your "feet stumble on the dark mountains," and the gates of the heavenly city are closed upon you for ever. May you obey the call! may you decide promptly, firmly, scripturally; and may you build upon that Rock against which the gates of hell shall not prevail !"

II. But to all this it may be said, 'We feel the misery and the danger of indecision, and wish anxiously to escape from it; but how is this to be accomplished?" The reply to this question will lead us to the examination of the second point proposed for our consideration-viz. WHAT ARE THE ORDINARY CAUSES WHICH PREVENT

MEN FROM COMING TO A DECISION IN RELIGION.

1. One of the first causes which it may be desirable to name, is a neglect of the Holy Scriptures. The authority and inspiration of the Sacred Volume may, in this place, be taken for granted. If, then, instead of consulting the Sacred Volume, we are endeavouring either to grope our way to truth by the light of our own understanding, or are content to listen to the mere counsels of men, we have a full right to expect the uncertainty of which we complain. The great God has determined that we should climb the hills of everlasting truth by the one path which he himself has marked out; and if we are attempting to scale it by another, can we wonder that the curse of doubt and distraction should fall upon us, as the penalty of our rashness and presumption?

2. A second cause of indecision is the too high or too low regard for the authority of human teachers. We may be said to yield too much deference to the authority of our earthly instructors, when, because a man talks vehemently, or insists much

upon his own experience or advancement in religion; or because his station in life, his Christian profession, or opportunities of knowledge, warrant us in expecting accuracy at his hands; we at once blindly submit to his opinion, without consulting for ourselves the Scriptures, and the best interpretations of them, and especially those to which, as churchmen, we profess to adhere. Independent and free, though humble and modest, inquiry is the foundation, not merely of Protestantism, but of all genuine religion.

On the other hand, we defer too little to authority, when we treat with irreverence the collected wisdom of the good in all ages and countries. Is it nothing to us, for example, that the great fundamental principles of our church,-the fall and the corruption of man, justification by faith, regeneration and sanctification by the influence of the Holy Spirit, the absolute necessity of good works and right tempers, of holy and heavenly affections, and pure and upright conduct,

-are the principles of those to whom, under God, we owe the altars at which we worship, and our admirable constitution in church and state? Is it nothing that they come to us written in the blood of saints and martyrs? Is it nothing that they are found, in substance, in the confession of every Protestant church in Christendom? Is it nothing that, as we trace the history of the Church of Christ backward, through more than eighteen centuries, we find the great mass of the distinguished servants of God living well, and dying happily, under the powerful influence of these very principles? It may flatter our vanity to strike out a new path Ꭰ

for ourselves; but the man really acquainted with his own nature, with the difficulties of forming a sound judgment in religion, with the danger of error, and the immeasurable value of "the truth as it is in Jesus," is sure to distrust his own judgment, and to tread cautiously and humbly over the great field of Scriptural truth.

3. A third cause of this uncertainty in religion is the habits of our lives. It is said in Scripture, of a particular class of men, "They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." And it is probable, that nothing introduces more irregularity in our faith than the inconsistencies of our practice. Who, for example, that is resolved to devote himself to the eager pursuit of the pleasures or interest of this world, is likely to receive in simplicity the truth, that "friendship with the world is enmity with God;" or, that she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth?" Who, in like manner, that allows himself to think highly of his own natural endowments, will be likely to welcome the truth that"in our flesh dwelleth no good thing?" Who that is seeking justification by his own merits, will readily receive the doctrine of justification by faith in the atonement of the Redeemer? Who that is eager in the pursuit of this world's fugitive good, will not be tempted unduly to qualify, or absolutely to reject, the commandment to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness?" It is thus that a man's life may wage perpetual war with his principles; at first unsettle, and at length destroy them. If you would be sound and firm in the faith, labour, under the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, to be consistent in practice.

Give me," said an infidel, to a distinguished French divine, "your principles, and I will be a better man than yourself." Begin," replied the believer," with being a better man, and you will soon have my principles." And the promise of our gracious Redeemer harmonizes with this sentiment: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God."

4. A fourth cause of indecision in religion is a neglect of prayer.-Conceive an individual to be borne on the wings of angels to heaven; to have the uncounted riches of the treasury of God displayed to him; to have a key put into his hands, and to be told, "This is the key of all these treasures-use it, and they are your own for ever." Such a key, my Christian brethren, to all the unsearchable riches of heaven, is devout and believing prayer. This opens the door to the treasury of God. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally, and upbraideth not." "Ye have not, because ye ask not.”— Nothing is more obvious, to a mind intent upon its own movements, than our dependence upon some mysterious Power without, and superior to ourselves; upon a Power, generally speaking, acting, or refusing to act, according to the nature and spirit of our supplications. There are seasons, for example, when the most trifling event, the weakest cavil against religion, the slightest shaft of ridicule, has power to fasten itself upon the mind, and to disturb its purposes. Can this be the same mind which has, a thousand and a thousand times, without difficulty, sustained or repelled similar attacks? Yes; but you have been cold and negligent in devotion, and your

strength, like that of Samson, has departed from you. He who alone can "establish, strengthen, and settle" the soul, has left it to the poverty and emptiness of its own resources. On the contrary, are there not moments when nothing seems to disquiet you; when faith rises triumphant over every obstacle; when the mind appears to be lifted above the trials and temptations of life, into a region of undisturbed serenity, and purity, and joy; when the realities of the Gospel so fill it as to leave no avenue for doubts to enter; when the soul, unseduced and unterrified by surrounding objects, is able, through good report and evil report, through persecution, and trial, and loss, to pursue its calm and unfaltering course, and when, in fact, you are able to trample on the things of this world as so many mere stepping-stones to eternity? If so, I would appeal to your own experience, whether such seasons have not ordinarily followed your sincere and ardent applications to the Throne of Grace. Prayer, in short, opens a way of communication between heaven and earth; and when the way is thus opened, the blessing never fails to descend.

5. I shall state but one more cause of doubt and indecision in religion.-It is, the not labouring to occupy the heart with that one great ruling passion or affection by which every other will be fixed and controlled; I mean, the love of God and of our Redeemer. It is not less true in the administration of the heart than in the government of nations, that where many feelings, and passions, and interests are, without any authority strong enough to control them, struggling for the ascendancy, there can be no substantial peace or unity. The