Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

work of the Lord? How delighted we should be to answer yes,-to resign our labour into their hands. There are a few who are up and doing, but many sleep in Zion. Where is the spirit to call them forth? Where is the voice to rouse them from slumber? What apparatus of means will suffice? We point to the Young Men's Society; and trust, under God, that it may be made availing. Ministers complain of the paucity of young men in their churches;-let them support this Society, for it is a co-worker with them. Christian parents who grieve over their sons, seduced by worldly associations,-the companions of their youth,-should support this Society, for it brings them in contact with youthful ardour devoted to God, The philanthropist should support this Society, for it raises young men from indolence and vice to activity and benevolence. Christians at large should support it for its Catholic principles, its great design, and the glorious results that may follow in its path.-An Address by the British and Foreign Young Men's Society.

EARLY PIETY.

(For the Young Men's Magazine.) "TIS sweet at the call of Spring to see The flowers burst open to view; Yielding to heaven in fragrancy

Meet thanks for the sun, rain, and dew.

And sweet 'tis to hear the woodland choir Fill the air with their warbling praise; Their ceaseless hymn never seems to tire, 'Tis the joy of continuing days.

But sweeter, lovelier far, to see

The soul early yielding to God The bloom of its youth, with joy to be His love, and his Spirit's abode.

To see all its contrite tears dried up,

By its faith in a Saviour's blood; By filling the heart, as the thoughts glide up To its rest with the bless'd and good.

To hear its warm burst of grateful song,

When it thinks o'er its sins forgiven; And joyful rests, with faith firm and strong, Upon the sure promise of heaven.

This is a sight making angels rejoice;
Their harps with fresh fervour they strike;
New praise to the lamb fills every voice,
In song and in joy each alike.
J. A. W.

ANSWERS TO EXERCISE. No. VI. "I. 'WHAT is the right use of reason in matters of religion?'

"The question proposed for consideration is one on which men differ greatly in the present day. While one party, exalting reason as the highest gift of God to man, make it the standard by which to weigh all doctrines, even those of revelation itself; another, recoiling from a theory so presumptu[ous, and falling into the opposite extreme, wholly reject the aid of reason in matters of religion. A middle course will probably be found safest and most consistent. It is difficult to define the precise limits that should be assigned to the exercise of reason, but the following may suffice.

"In the contemplation of the works of God-their number, extent, and perfection reason derives a proof of the existence of a Being, powerful, wise, and good; and further, in the supplies his creatures receive from day to day, beholds a superintending Providence, overruling the affairs of time.

"The exercise of reason with reference to revelation is limited, but yet important. It examines the evidences of its Divine origin, and asserts the claim it thereby has on the attention and regard of man; but over its contents it has no authority or control. Whatever is revealed, if it be apparently inconsistent with reason, faith must receive, and reason approve the reception of it, on the ground of the veracity of the Author of revelation.

"Reason, when brought to bear on matters of everlasting moment, shows the folly and ingratitude of that man who presumes to slight the commands and invitations of a being so great, so glorious, and so beneficent as Jehovah; and to neglect a salvation so full and so free as that offered in the Gospel. And for the employment of reason as an auxiliary in the great work of redemption, we have the warrant of Scripture, where it is written, 'Come now, let us reason together saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet,' &c.

"There are productions of the creative power of God, the object of which reason cannot discern. There are dealings in His providence, the design of which reason cannot comprehend. There are mysteries in His word, which the reason of finite man cannot explain. But the continual progress of knowledge, while it renders the ignorance of man more apparent, gradually developes to reason the truth of the statement, that God does all things for the best purpose, and by the employment of the best means.' G. A., Jun.

[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

INDOLENCE AND THE LOVE OF PLEASURE.

(Davis's Directions for the Young.)

I WILL attempt to guard my youthful reader against indolence and a love of pleasure. A partial or superficial glance might lead to the conclusion, that there can be no connexion between indolence and a love of pleasure. The one requires active exertion, and the other relaxation. But experience teaches us, that those who pursue with the greatest eagerness, the sinful pleasures of the world, have been prepared for this in the school of indolence; a school in which the understanding loses its power, in which the affections of the heart are contaminated, and in which the imagination is filled with impure and unholy imagery. Indolence, although incompatible with the healthy and well-regulated action of the intellectual powers, is very frequently accompanied with a morbid excitement of the mental faculties, and of the bodily frame; like the uncultivated ground, which produces every noxious weed in luxuriant abundance, while no valuable plant will, in such a soil, bring any

fruit to perfection. Youth is the season for salutary exercise; and if, during this important season, the body and mind are suffered to remain in indolence, the health of the former will be destroyed, while the latter will be, either a “barren wilderness," or a "cage of every unclean bird." An idle man is a blank in the creation. He is his own tormentor; a curse to his family, and a dead weight on society.

Some young persons may be ready to say, "This would be applicable to us, were we called upon to fill those important stations in society, which fall to the lot of many, and were we exposed to those temptations to sinful pleasures by which the rich and elevated are assailed." To this we reply, that sinful pleasure is not restricted to the wealthy and refined. The degrading and unholy pursuits to which men are impelled by the love of the world, are within the reach of the lowest and most abject of our species. The beggar may take his share with the Prince: and the intellectual and moral character of each be equally debased. The poor are too much inclined to imagine that they cannot sin like the rich; and the rich, that the refinements of iniquity which they practise place them, as to moral character in a state of elevation above the poor. But sin, whether grovelling in filth, or clothed in purple, is equally hateful in the sight of God. His eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity: and pollution, whether clothed in rags, or arrayed in all the decorations of the most splendid fortune, is Pollution still. Never for a moment, therefore, indulge the thought, that the pursuits of sinful pleasure are confined to any particular class in society.

Never give way to the idea, that any station in life, occupied by a rational and accountable creature, can be unimportant. No individual human being, however limited the sphere in which he moves, and however trifling his influence on those around him, will be despised by the thoughtful and the pious. Though you may not be called upon to occupy a station of commanding influence, yet, to yourself personally, the station which you do occupy is infinitely important. Your religious, relative, and personal duties require careful attention, well-formed habits, and fervent prayer, or they will never be so fulfilled as to be "acceptable to God and approved of men." It is indeed true, that we are not all called upon to become philosophers, or poets, or historians, or ministers of religion; but all may secure in youth some valuable knowledge, which may be useful in after life. And be it ever remembered by the young as one of the strongest inducements to rouse them from their indolence, and to

call them off from every sinful pursuit, that there is one book with which all ought to be acquainted, one science which all ought to master, and one practice which all ought most carefully and perseveringly to pursue. Need we say that that book is the Bible; that science, religion; that practice, the practice of piety! Here is occupation at once for the mind, the heart, and the hands. "Get this wisdom, and with all thy getting get this understanding." Let the keeping of thy soul be regulated by this divine rule, and there will be activity, peace, and purity within; while thy lips will not be froward, thy feet not deviating from the right path, and thine hands be prepared to do whatever God commands.

advice, who by the light of nature alone declared, that to suffer death for one's country was not only necessary, but honourable. So, I think, every lover of true piety should diligently seek the truth of God in the Scripture; maintain it, when found, to his latest breath, serve God in his calling according to his word, and not be deterred by any perils or menaces from supporting the truth, and holding on his course: as, then, this is my fixed determination, it is in vain that you endeavour to draw away me and others from the genuine doctrine of God's church, which you yourself ought likewise to profess.— Diaz, in reply to Malvenda.

THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST.

THE CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN.

IN a peculiar sense the Christian gentleman must be absent from the world: not,

"I count all things but loss for the excellence of indeed, from the intercourse of business with the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

the world; such an abstraction may not be
consistent with his duties and engagements;
neither does it comport with his general
character and necessary relations to withhold
himself from the commerce of good offices
and cheerful hospitality: but he must sepa-
rate himself by a decided line from the
loose practices and careless demeanour of
before him cannot "sit among the ungodly,"
He who sets God always
worldly men.
without a depression of spirit. The com-
munication with the godless he cannot alto-
gether avoid: he cannot avoid the contact,
but he may avoid the intermixture. As he
has his delights, with which they cannot
intermeddle, so does the nature of their
pleasures exclude his participation. There
is, however, a neutral ground, on which they
which they may be temporarily associated;
may stand together; common interests, by
reciprocities which hold them in occasional
looks below him on the crowd of pleasure's
correspondence: but the Christian gentleman
votaries. While he meditates in the fields,
or converses with God in his chamber, or
sits in his watch-tower, to "muse upon his
works," he sees through dust and smoke the
plain beneath him, the "dwellings of Me-
sech," and the "tents of Kedar," or perhaps
the turrets of the distant city,

I MUST honestly confess, that I have made up my mind, in a cause of such immense importance as altogether affects our salvation, to undergo any dangers rather than purity of doctrine should suffer injury. I should even deem it an honour to lay down my life in testimony of the truth. For what is the life of man, but a continued series of evils, if a knowledge of real religion be wanting, which can alone minister safety and consolation? Nor do I think, Malvenda, that I have learned so little, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, as to pay more regard to the displeasure of the world, or the authority of man, than to the will of the everlasting God, clearly revealed in the oracles of truth. But this I know to be the standing command of the Son of God, given from above to all generations: "Whosoever will not confess me before men, him will not I confess before my Father which is in heaven." An awful threat, indeed! not proceeding from mortal tyrant, but pronounced out of the secret counsel of the Supreme. If you can hear it, and not tremble, I could scarcely think that you had human feeling, but that your breast must be made of iron or marble. You would persuade me on account of worldly dangers which, however tremendous, can be but temporal, to renounce a Christian profession, on which depends that salvation which is eternal. Yet the very Heathen gave better-Portraiture of a Christian Gentleman.

"Where the noise

Of riot ascends above her loftiest towers,
And injury and outrage."

London: R. Needham, Printer, 1, Belle-Sauvage-Yard, Ludgate-Hill.

THE

YOUNG MEN'S MAGAZINE.

No. 9.]

[VOL. I.

66

SEPTEMBER, 1837.

ADMONITIONS TO THE YOUNG.

66

action. Were they always subjected to the government of enlightened reason, they would become sources WHAT ought you to avoid? "Flee of innocent gratification; indulgence youthful lusts." The objects of ab- would leave no stain, and rememhorrence and detestation are distinctly brance would awaken no remorse. specified in this short but impressive But from their fatal predominance caution. No palliating, softening over the convictions of the underepithets are employed to lessen their standing, and the remonstrances of enormity, or divest them of their conscience, what streams of sin and disgusting qualities. They are not misery have inundated the world! pleaded for by being called, as too To these, as their immediate sources, many in modern times represent may be traced innumerable diseases them," mere juvenile indiscretions," which ruin the body, by causing its youthful follies," which maturer age premature debility, and securing its will correct; but they are marked inevitable destruction. But their by a term, which at once describes direst evil is, that they war against and condemns them. Lust, in the the soul," (1 Pet. ii. 11,) impair the language of Scripture, has an exten- mind, and pollute the heart. How sive latitude of meaning; it is ap- soon does their pernicious influence plied to evil desire in general-the corrupt the very faculty of judging, desire of what is in itself unlawful and destroy the sensibility of conand forbidden, or the intemperate desire of what is in itself lawful and allowed. This explanation accords with the assertion of the apostle John in his first epistle, in which he gives an accurate classification of evil desires: "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world." (1 John ungoverned passions; "they defile ii. 16.) the whole body, set on fire the course The passions and appetites of our of nature, and are themselves set on nature are powerful principles of fire of hell," (James iii. 6.)

VOL. I.

science; "searing it as with a hot iron," and rendering it callous to all the impressions of guilt. "Whence arise wars and fightings? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members ?" (James iv. 1.) Domestic feuds, national antipathies, and all the unutterable horrors of war, are the awful consequences of

I

[ocr errors]

66

It requires little observation to tion, so that the most retired and rediscern the inefficacy of every mode fined sensuality stands exposed in all of restraint on these tyrants of man, its atrocity, as intimately connected excepting that which arises from the with the grossest violations of order influence of evangelical principles; and purity. "Out of the heart of but effectual as is their authority, man,' says the great Teacher sent there is reason to lament that the from God, proceed evil thoughts, contest between remaining imperfec- adulteries, fornications, murders, tion and the spiritual nature, renders thefts, covetousness, lasciviousness, every monition, ensample, and motive an evil eye: all these evil things come necessary, which can arouse our fear, from within, and defile the man. "Know ye stimulate our diligence, or promote (Mark vii. 21-23.) our circumspection. If the apostle not," exclaims the apostle Paul with found it requisite to exhort even holy indignation, "that the unrightTimothy, of whose eminent piety he eous shall not inherit the kingdom had witnessed such decisive proofs, of God? Be not deceived: neither to flee youthful lusts," with how fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulmuch greater force should every word terers, nor effeminate, nor abusers in this solemn admonition be imprinted of themselves with mankind, nor on your hearts! thieves, nor extortioners, nor drunkIn order to render the impression ards, shall inherit the kingdom of more vivid, let us consider to what God. Know ye not that your bodies evil desires the young are peculiarly are the members of Christ? Shall I exposed; what are the unhallowed then take the members of Christ, and passions that require their utmost make them members of a harlot ? vigilance and opposition. God forbid ! Flee fornication; he

[ocr errors]

I would first exhort you, my young that committeth fornication sinneth friends, to guard against the seduc- against his own body." (1 Cor. vi. tions of sensuality; against what are 9-20.) Addressing the Ephesians, emphatically termed " fleshly lusts." he says with equal decision," ForOn no subject are the sacred writers nication, and all uncleanness, let it more frequent, or more alarming in not be once named among you, as their denunciations than on this. becometh saints; neither filthiness, Aware of the wide-spreading nature nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which of the contagion, they continually are not convenient: for no whoreremind us of its evil, and direct us monger, nor unclean person hath any to the means of counteracting and inheritance in the kingdom of God." expelling it. As if it were an enemy (Eph. v. 3-6.) Again, with singular of gigantic magnitude, and in pos- minuteness of detail, clearly demonsession of innumerable points of strating the apostle's impression attack, we are enjoined to be per- of the evil of sensuality in all its petually on the alert against its ma- possible modes of pollution, he thus chinations, in order to resist its power, exhorts the Colossians,-" Mortify or retreat from the field in which our your members, which are upon the victory might be doubtful. The earth; fornication, uncleanness, inorScriptures employ in their warnings and prohibitions, on this topic, a redundancy of epithets, or rather a preciseness of description, which tends to prevent the possibility of self-decep

dinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." (Col. iii. 5, 6.)

« AnteriorContinua »