with joy in his name, upon knowing his character hath also arranged that there should be messengers of grace and truth to give such information as shall call out the heart into the act of confidence in God. So "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," which word reveals God in his true character. For this purpose laborers are employed, as zealous friends of the gospel, to describe its nature to the people, to be "helpers of their joy." A pure and lofty zeal for the gospel must carry them into the work; and the same zeal must inspire them to action. They are the servants of God, in Christ, and not of men. Their care is, not to please men, but to preach the true gospel of God our Saviour. But, it is inquired, why cannot mankind, who have the gospel the New Testament in their hands-do very well without any such preachers? They may, indeed, if they have themselves the light of evangelists. But upon the same grounds we may ask-Why cannot the community, being taught to read, do without teachers of any science whatever? arithmetic, navigation, philosophy, astronomy, geography, music, &c.; for all these sciences are now written out and explained in books. Here it may be said, the instructions and explanations of teachers expedite information. So Gospel laborers expedite moral information, if they are "apt to teach;" if they are not, they lose their labor. One has one gift, another has a different gift; but few men have many gifts. " There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit." 1 Cor. xii: 4. In this place I take the occasion to add, that it would be a benefit to speakers, and through them an equal benefit to their hearers, that Gospel messengers have nothing to interrupt their work. As all mankind are, by nature, ignorant; and are only made wise by information; so are all concerned for the good of their race, especially parents and friends, to give the young information concerning manners, civil decorum and human rights. And I think they should be equally concerned to give them some rational ideas of religion. The generations to come have nothing to save them from the vortex of superstition, but civil and moral light. Let us be desirous, that such light may be clear, and pray that our teachers may be true hearts, without any hypocrisy; indulging none-no, not to save their lives! Finally: A Gospel preacher must be devoted to the Gospel. He must have an ardent love for its glorious doctrines, and a fixed regard for its moral precepts. He must be no time-server; no man-pleaser. He must serve Christ-fervently and faithfully. May the Gospel of free grace be our delight; and its pure morals be our practice and honor. AMEN. SERMON 5. BY HOSEA BALLOU. JOHN xvii. part of 11th verse-Holy Father, keep, through thine own name those thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. NEVER did the speaker stand before a congregation with more sensible impressions of the importance of his subject. Never before did he feel more sensibly the deficiency of his ability to do justice to a portion of holy writ, selected for the instruction of his audience. Under these truly embarrassing circumstances, it will be prudent in the preacher, to attempt no more than to present the hearer with as concise, and as clear a view of the most prominent particulars, suggested by the text, as he is able to do, leaving his attentive and discerning hearers, by careful reflection, to carry out the several parts as far as the strength of their discernment and understanding may enable them. Before we proceed to notice the petition contained in our text, it may not be improper to take a general view of the prayer in which it is found. In the first petition, Jesus prayed for himself, that the Father might glorify the Son, that the Son might glorify the Father. In the second pétition, Jesus prayed for his disciples; embracing in his prayer sundry particulars, one of which is the subject of the present discourse. In this part of his prayer he said, "I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me." In the third petition, he said, 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.' After thus extending his prayer so as to embrace the world, Jesus again prays for his disciples; as if his lingering soul was loth to leave them. The principal design we had in view, in taking this general survey of the prayer of Jesus, recorded in this chapter, was to compare it with those prayers which his professed ministers are so frequent and fervent in offering to the Father of our spirits, in our times. In these prayers, all the energy of soul, all the powers of eloquence, and even of imagination, are employed to their utmost extent, not to petition for any of those things embraced in the prayer of Jesus, but that God may be so merciful as not to deliver over his miserable, hell-deserving children, to that everlasting condemnation which they justly deserve! In these prayers we discover a seeming agony of desire, to move our Creator to the exercise of compassion, by the most fearful and awful representations of the danger his creatures. are in, of falling under the vengeance of his wrath! Every individual of this congregation is now called on to compare all such prayers, which are so frequently offered in our times, with the prayer of our blessed Saviour. And when this comparison is duly made, let the following questions be seriously considered:-1st. Why did not Jesus pray as these do? If there were any necessity of such prayers, it seems morally certain that Jesus would have so prayed. But such prayers were neither offered by him, nor by his disciples. 2nd. Why do not these professed ministers of Jesus pray as he did? The true answer to this question will be found in the wide difference, plainly discoverable, between the means which Jesus relied on to bring the world to the knowledge of his doctrine; and those which these ministers employ. The means on which Jesus relied, by which to effect this be |