searching God; therefore so speak, not as pleasing men, but God which trieth your heart. Approve yourself to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, and giving to every one a portion in due season. In a word, be thou faithful unto death, and God himself, whom you serve, shall be your shield and exceeding great reward.

I now turn my discourse to the church and people in this place.

Men and Brethren,-God, in his unsearchable providence, has been pleased to leave you long as a flock without a shepherd. You have been called to pass through many trying scenes, and to surmount great obstacles in the way of the resettlement of a gospel minister. But now a brighter prospect is opening before you, and you are called to rejoice, but to rejoice with trembling. For this man, upon whom your hearts and hopes are fixed, may be set up, like his divine Master, for the fall as well as rising of many in this place. If he proves faithful, as we hope he will, the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed, and the real characters of all will be tried. Are you prepared for the trial? Do you wish to know whether you are friends or foes to that God, whose favor is life, and whose frowns are worse than death? This you must know, this you will know, sooner or later. For God has determined that the inhabitants of heaven, of earth, and of all worlds, shall know how they feel towards his great and amiable character.

Be pleased, then, to open your minds to those divine mysteries which your pastor, in faithfulness to God and in friendship to you, shall clearly exhibit, from time to time, for your instruction and godly edifying. Receive the truth in love, and the truth will make you free; and if the truth make you free, you will be free indeed. If you love God, God will love you, and come and make his abode with you. For he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Let me entreat each individual, therefore, to accept the advice and consolation which Eliphaz offered to Job: Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up;-yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence.Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee,and the light shall shine upon thy ways."

To conclude: Let us all remember this, that we must see God. God has laid a foundation to exhibit his whole character before the minds of intelligent beings. And can we sup pose that he is not able to carry into execution his great design? He has already made some of his creatures see the glory, and

feel the weight of his character. In the other world, the eyes of all his creatures are always open, and their minds always awake. They rest not day nor night from seeing and feeling the presence and perfections of the Deity. This is the only ignorant and stupid part of the creation of God. And we shall not long remain in our present unfeeling, torpid state. Our eyes will soon be opened, never to be closed. Our minds will be awakened, never to sleep again. The present objects which now obscure our sight of God, and divert our attention from him, will soon be removed, and a flood of light will break in upon our astonished minds. Then it will be as impossible not to see God, as not to exist; and as impossible not to feel the weight of his character, as not to see it. But who, that are enemies to God, can see him and live? For our God is a consuming fire. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now is the only time for sinners to become reconciled to God, and secure his favor. Therefore, "as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Amen.

SERMON VII.

A WISE PREACHER AIMS TO MOVE HIS HEARERS.

AN ORDINATION SERMON.

THE words of the wise are as goads? ECCL. xii. 11.

SOLOMON was a man of superior wisdom, which he displayed in the beginning of his reign, as a prince; and in the close of his reign, as a preacher. Having passed through a great variety of scenes, and collected a large stock of useful knowledge, he was eminently qualified to preach upon the vanity of the world, and the importance of religion, with peculiar pungency. This distinguishing quality, which discovers the strength and clearness of his mind, and characterizes all his writings, justly entitles him to the highest rank among the sacred teachers. Accordingly, Ezra, or some other inspired writer, tells us that he not only "taught the people knowledge," but taught them with so much force and pungency that his words were "as goads, or nails fastened" by those prophets, or "masters of assemblies," who received their sentiments and language from the immediate inspiration of the chief "Shepherd and Bishop of souls." Though none who are destitute of the wisdom of Solomon can expect to reach his supreme excellence in preaching, yet every wise minister will imitate his noble example, and endeavor to penetrate and impress the minds of his hearers. And to illustrate this general observation, I shall show,

I. That every wise preacher will aim to impress the minds of his hearers; and,

II. How he will preach, in order to attain this desirable object. I. I am to show that a wise preacher will aim to impress the minds of his hearers.

By a wise preacher, we mean one who resembles the royal preacher, in some of his most amiable and distinguishing qualities. Solomon was a man of genius, of learning, and of piety. He understood the nature and tendency of all sensible objects. He was thoroughly acquainted with human nature. He knew the feelings of all men, under all circumstances and conditions of life. He knew the various springs of human action, and the various avenues to the human heart. In a word, he knew every thing necessary to penetrate and impress the minds of both saints and sinners. These excellent ministerial qualifications, which adorned and distinguished the royal preacher, in some measure adorn and distinguish all who are wise to win souls. They have the same kinds of knowledge, though not in the same degree. Hence we may presume that all wise preachers will aim to penetrate and impress the minds of their hearers. But this will more fully appear, if we consider,

1. Every wise preacher knows that unless he impresses the minds of his hearers, he can do them no good by his preaching. Hearers must feel what they hear, or what they hear will be like sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. That discourse which fails of penetrating the mind, immediately vanishes, without producing any desirable or permanent effect. It is like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. The principal design of the preacher is lost upon the hearer, unless he makes the hearer feel the truth and weight of what he delivers. The wise preacher, therefore, always means to penetrate the minds of those to whom he speaks. He no farther regards their eyes, or their ears, than only, by these avenues, to convey the truth to their minds, where he means to make the deepest impression, and produce the greatest effect.

2. Every wise preacher knows that his hearers will not feel the truth and importance of what he says, unless he makes them feel it. Hearers look upon it as the part of the preacher to make them feel. They mean to be passive in hearing, unless he makes them active. If he appears indifferent about their feeling, they think they may be equally indifferent about it. They never mean to invite him to speak, but intend that he shall invite them to hear. They never mean to warm his mind, but expect that he should warm theirs. This natural dulness and deadness of hearers, the wise preacher knows he must encounter and overcome, in his preaching. And, therefore, he is sensible that he must move, before they will move; that he must feel, before they will feel; that he must seek his end, before he can possibly attain it. Accordingly, he always endeavors, if possible, to penetrate and impress the minds of his hearers. This leads me to show,

II. How he will preach, in order to attain this desirable object.

When any person proposes a certain end, the end which he proposes, naturally suggests the proper means to accomplish it. This holds with respect to a wise preacher, who makes it his object to penetrate and impress the minds of his hearers. For,

1. This end will naturally lead him to use the most proper style in preaching. He will choose the best words, and place them in the best order, to enlighten the mind and affect the heart. When any person means to impress the mind of another, his design always dictates a natural style, which is the most intelligible and the most forcible. The general, who means to be heard and regarded, speaks the language of authority. And the beggar, who means to be heard and pitied, speaks the language of distress. They both speak in the words in which their thoughts and feelings are conceived, and therefore they both speak the spontaneous language of nature, which all understand and most sensibly feel.

The preacher, like every other person, always thinks in words; and the words, in which he thinks upon his subjects, are the words to be used in his discourses. Could our thoughts drop from our pens, or from our lips, in the very words in which they first rise in our minds, we should write and speak in the most easy, natural and forcible manner. We often lose the energy of our thoughts and feelings, by trying to express them in the language of art, instead of the language of nature. Why do we find it so difficult to describe our past feelings, in the view of a great, or terrible, or sublime object? The principal reason is, we have lost our feelings, and, of consequence, the proper language to describe them. The prophets and apostles teach us the force of unpremeditated expressions. They took no thought what they should say or write, but received both their ideas and words from divine inspiration. Accordingly, we find no language so easy, so natural, so sublime, or so forcible as theirs. Their words are as goads, quick and powerful, sharper than a two edged sword. When any person speaks as he thinks and feels, he speaks the language of nature, which is always understood and always felt. A bare exclamation will often convey more determinate ideas, and make a deeper impression, than the most neat and well turned period. The wise preacher, therefore, who means to penetrate and impress the minds of his hearers, will use a natural, plain, penetrating language, which all can understand, and which all must feel.

2. His design to penetrate and impress the minds of his hearers, will lead him to exhibit great and interesting truths. All truths, whether agreeable or disagreeable, affect and impress