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shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but the redeemed shall walk there, and wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Such is the perfection of the Christian law; such the purity of those morals which Jesus delivered, such the beauty of the Gospel as a rule of life, as to have gained the love and admiration of many who have disbe lieved its doctrines. But he gave them a still higher lustre by his example. The perfection of the Christian law, the purity of those morals which Jesus delivered, the beauty of the Gospel, as a rule of life, appear nowhere to such advantage, as in the life of our Lord. There you contemplate holiness, not as a dead letter; but as a living form; substantial, present, speaking to the world. He trode before you the path that leads to heaven. It is pointed out by his precepts; it is marked by his example; it is consecrated by his blood.

Would you learn what virtue is; would you be in love with virtue; would you practise virtue, contemplate the life of Jesus; study the life of Jesus; imitate the life of Jesus. He, to whom the Jews preferred a robber and a murderer, was fairer in his life than the sons of men, and purer in his heart than the angels of God. That head which they crowned with thorns, was ever intent on benevolent deeds, and at that very moment of time meditated their good. Those feet which they bound to the cross, went about on errands of mercy. Those hands, which they nailed to the accursed tree, were lifted up in devotion to God, or stretched out in beneficence to men. Jesus, through his whole life, marked out the path which leads to the heavens. Walk in that path, Christians! You shall arrive at heaven, and be of that happy number, who are to inhabit the mansions prepared for you, by Him who is "the resurrection and the life."

LECTURES.

A LECTURE has, for a great length of time, formed a part of the Morning Service of the Church of Scotland. After the singing of Psalms, and Prayers, the Minister reads a considerable portion of Scripture, from which, when explained and illustrated as the nature of the subject requires, he generally deduces the practical lessons it contains. We regret, that, in some of our Churches, the practice of lecturing has, of late years, become less frequent; and that a Sermon has been substituted in its place. Where the regular reading of the Scriptures-a practice most judiciously enjoined by our sister Church, is not made a necessary part of Divine Service, lecturing, in a great measure, supplies that defect. Besides, this exercise, properly conducted, gives greater scope to the talents of the Preacher, enables him to avail himself of the various stores of knowledge of which he is possessed, and to introduce his Audience to a more intimate acquaintance with the general meaning and tendency of the Sacred Writings.

LECTURE I.

PSALM i.-Ver. 1-6.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

CHRISTIANS and Brethren! The most critical period

of human life is when we set out into the world. Frequently the first step is decisive. The young adventurer, set free from the authority of parents and of guardians, becomes his own master, and follows his own inclination. It is then that he begins to form his character; and the character that is then formed generally lasts through life. Mankind for the most part continue in the same path in which they set out. The passions of youth may resign to the passions of age, and one set of vices or of virtues give place to those of a similar kind; but seldom does the formed character undergo an essential change. Our first steps ought, therefore, to be ordered with the greatest care and deliberation, as upon them, in a great measure, depends not only our present, but also our eternal happiness.

It was with a design to direct us in this important period, that the Psalm before us was written; in which the practice of righteousness is recommended, not only from the advantages attending it in this life, and in that which

is to come, but likewise from the pernicious tendency of sin to embitter our earthly enjoyments, and to render us unqualified for inheriting the joys of heaven. The graduat deviation of a sinner from the onward path of virtue, till he is inextricably bewildered in the insidious mazes and winding ways of iniquity, is here most beautifully described.

The first step in reality, though it be the second in the description, is, "He standeth in the way of sinners." Frequently the company of the wicked is a certain introduction to a life of wickedness. Mankind are oftener led. astray by the company of the profligate than by their own depraved inclinations. This unhappy bias to associate with the profane arises from two causes, which operate powerfully on the minds of inexperienced youth. The first is that rigorousness and austerity which some gloomyminded Christians attach to their religion. There are many persons of such an unhappy constitution, as to indulge themselves in perpetual moroseness and melancholy. Those sons of sorrow turn every house into a house of mourning, and behave in life as if it were one of their principles, that mirth was made for reprobates, and cheerfulness of heart denied to all those who have the best title to be cheerful. My brethren, there is no connection; God and nature have established no connection between sanctity of character and severity of manners. To rejoice evermore is not only the privilege, but is also the duty of a Christian. A cheerful temper is a perpetual hymn to the Divinity. A gloomy cast of mind is not only a certain source of misery and discontent, but is really in itself sinful, by deterring others from a holy life, by representing religion in an unfavourable and forbidding light, as if it conjured up a spirit to darken the face of the heavens and the earth, to trouble the peace and the harmony of nature, and to banish gladness from the circle of human society. Very opposite is the conduct of the votaries of vice. To betray unwary innocence into their snares, they put on the mask of mirth; they counterfeit gladness amidst the horrors of guilt, and borrow the accents of pleasure, and the air of joy. "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds," say they; let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they be withered, let no flower of the spring pass away, let us devote the present moments to joy, and give thought and care to the winds." By their

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