritual duty ? The Bible is neglected by them. They 
 seldom read it ; and when they do, it is done in such 
 a careless and hurried manner as to impart no in- 
 struction, and, consequently, no nourishment to their 
 souls. Our temporal food does us but Httle good 
 unless it be taken leisurely, and be properly digest- 
 ed. The same is true of that food which endureth 
 to everlasting life. 
 
 An objector may here say " It is only a few mo- 
 ments of each day that we can devote to reading of 
 any kind : and if we read the Bible as much as you 
 recommend, we can read no other works whatever. 
 Shall we then neglect to read the religious publica- 
 tions of the day ? Shall we leave off" taking religious 
 newspapers and magazines ? Must we dismiss all 
 books but the Bible ?" 
 
 In reply I would remark, that if an individual is 
 
 2* 
 
14 CAUSES OF 
 
 SO situated that he must either dismiss his Bible, or 
 all other books, the latter should, unquestionably, be 
 done. The Bible contains a far richer treasure than 
 all the other books in the world. But the alterna- 
 tive above stated does not often exist. Even the 
 man who is immersed in secular business can find 
 time, if he earnestly desires it, for reading the Bible 
 several times in a day, and for consulting commen- 
 taries, and for perusing, at least one religious peri- 
 odical besides. The same is true of the man who 
 is so indigent that he^has to labor hard for his daily 
 bread. Early rising, a suitable division of time, and 
 abstinence from idle conversation and vain amuse- 
 ments, will enable any man, who enjoys his liberty 
 and his health, to devote more than one hour, every 
 day, to profitable reading. 
 
 There is another method of obtaining the bread 
 of life ; and that is by attending on the preached 
 gospel. This is recommended by some advantages 
 which do not accompany the perusal of the Scrip- 
 tures. The great truths of revelation as exhibited 
 in the Bible resemble the various productions of the 
 earth as they are found in the field, or in the store. 
 The same truths as exhibited from the pulpit by a 
 scribe well instructed in the kingdom of God, 
 may be compared to food dressed under the direc- 
 tion of a faithful steward, and set on the table. It is 
 on some accounts better adapted to the nourishment 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 15 
 
 of our bodies than it was in its original state. And 
 this, no doubt, is one reason why the Lord who is 
 so attentive to all our spiritual wants, has ordained 
 the ministry of his word as the grand means of feed- 
 ing his church and saving souls. There is this ad- 
 ditional advantage attending the preached gospel, 
 that if the word is skilfully divided, each hearer has 
 such a portion of spiritual food assigned him, as his 
 peculiar state and circumstances require. To babes 
 in Christ milk is administered ; while strong meat is 
 provided for such of the family of God as have at- 
 tained to maturity of age. 
 
 It is, however, important to observe, that there is 
 one disadvantage attending the reception of our spir- 
 itual food from the hands of the ordinary ministers 
 of the gospel. As they are not, however skilful 
 and pious, divinely inspired, they are liable to adul- 
 terate the word of God by mixing errors with the 
 truths which they exhibit. Now, whatever some 
 may think, error is not food, but poison to the soul. 
 And this poison is, in many cases, so intimately com- 
 bined with the bread of life, and so powerfully re- 
 commended by the eloquence of the preacher, and 
 the high rank he holds in our estimation, that we are 
 in great danger of receiving it without hesitation, 
 and are, consequently, liable to suffer much in re- 
 gard to our spiritual health, without even suspecting 
 the cause of our misfortune. This consideration. 
 
16 CAUSES OF 
 
 however, should not hinder us from going to the 
 house of God to hear his word dispensed ; but should 
 rather excite us to analyze all we hear from the pul- 
 pit, and to separate, as far as possible, the precious 
 from the vile, comparing both with the infallible 
 standard presented in the word of God. And this 
 exercise, though at first it is likely to be somewhat 
 painful, is eminently adapted to advance the Chris- 
 tian in spiritual knowledge, and, consequently, to 
 increase his ability to digest that " strong meat," of 
 which St. Paul speaks in the fifth chapter of his 
 epistle to the Hebrews. 
 
 Now in regard to this latter method of obtain- 
 ing the bread of life, there is, unquestionably, a 
 most criminal neglect on the part of professors of 
 religion. They do not attend on the preached 
 word so punctually as they ought, and a large por- 
 tion of those who do attend with a good degree of 
 punctuality on the Sabbath, are still neglectful of re- 
 ligious meetings on secular days, and frequently ab- 
 sent themselves without any good reason. Nor is 
 this all. They do not hear, when they do attend, 
 with becoming interest. Their thoughts are too of- 
 ten wandering, with the fool's eye, to the ends of 
 the earth. And, frequently, when their atten- 
 tion is sufficiently fixed, they hear as mere 
 speculatists, without applying the truth to them- 
 selves, and mixing it with faith. Hence, though 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 17 
 
 interested and entertained^ they are not profited ; 
 they get no food for their souls. This, alas ! seems 
 to be true of multitudes of professors at the present 
 day, even of such as are assiduous in their attend- 
 ance on the ministry of the word. The gospel 
 comes to them rather as the word of man, than as 
 the word of God. Hence, though it may please 
 them, it is of no real benefit. They go to the sanc- 
 tuary of God, as people go to the theatre, to be 
 amused ; and no wonder that amusement is all they 
 obtain. The most evangelical and able discourses 
 are in a great measure lost upon them. An abun- 
 dance of the bread of life is set before them. They 
 look upon it, admire it, and praise it. And there 
 the matter ends. They do not feed upon it, and 
 therefore pine and languish in the midst of plenty. 
 
 There are many who neglect the preached word, 
 under the pretence that the man who dispenses it is 
 not an interesting preacher. He is not so learned, 
 or so ingenious, or so eloquent, as he should be. He 
 does nothing more than exhibit plain truth in a plain 
 manner. They want something different. They 
 resemble the Israelites in the wilderness who be- 
 came tired of the manna which God had given them, 
 and desired flesh. God sent them flesh in abun- 
 dance, and with it sent the most fearful tokens of 
 his wrath. And persons who indulge the spirit of 
 those perverse Israelites have reason to tremble lest 
 
18 CAUSES OF 
 
 he should adopt a similar course with respect to 
 themselves, and, while he " grants them their request, 
 should send leanness into their souls." Alas ! 
 alas ! in how many instances has he done it already ? 
 And let it be remembered that professors of the above 
 description are very numerous. What multitudes 
 there are who cannot hear a gospel sermon unless 
 it contain a great many fine figures, and what they 
 call new and striking thoughts, embellished with the 
 charms of language and the graces of oratory! 
 Such persons, I am. sure, would have considered 
 St. Paul a very dull preacher. How could they 
 bear to hear a man who came to them, " not with 
 excellency of speech or of wisdom," and who " de- 
 termined not to know any thing among them save Je- 
 sus Christ and him crucified" ? But such preaching as 
 that of Paul was, after all, as good, at least, as the 
 fashionable preaching of the present day. People 
 who paid a proper attention to the preaching of this 
 great apostle were " strong in the Lord and in the 
 power of his might." His discourses were full of 
 Christ that bread of God which came down from 
 heaven. And I cannot but think that in proportion 
 as Christian ministers of the present day resemble 
 St. Paul, their sermons and other discourses will be 
 edifying to the man who hears them with right feel- 
 ings of heart. He will grow in grace and in the 
 knowledge of Christ ; while those who, loathing this 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 19 
 
 heavenly manna, are seeking something else, must, 
 though real Christians, be weak, and dwarfish, and 
 sickly , and, unless their course be changed, must 
 wait a long time before they attain to the stature 
 of perfect men in Christ. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Improper connections with the ungodly. 
 
 That physical health is often destroyed by asso- 
 ciating freely with persons afflicted with contagious 
 diseases, is a fact too well known to need any proof. 
 And this evil has its counterpart in the moral and 
 spiritual world. By indulging ourselves in impro- 
 per intimacies with ungodly men, we are in great 
 danger of becoming infected with their spirit, and of 
 copying their example. It is indeed true, that, so 
 long as we are in the world, we must have some in- 
 tercourse with unrenewed men ; not only with the 
 decent and the moral, but with those who are dis- 
 tinguished by vice and wickedness. We frequently 
 have secular business to transact with such men. 
 We are sometimes united to them by ties of affinity 
 
20 CAUSES OF 
 
 or consanguinity. And it is often our duty to go 
 among them in order to reclaim them from the error 
 of their ways. Accordingly, St. Paul intimates 
 to his Corinthian brethren that they could not always 
 avoid the company, even of fornicators, unless they 
 would go out of the world. Our Saviour him- 
 self associated with publicans and sinners that he 
 might have opportunity of speaking to them the 
 words of eternal life, and of rescuing them from that 
 state of moral pollution and degradation into which 
 they had fallen. Nor will any one deny that this 
 was one of the loveliest traits in the character of 
 Him whose errand into the world was, " not to call 
 the righteous, but sinners to repentance f or assert 
 that it is not lawful for his disciples to copy this ex- 
 cellence in his character. No, it unquestionably 
 becomes his people, and especially his ministers, to 
 " go into the streets and lanes, the highways and 
 hedges," and labour to persuade the vilest of man- 
 kind to come to that feast which eternal wisdom has 
 provided. And, blessed be God, many of his peo- 
 ple are assiduously and successfully employed, at 
 present, in this labor of love. And they need not 
 fear the contaminating influence of so intimate an 
 intercourse with the profligate and vicious. The 
 grace which has prompted them to undertake this 
 benevolent and holy enterprise, is sufficient to pro- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 21 
 
 tect them, and will protect them against the moral 
 infection to which they are exposed. 
 
 But there are connections with unrenewed men 
 of a character very different from those to which 
 I have now adverted. Many a professor of reli- 
 gion has, without the least necessity, formed allian- 
 ces, political, social, or matrimonial, with individuals 
 whose views of religion were essentially corrupt, 
 and whose morals, to say the least, did not rise 
 above the depressed standard of public opinion 
 — a standard far less elevated than that of our Sa- 
 viour and his apostles. And these alliances have 
 had the effect on each of the persons in question 
 which might have been expected. His situation 
 has, to the interests of his soul, been dangerous in 
 the extreme. His moral atmosphere has, almost 
 continually, been loaded with pestilence and deatL 
 He has gradually become assimilated to the char- 
 acter of his associates : has imbibed their spirit, has 
 embraced the maxims of worldly wisdom by which 
 he found them governed, and has become polluted 
 with all the moral diseases which had spread their 
 deleterious influences around him. The evil to which 
 I have now adverted is one of general prevalence, 
 and threatens to extend itself over the whole reli- 
 gious community. It is that friendship of the 
 world which is enmity with God, and which tends so 
 eminently to destroy the impress of his holiness on 
 3 
 
22 CAUSES OP 
 
 the children of his grace. It was against this evil 
 that St. Paul lifted his warning voice in his second 
 epistle to the church in Corinth, " Be ye not unequal- 
 ly yoked together with unbelievers ; for what fel- 
 lowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? 
 and what communion hath light with darkness ? and 
 what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or what part 
 hath he that believeth with an infidel ? and what 
 agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? for 
 ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath 
 said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I 
 will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
 Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye 
 separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean 
 thing ; and I will receive you, and will be a Fa- 
 ther unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- 
 ters, saith the Lord Almighty." A disregard of this 
 direction, of the reasons on which it is founded, and 
 of the cheering assurance by which it is enforced^ 
 is one of the prominent causes of the low state of 
 religion among us. It has polluted and paralyzed 
 the Christian community ; and, unless counteracted, 
 must soon reduce it to one fearful mass of moral 
 corruption, and entirely obliterate the distinction, 
 once so fair and legible, between the church of Je- 
 sus Christ, and the world that lies in wickedness. 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Spiritual Indolence. 
 
 A proper attention to exercise, is well known to 
 be essential to the health of the body. However 
 strong and vigorous the physical constitution of an 
 individual, his- strength in a short time will be great- 
 ly impaired, if exercise be wholly neglected. Should 
 the most athletic person you can name betake him- 
 self to his bed, and lie there the whole time for seve- 
 ral months, he will scarcely be able, at the expira- 
 tion of that time, to walk across the floor of his 
 apartment. And he will be singularly fortunate if 
 disease has not invaded his enfeebled frame. Now 
 there is, in this respect, a striking analogy between 
 the body and the soul. The latter needs exercise 
 as much as the former. A want of suitable em- 
 ployment tends greatly to enervate the intellectual 
 powers, and to disqualify them for those vigorous 
 efforts to which they are naturally adapted. The 
 same holds when man is considered as a moral 
 and spiritual being. Let the Christian who is bless- 
 ed with the most vigorous spiritual health, neglect to 
 exercise those gifts and graces with which the Lord 
 has endowed him, and though he were a Sampson 
 in " the sacramental host," he must soon lose his 
 
24 CAUSES OF 
 
 giant strength, and, on account of the weakness he 
 betrays, become the sport and derision of the ene- 
 mies of God. 
 
 It deserves to be remembered here, that it is not 
 every kind of exercise w^hich will answer the pur- 
 pose. It is now generally agreed that such labor 
 as is ordinarily performed by the industrious part of 
 the community is most conducive to bodily health. 
 Those gymnastic exercises which were so much in 
 vogue a few years since, have nearly all been laid 
 aside. Experience has decided that they are not 
 so beneficial to the physical system, as those agri- 
 cultural and mechanical exercises in which the great 
 mass of mankind are generally engaged, and from 
 which their subsistence is derived. The labors of 
 the farm and of the mechanics' shop, have, for this, 
 as well as for other reasons, been substituted in our 
 seminaries of learning for those of the gymnasium, 
 which were formerly so much extolled. It is now 
 settled that productive labor is most conducive to 
 bodily health. And can any one doubt whether the 
 same holds in regard to spiritual health ? Produc- 
 tive labor in a spiritual sense, is labor adapted to 
 promote the glory of God, and the salvation of men ; 
 in other words, it is the labor which God requires ; 
 it is obedience to his commands. And this his peo- 
 ple invariably find most conducive to their moral 
 and spiritual health. Exercises not enjoined by the 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 25 
 
 word of God, have no tendency to invigorate the 
 Christian's spiritual powers. They may increase 
 his strength as an intellectual being. No doubt the 
 sagacity of wicked men and devils has often been 
 augmented by the efforts which they have made in 
 opposition to Christ and his kingdom. But the sys- 
 tem of holy affections existing in the Christian's 
 heart is never strengthened, but invariably weaken- 
 ed, by such labors, however regular and systematic, 
 as are not enjoined, or authorized, by the word 
 of God. It is the neglect of those exercises which 
 ■God requires ; in other words, the neglect of dutt/^ 
 which, for some time past, has been weakening the 
 -spiritual energies of his people. They have, per- 
 haps, been busily employed ; not, however, in serv- 
 ing God or their generation according to his will, 
 but in useless speculations, or in sharp disputes and 
 angry controversies ; or in efforts to advance their 
 own sect, to the injury, if not to the ruin, of other 
 ■sects ; or in unjustifiable endeavors to obtain the 
 riches, honors, and pleasures of the world. There 
 has been too much ground for the complaint against 
 professors of our day, which St. Paul uttered 
 against professors of his time ; " All seek their own 
 not the things which are Jesus Christ's." A con- 
 stant and vigorous effort to advanee his cause, in con- 
 formity with the directions of his word, is rarely to 
 be met with. In regard to this matter, though in- 
 3* 
 
26 CAUSES OF 
 
 finitely momentous, the wise and foolish virgins 
 seem to be slumbering together. No wonder, then^ 
 that the former are in a feeble and languishing condi- 
 tion. If the reverse were true, we must consider 
 the order of nature, in regard to intellectual and mo- 
 ral beings, as essentially subverted. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Want of a suitable Control over our Thoughts. 
 
 " Keep thy heart with all diligence," is one of the 
 most important of those rules for which we are in- 
 debted to the wisest of men. The consideration 
 which he adduces to enforce the rule, is equally de- 
 serving of our attention. " For out of it," that is, 
 out of the heart, '* are the issues of life ;" meaning 
 either that a man's life and conversation will corres- 
 pond with the state of his heart, just as the stream is 
 pure, or otherwise, according to the quality of the 
 fountain ; or else, that out of a heart well kept will 
 flow the streams of a holy life and godly conversa- 
 tion, pleasing to God, and beneficial to ourselves and 
 all around us. In either sense, keeping the heart 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 27 
 
 must be a work of vast importance ; a work in 
 which we ought to be industriously and unremitting- 
 ly employed. Accordingly, the sacred writer who 
 has given us the direction, says, not simply, " keep 
 thy heart," but keep it "with diligence;'' nay, " with 
 all diligence." The most constant and persevering 
 assiduity, in the view of this inspired philosopher 
 and sage, was not too much to be employed by any 
 man in keeping his heart. The direction is, indeed, 
 one of wide extent, embracing the whole range of 
 duties which we are bound to discharge in relation 
 to our intellectual and moral nature. The full il- 
 lustration of it, ^therefore, would require a volume, 
 instead of a single chapter, or part of a chapter, 
 rather, of a short essay. I shall, of course, leave 
 the general subject untouched, and shall confine my- 
 self to the single point which stands connected with 
 my present object, namely, the proper regulation of 
 our thoughts. This, to every man who is acquaint- 
 ed with the philosophy of the human mind, or who 
 has been at all accustomed to observe his own men- 
 tal processes, must appear, a very difficult task. It 
 is only to a certain extent that our thoughts are 
 under our control. A succession of ideas in the mind 
 is unavoidable. The greatest effort on our part to 
 detain an idea to the exclusion of all other ideas, is 
 not sufficient to ensure success for any great length 
 of time. Other thoughts will crowd in, and banish 
 
28 CAUSES OF 
 
 for a season that which we are seeking to detain. 
 The various relations among our thoughts, such as 
 those of cause and effect, of resemblance and con- 
 trast, and of contiguity in time and place, exert a 
 mighty influence on our intellectual powers, and 
 proportionably increase the difficulty of subjecting 
 them to proper regulation. Nor is this all. We 
 have strong reason to believe that those " principali- 
 ties and powers" of which the Bible speak^ those 
 " spiritual wickednesses in high places" which it 
 represents as " rulers of the darkness of this world,'* 
 frequently inject into the mind, even of a good 
 man, a variety of thoughts so intrinsically bad, that 
 did he not suspect the cause from which they were 
 derived, he must consider himself as utterly desti- 
 tute of the grace of God. Still, there is much which 
 we have it in our power to do for the regulation of 
 our thoughts. When, as often happens, several 
 trains of thought are presented to the mind, it can 
 select one of them, and pursue it, disregarding the 
 rest. It can vary the train of thought by change of 
 scenery, or change of company, or change of 
 books. And by cherishing a particular tone of mind, 
 it can secure a succession of ideas in harmony with 
 it. And so far as we have ability to control and 
 regulate our thoughts, we are, doubtless, under ob- 
 ligation to do it. We are, of course, guilty in the 
 sight of God, if instead of exercising this ability, 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 29 
 
 we suffer our intellectual movements to resemble 
 those of a ship which has no rudder, and, conse- 
 quently, is made the sport of every wind that 
 blows.* 
 
 In the regulation of our thoughts, the grand object 
 should be to secure such a succession of them as is 
 adapted to foster right feelings of heart. It cannot 
 have escaped the notice of any reflecting man, that 
 as certain states of mind give rise to corresponding 
 thoughts ; so certain thoughts are suited to cherish 
 and promote certain states of mind. If, for exam- 
 ple, you have received an injury from one of your 
 fellow men ; your thinking of that injury and bring- 
 ing into view the various circumstances of aggra- 
 vation by which it was attended, has a powerful 
 tendency to increase your resentment towards its 
 author. In lik e manner, if you have received a sig- 
 nal favor from any one, the more you revolve it in 
 your thoughts, the livelier will be your emotions 
 'Of gratitude towards your benefactor. Hence, 
 wherever there exists a principle of real piety, it can 
 •hardly fail to be cherished and heightened by med- 
 itating on the being and perfections of God, and par- 
 ticularly, on that boundless grace which he has so 
 signally manifested in the stupendous work of man's 
 redemption. Such meditations are most admirably 
 fiuited to inspire us with love and gratitude to God, 
 
 * See Elements of Criticism. 
 
30 CAUSES OF 
 
 with godly sorrow for sin, with humble submission 
 to the divine will ; with holy confidence in the di- 
 vine promises, and, indeed, with all those devout 
 affections which the sacred volume enjoins. It is 
 equally true, that whenever a pious man allows him- 
 self to think without necessity, of the riches, honors 
 and pleasures of the world; and, especially, when 
 these become daily and hourly the subjects of his 
 meditation, the current of his thoughts is directly 
 calculated to foster a worldly spirit, and proportion- 
 ably to diminish and destroy the spirit of real piety. 
 That this is one of the prominent evils of the 
 present day, is to the writer exceedingly manifest. 
 He does not, indeed, presume to invade the province 
 of Him whose dread prerogative it is to search the 
 heart and try the reins. But if he may trust to that 
 criterion which the great Preacher of righteousness 
 has furnished, " Out of the abundance of the heart 
 the mouth speaketh," he need not hesitate to aver, 
 that the thoughts of most professors of religion 
 have, for a long time, been principally occupied with 
 subjects of a worldly nature. They have been say- 
 ing, "What shall we eat?" and " What shall we 
 drink ?" and " Wherewithal shall we be clothed ?" 
 Or, if raised above indigence and dependence, they 
 have been inquiring how they might secure the pro- 
 perty which they have acquired, and acquire more. 
 What multitudes, too, have been employed in dis- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 31 
 
 cussing the political questions of the day ; or in can- 
 vassing the merits of some favorite classic author ; 
 or in detailing the blemishes and beauties to be found 
 in the productions of some new aspirant for a place 
 among the elegant writers of the age ! Meantime, 
 how little has been said of Him who is " God mani- 
 fest in the flesh," " the brightness of his Father's 
 * glory and the express image of his person ;" or of 
 that great redemption which he came into the world 
 to accomplish ; or of the precious soul, and its de- 
 praved and ruined state ; or of that dread eternity 
 to which it is bound ! And with these facts, can we 
 reasonably doubt with what objects the thoughts of 
 men, even of professed Christians, have been prin- 
 cipally occupied ? Or can we wonder that, under 
 these circumstances, the religious state of the Chris- 
 tian community has been sinking lower and lower ? 
 If the current of our thoughts exerts the important 
 influence, which we have represented it as exerting, 
 on the feelings our hearts, our hearts cannot fail to 
 be in a wretched state, when for days, and weeks, 
 and months, the subjects of our contemplation are 
 principally of a worldly nature. 
 
 It will, indeed, be readily admitted, that most men 
 are under the necessity of devoting a large portion 
 of their time to secular affairs ; and, of course, are 
 obliged to think, more or less, on subjects of a secu- 
 lar nature ; since nobody can properly attend to 
 
32 CAUSES OF 
 
 business of any kind without bestowing some 
 thought upon it. But let conscience speak, and it 
 will declare, that a large portion of our worldly 
 thoughts have no tendency to promote the success 
 of our worldly business. To say nothing of those 
 speculations in which men of a peculiar cast of mind 
 indulge, and which savor more of the ravings of in- 
 sanity than of the chastened operations of a sound 
 understanding — speculations in which the indi- 
 vidual supposes himself to experience the most 
 surprising elevations of fortune ; to make his way 
 in a few months, and even in a few days, from in- 
 digence and obscurity to the very pinnacle of world- 
 ly greatness ; how true it is that a very large 
 proportion of men's thoughts respecting their secu- 
 lar affairs, which cannot be denominated romantic 
 or extravagant, are nevertheless entirely superflu- 
 ous, contribute nothing to the maturity or per- 
 fection of their worldly schemes, and serve no other 
 purpose than to foster a wordly spirit, and to ex- 
 clude the thoughts of God, and eternal realities from 
 their minds ! We cannot have a clearer proof of 
 this point than the well known fact that at those 
 •seasons in which the people of God are blessed with 
 a revival of religion in their souls, and live for a time 
 truly devoted to God, their thoughts are almost ex- 
 clusively employed in the contemplation of heaven- 
 ly things, and still their worldly business is as well 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 33 
 
 managed, and is prosecuted, to say the least, with 
 as much success, as it was when it engrossed their 
 whole attention. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Neglect of prayer ; particularly, of sbcrbt prayer. 
 
 As that prayer which is acceptable to God, im- 
 plies right feelings of heart ; so the right perform- 
 ance of this duty has a powerful tendency to pre- 
 serve the heart in a holy and heavenly frame, and to 
 prevent those spiritual decays which the disciples 
 of Christ too often experience. The very act of 
 approaching unto God, and holding converse with 
 him, is admirably adapted to inspire us with those 
 holy affections which he requires, and the posses- 
 sion of which is so ennobling to the human mind. 
 Engaging in the duty of prayer necessarily involves 
 a direction of the mind towards Him in whose char- 
 acter all possible excellencies are combined; to 
 whom belong the incomprehensible attributes of 
 omnipresence, omniscience, and almighty power; 
 whose righteousness is like the great mountains, and 
 whose judgments are a mighty deep ; who is so 
 4 
 
34 CAUSES OF 
 
 pure that the heavens are not clean in his sight ; 
 and so bountiful and gracious that he causes his sun 
 to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth his 
 rain on the just and on the unjust ; nay, so compas- 
 sionate and kind, that he has given his only begot- 
 ten and well-beloved Son to suffer and die for our re- 
 bellious race, that whosoever believeth in him may 
 not perish but have eternal life ; and who, while he 
 sways his sceptre over all worlds, is so managing 
 the vast concerns of the universe as to render them 
 all subservient to his own glory, and to the highest 
 happiness of his moral kingdom. It cannot appear 
 strange, therefore, that the man who has daily inter- 
 course with God, should habitually feel that reve- 
 rence and Godly fear which he requires, should pos- 
 sess a large measure of genuine humility, should 
 mourn for sin after godly sort, and at the same 
 time should cherish that holy confidence in God so 
 eminently suited both to tranquillize the mind, amidst 
 all the changes and revolutions of the world, and to 
 prepare it for vigorous efforts in the cause of Christ 
 and of human happiness. Nor is it less true that 
 the duty of prayer, rightly performed, is admirably 
 adapted to make a man feel the real dignity of his 
 nature. Nothing shows the greatness of the human 
 mind in so striking a light as its possession of those 
 capacities and powers which qualify it to know, to 
 serve, and to enjoy its Creator. The prayerless 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 
 
 35 
 
 man has no idea of the real grandeur of his own 
 soul. Estranged from God, he cannot know what 
 pure and exalted pleasures his intellectual and mor- 
 al nature is fitted to enjoy. He has pride and van- 
 ity in abundance ; but no just sense of the dignity 
 of his nature. Nor can he ever attain it till he 
 knows by happy experience what it is to approach 
 unto God, and exercise towards him those pious af- 
 fections which the right performance of the duty of 
 prayer necessarily involves. It is equally true, that 
 vi^hen the real Christian neglects this duty, he loses 
 in a great measure those views and feelings of which 
 the man who never prays is habitually and totally 
 destitute ; and is, of course, deprived of that securi- 
 ty against declension and apostasy which the people 
 of God, in their best days, are wont to enjoy. 
 
 But we must not stop here. The duty of prayer 
 is especially valuable as a means of obtaining from 
 Him whom we address, the various blessings of 
 which we stand in need. God hears and answers 
 prayer. Of this no one can entertain a doubt who 
 believes the declarations of the inspired volume. It 
 asserts in the plainest terms the availableness of 
 prayer. It represents the Almighty as saying to 
 each of his people, " Call upon me in the day of 
 trouble ; I will deliver thee ; and thou shalt glorify 
 me." It assures us that " the effectual fervent prayer 
 of a righteous man availeth much." It introduces 
 
36 CAUSES OF 
 
 our Saviour as saying to his disciples, " Ask, and it 
 shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
 and it shall be opened unto you. For every one 
 that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; 
 and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If ye, 
 being evil, knov^ how^ to give good gifts to your 
 children ; how much more shall your Father w^ho 
 is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
 him !" Nov^^ the duty of prayer must be highly im- 
 portant to us, if it be thus prevalent with God ; es- 
 pecially, if by means of it we can obtain the gift of 
 the Holy Spirit. This is better, unspeakably bet- 
 ter, than all the riches, honors, and pleasures of the 
 world. To have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as 
 our teacher, sanctifier, and comforter, is to be filled 
 with all the fulness of God ; to have Christ in us the 
 hope of glory ; to be blessed with all spiritual bless- 
 ings in heavenly places ; nay, to be temples of the 
 living God, and to experience, on earth, the earnest 
 and the commencement of eternal life and glory in 
 heaven. How conducive, then, must the duty of 
 prayer be to the Christian's spiritual prosperity! 
 and how great the loss which he must sustain from 
 the habitual neglect of it ! And can we doubt wheth- 
 er this neglect is one cause of the low state of reli- 
 gion among us ? 
 
 " But is it true that the duty of prayer is neglect- 
 ed by the people of God ? Do they not assemble 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 37 
 
 as usual for religious worship on the Lord*s day ? 
 Do not many assemble for the same purpose in the 
 vestry, or conference room, on secular days ? And 
 do not Christians generally offer the morning and 
 evening sacrifices on the family altar ?" 
 
 That these duties are performed by many will be 
 readily granted. But is it not a lamentable truth, 
 that many professors of religion absent themselves 
 a large portion of the time from our worshipping as- 
 semblies on the Lord's day ? that in many places the 
 vestry and the conference room are almost deserted ? 
 and that the family altar in many Christian families is 
 seldom approached ? and is it not equally true that, 
 when the duty of prayer is performed, it is generally 
 characterized by such coldness and formality, as 
 hardly to deserve the name of prayer ? There 
 seems to be little or nothing of that holy warmth 
 and fervor by which the prayers of God's people 
 were once distinguished. And can it be supposed 
 that when social prayer is so much neglected, or so 
 heartlessly performed, secret prayer, if performed 
 at all, is characterized by those feelings of heart 
 which render it acceptable to God? 
 
 Let it be here remarked that the neglect of secret 
 prayer is probably a principal cause of the neglect, 
 or unacceptable performance of the duty of social 
 prayer, and of all that stupidity and worldliness, 
 and inattention to the things of God of which, at 
 
38 CAUSES OP 
 
 at present, there is so much reason to complain. It 
 is an old and a just saying among pious people, that 
 " declension begins at the closet door.^^ A profess- 
 or of religion is much more likely to neglect secret 
 than social prayer. He cannot neglect the latter 
 without exposing himself to the animadversions and 
 reproaches of both saints and sinners ; nor, conse- 
 quently, without impairing his reputation as a reli- 
 gious man. His absence from the meeting house, 
 or the vestry, or the family altar, at the usual sea- 
 sons of devotion, cannot fail to be noticed and cen- 
 sured by those around him. His fellow Christians 
 who are steadfast in their profession cannot witness 
 such neglect without feelings of regret and disappro- 
 bation. Nor can it escape the sentence of condem- 
 nation from unconverted men, who, though they 
 have no proper regard to religion themselves, per- 
 ceive the glaring inconsistency which marks the 
 conduct of those who profess to be her votaries, and 
 yet pay little or no attention to the duties which she 
 enjoins. Hence, many a professor is induced to 
 attend on the stated exercises of social prayer, al- 
 though he has lost his interest in them, and no long- 
 er feels that it is good for him to draw near to God. 
 But the same does not hold in regard to secret pray- 
 er. This may be neglected for weeks and months, 
 without exposing the delinquent to censure or re- 
 proach. There is, accordingly, much reason to fear 
 that it is nedected by multitudes of professors whose 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 
 
 reputation as religious men stands high, and whose 
 seat is seldom empty at any of the appointed sea- 
 sons of social worship. But the omission of closet 
 duties is eminently prejudicial to the power of godli- 
 ness in the soul. It is in the closet we have the 
 freest, the most intimate, and the most ennobling in- 
 tercourse with the Father of our spirits. It is there, 
 especially, that we '^ draw near to God" and 
 " pour out our hearts before him." In the closet, 
 wc can be as particular as we please in confessing 
 our sins, in naming the trials and temptations which 
 have befallen us, in recounting the various blessings 
 which we have received, and in asking for those of 
 which we stand in need. Accordingly, it is in the 
 closet that the engaged Christian finds relief frorji 
 the burdens and overwhelming anxieties which he 
 experiences : and it is there he enjoys those fore- 
 tastes of heaven which wean him from the world, 
 secure him against temptation to sin, and stimulate 
 him to the vigorous discharge of all the duties of the 
 Christian life. Indeed, the lively, devoted Chris- 
 tian finds in his closet a fountain of living waters* 
 in partaking of which, his soul is daily refreshed' 
 and satisfied, and prepared to " endure hardness as 
 a good soldier of Jesus Christ." It is preeminently 
 true in regard to his secret devotions, that by " wait- 
 ing on the Lord he renews his strength," and, filled 
 with the Holy Spirit, is enabled to " mount up as 
 
40 CAUSES OP 
 
 on eagles* wings ; to run and not be weary ; to 
 walk, and not faint." And can he neglect an exer- 
 cise so conducive to his preservation from sin, and 
 to his growth in grace without experiencing a sad 
 decline in his spiritual condition ? This neglect is, 
 unquestionably, one cause of the low state of reli- 
 gion among us. The result of it is an entire desti- 
 tution of the means of defence against our spiritual 
 foes. There is nothing like intercourse with God in 
 the closet to fortify us against the allurements of 
 the world, the assaults of the prince of darkness, 
 or the depraved dispositions of our own hearts. Be- 
 sides, we may lay it down as a rule that, watching 
 and praying go together. We never watch as we 
 ought, unless we pray. Watching, without pray- 
 ing, is a presumptuous reliance on our own wisdom 
 and strength, and, of course, contributes nothing to 
 our safety. If we watch aright, we have a deep 
 sense of our own insufficiency, and of our depend- 
 ence on Him in whom are boundless knowledge and 
 everlasting strength. It is the vigilance of one 
 whose soul is filled with adoring thoughts of the all- 
 pervading presence and agency of Jehovah ; and 
 who, while disposed to walk amid surrounding dan- 
 gers with a cautious circumspection, feels that his 
 help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven 
 and earth. And this holy vigilance, which, as we 
 have seen, implies a punctual and faithful discharge 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 41 
 
 of closet duties, is one of our best securities against 
 defection ; nay, without a good degree of it, no 
 Christian was ever able to maintain a close and 
 humble walk with God. An unwatchful frame of 
 mind is the almost certain precursor of declension 
 and apostasy. 
 
 There is another point of view in which the neg- 
 lect of secret prayer may account in a very satis- 
 factory manner for the present low state of reli- 
 gion among us. There is scarce any duty the omis- 
 sion of which is more offensive to God. It involves 
 a most criminal disregard of his favor, and of the 
 manifestations of that love which he bears to his 
 people. Suppose a man of very high rank in socie- 
 ty, and of distinguished excellence, both intellectua 
 and moral, should manifest to me a peculiar attach- 
 ment ; should release me from prison and from 
 chains, at a very great expense, should raise me to 
 an honourable post in the community ; and, among 
 other tokens of his favor, should invite me to pass 
 half an hour with him in retirement, every morn- 
 ing and evening, for the purpose of free conver- 
 sation on subjects intimately connected with my 
 present happiness and future prospects. Suppose 
 that, for several months, I am punctual in my com- 
 pliance with his generous invitation. I repair to 
 the mansion where he resides, every morning and 
 evening, and am always greeted with a hearty wel- 
 
42 CAUSES OF 
 
 come. He meets me at the door, takes me by the 
 hand, leads me to his presence-chamber, converses 
 with me in the most condescending and gracious 
 manner, gives me his best advice in all my perplex- 
 ities, sympathizes with me in all my sorrows and 
 joys, and kindly proffers his assistance whenever I 
 may need it. And suppose that, during the whole 
 time of my intimacy with him, he has not, in a 
 single instance, given me the least ground for dis- 
 satisfaction. Suppose again, that, after the expira- 
 tion of a few months, becoming tired of these inter- 
 views, I neglect to repair to the house of my gener- 
 ous friend, and do not see him in private for a long 
 time. What must be his feelings ? How pungent 
 the sense he must have of my baseness and folly ! 
 How vile the ingratitude which, in his estimation, 
 my conduct betrays ! And how little reason shall 
 I have to wonder if, provoked by so outrageous a 
 violation of generosity and friendship, he resolve to 
 withdraw the tokens of his favor from me, and leave 
 me to sink into the state of sbscurity and wretched- 
 ness from which he had raised me ! Nor should I 
 at all mend the matter by frequently attending 
 his levee, and saluting him there with seeming cor- 
 diality, as though nothing unpleasant had happened 
 between us. Would he deign to give me his hand, 
 or any token of his favor ? Nay, would he not con- 
 sider this show of friendship to him in public, as the 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 43 
 
 grossest insult which I could offer him ? And, in- 
 stead of honoring me with a place among his favor- 
 ites, would he not spurn me from his presence, as 
 deserving nothing but the severest tokens of his 
 displeasure ? It is hardly necessary for me to ap- 
 ply this similitude to the point in hand. This the 
 judicious reader has already done, and he has at 
 the same time observed that the figure, though in 
 many respects a striking one, falls far short, as it 
 necessarily must, of adequately representing the 
 case before us. The goodness of the benefactor, 
 and the baseness of the individual supposed to be in- 
 debted to his bounty, bear no proportion, on the 
 one hand, to the goodness of God ; or, on the other, 
 to the baseness of those Christians, who, tired of 
 communion with him. neglect, for weeks and months, 
 to meet him in the closet. And can we wonder if, 
 "thus slighted and abused, he withhold from such un- 
 grateful creatures the communications of his grace, 
 and leave them destitute of the light of his counte- 
 nance and the joy of his salvation ? 
 
44 CAUSES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Temporal Prosperity. 
 
 It is the saying of an inspired apostle, that " the 
 goodness of God leadeth unto repentance." This 
 is, no doubt, its natural tendency. And when holy 
 affections exert a governing influence over us, re- 
 pentance, and that obedience w^hich repentance ne- 
 cessarily implies, are invariably produced in us by 
 every exhibition of divine goodness, and, conse- 
 quently by that temporal prosperity which we so 
 frequently enjoy ; for this is, in all cases, to be ascri- 
 bed to the goodness of God. Whatever efforts we 
 make for promoting our temporal welfare, our suc- 
 cess is invariably owing to the smiles of his provi- 
 dence. 
 
 That ungodly men, instead of being brought to 
 repentance by the temporal blessings which divine 
 goodness bestows upon them, are, on the contrary, 
 rendered more bold and presumptuous in their sin- 
 ful courses, the inspired volume abundantly testifies. 
 In the book of Job, it is said, " Wherefore do the 
 wicked live, become old ; yea, are mighty in pow- 
 er? Their seed is established before them, and 
 their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are 
 safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 45 
 
 They send forth their Httle ones like a flock, 
 
 and their children dance. They take the timbrel 
 and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.'' 
 In other words, they are men whom the goodness 
 of God has blessed with abundant prosperity. And 
 what effect does this prosperity have upon them ? 
 Does it lead them up to God as the bountiful be- 
 stower of every good ? No, truly. " They say 
 unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the 
 knowledge of thy ways. Who is the Almighty, 
 that we should serve him ? And what profit shall 
 we have if we pray unto him ?" A similar com- 
 plaint is made by the author of the 73d psalm. He is 
 speaking of "the ungodly, who prosper in the world, 
 and increase in riches." And he tells us " they are 
 not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued 
 Hke other men." Nay, " their eyes stand out with 
 fatness ; they have more than heart could wish." 
 And do they acknowledge and adore the gracious 
 hand which has so signally blessed them ? No ; 
 " they set their mouth against the heavens, and say, 
 how doth God know ? and is there knowledge in 
 the Most High?" The same affecting truth is ex- 
 hibited in that saying of the wise man, " Because 
 sentence against an evil work is not speedily exe- 
 cuted, therefore the heart of the sons of men is 
 fully set in them to do evil ;" in which passage, the 
 goodness of God, in sparing sinful men, and contin- 
 5 
 
46 CAUSES OF 
 
 uing to bestow upon them the blessings of his pro- 
 vidence, is assigned as a reason of their hardening 
 themselves against him, and filling up the measure 
 of their iniquity. Instances of this kind have existed 
 in all past ages ; and they are to be met with in 
 abundance at the present day. 
 
 " But is it true that God's people ever abuse his 
 goodness in this manner ?" At first view, we should 
 probably all suppose the thing impossible. That 
 the heart which has been humbled before God, and 
 subdued by the power of his grace, should be 
 chargeable with a fault so directly contrary to the 
 spirit of piety, we could hardly believe. Judging 
 from the nature of that holy love which is the es- 
 sence of real piety, it would seem evident that the 
 manifestation of divine goodness in providence, as 
 well as in redemption, must always melt the heart 
 of the regenerated man, and inspire him with emo- 
 tions of penitence and gratitude. We should draw 
 the same conclusion from the effect which we know 
 is actually produced on the humbled sinner when 
 he first gives himself to Christ. Among the most 
 powerful means employed for subduing and melting 
 his heart, we may reckon the view aflforded him of 
 the love of God in sending his Son to die for sin- 
 ners. Nothing seems to aflfect him so much as the 
 strength, the freeness, and the sovereignty of that 
 love. It appears to involve reasons for love and 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 47 
 
 gratitude, on his part, and also for contrition and 
 obedience, which are quite irresistible. Nor is the 
 humbled sinner unaffected with the goodness of God 
 as manifested in providence. He is greatly affected 
 to think how long he has been spared, and sustained, 
 and blessed with health, and food, and raiment, and 
 friends, and prosperity, in his secular pursuits, while 
 his heart has been opposed to the divine govern- 
 ment, and his conduct in a multitude of instances, a 
 most direct and palpable violation of the divine com- 
 mands. And he cannot believe that the goodness of 
 God, as manifested, either in providence or re- 
 demption, can ever have a different effect upon 
 him. 
 
 Still, nothing is more evident than that the good- 
 ness of God, as manifested in the temporal prosper- 
 ity which he affords, may be abused, not only by the 
 ungodly, but by pious and holy men, in direct con- 
 trariety to all the sanctified affections of their 
 hearts. 
 
 There can be no doubt that it was under the in- 
 fluence of temporal prosperity that David was 
 prompted to the commission of those sins which so 
 sadly tarnished his religious character, and inflicted 
 so deep a wound on the cause of God. Not long, it 
 seems, previous to his fall, he had been remarkably 
 successful in the wars he had waged against the 
 surrounding nations. The Philistines, the Moab- 
 
48 
 
 CAUSES OF 
 
 ites, and the Syrians, at that time a powerful nation, 
 had been recently subdued. And " David," says 
 the inspired historian, " gat him a name, when he 
 returned from smiting the Syrians in the valley of 
 Salt, being eighteen thousand men. And he put gar- 
 risons in Edom ; throughout all Edom put he garri- 
 sons ; and all they of Edom became David's servants. 
 And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he 
 went." And while he had this great success in his 
 wars with other nations, there was no revolt among 
 his own subjects. They were all, it would seem, 
 satisfied with his government, and attached to his 
 interest. It is, accordingly, added, that " David 
 reigned over all Israel." And what is the effect 
 of this signal prosperity on the mind of this great 
 and good man ? Is he thankful, and humble, and 
 obedient, to the divine commands ? No, truly. He 
 is chargeable with seduction, and adultery, and mur- 
 der ; under circumstances, too, which render his 
 guilt uncommonly great and aggravated. Do any 
 doubt whether the rapidity with which, by the as- 
 sistance of divine providence, he had risen from one 
 stage of royal greatness to another, was the occa- 
 sion of the signal apostasy with which he was 
 chargeable ? Let them consider in what manner 
 he conducted himself, before the period of his pros- 
 perity commenced. From the time he was anoint- 
 ed by Samuel to that in which he ascended the 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 49 
 
 throne of Judah, he was generally in a very afflict- 
 ed state. Hunted by Saul as a partridge on the 
 mountains, and exposed to hardships and dangers 
 innumerable ; nay, sometimes compelled to fly 
 from his native land, and seek an asylum among 
 the enemies of Israel, his condition was as trying 
 as can well be imagined. And during all this time» 
 he acted the part of a humble, pious man, devoted 
 to the interests of religion and of his country. Nor 
 have we any reason to doubt but that he would have 
 pursued the same course to the end of life, had not 
 the great temporal prosperity with which divine 
 providence indulged him, corrupted his mind, and 
 led him astray from the path of wisdom. 
 
 We may say much the same in regard to Solo- 
 mon, the son and successor of David. His defec- 
 tion is indeed ascribed to the influence of the " out- 
 landish women" belonging to his court. But we 
 cannot, I think, suppose that they would ever have 
 induced him to promote the abominable idolatries 
 of the heathen, by building temples to Moloch, and 
 Chemosh, and Milcom, had not his heart been cor- 
 rupted by the unexampled prosperity which he had 
 previously enjoyed. 
 
 The case of Hezekiah is much in point. He was, 
 
 we know, an eminently pious and godly man, and 
 
 one of the best princes who ever swayed a sceptre 
 
 over the kindom of Judah. He did much to cleanse 
 
 5* 
 
60 CAUSES OF 
 
 his country from the impurities of idolatry, and to 
 restore the worship of Jehovah among his subjects. 
 And during the invasion under Sennacherib, king of 
 Assyria, he shov^ed himself to be, indeed, a servant 
 of the living God. Of this, the memorable prayer 
 which he offered up in the temple, on that trying 
 occasion, furnishes the most satisfactory proof. But 
 the honor done him by the king of Babylon, who 
 sent a solemn embassy to congratulate him on ac- 
 count of his recovery from his late sickness, and to 
 inquire respecting the wonder done in the land, 
 when the sun returned ten degrees backward, ope- 
 rated most injuriously on his spiritual feelings. " His 
 heart was lifted up to his destruction," instead of be- 
 ing expanded with gratitude to God. Finding him- 
 self placed on the list of the great men of the earth, 
 he forgot the gracious hand which had delivered 
 him from the Assyrian invasion, and rescued him 
 from sickness and death. O how dangerous to the 
 soul is that honor which cometh from man ! Like 
 every other kind of temporal prosperity, it frequent- 
 ly becomes the means of corrupting the heart, and 
 turning it away from God. 
 
 The ancient Jewish church furnishes a very strik- 
 ing illustration of the subject before us. You will 
 find a passage much to our present purpose, in Mo- 
 ses' song, recorded in the 32d chapter of Deuteron- 
 omy. " Remember the days of old ; consider the 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 51 
 
 years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he 
 will show thee ; thy elders, and they will tell thee. 
 When the Most High divided to the nations their 
 inheritance ; when he separated the sons of Adam, 
 he set the bounds of the people according to the 
 number of the children of Israel." That is, he had 
 from the beginning, marked out Palestine, " the glo- 
 ry of all lands," as the destined possession of his 
 chosen people. It is, accordingly, added, " For the 
 Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of his 
 inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in a 
 waste howling wilderness ; he led him about, he in- 
 structed him ; he kept him as the apple of his eye. 
 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her 
 young, spreadeth abroad her wings ; taketh them, 
 beareth them upon her wings ; so the Lord alone 
 did lead him, and there was no strange God with 
 him," to challenge a part of the glory due to him on 
 account of what he had done for Israel. It is add- 
 ed, " He made him ride on the high places of the 
 earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields ; 
 and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and 
 oil out of the flinty rock ; butter of kine and milk of 
 sheep, with the fat of lambs and rams, of the breed 
 of Basham, and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of 
 wheat ; and thou didst drink of the pure blood of the 
 grape." Thus highly is Israel blessed of God. No 
 other nation ever enjoyed such tokens of his favor. 
 
52 CAUSES OF 
 
 And what returns do they make to Jehovah for these 
 manifestions of his goodness ? Are they grateful 
 and obedient in proportion to the prosperity with 
 which he has indulged them ? No, that very pros- 
 perity is the principal occasion of their departure 
 from the Lord. " Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked ; 
 thou art waxed fat ; thou are grown thick ; thou 
 art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God 
 that made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his 
 salvation." 
 
 Such was the effect of temporal prosperity on the 
 Jewish church. The Christian church was affect- 
 ed by it in much the same way. She lost her spir- 
 ituality and purity in consequence of the emolu- 
 ments and honors lavished upon her by Constantine 
 the Great, and some of his successors. This was 
 the real origin of the great apostasy in the Christian 
 church — an apostasy which changed the spouse 
 of Christ into " the mother of harlots and abomina- 
 tions of the earth." 
 
 With all these facts before us, can we deem it 
 incredible that the church in these United States 
 should be injured in the same way? Perhaps no nation 
 ever enjoyed a greater share of temporal prosperity 
 than ours has generally done, since the close of our 
 revolutionary conflict. Blessed with the freest gov- 
 ernment on the face of the earth, with wise and sal- 
 utary laws, and with almost unexampled success in 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 53 
 
 the various departments of peaceful industry, we 
 have risen with great rapidity to wealth and power. 
 And in this sudden elevation of rank and fortune, 
 the members of our churches have had a share. 
 Great numbers who profess religion, and many, no 
 doubt, who are Christians indeed, have risen to em- 
 inence as merchants and as statesmen, and conse- 
 quently have been exposed to the contaminating in- 
 fluence of wealth and honor on the human heart. — 
 The same influence has been felt on a smaller scale, 
 but with almost equally injurious effects, by such of 
 our farmers and mechanics as profess to be the fol- 
 lowers of Christ. Indeed, it has been felt through 
 almost every part of the religious community, and 
 has greatly increased a worldly spirit. Alas, how 
 many professors of religion most evidently look to 
 the things which are seen and temporal, rather than 
 to those which are unseen and eternal ! Basking 
 in the sunshine of prosperity, they speak, and act, 
 and feel, like those " who have their portion in this 
 life," and who consider the riches, honors, and plea- 
 sures of the world as the chief good. 
 
54 CAUSES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Desecration of the Sabbath. 
 
 " The Sabbath," our Lord assures us, " was made 
 for man." It is an institution designed, and pre-emi- 
 nently adapted, to promote the best interests of the 
 human race. It is especially beneficial because, 
 when properly observed, it contributes to the pre- 
 servation and increase in the minds of men of that 
 sense of religion, on which their happiness, both 
 here and hereafter, so much depends. The regular 
 return of a day of holy rest, after six days devoted 
 to the business of the world, is a rich blessing to 
 mankind by affording leisure for meditation and 
 prayer, and reading the word of God, in private ; 
 and also for those public exercises of devotion which 
 usually characterize the observance of the Sabbath 
 in Christian lands. Accordingly, the people of God» 
 when blessed with much of his Spirit, never fail to 
 rejoice in the return of the Sabbath : and they gen- 
 erally obtain that refreshment to their souls, the rel- 
 ish of which is not lost during the remainder of the 
 week. 
 
 It is however true,^that the benefit resulting from 
 the Sabbath depends on the manner in which it is 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 55 
 
 kept. Every deviation from the requisite strictness 
 detracts from the utility of the institution. I am not 
 indeed about to assert, that Christians are bound to 
 observe the Sabbath in all respects with the same 
 degree of strictness which was enjoined under the 
 Mosaic economy. We are not, for example, forbid- 
 den, as the ancient IsraeHtes were, to kindle a fire 
 on the Sabbath. The condition of the Jewish 
 church resembled that of a child during its 
 minority, when a variety of restraints are ne- 
 cessary which cannot, without manifest impropri- 
 ety, be continued after the individual has arrived at 
 adult age. This remark I derive from St. Paul. 
 In his epistle to the Galatian Christians, after say- 
 ing, "And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's 
 seed, and heirs according to the promise," the apos- 
 tle adds, " Now the heir, so long as he is a child, 
 differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord 
 of all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the 
 time appointed of the father. Even so we, when 
 we were children, were in bondage under the ele- 
 ments of the world." Accordingly, St. Peter speaks 
 of the ceremonial law as " a yoke which," says he, 
 "neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." 
 One of the restraints which this yoke embraced, con- 
 sisted in the rigid exactness with which the observ- 
 ance of the Sabbath was enjoined. And some Chris- 
 tians, with good intentions no doubt, though certain- 
 ly without any sufficient warrant from the word of 
 
66 CAUSES OF 
 
 God, have in some respects imitated the strictness 
 of the Jewish observance. But after making this 
 concession, I must say, that, at the present time, the 
 danger, and the only danger, appears to he on the 
 other side. The day, unquestionably, should be con- 
 sidered as pre-eminently holy, and the whole of it, 
 except what is devoted to works of necessity and, 
 mercy, should be employed in those religious exerci- 
 ses, which are adapted to promote the salvation of 
 the soul and the glory of God. 
 
 In mentioning violations of the Sabbath, I shall 
 not insist on those of the grossest kind. I shall say 
 nothing, particularly of the habitual neglect of pub- 
 lic worship on the Sabbath, or of employing the 
 time in the business of the farm or of the shop, or in 
 posting accounts, or in making bargains, or in wri- 
 ting business letters, or in taking journeys, or in pre- 
 paring sumptuous entertainments. For these are 
 all such palpable violations of that holy day, that 
 professors of religion who have any regard to their 
 Christian character are not likely to be chargeable 
 with them. But there is one practice which, though 
 it is as real a violation of the Sabbath as any of the 
 things just mentioned, seems to have escaped, with 
 little or no censure, even among the generality of 
 religious people. I allude to the practice of con- 
 versing on topics of a secular nature, on the Sab- 
 bath. I do not hesitate to call this a violation of the 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 57 
 
 day. For I cannot conceive how it can be wrong 
 to engage in worldly business on the Sabbath, and 
 right to converse on worldly subjects. The latter 
 exercise is, usually, more engrossing to the mind 
 than the former ; and, consequently, tends propor- 
 tionably more to call off the attention from God and 
 heavenly things. The pious farmer can be follow- 
 ing his plough, or repairing his fences, or sowing 
 his seed, or gathering in the fruits of harvest, and 
 at the same time be meditating on divine subjects. 
 We can hardly say the same in relation to conver- 
 sation on any subjects of a worldly nature. It gen- 
 erally, while it continues, engages our principal, if 
 not our whole, attention. It has of course, a much 
 greater tendency than worldly business, to secular- 
 ize the feelings of a pious man, and to draw off his 
 thoughts from those momentous subjects to which 
 on the Sabbath they ought to be exclusively direct- 
 ed. Even on secular days, a great deal of time 
 ought, in ordinary circumstances, to be spent in 
 speaking one to another of the things of God. This 
 we find is universally the case in times of revival ; 
 and no substantial reason can be assigned why the 
 same practice should not prevail at all other times. 
 How guilty, then, must those professors of religion 
 be, who, although they abstain on the Sabbath from 
 worldly business, allow themselves to converse free- 
 ly on politics, on the public news, on the state of 
 6 
 
68 CAUSES OP 
 
 the markets, on the fruits of the earth, and on other 
 subjects of a similar nature ! And it deserves to 
 be considered that this desecration of the Sabbath, 
 on the part of professed Christians, is not confined 
 to their own dwellings, or to those of their friends ; 
 but frequently takes place in the environs and even 
 within the precincts of the house of God ! How com- 
 mon it is in many of our congregations for old and 
 young, and professors of religion as well as others, 
 to pass a large portion of the time, during the inter- 
 mission of divine service, in conversing within and 
 around the meeting-house, on worldly subjects ! 
 This is the more lamentable, not only because it is 
 inconsistent with the acknowledged sacredness of 
 the day, and with the reverence which we owe to 
 the majesty of Him in whose house we are, or re- 
 cently have been, assembled ; but because it tends 
 directly and most effectually to prevent our deriving 
 any substantial benefit from the offices of religion 
 on which we are attending. If we spend Sabbath 
 noon in this manner, can it be expected that we shall 
 profit much by the services of the morning ? If any 
 good impression was made on our minds by the 
 sermon, or the other exercises, must it not be effa- 
 ced by the manner of passing the hour, or hours, 
 which immediately follow ? And what a poor pre- 
 paration must this be for the services of the after- 
 noon / After conversing an hour or two, perhaps 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 59 
 
 in a very lively manner, on the affairs of the world, 
 are our minds suitably prepared for hearing the glo- 
 rious gospel, or for uniting in the songs and suppli- 
 cations of Zion ? Would it not be better to pass 
 the intermission in prayer, and praise, and spiritual 
 conversation ? Would not the benefit resulting 
 from the Sabbath be far greater than it now, ordi- 
 narily, is ? Should we not then " love the habita- 
 tion of" God's " house and the place where his hon- 
 or dwells" ? Would not our souls be refreshed, and 
 be as a watered garden? And would not the 
 preached word be far more beneficial than it is at 
 present ? Would it not to the pious part of our 
 assemblies, be " as the small rain upon the tender 
 herb, and as showers upon the grass" ? And would 
 it not be " quick and powerful" in the hearts of the 
 ungodly, nay, " sharper than any two-edged sword" ? 
 Oh how solemn and delightful would be our wor- 
 shipping assemblies, if the whole Sabbath were de- 
 voted to God ! And how great the influence which 
 the Sabbath would in that case exert on the general 
 state of religion in the church and in the world ! 
 And how evident it must be to every reflecting 
 mind, that our present mode of spending a portion 
 of that holy day, tends, directly, to chill the ardor 
 of piety, and to destroy the spirit and power of god- 
 liness among us ! 
 
60 CAUSES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Precipitancy in the admission of candidates to 
 Church Fellowship, 
 
 There is probably no church of orthodox Chris- 
 tians which does not require of those who solicit her 
 fellowship some account of the work of grace sup- 
 posed to be wrought in their hearts. But there is 
 much reason to fear that persons are frequently ad- 
 mitted into the purest churches, without that close 
 and thorough examination which ought to be em- 
 ployed. This is true, particularly, in times of great 
 religious excitement. At such seasons it is often 
 difficult to distinguish true religion from its counter- 
 feits. Persons who are not renewed by the grace 
 of God, and who are not even the subjects of very 
 deep convictions, are, not unfrequently, led to think 
 seriously on the great subject of religion, to devote 
 a considerable portion of their time to religious con- 
 versation, and religious meetings, and are, indeed, so 
 altered in their whole deportment, that it would seem 
 uncharitable not to entertain a favorable opinion of 
 them. They have, besides, so many opportunities 
 of hearing real Christians relate the gracious exer- 
 cises of their minds, that they obtain a general 
 
RGLIGIOUS DECLENSION. Gl 
 
 knowledge of Christian experience, and are able, if 
 jlisposed, to play the hypocrite so adroitly, as to be 
 in no great danger of detection, unless very thorough- 
 ly examined. Nay, it seems highly probable that, 
 under these circumstances, such persons often de- 
 ceive themselves^ and imagine that the exercises of 
 their minds are of the same character with those 
 which they hear related by real Christians. While 
 reading the Bible, or hearing sermons, exhortations 
 and prayers ; perhaps, while trying to pray them- 
 selves, they have hopes and fears, joys and sorrows 
 which seem to them exactly similar to those of the 
 real converts with whom they associate. Hence 
 when called upon to relate the feehngs of their 
 minds, they without scruple, and without intending 
 to deceive, employ language expressive of real piety. 
 Add to this, that ministers, and Christians general- 
 ly, are peculiarly apt at such times to be more char- 
 itable than they are on ordinary occasions. They 
 feel a very deep interest in the religious state of per- 
 sons of the above description ; they have frequently 
 conversed and prayed with them, and have cher- 
 ished strong desires and hopes in relation to the re- 
 sult of their religious impressions. It cannot, there- 
 fore, be wondered at, that when they profess sub- 
 mission to the Saviour, they should be acknowledg- 
 ed at once as his disciples. The ministers and 
 brethren who have watched the progress of their 
 
OS CAUSES OP 
 
 convictions with such deep solicitude, and such 
 cheering expectations, can hardly fail of being sat-* 
 isfied with indications of piety in these individuals 
 which fall very much short of decisive evidence of 
 a real and thorough change of heart. The result is 
 that great numbers, especially of youth and children, 
 are admitted into the Church, who in a short time 
 manifest an entire destitution of the spirit and power 
 of true religion. 
 
 Does any one ask, what course should be pursued 
 in cases of this kind? The answer is ready, let the 
 minister and other members of the church prevail 
 on themselves to wait a while, till their own minds 
 are settled and composed, and till they have oppor- 
 tunity of applying to these supposed converts the 
 test mentioned by our Saviour — " By their fruits 
 ye shall know them." This only can determine 
 whether the precious seed has been received into 
 good ground, or whether it has fallen into stony 
 places, or among thorns. The latter, judging from 
 the parable to which we have alluded, may, to all 
 appearance, be as promising as the former. It springs 
 up quickly, and looks green and flourishing. But af- 
 ter a while it is scorched or choked, and shows that 
 no fruit is to be expected from it ; or, to use the lan- 
 guage of an Old Testament prophet, " the root is 
 rottenness, and the blossom goes up as dust." Alas ! 
 how many instances of this kind have occurred, with- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 63 
 
 in a few years past ! And how have the hopes of 
 many a godly minister been disappointed, and how 
 has his heart been pained, when the goodness of 
 some whom he had fondly embraced as real con- 
 verts, has proved to be transient like the morning 
 cloud and the early dew ! Wait, then, till deci- 
 sive evidence of piety can be obtained. 
 
 Does any one object that the apostles and other 
 members of the primitive Church did not wait ? — 
 that the 3000 converted on the day of Pentecost 
 were immediately admitted to church fellowship ? — 
 that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized without de- 
 lay? — that Cornelius and his friends at Cesarea 
 were not required to wait ? — and that the Philip- 
 pian jailer and his family were baptized during the 
 very night in which they were converted ? It may 
 be replied, that the danger of deception was then 
 comparatively small — that the Holy Spirit was 
 poured out in very abundant measures — that in- 
 stances of conversion were peculiarly marked and 
 striking — and that the external circumstances of the 
 church furnished a security against the intrusion of 
 graceless persons which does not at present exist. 
 The consideration last mentioned deserves to be 
 particularly noted. There was but little probability 
 that an individual, under the influence of a worldly 
 spirit, would profess to be a disciple of Christ when 
 his so doing exposed him to the loss of property, 
 
64 CAUSES OP 
 
 of liberty, and of life. His joining himself to the 
 persecuted band was one of the strongest proofs 
 which could be furnished, or demanded, that Christ 
 had been formed in him the hope of glory. The case 
 is evidently different where a profession of the reli- 
 gion of Christ subjects one to no reproach or in- 
 convenience whatever ; nay, causes his temporal 
 prospects to extend and brighten. 
 
 But here it may be asked, " what connection has 
 the admission of a few graceless persons into the 
 church, with the low state of religion among us ?" 
 In reply, I would remark, that such persons are, at 
 best, a dead weight to the church in all her spirit- 
 ual movements. Destitute, as they are, of spiritual 
 life, their influence tends to chill the ardor of piety 
 in all true Christians with whom they associate, to 
 lull the wise virgins into a profound sleep, and to 
 propagate among them that friendship of the world 
 which is enmity with God. This is true, even 
 though these unconverted persons remain ortho- 
 dox in their views, and maintain a decent standing 
 in society : a supposition which, in most cases, is 
 highly improbable. As they have no spiritual light, 
 they may be expected to embrace and propagate 
 erroneous views of the gospel, and thereby lay the 
 foundation for those schisms and controversies which 
 dishonor the cause of truth, and destroy what little 
 before existed of the vitality and power of religion 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 65 
 
 in the church. Nor is this all. Ungodly men who 
 make a profession of religion, are very apt, after a 
 time, to fall into the practice of gross vice. They 
 have no relish for that pure and sublime system of 
 morality taught by our Saviour and his apostles. 
 They may, indeed, sometimes pronounce encomiums 
 upon it ; and so did the infidel and licentious Rousseau. 
 But they are attached, firmly attached, to the max- 
 ims and customs of the world that lies in wicked- 
 ness. Hence, in process of time, they are wont to 
 feel the restraints which Christianity imposes, as 
 extremely irksome, and eventually to shake them 
 off, as too injurious to their happiness to be endured. 
 The result is that they become vicious and profli- 
 gate in their conduct ; and by their unholy practices 
 not only dishonor the religion of Christ and grieve 
 the hearts of his true disciples, but accelerate the 
 progress of the unconverted around them in the 
 road to death. A principal reason why there is so 
 httle seriousness in persons who make no preten- 
 sions to piety is, that many who belong to the church 
 demonstrate by their unholy lives, that the sublime 
 doctrines and precepts of the gospel, have no sanc- 
 tifying influence upon them. To all this may be 
 added, that the admission of unconverted people in- 
 to the church, raises an almost insurmountable ob- 
 stacle in the way of that wholesome discipline which 
 Christ and his apostles instituted, and without which 
 
66 CAUSES OP 
 
 the purest temple of the Hving God, must soon re- 
 semble a synagogue of Satan. When many of the 
 members of a church are destitute of piety ; or when 
 this is true of a small number only, provided they 
 be persons of rank and influence, discipline will either 
 be wholly neglected, or will be administered in such 
 a manner as to be pernicious rather than beneficial. 
 It will be characterized by a supercilious, harsh, bit- 
 ter, censorious spirit, and by that unchristian par- 
 tiality which is of itself sufficient to ruin the peace 
 and prosperity of any church. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Violent Religious Excitements. 
 
 That there is a tendency in human nature to in- 
 dolence and inactivity, after a season of unusual ex- 
 citement, is a truth universally admitted. This im- 
 perfection, for such it unquestionably is, exists in our 
 physical and intellectual constitution, and also in 
 those gracious principles which the Lord has im- 
 planted in the hearts of his people by the holy Spir- 
 it. These principles, it is true, need to be excited ; 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 67 
 
 and when the excitement is not too violent, its ten- 
 dency is to increase their strength. But when, as 
 sometimes happens, the strength of these principles 
 is much inferior to that of the stimulating powers 
 which are brought to bear upon them, they are over- 
 wrought, and lose the healthful and vigorous tone 
 which they naturally possess. They resemble a 
 bow which is overstrained, or the human body when 
 greatly fatigued, by too severe and long-continued 
 exercise. And while gracious principles are thus 
 weakened, the principles of sin existing in the heart 
 are wont, in consequence of the temporary restraint 
 put upon them, to become more powerful and im- 
 petuous. They resemble the current of a brook in- 
 creased to a torrent by obstructions thrown in its 
 way. The truth of these remarks has been clearly 
 demonstrated, within a few years past, by numer- 
 ous facts in relation both to individuals and to 
 churches.* 
 
 * The practice of holding protracted meetings, has, of late 
 years, become very common in our country. In some instances, 
 these meetings have been continued for several weeks in succes- 
 sion with no intervals, except those indispensable for taking sus- 
 tenance and sleep. Meanwhile, every effort has been made by 
 preachers of distinguished talents and zeal, to excite the attention 
 of both saints and sinners to the momentous subject of rehgion. 
 The eternal joys of heaven, and the eternal miseries of heU, have 
 been described in the most graphic manner, and with all the pa- 
 
68 CAUSES OF 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Prevalence of the opinion that the influence of reli- 
 gious! principle cannot he expected, in most cases, 
 to he steady and constant. 
 
 Religion, with a large portion of professed Chris- 
 tians, is in a great measure confined to places of 
 worship, or to seasons of revival. While attending 
 on the preaching of the gospel, and uniting in the 
 
 thos of sacred eloquence. The saint has been made to feel the 
 greatness of his own guilt, in neglecting to labor for the salvation 
 of sinners, while the latter have been so assailed with prayers and 
 exhortations and warnings from every quarter, that an unnatural 
 effervescence of their passions has been produced, and has left 
 them scarce any possibility of obtaining those clear, distinct, and 
 scriptural views of the perfections of God, and of their own guilt 
 as transgressors of his law, so essential to all those religious im- 
 pressions which are likely to be permanent and saving. It is, of 
 course, not strange that after such a season of excitement, the 
 minds of both saints and sinners should pass into the opposite ex- 
 treme, and should, for a time, be as much characterized by apathy, 
 as they previously were by zeal and fervor. 
 
 " Are protracted meetings, then, to be denounced as prejudicial 
 to the cause of piety ?" By no means. When rightly conducted, 
 they have done good ; and, when thus conducted, they are Hkely 
 to do good hereafter. The writer has attended several of these 
 meetings, which received his decided approbation. But they were 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 69 
 
 songs and supplications of Zion, they feel condem- 
 ned if their affections are not excited, and if emotions 
 which at least resemble those of piety, are not pro- 
 duced. But when engaged in their secular affairs, 
 they feel but little concern to have their hearts re- 
 plenished with the fear and love of God, or their 
 minds occupied with the contemplation of the great 
 truths of religion. Their thoughts are generally en- 
 grossed with secular business — with schemes for 
 amassing wealth, or attaining to posts of honor, — 
 
 characterized by a solemn stillness, on the part of the audience, 
 and by a steady effort on that of officiating ministers to make sin- 
 ners reahze the equity of God's moral government, the entire rea- 
 sonableness of his requirements, and the baseness and criminahty 
 involved in the transgression of his laws. These points, together 
 with the great love of God in sending his Son to suffer and die for 
 sinners, were prominent topics of discourse, and were exhibited in 
 a manner adapted to enhst the understanding, the conscience, and 
 the heart, on the side of God and hohness. There was at these 
 meetings a deep interest manifested in religious exercises. The 
 sermons, though some of them were read, were listened to with 
 that profound attention, which indicated an earnest desire to hear 
 and obey the truth ; and each individual present seemed to feel 
 that eternity with all its dread realities was at the door. But there 
 were no convulsive agonies, no interruptions of divine worship by 
 the exclamations of the distressed, and no violent ebullition of the 
 passions in any form. The convictions of the understanding evi- 
 dently took the lead, and the rehgious feelings which followed 
 seemed nothing more than the necessary results of divine truth ap- 
 plied to the conscience and the heart by the Spirit of God. 
 
 7 
 
70 CAUSES OF 
 
 or with contrivances for procuring those earthly 
 pleasures which though generally considered as in- 
 nocent and creditable, have no tendency to raise 
 the soul to God, or prepare it for the great duties of 
 the Christian life. If you introduce the subject of 
 religion to persons of this description, they do not, 
 perhaps, refuse to converse upon it ; especially, if 
 you manifest a willingness to discourse in a specu- 
 lative way. But if you press on their attention the 
 importance of a holy life — of a daily and hourly con- 
 secration of the heart to God, of having a regard to 
 his glory in all they do, of living as strangers and 
 pilgrims on the earth, and of directing all their aims 
 and exertions to things beyond the grave — they are 
 usually silent, or barely assent to the truth of what 
 you say. They manifest no disposition to prolong 
 discourse of this kind. It is a strain of conversa- 
 tion in which they feel no interest. But the mo- 
 ment you introduce some worldly subject, they are 
 sufficiently ready to perform their part in the dis- 
 cussion of it. They now speak with interest and 
 earnestness, as from the fulness of their hearts, and 
 seem never tired while topics of this kind are the 
 subjects of discourse. In this manner they pass 
 along from month to month, and from year to year, 
 thinking and speaking almost exclusively of earthly 
 things ; except when the stated seasons of public 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 71 
 
 worship call up their attention to subjects of a dif- 
 ferent kind. And they do not seem to realize that 
 the predominance of this worldly spirit is, in any 
 considerable degree, offensive to God, or prejudicial 
 to themselves. At any rate, they do not appear to 
 entertain any just conception of the great blemish 
 which the habitual indulgence of such a spirit fixes 
 on their Christian character, or the immense injury 
 done to their own souls by suffering the world to 
 engross so large a portion of their time and thoughts. 
 Persons, however, of the above description are 
 not satisfied with being always in this condition. 
 They imagine that a real Christian must sometimes 
 live in a manner more spiritual and more devoted to 
 God. He must, they suppose, have his seasons of 
 revival, in which for days, and weeks, and months, 
 religion is uppermost in his thoughts, and in which 
 he is almost exclusively employed, either in devo- 
 tional exercises, or in conversation on divine sub- 
 jects. And such seasons these persons actually have. 
 Once in ten or twelve years, perhaps oftener, a re- 
 vival is enjoyed in the place w^here they reside. Re- 
 ligious meeting^ are frequent and well attended. 
 The spirit of piety which had long slumbered, seems 
 to awake, and the church hears the voice of her God 
 and Saviour, saying, " Arise, shine ; for thy light is 
 come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ;" 
 and many who were previously dead in trespasses 
 
72 CAUSES OF 
 
 and sins, are blessed with spiritual life, and begin to 
 sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. At such a 
 time the professors of religion whose characters we 
 are delineating, are generally aroused, confess that 
 they have been long in a cold, backslidden state, and 
 express a determination to shake off their guilty 
 slumbers, and live more devoted to Christ than they 
 have hitherto done. They accordingly attend re- 
 ligious meetings almost every day in the week ; and 
 when at meeting, seem full of pious fervor ; they 
 pray and exhort in a very earnest manner ; and 
 seem determined to make amends for the many 
 years of sloth and negligence which had previously 
 passed over them. At these seasons, besides, their 
 conversation is generally on religious subjects ; and 
 if they meet with any professor of religion who is 
 not as warm and lively as themselves, they are al- 
 most ready to blot him out of their list of pious peo- 
 ple, and can hardly think that he ever knew the grace 
 of God in truth. In this manner they proceed till 
 the revival begins to abate, and the external excite- 
 ments to devotion and fervor are somewhat dimin- 
 ished, when they rapidly decline, and soon return to 
 the state from which they emerged when the revi- 
 val commenced. In a few months, perhaps in a few 
 weeks, they are as much engrossed with the world, 
 as neglectful of religious meetings, and, to all ap- 
 pearance as destitute of the spirit of religion, as they 
 
RELtOIOUS D*:ClIlNSlON. 73 
 
 ever Veere. And so they continue some ten or 
 twelve years, till another revival overtakes them, 
 when they are again aroused, again confess their 
 faults, and, indeed, act over almost exactly the same 
 part which they acted ten or twelve years before. 
 And such changes, they seem to imagine, are things 
 of course. They can hardly conceive the possibili- 
 ty of a constant and steady walk with God. And 
 though they condemn themselves as somewhat 
 blameable, for their backslidings, they seem to sup- 
 pose that there is a kind of fatality in the case ; 
 that a steady and uniform course of piety is not to 
 be expected ; and that the genuineness of their re- 
 ligion, and the safety of their state ought not to be 
 called in question, on account of these blemishes in 
 their christian character. 
 
 In making these remarks, the writer is anxious 
 that he may not be misunderstood. He does not 
 mean to say, that the above picture will suit every 
 professor of religion in our country. No ; he be- 
 lieves there are thousands of different denomina- 
 tions who maintain from year to year a close and 
 humble walk with God — thousands who are not 
 merely constant in the external performance of mo- 
 ral and religions duties, but manifest a strong at- 
 tachment to the cause of truth, and an unwavering 
 determination to be for Christ and for none else. 
 Yes, he believes that there are thousands in this land, 
 7* 
 
74 CAUSES OF 
 
 who feel that religion ought to be the main business 
 of every day, and who steadily endeavor to live to 
 the glory of God, in seasons of declension, as well 
 as in seasons of revival. But, unless he is greatly 
 mistaken, the picture above drawn will suit a very 
 large portion of the Christian community. Their 
 religion begins and ends, in a great measure, with 
 the revivals which take place around them. When 
 there is no special attention paid to the things of God 
 in the place where they reside, they very much re- 
 semble the men of the world, both in spirit and con- 
 duct. They can hardly be said to maintain the 
 form of godliness ; and as to its power, scarce any 
 thing of this can be seen in them for years in suc- 
 cession. Indeed, if these persons are Christians, 
 (and it is believed that some of them are,) they can 
 hardly be distinguished, a large portion of the time, 
 from many who are dead in trespasses and sins. 
 And, as already intimated, they seem to imagine that 
 it must he so ; that a constant, steady, uniform walk 
 with God, is not to be expended in the great body 
 of professed Christians. Now this is evidently a 
 mistake, and a mistake of most pernicious influence. 
 It tends much to diminish the efforts which Chris- 
 tians are bound to make for preserving and increas- 
 ing in their own hearts, and in the hearts of their 
 brethren, the spirit of piety, and for preventing those 
 long-continued spiritual decays, so injurious to them- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 75 
 
 selves and the cause of Christ. As long as they 
 imagine it is impossible, or nearly so, for a Chris- 
 tian to be uniformly devoted to God, they are very 
 likely to yield to the current of worldly influence 
 which sets against them, and, of course, to do but 
 little for promoting their own salvation, or that of 
 others. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Perversion of the Doctrine of Grace. 
 
 The doctrine which asserts that the salvation of 
 a sinner is altogether of the grace of God, is a most 
 glorious truth — a truth which lies at the foundation 
 of the Christian scheme, and which, if rightly under- 
 stood, is admirably adapted, not only to afford con- 
 solation to the renewed heart, but to subdue the 
 power of sin, and make men holy in all manner of 
 conversation. But this great and precious doctrine, 
 hke every other good thing, is liable to be abused ; 
 and it is abused by multitudes of professed Chris- 
 tians at the present day ; nay, by many who, in a 
 judgment of charity, are Christians in deed and in 
 
76 CAUSES OF 
 
 truth. They seem to draw from the doctrine the 
 conclusion that it is unnecessary for them to make 
 any vigorous efforts for their own salvation or that 
 of others. Feeling assured that, v^^herever God be- 
 gins a good v^ork, he will carry it on, and that he is 
 working in them both to will and to do of his own 
 good pleasure, they seem not to realize the neces- 
 sity imposed on them of working out their own 
 salvation with fear and trembling. They appear 
 to entertain the idea, that, if they do any thing more 
 than look on, and admire and adore the grace of 
 God, a part of the glory of their salvation must be 
 due to themselves, and, consequently, that the whole 
 glory will not be due to God. But such views are 
 not authorized by the Bible, or by the analogy of na- 
 ture. In the Bible we meet with many exhortations 
 to vigorous and persevering efforts for advancing 
 the influence of piety in our souls. We find this 
 holy book urging Christians to " mortify their mem- 
 bers which are on the earth" — to " crucify the flesh 
 with its affections and lusts" — to " put off the old 
 man which is corrupt, and to put on the new man 
 which after God is created in righteousness and true 
 holiness." Nay, it exhorts us to " cleanse ourselves 
 from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting ho- 
 liness in the fear of God." It represents the Chris- 
 tian life as a pilgrimage, a race, a warfare ; all of 
 which similitudes convey the idea that it is not a life 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 77 
 
 of idleness and ease, but of laborious exertion ; and 
 it promises eternal life on no other condition than 
 that of being " faithful unto death," and overcoming 
 the numerous and formidable obstacles which lie in 
 our way. It teaches us the same great truth by ex- 
 hibiting the example of eminent saints. Thus it 
 represents Paul as saying, " Brethren, I count not 
 myself to have apprehended ; but this one thing I 
 do ; forgetting the things that are behind, and reach- 
 ing forth to those things which are before, I press 
 toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling 
 of God in Christ Jesus." St. Paul felt that he must 
 exert himself to the utmost, if he would obtain the 
 blessedness of heaven. And he does not seem to 
 have even surmised, that there was any inconsist- 
 ency between the necessity of his own exertions in 
 this great affair, and the doctrine that " eternal life is 
 the gift of God, through Jesus Christ." 
 
 And these views derived from the infallible word 
 of God, are in perfect accordance with the analo- 
 gy of nature. It is a certain truth that the tempo- 
 ral blessings which we enjoy all come from the hand 
 of God, and are to be acknowledged as the fruits 
 of his bounty. The husbandman is indebted to God 
 for the soil he cultivates, for the manure by which 
 it is enriched, for the genial influences of the sun, 
 and for the fructifying showers of rain with which 
 he is ordinarily blessed. He is indebted to God, 
 
78 CAUSES OF 
 
 too, for all the skill and strength which he possesses, 
 and for the disposition he has to labor for his own 
 subsistence. His being provided, therefore, with 
 the necessaries and comforts of life, ought to be as- 
 cribed to the goodness of God. Still, what hus- 
 bandman supposes it is of no importance for him to 
 cultivate his farm ? He does not say, " It is all of 
 God, and therefore I will do nothing." No ; as 
 soon as the Spring opens, he repairs his fences, 
 ploughs and manures his grounds, and sows his 
 seed. Nor does he on any other condition expect 
 a crop. He knows that he must sow in tears, if he 
 would reap in joy. And when he pursues this 
 course, he usually obtains the object of his wishes. 
 The summer is fruitful, and the harvest plenteous. 
 Now, the same holds in regard to our spiritual con- 
 cerns. Our salvation is all of God's grace. This 
 is a truth most cheerfully admitted. But it is a truth 
 equally plain and certain, that the grace of God does 
 not supersede the necessity of human efforts. The 
 soul of each Christian may be called his garden. 
 This garden must be ploughed. The fallow ground 
 must be broken up, and good seed, even the word 
 of God must be sown in it. And when the seed 
 springs up and grows, care must be taken to prevent 
 the noxious weeds of error and sin from raising 
 their heads, and choking the plants of righteousness 
 which are growing there. Now what man thinks 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 79 
 
 of leaving it to God to pull up the weeds in his gar- 
 den, or to cultivate the valuable plants whioh are 
 growing in it ? He expects rain and sun-shine from 
 God, and the strength and skill which he needs in 
 the management of his business. But he never 
 thinks of excusing himself from his rustic labors, 
 from a persuasion that God either can, or will, do all 
 without him. And if he did, you know what the 
 consequence must be. His lands, untilled and neg- 
 lected, would resemble those described by Solo- 
 mon. " I went," says he, " by the field of the slothful, 
 and by the vineyard of the man void of understand- 
 ing. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and 
 nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone 
 wall thereof was broken down." So it is with the 
 heart . f many a professor of religion. It but too 
 much resembles the field of the slothful. The thorns 
 and nettles of unholy affections and imaginations are 
 growing in rank luxuriance. And if you look for the 
 plants of righteousness, you look almost in vain. Here 
 and there, perhaps, may be seen a single stalk of pre- 
 cious grain, slender, and of sickly appearance, and 
 almost choked by the thorns and nettles which are 
 spreading themselves around it. At the same time 
 that holy watchfulness which, hke a hedge or wall, 
 once defended the heart against the intrusion of eve- 
 ry enemy, can hardly be said to exist. Nor does 
 there seem to be any thing to prevent the Christian's 
 
80 CAUSES OF 
 
 foes from entering and treading down this garden of 
 the Lord. If they do not, it is owing to the special 
 interposition of his mercy and power. And let 
 it not be forgotten that this deplorable state of the 
 Christian's heart is owing, in a great measure, to a 
 perversion of the doctrine of grace. It must be 
 owing to a perversion of that glorious doctrine. 
 The rich and sovereign grace revealed in the gos- 
 pel was doubtless intended, not to supersede, but to 
 aid and strengthen our efforts in the cause of truth. 
 I will not indeed say, that if it had this effect on the 
 Christian professor, his heart would be always in 
 an equally good state. There might possibly, even 
 then, be seasons of spiritual drought — seasons just 
 long enough to make him feel that all his sufficiency 
 was of God. But his heart would still be well re- 
 plenished with the seeds of truth and the plants of 
 righteousness. The noxious weeds of error and sin 
 would be rooted out, as fast as they showed them- 
 selves ; and the heart would resemble a well fenced 
 and well cultivated garden which needed nothing 
 but a plentiful shower and the benign influences of 
 the sun to render it all which its owner could de- 
 sire. It is hardly necessary to add, that what has 
 been said of individual Christians, is true of churches. 
 One great reason why they are, frequently, in such a 
 feeble, barren, disordered state, is, that they have 
 perverted the doctrine of grace by a slothful neglect 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 81 
 
 of the means which God has appointed for promo- 
 ting their order, strength, and fruitfulness. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The manner in which Christian Ministers often 
 spend their time when out of the Pulpit. 
 
 It is not intended at present to animadvert on the 
 worst cases of the kind alluded to at the head of this 
 chapter. No remarks will be made on instances in 
 which a preacher has been chargeable with frivolity, 
 and dissipation, and gross vice ; nor in which, with- 
 out necessity, he has devoted nearly all his time, 
 except on the Sabbath, to secular business ; nor to 
 instances in which he has entered so deeply into po- 
 litical discussions, as to leave him neither leisure 
 nor incHnation for the duties of his profession. No/ 
 finally, will any thing be said, particularly, in relation 
 to instances in which several clergymen have form- 
 ed a kind of spiritual junto, or aristocracy, for the 
 purpose of raising themselves above their brethren^ 
 and securing for their own benefit, or that of their 
 friends, the most honorable and lucrative of those 
 places to which the ministers of Christ are permit- 
 8 
 
$2 CAUSES OP 
 
 ted to aspire. In all cases of this kind, it must be 
 obvious to the dullest understanding, that the preach- 
 er's heart is not in his work, and that, of course, he 
 cannot be expected to prosper in it. No; the 
 Christian minister is supposed to be chargeable with 
 none of these things. He is supposed to pay very- 
 little attention to secular pursuits of any kind, and 
 to be a modest, retiring, unostentatious man, who is 
 willing to occupy a low place among his brethren. 
 It is admitted, besides, that he devotes a suitable 
 portion of his time to pastoral visits ; that in visit- 
 ing his people, he maintains a serious, dignified de- 
 portment ; and that his intercourse with them is uni- 
 formly characterized by kindness of feeling and sua- 
 vity of manners. Nay, more ; it is admitted that he' 
 converses principally on moral and rehgious sub* 
 jects, and that his discourse is uncommonly instruct- 
 ive and interesting. Still, there may be a lamenta- 
 ble defect in his manner of conducting pastoral 
 visits. His conversation, after all, may have little 
 or no tendency to promote the vitality and power 
 of religion among the members of his church, or to 
 arouse his unconverted hearers to a serious and 
 earnest attention to their immortal interests ; nay, 
 it may have a contrary tendency. 
 
 Let us suppose that, in conversing with the mem- 
 bers of his church, he seldom urges with becoming 
 solemnity and earnestness the importance of a holy 
 
IIELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 83 
 
 life, of setting the affections on things above, of liv- 
 ing as strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and of 
 a daily consecration of the heart to God ; that he 
 seldom endeavors to impress on their minds the ob- 
 ligation they are under to hold all they have as sa- 
 credly devoted to the cause of Christ ; that he sel- 
 dom questions them closely on the state of their 
 souls, or reproves them in a tender and solemn man- 
 ner v^hen they go astray ; that he says but little re- 
 specting the love of God, the preciousness of Christ, 
 or the glory of heaven ; but spends his visits prin- 
 cipally in detailing the statistics of protracted meet- 
 ings and revivals at home, or of missionary opera- 
 tions abroad ; or in giving an account of the meet- 
 ings of the various benevolent societies with which 
 he is acquainted, — the efforts made, the agents em- 
 ployed, the opposition encountered, and the sums 
 
 raised by these associations There may 
 
 be nothing positively wrong in his manner of con- 
 ducting pastoral visits. Nay, the various topics on 
 which he discourses may very properly be intro- 
 duced ; they are all interesting and important, and 
 ought to occupy a portion of every preacher's time, 
 when he is conversing with his people. But his 
 dwelling on them to the almost entire exclusion of 
 other, and still more important topics, is an evil 
 which can hardly fail of rendering his labors in pri- 
 vate, on the whole, useless, if not positively injuri- 
 
84 CAUSES OP 
 
 ous. Such visits are not adapted to inspire his breth- 
 ren with ardent aspirations after eminence in ho- 
 Hness ; but rather to make them satisfied with a life 
 of religious dissipation, in which the hurry, and bus- 
 tle, and parade of meetings, speeches, and collec- 
 tions are substituted for that daily and hourly inter- 
 course of the soul with its God, in which the life and 
 power of real piety so much consists.* 
 
 In his private intercourse with the unconverted 
 part of his congregation, let us suppose, that, though 
 he is grave and serious, he manifests no deep sense 
 of their lost and perishing condition, their exposure 
 to the just displeasure of God, and their danger ev- 
 ery moment of sinking into endless misery ; that, 
 instead of this, his deportment and conversation na- 
 
 * The writer hopes his Christian brethren will not misunder- 
 stand him. He assures them that he is no enemy to the pious and 
 benevolent operations of the day. He rejoices that so much is done 
 and Ukely to be done, for sending the gospel to the heathen, for 
 disseminating the Scriptures and weU written Tracts, and for assist- 
 ing in their preparatory studies such pious but indigent young men 
 as God has called to the ministry of his word. He rejoices, too, in 
 the efforts made in the cause of temperance and of moral re- 
 form ; nay, in the whole system of measures adapted to meUorate 
 the condition of the human race. What he objects to is the dis- 
 proportionate regard which, in many instances, is paid to these 
 objects — a regard which leaves scarce any time for secret prayer, 
 for searching the heart, for studying the Bible, or for conversation 
 with either saints or sinners on those momentous subjects with 
 which the salvation of the soul is so intimately connected. 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 85 
 
 turally lead them to suppose, that he considers them 
 in a pardoned and justified state ; or, if not, that, in 
 his opinion, there is no necessity for any deep con- 
 cern, or any vigorous efforts on their part to obtain 
 an interest in Christ. Is it difficult to determine 
 what must be the natural tendency of his visits ? 
 Can they fail to operate as sedatives to any feelingf? 
 of concern and anxiety which may have been pre- 
 viously excited ? And yet, alas ! how many such 
 visits have been made by thousands of clergymen 
 of the most respectable standing ! How common 
 it is for a preacher to converse with sinners in a 
 general ivaij, without even a serious endeavor to 
 bring such truths as are specially suited to their c^se 
 to bear upon the conscience and the heart ! In our 
 pastoral visits, we ought, if possible, io^clench the 
 nail which we had driven in our public discourses ; 
 instead of which, how often do we loosen it ; nay, 
 draw it quite out of the sinner's heart ! Oh how impor- 
 tant it is that the Christian pastor adopt a diflerent 
 course without delay ! How important that while 
 making his parochial visits, he feel such a sense of the 
 worth of souls, and such a deep concern for the con- 
 version of his impenitent hearers, as shall constrain 
 him to address them in the most serious, affection- 
 ate, and impressive manner ; and to follow the prac- 
 tice from week to week, and from month to month ! 
 It is not, indeed, asserted, that the pastor of a church 
 9 
 
86 CAUSES OF 
 
 should never converse with his unconverted hearers 
 on any but religious subjects. Other subjects may, 
 and must be frequently introduced. But unless the 
 design of their introduction be the transaction of ne- 
 cessary wordly business, the discussion of them 
 should invariably be so managed, as to prepare the 
 way for subjects which have an immediate connec- 
 tion with the soul, and its immortal interests. If 
 any Christian reader should think the course here 
 recommended too strict and puritanical, it seems 
 sufficient to remark, that such was evidently the 
 course pursued by our Saviour and his apostles; 
 nay, that such is the course pursued at present by 
 all the true ministers of Christ in seasons of revi- 
 val 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 Prevalence of the opinion that on the pastor of a 
 church is devolved the whole work of promoting 
 the interests of religion in the place where he 
 resides. 
 
 Some religious people have imagined that the lay 
 members of a church were authorized and required 
 to perform nearly all the duties of a pastor ; and, 
 of course, that the latter, except, perhaps, in the ad- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. W 
 
 ministration of special ordinances, had little more 
 to do than the other members of his church. This 
 is, undoubtedly, a great mistake, and productive, 
 wherever it prevails, of great mischief to the church 
 of Christ. The pastor should, unquestionably, hold a 
 very prominent place among his brethren. He has 
 in a most emphatic sense the supervision of the 
 branch of Zion with which he is connected. It is 
 his duty, especially, to preach " the glorious gospel 
 of the blessed God," to divide aright the word of 
 truth, and to watch for souls as one who must give 
 account. Indeed, the charge committed to him 
 is one of the most sacred and awful which can be 
 conceived, and requires that, in ordinary cases, his 
 whole time and strength be devoted to it. It fol- 
 lows, of course, that a want of faithfulness on his 
 part is peculiarly criminal, and must, unless he re- 
 pent, expose him to the most fearful tokens of the 
 divine displeasure. Still, a great deal ought to be 
 done by the members of his church and congrega- 
 tion towards promoting the interests of religion 
 among them. They are bound in the first place — 
 unless their poverty absolutely forbids — to give him 
 such a temporal support as shall enable him, not in- 
 deed to accumulate a fortune, or to Hve in luxury 
 and splendor, but to procure for himself and those 
 dependent on him, the necessaries and comforts of 
 life ; and, without paying much attention to worldly 
 
88 CAUSES OF 
 
 business, to make some decent provision for the 
 exigencies of sickness and old age. A neglect on 
 the part of his church to do this, is a great evil, as 
 it must prevent his enriching his mind with spirit- 
 ual know^Iedge, and preparing himself in a suitable 
 manner for the services of the sanctuary. He can- 
 not, therefore, supply the golden candlestick w^ith 
 beaten oil, or come to his people in the fulness of 
 the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, or commend 
 himself to their approbation as a scribe v^ell instruct- 
 ed in the kingdom of God, who, like a faithful house- 
 holder, brings forth out of his treasures things new 
 and old. And can it be wondered at, if the mem- 
 bers of such a church do not grow in grace, or in 
 spiritual knowledge ? The necessity which they 
 impose on their pastor of devoting himself to secu- 
 lar business, renders his sermons comparatively 
 poor, destitute of that variety, and of those soul-en- 
 riching exhibitions of divine truth which ought to 
 characterize the preaching of a Christian pastor. 
 Nor can it be expected that, after being immersed 
 in the business of the world from Monday morning 
 till Saturday night, the tone of his mind will be as 
 spiritual and devout as it would have been had he 
 been employed, during the week, in studying his 
 Bible and discharging the other duties of his sacred 
 calling. It cannot be expected that, either in preach- 
 ing or praying, he will' manifest that spirituality, 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 89 
 
 solemnity, and fervor, so important to the minister 
 of Christ, and so admirably adapted to promote the 
 power of godliness among his people. Nor is this 
 all. If the neglect of his people to supply his tem- 
 poral wants, subjects him to the necessity of devot- 
 ing most of his time to secular business, he cannot 
 have much leisure for parochial visits, which, if 
 rightly conducted, contribute greatly to a pastor's 
 usefulness. While, therefore, his people, by with- 
 holding from him a temporal support, render nis 
 pastoral visits few, they are taking a course which 
 tends directly to impoverish their own souls, and 
 spread darkness, and disunion, and spiritual barren- 
 ness over the heritage of God. 
 
 But there is more to be said on this subject. 
 Withholding a temporal support from their pastor, 
 is not the only particular in which the members of 
 a church may fail of doing their duty. There ought 
 to be on their part a general, constant, and vigor- 
 ous co-operation with their pastor in his efforts to 
 promote the interests of religion among them. 
 While he, by his preaching and pastoral visits, is 
 assiduously laboring for the good of their souls, it 
 is very important that they assist him in these la- 
 bors of love by a punctual attendance on religious 
 meetings, by taking an active part in such meetings 
 on proper occasions, by conversing much onQ with 
 
 9* 
 
90 CAUSES OF 
 
 another on divine subjects, by taking and reading 
 those periodicals which are adapted to promote the 
 spirit and power of true religion among them, by 
 encouraging the Sunday School and the Bible Class, 
 by contributing according to their ability in aid of 
 the pious and benevolent operations of the day, by 
 leading holy and blameless lives, by conversing with 
 the unconverted of their respective families and 
 neighborhoods, in a tender and serious manner on 
 the state of their souls, by rallying round their pastor 
 and sustaining him against the rude attacks which 
 he sometimes experiences from the enemies of the 
 cross, and by daily offering up to God in his behalf 
 that effectual fervent prayer which availeth much. 
 By doing these things, they would not only encour- 
 age his heart and strengthen his hands in the great 
 work to which he is devoted, and thereby enable 
 him to do more, much more, than he otherwise 
 could, but would do much directly them selves to- 
 ward sustaining and advancing the cause of reli- 
 gion among them. Those very exercises in which 
 we have supposed them to be engaged would con- 
 tribute much to foster the spirit and power of god- 
 liness in their own hearts. While thus co-opera- 
 ting with their pastor in doing good, their souls 
 would be as a watered garden ; the graces of the 
 Holy Spirit implanted in them, would be in a vigor- 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSIOxN. 91 
 
 ous and healthful state, and the spirit of union and 
 Christian love would be diffused through the whole 
 church. Nor is it difficult to perceive what must 
 be the effect of these things on such members of the 
 congregation as are out of Christ. The church, oc- 
 cupying such high and holy ground, must in connec- 
 tion with her pastor, exert a mighty and a most 
 salutary influence on the unconverted. The latter 
 could hardly slumber securely in sin while assailed 
 from every quarter by such powerful excitements 
 to diligence and ardor in seeking the salvation of 
 their souls. No, a principal reason why the uncon- 
 verted are so easy, is that we who profess religion 
 are so easy. Did we constantly manifest a deep 
 sense of their guilt and dang'^r, and an earnest so- 
 licitude for their salvation, they would soon be 
 aroused ; and, with the 3000 convicted on the day 
 of Pentecost, would say " Men and brethren what 
 must we do ?" Were the members of the church 
 thus spiritual and faithful, the preached gospel 
 would not be that inefficient, powerless thing which 
 it now too often proves. The great truths of the 
 Bible, exhibited by the faithful minister, would ap- 
 prove themselves to the consciences of his hearers 
 generally, and would " be mighty through God to 
 the pulling down of strong holds." Sinners would 
 be awakened, and converts multiplied ; and the 
 
92 CAUSES OF 
 
 church would " look forth as the morning, fair as the 
 moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army 
 with banners." 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Manner in which Christians frequently treat the 
 Holy Spirit, 
 
 It is the exhortation of an inspired apostle, " And 
 grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by which ye are 
 sealed to the day of redemption." If any inquire, 
 how we may grieve the Holy Spirit ; the answer 
 is, that we do so by ungratefully disregarding either 
 his past favors, or the present intimations he gives 
 of his willingness to come and bless us. 
 
 In regard to the past favors bestowed upon us by 
 the Holy Spirit, we may well say that in number, 
 variety, and value, they exceed all calculation, and 
 have laid us under obligations which eternity only 
 can discharge. It was this heavenly Agent who, 
 from love to our souls, so often visited us in our un- 
 converted state, and urged upon our consciences 
 the baseness and the guilt of rebelling against God ; 
 who told us of the danger to which that rebellion 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 93 
 
 exposed us, and warned us to flee without delay to 
 the gospel Refuge. It was the same blessed Agent 
 who, after being long resisted and abused, at last con- 
 vinced us of our guilt and ruin, and by the omnipo- 
 tence of his grace subdued the enmity of our hearts, 
 humbled us in the dust, and made us the joyful par- 
 takers of pardon, and all the rich blessings of the ever- 
 lasting covenant. Yes, it was the Holy Spirit who 
 took us out of the horrible pit and miry clay of an 
 unregenerate state, and set our feet on the Rock of 
 ages, established our goings in the highway of ho- 
 liness, and put a new song into our mouths, even 
 praise unto our God. It was He that revealed 
 Christ in us the hope of glory. It was He that made 
 us members of the royal family of heaven, heirs of 
 God, and joint heirs with Christ to an inheritance 
 which is incorruptible, and undefiled, and fadeth not 
 away. It was the same Spirit who led us by the 
 hand during the period of our spiritual infancy, that 
 gradually opened to us the mind and will of God, as 
 revealed in his word, that so often applied the truth 
 with light and comfort to our hearts, and thus sealed 
 us to the day of redemption. It was the same hea- 
 venly Agent who so frequently brought us back 
 when we had strayed from the spiritual fold ; who 
 healed our wounds, assuaged our griefs, allayed our 
 fears, indited our petitions, helped our infirmities, 
 
94 CAUSES OP 
 
 and made intercession for us according to the will 
 of God. It was He, too, who in the time of great 
 outward troubles, — the loss of property, of health, 
 or of endeared friends — stood by us and sustained 
 us. When we were ready to sink, this blessed 
 Comforter whispered in our ear, " As thy day is 
 thy strength shall be. When thou passest through 
 the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou 
 walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, 
 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Nay, 
 such was the support and consolation which his 
 presence and grace afforded, that each of us was 
 constrained to say, " Though I walk through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; 
 for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff* they 
 comfort me." Indeed, the favors bestowed upon 
 us by the Holy Spirit demand the liveliest emotions 
 of gratitude, and can never be adequately repaid or 
 acknowledged in this world or the next. And how 
 have we requited this heavenly Benefactor ? How 
 vastly disproportionate our gratitude to the innu- 
 merable and immensely rich blessings which he has 
 bestowed upon us ! How little have we felt our 
 obligations to him for all the grace and consolation 
 which we have received, and for all the well-founded 
 hopes of heaven which we have been permitted to 
 cherish ! And can we wonder that, aggrieved by our 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 95 
 
 ingratitude, he has for a season withdrawn himself 
 from us, and left us in a measure destitute of the 
 blessings which we had so strangely abused ? 
 
 There is one way in which this ingratitude has 
 been manifested that deserves to be particularly 
 mentioned. We have too often arrogated to our- 
 selves a part of the glory which was due exclusive- 
 ly to the Spirit of God. He has, suppose, blessed 
 us with a revival of his gracious work among us. 
 Our own souls, which for a season were like the 
 heath in the wilderness, have become like the gar- 
 den of the Lord ; while many around us, who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened 
 by his saving power, and made to sit together in 
 heavenly places in Christ .Tesus. The preached 
 word was, for a time, quick and powerful, sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing 
 asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
 row, and became a discerner of the thoughts and in- 
 tents of the heart. When the servant of the Lord 
 prophesied over the dry bones, there was a noise 
 and a shaking ; and the bones came together, bone 
 to its bone ; and lo, the sinews and the flesh came 
 up upon them, and the skin covered them above. 
 And when he prophesied again, the breath of hea- 
 venly life came into them, and caused them to stand 
 up on their feet an embattled host, prepared to en- 
 dure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christr 
 
96 CAUSES OF 
 
 Such a season of refreshing from the presence of 
 the Lord, was most evidently his work ; and, while 
 enjoying it, we were bound to lie in the dust before 
 him, and to ascribe the glory, the whole glory, to his 
 most holy name. This, perhaps, we frequently ac- 
 knowledged, both in private and in public. We 
 called the work, we were permitted to witness, the 
 work of God. We admitted the agency of his bles- 
 sed spirit in the whole matter. But still we claimed 
 a part of the glory for ourselves and for certain in- 
 dividuals of our fellow men. Before the work com- 
 menced, and during its progress, we did much to 
 promote it. We held numerous prayer meetings ; 
 we appointed committees to visit from house to 
 house, and converse faithfully with saints and sin- 
 ners. We endeavored, besides, as individuals, to 
 excite an attention to religion in all around us. We 
 conversed in a serious manner with each person to 
 whom we could have access, and labored to make 
 an impression on every mind in favor of Christ and 
 his cause. Our minister was remarkably faithful 
 and laborious, and did much to promote the revival. 
 He chose the most appropriate subjects, and dis- 
 cussed them in the most instructive and impres- 
 sive manner. He laid open the sinner's case so 
 plainly, that it seemed impossible for any, however 
 stupid and hardened, to fail of realizing their lost 
 condition. Neighboring ministers came in to his 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 97 
 
 assistance, and by their excellent sermons and ex- 
 hortations, did much to help forward the good 
 work. One individual was awakened by this ser- 
 mon, and another by that ; while by a thirds seve- 
 ral were brought to rejoice in the truth. And while 
 thinking and speaking of the work in this manner, 
 have we not felt, and has not our language some- 
 times implied, that almost as much was to be attri- 
 buted to the agency of man, as to that of the Holy 
 Spirit ? For some years past, the churches, gene- 
 rally, have evidently been in great danger of cher- 
 ishing feelings and uttering expressions of this kind. 
 The subject of human agency has been much dis- 
 cussed, and many excellent things have been said 
 upon it. The antinomian heresy has been thor- 
 oughly exposed, and the importance of a proper use 
 of the appointed means of grace, has been placed 
 in a clear and strong light. Christians now feel 
 the necessity of human elForts in relation to the sal- 
 vation of the soul, and to the cause of Christ, as 
 much as in relation to their secular pursuits. And, 
 thus far, all is right. But experience and observa- 
 tion teach us how difficult it is to preserve, in regard 
 to any two extremes, the proper medium. There 
 are not a few who, in their zeal to shun the errors 
 of the antinomian and the fatalist, seem to have 
 gone into the opposite extreme, and to have attri- 
 buted more to human agency than they ought ; in 
 10 
 
98 CAUSES OF 
 
 doing which they have withheld from the Holy 
 Spirit the glory due to his name. They have seem- 
 ed to imagine that a revival might be produced at 
 any time by the use of proper means, — that, for in- 
 stance, a series of religious meetings well sustained 
 by ministers and people, could hardly fail of awak- 
 ening slumbering sinners, and bringing many of 
 them to the saving knowledge of Christ. Under 
 these^xircumstances, can we wonder if the Spirit of 
 the Lord has been grieved ; and, leaving ministers 
 and people to try their own strength, has taught 
 them by the entire failure of their efforts, that, what- 
 ever means or instruments may be employed, the 
 excellency of the power is of God and not of them ? 
 And is not this one reason why, in so many instan- 
 ces, protracted meetings have been held without 
 success ? 
 
 There is, as already intimated, another way in 
 which we may have grieved the Holy Spirit, name- 
 ly, by ungratefully disregarding the present intima- 
 tions of his willingness to come and bless us. Since 
 the commencement of that spiritual apathy which 
 now so generally prevails, there have, probably, been 
 seasons in which a degree of quickening has been 
 felt by the members of the church, and in which sin- 
 ners have paid more than usual attention to the 
 means of grace. During two or three weeks, sup- 
 pose, religious meetings have been more numerously 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 99 
 
 attended, and the preached gospel has been listen- 
 ed to with more seriousness, and the truth has 
 seemed to fall on the assembly with greater weight 
 than on ordinary occasions. At such times the 
 Holy Spirit is giving us intimations of his willing- 
 ness to come and bless us with abundant showers 
 of grace. And there seems no reason to doubt but 
 that he would actually do this, did we not by our 
 coldness and indifference, show that we were not 
 prepared to appreciate the blessing which he was 
 about to confer. Suppose a friend should call on 
 us in the morning, and with the utmost kindness 
 and delicacy, should intimate his willingness to pass 
 the day with us. And suppose, that, instead of bid- 
 ding him a cordial welcome, we should treat him 
 with neglect, and give him the strongest reason to 
 conclude that we did not desire his company. 
 Would he not be grieved ? And would he be like- 
 ly to visit us again very soon ? — Can we won- 
 der, then, that the spirit of the Lord, when treated 
 in a similar manner by those who are infinitely in- 
 debted to him, should withdraw from them, and 
 leave them destitute of the sensible tokens of his 
 love, till they realize their guilt and folly, and man- 
 ifest an earnest desire to regain the rich blessing 
 which they now so strangely despise ? * 
 
 » See the Rev. Dr. Hall's Treatise on the Holy Spirit, 
 
loo CAUSES OP 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Neglect of the daily exercise of Repentance to- 
 wards God, and of Faith towards our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 It will be generally admitted that unconverted 
 men must repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ, 
 before they can enjoy true peace, or lead a holy 
 life. It vf\\\ also be admitted that, v^hen a saint has 
 been chargeable vv^ith any remarkable deviation 
 from the right path, a new exercise of repentance 
 and faith is necessary for him ; as in the case of 
 David when he had sinned in the affair of Uriah ; 
 and of Peter, when he had denied his Lord and Mas- 
 ter. But we do not seem to realize that the like ne- 
 cessity exists, daily, in regard to all the members 
 of the Redeemer's spiritual family. We are apt to 
 suppose that when a Christian leads what we con- 
 sider an exemplary, pious life, he may go on pros- 
 perously, for weeks and months, without any spe- 
 cial exercise of faith or repentance. This might, 
 and probably would, be true of us, if we had attain- 
 ed to sinless perfection. Were we sure that we did 
 nothing offensive to God — that the feelings of our 
 hearts were all in perfect conformity with the divine 
 requirements — we might pass days and weeks, per- 
 haps months and years, without any new exercise 
 
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 101 
 
 of godly sorrow, or any new application to Christ 
 as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of 
 the world. But such is not our case. We daily 
 sin, and come short of the glory of God. It is sel- 
 dom we pass a day, without saying or doing some- 
 thing which a tender and enlightened conscience is 
 constrained to condemn. And as to our thoughts 
 and feelings, how many times, in a single day, if 
 not in a single hour, are they different from what 
 they ought to be ! How much selfishness, and pride, 
 and vain-glory are felt ! How much inordinate 
 love to the world ! How much unwillingness to 
 deny ourselves and bear the cross ! Or if we are 
 conscious of nothing positively wrong, how great a 
 loant of intensity and fervor is there in our spirit- 
 ual feelings ! How far does our love to God, to 
 his word and to his cause, fall below that high 
 and perfect standard by which we are required to 
 try ourselves 1 And how often do we suffer our 
 thoughts to wander from spiritual subjects, when 
 we might control them, and when, without any 
 prejudice to our worldly business, they might be 
 occupied with the great and precious truths of the 
 gospel. Indeed, it is evident that the best Chris- 
 tian in the world who properly watches the move- 
 ments of his own mind, even when his outward con- 
 duct is entirely fair, will find enough every day to 
 
 fill him with shame and confusion before God, and 
 10* 
 
W2 CAUSES OP RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 
 
 to render him incapable of joy, or peace, till with 
 unfeigned sorrow he has made confession at the 
 mercy seat, and has gone by faith to that blessed 
 fountain which cleanses from all iniquity. A neg- 
 lect to do this seems to be a principal reason why 
 Christians in general live so little as they ought to 
 do, and enjoy so little of the comforts of religion. 
 Sin defiles the conscience ; and, when the conscience 
 is defiled, all our spiritual energies are enfeebled ; 
 we gradually become spiritually diseased, and are 
 disqualified alike for running the race which is set 
 before us, and for partaking of those rich consola- 
 tions which the Lord has prepared for his people. 
 To change the figure, sin wounds the soul ; and un- 
 less we daily repent and go to Christ by faith, our 
 wounds are not healed. They, of course, increase 
 in number and virulence daily ; till, in process of 
 time, the soul resembles the body when covered 
 with bruises and putrifying sores. Now this is re- 
 ally the case at present with a multitude of profess- 
 ed Christians, and with many churches. Should we 
 strip off the garment of external decency which co- 
 vers them, we should find, alas ! but little besides a 
 mass of moial putrescence. Oh how important it 
 is that individual Christians, and churches realize 
 this lamentable truth, and repair without delay to 
 the great Physician, and to the fountain which he 
 has opened — a fountain whose living waters are 
 
CLOSING ADDRESS. 103 
 
 adapted alike to cleanse the polluted soul, and heal 
 its spiritual maladies ! Were this done daily, Chris- 
 tians would not so often resemble those who are 
 dead in trespasses and sins. No ; the members of 
 the church would exhibit the appearance of moral 
 and spiritual health ; and, instead of that languor 
 and feebleness which now too often characterize 
 them, would be strong in the Lord, and in the pow- 
 er of his might ; and their achievements in the spir- 
 itual warfare would be truly glorious. 
 
 CLOSING ADDRESS. 
 
 To real Christians of every Denomination. 
 
 Beloved Brethren, 
 
 The writer has now done what he 
 had principally in view in this essay — has taken a 
 brief survey of the evil in question, and pointed out 
 what he considers some of the principal causes to 
 which it should be ascribed. He does not by any 
 means pretend to have exhausted the subject. He 
 is sensible that other causes might justly be assign- 
 ed. But he wishes to avoid unnecessary prolixity ; 
 and, unless he greatly mistcike, the causes which 
 
!04 CLOSING ADDRESS. 
 
 have been named are the most prominent ; and will, 
 if properly weighed, lead to the contemplation of 
 those which, for brevity's sake, have been omitted. 
 The subject, you will all admit, is one of vast im- 
 portance — a subject in the right understanding of 
 which the glory of God, the prosperity of his spir- 
 itual kingdom, and the best interests of the soul are 
 deeply involved. He trusts, therefore, that what 
 he has said will receive your candid and prayerful 
 attention, and will be the means of inciting us all 
 to avoid in future the errors in our spiritual course 
 from which so much evil has resulted. Do you ask, 
 " By what means may we obtain deliverance from 
 the unhappy state into which we have fallen ?" You 
 will find an answer in the last chapter of this es- 
 say. It was there stated that the neglect of the 
 daily exercise of repentance towards God, and of 
 faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, was one cause 
 of the evil in question. It is proper now to add, 
 that we cannot rise out of this low condition with- 
 out repenting of our sins in dust and ashes, and go- 
 ing anew to Christ in the exercise of a true and live- 
 ly faith. Till this is done, we cannot attain that el- 
 evated standing as individuals, or as churches, which 
 we ought to occupy ; nor can we walk in the light 
 of the Lord, or enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the 
 unconverted around us become the friends and fol- 
 lowers of Jesus Christ. And shall we not, breth- 
 
CLOSING ADDRESS. 105 
 
 ren, immediately betake ourselves, in a humble de- 
 pendence on the grace of God, to the performance 
 of this necessary and most important work ? Shall 
 we live any longer at this poor dying rate ? — dis- 
 honoring the name of our God and Saviour, depriv- 
 ing our own souls of all real comfort, and confirm- 
 ing the ungodly in their opposition to Christ and 
 the way of holiness ? Alas ! brethren, shall we re- 
 main another year in this sad condition? Shall 
 we remain another month, or another day ? Behold, 
 our God is rich in mercy, and is waiting to receive 
 us, wretched prodigals ; to purify us from all our 
 pollutions, to clothe us with the garments of salva- 
 tion, and to admit us, unworthy and guilty as we 
 are, to the richest entertainments of his house. And 
 shall we refuse to avail ourselves of his grace and 
 bounty ? Shall we choose to remain in the " far 
 country," where dearth, and famine, and degrada- 
 tion, and death abound ? Shall we perish with hun- 
 ger, rather than return to our Father's house where 
 is bread enough and to spare ? Oh let us obey that 
 voice which speaks to us from the heights of Zion, 
 and says, " Return ye backsliding children, and I 
 will heal your backslidings." Let us bless the 
 name of that gracious Being with whom there is 
 forgiveness, that he may be feared ; and let us unite 
 in saying to him, " Behold, we come unto thee ; for 
 thou art the Lord our God." This done, we shall 
 regain the consolations of his grace, shall teach 
 
106 CLOSING ADDRESS. 
 
 transgressors his ways, and see them flying to him 
 as clouds and as doves to their windows. Nor shall 
 we long be destitute of the satisfaction arising from 
 an assurance that we are instrumental in advancing 
 the interests of his kingdom, and of glorifying him in 
 our bodies and spirits which are his. 
 
 The importance of our returning to the Lord is 
 enhanced by the peculiar situation of the church of 
 Christ at the present day. She is fast approaching 
 a most interesting crisis in that mighty contest which 
 she has so long maintained with the powers of dark- 
 ness. If the writer has any correct understanding 
 of the prophetical Scriptures, the time cannot be 
 very far distant when the kingdoms of this world 
 are to become the kingdoms of our God and of his 
 Christ. But this glorious triumph of truth and 
 righteousness is most evidently to be preceded by 
 extraordinary exertions on the part of the great ad- 
 versary of God and man, to maintain his dominion 
 over this fallen world, and prevent, if possible, the 
 fulfilment of the promises made to Zion respecting 
 her enlargement and glory in the latter days. This 
 is plainly intimated by several of the inspired wri- 
 ters ; particularly by St. John in the 16th chapter 
 of the Apocalypse. " I saw," says he, " three un- 
 clean spirits like frogs go out of the mouth of the 
 dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out 
 of the mouth of the false prophet. For these," he 
 
CLOSING ADDRESS. 107 
 
 adds, " are the spirits of devils, working miracles, 
 which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of 
 the whole world, to gather them to the battle of 
 that great day of God Almighty." Without at- 
 tempting an exegesis of this interesting passage, we 
 may venture to say, that it plainly indicates an ex- 
 tended and desperate effort on the part of Satan to 
 muster his forces, and bring on a general engage- 
 ment between the friends and the enemies of Christ. 
 And are there not, brethren, some clear indications 
 of such a movement in the existing state of the 
 world ? Are not the agents and emissaries of the 
 prince of darkness, and of the anti-christian powers of 
 Europe, laboring with unusual industry and zeal, es- 
 pecially in our country, to destroy those civil and re- 
 ligious institutions, on the preservation of which, the 
 prosperity of the Church of Christ so essentially de- 
 pends ? Has not the civil and religious state of our 
 country greatly changed for the worse, within a very 
 few years? And should the progress of moral and poli- 
 tical deterioration be equally rapid for a few years to 
 come, what will remain to us of the fair inheritance 
 left us by our fathers ? Indeed, there appears much 
 reason to fear that, in less than twenty years, the em- 
 pire of liberty and of true religion in this western 
 world, will be subverted ; and that all the evils na- 
 turally resulting from the prevalence of despotic 
 power, and of an impure and bloody superstition. 
 
108 CLOSING ADDRESS. 
 
 will here be realized. And does itj brethren, become 
 us, at such a time, to slumber ? Oh how important 
 it is that we awake to righteousness, and pray with 
 fervency for the interposition of that almighty arm, 
 which alone can save ourselves, our children, our 
 country, and the church of Christ, from impending 
 evils !