tered over deserts and mountains he will wander with them; if they lodge in dens and caves of the earth, there will he abide; they may be buried in places deemed infamous by the world, yet there would he rather be laid to share the repose of the just, than in the most splendid receptacles of triumphant villany.

This choice of Ruth was made in spite of many discouragements. Her mother-in-law set before her all the difficulties she might expect, and she saw the widow of her husband's brother so influenced by the prospect as to abide in Moab, yet was her purpose unshaken. You may perhaps have friends who are averse from religion, and neighbours disposed to ridicule rather than to follow your piety, yet you must now say with Peter's zeal," though all men should forsake thee, yet will not I." Beware lest you say it with the presumption which led him to disregard all admonition, and to brave temptation, but express it with a humble dependence on that grace which can confirm you to the end, and with an affectionate sense of your peculiar obligations to that Redeemer who loved you, and gave himself for you.

After the Service.

To her purpose Ruth adds a very solemn oath, to convince Naomi how firmly she was resolved to adhere to her, and to strengthen the pious resolutions of her own soul. Whatever might occur to disgust her in Judea, and whatever alluring messages might be sent to her to induce her to return to Moab, this would be her answer, "I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot go back." You have now been pledging yourselves by the most sacred vows to serve your Redeemer, and are, I trust, disposed to say, like the

Psalmist, "I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." The recollection of these vows will furnish you with an additional argument in answer to the solicitations of temptation, and they will be regarded by you as a restraint from folly, and as a motive to pious exertion, which the best require in the present state.

Ruth might be afraid that after the attractions of the land of Israel were no longer new to her, her affections might revert to her native country, to the scenes where her childhood sported, and her youth rejoiced, and where the objects were which first interested the heart. There is something in the abode where our infancy was cherished, and in the spot where the gay hours of early life were spent, which makes the heart to long for them though we are separated from them by thousands of miles, and though scores of years have elapsed since we quitted them. But the recollection of these vows would make Ruth bless God that he had brought her from a land of idols, and when she thought of her country, to bewail the gross darkness which covered it. If we are conscious that there are quarters where we are especially in danger from the influence of temptation, it will be wise to form a solemn purpose of peculiar watchfulness there; and if there are duties from which our hearts shrink, we must resolve to make every effort to discharge them fully. Dreadful is that hour in which conscience presents to us the vows we have violated, and they cannot be beheld without shame and consternation. At this moment your hearts are wrung with the recollection of your broken vows, which in the moments of sacred rapture you thought would never be infringed, and you are now trembling at the idea, which to you is most painful, that you may by the power of temptation be induced to disregard those

you have now made, to the dishonour of God, and to the detriment and peril of your souls; but commit yourselves to your Saviour's care, and while you do So, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. Let me call upon you to maintain the choice you have made, and have this day avowed. "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord," and no expression of my lips, no wish of my heart, and no action of my life, shall ever utter a different language. Beware of every thing which will make the sincerity of your choice of religion questionable. Engage not in the pursuits of the world with that devotedness to them which is incompatible with any of the claims of your holy profession: and let not the men of the world be your favourite associates. Say not, I make them so to do them good, for instead of benefiting them, they may contaminate you, they can have no kindred feelings with you, and the young and the simple may employ your example to encourage themselves in intimacies which will involve them in ruin..

Often call to your remembrance the examples of this choice, and of fidelity to it, which have been set before you. Ruth was bound to Moab by many ties, yet she breaks through them all, and says, "I am the Lord's." Moab might abhor her as a traitress to her country, and from the grave of her fathers she heard a voice to which the ear of nature never can be closed; yet all this could not shake her purpose to live and die with the worshippers of the true God. Think of Moses who saw more to charm him in the trials of Israel than in the pleasures of Egypt, and in the reproach of Christ, than in the crown of Pharaoh. Nor was this a transient emotion of piety, for these impressions remained unchanged amidst all the perils of the wilderness, and all the ingratitude and perverseness of the.

the land of

Jews; and even while the displeasure of his God excluded him from Canaan, he blessed him that he was not shut out from heaven, and died in Moab, in calm submission and joyful hope. Think of Paul, who counted all his privileges and distinctions loss for Christ, and who maintained this pious determination amidst unparalleled trials of his constancy, both as to number, severity, and duration. In prisons and stripes, in threats and abuse, in hunger and nakedness, at the bar and on the scaffold, he could say, "none of these things move me." Think of the pious friends who exhorted you to make this choice, who from the bed of death recommended it to you, and who having lived by the faith of the Son of God, and followed him in the graces of his character, left the world with such prospects, that you felt disposed to say, "let us go also, that we may die with them." Now we desire that every one of you do shew the same zeal and pa tience in supporting the credit, in fulfilling the duties, and in surmounting the difficulties, of your holy profession.

Consider the advantages which will result from your adherence to this choice; you shall have the Ruler of the world for your friend, the God of all grace for your portion, the Father of glory for your reward, and God blessed for ever, for your felicity. Compared with such privileges the treasures of the world are emptiness, and the honours of princes vanity. You shall have the excellent of the earth for your brethren and your friends, your comforters and your guides. In walking with them, you shall be led in the path of life, and in dying with them, you shall share in the happiness which the voice of the Spirit thus declares, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and their works follow them." To be buried with them, is to

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sleep in Jesus as they do, nor shall death part you long. It will take you to the spirits of just men made perfect, and in a few years it will re-unite in glory those whom it had separated. Death parts, but it unites also; and there is more joy in the union, than there was sorrow in the separation. In a short time your soul shall be associated with those whose fervid devotion so often roused your languid piety, whose kind solicitude for your welfare secured your confidence, and stimulated your improvement; whose gentleness and candour taught you to be mild and charitable; and whose lofty and joyful hopes carried so frequently your hearts to heaven. Nor is this all, for the resurrection of the just shall be your resurrection, their mercy in judgment shall be your mercy, their home your home, their glory your glory, their worship your worship, and their felicity your felicity. Amen.

ADDRESS III.

PSALM XL. 6, 7, 8.

"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened; then said I, lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."

SACRIFICES were originally of divine institution, and were intended to answer the most important purposes. The sinner was taught by them the malignity and the desert of his sin, and they directed his views to that great oblation which, in the fulness of time, should for ever perfect them that are sanctified. Often had conscious guilt trembled, and faith lifted up its head by their