beautiful in its place, so that if we conform to the order of his Providence, the appointments of his will, we need not ask that the heavens should be opened to give us bread, or that the rock should pour forth water, at the prophet's touch, since God has covered the valleys with corn, and sends rain upon the earth from his treasures.

Sustained and blessed as we are, at all times, by such a universal and benignant Providence, we have reason, brethren, at all times, for praise and thanksgiving to the Giver of every good. We have reason, under all circumstances, and in every situation, to rejoice that the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. We need not wait to discover, whether any remarkable interposition has been vouchsafed to our weakness or our wants, for the most remarkable interposition took place, when God spake, and it was done, when he commanded, and it stood fast, and this broad and fruitful earth, was prepared as a dwelling place for

man.

In the regular course of the divine government, it may be, that you have experienced disappointment and trial. But does that prevent you from blessing the Lord at all times, and having his praise continually in your mouth? As you look round upon the circle of your friends, you find it broken in upon, by the inexorable destroyer, and many are absent, whom you would wish to see. But were they not taken, in conpliance, with those laws, which God hath established, for the good of man? Would you have had those laws suspended, on your account? Should you dare to ask, that you might be exempt from their operation? And

how many blessings have they still left to you? How many more have they spared, than they have taken? How much more in every respect, have they given you, than they have deprived you of!

If as you call your families around you, you miss the familiar faces, which you once loved, and are reminded, that with some there will be no more friendly meetings on earth, remember that they were taken, in the course of divine Providence, by that law, which ordains to man a sphere of existence beyond the grave. You would not have that law annulled. You would not have it interrupted to suit your wishes or your will. For it is the source of some of the choicest blessings, which man enjoys. It is the foundation of our most elevated affections, our dearest sympathies, and our holiest hopes. Let us then, accept the dispensations of our heavenly Father. Let us acquiesce in the blessed arrangements, he has made for our happiness and improvement. Let us fulfil our trusts, as sustaining a part, in the great plan of His government, without seeking a partial and irregular interposition for ourselves.. Let us rejoice and be glad that all things are appointed by his Providence and that all the appointments of his Providence are good.

SERMON III.

BY REV. ALVAN LAMSON, DEDHAM.

MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF IMMORTALITY.

REV. 11. 10.-BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE THEE A

CROWN OF LIFE.

WERE we asked to state in few words, in what we conceive the chief excellence, power, worth of Christianity to consist, we know not that we could better reply than by saying, In the views it unfolds of the future life of man-of the soul's immortality-its undying capacities of virtue, enjoyment and suffering. It has brought life and immortality to light. It teaches, undoubtedly, other doctrines of immense importance, but these, if we mistake not, will be found to derive their principal greatness and value from their connexion with that of the soul's imperishable essence, power of improvement, moral freedom, and accountableness. That the universe has a Father, that he is one, infinite, that he encompasses us with his presence and love, that he regards our wants, weaknesses, and sufferings, that he is attentive to our prayers, and not one contrite tear is shed, nor sigh is breathed, in vain, that without his knowledge not a hair of our head perishes, is a concep

tion as full of consolation as of sublimity, and this conception we owe to Christianity. But let us suppose for a moment, that this care is only temporary, that death is an annihilation of our being, that the soul then loses its consciousness forever-upon this supposition how much of its dignity, how much of its interest, does the belief of God's paternal character and providence lose! But regard the spirit of man as immortal, regard it in whatever form of being it may hereafter exist, as still surrounded by its God, still with its Father, still an object of his protection and love, and admitted to a union with him more intimate than is known to earthly natures, how does the conception alluded to become ennobled! It is not that the Infinite One watches over us now, that he takes care for our life, that he is present to help our infirmities, and strengthen our hearts in the hour of trial,-it is that he will continue to care for us forever, that he will be with us when flesh and sense shall fail, that he will conduct us through the shadowy valley, and be the friend and portion of our spirits through eternity,-it is this which gives to the doctrine of his paternal love its weight, its influence, its quickening and consoling power.

The teachings of Jesus all have reference to the immortality of the conscious, thinking principle within us, and the retributions of sin and holiness as connected with it. Take away this doctrine, and we say not that Christianity would not be a blessing, but it would not be the great blessing it now is. It would be divest

All that is of most

ed of its most precious feature. worth in it would be annihilated, and its influence would be poor and insignificant.

The future existence of man had been the conjecture of philosophy, and at times the hope of the dying, before the star of Christianity arose. But besides that it wanted the confirmation of a direct revelation, the belief of it was mixed up with so many low and absurd views, that its moral influence must, in all cases, have been exceedingly feeble. The pervading principle or sentiment of the religions of the ancient world was inadequate or false. They received, unquestionably, large embellishments from a poetic imagination, but they had in the main a political purpose. If they were not the inventions of lawgivers, they were instruments in their hands, and were used by them chiefly as the means of enforcing the practice of virtue as beneficial to human society on earth. The belief of a state of rewards and punishments hereafter was inculcated as lending a sanction to human laws. The good of the present life was its end,-we may say, its ultimate and sole end. To prepare the soul for a pure and spiritual life above, was not the primary, it was hardly even a secondary object of those religions. This is a conception, which seems not to have entered the human mind, until unfolded by Christianity, of which as already intimated, it is the great and all pervading principle. The difference between the two objects is very striking and important, and mainly accounts, we think, for the immense superiority which Christianity possesses, in regard to moral influence, over all the religions which had before appeared in the world. They were viewed simply as subsidiary to the designs of the civil magis trate. They had, as we have said, a political purpose. They aimed solely to confer a present good on society, and hence they concerned themselves little with the