SERMON XII.

ON EVIL COMMUNICATION.

1 CORINTHIANS XV. 33.

"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.".

THERE is no prospect more painful to a thoughtful mind, than that of the first commencement of vice or folly in the human character. It is pleas. ing to us to look upon the openings of human nature; amid the years of infancy, to see the grad. ual expansion of the youthful mind in benevolence and knowledge; and to anticipate that future state of maturity, when all these promises shall be accomplished, and the character terminate in virtue and in usefulness. How painful, on the contrary, is it, (even to the unconnected spectators,) to see all these hopes disappointed,-to see the spring of life untimely blasted by some malignant power which withers all the blossoms of virtue, and closes all the expectations we had formed of their opening being! Even of the feeblest characters we still lament to see the degradation. If we had

formed no hopes of their fame, we at least entertained hopes of their goodness;-if they had not been distinguished, we think, they might yet have been innocent. In the obscurity of private virtue, they might have "led the life of the righteous," full of peace and hope, and "their latter end" might at last "have been like his."

On this subject, I shall at present submit to you some reflections. It is a subject at all times important to the young, and even to us, my brethren, of more advanced years, there are considerations that render it interesting, and shew us how important is the share which we have in forming the character and the happiness of those that are to succeed us. There is something also in the time, not unsuited to your reflections. We have all been engaged in the most important solemnity of our religion; and many of the young among us have visited the table of their Lord, and taken upon themselves the vows of the gospel, and entered into that communion, which I trust is to be to them all the gate of Heaven. At such a time, it is wise in us all to "gall our ways to remem"brance,"-in the young to remember the journey upon which they are going,-in the elder to remember the example they are affording.

1. In almost every case the young begin well. They come out of the hand of nature pure and uncorrupted; disposed to kindness, to generosity, and to gratitude; ardent in the acquisition of

knowledge, and anxious to deserve the love and the esteem of those who are about them. Such is the character of humanity in its earlier years, until the age of pleasure and of passion arrives.

At that eventful age, a new set of opinions and emotions begin to arise in their minds;—the wish for distinction expands ;-desires of pleasure awaken ;-temptations surround them on every side, while experience has not yet acquired the power of resistance, and thus the road opens upon them which leads to folly or to vice. For all this, however, the wisdom of Him who made them hath bountifully prepared, by the timidity and modesty which he hath added to the character of youth. While they are thus tempted to enjoyment, they are, at the same time, beyond any other period of life, fearful of doing wrong; they are fearful of entering upon scenes where their consciousness of ignorance tells them they are as yet unfit to appear; they are fearful of losing the esteem and love of their early friends; and still more, if they have been virtuously brought up, they are fearful of losing the favour of God, and his protection upon their future years. By these wise and simple means, the Almighty hath provided for the weakness of the young; and, even in the hours of ignorance, hath given them a guardian in their own breasts, superiour to all the wisdom of man, to save them from the dangers of passion and inexperience.

If, accordingly, the young were left only to nature and themselves, it is reasonable to think that they might pass this important period of life without danger; and that whatever might be the strength of their passions, diffidence and conscience would be sufficient to command them. But unhappily for them, and unhappily for the world, it is at this time, that "evil communications" begin to assail them; that they are deceived by the promises of vice and folly; and that all the purity of early life is sometimes sacrificed, even at their entry upon this important world.

It is not my purpose at present, my brethren, to state the progressive steps of this melancholy history;-to show how the love of pleasure undermines the energy and dignity of the human mind;-how the society and companionship of evil gradually breaks down all the fine delicacy and timidity of youth;-and how habits of evil gradually assume a power superiour to conscience, and wind around the soul those chains of guilt which no common incident can afterwards dissolve. A voice more powerful than that of this place, the voice of experience, speaks to the young of truths like these ;-it tells them of many examples of those who began life with every favourable prospect, and who have closed it in early years, under every circumstance of misery and disgrace; it tells them, that all this, the most disastrous spectacle upon which their eyes

can open, has been the fruit of "evil communica❝tion ;" and it warns them "to keep their own "hearts with all diligence, for out of them must "also be the issues of their future lives."

If such instances can awaken them to thought and meditation, there are some reflections which it is wise in them, at this time, to cherish. It is wise in them, in the first place, to remember the importance of that feeling of delicacy and fearfulness of doing wrong, which is the most amiable characteristick of their age. Let not the ridicule or rudeness of the world prevail upon them to abandon this first friend of their youth. It is not the language of men,-it is none other than the voice of God,-the voice of Him who made them for happiness and immortality; and who, in these early hours, speaks to them by a secret instinct, to warn them of all that is fatal or disgraceful to their nature; and, would they attend to it, would they make it the simple standard by which to determine their conduct, the most eventful years of life would pass in security and innocence, and maturity open upon them with every promise of virtue and honour.

2. It is wise in them, in the second place, to reflect for what it is that they were born, and in what consists the real happiness of mortal life, Youth, as well as age, has its seasons of meditation, and it is ever with a thoughtful and anxious eye that they look down upon the great scene upon which they are about to enter. That scene has