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word of God. And thus resisting the devil, he departed from him, and angels came and ministered to him. Let us, then, use the same means, trusting in the help of our Saviour Christ, who "having himself suffered, being tempted, is able to succour them that are tempted; " and hath assured us by the mouth of his favoured apostle, that "God is faithful" [to his promise, and to his people, who trust in him and fear him,] and he "will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." "Let him, then, that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall," and with sobriety and vigilance resist the enemy of his soul, stedfast in the faith;—and let him that trembleth before the power of Satan take courage, in the assurance that the powers that are with us are stronger than those that be against us.

DISCOURSE IV.

ON THE INJURIOUS INFLUENCE OF THE CONDUCT OF WICKED SAILORS.

ZECHARIAH VIII. 13.

And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

THE book of Zechariah, like the writings of the prophets in general, was originally addressed to the Jews. This nation, having in part returned from their seventy years' captivity in Babylonia, and begun to rebuild the temple, were excited and encouraged in their labour by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. In the chapter before us, the encouragements to perseverance in their work, are numerous and animating. They are incited by the promise of the Lord, that Jerusalem should be restored, reformed, and re-peopled;

that the land should be enriched, the affairs of the nation prospered, their fallen reputation retrieved, and their condition entirely changed and reversed from what, for many preceding "And it shall come to pass," years, it had been. saith the prophet, by the word of the Lord, "that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing."

According to the expectations and encouragements herein given, God, who is faithful to his promises, brought these predictions to pass. The temple was rebuilt; the nation of the Jews again became great and prosperous; and blessings descended from them to the various nations of the earth, as God had declared unto Abraham. From them, we, among the privileged Gentiles, have received the holy scriptures, with all our knowledge and privileges as a Christian people. Through their generation and race, we, and the world at large, have obtained the hope of redemption; for of them, "as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever!" Has not the despised nation, then, who "were a curse," "a by-word," "a proverb," already become a blessing? But there is a still more important sense-an event now in the embryo of prophecy, and apparently moving with the signs of life-when all the nations of the

earth shall be blessed through them; when the Jews shall be gathered again to Jerusalem, out of every nation under heaven, and converted to the religion of Jesus; when, there being a general stirring of the dry bones," as life from the dead," the people of all nations shall cling to "him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." Then, in the most perfect sense, shall be brought to pass the saying that is written in our text, as ye were a curse among the heathen, so will I save you, and

ye shall be a blessing."

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Such, brethren, is, I apprehend, the immediate and primary meaning of the words before us; yet we may still, without any violation of scripture, or deviation from the practice of the sacred writers themselves, apply them to another class of men, the correspondence of whose recent and present condition with the former condition of the Jews, renders them peculiarly appropriate. I refer to seamen. For the improving condition of sailors, contrasted with the almost universal wickedness that used to prevail among them; the present 'shaking of the dry bones' in this vale of the sea; the evident striving of the Spirit among this long neglected class of men; the diminution of the fool-hardy sins of swearing and blasphemy, and I trust, likewise, of the soul-ruining, disgusting vice of drunkenness among sea-faring people;

and above all, the increase of praying men and pious captains, both in our naval and merchant service, are all encouraging indications of the gracious purposes of God towards seamen; and these indications embolden us in applying the words originally designed for the Jews, by the method of appropriation, unto them, trusting, brethren of the sea, that whereas " ye were a curse among the heathen," "ye shall now be a blessing."

May the Spirit of Truth and Author of Inspiration, enable me so to treat this important subject according to the analogy of faith, that, through the power of Divine grace, no one amongst us may ever again be a curse, but a blessing, among the heathen whose coasts we visit!

Our plan, with a humble reliance upon Divine assistance, will be, to show you in what respects seamen WERE a curse among the heathen; in what respects they become a blessing, and may, with God's help, become more and more a blessing.

I. We consider, THAT SEAMEN USED TO BE A CURSE AMONG THE HEATHEN,—

1. By giving a false idea of the Christian character through their wicked behaviour.

It is a reproach that belongs peculiarly to us,

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