REV. JOHN HUNT.-(On Divine Influence.) HOSEA xvi. 5--7.-I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon REV. CHARLES WILLIAMS.-(There are no little sins.) 2 KINGS v. 18.—In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this REV. JOHN STYLES, D. D.—(“Is not this the Christ?”) JOHN iv. 29.—Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did: is REV. J. A. JAMES.-( Dislike to Ministerial Fidelity stated and explained.) ISAIAH XXX. 9-11.-This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us 146 REV. JOSEPH HUGHES, A. M.-(The Superabundant Evidence of LUKE XVI. 31.—If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they ACTS xxviii. 25-27.-And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this peo- ple, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them...... 196 REV. THOMAS MORELL-(The Heavenly State.) HEB. xii. 22-24.—But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.. 210 REV. F. A. Cox, LL.D.-(The Transformations effected by Religion.) 1 Cor. xv. 49.-As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also REV. JAMES PARSONS.-(A Warning to the Ungodly.) 1 PETER iv. 18.—And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the REV. WILLIAM HULL.-(The Prayer of Christ for his Murderers.) LUKE Xxiii. 34.-Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do REV. T. PRICE. (The Christian Dispensation more Glorious than the Mosaic.) 2 COR. iii. 9.-For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more REV. W. B. COLLYER, D.D.-(The Christian Ministry.) 1 THESS. ii. 4.—But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our REV. ISAAC MANN, A. M.-(The Preaching of Christ a reason for Joy PHIL. i. 18.-Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will REV. W. THORPE.-(The Christian Specular.) 2 COR. iii. 18.—But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as THE BRITISH PREACHER. SERMON I. ADMONITIONS TO THE YOUNG. BY JOSEPH FLETCHER, A. M. 2 TIM. ii. 22.—Flee also youthful lusts; but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. THIS exhortation was addressed by the apostle Paul to Timothy, who sustained, under his direction, the office of an Evangelist. It appears from various incidental allusions to his character, in the sacred writings, that he was a youth of eminent piety and high attainments. At an early period of life, he "knew the holy Scriptures," and from his childhood possessed "unfeigned faith," the remembrance of which gladdened the heart of the apostle, and excited in his mind all the tender anxieties of christian friendship.* So intimate and endearing was that friendship, that he often calls him "his son," and his " dearly beloved son;" terms illustrating not only a spiritual relation to him, as a father, but the peculiar ardour and strength of his attachment. This high estimation of his character is happily exemplified in the Epistle to the Philippians; in which, after intimating his purpose of "sending Timotheus shortly unto them," he says, "For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally (or, with all the sincerity of natural affection) care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel."+ The affection of the apostle displayed itself in the constancy and fervour of his prayers; and in the admonitions which his * 2 Tim. i. 3-6. iii. 14, 15. Philip. ii. 19-22. B authority and experience qualified him to impart. For the direction of his personal and official conduct, he addressed to him, at different periods of time, two epistles, containing an invaluable treasury of wise counsels and holy maxims; and particularly adapted to teach him the arduous duties of his responsible station in the christian church. It is pleasing to observe, the amiable blending of fatherly love with apostolic authority, in every part of this inspired correspondence. In the first epistle, among many other instructions, he is exhorted to "entreat the younger men as brethren, and the younger women as sisters, with all purity." Directed and encouraged by this advice, I would, my young friends, address myself to you. Aware from experience and observation of the dangers to which you are exposed, and of the fascinations that allure to the devious paths of sin, I would lift up the voice of friendly warning. Consider me not as a dictator but as an adviser: and remember that, though I claim no dominion over you, the high authority of an inspired apostle, an aged servant of Jesus Christ, a veteran warrior in the fight of faith, and whose course was almost finished when his trembling hand recorded the sentence-enforces the solemn admonition before us! “ Flee youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." The text naturally arranges itself into three inquiries, respecting WHAT YOU OUGHT TO AVOID, WHAT YOU SHOULD FOLLOW, AND WITH WHOM YOU SHOULD ASSOCIATE. May the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, direct and sanctify our reflections! Before I enter on the immediate subject of inquiry, I would remark, that the exhortation in the text is addressed to a young CHRISTIAN, and implies the operation of Christian principles in order to secure conformity to its demands. The gospel of Christ includes and confirms all the obligations of the moral law. Its discoveries are perfectly accordant with the dictates of natural conscience, when unbiassed in its decisions concerning right and wrong. Many heathen philosophers have discoursed on the beauty of virtue and the deformity of vice; and have enforced their reasonings by arguments which Christianity itself disdains not to employ. But what effect had their most rational appeals on the turbulence of sinful passions, or the strength of vicious habits? None. Did they yield to the voice of these "charmers, charming ever so wisely?" The history of human depravity answers the question; and directs us to the unblushing vices of men, whose perceptions and practices were in perpetual contradiction to each other. It was reserved for the gospel alone, to enable |