your hope. With what delight does the of this opinion are utterly ignorant of reHeligious opinion are utterly ignorant of hat holy man adduce these words! seems to pour out all the stores of sacred religion is than a blind man knows of eloquence to trace the old age to the life-light and colours. Precisely the reyou see it wrinkled, old, decrepit, peevish, verse of this is the opinion of all who stooping, going down to the grave; and know religion. They say that youth is for what?-but that you may hearken to the proper time for religion. Look at the the voice which stands at the head of it religious societies where the gospel is "Remember now thy Creator in the not preached, where salvation by works days of thy youth, while the evil days is proclaimed, and where religion is come not, nor the years draw nigh when placed in external forms and ceremonies thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in there you will see at prayers none but them." How large a part of the book of the old and decrepit; but look at those Proverbs is addressed to the young! congregations where the gospel is preach"Hear, O my son! the instructions of ed, and where the nature of spiritual rethy father, and forget not the law of thy ligion is understood, and God is worshipmother." How many have been touched ped in spirit and in truth-there you will to the heart with these words-and they see at prayers the young; and a large are fit to touch the heart-"I love them proportion of those who join together in that love me, and they that seek me early voluntary associations for prayer to the shall find me!" This one assurance, mercy-seat of God are young people. that God has a peculiar regard to those The fact is, where religion is truly unthat seek him early, is a most delightful derstood, it is regarded as the ornament, encouragement to the young. When our the glory, the bliss of youth; so that the Lord Jesus is described as a shepherd, he earlier it is possessed the better. And gathers the lambs in his bosom. What where religion is not understood, and a a world of affection and delight does this gloomy superstition is substituted for it, open to your view!-your Redeemer there it is very natural to say, the later seeking, and feeding, and nourishing, the better. Now, let me remind you that and delighting in the affections of the the works of God confirm his words. children. He carries them in his bosom, Perhaps not one in forty is converted and warms and nourishes them in the love after the age of forty; and perhaps ninetyof his own heart. There is nothing like nine out of a hundred who know any thing this said to encourage any one to put off of real religion are converted somewhere religion to old age; but, oh, what is said about twenty. This is a solemn consito encourage the young to come to Christ! deration, let me attempt to impress you The fact is, that there is not one word in with it. Suppose you had fallen into a all the Bible that is specifically intended dream, and you thought you saw an imto encourage persons to defer religion to mense plain crowded with persons of all the time when they grow old-every ages, from the young and the middle-aged thing is said against this. But there is to the old and decrepit; and you saw the much to encourage you to embrace reli- Saviour of sinners descend in all his magion when you are young. jesty and glory, and passing through this 3. Remember that, as the word, so the crowd, taking more from the ranks of the works of God-his works of grace-con-young, fewer from the ranks of the midfirm these things that are said, so earnestly, to encourage you. A large part of those who are ignorant of religion think that it is a thing only for old age-very proper when men have grown old, but very unfit for them while they are young; it does not sit well upon young people; and they are, therefore, for deferring it to old age. Now, you will observe that all who are

dle-aged, and much fewer still from the aged, conducting them to a gate, and admitting them within, on which was written this inscription-"Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that go in thereat;"

suppose, on waking in the morning, you were to tell this dream to an aged friend, and he was to say, last night I

dreamed exactly the same dream, and saw | is nothing in nature, considered in itself, exactly the same representation-a few that is spiritual, holy, worthy to be apold people, more in the middle life, but proved of the moral governor of the world, the great body of those that entered in at or that will stand the scrutiny of the last the gate of life were young men. When day. "In us, that is, in our flesh, there I awoke, said the old man, I trembled as dwelleth no good thing." Mere nature the aspen leaf, and the bed shook under has nothing but what is sinful. Exame, and I thought I was come to that mine it into the very core, and it will all time of life when it was too late to be be found wanting; for there is not in our converted. And would you not say, I fallen nature any real love to God, any was glad when I awoke; for the greater genuine love of holiness, any true hatred part of those that are converted are con- of sin, any real reliance of soul upon verted at the happy period of my time of Christ, or any desire for God's glory. life. Well, my young friends, this is not All these things, that are the essence of all a dream. It is the solemn, serious, what is truly lovely, spiritually amiable fact of the case, that the greatest part of and good, are wanting in us. So that, those who are converted are converted in whatever excellence there may be in your youth. There is nothing, indeed, to cut youth, and whatever your earthly parents off any from hope; but such is the fact; may approve in you, there is nothing, read the history of those who have be- where there is no holiness, that the holy come real Christians, and you will learn | law of God can approve. You sometimes that the grace of God touched their hearts while they were yet young. And when you find exceptions you look upon them as a rarity, a wonder of grace, and you say, happy is it for you that you have escaped that fearful ruin that generally comes upon those who put off religion to

may, perhaps, have seen the corpse of a departed friend, and if you have seen more than one you may have observed, in some instances, a redness on the cheek that even sickness does not remove, and that attends them even to their coffin. Now, that flush upon the cheek will make a corpse look pretty, and sometimes But now, my dear young friends, I the corpse will look so pretty that the would turn to the second part of the sub-friends will hang over it with delight, ject. And I shall endeavour to point and kiss the cold cheek that seems to repel the token of affection; but, after all,

old age.

out

II. WHAT IS IN THE SCALE THAT IS remember this is only the loveliness of a

AGAINST YOU.

"One thing thou lackest," says Christ; and that was the one thing needful; for "he went away sorrowful." There are three things in this opposite scale that are against you.

1. The first is that all that is merely amiable and hopeful in nature is not grace, nor is it at all really valuable in God's sight. -It is not true virtue or holiness. It is, indeed, as far as it goes, pleasant to the eye, and better than the opposite sort of things. That openness of mind, that frankness of disposition, that readiness to credit a report, that retentive memory, that bounding, ardent spirit, that noble, generous zeal which youth feels, when undertaking any thing, to do it thoroughly well-all these are, indeed, lovely in their way but they are not religion. There VOL. I.-60

2. There is a second consideration, and it is that all those things that may appear amiable and lovely, if they are not sanctified by religion, will become hostile. To be frank and generous, unsuspecting in your mind, exposes you to receive whatever error may be presented to you, and makes you in danger of becoming the prey of the designing infidel,so that you may hearken to his specious lies,and swallow the gilded bait, and be for ever taken in the snare. That readiness of mind that you have to receive a report, and to treasure up what 2 R2

you hear, may make your memory the between good and evil, and a conscience storehouse of all impurity. You may recollect what is foul and filthy, and so filling the chambers of your memory, it may render your mind all that is loathsome to the eye of him who searches the heart, and who will finally make the scrutiny.

to have warned you of your danger, and having had faithful counsels and every opportunity—if you die in your sins, how melancholy is the consequence! Then that glowing countenance blooming with youth, now withered and decayed, sinks down into all the darkness and gloom of the grave, and the blackness of darkness and everlasting fire gathers around you. Then that warm imagination, that once painted to itself fairy scenes of future felicity, will be left to riot in all the dreadful conceptions of everlasting misery:—what it must be to spend an eternity of agony! Then the memory that might have been the treasury of divine truth, and stored up God's gracious words, will only recal all that will torment you-all your opportunities and advantages, and all your own perverse abuse, neglect, and rejection of them all. Oh, why must all the flower of youth go down to perdition? Why must the spring be blasted, and everlast

My friends, remember besides this that you will not always be young. You are not so young now as when you entered this place of worship; while you are watching my lips you are drawing breath, it is going out into the empty air, and shortly you will breathe it all away-it will be gone; well then, remember, if you grow old without religion, the peculiarities favourable to religion in youth are gone. Instead of the frank ingenuous openness of the unsuspecting youthful mind, there will be the close, cold, suspicious onethe heart shut up against and impervious to the truth. The warm and feeling breast, that then was so ready to receive what was amiable and kind, will now being winter wither the soul?--Why must come cold and chilled as the ices of the poles. The memory, that once was so quick to receive and faithful to retain, will become treacherous and slippery, so that you will forget what you heard yesterday. All those qualities that were once so favourable to religion will be exchanged for all that is most unfavourable. And if you defer religion in the days of your youth, how soon may you become the aged sinner, who says "the days are come when I have no pleasure in them!"

3. But let me entreat you to remember, in the last place, that, if the grace of God prevent not, all the promises of youth may perish in everlasting despair. For youth is not immortal; though you are young now, you may die while you are young, and if you are still waiting, and refusing to embrace Christ and give up yourselves to him, while you hesitate, death may be deciding, and while you may be saying, "not to-day, Lord Jesus--to-morrow,' death may be saying, "not to-morrow, but to-day-this night thy soul shall be required of thee." And if this should be the case, and you die unregenerate, unforgiven, having come to years of accountability, having an understanding to judge

that which should have been consecrated to Jesus be for ever the subject of divine wrath ?-and he that might have been a rose-bud in the Saviour's crown—his diadem of salvation-be a withered weed cast out to everlasting abhorrence and rejection? Remember, my dear young friends, how soon these sad reverses may happen. You are aware that young children frequently sicken, and sometimes die suddenly. Have you ever known one on whom consumption has seized? There may indeed have been a hectic flush upon the face, but there was the glassy brightness of the eye which intimated that all was not right within. They told you they were getting better; they fancied it; but you saw that the getting better existed only in their imaginations, for every one else could perceive that they were sinking down into the grave. Remember that this deceptive disease is the disease of young persons. And let this warn you of the danger of deferring religion until sickness comes upon you. It is terrible that that very disease, the most likely to arrest you, may be the one you may die of, and you may die getting better-that is, in your

you leave your friends soon upon earth, it will be to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. This is the consummation of the felicity of true Christians. to be with him where he is that they may

Now let me entreat you to take the fol- behold his glory. Amen. lowing COUNSELS,—

1. Never think you are too young to be converted, and forgiven, and saved, and given up to God, while you know that you are not too young to sicken, to die, to be judged, to go to heaven or hell.

2. Never take up with any thing short of true religion-the entire change of the heart by the power of the Holy Ghost-portance to a sinner. "All have sinned," the true and full forgiveness of all your sins by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. For only this sort of religion will do you any good.

SERMON LIII.

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP DELINEATED.

BY THE REV. ROBERT BRODIE, A.M.

'Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father; but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him."-John iv. 21, 23.