filled with strife and bitterness by things just so insignificant, as the use of an unscriptural and offensive form of speech. But this is a day of great things. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The zeal of Christ's ministers has a glorious object. They are laboring for the enlargement and peace of the church, and the conversion of the world; and they can very well afford to leave little things to others.

The free remarks which I have been making, have, as you have seen, related to the use of terms, where, according to the supposition, there is no real difference of opinion. But if there is a difference; and if any of those who are accustomed to speak of the sinner's ability without special divine influence, to renew his own heart and turn to God, believe that the sinner really has an ability which can avail to his conversion, or which can in the least degree be relied upon to bring him to repentance; or if they make more of the sinner's ability and free agency in the work of regeneration, than of the Holy Spirit; if they make the sufficiency of man rather than the sufficiency of Christ, prominent in their system; and if they intentionally treat the subject of the sinner's conversion so as to imply that God is not the efficient cause of the change, and that his special and sovereign influence may be dispensed with;-if these are the views which any ministers entertain, and these the modes of teaching which they adopt; then I must conclude that they have need to learn what are the first principles of the Gospel. If any man knows the desperate wickedness of the heart, and the work of the Holy Spirit; he must know that salvation is wholly of God; that he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy; and that those who are penitent and holy, are so, not as the result of their natural disposition or ability, but because they have been renewed by the Spirit of God. To ascribe regeneration to the power, the free will, or the efforts of man, or to the mere influence of truth, as its proper cause, to ascribe it to any thing but the agency of the divine Spirit, is, in my apprehension, a fundamental error-an error which robs God of his glory, and brings fatal delusion upon the souls of men. I am happy to see that you attach as much importance as I do, to the doctrine of divine influence. For you say in your Sermon, (p. 28,) "If the doctrine of man's free agency and natural ability does set aside the necessity of a special divine influence in regeneration, it cannot be true: for if there is a doctrine of the Bible which is unquestionable and fundamental, it is that of fallen man's dependence for actual holiness on the special influence of the Spirit; and if there is a fact which every man who is saved learns experimentally, it is the certainty of his per

dition, if Christ by his Spirit does not subdue his will, and reconcile him to God." And you say afterwards, (p. 30,) that the reclaiming of a sinful mind "furnishes occasion, probably, for the greatest display of omnipotence, ever to be witnessed by the universe."-This being our united view of the doctrine of divine influence, it cannot be thought strange, if we should deem it necessary to treat the subject with great care, and should be alarmed at any thing which can give countenance to the opposite error, just noticed, or which has the least appearance of approximating towards it. And any one who is really free from this error, and holds the orthodox doctrine of divine influence, will do an act of Christian kindness to many of his brethren, if he will so express himself, as not to distress them by false alarms.

Let me say in conclusion, that if the doctrine of man's lost and ruined condition and his utter insufficiency to recover himself to the moral image of God, and the necessity of his being renewed by the Holy Spirit, is in any measure overlooked by the ministers of Christ, or is brought into view less frequently, or is made less prominent, than its infinite importance demands; the consequences will undoubtedly be hurtful to the interests of the church. In regard to this point, I cannot express my views better than by referring to some weighty remarks in the late Report of the Synod of Geneva on the state of religion within their bounds. They mention it as one cause why religious excitements have declined, "that human instrumentality was made too prominent and too much trusted in, to the exclusion of the Spirit and power of God, and the simple exhibition of divine truth. God," they say, "having been overlooked, has overlooked us. In the effort to bless ourselves, we have lost the blessing of heaven. Attempting in our own pride and confidence to work our own deliverance, the Almighty arm has been withdrawn from us. Having lightly esteemed the influence of the Holy Ghost, we have been left without it to go on in darkness in our own chosen way." They then proceed to say:"We must use all the instrumentality of God's appointment with vastly more diligence and constancy. But not trusting in this to save sinners, we must, above all, and more than all, acknowledge God and the power of his Spirit, as the only agent able to overcome the deep aversion of sinners to all good, and make them obedient and submissive to his will."

Theological Seminary, Andover, Dec. 18, 1832.

LEONARD WOODS.

REVIEWS.

THATCHER'S LIVES OF THE INDIANS.

This work forms the forty-fifth and forty-sixth numbers of Harper's Family Library. The character of that series is too generally known to require notice here. Let it suffice to say, that it is an improvement on its English prototype, at least so far as the interest of American readers is concerned; inasmuch as it includes works upon subjects peculiarly adapted to the wants of the inhabitants of this continent. We apprehend that the Lives of the Indians will not suffer by comparison with any of the preceding numbers.

At no period of our history could Mr. Thatcher's book have appeared more opportunely. At no time could the statesman, the philosopher, or the Christian, have given his attention to the present condition and future prospects of the unfortunate aborigines more fitly than at present. Thousands of them are at this moment awaiting the crisis that is to decide their fate, and praying to our God, who is also their God, to avert the awful calamities which impend over them. Thousands of unjust and avaricious men are looking forward, with eagerness, to the moment when their hands shall no longer be restrained, and when they may enjoy the spoil of their victims, undisturbed by remonstrance. A few months only have passed since several hundreds of helpless savages were swept from the earth by the strong hand of violence. As far as we can learn, they were not the aggressors; the first blood shed in the quarrel was theirs; they did but defend the inheritance of their fathers. They were savages, but they were men; they wreaked their resentment barbarously, but let it be held in mind that the light of heavenly truth had never reached thein, that they had never been instructed to return good for evil, and that they did no more than follow the example of their soi-disant Christian neighbors. We, the inhabitants of the Eastern states, are implicated in these matters, in so far as we suffer such wrongs to be committed, having the power to prevent them. The reproach incurred by our southern and western brethren and their accomplice administration, will rest upon our memories as well as theirs. We have sent ministers of the Gospel to proclaim salvation through Christ, and him crucified, to the Indians; they have been treated like felons for following the exam

ple of their divine Master, and we have borne it without a murmur. Moreover, our fathers pointed out the path of iniquity in which the oppressors of the present day are walking, and so furnished them with an occasion to rebuke us and retort upon us. It is perfectly clear from Mr. Thatcher's book, that from the first settlement in North America, in 1607, to the present moment, the red men have been undergoing a regular, if not a systematic, wasting process, which neither policy, humanity, nor the precepts of Gospel revelation have interrupted for a moment. But,

Sera tamen tacitis pœna venit pedibus

the end is not yet. Heaven, doubtless for wise purposes, suffers the work to go on, and in some States the consequences are distinctly seen. To what is the present demoralization in a Section which has bid defiance to the laws of the land and the Supreme Court, owing, if not to the increasing avarice and spirit of violence which the partition of the golden lands of the Cherokees has occasioned? As the heart of Pharaoh grew seven times harder than at first, before the vengeance of Israel's God overtook him, so it seems that something is yet wanting to fill the cup of our national iniquity. It is surely time to pause in our career, and reflect, and we know of no book that will prove a better aid to reflection, on this subject, than the one before us.

There is one source of consolation for the sons of the "pilgrim fathers" to be found in the Lives of the Indians. We learn that our ancestors had some regard for decency in their dealings with the savages, if not always for right. Though they had a charter from their king, empowering them to take possession of the soil, they did not avail themselves of it. It does not appear in what light they regarded the claim of Massasoit to the soil; whether as a right of possession or mere occupancy; but whatever they thought of it, they at least bought it. And so they treated with the savages on all like subsequent occasions. They did not speak to their red neighbors of the king's divine right, which, it is now pretended, has passed to the sovereignties; nor did they tell them that their neighborhood was inconvenient, or that, having more land than they wanted, they must give up a part. For all they received, they gave a consideration; often a very small one, indeed, but still large enough to show their sense of equity, and to satisfy the savages. They effected no treaties by compulsion, they forbade no Indians to complain in their courts, and they made no laws to compel the natives to emigrate. Instead of being imprisoned and maltreated for their pious endeavors, missionaries

were encouraged to teach the Gospel, and Indians to learn. Sometimes, indeed, our ancestors took possession of lands by right of conquest, but their wars were never instigated by lust of gain. If we may trust the book under consideration, the pilgrims never expelled any tribe in order to cast lots for their possessions. We may thank Mr. Thatcher for having put it in our power so easily to rebut the charges which have so often been brought against us.

The author has shown much good feeling, and a proper sense of moral propriety, in his treatment of his subject. He does ample justice to all parties. While he admits that their precarious situation, and the excitement in which they necessarily lived, were some apology for the colonists, he allows that they attacked and exterminated the Pequods without adequate reason, and that they were wholly unjustifiable in putting their prisoners of war to death and selling them into captivity. He has a tear for the fate of the proud but honorable Miantonomo, and a frown for the crafty and selfish, though useful, Uncas. He seems to feel, as well as to understand, the difference between right and wrong. In all instances he lays down his premises clearly and fairly, and reasons upon them in an agreeable as well as philosophic manner. In a word, we have read his work attentively from beginning to end, without detecting an unsound conclusion or an expression offensive to morals or religion. It will not, we think, be thought a less valuable addition to American history, that it may safely be put into the hands of the young. We are not sorry that the author has touched lightly on the grossness of Indian manners and customs, for it would have diminished the interest which the truly noble qualities of his heroes inspire.

Mr. Thatcher, though a quite young man, and though his late years have been occupied by a professional study, is well known to the public as an able contributor to several of our best periodicals. We were prepared to expect much from his abilities, but a work like the Lives of the Indians is beyond our expectations. We speak not of the style,-though that is terse, nervous, and often elegant, or of the materials, much of which has been before the world in various shapes. The matter, partaking as it does of the nature of compilation, gives little scope to invention; nevertheless, the author has found occasion for many ingenious hypotheses.

The arrangement is much to our taste. As the powerful confederacies which have at different times menaced the colonies with destruction, existed at different times, and had no connection with each other, it was impossible to give the book the form of a continu