our vocation, whether we are coming up according to the requirements of the great Captain of our salvation, in his spiritual army, or whether we are like those who are holding back, who are not coming forth in the day of battle; like Meroz of old, who refused to go out when the armies of Israel were called to battle. And, my dear younger friends, much I believe depends upon you; you are indeed that part of our religious society, who are soon to form the most conspicuous part, and upon your progress, the individual progress of your christian course, depends much of the character of our religious society: and if you are led earnestly to consider what are your duties, what is your place, if you are led earnestly to desire above all things, that in your day and generation you may adorn the gospel of God your Saviour, that you may be instrumental in shewing forth his light, preachers at any rate in life and conversation, holding that part in the church universal, which he who is the head of the church, designeth that you should hold. Then, indeed, my friends, shall our little church arise with its ancient brightness, then indeed shall men look unto it, and acknowledge that the Lord is in it of a truth. But, my dear friends, let us not imagine that we can do these things, that we can promote the divine glory by any other means than those which he hath appointed; and that means I believe is this, that we each of us, according to the several measures of grace given unto us, by him who

is the head of his church, and in the place he hath assigned to every individual amongst us, that we are all found co-operating with that grace, that we are found occupying with the talent which is given unto every one of us. O it is vastly more pleasant to be asking how we can unite together, and what great things we can do for christianity, than to be thus willing to be formed and fashioned by him who is the head, and knoweth the right place of all the members; it is much more pleasant to the natural man to be associated with many in carrying forward, according to our various schemes and plans, the great work of the cause of christianity, than to be willing thus to let the great Master place us individually wheresoever he may please. It may be, he may please that we are the feet, he may please that we are the hands; but wheresoever he pleaseth, there is our post; and in proportion, my dear friends, as we are led to be willing thus to be formed and fashioned by him, shall we also find that we are united as one body, cemented together by that which every joint supplieth, and we shall be able to come forth in the spiritual warfare against the enemy of all truth; so shall we be enabled my friends, as a little church, to promote the glory of him, who I believe hath called us; so shall we be strong and powerful, and so shall we be earnestly engaged; there will be no coldness, no indifference, my friends, but the love of Christ warming our hearts, and uniting us as a society, in the love of him, which will

indeed be abundantly evidenced by our love of all those whom he came to seek and to save, for whom he died no less than for us. Let us, my friends, if we are indeed desirous to hasten the coming of that day, when the nations of this world, the kingdoms of this world, "shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ;" be seeking increasingly to know and to feel our own individual place. O my friends of the younger class, who are now collected together, my heart's desire and prayer for you is, that you may indeed be led thus to give up yourselves unto the service of Christ, who hath called you into his service: assuredly my friends, the church hath need of you, the church, the little church, with which you are connected, hath abundant need of spiritual helpers. O how beautiful would it be to see those in the younger class of life, giving themselves unto the service of the Lord, truly desiring to become whatsoever he would have them to be. Then, indeed, my friends, we should not be as we are, we should be more lively and spiritual, and there would be many more whose feet would be beautiful upon the mountains, because they carry to others the glad tidings of the gospel of peace; there would be no lack amongst us, my friends, of helpers, of those who were called to fill the various offices and departments of the church, helpers in every part, there would be indeed those who had the word of exhortation, those who had the word of prophecy, speaking to others to edification,

and many who could indeed by word in our public assemblies, speak that the Lord is gracious; who could tell of his wonders, who could speak well of him, and invite others to come, and taste and see that the Lord indeed is gracious. And now my friends, it seems with me just to refer a little to one feature in the character of those who have gone before us, our early predecessors under our name; they were indeed remarkable for this individual devotion, they counted all loss and dross, that they might win Christ, they left all, my friends, they laboured, and we have entered into their labours. I know not how it would be my friends, if we were tried with their trials, how were they indeed treated with obloquy, how were they severed from their families, and all that was dear, how were they treated as the off-scouring of all things, and why, because they loved Christ with the whole heart, they, after their long searching of wherewithal they should be cleansed, they believed that they had found the way, and from their hearts' contents, they spake largely of that which they had found. They were eminent my friends, for a true faith in God, and in Christ, and they proved that faith, by their works, for they cared not for their business, or their pleasures, nor even for what was dearer than either, for their families, so that they might indeed follow Christ, and they found an abundant reward; in the midst of their dungeons, they could speak of the goodness of the Lord, they could pray unto him

and praise him aloud, they could tell largely, in the midst of all their trials, what many are unable to find in the midst of all their outward prosperity, that the Lord had blessed them, and that "the lines had fallen unto them in pleasant places, and that they had a goodly heritage," that they had seen the beauty of that city which was before them, even the celestial city; that they saw the crown which was at the end of the race. O my friends, may we be animated even by their example, may we be followers of Christ, even as they were: they sought not to gather persons to them as men, they sought to gather persons to Christ, and there to leave them; and how, my friends, were they blessed in their way, how even in outward things, were they abundantly blessed, and how were they blessed in what is far more valuable, blessed in the assurance of that eternal life, which Christ had purchased for them, and which he had shewn them through his holy Spirit. May we then, my friends, be what we profess to be, true Quakers, true fearers of the Lord: this was their distinction; I am not ashamed of that name, I trust you are not so, for what can be more fitting to man, than to tremble in the presence of Him, who is the dread of the whole earth. And, in proportion, my friends, as we come to see the depths of our unworthiness, and the greatness of him who hath so condescended unto us, so shall we be filled not only with love, but with a reverential awe; we shall be deterred from speaking lightly of his