till this most important matter be fecured, that you are wholly reduced to the renunciation of youthful lufts, your fouls dedicated to God, and by faith repofed in the bofom of your precious faviour. Remember, all youthful follies, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven, and heaven will not, and earth and hell cannot pluck you out of his hands. Confider, death is approaching,-eternity opening,—and before the fun concludes the day, you may launch into that future and unknown world-you may pafs the bourne from whence there is no return! "O that you were wife, that you understood "this, that you would confider your latter end " You know that multitudes have launched out of this ftate by unforeseen and unexpected deaths. Accidents, which no human powers can provide against, have inftantly broken the thread of life, and in a moment opened the gates of eternity. My children, many deaths you have already efcaped, and whether ever you will efcape another is with a fovereign God, who gives not an account to any of his matters. Confider, God may not preferve you from another, and it is an abfolute certainty you cannot preferve yourfelves; wherefore, immediately receive the divine counsel and turn unto the Lord. "Turn ye, turn ye, "for why will you die?" There is no caufe why you should perish, but what arifes from yourselves. There is enough in your heavenly father's houfe, and an abundance to spare. Inftantly give yourselves up to the bleffed Jefus, who poured out his foul unto death for you. He is the compaffionate Saviour of youth; loved children; took them into his divine

them; and declared that

arms; laid his bleffed hands upon of fuch is the kingdom of heaven. Thofe who deny children. the bleffed dedication to the arms of Jefus, I pass them over to their ignorance and their mafter; but Chrift is merciful to little ones, whatever may be the ignorance, delufion, and perverfenels of unhappy parents, deftitute of natural affection. Are not children of the church God's children?-were they not his, and devoted to him, in all the forms of visible institu

tion in the vifible church, from Adam to Abraham, from Abraham to Mofes, and from Mofes to Chrift, and of fuch has not Chrift declared the kingdom of heaven to confift? God forbid that true and rational chriftians fhould prohibit their infant feed from the precious ordinance, initiating them into the church, and placing them under the bleffings of the cove nant of mercy. Mistaken, misinformed and deluded parents, defpife the ordinance of baptism, fome neglect it altogether, and fome have contracted it into the narrow limits of adults. But can any make void the mercy and grace of God? Ignorant, weak and unnatural parents cannot. The covenant of grace rests upon a firmer foundation, than the feeble opinions of men. This I purpose to demonftrate with the leave of divine providence, in fome future difcourfe, that thofe who deny baptifm altogether, and thofe who deny it to infants, are grofsly criminal before God, have departed from the truth, and must fall under the displeasure of heaven. It is an infinite mercy, that tho' they may deprive their children of covenant bleffings in the visible church, and wickedly fcreen themfelves from many gofpel duties, yet I have always confidered the former as more confiftent than the latter. This is a devia tion which I must relinquish, and refer to future attention.

Thirdly, another thing implied in fober mindedness is caution, circumfpection, and prudence. How arduous the task to reduce youth to thefe virtues? The word fober minded, is fometimes rendered difcreet as in the verfe preceding our text. This I apprehend would be a leading ftep to true religion, and perhaps it is a conftituent of its nature. Nothing can form us to wisdom and discretion equal to religion. This is one of the highest evidences which can be afforded of real piety .Thus fays St. Paul," Walk circumfpectly, not as fools, but "as wife redeeming the time." The refolution of the Pfalmift was, "1 will behave myself wifely in a perfect way." To this Solomon often exhorts ; " My fon, be wife, therefore get "wisdom, get understanding?" Those who are young and

about entering upon the tumultuous ocean of this world, the beft advice can be given you, is to take wisdom for your counfellor, and true religion for your monitor. Thefe will be as a pillar of cloud to fcreen you by day, and as a pillar of light to direct your paths through this dark and dreary wildernets.

Fourthly, humility is another effential ingredient of a fober mind. Therefore St. Peter exhorts youth, "To be cloathed

with humility." Perhaps more young people are ruined by pride than by any other fin. Let not the beautiful giory in his beauty, nor the ingenious in his wit, "But if any man "will glory, let him glory in the Lord." Our Savicur's direction is," Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of ་ ❝ heart."

Fifthly, purity and chastity are involved in and must not be neglected in the explanation of a fober mind. Remember our apoftle declares," Fornication, uncleannefs, and lafci“viousness, youthful lufts." Abftain from every appearance of these things, and " Even from the garment fpotted by the Aefh." Hear the warning voice of Solomon, "Come not ་་ near her houfe, whofe feet go down to death, and her fteps "take hold on hell, leaft thou mourn at last, when thy flesh "and thy body are confumed."

Sixthly, fober mindedness implies fteadiness and compofure in oppofition to an airy, fickle and giddy temper. "My heart "is fixed, faith the Pfalmift, trusting in the Lord." Eftablish

your hearts therefore, and be not as Reuben, unstable as "water, for fuch will never excel." Halt not between opinions, but come to a conclufion, to be for God or the enemy. Chufe you this day whom you will ferve, the Saviour or Destroyer of your fouls. I must not omit, to obferve,

Seventhly, that gravity, fincerity, ferioufnefs, and an orderly conduct are involved in a fober mind. He who is ferious in

fis manners, grave in his deportment, and upright and finceres in his dealings, is not only ufually filed a fober, but a good man. Think not, O youth, I would perfuade you to affume a dark countenance, a down caft look, and a gloomy phiz. Of all people in the world, these are the most dangerous; if they raise the fullen brow to a smile, injury follows after. And remember religion is a sweet, pleasant and cheerful thing. It fpreads pleasure over the face, and renders the conduct eafy and acceffable. In it is the command of heaven, "That we serve "God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, in the abundance "of all things." Pleasure enters into the effence of religion, yet there is a wide difference between a religious cheerfulness and a vain frothiness.

But having thus explained the nature of fobermindedness, I proceed,

Secondly, to lay before the younger part of my audience, a few of the innumerable motives, which fhould induce them to become foberminded. The topics, from which fobermindednefs might be urged upon you, are many indeed. But I have fo far enlarged on the former head, that brevity here is expedient. You will all, my dear youth, acknowledge, that you are finners and guilty before God. You are all by nature children of difobedience and children of wrath, and the fcriptures have concluded you all under fin. An awful fentence of death is paffed upon you. Yet bleffed be the most high, there is a way of mercy and grace revealed in the Gospel, whereby you may be recovered from the ruin of your fall, reftored to the favour of God, and made everlastingly happy. You are therefore called upon to repent and believe the gofpel. Hear ken to the voice of divine perfuafion and tender compaffion. Turn unto the Lord with all your heart, and become fober minded. In this way you will be comfortable in life, have kope in death, and be happy forever. You are here in this

life in a state of probation, and if you fincerely engage in religion, heaven will be your portion; but if you continue in fin, impenitent and unconverted, after taking a few turns of levity on this mortal stage, then you must sink down into the regions of interminable despair. The longer you perfevere in courses of folly and iniquity, the more difficult it will be to relinquish them. Be intreated now in this your day, folemnly to attend to the things of your peace. God is calling upon you-minifters are calling upon you-the Holy Ghoft is now moving upon the hearts of many. Refift not his motions, left God should swear in his wrath, my spirit fhall no more strive with you, neither shall you enter into my reft. Recollect for a moment, what Chrift Jefus has done to accomplish your falvation. Did he not defcend from the glories of heaven-forfake the adoration of angelic hosts come down into this wretched world -veil his divinity in humanity, and fhroad all his infinite excellencies in the humiliating form of a fervant? Did he not continually go about doing good-teaching guilty man the way of life-taking little ones into his arms-laying his hands upon them-bleffing them and declaring, that of fuch is the kingdom of God? Remember his poverty, cruel mockings and excruciating fufferings. Contemplate him in the garden of Gethefemene, agonizing under the awful weight of your iniquities, the preffure of which was fuch, that caufed his blood to forsake its ufual channels and fall in clotted drops to the ground. Behold him betrayed by one of his defciples, in the bafeft and most deceitful treachery, with the tender and warmest signal of friendship. Follow him to the pretorium and to the high priests hall; see him arraigned before Pilate's unequal bar; barbaroufly accused, and unjustly and inhumanly condemned -view him ftripped of his own raiment, dreffed in the mock robes of royalty, instead of a fceptre, a reed is put into his hand, and instead of a golden, a thorny crown is fixed on his head, and here he is molt contemptuously ridiculed in all his offices, he is fmitten, tantalifed, and when malice had exhauf