securing its accomplishment without delay. You see that the change is of indispensable necessity. Without it, you can never be saved. Without it, you can never enter heaven. You see, too, that it must be accomplished in this life, or never. Yes, in this life, or never. And what is your life? "A vapor, which appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

"An empty tale; a morning flower,

Cut down and withered in an hour."

And, my unconverted hearers, what are you now thinking of? And what are you doing? Here you are, on a little inch of time. A great work is to be accomplished, or your souls are lost. And this work must be accomplished here, or never. Yes, here, or never. And can it be, that you are suffering these fleeting, golden moments to pass unimproved? Can it be, that you are busying yourselves with the poor concerns of this narrow life, and suffering the great interests of the soul to lie neglected? When you see yourselves in the midst of the stream, and going down with the resistless current, and just ready to plunge into the abyss below; can it be that you are sporting with the bubbles on the surface, and neglecting that great work without which you know you can never be admitted to the abodes of the blessed!

Do I hear any saying, "We cannot change our own hearts-it is the work of the Spirit to change the heart; and until the Spirit is bestowed, nothing can be done; and we are not to blame?" On this point I have several things to say. And, in the first place, let me remind you, that you and your Maker are here directly at issue. God virtually says to you, in a multitude of passages, that you can, make you a new heart;" or, which is the same thing, that you can turn off your affections from the world, and fix them on himself; that you can be sorry and penitent for your sins; that you can embrace that Saviour, who stands before you with open arms, saying, "Come, come, for all things are now ready." To perform these indispensable duties, God insists that you have all requisite natural power; and that you need the Spirit, not to give you the ability to do what you cannot do, but to make you willing to do what you can. Accordingly, in urging the plea of inability, and thus excusing yourselves from blame you are really contesting the point with God, and giving him the lie to his face. You say that you cannot do, and of course are not to blame for neglecting, what he says you can do, and ought to do, and what he declares that he will punish you forever if you refuse to do. This point, therefore, I must leave you to settle, as you can, between God and your own conscience.

But in the second place, I urge, that this plea of inability is with many of you, probably, a mere pretence, under the cover of which you hope to escape from the force of truth and the pressure of obligation, and is urged by you with manifest insincerity. My reasons for saying this are, that we do not see you manifesting that degree of feeling and earnestness of endeavor to do what you admit you can do, which we might expect to see, on supposition that your alleged inability to do all that is required, were sincerely and honestly urged. There are certain things which you admit you can do, which may have a tendency to promote your preparation for heaven; and now I would ask, whether you are diligently doing even these. You can feel solicitous and anxious on the subject of your salvation; do you feel thus? In your solicitude on this important subject, you can go into your closet, and shut the door, and bend the knee before your heavenly Father, and implore his mercy. Are you accustomed to do this? Where, allow me to ask, is the secret place, to which you daily retire, and pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner?" Is there any such place under heaven? Again, in your solicitude on this mighty subject, you can go to your minister, or to some Christian friend in whom you have confi

dence, and tell him of your anxieties, and ask his counsel and his prayers. Did you ever do this? Or will you promise me that you will do it, the first opportunity? If you are not willing to make such a promise, then it is plain that you do not feel or manifest any proper solicitude on the subject. It is plain that you do not think or care seriously about it. It is plain to me, that this cry of inability has been set up, not because you feel greatly troubled with it, but as a convenient refuge of lies, under cover of which you hope to escape from the force of religious truth, and the pressure of moral obligation. And I will further say, what is very plain to me, that unless this refuge of lies is abandoned, and you come to feel and acknowledge that the requirements of God are reasonable, and can be and ought to be obeyed, I see not how you are ever to be awakened, converted, or saved.

I admit that there are some things connected with your salvation which you cannot do, and which you are not required to do; but there are other things which you can do, and ought to do, and must do, if they are ever done. You cannot make an atonement for your sins; but you can embrace that atonement which Christ has made for you. You cannot cancel your debt to Divine justice; but you can accept the free forgiveness of this debt, which is proffered you on the terms of the gospel. You cannot, by any of your own performances, lay for yourselves a foundation of hope; but you can set down your sinking feet on that firm foundation which has been laid in the sufferings of Jesus. Now we do not ask you to do those things which you cannot do. God does not ask or wish you to do these. But we do ask you, and urge you, to do with all diligence what you can do. And we solemnly promise you, that, if you will do what you can-if you will begin now, and do what you canyou shall be saved. Yes, I repeat it, my unconverted hearers, begin now in earnest, and do what you can; and my soul in your soul's stead, if you are not saved.

But shall I tell you, in conclusion, all my fears? My fear is that you will not do what you can. My fear is that you will go away and soon forget all you have heard. If you have had serious impressions, I fear you will lose them. If you have formed good resolutions, I fear you will break them. If your sinful slumbers have been a little disturbed, I fear they will soon return upon you, and that nothing effectual will be done. Meanwhile, time is rolling on--the thread of life is running off-the day of probation wasting-and the day of decision coming on; and soon it will be too late to repent! Then you will awake, indeed, but it will be to unavailing sorrows. You will awake--but it will be only to mourn forever-" The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." O, be entreated now to awake in earnest to this great subject. Begin now to do what you can. We do not ask you to do more. Begin now to repent of sin, and turn to God, and humbly seek his grace; and God will assuredly have mercy, and your souls shall live. Amen.

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF YALE COLLEGE.

"Allow me to express my decided approbation of the object and plan of the National Preacher. It has opened a new channel for the religious influence of the press. It gives a durable form to a selection of able discourses; and probably gains for them a more attentive perusal, by distributing them, not in volumes, but in smaller portions, at regular intervals of time. The execution,' so far as I have observed, is such as to satisfy the public expectation."

FROM THE REV. ASAHEL NETTLETON.

"I have read, as I have had opportunity, the Numbers of the National Preacher with great satisfaction. I regard it as a work peculiarly desirable to Clergymen, and, at the same time, as worthy of a place in every intelligent family."

FROM THE PRESIDENT AND PROFESSORS OF AMHERST COLLEGE.

"Mr. Dickinson has a clear and discriminating mind; and is himself at once an able writer and preacher. Having spent four years at the South and West, and become extensively acquainted with Ministers and Christians of different denominations; and having at the same time, an intimate knowledge of the religious state and wants of New-England; perhaps no man is better qualified to make a powerful and salutary impression on the public mind, by combining (and in a sense directing) the talents of our most eminent divines in his Monthly Preacher.

"Most sincerely do we wish him the co-operation of those whose name and influence may make the work a blessing to many thousands."

FROM PROFESSORS IN PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

"The plan proposed by the Rev. Austin Dickinson, of publishing a Monthly Series of Sermons, from the pens of respectable ministers of different denominations of Christians in the United States, is one which, in our opinion, may be rendered highly interesting, and extensively useful. We do, therefore, willingly recommend the undertaking to the patronage of the Christian community."

FROM THE QUARTERLY CHRISTIAN SPECTATOR.

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"We do not hesitate to say, that Mr. Dickinson has adopted one of the happiest expedients hitherto devised, for eliciting that diversity of gifts,' in the Christian ministry, which infinite wisdom and benevolence have bestowed for the edification of the body of Christ, and for bringing sinners to the foot of the cross."

FROM THE NEW-YORK OBSERVER.

"This periodical has, from its commencement in 1826, been regarded as a standard work; and, afforded as it is at the low price of one dollar a year, and sustained bcme of the ablest writers of our country, we should expect it would continue to have an extensive and increasing circulation."

It will be the habitual endeavor of the Editor, in this work, to present such Sermons, on all important subjects of Gospel doctrine and practice, as may tend to honor the great Redeemer and save immortal souls. We have been cheered with constant assurances of its usefulness, and if those who read and appreciate, will make it known to others, and encourage its circulation among conscientious paying subscribers, its influence may widen and extend so long as the Gospel is preached.

We respectfully solicit this encouragement to a work which, scattered as it is throughout the United States, is very far from having been to the proprietor a source of pecuniary gain. May not those who receive this, obtain, on an average, one new Subscriber each, and thus increase the number of the reading community?

April, 1836.

From the Boston Recorder.

"PREACHER TO MANY NATIONS.

"The NATIONAL PREACHER, which has been published for nine years in New-York, besides being widely circulated in our own country, and to some extent in England, is also read with interest in China, in India, in South America, and in the far distant isles of the Pacific. The following extract of a letter from a Missionary at the Sandwich Islands shows in what light the work is regarded on the other side of the globe.

"This plan of calling forth the varied talents and united energies of cotemporaneous preachers, and bringing their happiest efforts before millions of our fellow-men, even while the authors, warmed by their own exertions, are still on their knees, imploring a blessing on the truths they have sent forth, appears admirably adapted to promote the strength and harmony of the churches, to facilitate their highest attainments in knowledge and piety, to excite them to that course of benevolent action which the present state of the world demands, and to supply, to some extent, the spiritual wants of multitudes who are not favored, statedly, with the pulpit and pastoral labors of any minister of Christ. The National Preacher deserves the confidence of the world. May this high-commissioned messenger of Christ be received with thankfulness and joy by tens of millions of our race. May the Divine Author of all the valuable gifts in the church copiously shed down the graces of his Spirit upon the contributors to this evangelical publication, that their writings may be worthy of the enlightened age in which we live, and such as hundreds of millions may be edified to read, when the pens of the writers are exchanged for harps of gold."

WANTED,

A number of individuals, acquainted with men and manners, and of responsible character, to extend the circulation of this work. To such, very generous terms would be offered on application to the Editor.

TERMS NEXT PAGE.

THE AMERICAN

NATIONAL PREACHER.

OR

ORIGINAL SERMONS-MONTHLY.

EDITED BY REV. AUSTIN DICKINSON.
Office at the Bookstore of JOHN S. TAYLOR, 151 Nassau-street, New-York.

CONTENTS OF No. 3, Vol. XI.-AUG. 1836.

TWO SERMONS:-" The Sinner arraigned and convicted;" by Rev. DR. Palmer.

"The nature, necessity, and evidences of Repentance," by Rev. R. W. BAILEY.

NEW-YORK:

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