state he "lifted up his hand to heaven and sware by him who liveth forever and ever, that there should be time no longer." Here, my friends, we are not under the influence of feelings circumscribed by days or by times, by months or years; but we are centered in that divine light in which we can say, come life or death, riches or poverty, sickness or health-Yea, all matters of a sublunary nature-all earthly things become matters of indifference to us. And wherefore? Because we shall see "another mighty angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach." And what is this preaching? It is what every man and woman must experience in themselves-" Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." And what is worship? Does it consist in bowing down the head like a bull-rush; or in lifting up the voice like a trumpet? Does it consist in performing and fulfilling the rituals of some outward system-such as preaching, praying, and singing? Does it consist in the performance of family duties, and the adoption of a system? No. This is the fast that the Lord hath chosen"To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo

the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house-when thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh." These are duties in the performance of which God is acceptably worshiped. He looks not to the position of the body, or to any particular form of words. He trieth the hearts and searcheth the reins of all men, and he knoweth all our thoughts, ere they are brought forth. Neither is worship restricted to any particular time or place-or to those only who are thus assembled. For we may preach, pray, and sing, and perform a great variety of outward rituals, and yet stand in infidelity. What then is worship? It consists in obedience to the operation of that divine illimitable principle, which is designed to guide out of every evil and into all truth. This is the kind of spiritual religion which is enjoined on every one of us, and is to be performed by actions, and reduced to daily practice, whether we sit in the house or walk by the way. And this law which is given should be placed as a frontlet between the eyes. "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart;

and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." But let us remember my friends, that it is not only when we are thus assembled that we ought to labour to come to this continued sabbath, in which we are brought to a state of willingness to do every thing for the glory of God, and in which we can testify with Christ himself, "my meat and my drink is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

Now let us look a little at the effects which would be produced in the human family, by an universal extension of these principles of religion, and a belief in them and their effects.

It is the opening of these things upon our minds, that will bring us out of that which is evil, and into that which is good. If any of us have been intemperate, we shall come under the influence of that principle which produces temperance. There is a principle in our minds, by which, if we have been cruel, we shall be brought under the influence of mercy. And this is an operative prin

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ciple; it does not depend on the opinions of others of our forefathers, the scriptures of truth, or any other external cause. There is no principle prepared by others, which can ever nourish up the soul to eternal life. Not all the costly food that can be eaten by others, will ever nourish our bodies; we must be partakers ourselves. We cannot see with another's eyes, or hear with another's ears; neither can we understand with the heart of another. If we ever come to see, hear, or understand, and to be converted, it must be with our own faculties, and not with those of another. If we are ever converted, we must experience the dealings of God with us. Here is a religion which is immediately adapted to each individual. This is a religion which can banish from the earth all evil that comes from sin; it can bruise the head of every serpentine disposition which separates us from God.

Now let us look a little at the effects which would be thus produced in the world. Where would there be room for wars, if the angel of love should cast out the devil of hatred and envy? Where would be found quarrels in families, squabbles in neighbourhoods, or war among nations? All these must die away and perish, be

cause they stand not in love, in humility, and forgiveness, but in a perversion of those leading principles of the human mind. While pride and ambition continue, wars and dissensions will abound. If we are under the influence of temperance, where will there be room for intemperance? And here we come to see the declaration fulfilled, that "the axe is laid unto the root of the tree: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." And what are we to understand by this? Why, when this is the case we shall see that not merely the branches are lopped off, or the extremities destroyed, for this would only cause the tree to put forth more luxuriantly, but the axe is laid to the root of the tree. And where is this root? It is in the mind-it is in the soul. For the gospel dispensation takes not cognizance of the outward actions, or outward words, but it lays the axe to the root of the tree, or of these imaginations of the heart, from whence all the outward evil actions proceed. This must have been the design in that declaration of Christ himself, in his inimitable sermon on the mount. That sermon bears a testimony worthy to be engraven on the tablets of every heart, and bound round the horns of every altar, for it is neces