Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-01-04
VOL. IX....NO. Is.

sinner. 1t Is evident you were never con-
verted, never possessed one acceptable
emotion of love to God; but that you en-
tered the wide gate OF sel6shness, land now
are in the broad way to hell. g. ..-
p. For some time past, | have been al.
most driven to adopt the same conclusion;
and yet confess myself reluctant to yield
to your opinion.
NJ. After so much apparent frankness
and honest inquiry after truth, do you find
that even there your sel6shness was mis-
leading you2 You can now see that you
never have fully abandoned your hope,
and never really intended to do so; but
that even when you have applied to Chris
tians for advice, it has been with the Sc
cret view of being comforted. rather than
having your false ground detected. Me-
thinks, it is time you were alarmed at the
deceitfuness of your heart; and that, in
stead of trying TO submit as an experiment,
while secretly retaining your false hope
through fear of being lost if it was aban-
doned, instead of pretending to desire a
thorough knowledge of yourself while
wilfully closing your eyes to truth and
wasting your time in asking God to unde-
ceive and make you right; instead oftrust-
ing to sincerity in error, you should arouse
all the powers of the soul for this warfare,
consult your cool reason, and determine, if
perish you must, to die in the honest pur-.
suit OF truth. Sincerity in error, while
possessing rational powers to discern the
truth, will not excuse you at the bar of
God for your reason must be exercised
at your own peril. The true Christian
possesses that honest heart which leads
him instantly to examine and yield to the
full force of evidence against himself All
who are included in those IA classes whose
selfish conversions | have before describ-
ed, with many others, are impenitent sin
ners and probabl y each one of them, as
] the truth upon examination untolds his
true character even now has the same re-
luctance to apply the truth to himself, the
same dishonesty towards his own soul
that you have evinced and it is not i'm
possible but that, as others have done, he
may yield to his inclinations trife with l..
truth, and reap damnaton.
p. am resolved to know and Weld to
the truth, whatever my inclinations may
be.
M. BY examining few principles you
, will become satisfied that YOU are impeni-
; tent; and those whose religious expert
ence has been before described, can, in the
course of this inquiry, ascertain the same
to be true in reference to themselves
Self-love, or the desire of happiness, is
natural affection, possessed by man in in
nocence, and in itself not sinful; but, when
this desire is permitted to exert an undue
influence, it degenerates into selfshness,
and becomes sinful. Selfshness is undue
selflove-it is preferring our own inter-
ests or happiness, to the dictates of right,
to all other objects however proper-it is,
as has been before remarked, making our
personal happiness our chief end, or the
best object which the mind desires. The
selfish man chooses all other things as
subordinate to this end One pursues
wealth as the means of attaining personal
happiness; and another engages in reli-
gious duties with view of obtaining the
same object Both are selfish, and differ
onl V in this, that one bends his energies
to obtain worldly happiness, and the other
to secure future enjoyment. All mankind
know and admit, that every unregenerate
man is selfish. Selfshness is wrong; it
is impenitency itself; it is the root and
substance of all sin and evil it leads in
its thirst for qualification, to every act of
disobedience towards God and to an entire
disregard of the rights and happiness of
others when they conflict with our inter-
ests; itproduces unhappiness to ourselves,
and brings misery upon others IN this
world, and obliges God of rectitude to
punish the offender, in that which is flu
ture. Selfshness is hateful when fully.
hating it, and disikng them on account of
it, even while he loves to indulge in it him
SELF God hates it, as impenitency itself,
and abhdfs all who indulge in it. S Ps S.
Selhshness was the sin which Satan charg-
ed upon Job; in other words that all his
love to God was caused by present and
anticipated favors Doth Job fear God
for nought? Hast thou not made hedge
: around him--and blessed the work of his
hands-and his substance is increa sed,"
&C. The trial of Job was intended to set
tie the truth or falsity of this most serious
charge, and it resulted in showing that he
was disinterested in his love, while it prov
ed the sel6shness of that of his WIFE
When she became satisfied that God would
not promote her plans of personal happi-
ness. her hitherto concealed hatred Of him,
was developed by her urging Job. as there
was no further ground to hope he was
their friend, to "curse God and de-
An examination of the history will show,
that the following principles were assum-
ed as true by both God and Satan, and of
: course they cannot be denied by the FOL-
lowers Of either. |. That certain kind
, of love may be exercised by one who is an