is ever the instinct of his creatures to seek the happiness of those that love them. We know it— Secondly: From the arrangements of the universe. Does not the exquisite adaptation of outward nature to minister to our animal senses and physical wants, to our desire for knowledge and love for the beautiful, show that the Creator intended to make his moral creatures happy? We know it— Thirdly: From the special provisions of the Gospel. Here is pardon, purity, knowledge, consolation, holy fellowship, and a blessed Paradise. We know it Fourthly: From the operation of the affections. (1.) Love to God puts the soul into harmony with the universe. The soul destitute of love to God is in antagonism with the whole system of nature. (2.) Love to God enables the soul happily to appropriate the universe. In truth, love is happiness. We know it-Fifthly: From the biography of the good. Joseph, David, Daniel, Paul. We know it-Sixthly: From the assurances of God's Word. E SUBJECT: Religious Decision. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve."-Josh. xxiv. 15. VERY candid thinker will admit that religion of some kind is good; and most men in civilized countries will admit that the religion of Christ is, of all religions, the best; and there are many men, notwithstanding that they have not embraced this religion, who will confess readily that there cannot be salvation apart from it; and some of them will admit still further, that, unless they have a vital and experimental interest in it, they must be damned everlastingly; and yet, strange to think, they treat the religion of Christ with the greatest indifference, and wilfully procrastinate to receive its doctrine as a rule of life, and as a basis for their hope of future happiness. Why is it that persons, who make such liberal and reasonable concessions as these, hesitate for a single moment to give a most hearty reception to a religion so essentially virtuous, and indispensable to their everlasting well-being? Can it be that they are sincere in their acknowledgments of the real worth of Christianity; or do they actually mean to deceive us? There are many men in every Christian community, I warrant to assert, whose integrity cannot be questioned, who will frankly endorse all these concessions, and yet they have not given their hearts to Jesus! And why is this? It is not for the want of an intellectual appreciation of the Gospel, but for the want of a right disposition to yield to its influence-it is an error of the heart, not of the judgment, that prevents them from deciding for God. As the conviction under the influence of the Gospel is sharpened, and the carnal propensities under the influence of the world are aroused, the soul oscillates between the world and the kingdom of Christ, the pleasures of sin and the reproach of religion. This instability is detrimental to man's best interest, therefore he should be thoroughly decided in his conduct towards Christ and his kingdom. Hence, we invite attention to the following considerations: "Choose you I. THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS DECISION. this day whom ye will serve." Why is decision in any matter of such importance? First: Because thus only can the harmonious operation of all the powers of the soul be secured. Man is endowed with very great powers of volition, reason, affection, conscience, and imagination. These powers have been given to him to be usefully employed, and their united and harmonious employment requires the most thorough and inflexible decision; and a decision, in order to partake of this character, must necessarily be in absolute conformity with eternal rectitude. There can be discord between the various operations of the mind; schism in the soul; the law of the flesh warring against the law of the spirit; a conflict between inclinations, the lower propensities of human nature rebelling against the authority of the highest faculties of the soul; and conscience as the faithful witness of God, does protest solemnly against all such improper actions of the mind and false inclinations of the heart. This discord in the soul mars its happiness and checks its progress, and weakens its energies; moral decision puts an end to this discord, and secures the most perfect harmony between the divers operations of the powers of the soul. The harmonious operation of all the powers of the soul is strength, tranquillity, and moral happiness; and this can only be secured by religious decision. Secondly: Because thus only can every difficulty be successfully overcome. With Indecision, doubt, mental conflict, inward schism, and moral cowardice are weakening, embarrassing, and discouraging. The secret of all success is unity of design, earnestness of purpose, and concentration of power. these qualities of mind, the soul becomes irresistible in its action, defying opposition, mastering difficulties, and surmounting the most formidable obstacles with the greatest alacrity. There are difficulties connected with all undertakings and enterprises such as merchandise, politics, education, and mechanism-to master which demands thorough decision. "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." But while there are difficulties in the way of all worthy attainments, intellectual, secular, and social, religious difficulties are the most numerous, potent, and formidable, and demand, for that reason, most resolute and persistent effort to overcome them. There is the natural enmity of the carnal mind to all that is spiritual; there are the fascinating allurements of the world, and the self-denial, and the cross, which religion enjoins upon all its subjects; there is the power of habit, the influence of old associations, on the one hand, and the opposition of the world, and the deluding insinuations of the devil, on the other; these are some of the formidable obstacles which the soul must surmount in deciding for God and in persevering to serve Him, and to surmount these obstacles demands the strongest moral resolution. There can be no moral success, therefore, without the most thorough moral decision. Thirdly: Because thus only can we obtain the full approbation of God. God's approval is the highest blessing that the soul of man can possibly desire. His approbation is stimulus to the intellect, peace to the conscience, harmony to the affections, and a heaven to the soul. His disapproval, on the other hand, is the most terrible and insufferable curse to the soul; it is hell to the conscience, and dark despair to the mind. With God's approval we can be happy in sickness, in penury, and under persecution. We can exclaim in the midst of them all, "None of these things move me." And with God's disapproval, we must be miserable even in the most gorgeous palaces, and amid the most sumptuous luxuries the earth can afford. True religion is the effort of the soul to please God, according to the teaching of his Word. And to please God we must be decided; there must be a voluntary consecration of all that we are, and have, to the Divine service. The Lord will not accept of a partial consecration. The heart, mind, time, and property-He demands all. We should write upon every faculty of the intellect, affection of the heart, action of life, and upon every object we possess, "Holiness to the Lord." With the least degree of indecision this would be impossible. We must be decided, if we would obtain the approbation of God. II. THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGIOUS DECISION. How is this religious decision proved? It depends on the action of the will. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." To serve the Lord demands the action of the will. Firstly. The will is the controlling faculty of the soul. Every intentional act is produced by the action of the will. consider the nature of its volitional We will not pause to operations now, nor to state the numerous metaphysical, mystical, and conflicting theories of men, in regard to the operation of the will; but simply content ourselves with stating the fact, that the will does exercise a controlling influence over the actions of the mind and body, and also determines the character of all such actions. If the will is inactive, then all the powers of the mind and body are dormant and stationary. If the will is active, every energy, intellectual, physical, and moral, is employed, unless arbitrarily obstructed. Hence, God appeals to the will" Choose you this day whom ye will serve." Religious service is with man a matter of choice. The power to will and to do comes from God; the use of that power belongs to man. He will neither will nor work for us, but He gives us the power to do both. The sin consists not in leaving undone that which we had not the power to do, but in omitting to do that which we had the ability to do. It is not for the want of power, but for the abuse of power, that we are condemned. Secondly: The will that it might be virtuous in its action or volition must be free. Compulsion deprives an act of its moral character. An act, in order to be virtuous, must be free. It is the voluntariness of an act that makes it moral. Man has the power to will; this cannot be questioned; this power has been given to him by God. This determines in a great measure the extent and character of his daily activities and transactions. Man, if he is left to act of his own accord, acts according to the promptings of his will. Man has the power to choose between honesty and dishonesty, truth and error, virtue and vice, whenever they can be with certainty distinguished. All men do these things daily. The will does not only determine the amount of activity, but it determines its character. If we commit an injury upon our fellowman willingly, our conduct is criminal, and deserves punishment; but if the injury was done unintentionally, or against our will, we are innocent, and deserving of sympathy. Upon man's freedom of choice rests his responsibility, and the character of his conduct. This liberty of choice is |