ing. Now it must be evident to every reflecting mind, that terror never can beget love, and that the object of our dread can never be the object of our affections; and hence, that the representations, which we so often hear from the pulpit, respecting an angry God and the dreadful sufferings of hell, are not calculated to make men Christians, in the true sense of that term, but, on the contrary, must necessarily have an injurious effect on the heart and the understanding of the audience.

We do not deny that this "preaching of the terrors of the law," as it is technically termed, may sometimes be instrumental in restraining persons from the commission of gross, flagrant acts of immorality. When a sinner is completely frightened, he will naturally subject his conduct to some restraint. We are also sensible that this system will lead to a certain outward shew of decorum in conduct, and to a regularity in the observance of the outward rites and ceremonies of religion. This is the ncessary consequence of that state of subjection to their clerical directors, to which fear and terror reduce the minds of those who become affected by this kind of preaching. But all this is not Christianity. It is not the fruit of the spirit of Christ, but of terror; and terror leaves the heart, that primary source of all our virtues and all our vices, not only unimproved, but, if we mistake not, made worse. It leads man to look upon his God, not as on a beneficent father and friend,-but, as on an enemy, possessing almighty power, and who will render him miserable, during the countless ages of eternity. Surely, the person who thinks thus of God cannot possibly love Him. (b) We may tremble with fear before a being of resistless power; but it is only when this power is accom

(b) We have here, if we mistake not, the cause why men cling, with such fond delusion, to the popular doctrine of the atonement,—that doctrine of imputed guilt and imputed righteousness,-which presents them with a being who is to stand between them and the anger of their God. Unhappy men! As if we could find any one more compassionate than our Creator; or rely for pardon on any thing, with more confidence than on a father's love!

panied with justice and beneficence, that it becomes the object of our affection.

If, therefore, we wish to render men religious, or, what is the same thing, to lead them up to the love of God, we must represent the Deity to them as Jesus has revealed Him to us; namely, as a benevolent and kind Father, always watching over our welfare, and ever ready to forgive us our trespasses, whenever we, his sinful children, return to Him. It is such representations of God, and such only, that can render the thought of Him pleasing to our minds, and make us dwell on it with satisfaction.

We would wish to impress this truth particularly on the minds of such of our readers as have the happiness of being parents. To such we would say: As you value the lasting welfare of your offspring, oh! do keep their minds uncontaminated by those degrading ideas of the supreme Being, which they would inevitably imbibe from the popular catechisms of the day. Teach them to know God as the best of Beings, the kindest of Benefactors, a Father, who supplies all their wants, and who watches over their welfare with more than a parent's love. Teach them to consider every enjoyment they have as the gift of His bounty, and to fly to Him in all their troubles. By these means the love of God will be early and deeply implanted in their minds, and every day will improve and strengthen their religious character. Make them acquainted with the precepts of the Saviour, as containing the only safe guide to present and future happiness; and set his spotless example constantly before them, for their imitation, in their journey through life. To a person thus educated, the idea of a God who is ever with him, who watches over his welfare and observes every action of his, would be a source of the purest and most lasting happiness. Instead of servilely trembling before his Maker, he would look up to Him with childlike confidence in His love. In imitation of his blessed Saviour, he would deem it his "meat and drink" to do the will of his Father which is in Heaven. He would serve that Father, not to escape the torments of hell, not because that Father has much to bestow, but, from affection. The constant purpose of his life would be, to assimilate his con

duct to that of the Being who is thus all in all to him, and whose image has been stamped on his heart. He would be just, because his Father in heaven is just; merciful, because his Father is merciful. He would love mankind because they are his brethren, the children of a common Father, and all called to the enjoyment of a common inheritance. When, in his journey through life, he meets with prosperity, he will rejoice, and recognise a Father's bounty in the flowers which are thus strewed on his path. When he meets with adversity and losses, he will not repine. He knows that it is his Father who crders his lot, and feels confident that not one single drop of bitter will be infused into the cup of life, more than is necessary to render it in the highest degree medicinal and salutary. And when death approaches, whether it be earlier or later, he will not stand tren.bling on the borders of the grave, like those who have no hope, er whose trust is in schemes of human invention. His trust is in his Father's love, and that will not fail him in the hour of trial. Death is to him an angel, sent by his Father to translate him from one apartment of His vast dwelling to another, where, again, a Father's love will follow him, and a Father's care watch over his well-being; and he feels that, while infolded in these, he must be safe, wherever he may be. Such is, such must be, the fruits of the religion of Jesus, when it is received into the soul in its pristine purity and simplicity, and adopted as the uniform principle of life and conduct.

But it will perhaps be asked, If the mode of preaching animadverted upon be so pernicious as has been stated, how happens it that it should continue to be so common? For this there are many reasons; of which we shall only mention a few of the more obvious ones. The first is, the erroneous ideas which exist with respect to the character of the Deity. Men have learned from their catechisms to believe in a severe, unrelenting God; and they preach Him such as they see Him, themselves, in their own imagination.-A second cause is custom. It was

thus that the gospel was preached in former days, and therefore it must be preached so now.-A third and far more influential cause is, that this kind of preaching is pleasing to the multitude, and draws crowded audiences.

The love of excitement appears to be natural to man; and hence, the multitude will always flock in the greatest numbers, wherever the threatenings denounced against them are the most violent. Do not let it be said that people do not love to be disagreeably affected. We have only to go to the scene of a public execution, to convince ourselves, that the multitude, rather than miss being exeited, will seek for it in any spectacle, however horrible it may be; and besides, we are strongly inclined to believe that many love this kind of preaching, because it serves as an opiate to their accusing consciences. They mistake this natural excitement for a supernatural operation of God's spirit upon their hearts; they flatter themselves that they cannot be hardened sinners, because then they would not be thus affected by the preaching; and, by a fatal self-delusion, they mistake the love of excitement for the love of religion.

But that, which, more than any thing else, leads to this kind of preaching, is the facility with which it enables the minister to operate powerfully on the community, and to produce a marked effect. The servant of Jesus, who preaches the gospel in its native simplicity, cannot and does not expect to produce any of those sudden moral convulsions in the community, which are so common ut the present day. His teachings, like the dews of Heaven, operate in silence. Gradually, noiselessly and by almost imperceptible steps, the sinner is weaned from his sinful courses and propensities, and induced to return to his Father, from whom he had wandered. And when, at length, the alteration which has taken place in his religious character becomes visible to the world, the conversion of such a one is attributed to God, to Christ, to religion; and not to the humble man of God, who has been the instrument of it. But with our modern Terrorists the case is altogether different. These set out with the full determination to produce an excitement, in which they shall be the principal and conspicuous actors; and then they make every arrangement of time and place and circumstances, to render such excitement as strong and lasting as possible. It is true, these excitements are attributed to the spirit of God; but we can hardly prevail on ourselves to think that this can be believed by any one,

who pays the slightest attention to what is going on around him. Surely, if this were the work of the Almighty, there would be no need of so much human agency and contrivance. It would not be requisite that, in every case, the exterior arrangements should be precisely the same; and above all, it would not be necessary to send to the master-spirits in this excitement, for advice how to work the machinery so as to produce the greatest possible effect. That these excitements are not practically attributed by the public to divine, but to human agency, is perfectly evident from the language we hear every where around us, even from those who are actors in these scenes. They speak of getting up a revival; and make arrangements for it, in the same way as if the business were to organize an association for any civil or charitable purpose; and it is to the minister, and not to God, that credit is given for the effects produced.

We have already shewn the pernicious effects which this system of terror produces on the religious state of the community. We shall only mention one other of its bad effects; and that is, that it reduces men to the most abject state of slavery under the clergy. When a person, by horrible representations of the wrath of God and of the severity of hell-torments, has been suitably wrought upon, and been reduced to a state of despair,-then, the minister, as one who is the mediator between God and man, and who holds the keys of heaven and hell, steps forward, and offers hope to the affrighted man, provided he will surrender himself to his guidance. From this moment, he, who was once a freeman, is reduced to the most abject vassalage; and henceforth, he must only believe, think and act as his ghostly director may point out. Let it not be said that this picture is overdrawn and too strongly coloured. Those who doubt its correctness have only to look around, and they will see that all those who have been the subjects of this excitement, and those who have been in any way connected with it, all act as one body, in perfect unison; and this, not only in matters pertaining to their church or society, but even in matters which, apparently, have not the slightest connexion with the religious establishments of the community. We should like to hear any one attempt to account for this