think of the worth of each child's soul: gather up from off the pages of holy writ what is taught respecting this one factthe value of the immortal soul! Enter, with its sorrowing Redeemer within the precincts of Gethsemane, and borrow some conception from "his agony and bloody sweat." Or stand with the multitude on the day of Pentecost, and hear it giving vent to its fears in the impassioned exclamation, “Sirs, what must we do to be saved?" Keep your eye constantly on the eternity which nothing but the mouldering tabernacle before you veils from its immortal inmate. Do this, I say, and the mere task of teaching the art of reading, or of simply conveying lessons of Scripture to the mind, will be viewed as but the stepping-stone to that great end for which these young candidates for the life to come are brought within the pale of religious culture. It is yours, my friends, by every possible illustration, by every interesting and familiar analogy, and by every vivid, and I would say, appalling picture, to convince them of sin-to show its defiling nature-its offensive aspect in the sight of heaven, and, above all, its awful consequences in the latter day! It is yours to exhibit the Saviour in all His endearing relations, in all His attitudes of mercy, and in all His expressive importunities; as when on earth" He took the little children in his arms and blessed them," and said to you pros pectively, "Beloved, feed my lambs." It is yours to convey to their hearts, with an emphasis which they will never forget, "It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing." They will understand then, why, when we pray for them we say, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from us." Then will they learn to realize their helplessness, except as they are strengthened with might by His SPIRIT, in the inner man. They will fear to substitute the form for the power of godliness. They will see and feel that to be spiritually minded only is life and peace; and, under the enlightening conviction, that the things of GOD knoweth no man but the SPIRIT of GOD, will find an effectual antidote against the inveigling doctrines and commandments of men. By the very wording of your commission "Feed my lambs," you are expected to distinguish the chaff from the VOL. III.-27

wheat. He that hath my word; let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the LORD? Come then, beloved, under the constraining influence of the love of CHRIST. Aim to sow the seeds of holiness in their hearts, and you will rear a plant which all the scorching and withering blasts of infidelity will never destroy. For the increase of holiness is the increase of CHRIST's kingdom. "And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him." Yes, beloved, we may look forward with believing expectations to the happiest effects, for the decree is gone forth-gone with the angel, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to the nations. Iniquity, in every feature it has assumed, will and must pass away in a few generations, like the baseless fabric of a vision, leaving not a wreck behind; while our juvenile heralds, in the spirit of Heber's stanza, shall go forth shouting,

Waft, waft ye winds his story,

And you, ye waters, fall;

"Till, like a sea of glory,

It spreads from pole to pole.

Beloved children, you perceive we think a great deal about Sunday Schools, and about Sunday School scholars. Yes, my dear children, if you could see as we see of the usefulness of these blessed institutions, and feel as we feel about your happiness hereafter, which they are designed to secure, you would not be surprised that we should so much love the Sunday School. We live in a very sinful world, where but very few love and serve GoD as they ought, and you know his holy word says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Only consider how painful it is, to think that so many are in danger of going to the wicked place. But wicked children are in as much danger of going there as wicked men and women. You know the Bible tells us about some wicked boys that mocked and said bad words to one of GOD's prophets, a very holy and venerable man, and God sent

two bears out of the woods which tore them to pieces. And again, the Bible tells us about a good little boy, who when he grew up to be a young man, was very pious, and loved his father and mother, and brothers; but his brothers were very wicked, and envied him, and hated him, and sold him, in hopes to make him very miserable, for bad people like to make others miserable. Well, and what became of him? why God took care of him, as he always does of pious young people, and made him a great man, so that his brethren afterward were glad to make peace with him; but he showed no ill will toward them, but wept over them, and treated them very kindly. Ah! how kind he was to forgive them! But you know we must forgive our enemies, and "do good to them that despitefully use us and persecute us." Now whereas the dear Sunday School is intended to make you like this lovely youth, you know whom I mean-Joseph; surely you need not wonder that we love the holy sabbath so much, and GoD's house so much, and the Sunday Schools so much, and the Bible so much, and to talk about them to you so much. Why, my dear children, the dear Saviour sent and ordered all these things, that you may learn to know Him, so that when you are taken sick, and can no longer play, but keep your bed, and are in perhaps much pain, and expecting to die, you may be comforted by his presence, and hear his welcome voice, saying, "Come, ye blessed little children of my Father, enter ye into the joy of your dear Saviour and Lord."

Step forward, beloved youth, and gladden the hearts of your dear parents. Now, say that, let others do what they please, as for you, the dear house of GoD shall not want for holy men, to preach the blessed Gospel. The Sunday School shall not want for teachers, nor the kingdom of CHRIST for missionaries, to carry the glad tidings of salvation to perishing souls. Come to this resolution, and your pious fathers and mothers will feel willing to die, rejoicing that they have left a son or a daughter whose praises on earth will sweetly harmonize with theirs in heaven. Hear what your heavenly Father says to you, beloved youth: "I love them that love me, and they that seek

me early, shall find me." What do you say in answer? God's holy book tells us what you should say. It is this, "O, satisfy us early with thy mercy, so will we be glad and rejoice in thy salvation."

We cannot dismiss this interesting subject, my friends, without dropping upon your ear a few animating considerations. The past ten years have been distinguished for a show of wisdom in the preparation of elementary works such as is calculated to encourage and facilitate the acquisition of knowledge in a ratio coming up to the necessity of the times. With this we may connect the operations of that wakeful Providence, which is ever studious of the increase and glory of the Redeemer's kingdom. Behold, what fields of view and of labor are opening in our great Western valley, in France, in Egypt, in Greece, in India, in Japan and China!

The men of stern infidelity, and the men of obsequious idolatry and superstition, and the men of sensuality, and avarice, and inaction, are all passing away, and their children having a different spirit, and familiar with other principles, and other habits, are rising up to fill their places, and bless and renovate the world.

'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God hath ordained strength!' and how will it appear? why, being rooted and grounded in love, and thus qualified with all saints to estimate the heighth, and depth, and length, and breadth of the love of GOD, they will be safe from the desolating effects of that philosophical theology, which but too often renders Christianity powerless. O! my heart aches to see what philosophy has done the past thirty years in the department of Christian theology!'

May that blessed Spirit whose inspirations are our best guide, keep our Sunday School teachers to that law which alone' "is perfect converting the soul," and to those testimonies which 'alone' " are sure making wise the simple." Amen.

Matt. vii. 11.-" If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?"

THERE is as much difference between a man of the world and a Christian, as there is between creatures of two different worlds. Indeed, the difference is very much of this kind; a Christian and a mere sensual man, are creatures of two worlds. A "natural man," as the Apostle speaks, a mere animal, is of the earth earthly, all he knows of his own derivation is confined to this state, his affections and gratifications, his hopes and expectations, are all ranged within the sphere of this world. He has no intercourse with beings but of this world, and of his own order. The means of his joys and of his desires, must be all visible, or within the grasp of his senses. This terre state, visible and perishing, contains the whole range of his career, for aught we see; here he has a birth-place, and from hence he travels to his burial-place, and then he ceases to be seen, and there we must leave him. But it is all very different with the disciple of CHRIST: he has a name and a place among men of the world, but his sphere is infinitely wide of this state of things -his affections and gratifications, his hopes and expectations revolve in circles far beyond what is visible to mortal sense. As to means and measures, he duly appreciates them, he knows what confidence to place on man, but where men place their chief dependence he is very suspicious, and where men can see VOL. III.-28