there a lonely cave, from which some faithful witness dares occasionally to venture, and prophesy upon the slain." But these dark abodes, these habitations of cruelty, are all included in the grant and in the covenant of promise to the Son of God, as the land of Beulah, the Goshen of the earth. Soon, then, in them will commence the unclouded empire of heaven's eternal glory— when rapturous pæans of seraphic joy will roll through their valleys, and be echoed from their hills-when no Achan in all the joyous camp will embitter the glorious victories which God will give to Israel. But then our great and glorious Immanuel—the delight and the joy of angels-will sway the sceptre of universal empire, and reign king of nations, as he now does king of saints. To the agency of Zion's sons, under the direction of Jesus Christ, and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, is left the moral renovation of this revolted universe. But it may here be asked, is there any hope of final success, after eighteen hundred and thirty-seven years have accomplished so little ? But for a moment look at the analogy between the moral and the material universe, and see how uniformly those changes which are of the greatest benefit to man are slow and gradual. The fields which wave their rich and golden harvest, may be destroyed by the passing tempest in a moment, and yet it requires almost the entire year to perfect them. "The desolation of a province by an earthquake or a volcano, may be the work of a single hour; but months, and years, and ages have been necessary, ere the gradual deposition of alluvial soil has clothed the rocky valley of the Nile with the harvest and fertility of Egypt, or produced the Bengal from its parent Ganges." So does God work in the moral world, and produces the most glorious results by a slow and steady process. But the work will go on; it cannot stop. It may, it has, experienced its seasons of adversity; but it still lives. And here I will say, in the language of the eloquent Wayland, "Let the dark cloud of infidelity overspread Europe, cross the ocean and cover our own beloved land-let nation after nation swerve from the faith-let iniquity abound, and the love of many wax cold-even till there is on the face of this earth but one pure church of our Lord Jesus Christ, all we ask is, that we may be members of that church-God grant that we may throw ourselves into this Thermopyla of the moral universe." Thus, young gentlemen, have we taken a cursory view of the moral destitution of the world, and beheld, alas! its largest portion veiled in darkness, and "filled with the habitations of cruelty." Yet we are assured, that, by the moral efficacy of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, it shall be so renovated as to exhibit but one splendid empire of our great Immanuel. Which will lead us to notice, in the 2d. place, The agency of Zion's sons in accomplishing its redemption from moral death. There is one characteristic of the gospel, of transcendant excellence; and that is, its perfect adaptation to combine with its moral efficacy the physical and intellectual energies of man, for the emancipation and redemption of the soul. This furnishes to every laborer in the vineyard of the Lord Jesus, abundant evidence that he shall not labor in vain, nor spend his strength for nought. To bring about that period, when the "mountain of C the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and all people shall flow unto it," God has appointed various instruments and means, possessing in themselves, however, no intrinsic excellence or virtue, yet rendered powerful and mighty, through God, for the destruction of iniquity and sin, and for bringing men into subjection to the law of Christ. Among the most prominent means of Divine appointment, for evangelizing the world, is, I. The ministry of reconciliation. It is ordained of Heaven, that "through the foolishness of preaching" all that believe shall be saved. The end of all preaching is "to persuade men to become reconciled to God," to receive and obey the gospel, to follow after holiness, and to cultivate peace with all men. It has, therefore, the noblest of all ends in view, the production of immortal holiness, and of unending blessedness and joy in the souls of men. Upon this, God has set the broad seal of his high approbation, and abundantly assured us, that by the preaching of the gospel he is more especially glorified, and hence, more peculiarly pleased, than with any other effort of ours, or any other thing that transpires in this present world. To accomplish all the ministry aims to do, he gave the gospel, and himself instituted the ministry. For this end, he unbosomed his own beloved Son, and sent him to live and die in this sin polluted world, and to rise again as the first fruits of, and living witness for, the glorious resurrection of all his people. For this end again, he sent his Holy Spirit, to change, renew, and sanctify the heart to support and conduct the soul to heaven, its native home. The ministry, again, aims at the entire renovation of this whole earth, and it will never stop, until "One song employs all nations, and all cry, In fine, the ministry of God's sacred word shall go on in its moral conquests and triumphs, until the world in kindness shall exhibit the picture, and appear a copy of heaven-until every unkind and malignant passion shall be banished, and tenderness and sweetness of disposition and heart return and take possession of the human breast; and that pure benevolence, which constitutes so much of the felicity of heaven, control all our actions, and spread a lustre and loveliness, unknown before, over all the inhabitants of earth, and make it bloom in all the verdure and loveliness of man's ancient Eden. That the ministry of reconciliation is designed to accomplish all of this, is evident from the fact, that where preaching does not exist, Religion with all its hallowed richness is never found; and that those persons who seldom attend the preaching of the word, scarcely ever become religious. For demonstration of this, we need only look to ourselves and those around us. Were conversions among the heathen ever known, or individuals reclaimed from idolatry, where the gospel was never preached? Such instances do not occur. It is by the "foolishness of preaching," that the "wilderness and solitary places" are to be converted into fruitful fields, and the "desert to bud and blossom as the rose." pulpit, then, The "Must stand, acknowledged, while the world shall stand, The most important and effectual guard, Support and ornament of virtue's cause." 1. To answer all the ends of preaching, it is necessary that ministers be thoroughly educated, with special reference to that sacred office. It was said by the prophet, that in the latter day "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge be increased.” One object then in preaching, is so to increase the "knowledge of the glory of God,” that it shall fill the earth." This only can be done by educated men, men who are deeply imbued with the spirit of holiness, and who have made the sacred oracles of truth the subject of deep and most critical investigation. If, then, one prominent object in preaching, is to increase knowledge, then preachers must possess no ordinary share of knowledge themselves, in order to impart it to others. Ministers must have all their accustomed theological stores laid up before they commence, and then they are to keep pace with the rapid march of science in all its new discoveries and daily demonstrations. This can only be done by young men. You have, then, young gentlemen, these two facts before you: first, that the ministry is the great instrument for the conversion of the world; and second, that a qualification for the ministry requires the early and entire consecration of body and of mind. So that the redemption of this world is dependent, under God, upon the agency of these young Samuels, at the sacred altar. Science is pouring its light, like the effulgence of the sun at noon, upon this field of labor, and in it are legions of well-trained, thoroughly disciplined, and highly cul· |