of our poet, which has been the comfort and glory of so many:

66 'My God is reconciled,

His pard'ning voice I hear;
He owns me for his child,

I can no longer fear;

With confidence I now draw nigh,

And Father, Abba, Father, cry."

Here, then, is the witness of the Spirit, bearing with our spirit a conjoint testimony. My spirit is conscious of the act of yielding. It was a volition, of which I could not be unconscious. His Spirit immediately operates the change, and gives me" the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

Hast thou

This is the testimony of the third witness. it, and both the others?—for they are inseparable: then art thou a child of God-a babe in Christ, though faint and feeble. If others have other, and, what might seem, more satisfactory evidence, let not that trouble thee-claim thy privilege as a child of God, and a joint heir with Christ. If thou desire brighter evidence of thy sonship, acknowledge gratefully what thou hast. Praise God for the little; it is much to thee-more than thou deservest; and he will give thee more. Do not doubt thou art a child, because thou art not a man. Live upon the sincere milk of the word, and thou shalt grow thereby, till thou arrive at the fullness of the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus.

If destitute of this Scriptural evidence of the new birth, whatever else thou hast, it will not avail thee. A man may belong to the Church, go through regularly with all the forms of devotion, pray long and eloquently, shout loud and jump high, and yet lack this testimony. Let such remember, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

SERMON XXXI.

BY REV. JOSEPH M. TRIMBLE.

THE WAY OF THE YOUNG.

"Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word," Psa. cxix, 9.

LESSONS of experience, though ofttimes dearly purchased, are, generally, the most profitable. If, through this medium, we have learned the good or ill effects of any remedy recommended to alleviate our misery, memory retains the lesson thus taught with great tenacity. The Psalmist had, by bitter experience, learned that the way of the young is morally defiled. Oppressed by guilt, and burdened with a sense of his defilement, he sought, and, in the word of God, found the information necessary to enable him to cleanse his way. That we may profit by his experience, let us examine the text, from which we may learn,

I. THAT THE WAY OF THE YOUNG IS MORALLY DEfiled.
II. HOW THAT WAY MAY BE CLEANSED.

May the Spirit of God aid us so to present this subject to your hearts and minds, that it may prove the power of God to your salvation!

I. The way of the young is morally defiled.

The same, as a general remark, is true of all men. All are partakers of a nature ruined by sin, Romans v, 12. The first feature of this defilement which we shall notice, as belonging peculiarly to the young, is,

1. Their ignorance of God. "The world by wisdom knows not God." Though he is to be seen in all his works, and is so intimately connected with man's existence, that in him we live, move, and have our being, yet sin has so blinded the mind, that it observes not-it comprehends not these facts. This is true, to some extent, of minds

cultivated, but much more so of the uncultivated. The minds of youth are naturally disinclined to the acquisition of spiritual knowledge, yet grasp, with eagerness, those pursuits and employments which gratify the propensities of their unsanctified natures. It is a melancholy truth, that vast numbers of the youth of our country are destitute of moral instruction. Their parents, who ought to teach them, are themselves ignorant of God, and feel no interest for the moral education of their offspring. No marvel that, under these circumstances, many are to be found nearly as ignorant of God as those living in the midst of heathenism. When will the zeal of the Church gather these to places of moral training? But even the young, who are blessed with educational advantages, are but too partially instructed in the things that make for their peace. True, some Christian parents faithfully perform their duty to their children, and share the blessed fruits of their labor. But many, among professing parents, are sadly negligent in teaching their children to know and obey God; hence the fact, that so many of the children of parents belonging to the Church of Christ are found out of the pale of the Church, eagerly pressing on in the polluted way.

Too many believe, that rigid moral training is not best for their sons and daughters. They indulge them in their fondness for worldly amusements, virtually aiding them in their alienation from God, and the knowledge of his ways. No wonder that such children are ignorant of God. They seldom read the Bible; they prefer works of fiction-those slow but deadly poisons used by the adversary to ruin souls. These increase their desire for those places of fashionable resort and sinful amusement, with which our world is cursed. Thither they delight to repair, and, amid the associations there found, they learn to neglect God and religion. The want of interest manifested by the parent, will

strengthen and confirm the child in its disinclination to acquire a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and aid in producing,

2. Unbelief, another feature of the polluted way. Can it be matter of surprise, that those who are ignorant of God should be destitute of saving faith? How can they believe on him they know not? "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin," and sin defiles the heart of the sinner-even the young sinner. When unbelief sways the mind and heart, sin is committed with little or no concern for the consequences. Present gratification is sought in every way that promises success; and a failure to secure it in one way only strengthens the desire to try some other. With a courage worthy a good cause, unmindful of defeat, they hasten onward in quest of enjoyment. Nor does it require many years to make those who are ignorant and unbelieving, adepts in crime. Early-very early they evince a maturity in sin fearful to contemplate. Can we be at a loss for the causes which produce these sad results? The neglect of parental effort, and the powerful influence of example furnished by an ungodly world, stand among the first on the list. I confess, my heart sickens and grows sad, while I survey the multitudes of youth thronging the paths of worldly dissipation and folly, cheered on by the example and influence of irreligious men, some of whom are in high places. Vast numbers of these unbelieving youth are found to be descendants of professing Christians. The father prays, the son swears; the mother weeps, the daughter dances. each have faith in God? These unbelieving ones, as they embark on the sea of life, are like the vessel putting to sea without compass or chart, manned with raw recruits, destitute alike of knowledge and experience in the art of navigation. Ruin-certain ruin must await them; for their ignorance and unbelief leads to,

Can

3. Impenitency. Hardness of heart is a great curse to

an old sinner: how much more dangerous to the young! Yet this is the inevitable result of ignorance and unbelief. If any doubt, let them examine into the history of the class of persons alluded to, and their doubts will soon vanish. How rapidly the heart, through the deceitfulness of sin, becomes morally insensible! I do not mean to say that such cannot weep-they have tears; but shed them only when deprived of some worldly pleasure, or when poring over some tale of fictitious sorrow-I mean they have no tears to shed over their own impiety. The moving, melting story of Calvary has no charms for them. They deem it evidence of weakness to weep amid scenes such as brought gushing tears from the Savior's eyes. Young persons of this class shun the society of the good and virtuous, and rarely mingle with God's people in the services of the sanctuary. The Sabbath is a day for congregating with spirits like themselves, to sport and sin its hours away. They prefer to "rejoice in their youth, and to let their hearts cheer them in the days of their youth-to walk in the ways of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes," hoping that for none of these things will God bring them into judgment. No tear of penitence-no godly sorrow for sin-no tenderness of soul enters into their experience. How many of them might truthfully sing,

"The rocks can rend, the earth can quake,
The sea can roar, the mountains shake;
Of feeling all things show some sign,

But this unfeeling heart of mine!"

The avenues of vice are thronged with these youthful impenitents, pressing eagerly after the pleasures of sin. What ear has not been pained with their profanity? What eye has not wept at beholding their irreligious, reckless course? And who can contemplate their end without exclaiming, "Lord, save, or they perish;" for where, in eternity, would