A holy Apostle has said: “Evil commu-
nications corrupt good manners.” Experi-
ence and observation prove that the most of
young persons who make shipwreck of their
piety, their good name, and their character,
are led astray and are ruined by bad asso-
ciates. Little do we dream of the power
which a companion has over us for good, or
for evil. Our confidence in a companion,
our fondness for him, places us in his
power.
Young Christians, in the buoyancy of
their spirits, in the joy of their youthful
life, in the vigor of their social feelings,
are easily drawn into the circle of the giddy
and the vain; and what seems to them at
first but a source of innocent enjoyment,
soon becomes a snare to their hearts. They
become less and less serious, the holy re-
straints of the Church lose their power more
and more, until they first grow careless, then
wander, then despise, and at last perish!
The only path of safety lies in your select-
ing your companions from among such as
are known to be pious. In such a circle
there is not only the most safety, but also
the purest happiness, and the highest honor.
Moreover, there can be no true enjoyment
for one that is pious, in company with the
careless and ungodly. They differ in the
deepest spirit, and in the most important
circumstances of their life; how then can
they be associates? Their sympathies, their
tastes, their desires, their thoughts, and
feelings, are all different. How then can
they be companions? “What fellowship
hath light with darkness.” You cannot
therefore comfortably associate with such,
unless you depart from your own Christian
position. But woe unto that professing
Christian, who will give up Christ for the
fellowship of a sinful companion! Those
that choose such company here, will also be
sentenced to continue in the same company
when the Judge shall say to those on his
left hand, “I never knew you: depart from
me, ye workers of iniquity.”
Against such associates, and such an end,
we most solemnly warn you!
IV.