done, many churches will, probably, become extinct; the most mischievous errors take a deeper hold, and gain a wider influence; vice assume a bolder front; and our civil, as well as our religious institutions, be put in jeopardy.

"Read the testimony of experience. "That which has been, is that which shall be." Every page of history tells you that RUIN treads close upon the heels of an habitual neglect of religious instruction. Nor is there any thing of mystery, either in the cause, or the progress, or the issue. The doctrine of human depravity explains the whole." pp. 10-12.

Many of those who would circumscribe our religious charities within the limits of our neighborhood, are, nevertheless, unwilling to acknowledge an indifference to the wants of the heathen abroad. They say, "having begun at home, we shall learn the efficacy of our endeav ors at a smaller expense; and when all our own people are supplied, then let us send to distant regions the messages of salvation." So far as this mode of thinking springs from a real compassion to perishing souls, and is powerfully excited by a more immediate perception of the miseries of the nearest objects, than that of others, separated from us by half the circumference of the globe, it should be treated with tenderness. The man who entertains it, should be urged to perform the duties acknowledged to lie within his reach, and even encouraged and assisted in the enterprise.

It is on this ground, especially, that we rejoice to see the operations of Christian beneficence so greatly diversified. So many opportuni ties are now presented, for doing the noblest services to the human family; so many occasions for lending a helping hand to our fellow travellers, fainting in the toilsome wilderness through which we pass; that negligence is every day stripped of some of its hollow excuses, avarice is driven from the corners where it was so long sheltered, and the open ground of the determined infidel must be chosen by those, who will not aid in the labor of diminishing the number and the power of the miseries of man. He who is truly willing to give his support, cannot fail to discover some labor adapted to his strength;-a labor in which his assistance is needed, and will contribute something to the mass of materials now collecting, to instruct, to reform, and, by the blessing of God, to repair the ruins occasioned by sin.

But some will ask, "how comes it to pass, that in such a country as New England, the very soil planted by the pilgrims, and cultivated by their posterity-of all states in the world, the first which was ever founded on the express and avowed principle of being a religious community, in which the laws of God should be held paramount to all others, be consulted as the charter of its liberties, and regarded as the foundation of its happiness,how comes it, that even here, towns and societies should spring up without instruction, without Sabbaths. and without morals? He who looks at the appalling truth, just now referred to by the writer of this discourse, the awful fact, recorded on every page of this world's history, as well as in the volume of inspiration, that men like not to retain God in their knowledge, has a solution of the whole problem before him.

Mr. Keep next proceeds to the remark, that the sanctions of religion are the indispensable basis of any permanent political institution; that Inman authority alone can never effectually restrain men from viotence; that the laws of men, deriving necessarily their whole support

from public opinion, sink at once, or become the chain of a tyrant, unless that opinion be disciplined in the school of virtue. Passing onward, he notices the contaminating influence of vice, and the blasting contagion which spreads far and wide from a village or neighborhood, whose inhabitants have no religious instruction, no regard to the eternity which awaits them, to the souls of their fellow men, nor the authority of the Supreme Lawgiver. He calls on the philanthropist to look around him, to receive admonition from the fatal examples of depravity, their progress, and their end. The statesman is entreated to open bis eyes to the evils which threaten our political existence, and to apply the safe, the infallible, the only 'remedy for the decay of enpires; is urged to make haste, and exert his strongest energies to save a country which he professes to love, by "pouring into the minds of all classes those rich lessons of piety, which distilled from the lips of the Redeemer, and which glow in the writings of the apostles." He is reminded that the "benefits to be gained, by cramming his prisons, and by fattening the soil under the gallows, are but momentary;" that "new recruits will arise, and increase upon him, till the cause be removed. The gangrene must be stopped to render the body sound. The only antidote is the Gospel; and even the influence of this will be in a measure lost, unless its instructions are regularly enjoyed.”

To the views of the mere philanthropist and statesman, the Christian adds the feelings of the spiritual man. In these destitute places he beholds multitudes, living like pagans, and hastening to the judgment, ignorant of their character, and unapprised of their destination. He can, therefore, neither be silent, nor inactive. He will give his wealth, his time and his prayers. You perceive brethren, that I do not speak conditionally. Your Christian character forbids it. I should belie your profession to say that Christians will sleep over such a subject.-Oh! do not point me to a thousand, who hold a reputable standing in the visible church, and are yet deaf to the calls of charity; dead on the subject of missions, so electrifying to a holy heart; and unmoved, when you tell them that a very little of their worldly substance would make the widow's heart sing for joy, and might prove the means of guiding an immortal wanderer to an eternal home of rest and glory.' p. 14.

"In such a cause, I would not, for worlds, prove unfaithful. I shudder at the thought of your reproach, when I shall meet you at the judgment. You must not tell me there, that you were never warned against the sin of covetousness; that the cries of the needy were never urged upon you. In that tremendous period, your riches will have been left behind. Let me not then see you in despair. Oh, let me not see by your side a child ruined by indulgence. Let it not be proclaimed to an assembled universe, that in a criminal solicitude to leave your children rich, you hardened your heart, and shut your ears against the destitute.

"Dear immortals! we live in a world, wet with a Savior's tears and a Savior's blood. Every possession is a gift of mercy-a gift purchased by his agonies. Look at yourself as an individual;-at your family;-mark your connexion with the world; and with eternity. Every enjoyment bears the impress of the divine hand. But for the blood of Christ, that "unspeakable gift," impenetrable darkness must have rested forever, upon the prospects of the soul. By his death, Christ has conferred upon the world, and upon us, an obligation, which no language can describe. How rich the bounty the human family constantly enjoy, through the medium of his sacrifice. How rich the good which spreads our table, fills our cup, and gilds our prospects. Contemplate the benefits, which will be showered upon the world, during the long period of millennial glory. Go to the gate of heaven, and contemplate the eternal heritage of the rede emed, and you will be lost in the sum of goo! to man," purchased by the blood of Christ.

"Freely give, is the command of this ascended Savior, in view of his pierced hands and feet-in view of all his agony to secure pardon and peace to rebola.

"Behold the love which beams from his eye, while his compassions flow at the miseries of men. Had that placid brow frowned in anger; had those wounded hands seized the rod of divine indignation, and given what justice claimed;-bad that sweet voice of mercy poured thunders on the heads of the guilty; what would be our condition?-where the hope of man? At the right hand of Majesty on high, he liveth forever, to make intercession. Encircled with all the honors which angels and redeemed saints can bestow, he looks down upon the concerns f this revolted world, where he agonized, and watches with the complacency of his infinite mind, the rising glories of his kingdom. With the concerns of this kingdom, our preset meeting holds an intimate connexion. Look up, then, citizens of Zion, to your enthroned Savior, and learn your duty. With the Universe before him, and is omniscient eve upon every portion of it, he points you to Gethsemane to Calvary-to the final judgment-to our needy brethren-and renews the command. Freely ye have received-FREELY GIVE." pp. 23, 24.

CXXXI. The Sabbath a permanent and benevolent Institution. A Sermon preached at the Annual Election, May 27, 1818, before His Excellency John Brooks, Esq. Governor; His Honor William Phillips, Esq. Lieutenant Governor; the Hon. Council, and the Legislature of Massachusetts. By ZEPHANIAH SWIFT Moore, D. D. President of Williams College. Boston. 1818. THERE are few occasions more interesting than that on which this sermon was delivered. Before the preacher are assembled the principal rulers, as well as the immediate legislators, of the Commonwealth. Following the good example of our pious fathers, our rulers present themselves, at the commencement of the civil year, in the house of the Lord. This act is a virtual acknowledgement of their dependance upon God, of their need of divine wisdom to direct them, and of their obligation to Christianity ultimately, for the civil, social, and religious, privileges, which they and their fellow-citizens enjoy. To the preacher too the occasion is highly interesting. If he be a man of enlarged thought, and correct theological opinions, he must feel the responsibility of his appointment. He is not to lay aside the character of the minister of the Gospel, and assume that of the mere politician. Neither does the occasion demand the inculcation of those plain truths and duties of Christianity, which forms the great business of a minister's life. The Gospel contains many principles, which have an intimate connexion with political subjects, and, without a recognition of which no government can be established, adapted to secure the highest good of the subjects, and promote their best interest in relation to the present and future life. In the discussion of such a subject, if the preacher confine himself within the limits of divine truth, he stands upon high ground. His voice is the voice of God to the rulers of the land. While he sustains the character of a minister of Christ, he also maintains the best good and highest privileges of the people. In the Sermon before us, these two objects are kept distinctly in view. The preacher appears too deeply impressed with divine truth, to forget that he is a minister of God; and too much interested in the happiness of the people to avoid the discussion of a subject, by no means popular at the present time, but of vast in portance to a Christian community. We were highly gratified to hear the subject of the Sabbath discussed, and discussed in an excellent manner, before the rulers of the State. The text is Mark ii, 27, 28. And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of Mon is Lord also of the Sabbath. From this text, Dr. Moore was naturally

led to consider the permanence and benevolence of the Sabbath. The permanence of the Sabbath is proved by a connected, consistent, perspicuous, and unanswerable course of argument. This point, it is obvious, lies at the foundation of the sabbatical institution. Though the discussion of this topic might be profitable to our readers, even after the articles published in this work on the Sabbath, we shall not follow Dr. Moore through the course of his reasoning, but select those points which we conceive to be more specially important.

The first argument for the permanence of the Sabbath is its appointment by God immediately after the work of creation was finished. Gen. , i-3. That this passage is to be understood as history, and not spoken by anticipation as Dr. Paley asserts, is shown in this sermon by the language of the passage itself,-by the division of time into weeks before, and after, the flood, but previous to the revival of the Sabbath by Moses,-by the observance of one day in seven by ancient nations, who could not have derived it from the Jews,-by the peculiar sanctity ascribed to the seventh day among ancient heathen,-by the primitive meaning of the Hebrew word for Sabbath,--and, by the manner in which Moses introduced the subject of the Sabbath to the Israelites. These considerations establish, beyond controversy, the plain reading of the text in Gen. ii. Though not new, the proof is clear, well arranged, and conclusive. This point appears to be fundamental on this subject. In this sermon, it holds its just prominence, which by many writers on this subject does not appear to have been felt. It now becors plain that Dr. Paley has wrested the text from its obvious import, and made it speak a language which was never intended by God. By his reasoning respecting the Sabbath, Dr. Paley, has probably done more injury, than by all his other writings he has done good. Yet a very little examination shows that his reasoning is flimsy in the extreme, and occasions amazement that he should ever have been believed to such an alarming extent. The fact can be ac counted for only on that aversion to the Sabbath, which is so natural to the human heart-a heart, by whose influence the understanding is often compelled to call darkness, light, and light, darkness. Let it, however, only be established. as Dr. M. has done, that the Sabbath was instituted immediately after the creation, and men can no longer deny their obligation to keep it holy. That this obligation has been so readily disbelieved, must be ascribed to the superficial manuer, in which the original institution of this sacred day has been considered, The original institution of the Sabbath accounts satisfactorily for the reason for its observance contained in the fourth commandment, and nothing else can account for this reason in that place.

In addition to the passages of Scripture adduced in the sermon, may be added the following. Ps. exviii, 24; Is. Ivi, 6—8; and Rev. i, 10. The two former passages should be considered in reference to Gospeltimes, for they are predictions to the church. 13. xi, 10, and his rest, or sabbath, shall be glorious, has a manifest reference to times which follow the coming of Christ. Heb. iv, 3, 4, contains fall proof of the institution of the Sabbath at the creation. The apostle declares, there remains a rest for the people of God. He shows that it could not be the rest of the Sabbath, for that began when creation was finished. It

thus excluding the Sabbath from the rest promised to believers, he incidentally declares when the Sabbath was first instituted.

No truth can be more fully proved by the Scriptures than this, that the Sabbath is a permanent institution.

"The same reasons for the public and social worship of God exist now, that did from the beginning. The duties of piety are the same. The observance of the Sabbath has the same salutary influence. Men stand in the same relation to God and a future world. Not a reason can be named for instituting the Sabbath, or for observing it in any age, which does not now exist in all its force." p. 10.

That the Sabbath is a benevolent institution. is far more readily acknowledged by men than its permanence. But having denied the latter, they limit the former by their own narrow views. Not half the blessings of this holy day are realized, because men do not feel their obligation to observe it as time devoted to God and his worship. Men are not aware that even their temporal interest is advanced by resting a seventh part of time-that more work will be thus accomplished in the year by themselves, by their servants, and beasts of burden. Yet this is undoubtedly the fact. But let us not degrade the Sabbath by estimating it according to its beneficial influence upon our secular pros perity. It is designed for nobler purposes-higher objects. It has an intimate connexion with our happiness in time and eternity. Its advantages in this respect are clearly exhibited in the sermon before us. A few extracts will exhibit some of them, and afford a fair specimen of the manner in which it is composed.

"An attention to the duties of the Sabbath is closely connected with the improvement of the intellectual powers of man. It is a well known fact, that these powers are brought to maturity only by proper culture, and that their growth depends on the objects with which we are conversant. He who never raises his mind above the world, whose whole soul is occupied by objects of sense, and the pursuits of this world, debases his intellectual nature, and rises little above the brutes." p. 15.

Speaking of the influence of the Sabbath upon the moral feelings, Dr. Moore observes,

"We must view man as he is, in a state of moral degradation, and now on trial for a state of endless retribution. The testimony of him who cannot err, and facts, which speak too loud not to be heard, and too plain not to be understood, show that man is alienated from the righteous Sovereign of the universe, and has no relish of heart for the sources of heavenly happiness, and that he is in his moral feelings unprepared for the employments of those blessed mansions, where all are devoted to God, and where all is praise and love. To reclaim men from their state of moral degradation, to re-unite them to the holy part of God's enpire, and prepare them for mansions of blessedness, is the grand scope of the dispensation of mercy. To accomplish this infinitely benevolent design the Sabbath was instituted. It is an institution, in which the sons and daughters of God Almighty are to receive their education for eternity. It was appointed with this expressly in view. All its duties and employments have an ultimate reference to this end, and to this end have they, in every age of the world, been made subservient." p. 17.

“Go through Christendom, and search every spot, and the conclusion will be, that in every place where the Sabbath is regarded by an attention to its duties, there are those who possess a preparation of heart for the society of the blessed. Go back to the garden of Eden, and follow down the history of the human family to the present time, and the conclusion will be the same. Where this institution has been regarded according to divine requirement, it has been like the river of