pect the fault is their own, and that they have a bad character for their conduct towards their domestics. If they are tormented, have they not been tormentors? If they can get no one to serve them willingly and honestly, have they been generous and kind? If they find none but such as are wicked, have they tried to make them holy? If they complain of their lying, their lewdness, their theft, have they not been so selfish as to seek or to produce right dispositions towards themselves, without endeavouring to found these dispositions on a right state of mind towards God? Try, then, to conduct yourselves rightly to those whom you have so much interest in making what they should be. Body, soul, estate, wife, children, character, comfort, all are more or less concerned in this matter. Your servants may rob or enrich you; may defend your reputation or blast it; may corrupt your children or improve them; may tempt you to sin or warn you against it; may injure your health or protect it; may bless you by their prayers or curse you by their vices; may render your dwelling continually pleasant or perpetually miserable: your own interest, therefore, unites with God's commands, to make it your wisdom and your duty to train your servants, as well as your children, in the fear of the Lord.

"What have you to say against what I have been persuading you to? Will you not now, without delay, bewail your former neglect, and in good earnest set to your work, like persons that, in some measure, know the power of divine precepts, the worth of souls, and the greatness of the charge that lieth upon you! O that there were in you such a heart! O that all masters of families were resolved for that which humanity, reason, interest, reputation, and their comfort call for, as well as the law of God! and men oblige them to What blessed families then should we have! What noble corporations! What glorious cities! Might not HOLINESS TO THE LORD be written upon every door? O, when shall it once be ?"

CHAPTER IX.

THE DUTIES OF SERVANTS.

"Servants, be obedient unto them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will, doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free."-EPHESIANS, vi. 5-8.

"Honour and shame from no condition rise;

Act well your part-there all the honour lies."

GOD is the Creator of all things, and the Disposer of all events: he is, therefore, the Author of all those varieties which are to be found in nature, and of all those differences which exist in society. He that formed the sun to illuminate, and to rule, formed also the planets to be enlightened and to be governed; and he that raiseth the king to the throne, ordaineth the lot of the servant in the house, and of the labourer in the field. There is no such thing as chance; no, not in the material universe, where each bird that flies, each insect that crawls, each flower that blooms, amidst the desert which man's eye never explores, is the separate production of divine power and skill, no less than the Alpine height that lifts its snow-crowned summit to the skies, and receives the admiring contemplation of millions. Nor is there any such thing as chance in society; the rank and station of the poor little servant girl in the humblest dwelling of the most obscure village are as certainly determined by God as the elevation of the conqueror and ruler of nations. "The lot is cast into the lap, but the disposal thereof is from the Lord." "The rich and the poor meet together, but the Lord is the Disposer of them all;" i. e. not simply their Creator, as men, but the Disposer of their circumstances, as rich and poor. This is comforting, this is reconciling. It prevents the poor from being degraded in their own eyes, or in the eyes of others. They are not like the dust, or the chips, or the dried and withered leaves in autumn, which, amidst the

more stately objects of nature or art, are blown about by the gusts which sweep along the surface; but they are in the place which God intended for them; and God hath made every thing beautiful in its place and season. Who could have mended what he hath done? What cause have we to sit down contented and thankful in the place which he hath ordained for us! What obligation was he under to give us existence? And what did he owe to us, that he should have made us rational creatures, and not formed us a beast or a reptile? "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"

As God disposeth every thing, so it is the highest excellence of a creature to discharge the duties of his station, and to shine in the orbit, and move with regularity through the course allotted to him. A good servant is more honourable than a bad master, and a valuable subject than a worthless prince. He that is not relatively good, is not really so; while he that acts his part well, is more truly dignified, though his rank be low, than he that stands on a pinnacle, but fails in the duty of his elevated station. What is true honour? Not riches, not rank, not beauty, not learning, not courage. No. But virtue; whether it be clad in the garb of poverty, or the robe of affluence; whether it hold the plough, or grasp the sceptre; whether it be seated at the table, or stand behind the chair. VIRTUE IS HONOUR; let all servants write this sentiment on the heart, and ever act under its influence as the living principle of all their conduct.

In stating, after these preliminary remarks, the duties of servants, I would remind them,

First, That there are some which they owe to THEMSELVES, the performance of which will constitute the best and surest foundation of those which they owe to others.

1. RELIGION takes the lead of all.

Religion is as much your business as it is ours. You are immortal creatures, you are sinners, you are the objects of God's mercy in Christ Jesus, and invited to seek pardon, peace, and eternal life, as well as we your employers. You have souls that must suffer eternal torments in hell, or enjoy everlasting happiness

in heaven. You must be convinced of sin, repent, confess to God, cry for mercy, commit your souls into the hands of Christ by faith, be born again of the Holy Ghost, lead a sober, righteous, and godly life, or you must depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. God is as willing to have mercy upon you, Jesus Christ is as ready to receive you, as he is us. Your soul is as precious in the eye of Heaven as ours. God is no Respecter of persons, and is not to be considered as less friendly to your best interests, because he has placed you in service. Your situation is no excuse, therefore, for your neglecting the claims of religion. You are not to imagine that attention to your souls' concerns is not required from you; for it is required: and I repeat it, unless you repent, and are born again, and believe in Christ, you will perish eternally. Your soul is your first concern, and must not be neglected for any thing. Think not that it is impossible for a person in your situation to attend to religion; for it is possible. Great multitudes of servants, both male and female, are truly pious. I have twenty or thirty in the church under my care, who are among its most consistent members. I charge you all to live in the fear of God. Remember your Creator. Set the Lord always before you. Consider, that he is ever about your path, and that you act, speak, and think in his presence. He is now the holy and ever present Witness, and will hereafter be the inflexible Judge of your actions.

In order to cultivate religion, go not into wicked families, where the Sabbath is profaned, the claims of piety are despised and rejected, and you can have no opportunity of going to public worship. Do not dwell in a place where your Sabbath is taken away from you; let no amount of wages tempt you to go to or to remain in such a situation. Always stipulate for the privilege of going at least one part of the Lord's day to the house of God. Insist upon it as your right, and suffer nothing to deprive you of it. Endeavour to find a little time for reading the Bible, and for prayer; never go out of your room in the morning, nor lie down on your pillow at night, without reading a portion, even though it be a short one,

of God's holy word, and earnestly praying for his mercy. Let religion be the basis of all your conduct, the very frame-work of your character, leading you to practise "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report.' Do not, then, as you would escape the torments of hell, do not, as you would be brought at last to the felicities of heaven, Do NOT NEGLECT YOUR SOULS. "Godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come." Your situation is a very dangerous one; you are in a very unprotected state; and you need the fear of God to enable you to depart from evil. Men, and women too, of bad principles, are lying in wait for you, spreading snares for your feet, and seeking your ruin. Religion will guard you, and guide you, and comfort you. It will keep you in safety, and raise you to respectability. "Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall lead thee to honour when thou dost embrace her."

2. A REGARD TO TRUTH is another very important duty, and which you will be sure to perform if you fear God. This duty you owe to your employers also; but while the inconvenience of the neglect of it will be felt by them, the more dreadful consequence of that neglect will be yours.

Lying is a most hateful and wicked practice. And it is said, that "all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire." Strive to avoid every thing in your conduct that needs a lie to cover it; but if you have at any time done any thing wrong, do not make one sin two, by telling a falsehood to conceal the matter. Let no temptation induce you to violate truth; rather endure the passion, or the bitterest wrath of the severest master or mistress, than strive to avert it by a falsehood. Lying is bad policy, as well as great wickedness; for, when once detected in this vice, you will ever afterwards be suspected, even when you tell the truth. A servant, whose word can be implicitly relied upon, will always be esteemed, Such a virtue will be made to extend a friendly covering over many little faults. Never allow yourselves to be tempted by your master or mistress to commit a breach of truth.