cities:" and let him be confirmed in tenderness, in sympathy, in resignation to the will of God, by those of you who have been afflicted; let him be improved in delicacy and purity by your women, and in simplicity and innocence by your well-educated children. Hold up to him the image of your departed friends, who were distinguished for their piety and benevolence, and who, whilst they lived, were the supports and ornaments of this church.

You, my brethren, who survive, are a society of friends; you respect each other; and you have chosen for your pastor a man who has every disposition to prolong your tranquillity and increase your felicity. Without saying anything of his talents, which speak for themselves, I will only observe, that he has been blessed with enlightened and virtuous parents; and that having passed his childhood under their discreet and tender guidance, his youth has been favored with the best means. of intellectual and moral improvement, which the country affords. With such advantages, you have reason to expect that he will be an affectionate pastor; that he will be, not only your instructer, but your son, your brother, your friend, and your comforter.

My young friends of this society, who, by the ordination of a new pastor, begin a new era of hope, of love, of joy, how happy would you be, if you would determine at the same time to commence your religious course! Precious are the first fruits of life, when they are offered to God; fragrant is the perfume, which ascends to heaven from the flowers of spring; melodious is the song of devotion, when it is chanted by a youthful tongue.

* Horace.

Give yourselves up therefore to your heavenly Father; become in every sense the disciples of your benevolent Redeemer. You are his friends, if you do what he commands you: He commands you to celebrate his dying love. Hesitate not a moment to obey his reasonable, his affectionate call. Join the parents, whom you venerate, and the pastor, whom you esteem, at the table of the Lord; and there may you find increase of strength in every good resolution, and growth in every christian grace, till at length you rise up a holy temple in the Lord, fair without and beautiful within, and in which the spirit of the Almighty will delight forever to dwell.

Morning of Jan 1st, 1809, previous to the ordination of the Rev. Samuel Cary.

CHARGE I.

DELIVERED AT THE ORDINATION OF THE REV. SAMUEL CARY, IN THE EVENING OF JAN. 1ST, 1809.

My dear brother, having declared you to be a pastor of this church, I do now, in behalf of the brethren, and at their particular request, give you the right hand of affection and I do, in their name, promise you their friendship; their joy in your prosperity; their sympathy in your afflictions; their candor and indulgence; and all those offices of zeal and love, which will advance your reputation, and render your talents useful, and your situation happy.

I again offer you my right hand, as a token of my personal regard. I receive you into my bosom as a brother; and I request that you will give me a place in your heart.

We have presented to you the hand of affection: and you will now permit me, my brother, to address you in a word of exhortation; and whilst I claim no superiority over you, to remind you of what you already know, and of duties, which have frequently been the subjects of your meditation.

The solemn charge, which St Paul gives to his sons Timothy and Titus, contains almost all the essential rules, that can be offered to a young minister of the gos

pel. As, however, it has often been repeated on similar occasions, I shall not, though it is more important than anything which I can suggest, go over it again; but I desire you to read it with attention, and to impress its precepts deeply on your heart.

In entering on the duties of the ministry, you have a responsible part to perform: you have to instruct this people by your preaching, and to edify them by your example.

I. Your aim in preaching the gospel should be, to make those, who hear you, wise, happy, and good. Adopt therefore those modes, which will contribute most effectually to these great ends. Nourish the flock with substantial and salutary food. Lead them into green pastures, and beside the still waters; and not to thirsty plains, and the barren wilderness.

As the foundation of all solid improvement is laid in the understanding, begin with addressing the reason of your hearers. Convince them by clear and weighty arguments, of the truth of the important doctrines which you teach, and of the precepts which you inculcate. When the understanding has received a truth, it will be more easy for you to interest the heart: but the belief or practice which is built on nothing except enthusiasm or prejudice, has no permanent basis: temptation and passion will destroy it; and leave the mind without any principles or fixed rules of conduct.

I mean not to recommend to you a metaphysical mode of preaching. "Metaphysics is not only a sublime, but a useful science :"* and it communicates to us the knowledge of many propositions, which are capable

* Belsham.

of demonstration: but these profound speculations are unintelligible to a common auditory: they require the deep attention of the closet: they must be read more than once, and carefully examined; for in passing through the car, they do not make a sufficient impression to be comprehended. Consider your flock, not as philosophers, but as men and Christians; and deduce your arguments, not in general from abstract reasoning, but from the sacred Scriptures, illuminated with the light of

common sense.

When you have enlightened the head, it will then be proper for you to address and warm the heart. As this, however, requires extraordinary powers, you should here exert all your talents. Raise your eyes to heaven, and endeavor to acquire a glow and energy of religious feelings. Enkindle in your heart the flame of devotion, and the fire of charity. Be interested in what you deliver; for unless you are, all attempts at pathos will be mere affectation, and will chill the soul and benumb its affections. Never make a show of more sensibility, than you actually possess; for if at any time, from bodily indisposition, or that icy state of mind to which the most fervent men are occasionally subject, your own heart is cold, swelling words and boisterous emphasis will not warm the hearts of your hearers. I know that you disapprove, and I do not recommend to you, the use of theatrical gestures; for I believe with you, that tricks of action are not necessary to enforce the truths of the gospel. I do not ask you to thunder, like a heathen orator; to bellow, like the leader of a political faction; to ran', like a preacher of enthusiasm; for your aim should be, not to excite, but to restrain, the passions of your auditors; not to fill their breasts with frenzy and