Address,
L Those who are fearing God in their youth — [We rejoice that there are many Obadiahs amongst us, and perhaps some Timothys also, who even " from their child- hood have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus." Happy people, and greatly to be envied, in thus consecrating to the Lord " the first-fruits" of your days! Regard not then the scoffs and ridicule of those who have no fear of God before their eyes. The day is coming when they will reproach themselves more than ever they reproached you, and applaud your choice far more than ever they condemned it^.]
2. Those who have lost their youth without having yet obtained the fear of God —
[Ah ! what have you lost ! But blessed be God that you have not yet been given up to final condemnation. O listen to the voice of God, who says to you, " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Learn to improve the present hour, for you know not how soon your day of grace may terminate, and all possibility of salvation be cut off for ever.]
f Wisd. V. 3—6.
1 Kings x\dii. 21. A?id Elijah came unto all the people, and said, Hoiv long halt ye hetiveen ttvo opinions? if the Lord he God, follow him : hut if Baal, then follow him.
IF a heathen should visit this country in order to ascertain what our religion was, and whether it was such as it became him to embrace, he would be al- together at a loss what judgment to form respecting it. From what he saw and heard in our churches, he would form a most favourable conclusion : he would say. Those people worship one God : they approach him through one Mediator, who died for them on a cross, and now lives to make intercession for them in heaven : they receive from God a divine almighty Agent, whom they call the Holy Spirit; through whose gracious operations they are enabled to turn from sin, and to walk in the ways of right- eousness and true holiness. They are certainly a holy people ; for from time to time they entreat of God that they may be enabled to live a righteous, sober, and godly life, to the glory of his holy name. But if he followed us home to our houses, he would begin to doubt whether we had any religion at all amongst us. He would find no worship of God in our families ; perhaps none, or at best a mere formal worship, in oiu closets : he would hear nothing about religion in our daily conversation : he would see nothing in our conduct that would distinguish us from the better sort of heathens, and much that the more decent heathens would be ashamed of. He would therefore conclude, that we had no fixed opinion about religion at all ; that we did not believe our own creed ; and that we thought people would be as happy without any religion, as even Chris- tianity itself could make them.
Such was the state of Israel of old, except that there was an outward idolatry established amongst them, whereas the idols which we worship have their