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4510
.T951
BUHR
The You
Assume.
THE VOW ASSUMED.
A PASTOR'S ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO
HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED
BY STEPHEN H. TING, D.D.,
SECZOW OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCHÝ THE CITY OF NEW-YO EK
COPYRIGHT SECURED.
PUBLISHED BY
T. WHITTAKER,
2 Bible House, New-York.
At a CONFIRMation held in
St Andrew's Church
Tren Tiber on the 27
day of thril 1877 by the Right Rer.
J. A. Mc Cookry ID. L.LD.
Bishop of Michigan
Victoria I Morris

was admitted by that appointed Rite to all
the privileges belonging to a Communicant
in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States.
Wyllys Hace
Rector of. It Andreus church

BV
4510
T951
O LORD, my God, without whom nothing is
strong, nothing is holy, I thank thee that thon
hast admitted me into the fellowship of Christ's
religion, and called me to a knowledge of thy
grace and faith in thee. Increase this know.
ledge and confirm this faith in me evermore.
Enlighten mine understanding by the illumina-
tion of thy Holy Spirit. Make all the desires
of my heart to unite in the performance of thy
commands. Increase in me true religion.
Nourish me with all goodness. Keep me ever-
more by thy most gracious and ready help, that
I may embrace, and ever hold fast, that blessea
hope of everlasting life which thou hast given
e in thy dear Son. Enable me, through thy
grace, by faithfully following in the steps of his
example, to avoid all those things which are
contrary to my profession, and in every good
word and work to glorify thee, through the
merits and death of thy blessed Son, Jesus
Christ, my Lord. Amen.
い
​| Buhr
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5
MY DEAR FRIEND :
I give you here a certificate of your
confirmation.
Before receiving you to this sacred
ordinance of Christian profession, you
will bear me witness, that I faithfully
endeavored to teach you its nature,
its obligations, and its advantages. I
described to you as simply and as ac-
curately as I knew how, the state of
mind and character, with which you
would be expected to engage in it;
the sclemn promises yo' made by it;
1*
6
and the new and holy life to which,
with the Lord's help, you thus sul
emly bound yourself.
I look back upon this course of in
struction, feeling that I have earnestly
made the effort, to teach you truly,
what has seemed to me to be the will
and the truth of God, in this connec-
tion. Depending on his divine teach-
ing by his own Holy Spirit, it has
been my great object to lead you really
in the renewing of your mind to
Christ; to persuade you to come with
a deep sense of your own guilt, and
trust in that Gracious Saviour, without
a doubt or a fear. In him the Gospel
reveals to you entire forgiveness, and
complete acceptance with God. To
7
him the Holy Spirit must unite you in
a living faith, by his new creating
power, as the only hope of your salva-
tion.
That I might bring you truly to
him, with a free acknowledgment of
your own sinfulness, and lead you to
accept him with an affectionate trust
and hope as your only possible Saviour,
whose obedience and death for you are
your complete salvation, have been the
earnest effort and purpose of my heart
and labors. I have endeavored to
speak to you on this great subject
with much distinctness, pressing you,
as the first great qualification for a
Christian profession, to have this
Blessed Saviour really dwelling in
8
your heart by faith, your chosen Mas.
ter, and your cherished and beloved
Friend. I have urged you to choose
him as your everlasting portion, with
cheerfulness and gratitude; and to
trust yourself entirely to him, for all
you need, with perfect confidence, that
he is both able and willing to make all
grace abound upon you as you may
require it.
This is the great distinguishing fact
of true religion; the affectionate choice
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heart,
as the Saviour, the Ruler, the Example,
and the Portion of the Soul. The first
real step in a new and spiritual life, is
this receiving of Jesus Christ the Lord,
in our poverty and helplessness, our
9
guilt and ignorance, as the one great
Friend, who alone can enlighten, par-
don, comfort, and sanctify our sinful
souls. You have nothing to bring
him, but a penitent and thankful
heart. You can add nothing to the
great work of mercy which he has
done for you. You can make him no
return for his love, but to love him, to
trust him, and to follow him, with the
sincere effort to honor him in every
relation of life, and to confess him in
all your walk on earth, as your all-suf
ficient Ruler and Guide.
This has been the subject of my
earnest and repeated teaching to you
in the instructions which you have
nabitually received from me, and espe
10
cially in those which have immediately
preceded your Confirmation. If the
Holy Spirit has brought you truly to
Jesus, it has been as a consciously
guilty creature, seeking his forgive
ness; as a feeble and helpless creature
trusting to his promise; and as a grate-
ful, willing servant, praising him for
all his mercy.
You have thus been SAVED by
grace; grace which triumphs over
your unrighteousness, blots out your
innumerable sins, heals all your infir-
mities and defects, and makes you
trust in God, who is all your salva
tion, and not to be afraid in your pur-
pose and effort to follow and obey
him.
11
If the Holy Spirit has thus really
led you to Jesus as your Saviour, you
have been also CONVERTED; brought
back from your rebellious and sinful
course of life; and have a new desire
and purpose to serve and follow your
glorious Lord alone. Thus "old things
have passed away." "All things are
become new." You are no longer a
child of the world, and a child of
Satan, but a child of God, and God
dwelleth in you. "In this the children
of God are manifest, and the children.
of the devil." "Hereby, we know that
He abideth in us, by the Spirit which
he hath given us."
This is your NEW stand, and your
now relation. And as you have thus
12
received Christ Jesus the Lord, with
a self-renouncing, trusting, affectionate,
and grateful heart; with no excellence
of your own, and no confidence in any
worth of your own works to meet his
favor; as you have received him, with
a sincere desire to find your shelter only
in him; and with an earnest purpose,
to try in every thing to be like him,
and to glorify him, to trust him, to
confess him, and to praise him for his
abounding grace, so are you to walk
in him to the end.
This mind and purpose are the pro-
fession you have now made in the pre-
sence of God and of the congregation,
in whose sight and hearing you have
registered your vows and confirmed
13
your covenant with your gracious
Master and Lord. Never was there a
point in your life more solemn or more
important; never an act upon which
so much depended, or from which so
much was to be expected. This solemn
profession you have now made; and
you stand here a follower, a soldier, a
servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the midst of a world which lieth in
wickedness, and in the bosom of a
church which is to be edified by your
influence and your example.
And now I am permitted to address
you as A CHRISTIAN, as a servant of
the Lord Jesus, on the ground of your
own voluntary and chosen profession.
I would remind you, that your con
2
14
firmation opens to you all the privi
leges which belong to that relation in
the earthly Church, and you are invited
and urged always to improve them.
For you THE TABLE OF THE LORD
is spread, and you are called with his
children to come there to renew your
dedication to him, and to unite in
the communion, both of the outward
ordinance, and of the inward affection-
ate and grateful remembrance of him,
which marks his chosen flock, and the
living members of his family. Do not
neglect it. Never allow yourself to
become indifferent or unmoved upon
this subject. Feel it to be a great
privilege thus to meet in affectionate
commemoration, a Saviour who has
15
promised to meet you there, and strive
to maintain and to exercise in relation
to it, a lively faith, a thankful spirit, a
penitent and a loving heart. Let your
blessed Master always find you there.
Let your fellow-disciples rejoice in
your steadfast and unwavering profes
sion there maintained. LOVE THE
TABLE OF THE LORD. Let your own
heart enjoy the freedom and the hap-
piness which this gracious relation is
intended to give you; and seek the
constant guidance and blessing of the
Holy Spirit to give you both the pre-
paration and the improvement which
are desirable and adequate for such a
meeting and such a connection.
For you THE THRONE OF GRACE, the
16
mercy seat of God, is especially pro
pared. Rejoice to seek it, in every
method of approach in humble prayer
by which God has promised you it
may be found. Forsake not the as-
sembling of yourself with the people
of God in their united public worship.
Ever realize the gladness of heart with
which an invitation to the privilege of
united prayer and praise should awak-
en your attention and quicken your
diligence. In all the worship of the
sanctuary, be not a listener merely,
but a partaker. Let your voice en-
gage in prayer and praise, in your ap-
propriate place. Let your heart de-
light to join in its secret fellowship,
where your voice is not called to speak.
17
But never allow yourself to be irre
verent or listless in the solemn offerings
of united worship. Avoid the inroads
of a trifling temper, and the wander-
ings of a vain and wanton eye, and the
levity of a giddy or an indolent heart,
when you come before God. Be seri-
ous; be earnest; be real; and shun the
approach of every temptation that
would lead you there astray.
LOVE YOUR CHURCH.-Cultivate a
delight in its peculiar worship, its ha
bits of ordinances, its style and sys
tem of ministry. I do not wish to
see you bigoted in your spirit, or in-
tolerant in your temper; self-righteous.
ly saying, "The temple of the Lord
are we,” or contemptuously or bitterly
2*
18
calling down fire to consume others
who do not agree with you. But I
do wish to see you feeling that your
own Church is the Church of your
choice; that its prayers and praise are
the real language of your heart; and
that all its privileges and appointed
methods grow more dear to you, as
you press onward in your course to
glory. Be assured it is worthy of all
your love and esteem. And if you
feel indifferent to it, it can only be
because your heart grows cold to the
spirit which pervades its worship, or
your mind is ignorant of the real
value of the privileges which it brings
you. Whenever, therefore, its courts
aro open and invite you there, hasten
1
19
to ascend to the hill of the Lord, and
to lift up your heart with the whole
multitude of his saints in the simple
and affecting offerings of worship
which are there provided for you.
LOVE YOUR PASTOR.-Whoever he
may be, strive to bear with his in-
firmities, to edify him in his work, to
encourage his efforts, and to reverence
his name and character. He may not
be great, and yet he may be a great
blessing to you. He may be poor,
and yet he may make you truly rich.
He may have no outward worldly at-
tractions for the trifling, and yet he
may be really a man of God, and
grace may be poured upon his lips.
He may be endued with no wonder
20
ful wisdom in human eyes, and yet hə
may come to you with a message of
divine mercy which shall encourage
your heart with gladness, and be a
great helper of your joy. At any
rate you will not help his infirmities
by magnifying them; nor forget his
defects by dwelling upon them. En
courage him by a thankful attention
to his ministry. Uphold him by 3
grateful listening to his message
Cheer him by the smile of affection
ate confidence and welcome. Let
him feel that he may trust you, as a
faithful friend; and have your heart
open to hear what God the Lord will
speak by him concerning you. Be
assured the blessing of his ministry
21
will mainly depend upon yourself.
God can make the feeblest one like
David. And your affectionate and
carnest prayer may draw down bless-
ings of priceless worth upon him, and
through him upon you. Let me en-
treat you then, cultivate always a
tender, respectful, affectionate spirit.
in public and in private, toward the
pastor whom the Lord has been
pleased to set over you.
LOVE YOUR FELLOW-CHRISTIANS.
Try to be useful, friendly, patient to-
wards all. They will not all be appro-
priate companions. You may not be
able to get benefits from them all.
But you can be useful to them all in
your measure and degree, as God
22
shall be pleased to bless you. En
gage cheerfully in every effort of be
nevolence to the household of faith,
as you find yourself able to be helpful
to any. Teach the ignorant. Relieve
the distressed. Comfort the weary and
the sorrowing.
Be kind and gentle
in your manners towards all. Culti-
vate a tender sympathy for others.
Bear with and hide their infirmities.
Avoid a censorious spirit, and the in-
dulgence of a habit of unkind or un
just thought, in relation to them.
Feel that it is your privilege and
duty to love all whom Christ loves,
and who love him. In your different
relations to them, envy not their
prosperity, despise not their poverty.
23
Be respectful to their claims. Be
contented with your own inferior po-
sition. Be humble in the enjoyment
of any advantages which they do not
possess. Remember that it is an ever-
lasting bond which unites you to all
the members of the Lord's ransomed
flock; while they are very temporary
circumstances which make up any
distinctions or separations between
you and them, in whatever condition
they may be.
For you the WORD OF GOD is filled
with instructions, promises, and con
olations. God has prepared his sa-
cred testimonies for your guidance,
and given you the promise of his
Spirit to enable you to understand
24
and employ them. Feel assured that
all its promises are yours. Whenever
you need them in special applicatiɔn,
they are already laid up for you. Ac-
custom yourself to appropriate them
in simple faith to yourself and to
your own condition; and learn to be
happy in the assurance that God has
thus been pleased to speak for you.
As you read these blessed promises,
"ONLY BELIEVE." Faith in the cer-
tainty of the Word imparts the bless-
ing. Unbelief in the divine assurance
annihilates the comfort. You can
never be beyond the reach of the
promises of God. Cling to them, and
love them as your Father's voice in
the day of trial. They will cheer
1
25
you, and encourage you, and hold
you up, when your steps are 'ike to
slip. The divine instructions are all
for you. The blessed testimonies of
a Saviour's fullness and grace, of the
freeness of his pardoning love, and
the abiding extent of his redeeming
power; of the sufficiency of his Spirit
as your Comforter, and the certainty
of His presence with you as a guide
and a defender: all are designed for
you, and you may read them and en-
joy them all, as God's special mes-
sages to yourself. The divine com-
mands and warnings are all for you.
Listen to their watchful voice. Re-
verence their authority. Trifle not
with their sacredness and solemnity.
3
26
Carry them into your innost soul, to
search and sanctify your spirit, and to
show you your secret faults. Make
them the rule of your life, and the
chosen monitor whose voice you will
never refuse to hear.
Take your Bible, as your own Bible,
as God's special communication and
message to you, as if yours were the
only copy, and all that it contains were
especially designed for you. Thus you
may derive the teaching which your
Heavenly Father desires to give.
Seek his Spirit. Seek his power
freely, confidently, as your guide in
understanding his Word. Never for
get that this is his promise. He will
guide you into all truth.
He will
27
He will shine
make the truth effective and sanctify.
ing to your heart.
upon your conscience, and your un
derstanding, to apply the word to
your improvement and comfort.
LOVE YOUR BIBLE.-The more you
ove it, and study it, still the more
will you find your love for it increase.
Its beauties and its blessedness will
open themselves only to your seeking
earnest purpose to understand them.
"Incline thine ear to wisdom, and
apply thy heart to understanding: If
thou seekest it as silver, and searchest
for it as for hid treasures; then shalt
thou understand the fear of the Lord,
and the knowledge of thy God."
Pass no day without it. Become
28
familiar with its contents. Read it
through regularly, at least once in
every year of your life; and read it
with a praying, earnest heart; never
doubting its authority or its truth;
always longing to comprehend more
perfectly, the length and breadth and
height and depth of that love which
passeth knowledge which it reveals.
Thus will your mind be filled with di-
vine knowledge, and grow up to un-
derstand the loving kindness of the
Lord.
These great privileges of divine
communion, divine fellowship, and di-
vine teaching, are all yours. They
are the portion and the inheritance of
the flock of Christ to whom you have
29
now united yourself. Thus all His
people are blessed continually by that
Great Saviour whe hath chosen them
for himself. And all these are your
right by his gift. Enjoy them. Im
prove them. Calculate upon them.
Live and walk in the light and com
fort of them.
But beyond all these, the PROVI
DENCE OF GOD is on your side. You
are under divine guardianship. Es-
pecially so now, because under the
shadow of His wings you have been
led by his Spirit to place your trust.
How beautiful and appropriate is that
language of prayer which you have
heard at your Confirmation: "Let thy
fatherly hand ever be over them. Let
80
thy Holy Spirit ever be with then.'
God without to be your constant
guardian; God within to be your con-
stant guide: how can you be more
richly favored than with an arrange
ment like this? Try to realize the
blessedness of this. All your ways
are ordered by the Lord; and even
when you fall, you may be made to
rise again. Trust in God, your own
God. Doubt not that he orders all
things concerning you, and all for
your good. He has prepared the way
and the place in which you are to
honor him. He will guide you by his
counsel, and afterward receive you to
glory. Be anxious only to fill up
your dispensation, and to meet the
31
calls of your personal duty, whatever
they may be. They may not be al-
ways agreeable to your present tastes
and feelings; but never doubt that
your Father's infinite wisdom and
goodness has ordered them, and there-
fore they must be well; nay, the best
for you that can be. You are not
nercly under his care as a creature ;
but guarded by him as a child-" a
dear child." Having given yourself
up to him, he will do what he will
with his own. But he can only do
you good; and no good thing will he
withhold from you, while you lead a
godly life.
Be contented with his
provision. Be thankful for his care.
Be satisfied with his promises. LOVE
32
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. Delight in
the shelter of your Father's love; and
never forget that it is your peculiar
privilege to abide beneath the shadow
of his wings.
For you the EVERLASTING COVE
NANT has been prepared. It is in all
things well ordered and sure. It in-
cludes all blessings for time and for
eternity. God has established this
covenant for you in his own dear Son.
That divine Saviour is himself the
pledge of its fidelity, and the surety
for its fulfillment. This gracious
covenant offers you every thing that
you can need freely in Christ. It es
tablishes every gift surely in him. In
him all the promises are yea and
33
amen-confirmed for you by God, in
Christ. Nothing that God can do for
you shall be withheld from you when
your happiness requires it. He will
cause all grace to abound upon you.
He will never fail you nor forsake
you. He has bound himself to be a
GOD to you forever. Realize the pri-
vilege and blessedness of this rela
tion. Under this covenant you were
brought in your Baptism. Then were
you dedicated to God, and acknow-
ledged and owned as his. This cove
rant with God you have now con
firmed by your own act and choice.
You have taken upon you all its obli-
gations, and God has bestowed upon
you all its privileges. It covers all
34
the wants of the present life, and pro.
vides all the glories of the future. It
secures them all as your possession,
and your right; given to you in
Christ Jesus your Lord, and secured
to you by the unchangeable faithful
ness of God. Realize this great pri
vilege. Never forget the blessings
and security of your covenant rela-
tion to God. LOVE THE COVENANT
OF YOUR GOD. Love it in its promises
for you. Love it in its obligations
upon you. Strive to live in the en-
joyment of the hopes and blessings
which it is intended to give you.
Rest your confidence on the founda-
tion which it has laid for you; a sure
foundation established and confirined
35
in all the glorious and sufficient work
of your precious Saviour; and learn
to draw from it all your consolations
and your hopes. Like David rejoice.
to say, "Although my house be not
so with God, yet he hath made with
me an everlasting covenant, in all
things well ordered and sure; and
this is all my salvation and all my de-
sire." "In this I do rejoice, yea, and
will rejoice."
All these are the privileges of your
condition as a CHRISTIAN, a child of
God, a member of Christ, and an in-
heritor of the kingdom of Heaven.
God has made them over to you in
the promises cf his Gospel; applied
them to you by the power of his
36
Spirit; and sealed them to you in
the ordinances of his own appoint-
ment. "All things are yours, for ye
are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
You have received and accepted them
all, in your own solemn profession and
vow, of faith in his word, of obedience
to his commands, and of renunciation
of all that is opposed to his will.
You have thus taken the covenant of
God upon yourself, and set your own
seal to its acceptance as your chosen
privilege and your voluntary and hap
py stand. Be grateful; be happy;
be determined in your choice; and
feel always, that the lines are fallen
to you in pleasant places, and you
have a goodly heritage. Let your
37
heart always rejoice to say: "Lord, I
have loved the habitation of thy
house, and the place where thine
honor dwelleth." "I had rather be
a door-keeper in the house of my
God, than to dwell in the tents of
ungodliness."
With these precious privileges of
your new condition, let me remind
you now, of some of your OBLIGA-
TIONS. These obligations arise from
this new condition in which your own
choice has placed you. Your profes
sion is of a new mind, a new heart;
to be dead to the world, and alive to
God; to be crucified with Christ, so
that your life is hid with Christ in God;
that when he shall appear, you may
38
1
also appear with him in glory. You
are in the world, but are not of the
world; and the life which you now
live in the flesh, you are to live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved
you and gave himself for you. Let this
great separating principle of a Christ-
ian profession mark and govern your
whole course of life; so that in every
thing you may adorn the doctrine.
of God your Saviour, and glorify the
great name by which you are called.
Remember that righteousness hath no
fellowship with unrighteousness; that
light hath no communion with dark-
ness; that Christ hath no concord
with Belial; that he that believeth
hath no part with an infidel; that the
39
temple of God hath no agreement
with idols. Remember that by your
own solemn act of offering and dedi-
cation, you are the temple of the Living
God, and God dwelleth in you by his
own gracious acceptance and acknow-
ledgment of you in his Son, and by
the presence and power with you of
his own Holy Spirit. Therefore come
out from all that is opposed to the
will of God, and to the example of
Christ, and be separate; touching not
an unclean thing; and God will receive
you and will be a Father to you, and
you shall be his son or his daughter,
in the free and unchanging adoption.
of his grace. Live in the world in all
your relations to men, in this one cha-
40
racter of a child and servant of the
Living God
BE PRAYERFUL. LOVE YOUR CLOSET.
There God has promised to meet
you with special manifestations of
his grace and presence. Enter into
it with delight. Employ its privi-
leges with thankfulness. The mercy-
seat is there open to you, and your
Father who there seeth in secret, has
promised to reward you openly.
Maintain the habit as well as the
spirit of prayer. Morning, evening,
and at noonday, accustom yourself to
call upon God, and he will hear your
voice. Go to him with a sincere and
grateful heart, feeling how great is
the privilege of thus worshipping
41
him, and truly desiring to deal af
fectionately as well as reverently with
him. But maintain the spirit also as
well as the habit of prayer. Think
of your private prayer, and employ it.
as an actua. communion with a re-
conciled God. Tell him freely of
your wants and trials. Ask in faith
the mercies you need, expecting to
receive them. Ask in your own words,
in the actual expressions of your own
feelings and wishes. Be very careful
not to degenerate into a mere form
of words in secret prayer. But seek
God truly, earnestly; his pardoning
love, his sanctifying power, his sup-
porting grace; because you feel your
need of all his mercy, and realize tha
42
value and blessedness of his gifts
Let me urge this upon you. Much
of your comfort and happiness in 2
religious walk will depend upon the
reality, the simplicity, and constancy
of your private prayer. Faithfulness
there brings down great blessings
from a Gracious God. LOVE YOUR
CLOSET. Few are the troubles that
you will not leave behind you there.
Great are the mercies you will bring
thence to crown and comfort your
upward life.
BE CHEERFUL.-Adopt the prin
ciple, that the Gospel can furnish you
abundant happiness. Agree to be
happy with its provisions. Look upon
your salvation as now accomplished
43
your guilt forgiven; your soul ac
cepted; in the work of merit which
your glorious Saviour has finished for
you. God is your salvation. What
have you to do, but to trust and not
be afraid? You can not trust him too
entirely. You can not lean upon him
with too much confidence. Nor have
you any thing to prevent your con-
stantly taking the cup of salvation, and
calling affectionately upon his name.
As a pardoned and saved sinner, as
an accepted and beloved child, offer
him constantly your free-will offerings
with an holy worship. Your present
position is an eminence of blessedness.
You look back to see that you have
escaped a raging sea. You look
44
around to see yourself placed upon a
rock, secure and protected. Yon
look forward, to see a bright and
hopeful prospect laid out before you
in the love of Christ. Amidst such
mercies maintain a cheerful, happy
spirit. Seek to glorify your God even
in the fires, by cheerfulness in duty,
confidence in trust, assurance in hope,
and earnestness and fidelity in every
appointed labor. Be truly alive to
God; and honor him in an earnest and
constant effort to show how adequate
are the provisions of his grace for all
you need, and how full are his pro-
mises of comfort and rest to your soul.
Much of your strength and success
will depend upon this. The God of
45
hope will fill you with all joy and
peace in believing. Maintain a believ
ing heart, and receive and enjoy the
peace which it is designed to give.
Learn and love therefore, to cultivate
a happy, hopeful walk in your whole
religious course. "In every thing give
thanks. This is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you."
BE WATCHFUL. -Your Christian
course is to be maintained in the midst
of temptations. Though truly a child
of God, you still carry with you an
heart far from sanctified, and a remain
ing sinfulness of nature in its appetites
and propensities, which demands un
ceasing vigilance. Tempers, propen
sities, desires of varied evil shapes and
S
46
aspects you will find within yeu, de
manding indulgence, excusing their
own gratification, and pleading neces-
sity, or custom, or overruling conven-
ience continually in their behalf. You
can not afford to relax your vigilance
over these outgoings of your own sin-
ful nature; "keep thy heart with all
diligence, for thence are the issues of
life." Be watchful against the mirth
and giddiness of a sinful world. Vain
and unsettling amusements, theatres,
operas, balls, and dances; extrava-
gance and vanity in dress; the un-
scasonable hours and empty display of
fashionable indulgence; all these are
utterly destructive of a spiritual mind,
and quite inconsistent with the sepa
47
rate and simple habits demanded of a
follower of Christ. You do not need
such trifling joys if you really love the
Saviour whom you profess to follow.
You will not submit to such a debas-
ing and undermining influence, if
your heart is really engaged in the
desire to glorify Him, and your affec-
tions are truly fixed on the things
which are above. Great is the peace
of those who love his commandments.
And your happiness and your success
In Christian effort and duty will much
depend upon the fixed and cheerful
determination with which you watch
against this sinful conformity to the
world.
Be watchful in your transaction of
48
the daily business of your life; and
while you are not slothful therein,
strive at the same time, to be fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord. Guard
against the encroachings of a covetous
and earthly temper. "They that will
be rich, fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurt-
ful lusts, which drown men in destruc-
tion and perdition." Learn to con-
sider the world a place of duty, not a
mere source of pleasure or gain. Seek
a spirit of contentment and thankful-
ness in the condition in which your
heavenly Father is pleased to place
you. Realize that his blessing maketh
rich, and addeth no sorrow therewith;
and that all things work together
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for good, to those who love God.
Strive to carry out completely the
spirit of your divine Master in every
station, and in the losses and gains of
life, whatever they may be.
These are but selected illustrations
of the tempting power of the world
around you. You meet them at home
and abroad, and in every station of
human life. Be watchful to maintain
a walk of actual holiness and positive
Christian decision and influence in
every relation. Thus only can you
honor Him who has called you to his
service. After all your vigilance you
will still find yourself compassed with
infirmities, and be compelled to mourn
over your remaining secret faults.
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But resist the advancing influence of
sin. Give no place to the tempter or
the temptation. Strive to walk in all
your connections in life, holily, un-
blamably, and exemplarily, among
your fellow-Christians, and in the face
of a sinful world watching your
course, and seeking occasion for re-
proach from your unfaithfulness, o
that holy name by which you are called.
BE USEFUL.-No man liveth for
himself. You are set in the world for
a light to guide, and a servant of the
Lord to minister to the wants and the
happiness of others. Take this view
of life, as the plan upon which you go
Accustom yourself to acts of kindness
and works of benevolence; make your
51
own tempers, comforts, and conven
ience, give way to the happiness and
welfare of others. Your gracious
Master pleased not himself; he went
about doing good; and you are te
gain his mind and to walk in his steps.
This may often require a contest,
and involve great determination on
your own part. But every victory
over your sinful self-indulgence in such
a contest, will be a far greater gain to
you than it can bring to any other
Let words of kindness dwell upon
your tongue; let a gentle and sympa
thizing spirit rule within your heart;
let tenderness and patience control
your actions. Be disinterested, ear
nest, and sincere in your purposes and
52
efforts to do good to all, as God shall
give you ability. Seek no happiness
for yourself, but that which follows as
the shadow of duty. And ever feel,
and resolve to feel, that in thus doing
good, you are gaining far more than
you possibly impart. A life of earnest,
active usefulness eminently becomes.
your Christian profession; and its
blessed fruits will be gathered by
your fellow-men for their advantage,
that they may bless you; and by
your Glorious Lord for his honor, that
he may acknowledge and accept you
as faithful servants, who, in your ap
pointed place in life, have done what
you could for him.
BE FAITHFUL.-Faithful for Christ
53
in a world which you are sent to
bless. Confess him openly; confess
him constantly. Be not ashamed of
him, or of his words, however they
may be despised. Be ready to warn,
to admonish, to guide, and to comfort
the souls for which he died, as he
shall give you opportunity. Strive to
gather wanderers into his fold; to
make known the unsearchable riches
of his grace; and to lead the hearts of
the sinful and the ignorant to the
knowledge of his truth. Get clear
views of his great salvation, and bo
not afraid to speak of them, when he
opens to you a door for usefulness.
Maintain the reality and ardor of your
spiritual life, the sincerity and earnest-
54
ness of your walk of faith, and be
thankful for every opportunity to
show to the erring the way of peace,
which the Lord has thus been pleased
to open for you.
Be faithful to THE END. The Lord
may gather you to an early home, or
he may assign for you a long and
weary pilgrimage on earth. Have no
anxiety about this; your times are in
his hands. Be content and thankful
to have them there. But whether
life is to be long or short, "be faith
ful unto death." Let nothing separate
you from that love of God which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord, that when
he cometh, you may appear before
him with joy, and not be ashamed be
55
:
fore him at his coming. Then shall
you receive the glorious end of your
faith, and rejoice in your full salvation.
Then will you look back upon your
early solemn profession of love for his
name, and glorify him who plucked
your feet out of the pit, who has kept
your eyes from tears, and your feet
from falling, and has permitted you to
come and walk before him in the land
of the living.
Thus, my dear friend, have I en
deavored to give you, in a few and
simple words, some pastoral counsel,
to guide you in your Christian course.
Your vow is now ASSUMED. Soon it
"will be accounted for at the judgment-
seat of HIM to whom you made it
56
There we shall meet to render our
united account, of our reciprocal-rela
tions. May we so faithfully accom.
plish our separate work through the
constant guidance and support of hist
Holy Spirit, that in the all-sufficient
mediation of the Divine Saviour, we
may find a gracious acceptance, and
appear before him in that great day
with joy, and not with grief. While
we live let us pray for each other, that
both he that soweth and he that
reapeth may rejoice together.
That the Lord may fill you with all
joy and peace and holiness through
the faith that is in him, is the earnest
prayer of your affectionate and faith-
PASTOR.
fnl

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
3 9015 02971 1721
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