But from the considerations advanced in this discourse we may learn that these sentiments are entirely erroneous. No, my impenitent hearers, God does not compel you to walk in the broad road that leadeth to destruction. He neither commands nor compels you to sin. Nay, he forbids your choice of sin. He commands you by all the weight of his awful authority to repent. Every step which you take in the road that leadeth to destruction, is taken directly in the face of all God's prohibitions, and threatenings, and entreaties. Every inch of your progress in the way of sin presses you harder and barder upon the point of his avenging sword; and unless God, in great mercy, had drawn it back, it would long since have pierced the vitals of your happiness. God, instead of urging you down to hell, has done every thing to allure you to heaven. He has presented before you the mightiest inducements to lead a life of faith aud holiness. And remember that, if at last you sink into endless ruin, the throne of God will be entirely guiltless of the blood of your soul.

2. Every sinner must turn from the evil of his ways, or he will Anally perish. This truth is implicd in the text. Else, why does God call upon the wicked to turn from their evil ways and live? He knows that sin, if persisted in, will ruin the sinner; and therefore he urges him to abandon it for

ever.

The same truth is plainly asserted in the word of God. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." "And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie." I know that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Neither does he take any delight in sin. He compassionates the guilty; but he has no sympathy with guilt. It is that abominable thing which his soul hateth. And never will he permit the impenitent sinner to taste of the joys of heaven. His indignation will at last awake, and burn against the hardened transgressors of his law for ever and ever.

Nay, it is impossible to save from death the soul that continues in the love and the practice of iniquity. For sin, operating according to its own nature, will destroy the happiness of the spirit. It darkens the understanding, depraves the heart, corrodes the passions, and burdens the conscience. And how can a soul in such a condition be happy? How can it be otherwise than miserable? It contains within itself the causes of its misery, the materials and elements of its destruction. And it can be happy in no place while it remains in such a state,

!

Place it, if you please, in the very paradise of God-let it behold all the glory of the Deity, and all the bliss experienced by the redeemed around the throne of the Eternal-let it gaze upon the verdant fields and extended plains of the heavenly Canaan, and it will be wretched still. It is diseased by sin; and as well might you expect to restore to health a man pining away in sickness, in consequence of placing him in a stately palace, and surrounding him with worldly pomp and glory, as to cure in this way the sickness of the sonl. It is dead in sin; and as well might you expect to raise a dead body to life, by having the glories of nature shine upon it, as to quicken into spiritual life and happiness a soul dead in sin, in consequence of its being surrounded by the glories of the upper world. The truth is, before a soul spiritually dead can be made susceptible of spiritual enjoyment, it must be raised to life. He, who raised the dead to life while here on earth, must quicken the soul, and raise it from the grave of trespasses and sins. The same Spirit that brooded over the watery elements at the creation must hover over the elements of the soul, and out of the chaos of its troubled thoughts and feelings bring forth a new creation adorned with the "beauties of holiness." All this may now be done for the sinner. He lives under the redeeming economy of the Gospel, under the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. And if, during the season of probation, he abandons sin, and returns to God and duty through faith in Christ, he may attain eternal life. But if his immortal interests are neglected till the period of his earthly trial close, he will sink down forever in the abyss of misery and ruin.

3. If impenitent sinners are eternally ruined, they are selfruined. God has declared that he is willing to save every repenting sinner. He has made adequate provision in the Gospel to accomplish this object. He presses the offer of salvation upon the sinner in ten thousand forms. He has stationed a messenger of mercy at every turn and corner in the downward road to ruin, to call after the deluded sinner and entreat him to turn and live. And if he refuse to listen to these merciful invitations, if he will pursue with unyielding determination his dark and guilty course, he certainly can blaim bo one but himself when he finds himself overwhelmed with remediless destruction. Mansions of eternal rest in heaven were offered to him for an everlasting habitation, but he preferred the path that led him to the prison of despair. Eternal life was placed within his reach, but he chose the way that leadeth to eternal death

In concluding this discourse, permit me to ask you, my im

penitent hearers, "Why will ye die ?" Why will ye ruin forever all your bright and pleasant prospects? Why will you separate yourselves from God, the source and fountain of all happiness? Why will you destroy your own peace of mind and rush upon destruction, when apprised of your danger? O my friends, awake, I entreat you,-awake now to your everlasting welfare. "As though God did beseech you by me, I pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

SERMON CCLV.

BY REV. SYLVESTER WOODBRIDGE,

NEW-YORK.

THE DEVOTED PASTOR.

I. TIMOTHY, iv. 15.-Meditate upon these things; give thyself· wholly to them.

The gift communicated to Timothy as a minister of Christ by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, involved relationships to God, to the church, and to the world, requiring all his time, talents, and efforts. In temporal pursuits, eminence and success can result only from unity of purpose and unyielding perseverance. In the sacred calling these qualifications are equally indispensable, and the want of them is ruinous if not unpardonable. The truths to be investigated; the active duties to be performed; the various dispositions and characters of men to be conciliated; the hope of usefulness; the claims of Christ; the overwhelming consequences connected with the ministry; and the solemn account to be rendered at the bar of God-separately and together, urge upon the Christian minister "to give himself wholly to his work."

1. THE TRUTHS TO BE INVESTIGATED are too vast and profound to be appreciated by a mind distracted with other and contending interests. The theological student must not linger among material scenes, nor stop to gather flowers in gardens of fancy. His spirit must nerve its wing to reach the pure source of created existences-the throne of God. The character, the

plans of Jehovah, and the motives determining the immutable moral laws by which creatures and their actions are governed, constitute the medium of his contemplation upon the works of creation and of providence. Amidst the displays of infinite power and goodness pervading the universe, one object above the rest awakens his adoration; it is the cross of Jesus Christ. A crucified Saviour, seen by the eye of faith, renders other things, however august, comparatively insignificant. From the moment this world emerged into being, onward through eternity, by the rays emanating from Calvary, fresh glories are disclosed on every page of the divine operations. For the benefit of man, a worm, the stupendous scheme of redemption was devised. Mysteries here cluster in boundless profusion to exemplify the perfections of the Deity, and at once to humble and enrich the fallen sinner.

Patient, prayerful research; diligence in comparing spiritual things with spiritual; and a vigor of mind which will not succumb to discouragement, are necessary to the profitable investigation of the Bible. As the miser values gold, and to acquire or preserve it passes sleepless nights, so the minister of Christ must obtain and retain a thorough knowledge of the Gospel by the cheerful exercise of indefatigable self-denial.

II. The public and ACTIVE DUTIES of the ministry require entire devotion to the work. The results of the study are to be communicated to the people. In preaching, acceptable words are to be sought out. Nothing perhaps is more difficult than to combine propriety above the censure of a refined taste, with a common phraseology understood by all. Of the style of the Bible, this characteristic is eminently predicable.

Our translation is considered a standard of the English language, and yet, among all classes, the expressions are familiar. The preacher who wishes to instruct his hearers will not fail to avail himself of its rich and simple variety.

The constant object in preaching, indeed, should be plainly and faithfully to exhibit the method and conditions of salvation. Every sermon ought to contain enough of truth to deprive the sinner of the excuse of ignorance, though it were the first and the last sermon he should ever hear.

People must be visited. In proportion to the direct application of truth, beneficial effects are usually realized. In private conversation we have closer access to the heart and conscience, than when the individual addressed is one among a multitude, andhe has less opportunity of diverting the shaft by applying our remarks to others a device of Satan which effectually counteracts all conviction of personal guilt and danger. A minister suitably impressed with the worth of souls will not fail to go from house to house, warning and persuadiug every

man to be "wise for himself." His interviews with his people will savor of the thrilling themes connected with his calling. When it is said the minister is coming, his object will be understood. Pastoral visitation, however, important as it is, when circumstances demand, must yield to the higher claims of the pulpit. The professing Christian who, for the pleasure of social intercourse with his pastor, would starve the congregation, to say the least, must be very selfish.

The sick and the dying must not be neglected; too often, alas! a painful duty. Standing by the death-bed of an impenitent sinner, whom we have repeatedly entreated to flee from the wrath to come, but who has disregarded the expostulations of mercy, is an awful position. What remorse, what unavailing groans are the frequent accompaniments of such a scene! Writhing in the embraces of the king of terrors, the victim bewails the past and wails for the future-God slighted, Christ rejected, and the soul undone! And is there no redeeming counterpart to this frightful tragedy? Yes; the triumphant exit of a Christian, to whom God, through Christ, gives the victory. In the dying believer, the excellency of the religion we preach shines out with unequalled Justre, and we retire from the spectacle rejoicing to consecrate ourselves wholly to the ministrations of that Gospel which is now felt to be the power of God unto salvation.

To the rising generation special regard is due. On the young mind a kind expression may leave an indellible impression. Seed sown in the spring-time quickens into verdure and produces an abundant harvest. The Sabbath-school has been called the nurcery of the church. Blessed be God, it contains plants not only of pious parental instruction, but also from domestic circles where all religious culture would otherwise be neglected. Though a pastor may be prevented by other public duties from assisting personally in the Sabbath-school, the cause will be near his heart, and he will advance its prosperity by his prayers, his recommendations, and by his addresses to the pupils. With the exception of the Gospel ministry, no institution is more important; none whose downfall should be more earnestly deprecated. The libraries connected with the schools, if the selection be judicious, are a hallowed leaven diffused through the whole community, "known and read of all."

Respect for the Saviour's last command, "to publish the Gospel to every creature," and a desire to appear at last among those who turn many to righteousness, can hardly fail to insure the co-operation of ministers in the benevolent enterprises of the age. From what other quarter, by what other instrumentality is deliverance to come? Shall we not be grateful to God for