EARLY PIETY
THE BASIS OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.
L ~Dicours-c to the
GRADUATING CLASS OF WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY,
AUGUST, 1SiC..
By STEPHEN OLIN, D. D., L.L. D.
PUBLISHED BY LANE & SCOTT,
200 Mulberry-street.
JOSEPIH LONGKING, PRINTER.
1851.








EARLY PIETY
THE
BASIS OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.
"I have written unto you, young men, because ye
are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and
ye have overcome the wicked one."-1 John ii, 14.
THE Gospel demands of everyv Human being
an unreserved consecration of body and
soul, with all their energies and capabilities,
throughout the entire period of his probation.
In thus claiming for God all the services
which a mortal man, aided by Divine grace,
can render, it puts forth a claim upon any
peculiar powers, endowments, or faculties
with, which he may be providentially endowed or intrusted.  In asserting its rightful dominion over our entire earthly career, it proclaims the Divine right: to-reign
with an undivided and unrivalled authority




4       EARLY PIETY THIE BASIS
over each period of life. Every talent is
confided to us under the tacit condition that
it shall be used and improved in accordance
with the will and design of the great Giver.
Days, and months, and years, are added to
our existence here below, because they supply us with more opportunities and advantages for working out our own salvation,
and promoting the well-being of others; for
building up the kingdom of Christ, and
making manifest the glory of God. For
the attainment of these high ends, much reliance is placed upon human exertion, and
the physical aand intellectual resources of
every age -and station are tasked to the
uttermost. Even the morning of existence,
and the childhood of religious life, are pressed
into this great enterprise. "I write unto
you, little children, because your sins are
forgiven you for His name's sake." The
glow, and out-bursting, joyous gratitude of
the new-born soul-the fervours of his "first
love "-the fresh lustre of his "beautiful
garments," become potent agencies for good,
and no more pleasant incense than his ever
rises up to Heaven.




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.        5
The mature piety and deep acquaintance
with Divine things, which are the result of
long experience and habitual communion
with God, also have their special vocation
under the Gospel economy. "I write unto
you, fathers, because you know Him that is
from the beginning." These "old disciples"
constitute the link of connexion between the
existing Christian Church and the Church
of history, as well as between the Church
militant and the Church triumphant. They
are the channels through which the tide of
spiritual life has flowed down upon us from
the ages of the past.  They are the depositaries of reverend traditions, and the conservators and models of orthodoxy in opinion
and purity of life. Without being conscious
of exercising so high a function, they have
made the Church what it is. Our Christianity, with all its excellencies as well as its
imperfections, has been derived from theirs.
It has, no doubt, undergone some modifications. It has, in some respects, deteriorated
in our hands. In others, it has grown better; but, as a whole, it is a natural and fair
derivation from the waning Christian age,




6       EARLY PIE1Y'THE BASIS
to which a new and vigorous religious generation are rapidly succeeding. We sometimes unconsciously look upon the company
of venerable disciples who move in the van
of our heavenward march, as having really,
and to all important ends, accomplished
their warfare and won the victory. Should
all others forsake the Saviour, they, we feel
quite sure, will never participate in the
crime; for they have lived unto God till religion has, through grace, become a sort of
second nature, in which all their habits, and
sentiments, and aspirations, and joys have
their source and support. To turn them
away from God and the heavenly inheritance must require some great moral convulsion. It would be like the annulment of
the law of gravitation-like thrusting a rolling planet from its appointed orb. We do
not subscribe to the inamissibility of grace,
and the inevitable salvation of all souls once
regenerated,-and yet we firmly believe that
these fathers and mothers in Israel will never
fall. They will abide in the old paths, whoever turns back. They remember the days
of old. They "know Him that is from the




OF ELEVATED CIIARACTER.        7
beginning." So long, at least, as they live,
there will be true witnesses. Their trumpet
shall give a certain sound. They are living
epistles of Christ, which shall continue to be
read of all men.  So long as they constitute
a part of the life of the Church, the Church
cannot lose its vitality. While their presence and prayers among us will certainly
conciliate the Divine favour, and perpetuate
a holy seed, they reprove our backslidings,
and warn us of dangers, and recall us to the
old landmarks of truth, and experience, and
duty.
Let us thank God for so bright a manifestation of his grace in the fathers, who still
bless and guide us by their counsels, and in
the yet larger company of mature, established Christians who still bear the burden
and heat of the day. We may yet rejoice
in their light for a season, and there will be
days of mourning when these luminaries, so
long our guides and exemplars, shall one
after another be exalted to shed their radiance upon brighter, holier regions. It will,
however, readily occur to the thoughtful
hearer, that the high qualities, in virtue of




8        EAILY PIETY THE BASIS
which aged, mature Christians fulfil for the
church offices so conservative and salutary,
are partially or wholly incompatible with the
performance of other functions connected
no less intimately with the spread and efficacy of the Gospel. Conservatism, which
spontaneously clings to the past, is less favourable to progress. Zeal for traditional
or hereditary opinions or usages is often indiscriminate, and is prone to resist not rash
innovations and pernicious novelties alone,
but needful improvements. It is no slight
calamity that befalls religion and human society, when venerable truths and ancient
institutions are guarded with a morbid jealousy, which rejects new discoveries and
salutary changes. The Church, under such
unpropitious circumstances, is in danger of
losing its power and vitality, and of wasting
its energies in idle contests for dogmas and
forms, which, however true or Scriptural,
are no longer of any special significance or
utility, now that their life and spirit have
departed from them. And here we have
occasion to adore the infinite wisdom of the
great Head of the Church, in employing for




OF ELEVATED CHIARACTER.       9
its edification such a variety of gifts and
agencies. Under His wonderful economy,
men of all ranks and capacities co-operate
harmoniously for the production of a common result, each fulfilling his own special
and appropriate function, and, at the same
time, supplying some deficiency, or checking some exaggerated action of his fellowlabourer.  The rich and the poor have assigned to them their proper spheres, and they
contribute not alike, but equally, it may be,
to the general weal. The faith, and prayers,
and spotless example of an illiterate or obscure man may promote as successfully the
great designs of Christianity as the counsels
of the sage or the eloquence of the learned.
Thus it is that " the whole body, fitly joined
together, and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying itself in love."
For the satisfaction of wants and liabilities which find no adequate provision in the
fixed ideas and unyielding habits of veteran
piety, the Gospel makes its appeal to the




10      EARLY PIETY THIE BASIS
special endowments and adaptations of the
young. " I have written to you, young men,
because ye are strong, and the word of God
abideth in you, and ye have overcome the
wicked one." In the economy of Divine
Providence, youth is endowed with peculiar
attributes, on which the success of all great
moral and social interests and enterprises is
made dependent.
I. This responsibility for the well-being
of the race, which accrues to the young in
virtue of their providential endowments, is
devolved upon them by an inevitable destiny. They are the predestined successors
of all who now wield moral influence, and
all who occupy positions of authority and
power. They are moving incessantly onward toward this great inheritance, and the
flight of years makes haste to bring them
into contact with burdens and responsibilities which they cannot elude or devolve
upon others. Those who are now young
must govern mankind. They must become
the teachers of the race. They must become the world's lawgivers, and its dispensers of justice. They must manage its




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       11
material interests-must plan and prosecute
its improvements and ameliorations —must
conduct its wars and negotiations-must
meet the unseen exigencies of the great
future. God has provided no other teachers
for that coming generation, which, in its
turn, is destined to occupy this great field
of action and probation, and to transmit to
a still later posterity its character-its virtues, and vices, and achievements. Were
we able to divest this great law of human
existence of its inefficiency as a hackneyed
truism, and clothe it in the freshness and
potency of a newly-discovered truth, we
should need no other argument to impress
upon the young the duty of diligence and
faithfulness in their high vocation; for the
young, though often rash and reckless of the
future, are neither selfish nor malevolent.
They would not thrust themselves upon the
inheritance in reserve for them  without
qualifications to preserve and improve it.
They would not bring back upon the world
the ignorance of the dark ages, nor reproduce upon the face of civilized society the
horrible scenes of the reign of terror.




12      EARLY PIETY TIIE BASIS
They would not tarnish the lustre of our
national character by deeds of cowardice,
treachery, or dishonour. They would not
give to the country a race of incompetent
or profligate statesmen. They would recoil
from the thought of occupying the pulpits
of this Christian land, the strongholds of its
morality and stern virtues, without the requisite qualifications of intelligence and piety.
They would not dwarf and taint the public
mind with a feeble, polluted literature, nor
degrade the schools and liberal professions
to which this great republic looks for the
men of the future-its orators, its teachers,
the guides of its youth, and the leaders of its
senates. And yet nothing is more certain
than that these great interests, one and all,
look to the present generation of young
men as their sole hope and resource. Nothing is less a matter of doubt than that
these potent agencies, on which the wellbeing of a great nation depends, must
speedily come under the direction of the
young men who are now forming their character, moral and intellectual, in our schools
and colleges —many of them wholly uncon



OF ELEVATED CHARACTEIR.      13
cerned about that future in which they have
so deep a stake, and for which they will be
held to a responsibility so fearful.
We should place before the youth of this
land only a very humble standard of duty
and ambition in urging them to such attainments as will merely enable them to maintain these institutions and social and moral
enterprises in their present state of efficiency
and usefulness. To do less than this would
plainly be nothing less than treason against
our country and common humanity. It
cost our fathers infinite toil and sacrifices,
and precious blood, to raise this country to
its present position, and to form such a heritage of light, and liberty, and glory as they
are ready to bequeath to their sons; and
that young man must be dead to all high
aspirations who does not burn with shame
at the thought of transmitting it to posterity
enfeebled, or dilapidated. One or two such
recreant generations would plunge this free
and glorious land into the darkness and
wretchedness of its primitive barbarism, and
make themselves the reproach of noble ancestors, and the scorn and byword of history.




14      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
But the rising generation cannot even escape
this foul dishonour of wasting its inheritance,
and betraying the sacred interests intrusted
to it for the benefit of posterity, without high
attainments in knowledge and virtue. Our
forefathers were a brave, intellectual, noble
race; and they who now sway the destinies
of this country are educated, vigorous, laborious, enterprising men. The land is no
doubt cursed with hordes of demagogues
and pretenders, and its honours are too often
bestowed upon the unworthy and incompetent. Still, the great body of our legislators,
public officers, and professional men, are not
deficient either in literary attainments or
intellectual vigour. There is a Vulcanic
energy at work in our enterprises of science,
and fabrication, and internal improvement.
A mighty intellectual machinery is concerned in bringing forth the products of our
vast literature, periodical and permanent.
Many thousand of fine minds, and well cultivated, are labouring incessantly and intensely in our pulpits and schools of learning, to promote the moral and mental illumination of the people of this great country.




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       15
We must not undervalue the past, or complain unjustly of the deficiencies of the present time. Our country has been made
what it is, and is kept up to its actual high
moral and social position, by the strenuous
exertion of immense capacities and honourable virtues. It will be no easy task for our
young men to outstrip their predecessors.
It will even be well for them if they shall be
prepared to act the part which awaits them
without provoking unfavourable comparisons-if they shall acquit themselves as
well in the sight of their country, of history,
and of God.
Something more than this, however, will
justly be expected of them. It is the glory
of the men of the present generation that
they have improved upon all past ages, and
greatly enriched and beautified the inheritance which their fathers bequeathed them.
It will be the undying reproach of their successors if this full tide of improvement shall
be stayed upon their accession to the high
places of power and responsibility. They
will enter upon their career with peculiar
advantages. The accumulations of past




16      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
ages will be their resources for new enterprises. The light of rich and varied experiments shines full upon their pathway, and
the wonderful discoveries of the last half
century constitute the vantage-ground from
which they are allowed to commence their
new career. If with facilities so many and
so great, unknown to their predecessors, they
shall do no more than maintain the actual
status of the intelligence, and happiness, and
virtue of the community, they are destined
to act but an inglorious part. They ought
to contribute to the welfare of society such
measures of new light, and vivacity, and
momentum, as will quicken and multiply the
energies of every ameliorating enterprise.
This is their proper function and vocation,
for which they should diligently equip themselves, as champions whose eyes are already
fixed upon the arena of the coming conflict.
The actual state of education, morals, and
happiness in a community, may be regarded
as the true expression of the power of the
moral and intellectual forces engaged for its
improvement. The efficiency and useful



OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.        17
ness of a Church, for instance, are precisely
what the zeal, purity, and intelligence of its
members can make it. We may conclude,
therefore, that the Christian enterprises of
the present time must remain stationary,
without some new accession of moral resources. If the rising generation shall come
forward with only the same degrees of piety
and intelligence that belong to their fathers,
then the utmost that can be expected is, that
the cause of religion and humanitYlA)l not
retrograde.  Progress, under the Arcumstances supposed, is wholly out of the question.  The Church is now barely able to
hold its ground against the opposing forces
of sin and error, or to advance with a tardy
step to future triumphs; and if it is to be recruited and reinforced by such members
and ministers only as already wield its
destinies, it must remain in essentially the
same condition, while the accession of even
a few persons of deeper piety, and stronger
faith, and larger views, might sweep away
the obstacles that retard its progress, and
open a career of unexampled successes. A
single individual of enlarged conceptions of




18      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
duty, and burning zeal for Christ, is sometimes able to communicate new spirit to a
whole Church which has, for years, scarcely
given a sign of vitality. It had just enough
of moral power to maintain a bare existence,
and resist the pressure from without; and
now the additional impetus given by one
true man of God puts everything in motion
and triumphs over obstacles. What victories, then, might we not anticipate, what
enlarg nment for Zion, could the whole host
of our'young men be induced to gird themselves with strength, and enter upon the
whitening field to which they are called,
with something like the spirit of primitive
Christianity? It would be as a new life
from the dead.. It would be as the birth of
a new dispensation. They who are ready
to perish would revive again, and all the
islands of the sea would rejoice.
Manifestly it is such a revival of heavenly
charity, and wisdom, and apostolic zeal, that
is imperatively demanded by the present
condition of all our social and Christian
enterprises. The passing era will ever be
recognised in history as an age of noble




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       19
conceptions and of great moral convictions.
It has planned, and begun to execute, godlike enterprises, but it evidently lacks the
sinews needful for their successful accomplishments. It reels under the burdens it
has assumed. The existing race of Christians has propagated sublime ideas, which it
is appointed for their successors to realize in
sublime achievements. This is in accordance with a great law. An age of discovery leads in an age of performance.
First comes the science, and then its applications to life. The Church is well furnished with grand ideas.  It has on its
hands comprehensive evangelizing schemes,
whose successful accomplishment will usher
in the millennium. What she now wants
is agents to execute them. She wants an
army of young men, large-minded and largehearted, and deeply baptized into the Saviour's spirit. This is the great want to
which all others are subordinate. Let it be
supplied, and all other obstacles will vanish
away. The cause of Christ and humanity
calls for men-needs men-cultivated, sanctified, self-sacrificing, brave men, and it




20      EARILY PIETY THE BASIS
really wants nothing else to the completeness of its triumphs. Material resources
with which the Church overflows, only wait
for the bidding of lips touched with holy fire
to call them forth'for the sacrifice. And
now what Christian young man will endure
the thought, that all these goodly enterprises
for the improvement and salvation of the
race shall fail or languish for want of worthy
champions? The Church has just now
started forth from the ignominious repose of
centuries, and trembles to recognise itself as
charged by Christ with the evangelization
of the world. Shall this work, so nobly begun, fail or languish for want of labourers?
Is it tolerable to think of, that the triumph
of Christ shall be postponed, and the deadly
curse of sin continue to blight the hopes of
three-fourths of the human race, because we
love our ease and our money, and because
our young men have shallow piety and huge
ambition? We have discovered that the
general diffusion of a more thorough and
effective education is absolutely indispensable for a self-governing people, and that
whatever else our republic has or lacks, the




)OF ELEVATED CHIIARACTER.    21
preservation of freedom and happiness without this great reform is an impossibility.
The work is already begun, and the means
for its extension and completion are at least
partially provided. Will our young men
accept of this holy trust at the hands of their
fathers? Are they ready to offer themselves for a service equally commended to
their favour by religion and patriotism?
Good men, who are yet alive, were the first
to know and proclaim that the exhilarating
bowl, which fashion had long made indispensable in the high places of society, and
appetite had made the tyrant and the scourge
of common life-which was fondly kissed by
ruby lips, and inspired the eloquence of
grave ecclesiastics, is an accursed poisoned
chalice, which has drugged our people with
disease, and vice, and damning guilt. This
fearful truth had nearly succeeded in penetrating the heart of our population, and
making its lodgment in the public conscience, when, through the weariness of
some of its advocates, and the indiscretions
of others, the apathy of the Church, and the
sleepless efforts of interested dealers, their




22      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
deluded victims, and demagogue abettors,
a paralyzing reaction has befallen the great
enterprise, and the polluting cup is again
brought forth from its hiding-place-again
sparkles at the feast, and maddens the joyous circle of our youth. Are our educated
young men prepared to preach up another
crusade, and march in the van of another
holy war against this worse than the false
prophet? Our own favoured land, and the
entire Christian world, unquestionably labour
under great and grievous social evils. Our
intense and highly artificial civilization does
in some of its modes and operations, press
with dreadful and almost exterminating severity upon the happiness, the hopes, and
the virtues of large classes of the people.
Ignorant quacks, and interested pretenders
and demagogues, are everywhere prescribing absurd and pernicious remedies for this
inveterate disease. Religion and education
possess the true panacea, and they would
enlist an army of valiant, wise philanthropists in an enterprise which must fail in
ordinary hands. Are our young men ready
for this good work also? Will this call to




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      23
holy duties be able to make itself heard
amid the incitements to selfishness and ambition which throng the avenues to professional and public life?
For the satisfaction of these, and other
moral and social wants, which press so
heavily upon our country and the human
race, intelligent, pious young men are at
this moment the only adequate resource.
Others, who have a heart for such work, are
already occupied, and their energies are
already fully tasked in maintaining these
great moral enterprises in their actual state
of advancement. They look to the young
for the succour without which reaction and
ignominious retrogression will be unavoidable. They boldly confront the foe and keep
him  at bay, whilst, with every muscle
strained, they beckon to their sons to
"come and help them."
Young men alone can be fully adapted to
the special exigencies of their own times.
Those who have been long engaged in any
department of action acquire habits favourable to success in their particular pursuit,
which often become disqualifications under




24      EARIY PIETY THE BASIS
a change of circumstances, or for new enterprises. The middle-aged pastor will generally be found essentially unfit for the new
duties and ideas of missionary life. He
cannot learn strange languages, and inure
himself to new climates and modes of life.
The young man, on the contrary, has nothing to unlearn. He is pliable and plastic,
ready to be moulded into any form of physical and mental activity which the exigencies of the times may demand. When the
French revolution had brought on a crisis in
human affairs unknown in the world's previous history, old statesmen and old generals were found universally unfit for the
new exigency, and supreme power, civil
and military, passed, as if in obedience to
some hidden law, to the vigorous hands of
Napoleon, and Pitt, and Talleyrand, and
Wellington, all young men, who took their
character from the crisis, and in their turn
impressed it upon the times. Several of our
great benevolent enterprises, which are
rapidly extending their influences to the
remotest nations of the earth, were projected
by young men, while they were still under



OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      25
graduates; and Mills, and Judson, and
Newell, passed immediately from the schools
into the distant lands where they laid the
foundations of Christian empires. Young
men have usually been Heaven's chosen depositaries of new and great ideas, and its
chosen instruments for effecting beneficent
revolutions. They soonest hear, and most
deeply feel, the appeals of suffering humanity,
and their character most readily conforms
itself to the hue and pressure of their era.
For prudent counsels, and the conduct of
grave negotiations, for the conservation of
holy truths and time-honoured institutions,
for the safe management of the great trusts
and established interests of human society,
we are to look to the serene, unimpassioned
wisdom of more advanced life; but new
and difficult enterprises, and daring moral
adventures that are without precedent in
the memory of the aged, must, for the most
part, expect to enlist their champions from
the ranks of buoyant, unhackneyed youth.
This is eminently the period of mental and
bodily vigour and power. The warm blood
courses bravely through the veins, and every




26      BARLY PIETY TILE BASIS
limb and muscle rejoices in action. The
bosom swells with high hopes, which disappointment has not yet chilled with its paralyzing touch. The young are wont to place
confidence in man, in human improvement,
in truth, and in the power of endeavour.
Experience has not yet made them timid,
nor broken the spirit of adventure. The
future rises up before them gorgeous with
rich promise, and opulent in hidden resources. Religion chastens, but it does not
dim these vivid conceptions and lofty aspirations of the young. Very often, indeed, the
discoveries of faith far outstrip and outshine
the visions of fancy; and what was sheer
extravagance in the expectations of the
natural man, becomes an object of sober
and reasonable pursuit with him who has
received an endowment of strength from on
high. It is a great point gained when we
can get young men, constitutionally prone
to adventure and activity, who love labour,
and fear nothing —whose bounding hearts
impel them onward, as if conscious that to
will and to achieve were tasks equally practicable-it is a great thing to get all these




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      27
elements of efficiency fairly embarked in
some holy enterprise in which the smallest
degrees of success might satisfy the most
ardent ambition, and the grandeur and certainty of whose triumphs can sustain the
spirit of man under all the vicissitudes of
hope deferred. Here is found precisely that
conjunction of circumstances which is most
favourable to the highest development of the
best qualities of the heart and the intellect.
The inspiration of an object divinely sublime, and yet in closest contact with all the
benevolent feelings; the prospect of a glorious reward, acting without prejudice to
conscious, disinterested philanthrophy-infallible guarantees of ultimate, complete success-offer a combination of motives that
cannot -fail to exalt the human powers to
their utmost capacity, and even to make
ordinary men great.
In addition to the inspiration of ennobling
pursuits acting upon the plastic nature and
fervent temperament of fresh and buoyant
life, Christianity furnishes to young men
other and peculiar elements of strength.
" The word of God abideth in them," and




28       EARLY PIETY T H TE BASIS
they are thus supplied, from the beginning
of their career, with rules of action and
maxims of life perfectly adapted to all their
circumstances and wants. It is not necessary to prove that the Bible, which is the
expression of Divine wisdom, announces to
man the true method of life. It contains the
mind of God, and makes known to us the
decisions of the highest intelligence. In all
matters of high moral import it reveals to us,
in anticipation of experience, those great
practical lessons which cannot be learned
elsewhere, if at all, but by years of careful
observation and laborious experiment. Wisdom acquired by methods so tedious and
expensive, usually comes too late for any
valuable purpose, after life has been exhausted in fruitless, misdirected endeavours,
and its energies have been impaired, and the
heart saddened by discouragement and discomfiture.  Life commenced and prosecuted under tile infallible guidance of the
Divine oracles, escapes all such retarding
influences. Its movements begin in the
right direction. Its energies are saved from
the wear and the waste of unsuccessful




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.        29
essays and of an endless empiricism. The
character early acquires compactness and
solidity, and that momentum which is derived from fixedness of purpose and singleness of heart.
There is great advantage also in the Divine authority of the rules which religion
prescribes for the conduct of life. Its announcements are so many of the decrees of'
Jehovah, of which it is not in human folly
to question the wisdom, and to which nothing short of absolute madness could hope
to offer successful resistance. Obedience,
therefore, becomes the highest dictate of
reason as well as of conscience.  All the
interests of time and eternity are involved
in a frank, earnest concurrence with these
expressions of the Divine will. After God
has spoken, there are no doubtful questions
to settle-no wavering probabilities for
scrutiny and adjustment. It only remains
for those who have heard his voice to gird
up their loins and hasten to the accomplishment of an appointed task.  It must be
obvious to the slightest reflection how much
the business of life is simplified by this au



30      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
thoritative settlement of doubtful questions,
and the subordination of all its pursuits to
one controlling principle. They who choose
to follow other guides, necessarily lose this
powerful element of efficiency. They must
often hesitate in the choice of their rules of
action-they must often falter in the pursuits to which they finally devote themselves,
and often fail in the attainment of their objects, through the insufficiency of worldly
motives to sustain untiring activity. They
hang in equipoise, while others, obedient to
the Divine lawgiver, advance in the race.
They stop to reconsider where the demand
is strongest for accelerated motion. They
find the incentives to which they have
yielded up the direction of life too feeble to
sustain them. They doubt, under the pressure of toil and weariness, whether they have
not consulted ambition and avarice at the
sacrifice of higher interests-whether they
may not have thought too little of the claims
of repose, or too highly of reputation. They
discover, too late, some lack of congeniality
for the scenes or society upon which they
have been precipitated by levity, or pride,




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       31
or indolence. Above all, will the thought
that God is not in all their schemes, and
that they tend to an issue upon which
Heaven's blessing has never been asked nor
promised, often obtrude itself, to relax the
sinews of effort, and even to sadden the
triumphs of success. Such misgivings are
most likely to come upon the mind in its
days of doubt and despondency, when the
hand is tremulous and the heart faint. Just
then it is that the Christian most feels the
support of his principles. " The word of
God abideth in him," and he travels on
"from strength to strength."  It is his infallible counsellor in a time of perplexity.
It assures him of deliverance from all dangers and all disasters. It sustains him most
completely when all other supports confess
their insufficiency. Its light is most intense
in the darkest day, and it raises the loudest
notes of victory when its devoted champions
are borne on their shields from the mortal
conflict.
The Christian young man gains another
element of efficiency in the permanence of
the influences under which his character is




32      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
formed,-" The word of God abideth in
him." From youth to old age, through all
of life's changes, he walks by the same unerring light. His eye is fixed upon one object. His pursuits obey one great law, and
all tend to a common grand result. Life's
entire energies are concentrated upon a
point which becomes henceforth the goal
of all his efforts and aspirations. Lower
worldly maxims lose their force and application with the progress and mutations of
time. The appetite becomes sated with enjoyment or paralyzed by age. Disappointment, or the sober second thought of experience, dissipates the illusions of ambition.
Hardly any- worldly motive but avarice,
confessedly the lowest and the worst, is accustomed to maintain its sway to the close
of life. Failure, or change in the ruling
principle, necessarily destroys unity and
continuity of action; and enterprises eagerly
begun in the thoughtlessness of youth, are
abandoned as hopeless or unworthy by sober
manhood. The tastes fluctuate. Imagination refuses any longer to gild the phantom
with which it at first seduced the unwary.




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      33
With these changes come changes of purpose, and even middle life finds itself unsettled and wavering, shorn of its strength
in its very prime and unwasted vigour;
while the latter days of an irreligious life
are almost invariably tasteless, unsatisfactory, and to all the higher ends of existence
absolutely useless. Such a life has, and can
have, no pervading unity. Its efforts are
unsteady and fitful, as they needs must be
from the variable and conflicting impulses
of which they are the result. How different
the history of him who has chosen God for
his portion in early life, and made the Divine will his one rule of action! " The word
of God, which abideth in him," is " quick
and powerful," and ministers an unfailing
supply of living, powerful resources. It has
a rule of action and a ministration of strong
impulses for each period and exigency of
our earthly existence. Buoyant youth and
sober manhood it links together in an indissoluble unity of interest, and hope, and
effort; and it quickens the slow pulses of
hoary age with prospects more radiant and
exhilarating than ever rose before the
3




34       EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
visions of childhood. Now it is chiefly in
this steady and unfaltering devotion of the
entire life to a single object, that we are to
look for the secret of all eminent success.
It was to this continuity and intensity of
effort in a single direction, rather than to
any special attributes of genius, that Davy,
and Cuvier, and others, were indebted for
their eminent achievements in science.
For the production of great characters or
great actions, there is wanted the early
adoption of some worthy object of pursuit
-its steady prosecution through all the
vicissitudes of life-and an earnest, fervent
temperament, which stirs old age itself with
living impulses. How completely religion,
embraced in early life, satisfies these indispensable conditions, we have already seen.
The presence and supremacy of Divine
truth, which pervades the life with an influence so benignant, and produces such
strength of character and efficiency of
action, performs for the young another
function very noticeable and important.
It offers itself as a guide and counsellor
at, a period of life when there exists the




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      35
strongest indisposition to listen to human
advisers, and when submission to human
authority is often deemed incompatible with
a manly independence. This tendency to
revolt against the admonitions of age and
experience, is among the most unaccountable of the characteristics of young persons
— especially of those who are early removed
from parental control. Every teacher finds
in it a chief obstacle in the way of a satisfactory discharge of his duties, and it often
proves a fatal barrier to that moral and
mental culture which is the proper business
of education. Our reference here is not to
that reckless folly peculiar to low and vicious
dispositions, which makes a pastime of perpetrating petty crimes and violating good
order, and slides into vulgar profligacy
through the spontaneous tendencies of a
base and intractable nature. Youths of a
more ingenuous character, by no means deficient in good impulses and manly aspirations, often fall into the delusion of regarding obedience, and all manifestations of
deference for age and authority, as some reflection upon their dignity, and an indication




36      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
of a tame and timid spirit. They place their
point of honour in violating the order which
would protect their retired hours from intrusion, and in contemning the solicitude
and counsels that would encourage and
guide to mental improvement, and conserve their moral sentiments and character.
They avoid, as a reproach and a stigma, all
suspicion of recognising the restraints and
reverencing the ordinances of religion.
They are ashamed of having it thought that
they bear with them some respect for the
holy influences of home recollections and
sympathies-some tender remembrance of
mother and sisters-some dutiful reverence
for the authority and instructions of a father.
This false honour and false shame too often
tyrannize over conscience and the heartprove too strong for the love of knowledge
and distinction-too strong for the restraints
of law and morality. I have seen fine young
men, endowed with genius and high aspirations, in whom this absurd, unnatural controversy with their own.real sentiments, as
well as interests, had assumed the form of a
monomania, directed against every influence




OF ELEVATEDI CIIARACTER.    37
solicitous to promote their well-being, and
restrain them from recklessness. More distressing cases never occur than such as
leave no power for good but in a rigid exercise of authority —a remedy little adapted
to cure, though it may sometimes restrain
the folly which so pertinaciously revolts
against influence, and thinks it dishonour
to listen to good advice. Religion offers
the only remedy, and, in certain temperaments, the early inculcation of its principles
constitutes the only preventive of the unmanageable evil under consideration. The
fear of God, once established in the mind,
will often prove an effectual antidote to the
bad independence which denies respect to
age and allegiance to authority. The most
vaulting ambition may not deem it a degradation to do homage to Jehovah. The perverted sentiment of honour which spurns
the advice of teacher and parent, may yet
acknowledge that God's counsels are worthy
of some respect. The pride that cannot
stoop to confess a fault, or to avow purposes
of amendment, may consent to bow in submission to an authority which is confessedly




38.     EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
supreme, and to do homage to a power too
high to provoke envy, or to tolerate disobedience.
The revival of early religious impressions
has saved many a reckless youth, who obstinately refused to be guided by any human
authority or influence. The dupes of bad
example and perverted sentiments of honour
sometimes discover, with surprise, that their
awakened deference for Divine authority
has, without provoking jealousy, or wounding their self-love, brought them into perfect
harmony with laws and restraints against
which it had been their pride and their business to wage perpetual war. It may be
affirmed, without qualification, that there is
always hope for a young man in whom the
great truths of religion have made an early
lodgement. They have a tenacity of life
beyond what we are accustomed to think
of. "The word of God abideth" in the instructed son of Christian parents, and makes
disclosure of its latent energies at times and
in ways which we least of all anticipate.
It whispers good counsel, and utters notes
of warning in hearts apparently dead to its




OF ELEVATED CHAR.ACTER.     39
influences, and into ears contemptuously
closed against the most faithful admonitions. How  often have our unbelieving
fears in regard to thoughtless, reckless youth
been signally rebuked by their sudden and
unexpected conversion! How often have
we seen the graces of a backslidden young
man revived again, after years of neglect
and apparent indifference to Divine things!
If we are compelled to admit that some cast
off the restraints of early education, and
even of a religious profession, and apparently
" make shipwreck of their faith," we are also
bound to acknowledge, for the honour of
Divine grace, that a large proportion of
them turn again to righteousness. Some
good, reviving influence from heaven visits
them. Some array of affecting circumstances-some hour like this, when tender remembrances come up to mingle
with the fears and hopes of the futureperhaps the thoughtfulness which an actual entrance upon serious, active life
forces upon them, is made the occasion
of a recurrence to holy first principles.
The slumbering elements of eternal truth




40      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
then awaken into new life. Repudiated
conscience trembles into new consciousness and power.  The tender associations of childhood and home-the mother's
tear —the family altar-the joyous, holy experiences of Christian fellowship and heavenly hopes, rise up before the soul's eye
with the energy of a Divine resurrection.
All honour to the powerful word, which
through so many dark months and years
slept, but did not die, in these returning
souls. "The word of God abideth in them,"
and is likely, some day, to make its power
known. So strong is the evidence of past
experience on this point, that I always expect
young men, who have been*piously trained,
to be converted. I expect to hear, if I do
not personally witness it, that they who for
a time yielded to worldly influences and
strong temptations, to the dishonour of their'
Christian profession, have returned again to
Zion with songs; and my reliance for all
this is in the vitality and Divine potency of
"the word of God." They may reject it
altogether, but I rather expect impressions
so early, so deep, and so Divine, to re



OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      41
main permanent and effectual for saving
ends.
Christian young men have won, through
the gospel, another victory. They have
"overcome the wicked one." He secures
a mighty advantage for life's entire career,
who, at the outset, solves the great problem
of his existence.  The conflict between
good and evil, in which the greater number
of men pass all their days on earth, has
formed a fruitful theme for moralists and
theologians, Pagan and Christian, ever since
the phenomena of man's intellectual and
moral nature became objects of research and
observation. Some of the earlier Christian
sects, as well as some schools of heathen
philosophy, believed in the existence of two
great principles, a good and an evil principle,
engaged in a perpetual conflict for dominion
over the universe and in the heart of man.
Human life was exhausted in this terrible
struggle, and its happiness or misery was
very exactly proportioned to the relative
ascendency of these warringelements. The
undecided strife was thought to be often
transferred to a future state of being, when




42      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
other ages of undefined duration were spent
by the soul in struggling onward to its ultimate destiny. This theory expresses very
accurately the usual history of man's interior
life. It does not exaggerate the fierceness
of the protracted contest here, and only errs
when it concedes to the hapless victim of an
unequal fate another trial beyond the boundaries of the present life. The Gospel adopts
this idea of human life in a modified form.
The. sore conflict is carried on, not between
two demons, but between God's holy law
and the sinful dispositions of man. It may
be prolonged to the hour of death, but no
"device or work" is done in the region beyond. It may be brought to a successful
termination in early life, and even " young
men" "have often overcome the wicked
one." The true Christian idea of this inner
conflict is expressed by St. Paul: " The
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh." Early piety puts an end
to this doubtful strife, and leaves the young
man free to enter, with an undivided heart,
and untainted principles, upon the high
moral vocation to which his whole existence




OF ELEVA'TED CHARACTER.      43
is consecrated, with no evil habits to unlearn
-no counteracting forces to resist-no internal insurrections to suppress beyond the
infirmities of a fallen, but renovated nature.
A  career of virtue and usefulness, commenced under such auspices, has the fairest
promise of certain, eminent, complete success. Whoever begins life without a settlement of this great preliminary question, with
an unsubdued enemy ambushing his every
step, has but two possible alternatives before him. He must either yield himself unresistingly to the foe, and consent to the forfeiture of life's great ends, or, what is more
usual, spend his resources in an endless,
bootless conflict, under conditions that
render victory impossible, and deprive partial success of all its value. He' writhes in
a consuming fire, which, though sometimes
smothered, is never extinguished. He never
"overcomes the wicked one," nor ever attempts so much, but only to keep him at
bay. He is, consequently, forever in themidst of the conflict of appetite and passion,
but never clears his path of enemies farther
onward than he can reach with the point




44      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
of his sword. His life is spent in alternately
rolling up the stone of Sisyphus, and starting back from its inevitable recoil. As he
does not aim at being a thoroughly good
man, real improvement is impossible, and
partial reforms only serve to mark his varying gradations in vice.  Meantime, his
moral diathesis becomes more and more
deplorable, by the lowering of his principles,
by the growing obtuseness of his moral
sentiments, and by the imperceptible formation of habits that strengthen the tendency to evil by something like the sanction
of an organic law. The sort of moral progress which we are attempting to portray
is illustrated by familiar phenomena of a
student's life.
The ingenuous youth, who holds himself
obliged in conscience, and in all manliness,
to make the best use of his opportunities for
improvement, soon finds the performance of
his duties easy and agreeable. Every day's
industry and perseverance add to the facility
and comfort of his progress, and he speedily
attains to such feelings and habits that it
would cost him a struggle to omit a duty.




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       45
An hour spent in sleep, which ought to be
devoted to improvement, wounds his selfrespect, and really becomes a source of
more annoyance than all the mental efforts
of a month's toil in the study and the recitation-room. Such a student, it is obvious,
must soon find himself within the range and
action of impulses that ensure the highest
mental improvement, while they quite disarm all petty temptations to indolence and
irregularity. Another enters upon the scholastic career with lower, though not with
dishonourable aims. He satisfies his sense
of obligation and self-respect by such a performance of scholastic tasks, and such attention to order, as may leave a convenient
margin for self-indulgence, and yet not be
quite incompatible with proficiency and respectability. This theory of the studentlife seldom fails to produce in practice an
abundant growth of evils, and to lead to the
ultimate forfeiture of the chief benefits of
education. As some duties are to be neglected, each,-in its turn, becomes a candidate
for repudiation. As some liberties are to be
taken, the mind is thrown upon the com



46      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
parison of all minor irregularities, in order
to make its selection judicious in number
and kind-in time and degree. A few
months passed under the auspices of such a
code of scholastic morals usually stamp their
complexion upon the whole college-life.
The indolence and the irregularity, from
being occasional, become habitual. They
come to be regarded as privileges and enjoyments, and studious industry a burden
and a bondage. What can be wrested from
the claims of industry and order is won for
pleasure and social enjoyments, the rest is a
painful sacrifice to necessity. In the end,
the performance of duty inflicts a pang, and
the period of education becomes a weariness to the flesh, too often a preparatory
discipline for an unsuccessful, unhonoured
subsequent career.
An illustration borrowed from moral,
rather than the mental, aberrations, inculcates the same lesson in another form. A
young man leaves the safeguards of home
and of parental supervision, alive to all the
seductions that beset his new and exposed
career, and ambitious of forming a pure- and




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      47
lofty character. It is a wise, and not an
unusual, measure of precaution which he
adopts, when he arms himself with high resolves, and sometimes with a formal pledge,
against every approach toward deadly evils,
from which he is purposed to keep his
morals pure. From every circle and every
incitement which might lead to the violation
of his vow he stands aloof, and writes accursed upon each inebriating cup. In this
position he stands secure, defended by an
impregnable bulwark. He "has overcome
the wicked one" by a single manly resolve.
Appetite itself quails before decision of purpose, and the brave youth pursues the quiet
tenor of his way, hardly more exposed to the
vice of intemperance than to commit theft
or suicide. His associate is skeptical in regard to the danger, and scorns the cowardly
precaution against himself. He does not
intend to be intemperate, and still less to
betray a suspicion of the strength of his
own virtue. He will naturally test the
value of his reserved rights by their occasional exercise. Bashfully at first, infrequently, stealthily, and only on fit occasions,




48      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
and in reputable company, does he become
initiated into mysteries over which not
songs and merry conceits alone shall be
poured forth, but bitter tears and unavailing
penitence. The restraints, meantime, which
respect for public opinion or the dread of
exposure impose, and the reproaches of a
condemning conscience, constitute a serious
drawback upon the pleasure of unlawful indulgence, while the ever-sinking scale of
virtue, which honour, fear, and shame incite
him to uphold, is maintained at its actual
elevation by efforts of self-denial a thousand
times more difficult and painful than it
would cost to smite down the demon appetite, and at once deliver the falling spirit
from its degrading bondage. It should be
remembered, too, that this struggle to keep
out of the lower depths of degrading vices
by those who, in spite of all warning, resolve
to disport themselves along the steep declivities that lead to the inevitable abyss, is
not a struggle for virtue, nor entitled to any
of its immunities or rewards. Every manly
effort to break away from the power of a
bad habit, and ascend to the dignity of a




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       49
pure life, is likely to improve the moral
sentiments, and evolve some new moral
force. Such an attempt, made in the integrity of the soul, always has in it a redeeming element, and even unsuccessful
efforts, a thousand times repeated in the
same spirit, never wholly lose their virtuous
character. But he who proposes to do
homage to honesty, or temperance, or chastity, or truth, or any other virtue, to a certain extent only, commits a crime against all
real virtue by the hybrid conception. He
fairly takes upon his conscience the guilt of
all the degrees of vice from which a selfish
prudence alone restrains him; and we may
be sure that he only waits to obtain the consent of some low interest, or to secure
guarantees or indemnity against some anticipated injury, in order to do all the evil
from which any motive lower than the fear
of God and the love of righteousness now
restrains him. Of all the villanies committed
under the sun, we most indignantly condemn
the cautious, well-considered devices of a
cool, forecasting man, who aims to secure
just so many of the gains of dishonesty as
4




50      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
he can, and escape the disgrace and the
penalty of detection. The morality of this
righteous judgment is justly applicable to
all those whose theory of life allows them to
stop in the career of virtue whenever it becomes too rough and arduous, and to drink
of the cup of vice till they get too strong a
taste of its nauseous or its poisonous dregs.
These are bad men —not only to the full
extent of all the virtues which they discard
on vicious principles, but also by the full
measure of those which they practise from
low and corrupt motives-not only to the
extent of all the vices in which they unscrupulously indulge, but also by the whole
number and degree of those which their
hearts approve, and from which they reluctantly refrain from no higher sentiment than
cowardice or cunning. In the sight of God,
and of sound ethics, there is no such thing
as partial virtue or piety in the man who
has resolved to reserve to himself the practice of certain degrees of vice or sin, such
as he may deem consistent with convenience or a good name. It is no doubt highly
expedient to sin with moderation. Unlaw



OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       51
ful pleasure may be prolonged by subtracting some degrees from its intensity. They
who never even aspire to "overcome the
wicked one," may have good reasons for
subjecting his acknowledged authority to
certain limitations; but the compact that
imposes these checks, and settles the conditions, betrays collusion with the foe, and
is treason against God.  True virtue and
piety begin when all compromises with sin
are at an end, and when the soul has pledged
itself to unconditional obedience and devotion. Life begun and prosecuted under the
sanction of so high a consecration, cannot
prove a failure. Dark days may lower over
its pathway. Sore struggles may be appointed as tests of sincerity, and for the discipline of those who aspire to do the bidding
of God in a higher sphere, but for ultimate
discomfiture there is no place in such a
career. The spirit in which the enterprise
is conceived is a pledge of success. Its
lofty aims bring it into alliance with unfailing, Divine resources.
In passing on to apply some of the practical lessons suggested by this discussion, I




52      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
shall transpose the order of its topics, and
accept my first theme of exhortation from
the conclusion of the argument.
"Overcome the wicked one."  Lay the
foundation of success in all the moral and
intellectual enterprises to which conscience
and your own generous aspirations invite
you in a decisive, unqualified, instantaneous
renunciation of every bad or doubtful habit,
and in a brave, unreserved, immediate, lifelong devotion to every virtue and every
duty to which you are held by any obligation, Divine or human. To young men,
far more than to middle life or old age, is
applicable that startling passage of Holy
Scripture, "Behold, now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Genuine conversions are always sudden.
Visible progress in virtue may be slow, and
its beginning inappreciable; but the hour
which witnesses the entrance of the new
principle, and plants the germ of a new life,
constitutes a well-defined era in the moral
history of a man, as well as a memorable
crisis in his moral character. The vacillations that precede, and the struggles that




OF ELEVA''ED CHARACTER.      53
sometimes follow, the moment consecrated
by high resolves and heavenly grace, may
be remembered as parts of the same period
of doubtfulness and darkness, but they are
historically distinct, and lie on opposite sides
of the great turning-point in character and
destiny. Whoever would reform his life,
and "turn from the power of Satan unto
God," must begin by having faith in his own
deliberate purpose, formed in the fear of the
Lord, and in reliance upon heavenly grace.
Such a purpose is the starting-place of every
successful enterprise of virtue and improvement. Let the young man who aspires to
become either virtuous or wise, take his
position on this high vantage-ground. Let
him inquire, if he has not brought with him
thus far some unsatisfied convictions of duty,
and purposes of reform and improvement
which as yet have found no realization in
the daily life? We need not admonish him
that the tendency, the error, the sin, which
now has but a feeble hold upon him, and
will readily yield to the corrective force of
virtuous resolution and manly effort, speedily
makes for itself an impregnable stronghold




54       EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
in the inveteracy of habit, and is thus enabled to bid defiance to all ordinary reformatory endeavours.  These incipient vices
make haste to expand into prolific sources
of evil, and to pour their polluting streams
into the tide of life. It has long been with
me an established opinion, that the majority
of educated men pass through life shorn -of
half their strength for wwnt of a symmetrical, well expressed mental and moral development. Hardly less considerable is the
proportion of young men engaged in a
career of education, who forfeit its chief
benefits, and go forth unfurnished for the
demands of life, just because they will not
be at the pains of correcting petty faults before they become habits, and of forming a
virtuous, manly, vigorous character, at the
only time when such an achievement is
possible. Some minds pertinaciously resist
all attempts to ingraft more liberal ideas
and elevated sentiments, more refined tastes
and more graceful manners, upon their original stock. No skill or assiduity of the
teacher is able even to eliminate the provincialisms and vulgarisms of their spoken and




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       55
written language, to correct an unnatural
tone, or reformn an ungainly attitude or
gesture.  No friendly converse can lure
them away from the deteriorating, vulgarizing associations and affinities to which
they yield up body and soul, from the moment they cross the threshold of a place of
education.  A few weeks or a few months
of vigilant self-inspection and yielding docility, of vigorous resolution and manly
effort, are sufficient to correct such faults
and supply such deficiencies, and to purify
the literary neophyte from the grosser elements derived from careless training or unfortunate associations; but this is a price
which he cannot be induced to offer for improvements indispensable alike to success
and respectability in his chosen career.
I dwell the more at large upon this lower
and less important aspect of a great practical evil, not only because I would make
manifest the baleful tendency of an error
into which many fall with little forethought
of consequences, but because we have here
a palpable and unsuspected illustration of its
higher moral bearings. We readily'con



56       EARILY PIETY'THE BASIS
demn the folly of the reckless youth who
resolves to carry with him into life all the
bad tastes, and vulgar sentiments, and coarse
manners, and low habits which he brought
to college, as well as all that the worst associations of a college can impart to him.
What shall we say, then, of him who, with
equal levity, passes through this forming
period, not of life only, but of being, disfigured with moral blemishes, and making
no effort to deliver the soul from the vicious
habitudes and hateful mnalformations that
are to be the burden and dishonour of its
entire existence? It is by temptations as
feeble, and for indulgences as worthless, as
any that ever blinded and enthralled the
victim of indolence and degrading impulses,
that many a thoughtful and high-minded
young man consents to a forfeiture of all
good hopes, and thwarts the great designs
of Heaven's mercy in behalf of his soul. It
is because he will not allow grave care to
cloud the enjoyments and disturb the occupations of the present moment, that he goes
on from year to year preferring dreams to
realities. It is because he lacks the nerve




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.     57
to interfere with illusions which he knows
can only deceive and ruin him, that he
madly trifles with imperishable interests,
and braves whatever there may be of danger in God's wrath, when provoked to the
uttermost by a guilty man. Who can hope
to break the spell by which "the wicked
one" holds such a man in vile durance?
Who to gain his audience for the sober lessons of truth? And yet he must pause and
think-he must struggle and break his bands
asunder-he must smite his enemy with a
deadly stroke, or prepare for evils which an
archangel's intellect cannot compute. This
series -of postponements must soon be exhausted, and that last hour come in which
even prayer and a soul-struggle cannot be
of any avail. Under such conditions, it is
not like a man to shrink from this inevitable
crisis. Young man, fear to plunge into life
with life's great problem unsolved. You
venture out upon a bottomless sea with a
millstone hung about your neck. Subdue
the enemy within your own bosom, and then
may you go with a whole and a brave heart
into the great conflict before you. You




58      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
would be strong, valiant men, fit for worthy
enterprises. Begin this great conflict of life
by trampling Satan under your feet. Make
alliances with God, and holy men, and good
angels, and you shall win the field. Today, if ye hear his voice-to-day, if you
will be wise or strong, "harden not your
heart."
II. Let the word of God abide in you.
Treasure it up in your heart as an unspeakably precious deposit. God hath bestowed upon you no better gift.' It is the
expression of his own ineffable wisdom.
He sent you into this world of trial a stranger and a pilgrim; and this is the infallible
guide which he ordained for your safety and
salvation. Follow it implicitly. Obey it
reverently.  Listen to the oracles Divine
with profound, absolute devotion. To profess faith in the Bible as the veritable word
of Jehovah, and, at the same time, to withhold obedience, involves a gross inconsistency peculiarly unworthy of a rational, intelligent man. Without dwelling further
upon the moral aspects of such a delinquency, we commend  a reverent and




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      59
habitual recognition of the " word of God "
as the source of mental power, and an incomparable auxiliary to great intellectual
achievements. It has been said, most erroneously, by a great ethical writer, that
when a course of right action has become
habitual, it is no matter how soon the reasons for its adoption are forgotten. On the
contrary, it is a radical defect in mere
habitual virtue, that it speedily degenerates
into dull, irksome routine, and gradually
loses the vitality and earnestness which
are essential to all high performance. For
this paralyzing tendency there is in most
constitutions no remedy but what may be
supplied by the power and permanence of
the actuating motive. So long as the mind
is kept under the influence of strong and
predominating considerations and interests,
its energies are likely to be kept in full play,
and neither habit nor old age can dry up the
sources of its vigour and activity. We
know of no mental habitude more favourable to the full development and lasting efficiency of the intellectual powers than that
of keeping the soul in perpetual, conscious




6-0     EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
communion with its highest sources of activity. It is an inspiring, as well as a hallowing thought, that we are performing a
part assigned to. us by the Divine wisdom,
and in accordance with God's own specific
directions.  Something of a Divine influence, we had almost said of the divinity
itself, rests upon and pervades that mind
which derives its maxims, and imbibes its
spirit, from Heaven's living oracles. " Whosoever drinketh of this water shall never
thirst-it shall be in him a well of water,
springing up into everlasting life." Once
enthroned as the supreme arbiter of human
pursuits, the word of God is able completely
to harmonize the soul's jarring, conflicting
impulses, and to bring the emotional and
moral nature of man into fraternal alliance
and co-operation with the understanding.
The sublime principles and sublimer hopes
which it supplies become incorporated with
a new life, of which every purpose, and
plan, and effort, is instinct with a power
more than human. The indwelling monitor, heeded thoughtfully and reverently
obeyed, grows to be the source of all genial




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.        61
aspirations and joys, as well as of authority.
Obedience to such a rule of life, begun early,
and carried out in all of life's pursuits, consciously and cordially, inspires our entire
earthly career with something like the buoyancy and freshness of perpetual youth. It
supplies an antidote for distaste and discouragement-it supplies all needful resources against the day of defeat or disaster,
by making God a partner and co-worker in
all our enterprises. It is the only expedient
known either to philosophy or experience
for furnishing with an adequate supply of
cheering, invigorating motive, the rapidly
approaching period of sere and sapless old
age. The young man in whom the word
of God abideth and reigneth, has discovered
the fabled herb which bids away the fell
disease of age, and beautifies and refreshes
the soul with perpetual youth.  " 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 doeth shall prosper."
Finally. "I have written unto you, young
men, because ye are strong." Bodily and




62      EARLY PIETY THIE BASIS
mental vigour belong to the young, as
physical attributes.  Their energies are
fresh and unwasted. They plan courageously, and execute with a strong hand.
These are spontaneous tendencies of youth,
and they indicate very intelligibly the duties
of this period, so important in the history of
human life. "Rejoice, 0 young man, in
thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee
in the days of thy youth." Be strong.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it
with thy might."  Make the most of the
powers intrusted to you.  Cultivate the
habit of doing your best in all your undertakings. Put your highest energies in requisition. Summon to your aid the strongest
impulses which the enterprise in hand is entitled to enlist in its favour. You are a
student. Strive to go to the bottom of
every subject of investigation. Aim at nothing less than a thorough knowledge of
every author and every branch of science
to which you direct your attention, less for
the scholarly acquisitions which it ensures,
than for the mental habits it induces. Accustom yourself to superficial study and




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       63
negligent investigation, and you soon become incapable of any other. The mind
speedily learns the bad art of being satisfied
with this degraded standard of performance,
and of thinking well of its mean attainments.
It ceases to know, or even to suspect, that
there are depths beyond the measurements
of its own short line, and in the very profoundness of its ignorance grows conceited,
and egotistic, and flippant. Some years
consumed in scholastic pursuits, conducted
on such a plan, are likely to establish mental
habits utterly incompatible with any masculine development or honourable achievement in after life, just as the prisoner, long
confined to his cell, loses the power of vigorous and graceful locomotion, or as the invalid, bed-ridden for half a lifetime, never
afterward aspires to do more than creep
softly  along covered piazzas and shady
alcoves. On the contrary, earnest, vigorous intellectual effort soon becomes easier
than any other, because it rallies the mind's
best powers, and is sustained by its strongest
impulses. Such occupation is always pleasant, because distastes and ignominious sloth




64      EARINY PIETY'THE BASIS
fly from the presence of a manly, vigorous
movement; and honourable success, which
earnest, brave errdeavour never fails to secure, is itself an independent source of
interest and satisfaction perpetually renewed.
I would inculcate the same doctrine in
regard to all of the occupations in which an
educated young man is likely to engage.
Never enter upon any pursuit or profession
which you do not deem worthy of your attention; and when your career is once resolved upon, devote to it your undivided
energies. Aim at the highest excellence.
Do your best. Some departments of professional life present stronger incitements
than others to this generous outlay of earnestness and endeavour. The urgent competition of the bar, and the fact that its
efforts are usually made in the presence of
learned judges and advocates, who would
not fail to detect and expose empty pretensions, afford, perhaps, the best guarantee
against indolence and superficial attainments-a guarantee, however, which has
not been able to exclude from the forum a




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       65
considerable number of incompetent men.
The physician performs his functions in a
more private sphere, and, for the most part,
in the presence of unprofessional spectators,
where it is more easy to make pretension
and bluster pass for science. The danger
of being content with superficial attainments, and of falling into habits of mental
lethargy, is proportionably increased, and
with it the need of moral incitements to a
faithful and wise discharge of duties as important and sacred as any which do not
more directly act upon the moral and intellectual interests of man.
It is worthy of especial observation, that
those professions which are most intimately
concerned with the highest interests of the
race, are more than others remote from the
operation of ordinary worldly motives, and
to a greater extent left to the power of
conscientious and religious considerations.
This is eminently the case with teachers of
youth, whose functions are never effectively
performed without such a degree of professional enthusiasm, or of conscientious devotion to duty, as will supply the resources of
5




86 _     EArLY PIETY rTie BA8IS
strong impulses and unfailing earnestness.
The man who has nothing to bring to these
duties but so much work for so much paywho retires satisfied when he has read his
lecture, and made his criticisms, and recorded delinquencies, may be pronounced
wholly unfit for the responsibilities of a
profession which  acts upon mind.  He
might become a respectable artisan or labourer, but not a teacher of youth. He is
not fit to be trusted with the culture of intellect. He does not sympathize with its
wants or destinies. Whoever rightly comprehends these will shrink from the responsibilities of the teacher's profession, or he will
labour to satisfy them with all the solicitude
that a sense of personal and religious obligation can inspire. He will habituate himself to reflect that he is engaged in making
impressions that must remain ineffaceable
and immortal —that he is giving to mind
such developments and tendencies as it shall
bear with it through eternity-that no other
man can correct his mistakes, or supply his
deficiencies, or atone for his faults. What
he does, must remain forever essentially




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       67
unchanged; what he neglects to do, will
remain undone. Even professional enthusiasm, without this higher sense of the moral
relations of his calling, will prove an insufficient incitement to fidelity to the claims of
duty. It may ensure all due attention to
pupils of quick parts and aspiring minds, but
this is precisely the class which has least
occasion for the teacher's aid. The less
gifted, the tardier mind, the timid, the
thoughtless, and even the indolent youth,
has claims upon the teacher not less sacred;
and the untiring zeal, and patient, conscientious fidelity with which he applies himself
to the self-denying work of developing such
minds, in so far as they are susceptible of
improvement, and of doing his best with
every individual committed to his instruction, constitutes the highest test of excellency in his vocation. Whoever is above
or below this toilsome detail-whoever does
not think any sane mind, made immortal
by its God, worthy to engage his solicitude
and his labours-has no special calling to
the work of a teacher.  He may win a
reputation by his success with apt, ambiti



68      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
ous pupils; but his negligence, impatience,
contempt for others, who are also to be
trained for eternity, intellectually as well as
morally, and the scantiness of whose resources the more urgently demands a painstaking culture, are offences against humanity
and morality, which it would not be easy to
characterize by epithets too strong. I dwell
the more earnestly upon this topic, because
a very considerable proportion of our graduates engage either for a season or permanently in the business of teaching, and I
would inspire them with a deep sense of the
responsibilities they perhaps too inconsiderately assume. I would encourage them to
enter upon this work with enlarged views
and the most Christian purposes. It ranks
next to the Christian ministry in its intimate
relations with man's highest interests, and
in the dignity of the greatest usefulness.
More properly, it is itself a Christian ministry, co-operating with the Gospel in exalting
the human family.to intelligence and purity,
and in fitting men for the joys and occupations of heaven. Lower views than these
of the teacher's function will prove too feeble




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       69
to sustain his vigour and fidelity under the
trials and distastes incident to his vocation,
and to resist the temptations to discouragement and relaxed effort, which perverseness, indolence, and inaptitude will never
fail to supply; while the consciousness of
toiling, not with the low ambition of qualifying a few more gifted pupils to acquire distinction in literary or professional life, but
with the holy purpose of preparing all, according to the measure of mental capacity
bestowed upon them by the Creator, for the
destinies of their endless being, is likely to
prove an unfailing source of encouragement
and strenuous activity.
In conclusion, I apply the teachings of
this discussion to the Christian ministry.
All who aspire to this holy function, our
argument admonishes to come to its toils
prepared to put forth the highest mental and
moral energies with which nature, study,
and the grace of God have endowed them.
Here, more than in any secular pursuit, success is proportioned to the spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice in which the work
is done, rather than to the measure of native




70       EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
or acquired endowments. Such a spirit,
however, supposes the most earnest endeavours to acquire qualifications for usefulness no less than earnestness in the use of
them. It breathes itself forth in the preparations of the closet no less than in the efforts
of the pulpit. God has joined these things
together, and the man who presumptuously
puts them asunder does it at the certain
peril of his usefulness, no less than of his
reputation.  That Divine grace which, beyond all controversy, is the great element
of saving power, does, with great uniformity,
co-operate with the clearest, strongest, and
most earnest inculcation of truth; while the
preacher whose thoughts are feeble, puny,
and obscure, and uttered heartlessly, is never
likely to be honoured with a sanction which
might be mistaken for Heaven's approbation of ignorance or indolence. The Church
has never more reason to be ashamed than
of ministers who no longer try to preach
well-who only go to their study to read
newspapers and periodicals, and have nothing fresher and better for their pulpit than
the dry, cold fragments of oft-tasted feasts,




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      71
or the yet more refuse and unwholesome
viands which the troublous agitations of the
moment are able to galvanize into some of
the lower forms of life. It is wonderful that
the least spark of piety should not deter men
from bringing such cheap offerings before
God. And yet one often hears such moral
enormities justified and defended on something like logical and Christian grounds.
The minister should not be forever pressing
upon his highest notes. He should guard
against the danger of exciting expectations
which he will not be able, without much inconvenience, to satisfy. It is not quite
compatible with humility to labour so incessantly after uncommon thoughts and classical expressions. The minister must come
down to the common mind if he would not
lose the sympathies of his audience. The
most common argument of all-it betrays
an overweening confidence in human effort,
and too little sense of dependence upon God,
to lay so much stress upon great sermons.
These truisms must all essentially fail of
sheltering laziness and folly under their
philosophic or saintly garb, since, in so far




72      EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
as they are of any application to the subject,
they are embraced by the rule which ever
demands at the preacher's hands the best
effort he is able to make. It is great folly,
as well as great arrogance, to talk of coming
down to the popular mind. The sort of
slip-shod, meaningless preaching to which I
have adverted, is beyond all other human
performances, incomprehensible by a popular assembly which grasps with ease and
spontaneous intuition the luminous thoughts,
and terse, clear argumentation and analysis
of a really intelligent, earnest man. There
is contagion in the movement of his spirit,
and the hearer drinks in the deep import of
his words without a tithe of the labour it
costs to sift the eddying chaff of an empty,
unimpassioned mind. The objection with
which we are dealing takes it for granted
that a sermon, which is the product of
thoughtful, studious hours, must be dark
with tantalizing metaphysics, or with turbulent scholastic or transcendental jargon, as
if the man who thinks most vigorously, and
prepares most carefully and systematically,
were not more likely on that account to




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.       73
speak intelligibly. The theory suggested
by our subject, as well as by every rational
view of the Christian ministry, is not oversolicitous about the production of great, or
learned, or highly-finished, or eloquent sermons; but it does imperatively demand that
every preacher of the Gospel should put
forth his utmost energies both for preparation and for performance-that he keep his
soul all alive to the sacredness and fearful
responsibilities of his calling-that he shun
as a fatal, damnable dereliction, a negligent,
perfunctory ministry, which satisfies itself
with decent, easy routine, and deems it no
offence to bring into the Divine presence a
maimed sacrifice, that costs neither study
nor prayer, and conciliates the favour of
neither God nor man. So far as results are
concerned, the measure of capacity or learning is of infinitely less importance than the
spirit in which the work is done. God does
unquestionably employ in his vineyard a
great variety of talents and attainments, and
he honours every man according to the
fidelity and spirit of consecration with which
he fulfils his mission; but there is no place




ar4     EARLY PIETY THE BASIS
for the idle —none for those who are only
half awake-none for those who are not
prepared to "make full proof of their ministry," who are not of a fervent spirit, ready
to endure hardness, or bonds, or death, for
Christ's sake.
It is a source of unspeakable satisfaction,
that, in defiance of ever-multiplying temptations to worldliness and ambition, so many
of the students and graduates of this University are devoted in purpose to this sacred
calling. Let them be entreated to remember well that the Christian ministry is not a
work for drones. "Be ye strong."  "Quit
you like men."  Make your sacrifices in
a liberal, magnanimous spirit.  Hold no
base parleying with flesh and blood. Ask
of the Crucified, " Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do?" and let the responsive oracle be
henceforth the law of your being. 0 rejoice
to lay your talents, and your scholarship,
and your life at the foot of the cross! "I
write unto you, young men, because ye are
strong." By the grace of God you can
achieve something worth living for. Be ever
mindful of what Divine resources are at the




OF ELEVATED CHARACTER.      75
command of your prayer of faith. Seize
upon them all, and consecrate them all to
the service of Him "who hath loved you,
and given himself for you." Shun no labour
— no sacrifices. Give the best of your life,
of your learning, of your genius, and your
eloquence, if you possess them, to Him from
whom you have received much more than
all of these. You will be enriched by what
you give. You will be made strong by the
efforts you shall put forth. Such a consecration opens the way to the only true distinction. The only ambition worthy of a
Christian scholar here finds its appropriate
field of display.
THE END.








RESOURCES AND DUTIES
OF
CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN
A DISCOURSE TO THE
GRADUAIJ'ING CLASS OF WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY,
AUGUST, 1845.
BY STEPHEN OLIN, D.D.
G`EORGE PECK, EDI'T'OR.
Net4to rk:
PUBLISHIED BY CARLTON & PHILLIPS,
000 MULBE2RRY-STREET.
1.852.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by
G. LTANE & C. B. TIPPETT, in the Clerk's Office of the District
Court of the Southern District of New-York




RESOURCES AND DUTIES
OF
CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.
"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."
RoMANS xIII, 14.
THIS text is highly figurative, but its
intention and import are very obvious. It
is an exhortation to be evangelically and
thoroughly religious.  The first eleven
chapters of the Epistle to the Romans are
devoted to the exposition and inculcation
of Christian doctrines.  The twelfth and
thirteenth are hortatory and preceptive.
They announce our practical duties, and
warn of dangers to be shunned.  They
declare, with authority and without any
reserve at all, that we are held, under the
gospel dispensation, to the highest style of
virtue, both in the motive and in the performance. As far as concerns the principle




6      RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
of our movements in the new life, "love is
the fulfilling of the law," while in point of
fact and actual manifestation, believers are
called upon to "present their bodies a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto
God, which is their reasonable service,"
to " prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Our text
announces the true method of attaining
these vital Christian objects in reference
both to the motive and the manifestation:
" Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill
the lusts thereof."
There is a numerous and very interesting class of persons entitled to our respect
by their intelligence and moral worth, and
appealing strongly to our sympathies by
the false and highly critical position which
they occupy. They are undoubting believers in the Christian religion, and warm,
avowed admirers of its sublime theology,
pure ethics, and divine philanthropy. Yet
they are not Christians. They are destitute not only of the hopes, but also of the




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      11
secure any, even the smallest of the spiritual advantages which the gospel offers,
by stealth. God, and our own moral nature, call for open, manly confession, and
both will assuredly disown and denounce
all pretensions to piety which shun exposure to the broad light of the day. Nothing can be effectually done in this work
till the sincere aspirant after Christian
excellence fairly assumes his position, and
becomes, as he is intended to be, " a spectacle to men and to angels"-" a city set
on a hill that cannot be hid."  We not
only have lessons to learn for our own
improvement, but lessons to exemplify for
the improvement of others and for the
Saviour's honor. They only who run lawfully win the prize, and none others are
likely to receive the precious aids indispensable to success. This we might expect
from all we know of ourselves or of God's
attributes, and of this we are notified in
his word. Till a man assumes an avowed
and recognized Christian position, he has
no full scope for the exercise of his own
proper resources, and no adequate occa



12     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
sions for calling up his powers.  The state
of indecision and divided aspirations which
precedes the final and formal decisionr of
this great question, is little better than a
paralysis of the soul. There is seldom
any distinct vision, and never any earnest,
well-directed purpose or action, until this
moral crisis is passed. But with the assumption of his true Christian position, at
the moment of " putting on the Lord Jesus
Christ;" not on religious, supernatural
grounds alone, but on philosophical also,
the man receives an investiture of high
powers and immunities.  It is an important point gained to have it known to
which party we belong. The sight of the
banner that floats over our heads will not
fail of clearing away many annoyances
and many enemies, and of bringing to our
aid troops of powerful auxiliaries. The
courage of the soldier rises with the putting
on of his uniform, and still more at sight
of the marshaled hosts that throng the outspread field.
The responsibilities of a Christian profession, so often feared and shunned as




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      15
and neglect. Better tastes, too, are cultivated; so that what were seductive pleasures, and so powerful temptations once,
lose their character and become an offense.
VWalking by faith, the Christian appreciates
more and more completely the excellence
of the heavenly objects with which he is
thus made familiar, and so acquires a
standard of comparison which he can but
be ever applying to the worldly objects
and enjoyments that invite his regards.
Sich a process cannot fail to wean him
from perishable good, and so leave him
more free from every weight.
While this Christian process strengthens
perpetually the motives and the aids to
piety, and abates the force of opposition,
it has a yet stronger tendency to improve
the quality of our virtues.  Nothing is
more likely to retard and discourage a
generous mind, intent on the attainment
of the highest excellence, than a perpetual
consciousness, or even suspicion, that its
best performances are marred by the admixture of some base alloy; that some
low, selfish motive may have been active,




16     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
though unperceived, in the production of
its most shining deeds. We may acquire
humility or modesty from worldly disappointments and mortifications, but some
measure of misanthropy and discontent are
likely to be derived from the same lessons.
It is not always easy to practice beneficence and charity, to exert the highest
public, or social, or private virtues, without
having, whether we will or not, some reference to the returns which we are likely
to receive in the form of gratitude, or
reputation, or public confidence, or posthumous fame. This selfishness, to whatever extent it mingles with our motives,
not only produces a sense of self-degradation, but it is, in fact, degrading to our
performances and character; and so largely
does this debasing alloy enter into our
spirit and conduct, and so utterly impossible is it to exclude it altogether, without
some more potent exorcism than mere
human virtue can summon to its assistance,
that most men, after some vain struggles
against its occult, malignant influence,
yield to its dominion, and become satisfied




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      17
with doing their duty, without much concern about the motive. Under such circumstances it is but too obvious that virtue
has nothing left besides its form and its
name. It has no longer any power to
purify, etherealize, and exalt our nature.
It is a mere earthly thing, a matter of
business, a balancing of interests and conveniences, a skillful and comprehensive
solution of the question, How can we take
the best care of ourselves?  I am quite
sure that many will find, in their own
collsciousness and recollections, manifold
illustrations of the evil I have exposed.
Now he who has " put on the Lord Jesus
Christ," has found a perfect antidote for
this evil. He has become a disciple, that
he may be saved; and he devotes his entire
life to Christ, who was crucified for him,
as a matter of gratitude and pious obligation. "Love is the perfecting of the law,"
and this is a motive from which self is
wholly excluded. We work, we suffer,
we live for another, even for Him who died
for us, and rose again. When we have
fully "put on Christ," then is love made
2




18     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
perfect, and all fear and all selfishness is
fully "cast out."  Disenthralled from all
low, personal ends, and seeking only how
we may please Christ, we enter upon a
high, holy career of virtue, which can never
know the taint of worldly maxims, which
finds its model, its resources, and its ends,
in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Gratitude, love,
loyalty, these are the motives by which
all heaven is swayed. They impel the
angels onward in their career, and yet
more the " spirits of just men made
perfect."  Indeed, heavenly pursuits, and
enjoyments, and virtues, are no other than
those into which the good man is introduced when he "puts on Christ,"-the
remote and invisible parts of the orbit in
which he has already begun to move.
As the Christian motive is the only one
which can be trusted for purity, so it is
the only one that can be relied on for efficiency. " Love is stronger than death."
A man will often do for the love of his
friend, or his family, what he could not
do on any lower impulse. But if affection
for kindred, according to the flesh, is able




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      19
to minister strong impulses to the spirit,
the love of Christ "constrains us."  It
imparts an energy something more than
human, and qualifies for achievements only
less than divine. A man's performances
are likely to bear some proportion to the
strength of the motives on which he acts.
Now the great Christian motive, love to
Christ, partakes of the superhuman and
the godlike. It has the additional advantage of stability. It cannot be impaired
by time, or change, or circumstance, but
attains dominion over the soul, potent in
exact proportion to our progress in piety.
The racer moves more swiftly as he approaches the goal. A body tending to the
earth, gains speed in its descent. So the
Christian is borne on with an ever accumulating momentum as he draws nearer
to perfection in faith and love. When we
add that Christ has provided divine assistance for all exigencies to which our human
resources are unequal; that he gives the
Holy Spirit to help our infirmities —to assure our hopes, illuminate our minds, and
purify our hearts —I am unable to per



20     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
ceive what is yet wanting to a most
admirable and all-sufficient apparatus of
motives and means for the attainment of
the highest moral excellence, and to the
most glorious consummation of all that our
fallen, but redeemed nature can aspire to.
I have already intimated-indeed, the
text directly affirms, and this is its burdenthat these great facilities for the prosecution of our moral improvement are suspended on the one condition of a sincere
and hearty adoption of the gospel. We
are "to put on the Lord Jesus Christ."
He must become to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption
— must be teacher, and priest, and only potentate. We must wear his livery, must
go our warfare at his charges, and under
his banner. Our dignity, our defense, and
our exceeding great reward, must be sought
and found in him. But we are not only
called upon to make this entire dedication
to Christ; we are also cautioned against
all reservations: " Make not provision for
the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Faith




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       21
in Christ, and a resort to the gospel for
pardon, and purity, and eternal life, presuppose an unconditional submission to its
terms. Not one successful step can be
taken in religion previously to the settlement of this grand preliminary. The mind
may not be able at the outset to take in
all the particulars involved in this great
act of submission, but it can and does
embrace them implicitly; and it is of the
very essence of all right faith to confide in
Christ to the uttermost, and to consent to
follow him whithersoever he goeth, giving
to the winds all anxiety about the special
paths in which we may be called to proceed in our onward march to heaven.
Christ's dignity and sovereignty are concerned in imposing such conditions as he
pleases, and in receiving no terms at the
hand of the sinner; and he will unquestionably use his disciples in just such
services, and impose upon them just such
burdens, as he sees best, giving no pledges
in advance, but the assurance that his
grace shall be sufficient for them.  I know
well that a multitude, even of professing




22     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
Christians, begin and prosecute what is
called a religious course, on a very different
plan. They give law to religion. They
retain as many indulgences, and concede
as many sacrifices, as may fall in with
their tastes.  They make provision for
pride, and ambition, and sensuality, and
self-will, and "put on the Lord Jesus
Christ" only in so far as they think he
may set off their own purple and fine linen
to the best advantage. But my business
to-day is with the sincere, who wish to be
made holy and to be saved by Christ, and
who really desire to know the conditions
of success. I take it upon me to warn all
such to beware of admitting any worldly,
or selfish motive, or consideration whatever,
into the settlement of this great question
between God and their souls. I take it
upon me to proclaim that all such tampering in the business of religion will certainly
prove fatal to any well-founded hopes of
success in the Christian career. Whoever
stops to inquire whether it may cost him
sacrifices to be a Christian, with any intention to hesitate if it does, has admitted a




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       23
consideration utterly incompatible with his
becoming a Christian at all.  Whoever
chooses his creed or his church with any,
the slightest, reference to the honor, or the
ease, or the emolument, it may give or
withhold, does, by such an admission, utterly vitiate all his claim to have any part
or lot in the matter of saving piety. I'do
not speak of those who knowingly and
deliberately make these their chief grounds
of preference; but I affirm that it is wholly
antichristian, and an insult to the crucified
Saviour, to yield any, the smallest, place
to worldly motives in choosing the Christian position which we will occupy. Let
Christ and conscience decide in this matter.
" Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make
not provision for the flesh, to falfill the lusts
thereof." The gospel will admit of no
compromise here. This is its point of
honor, which it cannot, and will not, yield
by a single iota. I feel called upon to use
the language of unmeasured denunciation
against a mistake, so often fatal to hopeful
beginnings in religion; so very often fatal
to the religious prospects of young men.




24     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
I deem this point of sufficient importance
to receive more particular and detailed
illustration.
Without stopping here to consider the
grosser forms which this grave offense
against the Saviour's dignity familiarly
assumes, I will only refer to such as are
most likely to be found in cultivated, aspiring minds. A demand is often put
forth in this quarter for more tasteful developments of Christianity than we are
wont to meet with in its every-day history.
Accustomed to look for the beautiful and
the poetical in their speculations as well
as in external objects, persons of this class
can conceive of nothing higher or nobler
in the gospel than its adaptations to minister to this universal want of cultivated,
polished society; and they have little true
respect, and less sympathy, for any manifestation of piety which does not conform
to their special tastes. They have a theory
on the subject, which requires that the
divine Author of all the beauty and harmony of the material world, as well as the




CHRISTIAN YOUNG IEN.       25
world of intellect, should, for still higher
reasons, observe the same great principles
in his plans and operations for bringing
men to heaven. I have stated the substance of the theory, which is, however,
variously modified by habit, education,
and temperament. And I remark that this
demand upon the gospel quite loses sight
of the fact, that the salvation of souls is
its grand design and object, to which
mental and social improvement are only
incidental and secondary; that Christianity
finds the world immersed in darkness, and
vice, and depravity; so that its great work
on earth is that of elaboration, of renovation, of preparation, for a higher estate
of mature graces and perfect harmonies.
It has, of necessity, a great deal of rough
work to do; its processes must be adapted
to the material to be acted on, no less than
to the results to be produced. The symphonies divine that charm the angels are
not so well fitted to this sinful world, which
has contrived to array its tempers, and
tastes, and tendencies, against its Maker,
in a hostility far more brutish than angelic.




26     RESOURCES AKND DUTIES OF
The means and appliances of the gospel,
ill order to be effective, must recognize the
conditions and the disabilities of the beings
over whom its conquests are to be won;
and whoever would be an effective coworker with God in this broad field, must,
like God, be content to accommodate his
message and ministry to the multitude.
Let no man who has raised himself to the
great purpose of living for his race and
for eternity, indulge in the idle fancy that
he can gain his chosen end by herding
with the philosophers, and propounding
Christianity to the multitude in learned
theses. Let him rather come down from
the high places of intellectual pride, and
put himself in communication with the
masses. These are not yet polished, or
intelligent, or able to appreciate all that in
heaven will be familiar as household words.
In the most favorable state of society which
has ever existed on the earth, the multitude of men have been uneducated —have
been doomed to toil, and to comparative
poverty. To this condition of our race the
gospel at first adapted its lessons and its




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       27
agencies, it may be, from choice, but assuredly from necessity —a necessity that
still exists in all its force. I may add, that
the demand for more tasteful or philosophical developments of Christianity can
only be satisfied at the expense of the immensely important class of men for whose
special benefit the Christian revelation
was promulgated-for " the gospel was
preached to the poor." The reform proposed might accommodate the tenth of a
tithe of the population of highly civilized
nations; but its natural tendency would be
to separate this favored class from the
masses, and bring them under a Christian
culture, the most intellectual and graceful
it may be, but wholly inapplicable to the
condition and wants of the people. These,
forsaken by their natural guides, their candlesticks removed from their midst, must
sink into hopeless impiety and ignorance
but for God's mercy, which is wont to interpose, and raise up prophets from among
themselves.
But this divine interference for the prevention of results, utterly and eternally ruin



28     RESOURCES ANDT DUTIES OF
ous, does not adequately provide against
some of the most deplorable evils that mar
the piety, and fetter the energies, of the
church. The gospel is a leveler, and conterhplates our whole sinful race as " made
of one blood."  It will have " the rich and
the poor meet together" at the feet of Jesus, and forget all earthly distinctions in
rapt meditation on the infinite goodness
and glory of God, and on the heavenly
world, to which they both look by faith, as
to a common inheritance.  It will have
the lettered and the untaught, the highborn and the low, mingle before a common
altar, and bow down before a common
Saviour. It abhors caste, and is ambitious
of bringing together in one vast brotherhood of faith, and feeling, and co-operation, all blood-bought souls. It will have
the rich contribute their wealth, the noble
their influence, the learned their wisdonm,
the poor their sterling virtues, their patient
toil, their might of sympathy and of sinew,
to the building up of a pure and powerful
church. It is by the combination of all
classes, and all talents, that human society




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       29
prospers most, and, for aught that appears,
it is the Saviour's design to constitute and
edify the church upon the same principle.
Now the pride of man comes in to thwart
this benevolent design. It will have an
aristocracy, where Heaven can, least of all,
tolerate it. It puts asunder what God has
joined together. As far as the antichristian theory, against which I so earnestly
protest, is carried out in practice, it monopolizes and covers up the light.  It sequesters talent and influence but to place
them in positions where they act not at
all, or at the greatest disadvantage, upon
the general interests of religion and humanity.
Nor must I pass over, as too unimportant to deserve notice, the inevitable
tendency of this religious exclusiveness to
generate a spirit and a power antagonist
to the universal equality guarantied, by
our free institutions. We have no privileged orders, nor is it likely, in the existing
temper of the public mind, that talent, or
wealth, or ancestry, or even great virtues,
will ever give to their possessors a social




30     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
position dangerous to the rights of the
humblest citizen; but I must think the
lovers of our republican institutions and
manners will have some cause for solicitude, if the growing tendency among our
influential classes to desert the popular
walks of religion, for more select and pretending connections, shall increase in a
similar ratio for twenty or fifty years to
come.  The danger is not at all diminished by Christian forms and names; and a
religious aristocracy which is completely
sheltered under the guaranties of universal
freedom of conscience, secured to all by
our free institutions, has no security to give
in return to those institutions, that it will not
at least generate a spirit dangerous to their
purity and perpetuity. No pride is more
blinding and corrupting than spiritual pride,
and men wTho are ever fancying themselves
upon a lofty eminence, unconsciously acquire a habit of looking down upon the
rest of the world."
A question of far deeper import is this:
What are the more strictly religious effects
Y See Note A, at the elld.




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       31
of this defection from the popular Christianity upon the persons most concerned?
How is it with the dainty seceders who
loathe the manna that " covers the face of
the wilderness," of which " every man may
gather according to his eating," and deem
it distasteful to receive with the multitude,
seated on the ground, the bread which Jesus
so liberallyblesses and breaks? Of all who
lightly turn away from the lowlier faith
of their early education and their fathers'
house, to rear their showy altars upon the
high places of the land, whether seduced by
vanity, or ambition, or fastidiousness, it may
well be doubted if many secure more than
the shadow of true religion. If they have
borne with them to this false, exposed position, some measure of spirituality, the
growth of a more fruitful soil, and of a more
benignant clime, it speedily withers and
decays for want of a participation in those
popular sympathies, from which they start
back with a disgust so profound. Their
dwelling places are unquestionably on the
Parnassus or the Olympus of the Christiau world, but these mountain tops have




32     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
neither depth of earth, nor springs of water, and no plant of righteousness is likely
to strike its roots into the hard rock that
composes their shining but arid summits.
Such aristocratic aspirants after a graceful piety, (I call them aristocratic for
want of a better term  to mark this pe'verse development of Christianity,) naturally fall into two classes, and exhibit two
great corruptions of the gospel. The more
intellectual and philosophical part commonly wander into that cold region of unfruitful speculations, where rationalism or
transcendentalism, or whatever neology
happens to be in fashion, claims empire.
The merely fashionable, and ambitious,
and fastidious portion, more usually pay
their courtly homage to graceful forms or
venerable reminiscences, and find and exhibit, at least, some of the semblances of
spiritual piety in the religion of the imagination.:* 
I cannot part with the topic under consideration without bestowing a passing
thought upon the God-dishonoring senti* See Note B, at the end.




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       33
ments in which this deplorable fallacy has
its origin. This demand for a Christianity
more refined and tasteful than that of
Christ, proceeds upon the assumption that
God is specially pleased and honored by
the conversion of persons of literary taste,
and polished manners; of men accustomed to good society, and well read in good
authors. Disguise it as we will, that is
the fundamental idea of this antichristian
theory. Now, for aught that appears, these
accomplishments do not figure very largelyip Heaven's estimate of m-an. I cannot
help suspecting that John Bunyan, John
Nelson, and worthies of this class, -wore, in
God's sight, the insignia of a truer and
higher nobility, than the choicest spirits of
the brilliant eras of Elizabeth and Anne.
What are the attributes most prized and
most sought for in man, by the crucified
Saviour? Charity and purity.  These are
the cardinal virtues of the gospel. Every
one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. If we love one another, God
dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in
us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in
3




a31    REISOURCES ArND DUTIES OF
love, dwelleth in God, and God in hiim.
The entire law is fulfilled by him who
loves God with all the heart, and his neighbor as himself.  This is glory to God in
the highest, peace on earth, and good will
to meln. The gospel is satisfied when this
great end is achieved, and it labors, from
age to age, to implant this law of universal affinity and brotherhood in all hearts,
and thus to establish a vast system of order and divine harmony, worthy of the
wisdom and of the mercy of God. And
this is its primary, proper object. High intellectual culture, advanced civilization, refinement of sentiments and of manners,
do indeed attend, or rather follow, its progress, -but only as incidental results of the
great moral changes which have their sphere
in the moral nature and character of man.
The moral transformation is all that the
gospel, as such, aims to accomplish. This
makes the sinner a child of God, fits him
for heavenly society and pursuits, makes
him  a joint heir with Christ.  These are
no doubtful announcements, but first principles of the gospel, which no sane Chris



CHlRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      35
tian will for a moment call in question;
and they suggest the irresistible conclusion,
that that is the most Christian church, and
that the most apostolic ministry, which
most successfully accomplish these most
Christian ends. No matter who they are
that are converted, and sanctified, and
brought to heaven.  The ignorant, the
outcast, the Hottentot, the slave —these are
Christ's well-beloved brethren, and with
him heirs of God. The princes of this
world may be glad to go to heaven, if they
may, in such company, and angels would
exult to be co-workers with God in preaching the gospel to the poor. What lesson
of instruction do I find in this digression?
A stern rebuke of that wretched fastidiousness which refuses to be satisfied with such
a type of Christianity as satisfies Christdemonstrative proof that this reiterated demand for a more tasteful and philosophical
religion is unreasonable and unphilosophical, as well as unchristian-new force
in the exhortation, " Make not provision for
the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Would
you find for yourselves a religion adapted




3-6    RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
to the soul's pressing wants, and to the demands of a perishing world? Drink deeply
of the Christian sentiments and sympatllies of the people.  Would you act a
heroic part in the holy war which God and
goo00  men are carrying on against error
and sin? Throw yourselves into the midst
of the masses, Twhere there are most hearts
to be won, and most souls to be saved. Do
not hbe for ever gazing at the toy that glitters on the top of the steeple, but bend
your regards upon the living stones that
compose Christ's holy temple, upon the
undying souls that throng its inner and
outer courts.  There the true altar and the
auLthorized priest are sure to be found, and
there God has work to do for all, who, like
his well-beloved Son, are content to abase
themselves, that they may be exalted.
I have not left time for the discussion
of some other topics which I cannot wholly
overlook. Educated young men often find
another stumbling' bloclk in the presumrned
or dreaded interference of an honest consecration to Christ with their ambitious,
arld, as they are prone to esteem them,




CInPSTTAN YOUNG AtEN.     37
their pure and honorable aspirations. My
own. observations on this subject would
lead me to regard this as one of the most
common and fatal causes of backsliding,
as well as procrastination. Many, who
hear and recognize the voice of God, refuse to enter his vineyard, because they
are not quite sure that the employments
and immunities to be assigned them there
will be agreeable and satisfactory.  Impiety never assumes a more daring attitude
than this, however the rank offense may
be disguised or concealed by circumstances
orby false reasonings. What is implied by
the postponement or abandonment of a religious course on such grounds? Distrust
in God is implied, and unbelief in its most
odious, atrocious, insolent form. Has God,
then, no right to interfere with our plans?
This mental discipline, and these accomplishments, which are too good to be subjected to his control-w were they acquired
— are they held, on terms altogether independent of Jehovah? Is the inexperienced
youth, fresh from the schools and proverbially ignorant of the world, and of the




38 fOSStS-XIxCE  -vL, DUTIES OF
future, somewh-it better qualified to choose
his own way, and thread the labyrinth of
life alone, than God is to guide him? You
will not be a Christian, because that confessedly assigns you a sphere of action
where God and conscience must be consulted. You seek a freer range and a wider
sphere.  Talie them, anid then inquire if
you are beyond the domain of God. Are
you really freer to choose or surer to win?
Is responsibility excluded, or danger of disappointment and disaster?  No; for God
reigns everywhere.  All that is gained by
this daring revolt against his authority is
the dire privilege of working out our destiny without any promise of guidance, or
grace, or reward, yet always under the
divine supervision and control-always in
conflict with his revealed will-always obnoxious to his displeasure, and certain of
ultimate ruin whatever fortunes may be
conceded to a career which is, at best, only
a prolonged rebellion against God.
After saying so much of the religious
aspects of this case, I must not omit to
expose the shallow views of life on which




CHIRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      39
this great practical error is based. As a class,
truly pious men are the most fortunate in the
world. Estimate their successes by honors
won, by their usefulness, by their attainments, or by their enjoyments, and these
persons greatly outstrip their competitors.
I will not stop to inquire why it is so,
though I doubt not there is in the thing
both a divine providence and a divine philosophy. Heaven guides and cheers on
the man who is content to receive his commission from above, while the virtues and
safeguards of religion do naturally minister to his successes even in secular pursuits.  The fact, however, is all I contend
for here. Common experience is a demonstration that godliness is profitable for this
life, as well as that to come. It is something more than impiety-it is gross, blind
folly, for a young man, setting out in life,
to guard against the disturbing influence
of religion in the settlement of his plans.
God is likely to be his wisest counselor,
and his most powerful auxiliary, and to
exalt him in proportion to the humility of
his submission to the divine authority.




40      i. SOuItC es AND DUTIES OF
7 muslt add another remark.  It is una-s'..ionably true that piety often  proa-tles,  while it seldom  retards, a man's
liprogress in the world.  It is no less so, and
-oc less proper to mark the fact, that men,liho seek to make of religious pretensions,
a: d chueltrch relations, instruments of amhbition or gain, are almost sure of meeting
weitlh signal disappointment.  Success in
suucl attemnpts Nould offer a dangerous
temptation to human virtue, and fill the
churches with hypocrites; but success in
such attempts, iln such a country as this,
where the government is neutral, and all
sects have fair play, is nearly impossible.
Aristocracy in religion meets with a potent
antagonist in the legal and social democracy that universally prevails. Proscription
for religious opinions is nearly impracticable in any form, where there is a multitude
of sects, and the weak are prone to unite
against any encroachment by the strong.
In such a state of things there is an open
field for industry and merit, in which no
sectarian badge can win or lose the prize.
There is no reward for the hypocrisy which




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       41
would profess, or the base cowardice, or
heartless prudence, which would shun to
profess, any opinion or bear any name, for
selfish objects. The temptation to sin in
this matter is really so weak that there is little need of providing any safeguard against
it, beyond a statement such as has been
made. Neither cupidity nor vanity has
much to gain by "making provision for
the flesh," when neither emolument nor
influence are to be won by recreancy to
principle.
The short-sighted ambition which covets
higher and brighter spheres of effort and
manifestation than comport with the claims
of duty, or the arrangements of Providence,
is wont to fall into another capital error.
In paying to circumstances their vain
court for facilities and rewards, seldom
granted but as the fruit of patient labor
and practical self-denial, these impatient
aspirants after distinction are insensibly
led away from the only theatre of action
adapted to their character and attainments.
Talent is ever best developed, and commonly best rewarded, where it is most wanted.




42     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
It should therefore respect the great laws of
demand and supply; and while the wide.
earth and boundless sea are open to its enterprise, should never press too eagerly into
petty, glutted marts. An educated Christian
young man, who, in all the attainable good
before him, has eyes to see something better and nobler than mere pecuniary gain,
cannot fail to perceive a most hopeful field
of usefulness in his connection with one
of the great popular Christian denominations of this country. It is unavoidable,
that among the vast multitudes, so rapidly
gathered into these broad folds by primitive zeal and labors, many will lack culture,
and intelligence, and refinement. Education and literature, polished eloquence,
and profound learning, naturally follow,
though they seldom precede, the greatest
successes of young and rising sects. When
such wants are most pressing, precisely
then is there likely to exist the most urgent
demand for such qualifications to satisfy
them.
A religious community whose successes
have outstripped all its anticipations, sud



CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       43
denly finds itself responsible for the intellectual, as well as moral, improvement of
millions. It has reached a point in its history where a demand for cultivated talent
is of the most urgent character. It must
have educated men; and literary attainment, when united with piety and good
sense, is sure to be placed in positions
the most favorable for the efficient exertion of extensive and salutary influence.
It almost necessarily happens that learning,
and eloquence, and refinement, acquire a
consideration and a power to do good,
great in proportion to their scarcity, and to
the multitude of demands upon such qualifications. Just such a theatre as enlightened, sanctified ambition should most desire, is here opened to the Christian youth.
It proffers useful, congenial, and honorable employment. It insures the earliest,
fullest development of his mental and moral
resources. It promises all reasonable and
desirable exemption from the tedious probation and discouraging competition which he
may be doomed to encounter elsewhere. It
offers him equal and honorable partnership




RESOURCES AN]) DUTIES OF
in the holy work of training a host of' immortal beings for usefulness, purity, happiness, and heaven.  The folly of turning
away fiom  these outspread fields waving
\\i th gaolden harvests, and echoing all around
w\itlh Miacedonian cries for more laborers,
is only less than the guilt which is always
superadded, -when, in addition to this contempt for the suggestions of a sound discretion, some violence is also inflicted upon
the conscience. And here I cannot refrain
from a passing remark on the benignant
relations which religion ever sustains to
the practical movements of business and
of life.  So nicely and so graciously is the
great scheme of an overruling, watchful
providence, adapted to our various circumstances, that the most inexperienced youth
-the merest novice in affairs-has little
more to do, than simply to obey the cictates of an enlightened conscience, in order to secure all the advantages of the
most comprehensive  and  well-cigested
plans, and of the deepest insight into the
future.  An unwavering trust in God and
his word is the best guide, as well as




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       45
the best safeguard.  It is a great simplifier
of life's complicated pursuits, and endows
each single-hearted follower of Jesus Christ
with a precocious, heavenly wisdom.
In anything I have said, I do not mean
to intimate that both our actual piety and
our Christian profession may not involve
the most serious consequences. I know too
well the genius of the gospel, to inculcate a
doctrine so foreign from its avowals and its
spirit. Great sufferings and great sacrifices
do, unquestionably, enter into God's entire scheme for diffusing and propagating
the true religion, and for the moral discipline
of individuals. Christ was made perfect by
suffering, and through much tribulation we
are called to enter into the kingdom of
heaven. Afflictions work out for the saints
an exceeding weight of glory. Not only
are Christians subject to the common lot
of mortals, which is usually one of many
pains and sorrows, but they are often called to suffer for Christ's sake. It is fundamental to the Christian system that men
were redeemed by suffering, and hardly
less so, as far as history is our teacher,




46     IorEcRCES AND DUTIES OF
that the best achievements of the gospel
are to be carried in the midst of peril, and
loss, and agony.  In this great worol of
toil and sacrifice, it is no doubt the will of
God that young men, and educated young
men, shall have a principal share.  God
chooses them because they are strong, and
he intends to make them the chief of his
instruments for the accomplishment of his
great designs of mercy. Let them look their
calling fairly in the face, and enter on the
career of duty, well aware of the conditions
upon which they serve a crucified RPedeemer. None more need to stir up the gift that is
within them, to gird about their loins, and
put on the armor of righteousness.  I may
safely say that no policy is so dangerous
as caution and cowardice.  I may confidently \tNwarn them of the folly and danger
of;" making provision for the flesh,"' by refraining front such a dedication as may
exact fiom  them  the sternest conditions
known to our Christian vocation.  If great
results can be attained by great efforts and
great sufilrings, what generous heart will
refuse the sacrifice?  If our own holiness




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       47
and the happiness of others may be promoted in proportion to the expenditure of
toil, or talent, or wealth, who will not feel
that the outlay is reasonable and even politic? But the argument likely to be most
effectual with ingenuous and truly pious
minds is derived from the genius of our
religion. The gospel is a way of salvation
by grace. It lays the Christian under obligations immeasurably strong, which he
can never satisfy, while it awakens in him
a sense of gratitude ever restless and studious of methods by which it may testify
its loyalty, and crown with honor the great
Benefactor, who is too high to be repaid
for all his mercies. This deep, undying
sentiment of the pious soul, finds utterance
in thanksgiving and adoration-in prayer
for the extension of the kingdom of Christ,
and in all the ways by which a sincere
Christian makes manifestation of his piety.
But the unwasted, struggling impulse gains
strength by all its activities, and longs for
new modes of exercise and development.
Dissatisfied with the little it can do for the
glory of the Saviour, it would gladly give




48      REsounCES AN]) DUTIES OF
its testimony by suffering.  This feeling is
natural; and it is strong in every bosom
in proportion as piety is profound and intense.  It has led many misguided Christians to devote themselves to penances and
voluntary inflictions. It led the apostles to
rejoice " that they were counted worthy to
suffer for Christ."  Paul avowed a desire to
endure martyrdoml  for the satisfaction of
this profound sentiment, and many early
Christians joyfully submitted to the severest tortures as a testimony of their
devotion and gratitude to Christ. Not
many in these days of peace  and toleration are likely to be called to pass
through such an ordeal; but if the spirit
to suffer the loss of all things for Christ's
sake  be  not still with  us, then  has
the true glory of the church perished Mwaith
her martyrs. Doubtless this spirit yet lives,
and would be made manifest by fitting occasions.  Doubtless there are multitudes
who would encounter losses of all sortsprivations, labors, and even death itselffor the crucified Redeemer. They remembier his vwords, that if any love father, or




CHRISTIAN -OUNG IEN.       49
mother, or brother, or sister, or houses, or
lands, more than him, he cannot be a
disciple. They remember that it is often
more prudent to lose the life than to save
it. Many even feel that they have a baptism to be baptized with, and are straitened till they perform it. They are eager to
live, and, if needs be, to die for Christ.
They have " put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and made no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Their cry is, " Speak,
Lord, thy servant heareth." They are not
careful to make conditions. Wheresoever
God's Spirit or providence will lead, they
stand ready to go; neither do they call anything their own which they possess, whether
of talent, learning, position, wealth, or influence; but regard themselves only as
stewards of the manifold grace of God, and
servants to the church for Christ's sake.
These are Christians such as Christ came
down from heaven to raise up. They are
the messengers of his mercy —ministers
of grace. Their hearts throb in unison
with Christ-their ears are open to every
Macedonian cry. The church, this court4




50     nRESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
try', the age, and state of the worldc  Want
such Chrislians, and only want enough
such, speedily to cover the earth  with
righ cteousness.
I have no higher wvish on behalf of the
youn.1g men wThom I now address, than to
-: hem  thoroughly  imbued w-\ith the:.)i'int ot such a religion as I have attempted
io exhibit.  Put on, my friends, put ye on
the ILord Jesus Christ, and mnake not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts
thereof.  I may claim to feel the profoundest interest il your wellfare, but I am not
afraid to trust you to the guidance of such
auspices.  Go forth clad in these robes of
purity and beauty, protected by this impenetralble armor of righteousness, and none who
love you w7ill have anything to fear or to desire beyond.  Christ will guide yo- a-right.
Precisely into such positions as are best
suited to your talents, and most adapted to
usef:ljness,  will he be sure to lead you.
And this is'the only -way -ior attaining at
onJce the higbest haIplyi)'less and t1hle most
periec. d Jeve o p ent    of' li e i:iselleeiual and
moral powe-r. p(-o:we -you autr:: sure of hlavy



CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN..    51
ing " grace sufficient for you," and that is
the only sure pledge and hope for eminent
success. Here alone you secure that harmony and co-operation of the moral with
the mental forces; that concurrence of the
emotions with the intellect, indispensable
to the fullest development, and the highest
achievements, of a human being.
I shall close by making of the exhortation in the text a special application to
those who hear me. I am too intimate
with the liabilities and the actual history
of young men, not to be aware that many
of them act in direct opposition to the lessons inculcated in this discourse. They
deliberately " put off the Lord Jesus Christ,"
and that for the very purpose of making
provision for satisfying the lusts of the
flesh. They have found unexpected difficulties in the way of a religious life on
their first entrance upon the scenes of public education.  The buoyancy and the
levity of youth, the confluence of a multitude of petty temptations, small but eager
rivalries, new demands upon time, and a
new arrangement of their hours, the esprit




52    3RESOVURCES AND DUTIES OF
dlt corps which too often operates to an
extent incompatible with an easy discharge
of the highest moral duties; these, and
many more nameless evils, often combine
to test whatever integrity and strength of
religious principle and habit the inexperienced youth may have brought from
more quiet scenes to the threshold of college life. A brief season of trial, a manly
bearing in the face of danger, an honest
recurrence to first principles-more than
all, humble reliance upon God, and a
conscientious observance of the duties of
religion, would soon overcome difficulties
which are only formidable from their novelty and their number. At this precise
point not a few who come among us, with
the fairest promise, abandon their religion.
Some do it with apparent deliberation, and
at once; others gradually, and, it may be,
insensibly, but none the less effectually and
fatally. A vague purpose is commonly
cherished of resuming it again under more
favorable auspices, when temptations shall
be fewer or weaker, and better helps available. But for the present they put off




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      53
Christ, and get their education and form
their character without him seeming to
regard themselves more free than before
to indulge in doubtful pleasures and associations, and still more to omit the distinctive duties and manifestations of a
Christian profession.  If conscience at
first interpose some obstacles in the way
of such a defection, it soon accommodates
itself with a vicious facility to the cherished
inclinations of the heart.  I have often
seen a hopefully pious youth thus throw
away his armor in the day of battle, putting
off Christ just when he most needs to put
him on-entering on a career of many
dangers without religion, just because he
thinks it will be difficult or unpleasant to
get along with religion.  He thus fairly
uncovers his bosom to the envenomed
shaft. He invites, yea, compels God to
forsake him, and then rushes, blind and
naked, into the midst of his foes. I speak,
young gentlemen, of an experience not
unknown among you; not to reproach,
but to warn. Some may have gone so
far in this doimnward career, and have




RESOURCESI AND DU]TIES OF
dreunken   so deeply C lof te cup of hocursing
wh Hich thley hauve chosen, that the voice of
aiinorthte       c admnion itio  ill be lost upon
IIC F.  \Nol. sio) I trust, with others who
tea:. mne.  Tihe agony is not yet over with
thitn I,   Slhainefully  have  they  slighted,
deeply havI  e they grieved, the Saviour;
but lheire hearts yet beat quickly and sorvoifuliy  when they look upon Him whom
they hax e pierced.  Y      ou who have made
a, trial oi this stvle in religion, say, Is it
-ais1,actory?t  Does it shield you in the day
oCi pii? Per e   enoyments, the lusts of
ihe],!lh for whiceh you have provided at
such einorious  expense, are they, upon
the7 ~1'hole   bette b than the peace of God
antd -1e love of Christ which Ayou hapve
torst -! 2[ v'on look hbfael   ilh desir e and
seif-ep.roahv   h-.,    then you Ohave still a taste
nd a conscieoilbCe ibr   etter tbings,, anci
r:'~'txT,  _1i a      i  iji.o\l t  p~ -l stlu le  to? M''i 1!he    I>'.;?ii,  you_ hlive rashly alanca  o _,n  I e i i  a-,n  n a
0I 001:e0,i  t c.  ir 10 eave    I i  sc a enes
o!Ihe. Vi,_d etna'a'i,' 10  td. "'Itpi5,'i




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      55
beseech to listen to the instructions of this
occasion. Do not venture to take a step
into this dark, troublesome world, now
opening before you, without a divine
guide. You I may exhort with special
emphasis,' Put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh,
to fulfill the lusts thereof."  Fear to move
in the grave matter of choosing your profession, and forming the more permanent
plans and relations of life, before you assume your proper religious position, and
are thus enabled to act under divine direction. You may not neglect this duty without incurring the entire forfeiture of God's
promises and grace. Let me inquire of
you, with an earnestness and solemnity
befitting the importance of the interests
involved, whether you have hitherto been
true to your convictions of duty, whether
your plans of life have thus far been formed prayerfully and conscientiously, in the
best moods of your religious feelings, when
you most fully appreciated Christ's supreme claims? Are there not in your
bosoms half-stifled convictions, slumber



56     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
ing recollections of unpaid vows made
under circumstances of deepest solemnity?
Look over these archives of conscience
with heedful deliberation.  Resolutions,
formed when your bosoms glowed with
zeal and love for Christ, are most likely
to be the wisest and the best. Bring yourselves back to the same moral attitude,
and review  these high, holy purposes,
under the same clear manifestations that
led to their formation, or you are likely to
sin against your own souls irretrievably.
" Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ," and
then choose vour way under his divine
auspices.  See to it that you make no
provision for the flesh in this deeply interesting crisis of your endless being. For
God's sake do not blunder here. Remember you choose for eternity, and that an
error at this point must give a wrong direction to all your future career.  You
determine what you wrill do for Christ, and
for men, and for your own souls. Choose
honestly; choose bravely; fearing no labors, or crosses, or sufferings. Better far
than honors or crowns are the sacrifices




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.        57
which fidelity to Christ shall impose upon
you.
There is among our educated Christian
young men a grievous offense, so common
as to have become a sign of the times, and
so full of evil tendencies as to call loudly
for exposure and denunciation. I refer to
the levity with which so many treat their
early vows of consecration to the Christian
ministry. Under convictions of duty and
of a heavenly calling, always deeply felt
and gratefully recognized in seasons of
high religious enjoyment and spiritual
devotion, they begin or prosecute their
literary career as a preparatory training for
the sacred office.  With seasons of depression or declension come doubts, and
reluctance, and dissatisfaction, with plans
of life which really present few alluring
aspects to the lukewarm, worldly-minded
Christian. Such occasions are often chosen
for testing the validity of the call to a work
involving many sacrifices, and for which
high spirituality and entire consecration to
Christ are, confessedly, indispensable qualifications.  It is then no difficult task to




5S     RIEsSOURCES ANT  DUTIES Ol?
discover deficietces -Cs lwhich the least senlsitive eoinscionce nlll;tst feel, and which ithllere
is even a strong temptationll to mag'nifiy as
mihe m   seans of obtaining a release from obli-'Uations hitherto deemed sacred and inviolable.  I hiave briefly indicated the process
by vwhiclh many of our Christian students,
desiglnatecl for the ministry by the most
unequivocal marks of a divine vocation,
contrive to stifle their o\wn convictions,
and elude the sacred claims of the church
and of the crucified Saviour.  I can truly
affirm that no other instances of religious
defection and recreancy to sacred duties
are wont to fill me with a sorrowT so profound and inconsolable.  I habitually look
upon  pious students -with  the  deepest
interest, as in a peculiar sense the property
of Christ, not only as the purchase of his
blood and the trophies of' grace, but as the
probable andi fit instrumZents to be chosen
for the enla,.rg ement of his kingdoml.  It is
to be expected th.at many, so providentially
prepareld by1 literary training, should be
divinely called to the ms-inistry of reconciliation; adc it is matter of unfeigned




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.        59
thankfulness, but none of stlrprise, that so
large a proportion of converted students
become deeply impressed with the duty
of devoting themselves to this great work.
Few, I believe, who maintain a devotional,
cross-bearing spirit, ever fall into serious
or lasting doubts about the authenticity
of their heavenly calling. They may be permitted to pass through seasons of trial and
self-examination for the establishment of
their faith and for the attainment of a
higher moral preparation for the exigences
of their holy vocation; but few sincere souls,
I am persuaded, will ever be left to discard, as the result of fancy or of enthusiasm,
these awful impressions of the highest
duty.  They who have been seduced by
ambition, or indolence, or unbelief, or selfindulgence, from the higher walks of piety,
do, indeed, bring upon themselves a rnoral
state to which distrust, and distaste, and
absolute repugnance, in regard to their
proper mission, are natural and unavoidable. They are no longer fit to be ministers
of Christ; but this does not annul their
call nor its binding obligations. The bur



60     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
den rests upon them none the less because
the strength to bealr it is gone.  They have
clearly fallen into the snare of the devil,
and there is only one way of escape. They
must revert to first principles, or be irretrievably ruined.  They must return to
their first love —must revisit the sunny regions of divine grace and manifestation,
where clear convictions and holy aspirations domineer over the soul-where love,
and faith, and joy in the Holy Ghost impart strength to sustain and light to guide.
There is really no other alternative besides such a spiritual revival, for any wvho
lack the nerve, to conclude that they can
get along, in life and in death, without a
Saviour.  To keep this an open question,
with some latent floating purpose, to take
advantage of a day of feeble impulses and
dim  manifestation for sliding anway into
a secular profession, is to impose upon
the mind and the heart an intolerable burden, the orninous pledge of comfortless
progress, and of ultimate, sharneful discomfiture.  The interests of both worlds
mare equally concerned ill su1(    c-holice of




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      61
occupation as shall leave the conscience
free to approve, and God free to patronize.
To those who are rather timid than rebellious, and have still a stronger desire to win
the crown than dread of bearing the cross,
it may be right to point out the vast resources placed at their disposal, and of
which they receive the investiture on assuming their true position; but it must,
after all, be admitted to be the mark of a
degraded moral tone for a Christian man
to manifest much anxiety for anything beyond the doing of his duy. It has been
well said that events belong to God; and
it may be added, that we are likely to be
made happier, as well as better and abler
men, by every encounter with difficulties
and every blast of adversity. These are
God's chosen methods of discipline, and
his appointed conditions of all eminent
success. So true is this, even in common
life, that we do not hesitate to pronounce the
most unfavorable auguries of an educated
young man, who, in his plans of life, makes
an over-careful provision for self-indulgence
and an exemption from severe toils and




62   ]RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
Irials.  Ife 1- will not ptush fi'om 1ie shore
till he has taken -pledges for a sm.oolth sea
and a favorable breeze-if he   lst, t altl
events, lhave sumptuous fare, and fine linen,
and houses of cedar, he insists on conditions
whilch neither lHeaven nor eartl wTill gralt9
anid ewhich arte  \wholly incoinpatible,i t I
the pe rformance of great actions  or the
formation of great characters.  In religion,
this tinmidl, selfish spirit, to  Tlhat.ever extent
it may exist, is subversive of the best principles of the gospel.  It is utterly incompatible -with faith, a:,nd in itself a mortal
sin.  We may not inquire too anxiously
what Christ will demand of us in retturn
for the blood he has shed and the heaven
lie has prepared for us; but -wse linorw nie
-Twill have niotbing less than entire consecration; aicnd that -we are to be ever ready
" not only to'be bound, but also to die, for
h@e mlomne  ofi tlhe Lord Jesus."  It is preeiseiy at this point of entire seif-renlnciation that the sou.l becomes enctowsed
with  the powel'r Of an  endless life, and
can do t;il things,, thirough, Christ.  If this
is an excellentt a'ttailnmelrnt,  suallv reserved




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MIEN.     63
for advanced piety and matured graces, it
may, nevertheless, become the starting
point of'every Christian young man. Let
him put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh, and he
obtains the mastery over all resources,
human and divine, needful to the fulfillment of a glorious destiny.








CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       65
APPENDIX.
NOTE A.-PAGE 30.
I SHALL have been greatly misunderstood if it-is inferred from the statements
and reasonings of this discourse, that I entertain uncharitable views, or would call in
question the sincere piety and Christian
virtues of the religious denominations of
this country. My single object is, to expose a practical and most pernicious error,
which is perpetually forced upon my attention by my position, and by some acquaintance with the present condition of the
American church. It is no reflection upon
the conscientious and devout members of
any Christian sect to intimate that persons,
attracted to its communion, or its ministry,
by other than strictly religious considera.tions, are not very likely to become eminent for Christian attainments or usefulness.  It is well understood, that such
5




66     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
proselytes are frequently admitted into
their new relations with a degree of distrust and caution, of which no conjecture
could be formed from the eclat which is
given to their conversions by a sectarian
press. In that particular branch of the
church which numerically profits most by
the tendency I have exposed, a conviction
is evidently gaining ground, that it is better
policy, upon the whole, to train up its own
ministry than to open so wide a door to
recruits from the seminaries and pulpits
of other denominations. Moderate men
are becoming startled at the vaulting speed
with which the neophyte so generally
hastens to embrace the most extreme
opinions and policy known to his new
sphere of speculation and activity; while,
to considerate men of all parties, it must
be obvious, that however a deep, hereditary reverence for imposing forms, and
high, exclusive claims, may be compatible
with humble, evangelical piety in persons
trained, from their childhood, under such
influences, there may, at least, be some
danger to the unstable, giddy mind of the




CIHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      67
novice, who, without any such safeguards,
is suddenly brought in contact with ideas,
to him so new and so magnificent.
I hope I shall not be thought to bestow
upon this topic a measure of attention
greater than its intrinsic importance.  As
a practical question, its importance is every
day increasing in this country, and the
time may not be far away when it will
force itself upon the consideration of all
thoughtful minds. As a mere sectarian
question, it may well enough be regarded
as trivial; for it is of little consequence to
the enlightened Christian whether the losing party suffer more by mortification than
the winning gains by the enjoyment of a
petty triumph. There are considerations,
however, of far deeper import both to the
individual seceder and to the cause of our
common Christianity. These easy transitions from the church in which we were
reared, or into which we have been providentially led to enter, on our conversion,
to another, however pure or orthodox, can
hardly ever be effected without injury to
the cause of Christ; and I must think




68     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
them almost never innocent, unless when
they are prompted by strictly conscientious
motives. It would generally be better to
submit to great inconveniences, and even
to tolerate slight errors in doctrine or discipline, rather than resort to a remedy so
violent and dangerous. To the individual
himself it is likely to prove a very hazardous experiment to forsake the hereditary,
or the chosen, communion for another.
He deprives himself of advantages not to
be expected from new religious associations, however pure and elevating. Ties,
which religion sanctifies and strengthens
for itself, are weakened or broken asunder.
The genial sympathies of domestic piety
are chilled; the unquestioned authority
of hereditary faith is shaken, and all
the nameless influences that guard and
help a youth, seeking and serving God in
the midst of his kindred, and under the
approving and watchful eyes of the good
men with whose faces and names are
associated his hallowed recollections and
impressions of the Lord's house, are all
utterly lost. I will not affirm that such




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.        69
evils uniformly result from such defections,
nor that they are, in all cases, of sufficient
force to interfere fatally with the successful
prosecution of a religious life. It is no
exaggeration, however, to say that they are
not of rare occurrence, and that they are
wont to exert a very pernicious influence
on personal piety.
Evils, of a still graver character than
any that befall the individual, are likely to
follow such recreancy. In proportion to
his position and influence does he inflict
upon the church and the general interests
of religion the greatest calamity; not chiefly
by withdrawing his talents and resources
fromtheir appropriate sphere of usefulness,
but by grieving pious' souls-by awakening distrust of his own sincerity, and
resentment for his recreancy, and by provoking uncharitableness, jealousy, sectarianism, and evil-speaking, in multitudes of
professing Christians. I have usually been
led to doubt whether an influential layman
or a minister can ever reasonably expect
to do as much good, in any new church
relations, as he unavoidably does harm




70     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
by violating the old.  It should be kept
in. view in estimating the probable effects
of such changes, that a man never carries
with him  into his new field of action
more than a small portion of the influence,
and other means of usefulness, which he
had acquired by faithful services and an
upright walk.  Of these he is destined to
make, at least, a partial forfeiture by the
transition, and years must probably elapse
before he can regain the vantage ground
which he has so lightly abandoned. Suspected, or denounced, by those whom he
deserts, he must pass a long probation ere
he wins the confidence of his new associates.
Upon the irreligious world the effect
of such instability is yet more observable and pernicious. It leads to a distrust of all pretensions to piety, and goes
far to confirm the too prevalent suspicion, that wthen educated or influential
men become religious, they have commonly some selfish end to subserve.
What gives additional force to such suspicions is the notorious fact that the transi



CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       71
tion, frequently as it occurs of late, is almost
never made where any personal sacrifice,
present or prospective, is involved.  I
do not allow myself to doubt that, in
several instances, at least, educated men
and ministers have felt constrained to give
up old, and contract new, church relations;
but I can scarcely recollect a case in which
the change was made in the face of losses
or sufferings. It is usually from low to
higher salaries-from more to less labor
or exposure-from less cultivated, or wealthy, or fashionable communities, to those
deemed more so. Iwould notdare express
or indulge distrust in regard to the motives
which, in any particular instance, may have
led to such changes; but the facts to which
I have adverted are incontrovertible, as they
are universally known.  There are few
observing or prominent Christians, I apprehend, who have not had some occasion to
receive, in silence, the cutting rebukes which
irreligious men are accustomed to visit on
such transactions. I am free to confess
that, in my opinion, no measure of blame
or reproaches can possibly transcend the




72     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
demerits of a man who, for any reasons
lower or weaker than such as are strictly
conscientious and constraining, puts in
jeopardy so many of the precious interests
of religion. He betrays a sacred trust.
Up to the full measure of his influence,
and talents, and position, he inflicts a grievous wrong upon the communion in whose
bosom he has been nurtured, or into which
he has obtained admission. He diminishes its ability to do good, and casts a
doubt on its purity, or orthodoxy. If a
minister, set apart and ordained as a teacher of religion, and a dispenser of its holy
sacraments, his power to do evil is greatly
augmented, and with it the guilt of such
a defection.  His new investiture of ecclesiastical authority and dignity is equivalent
to a public declaration that others are but
rash intruders into the sacred office.  He
thus wounds their reputation and weakens
-their influence. As far as in him lies, he
shakes the confidence of the people in their
pastors, and despoils their message of its
power over the sinner's conscience.  He
denies the character and immunities of




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.     73
Christ's ministers, not to a few obscure
individuals, but to nine-tenths of all the
consecrated men upon whom the population of this great country depend for religious instruction and consolation. I am
ready to admit that conviction may be so
clear and controlling as to make it a good
man's duty to act in defiance of all these
considerations; but no sane mind can, for
a moment, hesitate to believe that to do
so, on lower grounds, is one of the gravest
offenses against religion of which a human
being can be guilty.




74     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
NOTE B -PAGE 32,
The strong tendency in our religious
operations to gather the rich and the poor
into separate folds, and so to generate and
establish in the church distinctions utterly
at variance with the spirit of our political
institutions, is the very worst result of the
multiplication of sects among us; and I
fear it must be admitted that the evil is
greatly aggravated by the otherwise benignant working of the voluntary system.
Without insisting further upon the probable or possible injury which may befall our
free country from this conflict of agencies,
ever the most powerful in the formation of
national and individual character, no one
I am sure, can fail to recognize in this de
velopment an influence utterly and irre
concilably hostile to the genius and che
rished objects of Christianity. It is the
peculiar glory of the gospel, that, even under the most arbitrary governments, it has
usually been able to vindicate and practically exemplify the essential equality of




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       75
man. It has had one doctrine and one
hope for all its children; and the highest
and the lowest have been constrained to
acknowledge one holy law of brotherhood
in the common faith of which they are
made partakers.  Nowhere else, I believe, but in the United States-certainly
nowhere else to the same extent-does
this antichristian separation of classes prevail in the Christian church. The beggar
in his tattered vestments walks the splendid
courts of St. Peter's, and kneels at its costly
altars by the side of dukes and cardinals.
The peasant in his wooden shoes is welcomed in the gorgeous churches of Notre
Dame and the Madeline; and even in
England, where political and social distinctions are more rigorously enforced than
in any other country on earth, the lord and
the peasant, the richest and the poorest,
are usually occupants of the same church,
and partakers of the same communion.
That the reverse of all this is true in many
parts of this country, every observing man
knows full well: and what is yet more deplorable, while the lines of demarkation




76     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
between the different classes have already
become sufliciently distinct, the tendency
is receiving new  strength and development in a rapidly augmenting ratio. Even
in country places, where the population is
sparse, and the artificial distinctions of society are little known, the working of this
strange element is, in many instances,
made manifest, and a petty coterie of village magnates may be found worshiping
God apart from the body of the people.
But the evil is much more apparent, as
well as more deeply seated, in our populous
towns, where the causes which produce it
have been longer in operation, and have
more fully enjoyed the favor of circumstances. In these great centres of wealth,
intelligence, and influence, the separation
between the classes is, in many instances,
complete, and in many more the process
is rapidly progressive. There are crowded
religious congregations composed so exclusively of the wealthy as scarcely to embrace an indigent family or individual;
and the number of such churches, where
the gospel is never preached to the poor,




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       77
is constantly increasing. Rich men, instead of associating themselves with their
more humble fellow Christians, where
their money as well as their influence and
counsels are so much needed, usually
combine to erect magnificent churches, in
which sittings are too expensive for any
but people of fortune, and from which their
less-favored brethren are as effectually and
peremptorily excluded as if there were dishonor or contagion in their presence. A
congregation is thus constituted, able,
without the slightest inconvenience, to
bear the pecuniary burdens of twenty
churches, monopolizing and consigning
to comparative inactivity intellectual, moral, and material resources, for want of
which so many other congregations are
doomed to struggle with the most embarrassing difficulties. Can it for a moment be thought, that such a state of things
is desirable, or in harmony with the spirit
and design of the gospel?
A more difficult question arises when
we inquire after a remedy for evils too
glaring to be overlooked, and too grave to




78     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
be tolerated without an effort to palliate, if
not to remove them.  The most obvious
palliative, and one which has already been
tried to some extent by wealthy churches
or individuals, is the erection of free places
of worship for the poor. Such a provision for this class of persons would be
more effectual in any other part of the
world than in the United States. Whether
it arises from the operation of our political
system, or from the easy attainment of at
least the prime necessaries of life, the
poorer classes here are characterized by a
proud spirit, which will not submit to receive even the highest benefits in any form
that implies inferiority or dependence.
This strong and prevalent feeling nmust
continue to interpose serious obstacles in
the way of these laudable attempts.  If in
a few instances churches for the poor have
succeeded in our large cities, where the
theory of social equality is so imperfectly
realized in the actual condition of the people, and where the presence of a multitude
of indigent foreigners tends to lower the
sentiment of independence so strong in




CHRISTIAN YOUNG MIEN.      79
native-born Americans, the system is yet
manifestly incapable of general application
to the religious wants of our population.
The same difficulty usually occurs in all
attempts to induce the humbler classes to
worship with the rich in sumptuous
churches by reserving for their benefit a
portion of the sittings free, or at a nominal
rent. A few only can be found who are
willing to be recognized and provided for
as beneficiaries and paupers, while the
multitude will always prefer to make great
sacrifices in order to provide for themselves
in some humbler fane. It must be admitted that this subject is beset with
practical difficulties, which are not likely
to be removed speedily, or without some
great and improbable revolution in our
religious affairs. Yet if the respectable
Christian denominations most concerned
in the subject shall pursue a wise and
liberal policy for the future, something may
be done to check the evil. They may retard its rapid growth, perhaps, though it
will most likely be found impossible to
eradicate it altogether.  It ought to be:well




$80    RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
understood, that the multiplication of magnificent churches is dayly making the line
of demarkation between the rich and the poor
more and more palpable and impassable.
There are many good reasons for the erection of such edifices, Increasing wealth and
civilization seem to call for a liberal and tasteful outlay in behalf of religion, yet is it the
dictate of prudence no less than of duty
to balance carefully the good and the evil
of every enterprise. It should ever be kept
in mind, that such a church virtually writes
above its sculptured portals an irrevocable
prohibition to the poor, " Procul o procul
este profani."
I will not pretend to determine how
far it might be wise, even if it were
practicable, to check the liberal spirit now
so active in multiplying sumptuous religious edifices. We have perhaps more
encouragement to look in another direction for the melioration desired. There
can be no doubt that a general increase of
humble, spiritual religion would operate
as a powerful checlk upon the prevailing
disposition to prefer communion with opu



CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.      81
lent congregations, rather than pursue the
walks of a lowlier piety in company with
the poor. The same good ends would be
further promoted by the increasing prevalence of a liberal catholic spirit. A decided and simultaneous advance in piety
and charity, though it should stop short of
harmonizing conflicting sects and opinions,
and bringing their votaries to worship in a
common temple, might yet be sufficient to
reach and considerably mitigate some of
the greatest hardships to which I have adverted. In such an improved state of
Christian sentiment, a congregation, or a
sect, opulent in intellectual or pecuniary
means, beyond the ratio of its numbers,
might easily confer the greatest benefits
on the feeble and destitute.  A wealthy
denomination with few of the poor under
its ministry, and with little access to this
class, would then be inclined to aid those
who are providentially called to preach the
gospel to the masses. How easily might
one of our great metropolitan churches relieve a dozen poor congregations from the
burden of debts, or other embarrassments,
6




82     RESOURCES AND DUTIES OF
under which they are left to struggle on
from year to year! What inestimable benefits might a denomination, at once the
smallest and richest, confer by aiding the
poorer sects in extending the blessings of
religion and education to the vast multitude placed by divine Providence under
their influence and watchcare! Now it
can hardly be doubted, that with such an
enlargement of charity as I have supposed,
there would come more enlarged views of
duty and privilege, and that sectarian lines
might cease to be insuperable barriers in
the way of a far more exuberant and diffusive liberality than now prevails.  Under
such better auspices it would at least be
no longer possible for opulent, enlightened
Christian denominations to look with hostility or even indifference upon their fellow-laborers in the vineyard of a common
Master.  The sympathies as well as the
resources of the whole Christian church
would look about in quest of its wants and
substantial interests: while there hwould
inevitably arise bonds of brotherhood, so
many and so strong, between all the nem



CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN.       83
bers of the one Christian family, as would go
far to exclude all the petty jealousies and
heart-burnings which wealth and position
are sure to provoke in the church no less
than in the world, when they forget their
proper mission.
One lesson more, we should imagine,
would be ineffaceably impressed upon those
Christian denominations which, through
providential means or their own special
adaptations and exertions, monopolize a
large portion of the influential classes,
while they have signally failed of obtaining a corresponding development among
the great body of the people. It is a lesson
of enlarged catholic liberality. They have,
in their relative position, a clear demonslration at least that others as well as they
have a dispensation of the gospel committed to them. That, surely, cannot be the
only apostolic and legitimate system  of
faith or polity, which, after an experiment
carried through successive generations of
men, has, in this country, shown itself essentially incapable of penetrating the masses.
They who evangelize the wealthy, the




84   RIESOURCES AND DUTIES, ETC.
intellectual, and the refined, do unquestionably perform a good work; and there
may be those -who have a special vocation
to this inviting field. No liberal-minded
Christian will undervalue their efforts, or
desire to call in question the genuineness
of their piety, or the validity of their ecclesiastical system; but it may be well for all
parties to remember that there are signs of
apostleship older and surer than this mission
to the rich; and they need not despair of
making' good their claim to a part in this
ministry who can appeal, as their Master
did, to eminent success among the masses,
and affirm, like him, that through their instrumentality " the blind receive their sight
and the lame Nwalk, the lepers are cleansed
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up
and TIIE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED
UNTO THEM.&