towards the one, we shall, in so doing, turn away from the other.

But, are there any here present, who, notwithstanding all which has been spoken, are determined within themselves not to make the sacrifice,-not to shun the danger,—not to forsake the evil?—Who are saying, I love these pleasures, and after them I will go? One thing must be evident, even to yourselves; namely, that you are not amongst the number of the "blessed;" that you can have no pretensions whatever to the character of those who shall "stand in the judgment, and be numbered with "the congregation of the righteous ;"—so that, if death were to find you, in your present state, you must "perish" with "the ungodly," and their dreadful last end must be yours. And this end may be very near at hand; it may come soon and suddenly; this very night your soul may be required of you. But, should your life be spared, yet after such a deliberate determination, what can you reasonably expect, but that God should abandon you to your wretched choice? It is a fearful probability that you may be left to ascend the graduated scale of wickedness marked out in the first verse of the text; and " wax worse and worse;" till you shall take your place in the seat of the scornful,—not merely as the hearer of other men's impiety, but as the hardened utterer of your own;-till you shall advance from being a follower of evil counsels,

and a frequenter of evil company, to become an open scoffer at religion; and die with this aggravated guilt upon your heads. May God save you from such a doom! May He give you a better mind! May He incline you and enable you to choose the good part which shall not be taken from you!

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SERMON X.

LUKE, xvi., 15.

"For that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God."

THE description of faithful ministers, given by the Apostle Paul, sets forth in few, but striking words, their duty and their responsibility; "they watch for your souls, as they that must give ac

count."

It is in the discharge of this duty, and under a sense of this responsibility, that I have invited your attention from year to year, to the subject of the sinful nature and dangerous tendency of the Amusements of the Stage.

Fully persuaded as I am, that the Theatre is the source of incalculable mischief; that it is the cause of ruin to thousands both in body and soul; —that the interest excited by these amusements is equally powerful and pernicious;—that their corrupting influence on the morals of society is direct and certain;-that it is an amusement, which is not evil merely by incidental abuse, or by individual perversion, but that it is evil in its

essential character, and in its attendant circumstances;-that it is an amusement from which evil is inseparable, without destroying the whole system;—that if it ceased to be evil, it would cease to exist; it would have no interest for the mass of its present attendants and admirers-it would afford them no pleasure,-it would obtain from them no support;—that it is like the house, in which, after all the attempts to cleanse it, the fretting leprosy still came again, and broke out and spread, and which, therefore, was pronounced hopelessly unclean, and utterly demolished;being thus fully persuaded respecting the Theatre, I could not answer it to my conscience, did I not oppose to this evil my open, avowed, and persevering resistance. And I have followed my deliberate judgment in endeavouring to counteract it, thus publicly, by an annual discourse from the pulpit, as soon as the temptation has presented itself; feeling that, whatever my success may be, I should at least have given you warning, and, so far, be clear of your blood.

On former occasions, I have availed myself of the opportunity of placing this subject in different points of view, and of bringing forward various arguments for the purpose, through the divine blessing, of convincing and persuading your minds.

I am aware, however, that one of the methods by which such arguments are got rid of, and their

force evaded is this:-Such it is said, is the opinion of one class of persons respecting the Amusements of the Stage; but there are others who hold very different sentiments upon this subject; and amongst these are many individuals of universal estimation in society,-of undeniable moral character and conduct,-of acknowledged talent, and of exalted station; who not only frequent, or have frequented the Theatre, but have also defended it as a rational and innocent recreation, and even as a source of useful instruction, and as a school of good morals. Thus, authority on the one side is set against authority on the other. It is found that the voice of the many is in favour of the Theatre;—the weight of numbers turns the scale; and the conscience is silenced, if not satisfied.

Now, it will be my aim, this afternoon, to lay open this fallacy and device of the Devil; and the consideration of the text will, I think, prepare the way for the conviction which I am desirous of leaving upon your consciences; that although the Theatre may be "highly esteemed among men," it is, nevertheless, "abomination in the sight of God."

May God the Holy Ghost open the eyes of your understandings, and give you a right judgment; and may He effectually incline your hearts, and bring you to a right determination!

Our Lord had been declaring the utter impossibility of combining avarice and piety;—the love