provement upon generations that are past and gone?

We are not, indeed, to form a gloomy estimate of the times; we are not to despair of the religious public-weal ; we are, on the contrary, to rejoice in every growing symptom of improvement; to admire, at once, and emulate, those lights of our own days, who shed around them a lustre, more pure, more steady, and more serene, than often illuminated the path, and guided the footsteps, of our fathers. But still, when we survey the world at large, when we examine even that portion of it which is termed the religious world, we must lament, that profession too commonly out-runs performance; that multitudes look abroad with eagerness, who are unable, or unwilling, to concentrate their views at home; that, in zealous efforts for the improvement of others, too many neglect the improvement of themselves; that the Bible is more praised than read, more circulated than consulted; that, in all

ranks of the community, men are to be found, more solicitous to waft the sacred volume from the Ganges to the Missisippi, than to make it their companion, their guide, and their own familiar friend; and, that, in few periods, have declared promoters and advocates of Christianity, seemed less inclined to commune with their own hearts, and be still; to enter into their closet, and shut their door, and pray unto their Father which seeth in secret, with a calm and peaceful confidence, that their Father which seeth in secret, will reward them openly.

These are truths, not to be maliciously proclaimed, but seriously deplored. Truths, which instead of heaping fuel on the flames of controversy, should excite in all good men, that Christian zeal which, like Christian charity, invariably begins at home. In times like the present, there is much to divert us from our own business and bosoms. It is, therefore, the more indispensable, that, in the first instance, we look narrowly to our

selves; that we first make the word of God our own peculiar study; and, having felt its holy influence within, that we proceed, wisely and affectionately to diffuse that influence around; beginning with those whom God and nature have committed to our special care; and extending our exertions in those quarters where we shall be most able to mark every stage of the procedure. It is, indeed, a Christian duty to disseminate the Scriptures, wherever the demand and the preparation give room to hope, that the Scriptures will be piously and profitably used. But it is a superior duty, and a duty, no less prior in time, than superior in importance, that, by all means in our power, by study, by reflection, by vigilance, and, above all, by fervent prayer, we labour, through divine assistance, ourselves to become a living commentary on the sacred word. The peace of God would then tranquillize our hearts and minds; and the tranquillity felt within, would infallibly diffuse itself abroad.

There never yet lived a good and happy man, who did not communicate from the overflowing of his happiness and goodness. All other means of doing moral good, are, at the very best, uncertain and equivocal. But, in this course, there can be neither deception nor disappointment; there is a moral certainty of benefiting others, in addition to the homefelt happiness of improving ourselves.

The Scriptures, then, in the first in stance, and as the foundation of all genuine zeal for the spiritual welfare of our brethren, are to be esteemed and valued as our own personal concern. This personal concern is the obvious bearing of the text; and this accordingly must be the subject of the following dis

course.

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"Whatsoever things were written aforetime," says the apostle, were written for our learning; that we, through patience, and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope." These words, it is to be feared, are often very indistinctly

apprehended, and, of course, very inadequately felt, and superficially applied. Our Church, however, in the collect for the second Sunday in Advent, has provided a clear, exact, and most instructive commentary on the passage. An exposition, calculated alike to inform our minds, affect our hearts, and influence our conduct. It shall, therefore, be my effort to follow, where the Church directs; and to expand this collect, clause by clause, and paragraph by paragraph.

The prayer opens with a most appropriate invocation. "Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning." The Scriptures, we are here reminded, were written for our learning; and so written, by special appointment of the Lord. To slight or disregard the Scriptures, then, is to despise the gift of the Almighty. It is, at once, to rebel against his authority, and reject his bounty. The glorious God, hath so far condescended, as for us men, and for our salvation, to afford a display