1. We are liable to much mistake, when we suppose that the subject of religion is new to those to whom we have said but little. God has many methods for diffusing abroad the knowledge of his will, independent of our agency. The voice of his word, the voice of his Spirit, and the voice of conscience have been heard far and wide. "I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." (Rom. x. 18.) I have rarely, in a ministry of thirty-four years, attempted to talk with an inquirer, but I found that the Spirit of God, and a faithful conscience, had been speaking to that soul long before it was addressed by me. God is doing a great and solemn work, while he is leading immortal souls to eternity. And O, how small a portion of his ways do we comprehend! Let us, therefore, put a restraint upon our tongues, when tempted to speak lightly of "sudden conversions."

2. Most, if not all, of the conversions recorded in the Bible are of the description which the world would now pronounce "sudden.” See the case of Abraham. "Now, the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him." See the conversion of Naaman the Syrian. (2 Kings v. 15-19.) See the conversion of the men of Nineveh, under the

preaching of Jonah. And yet Christ declares that their religion will stand the scrutiny of the judgment day. See the conversion of James and John, Simon and Andrew. "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” (Matt. iv. 18-22.) See also the thousands on the day of Pentecost.

And

When I think of the rich and varied opportunities which God has granted to the present generation, I must believe that there are many important and permanent religious impressions among that part of the community who have as yet given no public manifestation. How many Bibles have been thrown before the eye of the educated and intelligent neglecter of the great salvation! How many religious tracts! How much wholesome religious instruction has been imparted in Sabbath schools! In these respects, the last twenty years have surpassed all the years that have ever gone before them. And, moreover, how great has been the amount of sound, instructive, and powerful preaching, which God has granted to the souls of men within the same period! I speak not now of any one section of our country, exclusively. I speak of the whole, east, west, north, and south. With how much enlightened, dis

criminating, and scriptural preaching has the present generation been blessed! I fully believe that, in this respect, few among the ages that are passed have been raised so high in point of privileges. We may fairly infer, therefore, that much thoughtfulness and valuable impression have been produced, that have not yet appeared on the surface of society; and that when, "after so long a time," men come to the determination, that they must and will confess Christ in the church, we greatly err, if we suppose that religion is a new theme of thought to them, or that, in their pious resolves, there is any thing "sudden," in such a sense as implies a want of serious consideration, or the absence of a thorough acquaintance with the solemnity and sacredness of the Christian profession.

Now, at the opening of the year 1850, I cast my eye over our highly-favored land. It is a mighty field, where the fallow ground has been broken up, the clods have been pulverized, and the good seed put in, and covered with earth. Why should we not expect an abundant harvest? God has wonderfully taken hurtful influences out of the way. The thunders of war are hushed. The din of political strife has died away. The ravages of cholera are, at least for a time, arrested. We wait only for the showers of divine grace to make the plants in the garden of God spring up, and produce fruit in rich abundance, beyond all that "kings and prophets" ever saw. No such extensive preparations preceded the revivals under John Knox and his fellowlaborers, when, in a single generation, a nation was born to God. No such extensive preparation preceded the "great awakening" under Edwards and the Tennants. Why, then, should not the church, at this day,

(6 expect great things," and "attempt great things"? Why not hope for the return of sinners to the ark of safety in such multitudes, that the prophet, in vision beholding it at the distance of many centuries, was constrained to exclaim, "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?"

GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE.

THE Holy Spirit hath said, "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Absolute perfection is not possessed by the newly-converted soul, and hence the command to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." There is a growth in knowledge, as well as in grace, enjoined on the believer. Inattention to this fact has often occasioned erroneous sentiments among pious people. This life is but our birthday. Saints will grow in acquaintance with God and things divine through all eternity. And yet how prone are we, in the very commencement of our religious course, to fancy ourselves fully qualified to pronounce without hesitation on the most high and solemn questions that relate to the things of God! Many a Christian has been kept in darkness for years, by reason of some hasty decision concerning the doctrine of the gospel, rashly made in the very infancy of his Christianity. O that all Christians, and especially the young, would treasure up in their minds that precious counsel of the Holy Spirit, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding "! God has given us a "sure word of prophecy" for our direction, to which we do well to "take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." But O, what mournful