ored civil fathers of the republic, my next appeal is to you. The managers of this glorious Union want all the aid you can give them, in extending the circle of its blessings. They thank you for what you have already done, and they ask you still to help them train up those rising millions, who are so soon to govern this great nation according to their pleasure-who will either keep the gallant ship in deep and peaceful waters, or dash her in pieces amid the foaming breakers.

Will you allow me to say, that there never was a more delusive, a more baseless vision, than that which has dazzled even some great minds, respecting the means and agents upon which the preservation of our liberties essentially depends. Every thing is to be accomplished, as they seem to suppose, by the combined influence of popular education and free constitutions of civil government. Their theory is, that as we are now in possession of the freest and best institutions in the world, we have only to keep the people enlightened in regard to their political and religious rights-only to educate them well, in the common acceptation of the Now this is a radical mistake.

term, and all will be safe.

It is vainly undertaking to erect and support a magnificent edifice without a solid foundation. All the light and knowledge in the universe would not make a nation secure and happy, without the broad and deep basis of moral and religious principle. I hazard nothing in saying that the Bible contains the only code of laws, or rather the elements of the only code, which can sustain our free government, or any other like it. All history and experience might confidently be adduced in support of this position. It is only by teaching the rising generation to 'fear God and keep his commandments,' that we can in

duce them to obey magistrates,' to 'lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty,' and thus to maintain the great pillars of the state. By warmly patronizing Sabbath schools, therefore, by visiting them often, and by aspiring to the honor of becoming teachers in these heaven-founded seminaries, you can do more to undergird the ship, and keep her on in the right course, than when you, heave the lead, raise the quadrant, or stand at the helm.

But I must draw to a close. The time which I had a right to detain you is more than elapsed. And now, ye favored managers of this great and blessed Union! Ye parents, teachers, ministers, churches, friends of revivals, patriots, rulers, and judges of the land-under the smiles of heaven, the success of this cause depends upon your united prayers and efforts. You are all deeply, and may I not add, equally, interested in its success. By helping it forward, you advance the interests of pure and undefiled religion'-you promote the happiness and true glory of the nation, you honor God and bless the world.

Go on then, I beseech you, from duty to duty, from mountain to mountain, from river to river. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Never rest till the noble work is done, till a Sabbath school is established wherever there are children to enjoy its blessings. Never rest till hear the shout of Hosanna to the son of David,' from all the Atlantic coast, from the shores of the Lakes and the tops of the Alleghanies, and then far onward from the multitudes,—multitudes, in the valley of decision!'

you

THE GOOD ARIMATHEAN.*

And behold there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor ; and he was a good man and a just.-Luke xxiii, 50.

THIS was Joseph of Arimathea, and which was then very remarkable for a man of rank and fortune, he was a decided friend and disciple of Jesus Christ. He had, indeed, for a short time, shrunk from a public profession, for fear of the Jews; but now, in the last act of the tragedy of crucifixion, when the danger of an open avowal of his discipleship was exceedingly enhanced, and when even the twelve had forsaken their Master in his agony and fled, Joseph was endowed with the faith and courage of a martyr. For as soon as the mortal struggle was over,' He went in boldly unto Pilate and craved, the body of Jesus. And when he had taken it down from the cross, he wrapt it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed.' What holy intrepidity! What fervent love! What pious care! And how sweet, after his own decease, must have been the sleep of this devoted disciple, in the very place where his Lord had lain!

* Preached at the Funeral of Nathaniel Smith, Esq. of Sunderland, Mass. February 28, 1833.

In my text, the character of Joseph is given with extraordinary brevity. He was a good man and a just. These were his highest and brightest honors-his durable riches and righteousness. Wealth and office are adventitious. They furnish no certain criterion of real merit. Though sometimes associated with high moral worth, they are commonly found in alliance with a worldly and selfish spirit. But goodness and justice and the fear of the Lord, are the inherent qualities of a noble and heaven-born spirit; and while they shine with peculiar lustre in the Sanhedrim, or the Cabinet, they have the same intrinsic excellence in the humblest walks of private life.

Without laying any stress, therefore, upon mere worldly and accidental distinctions, it will be my object in this discourse, to illustrate and recommend the character of a good man and a just.' For the sake of unity and because the greater includes the less, I shall consider the term goodness, as embracing both justice and benevolence. In the christian they are always blended together; so that, though they may be contemplated apart, can never be entirely separated.

I. Then, let us try to analyze the elements, of which a good man's character is composed.

II. Follow him in some of the more frequented walks of christian beneficence.

And,

III. Mark the reflex influence of such a course upon his own character and happiness.

I. What are the essential elements of which a good man's character is composed? Goodness is not an attribute of the natural heart. It was indeed one of the brightest features, I had almost said, the glory of that divine image in which the first man was created; but when

he fell, it was entirely obliterated. Since that fatal moment, all his posterity have borne the image of the earthly and not of the heavenly.' Whatever semblance of native goodness there may be in some individuals, it is the form without the power'-the body without the animating spirit. It is not till God breathes again into man the breath of life, that he lives and moves and has a spiritual being. It is not till the divine image is reenstamped upon his soul, that there is any abiding principle of goodness within him.

The word in its generic and popular sense, is synonymous, or nearly so, with all those scriptural terms, which denote a high degree of moral excellence,-a good man, a just man, a pious man, a righteous man, a saint, a true believer, a spiritual worshipper, 'an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ.'

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Now although any one of these appellations might serve well enough, for a general definition of that moral excellence, which distinguishes the children of God from the children of this world, I shall endeavor by a very simple analysis to develope the moral elements which present it in a new and more interesting point of light.

I know not how to do this in fewer words, than by referring to the infinite source of all moral excellence and perfection. God is good. Infinite benevolence is one of his essential attributes. There is a perfection in his character, which nothing in the universe can equal---a goodness of nature, which we can no more fathom, than we can the depths of his eternity. But this is not all--it is not to finite minds, the most interesting view of his adorable perfection. His goodness is not a vast fountain shut up and sealed; but one which overflows continually to bless the universe. It is not a sun which, though