and life and immortality brought to light, may be justly regarded as that division of the word of truth, which, to the believer in Jesus, is of infinite importance. Earthly enjoyments take to themselves wings and fly away. All that is dear to us below the sun will soon depart. The wrinkle of age and the infirmities of decayed constitutions admonish us that our time is but short. Look we at the dear companions of our bosoms? There are the wastes of time and the marks of decay. Look we at the rose of health and the lily of beauty in the circle of our domestic delights? How soon will the worm of mortality wither these sweetly blushing flowers, and strew their leaves in the dust! How soon will that glorious sun, which hath illumined our delighted eyes, cease to give us light, and all the charms of nature recede from our enjoyment. With such reflections we advance to the margin of this perturbed ocean of mortality, and here we see our friends, one after another, drop into the yawning deep, and they are hid from our eyes, which shall see them no more! On this dark ocean the day star of hope arises; of that hope which is an anchor to the soul entering into that within the vail whither the forerunner is for us entered. By this holy light we look to the blooming fields of immortality with the assurance that we shall meet our kindred souls in those mansions of everlasting peace and joy. How precious is this theme of divine truth. Let the minister of the word duly regard this most important subject as an antidote for all the troubles of life, and as a victory over mortality and death.

6thly. Another division of the word of truth may embrace the teachings of that divine favour, by which our sins are forgiven, and the smiles of our heavenly Father cast most benignantly upon

us.

Such is our weakness, such are our moral infirmities, that we need constant instructions, by

which we may be taught what to avoid and what to pursue. In his epistle to Titus, St. Paul has left us a rich legacy. He says; "The grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and righteously, and godly, in this present world." You will carefully notice, my friends, that such is the teaching of that grace of God which bringeth salvation to all

men.

Our opposers contend, that a doctrine which embraces all men as the objects of the divine favour, teaches licentiousness; yet this is the rock on which we are taught to set our feet, that we may be able to resist ungodliness and worldly lusts. On this rock we place our confidence; for we are commanded not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good. By this impartial grace we are taught to live soberly. If we live soberly we shall live according to wise and prudent rules of temperance. Gluttony will be avoided; and the luxuries of the table will be guarded against. Drunkenness will be held in just abhorrence, and the excess of wine restricted. Without sobriety even the pleasures of sense are blunted and rendered insipid; and as for the rational and sweet enjoyments of religion, the intellect is not in a situation to receive them.

By this grace we are taught to live righteously. To live thus, we must do unto others as we would they should do unto us. Such is the proneness of the human heart to vary from the standard of moral right, that the divine teacher has in his mercy, accommodated us with a rule so laconic, so easy to be remembered, that we may at all times have it at command. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." Whoever will contemplate carefully the impartial grace of God, which designs the salvation of al men, will be taught at once, that such grace na

turally leads us to love our neighbours as ourselves, and to embrace their happiness as our

own.

By this grace we are also taught to live godly. To live so we must live piously. We must exercise an habitual devotion to God. Our thoughts should be constantly directed to our Father in heaven. Such a habit will act as an easy yet efficient restraint on the passions, and will render all the duties of religion our meat and drink. This division of the word of truth requires the careful attention of the minister, that his instructions may be salutary and profitable to the people.

7thly. And lastly; As man is beset with temptations to sin against God by disregarding his divine commands, and to follow blind inclinations to his own injury, our heavenly Father has most graciously provided such admonitions, such warnings, and even threatenings in the faithful word of truth as are suited to our condition, and are necessary for our profit. This general subject constitutes a most valuable division of the faithful word, and should occupy the attention of the minister.

"He that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons." Jesus says, he "will reward every man according to his works." Let the faithful minister duly regard this division of the word; let him raise a persuasive, a warning voice against sin; yea let him faithfully apply the threatenings which are recorded in the scriptures of truth, and that to their full extent. But let him never forget that these threatenings are those of a Father and a friend; that they are indications of love and favour, not of implacable wrath and indignation. The punishmeuts denounced in the word of God are the chastisements with which the Father of our spirits corrects our faults and amends our hearts; they were never designed to be used as instruments of unmerciful torture to the gratifica

tion of the wicked passions of sinful men. Let these threatenings be applied as the scriptures apply them; not as they are applied by the erring creeds of men's inventions. Finally let the minister duly and properly attend to every division of the word of truth, and thereby show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.

SERMON XXI.

POLICY OF PRIESTCRAFT.

DELIVERED IN BOSTON, FAST DAY, APRIL 3, 1828.

JEREMIAH, V. 30, 31.

"A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof ?"

RESTING on the authority of our text, as well as on the evidence of all history and observation, as far as they relate to the subject, we are authorized to state the deplorable fact, that in all ages and in all countries, that order of men, called the ministers of religion, have been much prone to the love of power. This disposition is not peculiar to any one order or grade in society, but seems to be indulged by most of men accordingly as they are possessed of means for its gratification. The ministers of religion, generally speaking, and especially the popular clergy, have many advantages in their hands, and they seldom fail to improve them, of gaining an ascendency over the common people, and of securing the confidence of the populace; so that when they come to exert a most rigorous and unreasonable rule over them, the people love to have it so.

The account, given in the text, informs us how the priests of Israel obtained their power to rule the people. There was in that nation another order of men called prophets, whose profession was to foretel future events. It seems that these two