father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." You see, in the first quoted passage, the Hebrew idiom (as grammarians speak) is employed in Greek words, and sounds harsh and revolting. What! (may one say,) the author of Christianity require a person to hate his father and mother! The idea shocks us; and often in reading this passage to Chinese, who lay so great a stress, very justly, on filial piety, or the duty of children to parentshave I desired authority to change the mode of speaking, to what is the real sense, as given in the second quotation, namely, that the Saviour must be loved more than father and mother. And even thus modified, it is a hard lesson. How often do children, both sons and daughters say, they would go abroad to publish Christ's Gospel; but their father or their mother will not part with them.

This remark concerning the manner of speaking in the Sacred Writings, applies also to the subject under consideration. "Take no thought for to-morrow"-" Be careful for nothing"-"I would have you without carefulness," and such like expressions, are to be understood of a thoughtfulness and carefulness, which forget Divine Providence, and disregard all the gracious promises of the Gospel, and the endearing relations in which it hath pleased the Almighty to reveal himself to mankind. And if I were asked to solve this nice question, "How much carefulness about this world is enough? and how much carefulness constitutes sin ?" one way in which I should answer is-All carefulness that leads the person caring to rely on self, and to forget God, is sinful. And to the pious Christian, who asked a similar question, I would say -When thy mind is so "overcharged" or oppressed, with the cares of this life, as to make thee less careful or solicitous about thy heavenly Father's care, it is sin; or whenever a person becomes so "overcharged," so excessively full, or oppressed with the affairs of this life, as to neglect the affairs of another life, it is sin, and a dangerous state of mind.

In the preceding remarks I have, as I believe is the best way, taken the scope and general import of the whole

Scriptures, to ascertain the meaning of particular sentences, or texts, as they are called; but in the present instance, I might avail myself of philological remarks.

Parkhurst, an English Clergyman, who devoted himself to the study of the original Scriptures, both in the Hebrew and Greek languages, says, respecting the word which the English translators render-To care, to be careful,* to take thought, as in these expressions, "Be careful for nothing"-Take no thought what ye shall eat—“ Take no thought for the morrow," and so on-Parkhurst says, These, I must confess, have long appeared to me some of the most unhappy translations in the whole English Bible; since the text thus rendered, by seeming to enjoin what is plainly inconsistent with the present condition of humanity, are apt to make men less scrupulous in repressing that anxious solicitude about worldly things, which is indeed absolutely forbidden to Christians in these very texts." Since the Greek words evidently mean anxious solicitude, Parkhurst thinks, that when our translation was made, (which is about 200 years ago,) the terms careful and thoughtful, had a stronger sense than they now have.

But I will quit these verbal remarks, and ask ye, O Christians, why ye should be anxiously solicitous? I will not say about what; but extend it to all your concerns. Why should your mind be oppressed with the anxieties of this life? It is not necessary, and it is dangerous.

The general providence, and the special promises of God make it unnecessary, and the ingratitude of disregarding God's providence and his promises, and the being so "overcharged" with temporal concerns and cares, as to forget or neglect eternal things, make it dangerous. "Take heed lest that day come upon you unawares.”

DISCOURSE XXI.

THE ANTICIPATED END OF THE WORLD SHOULD INDUCE A USEFUL AND PIOUS LIFE.

2 PET. III. 11.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness ; looking for, and hasting unto (expecting and earnestly desiring) the coming of the day of God.

THE Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments differ from all other writings in this particular, as well as in other things; they give a credible history of creation, and of the successive ages of the world, to the end of time, onward to eternity; and many circumstances of these successive ages, now past, were given by anticipation, in prophecies, which have been long ago realized; from which facts we have substantial ground to believe the statements in Holy Writ concerning the future destinies of this world, and the final consummation of all things. And the things declared concerning the future are not put down as mere abstract facts, which are not to influence our hopes and fears, our tempers and conduct, in passing through life; but are declared to us, like the whole of divine revelation, for practical and useful purposes.

The earth, with all its animated beings, the sun, the moon, the distant starry worlds of light; the vast system of the universe, which we behold, presents to contemplative minds, a grand display of the infinite and incompre

hensible power, and wisdom, and goodness of God. Even the very small part of his ways, and of his doings that man can survey, fills the mind with admiration and astonishment; and these wonderful works of the Creator, which have existed from time immemorial, and which have observed such amazingly minute exactness in their manifold motions for thousands of years, seem destined to last for ever. The speculations also of philosophers on the progress of society and human improvement, and the perfectibility of man, and the hopes of the benevolent and pious, seem to lead to the same anticipation; or if not, to a settled belief that the world shall remain eternally as it is; at least these things lead to a forgetfulness that "all these worlds shall be dissolved, that the heavens and the earth, which now exist, are, by the word of God, kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men; when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up."

I take these expressions of Holy Writ, my brethren, in their literal acceptation, and do not think that they refer figuratively to the dissolution of the Jewish dispensation; nor do the new heaven and new earth refer to the introduction of Christianity, nor to the millennial glory and happiness; but I believe the whole refers, as St. Peter expresses, to the antecedent and subsequent circumstances of the final judgment.

I do not know that the Mosaic records of creation teach that in the beginning of the world matter was then first of all called into existence, but only that the present system of the universe was then formed, and fashioned as we now behold it: so also St. Peter does not teach that the existing universe will, at the last day, be destroyed and annihilated; but only that it shall be melted down, and remoulded; it shall be burned, and from its ashes shall spring a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and where righteous persons shall be for ever happy.

Whether the final conflagration will involve any other than the solar system, to which our earth belongs, is not revealed, and cannot be ascertained; nor is the decision of such a question at all necessary to the practical inferences which St. Peter draws from the general truth in the passage before us. It is indeed said that the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, which certainly indicates a mighty change, to a great extent; but that which I would have your minds this day fasten upon, is, the assurance that the earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. From this simple fact it is easy for every mind to derive many important inferences.

Scoffers may indeed deride the promise of this coming event, and willingly shut their eyes against the most convincing evidence, to the end that they may follow, with the more seeming reason, their own hearts' lusts. But if the world we inhabit was once destroyed by water,—which catastrophe not only tradition asserts, and true history affirms, but the appearances of nature present occular demonstration of:-What may prevent, if it should please God to permit, but that fire, either from the volcanic crucible beneath, and within the bowels of the earth; or the flaming, frightful, erratic comet from without, should ignite, and melt, and liquify the terraqueous globe, and all the works that are therein. Since the words which were spoken before by the holy prophet, concerning Babylon and Nineveh, and Egypt and Tyre, and many other places and circumstances, have been accomplished; and the words of our Lord and Saviour concerning Jerusalem and his church, have been fulfilled; what sense or reason is there in the cry of the profligate or the sceptic; "Where is the promise of his coming?" Know they not that with him who inhabiteth eternity, "a thousand years are as one day." "The Lord is not slack (or slow) concerning his promise (or his threatening), as some men would count slackness; but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

That death removes man from all earthly good is a fact