Collection after a Sermon by Rev. Dr. Paterson ........ 10 at the Anniversary.. 4 5 51 6 4

Less Expenses.... 3 2 10

Collections, &c..

Missionary Boxes

Mrs, Grain.

Mrs. J. Robinson

Mrs. Lindsey.

6 19 0

1

0 0 2 13

0

Ir has been boldly asserted by the men of the world, and artfully insinuated by some of the enemies of the gospel, that the preaching of the doctrines of grace withdraws the attention of men from the obligations of morality, and fosters the belief that they may be neglected with safety; and that where the lessons of duty are stated from the pulpit, and justice is done to the moral powers of man, you will find a much stricter attention to the requirements of honesty. There may be, they maintain, a profession less strict and a devotion less rapturous, but there is far more candour and fidelity. These representations are very common in some circles, they have been sanctioned by the writers of works in wide circulation in the fashionable world, and they often impeded the success, and obstructed the advancement, of persons attached to the faith of the gospel, and who were known to live in the fear of God. It is not to ignorance but to enmity to the truth that these assertions are to be ascribed; and they are grossly unjust. The grace of God, which bringeth salvation, teaches men to live righteously in the world as well as piously and soberly; the obligations of morality are strengthened by its principles; its motives have a peculiar power over the heart; and we may boldly appeal to the characters formed by its influence as patterns of all that is strict in

VOL. X.

integrity and truth. We shall present in this sketch an example of the power of godliness, which we saw in association with the strictest fidelity to every moral requirement. The person I refer to had, during a great part of his life, the charge of an extensive colliery; and in this situation he secured, by his uniformly wise and good conduct, the entire confidence of his employers, and the affectionate respect of the men. It is rare to find them united. Some, in their wish to ingratiate themselves with their employers, treat those under their management with a severity which makes their lot bitter; and others, in order to curry favour with the men, connive at their negligence, irregularities, and petty thefts, and join with them in their lowest enjoyments with a familiarity unworthy of their station. Some have acted thus to prevent the disclosure of their own peculations, and have found that nothing is so insecure as that which lies at a workman's or a servant's mercy, and that in proportion to the extent of what requires to be concealed will be their demands on the indulgence of the guilty. But this excellent man had a conscience void of offence to all with whom he was connected. The management of a coalwork is supposed to afford peculiar facilities for gain at the expence of the proprietor, and some in this situation have enriched themselves at their loss; and

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