is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; he shall say, I tell you I know you not, whence ye are; depart from me all ye workers of iniquity. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity." These are the declarations of the faithful and true Witness, the Judge both of the living and the dead. That awful portion of the divine word found in the first chapter of the Proverbs, will, after death, be entirely applicable to all the wicked; and they must learn by woful experience what it means. "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.”

This life, then, furnishes our only opportunity to seek the Lord with success. Here the great work of securing salvation must be performed; or eternally remain unaccomplished. And what is this life? Think of its narrow bounds; think of its speedy flight; of its liability every moment to be terminated; and of the tremendous consequences to you, should yours be terminated before you have secured the favor of the Lord Jesus; and be excited to seek him "before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while ye look for light he turn it into the shadow of death."

But, were we sure this life would be prolonged for many years, yet in the course of it some seasons are peculiarly favorable to the great business of seeking salvation; and it most deeply concerns us to seize and improve them. In the first place, the season of youth presents a most favorable opportunity to seek the Lord. Then the heart is not so hardened and vicious as it may be in subsequent life. It must, indeed, be admitted, that the hearts of the young, while unrenewed, are destitute of holiness, and strongly inclined to evil. This makes it difficult even for them to seek the Lord, and consecrate themselves to his service. Perhaps, my young friends, you have learned something of this by experience. When you once thought seriously of coming to Christ, did it not seem difficult to forsake the alluring paths of sin? Did you not find it hard to break away from your vain and worldly associates; to subdue the pride, envy, and sensuality of your hearts; to confess your faults to those you have injured, and all your sins to God; and to consecrate yourselves for ever to his service? If so, be assured these duties will never become easier. The disease of sin, which has already exhibited such alarming symptoms, is continually extending itself, and growing more inveterate. If a cure is ever to be effected, now is the best time to seek it. Or, to use another illustration; if, when your moral existence commenced, you launched on that current of time which is rolling silently downward to the ocean of a dark and miserable eternity; the farther you suffer yourself to be borne along, the more difficult will be your return; and it deeply concerns you to make an

immediate and strenuous effort to escape, before the current shall grow stronger, and the roar of the last tremendous cataract shall convince you that all is lost; and overwhelming fear shall cause your heart to sink and die within you. Now you have special encouragement to cry to the great God your Savior for help. Now he calls, "Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee. Son, give me thy heart. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you. Yea, I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me." He does not overlook the little children, but says, "Suffer them to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." None of you who are capable of understanding that, to come to Christ is to love and serve him, are too young to comply with his invitation. O, come to him now; before you shall grow more depraved and hardened; before the cords of your sins shall bind you more firmly; and your time shall be shorter and your condemnation heavier; and the Almighty shall be more highly incensed against you. Now, now, beloved youth, is your time to seek the Lord with hope of success.

Again-while persons are favored with the means of religious instruction, and the exercise of reason, they should, with all earnestness, seek the Lord. The greater part of our race, destitute of divine revelation, are involved in the darkness of heathenism; they know nothing of Christ or his salvation; nothing of heaven with its glory, or hell with its horrors. How then can they seek the Lord? "How shall they call on him of whom they have not heard?" Some, too, once favored with the instructions of pious parents and faithful ministers, now dwell in the solitary wilderness where no voice is heard proclaiming salvation; or in the licentious village where no Sabbath is hallowed, and no influence of Christianity is felt; or in the obscure lanes and sequestered abodes of crime and wretchedness in great cities, which have long been overlooked or despaired of, by those whose business is to win souls to Christ; or, perchance, their home is on the wide waters, where no voice of admonition or prayer is heard, and religion is mentioned only to be ridiculed. And some, once blessed with the full exercise of reason, are now delirious on the bed of death, or wandering about in idiocy; or, having be come dangerous to society, are confined in the cage of the maniac. And are you sure that similar disasters will never befall you; that you shall never be as far removed from the light of the gospel and means of salvation, as any whose case has been named? O, tempt not the Almighty to recall the price he has put into your hands to get wisdom; and to swear in his wrath you shall never enter into his rest.

Especially is it a precious opportunity to seek the Lord, when his work is revived in your neighborhood, and your own mind is impressed with divine truth. Then it is comparatively easy to break away from the entanglements of sin; to inquire of those more experienced the way of salvation; and to go with those who are pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Then the Lord is graciously near; and every humble suppliant may approach him with filial confidence. Thrice happy the people thus favored. "O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy."

Perhaps some of you are thinking, "Could I once more enjoy such advantages as I have misimproved, could I go back to the days of my youth, or be favored with the instructions and prayers of my parents, or hear the voice of that faithful minister who wore out his life in seeking my conversion; or could I once more live in any place where sinners are awakened, and in great numbers turning to God, I would esteem it a great privilege indeed; and would certainly endeavor to seek the Lord with all my heart." However that might be, it is certain that your misspent opportunities can never return. Those of you who are advanced in years can never go back to the days of early youth, and recover the advantages you have lost. Those of you who have followed those pious parents and that minister to the grave, who once and again so earnestly besought you with tears to come to Christ, cannot reanimate their decayed forms, or bring down their blessed spirits from their celestial seats, to counsel and entreat you again. And those of you who have lived through one revival of religion after another, impenitent and unconverted, have reason to fear that God will not prolong your lives to another such precious season; or if he should, you may only behold it with your eyes, while your heart shall feel no interest in it. The situation of all who have hitherto neglected salvation has now become exceedingly critical and alarming; but still you are prisoners of hope, and not of despair, and now is the time for you to make perhaps your only effort to escape damnation, and to lay hold on eternal life. Great difficulties may appear in your way; but great as they are, you must meet and surmount them, or lose your soul. If you are conscious of your own weakness and frailty, then cry mightily unto God for help.

Do some of you say, We can find no time to attend to these things? No time! Why do you not say when hungry, I have no time to eat; or when thirsty, I have no time to drink? Why do you not say when languishing with disease or tortured with agony, I have no time to seek for health or ease? All this you might do, with less absurdity than to plead that you have no time to seek salvation. For "what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" He would, even in that case, part with it at an infinite loss. But who of you can expect to gain the whole world, or even any considerable part of it? Alas! how low then the ambition, how grovelling the thoughts of such as put their souls in jeopardy for a treasure which moth, or rust, or fire may consume!

But think not only of the folly, but the imminent danger of delaying to seek the Lord. While you delay, your guilt is accumulating; your condemnation is growing more and more aggravated, and life is hastening to its termination. Even now the fatal arrow may be aimed at your heart; the sword of divine justice may be uplifted to cut you off. By the terrors of the Lord, then, we beseech you to flee from the wrath to come.

But if you are not to be moved by any rational consideration of danger, yet suffer the goodness of God to melt you into penitence. It was he who gave you that body, so fearfully and wonderfully made; and that soul which allies you to angels. It is he who has nourished and clothed you; who has sustained you in adversity; and redeemed your life from destruction, when the shades of death were collecting about you. He has given his Son to die for you, his word to teach you, his Spirit to strive with you. It is his own kind voice which is now heard out of heaven, calling you to seek him while

he may be found. And are you willing to offend such a benefactor; to spurn from you all his offers of mercy? You say, No.

But when will you seek the Lord? To-morrow? Next year? In a dying hour? And do you think this a good resolution? What! a good resolution, not to repent now, as God commands? A good resolution, not to seek the Lord now, while he may be found? A good resolution, to persevere in sin as long as you can with impunity?

Behold, now is the accepted time; now the Lord is graciously near; and if you delay to seek his favor this day, this hour, both heaven and earth, and your own conscience also, must confess the justice of God, should he call you no more, but leave you to perish in your iniquity. Is it your resolution to seek him now with all your heart? May the Spirit of grace strengthen that resolution, and help you to seek the Lord with right views of his character, deeply sensible of your misery, and anxiously desiring to embrace him in his entire character, and on his own terms, as your Savior, your God, and everlasting portion. Think not that the Spirit will always strive with you; that God will always be entreating you; or that you can, either now or at any other time, deceive him with heartless services. In a matter of such infinite moment, there must be no misgiving, no hypocrisy, no delay; "for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever."

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TESTIMONIALS.

From the Quarterly Christian Spectator.

"We do not hesitate to say, that Mr. Dickinson has adopted one of the happiest expedients hitherto devised, for eliciting that diversity of gifts,' in the Christiaa ministry, which infinite wisdom and benevolence have bestowed for the edification of the body of Christ, and for bringing sinners to the foot of the cross."

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