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cides. "If Europe," says Montesquieu, " is to be ruined, it will be ruined by gaming." If the United States are to be ruined, gaming in some of its forms will be a very efficient agent in accomplishing the work.

V. A young man is void of understanding, who gives himself up to the practice of licentiousness. I wish it were in my power to conclude my remarks, without feeling that I had made an important omission. But such is the tendency of human nature, especially in the case of the young and ardent, to turn the most valuable blessings conferred upon man into curses, and poison at their very sources, the purest streams of human felicity, that it will be necessary to advert briefly, but plainly, to some of the most frequent forms of youthful irregularity.

We cannot suppose; that there are any persons so ignorant as really to think that licentiousness is right: but there are multitudes who do not consider it materially wrong. Criminal excesses

are indulged, and palliated by the mild appellations of conviviality and youthful indiscretion, and they are deemed necessary to the well-being of society. They are even made the subjects of boasting; and persons, who through age and infirmity are disabled from pursuing their former courses, will yet repeat them in effect, by glorying in the remembrance of them, and in encouraging others in the same career. So far from condemning these things in their minds, many will laugh at those who are scrupulous enough to doubt the lawfulness of such courses; and if any one were bold enough to bear a decisive testimony against them, he would instantly be characterized by some opprobrious name. To suppose that such indulgences, if restrained within moderate bounds, would subject a man to the wrath of Almighty God, would be considered as bordering on insanity, and the individual entertaining such an opinion would be branded as a fanatic.

Let us, then, inquire what foundation there is for such a sentiment. Does God say nothing in his word respecting the issue of such ways? or does he speak of them in the same gentle terms? No: not a syllable of this kind is to be found in all the Sacred Oracles. A general caution is given us by Solomon, in reference to carnal indulgences of every kind: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. The general warning given by St. Paul, is plainer still: If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. Lest we should mistake his meaning, he frequently enumerates the works of the flesh: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; these, says he, are the sins of the which I tell you before, that they who do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But because men are ready to offer vain pleas and excuses for such things, he particu

larly guards us against laying the smallest stress on any surmises of our own, or any suggestions of others: Let no man, says he, deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. But Moses, and after him the prophet Jeremiah, met the case in the most pointed manner: It shall come to pass, says Moses, when a man shall hear the words of this curse, and shall bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart; the Lord will not spare him; but the anger of the Lord, and his jealousy, shall smoke against that man; and all the curses that are written in this book shall come upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Now permit me to ask, for what end are these things written? is it merely to alarm and terrify us? Can we conceive that God would falsify, in order to keep us within some decent bounds? Is there any necessity for him to resort to such an expedient? or could he do it consistently with his own perfections?

Here, then, we are reduced to this dilemma: either to believe that the word of God is full of the most palpable falsehoods from one end to the other, or to acknowledge that these things are highly criminal. They, indeed, corrupt and deprave the mind more than any one assemblage of vice of all other kinds. Licentiousness gradually benumbs the conscience, and leads on, step by step, to those blacker vices at which the youth would once have shuddered. Believing, as I do, the word of God to be true, I must believe, and must exhort you also to believe, that they who make light of sin, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. The drunkard, the swearer, the gambler, the whoremonger, may think his way right; but, if there be any truth in the word of God, they shall end in death. The express declaration of God concerning them is, The end of these things is death.

VI. A young man is void of understanding, who neglects the concern of the soul, the one thing needful. The Scriptures represent the interest of the soul of the first importance. Hence, we are directed by our blessed Lord to seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. Indeed, if a man should gain the whole world, and finally lose his soul, he, in the end, would lose all and gain nothing. Although this truth is generally acknowledged, yet, when we press upon the youth the importance of attending to religion, and urge the necessity of giving immediate attention to this subject, they, for the most part. desire to excuse themselves, and to put these things off till a more convenient season. But, in a late repentance, here are many peculiar aggravations, even admitting that you may become a Christian in advanced life. These arise from,

1. The abuse of divine goodness.

2. The multitude of evil to be reviewed.

3. The injury done to society.

4. The uncertainty that necessarily attends such deferred repen

tance.

But if you neglect the means of grace now, and slight the offers of mercy, who has assured you that you shall have, in old age, grace to repent? It may be, that you have not been tempted to the commission of any flagrant evil, and, therefore, you have sustained a respectable character in the world: from hence, you are led to conclude that you are in no danger of being led so far astray but what you can return to the path of rectitude at any given period. But if you be tried by any violent temptations, you may be carried away like the dust before the wind, and fall a prey to the great enemy of your soul. Behold the swearer, the gambler, the drunkard, the duellist! each in his calling was esteemed a man of worth, till, by his want of principle, he was betrayed into the evils by which he fell. But, had he, in the first instance, rejected the counsels of ungodly men, and listened to the voice of God in his word, he had escaped the snares which were laid for his feet, and avoided the destruction that has come upon his soul. Nor is it into occasional sin, only, that men are drawn by the want of religious principle, but frequently into a contempt of all religion; as the Psalmist intimates, when in a triple climax, he describes a man, first walking in the counsel of the ungodly; then standing in the way of sinners; and, at last, sitting in the seat of the scornful. Such a man, by resisting the operation of the Holy Spirit, and living in the gratification of passion and appetite, may have quenched the last spark of grace, and be given over to the corrupt influences of a hard and reprobate heart. Of such an one, God may say, let him alone, he is joined to his idols. How unwise, then, is that man, who presumes upon the goodness and mercy of God now, under the false and delusive notion of receiving grace in old age, to purge his conscience from dead works to serve the living God! But who has given you assurances that you shall live to see old age? But a small proportion of the human family, live to advanced life. Many die in a state of infancy, many in childhood, many in youth, and many before they arrive at middle age. And can all the youth who hear me at the present time, reasonably expect to escape the ravages of death, till their heads have been whitened with the frost of threescore years and ten? Certainly not! Death will plant his artillery of diseases against these clay tenements, these mud walls, and, before long, many of them will be battered down. He will sweep over you with his cold and chilling blast, and many of the blossoms and flowers among the youth will wither, decay, and drop off. O, young man, he is now sharpening his scythe to cut you down, and you are dreaming of long life, and neglecting the interests of the soul! Awake from your delusion, grasp the moments as they fly, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling, before the fatal blow is struck. O, young woman, your beauty will fade at the touch of death; and, except you

are converted, your soul will sink down to hell to rise no more. And can you, under these alarming circumstances, rest contented in your sins? May you be aroused from the bed of sloth on which you are reposing, and enter into the Spiritual vineyard, and labor for God!

DISCOURSE XX.

Delight in Public Worship.

[Delivered at the opening of the Christian chapel at Hope, N. J., December, 1841.]

"Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth."--Psalms xvi., 8.

THE Christian church and congregation of this place having erected a house for public worship, we have assembled on the present occasion for the purpose of dedicating it to the worship of the Most High God, to his Son Jesus Christ, and to all the sacred purposes of the Christian religion in general. By the act of dedication, we do not suppose that the worship which may be performed in this house will be any more acceptable to God than if offered in any other building, or in the open air. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. He regards the moral purity and sincerity of the worshipper, more than the place where his homage is rendered. We merely regard the act of dedication as a solemn expression of the purposes for which the building has been erected, and its exclusive devotion to those purposes.

Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth. Such was the language of David, a man after God's own heart, a man of extraordinary and distinguished pietya virtue which marked the several periods of his office. Piety sanctified the eminent and distinguished talents which he possessed, and piety adorned the different stages through which he passed, and the different situations he occupied. When the sacred historian first introduces him to our notice, in the writings of the Old Testament, we behold him feeding his father's flock; and under these circumstances we see a most interesting and lovely sight; we behold the pious youth consecrating his harp to the God of Israel, while he employed his vigorous understanding, and his fruitful imagination, in composing sacred odes, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; and, with all the fervency of enkindled piety, and all the charms of poetic numbers, he celebrated the glories of the divine perfections, as the God of nature, as the God of providence, and as the God of grace; and for these unrivalled compositions,

the church of God has been indebted to him in every age, and will continue to be so in every succeeding age. While they have been perused in private and read in public, many a drooping spirit has been refreshed, and many a faint heart has been raised from earth to heaven.

But in tracing the history of this extraordinary and distinguished individual, we behold him called, by the providence of God, to exchange a pastoral crook for a regal crown; a shepherd's tent for a royal palace; from a keeper of sheep, to be king over Israel. But the fascinations of an earthly court did not estrange his heart from one that was heavenly and divine. We behold the splendors of royalty shining with transcendent lustre, mingled with piety. Most ready was he on all public occasions to descend from his throne, that he might mingle with the company of devout worshippers, and call upon him by whom kings reign and princes declare justice; never was he so truly at home as when thus employed; never were the feelings of his heart and the intensity of his understanding so truly alive, as when worshipping God. How did his language glow, when he said, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longeth, yea, fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. One thing have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after. It will be interesting to know what this one thing was. Was it, that he might enjoy a long and prosperous reign? Was it, that he might lead his host from conquering to conquer? Was it, that he might sway his sceptre over a devoted people? Ah! no. was not what he wanted. There was a more prominent object of desire in view. And what was it? That I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. And again, Blessed are they-Who? They that sit on thrones? No. But blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will still be praising thee. I will go unto the altar of God, unto God, my exceeding joy. No wonder that such was his resolution, for his heart was there; and where the heart is, there goes the man. Therefore he says, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth. And do I not speak this morning to those who have some sympathy in common with the Psalmist on this subject? Do I not speak to those who share in his devout feelings, while they are ready to employ his language to give expression to those feelings? Are they not saying, we have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth? But what are we to understand by the house of God? why this strong and ardent attachment to the house of God? and what are the practical operations of these devotional feelings?

This

I. What are we to understand by the house of God? From the earliest memorials of time, altars have been erected, and houses built, and employed in the service of God, when sacrifices and

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