of murder. Should you fall in such a conflict, you would fall without hope-Or should you destroy your adversary, you would bring upon your souls, the guilt of despatching him, as a victim to your pride and resentment, with all his sins upon him, into the eternal world. And unless you should suffer the anguish of repentance, proportioned to so enormous a crime; and his blood be washed from your conscience, by that of the great atonement; you must bear it on your soul to the bar of God, where you would meet the revengeful spirit of your adversary to accuse you; and suffer with it the judgment, "of him, to whom vengeance belongeth." Cultivate that true honor which is founded in virtue and religion; and it will put you far above the meanness and cruelty of revenging yourself, at the expence of all that can be dear to your fellow creatures.

Finally consider, that while a malicious and revengeful temper will destroy the peace of your own minds, and render you the most dangerous members of society; it will entirely unfit you for the services of religion, and the enjoyment of God.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing, thou

shalt heap coals of fire on his head." If your kindness should even fail of melting him into good will and love; it will at least justify you to your consciences and to God; and you must leave your adversary to "bear his judgment."

On the whole, as to the government of your temper and passions in general, consider, that in the same degree, as under the direction of reason and conscience, they will greatly conduce to your happiness: while they are moved by the impulse of present objects, without regard to the ends they were intended to answer in your constitution, they will be the occasions of innumerable errors and disquietudes, to your unspeakable misery.

Habits of good nature, moderation and patience, will place every thing around you, in a pleasant and agreeable light, while envy and pride, ambition, anger and malice, or any one of them. or any other untoward and irregular passion, will render you incapable of enjoying the most advantageous condition.

The due government of your temper and passions will not only qualify you to enjoy the comforts that a bounteous providence may afford you, with cheerfulness and delight, but it will enable you to bear the afflictions that may befal you, with evenness and fortitude.

Such an happy state of mind will also dispose you to those offices of good will to others,

which form so great a part of your duties, and from which arise some of the most solid and delicate pleasures, that human nature is capable of enjoying.

Accustom yourselves early to discipline your passions, and as you advance in years, you may expect the labor and pain of doing it will gradually lessen.

go

Remember that in the same degree, as the vernment of your hearts is necessary for your happiness in this world, it is also, for that of the world to come. It is impossible in the nature of things, that such a disorderly and turbulent state of the soul, as renders it unfit for the enjoyment of God here, should be capable of enjoying him hereafter, in that state where complete happiness depends on the unvarying order of all its powers.

Keep always before you, the precepts and example of the son of God, in whose life, you will find the most shining instances of love, patience and moderation. The more you attend to these, and the more you imbibe of those divine principles which influenced his conduct, the more certainly you will succeed in every amiable and virtuous disposition, till love to mankind will be your governing principle, next to that of love and obedience to God.

And to insure you all the comforts and advantages of subduing your passions, I recommend it

to you above all, to commit yourselves to the tuition and conduct of the spirit of God. After all the efforts of your own reason and resolution, this must be your main resource and dependance. "Lean not to your own understanding," you are carefully to employ it, but not to make it your

trust.

"It is God who worketh in us, to will and to do of his own good pleasure." And this, after every experiment you will find to be your only hope. "Keep thy heart, with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted; forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you."

We come now to consider the evils of an ex

cessive attachment to pleasure.

Pleasure is the idol of all ages of life, and all conditions of mankind, and while there is a capacity of enjoying it, no one can be indifferent to its impressions.

But, it is in the season of youth, when health and vigor of body, ease and cheerfulness of mind, and quickness of sensibility, peculiarly qualify for the enjoyment of it, that it is most intensely pursued; and as it is then, that the heart is most under its impression; it is then also, that it is most dan

gerous to its votaries. Before I go farther, it will be proper to mention, that I am not considering pleasure in the largest meaning of the word.Those refined enjoyments which arise from the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge; from taste and sentiment; from friendship and religion, can never be deserving of blame, as they cannot be pursued to excess. I intend those only which arise from the gratification of our animal desires and appetites; and the love of amusement.

are

The principal evils of pleasure, in this view,

1. It impairs the animal powers and capacities. These are fitted by the constitution of God, for a certain degree of exertion, or excitement; and it is only within this degree, that they can either yield their proper satisfactions, or be preserved in their natural strength.

However firm and vigorous the constitution, excessive gratification of the appetites, especially when habitual, will, by degrees, impair and destroy the system.

It occasions weakness, obstructions, pain and disease, which, if they do not immediately terminate in death, will certainly incapacitate the body, for its proper enjoyments and services.

It is thus, that multitudes of young men fitted by their constitutions, for a course of vigorous action, for toil, hardship and enterprize, are early