so far forget the sanctity of your vocation, as to make the pulpit the scene of party politics.

In prescribing to you so many duties and exertions I leave you no leisure for sloth, dissipation, and luxury; no leisure for unprofitable visits, for ungodly mirth and foolish jesting. No, my brother, every moment of your time must be filled up with some useful pursuit. Whilst you breathe, you must think, and speak, and work; for "life is short, and there will be rest enough in the grave." *

You are still young; but death will soon overtake you. This solemn truth furnishes you with a strong motive to diligence. The world abounds with comforts, and even pleasures: it is a world, every part of which displays the goodness of God: but the present scene is not permanent: all its joys are passing rapidly away; and you look for something more substantial. A recent affliction has convinced you of the vanity of the world. The loss of an amiable parent has inflicted a wound, which still bleeds. In concluding my address to you, what can I do better, than to exhort you to imitate his devout and holy life? Let the image of his fidelity, his sincerity, his candor, his ardent love of truth, his kindness, his disinterestedness, his piety, and the many other virtues, which adorned his character as a man, and as a minister of the gospel, be ever present in your mind; and continue through life to be a son, who shall do honor to the memory of so excellent a father.

My beloved brethren of the church, I congratulate you on the auspicious transactions of this day. Of the

• Priestley.

minister, whom you have now introduced into office, you know my opinion; you know how highly I approve his settlement among you: this is not the time, nor the place, to praise him. The duty, which you owe him, I pointed out in the morning; and if I had not, you perfectly understand it. The kindness and generosity, with which you have always treated me, are sure pledges to him of your attention and friendship. During the period of twenty years, no cause of disquiet has arisen; no circumstance has taken place, to interrupt the harmony, which was so happily begun. With such an affectionate 'people, my brother has reason to hope that his life will be happy and you, my friends, on your part, have cause for pleasing expectations. The youth and health of your new pastor promise you many years of usefulness and love; and long after I am laid in the grave, the light of his instructions will shed a kindly influence on your children. Receive him therefore with respect and affection: and let the spirit of mutual condescension still continue to adorn your society. Endeavor to serve and please each other; live in peace; and may the God of love and peace be with you.

34

CHARGE II.

DELIVERED FEB. 16TH, 1815, AT THE ORDINATION OF REV. ISAAC BLISS PEIRCE, MINISTER OF A CHURCH IN TRENTON, ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

My dear brother, as you have now been ordained and publicly declared a minister of the gospel, it is proper that you should in the same public manner be exhorted to perform with fidelity the duties of the important station in which you are placed. The address, which I am to deliver on this occasion, necessarily assumes an imperative form, but it is no further entitled to your attention, than as it is founded on truth and the divine word.

You are a minister of Jesus Christ; and your business is to preach the religion, which was communicated by him, or his harbingers, the Prophets, and his successors, the Apostles. This religion is contained in the Bible: I do therefore solemnly charge you, in the presence of God, and of the disciples of our common Master who are here assembled, to study the Bible, and to teach nothing which, after a diligent and impartial examination, you do not believe consistent with that sacred book. Read the Scriptures with your understanding; and make use of all the aids, which are afforded by sound reason, a knowledge of ancient customs and ancient learning, and the just rules of biblical criticism.

Let not the truths which you discover, or which you think you discover in the Bible, be concealed in your bosom; but declare them openly to the world. Integrity is one of the first duties of a preacher of the gospel; and it will save you much trouble, if you begin your ministerial life with the practice of this virtue for though it may expose you for a while to the reproach of some worthy Christians, who apprehend that any sentiments which differ from their own tend to impiety and licentiousness, and whose favorable judgment you wish to secure, because they are as upright as yourself; yet in the end you will find it, not only a straight, but a safe, path. You will never be betrayed by the shortness of your memory into contradictions, a fate which often attends men, who are guilty of equivocations: beside which your opponents will see the worst of you; and as, from the openness of your character, they will have no cause to suspect that there are any secret heresies in your breast, many of them will at last treat you as an honest, though mistaking, Christian.

I mean not to recommend to you to disclose every opinion, which enters your thoughts. There are many floating in the mind, of which it is not easy to say, whether they are true or false; and it is frequently imprudent, and sometimes pernicious, to expose them to the world but in all the peculiar doctrines, which distinguish the different sects of Christians, exhibit yourself without disguise. Be not afraid, nor ashamed, to own the religious party, to which you belong; that is, to speak plainly, let not only your friends, but the world know, whether you are a Calvinist or an Arminian, a Trinitarian or a Unitarian.

In declaring your sentiments, adopt the most intelli

gible language, which does not admit of more than one sense. Certain over-prudent men have discovered a way of uttering truth in the words of falsehood. They express themselves in popular phrases, whilst they do not believe the doctrines, which these phrases are generally understood to convey. Thus he who speaks puts one meaning on the terms, and he who hears, another. You will not do this; for it is not honest, my brother.

But whilst I recommend the open declaration of your sentiments on all proper occasions, at the same time I exhort you not to suffer yourself to become a controversial preacher. Do not think it necessary to introduce your whole system of divinity into every sermon. So far from dwelling always on your peculiar opinions, they ought seldom to be treated. You believe them to be true, and they may be so; but if they are true, they are not the most important doctrines of Christianity. The essential doctrines of the gospel are not those, in which Christians differ, but those in which they agree and they are these:

That there is one God, who is the object of love and adoration.

That he sent Jesus Christ to save mankind from sin and misery.

That there will be a resurrection from the dead.

And that piety and virtue will be rewarded, and vice and impiety punished in the other world.

Let these great doctrines, and the duties which result from them, devotion to God, gratitude to Christ, justice and kindness to men, and prudence, diligence, and temperance as respects ourselves, together with the peculiar virtues of the gospel, humility, disinterestedness, and forgiveness of injuries, be most frequently the