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humiliations, and hardships of the past, but it will remind them also, and I trust make them unfeignedly thankful for the happy change which they have since experienced. All the praises which we owe to God for these blessings, His creatures, were they to unite as one man in the attempt, could never render. If we extol the charity which relieves one object, how can we sufficiently praise Him, who "openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing? If we praise the benefactor who merely shows kindness to his friends, what admiration is due to him who feeds his enemies and "makes his sun to shine upon the evil and upon the good?" If we applaud the benevolence which visits prisons, and improves the condition of the insane, how can we sufficiently applaud him who liberates and restores those who are enslaved and maddened by sin? If no praises are thought too great for the patriot who sacrifices his possessions for his country's good, what praises does He deserve who "gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Our present thanksgivings, however, are not only offered for our individual, but national mercies. "The good that men do" is not always "buried with their bones," for the custom which we now see generally established of a public thanksgiving to Almighty God, originated with those who have long since been numbered with the dead. It will be 232 years ago on the 11th day of next month, since the first demonstration of this nature was made; by men too in an unexplored wilderness, in the midst of savages and thankful if they could obtain sufficient food to support their lives. How strange that such a practice should first take root and flourish amid the adversities and hardships of emigrant life, and that not until the lapse of two centuries when the golden harvests of autumn wave over the thousand hills and valleys of the land should the noble example of the Puritans be imitated, and anything like a national acknowledgment of the goodness of God be offered. What nation is more indebted than this to God's bounty? Look at its rapid progress which makes the whole world stretch out its hands in wonder! See the extent of its commerce, the success of its manufactures, the amount of its revenues, the numbers, enterprise and intelligence of its people! Look at its fruitful fields, and the rich profusion of treasures with which it abounds! Its hills are studded with flocks, its rivers are freighted with gold, and its valleys are standing thick with corn. Contrast this with the spectacle which comparatively a few years ago it presented, when but a sparse and widely scattered population covered the land; when the forests of the West were still unentered and its prairies untrodden, when the deer roamed where cities stand and Indians ambushed where cattle graze. Contrast all this with the condition of other countries, where the streets are crowded with the ragged and the poor,

and the towns soiled with filth and wretchedness; where the avenues to distinction are closed to the indigent, and where honest poverty is esteemed a crime; where armies are marshalling for the battle, and where the cormorants of war plume their wings. Peace is ours with all its attendant blessings.

And "what shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits?" Oh, never, never can we adequately repay His mercies; but be it ours to render unto Him the undivided affection of our hearts and the unqualified obedience of our lives-be it ours, by doing good to others, to show our appreciation of His mercies to ourselves. If as a country or as individuals we would render in any degree according to the benefits we have received from God, we must honor His laws, reverence His word, and practice His precepts. Upon this depend both the welfare of the man and the endurance of the republic. Under such auspices anarchy and misrule shall never subvert our institutions, but preserved by the restorative and antiseptic powers of religion, they shall last whilst the sun and moon endure, for it is written that "Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people."

SERMON DCLXII.

BY REV. EMERSON DAVIS, D. D.

WESTFIELD, MASS.

GOD STIRS UP HIS PEOPLE.

"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him."-DEUT. xxxii. 11, 12.

IMPORTANT truths are often very pleasantly and forcibly illus trated by familiar facts in natural history. The righteous are said to be bold as a lion, to grow like the cedar, and to flourish like the lily. Like the bee they gather in summer, and like the ant lay up food in the time of harvest. The wicked are compared to the heath in the desert, to the deaf adder that stoppeth his ear, to the bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, and to the corn that springs up in the thin soil overlaying the surface of the rock.

The eagle being a large and powerful bird, attracts the atten tion of men in every country where it is found, and is often referred to by inspired as well as uninspired writers to illustrate important truths. This bird lives to the age of forty or fifty, and sometimes even to a hundred years. It sheds its feathers in the beginning of the spring, after which it is supposed to renew its

strength, and even when old, it annually puts on the appearance of a young eagle. David alludes to this to illustrate the effect of God's mercy to those who love him: "He satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." This bird was supposed to fly higher than any other; it dwells on high mountains and in solitary places; hence Job says: "The eagle soars and maketh his nest on high; the rock is the place of his habitation, he dwells on the crag, the place of strength." Isaiah speaks of the soul, renovated and refreshed by divine influence, as renewing its strength, and mounting up with wings as eagles. The protection which God extended to the Israelites, when he delivered them from the power of Pharaoh, is illustrated by what the eagle does for its young, when it takes them upon its back, and removes them beyond the reach of enemies. "Ye have seen," says Jehovah, "what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you, as on eagles wings, and brought you to myself." The fact that God teaches his people by his providence, breaks up their old habits, and puts them upon a new course, is illustrated by an allusion to another habit of the eagle. In order to teach her young to fly, she stirs up the nest, makes it uncomfortable, crowds one out upon the branch, flutters around it, as if to show it how to use its wings, sometimes takes it upon her back, and flying a short distance, darts from under it, and obliges it to try its own wings. She keeps near it, however, and if it begins to falter, takes it again upon her wings, and bears it to a place of rest. So, it is said, the Lord dealeth with his people.

The truth illustrated is this-God will have his people act agreeably to the promptings of the spirit of true piety. The eagle was made to fly, to go abroad at a proper age to procure the means of its own support, and not permitted to live and die in its nest. God renews the hearts of his people, infuses into them a spirit of true piety, the natural prompting of which is to act in obedience to God's requirements. The new born soul is fitted to serve God, and, by so doing to grow in grace, and to become more assimilated to perfect purity. But still, through the influence of old habits of sin, and of things seen and temporal, Christians often settle down in a state of spiritual indolence. They become conformed to the world, live like the men of the world, and are at ease in Zion. The Lord stirs them up, makes their condition uncomfortable, puts them upon doing what he requires, and obliges them to exercise the graces of the Christian. In pursuing this subject I remark

I. It is God's purpose that his people shall obey him, that they shall act out the spirit of piety that exists in their hearts, and that they shall make it manifest that they have a spirit which is not of this world. Among those who profess to be Christians,

there are doubtless many who are Christians only in name. He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither are all real Israelites who are so called. Christian charity does not require us to believe that every one is a true disciple of Christ who professes to be. We are to regard those only as heirs of eternal life who bring forth the fruits of righteousness.

There are also many who bear the Christian name that run well for a season. They are sometimes hot and sometimes cold; they bear a little fruit, and then stop yielding it so long that we despair of ever seeing more; they are so irregular and inconstant that we cannot avoid entertaining some fears respecting them. If we see them when the fruit is on, we have no doubt of the reality of their piety; but if we should meet them for the first time, when barren and fruitless, we should not suppose them to be Christians; we might be surprised to learn that they have a place in the visible church. There may be nothing immoral in their external conduct, but the spirit of worldliness is so prevalent in their conversation and conduct, that we judge them to be persons who are still in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.

There are others who are more consistent, steadfast, and uniform. They bear some fruit every month-their light shines more constantly though not always equally bright; their faces are heavenward, and they are reaching forth to things before; they sometimes slip or stumble, but soon recover, and walk more circumspectly.

In every church there may be found the three classes above described; but I am sorry to say the number of the last appears to be much the smallest. There is no church as a whole, nor none the majority of which approaches very near to what God would have them. He has a work for each to perform, the doing of which is needful to develop and strengthen their Christian graces. It is His will they should do this work for their personal benefit, as well as for the general advancement of piety in the world. He would have those who bear the Christian name, and remain at ease like the young eagle in its nest, "soar to reach eternal joys;" he would have those who, like fire-flies, emit a flash of light and are then in the dark, shine with a constant and increasing light; those who are most consistent he would have on their guard, lest, by their stumbling, they should bring a reproach on Christianity. Though we find different classes of professing Christians in each branch of the church on earth, we shall not find this diversity in the general assembly and church of the first born in heaven. There they are and ever will be emphatically all one in Christ Jesus. They have one and the same spirit, see eye to eye, and while in the world could say—

"Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

Our comforts and our cares."

God does not require a few to be holy and devoted to his service, and permit others to be conformed to the world. He does not impose upon one the duty of following the Lord fully, and allow others to follow Him afar off. It is His will that every disciple of the Saviour should be even better than I have represented them to be. He calls upon every one to be steadfast, immovable, and to abound in the work of the Lord. He would have you, my hearers, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, that "ye be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation;" that you "set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth;" that you lay aside every weight, and the sin that easily besets you; that you have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; that you provide things honest in the sight of all men; that you be kindly affectioned one toward another, ready to confess your own faults, and to forgive those that trespass against you; and that you practice self-denial, count all things but loss to win Christ, and do good to all men as you have opportunity. These things are required of all who profess to be the disciples of Christ, whether young or old, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, or have many wordly cares or few. Every one who would hear the Judge say, "Well done good and faithful servant," must be a good and faithful servant while he lives. It is not enough to have a name to live while you are dead, nor to run well occasionally, and for a short time: you must endure unto the end.

Such is the will of Him, my Christian friends, who has called you, as you trust, out of darkness into marvellous light. But you are remiss in duty; even the better class of Christians do many things which they ought not, and omit to do many things positively required.

I remark

II. That God often stirs up his people even as an eagle stirreth up her nest, and fluttereth over her young. He brings influences to bear upon them, which result in making them more faithful and diligent in his service. He will not suffer those who have been renewed by his spirit, and in whose hearts love to him has been shed abroad, to settle down in a state of long-continued sloth. He will bring influences to bear upon them, that will as surely call into exercise the principle of spiritual life in the soul, as the approach of a magnet will produce motion among the filings of iron. If a professed disciple of Christ remains unmoved by these influences, it affords presumptive evidence that the principle of piety does not exist in the heart. If the young eagle, when the nest is stirred up, remains inactive; if, when pushed out upon the limb of the tree, it does not cling to it; if, when taken upon the parent's back, it rolls off; or if, when thrown from the nest, it does not spread its wings, it is a sign that it is dead. In like

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