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RELIANCE ON HUMAN MERIT AS A
GROUND OF SALVATION.
BY THE REV. HENRY DUNCAN, D.D.,
Minister of Ruthwell.

AMONG professing Christians there is too often
found a total perversion of the true ground of sal-
vation as derived from the Word of God. Some
phrases and expressions perhaps they may employ,
borrowed from Scripture or a catechism early
committed to memory, which seem to indicate an
acquaintance with scriptural principles; but these,
on further conversation, are too frequently dis-
covered to be in their mouths, words without any
distinct and intelligent meaning. If they speak of
their faith, it is at least on their works they rest
-not as an evidence of their faith, which is the
scriptural view of the subject, but as the means of
their acceptance with God, as the labour by which
they expect to earn a right to the happiness of
heaven.
A belief that they can obtain heaven by
their own deservings, is deeply seated in their
hearts, and to Christ crucified they look not as
their substitute and propitiatory sacrifice, but as a
mitigator of the sternness of the moral law, who,
they vainly imagine, has diminished its obligations
and its penalties, and thus brought a saving obe-
dience to its acquirements, within reach of the fal-
len offspring of Adam. On this false doctrine of
the Romish Church they build all their hopes of
salvation; and in what mazes of deception are
they bewildered by this one fatal error !

When the unscriptural principle is once admitted that the law of God has, by virtue of the cross, been accommodated to human frailty, what an inlet is made to the loosest morality and the most presumptuous expectations! Of the extent of obedience necessary to salvation each individual is thus left to judge from the view he entertains of his own ability to obey; and that ability again he estimates according to his actual performance; so that the standard of duty, instead of being held up in its native height, as that to which we ought constantly to aspire, without ever being able fully to reach, is brought down to the measure of every man's character, and the law of God, so exceeding broad and so absolutely perfect, is contracted and frittered away, till the most careless and worldly

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can compass its whole length and breadth in their daily rounds.

On being called to visit the sick-bed of a person of this description, I have generally found him self-satisfied, and at ease as to his spiritual condition, regardless though he might be of God and duty in his whole character and conduct, presenting thus the awful and pitiable spectacle of a man tottering blindfold and unconscious on the brink of a yawning gulf, ready to devour him. When I have set before him his condition as a sinner, although he might own the truth of the general statement, he seemed scarcely sensible of its practical application to himself, and if pressed as to particular sins, was sure to discover the unsoundness of his spiritual views, either by evading the subject altogether, or by palliating his transgressions with some qualifications and abatements; or what was, perhaps, a more hopeless symptom still, by laying his delinquency to the charge of human frailty, and thus soothing his conscience with the persuasion that he was not worse than others. "Yes, sir," he would perhaps reply, "I confess myself a great sinner-we are all miserable sinners; but I trust in the Saviour of sinners, for my conscience does not charge me with any great and grievous transgressions; I have not been a thief, or a liar, or a drunkard, or a blasphemer; the sin of perjury, or of adultery, or of murder, does not lie on my soul; neither does my conscience accuse me of having been an undutiful son, or an unkind husband or father; I have regularly attended the public worship of God, and have sometimes prayed to him in private; I have even occasionally read the Bible in my family, especially on the evenings of the Sabbath. I trust, therefore, that all is well with me, for I have a merciful God to deal with, who has sent his own Son to save sinners such as I am.”

The exposure which is thus made of the utter want of all Christian knowledge and spiritual experience, at the time when both are most required, is deeply afflicting; and were it not that a Christian minister must never despair-that even till the very striking of the twelfth hour he must hope against hope, he might be induced to leave the wretched and deluded sufferer to his blinded judgment and seared conscience,

Is it by such deeds as these, my friends, that you can purchase a right to eternal happiness? Is it by a mere abstinence from gross and flagrant sins to which, it may be, you have never been strongly tempted, or from which, at all events, you have been deterred more by the fear of man than by the love of your God and Saviour; or is it by heartlessly walking the formal round of outward devotion, by giving the service of the lips and withholding the inward worship of the spirit, that you hope to please God and open the gate of heaven? You know it cannot be. And yet what better claims have you to offer? More regular in the performance of duty, than at some former period of your life, you may have been; more sincere, more earnest, more pious; but after all, do not the very best services of the very best of you all come infinitely short, and if your deeds of righteousness were weighed against your sins, would they not be as the small dust of the balance? O then is it not vain-is it not impious to trust to these for acceptance and favour in the sight of that God "who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity?"

bed I have witnessed. The pious sufferer referred to his past life indeed, but it was not to take comfort to himself from the temptations to evil he had resisted, or from the good deeds he had performed, as if these were meritorious in the sight of heaven, and could entitle him to that eternal happiness for which he so earnestly longed. He confessed-and while he made the confession, his whole countenance and manner bore testimony to the depth of his contrition-that he was an unprofitable servant-a sinner whose transgressions against light and warning had been frequent, and aggravated, and without excuse; and he therefore owned, that if the promises of the Gospel had been made to de pend, either in whole or in part, on his own righteousness, there would have remained for him nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment, and ery indignation. But when from his own deservings, he turned to the consideration of what his Saviour had done, and taught, and suffered for sinners, and professing his belief in the all-sufficiency of the salvation which had been accomplished on the cross, appropriated to himself the promises of the Gospel, what a different expression of countenance Think you that any efficacy can be added to marked the changing feelings of his heart! He the merits of the Saviour by such merits as yours ? relied on the merit of labours not his own-he Suppose your sins were blotted out, and you stood looked to the virtue of a sacrifice of which all to be judged only by the talents you had occupied other sacrifices are but the type-and in the fulness -the opportunities you had improved-the piety of his heart exclaimed, "If God spared not his you had cherished-the lessons you had dutifully own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shail learned under the discipline of providence-let he not with him also freely give us all things?” conscience say if even then your deeds of righteous-"It is God that justifieth, who is he that conness would deserve the blessing of heaven, or could demneth? It is Christ who died, yea, rather who is indeed once be named along with the righteous-risen again." "If, when we were enemies, we were ness of him in whom dwelt the fulness of the God-reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much head. Even the holiness you possess is not the fruit of your own labour, it is the gift of God. What do you call your own, which you have not received; and what have you received which you have not either neglected or misemployed? Alas, the fond dream of human merit, I repeat, is a dangerous delusion, which you must cast away from you, before you can justly glory in the illumination poured on the soul by your Protestant fathers, when they burst from the thraldom of priestcraft, and drew aside the veil which a gloomy superstition had cast over the light of heaven.

How different are the sentiments which Scripture puts into the hearts of those who freely and candidly devote themselves to its study!--how different the language which they employ when they communicate with each other, or with their pastor, on the things which concern their everlasting peace. The death-bed of him whose understanding and heart have been subdued under the teaching of the Gospel, exhibits a scene at once humble and dignified, solemn, and full of peace! It is the consummation of a life spent not unprofitably in the school of God's providence; the last act of discipline to chasten the remaining corruptions of his fallen nature, and restrain and regulate his rebellious passions; the last lesson of knowledge and experience, to enlighten his mind, and train his soul for immortality. Such a death

more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life."

These blessed assurances cheered and elevated his soul. Sometimes, indeed, I have seen him oppressed by a sense of his own worthlessness, and trembling when he thought of the folly and vanity which betrayed his deep remaining corruption; but at other times placid, contented, and joyfulat peace with the world-at peace with his own conscience-at peace with God:---with the world, because, in the spirit of Christian charity, he for gave his enemies, and loved all mankind-with his conscience, because he inwardly felt a growing conformity to the divine will-with God, because he knew that in Christ Jesus he was a reconciled Father to believers, and did not impute unto them their trespasses.

Having mentioned the period of sickness as a time of trial, in which Christian principles are called into peculiar action, and the real charac ter of these principles is exhibited to a discerning eye, I am naturally led to take notice of another circumstance connected with this subject. I allude to the anxiety which is felt by many only when laid on a sick-bed, to see and converse with their spiritual instructor, and to obtain the benefit of his prayers. What I object to is, the spirit too frequently manifested in the time and manner of soliciting these visits, and in the unhappy effects which they are sometimes perverted to produce.

The inefficacy of that attention to religious duties, to which the worldly are driven by the immediate fear of death, is but too fatally proved by the conduct of many, who, under the discipline of this fear, having been induced to apply for spiritual aid, have afterwards been unexpectedly brought back from the verge of the grave, and exhibited the real state of their hearts, the sincerity of their vows, and the fruit of their devotional exercises, in the course of a prolonged life. How frequently do we see individuals of this description, as soon as the immediate terror of death is removed, casting away from them the feelings and impressions of divine things, which for a time they have cherished, returning with redoubled eagerness to their worldly occupations, and displaying, as formerly, all the coldness of unregenerate hearts!

It is instructive, though distressing, to observe | heritance of the saints in light. Thus is the good the usual practices which are too often prevalent seed sown in the beaten wayside or stony soil during the progress of an alarming disease. In of a worldly heart, and either springs not at all, the first period of illness, when the patient is con- or withers as it springs. The dying man is apfined to bed or to the house, neighbours drop in palled and bewildered, but not humble and conafter the hours of labour, and the sick man's cham- trite-he feels that danger is near, the most dreadber becomes a convenient place for retailing all ful of all dangers, but his unprepared mind knows the news and evil reports of the parish. His mind not, and may not now be taught how to avoid it. is led away from the consideration of his spiritual In the days of his health he has slighted the serinterests, and is frequently polluted, or at least vice of God, or walked the round of ordinances unprofitably filled with matters of worldly con- without faith and without edification; and, when cern, and tales of scandal. His family, from a at last the terror of impending destruction leads mistaken kindness, think it necessary to provide him to seek for refuge in unaccustomed acts of for his amusement, often without regard to his devotion, divine grace, long offered in vain, is then edification; and, indeed, nothing is more common denied; there is no avenue open by which his than to find, among those who surround the sick- heart can be penetrated; and all his efforts begin bed of a friend, the utmost anxiety to withdraw and end in a bodily exercise which profiteth little his thoughts from solemn reflection. It is con- -an unhallowed reliance on outward forms, not sidered right to prevent the agitation of his mind, less superstitious nor more availing than the and to avoid alarm, by abstaining from every pompous ritual of the Romish Church. thing which might induce him to think of his spiritual interests. By degrees, however, his malady becomes more serious-symptoms appear which seem to intimate the approach of a fatal crisis. Friends and relations from a greater distance now arrive, and accounts of their good or bad fortune, and of the circumstances of their families, and the events of their neighbourhood, give new employment to the mind of the patient. An elder, meanwhile, or some person fluent in prayer, pays an occasional visit; and for the first time, perhaps, during many days, or, it may be during many years, the voice of pious supplication and praise is heard beneath that roof. Worldly conversation, however, proceeds, and worldly feelings are cherished, interrupted from time to time by short intervals, in which more serious thoughts intrude, and the Bible is opened, and for the first time Of such persons it is impossible not to conclude perused, with some passing anxiety, and sense of that their penitence was hollow, and that, if their its value. Still the disease goes on, and the pa- sickness had been unto death, they would, nottient begins visibly to sink; while the doubtful withstanding all their fair appearances, have peranswers of the medical attendant confirm the ished in their sins. I dare not assert that a deathdaily increasing fears of the family, and the sup-bed repentance is always unavailing; for of such pressed sighs of a wife, a mother, or a child, and the tear wiped away by stealth from the care-worn cheek, open the unwilling eyes, and strike conviction to the heart of the sufferer. He perceives at last that the king of terrors is at hand; nor can he conceal from himself that he is unprepared for his approach. His spiritual instructor is now sent for in haste; and when he arrives, his voice sounds ominously on the ear of the unhappy man, as if the messenger of the Gospel had come to extinguish in his heart the last ray of hope; for that on which he has hitherto rested for support is earthly hope alone. But die he must; and he seeks in this visit a passport to a better world. He listens to his pastor's exhortations and prayers, Father as if they were to open the gate of heaven by the power of enchantment, than as they in reality are, the appointed means of enlightening the darkened understanding, and renewing the depraved will, and, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, rendering the soul meet for the in

a repentance there is one instance on the Scripture record, though only one; but I do say, that on such repentance it is presumptuous to depend; and that those professing Christians who delay the season of serious thought till it is forced upon them at the last hour, are in a state of extreme danger.*

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ELIOT,

THE APOSTLE OF THE INDIANS.

LITTLE is known of the early life of this devoted missionary; he appears to have been a native of England, born in the year 1604. He received his education at the University of Cambridge, where he prosecuted his studies with great success. On leaving the University, he obtained a situation as usher of a school at Little Baddow, superintended by Thomas Hooker, who afof New England. It was while at Little Baddow that Mr Eliot experienced a decided change in his whole sen

terwards became one of the most distinguished divines

From a Series of Letters by Dr DUNCAN, printed and circulated among his Parishioners, but never published,

timents and feelings. An interest in Christ and his salvation was now with him the one thing needful; and so deeply impressed did his mind become with the importance of religion, that he counted it his duty to devote himself to the work of preaching the Gospel to his fellow-men. But as he felt that the views which he entertained were such as would not then be tolerated in the Church of England, he resolved to set out for America; and, accordingly, he embarked for New England in the summer of 1631, and arrived at Boston in November of the same year.

was met by Waban, "a wise and grave Indian," and
several of his friends, who conducted him to a large
wigwam, where he had an opportunity of proclaiming
the Gospel to a considerable number of poor Indians.
His second meeting with them was still more inter-
esting, and during the concluding prayer, an event
occurred which is well worth mentioning. “I cast
my eye on one,' says one of Mr Eliot's friends, who
was hanging down his head weeping.
He held up
his head for a while,-yet such was the power of
the word on his heart, that he hung down his head
again, and covered his eyes, and so fell wiping and

till prayer was ended; after which he presently turrs
from us, and turns his face to a side and corner of the
wigwam, and there falls a weeping more abundantly by
himself; which one of us perceiving, went to him, and
spake to him encouraging words, at the hearing of which
he fell a weeping more and more: so leaving of him, he
who spake to him came unto me, being newly gone out
of the wigwam, and told me of his tears; so we resolved
to go again both of us to him, and speak to him again.
We met him coming out of the wigwam, and there we
spake again to him, and he there fell into a more
abundant renewed weeping, like one deeply and in-
wardly affected indeed, which forced us also to such
bowels of compassion, that we could not forbear weep-
ing over him also,—and so we parted, greatly rejoicing
for such sorrowing.'

Before leaving his native country, Mr Eliot had agreed with a number of his Christian friends who in-wiping of them, weeping abundantly, continuing thus tended to cross the Atlantic, that in the event of their doing so previous to his settlement over any other congregation, he would become their pastor. This engagement he afterwards fulfilled. On their arrival in New England they planted a colony about a mile from Boston, erected a town which they called Roxbury, and formed themselves into a church, of which Mr Eliot was appointed minister. In the discharge of his pastoral duties he was remarkably conscientious and faithful, so that he was at once respected and beloved by his people. "He would sound the trumpet of God," says Dr Mather," against all vice, with a most penetrating liveliness, and make his pulpit another Mount Sinai, for the flashes of lightning therein displayed against the breaches of the law given from that burning mountain. There was usually a special fervour in the rebukes which he bestowed on carnality. When he was to brand the earthly-mindedness of Church-members, and the allowance and indulgence which they often gave themselves in sensual delights, he was a right Boanerges, he spoke as many thunderbolts as words."

In the education of the young, Mr Eliot took a particular delight, establishing schools, superintending them when formed, and composing catechisms of elementary instruction. When he entered a house, he was accustomed to call for the young people that he might lay his hands on them, and bless them. "I cannot forget the ardour," says Dr Mather, "with which I once heard him pray at a Synod held in Boston, Lord, for schools every where among us! That our schools may flourish ! That every member of this assembly may go home to procure a good school to be encouraged in the town where he lives! That before we die we may be happy to see a good school established in every part of the country!" Such was the benevolent spirit by which this pious man was actuated in his endeavours to benefit the community to which he belonged.

The first settlers in New England were placed in circumstances of peculiar difficulty, which called for their utmost exertions to procure a sufficient temporal subsistence, and at the same time to promote their spiritual improvement and edification. While thus struggling, however, for their own preservation, they were by no means regardless of the poor ignorant savages by whom they were surrounded, and whom they saw perishing for lack❘ of knowledge. In their benevolent endeavours to instruct them, they were not a little encouraged by an act passed by the General Court of Massachusetts in 1646, tending to facilitate the propagation of the Gospel among the Indians. It appeared that about the time when this act was passed, Mr Eliot's mind was deeply affected with the deplorable condition of these ignorant heathens, and at length, after much consultation with his brethren, and earnest prayer for the Divine direction, he resolved to dedicate himself to the work of a missionary among them. To qualify himself for this important task, he lost no time in availing himself of every means of acquiring their language; and such was his success, that in a very short time he was able to address them in their own tongue. The place at which he preached his first sermon to them, was situated about four miles from his house, at Roxbury; and when he approached it, he

Before the third interview with them, Mr Eliot found that the Powahs or Indian priests had strictly forbidde the people to listen to the instructions of the English. The interference, however, of these wicked impostos was of no avail. The people still flocked to hear the devoted missionary, and many of them expressed a wish to have their children put under his care, that they might be educated in the knowledge of Christianity. Encouraged by the success which thus attended his labours, Mr Eliot applied to the General Court of the colony in behalf of those who wished to be placed under his tuition. His application was successful; land was granted that they might build a town and enjoy the Christian instruction which they so much desired. From that hour civilization commenced among the l dians. A town was erected, surrounded by a stone wall, and containing a great number of neat comfortable wigwams. The women learned to spin; the men were instructed in husbandry and the more simple mechan cal arts; and, in short, the whole settlement assumed an aspect of industry and activity.

Mr Eliot's exertions were promptly seconded by the local government, who passed several acts for the farther improvement and civilization of the Indians. T change in consequence soon became apparent, even to the most careless observer. Mr Whitfield, who paid a visit to the town which these Indians had reared, was particularly struck with astonishment at their appear ance, and declared that, from their correct behavio and decent clothing, he could scarcely distinguish them from the English people.

Nor were the beneficial effects of Mr Eliot's labours limited to the settlements where they were first begur The Indians in various parts of the country were anxious to enjoy the same advantages. The work Christianization and civilization went hand in hand, ar so rapidly did the desire for instruction spread, that the missionary found it difficult, even with the assistance f some converted Indians, to comply with the numerous invitations which poured in upon him from all quarters, to come and communicate the glad tidings to various tribes of Indians. And in scarcely a single instance was the invitation made in vain. The devoted E

wandered from place to place, scattering the seed of dvine truth with unsparing hand. “I have not been dry night nor day," he writes, "from the third day

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Animated by the pure motives of the Gospel, he boldly encountered the manifold hardships and difficulties, and even dangers to which he was exposed; but in the spirit of his great Master, he counted not his life dear unto himself, that he might accomplish the benevolent mission which he had undertaken. Intelligence of the wonderful success which every where attended his exertions soon crossed the Atlantic,and attracted considerable attention in England. Parliament was induced to take the matter under consideration, and an act was passed encouraging the evangelizing of the Indians, and supporting those engaged in the work. Large sums of money were in consequence collected in England, under the authority of the Commissioners appointed by Parliament. For these benevolent exertions on the part of his countrymen, Mr Eliot was particularly grateful, and he conveyed his obligations to them in terms of the warm est affection.

Encouraged by the kindness and liberality of his friends in England, he made application to them in behalf of the schools which he was anxious to establish. Necessity alone compelled him to take this step. "I have not means of my own," he said; "I have a family of many children to educate; and therefore I cannot give over my ministry in our Church, whereby my family is sustained, to attend the Indians, to whom I give, and of whom I receive nothing." The instruction of the young, and the translation of the Scriptures into the Indian language, appear to have been the great objects upon which he had set his heart. But he was not inattentive to the temporal comfort of the poor Indians. Desirous of instructing them in the arts of civilized life, he submitted to his friends a proposal about sending mechanics from England for that purpose. In suggesting this plan, the ultimate object which Mr Eliot had in view was to erect a town, in which the Indians belonging to the settlement might live comfortably.

While thus unwearied in his labours among the Indians, Mr Eliot felt that he could scarcely give that attention to his own pastoral duties at Roxbury which their circumstances required. For some time his brethren in the ministry had kindly lent him their assistance; but at length it was judged expedient, that a colleague should be appointed; and accordingly the Rev. Samuel Danforth was chosen to fill that office. The connection which Mr Eliot thus formed was attended with great advantage to the congregation, and great comfort to himself.

In the mean time, the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England, which had been sanctioned by the authority of the British Parliament, gave all the encouragement to the devoted missionary, which their circumstances would warrant. But they themselves were unhappily in considerable difficulty. Their motives and feelings were misrepresented, and they were assailed by a multitude of objections from many who had even professed themselves favourable to the scheme. On hearing of this unfortunate opposition, Mr Eliot lost no time in despatching a letter to England, exhibiting a faithful view of his progress, and of the improvements which, by the divine blessing, were gradually taking place, both in the temporal and spiritual condition of the once savage Indians.

The change which was effected in the outward aspect of the Indian settlement was soon remarkably striking. A town was built, which they called Natick,

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consisting of "three fair streets;" two of which stretched along the Boston side of Charles River, and one along the other. They were now constituted into a regular community; and, by a solemn act of covenanting, they dedicated themselves to the Lord. The Indians having thus formed a civil and religious community, the Honourable John Endicott, governor of Massachusetts, resolved to pay a visit to Natick, with the view of inspecting their real condition. The inquiry was in the highest degree satisfactory, and he declared, that " he could hardly refrain from tears for very joy, to see the diligent attention of the Indians to the Word of God.'

The next object to which Mr Eliot turned his attention, was the formation of a Christian Church among the Indians. For this purpose, he continued to visit them weekly to catechise their children—and to instruct all, both young and adults, in the elements of divine truth. At first his wish to form a Church among them was frustrated; but at length, he had the happiness, with the approbation of the New England ministers, of seeing a Church formed at Natick. The individuals composing it having first dedicated themselves to the Lord, and then to one another in a holy covenant, were baptized and admitted to the Lord's Supper. About this time, the charter of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England having expired, strong exertions were made to prevent its renewal; but by the divine goodness, these unhallowed efforts were frustrated, and a new charter was issued by Charles II., bearing date the 7th February 1651. At the head of the new corporation thus appointed stands the celebrated name of the Honourable Robert Boyle.

In September 1661, Mr Eliot had the high pleasure of seeing an edition of the New Testament completed in the Indian language, and printed at the expense of the Society in England. This was followed in two years by an edition of the Old, published under the same benevolent patronage. Thus, was at length accomplished, after much labour and unwearied exertion, an entire version of the Bible, in the language of the North American Indians; and when we reflect that John Eliot was among the first that ever completed such a work, we cannot but regard it as reflecting the highest honour upon his Christian zeal and diligence, in the cause of missions. The translation of the Bible was followed by that of the Psalter, several copies of which were bound up with the Bible, and then by several smaller religious works, which were extensively circulated among the Indians.

That the great work in which Mr Eliot was engaged might be carried forward with still greater efficiency, he endeavoured, by all possible means, to induce others to embark in the same holy enterprise. He was soon joined, accordingly, by several able and successful ministers; but what more than all other things tended to strengthen and encourage the heart of the apostolic Eliot, was the high privilege which he enjoyed of seeing his eldest son enter upon the same work. He bore," says Dr Mather, "his father's name, and he had his father's grace." He laboured much, both among the English and the Indians; but his labours were of short duration, for he was cut off in early life, and in the midst of his usefulness.

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About two years before his son's death, Mr Eliot published an Indian Grammar, which he dedicated to the honourable Robert Boyle as President, and to all the other office-bearers and members of the Society in England for Propagating Christian Knowledge in New England. With the view of still farther improving the understanding of the Indians in general, and of the teachers and rulers in particular, Mr Eliot, about this time, established a lecture at Natick, in which he explained the leading doctrines of theology and logic.

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