the gospel, should be forgiven, and that the sins of all, who would not obey, should be retained. Whatsoever in this way therefore, they bound on earth, was bound in heaven; and whatsoever they loosed on earth, was loosed in heaven. That is, their words were ratified and confirm. ed by Christ; and according to the assurance given by them, those who obeyed the gospel, were par. doned, and those, who refused to obey, were not. The case was the same also, with respect to admission to the privileges of the kingdom of heaven, and to exclusion from them. The apostles, again, were commissioned to promulgate the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, which are the immutable laws of Christ's kingdom; and to direct that those, who submitted to these laws, should be received to the privileges of the church, and that those, who would not submit, should be excluded. And in this respect also, whatsoever they bound on earth, was bound in heaven; and whatsoever they loosed on earth, was loosed in heaven. The keys, then, denoted nothing more nor less, than the power, vested in them, as stewards of the mysteries of God, as scribes of the kingdom of heaven, to promulgate and apply the laws of the kingdom, or the doctrines and precepts of the gospel. But, as before observed, a power similar to this, which was given to the apostles, was also lodged in the church. As the apostles were authorized publicly to declare, explain, and enforce the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, according to which sins were to be forgiven, or re tained, and men were to be admitted to the kingdom of heaven, or excluded from it; so to the church it was given, to judge of those doctrines and precepts, and by them to decide on ques tions of heresy or offence, and to determine, who should be admitted to the privileges of the body, and who should be excluded from them. And whatsoever, in agreement with the gospel, a church thus binds on earth, is bound in heaven; and whatsoever is thus loosed on earth, is loosed in heaven.* Such, it is conceived was, and such still is, the power of the keys. It was primarily given to the apostles, and through them to the churches and minis. ters, by them established and ordained; and thence, it has been handed down to succeeding ages. It may deserve remark, however, that as Peter was the first of the apostles explicity to confess the great truth, on which the church is built; and to him first the keys of the kingdom were promised; so on him first, after the resurrection, and ascension of the Savior and the descent of the Holy Ghost, it devolved to use the power of the keys, in declaring the gospel to the Jews, and also in opening the door of faith to the gen. tiles the former, on the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem, and the latter, on a memorable occasion, at the house of Cornelius in Cesarea. But although, in this respect, he was first; yet he was * The keys of the ancients were very different from ours, and used in a very different manner. As their doors, cabinets, &c were generally closed with bands; their keys served only in a certain manner to fasten or loosen those bands. Hence the propriety of the terms "to bind" and "to loose," in reference to keys. only the first among equals: for the power of the keys, which he thas exercised, was afterwards exercised, in its full extent by his fellow apostles; and from them was transmitted to others. Before we dismiss this subject, a few obvious deductions claim to be considered. and his work. Not small of light, therefore, is the guilt of those, who, through negligence or inattention, remain ignorant of him; or entertain only vague or incorrect opinions respecting him. It is a declaration from his own lips. "If ye believe not, that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." 2. Not only does it behové all to have a true knowledge of Christ; it is also important, on all proper occasions to make a distinct and open confession of him. This the disciples were re quired to do, previously to their receiving the keys of the king. dom of heaven: this the Ethiopian eunuch was required to do previously to his receiving the seal of baptism: and this, un. questionably ought to be consid. admitted to the church, and es. pecially to the ministry. 1. It is important for all to form right conceptions of Christ. It is much to be feared, that a very considerable part of those, who sit under the gospel, have yet but exceedingly vague, inade quate, or even erroneous ideas of its glorious Author. If the question be asked, "What think ye of Christ?" or "Who say ye that he is?" how many there are, who are unprepared to an swer. Nay, are there not many, who deem the question an unim. portant one? many, who considered as required of all, who are er it is of little consequence, what they think of Christ; whether they regard him as a mere creature, or as a being uniting in himself human nature with the divine; or whether, or not, they form any distinct conceptions of him? But how cul. pable, and how dangerous a state of mind is this. Christ is the foundation of the gospel : and without just conceptions of him our conceptions of the gospel at large must be indistinct, unsettled, inadequate, and erroneous. The questions, put by Jesus to his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" and 66 "Who say ye that I am?" indicate emphatically, that, in his view, it is an important duty, incumbent on all, religiously to improve their means of knowledge, and to have their minds settled in right conceptions of him, his person, his character, How forcibly does this plain truth rebuke the practice, at the the present day but too com. mon, of admitting to the church, and even to the ministry, with out any explicit confession of faith. How decisively does it condemn the pretence, at present but too prevalent, that it is unreasonable to require of any a declaration of their sentiments respecting the great question of the Savior's divinity. Did Je sus require of his disciples an explicit declaration of what they thought of him, before he would commit to them the keys of his kingdom? Did he pronounce the great truth, contained in a just confession of him, in his official and divine character, to be the foundation of his church? And is no such confession to be now required, or even allowed? Shall men, without this, or any explicit confession of their faith respecting Christ, be admitted as his ministers, and have the keys of his kingdom entrusted to them? And shall churches be built up, without this foundation ?-How can this be? How is it possible, that such a flagrant departure from the declared will of Christ should have any countenance in the christian world? And further; how is it possible that men should professedly preach the gospel for years, and yet their hearers never know, what they think of Christ; who they say that he is; or whether they hold him to be a mere creature or a being clothed with all the attributes of Godhead? Is this indeed, possible? Alas! the deplorable absurdities of deprav. ed human nature! 3. How certain is the down fal of the papal church. Resting professedly on Peter, but really on an error, its foundation is no better than the sand. Under the tremendous shock, therefore of "the rains and floods," the whole unwieldy fabric is destined inevi. tably to fall, "and great, indeed, will be the fall of it." Nor less certain is the eventual fail of every church, not built on the true foundation of the apostles and prophets, having Jesus Christ himself for the chief corner stone. 4. How secure is the true church of God, with all its vast interests and hopes. Its foundation is a Rock; a Rock, which has stood unmoved the heaviest shocks of time, and the fiercest assaults of the foe. This foundation, not only of the apostles, but also of the prophets, is that on which the church has rested, under every dispensation since the fall in Paradise; and on which it will rest for ever. Yes; upon the foundation of the New Jerusalem, in its completed state, will be seen the names of the twelve apostles, to shew it to be the same with that, on which Je sus declared to them, he would build his church. "Why then do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" The kingdoms of this world shall be dashed in pieces; the coun. sels of the "wise" shall be car. ried headlong; the earth shall be convulsed to its centre and shall be "clean dissolved;" but Zion shall remain unshaken upon her foundation; and even the gates of hell shall assault her in vain! 5. How important it is for every church to look well to its foundation. If any particular church be built on the true Rock, and hold fast, and be faithful; it shall be as mount Zion itself, which cannot be moved. Christ will be its support, and will surely verify his promise, "Whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." But no sooner does a church remove from this foundation, than all is gone. Christ is no longer its support; and whatever it may bind or loose on earth, can have no ratification or sanction of his. FINALLY. This subject speaks to individuals as well as to churches. The true Rock of the church, is the only sure foundation for an individual. He, who is really on this Rock, is "blessed;" is safe and happy for eternity; but he who is not, has his feet on slippery places, and must slide in due time. Of the most solemn import, therefore, to every one, is the memorable warning of the Savior: "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like. He is like a man, who built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that, without a foundation, built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." SILVANUS. DEATH OF THOMAS PAINE. AN argument of great weight in favor of christianity, is deriv. ed from the consolations, which it imparts at the hour of death. Let all the other strong and invincible proofs of the truth of Scripture be considered as incompetent to establish the point, for which they are adduced; still this argument will not fail to carry conviction to every sober and reflecting mind. If there is a state of existence, which succeeds the present life; if there are rewards and punishments to be adjudged in the future world according to the characters formed in this; and if the interests of eternity are infinitely greater than those of time; then it is very evident, that a religion, or a system of faith, which at the close of life brings the most solid support, and administers the most cheering hopes, must have the strongest claims to respect. It is not meant, that an ecstacy of joy, experienced at the moment of dissolution, furnishes incon trovertible evidence of the truth and value of those sentiments, which have produced it; for the visions of imagination in a sick man's brain may be gay and bright, while his reason is shaken from its throne, and his stupified conscience has upon it many a sin unrepented of and unforsaken. What is contended for is this, that when an intelligent and thinking man, who has been ac customed to look into himself and to observe his own imperfections and sins, and whose thoughts have expatiated on eter. nity, can view the approach of death not only without terror or any misgivings of mind, but with tranquil resignation and cheering and triumphant hope; when be can depart from this life with the full assurance of living again and of living in a better world; his composure and joy under these circumstances, with a correct view of his own character, and with a full belief of the retributions of eternity, brings the high. est honor to the religious sys tem, upon which they are founded. In the controversy between the friends and the enemies of the gospel, the former can point to many expiring mortals, and with unanswerable argument can say, "See how a Christian can die!" But where are the models of composure and triumph among those, who were not Christians? What are the names of the unbelievers, who at the hour of death have exhibited any enviable elevation of soul? In the faded eye of what dying infidel has the light of eternity kindled a splen. dor, which has brightened and brightened till the curtain of death has been spread over it? Thomas Paine, the author of the "Age of Reason," died at New York, June 8, 1809, at the age of seventy two years; and as his name has acquired some distinction by the virulence, with which he has attacked the christian religion, it may not be unprofitable to survey his conduct in the last moments of his life. From a man of the most abject meanness of spirit, whose penuriousness in the midst of comparative wealth made him dishonest and unjust, no one will expect any elevation of mind. Nor will it be thought, that a man, who daily reduced himself by his habits of intemperance to a condition inferior to that of the brutes, would exhibit much of his boasted attribute of reason." All that could be expect ed from such a man, if he was true to his principles, is the sullen quietness of presumption and fearlessness, or the dead calm of stupidity. 66 What then was the conduct of Mr. Paine, as the king of terrors approached? Was he fearless and undisturbed, or insensible? An account of his life, written by Mr. Cheetham of New York, has lately been pub. lished, and in that work the undisputed testimony of the physi eian and of the nurse, who attended him in his last sickness, is brought forward. It appears that Mr. Paine, like Mr. Gib. bon, was unwilling to be left alone, as he drew near to the confines of another world. Al though in conversation he professed to be perfectly willing to VOL. II. New Series. die; yet if his curtains were at any time closed, he would literally scream till they were opened, and till he could perceive that some fellow-man was nigh him. Was this courageous in a dying man? Did it appal a bold infidel to have living beings withdrawn for a moment from his eye, and to be, as it were, in the sole presence of God? Did a sense of desertion come over him, when his earthly friends were not by his side? Was he unable to repose himself upon the great Creator, in whom he professed to believe? Did this firm Unitarian, who boasted that he "believed in God and God alone," and who had no faith in the atonement of the Son, and and no regard to the proffered grace of the Holy Spirit, find himself the victim of terrific fears, when he no longer heard the sound of human footsteps, and when the thought of appearing before God was forced upon him? Two of the ministers of New York called upon Mr. Paine with the benevolent desire of imparting to him some religious instruction. One of them repeated the words "he that be lieveth on the Son hath everlast. ing life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Mr. P. immediately pronounced such representations to be "Popish stuff;" and directed the ministers to leave the room. He afterwards gave orders not to have them again ad. mitted, as their discourse disturbed him. Would the truths of scripture have interrupted his peace, if, in his conscience and from the bottom of his heart, he disbelieved them? 3C |