rapes; however, of these, and many other things, time will be the
manifester, and the Lord the judge.

The principal objections urged, seem to arrange themselves under
three heads:--The influence of which this principle would rob the
Church;--the children it would leave without a provision;--and that
it would require those having estates to sell them, and would not be
satisfied with the dedication of the interest or profits arising out
of such property. My business, however, is not with the consequences
of the precept, but with the precept itself. Yet still I would say,
there is in this reasoning as deistical a disregard of the Lord's
especial government of his Church and people, as could be expected
from an infidel.

I purpose publishing, the Lord sparing me, a few remarks separately,
in relation to the first of these subjects--that of Influence;--the
nature of that which is Christian, and its distinction from that
which is worldly, and which operates either upon worldly men, or that
worldliness which still adheres to every one of us. And I shall
endeavour to show, that a grain of the pure gold of Christian
influence, which is the exhibition, in truth, of the mind of Christ,
springing from the love of Christ in the soul, is no wise increased
in value by being beaten out into plates as thin as imagination can
conceive, and employed to gild the brassy admixture of earthly
influence,--the titles, honours, rank, wealth, learning and secular
power of this world. It looks indeed like a mighty globe of gold; and
the eyes of the inexperienced may be caught by it; but the least
scratch proves its brassy character. If this simple principle had
been perceived, how differently would many public religious bodies
have been constituted for the purpose of extending the influence of
Christ's Kingdom.

With regard to the other two points, I feel they may be disposed of
under one general argument, which is this: That the principle of
God's government is paternal; and therefore its primary object is the
development in us of the character of dear children, the essential
feature of which is unlimited dependence. But, of course, this
relation implies its co-relative, the Fatherly character of God; and
the least entrenchment upon daily dependence for daily provision,
either for temporal or spiritual supplies, affects God's honour in
this character. Then, as to our children, David knew that they shall
not beg their bread--at least, that he