in the course of the year spent in fasting and prayer, we believe they would be more useful to our churches. Let the former part of the day, as recommended by President Edwards, be spent in little social meetings for prayer; and in the afternoon let the whole church assemble together.

6. It would be useful to our churches occasionally to renew their covenant with God and one another. Great pains should be taken to prepare a church for this solemn act. It had better not be done at all, than in a formal, unfeeling manner. We would recommend that it should be done on the Sabbath succeeding a season of fasting and prayer.

7. Great pains should be taken to keep up and to increase that spirit of prayer, which has prevailed in our churches the year past, and which still prevails. One or more weekly prayer-meetings in every neighbourhood, for professors, would tend to cherish this spirit. Occasional meetings for members of the church with their pastor, for free conversation and prayer, would tend to preserve this devotional spirit in our churches. In family prayer, where there are several members who are professors, it would be useful occasionally for all to take a part, especially on the Sabbath. We should like to see such family prayer-meetings common among us. Young professors would thus become accustomed to leading in prayer, and would be prepared for a more public performance of the duty. Such young converts would be less likely to neglect the important duty of family prayer in future life. But secret prayer we deem the most important of all; and think it particularly incumbent on ministers, at this time, to point out the nature and importance of this duty, and to urge professors to a faithful performance of it. Declension has its

origin in the heart, and makes its first appearance in the cold performance or neglect of private meditation, self-examination, and prayer. So long as our old professors and our converts are faithful in these private duties, religion will not visibly decline in our churches.

8. Let judicious discipline be faithfully maintained in our churches. This is one of the means which Christ has enjoined for the honour of his name and the purity of his church. If neglected, we have no reason to expect his blessing. We are persuaded that the church of Christ suffers very much from an alarming neglect of this duty. In some churches in our land it has so long been neglected, and scandalous sins have become so extensive, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to exercise discipline. God forbid this should ever be the case with our churches, by neglecting this duty while it can be performed. But even when discipline is administered, it is often done in such a manner that it does comparatively little good. While it is prosecuted with decision and firmness, let it be done with christian meekness and tenderness, not as though we were lording it over God's heritage. After discipline is commenced, churches ought to pray specially for the subjects of it, that it may be effectual in reclaiming them. When ministers and elders are engaged in visiting convicted sinners and conversing with them, the prayers of the church are deemed important to the success of these means; and why not in the administration of discipline? The great body of our members seem to feel as though they were not particularly interested in the administration of discipline. This is verily a fault among us. Let our churches be exhorted to pray for the subjects of discipline, that they may be

reclaimed. If they are excluded from the communion of the church, let them be exhorted still to pray that this last act of discipline may be blessed to their good, to the good of the church and of the world.

9. Let meetings of inquiry be kept up, wherever they can be, in our churches. Relinquishing such meetings has sometimes hastened the decline of revivals. In some churches these meetings have been kept up for years. To give them interest, when there are few inquirers, it may be useful to vary the instruction. Some doctrinal or practical subject might be discussed, and questions put to those present.

10. We would urge the members of our churches to converse with their friends and neighbours on the subject of religion. There is a remarkable backwardness extensively prevalent among Christians on this subject. A professor of religion will live for years on intimate terms with an impenitent neighbour, converse freely with him about all his worldly concerns, and never open his mouth to him upon the momentous concerns of his soul. Why is this? If his neighbour were in danger of losing his property, and such professor foreseeing the evil, should neglect to give him timely notice, he would be regarded by the whole community as a coldblooded monster. Is not much of the infidelity of the world to be ascribed to this sinful neglect on the part of professors of religion? Men of the world are not fools. May they not often thus reason with themselves? These professed Christians do not believe we are in danger of going to hell, unless we repent and embrace the gospel. If they did, they would show their love to us, by warning us of danger, and urging us to flee from the wrath to come. Let the members of our churches, as well as our ministers, take heed that the blood of souls be

not required at their hands, by neglecting to "warn the wicked from his way." The reason why those who attempt this duty, are considered by some as meddling with what does not belong to them, is, that it is so generally neglected. It is deemed impolite and even unnatural not to inquire after the health of our neighbour; but if his soul is sick unto death, are we to be unconcerned? The politician thinks himself justified in conversing with his neighbours, yea, with Christians, upon politics, and discussing every subject connected with the welfare of the community; and shall it be deemed impertinent for Christians to converse with their neighbours respecting the character and government of the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the duties which his subjects owe him? Sinners have taken the lead in conversing with Christians upon subjects of interest to themselves, long enough. It is time for the church to assert her rights; and if the world will not permit her to converse with them, let her refuse to listen to the world. If religion ever prevails extensively, a very great change will take place in the churches of Christ in relation to this duty. Brethren, were you, who are members of our churches, in the habit of conversing with each other, and with the impenitent, on religious subjects, in the same free and familiar manner that you do on other subjects, you might do more to promote religion than your ministers can do by their parochial visits. We beseech you, therefore, brethren, "Let your conversation be such as becometh the gospel of Christ."

11. Let heads of families be more attentive to the religious instruction of their households. If we mistake not, there is danger in this day of public action of losing sight, in some measure, of this important duty. All experience teaches us, that those converts

who have been well educated in religious families are by far the most valuable members of our churches. Others, if converted, have in many cases contracted so many bad habits, and are SO grossly ignorant on many religious subjects, that they are comparatively of little use to the church. It would be well for our ministers to preach on the subject of family prayer and the religious instruction of households; and in their parochial visits let them be particular in their inquiries respecting the performance of these duties, and in giving instruction respecting the right performance of the same. One great end of the baptism of households is, that parents, and ministers, and churches, may thus be impressed with their obligation to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How many of them grow up infidels in consequence of the violation of covenant engagements! How rarely do we hear ministers pray for these children of the church, or that their parents may be faithful to their promises! Deep repentance for unfaithfulness, and a thorough reformation in this respect, is much needed in our churches.

12. Let all the private members of our churches be urged to a punctual performance of moral duties, in their intercourse with each other and with the world. Let them be strictly honest in all their dealings, rather suffering wrong than doing wrong. Let them be careful never to violate their word, A professor should make it a matter of conscience strictly to adhere to his promises, and to be punctual in the payment of his debts. He should be careful to avoid every thing like hypocrisy and deceit, yea, the " very appearance of evil," in the business of this world. Never should he forget the golden rule, of doing to others as he would they should do unto him.

Incalculable mischief is done, even by professors of religion, in the frequent violation of the plainest rules of morality. Prejudices are thus produced in the minds of men of the world, especially those termed men of business, against religion itself, which it is difficult to remove. If defrauded, or deceived, or disappointed, by a professor, he can do them no good until he repents and confesses his fault to them. Every minister, who has had any experience in revivals of religion, has often been met with these prejudices, and knows how difficult it is to remove them; and until they can bring an impenitent sinner to turn off his eye from the faults of professors, and fix it upon his own, there is no hope of his conversion. Because irreligious men are sometimes externally moral, many professors are prone to feel as though religion had little connexion with morality. True morality and religion are inseparable. Worldly men who are moral, are not so from love to right and justice, or obedience to God. If they were, they would not be guilty of the worst of all immorality, that of robbing God. The morality of the Bible, is as much above the morality of the world, in its common acceptation, as the heavens are above the earth. Let every professor endeavour to possess the morality of the gospel, and love to do to others as he would they should do to him. Were a professor of religion habitually to neglect the external worship of God, in the family or in the sanctuary, he would be considered by all, destitute of piety. But he who disregards the moral duties of the second table of the law, has no better claim to the name of Christian. President Edwards says, these moral duties "are of much greater importance in the sight of God, than all the externals of his worship;" and many of his remarks on this subject are worthy of the serious considera

* Speaking of the religion of the heart, he remarks:-"But of this inward religion there are two sorts of external manifestations. The one sort are outward acts of worship, such as meeting in religious assemblies, attending sacraments, and other outward institutions, and honouring God with gestures, such as bowing or kneeling before him, or with words, and speaking honourably of him in prayer, praise, or religious conference; and the other sort are the expressions of our love to God, by obeying his moral commands, of self-denial, righteousness, meekness, and christian love, in our behaviour among men; and the latter are of vastly the greatest importance in the christian life. God makes little account of the former in comparison of them. They are abundantly more insisted on by the prophets in the Old Testament, and Christ and his apostles in the New. Hypocrites and self-righteous persons do much more commonly abound in the former

writers and writing were not yet known. Thought, which now so widely and so rapidly ranges through this material universe, and even, at times, daringly attempts to invade the penetralia of immateriality, was then restricted to very limited excursions, which seldom, if ever, extended beyond the easiest mode of capturing a few wild animals, and obtaining simple fruits or vegetables, to satisfy the cravings of nature. The supply of the animal wants was all that man needed in that enviable age; and the mind, content with little, reposed in the enjoyment of that luxurious indolence which is now of so rare occurrence even in

the regions of fiction, and the excursive flights of imagination.

But the blessedness of this age was too great, and its joys too rapturous, to be of long endurance in a world of mutability like this. Some presumptuous spirits, who aspired to a flight far beyond the ordinary ken of their fellow-mortals, commenced a course of medwhich ended in the Discovery of dling and impertinent inquiries Letters. Intense, indeed, was the sensation, and powerful was the influence, excited by this novel application of the mental energies;

kind of duties, than the latter, as Christ remarks of the Pharisees. They are not so properly showing our religion by our deeds, for they are only showing our religion by word, or an outward profession. The latter sort of duties put greater honour upon God, because there is greater self-denial in them. The external acts of worship, consisting in bodily gestures, words, and sounds, are the cheapest part of religion, and least contrary to our lusts. The difficulty of thorough external religion does not lie in them. Let wicked men enjoy their covetousness and their pride, their malice, envy, and revenge, and their sensuality and voluptuousness, and they will be willing to compound the matter with God, and submit to what forms of worship you please, and as many as you please; as is manifest in the Jews of old, in the days of the prophets, and the Pharisees in Christ's time, and the Papists and Mahometans at this day."Edwards' Works, vol. iii. p. 343.