the former; since the Lord's mind is as much made up in the one as in the other. I pray for temporal things for my children, subject to the will of God, believing them to be all fixed in the determinate decrees of God, and not asking the Lord to change his mind; but not knowing what the will of the Lord is, concerning my children and sconnections, in temporals, I find it in my heart, and believe it to be my duty and privilege, so to pray for them; and exactly so in spiritual sthings; as I know not what the will of the Lord is concerning my children for eternity; nor is it my business to know, as it is to occupy still he comes, in the sphere in which it hath pleased him to place me; das a parent, as a man of connections in life, and as a public minister sdof a congregation. eds E. M. says, "what provision can you make for your children, if be God has made none," page 275. If it would be of any advantage to Tus to know, we could thank E. M. to come and tell us, what provision the Lord has made, and what provision he has not made; and For whom the Lord has made provision, and for whom he has not; and to whom the provision he has made, will finally be, individually as to persons, applied, and to whom it will not be applied. And since sotemporal things are as much arranged and fixed in divine purposes, as eternals are, E. M.'s sneer falls directly upon the scriptures, in 1 Tim. v. 8., and he stands self-reproved, for he says, "it is not our Isduty to oppose the manifest will of God, page 399. JOHN. Sou: THE DUTY OF PARENTS TO PRAY FOR THEIR CHILDREN. visit was necessary that the observation of E. M. in your Magazine, 1 respecting Parent's praying for their children, &c. should receive a up more decided reply than has yet been made; and that for several rea30 sons. His ideas are a monstrous perversion, and an ill-use of the adsublime doctrine of divine sovereignty they are contrary to the word edof God; have a tendency to cause the way of truth to be evil spoken -nof and are abhorrent and repulsive to all the fine and tender feelings, sidimplanted in our natures, by the Lord of all our mercies.** }. ni neSeveral of my esteemed christian friends requested me to draw some reply; this, I intended to have done; but, mentioning the sub-ject to my valued brother and fellow-labourer " John," and withal of wishing him to favour me with some remarks of his ; he has sent me 91 them, in such a shape that I had only to send them to your Magazine, bowith this one hint, that when E. M. has vanquished" John," he may -rexpect a most decided opponent in "Andrew." In the interim, it is -expected by the latter, that he may retire to rest for a season, and 25 venture to take a long repose. boo The credit of the gospel calls for the most determined, uncomprosolmising, and unflinching opposition, to the doctrine attempted to be established by E. M. What! shall it be asserted that, “it is not the VOL. X.-No. 121.] Р privilege and duty of the believer to pray for those with whom he is connected by the ties of nature;" and shall those who make a conscience of "family religion and family prayer," be sneered at by this man of gigantic stature in the doctrine of Jehovah's high decrees; this wonderful walker that has so "walked out sovereignty" as to out-walk himself, and what is worse, to out-walk the word of God. Shall we give place, by subjection, to such an one? No, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue amongst us, Gal. ii. 5. E. M. is, if I am rightly informed, not now a father; and I thought so, before I made the enquiry. I have a family of seven children, all living; (the youngest in her seventeenth year) I have aimed to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The uniform moral demeanour of the whole, with their constant attendance on all the means of grace, has often melted my heart in gratitude to the Lord; but when, during the past year, three of these dear children spake before the church of Christ, of what the Lord had done for their souls, O then my cup ran over ! Since then, the awakenings among the young in the families of my christian friends, composing our church and congregation, have been so numerous and frequent, that the very stones would cry out against me, if I was not found in renewed prayer, and increased praises to the Lord. It will not do, E. M.; no, indeed, it will not do, to attempt to persuade me, that "it is not my privilege and duty to pray for those with whom I am connected by the ties of nature." I am not denominated a "mongrel," by those who know me, and my views and communications; but, if "mongrels" only, pray for their children, &c. I thank God that I have been a 66 mongrel" ever since the Lord taught me to pray; and, as long as I am spared in life to pray, a "mongrel" I desire to remain. I shall omit replying to E. M. until such time as he shall have put "John" to flight. But, I cannot let this opportunity slip of strongly recommending to all godly parents, one of the most important little pamphlets mine eyes have even beheld, intitled "Paraclesis, or Consolations for a Dying Hour; in a Series of Letters from a Father to his Children" by the late Dr. Hawker. I take the liberty of making two or three extracts therefrom, hoping E. M. will have more modesty than to dub Dr. Hawker a 66 mongrel Calvinist." In the words of E. M. I should consider that no man, in his day, more fully avowed "salvation in all its departments to be altogether of God." "There is no room for dissimulation, where the eternal interests of such near and dear relations are concerned. The subject indeed is no less than what relates to that grand, and (strictly speaking) the only momentous part of existence, your eternal welfare. From the first moment it pleased the providence of God to call me to the duties and anxieties of a father, I have felt the tender charities of such a relationship; and the resistless claims have but increased upon me with increasing years. The waking seasons of your earliest life, while engaged in the puerile pursuits of unconscious childhood, have not unfrequently called forth the distressing apprehension for your safety; and the imagination contemplating the perilous path to which your riper years, if spared, would be exposed, I have felt the rising sigh burst involuntarily from my heart, accompanied with a prayer* not unlike the patriarch's of old, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" The parent's heart will know of what I speak, and will enter with me into a full participation of these exquisitely tender but altogether indescribable feelings, which are peculiarly his own. To all others I am well aware, they are among the joys and sorrows with which a stranger cannot intermeddle. : Through the gracious benignity of an indulgent Providence, I have lived to see you rising up into life, to act for yourselves and one by one, departing into the world, like the full-fledged offspring of the nest, taking wing in different directions, remote perhaps from me, and from each other. To send after you the father's blessing, and to follow your flight through the world with the father's prayer, are now all the remaining duties I can perform for you; and the only way, indeed, by which I find solace to those occasional seasons of anxiety, which are the natural consequences of our separation. And blessed be that goodness, which, in erecting a throne of gruce for the needy to approach, hath opened a source of relief in it for every occasion. This I find to be the outlet of all sorrow, and the inlet of all joy. It is here, therefore, I have referred all my wishes concerning you; and by prayer and supplication, with thanksgivings, made my requests known to God. What may be the events with which you, my dear children, shall be exercised in your progress through life, I know not; indeed I would not, were I able, anticipate the information. My only prayers in your instance, concerning them are, that as the Lord shall open the several successive pages in the book of life before you, the impressions of his Holy Spirit may be read in every line; and, whether upon the whole, the chapters in your history shall be most prosperous or afflictive, the life itself may be a life of grace here, leading to an endless life of glory hereafter. To all this E. M. replies-" Here you move out upon the flesh and blood interest. When I hear the saints praying for their children, it is but their fleshly wills expressed. What has natural affection to do with spirituality? All the prayers, wishes, and desires of the saints, for any whom God has not eternally loved, are vague and useless, and are not the diction of the Holy Ghost. Where is the command to pray for children? I again assert, it is not the privilege and duty of the believer to pray for those with whom he is connected by the ties of nature, because it is contrary to the revealed will of God; God has not commanded it, therefore, it is not binding on any believer. If [Dr. Hawker] prefers to worship so, I [E. M.] chuse to worship in the light. He [Christ] saith, I came to set them at variance, not to take whole familses to heaven. Yet, in the face of all this, we are told, it is our duty to pray for those with whom we are connected by the ties of nature. Is this having the mind of Christ ?" I think I hear the godly parental reader commanding me to forbear, and not soil the paper, by inserting any more of such unscriptural trash. But I must not trespass so largely, Mr. Editor, on the pages of your Magazine: suffice it to say, that, after the good Dr. Hawker had reviewed, illustrated, and pointed out, in the compass of five glorious letters, to his children,* the genuine evidences of the renewed life, in the several precious particulars thereof; in drawing to a close, he writes as follows-"Having accomplished the purpose for which I originally opened this correspondence, in bringing before you the evidences of the renewed life, by way of forming consolation in the review against a dying hour; I would take leave of the subject, by once more recommending the whole to your serious and most earnest attention; and follow it up with fervent supplications to the God of all grace, that his blessing might render my labours and wishes for you effectual. "And now, what shall I add more, on a subject so very solemn, interesting, and tender? Let me only refresh your memory once again, with the recollection, that, what is here offered, is the last advice of a father, in the night of death, before he goes hence, to be no more seen. I have considered myself, indeed, all along, as rising with thankfulness from the supper of life, and waiting with my lighted taper in my hand, for the Master's call to rest; but, knowing your hour of sleep to be approaching, I have paused before I bid you farewell, to tell you of the softest chambers of repose to them who sleep in Jesus. And my latest breath will be a prayer to God that he may give you grace to live in the possession of these evidences of the renewed life, that you may die in the full assurance of glory. Farewell."-Robert Hawker. One more witness, in opposition to the unfeeling, chilling doctrine, advocated by E. M., permit ine, Mr. Editor, to produce, by a short extract from Dr. Gill. Again expressing my hopes that E. M. will have more modesty than to term this sound divine to be also a "Mongrel Calvinist." "The duty of parents to children is expressed positively: "train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Eph. vi. 4. And this exhortation may have respect to the training them up in a religious way; in the external ways of God, and paths of godliness, in which they should walk; and from whence they will not easily and ordinarily depart, Prov. xxii. 6. It becomes them to set good examples to them, of sobriety, temperance, prudence, &c., and to keep them from the company of such from whom they may learn what is evil; "for evil communications corrupt good manners;" and whereas the seeds of all sin are in children, which soon appear, they should check them betimes, and nip them in the bud, and expose the * Gladly would I transcribe the whole; or rather, most gladly would I, (had I the means) have printed, some thousands of copies, and distribute them gratis, with mine own hand if possible, to godly parents, for the use of their dear children. 66 sinfulness of those vices they are most inclined unto, telling lies, &c. They should frequently pray with, and for them, as Abraham for Ishmael; whereby they will be sensible, that they have not only their temporal good, but their spiritual and eternal welfare at heart. And they should bring them under the means of grace, the ministry of the word; and teach them to read the scriptures as soon as may be; and instruct them in the knowledge of divine things as they are able to receive it; which seems to be meant by the nurture of the Lord. Though I cannot say that I truly approve of the method of education used by some good people; as by teaching them the creed, a form of belief, saying, I believe so and so, before they have any knowledge of, and faith in divine truths; and to babble over the Lord's prayer, (as it is commonly called) and other forms of prayer; which seem to have a tendency to direct them to rest in an outward form, and to trust in an outward shew of righteousness; which, they need not be taught to do, as it is natural to them; and, whenever they receive the grace of God, all this must be untaught and undone again. It is proper to instruct them in the necessity of faith in God and in Christ, and of the use of prayer; and to lay before them the sinfulness of sin, and shew them what an evil thing it is, and what are the sad effects of it; and to teach them their miserable estate by nature, and the way of recovery and salvation by Christ; and to learn them from childhood to read and know the holy scriptures, according to their capacity; and by these to be admonished of sin, and of their duty to fear God and keep his commandments; which may be meant by the admonition of the Lord; and the proper opportunity should be taken to instil these things into their minds, when their minds begin to open and they are inquisitive into the meaning of things; see Deut. vi. 20. And these several respective duties are to be carefully attended to; since the peace and order of families, the good of the commonwealth, the prosperity of the church and increase of the interest of Christ, greatly depend upon them.”—Gill's Body of Divinity, Book 4. cap. 2. I close for the present, merely adding my hearty amen to all that I have above transcribed from the writings of those two men of God; and am quite willing to share with them the appellative of a “mongrel Calvinist." Mitchell Street, Feb. 15, 1834. I am, Mr. Editor, Your's, in the truth, ANDREW. LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. Mr. JONES' Reply to Mr. JOSEPH IRONS' " JAZER" on Baptism, is at length, in the press, and will be published in a few Days. |