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7. A PORTRAITURE ul MODERN SCEP- 
 TICISM ; or, a Caveat against Infidelity : in- 
 cluding a brief statement of tiie Evidences of 
 Revealed Tiutli, and a Defence of ilie Canon 
 and of Inspiration. Pimo,, 4*. 
 
 8. SUGGESTIONS SUITED to the TIMES ; 
 or, the Spirit in whicli Religious and Political 
 Controversy ought to be maintained, (id. 
 
COUNSELS 
 
 TO THE YOUNG. 
 
 BY JOHN MORISON, D.D. 
 
 Author of "Counsels to a Newly- Wedded Pair, 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 F. WESTLRY AND A. H. DAVIS, 
 
 9tationers'-Hall Court. 
 
 MDCCCXXXII. 
 
 ■<^ 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The rapidity with wliicli tlie First 
 Edition of these Counsels has been 
 exhausted proves to the Author that 
 such a work was needed ; and the 
 testimony which he has received, from 
 a variety of quarters, of its usefuhiess, 
 does not allow him to doubt as to the 
 propriety of committing it a second 
 time to the press. 
 
 Hans Place, 
 
 December 1, 1832. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Introduction 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Counsel the Young are to hear, and the 
 
 Instruction they are to receive - - 12 
 
 The great Business of Youth - - - 14 
 
 The Dangers Youth is exposed to - - 'i'} 
 
 From the Passions - - - - 25 
 
 From tlie Connexions they may form - 35 
 
 From Books -12 
 
 From Amusements . . - - - -15 
 
 From the Character of the Age - - - 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The great Benefit ^^hich will accrue to the 
 Young from he.iring Counsel, and receiv- 
 ing Instruction 77 
 
 In Oil! Age --.--- ib. 
 
 At Death ------- 80 
 
 At the Day of Judgment - - - - 82 
 
vni CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Pa^'c 
 Suggestions to those of the Young who have 
 been made obedient to tlie Counsels of 
 Divine Wisdom ----- 89 
 
 Humility ------- ib. 
 
 Watchfulness ------ 03 
 
 Habits of Devotion - - - - - S7 
 
 The Duty of Religious Activity - - - lO.'i 
 
INTRODUCTrON. 
 
 " Hear counsel, and receive instruc- 
 tion, that thou mayest he wise in the 
 latter endy — Proverbs xix. 20. 
 
 There are two great evils whi^h 
 beset the path of the young : on the 
 one hand, they are fearfully exposed 
 to the machinations of misguided or 
 perverse counsellors ; and, on the other, 
 they are ever prone to lean to their 
 own understandings, and to reject 
 that divine counsel by which their 
 eternal welfore might be secured. If 
 
10 COUNSELS 
 
 I could summon before you tlie vast 
 multitudes of the young wLo have 
 been destroyed by evil counsel, and 
 the yet greater number who have been 
 eternally ruined by rejecting the coun- 
 sel of God against themselves, what 
 a heart-rending spectacle would you 
 behold ! 
 
 When the young can be brought to 
 feel that they need counsel, and when, 
 moreover, they can be induced to look 
 out for right counsel, we may console 
 ourselves with the thought that they 
 are in that position of mind which 
 will secure to them unspeakable ad- 
 vantages for time and eternity. It is 
 a mournful thing when self-sufBciency 
 obtains a place in the youthful bosom ; 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 11 
 
 more especially, when that self-suffi- 
 ciency evinces itself chiefly in refer- 
 ence to the high interests of religion 
 and eternity. Then, indeed, there is 
 hut little hope that the best advice 
 will take effect, or that the most 
 friendly counsels will he regarded. 
 
 But I must be permitted to remind 
 the young that there is a period fast 
 approaching, when to be found in pos- 
 session of true wisdom will be of infi- 
 nite moment. That period is denomi- 
 nated by Solomon, " the latter end ;" 
 and if to that consummation the young 
 are to look forward with hope, they 
 must see to it that the spring-time of 
 their being is neither spent in idle- 
 ness, nor wasted in frivolous pursuits. 
 
12 COUNSELS 
 
 I beseech the young-, then, to hear 
 counsel, and to receive instruction, 
 that they may be wise in the Latter 
 end. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I BEGIN, THEN, WITH THE COUNSEL 
 THEY ARE TO HEAR, AND THE IN- 
 STRUCTION THEY ARE TO RECEIVE. 
 
 This, my dear young friends, is a 
 wide, but important, fiekl. I pray 
 that it may be wisely and usefully 
 occupied by him who now undertakes 
 to counsel you ! Let me entreat you 
 to regard the present as a golden op- 
 portunity, which, if once neglected, 
 may never return. Perhaps God is 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 13 
 
 HOW about to reason with my young 
 reader for the last time. If you obey 
 his voice it is well ; but if you turn a 
 deaf ear, then his Spirit may no longer 
 strive with you for ever. I would that 
 the occasion of reading this little vo- 
 lume might be signalized by the con- 
 version of some one who has yet the 
 dew of youth. What a blessed me- 
 morial were this of such an event ! 
 How would the retrospect of future 
 life be enhanced by such a momentous 
 transition ! And why should not such 
 an occurrence take place ? It cannot 
 be that the God of love and mercy 
 forbids it ; for " he willeth not the 
 death of the sinner :" and if he for- 
 bids it not, what can interpose between 
 
14 COUNSELS 
 
 you and the happy event, if it be not 
 your own folly or Satan's devices? 
 " The Spirit and the bride say, Come. 
 And let him that heareth say, Come. 
 And let him that is athirst, Come. 
 And whosoever will, let him tate of 
 the water of life freely."* To every 
 young and tender heart now lifted up 
 to God in prayer his language is,— "In 
 an acceptable time have I heard thee, 
 and in a day of salvation have I helped 
 thee."t 
 
 Hear counsel, then, and receive in- 
 sti'uction, 
 
 1. As to the great business of youth. 
 
 If " the fear of the Lord be the be- 
 ginning of wisdom,"! i^ i^ manifest 
 
 * Rev. xxii. 17. t Isaiah xlix. S. 
 ; Psalms cxi. 10. 
 
TO THE YOL)N(;. 15 
 
 that life's earliest dawn ought to be 
 occupied with the unrivalled theme. 
 It was not, surely, that you might eat 
 and drink, and sleep and wake, and 
 run the round of this world's folly, 
 that God gave you a superiority to the 
 beasts that perish. If you have been 
 endowed with reason, and constituted 
 accountable beings, it is, beyond doubt, 
 your duty to seek after the knowledge 
 of God. Compared with this know- 
 ledge, all other objects are worthless 
 and vain. This is "the one thing 
 needful." — " Wisdom is the principal 
 thing ; therefore get wisdom : and 
 with all thy getting, get understand- 
 ing."* ■ 
 
 * Prov. iv. 5. 
 
16 COUNSELS 
 
 Salvation, then, is the paramount 
 business of youth. The first tiling to 
 be sought by you is " the kingdom of 
 God, and his righteousness."* Till 
 this is done, nothing is done to pur- 
 pose. You are a candidate for im- 
 mortality; but if salvation is neg- 
 lected, it had been better for you that 
 you had never been born. You have 
 been bom in sin, and if you are not 
 born again you can never enter into 
 the kingdom of heaven ; you have 
 been guilty of innumerable offences 
 against God, and if you are not for- 
 given, for Christ's sake, you must pe- 
 rish in your sins ; you have been liv- 
 ing in neglect of God, of tlie soul, and 
 
 * Matt. vi. 33. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 17 
 
 of eternity ; and if you are not roused 
 to tlioughtfulness and prayer, by tlie 
 grace of God, your bands will be made 
 strong-, and the chain of your sin will 
 be coiled for ever around your guilty 
 spirit. 
 
 Oh! suffer me, then, to introduce 
 you to the notice of Him, who says, 
 " I counsel thee to buy of me gold 
 tried in the fire, that thou mayest be 
 rich ; and white raiment that thou 
 mayest be clothed, and that the shame 
 of thy nakedness do not appear !"* 
 
 It is Jesus of Nazareth who thus 
 addresses you. He has won the right 
 to your confidence, by giving his life 
 a ransom for your sins. He claims 
 
 * Rev. iii. 18, 
 
18 COUNSELS 
 
 your notice tliat lie may enrich and 
 bless you for ever. He promises you 
 freedom and happiness. The wealth 
 of the universe is his, and he can 
 bless you " with all spiritual blessings," 
 and malce you infinitely happy in the 
 favour and friendship of God. He is 
 divine, and " in him dwelleth all the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily ;"* he 
 is human, and " will not break the 
 bruised reed, nor quench the smoking 
 llax."f His address to each of you 
 is, — " Come unto me, and I will give 
 you rest ;".| " look unto me, and be ye 
 saved ;"§ " I love them that love me, 
 and those that seek me early shall find 
 me."|| 
 
 * Col. ii. n. + IsHiah xlii. 3. J Matt. xi. 2S. 
 j Isiiiith xlv. 22. li Piov. viii. 17. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 1 
 
 To the service of this blessed Mas- 
 ter let me win your young and tender 
 heart, by arguments drawn from your 
 own necessities, and his boundless 
 love. Without an interest in the Sa- 
 viour of sinners you must perish be- 
 neath the frown of the Eternal. Your 
 transgressions are an effectual barrier 
 in your way to heaven, and none but 
 Christ can remove them. You are in 
 pursuit of happiness, but you will 
 never find it till you hear Jesus say- 
 ing to you, " Peace I leave with you, 
 my peace I give "unto you, not as the 
 world giveth give I unto you ; let not 
 your heart be troubled, neither let it 
 be afraid "* You are picturing to 
 
 * Jolin xiv. '^7. 
 
20 COUNSELS 
 
 your imaginations many a fair scene 
 of future bliss ; but all will be " vanity 
 and vexation of spirit," if that " Friend 
 that sticketli closer than a brother" is 
 not with YOU, to sweeten what is bitter 
 in life, and to make every blessing 
 doubly blessed. 
 
 Your first concern^ then, is to he true 
 Christians. All other objects of pur- 
 suit are to give place to this. Your 
 earliest, your best thoughts should be 
 devoted to the salvation of your never- 
 dying souls. The way to pardon and 
 peace is clearly revealed. Jesus waits 
 to receive you. His blood can cleanse 
 you from all sin. His Spirit can cre- 
 ate in you " a new heart, and a right 
 spirit." Delay not your application 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 21 
 
 to Christ for a single moment. Pro- 
 crastination may be your ruin. If you 
 do not repent and live now, divine 
 mercy may plead with you no more. 
 Every step you proceed in impeni- 
 tence, but hardens the heart still more 
 and more. Another opportunity so 
 favourable as the present, of turning 
 to God, will never more occur. Shake 
 off, then, your thoughtlessness and 
 your neglect of God. Rouse your- 
 selves to feel your dread responsibility. 
 Think how terrible must be the condi- 
 tion of a soul " without God, without 
 Christ, and without hope in the world." 
 Think of what it is to be " enmity 
 against God." Think of what it is to 
 be in immediate danger of being 
 
22 COUNSELS 
 
 plunged " into that lake that burneth 
 with fire and brimstone, which is the 
 second death." Think of what it is to 
 be young and lovely in the eyes of 
 your fellow-creatures, and yet to have 
 no interest in the favour of heaven. 
 Think of what it is to be moving 
 thoughtlessly along the path of life, 
 while no provision has been made for 
 death and judgment, and for the reali- 
 ties of an eternal scene. Think of 
 what it is for the vanities of a mo- 
 ment so completely to absorb the mind 
 as to banish all serious thought about 
 the soul and futurity, as much, indeed, 
 as if they had no existence. Think, 
 I beseech you, of all this ; and, while 
 reflection is called into exercise, re- 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 23 
 
 solve, with a determination not to be 
 shaken, that you will dedicate your- 
 selves from this very hour to the Lord, 
 and that the days of youth, and 
 vigour, and hilarity, shall be devoted 
 to his service. 
 
 Witness, then, ye ministering spirits 
 of the church, the decisions of this 
 hallowed moment ! And, as you wing 
 your flight to the regions of eternal 
 day, carry with you -the glad tidings 
 of some youthful bosom quickened to 
 all the sensibilities of a new life in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 Hear counsel, and receive instruc- 
 tion — 
 
 2. As to the peculiar dangers to 
 u-Jiicli youth is ex 
 
24 COUNSELS 
 
 But how can I sufficiently warn 
 you, my clear young friends, against 
 the evils which beset your unwary 
 path! Would that I could paint, in 
 colours sufficiently vivid, the rocks and 
 quicksands which await you in your 
 perilous voyage ! It is most difficult 
 to impress your cheerful and l)ound- 
 ing hearts with any thing like the 
 conception of danger. And far be it 
 from me to throw an adventitious 
 gloom over the sweetest and loveliest 
 period of human existence. Did I 
 not feel that your characters for eter- 
 nity are now forming, and that by 
 some fatal influence they may be 
 blighted for ever, I could not bring 
 myself to counsel you upon the 
 
TO THE YOUNfi. 25 
 
 bubjcct oi" evils which you are slow of 
 heart to believe, and the very exist- 
 ence of which you are greatly disposed 
 to question. But, ah ! my beloved 
 friends, we must relinquish what is 
 sentimental in thinking of \^hat is 
 real ; and while I would not disturb 
 your happy dreams either of the pre- 
 sent or the future, I must yet remind 
 you that you are surrounded by the 
 inveterate enemies of your peace, and 
 that you can only prepare yourselves 
 for the conflict by knowing- the real 
 extent of the danger which threatens 
 alike your peace and safety. 
 
 J must be allowed, then, to remind 
 you thai you are in danger from the 
 jmssions. I see pride, sensuality, am- 
 c 
 
26 COUNSELS 
 
 bition, vain display, like so many spi- 
 rits of darkness, ready to seize on you, 
 and to pervert and debase all that is 
 fair and lovely in blooming youtb. 
 Nor must you forget tbat your very 
 heart is the soil whicb generates tbese 
 noxious plants. It is there that they 
 spring up ; it is there that they ac- 
 quire all their base and virulent quali- 
 ties ; it is there that they mature and 
 bring to perfection the elements of 
 moral and eternal ruin. Pride you 
 must subdue in all its forms ; whether 
 it shows itself in the assumption of in- 
 tellectual superiority — or in a haughty 
 deportment to superiors or equals — or 
 in the folly and extravagance of dress 
 — or in the undue estimate of birth, 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 27 
 
 education, and wealtli — or in the fad- 
 ing shadowy distinctions of beauty 
 and personal accomplishment. When 
 this baneful passion would operate, 
 remember that it makes you resemble, 
 in a great degree, the great spirit of 
 darkness — that it is one of the most 
 unlovely qualities of mind — that it 
 tends to destroy the finest sensibili- 
 ties of human nature — that it is in 
 direct contrast with the spirit of the 
 gospel, which requires that all who 
 become the disciples of the liOrd 
 Jesus, should " be converted and 
 become as little children."* When 
 you feel the unhallowed workings of 
 pride, ambition, and empty display, 
 
 * Matt, xviii. 3. 
 
 c2 
 
28 COUiNSELS 
 
 I beseech you to think of the utter 
 insignificance of all those things upon 
 which men are accustomed to value 
 themselves. Recollect that soon, very 
 soon, all distinctions which are not 
 moral will vanish away — that princes 
 and heggars, philosophers and clowns, 
 will, ere long, stand on one common 
 level — that beauty and deformity will 
 be cited before the same dread tribu- 
 nal ; and that nothing will be found 
 important or worthy of possession 
 " but a new creature, and faith which 
 worketh by love."* 
 
 Oh ! if I could open up to you the 
 loathsomeness of the noisome tomb ; 
 if I could show you the sad transitions 
 
 * Gal. V. (i. 
 
TO THE YODNG. 
 
 •29 
 
 vvhicli there pass on the loveliest forms ; 
 if I could exhibit to your view the 
 horrors of the resurrection to many 
 an object of human idolatry ; if I 
 could present before you the fearful 
 deformity of nature often concealed 
 beneath a fair but deceitful exterior ; 
 how would you despise that vain con- 
 ceit of personal beauty and attraction 
 which would deck the body in mere- 
 tricious attire, and leave the soul the 
 dwelling-place of sin — the victim of 
 Satan's dark designs ! 
 
 And oh, my beloved young friends ! 
 flee from sensuality and intemperance 
 as you w ould from the face of a deadly 
 serpent ! There are no crimes which 
 expose you to greater calamity and 
 ruin than these. They may spring 
 
30 COUNSELS 
 
 up in your nature by degrees, or they 
 may make a sudden and violent inroad 
 on your character, by the force of some 
 overwhehning temptation. Christ lias 
 pronounced his blessing- on " the pure 
 in heart," and has cheered them with 
 the assurance that " they shall see 
 God."* But upon those who minister 
 to the lusts of the flesh, and who are 
 strangers to the habit of self-govern- 
 ment, he has pronounced the heaviest 
 sentence of his condemnation. 
 
 I would have the young remember 
 that they are peculiarly exposed to 
 those temptations which tend to over- 
 come virtuous feeling, and to bring 
 the soul into bondage to a sensual 
 mode of existence. How lovely is 
 
 * Matt. V. 8. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 31 
 
 unsullied purity in tlie young, espe- 
 cially when it is tlie result of principle, 
 and when it has found a dwelling- 
 place in the heart ! If the great apos- 
 tle of the Gentiles urged his son 
 Timothy to " flee youthful lusts,"* 
 surely it would ill become the minis- 
 ters of Christ not to address similar 
 exhortations to the young in general. 
 There is great danger in your path, 
 my dear young friends; and there 
 must be warning and caution corres- 
 ponding to it. The first movements of 
 impurity in the heart must be watched 
 over and suppressed, or the feverish 
 heat of sin will soon be beyond con- 
 trol. You must never imafrine that, 
 
 * 2 Tim. ii. 22. 
 
32 COUNSELS 
 
 those impure thoughts and actions 
 \vhich are entirely hid from the eye 
 of man, ^\ill not be charged against 
 you in the day of the Lord. The 
 most secret act of sin you ever com- 
 mitted was beheld by the piercing eye 
 of omniscience, and was recorded in 
 the book of God's remembrance. 
 " Yea, the darkness hideth not from 
 God, but the night shineth as the 
 day ; the darkness and the light are 
 both alike to him."* 
 
 " Who,'' said David, " can under- 
 stand his eiTors ! Cleanse thou me from 
 secret faults; keep back thy servant, 
 also, from presumptuous sins; let them 
 not have dominion over me; then 
 
 * Psa cxxxix. 12. 
 
TO THE YOUN(;. 33 
 
 shall I be iiprighL, and I shall be iii- 
 iioceiit from the great transgression."* 
 There is no way of securing purity of 
 life, but by cultivating purity of heart. 
 An impure heart will speedily exhibit 
 a life in conformity to itself. "By 
 what means, then, shall a young man 
 learn to cleanse his way ? " The 
 question is important; and it proceeds 
 on the supposition that even a life 
 which has been polluted by sin may 
 yet be subjected, with success, to a 
 purifying process. Nor does the an- 
 swer of the Spirit leave any doubt as 
 to the correctness of such a supposition. 
 1 1 is by " taking heed to their ways 
 according to God's word,"t that the 
 
 * Pb:i. xix. 12. 1 V<d. cxix. y. 
 
34 COUNSELS 
 
 young can hope to purify their course. 
 Let them open this blessed volume, 
 and there read God's denunciations 
 against impurity; let them learn its 
 evils in the judgments which have 
 ever followed its train; let them re- 
 flect on the solemn thought, that 
 "nothing that defileth or that worketh 
 abomination " * can enter the celestial 
 paradise; let them yield up their minds 
 to those high and holy motives which 
 Christianity brings to bear upon hu- 
 man character — the love of Christ — 
 the honour of God — and the desire 
 of safety and happiness; above all, 
 let them think of those promises of 
 strength against sin and temptation 
 
 * Rev. xsi. 27. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 35 
 
 which the word of God so abundantly 
 supplies, by which " the feeble shall 
 be as David, and David as the angel 
 of the Lord."* 
 
 But as you are in danger from the 
 passions, so are you in danger from the 
 connexions you may form. 
 
 The social principle of our nature, 
 while it is the source of some of our 
 simplest and purest enjoyments, is 
 often the unhappy occasion of some of 
 our bitterest sorrows, and most flagrant 
 transgressions. In the domestic circle 
 we are so circumstanced often, that 
 we have no option in the selection of 
 our society ; and if in any instance it 
 should happen to be unpropitious to 
 
 * Zech. xii. 8. 
 
36 COUNSELS 
 
 our spiritual interests, it is our duty 
 to make the best of the condition in 
 which Providence has placed us, and 
 to endeavour to do as much good, and 
 to receive as little harm, as \vc possibly 
 can. Beyond the limits of liome, 
 however, it becomes us to pause, ere 
 we expose ourselves to a companion- 
 ship which may not tend to promote 
 our best interests. If we associate 
 with the gay, and frivolous, and dissi- 
 pated, and irreligious, and sceptical, 
 we may expect that we shall be drawn 
 into their modes of thinking and of 
 acting. There is a fellowship of mind 
 which results from habitual inter- 
 course. Besides, the very taste which 
 is displayed, in the act of habitual 
 
TO THE YOU KG. 37 
 
 preference fur unprofitable intercourses, 
 sufficiently shows that we are not 
 alive either to our own danger or to 
 the honour of God. 
 
 How many of the young and pro- 
 mising, of both sexes, have fallen vic- 
 tims to the indiscreet and dangerous 
 exercise of the social principle ! See 
 that pale and emaciated form, covered 
 with rags, and trembling beneath the 
 winter's cold, friendless and without 
 a home, — the outward spectacle but a 
 faint image of the deeper desolation 
 of a heart withered and blighted by 
 sin ! And yet she was once tender and 
 beloved in the sight of her mother ; 
 but she forsook the guide of her 
 youth— she forgot the covenant of her 
 
38 COUNSELS 
 
 God, and slie is now, alas! tasting the 
 fruit of lier own doings wliicli have 
 not been good, and presents a striking 
 monument of the truth of that divine 
 maxim — " Evil communications cor- 
 rupt good manners." * 
 
 Behold that youth, his figure shat- 
 tered, his health decayed, his patri- 
 mony wasted, his spirits sunk, his 
 cliaracter lost! See his aged father 
 weeping over the sad wreck of withered 
 hopes, and exclaiming, "My son! 
 my son! thou wilt bring down my 
 gi-ey hairs with sorrow to the gi'ave ! " 
 And, ah ! what has realized this sad 
 picture ? It is that companionship of 
 fools which leads to destruction. The 
 
 * 1 Cor. XV. 33. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 39 
 
 wayward child grows up to be the 
 disobedient youth; the youth, no 
 longer subject to the control of parents 
 and the restraints of home, seeks for 
 other and more congenial fellowships ; 
 the garb of simj)licity is laid aside for 
 the attire of foppish vanity ; expenses, 
 never intended to be met, are launched 
 into; the inebriating cup is seized for 
 the sake of drowning serious reflec- 
 tion; intemperance is followed up 
 with licentiousness; and then the 
 character is ruined, and often for 
 ever; for "none that go unto the 
 strange woman return again, neither 
 take they hold of the paths of 
 life."* 
 
 * Prov. ii. 19. 
 
40 COUNSELS 
 
 And even where siicli fatal results 
 are not realized, liow often do the 
 fellowships of this world prove most 
 injurious! It is thus, often, that the 
 pious instructions and examples of 
 home are discarded, or set at nought; 
 it is thus that early habits of sobriety 
 and reflection are exchanged for a 
 course of thoughtless neglect both of 
 decorum and piety ; it is thus that 
 unsuitable domestic relations are en- 
 tered into; and it is thus, often, that 
 religion gradually departs out of fa- 
 milies in which it has long been an 
 ornament and a defence. 
 
 To the pious youth, who may read 
 this little volume, I would say, beware 
 of too much fcllowshij) wilh the 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 41 
 
 enemies of God ; they will draw away 
 your affections from their proper oh- 
 jects; they will diminish your sense of 
 the evil of sin; they will lead you into 
 the most dangerous worldly conformi- 
 ty ; they will interrupt the closeness 
 of your walk with God ; they will 
 drive you into many a scene of tempta- 
 tion; they will obscure your percep- 
 tions as to the proper distinction be- 
 tween the church and the world ; and 
 they will lead you to the formation 
 of those ungodly alliances which are 
 opposed to the imperative command, 
 that believers are " only to marry in 
 the Lord."* There is nothing, rest 
 assured, to be gained by such alliances 5 
 
 * 1 Cor. vii. 3'J. 
 
 u 
 
42 COUNSELS 
 
 Lilt there is mucli — yea, tliere is every 
 tiling- to be lost. 
 
 You are in great danger from bookn. 
 A pernicious book is as injurious to 
 the soul as is the fellowship of an 
 evil spirit. The press teems with pub- 
 lications which tend to inflict the 
 greatest injury on the youthful mind. 
 Books were as bad in former periods 
 of our history as they are now, or ever 
 can be ; but, then, there w ere not so 
 many of them. Books of light read- 
 ing, and withal full of dangerous fuel 
 for the passions, are now as numerous 
 and injurious as the plagues of Egypt. 
 There never was more reading than in 
 the present age ; and there never was 
 so little reading to good purpose. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 43 
 
 Romances and Religions Tales bid 
 fair to supplant all other works, — the 
 former to supply mental provision for 
 tlie world, and the latter to the church. 
 Fie upon Christians ! to forsake Baxter 
 and Owen, and Leighton, and Scott, 
 and Watts, and Doddridge, and Howe, 
 for a succession of religious tales badly 
 told ! 
 
 Solid, useful reading, my dear young 
 friends, I would recommend to you ; 
 and, if you feel that something is due 
 to innocent recreation, asl: counsel of 
 some wise and experienced Christian, 
 what works you shall consult for 
 amusement. Do not read unknown 
 works, any more than you would make 
 a companion of a stranger whom you 
 
44 COUNSELS 
 
 should meet in tlie street. If you can 
 find access to Commentaries, read 
 Matthew Henry's invaluable exposi- 
 tion of the Holy Scriptures. For doc- 
 trine, consult Doddridge, President 
 Edwards, and Dr. D wight. For pow- 
 erful and experimental godliness, read 
 Boston's Fourfold State, Edwards on 
 Religious Affections, Rutherford's Let- 
 ters, and Baxter's Saints' Rest. For 
 religious Biography, consult Henry 
 Martyn's Life, the Life of Legh Rich- 
 mond, the Memoir of Dr. Waugh, the 
 Life of Thomas Scott, the Memoirs of 
 Philip Henry, the Life of Mrs. Graham, 
 the Memoir of Dr. Payson, and the 
 delightful account of Mrs. Huntingdon. 
 But let these only he auxiliary to the 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 45 
 
 Bible. Let it be your daily companion. 
 Resolve to read it quite through this 
 year ; and, above all, pray that you 
 may read so as to understand, believe, 
 and obey. 
 
 You are in great danger from amuse- 
 ments. Youth is the time for cheerful- 
 ness and hilarity ; and none of the laws 
 of Christianity can be intended to coun • 
 teract the ordinations and the instincts 
 of our nature. The young may be 
 amused, — the young must be amused, 
 — the young ought to be amused. 
 But let us take care not to infuse des- 
 tructive poison into the cup of pleasure. 
 It may be fairly questioned whether 
 the world's mode of supplying amuse- 
 ment for the young be always free 
 
46 COUNSELS 
 
 from danger. It may be greatly 
 doubted Avlietber the ])an-room, and 
 tlie card-party, and tlie fashionable 
 route, and the midnight theatre, and 
 the endless coquettings of polished 
 life, supply wholesome recreation to 
 tlie young, without feverish excite- 
 ment, and hazardous ministration to 
 the passions. It is clear to my mind 
 that these worldly practices foster a 
 spirit of display, that they generate 
 habits of fashionable dissimulation, 
 that they produce a love of novelty, 
 that they destroy all simplicity of 
 manners, that they create indifference 
 to habits of devotion and piety, and 
 that they too often, at least with 
 young men, lead to prodigality and 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 47 
 
 dissipation. I am far from placing all 
 cases on a level, or blending in one 
 mass all who fall in with the world's 
 way of murdering time ; hut, from 
 what I have seen, I strongly incline 
 to the opinion that little good and 
 great evil are derived from training 
 youth to the love of pleasure as a dis- 
 tinct occupation; and that more actual 
 happiness is dispensed in families 
 where there is far less excitement. 
 Let free exercise in the open air, let 
 the love of hooks, and let the rational 
 converse of friendship, be substituted 
 for the vain display of the ball-room, 
 and for the sensual exhibitions of the 
 stage, and I will promise our rising 
 
48 COUNSELS 
 
 families more health, more cheerful- 
 ness, and a conscience purer and more 
 se rene. 
 
 In these remarks it will be seen 
 that I take it for granted that the 
 habit of resorting to theatres and ball- 
 rooms is confined to the world. And 
 I believe it is so ; w ith the exception 
 of a few of those unhappy persons, 
 whom Miss Hannah More would 
 style " Borderers," who endeavour, as 
 much as possible, to blend religious 
 profession and worldly habits. But, 
 oh! how little are such professors of the 
 gospel to be envied ! Let them listen 
 to the solemn and awful appeal of an 
 inspired apostle — " Ye adulterers, and 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 49 
 
 adulteresses, know ye not that the 
 friendship of the workl is enmity with 
 God?"* 
 
 Let our religious youth, of both 
 sexes, strive to rise above the unsatis- 
 factory modes of seeking happiness 
 which obtain in the world. Let them 
 give themselves to the rational culti- 
 vation of their minds, let them be 
 daily aiming to augment the stores of 
 their knowledge, let them ponder the 
 best selected books, let them indulge 
 in the habitual exercise of active 
 benevolence, let them live nearer to 
 God, let them cultivate that spiritu- 
 ality of mind which is life and peace, 
 and they may then rest assured that 
 
 * James iv. 4. 
 
50 COUNSELS 
 
 they shall know nothing of the world's 
 enmii, but that, fresh and fragrant, 
 they shall gi-ow up in the house of the 
 Lord, as plants by the rivers of water — 
 their intellect clear and unclouded, 
 their hearts peaceful and serene, and 
 their conduct sweetly reflecting the 
 image of him who went about doing 
 good continually. 
 
 I must here remind you that you 
 are in danger from the character of 
 the age in ivhich ive live. There is at 
 the present moment a great deal of 
 unwholesome excitement obtaining in 
 certain religious circles. Sober truth 
 is almost lost sight of in the pursuit 
 of curious and unprofitable specula- 
 tions. We hear as much of prophecy 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 51 
 
 and miracles in our day as if some 
 divinely commissioned prophet had 
 actually made his appearance among 
 us, and as if signs and wonders had 
 been wrought before our eyes. I 
 would have my dear young friends 
 keep as far off as possible from all 
 curious and speculative teachers, who 
 are constantly praising themselves, 
 and depreciating their brethren. Their 
 novelties and their strange doctrines 
 have no tendency to " godly edifying ;" 
 and, in not a few instances, they have 
 led astray and perverted unstable 
 minds. The more genius, the more 
 pretension, the more seriousness, and 
 the more practical virtue such teach- 
 ers exhibit, — the more pernicious and 
 
52 COUNSELS 
 
 ensnaring will be their ministrations. 
 Remember, that " high swelling words 
 of vanity " but little suit the humble 
 teacher of Christianity ; and dogmati- 
 cal announcements upon unfulfilled 
 prophecies, and upon renewed miracles, 
 may well foster presumption, and vain 
 glory, but can have little connexion 
 with the cultivation of the mild and 
 holy graces of Christianity. 
 
 It is the more necessary that you 
 should l^e on your guard in these 
 times, as many, once sound in the 
 faith, have been led away to vain 
 jangling ; and as the advocates of ex- 
 travagant interpretations of Scripture 
 have, of late, increased both in num- 
 bers and zeal. Many in the higher 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 03 
 
 circles have been sadly perverted by 
 the follies of the new school ; so that 
 Peers of the realm, Members of Par- 
 liament, Ladies of quality, and Officers 
 in the army and navy, are among the 
 chief expectants of Christ's personal 
 reign, and the chief advocates of 
 "tongues," "prophecies," and mira- 
 culous " gifts of healing." But re- 
 member, my dear young friends, that 
 we have no solid divines among these 
 agitators ; that our aged ministers, of 
 any note in the church, continue to 
 pursue the good old path ; that many 
 of the new lights have always been 
 children of extravagance ; that many 
 more of them have been very ill in- 
 structed ; and that the wild and extra- 
 
54 
 
 COUNSELS 
 
 \ agant scheme to wliicli they adlieie 
 is begmning to smkiuto that disrepute 
 and decay wliich a few short years 
 liave ])roiight upon it, partly through 
 its own reckless absurdit}', and partly 
 hy the folly ^ not to say impudence, of 
 its advocates. 
 
 I cannot deny myself the pleasure 
 of introducing to the notice of my 
 young readers, a very interesting and 
 striking passage on this subject, from 
 the dedication of Mr. Jay's Evening 
 Exercises, just published. Address- 
 ing himself to the Liberator of Africa, 
 he thus expresses himself : — 
 
 " I rejoice, my dear sir, that a per- 
 son of your consideration is in the 
 healthful number of those \^lio, not- 
 
I TO THE YOUNG. 65 
 
 witlistanding- tlie contemptuous denial 
 of some, and the gloomy forebodings 
 of others, believe that real religion 
 has been advancing, and is spreading, 
 and imll continue to spread, till, with- 
 out any disruption of the present sys- 
 tem, 'the earth shall be filled with 
 the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
 waters cover the sea: for the mouth 
 of the Lord hath spoken it.' Yon do 
 not expect that a countiy called by 
 his name, and in which he has such a 
 growing multitude of followers, will 
 be given up of God ; and the foun- 
 tain, from which so many streams of 
 health and life are issuing to bless 
 the world, will be destroyed. You 
 justly think, that the way to gain 
 
5(5 COUNSELS 
 
 more is not to despise or disown what 
 the Spirit of God has graciously done 
 for us ah-eady ; and that the way to 
 improvement is not to run down 
 and condemn every present scheme, 
 attainment, and exertion, because 
 they are not free from those failings 
 which some are too studious to dis- 
 cover, too delighted to expose, and 
 too zealous to enlarge and magnify. 
 If we are not to be weary in well- 
 doing, we need not only exhortation, 
 but hope, which is at once the most 
 active, as well as the most clieerful, 
 principle. Nothing so unnerves ener- 
 gy, and slackens diligence, as des- 
 pondency. Nothing is equally con- 
 tagious with* fear. Those who feel 
 
TO THE VOUiNG 57 
 
 alarm always love to transfuse it. 
 Awful intimations of approaching evils 
 are not only congenial with the me- 
 lancholic, hut the dissatisfied ; and, 
 while they distress the timid, they 
 charm those who are given to change. 
 It is also easy to perceive that when 
 men have committed themselves in 
 woeful announcements, they imme- 
 diately feel a kind of prophetical 
 credit at stake, and are under a con- 
 siderable temptation to welcome dis- 
 asters as prognostics : for, though 
 they may professedly pray against 
 the judgments, they know, and this 
 is a great drawback to their fervency, 
 that their avowed creed requires the 
 calamities as vouchers of the wisdom 
 
 E 
 
58 COUNSELS 
 
 and truth of their interpretations. If, 
 to preserve his reputation from suspi- 
 cion, after he had cried, Yet forty- 
 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed, 
 Jonah himself was sad and sullen, 
 and thought he did well to be angiy 
 even unto death, because the city, 
 with all the men, women, children, 
 and cattle, was not demolished, ac- 
 cording to his word ; what may not 
 ])e feared from human nature now, 
 if exercised with similar disappoint- 
 ments P 
 
 " As, owing to the mildness and 
 justice of the laws of the paternal 
 government under which we are pri- 
 vileged to live, there is now no out- 
 ward persecution ; and yet, as religion 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 59 
 
 always requires to "be tried, we must 
 expect that 'from among ourselves 
 will men arise, speaking perverse 
 things, to draw away discijjles after 
 them :' for ' there must be heresies, 
 that they which are of a contrary part 
 may he made manifest.' In such 
 cases many are * tossed about by 
 every wind of doctrine,' till they 
 make ' shipwreck of faith and a good 
 conscience.' Others, who are not 
 destroyed, suffer loss, especially in the 
 simple, affectionate, devotional frame 
 of their spirit. If good men are 
 injured, they are commonly beguiled : 
 thej/ are drawn aside by something 
 piously specious. Any proposal, direct- 
 ly erroneous or sinful, would excite 
 E 2 
 
W COUNSELS 
 
 their alarm as ^vel] as aversion. But 
 if the enemy comes transformed into 
 an angel of light, they think they 
 ought not only to receive, but wel- 
 come a heavenly visitant : if he en- 
 ters with the Bible only in his hand, 
 and claims to fix their regards to any 
 thing on that holy ground, they feel 
 themselves not only safe, but even 
 following the will of God : — not con- 
 sidering that if, even in the Scrijv 
 tures, the speculative entices us away 
 from the practical, and the myste- 
 rious from the plain ; and something, 
 though true and good in itself, but 
 subordinate, engrosses the time and 
 attention which should be supremely 
 absorbed by repentance towards God 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 61 
 
 and fiiith towards our Lord Jesus 
 Christ — his aim may be answered, 
 and ' Satan get an advantage over 
 us.' Such persons, acting conscien- 
 tiously, become as determined as 
 martyrs ; and, continually musing 
 upon one chosen topic, they grow as 
 passionate as lovers, and wonder that 
 all others are not likeminded with 
 them : 
 
 'The worst of madmen is a saint run mad.' 
 
 There is not only a pride in dress, 
 and beauty, and riches, and rank, and 
 talent, but of opinion also : a kind 
 of mental vanity that seeks distinction 
 by peculiarity ; and would draw no- 
 tice by separateness : as that which 
 
62 COUNSELS 
 
 Stands alone is more observable, espe- 
 cially when noise is added to position. 
 In this case tbe female is easily be- 
 trayed l)eyond some of the decorums 
 of her sex ; the younger Avill not sub- 
 mit to the elder; the hearer sits in 
 judgment on the preacher; and he 
 that is wise in his own conceit will 
 be wiser than seven men that can 
 render a reason. For 
 
 ' Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.' 
 
 Mushrooms, and less saleable fun- 
 gusses, are ordinarily found in a 
 certain kind of rich and rank soil. 
 When religion, from being neglected, 
 becomes all at once the subject of 
 general attention, many will not only 
 
TO THE YOUNG. ()3 
 
 be impressed, but surprised and per- 
 plexed. The light, good in itseli', 
 may for the time be too strong for the 
 weakness of the eye, and the sudden- 
 ness of the glare may dazzle rather 
 than enlighten. It is very possible 
 for the church, when roused from a 
 state of lethargy, to be in danger 
 from the opposite extreme. The frost 
 of formality may be followed by the 
 fever of enthusiasm. Whenever, in- 
 deed, there is a high degree of reli- 
 gious excitement, it cannot be won- 
 derful, considering human ignorance, 
 prejudice, and depravity, that there 
 should be some visionary and strange 
 ebullitions. We have witnessed some 
 of these during the years that are 
 
64 COUNSELS 
 
 past; but the day in which we now 
 are is singular for the revival (with 
 some perhaps perfectly new preten- 
 sions) of most of the notions that 
 were fermented into being at the time 
 of tlie commonwealth, and which 
 were then opposed by Owen, Baxter, 
 and others, who had more divinity in 
 their little finger than is to be found 
 in the body, soul, and spirit, of many 
 of the modern innovators and im- 
 provers, who imagine that their light is 
 not only ' the light of the sun, but the 
 light of seven days ! ' 
 
 " A review of history will show us 
 that, at the return of less than half 
 a centuiT, some have commonly risen 
 up eager and able to determine the 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 65 
 
 times and the seasons, which the Fa- 
 ther hath put into his own power, and 
 wliich the apostles were told it was 
 not for them to know. And the same 
 confidence has always been attended 
 with the same success. No gain has 
 ever followed the effects worthy the 
 time and attention expended upon 
 them ; no addition has ever been 
 made to the understanding of the 
 Scriptures ; no fresh data have been 
 established from which preachers 
 could safely argue ; no practical 
 utility has been afforded to Christians 
 in their private walk with God. And 
 as their documents were not capable 
 of demonstration; as for want of cer- 
 tainty they could not 1)ecome principles 
 
()6 COUNSELS 
 
 of conduct ; and as no great ini- 
 l)ression can he long- maintained on 
 the public mind that is not based on 
 obvious truth ; the noise of the ^var- 
 fare after a while has always died 
 away, and left us with the con- 
 viction that ' there is no prophet 
 among us; nor any that telleth how 
 long.' 
 
 " Some prove, in their spiritual ge- 
 nealogy, a descent from Reuben, of 
 whom the dying father said, " unstable 
 as water, thou shalt not excel.' Yet 
 they may strike, and produce a tem- 
 porary impression in their favour, 
 especially in a country like this ; a 
 country proverbial for its credulity, 
 and its more than Athenian rage fur 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 67 
 
 soraetliing new, wliatever be the nature 
 of it. In England — 
 
 (' England, with all thy faults I love thee still— 
 
 and I can feel 
 
 Thy follies too')— 
 
 in England, it has been said by a 
 satirical though just observer, that 
 ' any monster will make a man :' 
 that is, be the means of rendering him 
 renowned or rich. Who can question 
 this for a moment, that has patience 
 to mortify himself as a Briton by re- 
 flection and review ? Take prodigies. 
 Dwarfs, giants, unnatural births, de- 
 formities — the more hideous, the more 
 repelling the spectacles, the more at- 
 tractive and popular haxe they always 
 
68 COUNSELS 
 
 been. Take empiricism. Their name 
 is Legion ; from animal magnetism 
 and the metallic tractors, down to 
 the last infallible remedy for general 
 or specific complaints ; all attested and 
 recommended by the most unexcep- 
 tionable authorities, especially in high 
 life ! Take the feats which have been 
 announced for exhibition. Whatever 
 the promiser has engaged to perform — 
 whether to walk upon the water, or 
 draw himself into a bottle — what large 
 crowds have been drawn together at 
 the time appointed, and with no few of 
 the better sort of people always among 
 them ! How has learning been trifled 
 with and degi'aded! Two or three 
 insulated facts, and a few doul)tful or 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 69 
 
 controvertible appearances, have been 
 wrought up into a science ; and some 
 very clever men have advocated its 
 claims to zealous belief, and contrived 
 to puzzle the opponents they could not 
 convince. In the article of preach- 
 ing, what manoeuvres of popularity 
 have not been successfully tried, till 
 there seems hardly any thing left for 
 an experimenter — unless to vociferate 
 with his heels in the air. This would 
 certainly produce greater congregations 
 than any which have been witnessed— 
 and who could deny that there would 
 he something in the case j^reter-ns.- 
 tural ? 
 
 "But what exemplifications, had we 
 leisure to pursue them, should we find 
 
70 COUNSELS 
 
 ill the article of religious absurdity 
 and extravagance ! Has any thing 
 ever been broached with confidence 
 that has not gained considerable at- 
 tention ? Did not the effusions of a 
 Brothers, who died, where only he 
 should have lived, in confinement for 
 madness, secure numerous believers 
 and admirers ? Had he not defenders 
 from the press ? Did he not obtain 
 the notice of a very learned senator 
 in the House of Commons ? And as 
 to the Exeter prophetess, without any 
 one quality to recommend her but 
 ignorance, impudence, and blasphemy ; 
 yet did she not make a multitude of 
 converts, not only among the canaille, 
 but among persons of some distinction? 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 71 
 
 And had she not followers and de- 
 fenders even among the Clergy them- 
 selves ? — Not to observe that when she 
 reported that she should soon he the 
 mother of the infant Messiah, a medi - 
 cal practitioner of some eminence, and 
 the author of a useful work for fami- 
 lies, came forward and staked his 
 credit on her being enceinte ! 
 
 "All reasoning, and all ridicule, for 
 the time only served to contribute to 
 the force and obstinacy of the folly. 
 But how just, here, is the remark of 
 an eminent female writer : ' Such 
 preposterous pretensions being obvi- 
 ously out of the power of human 
 nature to accomplish, the very extra- 
 vagance is believed to be supernatural. 
 
72 COUNSELS 
 
 It is the impossibility wliicli makes 
 the assumed certainty ; as the ejjilepsy 
 of Mahomet confirmed liis claims to 
 inspiration.' And is there nothing 
 now going forward far exceeding in 
 credulous wonder, arrogant pretension, 
 and miraculous boasting, all that has 
 gone before it, in a country Avhich, 
 in a twofold sense, may be called 
 ' a land of vision ?'* 
 
 * "Ir a person wishes to see this subject 
 fully treated, he would do well to read a late 
 publication, called * Modern Fanaticism Un- 
 veiled." The work is anonymous ; but the 
 Author not only writes with great ability and 
 spirit, but is a determined advocate for Evange- 
 lical religion, and says nothing (which is always 
 to be dreaded in such discussions,) 1o (he dis- 
 paragement of serious or fervent piety." 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 73 
 
 *' One way to become sceptical is, 
 instead of remembering our Lord's 
 words, ' If ye know these things- 
 happy are ye if ye do them,' to be, 
 come critical and curious in religion. 
 A very fruitful source of error is to 
 trample on the distinction of Moses: 
 ' Tire secret things belong unto the 
 Lord our God : but those things which 
 are revealed belong unto us and to 
 our children for ever^ that we may do 
 all the words of this law.' The 
 sciences and the arts, being human 
 inventions, and therefore not only 
 finite, but imperfect, will allow of new 
 discoveries ; and every innovation is 
 commonly an improvement, or by 
 experiment it is soon rejected : but we 
 
74 COUNSELS 
 
 make no scruple to say, that novelty 
 in religion is needless, dangerous, de- 
 lusive. We are to receive the kingdom 
 of God as a little child. The design 
 of the Gospel is to ' cast down imagi 
 nations, and every high thing that 
 exalteth itself against the knowledge 
 of God, and to bring into captivity 
 every thought to the obedience of 
 Christ.' 
 
 " The maxim often quoted, of a very 
 great and a very good man, who blesses 
 and adorns our own age, and who 
 furnishes another proof that first-rate 
 minds are simple and free from eccen- 
 tricities — 'Tliough we are not to be 
 wise above what is written, we should 
 be wise up to what is written,' — has 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 75 
 
 been made to justify more than he 
 intended. The apostle considers it a 
 reproach to be ' always learning and 
 never able to come to the knowledge 
 of the truth :' and it is a matter of 
 lamentation when persons, perhaps 
 well disposed, are seized with the ima- 
 gination that there is something of 
 importance to be yet found out in 
 religion, instead of walking in the 
 light, and having the heart established 
 with grace. And what is the subject 
 of these possible or desirable develop- 
 ments ? And what lack of motive or 
 of consolation did they feel, who have 
 gone before us in every kind of excel- 
 lency ? And what more perfect cha- 
 racters can we expect than the Leigh- 
 f2 
 
76 COUNSELS. 
 
 tons and Howes, who, it now seems, 
 were denied illuminations conferred 
 on individuals just entering into the 
 kingdom of God, without a religious 
 education, and from the midst of 
 worldly dissipation or indifference ? 
 And where are the superior effects of 
 discoveries, which we are assured not 
 only possess truth, but are of the greatest 
 efficiency ? We need not be afraid to 
 compare the converts, the benefactors, 
 the sufferers, the ijaartyrs of one school 
 with those of another. ' No man also 
 having drunk old wine straightway 
 desu-eth new, for he saith the old is 
 better.' " 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE GREAT BENEFIT WHICH WILL 
 
 ACCRUE TO THE YOUNG FROM 
 
 HEARING COUNSEL AND RECEIV- 
 ING INSTRUCTION. 
 
 " That thou 7yiai/est he wise in the 
 latter end.'^ 
 
 I. The latter end may be old age. 
 Youth spent in folly and neglect of 
 God too often conducts to a cheer- 
 less, a miserable, a foolish, and a 
 contemptible old age. It is a re- 
 markable fact, that the old a.^e of a 
 
/» COUNSELS 
 
 worldling is often as much distin- 
 guislied by folly as were tlie days of 
 his youth. Behold, in proof of this, 
 the aged fops, and the painted ma- 
 trons, of threescore years and ten, 
 who abound in this great city. But 
 piety in youth will make a green old 
 age. The " hoary hairs that are found 
 in the way of righteousness shall be 
 as a crown of life." The experience 
 which the believer who has long 
 walked in tlie ways of God acquires 
 is large and diversified. He has an 
 eye to penetrate into the deep things 
 of God, and a heart too to relish them. 
 He looks around him on children and 
 on children's children ; and, while he 
 pours out over them his patriarchal 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 79 
 
 blessing, he pleads the promise on 
 their hehalf, and looks forward with 
 cheerful hope to the time when " one 
 of them shall say, I am the Lord's; 
 and another shall call himself by the 
 name of Jacob ; and another shall 
 subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, 
 and surname himself by the name of 
 Israel."* Such a man leaves an in- 
 heritance to his children better than 
 of silver or gold. Reposing with un- 
 shaken confidence on the everlasting 
 covenant, he believes the assurance 
 of the God of Abraham, " I will be a 
 God to thee, and to thy seed after 
 thee." In one word, a religious 
 character from the days of youth 
 
 * Isaidli xliv. 5. 
 
80 COUNSELS 
 
 will not only tend to promote longe- 
 vity, but it will also crown it witli 
 blessings and honours all its own. 
 
 2. The latter end may he death. That 
 wisdom which will not stand the test 
 of death will be found at last to 
 be but folly ! How many, amidst 
 their accumulation of knowledge, are 
 strangers to that which alone can 
 make them wise towards God ! Oh, 
 " hear counsel, and receive instruc- 
 tion, that you may be wise at the 
 latter end!" What will it profit a 
 man if he should gain the whole 
 w orld, at the tremendous risk of losing 
 his own soul ? Though you are 
 young, and blooming, and healthful, 
 there may be a deadly worm eating 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 81 
 
 at the root of the fair plant. Others, 
 as young, and fair, and gay as you, 
 have had their prospects of long life 
 speedily blighted, and have fallen 
 into an untimely grave. But there 
 is no untimely grave for the meek 
 and humble disciple of Christ. To 
 him the grave has been perfumed by 
 his gracious Redeemer ; and from 
 him the sting of death, which is sin, 
 has been taken away. Whether in 
 youth or age, by sudden accident, or 
 slow-consuming fever, the child of 
 God is dismissed from his prison- 
 house, — all is well. He has listened 
 " to counsel and received instruc- 
 tion ; " and never can the grim mes- 
 senger seize on him in a condition 
 
82 COUNSELS 
 
 totally unprepared. To liim " to live 
 is Christ, and to die is gain;" and 
 " the life which he lives in the flesh, 
 he lives by the faith of the Son of 
 God, who loved him, and gave him- 
 self for him." 
 
 3. The latter end may he the day of 
 judgment. In that day, " the wisdom 
 of this world" will be seen in all its 
 emptiness : while the Christian's folly, 
 or rather what was esteemed to be his 
 folly, will be demonstrated, before 
 assembled worlds, to be the truest 
 wisdom. The sentence of that awful 
 day will proclaim, as in a voice of 
 thunder, that the ^^fear of the Lord is 
 the heginniny of ttisdom.^'* All our 
 
 * Prov. 1. 7. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. CO 
 
 present views and pursuits must be 
 viewed in the light of that great tri- 
 bunal, at which our characters and 
 destiny shall be for ever fixed. Oh, 
 if my youthful readers could be per- 
 suaded to refer all their views and 
 actions to this great and solemn test, 
 what inestimable benefits would ac- 
 crue to them from such a line of 
 conduct! It is the thought of an 
 eternal future that most powerfully 
 influences the present. The habitual 
 anticipation of what we shall be, 
 when we pass out of the body, is 
 fitted to give the most powerful bias 
 to all the movements of this fleeting 
 and transitory existence. What a 
 stimulus to duty — what a chect to 
 
84 COUNSELS 
 
 the power of temptation is the solemn 
 thought — "jPor all these things we 
 shall he hrought into judgment!" 
 Learn, my young friends, to judge of 
 every object, of every relation, and of 
 every pursuit, in the light of judg- 
 ment and eternity. Whatever will 
 not hear to he looked at in these 
 solemn lights must he abandoned, 
 and abandoned without delay. If 
 you trifle with the convictions of con- 
 science, they will gradually subside, 
 and an impenitence more fearful than 
 any thing you have yet experienced 
 will ultimately take possession of the 
 mind. To sink to hell, with your light, 
 will be dreadful beyond conception. 
 It had been better for you that you 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 85 
 
 had never been born, than that it 
 should be said to you at last, "Be- 
 hold, ye despisers, and wonder, and 
 perish !" 
 
 I long, my beloved friends, to see 
 you on the side of Christ. " Follow- 
 ing him in the regeneration, you shall 
 walk with him in light." On his 
 great white throne, he will acknow- 
 ledge and honour those who have 
 forsaken all and followed him. In 
 deciding to become his disciples, you 
 can never have cause to regret your 
 choice. His service is freedom, and 
 honour, and happiness. But he de- 
 mands your heart's warmest affec- 
 tions, and he will accept of nothing 
 less. Give him, then, your heart. 
 
86 COUNSELS 
 
 It will never be the dwelling-place of 
 peace till it is surrendered without 
 reserve to its rightful Lord. Oh! 
 entreat him to make your hearts tem- 
 ples of the Holy Ghost! Then will 
 evil passions no longer control your 
 actions, — then you will rank with " the 
 pure in heart, who shall see God," — 
 then will your example become a 
 blessing to all around you, — then will 
 you prove for yourselves that the reli- 
 gion of Jesus is the source of unnum- 
 bered joys,— and then will you cease 
 to depend for your happiness upon 
 those transitory enjoyments which 
 form the only portion of worldly 
 minds. 
 
 Be entreated to l)eorin the life of 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 87 
 
 prayer, to study for yourselves the 
 word of God, to abandon every dis- 
 covered habit of sin, to cultivate an 
 habitual attendance upon Christian 
 ordinances, to prize the society of 
 the good, and cheerfully to relin- 
 quish every companionship of sin. 
 Forget not that thousands of spiritual 
 enemies are watching for your de- 
 struction ; and never lose sight of the 
 fact, that you have within you an evil 
 heart of unbelief, prone to receive all 
 impressions of moral evil. " Watch, 
 then, and prmj, that ye enter not into 
 temptation." 
 
 Above all, my dear young friends, 
 entreat Cod, by his Spirit, to impart 
 to you a new heart and a right spirit. 
 "The carnal mind is enmity against 
 
88 COUNSELS 
 
 God ;" and " they that are iu the flesh 
 cannot please him." " The tree must 
 be made good," or the fruit can 
 never be good. You must be united 
 by faith to the Lord Jesus, or remain 
 in your okl relations of sin and death. 
 Believe in this Great Deliverer, and 
 be saved. He casts off none Avho 
 apply to him. He will not cast off 
 you. While he says, " Seek ye my 
 face," let your reply be, "Thy face, 
 Lord, will we seek." While he says, 
 " Come unto me," let your response 
 be, " We come unto thee, for thou art 
 the Lord our God." While he waits 
 to be gracious, provoke him not by 
 your sinful delays ; but hasten to his 
 cross, as the only refuge for perishing 
 sinners. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE OF THE YOUNG 
 WHO HAVE BEEN MADE OBEDIENT 
 TO THE COUNSELS OF DIVINE WIS- 
 DOM. 
 
 ON HUMILITY. 
 
 To the young Cliristian I would 
 say, " Walk humbly with your God." 
 Let modesty and retiring diffidence 
 be the distinct characteristics of your 
 religion. Avoid every thing that sa- 
 vours of vain-glorious display. There 
 is more than enough of flaunting piety 
 in the day in which we live, especially 
 among young professors. " Likewise, 
 ye younger, submit yourselves unto the 
 
90 COLNSELS 
 
 elder. Yea, all of you be subject one 
 to another, and be clotlied with hu- 
 mility : for God resisteth the proud, 
 but giveth grace to the humble." It 
 is truly afflictive to mark how speedily 
 some young Christians lose all the 
 diffidence which properly belongs to 
 the earlier and more inexperienced 
 stages of the religious life. Self- 
 confident and dictatorial, they become 
 objects of dislike to their more estab- 
 lished brethren, and are, therefore, 
 chiefly left to mingle in the society of 
 persons of their own stamp of mind ; 
 so that they become confirmed in 
 habits of dogmatism and obtrusive- 
 ness. Let me remind young Chris- 
 
 * 1 Peter v. 5. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 91 
 
 tians, that a cliild-like simplicity of 
 deportment is that which best com- 
 ports with their slender attainments 
 in knowledge, and in conformity to 
 the divine will. If they would share 
 the benefit of intercourse with those 
 who have drank deeply into the spirit 
 of the gospel, and who have known 
 the advantages connected with long 
 and habitual communion with God, 
 they must cultivate that modesty and 
 that self-diffidence which tend to 
 attract and endear. Eminent Chris- 
 tians are always distinguished by the 
 attributes of kindness and condescen- 
 sion ; and if they perceive in you a 
 willingness to learn, and a disposition 
 to be devout, they will bear with your 
 G 2 
 
92 COUNSELS 
 
 inexperience, and even with your 
 foibles, and will be ready to take 
 you by the hand, and to lead you 
 forward in the path of life. I have 
 never known a young Christian, who 
 modestly sought the fellowship of 
 those who were eminent for their 
 spirituality of mind, who did not 
 gradually advance to high attain- 
 ments in religion. On the other 
 hand, I have seen nothing but dis- 
 aster and absolute failure attending 
 the path of those who have been 
 " wise in their own conceit," and who 
 have been too lofty in their estimate 
 of self to call in to their aid the coun- 
 sel and the prayers of those who have 
 been " fathers in Christ." 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 93 
 ON WATCHFULNESS. 
 
 Next to humility, let tlie young 
 Christian cultivate the spirit of watch- 
 fulness. Ever exposed to evil, let him 
 not slumber at his post. Without 
 vigilance, sinful habits which have 
 been partially overcome will resume 
 their wonted dominion, and new ene- 
 mies will rush in to enslave and cor- 
 rupt the mind. The joys which are 
 peculiar to the first stages of the 
 Christian profession are apt, through 
 the infirmity of our nature, to mis- 
 lead the mind, and to superinduce a 
 feeling of security in a high degree 
 perilous to the best interests of the 
 soul. " The joy of the Lord " cannot, 
 indeed, prevail too much ; but then it 
 
94 COUNSELS 
 
 must be associated with those other 
 feelings which are as essential as it- 
 self to the entire prevalence of reli- 
 gion in the heart. 
 
 As the young Christian is exposed 
 to the onset of innumerable evils, it 
 becomes him to guard every avenue 
 at which temptation may be supposed 
 to enter. In this process, let him not 
 overlook the constitutional besetments 
 of his nature, whether anger, pride, 
 or sensuality. A double watch must 
 ever be placed where there is a weak 
 or assailable point. Nor must he 
 forget the excitements to evil which 
 arise out of his fellowships with others. 
 Even in Christian society, he will find 
 many things which ought to operate 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 95 
 
 as warnings rather than as examples ; 
 and, in the society of the workl, he 
 will discover every thing- to indicate 
 its forgetfulness of God, and its en- 
 mity against the spirit and maxims of 
 true religion. Let him, moreover, not 
 forget that the spirit of darkness has 
 heen watching, with malignant eye, 
 the change which has been wrought 
 in his views, feelings, and conduct. 
 When he was rolling down the cur- 
 rent of this world's ungodliness, the 
 great adversary of souls made but 
 little effort to stimulate him to evil ; 
 l)ut now it is far otherwise ; he is un- 
 der apprehension that he has been 
 deprived of a subject of his empire, 
 and he will do his utmost to regain 
 
96 COUNSELS 
 
 his lost possession, and to rouse into 
 tenfold action all the propensities of a 
 fallen nature. 
 
 And, while reference is made to 
 our fallen nature, I must not forget 
 to remind the young disciple of 
 Christ, that his gieatest danger is, 
 after all, to be apprehended from that 
 evil heart of unbelief which lodges 
 within him. To the movements of 
 that heart, the full energy of Chris- 
 tian watchfulness ought to be directed. 
 Out of this heart proceeds every evil 
 by which the conscience is perverted, 
 and the life vitiated. You are to keep 
 your heart, then, with all diligence ; 
 for, if it be neglected, Satan and the 
 world will find you an easy prey. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 97 
 
 " Watch and pray, then, that you 
 enter not into temptation." 
 
 ON HABITS OF DEVOTION. 
 
 It is not enough that the young; 
 Christian shoukl he humhle and 
 watchful ; he must also learn to hold 
 intimate converse with Heaven, if he 
 would attain to any considerable mea- 
 sure of establishment in the divine 
 life. Slender habits of devotion will 
 be connected with slender manifes- 
 tations of the power of godliness. It 
 is of immense importance that the 
 religion of the closet should obtain an 
 entire ascendency over the character. 
 And, in order to this, it is indispen- 
 
98 COUNSELS 
 
 sable that a fixed and somewhat la- 
 borious method of devotion should be 
 determined upon at an early stage of 
 the Christian profession. If a light 
 and trifling mode of serving God in 
 private should be once adopted, there 
 is great danger of its obtaining through 
 life. The young Christian must cul- 
 tivate the habit of retired and oft- 
 repeated communion with Heaven, if 
 he would look for much of the divine 
 presence, or if he would expect to 
 attain to much usefulness in the 
 church of Christ. Stated periods of 
 devotion may be agreed on, and even 
 adhered to, where there is but little 
 of fervent intercourse with God, and 
 where there is but a partial alten- 
 
TO THE VOUNG. 9i> 
 
 dance to the various duties of the 
 closet. If the exercises of devotion 
 are to become interesting, they must 
 be associated with the habitual effort 
 of mind ; for we are so constitued, as 
 rational beings, that objects which 
 continue deeply to interest us must 
 engage our faculties. Let me recom- 
 mend to the young Christian, then, 
 the plan of combining, with the stated 
 prayers of the closet, such exercises 
 of reading and meditation as may 
 tend to exercise the judgment, to ex- 
 cite the affections, and to store the 
 memory. A regular course of Scrip- 
 ture reading must, of course, be 
 adopted; and it should, if possible, 
 be such as to conduct the mind by 
 
100 COUNSELS 
 
 gradual steps, to an accurate acquaint- 
 ance with the entire outline of re- 
 vealed truth. Jn pursuing this pro- 
 cess, such assistance as may be found 
 necessary must be called in ; and, in 
 the excellent Commentaries which 
 abound in this country, there will be 
 found no lack of suitable aid. But 
 do not forget that the meditative quali- 
 ties of the mind must be added to the 
 investigating, and that the spirit of 
 ardent devotion must sanctify the en- 
 tire exercise. 
 
 I cannot here omit to obsene, that 
 the plan of keeping something in the 
 form of a diari/ will be found to be 
 of the utmost ser\'ice in enlivening 
 and rendering .profitable the medita- 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 101 
 
 tions and prayers of the closet. But, 
 in recommending tlie keeping of such 
 a record, I would by no means advise 
 the young Christian to confine it, as is 
 too common, to the mere expression 
 of his religious feelings for the time 
 being, but to extend it to a full and 
 honest estimate of his general charac- 
 ter and habits, and to make it the de- 
 pository of his thoughts, opinions, and 
 feelings, upon all subjects connected 
 with the momentous concerns of reli- 
 gion and eternity. Such a diary as 
 this would be rescued from the 
 charge of common-place, and would 
 be purged from that display of rash 
 and thoughtless expression which of- 
 ten pervades documents of the kind 
 
102 COUNSELS 
 
 referred to, to the discouragement of 
 timid and self-diffident Christians, and 
 to the awakening of many painful 
 suspicions in the minds of persons not 
 thoroughly acquainted with the legiti- 
 mate influence of divine truth. An 
 honest record of one human heart is 
 yet a desideratum ; and, though the 
 jmhlication of such a document might 
 not tend to edification, it is a matter 
 of undoubted certainty that its exist- 
 ence would contribute to the benefit 
 of the individual who had decision of 
 character enough to supply, from day 
 to day, such a faithful mirror for the 
 reflection of his own actions. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 103 
 
 ON THE DUTY OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. 
 
 Notliing is more to be deprecated 
 than indolent repose in the disciple of 
 Him who went about continually do- 
 ing good. Both the temper and the 
 obligations of Christianity forbid any 
 of its subjects to live to themselves. 
 Irrespective of all other considera- 
 tions, there is an inexpressible beauty 
 in the ardent and energetic devote- 
 ment of the young mind. And shall 
 it ever be said, with truth, that the 
 most sacred of all impulses leaves the 
 character under the influence of that 
 selfishness which cares only for its 
 own things, and neglects the things 
 of others ? It is impossible that true 
 
104 COUNSELS 
 
 religion can lie dormant and inactive 
 in tlie soul. It is the offspring of 
 infinite benevolence ; and, wherever 
 implanted, it will struggle to express 
 itself in a manner suited to its own 
 nature. It is of great importance that 
 the active energies of the young Chris- 
 tian should be properly called forth 
 and directed. And, in an age like 
 the present, when the demand for 
 active exertion is so great, it becomes 
 the more necessaiy that every young 
 disciple of the Lord Jesus should 
 know what is demanded of him, and 
 that he should act accordingly. It is 
 by no means easy to adjust the claims 
 of duty which press upon individual 
 minds ; but there are certain general 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 105 
 
 principles which will admit of appli- 
 cation to almost all cases which can 
 occur. If there be a desire to know 
 what is the will of God, circumstances 
 w ill generally transpire to give a direc- 
 tion to the inquiring mind. "Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do ? " is a 
 question which, if sincerely asked, 
 will not long remain without an an- 
 swer. On the one hand, the young 
 Christian is to shun undue publicity ; 
 and, on the other, he is to strive 
 against that selfish retirement which 
 those only seek who are living to 
 themselves. 
 
 Among the various methods in 
 which the young Christian may era- 
 ploy his energies for God and his fel- 
 
 H 
 
106 COUNSELS 
 
 low creatures, I would refer with 
 pleasure to tlie office of a Sunday- 
 school Teacher. In devoting himself 
 to this work, he will interfere with no 
 lawful secular claims, and will, more- 
 over, so much improve his own mind, 
 in endeavouring to improve the minds 
 of others, that he will speedily find 
 his reward in his lahour. We want 
 to see the number of pious and de- 
 voted Sunday-school Teachers greatly 
 increased. For the want of such 
 agents, the system, great as have 
 been its benefits, has been compara- 
 tively inefficient. 
 
 I would advise the young, also, 
 under the direction of their Christian 
 pastors, to engage in the work of pro- 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 107 
 
 moting missionary institutions. Sucli 
 employment will greatly enlarge and 
 improve the mind, and will train it to 
 the habitual exercise of those moral 
 sympathies which will elevate and 
 refine the character. The cause of 
 missions is every day acquiring new 
 features of interest; and, ere the 
 whole earth shall be filled with the 
 glory of the Lord, it must occupy, to 
 a far greater extent than it has yet 
 done, the energies of the Christian 
 world. Let the young rouse them- 
 selves to the work of God, and we 
 may soon expect to see the wilder- 
 ness and the solitary place rejoicing 
 and blossoming as the rose. 
 
 I should greatly advise the young 
 
108 COUNSELS 
 
 Christian to acquire tlie habit of visit- 
 ing the abodes of poverty and wretch- 
 edness, for the purpose of administer- 
 ing instruction and consolation. In 
 the present day, the District Visiting 
 Societies furnish ample opportunity for 
 the cultivation of such a habit ; and, 
 under the direction of a discreet mi- 
 nister, it may be pursued with great 
 advantage to all the graces of the 
 Christian character. At the same time, 
 there are dangers connected with this 
 and every other species of doing good. 
 It is necessary, in all public efforts, to 
 guard the religion of the heart, and to 
 take care lest in cultivating the vine- 
 vards of others we nedect our own. 
 
TO THE YOUNG. 109 
 
 ON RELIGIOUS CONNEXION. 
 
 This is a subject of great moment. 
 I would have no serious young person 
 remain in a state of separation from 
 the visible church of Christ. It is an 
 equal duty and privilege to confess 
 Christ before men. Let your union 
 to some Christian society be a matter 
 of conscience, and let conscience take 
 its rule from the word of God. But 
 do not neglect the standing memorial 
 of our blessed Lord's sacrifice for sin. 
 Give yourself first to him, and then 
 to his church; and let your pastor 
 feel that you are a helper with him 
 unto the kingdom of God. Study, by 
 a meek, and humble, and active de- 
 portment, to become a blessing in the 
 
110 COUNSELS TO THE YOUNG. 
 
 church to which you belong. Re- 
 memher that you are the pledged ser- 
 vant of Christ, and that, having put 
 your hand to the plough, you are not 
 at liberty to look back. Be punctual 
 in your attendance upon all ordi- 
 nances. Cultivate the spirit of Chiis- 
 tian love. Contribute your part to the 
 devotional habits of the community to 
 which you belong. Aim at distin- 
 guished usefulness. Walk with God, 
 and then your intercourse with your 
 Christian brethren will be that of one 
 who has come out from the presence- 
 chamber of Deity. 
 
 John Haddon and Co., 27, Ivy Lane.