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WESTIN, JiREV FRÅN C. O. ROSENIUS 323
which have taken place in the kingdom of Christ here, and attracted
the attention and sympathies of Christians for these last weeks. The
revivals, continually increasing, especially in some parts of the country,
are, of course, one of these; and secondly, the change in our
legislation, by which legal religious liberty has been acknowledged to separated
churches, as the royal proposition of a dissenter-law for these churches
has been approved of [by] the diet.
This last occurrence has certainly been communicated to you by
the political newspapers. I may, however, briefly mention to you that
the new law for religious liberty, which now authorizes the members
of the church of the State to go over to every other Christian confession
and form a separate church, very much resembles the dissenter-law
which has been valid in Norway these last years. There is only one
paragraph of the new law which I fear will be an occasion for future
difficulties, and perhaps even persecutions—namely, that paragraph
which, though it gives to every one who has gone out from the church
of the State and formed a separate congregation, full liberty for the
practice of his devotion—it nevertheless forbids him to work upon the
very members of the church of the State in order to engage them to
go out of it. As I think that this very activity may be regarded as a
duty binding 011 the consciences of some who have the idea that it is
necessary for life and salvation to join their churches, and that Christ
and the fidelity due to him requires that they ought to defy all
prohibitions and persecutions, for the sake of bringing the members of the
church to adopt their opinion. And of what effect are laws and
persecutions in such cases ? These are my fears; but the hand of the Lord is
over all things, and time will show what He intends to do with us. If
you wish to know the whole of the above mentioned dissenter-law, I
will have it translated and send it to you.
As to the revivals in our country, they are much increasing in
certain places. We look at it in astonishment, and wish only to praise
the Lord for his wonders among us, and pray that He who has begun
a good work here, will also perform it to the glory of His holy name.
The awakenings generally go on in a more quiet and reflecting spirit,
The religious awakening in Sweden has not attracted so much attention as
the great revival in Ireland; but that there has been a great and marvelous work
of grace in that land, is an undoubted and important historical fact. One, out of
fourteen of the whole people, or 250,000 out of a population of 3,500,000 are
reckoned among the converts. The same practical fruits have followed this
outpouring of the spirit in Sweden as in Ireland, in an increased attendance on the
means of grace, in an improved state of morals, and especially in a decrease of
intemperance. The following letter from our missionary, the Rev. Mr. Rosenius,
shows that the work of the Lord is still progressing, and can hardly fail of being
read with peculiar interest.
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