plan of treating them as if they were incapable of being stimulated by anything else than pleasing images presented to the imagination, or by passionate appeals to the sympathy, &c. of the heart.

The apostles furnish us with the best models of the method of enforcing duty, as well as with the matter of instruction as to duty itself. We find in them no empty declamation-no attempt to influence the conduct by heating the imagination without informing the judgment-no exhibition of motives in an inverted order-no exhortation without a wherefore no doctrine without a therefore. In other words, there is no duty inculcated by those inspired teachers, without the exhibition of the ground on which it rests—and the place it holds in the scheme of Christian obedience. While on the other hand doctrines are uniformly shown to be practical in the spirit and tendency of them. Hence, as there are some heretics who find it necessary to twist and bend scripture, in order to force it into something like a correspondence with their sentiments-there are others who, disjoining doctrine and practice, find it necessary to cut and hew scripture in pieces, picking up the detached fragments that suit their purpose, and throwing the rest away. But this by the bye.

To return then to the point. The cause of missions is not recommended to us merely on the principle of gratitude, and yet it has here a most powerful claim. If we are not grateful beyond expression for the Gospel, we neither understand nor believe it. If we do not express that gratitude by exerting ourselves to convey the blessing to others, how shall we prove it? The cause of missions is not recommended to us merely on the principle of humanity, and yet we violate every

feeling and dictate of humanity if we neglect to disseminate the Gospel.-This cause is not recommended to us merely on the principle of justice, and yet we are most evidently unjust if we withhold from others a blessing to which they have an equal right with ourselves. If we have not an exclusive right to the Gospel, we are fearfully unjust in not communicating the knowledge of it to the ignorant. May we be delivered from the guilt of this "crying sin," ere it shall be said in accents of vengeance, "Let him that is unjust be unjust

still!"

The cause of missions is further recommended to us upon the principle of consistency, and concern for our own best interests ;-as the best use we can make of our peculiar privileges and advantages as a nation, and the most hopeful means of securing the continuance of them. But not any one of these considerations, nor all of them put together, constitute the main strength of our obligations to carry the Gospel to the idolatrous pagan-the deluded Mohammedan-the unbelieving Jew. To all of them we should be bound to carry it although we had no other motive to constrain us-no other consideration to warrant or influence us than this, that Christ has said, "Go and teach (disciple) all nations"- "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." The autos eqɑ of OUR Master is of infinitely greater force than the precepts of the Samian philosopher. His disciples sought no further proof or authority for any opinion or practice than the voice of their master. How much more ought the disciples of Christ to hear, believe, and act as He enjoins.

We before borrowed an illustration of our subject from military affairs. Let me take another

from the same source. Suppose an order issued from the highest authority in the kingdom, requiring certain faithful subjects to perform a specific service in the character of soldiers, and commanding all faithful subjects generally to be aiding to the utmost of their power in the execution of the will of the sovereign. In urging the people to obedience what would be the most obvious, and we might almost say, exclusive topic that could present itself in the way of argument? unquestionably the authority of the command. It must not be resisted. It must not be neglected. It is at the peril of the sovereign's displeasure and the loss of character-and, it may be, under the pain of condign punishment, if it be not fulfilled. It would be self-evident that no one could justly retain the character of a loyal subject if he disobeyed; and he must forfeit the esteem and confidence of his better affected brethren if he not merely should refuse obedience, but should attempt to justify his conduct.

But again I ask, what would be the effect and what would be the inference if, instead of the authority of the sovereign being insisted on as the first and greatest reason of obedience, the pleasing nature of the service-the gratifying prospect of success-the great good that would result from the enterprize-its accordance with the best feelings of the heart, &c. should be represented as the chief inducements to set about performance? The effect must be that while many did not choose practically to feel the force of these reasons, those who did would not be able to trace their obedience to the only source that could render their conduct a proof of loyalty and love to their prince, viz: reverence for the authority of his command-while the in

ference might be, that as such topics were brought forward to induce their compliance, the sovereign author had not interposed his authority, or that it was not sufficient of itself to warrant or to produce obedience.

I feel that this illustration, as indeed every illustration taken from earthly and sensible objects, must fall short of the paramount authority of the command of the King and Head of the church, in reference to the extension of his kingdom and the subjection of all nations to Him. An earthly king is a mortal man, and he may err through ignorance or passion. His commands may be the dictates of cruelty, or imbecility, or ambition, or a wanton exercise of power; but even allowing his will to be in all respects accordant to the principles of the strictest justice and highest honor and universal benevolence-his subjects can never be under such obligations to obey him, as Christians are to "bring every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ." And if any one should disregard his authority, I would not endeavor to work upon that man's mind by any other consideration. I allow other arguments a place, but that place is a lower one than the authority of Christ. His words are illustrative and confirmative of the declared purpose of God from the earliest age, to bruise the head of Satan by the seed of the woman, and to make that seed his salvation to the ends of the earth.

The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is expressly taught in the volume of revelation. There are many other collateral proofs of the doctrine, but that derived from revelation is not only one of a primary order, but it gives strength and coherence to all the rest. In like manner the

command to "preach the Gospel to all nations," is the prime motive and warrant to attempt the conversion of the world; and not only so, but it is this that gives cogency, appropriateness and effect to all the reasons that can be adduced for zeal and perseverance in the glorious project. Had we

a Gospel to preach to the angels that kept not their first estate, and had we access to them, all the considerations of benevolence-the misery of their state-the happiness to which they should be raised -the advancement of the glory of God in the reduction of a portion of his rebellious creatures to obedience-might be urged as so many incentives to zeal in preaching to them; but all these considerations go for nothing, because we have no command to preach "good news" to them. But so far as regards sinners of the human race, all these motives, and others which might easily be set in array before the eye, have their own weight, and ought to have their own influence in connection with the divine command, and as deriving from it their chief value.

It is high time that it be fairly put to every Christian, and to every Christian church in the world, to vindicate their profession by a truly Christian zeal for the extension of the Gospel; otherwise their sincerity must fall under suspicion. Nay, they ought to be considered as guilty of a glaring dereliction of Christian duty, if it be not concluded that they entirely belie the Christian character, Their orthodoxy of creed-general correctness of conduct, and usefulness in their immediate spheres, or even their noisy zeal each for the peculiarities of his own sect, will not suffice when HE shall come who will bring in against many who think themselves guiltless, a sentence of