with trembling. Irreligious connexions are among the most fatal snares. Alas! there is too much truth in the severe observation; "How few young professors are there, that will not forsake their Christian friends and their Redeemer, for an ungodly wife or husband." Watch against all the snares that would entangle your feet; and all the fleshly lusts that war against the soul. Keep in view the blessings promised to those who persevere. When the world tempts you aside, think of Peter's words: "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life!" I once knew a poor man, who, in early life, became acquainted with religion, but who afterwards wandered from God; though, for a number of years before his death, he was restored to the paths of peace. He mentioned to me how much happiness he had found in religion, in the early part of his Christian course. Peace with God made his life pleasant. The night and the day were alike cheerful; and fear and grief fled far from him. But these words, or words to this effect, were suggested to him, and run in his mind: "What need of so much ado about religion?" Fora time he resisted, but at length yielded to the tempter. He went backwards, and Satan triumphed. And now farewell to peace; his comforts were gone. Distress haunted him; he could not lie down at night without fear of waking in eternal torments before the morning came. He found it a bitter, as well as a guilty thing, to forsake his Redeemer. And, though he was afterwards restored to God, he stated to me, on one occasion, that he did not find that degree of happiness which he had experienced before his fall. Hold fast, then, what thou hast, that no man take thy crown.a a Rev. iii. 11. § 5. A Prayer for the young Christian. Great and most compassionate God, with what pleasure should I approach thee, since thou hast taught me to call thee my Father, and hast condescended to become my God. Thy love to me has been as unceasing as the flight of my time; and O! thou hast taught me to indulge the ecstatic hope, that thou wilt be my portion in a better world, when time, with all its periods, is no more. I bless thee, my God; I praise thee for what I am, and what Í have, and what I hope for. I am, I trust, through thy grace, a child of thine, though once I was an enemy to thee. For ever be thy love adored! for softening my hard heart, for enlightening my benighted mind, for leading me to Jesus, and giving me every good in him. O my Father! the praises of all the inhabitants of heaven, through ten thousand ages, would not sufficiently extol thy love to me; and, alas! how mean are my feeble offerings. O my Saviour! I owe thee a debt which I shall never be able fully to acknowledge. Train me, O my God! for that world where I shall praise thee in sweeter strains, "while immortality endures.” Let me keep that world in view; and lead me forward, till thou shalt fix me safely there. Ever let gratitude dwell in my heart, and praises flow from my lips. Let prayer, as it is my highest privilege, ever be my dear delight. While I am pursuing my pilgrimage to eternity, may I daily, and often in the day, hold sweet communion with thee, O Lord. To thee may I flee in every hour of temptation or grief, to tell thee all my heart; and show thyself the hearer of my prayers. Let me be clothed with humility. Let me manifest this grace in all my intercourse with mankind. May I feel my defects, reach at higher holiness, and lie, with a lowly spirit, at the foot of the cross. May I abide in Christ, as the life of my soul, the foundation of my hopes, the source of my comfort, and my all in all. While I trust in his death, may I imitate his life; and, by consistent holiness, adorn the gospel I profess. Let thy word be dear to me. May its treasures be hidden in my heart; and when I search its sacred pages, may it be with a humble, teachable mind; and may thy Spirit deign to be my instructor. May thy house and ordinances be the delight of my soul; and may I live on earth, looking forward, with longing desire, to thy house above. Let me confess myself a stranger upon earth, have my affections set on heaven; and may I feel that all which worldly men esteem most important, is a trifle to me, who hope soon to appear in thy presence above. My God, for Jesus' sake grant these blessings, and this one more request: Keep me faithful unto death; and, when I have done and borne thy will here, with robes washed in the blood of Jesus, may I enter thy kingdom, and unite in the triumphal song- Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever! Amen. THE END. CONTENTS. 1 Introductory Address to the Reader, 2 Scriptural account of the ruined state of man, 5 Warnings against delusive hopes and formal Religion, 101 6 The worth of the soul a reason for early Piety,... 113 7 Testimonies of Scripture to the importance of Religion, 126 10 The advantages of early Religion, 11 The pleasantness of early Piety, 12 The happy end of a pious life a reason for early Piety, 222 19 The eternal ruin of the ungodly a reason for Religion, 298 Printed by Thomas Richardson, Derby. |