shall we hail with peculiar joy the anniversary of his birth-then shall we look with holy confidence along the journey of his eventful lifethen shall we gather up the gracious precepts of his lips, and drink the living water of his doctrine, till we feel the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, and embrace that peace which passes all knowledge then be filled with all joy and peace in believing; and by the eye of faith look forward to the final result of the Messiah's mission; when we shall awake in his likeness, and when our ransomed race shall find new and immortal employment in the presence of God, for all their then beatified powers forever. For the Scriptures inform us that there shall be a new and a sublimer creation when the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and he will dwell with them in a new and living sense, and they shall be his people and God himself shall be their God; who will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things shall have passed away. Yes, the sorrows, and troubles, and trials, and disappointments, and distresses, and even the death of this mortal state, shall be known and feared no more forever. But one immortal day shall exclude the night, and one universal joy shall dispel every sorrow and dissipate every gloom.

But this glorious existence belongs to the resurrection state; when "that which is sown in corruption shall have been raised in incorruption, and that which is sown in dishonor shall

have been raised in glory, and that which is sown in weakness shall have been raised in power." For as we have borne the image of the earthy Adam, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed; for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal, immortality. So when this corruptable shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal, immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. And then shall the creation be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom. viii.) Then will commence the last loud celebration which has no end, and one universal choir will unite in the triumphant song, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" "And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, shall be heard, saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth

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upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever!" Hallelujah, the Lord Omnipotent reigneth-hallelujah and glory forever and ever! Amen.

WITCHCRAFT,

Or Saul and the Witch of Endor.

A SERMON.

"Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, bring me up Samuel."

1 Samuel, xxviii. 11.

My reasons for calling your attention to this singular subject for consideration in the house of God, are:

1. Because many persons, especially amongst the young and illiterate, even in our enlightened country, still believe, that wicked men and women possess the power of foretelling some future events; and yet suffer themselves to be imposed upon by ignorant and arrant impostors. It is happily true, that but little of this folly is now practised; but so long as there is any, there is too much. It is not necessary for me to suppose any of this class present this morning, but if they dwell amongst us, you occasionally meet them, and by investigating the subject, you will be induced to feel the importance of removing from their minds this pernicious relic of a barbarous age. The weak, the ignorant and the credulous should ever be protected by the intelligent and discreet. Nor is this superstition entirely confined to the unlearned. Adam Clarke, who stands at the head of a large party of Christians, in point of literature, and

Dr.

who is well entitled to his station, says, upon the subject now under consideration :-"I believe there is a possibility, by arts not strictly good, to work and have intercourse with spirits, not HUMAN; and to employ in a certain limited way, their power and influence." Dr. Clarke, it is true, is now numbered with those that were; but his influence over the opinions of the living is still confessedly and deservedly great; and more especially over the denomination to which he belonged, the Methodists. Now, if learned men believe these things "possible," the unlearned will believe them probable, and the credulous will as easily believe them certain.

2. Many intelligent men in other respects, but who have never made the Bible their study, think the sacred volume contains, or at least countenances the idle superstition of witchcraft, and other frivilous notions, which are calculated to degrade rather than elevate the human mind. When such men learn their error, in relation to the Scriptures, I cannot but hope they will cease to undervalue the sacred volume, and believe it entitled to their respect, and more of their attention.

3. This subject is intimately connected with other equally absurd notions, which are still held sacred by many of those from whom we might hope for better things. If they can be induced to examine the ground upon which this once popular superstition was believed, and compare it with the foundation of their present errors, they will be likely to perceive, that in refusing to believe the wild notions of a former

age, respecting witchcraft, they have prepared the way to surrender the equally unscriptural notions of fallen angels, and the agency of the devil in the affairs of men. Every step we may in this way gain, will add to the influence of sound and sober truth, as taught in the Bible. These reasons are deemed sufficient to justify me in my present labors.

The first thing to be attended to in our present inquiry is a description of witchcraft as we find it noticed in the Bible. This involves the questions, what were the witches and wizzards mentioned in the scriptures? What power did they profess? Did they really perform what those who consulted them believed they did, or did they impose upon the credulous who confided in them? You will perceive that my present object is to show in what light these matters were viewed by the sacred writers. In order to accomplish this, it will be necessary to present several texts, in which these characters are mentioned.

a

The person mentioned in this chapter is " woman that hath a familiar spirit. "Such persons are mentioned along with wizzards, and others who practiced heathen superstitions :" 2 Chronicles xxxiii. 6. It is said of Manassah, "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, also he observed times, and used enchantments and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizzards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger." And Leviticus xx. 27, says, “ A man also, or a