women. A church, possessing such a character, whether it be rich or poor, consist of few or many members, is "a city set on a hill, that cannot be hid,"-a glorious light, lifted up on high, towards which the eyes of all will be directed, and whose influence, like the hand of God, will be felt turning back the tide of corruption, and elevating towards heaven and holiness a depraved and thoughtless generation. But, take away this holy, distinctive character from a church, and its renovating, life-giving influence is gone; and itself, merged in the surrounding mass of worldliness and sin, no longer exists a glorious light to mark the way to heaven; but a baleful meteor to mislead, bewilder, and destroy.

In this view it is seen to be a duty of immense importance, not only that the churches should guard against the admission of unworthy members to their fellowship, but also that they should maintain a careful inspection over their members, when admitted, and promptly exclude from their communion such as walk disorderly, or bring reproach upon the Christian cause. There is, I fear, in many of our churches, a growing laxness in this respect. There is not that promptitude and decision in maintaining the discipline of the gospel, which existed in the better days of New England. There is not, in the members of our churches, that tenderness and carefulness in watching over and admonishing one another that there once was. In many cases, things are tolerated, which are a scandal to religion; and persons are allowed to retain their standing in the church, whose lives are a reproach to their profession. These things, wherever they exist, are melancholy evidences of a low state of religion; and no church in which they are tolerated, can reasonably expect to prosper. Its light will become dimits energies be weakened, and the Holy Spirit, grieved by the unnatural intermixture of the pious and profane, will depart from its members, leaving them to declension, to division and ruin.

But we must here consider, more particularly, the duties that are required of the members of our churches in their individual capacity. The circumstances, my brethren, in which the providence of God has placed you, impose upon you great and peculiar obligations. You are called to bear a part in sustaining the most precious interests that were ever entrusted to the hands of men. And that the sacred trust be not betrayed by

you, it is first of all necessary, that you look well to your personal religion. If the spirit of piety be cold and languid in your bosoms, you can do nothing to any good purpose, in the building up the cause of Christ. The church of which you are members will derive no benefit from your example or your prayers; and in the community where you live, you will exert no influence in favour of vital

godliness and the salvation of your fellow-men. If the salt has lost its savour, it is good for nothing. What the times demand, is a piety of the primitive stamp, -the deep-toned, self-denying, self-devoting piety, which characterized the fathers of New England. Times of trial are at hand. The minds of men are powerfully excited; the public opinion is in a feverish state; there is extensively manifested an extreme restiveness under the restraints of religion; a strong disposition to break the bands and cast away the cords of allegiance to God; multitudes in all classes of society are setting themselves against the Lord, and against his anointed; infidelity and heresy, in a thousand forms, are spreading through the land; and the signs are not dubious, that a crisis is approaching in the religious affairs of our country, which will severely try the hearts of men, and cause all to show whether they are for or against the kingdom of Christ.

Let

Let Christians, then, look well to the foundation on which they stand. them see to it, that they be thoroughly rooted and grounded in the truth, eminently circumspect and holy in life, striving in all things to exhibit the spirit of the gospel, and thus put to silence the vain scoffs of ignorant objectors. Let them fearlessly assert their attachment to Christ, and their belief of the distinguishing doctrines of his gospel; and let them consider, as devolved on them, the sacred duty of sustaining, in their vigour and purity, the institutions of our fathers, and of elevating the standard of piety in the community where they reside.

It is especially important at the present day, when the enemies of religion, and errorists of every name, are combining to overthrow the faith once delivered to the saints, that Christians should carefully study the evidences of that faith, in the only pure source of evidence, the Bible; and be ready always to give to every one that asketh them, a reason of the hope that is in them. At a time like this, a superficial, traditionary faith

will not suffice. Those who have no better foundation to stand upon, will show themselves unstable as water, carried about by every wind of doctrine.

Take, then, my friends, the great principle of the Reformation, and steadily act upon it, that the Bible alone is the rule of religion; and while you embrace, in an intelligent affectionate faith, whatever doctrines are taught in the Bible, always be bold and decided in defending them against the cavils and reproaches of foolish and wicked men. He is unworthy of the Christian name, who shrinks from an open avowal of the truth of God, or is afraid to defend what God has taught in his word.

Cultivate a spirit of universal goodwill, and of amicable fellowship towards all those, of whatever sect or denomination, who, differing from you in non-essentials, agree with you in the fundamentals of religion. If others assert exclusive rights, or set up exclusive terms of communion, unchurching all who do not exactly agree with them in outward forms and ceremonies, imitate them not.

All

Never

such exclusive claims are wrong in themselves, and cannot fail, in the end, to injure the denomination that asserts them. Ever act on the truly liberal and catholic principle of receiving and treating all as Christians whom you have evidence to believe that Christ has received. cherish towards any such, of whatever name or sect they may be, any other than a spirit of Christian kindness and love. Never encroach upon their rights; never attempt, by unfair means, to proselyte an individual from their connection; never throw the slightest obstacle in the way of their prosperity.

I mean not by this to encourage indifference to error, or the slightest dereliction of your own distinctive principles. On the contrary, I would have you regard all error as hurtful; and for the principles of your own order, I would ever have you cherish, and on all proper occasions, express a strong and decided preference.

But I would also have you show, that you make a distinction between great things and little-between essentials and non-essentials in religion; and that, while you love and prefer your own denomination, you can, at the same time, extend the hand of fellowship to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth.

In all attempts to build up the cause of Christ, scrupulously avoid a worldly, selfish policy. The religion of Christ frowns on such a policy; and demands to be

promoted only by plain, open, honest conduct, proceeding from motives that will bear to be inspected in the face of day.

Carefully guard also against connecting, in any manner, the interests of the church with the affairs of state, or the politics of the day. Let there be no political combinations for religious purposes, nor religious combinations for political purposes. Experience proves that the tendency of all such combinations is to corrupt religion and destroy the energies of the church. My kingdom, says our Lord, is not of this world.-Not of this world in its spirit; not of this world in its aims; not of this world in the means of advancing its prosperity, and extending its influence on earth. Every day, I am more and more convinced, that the great point to be aimed at in this country is to withdraw the church, as far as possible, from the collisions of politics, and the strife of party spirit. In these angry times religion has nothing to hope from civil government; I wish I could add, it has nothing to fear from it. The only true and safe policy is to let the church stand on its own immutable foundation-the truth and promise of God; and to adopt only such means in building it up as are sanctioned in his word. Not that Christians are to take no part in the political concerns of their country. They are freemen;-they possess the rights and lie under the responsibilities of freemen, and can by no means be excused from bearing a part in sustaining the interests and promoting the welfare of the community of which they are members. Especially does the right of suffrage impose on them a very sacred duty; and in the exercise of that right, they are solemnly bound to commit themselves to the dictation of no party, but with an enlightened conscience, and in the fear of God, always to withhold their support from bad men of every name, and to give their votes in favour of such as are best qualified for the duties of office, to whatever denomination or party they belong. I will just add in this connection, that so totally depraved are the politics of the day, that I see not how a Christian can enter fully into the spirit of them, or commit himself to any party, to go all lengths with them, without doing violence to his conscience, and greatly injuring his Christian character and influence. Certain I am, that, if the churches of our country are to prosper, or if the members in communion with them are to grow in faith, and love, and usefulness, they mu::

preserved from the mania of party zeal, and stand aloof from the conflicts of ambition and the din of political controversy. Their sphere of influence is more retired and silent. It is in the sanctuary, in the family, in the every-day intercourse of life, in diffusing around them the spirit of holiness, and exemplifying in conduct the pure and blessed principles of the gospel.

Here, my brethren, is the appropriate sphere of Christian enterprize and action; these the means by which the churches of New England are to be strengthened and their influence extended through the land. Let a higher standard of piety be set up in these churches, and all the members of them aim, in their temper and life, to make a complete exhibition of the spirit of the gospel. Let family religion be revived and maintained in all their households, and the blessing of God be daily and piously sought to descend upon them and their children. No duty is more reasonable than thisnone more conscientiously performed by our ancestors, and none contributed more to that purity of morals and elevation of piety which distinguished the better days of New England. Indeed nothing is plainer than that, if there is no religion in the family, there is none in the church and none in the community; and all hope of piety in the rising generation is vain.

Let the sabbath of the Lord be honoured as at the beginning; and every professor of religion make it a matter of conscience to observe that holy day, according to the design of its appointment. This is a duty of prime importance. At a time when the Lord's day is everywhere profaned with impunity by wicked men, it becomes Christians to keep the day with peculiar strictness-to throw the whole weight of their example in favour of its due observance; and thus to stay, at least for a while, the sweeping ruin which the general desecration of the sabbath threatens to bring upon the country.

Look well to the education of your children. Let the school, the academy, the college; their associates, amusements, and occupations in life, all be chosen with reference to their spiritual and immortal well-being. Having dedicated them to God in baptism, and thus solemnly engaged to bring them up for him, see to it that you always remember your vows, and never act inconsistently wtih them. So live yourselves, and so

train up your children, that you may point them to your example and say, Tread in my steps and go with me to heaven. This duty, always important, is supremely so at the present day.

When Jesuits were sent among the Waldenses to entice them from the truth to idolatry, they returned amazed, professing that children of seven years old knew more of the Scriptures and of the mysteries of the gospel, than many of their doctors did. This suggests your duty, and points out the means, by which you may hope to save your children, and qualify them to receive the precious inheritance which must soon pass from your hands to theirs. The errors, the temptations, and sins which everywhere surround the young, can be averted only by bringing them early under the influence of Christian instruction and Christian principle.

Be it then your great concern to train up your children for God and glory,-to imbue their young and tender minds with the principles of the gospel and with the love of virtue and goodness.

Let Christian mothers, especially, engage with zeal in this divine work. With the first dawnings of affection and intelligence in your little ones, let your doctrine drop as the rain and distil as the dew. Early attach them to the institutions and principles of the pilgrims. Tell them the story of their toils and sufferings; make them acquainted with the excellence of their character, with the grandeur of their enterprize, and the rich blessings that have flowed from their counsels and their efforts; and while with pious care you labour to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, pour over them the incessant fervent prayer, that the God of the pilgrims will be their God and their portion for ever.

Let your hearts be much set on revivals of religion. Never forget that the churches of New England were planted in the spirit of revivals; that they have hitherto existed and prospered by revivals, and that if they are to exist and prosper in time to come, it must be by the same cause which has from the first been their glory and defence.

Let the irreligious and the profane, let infidels and scoffers discard the influences of the Holy Spirit, and denounce revivals of religion as fanaticism and delusion; but let Christians, let the descendants of the pilgrims, never be ashamed to own their dependence on the Holy Spirit, or to confess that it s not by might nor by

Finally, ever bear it in mind, that you have but a little while to live, and that your great business here is to prepare yourselves, your children, and your fellow men for the scenes of eternal judgment. Live, then, as becometh those who must so soon go hence and give up their account unto God. Live not for time, but for eternity; not for yourselves, but for him who died for you and rose again. Then shall you see the cause of God prospering around you, the heritage of your fathers descending in undiminished glory to bless your posterity; and yourselves cheered in the decline of life by these happy visions, shall die in peace and rise to become pillars in the temple of God to go no more out for ever.

I turn, in conclusion, to the young, especially to young men, the rising hope of the church and of society. Ardently attached as I am to the principles and order of the Congregational churches, and to the institutions of my country, I look round with deep emotion upon those into whose hands the precious inheritance is soon to pass. I behold the aged fathers and mothers, who have long borne the heat and burden of the day, passing from the stage of life, and dropping, one after another, into the unseen world. I see others of my own age, the acting members of society, fast treading after the aged, and soon to be gathered with them to the great congregation of the dead. The young are rising up to fill our places, destined to act a little moment amidst these transient scenes, then to disappear, giving place in their turn to another generation. Oh how affecting these changes! How soon to be experienced! God, my young friends, has placed you in circumstances of deep and solemn interest. You are called to cherish the memory of your ancestors, to bind their principles to your hearts, to defend and maintain their institutions, and transmit them, unimpaired, to those who shall come after you. Those ancestors, my friends, are worthy of your veneration and love; their principles worthy of your deepest affection and esteem; their institutions worthy of your warmest attachment and most decided support.

think lightly of it; never withhold from it the aid of your counsels, your efforts, your prayers. Wherever your lot in life may be cast, glory in your ancestry; show yourselves the worthy descendants of the Pilgrims; and do all in your power to revive, extend, and perpetuate their spirit, their principles, and their institutions. Be not beguiled by any of those false-hearted, delusive systems, which, while they are for ever chanting forth the praises of their own liberality, are distinguished for nothing so much as for their illiberality towards all who hold the distinguishing doctrines of the Bible, and are firm and decided in support of them. Bring all such systems to the test. Be not deceived by fair speeches and kind professions. Words may be softer than oil, and yet be drawn swords. Inquire whether the advocates of such systems are men of piety, are men of prayer, are men of devotedness to God and the good of mankind; whether the systems themselves are accordant with the truth of God, adapted to your wants as sinners, fitted to cheer and comfort you in the dying hour, and to prepare you for the great day of judgment and account. If they endure not this test, forbear to embrace them, and abide still in the old paths, the good way, and you shall find rest for your souls.

Cast an eye forward to the scenes before you. Recollect that you are born for immortality; that you have begun an existence which is never to end, and that your condition, eternal ages after the heavens and the earth shall have passed away, depends on the character you form in this state of your probation. Rise up, then, to the great work of preparation for immortal honour and blessedness. Remember from whom you are descended into whose labours you have entered; what privileges you enjoy, and to what heights in glory you may rise, if you forfeit not the bright inheritance by forsaking the God of your fathers and going after other gods.

It is recorded of the ancient Scythians, that when in battle they were overpowered by their enemies, they would retreat till they came to the graves of their fathers, and there take their stand, nor yield but in death.

And now, could I make my voice resound through New England, I would assemble the youth, the young men, of the land around the graves of their fathers, and there I would swear them to be true

principles and institutions with their latest breath. If you fail here, my friends; if you forsake the God of your fathers, and alienate the precious inheritance which they have bequeathed to you, oh how will you offend against the venerable exiles, who came here and toiled and suffered and died, that they might leave their example and their labours a blessing to their descendants and the world! How will you offend against the dearest privileges and hopes of this community, and draw down upon your memories the reproaches of posterity for having robbed them of their birthright! The sacred shades of the Pilgrims will testify against you; the graves of Hooker and Stone and Haynes, of Robinson and Winthrop and Cotton will testify against you; God himself will testify against you, and provoked by an ungrateful dereliction of truth and duty on the part of those whom he has distinguished above all others by the abundance of his blessings, he will inscribe on the temples of New England, the glory is departed!

But I read brighter auspices in the destiny of New England. The God, who remembers mercy unto a thousand generations, will not forget the children of the Pilgrims; nor the churches planted and nurtured by their prayers and tears. He will still watch over them for good; will still defend and bless them with his continual presence and favour; and when their present pastors and members shall be gathered to their final home, other ministers and Christian's will be raised up to occupy these pulpits and fill these churches; and thus the divine light kindled by the Pilgrims amidst icy storms and dreary wilds, will continue to expand and brighten, from generation to generation, till it mingles and is lost in the glories of millennial day.

ON THE REALITY AND IMPORTANCE OF REVIVALS IN RELIGION.

By Baxter Dickenson, M.A., U. S. By a revival of religion, we understand, an uncommon and general interest on the subject of salvation, produced by the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of divine truth. The work is very commonly preceded by a prevailing and affecting coldness on the subject of personal religion: such as leads Christians to feel the necessity of extraordinary prayer for themselves as well as others.

In its progress, the thoughtless are alarmed; convinced of their guilt; inquire what they shall do; receive Jesus as their Saviour; rejoice in hope of future glory; join themselves to the people of God; and, in important respects, pursue a new course of life.

Such, substantially, was the revival on the day of Pentecost. With the history of that day before us, we see thousands assemble, with no special solicitude about their souls, and many of them very decided in their opposition to Christianity. We see the same men, soon after, most deeply interested on the subject of salvation. We see them, in the anguish of awakened conscience, at the feet of despised apostles, inquiring what they must do. We see them resorting, with penitence and faith, to the mediation of Christ for pardon. We see them joining themselves to the little band of disciples, and devoting their influence and possessions to the cause of the gospel. ascribe that memorable work to the special agency of God's Spirit, and denominate it a revival of religion. And when, in these latter days, and these ends of the earth, we witness a work of similar character, we feel bound to ascribe it to the same cause; and think it proper to give to it the same name. We e can perceive no good reason, why the former should be regarded as the work of God, and the latter as the work exclusively of

man.

We

Do you say, that the excitement, denominated a revival of religion, occurs in connection with the special efforts of Christians? We answer, that the excitement on the day of Pentecost occurred in a similar connection. When has a band of Christians been more united and fervent? Or when has a minister of Christ pressed the subject of religion with more plainness, pungency, and zeal, than did Peter and his brethren? And again we reply, that God's instituted mode of extending the blessings of salvation, is through the faithful efforts of his servants. If thou speakest not to warn the wicked of his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand."

Do you say, that the divine influence to which we allude, as to the mode of its operation, is enveloped in the darkness of mystery? So it was on the day of Pentecost. So is the universal

presence of the Supreme a mystery. And so does a cloud of impenetrable obscurity hang over the mode of all his operations. If