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in the image of God and the Redeemer. ciple of action so efficacious as that of the social affections, by which men are perpetually assimilating themselves to one another, was not to be neglected by the great founder of our religion. He has consecrated it in the formation of christian churches, and thus erected the strongest rampart against the incursions of evil example, and the influence of a "world that lieth in wickedness."

In considering these words, there are three things to which I would request your serious attention :

In the first place, I shall state what those communications are which may be termed "evil." Secondly, Explain the way in which they operate so as to "corrupt good manners:" and

Thirdly, Shall endeavour to enforce the warning, or exhortation, insinuated or comprehended in the passage, "Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners."

I. It will be natural to inquire, What are "evil communications?" It is plainly impossible, in the present state of the world, entirely to avoid intercourse with bad men; this would be, as the apostle observed, "to go out of the world." "I write unto you," said he, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, "not to company with fornicators; howbeit, not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters, for then must ye needs go out of the world but now I have written to you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother

be a fornicator, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one, no not to eat."* The intercourse of society must be maintained, without respect to the characters of men, to such an extent as the business of life requires. No one can possibly avoid occasional intercourse with those with whom habitual communications would be in the highest degree dangerous. If he is led into such society by the demands of his calling, the very necessity of going into it, in distinction from his choice of it, will excite a degree of caution well calculated to counteract the contagion; and, being in the path of duty, such a person may expect to be upheld by the succours of divine grace, which are never withheld from those who commit themselves to the guidance of God. An unsocial spirit, that would lead us, like the Essenes of old, into the solitudes of the wilderness, and to desert the active stations of human society, though it would be accompanied with the advantage of being entirely exempted from evil example, would be utterly inconsistent with the genius of christianity, and the example of our great Lord. But still, we must not, under pretence of yielding to the necessary calls of business, cultivate and cherish that "evil communication" which is here said to "corrupt good manners."

1. Now, in the first place, that communication may be justly regarded evil, in the highest sense, which is corrupt in relation to its immediate tendency to taint the purity of the mind by associations of a * 1 Cor. v. 10, 11.

lascivious and sensual nature. That conversation which is calculated to bring before the mind images of indelicacy and impurity, which owes its zest and force to the power of such associations, and is adapted to familiarize the mind to that from which a pure and chaste imagination recoils, must be considered in the highest degree of this kind; and how large a proportion of many societies owe their attraction almost entirely to this ingredient! The real christian will never, for a moment, put himself, voluntarily, into a society where this contagion prevails, and will take the earliest opportunity of escaping from it, if by accident he is thrown into such company.

2. But, short of this, that may be denominated evil communication, where the parties are of such a character that religion is not adverted to, or thought of in a serious or practical manner, where it has no hold upon the mind, where the fear of God is evidently dismissed, and there is no scriptural rule of action.

The mere absence of religion is sufficient to constitute that evil communication against which we are guarded. Those persons whose conversation is not plainly vicious, but who appear to have no true fear of God, no regard to the obligations of religion, who evidently live "without God in the world," without any habitual reference to a future state, must be considered as constituting a class of characters, with which, he who earnestly seeks his salvation will not voluntarily come into contact. It is not to be supposed that the

christian can always select, even as the associates of his confidential hours, those who are partakers of divine grace, those who are really converted to God; though, as far as possible, it will be his wisdom to select such as these: yet, it is not too much to say, that he should avoid, as much as possible, any intimate connexion with such as appear to be not at all influenced by the considerations of religion, and seem entirely strangers to its hopes, fears, restraints and prohibitions; though their conduct may be in other respects unexceptionable and inoffensive.

3. It is almost unnecessary to observe, that is an evil communication, in a high degree, which abounds with objections to christianity, and is calculated to produce a doubt, either of its divine origin, or of the certainty of its most important truths. He who wishes to have his faith confirmed in the evidence of christianity, will never form an intimacy with those who are opposed to that evidence; who have thrown off the restraints of religion, renounced allegiance to the Saviour, and adopted the loose and sceptical doctrines of a licentious age.

4. And to this class we may add those who have discarded the peculiar doctrines of christianity, and who are envenomed with an antipathy to them, so as to be desirous, on all occasions, to multiply proselytes, by winning men to their own persuasion in regard to the distinctive points in which they are at variance with real christians of all ages. Such as have endeavoured to corrupt the

fundamental principles of christianity must, in the esteem of persons who hold those principles sacred, be regarded as tempting to "evil communication." To this caution we are led by the context; for those who corrupted the faith of the Corinthians were not such as had rejected christianity altogether, not such as had entirely relapsed into heathenism or Judaism, but those who had denied the fundamental testimony of the apostles, contradicted the primary truths of christianity, and introduced another and different gospel from that which the apostles had promulgated. The apostle John lays down an injunction on this subject, which must be regarded as still in force: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God; he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." "If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed. We are not to encourage an intercourse of a voluntary kind with them, nor place ourselves under their influence for that influence must be considered as antichristian in proportion as such persons have deviated from the fundamental doctrines which are taught in christianity.

5. They whose moral principles are loose, with respect to the great obligations of justice and equity, who indulge themselves in dishonourable practices, who propagate loose and licentious maxims with regard to the mode of conducting * 2 John, ver. 9, 10.