Are there not many sermons, many cautions against temptation, many admonitions to duty, many arguments for loving God, and pressing on towards perfection, of which they can give little account? They go frou the services of the church to their farms, or their merchandise, and the impressions produced by the "word preached" are transient

as the morning cloud, and the early dew." Beloved brethren, shake off this slothful frame as equally your reproach and your loss, and strive at becoming " fervent in spirit" under the means which you enjoy. We receive not because we ask not; we rarely feel the energies of divine grace co-operating with the word, because we rarely and languidly ask them: Like Moses were we often supplicating" Lord, shew me thy glory; if thy presence go not with me carry me not up hence; or with David, "open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law," or with the patriarch Jacob, "I will not let thee go without the blessing," how delightful and profitable would the ordinances of religion become to us? The sanctuary below would appear from sabbath to sabbath a lively emblem of the sanctuary above; upon every occasion that we attend its institutions we should be ready to conclude, with the disciples on the mount of transfiguration, "It is good to be here Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still praising thee."

Now the God of peace, that brought again

from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. AMEN.

SERMON XII.

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PROVERBS, XXIII, 13.

Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

FEAR is a passion deeply implanted in the bosom of man; and through its influence we are naturally impelled to flee from danger, whether real or imaginary. Fear, as mentioned by the inspired writers, sometimes signifies that secret dread or horror which rends the heart of the ungodly under a conviction of guilt, and apprehension of wrath. "There is no fear in love," says the evangelist, "but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment :' and as Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," Felix feared or trembled. Sometimes it expresses that cordial subjection which the child of adoption feels to his heavenly Father, and may therefore be defined a gracious princi

ple produced by the Holy Ghost, through the influence of which we are inclined to revere the authority of God, and observe all his commandments. "I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from me." Through the constraining influence of this affection David exclaims, "my flesh. trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy righteous judgments.'

But the term fear frequently comprehends the whole of practical godliness; all that esteem, and affection, and adoration which we owe as creatures to our Creator, and as ransomed sinners to our Redeemer. "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom.. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole of man: For God shall: bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

The duties enumerated in the preceding discourses were generally of a stated nature, and to each of them we ought regularly to attend in their proper season, imitating the example of that illustrious pair whose history was already considered by "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord." But our religion ought not to be merely occasional, or confined to the devotions of the closet, and family, and sanctuary. A filial fear of God, an ardent love to him, impressions of our necessary dependance on his providence, and of our obligations to live to his glory should possess the

dominion of our hearts at all times and amidst all circumstances, whether we are actively occupied in the business of the world, or allowing ourselves in what is usually considered its innocent amusements. Our whole lives should thus be a continued act of homage to our Creator and Lord. To cultivate this habitual devotion of spirit is the design of the present discourse, and we shall therefore endeavor to consider

I. The import of the admonition, "be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." II. The advantages attending this habitual reverence or devotion of spirit, and

III. Enumerate the means most happily calculated for promoting it.

Our intention is first, to explain the nature of the admonition, "be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long."

1. It implies constant and profound impressions of the divine immensity and presence. Jehovah is a being possessed of all possible excellence and glory; he is infinite in every perfection of his nature, "in his wisdom, his power, his holiness, his justice, his goodness and truth." Every name, every title, every attribute which can command our reverence and inspire our devotion is ascribed to him in the sacred oracles. is entitled "the King Eternal, immortal, and invisible; the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;

He

which no man hath seen nor can see; to whom belong honor and power everlasting. All that is great, all that is glorious throughout creation is only a ray from this sun; is only a drop from this ocean; it is mere darkness compared with the effulgence of that glory which dwells in creation's Lord. "Who in heaven may be compared to Jehovah? And who among the sons of the mighty may be likened to our God?" Yet possessing all this majesty and glory, HE is ever near, ever present; his arm supports, and his eye surveys creation with all its inhabitants; every thought, and word, and action, of all his creatures, at all times, and in all places, are perfectly open to his omniscient view. "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth saith the Lord?" The soul may be considered as fearing Jehovah when it entertains becoming conceptions of his being and immensity: when it is uniformly filled with devout, adoring thoughts of him as the perfection of excellence and glory; when it mentions his name or approaches him in acts of devotion with the most profound humiliation and reverence. Such appears to have been the impressions of David when he thus devoutly exclaims, "O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me; thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thoughts afar off; thou