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[The Substance of a Second Sermon to Sailors after a storm.*]

"Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about, besought him to depart from them."-Luke viii. 37.

WE turned your attention, last sabbath, to the remarkable interference which Christ made in behalf of his disciples, on the sea of Tiberias, during a storm; and of the cure of the demoniac of Gadara, both of which prove the divinity of Christ, and his power to save the souls and bodies of men! The effect which it produced upon the disciples, and the man who had been possessed of the devils, now clothed and in his right mind, was also noticed. At this time we are to refer to the impression made upon the Gadarenes, who were fully acquainted with all the circumstances, from the testimony of eye-witnesses; "for they also which saw it, told them by what means he that was possessed of the devil was healed." Out of curiosity the men of Gadara came to see Jesus; but their covetousness made them anxious to get rid of him; it prompted them to beseech him to depart out of their coast, and thus to imitate the address of the devils, "what have we to do with thee?" The cunning of the serpent appears in the whole of the policy of these emissaries of hell; they wished admission into the swine, that the people might suppose that Christ had drowned them. The devil seduced our first parents, by possessing them with hard thoughts of God; and his agents kept the Gadarenes from Christ, by suggesting that he came to

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destroy their cattle. Would not the presence of Christ do more hurt to them than good? Though he had cured two men who were a terror to the community, yet he had drowned two thousand swine. He continues to sow tares among the wheat-does mischief in the christian church, and then blames men for it. * It were easy to excite your indignation against the Gadarenes ; to cry shame, when your hearts are deeply impressed with the love, and compassion, and power of Christ, to save a suffering fellow creature; but it will be much more profitable to bring the subject home to ourselves, to produce those feelings within, which agitated the heart of David, when Nathan said to him,-"Thou art the man." And this may be done, by showing how we virtually reject Christ, when we are animated by the motives, and act on the principles, though we do not literally imitate the example of the men of Gadara; "then the whole multitude of the countryof the Gadarenes round about, besought him to depart from them.”

We beseech Christ to depart out of our coasts, when we give ourselves up to grovelling employments, abandoned sins, and loathsome vices. Christ cannot remain, where such persons dwell, neither can they endure the presence of the Saviour. Like the devils they cry out, "art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" The character and exercises of disciples are also a reflection upon the openly wicked. And this perhaps holds most truly of backsliders and hypocritical professors. The very name of a prayer meeting, the sight of a BETHEL FLAG, as it floats in the breeze-the voice of psalms in the family, the reading of the scriptures, the going to and returning from the house of God-the sobriety, veracity, industry, perseverance, success, and cheerfulness of those who enjoy religion-are so many tormentors to the abandoned and profane. And because the people of God, who bear the image of Christ, will not give them any countenance-will not run with them to the same excess in riotthey beseech them to depart out of their coasts. The worst of vices are loved more than the presence of Christ and the blessings of his salvation. Woe, and sorrow, and wounds without cause, and redness of eyes, and poverty, and wretchedness, are preferred to the joy, and peace, and composure of the people of God. This is so clear, that there can be no room for doubt. Such openly profane

* See Matthew Henry-' the Prince of Commentators.'

and abandoned persons, beseech Christ to depart out of their coasts. But some say, thank God! we are not so depravedwe are not drunkards, or profane swearers, or liars, or perjured persons, we do not rage, and quarrel, and fight. We, however, beseech Christ to depart out of our coasts—

When we spend that time in the acquisition of property which ought to be devoted to his service. It was plain, open, unmasked aversion to Christ, which caused the Gadarenes to beseech him to depart. Covetousness was their ruling passion. When Christ, who is divine as well as human-God as well as man-and consequently has an original right to the world and all that it contains, and may dispose of it as seemeth good in his sight-suffered the devils to enter into the swine for their destruction, all the avaricious principles of the heart were awakened, and rose up against Him. But the men of Gadara have many secret and hypocritical followers-professors of religion, who would wish to be reckoned among the friends of Christ; and yet, nevertheless, occupy all their waking thoughts about the accumulation of wealth, and devote all their time to the acquisition of property. If they do not bid Christ go away, they have not an hour for his service, either in secret, in private, or in public. His most express precepts will be set at nought, when these stand in the way of business. The fourth and the sixth commandments are alike disregarded, when property is either to be obtained or protected. All money earned on sabbath, is armed with a voice which beseeches Christ to depart. The old worn-out bark, insured beyond her value, and manned with a crew of husbands, and fathers, and sons, despite the warnings of conscience, proclaims aloud, that "Thou shalt not kill," is no barrier in the way of acquiring wealth at the expense of human life.

We beseech Christ to depart out of our coast, when we will not give him our hearts, and our affections. The hearts of the Gadarenes were altogether given up to covetousness; the devil, the world, and the flesh, filled them to overflowing. This was strikingly apparent, whenever Christ came in competition with their swine. The heart of the unregenerate has never been melted or subdued; it is set upon things on the earth,-on things which are seen and temporal. There is no love to God,-to

Christ, to the Holy Spirit; they say our hearts as well as our lips are our own, and who is Lord over us? The lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, are of the devil, and gratified in preference to Christ; those who act this part, if they do not bid Christ depart out of their house, yet have no place for him in their hearts. But even the people of God are apt to make unto themselves idols, which for a season appropriate their affections. These vary with the stages and pursuits, and relationships of life. O how often do we therefore virtually beseech Christ to depart from us! Some make idols of their children. "I one day expressed my surprise that my unfortunate husband, the son of such pious parents, should have turned out so ill. The poor old man said with tears, I fear we have been guilty of the sin of Eli; our love was of the wrong sort. Alas! like him we honoured our son more than God, and God has smitten us for it. We showed him by our example, what was right; but through a false indulgence, we did not correct him for what was wrong. We were blind to his faults.

*

With deep sorrow we trace back his vices to our ungoverned fondness. That lively and sharp wit, by which he has been able to carry on such a variety of wild schemes, might, if we had used him to bear reproof in his youth, have enabled him to have done great service for God and his country. But our flattery made him wise in his own conceit, and there is more hope of a fool than of him. We indulged our own vanity, and have desHow often do we worship the creature, more than the Creator. When we love, fear, and trust some one more than Christ, we bid him depart from us.

troyed his soul."*

This preference is ungrateful, and highly dangerous. Is not Christ the author of all our mercies? Does he not give us all things richly to enjoy, pertaining to life? Does he not open his bountiful hand, and satisfy our returning wants? Has he not cast out devils, and cured diseases? And though a portion of our goods, or honour, or reputation be taken away, why should we beseech HIM to depart from us? Do we prefer our time, our property, our talents, our influence, to Christ? And do not all these come from his bountiful hand? What have we that we

*Hannah More.

have not received? How dangerous! If Christ take us at our word-if he depart from us he may never return again!— Abandoned by Christ! What then shall become of the individual-the family-the community-the nation? There is salvation in no other. If we do not receive him, others will. If he be rejected by the men of Gadara, there are those who wait to receive him in his own city. Dangerous to our temporal as well as to our spiritual interests! Christ has the channels of commerce as well as of the great deep, at his command. And these, as he wills it, may either be covered with the full and healthful tide, or dried up, so that no gallant ship can approach our ports -either present to the eye a forest of masts, or be strewed with their wreck and ruin.* If we REJECT CHRIST, and beseech him to depart from our coasts-farewell to the gain of godlinessfarewell to prosperity in this life-to happiness in that which is

to come.

PHILOPAIS.

A TALE OF THE SEA.

It was a bright moonlight evening, and so warm, that our men lay about the deck, and in groups with hardly any covering; I think I never saw so perfectly clear and brilliant a night. Some of the officers were reading and with ease-by the light of the moon; and the ocean, as far as the sight could stretch, was a glittering mirror, without even a ruffle or wave. We lay like a log on the water, with all sails set, but not a breath of air to move them. The crew were collected in small parties about the forecastle and main deck, listening to the 'long yarns' of some gray-headed seamen about the 'Flying Dutchman,' of the black river of Gatand,' while now and then some favourite sea song was bawled forth from the laughing crowd. The officers were walking about the quarter-deck, smoking and conversing, and occasionally extending their walk so far as to listen to the stories of the forecastle. This was my first voyage on the‘wide, wide sea ;'

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The breaking up of the ice at the beginning of the year, presented a scene upon the WEAR which will never be forgotten by the ill-fated sufferers. Hundreds of vessels, one thing and another, were broken in pieces in a moment, as if they had been straw or rotten wood. The river, which is desecrated every Boat Sunday, as it is vulgarly called, seemed to hurl destruction upon the sabbath-breaker, and to vindicate the authority, and execute the vengeance, of the insulted and incensed LAWGIVER.

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