which he lived. I will only refer you to these passages; read the latter part of the 23d chapter of St. Matthew, the whole of the 24th; the 8th and 9th chapters of Mark; the 21st chapter of St Luke; and the 23d chapter of the prophet Jeremiah.Look carefully into these passages; study them in your families, and you will be satisfied with this one truth, namely, that the subject under consideration was never designed by our blessed Saviour to record the awful doctrine taught us by Christian divines; and I cannot help congratulating you on feeling a conviction on this subject. What a relief will it be to your souls to be delivered from such an awful foreboding! The calamities our blessed Saviour alluded to, were calamities which would fall on Jerusalem in that generation, and they did so; but he never did utter one word about the awful punishments hereafter, which are supposed by our divines to be threatened in this passage. When he was going to the cross, multitudes of tender females followed him, weeping for his fate; and he turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bear,' &c. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, to the hills, Cover us." Why did he not tell them to weep for themselves and children, for that they must be banished from God and burnt in the flames of hell as long as heaven should exist? Why did he talk about the approach of the enemy and the destruction of their temple, and say nothing about the torments that awaited them in another world? It was for this very good reason, the former was in his mind, the latter was not.

He never

thought of any such thing. No, blessed be God, there is no eternal destruction for the children of men. Will you say, "He uses particularly, the word everlasting?" If you will read, you will find that many of those things which are called everlasting had their whole existence in time. The land of Canaan was an everlasting possession to the house of Israel. The covenant of Levi was everlasting, but they were not ENDLESS. Everlasting means duration for a long time. There is nothing said here about a future state of existence. You can examine this, and make the subject familiar to yourselves. Do not believe those who tell you that it is dangerous to do this. It is dangerous only to BIGOTRY.There is no danger in inquiring after the truth. Those who disobey God's commandments, who abuse his word, who trample his precepts under their feet, shall meet with trouble and sorrow, and then this passage is fulfilled. "All transgressions and disobedience must meet with a due recompense of reward." This we know by experience; and we need not go into eternity for it. It occurs in the present time. Those who do well are blessed, and those who do evil are cursed. Those who believe the truth, DO enter into rest, but those who worship the BEAST and his IMAGE, are wretched and miserable. But, my dear friends, when you hear the word of God, you will treasure it up and obey it-make it dear to your souls, follow the religion of Christ Jesus, and you will be blessed in the same.

SERMON XI.*

JEREMIAH III. 15.

AND I WILL GIVE YOU PASTORS ACCORDING TO MINE HEART, WHICH SHALL FEED YOU WITH KNOW

LEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.

In this text is contained a divine promise that the gospel shall be preached to men; and by this promise we are informed that our heavenly Father, in the gift of this ministry, would not make it subject to the wisdom of the world which cometh to naught, but would regulate it according to his own wisdom, as in the text, "I will give you pastors according to mine heart." Thus it is understood that the ministry which God appoints, is appointed not only by his wisdom, but is endowed with that wisdom, that temper, and that grace which is according to the will and disposition of God: "I will give you pastors according to mine heart." According to the text read for consideration, the ministry itself, and its pastors, being appointed after God's own heart, shall feed the people with knowledge and understanding. It implies that the pastors should preach those things which they know to be true, and which the people can understand; for we learn from the text, that they shall be endowed with understanding and with knowledge; and, being thus endued, they must know that they never feed the people with understanding, unless they preach to them what they can understand.

*This discourse was preached in the Saloon of Washington-Hall, to an audience of about 7000 persons.

Now, in the first place, my friendly hearers, when God appoints pastors to the people according to his heart, they are educated by his wisdom, they are actuated by his will, and they are employed entirely in the promulgation of that which is consistent with the mind of Him that sent them. When the wisdom of the world appoints a ministry, it appoints a ministry according to its own heart, and its own wisdom. If any church appoints a ministry, it appoints it according to its own heart, and according to its own interests. Thus we may say, (and I hope without giving offence) that if any particular theological school appoints a ministry and sends forth ministers, both the ministry and the ministers will be according to the wisdom, the will, and disposition of that theological school. Such a school as the theological institution at Jerusalem, where Gamaliel was the doctor or teacher, would furnish such a ministry, and such a minister as Saul of Tarsus, the person who was an enemy to Jesus Christ, an enemy to the Gospel, an enemy to all that named the name of Christ; and yet Saul was faithful to the theological school that appointed him, and endeavored to promote the honor, dignity and authority of those that sent him forth. None but God himself, through the mediation of his blessed Son Jesus, could make such a minister as St, Paul, who was converted from the school and doctrine in which he had been educated, and was adopted as the child of Jesus Christ; adopted into the school of our great Redeemer; and as 'before, he had no other interest but the interest of the church that appointed him, so now, he has no other interest but the interest of the Almighty who converted him and appointed him to the labors of the Gospel, whereby he now becomes a disciple of the

meek and lowly Jesus. He has no interest to promote or serve but the interest of the crucified Redeemer; and being brought into his service, he boldly proclaims the gospel of the Son of God. I would add, it is very practicable and possible, from motives which have a peculiar influence on the human mind, for an individual to appoint himself to the work of the ministry, and set himself up as a teacher; and he will tell you it is dangerous not to believe, and not to receive his preaching as truth, because he is a minister after God's heart. How shall we know whether he is or not? Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory." My friends, you may always know a false teacher from a true one. It is the easiest thing in the world. How will you know him? He will always set himself up above God. He will always represent himself to be more lovely, if possible, than he will allow our Saviour to be. He will tell you how much he would do to save you. He would lay down his life to save one poor soul; but he will not allow the Redeemer, who did lay down his life for us, the power of saving you. Now which is best, the preacher or his Master? Why, according to his own account, the preacher. Yes; he is the best himself; because, in the room of being in the cause of his divine Master, he is in his own cause; and instead of endeavoring to get people to love the Lord Jesus Christ, he is interested in making them love himself; for he is holding himself up as being more interested in their salvation, than he will allow the Redeemer to be. My hearers, there is no difficulty in determining this question-in distinguishing a minister of the Lord, from a minister of the wisdom of this world. The minister of this world's wisdom, has