We have dwelt on the unexampled prosperity of the country; and what bosom has not glowed with patriotic fervor in contemplating our unparalleled advantages our rapidly extending population-our increasing wealth our abounding plenty! But, while we rejoice in our national prosperity, have we not reason to "rejoice with trembling?" Prosperity, alike in nations and individuals, has always been considered a condition of peculiar danger. What Christian patriot has not trembled for his country, when he has reflected on the danger to which she is exposed by her unprecedented prosperity-on the worldliness which it naturally generates-on the dissipation and vice which it produces-on the forgetfulness of God and eternity which it so frequently creates? How important is it that some safety valve should be provided for this excess of prosperity! And where shall we find one so favorable-so desirable, as in the spirit of benevolence which distinguishes the missionary enterprise? If part of the wealth, which now flows in upon us on every side, and which threatens to inundate the land with luxury and vice, were devoted to the blessed cause of spreading the Gospel among the heathen, we should be relieved of much of our anxiety for the moral purity of our rising country. With what different feelings should we regard those in our community who are diligent and eager in the pursuit of wealth, if we had reason to believe that they were laboring for Christ; that they were active in their worldly business-not for their own selfish indulgencies-not to amass unwieldy fortunes to leave to their heirs, but to aid in diffusing the knowledge of a Saviour's name among the nations of the earth? We rejoice to know that there are such disinterested,

devoted men in our land, men who labor to increase in wealth, that they may be better able to advance the cause of the Redeemer in the world. May their number be greatly increased! Then will our nation's prosperity, instead of being the occasion of deep anxiety to the Christian patriot, be regarded with unmingled satisfaction. Then shall we rejoice in every successful scheme to increase our country's wealth and to enlarge her influence, when we know that objects, other than those of selfish aggrandizement and personal indulgence, engage the attention of the rich and the influential. Then will enterprise and benevolence go hand in hand. Improvement in virtue will keep pace with improvement in art; and, while under the smile of a gracious providence, we bask in the sunshine of national prosperity, "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for us, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."

III. The wants of a guilty, dying world, demand that, as we have freely received, we should freely give.

Notwithstanding we have reached the nineteenth century of the Christian era, it is still comparatively true that the whole world lieth in wickedness. Hundreds of millions of our race are living without God and without Christ in the world. "Darkness still covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." Until the last half century the spirit of missions was scarcely known in the Christian church. During that period societies have been formed by different denominations of Christians, and missionaries have been sent forth to propagate the Gospel among the heathen; and here and therc, in the wide waste of

the regions of paganism, we see a bright and verdant spot, where the Gospel has been planted, which, while it gladdens the eye of Christian benevolence, only serves to make the surrounding darkness more visible. The commencement of the missionary enterprise, however, has served to convince us of its practicability, and of the immensely valuable benefits to the souls of men, to be derived from its prosecution. New fields are continually opening for the introduction of the Gospel, and there never was a time when the prospect of success was more apparent and encouraging. Still, however, the great work of evangelizing the world remains to be accomplished; and in this blessed and glorious undertaking, the eyes of a regenerated Christendom are fixed upon the American Church. She is expected to do her duty! Freely has she received of the great Head of the Church. He has given her power, not indeed to work miracles, but to send out her thousands of devoted young men, whom God has prepared by the influences of his Holy Spirit, to preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Freely should she exert this power. Freely should she give her sons and her daughters, and with them her prayers, her influence, and her wealth, for the propagation of that Gospel to which she is so deeply indebted for her enviable distinction in the Christian world. The dawn of Christianity, like the dawn of the morning, arose in the east. There the star of Bethlehem guided the wise men to the manger that contained the light of life, and the hope of the world. But God, in his providence, is now directing the eyes of men to the west, for the revivification of his truth, and the facilities to send back to the eastern hemisphere the light

and joy which once irradiated its horizon. And shall they look in vain? Shall the expectations, excited by the peculiar advantages enjoyed by American Christians to send the Gospel to the heathen be disappointed? Shall we give occasion to the enemies of our free institutions to question the efficiency of the voluntary principle, in maintaining religion at home, and in propagating it abroad? Shall the wants of a guilty, dying world plead in vain with a people who have received so freely of the blessings of the Gospel? Forbid it every principle of gratitude-of patriotism of love to the souls of men!

Lastly. A regard to the glory of Christ demands that, as we have freely received, we should freely give.

And what motive can be more powerful, and more constraining, and more effective than this? With the patriot, we may plead a regard for his country's free institutions, as an inducement to send the Gospel, accompanied with these institutions, to heathen lands. Upon the philanthropist, we may urge the wants and woes of suffering humanity, as a motive to propagate that religion, which alone contains a healing balm for every wound. But to the Christian we present a purer, a higher, a nobler motive. In his case, we address no selfish principle. We appeal directly to his heart-a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit, and filled with the love of Christ. What consideration can be named with the glory of his Redeemer, to induce him freely to give of what he has so freely received? And what can so effectually promote the glory of Christ, as the propagation of his Gospel-as the conversion of the world? With the

believer no motive is so strong as the love of Christ. It is the absorbing theme of his meditation. It is the governing principle of his life. To him Christ is all and in all. The great question with him will ever be, What can I do for Christ? What can I do to advance his kingdom? To be instrumental, in however humble a degree, in promoting the glory of Christ, is the great object of the Christian's life. And what Christian is there but can do something for Christ? Freely have we received a spirit of grace and supplication, freely should we pour out our souls to a God hearing prayer, that his kingdom may come and his will be done on earth as in heaven. Freely have we received the word of life, let us freely communicate that unspeakable blessing to those who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Freely have we received the bounties of a kind and indulgent providence, let us freely give of our substance to promote that cause which lay so near the Redeemer's heart, that he may see the travail of his soul and be satisfied.

From our subject we perceive the guilt of American Christians, in neglecting to send the Gospel to the heathen. We cannot withhold our aid from this blessed and glorious cause, and be guiltless. How can we answer it to our consciences, in the reception of such rich and varied blessings, to be indifferent to the spread of the Gospel in the world! Will not other nations, less favored, less distinguished than we are, rise up in judgment with us and condemn us; for, if they had the advantages which we possess, they might have improved them for the salvation of the world. Will it not be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for us?