avail, without bold, zealous, persevering exertions? No person is properly prepared to be a member, and much less to be a missionary, of this society, who has not a heart to spend and be spent in the arduous undertaking, and to meet all the evils and embarrassments which may eventually attend it. A cold heart, a timid mind, a feeble hand, is by no means fit to be employed in a work which calls for the warmest zeal, and the most vigorous exertions.

But since the friends of God have such good ground for unshaken resolution in promoting the cause of religion, we may justly infer, in the last place, that it is not yet too late to attempt the propagation of the gospel through this extensive country. Though we have lost much time, and neglected many favorable opportunities for such an undertaking; though an awful stupor has seized the minds of many of the professed friends of God; though the enemies of religion have, within a very few years, greatly increased in numbers and strength; though they have set every engine in motion, to spread error, Deism, and even Atheism, through every corner of our land; though, I say, all these obstacles stare us in the face, and must be overcome, in order to propagate the gospel among those who are perishing for the want of it, yet it may not be too late to effect the difficult and important design. Good men, as well as bad, are able to do almost any thing which they think they are able to do. Difficulties vanish before resolution. There never was so great a declension of religion in Judah, but that a reformation was always effected, when good men had only zeal and resolution enough to attempt it. If the few friends of God in this country, therefore, were only awake, united, and possessed of proper zeal and fortitude, they might, under the divine direction and influence, put a check upon the progress of vice and infidelity, and extend the limits of the Redeemer's kingdom where Satan is now reigning without control, and leading multitudes of poor, deluded creatures to eternal destruction. Christianity is a cause which is destined to prevail; and which is destined to prevail, by the blessing of God on human exertions.

This we, my brethren, have in practice professed to believe, by uniting for the purpose of sending the gospel to those who are perishing for the lack of vision. "Let us be strong, therefore, and let not our hands be weak;" for we have all the encouragement desirable, to pursue with vigor and fortitude the work which we have seriously and deliberately undertaken. Though we and others have too long neglected it, and, by our neglect, given rise to great and formidable difficulties, yet these mountains shall become plains, before a pious, bold, missionary spirit. It has been God's usual method, to arise and plead his

own cause, at those very times when it appeared to be on the very point of extinction. It was when Jeroboam the son of Nebat had made. Israel to sin, and well nigh corrupted the whole church, that God raised up Asa and others, to rekindle the dying, glimmering flame of religion. It was when the two tribes and a half were pining away in their iniquities, and resembled the valley of dry bones, in Babylon, that God awakened the zeal and blessed the exertions of his friends, to bring about their conversion and deliverance. It was when the Man of sin had defaced and nearly destroyed the Christian religion, that God raised up a constellation of bold and zealous men, to espouse and spread his sinking cause. Hence the late extraordinary efforts in Europe and America to "crush the wretch," or, to use a more decent expression, to extinguish Christianity, afford a strong ground of faith, that the time, yea, the set time to favor Zion, is come. For it has been God's uniform conduct, when the enemy came in like a flood upon his people, to set up a standard against him. And we are happy to say that God has already begun to set up his standard in various parts of the Christian world; and his friends are now rallying around it, with uncommon zeal and resolution, to defend and promote the interests of his kingdom. An unusual missionary spirit has spread through England, Scotland, Ireland, many parts of Germany, and a number of the United States. This ought to animate us, as it animated the directors of the Missionary Society in London. In one of their communications to the society, they say, "From Germany, and a vast body of associated ministers in Lusatia, assembled from all parts of Christendom, we have received the most fraternal good wishes for the accomplishment of our designs, and their great satisfaction in our enterprise, which has warmed and stimulated them to fresh exertions; while they cry day and night to God, for our success, from the Carpathian mountains to the snows of Norway." They add, "America, stirred up by your example, has caught the holy flame. So that the Lord Jesus, the great Head of the church, seems to be awakening a similar spirit throughout all places of his dominion." There is yet another promising prospect before us. In the last and present year, there has been a more extensive and extraordinary effusion of the divine influence in many parts of our land, than has been known in the course of almost sixty years. God is now visibly arising to plead his own cause; and shall we not, when we hear the sound of his goings, bestir ourselves to promote the prosperity of Zion? Under all these favorable circumstances, if we are not wanting in our zeal, resolution and exertions, we have

nothing to fear in the pursuit of our great and interesting object.

What if our number be small? A small number firmly united in sentiment and zeal, may do wonders in promoting the cause of Christ. This has been demonstrated by those, who first carried the gospel to three quarters of the world. What if our first and feeble efforts should meet with little or no success? This, instead of throwing us into despondency, should serve to rouse us to more zealous and vigorous exertions, in such a difficult and important undertaking. What if our pecuniary resources are few, and unprotected by legal authority? There is no ground of discouragement on this account, provided we are only faithful and successful in the discharge of our duty. It is only for God to bestow his grace upon our churches, as he did upon the churches of Macedonia, and our churches will to their power, yea, beyond their power, abound in the riches of their liberality, and even pray us to receive their gifts, and take upon us the care of ministering to the relief of those who are famishing for the bread of life. What if the missionary field be wide? This presents an animating motive, rather than a discouraging obstacle. The prospect of the salvation of millions should awaken our desires and endeavors to civilize those who are not civilized, and evangelize those who are not evangelized, through this widely extended continent. The United States are abundantly able, in respect to numbers and wealth, to spread the gospel through all North and South America. And we were, there is reason to believe, raised up and formed into a civil and religious community, to perform this service for God, in grateful return for his distinguishing and protecting mercy.

But where, some may ask, shall we find men of a truly missionary spirit, who will freely sacrifice their ease, their interest, their health, and even their lives, to carry the gospel to the poor in our new settlements, and to the savages in the wilderness? This, we acknowledge, is the greatest apparent difficulty to be expected and to be surmounted, in the business before us. But this we may safely refer to God. It is his to provide instruments to do his own work. But if the harvest be plenteous, and the laborers few, it is ours to pray the Lord of the harvest, to send forth laborers into his harvest. And may we not cheerfully confide in him, who hath formed so many missionary societies in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, to raise up a sufficient number of pious, zealous, bold missionaries, to carry their pious and important design into effect? But let us turn from the dark to the bright side of the work, in which we have publicly engaged. What if the set time to

favor Zion should be at hand? What if there should be a general effusion of the Divine Spirit upon all our religious societies? What if the attention of both ministers and people every where, should be awakened to the object we are pursuing, and they should, like the men of Israel, fall in to our assistance in abundance? What if the numerous inhabitants in the new settlements should generally be formed into large and flourishing churches? What if the poor heathens should have an opportunity and a heart to embrace the gospel? In a word, what if this whole continent should be both civilized and gospelized, through the instrumentality of this and other missionary societies? Who would not have reason to rejoice? And who would have more reason to rejoice, than those who were the most sincere, active, bold and zealous in bringing about such happy events? These are not imaginary prospects. If God intends to make us a happy, he will make us a holy people; and if he intends to make us a holy people, he will employ the proper means to effect his purpose. Let us then, my brethren, take courage; let our hearts and hands be strong; for there are certainly prospects within our view, which, whether realized, either before or after we are laid in the dust, will abundantly reward us for all that we can do, to build up the kingdom of our Divine Redeemer.

SERMON XIII.

UNITY OF SENTIMENT.

PREACHED BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS, IN BOSTON, MAY 31, 1804.

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind

and in the same judgment. - -1 CORINTHIANS, i. 10.

UNITY of sentiment has a happy tendency to promote and preserve that mutual affection, which ought to reign in the hearts of all the followers of Christ. There is nothing which can disturb the peace, or alienate the affections of any society of christians, while they really believe and openly profess the same religious sentiments. The church at Corinth, which Paul planted, abounded in brotherly love, so long as they mutually agreed in believing and professing the peculiar doctrines of the gospel. But when a disagreement in their religious opinions appeared, it destroyed their mutual attachment, and involved them in bitter animosities and contentions. apostle, perceiving the primary cause of these deplorable evils, laid the axe at the root of the tree, and entreated them to unite in sentiment, as the only proper and effectual way to recover their former peace and tranquillity. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you." By this he did not mean to inculcate insincerity, or urge them to speak the same thing, while they did not believe the same thing; and therefore he immediately adds, "but

The