He will a- | pheming the Holy Ghost, by open.

ly, knowingly and expressly imputing the evident works of the Spirit to Satan; like the Pharisees, who enviously said, he casteth out devils by Beelzebub. This is a desperate cafe, not thro' the inad. equacy of Christ's atonement ; but because it is certain that such, as are guilty of it, will never apply for mercy. It is a groundless fear that God will not readily receive any as foon as they retura unto him. The mercy of God is abundant. The grounds of appre. hension are not, thathe will reject; but that the finner will not apply. Here is danger indeed, not by reason of any limits in the mercy of God; butby reason of the finner's disposition to reject it. Let all who are in fin, apply to God, and hearken to him, who calls upon all the ends of the earth to look unto him and be saved. -Let not Christians be too hastily discouraged, concerning the salvation of finners, who are uncommonly vile and hardened, or neglect earnestly praying for them. Finally, If any reader will abuse this declaration of the greatness of God's mercy by presumption, he must do it, and his blood must be upon his own head.

that call upon him." bundantly pardon. God is wonderful in mercy. Mercy is as free for you as for any. No higher terms are propounded to you, than to the leaft tranfgreffor. "He that believeth shall be saved." Is not the blood of Christ sufficient to wash away the deepest stain? Is not the benefit of it promised to all who apply? Did he not 'come to save finners? And are not you a finner? You owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay: But will he not frankly forgive you all? Take heed, that in addition to all your former fins, you do not limit the holy one of Ifrael. Another may say, "I have done all this, and befides, have grown old in fin. I have seen several revivals of religion-have been under deep concern myself, and have resisted the strivings of the Spirit, until he has left me an old hardened sinner, guilty of the blood of fouls. Surely God has fworn in his wrath, that I should never enter into his rest. It is in vain for me to think of repentance or faith. God will not accept me if I should now apply." - Your ideas of your guilt are by no means too great. You surely deserve no favor. If God's thoughts and ways were like ours, your cafe would be defperate. If they were not as far above ours, as the heav- FOR THE CONNECTICUT EVAN

ens are higher than the earth, there could be no hopes for you. The falvation of fuch sinners, at the eleventh hour, is among the won

derful works of divine grace. But come like the prodigal fon, perifh

ing, and cast yourself on the mere mercy of your abused father, and he will answer the character of the father in the parable.

be

MIKROS.

GELICAL MAGAZINE.

MESS'RS. EDITORS,

IF the writer of Peter's im

provement of his fall, published in the 12th Number of your Magazine, should not communicate to you David's improvement of his, you are at liberty to publish the following if you think it will be useful.

T Fall of

There is indeed one fin, and HE fall of Peter and the bat one, which God has pronounDavid are often menced unpardonable. This is blaf- tioned together by those who de

the

ride religion and its profeffors. to his expectations it was fpread

abroad. When he was told by Nathan, that he had given great occafion to the enemies of the Lord to blafpheme, he perceived that it was known. This was probably the first information he received of its being made public. Then he openly acknowledged it. Then he made public that repentance which before he had kept to himself. The probability that he had repented in private arifes from the following confiderations. It is not reasonable to suppose that a man of his attainments in grace should remain without repentance for fuch a length of time as is pretended, or the hundredth part of it. He was a careful obferver of his own heart and of providential events. Interesting events both in his kingdom and in his family, took place in that period. Can it be supposed that he was inattentive to them, or that he attended to them without reflections upon his own heart and conduct ? But this is not all. In his confeffion in the 51st Pfalm he said; " My fin is ever before me." This confeffion was made when Nathan came to him, as appears by the title of the pfalm. It must be supposed that in saying, that his fin was ever before him, he looked back beyond his short interview with the proph

Their repentance and their subse-
quent conduct may be properly
viewed together. Peter's have
been published and afforded instruc-
tion to many. David's in many
respects, are fimilar. The fins in
both cafes were highly offensive to
God, and were greatly aggravated
because they were committed by
his own children. The sins of
David, especially his two distin
guished ones, adultery and mur-
der, were exceedingly great and
attended with circumftances of pe-
culiar aggravation. But like Pe-
ter he speedily became a penitent,
and perhaps for one of his fins be-
fore he was guilty of the other.
Sinning and repenting are often in
fuccession, and fometims in quick
fucceffion. Peter forfook Chrift
but repented of his fin and return-
ed-then he denied him-then re-
pented of this fin, and all in the
space of a few hours. Matt. xxvi.
31, 33, 56. Some have fuppo-
sed that David lived for several
months without repentance, be-
cause his child was born before Na-
than appeared to him and led him
to a confeffion of his fins. It is
more rational to suppose that he re-
pented before; but confidered his
fins private ones and confequently
let his humiliations for them be
private. Great care was taken
that none should be acquainted et even to almost the whole of the
with the murder which he commit- time that had past away after his
ted but Joab, and he was David's fin was committed. Besides, Na-
confident. The like care was than said to him; "The Lord
probably taken in the other cafe. hath put away thy fin." The
Messengers passed and repassed be- Lord had pardoned his fin. But
tween David and Bath-fheba, but had he pardoned it without repen-
they were probably ignorant of tance? It was certainly more nat-
the fin that had been committed, ural for Nathan to declare the for-
or were charged to conceal it. giveness of his fin as a consequence
The whole was fo conducted that of feveral months' repentance than
God faid to David, "Thou didst as the consequence of that mo-
Da- ment's repentance, in which he
it fecretly." 2 Sam. xii. 12.
vid did it fecretly; but contrary was fpeaking to him. If this truth

David's fall brought him to earnest prayer to God. Greatly bur-recovery of faints who had fallen dened with his fins he prayed for into fin. When he was converted a pardon. "Have mercy upon the would strengthen his brethren me, O God, according to thy lov- And he prayed for others as well ing kindness; according to the as for himself. "Do good in thy

3

1

N

may be found; who, after almost any event has taken place, will tell of forme dream, by which they fuppofe it was indicated to them.I believe however, that it is not generally thought to be a mark of found judgment and difcretion.Nor do I think, that it will be admitted as evidence at all, that invisible agents are concerned in our dreams. It seems to me not reafonable to fuppofe, that God would employ myriads of fuch agents, in fuch a business. Our dreams are certainly in general extremely unimportant; and unquestionably they often receive their complex-conjecture which gave rife to it as

' when I fee a man disfipating his ' fortune by debauchery, I may, 'with reason, apprehend, that ' disease and poverty will foon over' take him. If this conjecture troubles me in the day-time, it may alfo recur in sleep, accom'panied with fome visionary circumstances; and I shall dream, ' perhaps, that I fee him in rags ' and misery. Suppose this really ' happen foon after, what opinion ' am I to entertain concerning my ' dream? Surely I have no more reason to confider it as propheti'cal, than I have to look upor the

the effect of inspiration."
" Intemperance of every kind,
in eating or drinking, in flеер or

ion, and even their existence, from the state of our health, and other circumstances attending us, by which we cannot reasonably sup-watching, in reft or exercife,

pose such beings would be affected. The wife man obferves on this subject, that " a dream cometh 'through the multitude of bufi"ness." Agreeably to this idea, it must be supposed, and by an "attentive obferver, who is free 'from fuperftition, it will be found, 'that dreams allude not to what ' is future, but to what is present 'or past, unless where we have been anticipating some future event; in which cafe our dreams may possibly refemble our con'jectures. Now, if our conjec'tures be right, and if our dreams ' refemble them, it may happen that there shall be a likeness between a certain dream and a future occurrence. But, in this, 'there is nothing more fupernatu'ral, than that I should dream to 'night of what I have been em'ployed in to-day; for this is nothing more than a particular train of thought, impressed upon fus in fleep, by a certain previous 'train of thoughts, into which 'reason and experience had led ' us when, awake. For example,

6

' tends to make dreams disagreea-
'ble; and therefore one end of
' dreaming may be, to recommend
fobriety and moderation.
For
' the time we may employ in sleep
'bears a great proportion to the
whole of human life; and if
there be any expedient for ren-
dering that portion of our time
agreeable, it is furely worth while
to put it in practice. Habits of
'virtue and soberness, the repref-
fion of turbulent defires, and the
'indulgence of pious, focial, and
' cheerful dispositions, are, for
'the most part, effectual in giving
' that lightness to the animal spirits,
' and that calm temperature to the
'blood, which promote thoughts
pleasurable through the day, and
'sweet slumber and cafy dreams
' by night."

6

"Since our thoughts in sleep may receive form and colour from many circumstances; from the ' general ftate of our health, from 'the present state of the stomach ' and fluids, from our employments, ' and from the tenor of our thoughts through the day; thall