CSN - LightWing Messages - Changing Our Hearts in 2025!

1/12/2025

Jan 12, 2025

Responsibility before God and humanity

“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.

“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:19-32

TOP 25 CHANGE OF HEART QUOTES (of 73) | A-Z Quotes

FOUNDER’S MESSAGE:

We Continue to Wish Our Readers a Great Start to 2025!

Americans witnessed incredible turmoil in 2024, but it is now history – what has been done has been done. Yet, there are repercussions and reverberations that will force any leftover business into this brand new year. Obviously, an election year has a way of shaking up the “business as usual” continuum, or rocking the status quo. One consequence of such a divisive election is that the American people are divided regarding the direction the nation is heading. Nonetheless, the division may not be a true indication of support, or lack of support, for the direction America is headed. Specifically, the toxic mainstream media manipulation is taking a toll on the psyche of the population, and it may mean that people are under illusions rather than grasping the truth.

For people who are easily manipulated by the MSM, or for low-information voters, the election may not have turned out the way they may had hoped based upon public misperceptions. For Christians, conservatives, and other patriots, America has seemingly dodged a bullet - both figuratively and literally in recollection of the threatening assassination attempt on Trump‘s life. For civil Americans, who still have faith in the preservation of the self-evident truths and our God-given freedoms, there are opportunities to tighten our collective hold on such freedoms in 2025. Nevertheless, it would be a fatal mistake to see the outcome of the 2024 elections as the sole solution to America’s multitude of problems. This may not be that obvious to people at the beginning of this year, but it may become more clear as we proceed deeper into 2025.

Last week, in our first LightWing Messages of the year, our theme was focused on “Renewing Ourselves Before God.” (Unfortunately, that edition only made it to some of our readers on January 5). I offered a message about beginning 2025 and including our Heavenly Father by means of a new year’s resolution, or a determination to actually consider and practice the truth of what Jesus shared with us, in order to become better disciples of Jesus because we are actually part of his family. In that message, I suggested we develop a more mature level of faith and strengthen the bonds of love within such a family.

My perspective:

A more mature level of faith and a healthy conscience permit greater understanding, greater involvement, and a greater ability to put into practice the biblical admonition that we love one another, and that includes the tough love of teaching right from wrong to our children and to the society at large. A greater degree of maturity of faith is not just requested of God’s children - it is truly necessary now more than ever. If families do not reinforce faith or some spiritual values in their children, it is detrimental to the society overall and over the long term.

Today’s message is “How to change your heart,” by Rev. Charles Finney. It is only the first half of his complete sermon on this topic. That sermon is over 8,000 words, and it followed another similar message that both covered a more in-depth appraisal of a complex aspect of one of the true challenges for Christian disciples of how to grow or change our hearts in the way that Jesus had directed all of his followers.

Finney was a reformed attorney who felt the call of God and obeyed. He tried to translate what he grasped about developing one’s relationship to God to his followers. He understood a great deal and to ignore this sermon because it is too long would be a mistake. There is much truth in this sermon, and in my humble opinion, it would be of great worth to those struggling to change their hearts in such a time as this. Part II of Finney’s message will follow in a future LightWing edition. There is much to receive and digest in this message we offer today.

As I mentioned in last week’s Founder’s Message, “the Christmas season offers an opportunity to jump start a commission to set out on a journey for the new year to join the Messiah” to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness! We truly do have the opportunity to re-focus upon all that matters most to us. There are many expectations for 2025, many resolutions that have been made, but perhaps the one that would be a key to everything becoming better would be each of us changing our hearts to do good, to create good families, to promote goodness rather than to meekly tolerate corruption and chaotic depravity.

Our genuine hope is that you enjoy this edition and take in as many of the intelligent features and perspectives that may be of interest. Don’t get greedy! Only absorb what you can easily digest! Read, enjoy, absorb and as always, if readers believe the perceptions of our writers or links to articles are worthy of others’ attention, please share with those whom you hope would benefit from the Citizen Sentinels Network. Or simply, invite them to go to Substack and get a free subscription – Citizen Voice on Substack

These words are being freely offered to you – intended to shine light unto our paths, as written: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 - KJV

May God bless our readers and all of their loved ones. May God bless All His Children!

May we, who are called by our Father in Heaven, approach Him in humility, after ridding ourselves of all our offenses we have committed, and focus on getting “a new heart and a new spirit.” May we “Repent and live!” May we take this much more seriously, as our lives are short and life is absolutely precious. May we truly seek His Kingdom and His righteousness.

Charles Grandison Finney Quote: "Repentance is a change of willing, of feeling and of living, in ...

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR HEART

by Rev. Charles G. Finney - 1836

EZEKIEL xviii. 31 -- Make you a new heart, and a new spirit, for why will ye die?

In the former discourse upon this text, I discussed three points, viz:

1. The meaning of the command in the text.

2. Its reasonableness.

3. Its consistency with those passages which declare a new heart to be the gift and work of God.

In answer to the first question, "what are we to understand by the requirement to make a new heart and a new spirit," I endeavored to show, negatively,

1st. What is not the meaning of the requirement. That it does not mean the fleshly heart, or that bodily organ which is the seat of animal life.

2dly. That it does not mean a new soul. Nor,

3dly. Are we required to create any new faculties of body or mind; nor to alter the constitutional powers, propensities, or susceptibilities of our nature. Nor to implant any new principle, or taste, in the substance of either mind or body.

I endeavored to show that a change of heart is not that in which a sinner is passive, but that in which he is active. That the change is not physical, but moral. That it is the sinner's own act. That it consists in changing his mind, or disposition, in regard to the supreme object of pursuit. A change in the end at which he aims, and not merely in the means of obtaining his end. A change in the governing choice or preference of the mind. That it consists in preferring the glory of God, and the interests of his kingdom, to one's own happiness, and to everything else. That it is a change from that state of selfishness in which a person prefers his own interest above everything else, to that disinterested benevolence that prefers God's happiness and glory, and the interests of his kingdom, to his own private happiness.

Under the second head, I endeavored to establish the reasonableness of this duty, by showing the sinner's ability, and the reasons for its performance.

And under the third head, that there was no inconsistency between this and those passages which declared a new heart to be the gift and work of God.

I come now to a fourth inquiry, to which the discussion of the above named topics naturally leads, viz. How shall I perform this duty, and change my own heart? This is an inquiry often made by anxious sinners, when they are commanded to change their hearts, and convinced that it is their duty to do so, and of the dreadful consequences of neglecting to obey. They anxiously inquire, HOW SHALL I DO IT? By what process of thought or feeling, is this great change to be wrought in my mind? The design of this discourse, is to help you out of this dilemma; to remove, if possible, the darkness from your minds; to clear up what seems to you to be so mysterious; to hold the lamp of truth directly before you; to pour its blaze full upon your path, so that if you stumble and fall, your blood shall be upon your own head. And,

1st. I observe, negatively, that you cannot change your heart by working your imagination and feelings into a state of excitement. Sinners are apt to suppose, that great fears and terrors, great horrors of conscience, and the utmost stretch of excitement that the mind is capable of bearing, must necessarily precede a change of heart. They are led to this persuasion, by a knowledge of the fact, that such feelings do often precede this change. But, sinner, you should understand, that this highly excited state of feeling, these fears, and alarms, and horrors, are but the result of ignorance, or obstinacy, and sometimes of both. It often happens that sinners will not yield, and change their hearts, until the Spirit of God has driven them to extremity; until the thunders of Sinai have been rolled in their ears, and the lurid fires of hell have been made to flash in their faces. All this, is no part of the work of making a new heart; but is the result of resistance to the performance of this duty. These terrors, and alarms, are, by no means, essential to its performance, but are rather an embarrassment and a hinderance.

To suppose that, because, in some instances, sinners have had those horrors of conscience, and fears of hell, before they would yield, that, therefore, they are necessary, and that all sinners must experience them before they can change their hearts, is as unwarrantable an inference, as if all your children should maintain that they must necessarily be threatened with severe punishment, and see the rod uplifted, and thus be thrown into great consternation, before they can obey, because one of your children had been thus obstinate, and had refused obedience until driven to extremities. If you are willing to do your duty when you are shown what it is, fears, and terrors, and great excitement of mind are wholly unnecessary: God has no delight in them, for their own sake, and never causes them only when driven to the necessity by pertinacious obstinacy. And when they are obstinate, God often sees it unwise to produce these great terrors, and will sooner let the sinner go to hell without them.

2nd. You cannot change your heart, by an attempt to force yourself into a certain state of feeling. When sinners are called upon to repent, and give their hearts to God, it is common for them, if they undertake to perform this duty, to make an effort to feel emotions of love, repentance, and faith. They seem to think that all religion consists in highly excited emotions or feelings, and that these feelings can be bidden into existence by a direct effort of the will. They spend much time in prayer for certain feelings, and make many agonizing efforts to call into existence those highly wrought emotions and feelings of love to God, of which they hear Christians speak. But these emotions can never be brought into existence by a direct effort to feel. They can never be caused to start into existence, and glow and burn in the mind at the direct bidding of the will. The will has no direct influence over them, and can only bring them into existence through the medium of the attention. Feelings, or emotions, are dependent upon thought, and arise spontaneously in the mind when the thoughts are intensely occupied with their corresponding objects. Thought is under the direct control of the will. We can direct our attention and meditations to any subject, and the corresponding emotions will spontaneously arise in the mind. If a hated subject is under consideration, emotions of hatred are felt to arise. If an object of terror, of grief, or of joy, occupies the thoughts, their corresponding emotions will of course arise in the mind, and with a strength corresponding to the concentration and intensity of our thoughts upon that subject. Thus our feelings are only indirectly under the control of the will.

They are sinful or holy, only as they are thus indirectly bidden into existence by the will. Men often complain that they cannot control their feelings; they form overwhelming attachments, which they say they cannot control. They receive injuries, their anger arises, they profess that they cannot help it. Now, while the attention is occupied with dwelling upon the beloved object in the one case, the emotions of which they complain, will exist of course; and if the emotion be disapproved of by the judgment and conscience, the subject must be dismissed from the thoughts, and the attention directed to some other subject, as the only possible way of ridding themselves of the emotion. So in the other case, the subject of the injury must be dismissed, and their thoughts occupied with other considerations, or emotions of hatred will continue to fester and rankle in their minds. "If a man look on a woman, to lust after her, he has committed adultery with her already in his heart;" he is responsible for the feelings consequent upon suffering such a subject to occupy his thoughts.

Voluntariness is indispensable to moral character; it is the universal and irresistible conviction of men, that an action, to be praise or blame-worthy, must be free. If, in passing through the streets, you should see a tile fall from a building upon which men were at work, and kill a man, and upon inquiry you found it to be the result of accident, you could not feel that there was any murder in the case? But if, on the contrary, you learnt that the tile was maliciously thrown upon the head of the deceased, by one of the workmen, you could not resist the conviction that it was murder. So, if God, or any other being, should force a dagger into your hand, and force you against your will to stab your neighbor, the universal conscience would condemn, not you, but him who forced you to this deed. So, any action, or thought, or feeling, to have moral character, must be directly or indirectly under the control of the will. If a man voluntarily place himself under such circumstances as to call wicked emotions into exercise, he is entirely responsible for them. If he place himself under circumstances where virtuous emotions are called forth, he is praiseworthy in the exercise of them, precisely in proportion to his voluntariness in bringing his mind into circumstances to cause their existence.

Love, repentance, and faith, may exist in the mind, either in the form of volition or emotion. Love, when existing in the form of volition, is a simple preference of the mind for God and the things of religion, to everything else. This preference may, and often does exist in the mind, so entirely separate from what is termed emotion, or feeling, that we may be entirely insensible to its existence. But although its existence may not be a matter of consciousness, by being felt, yet its influence over our conduct, will be such, as, that the fact of its existence will in this way be manifest.

The love of family, and friends, may, in like manner, exist in the mind, in both these forms. When a man is engaged in business, or journeying from home, and his attention taken up with other subjects, he exercises no sensible or felt love for his family; but still his preference remains, and is the mainspring that directs his movements in the business about which he is engaged, in order to make provision for them. He does not forget his wife, or family, nor act as if he had none; but on the contrary, his conduct is modified, and governed by this abiding, though insensible preference for them. While, at the same time his thoughts are so entirely occupied with other things, that no emotion, or feeling of affection exists in his mind. But when the business of the day is past, and other objects cease to crowd upon his attention, this preference of home, of wife and family, comes forth and directs the thoughts to those beloved objects. No sooner are they thus bidden before the mind, than the corresponding emotions arise, and all the father, and the husband, are awake and felt to enkindle in his heart. So the Christian, when his thoughts are intensely occupied with business or study, may have no sensible emotions of love to God existing in his mind.

Still, if a Christian, his preference for God will have its influence over all his conduct, he will neither act, nor feel like an ungodly man under similar circumstances: he will not curse, nor swear, nor get drunk. He will not cheat, nor lie, nor act as if under the dominion of unmingled selfishness; but his preference for God will so modify and govern his deportment, that while he has no sensible or felt enjoyment of the presence of God, he is indirectly influenced in all his ways by a regard to his glory. And when the bustle of business is past, his abiding preference for God, naturally directs his thoughts to him, and to the things of his kingdom; when, of course, corresponding feelings or emotions arise in his mind, and warm emotions of love enkindle, and glow and happify the soul. He understands the declaration of the Psalmist, when he says, "While I mused the fire burned."

I said, also, that repentance may exist in the mind, either in the form of an emotion or a volition. Repentance properly signifies a change of mind in regard to the nature of sin, and does not in its primary signification necessarily include the idea of sorrow. It is simply an act of will, rejecting sin, and choosing, or preferring holiness. This is its form when existing as a volition. When existing as an emotion, it sometimes rises into a strong abhorrence of sin, and love of holiness. It often melts away into ingenuous relentings of heart; in gushings of sorrow, and the strongest feelings of disapprobation and self-abhorrence in view of our own sins.

So faith may exist, simply as a settled conviction, or persuasion of mind, of the truths of revelation, and will have greater or less influence according to the strength and permanency of this persuasion. It is not evangelical faith, however, unless this persuasion be accompanied with the consent of the will, to the truth believed. We often believe things to exist, the very existence of which is hateful to us. Devils, and wicked men, may have a strong conviction of the truth upon their minds, as we know they often do; and so strong is their persuasion of the truth, that they tremble; but still they hate the truth. But, when the conviction of Gospel truth is accompanied with the consent of the will, or the mind's preference of it, this is evangelical faith, and in proportion to its strength, will uniformly influence the conduct. But, this is faith existing as a volition. When the objects of faith, revealed in the Gospel, are the subjects of intense thought, faith rises into emotion: it is then a felt confidence and trust, so sensible, as to calm all the anxieties, and fears, and perturbations of the soul.

Emotions of love or hatred to God, that are not directly or indirectly produced by the will, have no moral character. A real Christian, under circumstances of strong temptation, may feel emotions of opposition to God rankling in his mind. If he has voluntarily placed himself under these circumstances of temptation, he is responsible for these emotions. If the subject that creates these emotions is forced upon him by Satan, or in any way against his will, he is not responsible for them. If he diverts his attention, if he flees from the scene of temptation, if he does what belongs to him, to resist and repress these emotions, he has not sinned. Such emotions are usually brought to exist in the mind of a Christian, by some false view of the character or government of God. So, emotions of love to God, may exist in the mind, that are purely selfish, they may arise out of a persuasion that God has a particular regard for us, or some vain assurance of our good estate, and the certainty of our salvation, Now, if this love be not founded upon a preference for God, for what he really is, it is not virtuous love. In this case, although the will may have indirectly produced these emotions, yet as the will prefers God, not for what he is, but for selfish reasons, the consequent emotions are selfish.

To change your heart, as I have shown, in the former discourse, and repeated in this, is to change the governing preference of your mind. What is needed, is that your will should be rightly influenced, that you should reject sin, and prefer God and obedience to everything else. The question is, then, how is your will to be thus influenced. By what process, is it reasonable to expect thus to influence your mind. Until your will is right, it is vain to expect felt emotions of true love to God, of repentance and faith.

These feelings, after which perhaps you are seeking, and into which you are trying to force yourself, need not be expected until the will is bowed, until the ruling preference of the mind is changed. And here you ought to understand that there are three classes of motives that decide the will; first, those that are purely selfish. Selfishness is the preference of one's own interest and happiness to God and his glory. Whenever the will chooses, directly, or indirectly, under the influence of selfishness, the choice is sinful, for all selfishness is sin.

A second class of motives, that influence the will, are those that arise from self-love. Self-love is a constitutional dread of misery and love of happiness, and whenever the will is influenced purely by considerations of this kind, its decisions either have no moral character at all, or they are sinful. The constitutional desire of happiness and dread of misery, is not in itself sinful, and the consent of the will, to lawfully gratify this constitutional love of happiness and dread of misery, is not sinful. But when the will consents, as in the case of Adam and Eve, to a prohibited indulgence, it then becomes sinful.

A third class of motives, that influence the will, are connected with conscience. Conscience is the judgment which the mind forms of the moral qualities of actions. When the will is decided by the voice of conscience, or a regard to right, its decisions are virtuous. When the mind chooses at the bidding of principle, then, and only then, are its decisions according to the law of God.

The Bible never appeals to selfishness. It often addresses self-love, or the hopes and fears of men; because self-love, or a constitutional love of happiness, or dread of misery, is not in itself sinful. By thus appealing to the hopes, fears, and conscience, the mind, even of selfish beings, is led to such an investigation as to prepare the way for the enlightened and powerful remonstrances of conscience. Thus the investigation is carried on under the influence of these principles; but it is not the constitutional principle of self-love that finally determines the mind in its ultimate choice of obedience to God.

When under the combined influence of hope, fear, and conscience, the mind has been led to the full investigation and consideration of the claims of God,--when these principles have influenced the mind so far to admit and cherish the influences of the Holy Spirit, as that it becomes enlightened, and is led to see what duty is, the mind is then ripe for a decision; conscience then has firm footing; it then has the opportunity of exerting its greatest power upon the will. And if the will decide virtuously, the attention is not at the instant occupied either with hopes or fears, or with those considerations that excite them. But at the moment when the decision is made, the attention must be occupied, either with the reasonableness, fitness and propriety of its Maker's claims, or with the hatefulness of sin, or the stability of his truth.

The decision of the will, or the change of preference is made, not mainly because, at the instant, you hope to be saved, or fear to be damned, but because, to act thus, is right; to obey God, to serve him, to honor him, and promote his glory, is reasonable, and right, and just. This is a virtuous decision. This is a change of heart. It is true, the offer of pardon and acceptance has a powerful influence, by more fully demonstrating the unreasonableness of rebellion against such a God. While in despair, the sinner would flee, rather than submit. But the offer of reconciliation annihilates the influence of despair, and gives to conscience its utmost power.

Fourthly. You cannot change your heart by attending to the present state of your feelings. It is very common, when persons are called upon to change their hearts, for them to turn their thoughts upon themselves, to see whether they possess the requisite state of feeling. Whether they have conviction enough, and whether they have those emotions which they suppose necessarily precede a change of heart. They abstract their attention from those considerations that are calculated to decide their will, and think of their present feelings. In this diversion of their mind from the motives to change their heart, and fixing their attention upon their present mental state, they inevitably lose what feeling they have, and for the time being, render a change impossible. Our present feelings are subjects of consciousness, they have a felt existence in the mind, but if they be made, for a moment, the subject of attention, they cease to exist.

While our thoughts are warmly engaged, and intensely occupied with objects without ourselves, with our past sins, with the character or requirements of God, with the love or sufferings of the Saviour, or with any other subjects, corresponding emotions will exist in our minds. But if from all these, we turn our attention to our present feelings, and attempt to examine them, there is no longer anything before the mind to make us feel; our emotions cease of course. While a man steadily looks at an object, its image is painted on the retina of his eye. Now while he continues to direct his eye to the object, the image will remain upon the retina, and the corresponding impression will be upon his mind; but should he turn away his eye, the image upon the retina would no longer remain, and should he direct his attention to the mental impression, instead of the object that caused it, the impression would at once be effaced from his mind.

Instead, therefore, of waiting for certain feelings, or making your present state of mind the subject of attention, please to abstract your thoughts from your present emotions, and give your undivided attention to some of the reasons for changing your heart.

Remember, the present object is not directly to call into existence certain emotions, but, by leading your mind to a full understanding of your obligations, to induce you to yield to principle, and to choose what is right. If you will give your attention, I will try to place before you such considerations as are best calculated to induce the state of mind, which constitutes a change of heart.

First. Fix your mind upon the unreasonableness and hatefulness of selfishness. Selfishness is the pursuit of one's own happiness as a supreme good; this is in itself inconsistent with the glory of God, and the highest happiness of his kingdom. You must be sensible that you have always directly or indirectly aimed at promoting your own happiness in all that you have done; that God's glory and happiness, and the interests of his kingdom, have not been the leading motive of your life. That you have not served God, but have served yourself. But your individual happiness is of trifling importance, compared with the happiness and glory of God, and the interests of his immense kingdom. To pursue, therefore, as a supreme good, your own happiness, is to prefer an infinitely less, to an infinitely greater good, simply because it is your own. Is this virtue? Is this public spirit? Is this benevolence? Is this loving God supremely, or your neighbor as yourself? No, it is exalting your own happiness into the place of God; it is placing yourself as a centre of the universe, and an attempt to cause God and all his creatures to revolve around you, as your satellites.

Your success, in pushing your selfish aims, would ruin the universe. A selfish being can never be happy until his selfishness be fully gratified. It is certain, therefore, that but one selfish being can be fully gratified. Selfishness aims at appropriating all good to self. Give a selfish man a township, and he covets a state; give him a state, and he longs for a nation; give him a continent, and he cannot rest without the world; give him a world, and he is wretched if there is nothing more to gain. Give him all authority on earth, and while there was a God to rule the universe, his selfish heart would rankle with insatiable desire, until the world, the universe, and God himself were prostrate at his feet, his ambition could not be satisfied, his selfish heart could not rest. If then, you could succeed in your selfish aims, your success would subordinate and injure, if not ruin everybody else.

Is this right? But could you succeed in subduing the universe to yourself, then your happiness would not be obtained, for a selfish moral agent cannot be happy. Could you ascend the throne of Jehovah, could you wield the sceptre of universal government; could you appropriate to yourself the honors, and the wealth of the entire universe; could you receive the homage, the obedience of God and all his creatures, yet the very elements of your nature would be outraged, and while in the exercise of selfishness, conscience would condemn you, the very laws of your moral constitution would mutiny. Self-accusation and reproach would rankle in your heart, and in spite of you, you would be forced to abhor yourself.

Again. While you are selfish, all moral beings must hate and despise you; and it is impossible for a moral being to be happy, under the consciousness of being deservedly hated and despised. The love of approbation is a law of our nature, it is laid in the very constitution of the mind, by the hand that formed it. It is, therefore, as impossible for us to be happy under the consciousness that we are deservedly hated, as it is that we should alter the very structure of our being. It is in vain, therefore, for you to expect to be happy in the exercise of selfishness. God, angels, and saints, wicked men and devils, the entire universe of moral beings, must be conscientiously and heartily opposed to you, while you sustain that character. While conscience gives forth the verdict, that you deserve their hatred, and pronounces you unfit for any other world than hell.

Editor’s Note: