"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God." This river has many streams of mercy. Now I invite your attention to seven.

The

1st. There is the stream of converting mercy. moment a child drinks by faith of this stream he is converted to Christ. His very nature is changed; his hard heart is softened; his vile, polluted heart is sanctified, washed, purified, and made holy. His heart, which was full of enmity, full of hatred against God and Christ, is filled with love. Beloved children, may you be persuaded to drink of this stream of converting mercy! then you shall feel this change, this blessed change. 2d. There is the stream of justifying mercy. Every little child who is saved is justified. Justification is a part of salvation; therefore it is said, (Rom. viii. 33,) "It is God that justifieth." Do you know what it is to be justified? Do you wish to know? I hope you do. Then I will tell you. When God justifies a little child, he does two things: he pardons his sins; that is the first he receives him into his favour; that is the second. He does this on account of the righteousness of Christ; that is, on account of what Jesus became, did, and suffered for the salvation of poor sinners. May God enable you to drink of the stream of justifying mercy! Then your sins will be forgiven, and God will look upon you with smiles of love.

3d. There is the stream of adopting mercy. What is it to be adopted? It is to be taken out of the family of Satan, and to be put into the family of God. Dear children, have you no wish to be put into this blessed family? Ask Jesus, pray to Jesus, and he will take you into his family, and make you his own sons, his own daughters. When you are made the children of God, how sweetly you will sing,—

"Behold, what wondrous grace

The Father hath bestow'd
On sinners of a mortal race,

4th. There is the stream of sanctifying mercy. You have often heard that sin pollutes the soul. A sinful soul is a filthy soul. When a dear child drinks of the stream of sanctifying mercy, he is made clean, and holy, and lovely. Believe it, true holiness is true loveliness. Blessed loveliness, neither disease nor death shall destroy it! How short the loveliness of youth!—but the loveliness of holiness will last for ever; yes, for ever! Oh, plead, oh, pray for the fulfilment of this promise, (Ezek. xxxvi. 25,) “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean."

Do you

5th. There is the stream of healing mercy. know, my young friends, that your souls are diseased? I assure you, they are. And the diseases of your souls never can be healed unless you drink of the stream of healing mercy. Pride, unbelief, enmity, and carelessness, are the diseases of the soul. There are many more beside. If you drink of the stream of healing mercy, every disease will be cured. When the thief drinks of this stream, he becomes honest. When the liar drinks of it, he speaks the truth. When the swearer drinks of it, he fears God. Oh, what a stream!— what a wondrous stream! This stream flows from Jesus. Then let us sing,—

""Tis He forgives thy sins;

"Tis He relieves thy pain;
'Tis He that heals thy sicknesses,

And makes thee young again."

6th. There is the stream of comforting mercy. Some of you know little or nothing of sorrow, and therefore you may see no need of this stream of comforting mercy. You are in a great mistake: your day of sorrow, of mourning, and grief, may be near at hand; then, nothing can comfort you but this stream. But some of you, now, may be sorrowful. Perhaps you are poor, or diseased; or you may have lately lost a father or a mother, a brother or a sister. Does any of these make you sad, or sorrowful? Oh, come

and drink of the stream of comforting mercy! Then joy will fill your soul. Oh, taste and see that God is good! Jesus will be to you better than a father, a mother, a sister, or a brother!

7th. There is the stream of glorifying mercy. The holy Apostle John saw a vision of that stream in heaven. It is clear as crystal; and on either side of

it grows the Tree of Life. Even here, that stream flows. Often, dying children who love Jesus drink of it, and they feel as if they saw the glory of heaven, as if they tasted the joys of heaven, and as if they heard the songs of heaven. Oh, come, my beloved young friends, and drink of the waters of salvation! As soon as you drink by faith, you will be able to sing like the holy dying children of whom I have been speaking; "The hill of Sion yields

A thousand sacred sweets,

Before we reach the heavenly fields,

Or walk the golden streets."

II. We proceed to speak of the banks of the river of salvation. Observe the name of the banks, and the description of the banks.

1st. Observe the name of the banks. The name of one is the Old Testament, and the name of the other is the New Testament. You know it is from the banks you have the best view of a river. From the tops of hills, at a great distance, you may see the river flowing through green meadows and rich plains. But it is from the banks you have the best view of the crystal waters of the river, as it flows along. So it is with the river of salvation. You have the best and clearest view of the river of salvation, and of the streams of mercy, from the sacred banks of the Old and New Testament. May the Holy Spirit enable you to know, and love, and frequent these banks !

2d. I will now give you some description of these banks.

They are green. That is, they are fresh and lovely.

The ordinances are called, in Psa. xxiii. 2, "green pastures," because they are spiritually fresh and lovely. For the same reason, the Old and New Testaments deserve to be called the green banks of the river of salvation.

They are fruitful. There you may see vast numbers of fruitful trees bearing the richest fruits. There are trees of doctrines, trees of promises, and trees of precepts. Blessed are those children who love these trees, and who pluck the delicious fruit.

These banks are most pleasant. The air is fragrant, cooling, and refreshing. Holy children, who are found on these banks, show in their countenances the lovely smiles of joy and peace.

These banks are lofty. From the noble heights, and with the telescope of faith in your hand, you can catch a view of heaven.

These banks are rich. Yes, rich with springs of comfort, and rich with mines of wisdom.

""Tis a broad land of wealth unknown,
Where springs of life arise;

Seeds of immortal bliss are sown,
And hidden glory lies."

III. I wish now to give you some account of the WALKS which are seen on the banks of the river of salvation. Jesus the King has made all these walks; and in these walks, holy children often meet King Jesus. The walks are the ordinances of religion.

1st. One of these walks is, the reading of the word. Here holy children take their morning and their evening walk. This walk is most profitable and pleasant.

2d. Prayer is another walk. In this walk, holy children speak and converse with God, and ask from him every blessing which their souls need. Blessed

are they who are often found in this walk.

By prayer they learn the holy fight;

Prayer makes the Christian's armour bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees

The youngest saint upon his knees.”

What sweet songs are

3d. Praise is another walk. sung in this walk! Here, small companies of saints are heard singing the songs of Zion. And also large assemblies of saints are heard, raising their hallelujahs of praise to the throne of God.

4th. Meditation is another walk. There young saints are generally found alone; by themselves, thinking of salvation, Christ, and heaven.

5. Self-examination is another walk. In this walk, the young Christian asks himself, Do I love Jesus? Have I the marks of God's children? What can I do for my Saviour, who has done so much for me?

6th. Public worship is another walk. Great multitudes are found here. In this walk they often say, "It is good to be here; it is the house of God, it is the gate of heaven."

IN THE CONCLUSION:—I call on you affectionately "wisdom's ways.' to frequent these paths. They are And "wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." There are seven things which make these walks pleasant. These are seven strong reasons why you should walk in them.

1st. There are in these walks pleasant seats for young saints. These seats or arbours are the promises. The moment you sit down, you will find yourselves become lively, strong, and cheerful.

2d. Here are fruit trees of great beauty and richness. These trees are the graces of the Spirit. Of these, faith and love are peculiarly noble, fruitful, and lofty..

3d. Here are flowing fountains, sending forth streams of consolation, peace, and joy. These flow night and day. One drop lifts the soul to heaven.

4th. Here are refreshing breezes. These are the influences of the Holy Spirit. May you know and love these breezes!

5th. Here is cheering light. Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, ever shines on those blessed walks,