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fore ought to live alike. Alas! why do they not?

Some there are, the beloved of God, who remember their Creator in the days of their youth, and will be eternally rewarded by Him, when He shall come hereafter in His glory. Assisted by His grace, they preserve themselves without spot and blameless from wilful sin; love for Him so fills their hearts, that no enticement can lead them to break His laws; in favour with God, beloved by all good men, admired and respected even by the wicked, they shine like lights in the world, keeping themselves, from their earliest to their latest years, as innocent as fallen man can be.

There are others again, far different from these farther from the favour of God, farther from His heavenly kingdom: such as live but for the follies and trifling pleasures of this world, in which they are placed to take their trial: who, forgetting the value of their souls, and the sufferings which the Son of God bore upon the cross to deliver them from hell, do nothing to work out their own salvation: whose days are spent

in a continued round of worldly folly. Just as the butterfly which lives for nothing but to enjoy the warmth of summer whilst it can, to spread its painted wings in the sunbeam, and flit from flower to flower, and the first frost of winter kills it: so do a great part of mankind get a taste, in early youth, for the follies and pleasures of this world, till they think of nothing else, and live for nothing else; and then they die : perhaps without having ever bestowed a serious thought upon a day of judgment, and another world. A life such as this, so entirely given up to vanity and pleasure, is not what the Almighty God of heaven, the Lord and Maker of mankind, looks for and delights in from His creatures: it is not the life to which His everlasting rewards are promised in the gospel. And yet there are many, too many, who must have still less hope of happiness after death even than these for too many there are who live for worse things than the follies and vanities of the world. Many there are who have forgotten their Creator in the days of their youth, and not only forgotten Him, have

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despised Him and provoked Him. Many there are who have not only not remembered their Saviour's sufferings for them, but have crucified Him afresh by their sins and crimes: who have in early life got into evil habits and sinful courses, from which in after life they have never become free and, instead of obeying the pure and holy laws of the gospel, have given way to the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, till Satan has bound them fast with those chains from which Jesus in His mercy died to deliver them. O that every young person who now hears me would be persuaded to believe that his future happiness, both in this world and the next, almost entirely depends upon his conduct now! It does indeed sometimes happen that a man who has passed the season of youth without crime, falls into great wickedness as he gets older, from placing too much trust in his own strength. This, however, is not often the case: those who have learnt to obey the laws of God in youth, will find no difficulty in keeping them afterwards; for it is in youth that the follies and vain plea

sures of the world have the greatest charms for us; it is in youth that the temptations of the flesh are strongest; it is in youth that the thoughts of death and judgment and the fears of punishment are naturally farthest from us. Our youth is our most dangerous age. But there is a God of tender mercy, who looks down with love and favour upon the young who do their best to please Him: He has promised His grace and blessing to their earnest endeavours, and has assured us that He will never leave us nor forsake us whilst our hearts are fixed on Him.

Thus we see in what various ways the life, which God has given, is spent by various men. Though He gives it to us all for the same end, that we may become fitted for a better life of glory and happiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, we do not all employ it for this purpose. Some only live to hoard up and increase their perishable possessions, which they must soon leave behind them for ever,some eagerly follow after the pleasures and follies of the world,-some give themselves

up to all manner of vice and wickedness,whilst there are but few, in comparison, who diligently and faithfully serve the Lord their God-few, our Saviour Himself has told us, who shall be chosen to eternal life, out of the numbers that are called to it: and even they, being by nature sinners, cannot become perfectly acceptable in the sight of God without repentance. So that it may truly be said of all mankind, that there are none so good as not to stand in need of repentance, whilst some are so bad that they can scarcely repent and mourn for their sins enough. Now, as I before observed, the only way by which we can repent to any good purpose, is to look back upon years that are gone from us, and to call to remembrance our past ways and works. By doing this, we shall gain a thorough knowledge of ourselves, our weaknesses, and sins: by not doing it, we shall be in danger of adding to their number instead of breaking them off.

My brethren, both you and I, blessed be God, are amongst the number of those to whom the kingdom of heaven has been

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