as manifested in the redemption of men by the blood of his only dear Son, and the blessings vouchsafed to them through his all-sufficient grace ; can any one who adverts to this subject question the propriety of surrendering ourselves up, in body,
soul, and spirit, to his service? It matters not what
rank in society we hold, or what office we may fill ; the decree is equally applicable to all, and equally reasonable for all : kings and princes are no more exempt from these duties than the meanest of their subjects : as long as subordination to rulers is enjoined, much more must a duteous regard to the God of heaven be held sacred and, as long as grati- tude is esteemed a becoming principle in relation to men, so long must its exercise be obligatory on all towards the Re- deemer of the world ]
Behold then in this decree,
1. The effect which God's mercies should have
upon us —
[Darius felt the deliverance of Daniel to be in fact as great a mercy to himself as it was to Daniel : and a sense of this penetrated his soul with a desire to honour that God by whom the mercy had been vouchsafed. This was right. And is it not right that mercies and deliverances should have the same effect on us ? Consider what mercies we have received ; some public and national, and others private and personal1
Should no improvement be made of these ? Should
we not say, " What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me ?" Surely these things, and
especially the mercies vouchsafed to our souls are calls
from God himself to glorify him with all our faculties and all our powers™ ]
2. What use we should make of our influence —
[To serve God ourselves is right and necessary : but it is far from comprehending the whole of what is required of us in return for the mercies vouchsafed unto us. We all have in- fluence, which it is our bounden duty to exert: if that influence reach only to a very small circle, we should not on that account think ourselves at liberty to leave it unimproved : nor if it extend over a vast empire, should we be backward to encounter the opposition and obloquy which the exercise of it may bring upon us. Whatever it be, whether more or less, we should regard it as a talent to be employed for God. Even a heathen, and he, we fear, not truly converted, felt this obligation : how much more then should we, who profess to
1 Here any public or private mercies may be glanced at. m The particular objects of the Society may here be stated at large.