teaching. That object is, not to shape a system of infallible faith, but to form a character. Dispositions, not opinions; actions, not creeds, were the tests of excellence and acceptance with him. Is it necessary to prove this? Learn of the good Samaritan. What? That it is better to worship at Jerusalem than at Mount Gerizim? No; but that universal charity which sees a brother in a suffering mortal. Learn of the returning prodigal. What? That a proscribed system, or particular point of faith is necessary to acceptance? No; but that penitence, humility and reformation will secure the forgiveness and compassion of the one all-merciful Father. Volumes upon volumes of theology are written, to adjust precisely the dimensions of a saving creed. Alas! they go but little way towards softening the obduracy of one human heart, or producing in mankind that deep, that filial piety, that sweet and lowly charity which the Saviour exemplified and taught.

My friends, I do not say "think what you believe of no importance; but if you do believe in Jesus as the Saviour, if you acknowledge him as your Lord here, and your Judge hereafter, make it your first, your last, and your most constant care to cultivate the charity, humility, and forgiveness; the penitence, the watchfulness, and spiritual-mindedness which his parables go to recommend. Thus, and thus only, will ye be blessed of his Father. Thus, and thus only, will there be a place for you in the final kingdom of his glory and his love. Amen.

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PRAYER.

O Thou great Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift, we bless Thee for the various temporal and spiritual mercies with which Thou hast crowned our existence; and especially we thank Thee for the instruction, consolation, and improvement which we derive from the Gospel of thy Son, Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the light which his mission, and death, and resurrection, his varied instructions, and his mighty works, have thrown upon things kept secret from the foundation of the world,-upon the great truths, relating to thy providence and purposes, to our own discipline and destiny, which, without it, would be still involved in dark and mournful obscurity.

Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may participate largely in the benign influences of his example and instructions; that our consciences may be refined, our hearts enlarged, and our minds elevated by our frequent and earnest communion with him, as he is made known to us in the records of his life and ministry. May we dwell with habitual satisfaction upon thy parental and compassionate character; and when we wander, as we lament we too frequently do, from thy guidance and authority, may no fears of a relentless anger prevent us from speedily returning to our Father's house, and imploring, with penitence and godly sorrow, for pardon,

protection, and aid.

Remembering that Thou, who, without respect of persons, judgest every man's work, wilt hereafter appropriate to us our reward according to our application and

improvement of the talents entrusted to us, may we not neglect or delay the faithful and diligent employment of all our powers in the promotion of human happiness, of our own improvement, and of thy glory. May we never pass by any opportunities of doing good, which occur to us in the journey of life, hurrying away on the other side in the pursuit of selfish ends and pleasures, and steeling our hearts by vain excuses against the claims of duty and compassion to our neighbor.

O God, call, we beseech Thee, the attention of mankind, and especially of professing Christians, to the clear and practical declarations of thy Son, our Saviour. So impress his words upon their minds and hearts, that all false doctrines, all hurtful prejudices, all partial and unworthy views of thy character and will, may be speedily dispersed; and that the members of the great family of man, owning a relationship to Thee, the one all-bountiful and universal Parent, may love one another as brethren; and thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. To Thee be glory forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON XV.

TO PERSONS IN THE MIDDLE PERIOD OF

LIFE.

Genesis xlvii. 8.

AND PHARAOH SAID UNTO JACOB, HOW OLD ART THOU?"

THE bosom of youth rebounds with joy as they answer this question. Each anniversary of their natal day they welcome with increasing pleasure. Light as their own footsteps, is to them the passage of succeeding years. Joyful is the adieu which they bid to the past, and exultingly they hail the coming of the future. They bid the years roll rapidly along, and are never more content than when receiving the congratulations of their friends on the opening of a new year of their mortal being. The past has been and the present is to them a season of restraint, and therefore of dislike; the future is gilded with all the brilliancy which youthful fervor and undisciplined imagination can pour forth, and presents in consequence to the eye of the young, charms the most numerous and attractive. Life is before them in all the witchery of its festive exterior, and without the gloomy realities with which it is chequered to those

who have tasted, handled and felt its deceptive forms. The young, therefore, gladly stretch forward into coming periods, and on the question, "how old art thou," are pleased when they can add one to the number of their years. They feel as the prisoner, when he records. another year complete, and finds the period of his incarceration by so much shortened. Soon, however, their feelings subside to a soberer tone. The gaudy colors of their imagination disappear at the approach of reality. The fairy form so eagerly pursued, turns out, at the moment they strive to seize it, a phantom or a spectre. At the best, life, however fraught with gratification, passeth quickly away; and the question, "how old art thou," is heard by those of riper age with sobriety and meditation. A few years more, when the tokens of coming decline rise thickly on the sight, the mind watches the lapse of time with feelings of mingled seriousness and awe. Then the question "how old art thou," often excites the desire, not to accelerate, but arrest the flight of time; then the recurrence of the day of birth awakens the remembrance of the day of death; then gladly would the heart diminish, not augnent, the number of years forever fled; then each returning year sensibly abridges the interval between life and death, and leads the mind to number, not the years, but the days of existence.

There is a period when the minds of most men awaken with peculiar strength to the consciousness of the unalterable lapse of time. It is not during youth, for then the heart is too gay to do anything but speed' and welcome the flight of their existence. It is not in old age, for then the mind is familiarized with the de