harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ? Was Job uncharitable, when he ranked persons of this character with those who say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways?

What shall we say of those, who are for ever varying from the path of duty, lest it should be unpopular; who never lisp a syllable, or lift a finger for the honour of God, lest they should displease the world? What, but that they love the praise of men more than the praise of God?

Conformity to the world, is to be expected from the professed worldling. It is the character of the worldling. But is it to be expected from the professed disciple of Jesus? Is it the result of the habitual determinations of a heavenly mind. Is it the character of one who looks on things that are unseen and eternal; of a stranger and sojourner; of one who sets his affections on things above, and not on things on the earth? How many, like the young man in the gospel, exhibit a decent and regular outward profession, who are

wholly devoted to the world! Here their affec

tions centre.

their joys flow.

From this polluted fountain all

They had been Christians but

for the world. But the world is the fatal snare. They have plunged down the precipice, and drifted almost beyond the hope of recovery.

DEATH.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The expression of the Apostle is not too strong: To be carnally minded is Show me the men who imbibe the spirit of the world; who choose the company of the world; who imitate the example of the world; conform to the maxims of the world; are swallowed up in the gayety, fashions, and amusements of the world;-behold these are the ungodly, who are brought into desolation as in a moment!—I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading him

self like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Surely, thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castest them down into destruction.

ESSAY XIV.

GROWTH IN GRACE.

How beautiful is the light of the morning! Behold it hovering over the distant edge of the horizon, and shedding its cheerful beams upon the hills. It is a morning without clouds. But how soon is the prospect overcast! The atmosphere is obscured by vapours, and the sun is darkened by a cloud. Again the mists are fled; the clouds have passed over; and the sun is still advancing in his course. Thus he rises; now, behind the cloud, now, in all the greatness of his strength, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Such is the path of the just. In the present world, good men are very imperfect. The best of men have reason to

Complain bitterly of the body of sin and death; and the best of men too, have the most ardent desires that the body of sin and death may be crucified with Christ. The highest point of Christian experience is to press forward. It is a distinguishing trait in the character of every good man, that he grows in grace.

There are various similitudes used by the inspired writers, that are significantly expressive of the advancement of Christians in knowledge and in piety. The young convert is likened unto one that is newly born. There is a point of time in which he begins to live. At first, he is a babe; then a child, till he finally attains unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The kingdom of heaven is also compared to seed which is cast into the ground. First, cometh up the tender blade; then, the thriving stalk; then, the ear; after that, the full corn in the ear, ripening for the harvest, and preparing for the garner of the husbandman. It is also compared to a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. No imagery in nature can more fully illustrate the growth of grace in the heart. The righteous, saith Job, shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax

stronger and stronger. This is the prominent feature in the character of the good man: he shall hold on his way. The youth, saith the evangelical prophet, The youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. With inimitable beauty, is the good man described by the Psalmist. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doth shall prosper. Grace in the heart as certainly improves and advances, as a tree thrives in a kindly and well watered soil. "It flourishes in immortal youth, and blooms for ever in unfading beauty."

The certainty of the believer's progress, however, rests on a surer foundation, than either the degree or the nature of his religion. We are not sufficient, says the Apostle, to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. That the people of God will grow in the divine life, till they reach the stature of perfect men, and are meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, is