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ties of religion, are, so far as I have had opportunity to observe, not only laid aside, but disclaimed, opposed, and contemned.

Liberality, in modern language, denotes a general indifference to truth and righteousness; a general opposition to all that is awful in the Scriptural declarations, to all that is spiritual and heavenly in the divine doctrines and promises, and to all that is strict, exact, and just in the meaning of Scriptural language, when construed according to the same rules by which men interpret every other book. Modern liberality is charitable towards all errors, and all licentiousness, except that which is openly scandalous; and wonderfully uncharitable towards sound doctrines and evangelical virtue.

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You, my young friends, are yet in a great measure to learn, that very good names may be given to very bad persons and things; and very bad names to those which are very good. Of John the Baptist it was extensively said, "He hath a "devil;" of Christ, that he was "a gluttonous man, a winebiber, a friend of publicans and sinners." If, then, they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more must they be supposed to call them of his household? The disciple ought certainly to think it enough, if, in this respect, he finds himself in no worse condition than his Lord. To you it is indispensable for your comfort, peace, and salvation, that you be not allured to error and sin by the flattering titles given to both; and that you be not terrified away from truth and righteousness by the hard names profusely lavished on them. Burst the thin veil of words, and make your way directly to things. You will then find, and find with complete conviction, that he who is styled a fanatic, an enthusiast, and a bigot, is often incomparably a wiser and a better man than he by whom he is thus styled; that no man is ordinarily more irrational than the rational Christian; and that there is no greater bigot than the man of professed liberality.

Be not, therefore, conformed to the world in the things here mentioned, nor in any others like them; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Aim in every thing at evangelical soundness in your doctrines, and at scrupulous

evangelical exactness in your duty. Motives, countless in their number, and infinite in their moment, you cannot want, to force your compliance with those precepts. Among others, the superior ease, safety, and certainty with which in this way you will perform your duty, ought never to be forgotten. It is impossible to be a half-way Christian. Try as much and as long as you please to serve God and Mammon, and you will find the trial fruitless. To the one you will certainly hold, the other you will as certainly despise. The bare supposition that it may be safe and proper to change the tenor of the divine declarations, to lessen the demands of the divine precepts, or to lower the terms of acceptance with God, ought to terrify him by whom it is admitted. Let all men remember, that whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. The straight course of truth and righteousness is a high way, in which wayfaring men, though fools, need not err. A winding path is always seen to vary from the point originally proposed. He who wanders in it will often be in doubt, and often perplexed, concerning his course; generally wearied, and frequently discouraged, by its length; and not unfrequently hopeless of arriving at the place of his destination. At the same time, he will be in extreme danger of turning aside into a by-way, which, though seeming direct at first, will wind continually farther and farther and farther about, and will finally conduct him away from eternal life.

Whatever others may say or do, to you there is, there can be, but one thing needful. It is, to choose that good part, which shall never be taken from you. All things else are dross and dung; and, however desired by mankind, are unworthy of being compared with this, even for a moment. God has smiled upon you from the dawn of your being. He has given you your birth in a Christian land. He has educated you in knowledge and understanding. He has called you to wisdom, and glory, and virtue.

Let not these blessings be given to you in vain. Receive them with unceasing and unspeakable gratitude. Employ them to the inestimable purpose for which they were given by

your divine Benefactor. Remember that each of you has a soul to be saved or to be lost; that the world, that the universe, weighed against it, is the small dust of the balance; that the Son of God died to purchase for you salvation; that the Spirit of God waits with infinite kindness, to renew you unto eternal life; that heaven has opened its doors to receive you into its delightful mansions; that all things are ready; that the Spirit and the bride say to each of you, “Come, "and take the water of life freely ;" and that it will be a transporting, a rapturous sight to behold all of you, without one missing, assembled in the kingdom of the blessed. But to this end, you must be resolved not to be conformed to this world. If any man love the world, remember that the love of the Father is not in him. Boldly, therefore, meet its frowns, and steadily despise its smiles. Disregard alike its hard and its soft names, its flatteries, and its censures. Resolutely and invariably reject its loose doctrines, and abhor its licentious practices. It may be more pleasant, but it will not in the end be more profitable, to go decently to perdition, than to go scandalously. It is your business to do neither. Heaven is your proper home. Point your course to that glorious and happy world; and let every step which you take here advance you towards immortal life. Let angels behold your progress, and rejoice over your repentance, and the spirits of the just prepare to welcome you to their divine assembly.

SERMON XXIV.

ON THE PARENTAL CHARACTER OF GOD.

To the Candidates for the Baccalaureate in 1809.

EPHESIANS v. 1.

"Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children.”

THERE is probably no scene in the present world which presents a more interesting prospect to the eye, or which is usually described in terms of more ardour and animation, than a well regulated family.

The natural relations come more easily, uniformly, and directly to the heart than any other, and among these the domestic relations excite peculiar interest. There is nothing in this world which is so venerable as the character of parents; nothing so intimate and endearing as the relation of husband and wife; nothing so tender as that of children; nothing so lovely as those of brothers and sisters. The little circle is made one by a single interest, and by a singular union of affections

ment.

Children are born with a thousand circumstances of endearThe anxiety and distress with which the dawn of their being is attended, make them objects of peculiar tenderness from their birth. They are then absolutely helpless, and live only on the care of others. Every moment, both when awake and when asleep, they demand of their parents, with irresistible

claims, the protecting hand, the watchful eye, and the ever attentive heart. If neglected, they suffer; if forgotten, they perish. How rarely are they forgotten; how rarely, even in poverty, sickness, or profligacy, which, especially the last, so effectually harden the heart against all objects beside those of absolute sclfishness. The very cares and toils which are employed on them, only render them more beloved, and an ample reward is furnished for all the labour, expense, and suffering undergone in their behalf by their health, their safety, their comforts, and their smiles.

Infancy speedily terminates in childhood. At this period commences a new train of affectionate and unceasing efforts to form their minds to knowledge, virtue, and usefulness. While the care and expense with which their daily wants are supplied, are continued, and increased, both are additionally demanded to furnish those supplies which are now become necessary for their minds. In this situation the parents become more amiable, and the children more interesting. Their minds, hitherto confined to the house and the court-yard, are now, for the first time, permitted to wander abroad to the confines of that universe in which they are ultimately to live and act. By ten thousand successive cares and efforts, both of the parents and of others employed by them, the children are taught successively the various kinds of knowledge which will expand their views, and qualify them for business. At the same time, those useful habits of thinking and acting are begun, which will enable them to be beneficial to themselves and their fellow-men. Gradually, as they advance in years, capacity, and strength, they are matured into the character and the hopes of adult age; are taught to think, judge, and act for themselves, and are enabled to sustain the relations, and perform the duties which may render them blessings to mankind.

To this end all the instructions which they receive, all the impressions made on their hearts, all the examples set before their eyes, and all the habits inwrought into their character, unitedly conspire. Of the innumerable efforts made in their education, not one, unless radically unwise and mischievous, has probably been made in vain. How many have these

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