your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds."* It is not, Gentlemen, the preparation of a sovereign remedy that cures the disease, but the application of it;' it is not from defect of mercy in God, or salvation in Christ, that men perish, but for their obstinate rejection of boththeir perseverance in unbelief. It is essential to the salvation of man that he understand and receive the testimony of the Testator as revealed in his Will; that he believe in him through that testimony, to the saving of his soul; and that he be OBEDIENT TO HIS COMMANDS. What this faith and obedience is, I shall here, by the gracious illumination of his Spirit, briefly state to you. It is coming unto God, believing "that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him;"† praying "unto God by him, who ever liveth to make intercession for us, for every blessing," and for the gift of his Spirit to enable us to search the Scriptures with our whole soul, in simplicity of heart, to take God at his word, without gainsaying or questioning the sincerity of his declarations which, whenever we so search, he promises that he will be found of us. § It is submitting ourselves "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake; whether it be to the king as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him;" honouring all men; loving the brotherhood; fearing God; honouring the king. It is rendering "to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owing no man any thing." ¶ It is manifesting our love to God, by a filial reverence, by a cheerful and willing obedience, not as a mere act of duty as to a strict, severe master, but in a pleasing acquiescence in the will of a gracious sovereign. It is believing in the Testator as our Saviour; that he died for us personally, as well as for the world collectively; that his atonement is all-sufficient for our salvation, independently of any works of our own. It is confessing our faith before many witnesses in his ordinance of baptism, § Jer. xxix. 13, 14 2 John 6, 9-11. Heb. xi. 6. Heb. vii. 25. ¶ Rom. xiii. 7, 8. with sincerity of heart, according as we are instructed in his holy Will; and ever after walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. It is guiding our conduct by the precepts of the Testator in his inspired Word; and, as often as we sit down at his table, typically feeding upon his body. and blood, in remembrance and acknowledgment of the great sacrifice he made for our redemption. Thus worshipping, and being blessed with a knowledge of his Will, believers are assured of their acceptance, and that they are heirs to the eternal inheritance, according to the positive declaration and immutable promise of the Testator-"I go to prepare a place for you. And I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also."* This, Gentlemen, is our case; being, according to our views, the sum and substance of what the Will requires from the legatees. It is impossible that "the revelation of Jesus Christ can have so uncertain a meaning as the evidence of the plaintiffs' witnesses would lead you to believe; if it had, we should have nothing certain to guide us, but be subject to be "carried about with every wind of doctrine." "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" + I can "of sincerity in the sight of God," say, with the apostle of the Gentiles, that "my heart's desire, and prayer to God for" our opponents "is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." It is my fervent wish and prayer that the result of this trial may not only open the eyes of some of my countrymen to the delusive system now so prevalent, but that it may induce them to read the Will, and judge for themselves. A cursory view of it will convince them, that there was no occasion for this Trial, but that every man may be the judge of his own case, and know to an infallible certainty whether he is, or is not, entitled to the bequest. And John xiv. 2, 3. +1 Cor. xiv. 8. Rom. x. 1. 3. further, that whosoever shall give his whole mind to the instruction afforded in the Will, and with purpose of heart cleave unto the Lord;* "praying to God alway," as did Cornelius; observing "all things whatsoever He has commanded;" shall find his title to heirship established, free from doubts and fears, as it is therein written; "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." + I shall now, Gentlemen, call one Witness, not to give evidence against the plaintiffs, their own witnesses having in this matter anticipated him,-but to show you that we have had our hearts opened by the Lord to "believe to the saving of the soul:"‡ and that, having confessed our faith in the ordinance of baptism as required by the Testator, we are included in that saying of the Evangelist John, “As many as received him, to them gave he POWER (or the RIGHT or PRIVILEGE) to become the sons of God, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME. Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." As it is written, in one of the last clauses of the Will, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life; and may enter in THROUGH THE GATES into the city. The learned and upright judge will, in his charge, point out to you, in an impartial manner, that which he sees necessary; and as for myself, Gentlemen, I shall not detain you longer, but leave my Witness to speak for himself; resting satisfied that you will consider this momentous subject with that calmness and impartiality which your duty demands. "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask," || I leave our GLORIOUS CAUSE; knowing that your verdict, under His guidance, must carry conviction to every heart that is seriously desirous of being "led forth by the right way." * Acts xi. 23. + Tit. iii. 7. Heb. x. 39. § John i. 12, 13. || Eph. iii. 20. WITNESS FOR THE DEFENDANTS. I, THE Witness for the Defendants, "think myself happy" to stand this day before you, my Lord, and the Gentlemen of the Jury, to give my evidence in this Great Cause; believing that I cannot better evince my gratitude to the Most High, for the innumerable mercies which I have received at His hands, and the blessedness of the gifts of which He has been graciously pleased to make me a partaker, than by thus coming forward to vindicate his cause, to uphold the honour of his name, and, to the extent of my ability, and according to the light and information which I have received from his Word, to set forth the dignity and importance of His Divine Institution, to maintain its integrity, and to rescue it from the contumely which the enemies of truth have heaped upon it; and further, by seeking to make it manifest that the observance of it is the appointed way which the great Testator has ordained that His name shall be confessed by all His faithful followers, who, through "evil report and good report, despite the sneers, the scoffs, and the censures of the world, "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." And this I shall do with fervent charity and sincere good-will towards all men, "if by (this or) any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and-save some of them."+ Being, however, almost an entire stranger to all present, I consider that it will not be irrelevant, if, after the manner of the Apostle Paul, and some of the Witnesses on the other side, I give a brief account of myself, and of the way in which I have been led into the understanding of the Will. I was born in the year 1774. Having been sent to sea by my own request at an early age, I received a very slender education, which will account for my defects of style, and + Rom. xi. 14. *Rev. xiv. 4. errors of diction. I come not before you "with excellency of speech," nor "in the wisdom of men." Making, therefore, no pretension to eloquence; and seeking not the applause, I hope not to provoke the censure, of the grammarian. I consider, indeed, that oratory, is often employed rather for the depreciation than the maintenance of truth. I trust that, with the considerate, my deficiencies in these respects will neither disparage my arguments, nor detract from the merits of my statements; particularly when they reflect that the great Testator made use of men similarly unlearned to spread his gospel throughout the world. The profession which I had chosen soon familiarised me with the vices to which seamen in particular, at that time, were addicted. The several masters with whom I sailed, were men of the most profligate character; and, by their conduct and example, encouraged every species of immorality. During the time that I followed this profession, I lived the most inconsiderate life imaginable. While we were lying in the West Indies, on two several voyages, I witnessed the greater portion of our crew, as well as of the crews of the ships lying around us, swept off by the yellow fever; and twice I was myself, by the same fever, brought to the verge of the grave: yet a thought of a future state of being never once entered my mind. Of me it might be said, with the greatest truth, that I literally lived without hope and "without God in the world."—A circumstance which occurred on one of our homeward-bound voyages, will set forth in a strong light the thoughtless lives which the seamen led. The master of the vessel having been seized with the yellow fever (as the officers and several of the crew had previously been), he was persuaded to leave the ship for another, then under convoy with us; and I, being the mate, was left in command. I was myself, at the time, worn down by the effects of that malignant disorder; the second mate was unable to leave his bed from the same cause; the number of the crew was reduced by death, and the strength of the survivors so weakened, that we could scarcely work the ship. In this |