neighbor, and vents his malice and fury upon another! Of what avail are loud pretensions to godliness, and repeated expressions of brotherly love for the world, while the demon of hatred reigns ascendant in the heart, and the dagger of death is concealed under our garments! Brotherly love is the test of Christian discipleship, and the only sure evidence that we love God. In destitution of this shining excellency, our loudest professions of piety are as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal!

The deity himself can neither be profited nor injured by us; but he requires us to serve him by doing good to one another. He has made man his

receiver. And in reference to God, we may well adopt the language of the Book of Job; "If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thy hand? Thy wicked, ness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man." God is too highly exalted to be affected by the doings of feeble mortals; and he requires us to obey his commandments, that we ourselves and our fellow-beings may thus be advantaged. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." But,

4, and lastly. Still another reason for obeying the exhortation of the text, is found in the fact that our own happiness, as well as that of our fellows, greatly depends upon the possession and exercise of "brotherly love." We are not only allowed, but duty requires that we should seek enjoyment. Man is naturally a social being; and the happiness of which we are susceptible can never be attained in solitude. And the purest and highest felicity which

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we are capable of enjoying is the result of brotherly affection. So far as this feeling is cultivated, in the same ratio, is man blessed with the richest happiness of social life.

The household where love dwells is the abode of blessedness. Jealousies and strifes are there excluded; and peace with its attendant joys, reigns triumphant. The same harmony and peace proceed from the cultivation of fraternal affections in the social circle; and wherever real brotherly love is generously reciprocated, the same happy fruits must al

ways appear.

Aside, therefore, from every consideration of duty, our policy is bad when we seek for happiness in selfish exclusiveness, or hatred of neighbors and fellow-beings. Our happiness or misery is connected with that of our kindred flesh; and in the promotion of another's welfare, we ourselves must participate in the enjoyment.

"Look round our world; behold the chain of love
Combining all below, and all above.

See plastic nature working to this end;
The single atoms each to other tend,
Attract, attracted to, the next in place

Formed and impelled its neighbor to embrace.
See matter next, with various life endued,
Press to one centre still, the general good."

As children of one Father and members of a common family, our affections should therefore be reciprocal, and our interest mutual. The religion of our Savior aims to strengthen the bonds of union between man and man-to level every factitious distinction in society-and to promote peace and universal good will on earth. And though Christianity has been perverted by narrow-minded bigots and intolerant zealots, its power to improve the

morals and promote the happiness of man, yet remains undiminished. It imposes no onerous duty, but invites us to be happy, It asks no service at our hands, save that in which our greatest interests are deeply involved. And God is well pleased with our labors when we pursue that course of conduct which secures to us the blessings of peace, and the enjoyment of good days. Instead of fleeing the path of Christian duty, we should therefore thank God that it has been opened to our view, and run with cheerfulness and rejoicing the race that is set before us.

Let us, then, my brethren and friends, cultivate the spirit and temper of our divine Master. Let us make each other's joys and sorrows our own, in rejoicing with the prosperous and happy, and in sympathizing with the afflicted and distressed. Let our lives be conformed to the standard of our faith; and while we realize the sacred ties of universal brotherhood, toward all men, "let brotherly love continue." AMEN.

SERMON IV.

MAN AN ACTIVE BEING.

BY REV. H. BALLOU, 2D.

"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."-GEN. ii. 15.

-THAT was the purpose for which man was placed there as our text expresses it, to dress the garden and to keep it. That was the business assigned him. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him. into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it."

You are aware that there has been no little dispute among Christians, whether the account of the garden of Eden, which we have here, in the beginning of Genesis, is a literal narrative, or merely symbolical representation; whether there really was such a place as is here described, with such trees, such fruits, &c., or whether the whole is an allegorical picture, as it were, designed to represent in a general way the primitive state of man. I wish it to be understood, that it is not our intention to enter, at all, into this question; for it is immaterial to the object we now have in view, which way we decide it. Decide it either way, let it be observed that Adam had a regular business, an allotted task, to attend to. That is the only idea we shall insist on.

If we understand the narrative literally, then, according to our text, Adam was to take charge of the garden of Eden, as we would take charge of a gar

den at the present day. He was to dig it, to prune it, to do everything necessary to keep it in good order. And that must have been no small task. If, on the other hand, we regard the account as figurative, and the garden as denoting man's original state, then the passage must mean, that Adam was to have a similar responsibility in the care and improvement of that state. He was to discipline his mind, to cultivate its powers, to govern his passions, to superintend the interests of his moral and intellectual natnre. At all events, one thing is clear; he had something to do-and not a little, neither. Whether it were physical, or mental labor, or both, the charge, with which he was put in commission, was enough to occupy his time, and task his powers. Let it, now, be distinctly remarked, that all this took place immediately after Adam was formed of the dust of the ground, as you may see by the context, and before he had partaken of the forbidden fruit. The very first thing we hear of him, after God breathed into him the breath of life, is, what is stated in the text, that "the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it." It was while he was yet innocent; it was before sin had entered into the world. Let this important circumstance be remembered; we shall have some use for it, in the sequel.

Having stated these preliminaries, we are now ready to lay down our general proposition, or doctrine, which you will all see, at once, is founded in the text, viz: That man was originally designed, originally made for an active, laborious creature. It was not the original design, that man should pass through this world without much care, and toil, and hardship. He was not made for indolent ease, passive enjoyment. That is not consistent with his na