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.'

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

all glorious in itself, is hung round with impenetrable darkness; but a sun which shines throughout all space, and in the life-giving emanations of which, innumerable millions rejoice. This is the true notion of infinite goodness. It is unbounded benevolence. It is that divine love, which delights in shedding abroad its beneficence, over an immense intellectual and moral kingdom.

Now, goodness is intrinsically the same, in the creature, as in the Creator. It consists of the same moral elements, whether in heaven, or on earth. In degree and effect, there is an infinite difference, but in essence there is none at all. As there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars,' and yet it is the same light that shines in all; so it is the same kind of benevolence, which gives a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple,' as that which emanates from the throne of God and the Lamb. It is not mere abstract moral excellency that constitutes the charm of goodness in finite beings, any more than it does the glory of the same attribute in Jehovah himself.

A good man, therefore, is not merely a regenerated, or pious man, in distinction from an impenitent sinner; but a man who does good, and because he delights in it. He carries his benevolence in his heart, and in his hand, wherever he goes. Unlike the insect, that retires within its own little sweet enclosure, and there surfeits and drowns itself,-if he is rich, either in temporal or spiritual things, he wishes to have others partake with him in the happiness which he enjoys. He does not say with the fool in the Gospel, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat drink and be merry;' but asks with Paul, Lord what wilt thou have

me to do?' He loves to meditate on such texts of scripture as these: 'Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit which are his. Whether, therefore, ye

eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?'

As he grows in grace he incorporates these divine precepts more and more into the very texture of his thoughts, affections, and actions. His heart is full of benevolent desires and purposes. The glory of God, the building up of the church, the happiness of mankindthese are the great objects for which he wishes to live and toil, and spend his earthly substance. Give him the means and the opportunity of doing good-let the poor be relieved, the ignorant taught, and the afflicted comforted through his instrumentality-let Jesus Christ be honored and the world saved, and he is satisfied. These are the elements of real goodness. It is love, in the ever varying forms of active benevolence. It is a holy radiance that blesses every eye and heart upon which it shines. It is a perennial fountain, leaping and sparkling with life, as it pours itself out in streams of unmingled beneficence.

But in order to form a more clear and perfect estimate of the good man's character, we must,

II. Follow him in some of his favorite walks of usefulness. These, of course, vary almost indefinitely,

though they all terminate in one and the same point. They are marked out, to a great extent, by men's education, talents, professions, business, civil distinctions, and pecuniary circumstances. But whatever the good man's employment or condition of life may be, in whatever sphere he moves in obedience to the orderings of Providence, he takes for his pattern that great and perfect Exemplar, who went about doing good.

Is he a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ? Like Barnabas, he is a good man, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.' The sacred motto which he carries along with him every where, is, Glory to God in the highest and good will towards men.' In his weekly preparations for the sanctuary, his heart's desire and prayer to God is,' that he may be enabled to provide for every one a portion of meat in due season.' When he goes into the desk, and rises up before the expectant congregation, his object is, not to amuse them with fine theories and polished sentences; but to do them good; to instruct them in the right ways of the Lord;' to reach their consciences and move their hearts. He speaks, not for human applause, but to honor his Master and save them that hear him.' In all his pastoral intercourse and labors, his paramount object is the same. 'He goes about doing good.' He teaches the young, comforts the desponding, reproves the wicked, visits the sick and the afflicted; and all, that he may promote their present and everlasting happiness.

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If, instead of taking the oversight of a church and congregation in a christian land, he is sent out as a missionary to the heathen, he carries along with him the same spirit. He goes 'to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.' He goes down

into the depths of their ignorance, pollution, and wretchedness, that he may reach them with the hand of chris-. tian philanthropy, and elevate them in their intellectual, moral, civil, and social conditions. He goes into the great howling wilderness, where they are perishing, that he may carry to them the bread of eternal life. He thinks of their unutterable degradation, and guilt, and misery, and he cannot rest. He sees their thronging millions on the brink of a burning eternity, and he is pained at his very heart. He must make an effort to save them. The yearnings of his soul are irrepressible, and you cannot keep him back except by violence.

He goes, and had we time to follow him, what out pourings of benevolence should we witness! Let the Acts of the Apostles testify. Let the authentic records of missionary labors in our own age testify. Let the poor persecuted red man say. Let Birmah speak; let Africa; let classic Greece; let the Islands of the sea. Let Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, in Pontus, and Asia, and Egypt-Jews and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians-let them all testify in their own tongues wherein they were born. Thus are hundreds of missionaries at this moment compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses to their fidelity, their holy self-denial, and all their irrepressible out-pourings of health and life and love. Such are the labors and sacrifices of christian men and christian women, the blessed effects of which were thus predicted between two and three thousand years ago, by the gifted son of Amos. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom' as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon