- 15 Iwonic not, indeed, be agreeable 12 CMFT Istre of the Almighty, to suppose the mind bef those among our posਪਲ ਦੀਆ Jairy w have been such as is -uri Gabun that in some degree or other, Deevi suffer from the want of piety on the part fter fodders is a fact too strongly warranted A: aint even of the least doubt. If, fr examin, the rous practices of parents be ALL i infective, these, as a matter of course, INCAT IITs their children in their duty, and bis means the latter suffer in consequence. If, ALL IT Deglecting to observe those religious ordiminees which have been enjoined by God, and which are known to be conducive to godliness, men succumb 1. be smpanies which produce, as they oftentimes 3. Lense of body, or mental weakness and inaMiny, bich the one and the other of these are too frequently inherited by the children, and the more remte descendants of those in whom they originally sprang up. The consideration of such cases as these, is sufficient to assure us of the truth of the maxim propounded in the text;-that the effects of sin flourish and even increase long after the originators of it have ceased to exist. And recollect that the effects here contemplated, are the effects of sins not merely of commission, but of omission; inasmuch as the former inevitably

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occurred to you to refer the origin of them to the forefathers of the unfortunate sufferers. You have looked upon them, on the other hand, with a degree of vague indecision, without for a moment supposing that had the ancestors of these acted differently, the fate of the unfortunate individuals would, in all probability, have been other than what it is. The Scriptures, however, it is to be hoped, have at length opened your eyes to the real state of the case, and you now know, and are fully persuaded, that the natural or temporal difficulties and distresses under which men oftentimes labour, are to be attributed to the indolence and irreligion of those who have gone before them. And I should have no hesitation in stating it as my firm conviction, grounded upon the indubitable warranty of the word of God, that many-very many cases of suffering and distress might have been avoided, had certain persons of the preceding or of some antecedent generation, walked in the paths of religion, instead of in those of ungodliness and impiety. Many a man who now labours under mental anguish or bodily distress, would have been in far different plight had his father or his grandfather pursued the practice of worshipping God in the congregation, and of joining his more sincere fellow Christians in eating of that bread from heaven which is so well calculated to preserve life, and in drinking of that consecrated cup which, like an effective medicine, will purify the whole system, and thoroughly cleanse it of filth and corruption. Now, brethren, I would ask you whe

ther, having convinced yourselves of these lamentable truths, you will permit them to escape you almost as soon as they have entered into your thoughts, or whether you will meditate and reflect upon them for the purpose of correcting similar errors of which you may perceive yourselves guilty? Daily and hourly do you witness the visible effects of disobeying the express injunctions of God, in the persons of the children of the original transgressors. Do you wish then, I would ask, that your own children, and then again their children, and their children's children after them, should in a corresponding manner suffer from your transgressions, or do you not wish this? If it be the former, then will you disobey the command of God. If, however, it be the latter that you desire; if you be anxious for your own happiness, and for the happiness of your kindred who are to succeed you, then will you most punctually and most rigidly perform the commands of Him who will save you from the effects of all such calamities as these, on the condition, and only on the condition, of your willing obedience. If, then, on the supposition that you are anxious for your own happiness, and that of your kindred after you, you are directed to follow the example of Christ in entering into the house of God, and there offering up your praises and adorations to " your Father who seeth in secret in order that he may reward you openly; "-if, I say, you are directed to do this do it: but, having done thus much, do not be content, and fancy that God will therewith be

content, and accept it as a species of composition for neglecting any other of his commands equally direct and explicit. You have already seen that such a supposition would be as delusive as it is dangerous. If you wish that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, you must remember that all the commands of God must be obeyed; and in the precise manner which He has pointed out, must those outward ordinances be observed which are the means of grace, and by which alone a necessary preparation can be effected for being hereafter received into his presence through Jesus Christ.