dience to the royal mandate, an immense number of the officers of his kingdom, from all parts of the empire, assembled in the plain of Dura, in the presence of the idol. When every thing was in readiness, "a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." When the concerted signal was given, all the people, nations, and languages, with the exception of these three young men, fell down and worshipped the golden image. Report was immediately carried to the king, that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to join in the general homage, which was paid to the idol. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, summoned these young men before him. And he spake and said unto them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?" He then offered them another trial. "Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and

dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Here was a signal example of inflexible adherence to sound religious principles. These youth were Jews. They had been carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. They were firmly attached to the only true religion, and to worship the golden image would be a violation of the first and second commandments of the decalogue. They had correct religious principles, and they would not sacrifice them, though the burning fiery furnace was in sight. I shall not pursue the sacred narrative further, and rehearse the increased fury of the king-the heating of the furnace to a seven fold intensitythe casting of the young men into the terrible

flame their miraculous rescue by the interposition of Jehovah the astonishment of Nebuchadnezzar when he found they had received no injury-and their subsequent promotion in the province of Babylon.

My present object is, to invite your attention, with this example before us, to the importance of your having

ESTABLISHED AND CORRECT RELIGIOUS PRIN

CIPLES.

The subject naturally divides itself into two

branches.

I. Your religious principles should be established. And,

II. They should be correct.

I. You should have established religious principles.

In all communities, and especially in those composed, as this is, of people from different parts of the country and of the world, there is apt to be not only a great variety of religious opinion, but also a great want of religious principle. By a certain class, it is deemed to be unbigoted and popular to have no settled principles on the subject of religion. In their view, one system of doctrine is about as good as another; and to have no system, is quite as good as to have any. Hence,

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they are continually in the wind. They attend one meeting to-day, another the next Sabbath, and a third the Sabbath after, and approve of all the sentiments they hear, although they may be contradictory, or disapprove of the whole because they are contradictory. Such a state of mind is truly dangerous and deplorable. It may serve to increase your estimate of the immense importance of established principles, to take a view of the causes and evils of instability of religious opinion. Among the causes of this instability, the following are the more prominent.

1. A peculiar structure of the mental constitution. Some persons seem to be by nature more unstable than others. This appears in all their operations in relation to every subject. You see it in their plans, which are frequently made, and as frequently relinquished. You see it in their opinions; suddenly formed, and as suddenly changed. You see it in their principles; moved by some to-day, and by opposite ones to-morrow. They are the creatures of mere impulse. Having no mind of their own, they calculate to be led by others. Independence is no ingredient in such a character. This constitutional instability is carried into the subject of religion. Their principles, if they can be said to have any, are so pliant, that they easily accommodate themselves to all the sinuosities of religious opinion which exist. Hence, it is not a little curious to observe, what different opinions are formed of them by others. By some, they are called Universalists; by others, Unitarians; by others, infidels; and by others, men of sound principle. And all this, because, having no fixed sentiments, they accommodated their principles to the companies into which they happened to fall. A part of the instability under consideration, may be accounted for on the score of this peculiarity of mental structure.

2. Defective early religious education. It is affecting to see what multitudes of children and youth are growing up, in this age of biblical instruction, without any religious education. Suppose you were to collect together indiscriminately one thousand youth, who belong in this village, and who came from different parts of the country, and should inquire of them all what was their religious education at home, and they should give you an honest reply, what would probably be the development? You would doubtless find not a few results of great parental faithfulness. Many of these youth would tell you how their parents dedicated them to God in baptism in their infancy, and with many prayers and tears set them apart