n be done by no merely external
system of benevolent action, any farther than such a system has a reflex
influence on the moral feelings. Farther than this, the effort would be
like attempting to stop the floods of the Amazon with a bulrush.

The great work, therefore, in erecting a system of beneficence, must be
wrought in the soul,--in impressing views and regulating affections.
For this there can be no substitute. This deep and steady current of
truth and thought, is to the mind in connection with the Spirit's
operations, what showers are to the earth. If there are none, it soon
becomes parched, and verdure withers; if they descend frequently and
copiously, the ground is filled with moisture, vegetation blooms, and
fruits ripen; springs burst forth, the streams dash along the valleys,
sweep through the meadows, and pouring into the ocean, roll their
mountain waves around the world.

II. Standing on this high ground of established principles and
correspondent affections, we are prepared to take the second step in a
universal system of beneficence; consisting in the exercises of the will
in the formation of general purposes and resolutions. These should be
made with a solemn sense of the responsibilities of our being; of our
relations to the world and to the judgment-seat; and with a full
conviction of our own weakness and entire dependence on the grace of God
to assist us in their fulfilment.

Reader, with this humble reliance on Divine aid, will you now make the
following resolutions your own?

1. As a foundation to all others, I solemnly consecrate myself, soul
and body, to God in an everlasting covenant.

2. I will prayerfully endeavor to keep my heart in sympathy with the
great principles and duties above unfolded.

3. I will make the benevolence of Jesus Christ, in its spirit and
design, the pattern of my own, constantly carrying about the conviction,
that I must practise great self-denial, and make continued sacrifices in
imitation of my dying Lord.

4. I will make unremitting war on the selfishness of my heart, knowing
it to be the worst of evils; and fully purposing that it shall never
influence my decision, either in regard to a general scheme, or a
particular act, of beneficence.

5. I will thoroughly and candidly consider the spiritual destitutions
of our country and the world; the peculiar mission of the church in the
present age; and manfully, and with a whole heart, make the
renunciat