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Anecdote, Marriages, Obituary, &&

CONVERSATION, in the first part of the morning is like a dream f it heats, and hurries, and muddles, and incapacitates for business, which should, therefore, be entered upon, previously to visiting and chit-chat, with a mind calm and cool, and undisturbed.

"RELIGION," say some," was invented by priests and politicians to kee "the world in order." It is a good thing, then, for that purpose at least.

ANECDOTE OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST.

URING the third general persecution under the Emperor Trajan, in the sus where he resided, but pursued his duty in peace, being then nearly one hundred years old. In his preaching he continually urged his auditors, to the duties of love, ineekness, and tenderness for each other. St. Jerome tells us that the holy Apostle being very weak, and unable to attend Church, unless carried thither by his Disciples, for a long time said nothing else in those assemblies but this short sentence, 66 MY DEAR CHILDREN LOVE ONE ANOTHER." Wearied with the constant repetition of the same injunction, some of his hearers said to him--" Master, why do you say always the same thing?" To which he returned an answer worthy of the beloved disciple;" It is what our Lord himself has commanded; and if we can perform this we are perfect.

MARRIAGES.

MARRIED on the 10th of Jan. by the Rev. Henry Whitlock, Mr. WM. Hoyr, to Miss POLLY BETTS, both of Norwalk; and on the 23d of Feb. Mr. THOMAS MILLS, to Miss LYDIA NEWCOME, of New-Canaan,-By the Rev. Mr. Burgess, Mr. ICHABOD HAND, to Miss MERCY PARMELE also, Mr. DAVID DAUD, to Miss SALLY BISHOP, all of Guilford.-By the Rev. Mr. Burhans, Mr. ELI WINTER, of Weston, to Miss ARTEMESIA SANFORD, of Newtown; Mr. PHILO GILBERT, of Reading, to Miss LuCINA SHEPHERD, of Newtown.

Newtown, baptized by the Rev. Mr. Burhans, seventeen Children and three Adults.

OBITUARY.

DIED, at Norwalk, in her 58th year, Mrs. ELIZABETH HOYT, widow of the late Mr. Gould Hoyt, whom she survived about seven months. They were both highly respected for their many virtues; were strongly attached to the Episcopal Church, and constant in their attendance on its worship. Mr. Hoyt was a man unassuming, upright and beneficent; and shared more than an ordinary degree of prosperity and respect. He had faithfully served the Church for more than thirty years as a warden, and died in the 66th year of his age.-At Guilford, 14th Feb. of a consumption, Mrs. LYDIA CEZANNE, aged 38 years, consort of Mr. James Cezanne At New-Milford, Mrs. STEVENS, aged 30 years, wife of Mr. Zalman Stevens. Mr. ZECHARIAH FERRIS, aged 65.-At Huntington, on the 16th of Nov. last, Miss SUSAN SHELTON, of the cynanche maligna; daughter of Mr. Selah Shelton, in the 15th year of her age. On the 24th of Feb. of a consumption, Mr. PHILO SHELTON, Son of Mr. Wm. Shelton, in the 26th year of his age. At Hartford, Feb. 1st, of the scarlet fever, Miss SUSAN WHITE, daughter of Mr. John J. White, in the 8th year of her age. Feb. 15th, of the scarlet fever, Mrs. ELIZABETH WHITE, the amiable consort of Mr. John J. White, and daughter. of Mr. William Shelton, of Huntington, in the 28th year of her age.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

No. 1st, on the " Evidences of Christianity," a piece on " Primitive Faith,” c. and several other pieces for the Magazine are received and will be atendedto.

ERRATA.]-No. 2, page 31, 5th line from the top, for "supplicant," read supplant; page 32, last line of the 2d par. for "the weary are set at rest,” sead the weary are at rest.

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EXPLAINING WHAT THEY ARE TO BELIEVE AND DO IN ORDER TO BE SAVED. ADDRESSED CHIEFLY TO THOSE WHO ARE OF THE

YOUNGER SORT.

BUT

[Continued.]

UT to proceed Secondly, ye are not only members of Christ, but ye are like the children of God, another privilege which ye receive by baptism. Now here ye must consider what it is to be a child of God. As God created all mankind, they all may be said, in some sense, to be the children of God; but ye are the children of God in a higher sense, as He has adopted you, and chosen you out of the rest of the world, taking you into His more particular favour. Those who were never baptized, although they have had constant opportunities of being so, are children of God's wrath, obstinate and disobedient, continuing still in sin, and under the curse: but ye have recovered the favour of God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, being obedient to His will. And although by nature, ye were strangers and enemies to God; yet now by baptism ye are taken into the family of God, and are entitled (by His good pleasure) to all His mercies and blessings. Ye are all the children of God, says the Apostle, by faith in Christ Jesus: for as many of you as hare been baptized into Christ have put on Christ: and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs, according to the promise. And again; As many (says he) as are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and, if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. Hence our blessed Saviour is said to give power to as many as received Him to become the sons of God. And He is not ashamed (according to the Apostle to the Hebrews) to call them brethren; as we find he does in many parts of the holy Scriptures. This it is to be the children of God; and thus well are ye assured that all of you are such. Consider then the honour to which ye are advanced; ye have the saine father with Christ himself, who is God blessed for ever. Ye are not only members of Christ's body, therefore, but in some respect equal to Christ himself. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! Hereby ye are assured, that God will bear with the untowardness of your nature, will pity your infirmities, and favourably hear your requests; that he will supply your wants, reward your well-doings, and gently correct your miscarriages; which are all acts of fatherly affection. Your fathers here on earth bear a love and affection for you, beyond what ye yourselves ever felt or can conceive; judge then, what bowels of compassion, what G

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The Clergyman's Advice to his Parishioners.

pity and tenderness your heavenly Father has for you, whose creatures ye are ; who is all goodness, as he has all power, and is as willing to bless you as he is capable of so doing. Consider also the duty that lies upon you by being made the children of God. At the same time that ye obey your earthly parents, remember that ye have a Father also in heaven. Make it your chief business to please Him; for he is your best friend. Do not oblige, or or excuse yourselves to your parents here by any thing which ye know will be offensive to your heavenly Father: neither make mention of the name of God lightly, and in your ordinary discourse; for His name is holy, and must not come into your mouths upon any but solemn occasions, when you beg of Him to relieve your wants, or return Him thanks for his blessings, or are saying something which tends to the advancement of his honour and glory Do nothing, in short, which is sinful; for thereby ye not only offend the majesty of Almighty God, but abuse the goodness of a most loving and tender Father. Again, consider the bad state of those who are not of God's family. Do not despise or insult them, who, by being not baptized, are not restored to God's favour; but look upon them as unhappy children, who were forsaken and turned out of doors (as it were) by your heavenly Father, because of their disobedience. Endeayour to reconcile them to God, if possibly you can, by exhorting thein fre quently and earnestly, to faith and repentance. Bring them home from that strange country, where they are now wandering, naked, and almost starved, feeding upon husks with swine, and endeavour to lay them in the bosom of your Father, always open to receive them, that they may live in the kingdom of the Gospel, and be fed with the bread of life. Have compassion for all men; and let it be your prayer to your heavenly Father, that, in his good time, He would bring the whole world into his family, the Church; that with one mouth, as dutiful children, we may all glorify Him here, and be glorified by Him, as his blessed children hereafter.

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And this leads me, Thirdly, to consider another benefit ye have received by being baptized; namely, That thereby ye are made inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. If children, says the Apostle, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. This inheritance, it seems, is the necessary consequence of our being children of God. It will be well worth your while, therefore, to know what this inheritance is what that kingdom of heaven is of which ye are made heirs by baptism. Now St. Paul tells you, That ye are justified by God's grace, that thereby ye may be made heirs, according to the hope of eternal life. And St. Peter says, that by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we are begotten to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us. The Apostle to the Hebrews likewise tells you, that Christ is heir of all things and, in another place, that we are point heirs with Christ. Whence it may be concluded, that ye have a title to the joys and glories of heaven; for which the word of God imself is your security, and his holy Spirit your assistance in obtaining them. What the joys of heaven are, of which ye are heirs, is beyond the capacity of the mind of inan to conceive, and therefore cannot be described. It is suf ficient for you to know what the Gospel hath revealed, that in heaven there will be no more sorrow, nor temptation, nor fear, nor death: that on the contrary, ye will be perpetually entertained with the wonders of God's glory, and delighted with the contemplation of His goodness that your minds will be filled with holy joy and that you will be thoroughly satisfied with your happy state; and so continue for ever. This is the inheritance of a Christian. 'But, as ye ever hope to succeed to it, prepare yourselves for it; remembering that without holiness wo man shall see the Lord. Let the joy which is set before you encourage you to press forward; and make it your utmost care, that the reward of your.

ve do not lose thatpoble prize, which is proposed to you there also. Be labours. As your treasure is in heaven, so let your hearts not over so citous concerning the things of this world. Be not afraid of its troubles, nor fond of its vanities. Do not greedily seek after, or contend about honour, wealth, or any of those trifles, which the children of this world are so fond of. For yet a little while, and all these things shall be removed out of your sight. This world, with all the pomp and splendour of it, shall vanish away; and a new scene of affairs shall be opened, worthy your utmost attention. In the progress of your lives, ye will meet perhaps with many Chris

The Clergyman's Advice to his Parishioners.

51

tians, who seem to have forgot that they are heirs of the kingdom of heaven: all their thoughts seem to be employed in making provision for this life; as though that were accounted lost time, which is spent in securing or advancing their interest in the life to come. And, though these men are, by some, called wise and prudent, be assured of this, that there can be no greater instance of human folly for they die in the midst of these their worldly cares; are snatched from their estates here, and are in danger of losing the inheritance which was designed for them hereafter. Let it be your chief business to se-cure your best and dearest interest. Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; for, it matters but little what your circumstances are in this life, For if so be that ye take good heed, not to be disinherited in the life to come. the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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Hitherto I have set before you the great privileges and advantages of the Christian profession, into which ye are baptized; and have taken occasion to add a word of advice at the conclusion of every particular And, although the hopes of a Christian are so valuable, that, one would think, he should want nothing else to prompt and oblige him to a steady performance of his duty; yet I must put you in mind, that it is not only your interest to live in obedience to the Gospel of Christ, but ye are bound by a solemn declaration and row, made at the time of your receiving baptism, that ye will so do. Ye did then promise, by your godfathers and godmothers, that ye would renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh: that ye would believe all the articles of the Christian faith and that ye would keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of your life. This is called the baptismal vow; which being made for you, and in your names, it lies upon you to perform, as It is indeed your concern, and in your power alone to do it.

Now, in the first place, ye have promised to renounce the devil and all his works. And very fitting it is, that every Christian should make this declaration at his baptism. For St. John says, For this purpose was God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil: that is, the kingdom of Christ was set up in opposition to the kingdom of that evil spirit; and, therefore, it is necessary that Christians, or the subjects of Christ's kingdom, should enter into an engagement to be faithful to him; and to bid defiance to the devil, and all the stratagems he makes use of to seduce men from their obedience to God. By listing yourselves under the banner of Christ, and promising to renounce the devil and all his works, ye have given assurance to the Church, that you will in no wise countenance and support the growing power of sin; that ye will, on the contrary, by your own examples, and by every other method of which ye are capable, endeavour to subdue it, and hinder it from prevailing in the world. Ye have declared, that ye will always oppose it, in every shape, and under every denomination; so far as is befitting your respective stations; and that ye will maintain an utter abhorrence of every thing which ye know to be displeasing to God.

That ye may faithfully discharge this promise, suffer me to give you a few plain directions. Let it remain deeply imprinted in your minds, as an infallıble truth, that of all evils which happen to mankind, sin is the greatest.— Poverty, sickness, and death are called evils, because they are grievous to be borne, and therefore we have a natural abhorrence of them; but they are really not such, being oftentimes attended with good and happy consequences. But sin brings with it regret of mind, which makes us uneasy here; and draws after it the destruction of our souls, which will make us for ever miserable hereafter. Sin, therefore, is truly an evil; and the only one ye can reasonably stand in dread of. If ye can preserve yourselves from it, or at least sincerely endeavour to do it, ye have nothing to apprehend from the displeasure of God, or the wicked designs of men, or the malice and subtilty of the devil. But remember, that, as great an evil as sin is, and as fatal as it may be to your souls, yet, in your very nature, ye are most strongly inclined to it, especially some kinds of it, which, with your utmost constancy and resolution, ye wil find it a difficult matter to resist. Never trust, therefore, to your own strength, but pray to God daily, that, with the power of His grace, He would be pleas ed to assist your endeavours, and give success to the nteans which ye make usę

52

Ecclesiastical terms explained.

of, for the preservation of your innocence. More particularly, make it your humble request to Almighty God, that he would protect you from falling into those sins, which are properly sins of the devil; as he seems more especially concerned in tempting men to them, from whence, therefore, he takes his name. Such are lying, slandering, pride, and revenge; sins, in which the foundation of the devil's kingdom was laid, and to which the increase of it in the world is chiefly owing. These sins, by this part of your baptismal vow, ye are chiefly engaged to guard against; and be assured, that, althongh the pow er of your ghostly enemy is very great, God will enable you to resist it, if ye earnestly beg his help and protetection. If you draw nigh unto God, he will draw nigh unto you; and, when ye perceive yourselves inwardly strengthened by God's holy Spirit, be sure to obey the motions and directions of it; so will He continue in you, and dwell with you, and effectly deliver you from falling by temptation.

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Secondly,, By your baptismal vow, ye have engaged to renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world. The world is calld wicked, although made by the power of God, and governed by his Providence; because, through the Justs and passions of men, it administers to you many occasions of falling into sin. Hence it is that the Apostle declares, That Christ gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world. And our blessed Saviour, for the same reason, bids us not to love the world, neither the things that are in the world; for, if any man love the worldy says he, the love of the Father is not in him. The vanities of the world are all those things, which, in the eyes of sinful men, seem desirable; although there is no real goodness in them, nor any true satisfaction arising from them. Such more particularly are riches, and honour; which every good Christian should so far renounce, as not to be too desirous of the one, or too ambitious of the other. By the pomps of the world, it is probable, that the expensive shows, and barbarous and obscene sports, made use of by the Heathens in honour of their false gods, were principally meant and accordingly, in the early times of Christianity, it was unlawful for a Christian to be present at such entertainments. But the words likewise denote all that excess of every kind which men in high stations more particularly are betrayed into by their pride.. Magnificence and grandeur, if truly such, are not unbecoming; and are perhaps necessary to some stations of life. But extravagance and luxury are follies of pernicious consequence; tending to draw off the thoughts of men from religious duties, and to alienate their minds from God. These vanities, therefore, ye have renounced in baptism, as destructive of Christianity, Ye have vowed, That ye will not exceed the bounds of moderation, or the rules of sobriety, in the enjoyment of the things of this life; that ye will not set your hearts upon them, nor be greedily desirous of them; that ye will rather learn to despise them, especially when they come into competition with your future hopes, and, that ye will steadily pursue your only true interest, that of the salvation of your souls; notwithstanding the temptations which may be laid in your way, to seduce and divert you from it. Even the innocent pleasures of life ye are so far resolved against, that they shall not employ too much of your time; lest they should take possession of your minds, and cause you to contract such a fondness for the world, that ye cannot part with it, without great reluctauce. Ye have vowed, in short, to set your affections on things above; although ye do take a reasonable satisfaction, as ye ought, in the convenience and blessings of life; and that ye are ready to resign these most willingly, whensoever it shall please God to take them from you, or you from them; being prepared and glad to exchange them for that everlasting happiness which is the prize of your high calling in Christ Jesus. [To be continued.]

SOME ECCLESIASTICAL TERMS EXPLAINED, BY WAY OF QUESTION AND ANSWER. [CONTINUED.]

Q: What is the Commination? ...

A. A solemn denouncing of the threatnings of God's holy word against impenitent sinners.

Q. What are the Ember-weeks?

4. The weeks before the four times of the year in which ministers anciently

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