THE DANGERS OF YOU1N'G MEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1846, 14 December 1869, Page 5

THE DANGERS OF YOUIN'G MEN.

The following address was delivered by the tfev. James Buller, before the Scripture Conversation Class, in connexion with llic Young Men's Christian Association, on Sunday, the 12thinstant.

I The young men of our day will be the men of days to come. We get into the " sere mid yellow leaf" of age. I feel I lie autumnal winds already playing round my brow ; much of the journey of life is behind me, but there is one thing I can do, I can point out the (lungers of the way. You, young men, are but beginning the pilgrimage ; there are two ways, a broad way and a imi-row way. There are dangers peculiar to both. In thu former case, tho danger i= seen by all ; it is thai, of the ill-fated ship drawn within the vortex of the maelstrom, it lcadcth to destruction. Alas, that so - ' mnnv there be that go in thereat.'-' To them the voice of warning comes too lale, or without etlect. A fatal spell binds the drunkard, the gamester, and the prolligate, to the "way to hell." Many a ruined hope comes up to' our mind's eye. How many have we seen whose early days gave promise of a noble life; by yielding to the syren voice of" the pleasures of sin," make •' shipwreck of faith and a good conscience," and become utterly lost to all sense of duty or honour. ""Wide is the " U te" at the entrance of that way ; it is easy to get within. We tremble for our young men who arc exposed to the limuy' tempting baits ■which gild the fatal poison." I see uotT safety but in the fear of God. " Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way" from " the corruptions which are in the world through lust," but " by taking heed thereto according to Thy word." Religion alone provides a moral safeguard from I he danger of a vicious life. There are Christian mothers and godly I fathers who am mourning in secret over sons— once the pride and hope of their fond hearts who are now in the lowest grade of social life, being " led astray by the error of the wicked." I cannot young men, too earnestly press upon you the necessity of religion. I mean not the religion of any special creed or form, nor the religion of excited feeling, but the only thing worthy of that sacred name—the religion of principle. It is only here that you can lay the foundation of a noble life, of social purity, and of a glorious immortality. I do not say that you can divorce dogma from' piety, power from spirit, or feeling from faith ; but 1 do say there may be doctrine, powor, and leeling too, where as yet there is no faith, at least that faith which is the principle of a true piety—faith that works by love and purifies the heart. I am not going into a laboured dissertation on the subject, but of this I am sure that if you will but make it your inquiry and fully inform your minds as to its nature, you will find in true religion all the elements of manliness, of happiness, of greatness. Religion demands inquiry, " walk about Zion," & c . If the Bible be true, then words cannot express ite importance ; if it be lalse, there must be some other guide for human life. But I ask whether ou a question ot such vast issues a [sane man will make

up his mind before he has fully ■srei"hed all its claims. I advise you to take nothing upon trust, but "search and see." Neither prejudge the case, because "the way of truth is evil spoken of." Neither the sneer of the profane, nor the sins of the professor, should divert a young man from the task of looking fora "sure foundation." It is only when ready to give an answer to everv one I that asketh a reason for the hope that "is in I you," that yon have proved —-— Uie ground wherein lour soul s »ui'f nnulior may remain. It is illogical to reason from a particular case (o a general conclusion. Because you find a man who professes to be a Christian guilty of practices which an honorable mind despises, you are not to conclude that religion is a sUiim. Let your faith strike its roots deep down into the truth of God, and we shall be able to address you in the words of the hol>apostlc, -I have written unto you y O mi" men, because ye are strong, and the word of Ctocl ab.deth in you, and ye have overcome the wn-fced one. Happy would it be for our families, happy would it, be for our churches I happy would it be for our Provinces, if our J young men would be thus " sober-minded " I Imve in what I. have said, hinted at (he "reat danger or young men—that of neglecting so J great salvation—of vofiising on light; grounds to examine the foundations of our faith, and , thereforcof being led to " follow a multitude to .do evil. But your presence here this afternoon, I L may take as a proof that you desire at least to walk in the way oflifo. If all of you have no! yet. entered by the " strait gate," I presume you are waking up to tic spirit of inquiry. I will then suppose that every one has now resolved to be a man, by which 1 mean a man in its most exalted sense: for it is true that— The Christina i< the holiest style of man. If i , ., be so, you begin well ; but it is onlv the beginning of wisdom. You are only entering upon the narrow way ; it is a safe wav, for "it lcadeth unto life ;" but it, is not* without its danger.*, or wo had not been told by Him who knowclh all things, "'Watch and pray that ye enter not. into temptation." borne we have known who " did run well" but after a time they fell away. "But it is he that, endureth to the end that shall be saved." I shall then speak to you as Christian young men. or, at leas!, as young men who are wishing to become so. Let mo point out a few (lungs which may hinder vou.

1. Skli-'-coxceit.—"Be not wise in your owu conceits." 1 know not iiny danger into which young men are more liable to fall, and especially young men who assert, as they should do, their mental independence. The freshness of their minds, tho vigour of their passions, and the strength of their convictions, all tend to this. No young man ean excel who does not think for himself; but let him think soberly. There is a mellowness of thought about men who have lived long and thought much, which gives them a claim to deference on the part of youth. While therefore a young man thoukl not pin his faith to the sleeve of anyone, while he i-hoiild accept nothing on the mere ipse di.cit of another, he should not forget the respect, due to age, to experieni-e.'.uid to learning. There arc fisv men, if any, who in later life have not seen reason to modify the opinions to which they held with a firm grasp in their early days. To hear young men in the pride of their yet unformed minds ilippantly speak of their fathers and elders as old fogies, as out of date, is a sad proof of youthful presumption ; young students, who as yet. see "men as trees walking," in the vanity of their hearts begin to speak of men who have trodden the thorny path of knowledge as antiquated ; young converts in the ardour cf their first love, call the riper piety of old pilgrims, apathy ; young preachers (laming witli iu-w-bom zeal, look upon the well-tried preacher as lifeless. Such are the errors into which the impetuosity of youthful passion often lead, to be remembered with shame when that passion shall have become tempered by the experience of years. Ihis sclf-sudicieucy shews itself not oiily in relation to men but to truth. We live in a practical age. But in the realm of religious thought speculation goes the length of reducing the truth of God unto a myth. I do uot say that young men should not acquaint themselves with the phases of "modern thought," that they should uot read Kenan, Colenso, Maurice, and others; but if they are wise they will not be " carried to and fro with every wind of doctrine." l'Vom such books, for instance, as " Kcce Homo" j much limy be learnt, but all shuidd be brought to the test, of holy Scripture : " to the law and to the testimony." Wise men will not " rush »hero angels dare not gaze." Amid the labyrinth of errors which modern genius and tin- j belief have constructed, the humble, earnest, j patient inquirer, led by the light of God's truth, will safely thread his way, emerging into the '•' light of the knowledge of the glory j of God in the face o( Jesus Christ." I

2. Social Customs. —We are social beings. Young men require society. Interchange of thought with pure-minded and intelligent women is a great advantage. The mind will rust, and tho spirit sour, and the manners be still", in tho absence ot social enjoyments. I would have no young mail be a recluse. Hccroation is as needful us work, company as well as solitude, laughter as well as study. " A sound mind in u sound body" is to be sought. Man is a gregarious animal. .But as error lies on the boundary line of truth, so danger stalks on the verge of our sweetest en joymenls. lVrhaps nowhere is a delicate sense of what is fitting so much needed as here. That which in itself is innocent may be mado the stepping-stone to what is vile. Thus the sliullliug of cards or tho stroke of the billiard ball may pave tile way for the sin of gambling; the evening dance may lead to the public bull ; or the simple toast may terminate in tho bacchanal. The tendency of tho day is to the vain and trilling. Nothing is safe which will not admit of being "sanctilied by the Word of God and prayer." Indulgence in one thing, prepares the way for another, the counsel of the ungodly for the way of sinners and that lor the seat of the scorner. Among young men this is a smoking, drinking, and expensive age. It Will tost your wisdom to know how to " refuse the evil and to choose tho good."

3. Worldly AinuTiox. —A young man without ambition can never rue. To "covet earnestly the best gifts " is the command of G-od. Honourable ambition paves the way to excellence. Reason and religion place before the ambition of all the highest object that it is possible to attain—the glory of Grod. Here tlu- highest excellence meets with the deepest lowliness, " before honor is humility." As the radiance of the sun throws the stars out of sight, so this absorbing object subordinates all lower things till " G-od is allaud in all." This must become the supreme end of life before you can bo truly great. Then everything will be invested with a grandeur because of its relation to eternitv. But in the race of earthly competition, young men are apt to bo dazzled with the flash of some worldly distinction. The common temptation, to young men of sobriety and enterprise, is tho desire for wealth. There is nothing wrong in this within certain limits. "But they that will he rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Hence the reckless speculations, the nefarious puffs, the shameless kiteflying, and the manifold tricks of trade which are the bane of commercial morality. All this makes man a mercenary being. It fits him for every other kind of vice, for "the love of money is the root of all evil." In this age of keen rivalry the young man that will keep himself "unspotted from the world" must fleo these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." This suffices him, to be a "man of God." And this is the duty and the honor of all men. He alone can keep you from the wiles of the devil. Not one of you is safe, but when you can aay, "My heart is fixed O G-od, my heart is filed." Sucb. a character

CP^r 1 ' M / g , r ? atas ™ ro hi 9 *«ie«, the Lord delivered him out of them nil „ i exalted him. And was he notTruod'el for young men ? He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself." Th»n younc men, "Go and do likewise." Lay hold, as he did, of the arm of Omnipotence, and you shall be strong. To Him I commend you. Let me repeat the Saviour's words, " I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil that is in the world."