ble profession, I would remind you that, following the proper design of it, you will stand the avowed patrons and advocates of the principles of justice. Never, then, Young Gentlemen, never allow a violation of them in yourselves; and never advise it in others. Never allow yourselves to stand on the side of unrighteousness. Never allow yourselves to assist a villain to cover the wages of his wickedness, or to screen himself from the righteous penalty of the Law. In favor of the man, who, by fraud, keeps back the wages of the hireling, or the mite of the widow, or the crumb of the orphan, never allow yourselves to make a plea any sooner than in favor of the Neros, the Caligulas, or the Alexanders of the earth. Should you, having chosen this profession, choose also to direct the influence it may give you to the direction of the public opinion, and of the consequent civil policy of the nation. I would also remind you that even here you should still stand the avowed advocates of the same principles; and hence I would also exhort you ever to defend and to promote the great principles of our government, the principles of civil and religious freedom; for they all stand on the ground of inflexible justice. I would especially exhort you ever to keep burning in your own breasts that patriotic fire which was ever burning in the breasts of the great pillars of the American liberty and Independence; and, amidst all the contentions of party politics, ever to hold your fellow citizens as members of the same family with yourselves, and never to allow to any other nation the right of abusing, or controlling, or directing your own. Do any of you think of entering on the profession of Theology? This, indeed, is a noble profession. The glorious gospel of the blessed God exhibits the greatest blessings ever given to man. What blessings can possibly be greater than the pardon of sin and the justification by grace flowing in the blood of the everlasting covenant? Than the restoration to the favor of God, the consolations of his love, the joys of his salvation, the glories of his kingdom, promised in the the gospel to all the followers of the Lamb? What service can possibly be more dignified, more valuable, or benevolent than to proclaim these inestimable blessings to the guilty children of men! The service of the faithful preacher of the gospel we may venture to say, is, of all the services he can perform, the most consoling to himself, the most beneficial to others, the most acceptable to God.-To the proper performance of this service, however, peculiar, important qualifications are indispensably necessary; and of these a most essential and prominent one is a moral taste congenial with the doctrine of the gospel. A preacher destitute of this, can never discharge his duty either with pleasure to himself, or with profit to others. To a thoughtless worldling, or a giddy sensualist, or a vain, unprincipled man of honor, what but irksome drudgeries must be the solemn duties devolved on every preacher, of comforting the mournful, of visiting the sick and the dying, of binding up the broken in heart, of proclaiming liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, of standing as a pillar in the house of God, and discussing, defending and enforcing the awful, important truths of our holy religion? And how by such a man can these solemn duties, if discharged at all, be discharged with advantage? In general also, especially in this country, the services, however worthy or faithful, of a great portion of our preachers, will command but very moderate compensations. If money, indeed, is your object, you may gain it better by plowing than preaching. Unless, then, you heartily love the doctrine of the glorious gospel, and heartily desire to proclaim it among your fellow men; if you feel no conviction of duty in the case, no necessity laid upon you to preach the gospel, and no woe denounced against you, if you preach not the gospel, even worldly principles, and much more the principles of religion, but especially the awful woe which religion denounces against those who run when not sent, should induce you to seek a living in almost any profession sooner than in the profession of Theology. This sacred profession, should any of you follow it, will require you to stand as the defence of the gospel, as the pillars and ground of truth. Should you, then, be afraid of the truth, or ashamed of it? Should you in any case strive to keep the truth at the bottom of the well, or to bar up the way against the progress of it? of it? As the pillars and ground of truth you should ever stand prepared to meet it, to defend it, to enforce it, to follow it; and you should never willingly allow it to be held in bondage, or in disgrace by any of the dogmas, or traditions, or authorities of men. You here should allow nothing but a sense of duty to carry you into the field of theological controversy: for then you will be liable to sacrifice the truth of God, not less than the love and peace of men. And you should avoid, or give up all the principles or practices, which, however favorable to your friends or yourselves, stand not on the ground of truth, and tend not to the defence of the gospel. You should, therefore, cherish in yourselves the meekness, the candor, the charity, and the forbearance, not less than the ardor, the industry, the faithfulness and the perseverance so remarkable in the lives of the primitive preachers. Let you follow what profession you may, I hope you will still stand the patrons and advocates of the Christian religion. This was the religion of the venerable fathers of our country. For the peaceable, unmolested enjoyment of it, they left their native land, crossed a boisterous ocean, and settled in a howling wilderness. Here the combined horrors of famine, wild beasts and savage men could not lessen their zeal for the welfare of this holy religion. They made it, like their daily bread, a subject of their daily prayers; and in all their arrangements for the future prosperity of the New World, they made the prosperity of their religion a primary object of their attention. Their sons followed their example; and hence some traits of this blessed religion are now apparent in almost all the valuable institutions of our country. The extinction, therefore, of this religion among us would be attended with very extensive and painful innovations; at least with a radical, if not horrible change in our systems of education, in our schools, in our colleges, in our libraries and literary societies, and in our habits of thinking, of talking and of reading, as well as with an entire subversion of our houses of worship, of our religious societies and of our assemblies for praying, preaching, and hearing, and an entire relinquishment of our arts of devotion whether in the family, at the table, at the bed of sickness, or in the house of death. Could a patriot desire innovations like these? Would they not endanger our morals, our freedom, our safety? Would they not fill our land with barbarous cruelty, with horrible licentiousness? And would they not render it more fit to be the land of any other set of men, than the land of the devout, puritanical founders of New England. As long as you live, I beg you, Young Gentlemen, to remember, that a primary reason both for the first settlement of this country, and for its subsequent growth and prosperity must be found in an ardent attachment to the Christian religion. Both your filial, and your patriotic affections might, therefore, induce you to respect and befriend the religion of Jesus. This religion, moreover, is the religion of God himself, the Father of lights, the great Father of you all; and in your belief and practice of it He has suspended your everlasting welfare. Ought you to doubt a moment whether you will revere or obey a religion like this? a religion revered and obeyed by the first and the best men in the land, and fitted to render it forever a land of justice, order, freedom and safety; of truth, peace, love and joy? a religion sanctioned by the supreme Jehovah, flowing from the spring of all perfection, and rendering benevolent and happy all its followers? and a religion too, which, should you all possess it, would bind you all indissolubly together, though scattered among the remotest nations, would finally bring you all, glorified class-mates, immortal, blessed brothers, into a land of perfect, unchanging friendship and pleasure? No, my young friends, God forbid; and I exhort you, now in the last words of this address, to measure your progress in moral worth only by your progress in Christian love. |