currence. If such is the ignorance of the most enlightened heathens, what must be the state of those, among whom even human wisdom is unimproved? 1 will not speak of the sensualist, whose wives are multiplied according to the means he has to support them: I will not speak of the misjudging female, who esteems it her greatest glory to immolate herself on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband: 1 shall not mention those deluded bigots, who fall willing victims beneath the wheels of a ponderous Jaggernaut.

4. Now, provision is made to remove those evils by the word of the Lord. In the Scriptures God is revealed as a being of almighty power, infinite holiness, inflexible justice, and unbounded love. The Scriptures assure us, that the Lord hath no delight in iniquity; that he is a spirit, and that he principally regardeth the dispositions of the heart, in those who worship him.

5. As to the difference between sin and duty, in many cases reason must be dubious and hesitating in its decisions; in many, it is corrupted and biassed by the heart, and in all, its conclusions, when drawn through a train of deductions, which grow less evident at every step, strike with little force on the mind where they are opposed by the vices and passions inherent in our nature. The Scriptures leave us no time to hesitate. Thou shalt, or thou shalt not, under the authority of the seal of revelation, is quite sufficient.

6. As to the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, some faint glimmering of it is afforded by the

light of nature; but the view is too indistinct to amount to any thing like certainty, and too feeble to operate as a tie of moral obligation. The entrance of God's word hath given light on this subject: life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel. It hath rendered the future as certain as the present, and drawn, from eternity, motives the most sublime to animate and strengthen virtue, and the most awful to discourage vice. Such are the general advantages, as to matters of faith, which are derived from the Holy Scriptures.

We proceed now to speak of its advantages,

II. As it relates to practice or duty.

1. It has been already observed, that by the Scriptures we are taught the perfections of the Divine Being, and the manner in which he should be worshipped. And in addition to what has been said, I now add, there is no other book in the world, beside the Bible, in which we find either a satisfactory idea of Deity, or the manner in which he should be worshipped. It is there we learn, both that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him."

2. By the same light, by which we are taught the divine perfections, we are also taught the deformity of sin. "I had not known sin," says St. Paul, “but by the law." In the fabulous records of pagan antiquity, we read of a mirror invested with properties so rare, that by looking into it, its possessor could perceive any object he wished to see, however remote; and discover, with equal ease, things behind

and before, above and below. Such a mirror, but infinitely more valuable than this fictitious glass, do we really possess in the Bible. It contains straight rules, and therefore shows us the crooks and blemishes of life by looking into the perfect law of God, we learn that we have sinned, and our language then is, like that of Job, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes." True repentance supposes a light which never dawned on the mind of man, unaided by the illumination of God's word. Many philosophers felt the propensities to evil, but never could tell, till assisted by revelation, from whence they proceeded. Not having learned that the spring was corrupted by the introduction of moral evil, they were at a loss to determine how the streams became polluted. But by the written word we learn that God created man upright, but that he has sought out many inventions. We learn that he has incapacitated himself to stand on a footing of absolute righteousness; but that, through the merits of Jesus Christ, his atoning sacrifice and advocate, repentance will avail in his behalf; and that God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly who believe in Jesus.

3. The Scriptures require us to love God with filial, and our fellow-creatures with fraternal affection: they require rulers to be just, ruling in the fear of God; and subjects to lead quiet lives, in all godliness and honesty they require the husband to love his wife even as himself, and the wife to reverence her husband: they require parents to educate their

children in the fear of the Lord; and children to honour their parents: they require masters to treat their servants with lenity; and servants to be submissive and faithful: they require, in all, temperance, contentment, and industry: they, moreover, provide for the speedy termination of animosities, and all these duties are enforced by the most interesting motives drawn from eternity. Destroy the volume of revelation, and you render us profoundly ignorant of our Maker, of the formation of the world, of our present duty, and of our future destination: you take from us every thing which prevents existence from becoming our greatest curse.

How great, then, should our efforts be to distribute this invaluable treasure? Should we not bring with us, into the discharge of the duties of this Society, all the ardour of exertion, and all the liveliness of Christian feeling? Will it be said, that few of our fellow-creatures are destitute of this volume, but by their own negligence? Admitting this to be true, it is no reason why we should neglect them. God does not deal so with us; and real benevolence bids us act without any prospect of reward in this life, save the satisfaction of a peaceful conscience, and of having done good.

This, my brethren, is the age of action. The missionary spirit has gone forth into the world, and holy men, who reckon not their lives dear unto them, are labouring on the outskirts of the world, and reclaiming another, and another section from the wastes of nature, and adding to the spreading empire of the, King of Zion. And Bible societies, in our day, are

146. HARRIS'S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS.

related to missionary societies, as the gift of tongues was related to the commission of the apostles, in the primitive church. If, therefore, we have an opening for Bibles in our neighbourhoods, let us show our zeal to supply the lack. If our neighbours are supplied, let us then send forth our contribution, to aid those who are employed elsewhere in this glorious work.

Let us not forget to cultivate our own field also, lest thorns should grow in it, while we gather wheat from abroad. And while, by our exertions to circulate it, we declare our faith in the Bible as the word of God, let us see to it that our hearts and lives are conformed to its precepts.