SERMON LXIII.

AN ASSEMBLY CONVOKED AGAINST SINNERS.

AND I set a great assembly against them.-NEHEMIAH V. 7.

WHEN Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, with a commission from the Persian monarch, appointing him governor of Judea, after the return of the Jews from captivity, he found that many evils. and abuses had crept in among them, which it required all his wisdom and firmness to rectify. But as he was a man whom nothing could daunt or discourage, he exerted himself vigorously to correct these evils, and succeeded. An account of the means which he employed on one occasion, for this purpose, we have in the chapter before us. After stating that he summoned the guilty persons before him, and reproved them for the evils to which they had been accessory, he adds, And I set a great assembly against them. He seems to have adopted this measure, partly, because the persons implicated were numerous and powerful, and it was necessary to show them that still greater numbers disapproved of their conduct; and partly, with a view to produce in them such a salutary shame and remorse, as might lead them to a voluntary renunciation of their criminal practices. The measure was successful. Although the criminals, relying on their numbers, wealth, and power, might have braved the displeasure of Nehemiah alone, they could not support the disapprobation of the numerous assembly he set

against them; and therefore consented to renounce the gainful, but illegal practices, of which they had been guilty, and to make restitution to those whom they had injured.

My hearers, I wish to adopt, with respect to the irreligious part of this assembly, a measure similar to that which was employed by the governor of Judea. I wish to show impenitent sinners, of every description, how great an assembly may be set against them; how numerous are the beings, who regard their conduct with most decided disapprobation. It is the more necessary to do this, because there is nothing on which sinners so much rely, nothing which so much encourages and strengthens them in their neglect of religion, as the greatness of their numbers. In this place, and indeed in every part of this revolted world, they have a great majority on their side. They are decidedly superior to the servants of God, not only in number, but in wealth, and power, and influence; so that were the great question, what is truth? to be decided by numbers, they could easily determine it in their own favor. Now among a race of beings so much influenced by custom, fashion, and example, as men are, the evils occasioned by this fact are prodigious. The very circumstance, that so large a majority of mankind are on the side of irreligion, tends powerfully to preserve a majority on that side; for a large proportion of the youth, in each successive generation, will enlist under the banner of the strongest party. The same circumstance operates most powerfully to weaken the force, and prevent the success of those means and arguments, which God employs for the conversion of sinners. When the man who neglects religion, looks around him, and sees wealth, rank, power and influence, all ranged on his side, he secretly says, I must be right, I must be safe; the evils with which I am threatened cannot be real; no danger can attend the path which so many pursue; the arguments which are employed to effect a change in my sentiments and conduct cannot be founded in truth, and are therefore unworthy my attention. If I fare as well as the great mass of my fellow creatures, I shall fare well enough. This being the case, it is important to show sinners, that a great assembly may be set against them; an assembly, whose approbation is far more valuable, and whose example is far more worthy of imitation, than that of all the multitudes whom they are following. In attempting to do this, however,

I shall address those, only, who assent to the truth of the Scriptures, and who acknowledge arguments drawn from them to be valid. If we cannot show sinners of this description, a greater assembly collected against them, than they can collect on their side, we consent, that from this time, they shall follow the world wherever it leads them. Among those, my irreligious hearers, who are against you, we may mention,

1. The good men now in the world. By good men, I do not mean professors of religion; for many professors are on your side, and are perhaps more guilty than any of you. But by good men, I mean men really good, men whom God will acknowledge to be good. Now there is not one, no, not one such man among all the multitudes on whose numbers you rely. Look through the whole host of your associates, and you cannot find one good man. Even in Sodom, there was one. But in all the ranks of those who neglect religion, there is not one. All, all good men are against you. God has not a servant, Jesus Christ has not a friend on earth, who is not against you. Their example is against you, their testimony is against you. And although their number, in any particular place, may be small, yet were they collected from all parts of the world, they would probably form the most numerous assembly the world ever saw. And if thus collected, they would all, with one voice, testify against you and condemn your conduct. Yes, if all the goodness which the eye of God now sees scattered in different parts of the earth, were here present, it would set itself in direct opposition to the course you are pursuing. My irreligious hearers, to have such an assembly as this against you, is not a small thing. To belong to a company, in which not a single good man can be found, is far from being desirable, however large that company may be.

But perhaps some will reply, we differ in our ideas of goodness, and of good men. There are many on our side, whom you will not acknowledge to be good men, but whom we consider as such, and in whom we may justly boast. I answer, it is of very little consequence whom I consider as good; for it is a small thing to be judged of men's judgment. But you will recollect, that I call those only good men whom the Bible, whom God pronounces to be good. And you surely will not pretend that any others have a claim to the title. Nor will you pretend that God regards as good any man who neglects religion.

I am willing, however, in this case, not to appeal to the Bible. I will meet you on broader ground, on ground where men of all religious denominations and opinions will consent to meet. I will take the due performance of one duty, the duty of prayer, as the characteristic of a good man. I mention this duty, because not only all denominations of Christians, but Jews, Mahometans, Heathens, and even many infidels, acknowledge prayer to be a duty. And they all acknowledge that this duty ought to be performed sincerely; and that no man, who does not thus perform it, is a good man. Allow me then to set all the persons in the world, who do pray sincerely, against those who never pray at all, or pray only in an insincere, formal manner. Those of you who neglect prayer, will still have the majority on your side, but of whom is that majority composed? Among them all, there is not one to pray, either for himself, or for his companions; not one to implore the blessing of Heaven on your numerous host. From all that host, not one cry ascends to Heaven for mercy. All the prayer which ascends from the world, ascends from that great assembly which is set against you. My hearers, you must choose which side you please; but permit me to say, I would rather stand with only ten praying persons, against a prayerless world, than with a prayerless world, against ten men of prayer. Indeed, who, that believes the Bible, would not rather be with Noah, against an ungodly world, than with an ungodly world, against Noah? But all the good men who are now on earth, form only a very small part of the assembly which may be collected against those of you who neglect religion.

I proceed to set against you,

2. All the good men who have ever lived in the world, and whose spirits, the spirits of just men made perfect, are now in heaven. These, it is obvious to remark, compose an assembly, far exceeding in number, all the good men who are now alive. In this assembly, stands righteous Abel, the first martyr; Enoch, who was translated, that he should not see death; Noah, who walked with God, when a world rose up in arms against him; Abraham, the friend of God and the father of the faithful; Israel, who as a prince, had power with God and with men, and prevailed; Moses, who chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Elijah, who ascended alive into heaven, together with a long list of other venerable names, of whom the world was not worthy. In this assembly we also see John the Baptist, than whom a greater was never born of woman; the twelve apostles, and other immediate disciples of our Lord; the almost countless host of the martyrs, who in the first three centuries sealed the truth with their blood; the reformers, who burst the iron bands. of papal superstition; the pious fathers of New England, who forsook their country, and braved the perils of the ocean and the hardships of a savage wilderness, that they might have the liberty of serving God according to the dictates of their own. consciences.

All these, and myriads more, composing an assembly which no man can number, I set against you. All the collected goodness, which for more than five thousand years has adorned the world, and saved it from destruction, I array against you. I invoke the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles, and the martyrs; I invoke all the friends of God, and servants of Jesus Christ, now in heaven, to descend with their robes of light, their harps and crowns of gold, and repeat the testimony, which, while on earth, they bore against the sin of a God-denying world. I invoke the fathers of New England to appear, and rebuke the folly and impiety of their degenerate sons, who neglect the God of their fathers, and practically say of the Redeemer, in whom they trusted, We will not have this man to reign over us.

And now, sinner, look at the heavenly host of God's elect, purified from all earthly stains, made perfect in knowledge, in wisdom and holiness, and shining resplendent with the glories of the upper world, while with countenances full of celestial compassion, yet severe in grave rebuke, they array themselves against you, and reprove the madness of which you are guilty. Not one of them ascended to heaven from your ranks; not one of them, should he revisit the earth, would enter your ranks. No, while they resided here as expectants of eternity, they exchanged the broad crowded road, in which you are walking, for the narrow way which has led them to heaven; and by their example, and their writings, they, though dead, still speak, and bear testimony against all who follow your path. It appears therefore, that not only all the goodness, which now exists in