is united. We are not pure spirit, the soul is a lodger in matter, and on the temperature of this matter depends the success of our researches after truth, and consequently after religion.

Now, my brethren, every period and age of life is not alike proper for disposing the body to this happy temperature, which leaves the soul at liberty for reflection and thought. The powers of the brain fail with years, the senses become dull, the spirits evaporate, the memory weakens, the blood chills in the veins, and a cloud of darkness envelopes all the faculties. Hence the drowsiness of aged people; hence the difficulty of receiving new impressions; hence the return of ancient objects; hence the obstinacy in their sentiments; hence the almost universal defect of knowledge and comprehension; whereas people less advanced in age have usually an easy mind, a retentive memory, a happy conception, and a teachable temper. If we therefore, defer the acquisition of religious knowledge till age has chilled the blood, obscured the understanding, enfeebled the memory, and confirmed prejudice and obstinacy, it is almost impossible to be in a situation to acquire that information without which our religion can neither be agreeable to God, afford us solid consolation in affliction, nor motive sufficient against temptation.

If this reflection do not strike you with sufficient force, follow man in the succeeding ages of life. The love of pleasure predominates in his early years, and the dissipations of the world allure him from the study of religion. The sentiments of conscience are heard, however, notwithstanding the tumult of a thousand passions: they suggest, that, in order to peace of conscience, he must either be religious, or persuade himself that religion is altogether a phantom. What does a man do in this situation? He becomes either incredulous or superstitious. He believes without examination and dis

cussion, that he has been educated in the bosom of truth; that the religion of his fathers is the only one which can be good; or rather he regards religion only on the side of those difficulties which infidels oppose, and employs all his strength of intellect to augment those difficulties, and to evade their evidence. Thus he dismisses religion to escape his conscience, and becomes an obstinate atheist to be calm in crimes. Thus he wastes his youth, time flies, years accumulate, notions become strong; impressions fixed in the brain; and the brain gradually loses that suppleness of which we shall now speak.

A period arrives in which these passions seem to die; and as they were the sole cause of rendering that man superstitious, or incredulous, it seems that incredulity and superstition would vanish with the passions. We wish to profit by the circumstance; we endeavour to dissipate the illusion; we summons. the man to go back to the first source of his errors ; we talk; we prove; we reason; but all is unavailing care; as it commonly happens that the aged talk of former times, and recollect the facts which struck them in their youth, while present occurrences leave no trace on the memory, so the old ideas continually run in their mind.

Let us further remark, that the soul not only loses with time the facility of discerning error from truth, but after having for a considerable time habituated itself to converse solely with sensible objects, it is almost impossible to attach it to any other. See that man who has for a course of years been employed in auditing accounts, in examining the nature of trade, the capacity of his companions, the fidelity of his correspondents: propose to him, for instance, the solution of a problem, desire him to investigate the cause of a phenomenon, the foundation of a system, and you require an impossibility. The mind, however, of this man, who finds these subjects so

difficult, and the mind of the philosopher who investigates them with ease, are formed much in the same way. All the difference between them is, that the latter has accustomed himself to the contempla. tion of mental objects, whereas the other has voluntarily debased himself to sordid pursuits, degraded his understanding, and enslaved it to sensible ob. jects. After having passed our life in this sort of business, without allowing time for reflection, religion becomes an abyss; the clearest truth, myste. rious; the slightest study, fatigue; and, when we would fix our thoughts, they are captivated with involuntary deviations.

In a word, the final inconvenience which results from deferring the study of religion, is a distraction and dissipation proceeding from the objects which prepossess the mind. The various scenes of life, presented to the eye, make a strong impression on the soul; and the ideas will obtrude even when we would divert the attention. Hence distinguished employments, eminent situations, and professions which require intense application, are not commonly the most compatible with salvation. Not only because they rob us, while actually employed, of the time we should devote to God, but because they pursue us in defiance of our efforts. We come to the Lord's house with our bullocks, with our doves, with our projects, with our ships, with our bills of exchange, with our titles, with our equipage, as those profane Jews whom Jesus Christ once chased from the temple in Jerusalem. There is no need to be a philosopher to perceive the force of this truth; it requires no evidence but the history of your own life. How often, when retired to the closet to examine your conscience, has worldly speculation interrupted the duty! How often, when prostrated in the presence of God, has this heart, which you came to offer him, robbed you of your devotion by pursuing earthly objects! How often,

when engaged in sacrificing to the Lord a sacrifice of repentance has a thousand flights of birds annoy. ed the sacred service! Evident proof of the truth we advance! Every day we see new objects; these objects leave ideas; these ideas recur; and the contracted soul, unable to attend to the ideas it already possesses, and to those it would acquire, becomes incapable of religious investigation. Happy is the man descended from enlightened parents, and instructed like Timothy in the Holy Scriptures from his infancy! Having consecrated his early life to the study of truth, he has only, in a dying and retiring age to collect the consolations of a religion magnificent in its promises, and incontestible in its proofs.

Hence we conclude, with regard to the speculative part of salvation, that our conversion becomes the more difficult in proportion as it is deferred. We conclude, with regard to the light of faith, that we must seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near. We must study religion while aided by a recollected mind, and an easy conception. We must, while young, elevate the heart above sensible objects, and fill the soul with sacred truths before the world has engrossed its capacity

This truth is susceptible of a yet clearer demonstration, when we consider religion with regard to practice. And as the subject turns on principles to which we usually pay but slight attention, we are especially obliged to request, if you would edify by this discourse, that you would hear attentively. There are subjects less connected, which may be comprehended notwithstanding a momentary ab. sence of the mind, but this requires constant application, as we lose the whole, by neglecting the smallest part.

Remember, in the first place, what we have already affirmed, that in order to true conversion, it is not

sufficient to evidence some partial acts of love to God: the principle must be so profound and permanent, that love shall ever be the predominant disposition of the heart. We should not apprehend that any of you would dispute this assertion, if we should content ourselves with pressing it in a vague and general way; and if we had no design to draw conclusions directly opposite to the notions of many and to the practice of most. But at the close of this discourse, unable to evade the consequences which follow the principle, we are strongly persuaded, you will renew the attack on the principle itself, and deny that to which you have already assented. Hence we ought not to proceed before we are agreed what we ought to believe upon this head. We ask you, brethren, Whether you believe it requisite to love God in order to salvation? We can scarcely think that any of our audience will answer in the negative; at least we should fear to speak with much more confidence on this point, and on the necessity of acquiring instruction in order to con version, than to supersede the obligation of loving God, because it would derogate from the dignity of man, who is obliged to love his benefactor; from the dignity of a Christian, educated under a covenant which denounces anathemas against those who love not the Lord Jesus; from the dignity of a Protestant, who cannot be ignorant how all the divines of our communion have exclaimed against the doctrine of Rome on the subject of penance.

Recollect, therefore, my brethren, that we are agreed upon this point; recollect in the subsequent parts of this discourse, that, in order to conversion, we must have a radical and habitual love to God. This principle being allowed, all that we have to say against the delay of conversion becomes selfestablished. The whole question is reduced to this; if in a dying hour, if at the extremity of life, if in a short and fleeting moment, you can acquire this ha