7. The church ought to excommunicate every member, who persists in heresy, or unchristian conduct, after dealing with him according to the Seriptures.

8. An excommunicated person may not be restored, but upon a public confession of his sin, a profession of repentance, and a reformation of his conduct.

9. A church ought to direct in singing the praises of God. 10. It is expedient for a church to obtain the advice and judgment of other churches in important and difficult cases. The Covenant of a Church.

You do

You do now, in the presence of the heart-searching God, and before angels and men, choose the Lord Jehovah to be your God and portion, and you heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ for your Redeemer and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit for your teacher and sanctifier. You do wholly renounce the service of Satan, and you covenant to yield an universal obedience to all the divine commandments. submit yourself to the government of Christ in his church, and to the regular administration of it in this church. You do covenant to attend the worship and the ordinances of the gospel with this church, so long as God continues you in this place. And you promise to be accountable to this church as long as you live, unless you be regularly released from your relation to this particular church. This you promise,

We do now receive you into our communion, and covenant to watch over you with all Christian tenderness, treating you in love as a member of the body of Christ, who is head over all things to the church. Amen.

MEANS OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. MR. EDITOR-In your Magazine for July, [Utica Christian Magazine for Sept.] you have given your readers much instructive entertainment in the letter from Mr, Samuel J. Mills, jr. respecting the religious state of the western country. I take the liberty to send you a few reflections upon that letter which are at your disposal.-Con. Evan. Mag.

N.

MR. MILLS and Mr. Schermerhorn, in their late mission through the south-western parts of the United States, have performed a very important service to the Christian public. Their tour must have been laborious, and the greater part of it difficult, not to say dangerous. A journey through the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee in the winter season, is incomparably more difficult and fatiguing, than New-Hampshire and Vermont. To the care of a merciful Provie, by which they have been preserved, their friends must be ly indebted.

The letter from Mr. Mills gives a very interesting account of the religious state of the western country. This is a subject to which the attention of the friends of the Redeemer, and the friends of the best interests of our country, has not been sufficiently called. The exertions of the Missionary Societies in New-England in consequence of the limited state of their funds, have been confined principally to the new settlements in New-York, Vermont, New-Hampshire, and the district of Maine. In this measure they have acted upon the most correct principle, as the objects of charity most contiguous always have the first claim upon our attention. In proportion to the attention which these parts of the new settlements have received from our Missionary institutions, their religious state has been made knownThe western country properly so called, that is, that part of the Ter ritory of the United States, west of the Allegany Mountains, containing about one million of inhabitants, with the exception of some small districts, having been almost wholly destitute of Missionary labors, from this quarter, its religious state is very little known. As it was a very important part of the design of Messrs. Mills and Schermerhorn's mission to obtain information respecting the state of religion in the western country, this object seems to have been constantly in view, and the result of their exertions must be productive of the most Leneficial effects.

From the facts furnished by Mr. Mills' letter, it appears that the western country is most deplorably destitute of religious instruction, and the ordinances of the gospel. The bible is very little known, the number of worshipping assemblies on the Sabbath is very small, and still less is the number of persons devoted to the work of the Christian ministry. Without public worship, the Sabbath is disregarded; without the ordinances of gospel instruction, family religion and the religious education of children are neglected; the bible is forgotten and unknown, religious books are not procured or read, prayer is unpractised, and the Saviour of the world is scarcely noticed with a transient thought.

The causes of this great destitution of the blessings of the gospel are sufficiently obvious. The western country has been settled by emigrants from the older parts of the United States and from Europe. It is always true that a great portion of emigrants to all new countries, wish to be liberated from all the bonds of religious habits and instrue tion. And the prospect of such exemption is no inconsiderable motive to their removal. In addition to this, many of the settlers of new countries, who may have been orderly observers of religious in. stitutions, have been such from habit, and the influence of prevailing custom; and when they find themselves in situations where parctices of this kind do not prevail, and where they cannot be maintained without effort and self-denial, their former habits are very easily laid aside. A small portion of the settlers of all new countries are the true friends of Christ. For the holy wisdom of heaven always dissemi nates the church, and a little of the salt of the earth is scattered abroad to prevent universal ruin. But there are many reasons why Christians in new settlements do but little for the cause of truth. Desti

tute of gospel ordinances, destitute to a great degree of a knowledge of the general dealings of God with his church, their graces languish, their affections are cold, their stupidity and corruptions increase, and their loved Saviour is almost forgotten. They are greatly burdened with the cares of life; the necessary labors for a comfortable living, and for a desirable provision for their families, are great, engaging. their constant attention, and they find themselves little disposed to attend to the more important concerns of the life to come. In the new countries, Christians do not have their usual proportion of influence; in the general efforts for pre-eminence which necessarily prevail in an unestablished state of society, the virtues of the Christian character must be obscured. Thus, though God has his witnesses in the new countries, their efforts are feeble, and their success is small.— Of the foreigners, who compose no small portion of the population of our western country, some few, with strong attachments to particular modes and forms in religion, appear to be humble Christians.— But the greater part of them left their native countries with the desire of an emancipation from all the bonds of social order, civil and religious.

The state of the settlements in the western country is such as to render it very difficult for the people to procure the ordinances of divine instruction The people are widely dispersed over extensive territories; most of the settlements are small, and frequently, at a distance from each other. Usually there are not more than twenty or thirty families, seldom more than fifty or sixty within a convenient distance for public worship. Of this number a considerable part, in many settlements the majority, wish to have no religious service, and no religious observation of the Sabbath. The residue are frequently attached to different systems of religious sentiments, frequently to such as are very erroneous, and thus are unable to unite in any uniform mode of Christian practice. Such a state of things being favorable to the progress of error, errorists of various descriptions readily improve the opportunity to inculcate their favorite notions, which, however variant from each other, are all prejudicial to the cause of truth.— Under such circumstances, it is not to be wondered that the correct ministrations of the gospel are very little if at all enjoyed; that the ordinances of Divine truth are almost unknown. The difficulty of procuring qualified teachers of religion, where there is a disposition to make the attempt, is great; and the obstacles and disappointments attending such attempts, often produce discouragement. The difficulty of procuring religious books greatly diminishes their circulation. They are scarce and dear, the most of the people feel unable to bear any expense beyond the necessaries of life, and no charitable or literary establishments encourage the diffusion of religious knowledge. While not a small part of the people, from a want of early education, are unable to derive any benefit from the use of books, a general neglect of those means of information becomes in a degree habitual with those who are better able to improve them.-With all these obstacles to the propagation of religious knowledge, it is not to be forgotten that the western country derives no assistance from the

provisions of public law. A people, who have long been used to the aid of civil institutions for the support of the ordinances of religion, do not perceive, and cannot appreciate their salutary effects. Without the influence of the laws of this State, which require that every family should be furnished with a bible, that every apprentice, and every indented child, male or female, becoming of age shall have a bible, and that the bible shall be constantly used as a school-book in common schools, it is impossible to say how many families in Connecticut would be destitute of the word of life. With all these provisions, the agents and members of the Bible Society often find families who have not the sacred volume in their house. The western states, generally, have no laws to encourage the diffusion of religious knowledge, or the maintenance of Christian institutions, but rather they studiously avoid every thing of the kind..

From this cursory view of the religious state of the western country, we need not be surprised at the unfavorable facts, which are disclosed in Mr. Mills' letter. It is rather a matter of pleasing thankfulness, that divine Providence has provided for them, against so many obstacles, such a portion of gospel instruction as they appear to enjoy. Some particulars contained in the letter may very properly be noticed. "South of New-Connecticut, few bibles or religious tracts have been received for distribution among the inhabitants. The Sabbath is greatly profaned; and but few good people can be found in any one place." Of the country further down the river Mr. Mills observes, "There are in the Indiana Territory, according to the last census, 24,520 inhabitants, and there is but one Presbyterian minister, Mr. Scott living at Vincennes. The Methodists, and Baptists are considerably numerous. In the Illinois Territory, containing more than 12,000 people, there is no Presbyterian or Congregational minister." Of the largest and oldest of the western states, it is said, "There are, in Kentucky, as nearly as we could ascertain, 33 Presbyterian ministers, 61 churches, and 1,200 communicants." He mentions a separate Presbytery, a part of which is in Tennessee, containing eleven ministers and about 1000 communicants. The denomination called New-Lights have 15 ministers, 20 churches, and 1000 communicants. There are also 6 Roman Catholic priests, and 12 places of worship." "In the state of Tennessee, there are 22 Presbyterian ministers, and 45 churches. The Baptists have in this state a number of socie ties." Respecting the Mississippi Territory, the letter observes"There are at present 4 Presbyterian ministers in the territory, and five or six churches. Whole number of communicants one hundred and thirteen. The Baptists have 6 ministers, and 5 licentiates, about 15 churches, and 494 communicants. The number of the Methodists is about equal to that of the Baptists." In the Orleans Territory, with the exception of one Methodist preacher, there was no minister of any protestant donomination. The whole number of Presbyterian and Congregational ministers mentioned, is ninety-eight. As most of these have two Congregations in an individual charge, the number of congregations supplied, including those supplied by candibe about two hundred. These cannot be estimated to average more than sixty or seventy families. For

all those who do not voluntarily attach themselves to a congregation, are considered as having no connexion with it. There are thus about 78000 people supplied with religious instruction, by Presbyterian and Congregational ministers. But this supply is partial, as the most of the ministers preach to two different congregations.— A considerable number of preachers and congregations of other religious denominations are mentioned But on the examination of the statement it will appear that the supply of Christian instruction even from these is but small. The Baptists prevail principally in Ken. tucky. Of these it is said there are 142 preachers, 263 churches, and 21,660 communicants. The greater part of these preachers sustain that character but partially, preaching or exhorting as circumstances or a disposition may afford opportunity, pursuing the work of the ministry, not as the business, but merely as an occasional duty of life. A considerable part of them do not preach steadily on the Sabbath, and the greater part do not sustain the ministerial character on any other day of the week. In saying this, I mean no intimation concerning their moral or Christian character, but merely to show in what sense they are to be considered as teachers of religion. It is well known to be the practice of that denomination, particularly in the western country, to receive to their communion the greater part of those who are considered as belonging to their congregation, including many youths and children. In this number we cannot reasonably include more than 7 or 8 thousand families. Probably about 45,000 people.-The Methodists are the most numerous in Tennessee. Mr. Milis mentions that they have about 80 ordained preachers, 125 licentiates, 13,500 whites in society, and 500 blacks. The most of these preachers are termed "local preachers," and preach but little. They are generally engaged in mercantile, mechanical, or agricultural employments, and some of them in the concerns of civil life. Their circuit preachers, which constitute the smaller part of their number, are generally laborious, and preach much. Those who are considered as connecting themselves with this denomination, are received into their classes, or societies. Many belong to the classes, who are not communicants in the churches. Of those who are said to be in society there are 14,000. Twice that number of people may be considered about the amount of their connexion. The other religious denominations are few. The number of preachers mentioned, besides what have been noticed, are 43. It is also observed there are a considerable number of preachers of the denominations which have been noticed, in different parts of the country, whose numbers could not be ascertained. According to the inferences which have just been made, the number of Baptists in Kentucky, and the number of Methodists in Tennessee, including all the people belonging to those denominations, amount to 73,000. Of these and the other denominations which are mentioned, excepting the Presbyterian, in the countries taken into the account, it may be con ́cluded there are about as many more. About 146,000 people who may be said to enjoy religious instruction. Yet a great portion of those who administer this instruction, without detracting at all from the purity of their intentions, must be very indifferently qualified for the sacred employnient. But few have been educated with a view to the