ish also a high veneration for Elizabeth her cousin, the wife of Zacharias, and the mother of John the Baptist. Luke i. In the piety of old Anna-Luke ii. 36—we see a bright pattern for aged widows in her believing, waiting posture, for the consolation of Israel, and an example for an aged saint, ready for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: the zeal, in hymns, and blessings are offered to and asked from her, as one who has power to bestow them. Five annual festivals celebrate her greatness, and keep alive the devotions of her worshipers So that Papists almost jostle out the devotion due to Almighty God and our blessed Saviour by their idolatry of her. Now, where, we ask, is one single example, command, or even hint, for all this in the Word of God? Is it any wonder the Scriptures are kept from the people, when the most common understanding could see that nothing of all this is to be found in that volume? The Acts of the Apostles make mention of her name but once, and that without any mark of eulogy; and in the Epistles she is not mentioned at all. Yea, how contrary is all this to the declaration that there is only one Mediator between God and Man-the Man Christ Jesus. "This doctrine of the worship due to the Virgin," says Wylie, in his admirable work on the Papacy, "has been exhibited in symbol, and that in so grotesque a way, that for a moment we forget its blasphemy. In the dream of St. Bernardwhich forms the subject of an altar-piece at Milan-two ladders were seen reaching from earth to heaven. At the top of one of the ladders stood Christ, and at the top of the other stood Mary. Of those who attempted to enter heaven by the ladder of Christ, not one succeeded-all fell back. Of those who ascended by the ladder of Mary, not one failed. The virgin, prompt to succor, stretched out her hand; and thus aided, the aspirants ascended with ease."-SEYMOUR'S Mornings among the Jesuits.

so worthy to be imitated by every reclaimed sinner, of the woman of Samaria, after she had believed in Christ, for his honor and the conversion of her countrymen-John iv.: the melting penitence of the woman who had been a sinner, whose history teaches us that the most abandoned persons may be reclaimed, and find mercy, and that penitence, gratitude, and love must be in proportion to the guilt contracted and forgiven-Luke vii. 36-50: the strong and invincible faith of the Syrophenician woman which received such a tribute of admiration from Christ, and whose narrative will teach the latest generations of mankind the power of importunate, persevering, and believing prayer-Matt. xv. 23: the generosity of the poor widow who cast in her mites, the whole of her substance, into the treasury of the temple-Mark xii. 42: the beautiful account of the two sisters, Martha and Mary, and the discrimination of the characters of the careful and troubled housewife, and the anxious inquirer after salvation-Luke x. 38-42: the pouring out of the box of spikenard by one that loved Christ so as to give her costliest offerings to his person-John xii. 3: the grateful, devoted attention, and ministrations of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to Christ-John xix. 25; xx. 1: what an array of female excellence is here!

Passing on to the Acts of the Apostles, what delightful mention is made of Dorcas, full of good works and alms deeds which she did, as evinced by her coats and garments for the poor, and the tears which

were produced by her death, and which embalmed her memory-Acts ix. 36-41: and of Lydia, who resorted to the place of prayer at Philippi, whose heart the Lord had opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul, and who afforded the rights of hospitality to the apostle and his companion-Acts xvi.: and of the chief women, not a few, at Thessa lonica, who believed in the apostle's doctrine concerning Christ-Acts xvii. 4. Nor are the Epistles barren of female names deserving ever to be held in remembrance for their piety, zeal, and good works. There we find Phebe, the deaconness and bearer to Rome of the epistle to the church in that city-Rom. xvi. 1: and Euodia, and Syntyche; Lois and Eunice, the mother and grandmother of Timothy, renowned for the unfeigned faith which dwelt in them—2 Tim. i. 5: and those women also that labored with Paul in the gospel-Phil. iv. 2. And what shall we say more of Priscilla, Paul's helper in Christ, and the instructress of the eloquent Apollos; and Mary, "who bestowed much labor upon him ;" and Tryphena, and Tryphona, and Julia, "who labored in the Lord ?"—Rom. xvi.

No, my female friends, you see, we repeat, the Scriptures of truth have not passed over your sex in silence, nor thrust it into a corner, nor thrown it into a shadow. On the contrary, the sacred page is rich and luminous, with bright and beautiful examples of female excellence. You stand there, side by side, with man in the practice of piety, and are exhibited as not a whit behind him in all that apper

tains to the glory of humanity. In the Bible, we have now proved that woman is seen in every gradation of rank, from the queen upon the throne to the menial grinding at the mill; in every variety of condition-the maid, the wife, the mother, and the mistress; in every circumstance of grief and joy the happy bride, the mourning widow; in every phase of moral character-the faithful spouse, and the shameless adulteress; in every scene of active duty, whether in the family, the church, or the world; in every changeful aspect of fortunerolling in affluence, or pining in want; there she is seen enlivening the sacred page with her narrative -adorning it with her beauty; sometimes darkening it with her crimes, at others, brightening it with. her virtues; now calling us to weep with her in her sorrows, then to rejoice with her in her joys. In short, woman is everywhere to be found wrought into the details of God's Scriptures, a beacon to warn us, or a rule to guide us. And, as written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is to be considered as his testimony to the excellence and importance of your sex, and the influence it is intended and destined to exert upon the welfare of mankind. Had the Bible-I will not say been against you—but had it passed you over in silence, ́ or only referred to you incidentally, or looked at you with sidelong glances, you would have sunk in general estimation; and man's neglect of you would have been defended or excused by that of God himself. But now, no one can plead the example of

the Bible for any attempt to neglect, despise, or oppress you. While it protects woman from the insults, the injuries, and the oppression of the other sex, it protects her with no less care and benefit from the sad effects which would arise from an assumption of prerogatives which do not belong to her, and from those excuses of ambition to which her own vanity might otherwise prompt her. It guards her dignity from being trampled down by others, and equally prevents her from lowering it herself, by pretensions which would only make her ridiculous. It describes, with accuracy, the circle within which it is the will of Providence she should move; presents to her the mission which she is sent into the world to fulfill; furnishes her the rules by which she is to act; proposes to her the rewards which she may legitimately seek and surely expect, if she be faithful to herself; and offers her the assistance necessary for the fulfillment of her high and holy vocation. What this is, will be the subject of our next sermon.

In the meanwhile, let me exhort you not only to study the Scriptures, but to study them-next to your desire to learn the way of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus-to form your own character as women, by its precepts and its examples. Many and precious are the volumes that have been written for your benefit by your own sex. Female pens have been most happily and usefully employed in delineating female excellence; the productions of which you would do well to read. But,