all disposition to make excuses is taken away. The repentant sinner feels willing to lie at God's feet, and confess his sins, without even wishing to excuse them."

"It evinces more depravity not to repent of a sin, than it does to commit it at first. A good man may be hurried away by temptation to commit a sin, but he will invariably repent of it afterwards. To deny, as Peter did, is bad; but not to weep bitterly as he did, when we have denied, is worse."

"We may have the form of godliness without the power; but it is impossible to have the power without the form."

"The promises in the Bible to prayer are not made to one act, but to the continued habit, of prayer."

CHAPTER XV.

The same subject-Bible class-Pastoral visits-Social parties -Special and casual interviews-Charm of his conversation -Singular rencounter-Whence his competency-His publi

cations.

If there is a spectacle on earth peculiarly animating to the thoughtful Christian, who waits and prays for the salvation of God, it is the faithful, affectionate pastor, with the Bible in his hand, surrounded by the "lambs of his flock," and leading them into "green pastures, and beside the still waters." It cannot be witnessed without a thrill of unusual delight, and anticipations of the most cheering character. There may be more of immediate personal enjoyment in the communion of saints, and in that foretaste of an eternal feast, which is granted to the redeemed of the Lord, when, gathered around the sacramental board, they glory in the cross, and celebrate the love of Him who died on it, and their faith anticipates the hour when they "shall see Him as he is," and come to the heavenly Zion, and commence their everlasting song. But the same principle, which causes "joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance," is eminently a principle of benevolence, which is gratified with every prospect of increase to the great multitude whom no man can number ;" and it is called into action, and operates with no ordinary effect, in view of a collection of youth, grouped around their beloved spiritual teacher, engaged in investigating the truths of the Bible, and ascertaining the duties which it enjoins. It is a sight full of hope and promise. It is not presumption to expect from it the choicest spiritual fruits which a minister is ever permitted to reap. It is among this class of his charge, that he may eminently sow in hope." The promises of God authorize him to expect extensive and glorious results. It was upon the youth that Mr. Payson expended some of his best exertions; and these labors brought him a "harvest of golden sheaves."

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His heart was drawn towards the rising generation, and meditated various expedients for advancing their welfare. He does, indeed, record and lament, among his deficiencies, the

neglect of special efforts for their instruction and salvation. But, compared with what had been the ordinary standard of ministerial practice, he abounded in works of this description. Though, from the first, he did not fail to give them appropriate instruction, yet it was not till the latter years of his ministry, that the interesting group, who periodically gathered around him, took the designation of Bible class; and at that time his manner underwent a slight modification. The subjoined specimens were furnished by young persons, to whom they were blessed :

"A way-faring man stops at a tavern, and, to beguile the time of his stay there, looks round for some book. He sees, perhaps, a newspaper, an almanac, and the Bible; but chooses to pore over either of the former, in preference to the Word of God,-thinking it hardly possible to be amused or interested in that. Even a Christian will sometimes do thus.-This is as if a man should be introduced into an apartment, in one division of which were Jesus Christ and his apostles, and in the other the most dissolute and frivolous company; and, on being invited by the Saviour to sit with them and enjoy their company, should refuse, and seat himself with the others. Would not this be a most gross insult to the Saviour? and do you not equally undervalue and refuse his company, when you thus neglect and despise his holy Word,-through which he converses with you, and invites you near to himself,—and choose some foolish production instead of it?"

"God holds out to you, as it were, a thread, no stronger than a spider's web, and says-"Take hold of this thread; I will increase its strength, day by day, until it becomes the line of salvation to you. So it is with the little interest you feel in the Bible class. If you cherish this, if you reflect upon what you read and hear, and daily pray to be made wise by these instructions, God will increase your interest to its consummation, till you become perfect ones in Christ Jesus. But if you lose your hold on this thread, you are lost.'

The following paragraph illustrates his manner of stating the argument, and its application-the subject before the class being the evidence from the light of nature, that there is a God:

"Suppose, my young friends, that, in travelling through a wilderness, a spacious garden should burst upon your view, in

the midst of which is a splendid palace. Upon entering it, you perceive, in every apartment, proofs of the agency of some living person, though you see no one. Complicated machinery is moving, and various operations are carried on; but still the agent, who produces these effects, is invisible. Would you be the less convinced that they were produced by some intelligent agent? And if you should be told, that the palace came there by chance, and that all the movements you witnessed were caused by no power whatever, you would regard him, who should tell you thus, either as a fool or a liar. Now, you have the same proof of the existence of God in his works, that you would have, in the case I have supposed, of the existence and presence of some invisible agent; and it is just as unreasonable to doubt of his existence, as it would be to doubt whether the palace had been built by any person, or was only the work of chance. Suppose you were informed, by a writing on the wall, that the palace was inhabited or haunted by spirits, who were constantly watching your conduct, and who had power to punish you, if it displeased them; and that you were also informed, at the same time, of the course of conduct which it would be necessary to pursue, in order to obtain their approbation. How careful would you be to observe the rules, and how fearful of displeasing these powerful spirits! And if you were further informed, that these were the spirits of your deceased parents, and that they were able to hear, if you addressed them, how delightful it would be to go and tell them of your wants and sorrows, and feel sure that they listened to you with sympathy and compassion!-I tell you, my young friends, this world is haunted, if I may so express it,―haunted by the Eternal Spirit. He has given you rules, by which to regulate your conduct, and is able to punish every deviation from them. And can you recollect that such a Being is constantly noticing your conduct, and still persist in disobeying his commands? God is also your Heavenly Father; and why can you not go to him, as such, with the same confidence which you would exercise in an earthly parent?"

In explanation of the command to glorify God:-" It may seem strange and presumptuous, to speak of such poor, sinful, worthless beings as we are, as glorifying, or as capable of glorifying God. But the perfect Christian may be compared to a perfect mirror, which, though dark and opaque of itself, being placed before the sun, reflects his whole image, and may be said to increase his glory, by increasing and scattering his light. In this view we may regard heaven, where God is per

fectly glorified in his saints, as the firmament studded with ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of mirrors, every one of them reflecting a perfect image of God, the Sun in the centre, and filling the universe with the blaze of his glory."

"Whenever you feel any thing within you, my dear young friends, urging you to attend to religion, it is the Spirit of God; and if you refuse to comply, you will grieve him away. Suppose God should let down from heaven a number of very fine cords, and if any person should take hold of one, it would continue to grow larger and stronger, till at length he is drawn by it into heaven. Great care would be necessary, especially at first, not to break it; for, if once broken, it might never be renewed. How careful should we expect the person to be, to whom one of these cords was extended, not to break it, to avoid all violence, and follow wherever it led him! Just so anxiously ought you to cherish those good impressions, which are produced on your minds by the Spirit of God; for if you once grieve him, he may never return."

Suppose a man builds a temple, with one seat in it very high and much ornamented; and another very far below it. You ask him, for whom those seats are designed, and he replies "Why, the most elevated one is for me, and the one below it is for God." Now, in this case, you can all see the horrible absurdity and impiety of such conduct; and yet each of you, who continues impenitent, is doing this. You have given yourselves the first place in your affections; you have thought more of yourselves than of God, and have done more to please yourselves than to please God; in short, you have, in every thing, preferred yourselves before him."

"Suppose there was a book, in which the whole of your life was recorded, each page of which contained the events of a day. At the beginning was written, "This is the life of a rational, immortal, accountable creature, placed in this world to prepare for eternity." Then commences a long catalogue of sins; every page is successively covered with blots. Besides all these, there are the sins of omission, or duties neglected, which swell to a still greater amount. There are more than fifty commands binding upon you every moment; such as, to repent, to believe, to love Christ, to watch, pray, &c., none of which you perform. Thus you commit, to say the least, fifty sins in a moment. Add to these the first mention