ilege according to its importance, and then let the father, and the mother, and the son, and the daughter, and the servant, lay, weekly, a light tax upon their pride, and another upon appetite needlessly gratified; and add to these savings another item acquired by some special effort for the purpose; and another, as God shall have prospered their lawful industry, and the result of the whole would be an abundant supply. Any ten families of ordinary property, could better afford to support the Gospel, than to do without it. When societies calculate what they can afford to give for the support of the Gospel, they go upon the supposition, that what they do give is so much subtracted, annually, from the whole amount of their income; a supposition, which is utterly erroneous; for, in fact, as it respects the diminution of property, they give nothing. The Gospel is not a debtor to those who support it, but they are debtors to the Gospel. It does not subtract from the property of a society, but adds to it more than it takes away. It is God himself who has said, "honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thy increase, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." This duty of supporting the worship of God has not ceased with the Jewish dispensation, nor has this promise been repealed; and the whole providence of God to this day, has been a practical confirmation of his faithfulness in its fulfilment. The Jews often distrusted this assurance, and robbed God to save their property; but they were always reduced by the experiment. They sowed much and brought in little, and when it was gathered, God did blow upon it. The dew of heaven was stayed, and the earth did not yield her increase. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer

for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts, and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.*

The same rule of administration is regarded still; the curse of heaven still fastens upon communities that despise the Gospel, and neglect its support. Their decline in outward prosperity, is notorious; and their restoration is no less manifest, when, convinced of their folly, they make a competent provision for the public worship of God. Nor is the fact mysterious, or miraculous; since the life of man, his health, his wisdom to plan and strength to execute, the life and vigor of his flocks and herds, every stalk of grain and every blade of grass are in the hand of God. In ten thousand ways he can add to, or subtract from your income. A fit of sickness, a broken bone, a profligate child, a vexatious lawsuit, a dearth or a flood, a murrain among your cattle or a blast on your field, may cut off, at once, all your sacriligious savings; while his blessing can, in as many ways, make you rich and add no sorrow with it. You may give therefore, with an unsparing hand, as exigencies demand, for the support of the Gospel, and it shall be given unto you again, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over. Your cruise of oil shall not fail, and your barrel of meal shall not

waste.

My beloved brethren in the ministry,

Permit me to address to you also, a word of exhortation on this interesting occasion. If the views we have taken in this discourse are correct, have we not occasion to blush and to tremble at our past deficiencies? But what shall we do? Weary of our Master's work, or disheartened by past delinquency, shall we stop, and in despondency resign our commission and abandon our work? Or shall we this day renew * Malachi, iii. 9, 10, 11, 12.

our ordination vows, and go home to our people, resolving, in the strength of the Redeemer, to do better for the time to come? Which of us could bear to leave our work as it is, and go to judgment with the account of his stewardship? How many superfluous things have we done, wasting our precious time? How many important duties have we neglected, putting in jeopardy the souls of our people? How often might we have spoken to edification, when we have held our peace? How many pastoral visits might we have made, which we have not? How many district lectures might we have preached, which have not been heard; how many precious prayer meetings attended, which, through our negligence, have had no existence; and how feeble, in our societies, is the whole amount of our moral influence, compared with what it might have been, had we done our duty with all our might? What shall we say, brethren? Shall we seek to lighten the tax of guilt by denying the extent of our duty? It is at our peril that we do it. The glory of God, the prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom, the welfare of souls, the terrors of the Lord, the love of Jesus, and our own solemn vows,—all demand at our hands, more than has been suggested in this discourse. Twice have we given ourselves to the Lord-once when he delivered us from the horrid pit, and again when he counted us faithful, putting us into the ministry. The vows of God are upon us, and we cannot go back. We must do our duty; wo be to us if we do not preach the Gospel, and fulfil its appropriate duties. Besides, we live in a peculiar day. Exertions which once might suffice to avert desolation, are not sufficient now. The law which operated once to prevent the dissolution of congregations, can be evaded, and is evaded by every man, whose impiety, or covetousness, or resentment, prompts him to do it. Personal attachment to the minister is now the strongest bond of union; and to hold together by this bond, a society of fallen men, demands no ordinary vigilance and fidelity. Our predecessors might do less than their duty, and the

primary impulse unresisted, would cause things to move on in the right way. But now, the resistance is increased, and the impelling forces diminished; and nothing but an impulse carefully and constantly applied, will keep things in their proper course.

The necessity of study is not diminished, but the necessity of action has greatly increased. Action is now the order of the day; for, beside the peculiar exigencies of our own people, and the churches in this State, such a field of labor is opening before us as the world never saw. Jesus is coming quickly to take possession of the earth, and is now putting in requisition the hearts, the thoughts, the time, and strength, of all his ministers; and which of us will not rejoice that it is so, and give him all?

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SERMON V.

THE BIBLE A CODE OF LAWS.

Psalm xix. 7, 8, 9, 10.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple: the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes: the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey, and the honey comb.

We have, in this Psalm, a concise account of the discovery of the glory of God, made by his works and by his word. "The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handy work." But these disclosures of the heavens, "whose line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world," though they create obligation, and discover guilt, are not sufficient to restrain the depravity of man, nor to disclose an atonement for him, nor to announce terms of pardon, nor to sanctify the soul.

Adapted to the

But the Law of the Lord is perfect. exigencies of a lost world, it speaks on all those subjects on which no speech is heard from the heavens, and is attended with glorious efficacy. It converts the soul; it makes wise the simple; it rejoices the heart; it produces a fear of the

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