. Lectures to young people:. to confess Christ before men,have grown neglectful of duty, and have lost at once theevidences and the comforts of a good hope. But a pro-fession is not only important as a means of preventingdecline, but of promoting the growth of gracious prin-ciples and affections. It secures, on a larger scale, theprivilege of christian intercourse—of being counselled,admonished, and strengthened, by fellow-heirs of thegrace of life ;—and especially it secures the privilege ofjoining in the commemoration of the Redeemers death,wrhich is fitted, above almost any thing else, to r
. Lectures to young people:. to confess Christ before men,have grown neglectful of duty, and have lost at once theevidences and the comforts of a good hope. But a pro-fession is not only important as a means of preventingdecline, but of promoting the growth of gracious prin-ciples and affections. It secures, on a larger scale, theprivilege of christian intercourse—of being counselled,admonished, and strengthened, by fellow-heirs of thegrace of life ;—and especially it secures the privilege ofjoining in the commemoration of the Redeemers death,wrhich is fitted, above almost any thing else, to revivethe graces, to establish the hopes, and to advance thecomfort of the christian. Indeed, a profession of reli-gion naturally brings the christian out of the atmosphereof the world, into the atmosphere of piety ; it furnisheshim, in many respects, with new facilities for doing hisduty ; and he who is sluggish and unfruitful in such cir-cumstances, has indeed good reason to believe that hisprofession is an empty 192 4. I observe, once more, that a profession of religionis important as a matter of obedience to the command ofChrist. The passages in which this duty is either di-rectly enjoined, or clearly implied, are very those passages in which christians are exhorted tocome out from the world—not to be conformed to theworld—to let their light shine before men, &c, are di-rectly to this point: and the Saviour himself has declaredin the most solemn manner—u Whosoever is ashamedof me and of my words—of him will the Son of manbe ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Fatherwith the holy angels. And again, in the institution ofthe supper, he says, This do in remembrance of me;and this institution, as we are elsewhere informed, wasdesigned to be perpetuated till his second coming: ofcourse, the obligation to celebrate it is binding upon allhis disciples, in all ages. You see then, my youngfriends, that it is not a matter of choice with you,wheth
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