It was
John iii. 7: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
I will give you a sketch of his sermon. He observed that of all
subjects on which men might be addressed, religious subjects were the
most important; and that of all religious subjects, that to which the
text referred was the most momentous. Having noticed the context, he
proposed to inquire, first, into the necessity of being born again.
This change (he observed) was necessary, in order to enjoy heaven. It
was a common observation, that "society seeks its level." The Indian,
for example, could not be happy amidst the refinements of civilization.
The gambler and the swearer could not be happy in the society of the
pious and devout. If so in this world, amidst imperfect holiness, how
much more so in the pure society of the celestial state!
During these remarks, I was much annoyed by the cracking of nuts not
very far off. I looked around, and actually found it was a mother
cracking them for her two boys, one of whom might be seven and the
other five years of age,--one by her side, and the other in the next
pew behind. To the latter she deliberately handed over the kernels in a
pocket-handkerchief; and yet, to look at her, you would have thought
her a woman of sense and piety!
The preacher noticed, in the second place, the nature of this change.
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