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In vain the sons of wealth and pride,
Despise your lot, your hopes deride;
In vain, they boast their little stores,
Trifles are THEIRS, a kingdom YOURS.
A kingdom of immense delight,
Where health and peace, and joy unite,
Where undeclining pleasures rise,
And every wish hath full supplies.
Jesus, to thee, I breathe my prayer,
Reveal, confirm, my interest there,
Whate'er my humble lot below,
This, this, my soul desires to know."

CHAPTER XVI.

To the Young.

1

SCRIPTURE PORTION.

Ir is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him, Lam. iii. 27, 28. And at that time Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick. And Jeroboam said unto his wife, Arise I pray thee, and get thee to Shiloh, behold there is Ahijah the prophet, he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in thou wife of

Jeroboam, for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat; for the Lord hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, and get thee to thine own house, and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam, 1 Kings xiv. 11–13. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine heart observe my ways, Prov. xxiii. 26. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father thou art the guide of my youth, Jer. iii. 4. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him, &c. 1 Kings xvii. 24. And when the child (of the Shunamite) was grown, it fell on a day that he went out to his father to the reapers; and he said unto his father, My head, my head, and he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother; and when he had taken and brought him to his mother he sat on her knees till noon, and then died, &c, 2 Kings iv. 18-20. See also Job. xxxvi. 14. Prov. viii. 17. Eccl. xi. 9, 10. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. Prov. xii. 1. Isa. xl. 11. Jer. xv. 9. Mat. xix. 16-22.

ADDRESS.

The season of youth is considered the most delightful of any through which a human being can pass. It seems made up of all that is lively and flattering. The heart is warm. with affection. The hopes are bright with regard to the future. The imagination paints the future scenes of life in glowing colours. Years of pleasure are anticipated, and the soul pants to enjoy the happiness which seems stretched in prospect before the youthful eye. But alas! though the present seems smiling, and the future animating, yet many disappointments are experienced. The prospect so fair may soon be obscured, the flower which expands so delightfully may unexpectedly be blighted. The morning is cheerful without clouds, but the sun may go down while it is yet day. The rosy cheek of health is changed into the pale hue of sickness. The vigour of the frame is reduced to helplessness. The hope of the future is damped by the chilly hand of disease. Man cometh forth in the morning fair and beautiful, he is cut down in the evening, and his beauty consumes away like the moth.

It is indeed sad, thus early to see the effects of sin upon the body. It is humiliating to see ere a few years are passed, the inroads of sickness wasting the bodily strength. Oh! what disappointment has been felt by the youthful invalid and the devoted parent, who

were alike calculating upon years of existence here. Probably plans had been_formed respecting a situation in the world. Preparations had been made of an advantageous nature; but alas! the fondest hopes are blighted, the fairest plans are crossed, an enemy has unexpectedly destroyed all; and the youth, who bid fair very soon to realize his own wishes, and the hopes of his parents and friends, is laid upon the couch of sickness or the bed of death.

This is your case. You are called to bear the yoke of affliction in your youth; and permit one who sympathizes with you in this early scene of adversity, to suggest some things to you, which, though they may not relieve the complaint of your body, may benefit your immortal part, and yield you support and happiness under your present afflictions.

Perhaps you may be disposed at times to think it strange, that the Almighty should so early put the yoke upon you; but it is neither strange, unjust, or unkind. It is far from being UNUSUAL. Your case is not a solitary one; a very large portion of mankind sicken and die before they reach maturity; it was so in former days. Job, who lived hundreds of years ago, says, "Man is of few days and full of trouble, he cometh forth as a flower and is cut down. And the Psalmist says, "In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth." is it UNJUST. God is not wrong in afflicting

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you; for young as you are, you have many times sinned against him. You have been an early sinner, and you are an early sufferer. The Lord in no case deals with his creatures, young or old, according to their sins, or they would be destroyed in a moment. This should reconcile you to your present affliction. Nor is he UNKIND. No; perhaps he intends this trial for your best interests. It is good, though not pleasant, thus to bear the yoke: you cannot tell to what lengths of sin your youthful passions might have urged you.

You

cannot tell to what temptations you might have been exposed had you gone into the world. You do not know what evils you might have suffered, nor what evils you might have brought upon those who are interested in your welfare. Early afflictions are often designed to prevent great evils.

You

Previous to this trouble, perhaps, like too many of the young, you were thoughtless about your soul. Your inquiry was, "Who will show me any good, any worldly pleasure?" The follies and gaieties of this present life occupied your attention and affection. felt happy only when you were with your companions, indulging in levity, if not sin; or, if under parental restraint or moral checks, personal religion was no object of your anxiety or pursuit. If you attended to the Sabbath and went to a place of worship, it was because your parents or friends urged you, not because you loved the ways of God; and you could

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