too much engrossed by these earthly duties, he will now tear himself from all undue regard for them, put them from henceforth in their proper place, and "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness:" the man of literary pursuits will, I do not say, burn his books, but he will watch carefully over the effects which his favorite studies produce upon his affections, his temper, and his mind; and if he finds, as I fear he sometimes will, that these things, innocent in themselves, are by their engrossing and fascinating power, injurious to the best interests of his soul, he will at once unhesitatingly and decidedly renounce them. When I say, "at once," I do not mean at the very outset of a religious course. No! this is too much to expect; but as soon as the word of God "prevails," as the apostle expresses it;-as soon as the sword of the Spirit has beaten down the thousand barricades which an indefatigable devil is ever throwing up around

the citadel of our corrupt hearts, to defend them against the approach of their rightful owner. I allude thus particularly to this last class of my hearers, because in commencing a religious life, they have often very peculiar difficulties to cope with. They are not in danger from the temptations which delude, and the sins which ruin the profligate or the sensualist, their temptation is of a more refined, a less obvious, and therefore often of a far more dangerous nature. Amidst the cold and heart-petrifying studies of philosophy or science, the simple truths of the gospel too often become distasteful; amidst the fictitious sorrows of imaginary beings, the excitements of romance, or the charms of poetry, the joys and sorrows of religion lose their due value and preponderance.

Thus, even after the Spirit of God has really begun a good work in the heart, there are often many dangerous delays, many painful drawings-back, many pow

erful temptations to forsake the newlyadopted creed, and the Saviour who proclaims it; and all these impediments may be traced to the species of mental indulgence to which I have alluded, sometimes to the bewildering mazes of metaphysics, but still more often to the intoxicating charms of poetry, or the highlywrought or falsely-coloured fictions of romance. If I am now addressing any of you, to whom what I have just remarked is applicable, I would earnestly desire to prevail with you on this point. You are not giving the gospel of a crucified Saviour and a merciful God, a fair and reasonable hope of success; if you desire to be in earnest in the great work of salvation, you must treat it as if it were, what in truth it is, the one great object of life; you must renounce, as far as you can, consistently with the duties of life, every pursuit and every enjoyment which interferes with its effects upon your mind, or which loosens its

hold upon your heart, and give up yourself wholly and unreservedly to its blessed and sanctifying influences.

Then, and not till then, shall we be enabled to rejoice that the word of the Lord is growing mightily and prevailing; then, and not till then, shall we be enabled to "thank God and take courage," believing that you are an accepted servant of our God, and shall hereafter be "our joy and crown of rejoicing" in the eternal presence of the Lord of glory.

18

LECTURE II.

ACTS xx. 24.

NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME, NEITHER COUNT I MY LIFE DEAR UNTO MYSELF, SO THAT I MIGHT FINISH MY COURSE WITH JOY, AND THE MINISTRY WHICH I HAVE RECEIVED OF THE LORD JESUS, TO TESTIFY THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD.

AT the close of the last lecture we left St. Paul at Ephesus, where two of the most important years of his valuable ministry were employed. It appears from the history that his departure thence was hastened by one of those popular tumults which so often disgraced the most polished cities of antiquity, and which have not entirely disappeared under the civilizing influences of Chris