318 LETTER FROM THE LATE JÄMES BUTTERWORTH. excellent rule which prevented tittle-tattle, and made visits profitable. May Jesus bless you and water your flock, Your affectionate Brother, JOHN BERRIDGE. P, S. When you pass near Everton call upon us and give us a sermon. Original Letter of the Rev. James Butterworth. To the several Ministers met in Association at Birmingham. We, the members of the particular baptist Church at Bromsgrove, believing the absolute Sovereignty of God, the eternity and unchangeable nature of his love to his people; the freeness, fullness and certainty of their salvation, through what Chris has done, suffered, procured, and promised for them as their Mediator; the absolute need of their being made perfectly holy before they can be compleatly happy; and that wherever this principle of holiness is planted, it will produce love to God, obedience to his will and word, an hatred to sin, a thirst for holiness and a peculiar pleasure in seeing Antichrist fall and Christ's Kingdom advance in the world. Dear Brethren, from these principles we meet you by our Ministers and letter, with our hearty prayers and christian love; wishing that each of you may be as valiant and successful auder Christ's banner as David's worthies were under his; and that every church where you minister may be as prosperous and flourishing as David's kingdom. Your God and ours is as strong now as then; he hears and answers the prayers of faith as certainly and speedily now as then, the kingdom of Christ is as precious in his eyes now as the kingdom of Israel wasthen; the enemies of his Church are as provoking to him now as the enemies of Israel were then, and you have as much reason fa expect success in your warfare now, as David and his men had then. You are the anointed of the Lord, and appointed to fight his battles; your cause is as good as any cause that ever was contested since time commenced, and we hope you will con tend for every jot and tittle of it with as much valour as ont of David's worthies, who single handed défended a parcel d ground against an army of men till his sword was cemented t his hand with the blood of the slain. Give up no part of you Master's interest; if you begin to give up to the enemy, the will never let you rest, till you part with all that you love an delight in, like the Assyrian King, with Ahab king of Israel. If you give way who must stand? Are not you the Captains of the Lord's hosts, and the Leaders of his people? We think if the Leaders were more courageous in the work, Victory would soon declare on our side. Through divine goodness we enjoy the stated means of grace, and are often refreshed by the word and ordinances of God. We are blessed with peace among ourselves, our prayer and conference meetings are well attended, and we have reason to believe they have been owned of God for good. Our public auditory has been on the increase, and to the number added by Baptism, we might have had several more, but we wait to ace whether the work in their souls is genuine or not. Our present prospects exceed any thing we have witnessed for twenty years past. One means whereby the Lord has blessed us of late has been by the administration of that despised, yet grand, noble, and striking ordinance Baptism, which has been frequently attended in our meeting in consequence of many peo ple from Brettle Lane and Dudley coming hither to be bap tized. This we have found, by the experience of several, who declared that their first impressions of real godliness were received by attending this ordinance. Hence we think, that the more publicly it is administered the more God owns and blesses it; which is not to be wondered at, if we consider that it is an ordinance that requires more self denial than any in God's house is the most despised of any and carries in it the most striking proof of love and obedience to our dear Lord, wiren performed with a true christian spirit, 1 As true obedience out of love is the strongest mark of real Christianity, suppose you were to give us a bint in you circular Letter, to stir up the minds of those that love Christ, to this duty as well as others. And as this is the leading duty in the Christian religion, should it not be mentioned whenever the minister is pressing duty on his people? We know the enemies of believers Baptism will reproach you for this, but does not even this call you more immediately to the work? For where an ordinance is most struck at, should not the faithful ministers of Christ exert themselves most to, defend it 2. Many of our forefathers died martyrs in vindication of the Lord's Supper from the idolatry of Rome; and, as Baptism, is not inferior to any ordinance to which the Christian subinits, we think all the Lord's faithful servants should contend earnestly for this branch of christian worship; and no doubt but the Lord of Zion will abundantly bless them; for in keeping his commands there is great reward. If ye continue in my wort, then are ye my disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Suppose you give us in your letter some hints respecting heart holiness; for if that be once plentifully enjoyed, the conduct of such will be as becometh the Gospel. Men are no more truly religious than they are holy; for all genuine religion springs from a principle of true holiness. We should be glad of your thoughts upon reading and believing the scrip tures, either at this or some future period; i. c. when we are to believe that what we read are spoken to us; whether by way of promise, threatening, caution, reproof, or command? Dear Brethren, we now wish you the presence and blessing of God, a happy and comfortable meeting, and that it may greatly tend to promote our dear Redeemer's cause both in the church and the world. So pray your brethren in Christ Jesus. Signed in behalf of the whole Church, JAMES BUTTERWORTH, &c. &c. Original Letters of the Rev. W. Pardoe. In this are contained famous cautions to take heed of letting My dear Brother, I received your letter, and am glad to hear of any thing that is well among you, and sorry to hear of the contrary in any one; for error is painful, not only to those that commit it, but also to all that are within the noisome breath thereof. But that which troubles me most of all is this winter midnight state, in which we are all too much concerned, and the spirit of the world hath taken up too much of the room in our hearts, which the quickening Spirit of God should have. From whence arise sloth and stupidity in divine things; from which, not an ordinary exercise of watching and prayer, and mortification, will release our depressed souls and almost sense. less spirits. Therefore I desire that I and all my friends may stir up ourselves to take hold of the strength of the Lord, crying mightily to him, that those things that remain and are ready to die, may not totally expire, for the Lord hath not found our works perfect before him. But I am afraid of some great alarm, that will be of a dreadful nature, but of what kind it will be, I, am not able to determine; and that will shake our stupidity away by force.. But I pray you and the rest of friends, to foar the Lord exceedingly, and believe his word constantly. Serve him in love and much sincerity. Pray to him in all humility. Love one another with fervent charity, and let not trifles divide your affections. Self denial will cure all offences. Remember Christ Jesus sought not his own. If you have any love to me, whose life has often been hazarded for your sakes, let it appear in your love to God Almighty, hatred of his enemy sin, and care of your own and one anothers salvation. And remember this, that the turning in to the creature is a departing from the Creator, and the seeds of a dangerous fall, from which the good Lord deliver us all, Amen. WILLIAM PARDOE. The deceitfulness of Sin. Sin is variously denominated in the sacred writings; in the epistle to the Hebrews, it is described as deceitful. Exhort one another daily, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Our sins are called Trespasses; because they lead us to walk on forbidden ground; they are Transgressions, a passing over, a going beyond the limits prescribed by the di vine law; our sins are denominated iniquities, because they are opposed to the rule of equity and justice; they are spoken of as errors, because they lead us astray from the rule of réctitude contained in the law of God; as offensive to God, our sins are called abominations; they are represented as debts, because they expose to punishment; sin is defined by one of the sacred writers, as a transgression of the divine law, a violation of its authority, equity, reasonableness and goodness. God, as our Creator and Sovereign, has a right to our obedience and love. His dominion over us, is not only perfect and absolute, but just and good. The law is framed, not only to shew the divine authority, but to demonstrate the benevolence of its Author. If we consulted our happiness, we should cordially approve it, as worthy of all acceptation ; ' if we would perceive the unreasonableness and ingratitude of sin, we inust view it through the medium of the divine law. Sin opposes the divine authority, and tends to overturn the moral government of God, and to introduce uniVol. III. Y y versal confusion amongst intelligent creatures. Disobedience to the rule of moral government, is the source of all the misery that disappoints and afflicts human nature. Sin is the child of unrighteousness which hates and destroys the happiness of society. Let it be called by flattering names, let it assume a disguised appearance, it is nevertheless a deadly enemy to the order, harmony, and happiness of the universe. On the other hand, obedience to the divine law, or universal holiness, would be productive of universal happiness. There would be nothing to hurt or destroy throughout the world. But sin, independent of its penal consequences, is productive of confusion, discord, and strife. It has spread a dark cloud over the affairs of human life, and diffused a poisonous influence through all the powers of the soul. Men may trifle with sin, calling it by delusive names, but nothing can be more certain, than, that it is the chief evil of life. It is that abominable thing which God hateth. It is destructive of all happiness, and the parent of all misery. Could we see it, as it really is, we should abhor it, and exclaim, (when tempted to violate the divine commands,) with holy indignation, how shall I do this great evil and sin against God? It assumes a variety of false names and delusive appearances; it calls light darkness, and darkness light, evil good and good evil. Covetousness is named prudence, and taking care of the main chance; licentiousness is denominated gallantry; drunkenness is called animated cheerfulness; wanton profusion is styled exalted generosity; profaneness is only a trifling habit ; Sabbath-breaking, taking the air: a luxurious man, a generous 'soul; Pride and loftiness, maintaining our rank in life; angry passions are called bastiness, spirit, valour, manliness; deceit, policy. Thus vice is ornamented and pronounced good. But Religion is dressed in strange attire, so as to excite the derision of deluded mortals. Sorrow for sin, is melancholy; tenderness of conscience, is preciseness; humility of spirit is meanness; attendance on public worship, is methodism; forgiving injuries, is cowardice; communion with God is superstition, enthusi warm addresses to the consciences of men, is mistaken zeal; good works are deemed legality and bypocrisy. asın; But whatever form sin assumes, it is exceeding sinful and tends to death. Sin, like other deceivers, promises much and performs but little. It attracts by flattery and destroys by delusion. It looks on us with smiles, but conceals the dagger that is to inflict the deadly wound. Sin, like the Father of it, is a liar from the beginning. It allures with the prospect of |