fended with great ability; and he would do himself injustice, as well as evince a criminal ingratitude for God's goodness, who should refuse to avail himself of them, as helps towards building himself up in the most holy faith.

But let them always be considered

as subordinate to God's word; and let them be tried by it: and let whatever will not stand that test be thrown among the wood, and hay, and stubble. He who derives his views of religion from any uninspired works, however much of general excellence they may possess, will, of course, be liable to an admixture of error; and besides, even if he should chance to gather from them the uncorrupted truth, he could not have the same deep and powerful conviction of it, as if it had been drawn directly from the lively oracles. And how much less is God honoured in the one case than in the other! How much less, by believing the truth because we may have been taught it in our catechisms and confessions, than because it has beamed forth upon our own intellectual eye, from the very page on which the mind of the Spirit has been recorded!

I would say then, to every one just entering on the Christian life, study the Bible for yourself. Study it with humility, diligence, and prayer. What you find written there, believe; whatever is not written there is either not true or not important. And be not discouraged in your efforts to ascertain the truth for yourself, by the fact that the world is full of different opinions respecting it: for the truth is clearly revealed; and besides, most of the disputes which exist among Christians relate rather to human philosophy than to the matter of God's word. Re

member that God himself hath said, that "the meek he will guide in judgment; the meek he will teach his way."

But it is not less important, that the new convert should derive the rules of his conduct, than the principles of his faith, directly from the Bible. There are, indeed, many particular cases in which men may be called to act, in relation to which there are no express directions given in God's word; but there are general rules to be found there, which admit of application to every possible case, and which an enlightened conscience will always know how to apply. Let the young Christian, then, be exhorted to study the Bible diligently as a rule of duty, to ascertain, from God's own word, what he would have him to do in the various conditions in which he is placed, and to refer every question of right and wrong which he is called practically to decide, to this standard, and no other. Let his character be formed under this influence, and it cannot fail to rise in fair and goodly proportions. There will be in it a dignified stability, which will secure it from the undue influence of circumstances. Its possessor will be enabled to act not only with rectitude, but with confidence and decision; and while he keeps a conscience void of offence, he will commend himself to the good-will of his fellow-men, and to the special favour of God. The current of public opinion not unfrequently sets in a wrong direction, and yet is exceedingly rapid and powerful; and he who attempts to resist, may be obliged to do it at the expense of bearing a heavy load of obloquy; but he who makes God's word the rule of his conduct will be able to do this notwith

standing to stand firm, even when the waves of op position are rolling over him. Many a young Christian has been carried, by the influence of custom and example, far into courses over which he has subsequently had just occasion to weep; when, by having adhered to the scriptural standard of duty, he would have kept a conscience void of offence, and prevented the occasion for bitter repentance.

You, then, who may be called to counsel those who are just setting out in the Christian life, should charge them, by a regard to their comfort, their character, their usefulness, to have nothing to do with any other standard of conduct than that which they find in the Bible. Let them be exhorted to adhere to this, even though it should subject them to the greatest temporal inconvenience. Let them determine that they will regulate by it the whole conduct of their lives-not only what may seem to them their most important, but also their least important actions. When they have settled the question, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" then, and only then, are they prepared to act with freedom and confidence; in a manner that is fitted to keep peace in their consciences, and to bring down upon them the blessing of God.

5. Let the young convert be admonished to ascertain, as soon as possible, his besetting sin; and to guard against it with the utmost caution.

It is true of every Christian, that there is some one sin to which he is more inclined than any other: what that sin will be, in any particular case, may depend on the previous moral habits of the individual, or on the circumstances in which he is placed, or on

some original infirmity or obliquity of constitution; for as bodily disease is most likely to seat itself in the part which is originally the weakest, so the depravity of the heart usually concentrates its energies in some passion or appetite, which is marked by the greatest degree of natural perverseness. He, therefore, who ascertains in his own case what this sin is, and who regards it as the most formidable enemy to be encountered in his conflict, and succeeds in gaining a victory over it, accomplishes much in the way of his sanctification. He who neglects to guard against the besetting sin, while he takes care to avoid sins to which he is not specially inclined, acts as unwise a part as a general who should employ all his skill and energies to prevent an attack from some scattered and unimportant part of a hostile army, while, without any effort at resistance, he should suffer the main body to move toward his ranks, and open upon them in a fierce discharge of artillery.

There is no difficulty in ascertaining the besetting sin in any given case, provided there is a faithful use of the means which God has put within our power; nevertheless, from a neglect of these means, there is no doubt a lamentable degree of ignorance on this subject. Let the young Christian, then, be exhorted to watch closely all the tendencies of his mind -to observe on what forbidden objects his affections most readily fasten—in what manner his thoughts are occupied, when his mind is most at leisure, and subject to the least restraint-and what circumstances and occasions operate most powerfully upon him in the way of temptation, and the result cannot fail to be, that he will know what is the sin which most

easily besets him. And when he knows it, he is prepared to guard against it. This he must do by keeping a watchful eye upon that particular part of his moral nature in which this sin has its operation; by avoiding, as much as possible, those objects and occasions which are likely to furnish temptations to it; or if called into scenes of temptation, in the providence of God, by placing a double guard at the vulnerable point; by earnest prayer for grace to be enabled to gain the victory; and by cultivating, in a high degree, general spirituality of character. As the indulgence of the besetting sin, whatever it may be, is unfavourable to the growth of all Christian affections, so the general culture of these affections, the abounding in all the virtues and graces of the gospel, is the most certain means of destruction to the besetting sin. It can never flourish in a soil which is habitually watered with heavenly grace.

6. Impress the young convert with the danger of the least departure from duty-of taking the first step in the way of spiritual decline.

It rarely happens that an individual becomes a great backslider at once; on the contrary, it is usually the work of time, and generally has a small and almost imperceptible beginning. When the first step is taken, there is probably, in most cases, an intention not to take another-certainly not to go far: but it is a law of our moral constitution, that one step renders the next easier; and hence the facility with which we form our habits, especially evil habits. The young convert, upon the mount of Christian enjoyment, is able to form but an inadequate idea of the conflicts of the religious life; he realizes then, much