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country germinates and flourishes in the hearts of men to whom their country is a source of gratification, and who may, hope that it will prove a fairer land to their offspring. And then the country, which sees in all its citizens brothers united with each other, and interested in its welfare, is tranquil as to the result of foreign aggression, and proud in peace at the concord and happiness that reign in its bosom.

This is the work in which the beneficent man cooperates, and this the second source of noble pleasure in which he has a right to seek his reward.

But let us raise ourselves above these merely human considerations, and, to comprehend all the truth of my text, let us regard the virtue it presents in the light of religion.

He who, moved by the feeling of a pure charity, employs a part of his possessions in comforting his unfortunate neighbor, exercises one of the virtues for which Heaven appears to have reserved the richest recompense. The sacred writers seem in difficulty to express with exactness all the value of beneficence in the sight of God. Listen to Isaiah: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen; to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out into thy house; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him : then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall follow thee." Recal to mind that comparison which Paul establishes between the gifts of beneficence and the seed, which, cultivated by a divine hand, will produce for the laborer who commits it to the earth an abundant harvest. Shall I tell you of the magnifi

cent privilege offered to charity, to plead for him who exercises it with divine justice, and to dispose the supreme Judge in his favor? O gracious Father! when thy goodness points out a means so easy and so pleasant to obtain thy blessing, can we be so infatuated as to neglect, or even to avail ourselves coldly of, the advantage? Can it be possible that we should regard as scarcely necessary-that we should discharge without zeal, or against our will, a duty which religion invests with the most august and affecting forms-a duty, in which the wise man represents him who gives to the poor, as lending to the Lord; in which the Saviour shows himself to his charitable disciple as the object and the rewarder of his gifts? Either I am deceived, my brethren, or in this substitution which our Redeemer makes of himself in the place of the unfortunate whom their brethren succor, there breathes so much love and divine eloquence, that such a motive must go to the heart of the least fervent Christian. Yes, doubtless, in recalling to your mind those words, which every believer knows by heart, "Come, ye blessed of my Father; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me;" in recalling to your minds these words, so tender and so persuasive, I shall kindle the flame of love in your hearts more surely, than by the strongest arguments; by reminding you, that if, through christian love, you do good to one of your brethren, it is as if you did it to your Saviour himself. Yes, doubtless, this is a

recompense which will abundantly repay you, whatever may be the requsite sacrifice; and which, to the Christian, imparts a peculiar extent of meaning to the truth of my text, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

PRAYER.

Beneficent Father of the universe; we are surrounded by thy bounties: aid us to consecrate a part to thy service. Thou hast, in infinite wisdom and mercy, allowed many of thy children and our brethren to suffer under the evils of poverty and destitution. Open our hearts to feel their condition, and our hands to alleviate their lot. May we strive to serve Thee, by benefiting them; to acknowledge thy goodness in our abundance, by ministering to their necessities.

God and Father of our kind and beneficent Lord Jesus Christ, fill our hearts with love to the whole human race; and remembering that thy Son, who was rich, for our sakes became poor; that we through his poverty might be rich, may we, in an especial manner, feel for and aid those who are in any kind of want. May the same mind be in us that was also in Christ Jesus, that we may take a sacred pleasure in enlightening the ignorant, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, succouring the oppressed, befriending the widow, and guiding the orphan. Let the spirit of love abound in our hearts, and works of love abound in our lives, that as long as we are continued here, we may pass no day

without acts of beneficence, and thus lay up for ourselves treasures that can never pass away. God of love, hear us in our desires to humbly imitate Thee, and to follow the example of our revered and beloved Lord ; through whom to Thee, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, be honor from our hearts and in our lives through endless ages. Amen.

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SERMON XXX.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR.

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1 John iv. 14.

WE HAVE SEEN, AND DO TESTIFY, THAT THE FATHER SENT THE SON, TO BE THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD."

FELLOW-Christians, we are all sinnners. No delusion of self-love, no sophistry of self-defence, can possibly conceal this alarming truth from our view. Whether we retrace the course of our past lives, or penetrate the recesses of our own hearts, or consider the nature of our own thoughts, we receive ample testimony to the humiliating fact of our deplorable frailty and unworthiness. Conscious, therefore, that under the unmitigated requisitions of the moral law, we should all be liable to condemnation, each of us must feel the solemn necessity of being prepared to answer the all-important question, "How shall I be saved?" In comparison with this momentous inquiry, all other considerations dwindle into insignificance. Whether he may be rich or poor, enlightened or ignorant, honored or despised, during the short span of his earthly existence, might not, to a wise man, appear to be an object of serious importance : but,

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