truly religious," then if you live you will live to the Lord, " and if you die you will die to the Lord, fo that whether you live or die you will be the Lord's." Blessed are the youth who are the favorites of heaven and united to Jefus. Confider how grofs the abfurdity, and how bafe the ingratitude, to give our strength and the flower ofour days to Satan, and to hope that God will accept the dregs and refufe of life. This will be offering the torn, the lame, and the fick for facrifice, which will furely be rejected. How can we expect God will fupport and comfort us in age, when we ferved him not while we were young. Precious was the experience of the Pfalmift when he could fay, “O God "thou haft taught me from my youth; now also when I am "old and grey-headed, forfake me not."

An argument to enforce religion upon tender minds, is taken in ftrong figurative expreffions from the luminaries of heaven and the clouds of the air. "While the fun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds re"turn after the rain." All thefe bright luminaries become dim to the aged, through failure of fight and all the powers of nature. Their understandings, memories and all their faculties fail. The beauty and pleasure of all these things are paffed away.

Then the clouds return after the

rain. No fooner is one cloud blown over than another fucceeds; thus the aged are no fooner relieved from one difeafe and pain than they are feized with another. Their ailments are like a continual dropping in a rainy day. Let all thefe things be placed together to engage youth in an early attention to religion. The commandment of your bleeding Saviour is, "Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteoufnefs "thereof." And thofe that feek me early fhall find me. "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while "the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou "shalt fay, 1 have no pleasure in them; while the fun, or the "light, or the moon, or the ftars be not darkened, nor the *clouds return after the rain."

Is it not a melancholy thought that any of you fhould perish por

Is not the thought transporting that you should all enjoy the felicity and glories of heaven forever?

O that it might be a portion of my blifs to behold you in the celeftial world! That you might fee me there as you now do in this facred desk, and that I might behold you in these : Then bleffed happy regions, as I now behold you before me. minister-happy children--and eternally glorious youth.

SERMON IX.

How Youth may become Holy and Happy

Pfa. cxix. 9. Wherewith fhall a young man cleanfe his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

divine wisdom

THE holy fcriptures are the fource of all and faving knowledge to the children of men. They are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteoufnefs. They are of the most extensive spiritual use, containing all things neceffary for to know and believe concerning God, ourselves, the way of falvation for finners, and the graces, virtues and duties for acquiring the fame. They are perfectly calculated to difplay the character of God, the holiness of the divine law, the evil and turpitude of fin, the recovery of finners through the atonement and interceffion of Chrift, the way of faith and obedience, and to rectify and reform what is amifs in the foul. So that the man of God or the true Christian may be thoroughly furnifhed for the per formance of every good work.

This excellent Pfalm fhining with peculiar luftre among all

the Pfalms of David, principally confifts in praises and ence miums on divine revelation. The Pfalmift here in the most perfuafive language recommends the great ufefulness of the fcriptures, from his own example and the diftinguished bleffings he had experienced in them. How often does he exprefs his most ardent defires, for a more intimate acquaintance with thefe precious oracles, and to be more conformed to their inftructions?" Deal with thy fervant according to thy mer"cies, and teach me thy ftatutes. I am thy fervant, give me "understanding that I may know thy teftimonies. O how I love thy law; it is my meditation all the day.”

There is no less than ten words employed in this long Pfalm expreffive of the glories and advantages of divine revelation. And what is very remarkable, there is not a verfe in which one of these terms is not used, a very few excepted, yet they are fo placed and tranfpofed, that the most accurate reader feels no tedious repitition, but every phrafe appears with beau ty and affords him the highest pleasure and delight.

It is filed God's law, becaufe the fcriptures are given by the fupreme and fovereign legiflator-his way, because they contain the order of his difpenfations, and the course of man's obedience-his commandments, becaufe iffued by the most ab folute authority-his teftimonies, because attefted or witnessed to the world by the most irrefragable evidence-bis precepts, because they are the prefcriptions of heaven to man-his word, because they are the declarations of his will-his judgments, because by them we shall be judged-his righteousness, because holy, juft and good, and the standard of perfect juftice-his fatutes, becaufe fixed, immutable and of perpetual obligationhis truth, because they are faithful fayings and founded on principles of eternal verity.

Now thefe oracles which are defcribed in fuch a variety of

characters, exhibit complete rules of direction in every cafe In all difficulties in which persons may be involved, here is inftruction for deliverance, or how to bear them with patience, and improve them for their greateft good. In our text they give directions of the highest importance, to wit, how the rifing generation may become holy and ufeful in the world, and be happy forever. "Wherewith fhall a young man cleanse his way "By taking heed thereto according to thy word." My young friends, I hope, will grant their attention to a fubject of fuchinfinite magnitude. It is long fince it was faid by the wifeft of men, that youth is folly and vanity. I will not enter into the common effay, that youth is worfe in this age than formerly. Every one, even the most ignorant, is continually giving lectures on this topic. This is not by any means a general truth there may be particular places where one generation may be worse than a preceding, fo there may be places where a generation arises better than the one which went before it. But however this matter may be, there is in the words before us an important queftion afked, and a fatisfactory anfwer given for the direction of the rifing generation.

There are various things of high importance contained in the queftion, "How fhall a young man cleanfe his way?" By way, when used in this figurative fenfe, expreffive of the moral temper and character, is generally meant the bias and inclination of the heart, and the courfe and prevailing tenor of the life. If the habitual turn of the heart be to that which is good and the external converfation fuch as becometh the gofpel, then his way is right with God, or it is in its measure clean. But if the heart be commonly disposed to evil, and the conversation ungodly, this proves his way to be unclean, or corrupt and

vicious.

To cleanfe, in a moral or religious fenfe, fignifies to reform and amend that which is amifs both in heart and conduct. To