1801, from near the Geneva lake, Switzerland, and settled in this place, two or three years after. They appear to be a very honest and industrious people. They have turned their attention, principally to the cultivation of the vine. The wine they make is not of the b.st quality. They have now about 18 acres planted with vines. In 1810, .they made 2400 gallons, in 1811, 2700. They do not well understand the English language. We are disposed to believe there are some christian people among them. The Baptists are the most numerous religious denomination in Kentucky. Their preachers generally, are very illiterate. It seems to be the main object, with many of them, to increase their party. Some seem to think every thing is done, when once their converts have been under the water. They pay very little attention to the obs servance of the Sabbath. Their preachers, I believe, never enjoin it upon their hearers to observe it as holy time. Some who had belonged to the Baptist church, seemed to be much surprised when we objected to their spending the Sabbath in fashionable visiting. During the revival of religion which took place in this western world, a few years since, it is believed there were many genuine conversions; but by some designing men it was improved to support a party, more than the interest of the Redeemer's kingdom. Religious sectaries have been more numerous since the revival, than before. I believe the Presbyterian clergy generally, in this state and Kentucky, do not receive more than 100 dollars a year from their people. This scanty salary obliges them to seek some other employment to make out a support for their families. Their people must of course be neglected. We found in Lexington, Kentucky, and the vicinity, a number of very sensible christians. They mourn over the prevailing corruption of the times, and fear the vengeance of God. They say their children are ruined by Illuminee societies; are growing up Deists, or Atheists. The land of my nativity was always dear to me, but it is daily becoming more so, the greater distance I am removed from the great and precious privileges which it enjoys. ORDAINED, at Palmyra, July 8, 1813, the Rev. HIPPOCRATES Rowe, as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in that place. Introductory prayer by Rev. William Clark; sermon by Rev. J. Merrill, from 2 Tim. 4; consecrating prayer, by Rev. O. Ayer; charge by the Rev. C. Mosher; address to the people, by Rev. H. Axtell; concluding prayer, by Rev. H. R. Powell. It chills my blood to hear the BLEST SUPREME, THE NECESSITY OF THE ATONEMENT. THERE is no subject more interesting to mankind than the foundation upon which they build their hopes of eternal life. This foundation, it is conceded by all, is laid in the atonement of Christ. It is of more importance, therefore, to form just and clear ideas upon this subject than any other.We need to view it in every light, in which scripture represents it. In writing to the salats at Rome, the apostle, having shown the fallen and perishing state of mankind, brings into view the atonement of Christ as the only ground upon which God freely pardons and saves sinners: "Being justified freeby his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." The apostle does here represent the necessity of the atonement as arising from the perfection, or rectitude of the divine character. It was necessary that God might appear consistent in justifying the believing sinner. Though the perishing state of mankind gave the occasion, yet the rectitude of the divine character made the necessity of the atonement. And though sinners are to receive benefit from the atonement; yet the ultimate design of it is to declare God's righteousness, and set his character in a true and amiable light. The atonement of Christ was necessary entirely on God's account. If it was not necessary on the account of sinners, it will naturally follow, that it was necessary on the account of God. But it will easily appear, that the atonement of Christ was not necessary on the account of sinners. When Adam had sinned and involved himself and his posterity in guilt and ruin, God might have destroyed him and them, as he did the fallen angels, according to the rules of strict justice. This was a mode of divine conduct, which would have reflected glory upon God, in the eyes of his intelligent creatures, and which would have done no injury to men. As sinners, they deserved eternal destruction. And if distributive justice had its natural course, it must have fixed all the fallen human race in complete and endless destruction. On the other hand, God might have pardoned and saved all the fallen race, without doing them, or any other creatures, any injustice. It certainly cannot be an injury to transgressors to pardon and save them. It is no injury to creatures to treat them better than they deserve. If God had pardoned mankind without an atonement, he would not have injured them, nor any other of his creatures. What injury could it have been to holy or sinful angels, if God had forgiven and saved the fallen race of man? If he treated them according to their deserts, they could have had no ground of complaint, though he treated men better than their deserts. Hence it is evident that the atonement of Christ was not necessary on account of sinners. They might have been treated according to their deserts, or better than their deserts, and no injury have been done them. This Adam felt, and this all his posterity feel, who attend to the subject.--When Adam fled from the presence of God in distress and despair, it was not owing to this, that God was about to injure him.-He knew that God would not injure him, if he destroyed him, and much less, if he saved him. And every sinner knows the same. When sinners attend to their fallen, perishing condition, they are sensible, that they deserve to die, and that eternal death would not be a punishment greater than they deserve. There is nothing in them to obstruct the course of justice. There is nothing in them to prevent their final and endless ruin.-Nor is there any thing in them to prevent their salvation. If God should please to save them, he would not violate the rules of justicc. Justice is not violated by treating creatures better than they deserve, but only by treating them worse than they deserve. If there had been no atonement, therefore, sinners might have been saved or lost, without any injury or injustice being done to them. But though God might have treated sinners according to their deserts without doing any injury to them or to himself, had there been no atonement, yet he could not treat them better than their deserts, without doing injury to himself, had there been no atonement. The atonement, therefore, was necessary entirely on his account. If he saved simmers without injury to himself, there must be an atonement made. Though it is evident that it was wholly on God's account that the atonement of Christ was neces sary, yet it is of importance to pursue the subject and to see why the atonement was necessary on his ac count. None will suppose it was necessary that God should save sinners; but on supposition he did save sinners, an atonement was, on his account, absolutely necessary. On this subject the apostle says—" that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." By this it appears, that the atonement of Christ was necessary, in order to make it consistent with the justice of God to pardon sinners;—that he might be just and yet forgive. And it is easy to see that nothing but the justice of God stood in the way of his saving sinners without an atonement. Had it been consistent with justice, it would have been consistent with wisdom. For ought we know, it would have been as really a display of wisdom to have saved sinners without an atonement as with one, had it been consistent with divine justice. Wisdom, therefore, did not stand in the way of man's salvation without an atonement. a Nor did goodness, or general benevolence. God's goodness would naturally lead him to treat all his creatures as well as he could, consistently with the whole of his moral character. And with respect to grace, it is certain this would have been actually displayed in saving sinners without an atonement. Grace consists in bestowing happiness upon those who deserve misery. And this would have been a bright display of divine grace. What then could there be in the divine nature or character, which rendered the atonement of Christ necessary, in order to save sinners, but the divine justice? There was nothing in man that required an atonement, and there was nothing in God which required an atonement, but his justice. Justice is one of the moral perfections of God, which is essential to his nature. All God's moral perfections are really comprised in love. "God is love." And before the creation, there was no foundation for considering love as branched out into various and distinct attributes. But after the creation, new relations arose, and in consequence of new relations new obligations were created, both on the side of the Creator and of his creatures. Before creatures were formed, God's love was exercised wholly towards himself. But after moral beings were brought into existence, it was right in the nature of things, that he should exercise proper affections towards them, according to their moral characters. Hence God's goodness, justice and meroy are founded in the nature of things: that is, while God remains the Creator, and men remain his creatures, he must exercise these distinct feelings towards them. He must be disposed to do good to the innocent, to inflict punishment upon the guilty, and at the same time to forgive them. Now there never was any difficulty in the way of God's doing good to the innocent; nor in the way of his punishing the wicked; but there was a difficulty in the way of forgiving and sparing the wicked. God's goodness is a disposition to do good to the innocent. God's justice is a disposition to punish the guilty. And his mercy is a disposition to pardon and save the guilty. Now the difficulty in the way of man's salvation was to reconcile God's disposition to punish, with his disposition to forgive or in other words, to reconcile his justice with his mercy. This was a difficulty in the divine government. For God had revealed his justice in his government. He had given law to man. And in that law he had clearly exhibited his justice. In the penalty of the law he had deelared, that the transgressor deserved eternal punishment ; that he had a right to inflict an eternal punishment; and that he had a disposition to inflict an eternal punishment. There was a full and striking exhibition of God's distributive justice, in the first law given to man: "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." But this law clothed with the authority and sanctioned by the justice of God, man violated and exposed himself to the awful penalty, And man violated this law, as the head of a numerous posterity, who were by a divine constitution, involved in the same state of wretchedness and guilt. What now could be done? It is easy to see, that justice might be done, without the least difficulty. And this had been done in a similar case. Fallen angels had been doomed to eternal destruction, for the first offence. But how could mercy and grace be displayed? This none of the intelligent creatures could tell. Angels could not. For they had seen justice displayed, and the door of mercy for ever shut against sinners. Man could not tell. He knew that his Creator and lawgiver had clearly exhibited his punitive justice, and if this had its course, he must inevitably and eternally die.-How then could grace be displayed consistently with justice? This question God alone was able to resolve. He knew he could be just to himself. if his justice were displayed in the sufferings of a proper substitute in the room of man. And as to man he would not be injured, whether destroyed or saved. All God had to consult was to secure inviolate justice with respect to himself. For by securing this, he would at once support his own character, law and government. And though none but God could find a being, who was able to take the place of man, and by suffer |