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((W/i/.-tJi^/^ 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 O N 
 
 DIFFERENT SUBJECTS, 
 
 LEFT FOR PUBLICATION 
 / BY 
 
 V' 
 JOHN TAYLOR, LL. D. 
 
 LATE PREBENDARY OF WESTMINSTER, 
 
 RECTOR OF BOSWORTH, LEICESTERSHIRE, 
 
 AND MINISTER OF ST. MARGAREt's, WESTMINSTER, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE REV. SAMUEL HAYES, A.M. 
 
 USHER OF WESTMINSTER-SCHOOL. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 WRITTEN BY 
 
 SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. 
 
 FOR THE FUNERAL OF HIS WIFE. 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 
 PRINTED BY P. BYRNE, GRAFTON-STREET. 
 
 M-DCC.XCIir. 
 
■I. . 
 
T O 
 
 HIS GRACE 
 
 W I L L I A M, 
 
 DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 HAD Dr. Taylor been willing, in his 
 life time, to have obliged the World with 
 the following Difcourfes, I am fure he 
 would have fought no other Patronage 
 than that of Your Grace. 
 
 This was, of itfelf, a very ftrong induce* 
 ment to me to folicit the fame honour. 
 But, even without this incitement, the Vir* 
 tues which Your Grace fo uniformly dif- 
 plays in private life, naturally point You 
 out, as a Perfon to whom moral and reli- 
 gious inveftigations may, with the greateft 
 propriety, be afcribed. And I flatter my- 
 feif that the following Difcourfes will not 
 be deemed unworthy of the honour which 
 A Your 
 
( ii ) 
 
 Your Grace has been plcafed to confer 
 on the Editor, in allowing your Name to 
 be prefixed to them. 
 
 I am, 
 
 MY Lord, 
 
 with the greateft refpe6l, 
 Your Grace's moft obliged, 
 and mofl: humble Servant, 
 
 SAMUEL HAYES. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 The Second Chapter of Genefis, and the 
 former part of the %^th Verfe. 
 
 Therefore JJiall a man leave his Father and 
 his Mother, and ftiall cleave unio his 
 Wife. ^^§^ ^ 
 
 S E R M O N II. 
 
 Isaiah, Chap. Iv. Verfe 7. 
 
 Lei the wicked fotfake his way^ and the un- 
 riMeous Man his thoughts, and lei him re^ 
 turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy 
 upon him, and to pur God, for he will abun- 
 dantly pardon, Page I2t 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Proverbs, Chap, xxviii. Verfe 14. 
 
 Happy is the Man that fear eth alway : hut 
 he that hardeneth his heart, JJiall fall into 
 mfchief Page 43 
 
 A % SERMON 
 
( iv ) 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 Isaiah, Chap. Iviii. Verfe % 8. 
 
 // is not to deal ihy hread to the hungry^ and 
 
 thai thou bring the poor that are cajl out, to 
 
 ihy hoiije P when thou Jeejl the naked that 
 
 thou cover him^ and that thou hide not thy- 
 
 Jelffrom thine own flejli P 
 
 Then /kail ihy light break forth as the morn" 
 ing, and thine health Jhall fpring forth 
 fpeedily ; and thy righteoufnefs fliall go be- 
 fore thee, the glory rf the Lord fliall be thy 
 rereward. Page 6 1 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 Nehemiah, Chap. ix. Verfe 2>3' 
 
 Howbeit thou art juji in all thai is brought 
 upon us, for thou hajl done right, but we 
 have done wickedly. Page 83 
 
 S E R M O N VI. 
 
 Proverbs, Chap. xii. Verfe %. 
 
 When 'Pride cometh, then comeih Shame, but 
 with the Lowly is Wifdom. Page 105 
 
 SERMON 
 
( V ; 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Jeremiah, Chap. vi. Verfe i5. 
 
 Thus faith the Lord^ Jland ye in the nt^ays 
 
 and fee^ and a/k for the old paths ^ where is 
 
 the good way^ and walk therein^ and ye ftiall 
 
 fnd refl for your Souls. But they faid^ we 
 
 will not walk therein. Page 131 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Romans xii, the latter part of the 1 6th 
 Verfe. 
 
 Be not wife in your own conceits. Page 1 39 
 
 S E R M O N IX. 
 
 I Corinthians, Chap. 11. Verfe !a 8. 
 
 But let a man examine himfelf and fo let 
 him eat of that bread, and drink of that 
 cup. Page 159 
 
 SERMON X, 
 
 Galatians, Chap. vi. Verfe 7. 
 
 Be not deceived^ God is not mocked ; for 
 whatjoever a man foweth^ thai fiall he 
 reap. Page 175 
 
 SERMON 
 
( vi ) 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 I Peter, Chap. iii. Verfe 8. 
 
 "Finally he ye all of ont mind^ having compaf- 
 Jion one of another^ love as brethren^ be 
 faithful^ be courteous. Page 193 
 
 S E R M O N XIL 
 
 EccLESlASTESjChap. i. Verfe 14. 
 
 / have feen all the works that are done under 
 the Sun y and behold^ all is vanity and veX' 
 ation of Spirit, Page ^^09 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 Qi Timothy, Chap. iii. part of the gth 
 Verfe. 
 
 Having a form of Godlinefs^ but denying the 
 power thereof Page %%'J 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 Isaiah xxvi. 3. 
 
 Thou wilt keep him in perfe^ peace^ whofe 
 mind is flayed on thee^ becaufe he trujhik in 
 thee. Page 247 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 Job. xiv. i. 
 
 '^flan that is born of a Woman^ is of few days, 
 and full of trouble. Page 3 63 
 
 SERMON 
 
( vii ) 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 Job i. 0,%, 
 
 In all this Job Jinned noi^ nor charged God 
 foolipdy. Page 2i8l 
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 Exodus xx. i5. 
 
 Thou /halt not hear falfe witnefs againjl thy 
 neighbour. Page 297 
 
 SERMON XVIII. 
 (Pkeached at Ashbourn.) 
 I Corinthians vi. 8. 
 
 Nay^ ye do wrongand defraud:^ and that your 
 Brethren. Page 317 
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 % Corinthians ix. 7. 
 
 "Every man according as he piirpofeth in his 
 heart Jo let him give, not grudginoly^ or 
 of necejjity^ for God loveth a Cheerful 
 giver. Page q,2>Z 
 
 S E R M O N XX. 
 
 % Piter Hi. 3. 
 
 Knowing this fir fi^ that there fliall come in the 
 lajl days Scoffers^ walking after their own 
 lujis. Page 2,i2> 
 
 SERMON 
 
( viii ) 
 
 SERMON XXI. 
 
 Psalm cxlv. 9. 
 
 The Lord is good to all^ and his tender mercies 
 are ever all his works. Page 373 
 
 SERMON XXII. 
 
 I Corinthians xi. 59. 
 
 He that eateth and drinketh unworthily^ eateiJi 
 and drinketh damnation to hintfelf. 
 
 Page 3S9 
 
 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 (Preached on the 30th of January.) 
 James iii. 16. 
 
 Where envying andjlrife is^ there is confujion. 
 
 Page 405 
 
 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 Proverbs xxix. %, 
 
 When the righteous are in authority ^ the peo- 
 ple rejoice. Page 425 
 
 S E R M O N XXV. 
 [Written by Dr. Johnson, for the Funeral 
 of his Wife.] 
 John xi, 35? 26 (former part.) 
 
 Jefusfaid unto her^ I am the RefurreSlion^ and 
 ^ the Lije ; he that heliez'eth in me^ though he 
 
 were dead^ yet JJiall he liz'e : 
 And whofoever U-veth^ and helieveth in me^ 
 
 JJiall never die. Page 445 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMONS, &c. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 The Second Chapter of Genefis, and the 
 former part of the ^4th Verfe. 
 
 Therefore fliall a ?nan leave his Father and his 
 Mother^ ardjhall cleave unto his Wife. 
 
 X HAT Society is neceiTary to the hap- 
 pinefs of human Nature, that the gloom 
 of folitude, and the ftilinefs of retirement, 
 however they may flatter at a difiance, 
 with pleating views of independence and 
 ferenity, neither extinguifh the Paffions, 
 nor enlighten the Underftanding, that dif- 
 content will intrude upon privacy, and 
 temptations follow us to the defert, every 
 one may be caflly convinced, either by his 
 own experience, or that of others. That 
 knowledge is advanced by an intercourfe of 
 B fentimentS;, 
 
( a ) 
 
 fentiments, and an exchange of obfervali- 
 ons, and that the bofom is diiburthened, by 
 a communication of its cares, is too well 
 known for proof or illuftration. In folitude 
 perplexity fwells into diftra6lion5 and grief 
 fettles into melancholy; even the fatisfac- 
 tions and pleafures, that may by chance be 
 found, are but imperfectly enjoyed, when 
 they are enjoyed without participation. 
 
 How high this difpolition may extend, 
 and how far Society may contribute to the 
 felicity of more exalted Natures, it is not 
 eafy to determine, nor neceiTary to enquire; 
 it feems however probable, that this incli- 
 nation is allotted to all rational Beings of 
 limited excellence, and that it is the pri- 
 vilege only of the infinite Creator to de- 
 rive ail his happinefs from himfeif. 
 
 It is a proof of the regard of God for the 
 happinefs of mankind, that the means by 
 which it muft be attained are obvious and 
 evident ; that we are not left to difcover 
 them, by difficult fpeculations, intricate dif- 
 quiiitions, or long experience, but are led to 
 them, equally by our paflions and our rea- 
 fon, in profperity and diftrefs. Every man 
 perceives his own infuif.ciency to fupply 
 himfeif with what either necefiity or con- 
 
 venience 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 venicnce require, and applies to others for 
 affiftance. Every one feels his fatisfa6tion 
 impaired by the fuppreffion of pleafing 
 emotions, and confequently endeavours to 
 find an opportunity of diffufmg his fatif- 
 fa6lion. 
 
 As a general relation to the reft of the 
 fpecies is not fufficient to procure gratifi- 
 cation for the private defires of particular 
 perfoils ; as clofer ties of Union are ne- 
 cefTary to promote the feparate interefts 
 of Individuals,- the great Society of the 
 World is divided into different Com- 
 munities, which are again fubdivided 
 into fmaller Bodies, and more contradfed 
 Aifociations, which purfue, or ought to 
 purfue, a particular intereft, infubordi- 
 nation to the public good, and ccnlifl 
 tently with the general happinefs of 
 Mankind. 
 
 Each of thefe fubdivifions produces new 
 dependencies and relations, and every par- 
 ticular relation gives rife to a particular 
 fcheme of duties ; duties which are of the 
 utmoft importance, and of the moft facred 
 obligation, as the negle6l of them would 
 defeat all the bleffings of Society, and cut 
 B 2 ' off 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 off even the hope of happinefs ; as it would 
 poifon the fountain from whence it muft 
 be drawn, and make thofe Inftitutions, 
 which have been formed as necelTary to 
 peace and fatisfa6lion, the means of dif» 
 quiet and mifery. 
 
 The loweft fubdiviiion of Society, is that 
 by which it is broken into private families ; 
 nor do any duties demand more to be ex- 
 plained and enforced, than thofe which 
 this relation produces: becaufe none are 
 more univerfally obligatory, and perhaps 
 very few more frequently negle6ted. 
 
 The univerfality of thefe duties requires 
 no other proof than may be received from 
 the moft curfory and fuperficial obferva- 
 tion of human life. Very few men have it 
 in their power to injure Society in a large 
 extent ; tlie general happinefs of the world 
 can be very little interrupted by the wick- 
 ednefs of any iingle Man, and the number 
 is not large of thofe by whom the peace of 
 any particular Nation can be difturbed; 
 but every Man may injure a family, and 
 produce domeftic diforders and diftrefTcs ; 
 almoft every one has opportunities and per- 
 haps fometimes temptations, to rebel as a 
 wife, or tyrannize as a hufbandj and there- 
 
 fore. 
 
( S ) 
 
 fore, to almoft every one are thofe ad mo* 
 iiitions necefTary, that may affift in regu- 
 lating the conclu6l, and imprefs juft no 
 tions of the behaviour which thefe Rela- 
 tions exa6l. 
 
 Nor are thefe obligations more evident 
 than the negle6l of them ; a negie6l of 
 which daily examples may be found, and 
 from which daily calamities arife. Almoft 
 all the miferies of life, almoft all thewick- 
 ednefs that iiifefts, and all the diftrefiesthat 
 afflidt Mankind, are the confequences of 
 fome defeft in thele duties. It is therefore 
 no obje6iionto the propriety of difcourling 
 upon them^ that they are well known and 
 generally acknowledged ; for a very fmall 
 part of the diforders of the World proceed 
 from ignorance of the laws, by which life 
 ought to be regulated; nor do many, even 
 of thofe whofe hands are polluted with the 
 fouleft crimes, deny the reafonablenefs of 
 virtue, or attempt to juftify their own ac- 
 tions. Men are not blindly betrayed into 
 corruption, but abandon themfelves to their 
 paffions with their eyes open ; and lofe the 
 direftion of Truth, becaufe they do not at- 
 tend to her voice, not becaufe they do not 
 hear, or do not underftand it. It is there- 
 fore 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 fore no lefs ufeful to roufe the thoughtlefs^ 
 than in{Tru6l the ignorant; to awaken 
 the attention, than enlighten the under- 
 Handing. 
 
 There is another reafon, for which it 
 may be proper to dwell long upon thefe 
 Duties, and return frequently to them ; that 
 deep impreflions of them may be formed 
 and renewed, as often as time or temptation 
 fhall begin to erafethem Offences againft 
 Society in its greater extent are cognizable 
 by human laws. No Man can invade the 
 property, or difturb the quiet of his Neigh- 
 bour, without fubjedling himfelf to penali- 
 ties, and fuffering in proportion to the in- 
 juries he has offered. But cruelty and 
 pride, oppreiTion and partiality, may ty- 
 rannize in private families without con- 
 troul ; Meeknefs may be trampled upon, 
 and Piety infulted, without any appeal, but 
 to confcience and to Heaven. A thoufand 
 methods of torture may be invented, a 
 thoufand aits of unkindnefs, or difregard, 
 may be committed; a thoufand innocent 
 gratifications may be denied, and a thou- 
 fand hardfhips impofed, without any vio- 
 lation of national laws. Life may be im- 
 4 bittered 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Jbittered with hourly venation; and weeks, 
 months, and years, be lingered out in mifery, 
 Vv^ithout any legal caufe of feparation, or 
 poilibility of judicial redrefs. Perhaps no 
 fliarper anguifh is felt, than that which can- 
 not be complained of; nor any greater cruel- 
 ties inflided, than fome which no human 
 Authority can relieve. 
 
 That Marriage itfelf, an Inftitution de- 
 ligned only for the promotion of happinels, 
 and for the relief of the difappointments, 
 anxieties, and difirefles to which we are 
 fubje^fl in our prefent ftate, does not always 
 produce the efteils, for which it was ap- 
 pointed ; that it fometimes condenfes the 
 gloom, which it was intended to difpel, 
 and encreafcs the w^eight, which was 
 expe6led to be made lighter by it, mufV, 
 however unwillingly, be yet acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 It is to be confidered to w^hat caufes ef- 
 fe6ls, fo unexpe6\:ed and unpleaiing, fo con- 
 trary to the end of the Inftitution, and fo 
 unlikely to arife from it, are to be attri- 
 buted; it is necelTary to enquire, whether 
 thofe that are thus unhappy, are to impute 
 their mifery to any other caufe, than their 
 
 own 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 own folly, and to the negle6l of thoie 
 duties, which prudence and Religion 
 equally require- 
 
 I'his Enquiry may not only be of ufe in 
 ftating and explaining the duties of the Mar- 
 riage-ftate, but may contribute to free it 
 from licentious rnifreprefentations, and 
 weak obje6lions; which indeed can have 
 little force upon minds not already adapted 
 to receive impreflions from them, by ha- 
 bits of debauchery ; but which when they 
 co-operate with lewd neis, intemperance and 
 vanity; when they are propofed to an un- 
 derftanding naturally weak, and made yet 
 weaker, by luxury and floth, by an impli- 
 cit refignation to reigning follies, and an 
 habitual compliance with every appetite; 
 may at leaft add ftrength to prejudices, 
 to fupport an opinion ah'eady favoured, 
 and perhaps hinder convi6tion, or at leaft 
 retard it. 
 
 It may indeed be afTerted to the honour 
 of Marriage, that it has few adverfaries 
 among Men either didinguifhed for their 
 abilities, or eminent for their virtue. Thofe 
 who have alTumed the province of attack- 
 ing it, of overturning the conftitution of 
 
 the 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 the World, of encountering the authorltr 
 of the wifeil Legifiators, from whom it has 
 received the higheft f'in6lion of human 
 wifdom; and Hib verting the maxims of the 
 moft fiourifhing States, in which it has 
 been dignified with honours, and promoted 
 with immunities; thofe who have under- 
 taken the tafK of contending with reafcn 
 and experience, with Earth and with Hea- 
 ven, are Men who feem generally not fe- 
 ledled by nature for great attempts, or 
 difficult undertakings. They are, for the 
 moft part, fuch as owe not their determi- 
 nations to their arguments, but their ar- 
 guments to their determinations; Difpu- 
 tants animated not by a confcioufnefs of 
 truth, but by the numbers of their adhe- 
 rents; and heated, not with zeal for the 
 right, but with the rage of licentioufnefs 
 and impatience of reftraint. And perhaps 
 to the fober, the underftanding, and the 
 pious, it may be fufficient to remark, that 
 Religion and Marriage have the fame 
 Enemies. 
 
 There are indeed fome in other Com- 
 munions of the Chriitian Church, who cen- 
 fure marriage upon difierent motives, and 
 
 prefer 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 prefer celibacy as a ftate more immediately 
 devoted to the honour of God, and the re- 
 gnlar and afliduous pra6lice of the duties 
 of Religion ; and have recommended vows 
 of abftinence, no where commanded in 
 Scripture, andimpofed reftraints upon law- 
 ful defires; of which it is eafy to judge 
 how well they are adapted to the prefent 
 ftate of human nature, by the frequent vio- 
 lation of them, even in thofe Societies where 
 they are voluntarily incurred, and where 
 no vigilance 1-2 omited to fecure the ob- 
 fervation of them. 
 
 But the Authors of thefe rigorous and 
 unnatural fchemes of life, though certainly 
 mifled by falfe notions of holinefs, and 
 perverted conceptions of the duties of our 
 Religion, have at lead the merit of mif- 
 taken endeavours to promote virtue, and 
 muft be allowed to have reafoned at leaft 
 with fome degree of probabihty, in vindi- 
 cation of their condu6l. They were gene ^ 
 rally perfons of Piety, and fometimes of 
 Knowledge, and are therefore not to be con- 
 founded with the Fool, the Drunkard, and 
 the Libertine. They who decline Marriage 
 for the fake of a more fevere and morti-, 
 
 fied 
 
( II ) 
 
 fied life, are furely to be diuinguifhed 
 from thofe, who condemn it as too rieo- 
 rous a confinement, and wifh the aboli- 
 tion of it, in favour of boundlefs voluptu- 
 oufnefs and licenfed debauchery. 
 
 Perhaps even the errors of miftaken 
 goodnefs may be reclined, and the preju- 
 dices furmounted by deliberate attention to 
 the nature of the Inftitution ; and certainly 
 the calumnies of wickednefs may be, by the 
 fame means, confuted, though its clamours 
 may not be lilenced ; fince commonly in 
 debates like this, confutation and convic- 
 tion are very diftant from each other. For 
 that nothing but vice or folly obflruas 
 the happinefs of a married life may be 
 made evident by examining. 
 
 Firft, The Nature and End of Marriage. 
 
 Secondly, The means by which that 
 End is to be attained. 
 
 Firft, The Nature and End of Marriage. 
 
 The Vow of Marriage which the wif- 
 dom of moft civilized Nations has enjoined, 
 and which the rules of theChriftian Church 
 enjoin, may be properly confidered as a 
 vow of perpetual and indifibluble Friend- 
 fhip ; Friendlhip which no change of for- 
 tune 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 tune, nor any alteration of external clr- 
 camftances can be allowed to interrupt or 
 weaken. After the commencement of this 
 ftate there remain no longer any feparate 
 interefts; the two Individuals become unit^ 
 ed, and are therefore to enjoy the fame 
 felicity, and fuffer the fame misfortunes ; 
 to have the fame Friends and the fame 
 Enemies, the fame fuccefs and the fame 
 difappoiritments. It is eafy by purfuing 
 the parallel between Friendfhip and Mar- 
 riage, to fhov\;' hov\7 exa6l a conformity 
 there is between them, to prove that all 
 the precepts laid down with refpe6t to the 
 contraction, and the maxims advanced 
 with regard to the effe61s, of Friendfhip, 
 are true of Marriage in a more literal 
 fenfe, and a ftricler acceptation. 
 
 It has been long obferved that Friend- 
 fhip is to be confined to one ; or that, to 
 life the words of the Axiom, * He that haih 
 Friends^ has no Friend. That ardour of 
 kindnefs, that unbounded confidence, that 
 unfufpecling fecurity which friendfhip re- 
 quires, cannot be extended beyond a fingle 
 
 objeft. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 objedL A divided affe6tion may be termed 
 benevolence, but can bardly rife to Friend- 
 fhip; for the narrow limits of the human 
 mind allow it not intenfely to contemplate 
 more than one idea. As we love one more, 
 we muft love another lefs ; and however 
 impartially we may, for a very ihort time, 
 diflribute our regards, the balance of affec- 
 tion will quickly incline, perha]^s againil 
 our confent, to one fide or the other. Be- 
 fides, though we fhould love our Friends 
 equally^ which is perhaps not poiiible ; 
 and each according to their Merits which 
 is ^jery difficult ; what fhall lecure them 
 from jealoufy of each other? Will not each 
 think highly of his own value, and imagine 
 himfcif rated below his worth? Or what 
 fhall preferve their common Friend from 
 the fame jealoufy, v/ith regard to them? 
 As he divides his affedlion and efteem be- 
 tween them, he can in return claim no 
 more than a dividend of theirs : and as he 
 regards them equally, they may juftly 
 rank feme other inequality with him; 
 and what then fhall hinder an endlcfs 
 communication of confidence, which mull 
 certainly end in treachery at laft ? Let 
 thefe reiledtioRs be applied to Marriage, 
 
 and 
 
( I-f ) 
 
 and perhaps Polygamy may lofe its vin- 
 dicators. 
 
 It is remarked that'"''' Friendjliip amongjl 
 equals is the moft lajiing^ and perhaps there 
 are few caufes to which more unhappy 
 marriages are to be afcribed than a dif- 
 proportion between the original condition 
 of the two perfons. Difference of condi- 
 tion mak*es difference of education ; and 
 difference of education produces differences 
 of habits, fentiments, and inclinations. 
 From thence arife contrary views, and 
 oppoiite fchemes, of v>7hich the frequent, 
 though not necefTary, confequences, are de- 
 bates, difguft, alienation, and fettled 
 hatred. 
 
 Stri6l friendihip f is to have, the fame de-^ 
 fires and the fame averfions. Whoever is to 
 chufe a Friend is to conlider firft the re- 
 femblance, or the diilimilitude of tempers. 
 How neceffary this caution is to be urged 
 as preparatory to Marriage, the miiery of 
 thofe who negle6t it fufficiently evinces. 
 To enumerate all the varieties of difpolition, 
 to which it may on this occaiion be con- 
 venient to attend, would be a tedious tailc ; 
 
 * Aralcitia inter Pares firmiflima. 
 
 -j- An obrervation of Catiline in Salluft. 
 
 but 
 
( IS ) 
 
 but it is at leaft proper to enforce one pre. 
 cept on this head, a precept which was 
 never yet broken without fatal confe- 
 quences, Let the Religion of the Man and 
 Woman be the fame. The rancour and ha- 
 tred, the rage and perfecution with which 
 Religious difputes have filled the World, 
 need not be related; every Hiilory can 
 inform us, that no malice is fo fierce, fo 
 cruel, and implacable, as that which is ex- 
 cited by religious difcord. It is to no pur* 
 pofe that they ftipulate for the free enjoy- 
 ment of their own opinion; for how can 
 he be happy, who fees the perfon moil dear 
 to him in a ftate of dangerous error, and 
 ignorant of thofe Sacred Truths, which are 
 neceffary to the approbation of God, and 
 to future felicity? How can he engage not 
 to endeavour to propagate truth, and pro- 
 mote the Salvation of thofe he loves? or 
 if he has been betrayed into fuch engage- 
 ments by an ungoverned paffion, hovv^ can 
 he vindicate himfelf in the obfervation of 
 them? The education of Children will 
 foonmake it neceffary to determine, which 
 t)f the tv/o opinions fhali be tranfmitted 
 to their pofierity; and how can either 
 confent to train up in error and deluiion 
 
 thofe 
 
( I<? ) 
 
 laole from whom they expe6l the highell 
 fatisfactions, and the only comforts of de- 
 
 chning iiie 
 
 On account of this conformity of nd- 
 tions it is, that equality of condition is 
 chiefly eligible ; for as FriendJIiip^ fo Mar- 
 riagCj either jinds or makes an equality. No 
 difadvantage of birth or fortune ought to 
 impede the exaltation of virtue and of wif- 
 dom; for with Marriage begins union, and 
 Union obliterates all difiin6tions. It may 
 indeed become the perfon who received 
 the benefit, to remember it, that grati- 
 tude may heighten affedion; but tlie per- 
 fon that conferred it ought to forget it, 
 becaufe if it was deferved, it cannot be 
 mentioned without injuflice, nor if unde- 
 ferved, without imprudence. All reproaches 
 of this kind muft be either retractions of a 
 good a6lion, or proclamations of our own 
 weaknefs. 
 
 Friends, fays the Proverbial obfervation, 
 ha've every ihhig m common. This is like- 
 wife implied in the Marriage Covenant. 
 Matrimony admits of no feparate pofef- 
 lions, nor incommunicable intereRs. This 
 rule, like all others, has been often broken 
 by low views and fordid flipulations ; but^ 
 
 like 
 
c 17 ) 
 
 like all other precepts, founded on reafon 
 and in truth, it has received a new confir- 
 mation from almofi; every breach of it; 
 and thofe Parents, v/hofe age had no bet* 
 ter efFecls upon their underftanding, than 
 to fill them with avarice and flratagem, 
 have brought mifery and ruin upon their 
 Children, by the means which they weakly 
 imagined conducive to their happinefs. 
 
 There is yet another precept equally re- 
 lating to Friendfhip and to Marriage; a 
 precept which, in either cafe, can never be 
 too ftrongly inculcated, or too fcrupulouily 
 obferved ; Contract Friendjliip only ivith the 
 good. Virtue is the fir ft quality to be 
 confidered in the choice of a Friend, 
 and yet more in a fixed and irrevoca- 
 ble choice. This maxim furely Requires 
 no comment, nor any vindication; it is 
 equally clear and certain, obvious to 
 the fuperficial, and incontefiable by the 
 moft accurate Examiner. To dwell upon 
 it is therefore fuperfluous; for, though 
 often negle6ted, it never was denied. Every 
 man will, without hefitation, confefs, that 
 it is abfurd to trufl: a known deceiver, or 
 voluntarily to depend for quiet and for 
 C happinefs 
 
( i8 ) 
 
 jhjtppinefs upon infolence, cruelty and op<- 
 preffion. Thus Marriage appears to differ 
 from Friendfhip chiefly in the degree of its 
 efficacy, and the authority of its inftitution. 
 It was appointed by God himfelf, as ne- 
 cefTary to happinefs, even in a ftate of inno- 
 cence; and the relation prodced by it, 
 was declared more powerful than that of 
 Birth. Therefore ^fliall a man league his father 
 and his mother^ andfhall cleave unto his wife. 
 But as notwithftanding its conformity to 
 human nature, it fometimes fails to pro- 
 duce the efFe6ls intended, it is necefTary to 
 enquire, 
 
 Secondly, by v/hat means the end of 
 Marriage is to be attained. 
 
 As it appears by examining the natural 
 fyftem of the Univerfe, that the greateft 
 and fmalleft bodies are inveRed with the 
 fame properties, and moved by the fame 
 laws ; fo a furvey of the moral World will 
 inform us, that greater or lefs Societies 
 are to be made happy by the fame means, 
 and that however relations may be varied, 
 or circumftances changed, Virtue, and Vir- 
 tue alone, is the parent of felicity. We 
 can only, in whatfoever Hate we may be 
 placed, fccure ourfelves from difquiet and 
 
 % from 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 from mifery by a refolute attention to 
 truth and reafon. Without this, it is in 
 vain that a man chufes a Friend, or cleaves 
 to a Wife. If paflion be fufFered to pre- 
 vail over right, and the duties of our ftate 
 be broken through, or negle6ted5 for the 
 fake of gratifying our anger, our pride, or 
 our revenge; the union of hearts will 
 quickly be diifolved, and kindnefs will give 
 way to refentment and averlion. 
 
 The Duties, by the pra6lice of which a 
 married life is to be made happy, are the 
 fame with thofe of Friendfhip, but exalted 
 to higher perfe61ion. Love muft be more 
 ardent, and confidence without limits. It 
 is therefore neceffary on each part to de- 
 ferve that confidence by the moftunfhaken 
 fidelity, and to preferve their love unex- 
 tinguifhed by continual a6ls of tendernefs; 
 not only to deteil all real, but feeming 
 offences ; and to avoid fufpicion and guilt, 
 with almoft equal folicitude. 
 
 But iince the frailty of our nature is 
 fuch that we cannot hope from each other 
 an unvaried re6^itude of condu6l, or an 
 uninterrupted courfe of wifdom or virtue; 
 as folly will fometimes intrude upon an 
 unguarded hour; aud temptations, by fre- 
 C Q* quent 
 
( ao ) 
 
 quent attacks^^ will fometimes prevail ; one 
 of the chief a61:s of love is readily to for- 
 give errors, and overlook defe6ts. Negle6t 
 is to be reclaimed by kindnefs, and per-^ 
 verfenefs foftened by compliance. Sudden 
 flarts of pailion are patiently to be borne, 
 and the calm moments of recolle6lion 
 iilently expected.' For if one offence be 
 made a plea for another; if anger be to 
 be oppofed with anger, and reproach re- 
 torted for reproach; either the contefi: 
 muft be continued for ever, or one mull 
 at laft be obliged by violence to do what 
 might have been at firft done, not only 
 more gracefully, but with more advantage. 
 Marriage, however in general it refem- 
 bles Friendfhip, differs from it in this; 
 that all its duties are not reciprocal. 
 Friends are equal in every refpe6t; but 
 the relation of Marriage produces authority 
 on one fide, and exacts obedience on the 
 other; obedience, an unplealing duty; 
 which yet the nature of the ftate makes 
 indifpenfable ; for Friends may fcparate 
 when they can no longer reconcile the 
 fentiments, or approve the fchemes of each 
 other; but as marriage is indiffolublcj 
 either one muft be content to fubmit, when 
 
 comn6iion 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 <:onv7(^ion cannot bo obtained ; or life muft 
 be wafted in perpetual difputes. 
 
 But though obedience may be juftly re- 
 quired, fervility is not to be exa6led ; and 
 though it maybe lawful to exert authority, 
 it muft be remembered, that to govern 
 and to tyrannize are very different, and 
 that oppreflTion will naturally provoke 
 rebellion. 
 
 The great rule both of authority and 
 obedience is the law of God \ a law which 
 is not to be broken for the promotion of 
 any ends, or in compliance with any com- 
 mands; and which indeed never can be 
 violated without deftroying that confi- 
 dence, which is the great fource of mutual 
 happinefs; for how can that perfon be 
 trufted, whom no principles oblige to 
 fidelity ? 
 
 Thus Religion appears, in every ftate 
 of life, to be the bafis of happinefs, and 
 the operating power which makes every 
 good inftitution valid and ef^cacious. 
 And he that fhall attempt to attain hap- 
 pinefs by the means which God has or- 
 dained, and Jliall leave his Father and 
 hk Mother^ and fiall cleave unto his Wife^ 
 
 fhall 
 
( ^2 ) 
 
 fhall furely find the highcft degree of 
 fatisfadlion that our prefent ftate allows; 
 if, in his choice, he pays the firft regard 
 to virtue, and regulates his condu6t by the 
 precepts of religion. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON IL 
 
 Isaiah, Chap. Iv. Verfe 7. 
 
 Let the wicked Jorfake his way^ and the un- 
 righteous IVLan his thouMs. and let him 
 return unto the Lord^ and he nvill ha've 
 mercy upon him^ and to our God^ for he 
 will abundantly pardon, 
 
 HAT God is a Being of infinite mercy ; 
 that he defires not the death of a Sinner, 
 nor takes any pleafure in the mifery of 
 his Creatures; may not only be deduced 
 from the confideration of his nature, and 
 his attributes ; but, for the fake of thofe 
 that are incapable of philofophical enqui- 
 ries, who make far the greateft part of 
 Mankind, it is evidently revealed to us in 
 the Scriptures, in which the Supreme Be- 
 ing, the fource of life, the author of ex- 
 
 iftence. 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 ifrencc, Vv'ho fpake the word, and the 
 World was made, who commanded, and it 
 was created, is defcribed as looking down 
 from the height of infinite felicity, with 
 tendernefs and pity, upon the Sons of Men; 
 inciting them, by foft impulfes, to perfe- 
 verance in virtue, and recalling them, by 
 inftru61ion and punifhment, Irom error 
 and from vice. He is rcprefented as not 
 more formidable for his power, than 
 amiable for his mercy; and is introduced 
 as expoftulating with Mankind upon their 
 obftinacy in wickednefs; and warning 
 them, with the iiigheft affe61:ion, to avoid 
 thofe punilhments, which the laws of his 
 government make it necefTary to inflict 
 upon the inflexible and difobedient. Re- 
 iurn unto 7ne^ and I ^x'lll reiurn unto you^ 
 faith the Loid of Hojis, MaL iii. 7- Make 
 you a ne\i) hearty and a 7i£w [pirit^for why 
 will ye die J hoiife of Ifrael? Ezek. xviii. 
 31. Kis mercy is ever made the chief 
 motive of obedience to him -, and with the 
 higheft reafon inculcated, as the attribute 
 which may animate us moft powerfully to 
 an attention to our duty. Ifihoii^ Lord^ 
 wert extreme to mark what is done amifs^ 
 Lordy who J/m II abide itP But there is mercy 
 
 with 
 
( as ) 
 
 with ihee^ therefore ffialt thou he feared. If 
 God were a Power unmerciful and fevere, 
 a rigid Exad^or of unvaried regularity and 
 unfailing virtue; if he were not to be 
 pleafed but with perfedlion, nor to be 
 pacified after tranlgreffions and offences : 
 in vain would the bell Men endeavour to 
 recommend themfelves to his favour; in 
 vain w^ould the moft circumfpe6l v/atch 
 the motions of his own heart, and the moll 
 diligent apply himfelf to the exercife of 
 virtue. They v/ould only deilroy their 
 eafe by ineife6lual folicitude, confine their 
 deiires with unnecefTary reftraints, and 
 weary out their lives in unavailing labours. 
 God would not be to be ferved, becaufe 
 all fervice would be reje61ed; it would 
 be much more reafonable to abftra6l the 
 mind from the contemplation of him, 
 than to have him only before us, as an 
 obje6l of terror, as a Being too mighty 
 to be refifted, and too cruel to be implored: 
 a Being that created Men, only to be mi- 
 ferable, and revealed himfelf to them, 
 only to interrupt even the traniient and 
 imperfe6t enjoyments of this life, to afto- 
 niih them with terror, and to overwhelm 
 them with defpalr. 
 
 But 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 But there is mercy with him, therefore 
 fhall he be feared. It is reafonable, that 
 we fhould endeavour to pleafe him, becaufe 
 we know that every fincere endeavour will 
 be rewarded by him; that we fhould ufe 
 all the means in our power, to enlighten 
 our minds, and regulate our lives, becaufe 
 our errors, it involuntary, will not be im- 
 puted to us; and our condu6l, though not 
 exa6lly agreeable to the divine ideas of 
 re61itude, yet if approved, after honeft and 
 diligent enquiries, by our own confciences, 
 will not be condemned by that God, who 
 judges of the heart, weighs every cir- 
 cumftance of our lives, and admits every 
 real extenuation of our failings and tranf- 
 greffions. 
 
 Were there not mercy with him, were 
 he not to be reconciled after the commif- 
 j[ion of a crime, what muft be the ftate of 
 thofe, who are confcious of having once 
 offended him ? A flate of gloomy melan- 
 choly, or outrageous defparation ; a difmal 
 wearinefs of life, and inexpreflible agonies 
 at the thought of death; for what affright 
 or affli6tion could equal the horrors of that 
 mind, which expe6ted every moment to 
 
 fall 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 fall into the hands of implacable Omni- 
 potence ? 
 
 But the mercy of God extends not only 
 to thofe that have made his will, in fome 
 degree, the rule of their a6lions, and have 
 only deviated from it by inadvertency, 
 furprize, inattention, or negligence, but 
 even to thofe that have polluted themfelves 
 with ftudied and premeditated wicked- 
 nefs; that have violated his commands in 
 oppo(itiontoconvi61ion, and gone on, from 
 crime to crime, under a fenfe of the di- 
 vine difapprobation. 
 
 Even thefe are not for ever excluded 
 from his favour, but have in their hands 
 means, appointed by himfelf, of reconci- 
 liation to him ; means by which pardon 
 may be obtained, and by which they may 
 be reflored to thofe hopes of happinefs, 
 from which they have fallen by their cv/n 
 fault. 
 
 The great duty, to the performance of 
 which thefe benefits are promifed, is Re- 
 pentance ; a duty, which it is of the ut- 
 moft importance to every Man to undc3: 
 ftand and pra6tife; and which it therefore 
 may be necelTary to explain and eniorce, 
 by Ihewing, 
 
 Firfl^ 
 
C S8 ) 
 
 Firft, What is the true nature of Re- 
 pentance. 
 
 Second Ivj V/hat are the obligations to an 
 early Repentance. 
 
 Firfl:, What is the true nature of Repen- 
 tance. 
 
 The duty of Repentance, like moft other 
 parts of Religion, has been mifreprefented 
 by the weaknefs of fuperftition, or the ar- 
 tifices of intereft. The cleared: precepts 
 have been obfcured by falfe interpreta- 
 tions, and one error added to another, 
 till the underftanding of Men has been 
 bewildered, and their morals depraved 
 by a falfe appearance of Religion. 
 
 Repentance has been made, by fome, to 
 coniift in the outward expreilions of for- 
 row for fin, in tears and fighs, in dejec- 
 tion and lamentation. 
 
 It muft be owned that where the crime 
 is public, and where others may be in 
 danger of corruption from the example, 
 fome public and open declarations of Re- 
 pentance may be proper, if made with de- 
 cency and propriety, which are neceffary 
 to preferve the beff a6)^ions from contempt 
 and ridicule; but they are necelTary only, 
 for the fake of dcftroving the influence 
 
 of 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 of a bad example, and are no otherwlfe 
 efTential to this duty. No Man is obliged 
 to accufe himfelf of crimes, which are 
 known to God alone; even the fear of 
 hurting others ought often to reftrain him 
 from it, iince to confefs crimes may be, 
 in fome meafure, to teach them, and thofe 
 may imitate him in wickednefs, w^ho will 
 not follow him in his Repentance. 
 
 It feems here not impertinent to men- 
 tion the pra6\ice of private confelTion 
 to the Prieft, indifpenfably enjoined by 
 the Roman Church, as abfolutely ne- 
 ceflary to true Repentance ; but which is 
 no where commanded in Scripture, or re- 
 commended otherwife, than as a method 
 of difburthening the confcience, for the 
 fake of receiving comfort or inftru61ion, 
 and as fuch, is direfted by our own Li- 
 
 turgy. 
 
 Thus much, and no more, feems to be 
 implied in the Apoftles's precept, 0/ ^o«- 
 feffing our faidfs one io anoiher^ a precept 
 exprelTed with fach latitude, that it ap- 
 pears only to be one of thofe which it 
 may be often convenient to obferve, but 
 which is to be obferved no further, than as 
 it may be convenient. For we are left 
 
 entirely 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 Entirely at liberty, what terms, whether 
 general or particular, we fhall ufe in our 
 confeffions. The precept, in a literal and 
 rational fenfe, can be faid to dire6t no 
 more, than general a6ls of humiliation, 
 and acknowledgements of our own de- 
 pravity. 
 
 No Man ought to judge of the efficacy 
 of his own Repentance, or the lincerity of 
 another's, by fuch variable and uncertain 
 tokens, as proceed more from the conftitu- 
 tion of the body, than the difpoiition of the 
 mind, or more from fudden paffions and 
 violent emotions, than from a fixed tem- 
 per, or fettled refolutions. Tears are often 
 to be found, where there is little forrow, 
 and the deepeft forrow without any tears. 
 Even forrow itfelf is no other than an acci- 
 dental, or a fecondary, part of Repentance, 
 which may, and indeed ought to arife from 
 the confcioufnefs of our own guilt; but 
 which is merely a natural and necefTary 
 efre6t5 in which choice has very little part^ 
 and which therefore is no virtue. He that 
 feels no forrow for fin, has indeed great 
 reafon to doubt of the fincerity of his 
 own Repentance, fince he feems not to be 
 truly fentible of his danger and his mifery; 
 
 but 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 but he that feels it in the higheft degree is 
 not to put confidence in it. He is only to 
 expe6t mercy upon his reformation. 
 
 For reformation is the chief part of Re- 
 pentance; not he that only bewails and 
 confefTes, but he that forfakes his fins, re- 
 pents acceptably to God, that God who 
 ivill ha'ue mercy ^ and notfacrifcc, who will 
 only accept a pure heart and real virtue, 
 not outward forms of grief, or pompous 
 folemnities of devotion. To conceive that 
 any thing can be fubftituted in the place 
 of reformation is a dangerous and fatal, 
 though perhaps no uncommon, error; nor 
 is it lefs erroneous, though lefs deftrudlive, 
 to fuppofe, that any thing can be added 
 to the efficacy of a good life by a confor. 
 mity to any extraordinary ceremonies or 
 particular inftitutions. 
 
 To falfe notions of Repentance many 
 Nations ov/e the cuftom, which prevails 
 amongft them, of retiring in the decline 
 of life to folitudes and cloyfters, to atone 
 for wickednefs by penance and mortifica- 
 tions. It muft indeed be confelTed, that it 
 maybe prudent in a Man, long accuftomed 
 to yield to particular temptations, to re- 
 move himfelf from them as far as he can, 
 
 bccaufe 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 becaufe every paffion is more ftrong or 
 violent, as its particular obje6t is more 
 near. Tlvus it would be madnefs in a 
 Man, long enflaved by intemperance, to 
 frequeiit revels and banquets with an intent 
 to reform; nor can it be expelled that 
 cruelty and tyranny fhould be corre6led5 
 by continuance in high authority. 
 
 That particular ftate which contributes 
 moft to excite and ftimulate our inordi- 
 nate paffions, may be changed with very 
 good effevSl ; but any retirement from the 
 World does not neceiTarily precede or fol- 
 low repentance, becaufe it is not requiiite 
 to reformation. A Man whofe confcience 
 accufes him of having perverted others 
 feems under fome obligations to continue 
 in the World, and to pra61:ife virtue in 
 public, that thofe who have been feduced 
 by his example, may by his example be 
 reclaimed. 
 
 For reformation includes, not only the 
 forbearance of thofe crimes of which we 
 have been guilty, and the practice of thofe 
 duties which we have hitherto negledted, 
 but a reparation, as far as we are able to 
 make it, of all the injuries that we have 
 done, either to Mankind in general, or to 
 
 particular 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 particular perfons. If we have been guilty 
 of the open propagation of error, or the 
 promulgation of falfehood, we muft make 
 our recantation no lels openly; we muft 
 endeavour, without regard to the fhame 
 and reproach to wlfich we may be expof- 
 ed, to undeceive thofe whom we have for- 
 merly milled. If v/e have deprived any 
 Man of his right, wc muft reftore it to 
 him ; if we have alperfed his repu- 
 tation, we muft retract our calumny. 
 Whatever can be done to obviate the ill 
 confequences of our paft mifcondu6l, muft 
 be diligently and fteadily practifed. Who- 
 ever has been made vicious or unhappy 
 by our fault, muft be reftored to virtue 
 and happinefs, fb far as our counfel or 
 fortune can contribute to it. 
 
 Let no Man imagine that he may in- 
 dulge his malice, his avarice, or his ambi- 
 tion, at the expence of others; that he 
 may raife himfelf to wealth and honour 
 by the breach of every law of Heaven and 
 Earth, then retire laden with the plunder 
 of the miferable, fpend his life in fantaftic 
 penances, or falfe devotion, and by his 
 compliance with the external duties of 
 Religiouj atone for with -holding what he 
 
 t> has 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 has torn away from the lawful poirelTor by 
 rapine and extortion. Let him not flatter 
 himfelf with falfe perfuaiions that prayer 
 and mortification can alter the great and 
 invariable rules of reafon and juftice. Let 
 him not think that he can acquire a right to 
 keep what he had no right to take away, 
 or that frequent proftrations before God 
 will jufiify his perfeverance in opprefling 
 Men. Let him be affured that his pre- 
 fence profanes the temple, and that his 
 prayer will be turned into iin. 
 
 A frequent and ferious reflexion upon the 
 neceffity of reparation and reftitution, m-ay 
 be very effe61ual toreRrainMen from injuf^ 
 tice and defamation, from cruelty and ex- 
 tortion; for nothing is more certain, than 
 that moft propofe to themfelves to die the 
 death of the Righteous, and intend, how- 
 ever they may offend God in the purfuit 
 of their intereft, or the gratifications of 
 their pafiions, to reconcile themfelves 
 to him by Repentance. Would Men there- 
 fore deeply imprint upon their minds the 
 true notions of Repentance in its whole ex- 
 tent, many temptations would lofe their 
 force; for who would utter a falfehood, 
 which he mjj.ll fiiamefully retra6l ; or take 
 away, at the expet^ce of his reputation 
 
 and 
 
\ )o ; 
 
 and his innocence, what, if he hopes for 
 eternal happinefs, he mult afterwards re- 
 ftore ? Who would commit a crime, of 
 which he muft retain the guilt, but lofe 
 the advantage ? 
 
 There is indeed a partial reftitution, v/ith 
 which many have attempted to quiet their 
 confciences, and have betrayed their own 
 fouls. When they are fufliciently enriched 
 by wicked pra6^ices, and leave off to rob 
 from fatiety of w^ealth, or are awaked to 
 retie6lion upon their own lives by danger, 
 adveriity, or ficknels, they then become 
 delirous to be at peace with God, and hope 
 to obtain, by refunding part of their ac- 
 quifitions, a permiffion to enjoy the reft. 
 In purfuance of this view, Churches are 
 built, Schools endowed, the Poor clothed, 
 and the Ignorant educated ; works indeed 
 highly plealing to God, when performed 
 in concurrence with the other duties of 
 Religion, but which will never atone for 
 the violation of juftice. To plunder one 
 Man for the fake of relieving another, is 
 not charity ; to build temples with the 
 gains of wickednefs, is to endeavour to 
 bribe the Divinity. This ought ye to have 
 done, and not left the other undone. Ye 
 
 C % ought 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 ought doubtlefs to be charitable, but ye 
 ought firft to be juft. 
 
 There are others who confider God as 
 a Judge ftill more eafily reconciled to 
 crimes, and therefore perform their acls of 
 atonement after death, and deftine their ef- 
 tates to charity, when they can ferve the end 
 of luxuryor vanity no longer. But whoever 
 he be that has loaded his foul with the 
 Ipoils of the unhappy, and riots in affluence 
 by cruelty and injuftiee, let him not be de- 
 ceived! God is not mocked. Reftitution 
 muft be made to thofe who have been 
 wronged, and whatever he with-holds from 
 them, he with holds at the hazard of eter* 
 nal happinels. 
 
 An amendment of life is the chief and 
 elfential part of Repentance. He that has 
 performed that great work, needs not dif- 
 turb his confcience with fubtle fcruples, or 
 nice diftin6lions. He needs not recolle6t, 
 whether he was awakened from the lethar- 
 gy of lin, by the love of God, or the fear 
 of punifhment. The Scripture applies to 
 all our paffions; and eternal punifhments 
 had been threatened to no purpofe, if 
 thefe menaces were not intended to pro- 
 mote virtue. 
 
 4 But 
 
C 37 ) 
 
 But as this reformation is not to be ac 
 complifhed by our own natural power, 
 unaffifted by God, we muft, when we form 
 our firfl: refolutions of a new life, apply 
 ourfelves, with fervour and conftancy, to 
 thofe means which God has prefcribed for 
 obtaining his alTiftance. We muft im- 
 plore a bleffing by frequent prayer, and 
 confirm our faith by the Holy Sacrament. 
 We muft ufe all thofe inftitutions that con- 
 tribute to the increafe of piety, and omit 
 nothing that may either promote our pro- 
 grefs in virtue, or prevent a relapfe into 
 vice. It may be enquired, whether a Re- 
 pentance begun in ficknefs, and prevented 
 by death from exerting its influence upon 
 the condu6^, will avail in the fight of God. 
 To this queftion it may be anfwered in ge- 
 neral, that as all reformation is begun by 
 a change of the temper and inclinations, 
 which, when altered to a certain degree, 
 necelTarily produce an alteration in the life 
 and manners; if God who fees the heart, 
 fees it re6lified in fuch a manner as would 
 confequently produce a good life, he will 
 accept that Repentance. 
 
 But it is of the higheft importance to 
 thofe who have fo long delayed to fecure 
 
 theiL 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 their falvation, that they lofe none of the 
 moments which yet remain ; that they 
 omit no a6l of juftice or mercy now in 
 their power ; that they fummon all their 
 diligence to improve the remains of life, 
 and exert every virtue which they have 
 opportunities to pradtife. And when they 
 have done all that can poffibly be done 
 hy them, they cannot yet be certain of ac- 
 ceptance, becaufe they cannot know, whe- 
 ther a repentance, proceeding wholly from 
 the fear of death, v/ould not languifli and 
 ceafe to operate, if that fear was taken 
 away. 
 
 Since therefore fuch is the hazard and 
 uncertain efficacy of Repentance long de- 
 layed, let us ferioufly refle6l, 
 
 Secondly, upon the obligations to an ear- 
 ly Repentance. 
 
 He is efceemed by the prudent and the 
 diligent to be no good regulator of his pri- 
 vate afiairs, who defers till to-morrow, 
 what is necelTary to be done, and what it 
 is in his power to do, to-day. The obli- 
 gation would ftill be ftronger, if we fup- 
 pofe that the prefent is the only day in 
 which he knows it will be in his pov»7er. 
 This is the cafe of every Man, who delays 
 
 to 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 to reform his life, and lulls himfelf in 
 the fupinefs of iniquity. He knows not 
 that the opportunities he now rejc61s will 
 ever be again oifered him, or that they will 
 not be denied him becaufe he has reje(5led 
 them. This he certainly knows, that life 
 is continually ftealing from him, and that 
 every day cuts off fome part of that time 
 which is already perhaps almoft at an 
 end. 
 
 But the time not only grov^^s every day 
 fhorter, but the work to be performed in 
 it more difficult ; every hour, in which 
 Repentance is delayed, produces fome- 
 thing new to be repented of. Habits grow 
 ftronger by long continuance, and palTions 
 more violent by indulgence. Vice, by re- 
 peated a6ls, becomes almoft natural ; and 
 pleafures, by frequent enjoyment captivate 
 the mind almoft beyond refiftance. 
 
 If avarice has been the predominant 
 paffion, and wealth has been accumulated 
 by extortion and rapacity. Repentance is 
 not to be poftponed. Acquifitions, long 
 enjoyed, are with great difficuly quitted, 
 with fo great difficulty, that we feldom, 
 very feldom, meet with true Repentance 
 in thofe whom the defire of" riches has be- 
 trayed 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 trayed to wickednels. Men who could wil- 
 lingly relign the luxuries and fenfual plea- 
 fures of a large fortune, cannot confent to 
 live without the grandeur and the homage. 
 And they who vs^ould leave all, cannot 
 hear the reproach, which they apprehend 
 from fuch an acknowledgment of wrong. 
 
 Thus are Men with-held from Repent- 
 ance, and confequently debarred from eter- 
 nal felicity ; but thefe reafons, being found- 
 ed in temporal intereft, acquire every day 
 greater flrength to miflead us, though not 
 greater efficacy to juftify us. A Man may, 
 by fondly indulging a falfe notion, volun- 
 tarily forget that it is falfe, but can never 
 make it true. We muft banifh every falfe 
 argument, every known deluiion from our 
 minds, before our paffions can operate in 
 its favour ; and forfake what we know 
 muft be forfaken, before we have endear- 
 ed it to ourfelves by long poiTeflion. Re- 
 pentance is always difficult, and the diffi- 
 culty grows ftill greater by delay. But let 
 thofe who have hitherto negle6led this 
 great duty remember, that it is yet in their 
 power, and that they cannot perifh ever» 
 lafiingly but by their own choice! Let 
 them therefore endeavour to redeem the 
 
 time 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 t^me loft, and repair their negligence by 
 vjdance and ardour- Ut ih^ ^i,Cfi^^_ 
 Me hs .vay, and the zmnghteous Man his 
 thoughts , and let Mm return unto the I'd 
 
 <^odfor M mil abimdanily pardon. 
 
 SERMON 
 
\iuiiivi.t a .iK.'jLi^mu!i ' mKsa!>L:^suana 
 
 SERMON IIL 
 
 . Proverbs, Chap, xxviii. Verfe 14, 
 
 Happy is the Man that feareth ahvay : hut 
 he thai hardeneih his hearty fiiall fall into 
 7nifchief, 
 
 X HE great purpofe of revealed Reli- 
 gion 13 to afford Man a clear reprefenta- 
 tion of his dependence on the Supreme 
 Being, by teaching him to conlider God, 
 as his Creator, and Governor, his Father 
 and his Judge. Thofe to whom Provi- 
 dence has granted the knowledge of the 
 Holy Scripture?, have no need to perplex 
 themfelves with difficult fpeculations, to 
 deduce their duty from remote principles, 
 or to enforce it by doubtful motives. The 
 Bible tells us, in plain and authoritative 
 terms, that there is a way to life and a 
 way to death ; that there are a6is which 
 
 God 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 God will reward, and a6ls that he will pu- 
 nifh. That with fobernefb', righteoufnefs, 
 and godlinefs, God will be pleafed ; and 
 that with intemperance, iniquity, and im- 
 piety, God will be offended ; and that of 
 thofe who are careful to pleafe him, the 
 reward will be fuch, as eye hath not feen, 
 nor ear heard ; and of thofe who, having 
 offended him, die without Repentance, the 
 punifhment will be inconceivably fevere^ 
 and dreadful. 
 
 In confequence of this general dodlrine, 
 the whole fyftem of moral and religious 
 duty is expreffed, in the language of Scrip- 
 ture, by the fear of God. A good Man is 
 charadlerifed, as a Man that feareth God ; 
 and the fear of the Lord is faid to be the 
 beginning of wifdom ; and the Text af- 
 firms, that happy is the Man that feareth 
 always. 
 
 On the diftin61ion of this fear, into fer- 
 vile and filial, or fear of punifhment, or 
 fear of offence, on which much has been 
 fuperftru6led by the cafuifiical Theology 
 of the Romifh Church, it is not neceffary 
 to dwell. It is fufficient to obferve, that 
 the Religion which makes fear the great 
 principle of a6tion, implicitly condemns all 
 
 feli: 
 
( 4b ) 
 
 felf-confidence, all prefumptuous feeurity ; 
 and enjoins a conftant ftate of vigilance and 
 caution, a perpetual diflruri of our own 
 hearts, a full convi61ion of our natural 
 vveaknefs, and an earneft folicitude for 
 Divine Afliftance. 
 
 The Philofophers of the Heathen World 
 feemed to hope, that Man might be flat- 
 tered into Virtue, and therefore told liim 
 much of his rank, and of the meaneft of 
 degeneracy; they alferted, indeed with 
 truth, that all greatnefs was in the pravSlice 
 of Virtue ; but of Virtue, their notions 
 were narrow ; and pride, which their doc- 
 trine made its chief fupport, was not of 
 power fufficient to iiruggle with fenfe or 
 pafiion. 
 
 Of that Religion; Vv^hich has been taught 
 from God, the bafis is Humility : a holy 
 fear which attends good Men throuo-h the 
 whole courfe of their lives; and keeps 
 them always attentive to the motives and 
 confequenccs of every a61ion ; if always 
 unfatisfied with their progrefs in Holinefs, 
 always wiihing to advance, and always 
 afraid of faliins: awav. 
 
 This Fear is of fuch efficacy to the great 
 purpofe of our being, that the Wife Man 
 
 has 
 
( 4^' ) 
 
 has pronounced him happy that fears al- 
 ways 5 and declares, that he who hardens 
 his heart ihall fall into mifchief. Let us 
 therefore carefully confider, 
 
 Firft, What he is to fear, whofe fear 
 will make him happy. 
 
 Secondly, What is that hardnefs of heart 
 which ends in mifchief. 
 
 Thirdly, How the heart is hardened. 
 And 
 
 Fourthly, What is the confequence of 
 hardnefs of heart. ^ 
 
 Firft, We muft enquire, what he is to 
 fear, whofe fear will make him happy. 
 
 The great and primary obJ€6L of a good 
 Man's fear, is iin; and in proportion to the 
 atrocioufnefs of the crime, he will fnrink 
 from it with more horror. When he medi- 
 tates on the infinite perfe6lion ot his Maker 
 and his Judge ; when he coniiders that the 
 Heavens are not pure in the fight of God, 
 and yet remembers, that he muft in a fhort 
 time appear before him ; he dreads the 
 contaminations of evil, and endeavours to 
 pafs through his appointed time, with fuch 
 cautions, as may keep him unfpotted from 
 
 the world. 
 
 The 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 The dread of fin necelTarily produces 
 the dread of temptation : he that wifhes 
 to efcape the effedts, flies likewife from the 
 caufe. The humility of a Man truly re- 
 ligious feldom fufFers him to think him- 
 felf able to relift thofe incitements to evil, 
 which by the approach of immediate gra- 
 tifications may be prefented to fenfe or 
 fancy ; his care is not for vidlory, but 
 fafety; and when he can ejcape aifaults, he 
 does not willingly encoimter them. 
 
 The continual occurrence of temptation, 
 and thatimbecillity of nature, which every 
 Man fees in others, and has experienced 
 in himfelf, feems to have made many 
 doubtful of the poffibility of Salvation. 
 In the common modes of life, they find 
 that bufinefs enfnares, and that pleafure 
 Induces; that fuccefs produces pride, and 
 mifcarriage envy ; that converfation con- 
 lilis too often of cenfure or of flattery; 
 and that even care for the interciis of 
 friends, or attention to the efiablifhment 
 of a family, generates conteft and com- 
 petition, enmity and malevolence, and at 
 laft fills the mind withfecular folicitude* 
 
 Under the terrors which this profpe6t 
 of the world has impreffed upon them, 
 
 many 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 many have endeavoured to fecure tlieir 
 innocence, by excluding the poffibility of 
 crimes ; and have fled for refuge, from 
 vanity and fin, to the folitude of deferts; 
 where they have palled their time in 
 woods and caverns ; and after a life of la- 
 bour and maceration, prayer and peni* 
 tence, died at lall in fecrecy and iilence. 
 
 Many more of both fexes, have with- 
 drawn, and ftill withdraw themfelves, 
 from crowds and glitter, and pleafure, to 
 Monafteries and Convents ; where they 
 engage themfelves, by irrevocable vows, 
 in certain modes of life, more or lefs au- 
 Here, according to the feveral inftitutions ; 
 but all of them comprizing many poiitive 
 hardfhips, and all prohibiting almoft all 
 fenfual gratifications. The fundamental 
 and general principle of all monadic com- 
 munities, is Celibacy, Poverty, and Obe- 
 dience to the Superior. In fome, there is 
 a perpetual abftinence from all food that 
 may join delight with nourifhment ; to 
 v/hich, in others, is added an obligation to 
 lilence and folitute ;— to fufter, to watch, 
 and to pray, is their whole employment. 
 
 Of thefe, it muft be confefFed, that they 
 fear always, and that they efcape many 
 
 tempta- 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 temptations, to which all are expofed, and 
 by which many fall, who venture them- 
 felves into the whirl of human affairs ; 
 they are exempt from avarice, and all its 
 concomitants, and by allowing themfelves 
 to polfefs nothing, they are free from thofe 
 contefts for honour and power, which fill 
 the open world with ftratagems and vio- 
 lence. But furely it cannot be faid that 
 they have reached the perfection of a re- 
 ligious Life ; it cannot be allowed, that 
 flight is vi6lory ; or that He fills his place 
 in the Creation laudably, who does no ill, 
 only becaufe he does nothing. Thofe who 
 live upon that which is produced by the 
 labour of others, could not live, if there 
 w^ere none to labour ; and if Celibacy 
 could be univerfal, the race of Man muft 
 foon have an end. 
 
 Of thefe reclufes, it may without uncha- 
 ritable cenfure be affirmed ; that they have 
 fecured their innocence, by the lofs of 
 their Virtue; that to avoid the commifl 
 lion of fome faults, they have made many 
 duties impraiSlicable; and that left thev 
 fhould do what they ought not to do, they 
 leave much undone^ which they ought to (^d?. 
 They muft however be allowed, to exprefs 
 
 ^ ajuft 
 
( so ) 
 
 a juil fenfe of the dangers, with which 
 we are furrounded ; and a ftrong convic- 
 tion of the vigilance necefTary to obtain 
 falvation ; and it is our bulinefs to avoid 
 their errors, and imitate their piety. 
 
 He is happy that carries about with him 
 in the world the temper of the cloifter ; 
 and preferves the fear of doing evil, while 
 he fufFers himfelf to be impelled by the 
 zeal of doing good ; who ufes the comforts 
 ^nd the conveniencies of his condition, as 
 though he ufed them not, with that con- 
 ftant delire of a better ftate, which links 
 the value of earthly things; who can be 
 rich or poor, without pride in riches, or 
 difcontent in poverty; who can manage 
 the bulinefs of life, with fuch indifference, 
 as may fhut out from his heart all incite- 
 ments to fraud or injuftice ; who can par- 
 take the pleafures of fenfe with tempe- 
 rance, and enjoy the di{^in6lions of honour 
 with moderation ; who can pafs undefiled 
 through a polluted World; and, among 
 all the viciflitudes of good and evil, have 
 his heart fixed only where true joys are to 
 be found. 
 
 This can only be done, by fearing always, 
 by preferving in the mind a conftant ap- 
 
 prehenlion 
 
i. SI ) 
 
 pVehculion of the Divine Prefence, and a 
 conftant dread of the Divine difpleafure; 
 imprcflions which the converfe of man- 
 kind, and the folicitations of fenfe and 
 fancy, are continually labouring to efface, 
 and v.'hich we niuft therefore renew by 
 all fuch praftices as Religion prefcribes ; 
 and which may be learned from the lives 
 of them, who have been diflinguifhed, as 
 examples of piety, by the general appro- 
 bation of the Chriftian World. 
 
 The great eflficient of union between the 
 foul and its Creator, is Prayer; of which 
 the neceflity is fuch that St. Paul dire6fs 
 ns, to pray without ceaiing ; that is, to pre- 
 lerve in the mind fuch a conftant depend* 
 ence upon God, and fuch a conftant defire 
 of his, alliftance, as may be equivalent to 
 conftant prayer. 
 
 No man can pray, with ardour of devo- 
 tion, but he muft excite in himfelf a reve- 
 rential idea of that Power, to whom he 
 addreffes his petitions ; nor can he fud- 
 denly reconcile himfelf to an a6fion, by 
 w^hich he fhall difpleafe him, to whom he 
 has been returning thanks for his Creation 
 and Prefervation, and by whom he 
 hopes to be ftill preferved. He therefore, 
 
 E 'Z who 
 
( S3 ) 
 
 who prays often, fortifies himfelf by a na- 
 tural effe6l5 and may hope to be preferved 
 in fafety, by the ftronger aid of Divine 
 Prote6lion. 
 
 Befides the returns of daily and regu- 
 lar Prayer, it will be neceffary for moft 
 men to aflift themfelves, from time to 
 time, by fome particular and unaccuftom- 
 ed adls of Devotion. For this purpofe, in- 
 tervals of retirement may be properly re- 
 commended ; in which the duft of Life 
 may be fhaken off and in which the courfe 
 of Life may be properly reviewed, and its 
 future poffibilities eftimated. At fuch 
 times fecular temptations are removed, 
 and earthly cares are difmifTed ; a vain 
 tranlitory world may be contemplated in 
 its true Rate; paft offences may obtain par- 
 don by Repentance; new refolutions may 
 be formed, upon new convi6lions; the paft 
 may fupply inftru6lion to the prefent and 
 to the future; and fuch preparation may 
 be made for thofe events, which threaten 
 fpiritual danger, that temptation cannot 
 eafily come unexpeded; and intereft 
 and pleafure, whenever they renevsT 
 their attacks, vv'ill find the foul upon its 
 
 guard, 
 
 4 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 guard, with either caution to avoid, or 
 vigour to repel them. 
 
 In thefe feafons of retreat and recollec- 
 tion, what external helps fliall be added 
 muft by every one be difcreetly and fo. 
 berly confidered. Fafts and other aufte- 
 ritics, however they have been brought 
 into difrepute by wild Enthuliafm, have 
 been always recommended, and always 
 pra6lifed, by the iincere Believers of reveal- 
 Religion ; and as they have a natural ten- 
 dency to difengage the mind from fenfua- 
 lity, they may be of great ufe, as awak- 
 eners of holy Fear ; and they may affift. 
 our progrefs in a good life, while they are 
 confidered only as exprefifions of our love 
 of God, and are not fubftituted for the 
 love- of our Neighbours. 
 
 As all thofe duties are to be pra6lifed, 
 left the heart fhould be hardened, we are 
 to confider. 
 
 Secondly, What is meant by hardmfs of 
 heart. 
 
 It is apparent from the Text, that the 
 hardnefs of heart, which betrays to mif- 
 chief, is contrary to the fear which fe- 
 cures happinels. The fear of God, is a 
 certain tcndcrnefs of Spirit, which fhrinks 
 
 from 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 from evil, and the caufes of evil ; fuch 
 a feufe of God's Prefence, and fuch per- 
 fualion of his Juftice, as gives fin the ap- 
 pearance of evil, and therefore excites 
 every effort to combat and efcape it. 
 
 Hardnefs of heart, therefore, is a thought- 
 lefs negle6lof the Divine Law ; fuch an ac- 
 quiefcence in the pleaflires of fenfe, and 
 fuch delight in the pride of life, as leaves 
 no place in the mind for meditation on 
 higher things ; fuch an indifference about 
 the lafl event of human a6lions, as never 
 looks forward to a future ftate, but fuf- 
 fers the paflions to operate with their full 
 force, without any other end, than the 
 gratifications of the prefent world- 
 
 To Men of hearts thus hardened, Pro-? 
 vidence is feldom wholly inattentive ; they 
 are often called to the remembrance of 
 their Creator, both by bleiiings and afflic- 
 tions ; by recoveries from ficknefs, by de- 
 li verances from danger, by lofs of friends, 
 and by mifcarriage of tranfadfions. As 
 thefe calls are negle6ted, the hardnefs is 
 increafed ; and there is danger, lefl he, 
 whom they have refufed to hear, fhould 
 call them no more. 
 
 This 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 This ftate of derelidlioii, is the higheft 
 degree of mifery ; and fince it is fo much 
 to be dreaded, all approaches to it are di- 
 ligently to be avoided. It is therefore ne- 
 ceflary to enquire. 
 
 Thirdly, How, or by what caufes, the 
 heart is hardened. 
 
 The moft dangerous hardnefs of heart 
 is that which proceeds from fome enor- 
 mous wickednefs, of which the criminal 
 dreads the recollecftion, hecaufe he cannot 
 prevail upon himfelf to repair the injury ; 
 or becaufe he dreads the irruption of thofe 
 images, by which guilt muft always be 
 accompanied ; and, finding a temporal 
 eafe in negligence and forgetfulnefs, by 
 degrees confirms himfelf in ftubborn imr 
 penitence. 
 
 Th.^s is the moft dreadful and deplora- 
 ble ftate of the hear^ \ but this I hope is 
 not very common. That which frequently 
 occurs, though very dangerous, is not def- 
 perate ; lince it coniifts, not in the perver- 
 lion of the will, but in the alienation of 
 the thought ; by fuch hearts God is not de- 
 f-ied, he is only forgotten. Of this forget- 
 fulnefs, the general caufes are worldly 
 cares and lenfual pleafures. If there is a 
 
 Man, 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 Man, of wliofe foul avarice or ambition 
 have complete pofleilion, and who places 
 his hope in riches or advancement, he will 
 be employed in bargains, or in fchemesj 
 and make no excurfion into remote futu- 
 rity, nor confider the time, in which the 
 rich and the poor fhall lie down together; 
 when all temporal advantages fhall for- 
 fake him, and he fhall appear before the 
 fupreme tribunal of Eternal Juftice. The 
 Have of pleafure foon finks into a kind of 
 voluptuous dotage ; intoxicated with pre- 
 fent delights, and carelefs of every thing 
 elfe; his days and his nights glide away 
 in luxury or in vice, and he has no cure, 
 but to keep thought away i for thought is 
 always troublefome to him^ who lives with- 
 out his own approbation. 
 
 That fuch men are not roufed to the 
 knowledge and the confideration of their 
 real ftate, will appear lefs ftrange; when 
 it is obferved, that they are almoil: always 
 either fiupidly, or profanely, negligent of 
 thofe external duties of Religion, which 
 are inftituted to excite and preferve the 
 fear of God. By perpetual abfence from 
 public woilhip, they mifs all opportuni- 
 ties, which the pious wifdom of Chriflia- 
 
 nity 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 iilty has afforded them, of comparing their 
 lives with the rules, which the Scripture 
 contains ; and awakening their attention to 
 the prefence of God, by hearing him in- 
 voked, and joining their own voices in the 
 common fupplication. That carelefTnefs of 
 the world to come, which firft HifFered 
 them to omit the duties of devotion, is, 
 by that omiflion, hourly encreal^d; and 
 having firft neglected the means of holinefs, 
 they in time do not remember th^sm. 
 
 A great part of them whofe hearts are 
 thus hardened, may juf^ly impute that in- 
 feniibility to the violation of the Sabbath. 
 He that keeps one day in the week holy, 
 has not time to become profligate, before 
 the returning day of recolle6lion rcinftates 
 his principles, and renews his caution. 
 This is the benefit of periodical worfliip. 
 But he, to whom all days are alike, will 
 find no day for prayer and repentance. 
 
 Many enjoyments, innocent in them- 
 felves, may become dangerous by too much 
 frequency; publick fpectacles, convivial 
 entertainments, domeflick games, fports of 
 the field, or gay or ludicrous con\ erfation, 
 all of them harmlefs, and fome of them 
 ufeful, while they are regulated by religi- 
 ous 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 ous prudence, may yet become pernicious, 
 when they pafs their bounds, and ufurp too 
 much of that time which is given us, that 
 we may work out our Salvation. 
 
 And furely whatever may diminifh the 
 fear of God, or abate the tender nefs of 
 confcience, muft be diligently avoided by 
 thofe who remember what is to be ex- 
 plained. 
 
 Fourthly, The confequence of Hardnefs 
 
 of Heart. 
 
 He that hardeneth his heart fhall fall 
 into mifchief V^hether mifchief be con- 
 lidered, as immediately fignifying wicked- 
 nefs, or mifery, the fenfe is eventually the 
 fame. Mifery is the effe6t of wickednefs, 
 and wickednefs is the caufe of mifery; and 
 he that hardeneth his heart fhall be both 
 wicked and miferable. Wicked he will 
 doubtlefs be, for he that has loft the fear 
 of God has nothing by which he can op- 
 pofe temptation. He has a breaft open 
 and expofed, of which intereft or volup- 
 tuoufnefs take eafy poffeffion. He is the 
 fiave of his own defires, and the fport of 
 his own paffions. He adis without a rule 
 of a6fion ; and he determines without any 
 true principle of judgement. If he w^ho 
 
 fears 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 fears always, who preferves in his mind a 
 conftant fenfe of the danger of lin, is yet 
 often afTaultedj and fometiiTies overpower- 
 ed, by temptation, what can be hoped for 
 him, that has the fame temptation, with- 
 out the fame defence? He who hardens his 
 heart will certainly be wicked, and it ne- 
 ceffarily follows, that he will certainly be 
 miferable. The doom of the obilinate and 
 impenitent iinner is plainly declared ; it is 
 a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God. 
 
 Let us all therefore watch our thoughts 
 and a6lions,- and that we may not, by 
 hardnefs of heart, fall into mifchief, let 
 us endeavour and pray, that we may be 
 among them that feared always, and by 
 that fear may be prepared for everlafting 
 flappinefs. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 Isaiah, Chap. Iviii. Ver. 7, 8. 
 
 ts if not to deal thy bread to the hungry^ and 
 that thou bring the poor that are caji out, 
 to thyhoufe? when thoufeejl the naked that 
 thou cover him, and that thou hide not thy^ 
 
 f elf from thine ownjiefli? 
 Then fliall thy light break forth as the morn^ 
 ing, and thine health fliall fpring forth 
 
 fpeedily; and thy r ight eon fnefs fliall go before 
 thee, the glory of the Lord fliall be thy 7^ere- 
 ward. 
 
 If the neceffity of every duty is to be 
 efti mated by the frequency with which it 
 is inculcated, and the fan6\ions by which 
 it is enforced ; if the great Lawgiver of 
 the univerfe, whofe will is immutable, and 
 whole decrees are eftablifhed for eyer, may 
 
 be 
 
C 63 ) 
 
 be fuppofed to regard, in a particular man- 
 ner, the obfervation of thofe commands, 
 which feeni to be repeated only that they 
 may be ftrongly imprelTed, and fecured, 
 by an habitual fubmiffion, from violation 
 and negle6l, there is fcarcely any virtue, 
 that we ought more diligently to exerciie 
 than that of compallion to the needy and 
 diftrelTed. 
 
 If we look into the ftate of mankind, and 
 endeavour to deduce the will of God from 
 the viiible difpofition of things, we find no 
 duty more neceiTary to the fupport of or- 
 der, and the happinefs of fociety, nor any 
 of which we are more often reminded, by 
 opportunities of pra6ti{ing it, or which is 
 more ftrongly urged upon us, by importu- 
 nate folicitations, and affe6ling obje6ls. 
 
 If vie enquire into the opinions of thofe 
 men, on whom God conferred fuperior 
 wifdom, in the Heathen world, all their 
 fuffrages will be found united in this great 
 point. Amidft all their w^ild opinions, and 
 chimerical lyftems, the failles of unguided 
 imagination, and the errors of bewildered 
 reafon; they have all endeavoured to 
 evince the neceffity of beneficence, and 
 agreed to affign the firil rank of excellence 
 
 to 
 
( ^5 ) - 
 
 to him, who moft contributes to impiove 
 the happinefs, and to foften the miferies of 
 life. 
 
 But we, who are blefled with dearer 
 light, and taught to know the will of our 
 Maker, not from long deductions from va- 
 riable appearances, or intricate difquifiti- 
 ons of fallible reafon, but by melTengers 
 infpired by himfelf, and enabled to prove 
 their mifTion, by works above the power 
 of created Beings, may fpare ourfelves the 
 labour of tedious enquiries. The Holy 
 Scriptures are in our hands; the Scriptures, 
 which are able to make us wife unto Sal. 
 vation ; and by them we may be fuffici- 
 ently informed of the extent and import- 
 ance of this great duty; a duty enjoined, 
 explained, and enforced, by Mofes and 
 the Prophets, by the Evangelifts and 
 Apoftles, by the precepts of Solomon and 
 the Example of Chrift. 
 
 From thofe to whom large pofTeflions 
 have been tranfmitted by their anceftors 
 or whofe induftry has been bleiTed witli 
 fuccefs, God always requires the tribute of 
 Charity; he commands that what he has 
 given be enjoyed in imitating his bounty, 
 in difpcnf.ng happinef^i, and chearing po- 
 verty, 
 
y ( H ) 
 
 vefiy, in eaiing the pains of difeafe, ^ncl 
 lightening the burden of oppreffion ; he 
 commands that the fuperfluity of bread be 
 dealt to the hungry; and the raiment^ 
 which the poireiTor cannot ufe, be beft ow- 
 ed upon the naked, and that no man turn 
 away from his own flefh* 
 
 This is a tribute, which it is difficult to 
 imagine that any man can be unwilling 
 to pay, as an acknowledgement of his de- 
 pendence upon the univerfal Benefadlor^ 
 and an humble teftimony of his confidence 
 in that prote6lion, without which, the 
 llrongeft foundations of human power muft 
 fail, at the firft fhock of adverfity, and the 
 highell fabricks of earthly greatnefs link 
 into ruin; without which, wealth is only 
 a floating vapour, and policy an empty 
 found. 
 
 But fuch is the prevalence of temptati- 
 ons, not early refilled ; fuch the depravity 
 of minds, by which unlawful deiires have 
 been long indulged, and falfe appearances 
 of happinefs purfued with ardour and per- 
 tinacioufnefs ; fo much are v/e influenced 
 by example, and fo diligently do we labour 
 to deceive ourfelves, that it is not uncom- 
 mon to And the fenti meats of benevolence 
 
 aim oft 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 ftlmoft extinguifhed, and all regard to the 
 welfare of others overborne by a perpetual 
 attention to immediate advantage and con- 
 tracted views of prefent intereft. 
 
 When any man has funk into a ftate of 
 infeniibility like this, when he has learned 
 to a6l only by the impulfe of apparent pro- 
 fit, v/hen he can look upon diftrefs, with- 
 out partaking it, and hear the cries of po- 
 verty and ficknefs, without a wifh to re- 
 lieve them ; when he has fo far difordered 
 his ideas as to value wealth, without re- 
 gard to its end, and to amafs, with eager- 
 nefs, what is of no ufe in his hands; he 
 is indeed not eaiily to be reclaimed; his 
 reafon, as well as his paflions, is in combi- 
 nation againft his foul, and there is little 
 hope, that either perfuaiion will foften, or 
 arguments convince him. A man, once 
 hardened in cruelty by inveterate avarice, 
 is fcarcely to be confidered as any longer 
 human; nor is it to be hoped, that any 
 impreffion can be made upon him, by me- 
 thods applicable only to reafonable Beings, 
 Beneficence and compaffion can be awaken- 
 ed in fuch hearts only by the operation of 
 Divine Grace, and mud be the efFecl of a 
 
 F miracle. 
 
C 66 ) 
 
 miracle, like that which turned the dry 
 rock into a fpringing well. 
 
 Let every one, that conliders this ftate 
 of obdurate wickednefs, that is ftruck with 
 horror at the mention of a man void of 
 pity, that feels refentment at the name af 
 oppreffion, and melts with forrow at the 
 voice of mifery, remember that thofe, who 
 have now loft all thefe fentiments, were 
 originally formed with paflions, and in- 
 ftin61s, and reafon, like his own : let him 
 retiecl, that he, who now ftands moft firm- 
 ly, may fall by negligence, and that ne- 
 gligence arifes from fecurity. Let him 
 therefore obferve, by what gradations men 
 fink into perdition, by what infenfible de- 
 viations they wander from the ways of 
 virtue 'till they are at length fearce able to 
 return ; and let him be warned by their 
 example, to avoid the original caufes of 
 depravity, and repel the firft attacks of 
 unreafonable felf-love; let him meditate 
 on the excellence of Charity, and improve 
 thofe feeds of benevolence^ which are 
 implanted in every mind, but which vv'iil 
 not produce fruit, without care and culti- 
 vation. 
 
 3 Such 
 
( 67 ) ' 
 
 Such meditations are always necelTary 
 for the promotion of Virtue; for a carelefs 
 and inattentive mind eaiily forgets its im- 
 portance, and it will be pra6lifed only 
 with a degree of ardour, proportioned to 
 the fenfe of our obligations to it. 
 
 To affift fuch refle6tions, to confirm the 
 benevolence of the liberal, and to fhow 
 thofe who have lived without regard to the 
 neceffities of others, the abfurdity of their 
 condu61, I fhall enquire, 
 
 Firft, Into the nature of Charity ; and 
 
 Secondly, Into the advantages arifing 
 from the exercife of it. 
 
 Firft, I fhall enquire into the nature of 
 Charity. 
 
 By Charity, is to be underftood, every 
 affiilance of weaknefs, or fupply of wants, 
 produced by a delire of benefiting others, 
 and of plealing God, Not every a6l of li- 
 berality, every increafe of the wealth of 
 another, not every flow of negligent pro- 
 fuflons, or thoughtlefs Itart of fudden mu- 
 nificence, is to be dignified with this vene- 
 rable name. There are many motives to 
 the appearance of bounty, i-ery different 
 from thofe of true Charity, and which, with 
 whatever fuccefs they may be impofed up- 
 
 F^ on 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 on Mankind, will be diftinguifhed at the 
 laft day by Him to whom all hearts are 
 open. It is not impoffible, that Men whofe 
 ehief deiire is efteem and applaufe, who 
 court the favour of the multitude, and 
 "think fame the great end of adtion, may 
 fquander their wealth in fuch a manner, 
 that fome part of it may benefit the virtu- 
 ous or the miferable; but as the Guilt, fo 
 the Virtue, of every a6\ion, arifes from 
 deiign, and thofe bleffings which are be- 
 llowed by chance, will be of very little 
 advantage to him that fcattered them, with 
 no other profpe6l, than that of hearing his 
 own praifes; praifes, of which he will not 
 be often difappointed, but of v\/hich our 
 Lord has determined, that they fhall be 
 his reward. If any Man, in the diftribu- 
 tion of his favours, finds the defire of en- 
 gaging gratitude, or gaining affedlion, to 
 predominate in his mind; if he finds his 
 benevolence Vvcakened, by obferving that 
 his favours are forgotten, and that thofe 
 whom he has moft fiudioufiy benefited, are 
 often leaft zealous for his fervice ; he ought 
 to remember, that he is not acting upon 
 the proper motives of Charity. For true 
 Charity arifes from faith in the promifes 
 
 of 
 
( ^9 ) 
 
 of God, and expects rewards only in a fu- 
 ture ftate. To hope for our recompence in 
 this life, is not beneficence, but ufary. 
 
 And furely Charity may ealily fabfift, 
 without temporal motives, when it is con- 
 lidered, that it is by the exercife of Charity 
 alone, that we are enabled to receive any 
 iblid advantage from prefent profperity 
 and to appropriate to ourfelves any pofTef- 
 fion, beyond the poflibility of loiing it. 
 Of the uncertainty of fuccefs, and the in- 
 liability of greatnefs, we have examples 
 every day before us. Scarcely can any Man 
 turn his eyes upon the World, without ob- 
 ferving the fudden rotations of affairs, the 
 ruin of the affluent, "i and the downfal of 
 the high ; and it may reafonably be hoped, 
 that no Man, to whom opportunities of 
 fuch obfervations occur, can forbear ap- 
 plying them to his own condition, and re« 
 fie6ting, that what he now contemplates in 
 another, he may, in a few days, experience 
 himfelf 
 
 By thefe refie6\ions, he mull be naturally 
 led to enquire, how he may fix fuch fugi« 
 tive advantages; how he fhall hinder his 
 wealth from flying away, and leaving him 
 nothing, but melancholy, difappointment, 
 
 and 
 
( 7o ) 
 
 and remorfe. This he can effeft only, by 
 the pra6lice of Charity, by dealing his 
 bread to the hungry, and bringing the poor 
 that is call out, to his houfe. By thefe 
 means only he can lay up for himfelf trea- 
 fures in Heaven, where neither riiji nor moth 
 doth corrupt^ and where Thieves do not break 
 through andjieal By a liberal diftribution 
 of his riches, he can place them above the 
 reach of the fpoiler, and exempt them from 
 accident and danger ; can purchafe to him- 
 felf that fatisfaftion which no power on 
 earth can take away ; and make them the 
 means of happinefs, when they are no 
 longer in his hands. He may procure, by 
 this ufe of his wealth, what he will find 
 to be obtained by no other method of ap- 
 plying it, an alleviation of the forrows of 
 age, of the pains of iicknefs, and of the 
 agonies of death. 
 
 To enforce the duty of Charity, it is fo 
 far from being necelTary to produce any ar- 
 guments, drawn from the narrow view of 
 our condition, a view reflrained to this 
 world, that the chief reafon for which it is 
 to be pra6l:ifed, is the fhortnefs and uncer- 
 tainty of life. To a man who confiders, 
 for what purpofe he was created, and why 
 
 he 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 fee was placed in his prefent ftate, how 
 fliort a lime, at moft, is allotted to his 
 earthly duration, and how much of that 
 time may be cut off; how can any thing 
 give real fatisfa6lion, that terminates in 
 tliis life ? How can he imagine, that any 
 acquifition can deferve his labour, Vv'hich 
 has no tendency to the perfe6lion of his 
 mind? Or how can any enjoyment engage 
 his defires, but that of a pure confcience, 
 and reafonable expe6lations of a more hap- 
 py and permanent exiftence ? Whatever 
 fuperiority may diftinguifh us, and what- 
 ever plenty may furround us, wc know, 
 that they €an be pofTefled but a iliort time, 
 and that the manner in which we employ 
 them muft determine our eternal ftate ; 
 and what need can there be of any other 
 argument for the ufe of them, agreeable 
 to the command of him that befiowed 
 them ? What ftronger incitement can any 
 man require to a due conlideration of the 
 poor and needy, than that the Lord will 
 deliver him in the day of trouble; in that 
 day, when th« fhadow of death fhall com- 
 pafs him about, and all the vanities of the 
 world fhall fade away ; when all the com- 
 forts of this life lliall forfake him, when 
 pleafure fhall no longer delight, nor power 
 
 prote6l 
 
( r- ) 
 
 protect him? In that dreadful hour fhall 
 the man, v^hofe care has been extended to 
 the general happinefs of mankind, whofe 
 Charity has refcued ficknefs from the 
 grave, and poverty from the dungeonj 
 who has heard the groans of the aged, 
 flruggling v^^ith misfortunes, and the cries 
 of infants languifhing with hunger, find 
 favour in the light of the great Author of 
 fociety, and his recompence fhall flow up- 
 on him, from the fountain of mercy; he 
 fhall ftand without fear, on the brink of 
 life, and pafs into eternity, with an hum- 
 ble confidence of finding that mercy which 
 he has never denied. His Righteoufnefs 
 Ihall go before him, and the Glory of the 
 Lord fhall be his rere-ward. 
 
 Thefe bleffings, ^nd thefe rewards, are 
 to be gained by the due ufe of riches; but 
 they are not confined to the rich, or unat- 
 tainable by thofe whom Providence has 
 placed in lower ftations. Charity is an 
 univerfal duty, which it is in every man's 
 power fometimes to pra6lice; iince every 
 degree of afTiftance given to another, upon 
 proper motives, is an a6t of charity ; and 
 there is fcarcely any man, in fuch a liate 
 of imbecillity, as that he may not, on 
 
 fome 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 fome occafionSj benefit his neighbour. Hs 
 that cannot relieve the poor, may inftruct 
 the ignorant ; and he that cannot attend 
 the lick, may reclaim the vicious. He that 
 can give little airii^ance himfelf, may yet 
 perform the duty of Charity, by inflaming 
 the ardour of others, and recommending 
 the petitions, which he cannot grant, to 
 thofe who have more to beftow. The 
 widow that lliall give her mite to the 
 treafury, the poor man who ftiall bring to 
 the thirfty a cup of cold water, fhall not 
 lofe their reward. 
 
 And that this reward is not without rea- 
 fon decreed to the beneficent, and that the 
 duty of Charity is not exalted above its na* 
 tural dignity and importance, will appear, 
 by conlidering. 
 
 Secondly, The benefits ariiing from the 
 
 exercile of Charity. 
 
 The chief advantage which is received^ 
 by mankind from the pra6lice of Charity^ 
 is the promotion of Virtue, amongft thofe 
 w^ho are mofi expofed to fuch temptations 
 as it is not eafy to furmount ; temptations, 
 of which no man can fay, that he fhould 
 be able to refill: them, and of which it is 
 not eafy for any o ne that has not known 
 
 them 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 them, to eflimate the force, and reprefent 
 the danger. 
 
 We fee, every day, men blefTed with 
 abundance, and revelHng in delight, yet 
 overborne by ungovernable defires of in- 
 creafing their acquifitions ; and breaking 
 through the boundaries of Religion, to pile 
 heaps on heaps, and add one fuperfluity to 
 another, to obtain only nominal advantages, 
 and imaginary pleafures. 
 
 For thefe we fee Friendfhips broken, 
 Juftice violated, and Nature forgotten ; we 
 fee crimes committed, without the profpe6t 
 of obtaining any politive pleafure, or re- 
 moving any real pain. We fee men toiL 
 ing through meannefs and guilt, to obtain 
 that which they can enjoy only in idea, 
 and which will fupply them with nothing 
 real, which they do not already abundant- 
 ly polfefs. 
 
 If men formed by education and enlight- 
 ened by experience, men whofe obfervati- 
 ons of the world cannot but have fhown 
 them the neceffity of Virtue, and who are 
 able to difcover the enormity of wicked- 
 nefs, by tracing its original, and purfuing 
 its confequences, can fall before llich temp- 
 tations, and, in oppoiition to knowledge 
 
 and 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 and convi61ion5 prefer to the happiiiefs of' 
 pleafing God, the flatteries of dependants, 
 or the fmiles of power ; what may not be 
 expe6led from him, who is pnfhed forward 
 into lin by the impulfe of poverty, who 
 lives in continual want of what he fees 
 walled by thoufands in negligent extra- 
 vagance, and whofe pain is every moment 
 aggravated by the contempt of thofe whom 
 nature has fubje6ted to the fame neceffi- 
 ties with himfelf, and who are only his fu- 
 perior by that w^ealth which they know not 
 how to poiTeis with moderation or de- 
 cency ? 
 
 How ftrongly may fuch a man be tempt- 
 ed to declare war upon the profperous and 
 the great ! With what obltinacy and fury 
 may he rufh on from one outrage to ano- 
 other, impelled on one part, by the pref- 
 fure of neceflity, and attra6led on the 
 other, by the profpecl of happineis : of 
 happinefs, which he fees fufficieut to ele- 
 vate thofe that polTefs it above the confide- 
 ration of their own nature, and to turn 
 them away from their ovvai flefh ; that 
 happinefs, which appears greater, by being 
 compared with his own mifery, and which 
 he admires the more, becaufe he cannot 
 
 approach 
 
(• 76 ) 
 
 approach it He that finds ip. himfelf eve- 
 ry natural power of enjoyment, will envy 
 the tables of the luxurious, and the fplen- 
 dour of the proud ; he who feels the cold 
 of nakednefs, and the faintnefs of hunger^ 
 cannot but be provoked to fnatch that bread 
 which is devoured by excels, and that rai- 
 ment which is only worn as the decorati- 
 on of vanity. Refentment may eafily com- 
 bine with want, and incite him to return 
 negle6l with violence. 
 
 Such are the temptations of poverty j 
 ^nd who is there that can fay, that he has 
 riot fometimes forfaken virtue upon weaker 
 ^motives ? Let any man refle6t upon the 
 fnares to which Poverty expofes virtue, 
 and remember, how certainly one crime 
 makes way for another, till at laft all dif- 
 tin6lion of good and evil is obliterated ; 
 and he will eafily dilcover the neceflity 
 of Charity, to preferve a great part 
 of mankind from the moH: atrpciouJ? 
 wickednefs. 
 
 The great rule of a6tion, by which we 
 ^re diredled to do to others whatever we 
 would that others Ihould do to us, may be 
 extended to God himfelf; whatever we 
 alk of God^ we ought to be ready to be- 
 llow 
 
( 1) ) 
 
 ftow on our neighbour ; if we pray to be 
 forgiven, we muft forgive thofe that tref- 
 pafs againft us ; and is it not equally rea- 
 fonable, when we implore from Providence 
 our daily bread, that we deal our bread to 
 the hungry ; and that we refcue others 
 from being betrayed by want into lin, when 
 we pray, that we may not ourfelves be led 
 into temptation? 
 
 Poverty, for the greateft part, produces 
 ignorance, and ignorance facilitates the at- 
 tack of temptation. For how fhould any 
 man refift the folicitations of appetite, or 
 the influence of pallion, without any fenfe 
 of their guilt, or dread of the punifhment ? 
 How fhould he avoid the paths of vice, who 
 never was dire6led to the way of virtue ? 
 
 For this reafon, no method of charity is 
 more efficacious than that which at once 
 enlightens ignorance and relieves poverty, 
 that implants virtue in the mind, and wards 
 off the blafts of indigence that might de- 
 ftroy it in the bloom. Such is the charity 
 of which an opportunity is now offered ; 
 charity by which thofe, vAio would proba- 
 bly, without affiftance, be the burdens or 
 terrors of the community by growing up 
 in idlenefs and vice, are enabled to fup- 
 
 port 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 poll themfelves by ufeful employmentSj 
 and glorify God by reafonable fervice. 
 
 Such are the general motives which the 
 Religion of Jefus affords to the general ex- 
 ercife of charity, and fuch are the parti- 
 cular motives for our laying hold of the 
 opportunity, which Providence has this day 
 put into our power for the pra61ice of it ; 
 motives no lefs than the hope of everlaft- 
 ing happinefs, and the fear of punifhment 
 which ihall never end. Such incitements 
 are furely fufficient to quicken the floweft, 
 and animate the coldeft ; and if there can be 
 imagined any place in which they muft be 
 more eminently prevalent, it muft be the '^ 
 place where we now relide. The numerous 
 Frequenters of this place conftitute a mixed 
 aifemblage of the happy and the mifera- 
 ble. Part of this audience has reforted 
 hither, to alleviate the miferies of ficknefs, 
 and part, to divert the fatiety of pleafure ; 
 part, becaufe they are difabled, by dif- 
 eafes, to profecute the employment of their 
 i^ation ; and part, becaufe their ftation has 
 allotted them, in their own opinion, no 
 other buiinefs than to purfue their plea- 
 fures. Part have exhaufted the medicines, 
 
 * Bath. 
 
 and 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 and part have worn out the delights of 
 every other place ; and thefe contrary con- 
 ditions are fo mingled together, that in few 
 places are the mlferies of life fo feverely 
 felt, or it s pleafures more luxurioully en- 
 joyed. 
 
 To each of thefe dates of life may the 
 precepts of Charity be enforced with emi- 
 nent propriety, and unanfwerable argu- 
 ments. Thofe, whofe only complaint is a 
 forfeit of felicity, and whofe fearlefs and 
 confident gaiety brings them hither, ra- 
 ther to wafte health than to repair it, can- 
 not furely be fo intent upon the conftant 
 fucceffion of amufements which vanity and 
 affluence have provided, as not fometimes 
 to turn their thoughts upon thofe whom 
 poverty and ignorance have cut oif from 
 enjoyment, and conligned a prey to wick- 
 ednefs, to mifery, and to want. If their 
 amufements afford them the fatisfa6lion 
 which the eager repetition of them feems 
 to declare, they muft certainly pity thofe 
 who live in light of fo much happiuefs, 
 which they can only view from a diliance, 
 but can never reach ; and - thofe whom 
 they pity, they cannot furely hear the pro- 
 mifes made to charity without endcavour- 
 
 inor 
 
 t3 
 
( 8o ) 
 
 Ing to relieve. But if, as the wifeft among 
 the votaries of pleafure have confeiTed, 
 they feei themfelves iirtfatisfied and delud- 
 ed ; if, as they ovv^n, their ardour is kept 
 up by diilimulation, and they lay afide 
 their appearance of felicity, when they re- 
 tire from the eyes of thofe among whom 
 they defire to propagate the deceit i if they 
 feel that they have wafted life without pof- 
 feffing it ; and know that they fhall rife 
 to-morrow, to chafe an empty good which 
 they have often grafped at, but could ne- 
 ver hold : they may furely fpare fome- 
 thing for the purchafe of folid fatisfadlion, 
 and cut off part of that expence, by which 
 nothing is procured, for the fake of giving 
 to others thofe neceifaries which the com- 
 mon vv^ants of our Being demand, and by 
 the diftribution of v^^hich they may lay up 
 fome treafures of happinefs againft that 
 day Vv^hich is ftealing upon them, the day 
 cf age, oFiickncfs and of death, in which 
 they fhall be able to reflect with pleafure 
 on no other part of their time paft here, 
 but that which was fpent in the duties of 
 Charity. Butifthefe fhall harden their 
 difpoiitions, if thefe fl:iall with-hold their 
 bands, let them not amufe themfelves with 
 
 tbQ 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 the general excufcs ; or dream that any 
 plea of inability will be accepted from 
 thofe who fquander wealth upon trifles, 
 and truft fums, that might relieve the 
 wants of multitudes, to the ikill of play, 
 and the uncertainties of chance. 
 
 To thofe to wliom languifhment and 
 ficknefs have Ihewn the inftability of all 
 human happinefs, T hope it will not be re- 
 quilite to enforce the neceffity of fecuring 
 to themfelves a Hate of unfhaken fecurity, 
 and unchangeable enjoyment. To inculcate 
 the fliortneis of life to thofe who feel hour- 
 ly decays ; or to expatiate on the miferies 
 of difeafe and poverty to them, whom pain 
 perhaps, at this inftant, is dragging to the 
 grave, would be a needlefs wafte of that 
 time which their condition admonifhes 
 them to fpend, not in hearing, but in prac- 
 tiling their duty. And of iicknefs. Chari- 
 ty feems the peculiar employment, becaufe 
 it is an a6f of piety which can be pra<5lifed 
 with fuch flight and tranfient attention as 
 pain and faintnefs may allow. To the lick 
 therefore I may be allowed to pronounce the 
 laft fummons to this mighty work, which 
 perhaps the Divine Providence will allow 
 them to hear. Remember thou ! that now 
 G fainteft 
 
fainteft under the weight of long-coiitinued 
 maladies, that to thee, more emphatically, 
 the night cometh in which no man can 
 work ; and therefore fay not to him that 
 afketh thee, " Go away now, and to-mor- 
 row I will give ;" To-morrow ? To-mor- 
 row is to all uncertain, to ikee almoft hope- 
 lefs ; to-<^^jv if thou wilt hear the voice of 
 God calling thee to repentance, and hy re- 
 pentance to charity ; harden not thy heart, 
 but what thou knoweft that in thy laft miO- 
 ment thou fhalt wifh done, make hafte to 
 do, left thy laft moment be now upon 
 thee. 
 
 And let us all, at all times, and in all 
 places, remember, that they who have 
 given food to the hungry, raiment to the 
 naked,'and inftruvSlion to the ignorant, (hall 
 be numbered by the Son of God, amongft 
 the Bleffed of the Father. 
 
 SERMON 
 
S E R M O N V. 
 
 NehemiaHj Chap. ix. Verre33. 
 
 Howheit ihou art jujl in all thai is brought 
 upon usy for thou hnjl done right ^ hit ivr 
 have done wickedly. 
 
 X HERE is nothing upon which more 
 Writers, in all ages, have laid out their abi- 
 lities, than the miferies of life ; and it af- 
 fords no pleating refie61:ions to difcover 
 that a fubje6l fo little agreeable is not yet 
 exhaufted. 
 
 Some have endeavoured to engage us in 
 the contemplation of the evils of life for a 
 very wife and good end. They have pro- 
 pofed, by laying before us the uncertainty 
 of profperity, the vanity of pleafure, and 
 the inquietudes of power, the difficult at- 
 tainment of moft earthly bleffings, and the 
 Ihort duration of them all, to divert our 
 G % thoughts 
 
( §4 ) 
 
 thoughts from the glittering follies and 
 temptiugdelufionsthat furrouiid us, to an en- 
 quiry alter more certain and permanent fe- 
 licity ; felicity not fubjedt to be interrupt- 
 ed by fudden vicifTitudcs, or impaired by 
 the malice oi the revengeful, the caprice of 
 the inconiiant, or the envy of the ambiti- 
 oue. Ihey have endeavoured to demon- 
 ilrate, and have in rc^alily denionflrated 
 to all thofe who Vi^ill Real a {ew moments 
 from noife and fliow, and luxury, to at- 
 tend to reafonand to truth, that nothing is 
 worthy of cur ardent wiflies, or intenfe 
 folicitude, that terminates in this Hate of 
 exiftence, and tliat thole only make the 
 true ufe of life, that employ it in obtaining 
 the favour of God, and fecuring everlali- 
 ing happinefs. 
 
 Others have taken occaCon from the 
 dangers that furround, and the troubles 
 that perplex us, to difpute the wifdom or 
 juftice of the Governor of the world, or to 
 murmur at the laws of Divine Providence ; 
 as the prefent flate of the world, the dif- 
 order and confuiion of every thing about 
 us, the cafual and certain evils to which 
 we are expofed, and the difquiet and dif- 
 gufi which either accompany, or follow, 
 
 thofe 
 
( ss ) 
 
 thofc few pleafures that are within our 
 reach, Teem, in ihcir opinion, to carry no 
 marks of infinite benignity. This has been 
 the rcafbning by which the wicked and 
 proflii^ate, in all ages, liave attempted to 
 harden their hearts againft the reproaches 
 of confcience, and delude others into a par- 
 cipitation of their crimes. Ey this argu- 
 ment weak minds have been betrayed into 
 doubts and diftvul^, and decoyed by de- 
 grees into a dangerous ftate of iufpence, 
 though perhaps never betrayed to abfolute 
 infidelity. For fe^v men have been made 
 infidels by argument and refie6lion ; their 
 aclions are not generally the refult of their 
 reafonings, but their reafonings of their ac 
 tions. Yet thefe reafonings, though they 
 are not ftrong enough to pervert a good 
 mind, may yer, when they coincide with 
 intereft, and are alTifted by prejudice, con- 
 tribute to confirm a man, already corrupt- 
 ed, in his impieties, and at leaft retard his 
 reformation, if not entirely obftru6l it, 
 
 Befides, notions, thus derogatory from 
 the providence of God, tend, even in the 
 heft men, if not timely eradicated, to weak- 
 en thofe impreffions of reverence and gra- 
 titude, which are necelTary to add warmth 
 
 to 
 
• ( 86 ) 
 
 to his devotions, and vigour to his viitue ; 
 for as the force of corporeal motion is 
 weakened by every obftrudlion, though it 
 may not be entirely overcome by it, fo the 
 operations of the mind are by every falfe 
 notion impeded and embarralFed, and 
 though they are not wholly diverted or 
 fupprefTed, proceed at leaft with lefs regu- 
 larity, and with lefs celerity. 
 
 But thefe doubts may ealily be removed 
 and thefe arguments confuted, by a calm 
 and impartial attention to Religion and to 
 reafon ; it will appear upon examination, 
 that though the world be full of mifery and 
 diforder, yet God is not to be charged with 
 difres:ard of his creation ; that, if we fuf- 
 fer, we fuffer by our own fault, and that 
 Jit has done right, but we have done wickedly. 
 We are informed by the Scriptures, that 
 God is not the Author of our prefent Rate, 
 that when he created man, he created him 
 for happinefs ; happinefs indeed depend- 
 ant upon his own choice, and to be pre- 
 ferved by his own condu6l ; for fuch muft 
 iiecelfarily be the happinefs of every rea- 
 fonable Being : that this happinefs was 
 forfeited by a breach of the conditions to 
 which it was annexed, and that the pofte- 
 
 rity 
 
( 87 ) 
 
 rity of him that broke the covenant were 
 involved in the confequences of his fault. 
 Thus Religion fhews us that phylical and 
 moral evil entered the world together ; 
 and reafon and experience afTure us, that 
 they continue for the mod part fo clofely 
 united, that, to avoid mifery, we mull 
 avoid iin, and that while it is in our power 
 to be virtuous, it is in our power to be 
 happy, at leaft to be happy to fuch a de- 
 gree as may have little room for murmur 
 and complaints. 
 
 Complaints are doubtleis irrational in 
 themfelves, and unjufl: with refpeft to God, 
 if the remedies of the evils we lament are 
 in our hands; for what more can be ex- 
 pected from the beneficence of our Crea- 
 tor, than that he fhould place good and 
 evil before us, and then direcl us in our 
 choice ? 
 
 That God has not been fparing of his 
 bounties to mankind, or left them, even 
 iince the original tranfgreflion of his com. 
 mand, in a flate fo calamitous as difcon- 
 tent and melancholy have reprefented it, 
 will evidently appear, if we refiedl, 
 
 Firft, How few of the evils of life can 
 juftly be afcribed to God. 
 
 Secondly, 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 Secondly, How far a general V'lciy 
 might exempt any Community from thole 
 evils. 
 
 Thirdly, How much, in the prefent cor- 
 rupt l^ate of the world, particular men may 
 by the pra-fiice of the duties of Religion, 
 promote their own happinefs. 
 
 Firft, How few of the evils of life can 
 juRly be afcribed to God. 
 
 In examining what part of our prefent 
 mifery is to be imputed to God, we muft 
 carefully difiinguifh that which is a6lually 
 appointed by him, from that which is on- 
 ly permitted, or that Vv'hich is the confe- 
 quence cf fomething done by ourfelves, 
 and could not be prevented, but by the in- 
 terruption of thofe general and fettled 
 laws, which we term the courfe of nature, 
 or the eftablifned order of the uni verfe. Thus 
 it is decreed by God, that all men fhould 
 die ; and therefore the death of each man 
 may juitly be afcribed to God ; but tl.e 
 circumftances and time of his death are 
 very much in his own pov/er, or in the 
 power of others. When a good man falls 
 bv the hand of an afTafQn, or is condemn- 
 ed by the teflimony of f alfe witnefTes, or 
 the fentence of a corrupt judge ; his death 
 
 may. 
 
r S9 ) 
 
 may, in feme meafure, be called the work 
 of God, but his murder is the a6^ion of 
 men. That he was mortal is the effe6l of 
 the divine decree ; but that he was depriv- 
 ed of life unjuftly, is the crime of his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 If we examine all the affli6lionsof mind, 
 body, and eftate, by this rule, we fhall find 
 God not otherwife acceffary to them, than 
 as he works no miracles to prevent them, 
 as he fufFers men to be mafters of them- 
 felves, and reftrains them only by coerci- 
 ons applied to their reafon. If God fhould 
 by a particular exertion of his Omnipo- 
 tence, hinder murder or opprefTion, noman 
 could then be a murderer or an oppreifcr, 
 becaufe he would be with -held from it by 
 an irrefiftible power ; 'but then that power, 
 which prevented crimes, would deflroy 
 Virtue ; for Virtue is the confequence of 
 choice. Men v^ould be no longer rational, 
 or would be rational to no purpofe, be- 
 caufe their a6li©ns would not be the refult 
 of free-will, determined by moral motives; 
 but the fettled and predefined motions of a 
 machine impelled by neceflity. 
 
 Thus it appears, that God would not a6t 
 as the Governor of rational and moral 
 
 agents, 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 agents, if he fhould lay any other reftrainls 
 upon them, than the hope of rewards, or 
 fear of punifhments; and that to deftroy,or 
 obviate the confequences of human a6lions, 
 would be to deftroy the prefent conilitu- 
 tion of the world. 
 
 When therefore any man fufFers pain 
 from an injury offered him, that pain is 
 not the a6lof God, but the effe6l of a crime, 
 to which his enemy was determined by his 
 own choice. He was created fufceptible 
 of pain, but not neceffarily fubjected to 
 that particular injury which he now feels, 
 and he is therefore not to charge God with 
 his afBi6lions. The materials for building 
 are naturally combuftible ; but when a ci- 
 ty is fired by incendiaries, God is not the 
 author of its deftru6tion. 
 , God may indeed, by fpecial a6ts of Pro- 
 vidence, fometimes hinder the defigns of 
 bad men from being fuccefsfuUy executed, 
 or the execution of them from producing 
 fuch confequences as it naturally tends to ; 
 but this, whenever it is done, is a real, 
 though not always a vifible miracle, and is 
 not to be expeded in the ordinary occur- 
 rences of life, or the common tranfailions 
 
 of the world. 
 
 In 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 In making an eftimate therefore of the 
 niiferies that arife from the diforders of the 
 body, we mull confider how many difeafes 
 proceed from our own lazinefs, intemper- 
 ance, or negligence ; how many the vices 
 or follies of our anceftors have tranfmitted 
 to us, and beware of imputing to God the 
 confequences of luxury, riot, and de- 
 bauchery. 
 
 There are indeed diftempers, which no 
 caution can fecure us from, and which ap- 
 pear to be more immediately the ftrokes of 
 Heaven ; but thefe are not of the moft 
 painful or lingering kind, they are for the 
 moft part acute and violent, and quickly 
 terminate, either in recovery, or death ; 
 and it is always to be remembered, that 
 nothing but wickedncfs makes death an 
 evil. 
 
 Nor are the difquietudes of the mind 
 lefs frequently excited by our felines. Pride 
 is the general fource of our infelicity. A 
 man that has an high opinion of his own 
 merits, of the extent of his capacity, of the 
 depth of his penetration, and the force of 
 his eloquence, naturally forms fchemes of 
 employment, and promotion, adequate to 
 thofe abilities he conceives himfelf pofTef- 
 
 fed 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 fed of; he cxa6is from others the fame ef- 
 teem which he pays to himfelf, and ima- 
 gines his deferts difregarded, if they are 
 not rewarded to the extent of his wifhes. 
 He claims more than he has a right to hope 
 for, finds his exorbitant demands reje61ed, 
 retires to obfcurity and melancholy, and 
 charges Heaven with his difappointments. 
 
 Men are very feldom difappointed, ex- 
 cept when their deiires are immoderate, or 
 when they fuiFer their pafTions to over- 
 power their reafon, and dwell upon de- 
 lightful fcenes of future honours, power, or 
 riches, till they miflake probabilities for 
 certainties, or wild wifhes for rational ex- 
 pe6iations. If fuch men, when they awake 
 from thefe voluntary dreams, find the 
 pleafang phanton vanifh away ; what can 
 they blame but their own folly ? 
 
 With no greater reafon can we impute to 
 Providence the fears and anxieties that har- 
 rafs and di{\ra6l us ; for they arife from too 
 c jfe an adherence to thofe things, from 
 which we are commanded to difengage 
 our affeftions. We fail of being happy, be- 
 caufe we determine to obtain felicity by 
 means different from thofe which God 
 hath appointed. V/e are forbidden to be 
 
 too 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 too foiicitous about iuture events ; and is 
 the Author of that prohibition to be accuf- 
 ed, becaufe men make thcmfelvcs mifera- 
 ble by difregarding it? 
 
 Poverty indeed is not always the effect 
 of vvickednefs, it rnay often be the confe. 
 quence of Virtue; but it is not certain that 
 poverty is an evil If we exempt the poor 
 man from all the miferies to which his 
 condition expofes him from the wicked- 
 nefs of others, if we fecure him from the 
 cruelty of opprelTion, and the contumelies 
 of pride ; if we fuppofe him to rate no- en- 
 j'oyrnent of this life, beyond its real and 
 intrinfic value, and to indulge no deiire 
 more than reafon and religion allow ; the 
 inferiority of his ftation will very little di- 
 niiniOi his happinefs ; and therefore the 
 poverty of the virtuous rcfle61s no re^ 
 proach upon Providence. But poverty, like 
 many other miferies of life, is often little 
 more than an imaginary calamity. Men 
 often call themfelvcs poor, not becaufe 
 they want neceflaries, but becaufe they 
 liave not more than they want. This in- 
 deed is not always the cafe, nor ought vve 
 ever to harden our hearts againft the cries 
 of thofe who implore our afliftance, by 
 
 fuppofng 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 fuppofing that they feel lefs than they ex- 
 prefs ; but let us all relieve the neceffitous 
 according to our abilities, and real pover- 
 ty will foon be banifhed out of the world. 
 
 To thefe general heads may be reduced 
 almoft all the calamities that imbitter the 
 life of man. To enumerate particular evils 
 would be of little ufe. It is evident that 
 moft of our miferies are, either imaginary, 
 or the confequences, either of our own 
 faults, or the faults of others; and that it is 
 therefore worthy of enquiry. 
 
 Secondly, How far a general piety might 
 exempt any community from thofe evils. 
 
 It is an obfervation very frequently 
 made, that there is more tranquillity and 
 fatisfa6lion difFufed through the inhabi- 
 tants of uncultivated and favage countries, 
 than is to be met witli in nations filled 
 with wealth and plenty, polifhed with ci- 
 vility, and governed by laws. It is found 
 happy to be free from contention, though 
 that exemption be obtained by having no- 
 thing to contend for ; and an equality of 
 condition, though that condition be far 
 from eligible, conduces more to the peace 
 of focietyjthananeftabliftied and legal fub- 
 ordination ; in which every man is perpe- 
 tually 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 tually endeavouring to exalt himfelf to the 
 rank above him, though by degrading 
 others already in pofleffion of it ; and 
 every man exerting his efforts, to hin- 
 der his inferiors from rifmg to the level 
 with himfelf. It appears that it is better 
 to have no property, than to be in perpetu- 
 al apprehenlions of fraudulent artifices, or 
 open invaiions ; and that the fecurity arif- 
 ing from a regular adminiilration of go- 
 vernment, is not equal to that which is 
 produced by the abfence of ambition, en- 
 vy, or difcontent. 
 
 Thus plealing is the profpecl of favage 
 countries, merely from the ignorance of 
 Vice, even without the knowledge of Vir- 
 tue ; thus happy are they, amidft all the 
 hardfhips and diftreiTes that attend a ftate 
 of nature, becaufe they are in a great mea- 
 fure free from thofe which men bring up- 
 on one another. 
 
 But a community, in which Virtue 
 fhould generally prevail, of which every 
 member fhould fear God with his whole 
 heart, and love his neighbour as himfelf^ 
 where every man fhould labour to make 
 himfelf pci^fe^, even as his Father which is 
 in Hea-ven is pcrfc^^ and endeavour with 
 
 his 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 his utmoft diligence to imitate the divine 
 juftice and benevolence, would have no 
 reafon to envy thofe nations, whofe quiet 
 is the efFe6l of their ignorance. 
 
 If we conlider it with regard to public 
 happinefs, it would be opulent without 
 luxury, and powerful without fac^tion ; its 
 counfels would be fteady, bccaufe they 
 would be jull ; and its efforts vigorous be- 
 caufe they would be united. The govern- 
 ors would have nothino: to fear from the 
 turbulence of the people, nor the people 
 any thing to apprehend from the ambition 
 of their governors. The encroachments of 
 foreign enemie?, they could not always 
 avoid, but would certainly repulfe, for 
 fcarcely any civilized nation has been ever 
 enfiaved, till it Vv^as firll: corrupted. 
 
 With regard to private men, not only 
 that happinefs, which neceffarily defcends 
 to particulars from the public profperity, 
 would be enjoyed ; but even thofe blef- 
 lings, which conftitute the felicity of do- 
 meftic life, and are lefs clofely connect- 
 ed with the general good. Every man 
 would be induftrious to improve his pro- 
 perty, becaufe he would be in no danger of 
 feeing his improvements torn from him. 
 
 Every 
 
• ( 97 ) 
 
 Every man would afTift his neighbour, be- 
 caufe he would be certain of receiving af- 
 iiftance, if he fhould himfelf be attacked by 
 neceflity. Every man would endeavour 
 after merit, becaufe merit would always 
 be rewarded. Every tie of friendfhip and 
 relation would add to happinefs, becaufe 
 it would not be fubje6l to be broken by en- 
 vy, rivalfhip, orfufpicion. Children would 
 honour their parents^ becaufe all parents 
 would be virtuous ; all parents would love 
 their children, becaufe all children would 
 be obedient. The grief which we natural- 
 ly feel at the death of thofe that are dear to 
 us, could not perhaps be wholly prevented, 
 but would be much more moderate than 
 in the prefent ftate of things, becaufe no 
 man could ever want a friend, and his lofs 
 would therefore be lefs, becaufe his grief, 
 like his other pafTions, would be regulated 
 by his duty. Even the relations of fubjec- 
 tion would produce no unealmefs, becaufe 
 infolence would be feparated from power 
 and difcontent from inferiority. Difierence 
 of opinions would never difturb this com- 
 munity,, becaufe every man would difpute 
 for truth alone, look upon the ignoranc2 of 
 others with compaifion, and reclaim them 
 H from 
 
( 98 ) 
 
 from their errors with tendernels and mo° 
 defty. Perfecution would not be heard of 
 among them, becaufe there would be no 
 pride on one fide, nor obftinacy on the 
 other. Difputes about property would fel- 
 dom happen, becaufe no man would grow 
 rich by injuring another ; and, when they 
 did happen, they would be quickly termi- 
 nated, becaufe each party would be equally 
 delirous of a juft fentence. All care and 
 folicitude would be almoft banifhed from 
 this happy region, becaufe no man would 
 either' have falfe friends, or public ene- 
 mies. The immoderate defire of riches 
 would be extinguifhed, where there was no 
 vanity to be gratified. The fear of pover- 
 ty would be difpelled, where there was no 
 man fuffered to want what was neceifary 
 to his fupport, or proportioned to his de- 
 ferts. Such would be the fiate of a com- 
 munity generally virtuous, and this happi- 
 nefs would probably be derived to future 
 generations -, fince the earlieft impreffions 
 would be in favour of virtue, fince thofe, to 
 whom the care of education fhould be 
 committed, would make themfelves i^ene- 
 rable by the obfervation of their own pre- 
 cepts, and the minds of the young and un- 
 experienced 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 experienced would not be tainted with 
 falfe notions, nor their condu6t influenced 
 by bad examples. 
 
 Such is the f^ate at which any communi- 
 ty may arrive by the general pradice of 
 the duties of Religion. And can Provi- 
 dence be accufed of cruelty or negligence, 
 when fuch happinefs as this is within our 
 power ? Can man be faid to have received 
 his exiftence as a punifhment, or a curfe, 
 when he may attain fuch a ftate as this ; 
 when even this is only preparatory to 
 geater happinefs, and the fame courfe of 
 life will fecure him from mifery, both in 
 this world and in a future ftate ? 
 
 Let no man charge this profpe6l of things 
 with being a train of airy phantoms ; a 
 vilionary fcene, with which a gay imagi- 
 nation may be amufed in folitude and eafe, 
 but which the firft furvey of the world 
 will fhew him to be nothing more than a 
 pleafirig delulion. Nothing has been men- 
 tioned which would not certainly be pro- 
 duced in any nation by a general piety. 
 To efFe6l all this, no miracle is required ; 
 men need only unite their endeavours, and 
 exert thofe abilities which God has confer- 
 H z red 
 
■ ( ICO ) 
 
 red upon them, in conformity to the laws 
 of Religion. 
 
 To general happinefs, indeed, is requir- 
 ed a general concurrence in virtue; but 
 we are not to delay the amendment of our 
 own lives, in expe6lation of this favourable 
 jun6ture. An univerfal reformation muft 
 be begun fomewhere, and every man ought 
 to be ambitious of being the firft. He that 
 does not promote it, retards it ; for every 
 man muft, by his converfation, do either 
 good or hurt. Let every man, therefore, 
 endeavour to make the world happy, by a 
 ftri6t performance of his duty to God and 
 man, and the mighty work will foon be 
 accomplifhed. 
 
 Governors have yet a harder tafk ; they 
 have not only their own a6^ions, but thofe 
 of others, to regulate, and are not only 
 chargeable with their own faults, but with 
 all thofe which they negle6l to prevent or 
 punifh. As they are intrufted with the 
 government for the fake of the people, 
 they are under the ftrongeft obligations to 
 advance their happinefs, which they can 
 only do by the encouragement of virtue. 
 
 But iince the care of governors may be 
 fruftrated, fince public happinefs, which 
 
 muft 
 
muft be the refult of public virtue, feems 
 to be at a great diftance from us, let us 
 conlider, 
 
 Thirdly, How much in the prefent cor- 
 rupt ftateof the world, particular men may 
 by the pradlice of the duties of Religion, 
 promote their own happincfs. 
 
 He is very ignorant of the nature of hap- 
 pinefsjwho imagines it to conlift wholly in 
 the outward circumftances of life, which 
 being in themfelves tranfient and variable, 
 and generally dependant upon the will of 
 others, can never be the true bafis of a folid 
 fatisfadtion. To be wealthy, to be ho- 
 noured, to be loved, or to be feared, is not 
 always to be happy. The man who conii- 
 ders himfelf as a Being accountable to 
 God, as a Being fent into the world only 
 to fecure immortal happinefs by his obe- 
 dience to thofe laws which he has receiv- 
 ed from his Creator, will not be very foli- 
 citous about his prefent condition, which 
 will foon give way to a ftate permanent 
 and unchangeable, in which nothing will 
 avail him but his innocence, or difturb 
 him but his crimes. While this refle61:ion 
 is predominant in the mind, all the good 
 and evil of life finks into nothing. While 
 
 he 
 
( loz ) 
 
 he prelTes forward towards eternal felicity, 
 honours and reproaches are equally con- 
 temptible. If lie be injured, he will foon 
 ceafe to feel the wrong ; if he be calumni^ 
 ated, the day is coming in which all the 
 nations of the earth, and all the Hoft of 
 Heaven, fhall be witnelTes of his juftifica- 
 tion. If his friends forfake, or betray him, 
 he alleviates his concern, by confidering 
 that the divine promifes are never broken, 
 and that the favour of God can only be for- 
 feited by his own fault. In all his calami- 
 ties he remembers, that it is in his own 
 power to make them fubfervientto his own 
 advantage, and that patience is oneof thofe 
 virtues which he is commanded to prac- 
 tife, and which God has determined to re- 
 ward. That man can never be miferable 
 to whom perfecution is a blefTing ; nor can 
 his tranquillity be interrupted, who places 
 all his happinefs in his profpeft of eter- 
 nity. 
 
 Thus it appears, that by the practice of 
 our duty, even our prcfent flate may be 
 made pleafmg and defirable ; and that if 
 we languifh under calamities, they are 
 "brought upon us, not by the immediate 
 
 hand 
 
( 103 ) 
 
 hand of Providence, but by our own folly 
 and difobedience ; that happinefs will be 
 diffufed, as virtue prevails ; and that God 
 has done rights but we have done ^wickedly. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 Proverbs, Chap. xii. Verfe s. 
 
 When Pride cometh^ then comeih Shame^ hut 
 with the Lowly is Wijdom, 
 
 H E writings of Solomon are filled 
 with fuch obfervations upon the nature and 
 life of man, as were the refult of long ex- 
 perience, affifted with every advantage of 
 mind and fortune, an experience that had 
 made him acquainted with the adlions, 
 paffions, virtues, and vices of all ranks^^ 
 ages, and denominations of mankind, and 
 enabled him, with the divine afliftance, to 
 leave to fucceeding ages a colle6iion of 
 
 precepts 
 
( io6 ) 
 
 precepts that, if diligently attended to, 
 will condu6t us fafe in the paths of life. 
 
 Of the ancient fages of the Heathen 
 world, fo often talked of, and fo loudly 
 applauded, there is recorded little more 
 than lingle maxims, which they compriz- 
 ed in few words, and often inculcated i for 
 thefe they were honoured by their contem- 
 poraries, and ftill continue reverenced and 
 admired ; nor would it either be juftice or 
 gratitude to depreciate their characters, 
 lince every difcoverer, or propagator, of 
 truth, is undoubtedly a benefa6lor to the 
 world. But furely if lingle fentences could 
 procure them the epithet of wife^ Solomon 
 may, for this colle6lion of important coun- 
 {eXs^jiiflly claim the title of the wifeji amongji 
 the Jons of men. 
 
 Among all the vices againft which he 
 has cautioned us (and he has fcarcely left 
 one untouched), there is none upon which 
 he animadverts with more feverity, or to 
 which he more frequently recalls our at- 
 tention, by reiterated reflections, than the 
 idee oi pride i for which there may be ma- 
 nay reafons affigned, but, more particular- 
 ly, two feem to deferve our confideration ; 
 the firft drawn from the extenfivenefs of 
 
 the 
 
( 107 ) 
 
 the fm ; the other from the circumftances 
 of the Preacher. 
 
 The firft is the extenfivenefs of the fin. 
 
 Pride is a corruption that feems ahnoft 
 originally engrafted in our nature ; it ex- 
 erts itfelf in our firft years, and, without 
 continual endeavours to fupprefs it, influ- 
 ences our lad. Other vices tyrannize over 
 particular ages, and triumph in particular 
 countries. Rage is the failing of youth, 
 and avarice of age ; revenge is the predo- 
 minant paiTion of one country, and incon- 
 ftancy the chara61:erifl:ic of another- but 
 pride is the native of every country, infe6ts 
 every climate, and corrupts every nation. 
 It ranges equally through the gardens of 
 the eaft, and the deferts of the fouth,'and 
 reigns no lefs in the cavern of the favao-e 
 than in the palace of the Epicure. It 
 mingles with all our other vices, and with- 
 out the moft conftant and anxious care 
 will mingle alfo with our virtues. It is 
 no wonder, therefore, that Solomon fo fre- 
 quently direvSls us to avoid this fault, to 
 which we are all fo liable, flnce notiiing is 
 more agreeable to reafon, than that pre- 
 cepts of the moft general ufe fiiculd be 
 moft frequently inculcated. 
 
 The 
 
( io8 ) 
 
 The fecond reafon may be drawn from 
 the circumftances of the Preacher. 
 
 Pride was probably a crime to which 
 Solomon himfelf was moft violently tempt- 
 ed ; and indeed it might have been much 
 more eaiily imagined, that he would have 
 fallen into this fin, than into fome others, 
 of which he was guilty, fince he was plac- 
 ed in every circumftance that could ex- 
 pofe him to it. He was a king abfolute 
 and independent, and by confequence fur- 
 rounded with fycophants ready to fecond 
 the firft motions of felf-love, and blow the 
 fparks of vanity ; to echo all the applaufes, 
 and fupprels all the murmurs of the peo- 
 ple to comply with every propofal, and 
 flatter every failing. Thefe are the tempt- 
 ers to which kings have been always ex- 
 pofed, and whofe fnares few kings have 
 been able to overcome. 
 
 But Solomon had not only the pride of 
 royalty to fupprefs, but the pride of prof- 
 perity, of knowledge, and of wealth ; each 
 of them able to fubdue the virtue of rnofl: 
 men, to intoxicate their minds, and hold 
 their reafon in captivity. Well might So- 
 lomon more diligently warn us againft a 
 iin which had airaulted him, in fo many 
 
 different 
 
( 109 ) 
 
 different forms. Could any fupevlority to 
 the reft of the world make pride excufable, 
 it might have been pardoned in Solomon ; 
 but he has been fo far from allowing it ei- 
 ther in himfelf or others, that he has left a 
 perpetual atteftation in favour of humility, 
 thai where Pride comcih^ there cometh ShafJie^ 
 hut with the lowly is wifdom. 
 
 This afTertion I fhall endeavour to ex- 
 plain and confirm, 
 
 Firft, by confidering the nature of pride 
 in general, with its attendants and conle- 
 quences. 
 
 Secondly, by examining fome of the 
 ufual motives to pride ; and fhewing how 
 little can be pleaded in excufe of it. 
 
 Thirdly, by ftiewing the amiablenefs 
 and excellence of humility. 
 
 Firft, by confidcring in general the na- 
 ture of pride, with its attendants and con- 
 fequences. 
 
 Pride, limply confidered, is an immode- 
 rate degree of felf-efteem, or an over-va- 
 lue fet upon a man by himfelf, and, like 
 moft other vices, is founded originally on 
 an intelle6lual falftiood. But this defini- 
 tion fcts this vice in the faireft light, and 
 feparatcs it from all its confequences, by 
 
 confidering 
 
( no ) 
 
 coniidering man without relation to focie- 
 ty, and independent of all outward cir- 
 cumftances. Pride, thus defined, is only 
 the feed of that complicated lin againft 
 which we are cautioned in the text. It is 
 the pride of a folitary being, and the fub- 
 je6l of fcholaftic difquifitions, not of a 
 pra6i:ical difcourfe 
 
 In fpeculation, pride may be conlidered as 
 ending where it began, and exerting no 
 influence beyond the bofom in which it 
 dwells; but in real life and the courfe of 
 affairs, pride will always be attended with 
 kindred paffions, and produce cfFe6ls equal- 
 ly injurious to others, and deftru6live to 
 itfelf. 
 
 He that overvalues himfelf vnW under- 
 value others, and he that undervalues 
 others will opprefs them. To this fancied 
 fuperiority it is owing, that tyrants have 
 fquandered the lives of millions, and look- 
 ed unconcerned on the miferies of war. It 
 is indeed fcarcely credible, it would with- 
 out experience be abfolutely incredible, 
 that a man fhould carry del^ru6Lion and 
 flaughter round the world, lay cities in 
 afhes, and put nations to the fword, with- 
 out one pang or one tear ; that we fhould 
 
 feel 
 
C III ) 
 
 feel no relu6iancc at feizing the poffeflions 
 of another, at robbing parents of their chiU 
 drcn, and fliortcning or embiltering innu- 
 merable lives. Yet this fatal, this dread- 
 ful effecl, has pride been able to produce. 
 Pride has been able to harden the heart 
 againft compaflion, and ftop the cars 
 againft the cries of mifery. 
 
 In this manner does pride operate, when 
 unhappily united with power and domini- 
 on ; and has in the lower ranlis of 
 mankind, limilar, though not equal ef- 
 fc6ls. It makes mailers cruel and im- 
 perious, and magiflrates infolent and par- 
 tial. It produces contempt and injuries, 
 and dilfolves the bond of fociety. 
 
 Nor is this fpecies of pride more hurt- 
 ful to the world, than deftru6live to itfelf 
 The oppreffor unites Heaven and Earlh 
 againft him ; if a private man, he at 
 length becomes the obje6l of univen'al 
 hatred and reproach ; and if a prince, llic 
 neighbouring monarchs combine to his 
 ruin. So xU^iX. when pride cometh^ ihen ccrn- 
 eihjhame : hut "with ihe !o'<v/y is n.cijdorn. 
 
 He that ll-ts too high a value upon Iiis 
 own merits, will of courfc think them ill 
 rewarded with his prefent condition. He 
 
 will 
 
( iia ) 
 
 will endeavour to exalt his fortune, and 
 his rank above others, in proportion as 
 his deferts are fuperior to theirs. He will 
 conceive his virtues obfcured by his for- 
 tune, lament that his great abilities lie 
 ulelefs and unobferved for want of a fphere 
 of a6tion, in which he might exert them in 
 their full extent. Oncefired with thefe noti- 
 ons, he will attempt to increafe his fortune 
 and enlarge his fphere ; and how few there 
 are that profecute fuch attempts with in- 
 nocence, a very tranlient obfervation will 
 fufficiently inform us. 
 
 Every man has remarked the indire6l 
 methods made ufe of in the purfuit of 
 wealth ; a purfuit for the moft part prompt- 
 ed by pride ; for to what end is an ample 
 fortune generally coveted ? Not that the 
 polTefTor may have it in his power to re- 
 lieve difiefs, or recompenfe virtue ; but 
 that he may diftinguifh himfelffrom the 
 lierd of mankind by expenfive vices, fo- 
 reign luxuries, and a pompous equipage. 
 To pride therefore muft be afcribed mofl: 
 of the fraud, injufnce, violence, and extor- 
 tion, by which wealth is frequently ac- 
 
 quired. 
 
 Another 
 
( 113 ) 
 
 Another cancomitant of pride is envy, 
 or the delire of debating others. A proud 
 man ir. uneafy and diiTatisfied, while any 
 of tliofe applaufes are beftowed on another 
 which he is deiiroiis of himfelf. On this 
 account he never fails of exerting all his 
 art to deilroy, or obftru6t, a riling charac- 
 ter. His inferiors he endeavours to deprefs, 
 left they fhould become his equals ; and his 
 equals^ not only becaufe they are fo, but left 
 they fhould in time become his fuperiors. For 
 this end he circulates the whifper oi male- 
 volence, aggravates the tale of calumny, 
 and aflifts the clamour of defamation ; 
 oppofes in public the jufteft deligns, and in 
 private depreciates the moft uncontefted 
 virtues. 
 
 Another confequence of immoderate 
 felf eftcem is an infatiable delire of propa- 
 gating in others the favourable opinion he 
 entertains of himfelf No proud man isfa- 
 tisfied with being finely his own admirer; 
 his excellences muft receive the honour of 
 the public fuffrage. He therefore tortures 
 his invention for means to make himfelf 
 confpicuous, and to draw the eyes of the 
 world upon him. It is impoffible, and 
 v>.'ould be here improper, to enumerate all 
 
 1 the 
 
( 114 ': 
 
 the ficlitioiis qualities, all the petty emula- 
 tions, and laborious trifles, to which this 
 appetite, this eagerneis of difiin6lion, has 
 given birth in men of narrow views, and 
 mean attainments. But who can without 
 horror think on thofe wretches who at- 
 tempt to raife a chara6i:er bv fuperiority of 
 guilt r who endeavour to excel in vice and 
 outvie each other in debauchery ? Yet thus 
 far can pride infatuate the mind, and ex- 
 tinguifh the light of reafon. 
 
 But for the moft part it is ordered by 
 Pro\'idence, that the fchemes of the ambi- 
 tious are diiappointed, the calumnies of the 
 envious detected, and falfe pretences to re- 
 putation ridiculed and expofed, fo that 
 iiill 'u.'ken pride comeihj then cometh JJiame y 
 hui *ujith the lo'ivly is ivifdom, 
 
 I am now to confider, in the fecond 
 place, fome of the ufual motives to pride, 
 and fbew how little they can be pleaded 
 in excnfe of it. 
 
 A fuperior Being that fhould look down 
 upon the diforder, confuiion, and corrup- 
 tion of our world, that Ihould obferve the 
 fhortneis of our lives, the weaknels of our 
 bodies, the continual accidents, or injuries 
 10 which we are fubjed ; the violence of 
 
 our 
 
( "5 ) 
 
 our pafTion?, the irregularity of our con- 
 duit, and the tranlitory ftate of every thing 
 about U5, would hardly believe there could 
 be among us fuch a vice as pride, or that 
 any human Being fhould need to be cauti- 
 oned againft being too much elated with 
 his prefent ftate. Yet fo it is, that, how- 
 ever weak or wicked we may be, we fix 
 our eyes on fome other that is reprefented 
 by our felfUove to be weaker, or more 
 wicked, than ourfelves. and grow proud 
 upon the comparifon. Thus in the midft 
 of danger and uncertainty, we fee many 
 intoxicated with the pride of profperity ; 
 a profperity that is hourly expofed to be 
 difturbed, a profperity that lies often at 
 the mercy of a treacherous friend, or un- 
 faithful fer\'ant, a profperity which cer- 
 tainly cannot laft long, but muft foon be 
 ended by the hand of death. 
 
 To conftder this motive to pride more 
 attentively, let us examine vrhat it is to be 
 profperous. To be profperous, in the com- 
 mon acceptation, is to have a large or an 
 increaftngj fortune, great numbers of 
 friends and dependants, and to be high in 
 the eftcem of the World in general. But 
 do thefc things conftitute the happinefs of 
 I Z a man? 
 
( ii6 ) 
 
 a man? of a Being accountable to his 
 Creator for his condu6t5 and, according to 
 the account he fhall give, defigned to ex- 
 ift eternally in a future ftate of happinefs, 
 or mifery ? What is the profperity of fuch 
 a ftate, but the approbation of that God, 
 on whofe fentence futurity depends ? But 
 neither wealth, friendfhips, or honours, 
 are proofs of that approbation, or means 
 neceffary to procure it. They often en- 
 danger, but feldom promote, the future 
 happinefs of thofe that poflefs them. 
 And can pride be infpired by fuch profpe- 
 rity as this ? 
 
 Even with regard to the prefent life, 
 pride is a very dangerous aiTociate to 
 greatnefs. A proud man is oppofed in his 
 rife, hated in his elevation, and infulted in 
 his fall. He may have dependants, but 
 can have no friends ; and paralites, but no 
 ingenuous companions. 
 
 Another common motive to pride is 
 knowledge, a motive equally weak, vain, 
 and idle, with the former. Learning, in- 
 deed, imperfe6t as it is, may contribute to 
 many great and noble ends, and may be 
 called in to the affiftance of religion ; as it 
 is too often perverfely employed againft it, 
 
 4 it 
 
( 117 ) 
 
 it is of ufe to difplay the greatnefs, and 
 vindicate the juftice, of the Almighty ; to 
 explain the difficulties, and enforce the 
 proofs of Religion. And the fmall advances 
 that may be made in fcience are of them^ 
 felves fome proof of a future ftate, lince 
 they fhew that God^ who can be fuppofed 
 to make nothing in vain, has given us fa- 
 culties evidently fuperior to the buiinefs of 
 this prefent world. And this is perhaps 
 one reafon, why our intelleftual powers are 
 in this life of fo great extent as they are. 
 
 But how little reafon have we to boaft 
 of our knowledge, when we only gaze and 
 wonder at the furfaces of things! v/hen the 
 wifell and mofl arrogant Philofopher 
 knows not how a grain of corn is generat- 
 ed, or why a ftone falls to the ground I 
 But were our knov\^ledge far greater than 
 it is, let us yet remember that goodnefs, not 
 knowledge, is the happinefs of man ! The 
 day will come, it will come quickly, when 
 it fhall profit us more to have fubdued one 
 proud thought, than to have numbered 
 the Hofl: of Heaven. 
 
 There is another more dangerous fpecies 
 of pride, ariling from a confcioufnefs of 
 virtue, fo watchful is the enemy of our 
 
 fouls. 
 
( 118 ) 
 
 fouls, and fo deceitful are our own hearts, 
 that too often a vi61:ory over one linful in- 
 clination expofes us to be conquered by 
 another. Spiritual pride reprefents a man 
 to hi nifelf beloved by his Creator in a par- 
 ticular degree, and of confequence, inclines 
 him to think others not fo high in his fa- 
 vour as himfelf. This is an error, into 
 which weak minds are fometimes apt to 
 fall, not fo much from the affurance that 
 they have been fteady in the practice of 
 juftice, righteoufnefs, and mercy, as that 
 they have been punctually obfervant of 
 fome external aCts of devotion. This kind 
 of pride is generally accompanied with 
 great uncharitablenefs, and fevere cenfures 
 of others, and may obftru6l the great duty 
 of Repentance. But it may be hoped, that 
 a fufficient remedy againft this lin may be 
 eaiily found, by reminding thofe who are 
 infe6led with it, that the Blood of Chrifk 
 was poured out upon the Crofs to m.ake 
 their beft endeavours acceptable to God. 
 And that they, whofe lins require fuch an 
 expiation, have little reafon to boaft of 
 their virtue. 
 
 Having thus proved the unreafonable- 
 nefs, folly, and odious nature, of pride, I 
 
 am. 
 
( 119 ) 
 
 am, in the laft place, to fhew the amiable- 
 nefs and excellence of humility. 
 
 Upon this head I need not be long, fince 
 every argument againft any vice is equally 
 an argument in favour of the contrary 
 virtue ; and whoever proves the folly of 
 being proud, fhews, at the fame time, that 
 %vith the lowly there is wifdom But to evince 
 beyond oppofition the excellence of this 
 virtue, we may in few words obferve, that 
 the life of our Lord was one continued exer- 
 cife of humility. The Son of God conde- 
 fcended to take our nature upon him, to 
 become fubje6t to pain, to bear, from his 
 birth, the inconveniencies of poverty and 
 to wander from city to city, amidft 
 oppofition, reproach, and calumny. He 
 difdained not to converfe with publi- 
 cans and finners, to minifter to his own 
 Difciples, and to weep at the miferies of 
 his own creatures. He fubmitted to in- 
 fults and revilings, and, being led like a 
 lamb to the flaughter, opened not his 
 niouth. At length, having borne all the 
 cruel t "eatment that malice could fuggeft, 
 or power infii6l, he fuffered the mofl lin- 
 gering and ignominious death. 
 
 God of his infinite mercy grant, that, by 
 imitating his hun:ility, we may be made 
 
 partakers 
 
( IZO ) 
 
 partakers of his merits ! To whom, with 
 the Father and the Holy Ghofi:, be afcribed, 
 as is moft due, all honour, adoration, and 
 praife, now and ever ! Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
iiiiinwt 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Jeremiah, Chap. vi. Verfe i6. 
 
 Thus faith the Lord^ Jlandye in the ways and 
 
 JeCj and ajk for the old paths ^ ivhere is the 
 
 oood n.vay^ and walk ihereiti^ and ye Jhall 
 
 fnd reft for your Souls. But theyfaid^ wa, 
 
 will not walk therein. 
 
 X HAT almoft every age, from the be* 
 ginning of the world, has been eminently 
 marked cut, and diftinguifhed from the 
 reft, by fome peculiar chara6ler, by par- 
 ticular modes of thinking, or methods of 
 a6^ing, then almoft univerfally prevaleait, 
 
 is 
 
( I^^ ) 
 
 is evident from the hiftories of all nati- 
 ons. At one time, the whole world has 
 bowed, without repining, to defpotic pow^ 
 er, and abfolute dominion ; at another, not 
 only the licentious and oppreffive ty- 
 ranny of governors has been reftrained, 
 but juft and lawful authority trampled up- 
 on, and infulted ; at one time, all regard 
 for private interefl: has been abforded and 
 loft, in the concern for the welfare of the 
 public ; to which virtue itfelf has been 
 made a facrifice ; at another, every heart 
 has been engrofTed by low views, and eve- 
 ry fentiment of the mind has been con- 
 tracted into the narrow compafs of felf- 
 love. Thus have vice and virtue, -wifdom 
 and folly, or perhaps only different follies 
 and oppofite vices, alternately prevailed ; 
 thus have mankind rufhed from one er- 
 ror to another, and fuffered equally by both 
 extremes. 
 
 Thefe changes of condu6t or opinion 
 may be coniidered as the revolutions of 
 human nature, often necefTary, but always 
 dangerous ; necelfary, when fome favourite 
 vice has generally infe6led the world, 
 or fome error, long eftablifhed, begins 
 to tyrannize, to demand implicit faith, 
 
 and, 
 
( 123 ) 
 
 and refufe examination ; but dangerous. 
 Jell the mind, incenfed by oppreflion, 
 heated by conteft, and elated by viclo^ 
 ry, fhould be too far tranfported to at- 
 tend to truth, and, out of zeal to fecure 
 her conqueft, fet up one error, to dcprefs 
 another. 
 
 That no change in Religion has been 
 made with that calmnefs, caution, and mo- 
 deration, which Religion itfelf requires, 
 and which common prudence fhews to be 
 necefTary in the tranfaclion of any import- 
 ant affair, every nation of the earth can 
 fufficiently atteft. Rage has been called 
 in to the alTiftance of zeal, and deftruclion 
 joined with reformation. Refolvcd not to 
 ftop fhort, men have generally gone too 
 far, and, in lopping fuperfluities, have 
 wounded eiTentials. 
 
 This condu6t when we confider the 
 weaknefs of human nature, and the circum- 
 ftances of moft of thofe by whom fuch 
 changes have been effe6ted, is entitled at 
 lead to compaflion, if not to excufe ; nor 
 can it be doubted, that our great Creator 
 looks down with tendernefs and compafHon 
 upon the irregular ftarts and tempeftuous 
 agitations of a mind, moved by a zeal for 
 
 his 
 
( ,124 ) 
 
 his honour, and a love of truth. Hadal ler- 
 rori and mifcondu6t fuch a plea as this, 
 thej/ might indeed be lamented, and pray- 
 ed Sigainft as weaknefles, but could hardly 
 be cenfured, or condemned as crimes. 
 
 But more flow and filent tranfitions 
 from, one extreme to another are very fre- 
 quent. Men not impelled by the vehe- 
 mence of oppofition, but feduced hy incli- 
 patic'ns leis violent, too often deviate from 
 the paths of truth, and perfuade others to 
 follow them. The pride of Angularity in- 
 fluences the teacher, and a love of novelty 
 corrupts the follower, till the delufion, ex- 
 tending itfelf by degrees, becomes at 
 length general, and overfpreads a people. 
 
 The prevailing fpirit of the prefent age 
 fee:ms to be the fpirit of fcepticifm and cap- 
 tiaufnefs, of fufpicion and diilruft, a con- 
 terapt of all authority, and a prefumptious 
 confidence in private judgment ; a diflike 
 of all eftablilhed forms, merely becaufe 
 they are eftablifbed, and of old paths, be- 
 caufe they are old. 
 
 Into this temper have men been infenii-^ 
 felyled by a warm alTertion of the right of 
 judging for themfelves, a right not to be 
 called in quefl[ion, fince God himfelf gave 
 
 us 
 
( 125 ) 
 
 us a claim to it, in making us reafonabie 
 Beings ; and the Apoftle doubtleis admits 
 it, when he direcls us to give the reafon of 
 our faith to any that fhall demand it. 
 
 But this privilege, ill underftood, has 
 been, and always may be, the occafion of 
 very dangerous and pernicious miftakes ; 
 it may be exercifed without knowledge or 
 difcretion, till error be entangled with ei- 
 ror, till divifions be multiplied by endlefs 
 fubdivifions, till the bond of peace be en- 
 tirely broken, and the Church become a 
 fcene of confufion, a chaos of difcordant 
 forms of worfhip, and inconiiftcnt fyfiems 
 of faith. 
 
 There are fome men, we now find, to 
 whom feparation and difagreemcnt appear 
 not fuch formidable evils, as tl ley are ge- 
 nerally reprefented ; who can look, with 
 the utmoft calmnefs and unconc:ern, at a 
 rifing fchifm., and furvey, without any per- 
 turbation, the fpeedy progrefs of an en- 
 creafmg herefy. Let every man, fay they, 
 enjoy his opinions, fmce he only is anfwer- 
 able for them. 
 
 There are men, who for the moil part 
 value themfelves, and arefometimes valued 
 by others, for their enlarged views and ge- 
 nerous 
 
( 135 ) 
 
 iiefous fentiments ; who pretend to look 
 with uncommon penetration into the caufes 
 of human a6lionsj and the fecret motions 
 of the mind ; but perhaps this opinion is 
 no proof that their pretentions are well 
 grounded, or that they are better acquaint- 
 ed v^ith human nature, than thofe whom 
 they affedl to ridicule and infult. 
 
 If it be granted that it is the duty of 
 every man to publifh, profefs, and defend 
 any important truth, and the truths of Re- 
 ligion, be allowed important ; it will fol- 
 low, that diverlity of fentiments mufl: na- 
 turally produce controveriies and alterca- 
 tions. And how few there are capable of 
 managing debates without unbecoming 
 heat, or difhoneft artifices, how foon zeal 
 is kindled into fury, and how foon a con- 
 cern for reputation mingles with a concern 
 for truth, how readily the antagonifts devi- 
 ate into perfbnal invectives, and, inflead 
 of confuting the arguments, defame the 
 lives of thofe whofe doftrine they difap- 
 prove, and hov/ often difputes terminate 
 in uproar, riot, and perfecution, every one 
 is convinced, and too many have experi- 
 enced. That diverfity of opinions, which 
 is the original and fource of fuch evils as 
 
 thefe, 
 
( 137 ) 
 
 thefe, cannot therefore be too diligently 
 obviated ; nor can too many endeavours be 
 ufed to check the growth of new do61rines, 
 and reclaim thofe that propagate them, be- 
 fore fe6ts are formed, or fehifm efta- 
 blifhed. 
 
 This is not to be done by denying, or 
 difputing, the right of private judgement ; 
 but by exhorting all men to exercife it in 
 a proper manner, according to each man's 
 meafure of knowledge, abilities, and oppor- 
 tunities ; and by endeavouring to remove 
 all thofe difficulties, which may obflru6t 
 the difcovery of truth, and exposing the 
 unreafonablenefs of fuch prejudices as may 
 perplex or miflead the enquirer. 
 
 The prejudice to which many of the dif- 
 orders of the prefent age, in which infide- 
 lity, fuperftition, and enthufiafm, feem 
 contending for empire over us, may be 
 juftly afcribed, is an over-fondnefs for no- 
 velty, a defire of ftriking out new paths to 
 peace and happinefs, and a neglecl of fol- 
 lowing the precept in the text, of ailcing 
 for the old paths, where is the good way, 
 and walking therein ; a precept I fhall 
 therefore endeavour to illuflrate, 
 
 Firf^, 
 
( I^^ ) 
 
 Firft, "By laying before you. the dangers 
 of judging of Religion, without long and 
 diligent examination. 
 
 Secondly, By evincing the reafonable- 
 nefs of fearching into antiquity, or of afk- 
 ing for the old paths. And, 
 
 Thirdly, By fhewing the happinef^ 
 which attends a well-grounded belief, and 
 Heady pra6tice of Religion. 
 
 Firft, I propofe to lay before you the 
 dangers of judging of Religion, without a 
 long and diligent examination^ 
 
 There is no topic more the favourite of 
 the prefent age, than the innocence of er* 
 ror accompanied with iincerity. This 
 do6lrine has been cultivated with the ut- 
 moft diligence, enforced with all the arts 
 of argument, and embellifhed with all 
 the ornam.ents of eloquence, but perhaps 
 not bounded, with equal care, by proper 
 limitations, nor preferved by juft explica- 
 tion, from being a fnare to pride, and a 
 Humbling block to weaknefs. 
 
 That the judge of all the earth will do 
 right, that he will require in proportion to 
 what he has given, and puniili men for 
 the mifapplication or negledt of talents, 
 not for the want of them, that he con- 
 demns 
 
( 1^9. ) 
 
 d^mns no man for not feeing what he has 
 hid from him, or for not attending to 
 what he could never hear, feems to be the 
 neceffary, the inevitable confequence of his 
 own attributes. 
 
 That error therefore may be innocent 
 will not be denied, becaufe it undoubtedly 
 may be lincere ; but this conceffion will 
 give very little countenance to the fecuri- 
 ty and fupinenefs, the coldnefs and indif- 
 ference, of the prefent generation, if wecon- 
 fider deliberately how much is required to 
 conftitute that lincerity, which fhall avert 
 the wrath of God, and reconcile him to 
 error. 
 
 Sincerity is not barely a full perfuafion 
 of the truth of our alfertions, a perfuafion 
 too often grounded upon a high opinion of 
 our own fagacity, and confirmed perhaps 
 by frequent triumphs over w^ak oppo- 
 nents, continually gaining new firength by 
 a negledt of re-examination, which per- 
 haps we decline, by induftrioufiy diverting 
 our attention from any obje6fions that 
 arife in our thoughts, and fuppreliing any 
 fufpicion of a fallacy before the mind has 
 time to conne6l its ideas, to form argu- 
 ments, and draw conclufions. Sincerity 
 
 K is 
 
( I3<i ) 
 
 is not a heat of the heart kept up by eager 
 contentions or warm profeffions, nor a 
 tranquillity produced by confidence, and 
 continued by indolence. There may be 
 zeal without lincerity, and fecurity with- 
 out innocence. If we forbear to enquire 
 through lazinefs or pride, or'enquire with 
 partiality, paffion, or precipitancy ; if we 
 do not watch over the moft hidden moti- 
 ons of our hearts, and endeavour, with our 
 utmofi: efforts, to banifh all thofe fecret 
 tendencies, and all thofe lurking inclinati- 
 onSj which operate very frequently without 
 being attended to, even by ourfelves ; if 
 we do not carry on ©ur fearch without re- 
 gard to the reputation of our teachers, our 
 followers, or ourfelves, and labour after 
 truth with equal induftry and caution, let 
 us- not prefume to put any trul^ in our lin- 
 cerity. 
 
 Such is the prefent weaknefs and cor- 
 ruption of human nature, that iincerity, 
 real iincerity, is rarely to be found j but 
 till it be found, it is the iaft degree of folly 
 to reprefent error as innocent. By a God 
 infinitely merciful, and propitiated by the 
 death of our BleiFed Saviour, it may in- 
 deed 
 
( 131 ) 
 
 deed be pardoned, but it cannot be juili- 
 lied. 
 
 But the greateft part of thole that de- 
 claim with moft vehemence in defence of 
 their darling notions, feem to have very 
 little claim even to pardon on account of 
 their iincerity. It is difficult to conceive 
 what time is allotted to religious queftions 
 and controverfies by a man whofe life is 
 engroITed by the hurries of bufinefs, and 
 whofe thoughts are continually upon the 
 ftretch, to form plans for the improvement 
 of his fortune, or the gratification of his 
 ambition. Nor is it very probable, that 
 fuch fubje6ls are more ferioufly coniidered 
 by men abandoned to pleafure, men who 
 fit down to eat, and rife up to play, whofe 
 life is a circle of fuccefTive amufements and 
 whofe hours are diftinguifhed only by vi- 
 ciffitudes of pleafure. And yet the quef- 
 tions which thefe frequently decide, and 
 decide without the leaft fufpicion of their 
 own qualifications, are often of a very in- 
 tricate and complicated kind, which mufb 
 be difentangled by a long and continued 
 attention, and refblved with manyrefiric^i- 
 ons and great caution. Not only know- 
 ledge, judgement, and experience, but un- 
 K % interrupted 
 
( i:52 ) 
 
 i'nt'errupted leifure and retirement are ne- 
 ceflary, that the chain of reafoning may 
 be preferved unbroken, and the mind 
 perform its operations without any hin- 
 drance from foreign obje6ts. 
 
 To this end, men have formerly retreated 
 to folitudes and cloifters, and excluded all 
 the cares and pleafures of the world ; and 
 when they have fpent a great part of their 
 lives in ftudy and meditation, at laff, 
 perhaps deliver their opinions, as learned 
 men will generally do, with diffidence and 
 fear. 
 
 Happy would it be for the prefent age 
 if men v;ere now thus diilruftful of their 
 own abilities. They would not then adopt 
 opinions, merely becaufe they wifh them 
 to be true, then defend what they have 
 once adopted, v/arm tliemfelves into confi- 
 dence, and then reif fatistied with the 
 pleafing confcioufnefs of their own fincerity. 
 We fhould not then fee men, not eminent 
 for any fu per ior gifts of nature, or extraor- 
 dinary attainments, endeavouring to form 
 new l^dts^and to draw the <imrld after ilierri. 
 They may indeed a6t with an honeil: in- 
 tention, and ^o far with fincerity, but cer- 
 tainly v/ithout that caution which their 
 
 inexperience 
 
jiiexperience ought to fuggeft, and that re- 
 verence for their fuperiors which reafon^ 
 as well as the laws of fociety, requires. 
 They feem, even when conlidered v^^ith 
 the utmoft candor, to have rather confult- 
 ed their own imaginations, than to have 
 afked for the old paths, where is the good 
 way. It is therefore proper in this place 
 that I fhould endeavour, 
 
 Secondly, to evince the reafonablene{s 
 of fearching into antiquity, or of afking for 
 •the Old paths. 
 
 A contempt of the monuments, and the 
 ,wifdom- of antiquity, may jufily be reckon- 
 ed one of the reigning follies of thefe days, 
 to which pride and idlenefs have equally 
 contributed. The faidy of antiquity is la- 
 borious i and to defpife what we cannot^ 
 or will not underftandj is a much more ex- 
 peditious way to reputation. Part of the 
 difefleem into which their writings are 
 now fallen may indeed be afcribed to that 
 exorbitant degree of veneration in which 
 they were once held by blind nefs and fu- 
 perftition. But there is a mean betwixt 
 idolatry and infult, between weak credulity 
 and total difbelief The Ancients are not 
 infallible, nor are their decifions to be re- 
 ..peived without examination ; but they are 
 
 at 
 
( 134 ) 
 
 at leaft the determinations of men equally 
 deiirous with ourfelves of difcovering 
 truth, and who had, in fome cafes, better 
 opportunities than we now have. 
 
 Vvith regard to the order and govern- 
 ment of the Primitive Church, we may 
 doubtlefs follow their authority v/ith per- 
 fe6t fecurity; they could not poffibly be 
 ignorant of laws executed, and cuftoms 
 pra61ifed, by themfelves ; nor would they, 
 even fuppoiing them corrupt, ferve any in- 
 terefts ol their own, by handing down falfe 
 accounts to pofterity. ¥/e are therefore to 
 enquire from them the different orders 
 eflabliflied in the miniftry from the Apof- 
 tolic ages, the diiferent employments of 
 each, and their fever al ranks, fubordinati- 
 ons, and degrees of authority. From their 
 writings we are to vindicate the eliablifh- 
 ment of our church; and by the fame 
 writings are thofe who differ from us, in 
 thefe particulars, to defend their condu6t. 
 
 Nor is this the only, though perhaps the 
 chief ufe of thefe writers ; for, in matters 
 of faith, and points of do61:rine, thofe, at 
 leaft, who lived in the ages nearefl: to the 
 times of the Apoftles undoubtedly deferve 
 to be confulted. The oral do61;rines and 
 pccalional explications of the Apoflles 
 3 would 
 
( 135 ) 
 
 would not be immediately forgottenj in 
 the churches to which they had preached, 
 and which had attended to them with the 
 diligence and reverence which their rnif- 
 lion and chara6ter demanded. Their fo- 
 lutions of difficulties and determinations of 
 doubtful queftions, muft have been trea- 
 fured up in the memory of their audiences, 
 and tranfmitted, for fome time, from father 
 to fon. Every thing, at ieaft, that was de- 
 clared by the infpired teachers to be necef- 
 fary to falvation, muR: have been carefully 
 recorded ; and therefore what we find no 
 traces of in the Icripture, or the early fa- 
 thers, as moll of the peculiar tenets of the 
 Romifh Church, muft certainly be conclud- 
 ed to be not neceifary. Thus, by confult- 
 ing firft the holy fcriptures, and next the 
 writers of the primitive church, Vv^e fhall 
 make ourfelves acquainted with the will of 
 God ; thus fhall we difcovcr the good 
 way, and find that reft for our fouls which 
 will amply recompence our ftudies and 
 enquiries, as I fhall attempt to prove, 
 
 Thirdly, By fhewing the happinefs 
 which attends a well-grounded belief and 
 fteady pra6lice of religion. 
 
 The 
 
( 136 ) 
 
 The ferenity and fatisfa61ion at which 
 we arrive by a firm and fettled perfuaiion 
 of the fundamental articles of our religion, 
 is very juftly reprefented by the expreffion 
 of finding reft for the foul. A mind reft- 
 lefs and undetermined, continually flu6lu' 
 ating betwixt various opinions, always in 
 purfuit of fome better fcheme of duties, 
 and more eligible fyftem of faith, eager to 
 embrace every new do6lrine, and adopt 
 the notions of every pretender to extraordi- 
 nary light, can never be fufiiciently calm 
 and unruffled, to attend to thofe du- 
 ties which procure that peace of God which 
 paffeth all underftanding. 
 
 Sufpence and uncertainty diflra6l the 
 foul, difturb its motions, and retard its 
 operations ; while we doubt in what man- 
 ner to worfhip God, there is great danger 
 left we fhould negle6l to worfhip him at 
 all. A man, confcious of having long ne- 
 gle6led to worfhip God, can fcarcely place 
 iany confidence in his mercy ; or hope, in 
 the moft prefiing exigencies, for his pro- 
 te6lion. And how miferable is that man, 
 who, on the bed of ficknefs, or in the hour 
 of death, is without truft in the goodnefs 
 
 of 
 
( 137 ) 
 
 of his Creator ! This ftate, dreadful as it 
 appears, may be jufty apprehended hy thofe 
 who fpend their lives in roving from one 
 new way to another, and are fo far from 
 afking for the old paths, where is the good 
 way, that when they are fliewn it, they 
 fay, we will not walk therein. 
 
 There is a much clofer connection be- 
 tween pra6lice and fpeculation than is ge- 
 nerally imagined. A man, difquieted with 
 fcruples concerning any important article 
 of religion, will for the mofl: part, Hnd 
 himfelf iiidifierent and cold, even to thofe 
 duties Vv'hich he pra6ticcd before with the 
 moft a6live diligence and ardent fatisfa6li- 
 on. Let him then alk for the old paths, 
 where is the good way, and he fhall find 
 reft for his foul. His mind once fet at 
 eafe from peqDlcxity, and perpetual agita- 
 tion, will return with more vigour to the 
 exercifes of piety. An uniform perfever- 
 ance in thefe holy pra61:ices will produce a 
 fteady confidence in the divine favour, and 
 that confidence will compleat his happinefs. 
 To which that we may all attain, God of his 
 infinite mercy grant, for the merits of Jefus 
 
 Chrift, 
 
( 138 ) 
 
 Chrift, our Saviour, to whom, with the 
 Father and the Holy Ghoft, be afcribed, as 
 is moft due, all honour, adoration, and 
 praife, now and ever I Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON VIIT. 
 
 Romans xii^ the latter part of the 1 6th 
 verfe. 
 
 Be not ivife in your own conceits. 
 
 A T has been obferved by thofe who have 
 employed themfelves in coniidering the 
 methods of Providence, and the govern- 
 ment of the world, that good and evil are 
 diftributed, through all ftates of life, if not 
 in equal proportions, yet in fuch degrees 
 as leave very little room for thofe mur- 
 murs and complaints which are frequently 
 produced by fuperficial enquiries, negligent 
 furveys, and impatient comparifons. 
 
 Every condition has, with regard to this 
 life, its inconveniences, and ever\' condition 
 has like wife its advantages ; though its 
 polition to the eye of the beholder may be 
 fo varied, as that at fome times the mifery 
 may be concealed, and at other times the 
 
 happinefs ; 
 
( H^ ) 
 
 happiiiefs ; but to judge only by the eye, 
 is not the way to difcover truth. We may 
 pafs by men, without being able to diftin- 
 guifh whether they are to be numbered 
 among thofe whofe felicities, or whofe for- 
 rows, preponderate ; as we may walk over 
 the ground, without knowing, whether its 
 entrails contain mines of gold, or beds pf 
 fand. 
 
 Nor is it lefs certain, that, with refpe6l 
 to the more important profpe6ls of a future 
 ftate, the fame impartiality of diftribution 
 may be generally remarked ; every condi- 
 tion of humanity, being expofed on one fide, 
 and guarded on the other ; io that every 
 man is burthened, though none are over- 
 whelmed ; every Man is obliged to vigil- 
 ance, but none are baraffed beyond their 
 ftrength. The great bufinefs therefore of 
 every man is to look diligently round him, 
 ihat he may note the approaches of the 
 enemy ; and to bar the avenues of temp- 
 tation, which the particular circumflances 
 of his life are moft likely to lay open ; 
 and to keep his heart in perpetual alarm 
 againft thofe iins which conftantly befiege 
 him. If he be rich, let him beware, left 
 when he is full he deny Gody and fay, ivho 
 
 h 
 
( 141 ) 
 
 is the Lord ? If he be poor, let him cauti- 
 oiifly avoid tojleal^ and take the name of his 
 God in vain. 
 
 There are fome conditions of humanity 
 which are made particularly dangerous by 
 an uncommon degree of feeming fecurity ; 
 conditions, in which we appear i^o com- 
 pleatly fortified, that we have little to 
 dread, and therefore give ourfelvcs up too 
 readily to negligence and fupinenefs ; and 
 are deftroyed without precaution, becaufc 
 we flattered ourfelvesthat deftruition could 
 not approach us. This fatal ilumber of 
 treacherous tranquillity may be produced 
 and prolonged by many caufes, by caufes 
 as various as the (itualions of life. Our 
 condition may be fuch, as may place us out 
 of the reach of thofe general admonitions, 
 by which the reft of mankind are reminded 
 of their errors, and awakened to their du- 
 ty ; it may remove us to a great diftance 
 from the common incitements to common 
 wickednefs, and therefore may fuperinduce 
 a forgetfulnefs of our natural frailti-s, and 
 fupprefs all fufpicions of the encroachments 
 of fin — And the fin to which we are par- 
 ticularly tempted may be of that inlidious 
 and fedu(5\ive kind, as, that without alarm- 
 ing 
 
( H^ ) 
 
 mg us by the horrors of its appearance, 
 and fhocking us v/ith the enormity of any 
 fingle acts, may, by flow advances, poiTefs 
 the foul, and in deftroying us differ only 
 from the atrocioufnefs of more apparent 
 wickednefsj as a lingering poifon differs 
 from the fword ; more difficultly avoided, 
 and more certainly fatal. 
 
 To temptations of this fubtle, iniinuat- 
 ing kind, the life of men of learning feems 
 above all others to be expofed. As they 
 are themfelves appointed the teachers of 
 others, they very rarely have the dangers 
 of their own xiate fet before them ; as they 
 are, by their abfcradlion and retirement, 
 fecluded from the gaieties, the luxuries and 
 the pageantries of life, they ate willingly 
 perfuaded to believe, that becaufe they are 
 at a great diftance from the rocks on 
 which confcience is mofi frequently wreck- 
 ed, that therefore they fail with fafety, and 
 may give themfelves to the wind without 
 a compafs. The crimes, from which they 
 are in danger, are not thofe from which 
 the mind has been, taught to fhrink away 
 v/ith horror, or againft v/hich the invec- 
 tives of Moral or Theological writers have 
 generally been diredled ; and therefore they 
 
 are 
 
( 143 ) 
 
 are faffered to approach unregarded, to 
 gain ground imperceptibly upon minds di- 
 re6led to different views ; and to fix them- 
 ielves at leifure in the heart, where per- 
 haps they are fcarcely difcovered till they 
 are paft eradication. 
 
 To thefe caufes, or to fbme of thefe, it 
 muft furely be imputed, that learning is 
 found fo frequently to fail in the dire6lion 
 of life ; and to operate fo faintly and un- 
 certainly in the regulation of their condu6l,, 
 who are moft celebrated for their applica- 
 tion and proficiency. They have been 
 betrayed, by fome falfe fecurity, to with- 
 hold their attention from their own lives ; 
 they have grown knowing, without grow- 
 ing virtuous ; and have failed of the wif- 
 dom which is the gift of the Father of 
 lights, becaufe they have thought it unne- 
 ceffary to feek it with that anxiety and 
 importunity to which only it is granted ; 
 they have trufted to their own pov/ersjand 
 were wife in their own conceits. 
 
 There is perhaps no clafs of Men, to 
 whom the precept, given by the Apoftle to 
 his converts againft too great confidence in 
 their underftandings, may be more pro- 
 perly inculcated, than thofe who are dedi- 
 cated 
 
( 144 ) 
 
 cfited to the profeffion of literature, and 
 are therefore neceflarily advanced to de- 
 grees of knowledge above them who are 
 difperfed among manual occupations, and 
 the vulgar parts of life ; whofe attention 
 is confined within the narrow limits of 
 their own employments, and who have not 
 often leifure to think of more than the 
 meansr pf relieving their own wants, by' 
 fupplying the demands of others. 
 
 With thefe, and fuch as thefe, placed 
 fbmetimes, by whatever means, in much 
 higher ftations, a man of learning has fu ell 
 frequent opportunities of comparing him- 
 felf ; and is fo ftrongly incited by that 
 comparifon, to indulge the eontemiplation 
 of his own fuperiority ; that it is not to be 
 coniidered as wonderful, that vanity creeps 
 in upon him ; that he does not willingly 
 v/ithdraw his imagination from obje6ts 
 that fo much flatter his paflions, that he 
 purfues the train of thought, from one re- 
 iie61ion to another, places himfelf and 
 others, in every :Qtuation, in which he can 
 appear w4th advantage in his own eyes ; 
 rifes to comparifons with ftill higher cha- 
 ra6^ers, and itill retains the habit of giving 
 himfelf the preference ; and in all difputa- 
 
 ble 
 
( HS ) 
 
 hie cafes turns the balance in his own fk 
 vour, by fuper-adding from his own con- 
 ceit, that wifdom, which by nature he does 
 not polfefs, or by induftry he has not ac* 
 quired. 
 
 This wifdom in his own conceit is very 
 eafily at firlt miftaken for qualities, not in 
 themfelves criminal, nor in themfelves 
 dangerous ; nor is it eafy to fix the limits, 
 in fpeculation, between a refolute adher- 
 ence to that which appears truth, and an 
 obftinate obtrufion of peculiar notions up- 
 on the underftanding of others ; between 
 the pleafure that naturally arifes from the 
 enlargement of the mind, and increafe of 
 knowledge, and that which proceeds from 
 a contempt of others, and the infolent tri- 
 umphs of intellectual fuperiority. ^et 
 though the confines of thefe qualities are 
 nearly alike, their extremes are widely dif- 
 ferent ; and it will foon be difcovered, how- 
 much evil is avoided by repreffing that 
 opinion of ourfelves, which vanity fug- 
 gefts; and that confidence, which is gain- 
 ed only by meafurmg ourfelves by ourfehes^ 
 dwelling on our own excellence, and flat- 
 tering ourfelves with fecret panegyrics. 
 As this falfe claim to wifdom is the 
 
 I- fource 
 
( 146 ) 
 
 fource of many faults, as well as mlferiesj 
 to men of learning, it feems of the utmoft 
 importance to obviate it in the young, who 
 may be imagined to be very little tainted, 
 and fupprefs it in others, w^hofe greater ad- 
 vances, and more exteniive reputation, 
 have more endangered them ; nor can any 
 man think himfelf fo innocent of this fault, 
 or fo fecure from it, as that it fhould be 
 unneceifary for him to conlider, 
 
 Firft, The dangers, which men of learn- 
 ing incur, by being wife in their own con- 
 ceits. 
 
 Secondly, The proper means, by which 
 that pernicious conceit of wifdom may be 
 avoide^ or fupprelfed. 
 
 In order to ftate with more accuracy the 
 dangers which men, dedicated to learning, 
 may be reafoaably imagined to incur, by 
 being wife in their own conceits ; it is ne- 
 ceffary to diliinguifh the difterent periods 
 of their lives ; and to examine, whether 
 this difpoiition is not in its tendency equal- 
 ly opponte to our duty, and, by inevitable 
 confequence in its eifedis, equally deftruc- 
 tive of our happinefs in every ftate. 
 
 The bufmefs of the life of a fcholar is to 
 accumulate, and to digufe, knowledge ; to 
 
 learn? 
 
( 147 ) 
 
 learn, in order that he may teach. The 
 firft part of his time is affigned to ftudy^ 
 and the acquilition of learning ; the latter, 
 to the pra6tice of thofe arts which he has 
 acquired, and to the inftru6\ion of others 
 who have had lefs time, or opportunities, 
 or abilities, for improvement. In the ilate 
 therefore of a learner, or of a teacher, the 
 man of letters is always to be coniidered ; 
 and if it fhall appear that, on whatever 
 part of his tafk: he is employed, a falfe opi- 
 nion of his own excellence will naturally 
 and certainly defeat his endeavours ; it 
 may be hoped, that there will be found 
 fufficient reafon, why no man fhould he 
 WTje in his own conceit. 
 
 Since no Man can teach what he has ne- 
 ver loar.'ied, the value and ufellilnefs of the 
 latter part of his life muft depend in a 
 great meafure upon the proper application 
 of the earlier years ; and he that negle6ts 
 the improv^ement of his own mind,' will 
 never be enabled to inftra61: others. Light 
 muft ftrike on the body, by which light can 
 be refleded. The difpoiition therefore, 
 which befl befits a young man, about to en- 
 gage in a life of Rudy, is patience in en- 
 quiry ; eagernefs of knowledge ; and vvil- 
 
 I- M lingnefs 
 
( 148 ) 
 
 iingnefs to ht inftru6led ; a due fubmlffiori 
 to greater abilities and longer experience; 
 and a ready obedience to thofe, from whom 
 he is to expe6l the removal of his igno- 
 rance, and the refolution of his doubts. 
 
 How unlikely any one, wife in his own 
 Conceit, is to excite, or promote in himfelf 
 fuch inclinations, may be eaiily determin- 
 ed. It is well known that ftudy is not di- 
 ligently profecuted, but at the expence of 
 many pleafures and amufements ; which 
 no young man will be perfuaded to forbear, 
 but upon the moft cogent motives, and the 
 ftrongeft convi6'cion. He that is to draw 
 truth from the depths of obfcurity, rauft be 
 •fully informed of its value^ and the neceffi- 
 ty of finding it ; he that engages in a ftate, 
 op polite to the pleafures of fenfe, and the 
 gratification of every higher paffion, mufl 
 have feme principle within, ftrongly im- 
 planted, which may enforce induftry, and 
 repel temptation. But how fhall he, who is 
 already w//^ in his c^uim conceit ^i^ubmit to fuch 
 tedious and laborious methods of infi:ru6l2- 
 on ? Vv'hy ihould he toil for that, which, 
 in his own opinion, he poireiFes ; and 
 drudge for the fupply of wants, which he 
 does not feel ? He has already fuch degrees 
 
 of 
 
( 149 ) 
 
 of knowledge, as, magnified by liis own 
 imagination, exalt him above the reft of 
 mankind ; and to climb higher, would bo 
 to labour without advantage. 
 
 He already has a wide extent of fcience 
 within his view, and his willLngners to be 
 pleafcd with himfelf does not fuifer him to 
 think, or to dwell on the thought of any 
 thing beyond ; and who tliat fees all, 
 w^ould wifh to fee farther ? That fubmilTi- 
 on to authority, and that reverence for in- 
 fl:ru61:ion, which fo well becomes every 
 man at his firft entrance upon new regions 
 of learning, where all is novelty, confuiiou 
 and darknefs, and no way is to be found 
 through the intricacies of oppoiite fyftems, 
 but by tracing the fteps of thofe that have 
 gone before ; that willingnefs to receive 
 implicitly what farther advances only can 
 enable him to prove, which initiation al- 
 ways fuppofes ; are very little to be ex- 
 pe6led from him, who looks down w^ith 
 fcorn upon his teacher, and is more ready 
 to cenfure the obfcurity of precepts, than 
 to fufpe61: the force of his own underftand- 
 ing. Knowledge is to be attained by flow 
 and gradual acquilitions, by a careful re- 
 view of our ideas, and a regular fuper- 
 
 llructure 
 
( I50 ) 
 
 i^ru^lure of one propofition on another ; 
 and is therefore the reward only of dili- 
 gence and patience. But patience is the 
 effe6t of modefty ; pride grafps at the 
 whole, and what it cannot hold, it afFed'ts 
 to defpife ; it is rather folicitons to dif- 
 play, than increafe, its acquilitions ; and 
 rather endeavours, by fame, to fupply the 
 want of knowledge, than by knowledge 
 to arrive at fame. 
 
 That thefe are not imaginary reprefenta- 
 tions, but true copies of real life, moft of 
 thofe, to whom the inftru61:ion of young 
 men is intrufted, will be ready to confefs ; 
 lince they have often the difTatisfadlion of 
 finding that, in proportion as greater ad- 
 vances have been made in the firft period 
 of life, there is lefs diligence in the fecond. 
 And that, as it was faid of the ancient 
 Gauls, that they v/ere more than men in 
 the onfet, and lefs than women in the 
 fhock ; it may be faid in our literary con- 
 tentions, that many, who were men at 
 fchool, are boys at the college. 
 
 Their ardour remits, their diligence re- 
 laxes ; and they give themfelves to a lazy 
 contemplation of comparative excellence, 
 without contidering that the comparifon is 
 Qi hourly 
 
( i5i ) 
 
 hourly growing lefs advantageous, and 
 that the acquiiitions which they boaft are 
 mouldering away. 
 
 Such is the danger to a learner, of too 
 early an opinion of his own importance ; 
 but if we fuppofe him to have efcaped in 
 his firft years this fatal confidence, and to 
 be betrayed into it by a longer ferics of 
 fuccefsful application, its efFe6ts will then 
 be equally dangerous ; and as it hinders a 
 young man from receivino- inftru6tion, it 
 will obf\ru6l an older ftudent in convey, 
 ing it. 
 
 There is no employment in which men 
 are more €aiily betrayed to indecency and 
 impatience, than in that of teacliing ; in 
 which they neceflarily converfe with thofe, 
 who are their inferiors, in the relation by 
 which they are connected, and whom it 
 may be fometimes proper to treat with 
 that dignity which too often fwells into ar- 
 rogance ; and to reftrain with fuch autho- 
 rity as not every man has learned to fena- 
 rate from tyranny. In this Hate of tempo- 
 rary honour, a proud man is too willing to 
 exert his prorogati\'c ; and too ready to 
 forget that he is diiftating to thofe, who 
 may one day dicfatc to him. He is in- 
 
 clined 
 
( iSa ) 
 
 clined to wonder that what he comprehends 
 himfelf is not equally clear to others ; and of- 
 ten reproaches the intelleds of hisauditorsj 
 when he ought to blame theconfuiionof his 
 own ideas, and the improprieties of his 
 own language. He reiterates therefore his 
 poiitions v^rithout elucidation, and enforces 
 his aiTertion by his fx'own, when he finds ar- 
 guments lefs eafy to be fupplied. Thus for- 
 getting that he had to do with men, whofe 
 paffions are perhaps equally turbulent with 
 his own, he transfers by degrees to his in- 
 ftru61:ion the prejudices which are firftraif^ 
 ed by his behaviour; and having forced 
 upon his pupils an hatred of their teacher, 
 he fees it quickly terminate in a contempt 
 of the precept. 
 
 But inftruclion extends farther than to 
 feminaries of ftudents, or the narrow audi, 
 tories of fequeftered literature. The end 
 of learning, is to teach the public, to fuper- 
 intend the condu6t, watch over the morals 
 and regulate the opinions, of parifhes^ 
 diocefes, and provinces, to check vices ia 
 their firft eruption, and fupprefs herefies in 
 the whifpers of their rile. And furely this 
 awful, this arduous tafk, requires qualities, 
 which a man, wife in his oivn conceit^ can- 
 not 
 
( IS3 ) 
 
 not eafily attain ; that mildnefs of addrefs, 
 that patience of attention, that calmnefs of 
 difputation, that feledtion of times, and 
 places, and circumftances, which the ve- 
 hemence of pride will not regard. And, 
 in reality, it will generally be found, that 
 the firft obje61ion and the laft to an unac- 
 ceptable paftor, isj that he is proud, that he 
 is too wife for familiarity, and will not 
 defcend to the level with common under- 
 l\andings. 
 
 Such is the confequence of too high an 
 efteem of our own powers and knowledge; 
 it makes us in youth negligent, and in age 
 ufelefs ; it teaches us too foon to be 
 fatisfted with our attainments ; or it 
 makes our attainments unplcating, unpo- 
 pular, and ineffectual ; it neither fuflcrs 
 us to learn, nor to teach, but with-holds 
 us from tliofe by whom we might be in- 
 Ifruifed, and drives thofe from us whom 
 we might inftrudl. It is therefore necelTa- 
 ry to obviate thele evils, by enquiring. 
 
 Secondly, By what means this pernicious 
 conceit of wildom may be avoided or fup- 
 prelfcd. 
 
 It might be imagined, if daily experi- 
 ence did not fhew us ho.w vainly judg- 
 ments are formed of real life, from fpecu- 
 
 lative 
 
( iS4 ) 
 
 lative principles, that it might be eafy for 
 any man to extirpate a high conceit of hu- 
 man learning from his own heari, or that 
 of another ; iince one great puroofe of 
 knowledge is to fliew us our own defects, 
 follies, and miferies ; yet, whatever be the 
 reafon, we find none more fubje6t to this 
 fault, than thofe whofe courfe of life ought 
 more particularly to exempt them from it. 
 For the fuppreflion of this vain conceit, 
 fo injurious to the profelTors of learning, 
 many coniiderations might be added to 
 thofe, which have already been drawn 
 from its effe61s. The reafons, indeed, why 
 every man fhould be humble, are infepa- 
 rably conne61ed with human nature ; for 
 what can any man fee, either within or 
 without himfelf, that does not afford him 
 fome reafon to remark his own ignorance, 
 imbecillity, and meannefs ? But on thefe 
 refle61ions it is lefs proper to inlifl, becaufe 
 they have been explained already by al- 
 moft every writer upon moral and religi- 
 ous duties, and becaufe, in reality, the pride 
 which requires our chief caution is not fo 
 much abfolute, as comparative. No man 
 fo much values himfelf upon the general 
 prerogatives of human nature, as upon his 
 
 own 
 
( 155 ) 
 
 own peculiar fiiperiority to other men ; 
 nor will he therefore be humbled, by be- 
 ing told of the ignorance, the weaknelsj and 
 wicked nefs of humanity ; for he is fatis- 
 fied with being accounted one of the moft 
 knowing, among the ignorant ; the moft 
 able, among the weak ; and the moft vir- 
 tuous, among the wicked. 
 
 The pride of the learned therefore can 
 only be reprelTed by fhewing, what indeed 
 might eafily be fhewn, that it is not jufti- 
 fiable, even upon comparifon with the reft 
 of men ; for, without urging any thing in 
 derogation from the dignity and import- 
 ance of learning in general, which muft 
 always, either immediately, or by the in- 
 tervention of others, govern the world, it 
 will be found, that they who are moft dif- 
 pofed to be fwelled to haughtinefs by their 
 own attainments, are generally fo far from 
 having any juft claim to the fuperiority 
 which they exert, that they are betrayed 
 to vanity by ignorance ; and are pleafed 
 with themfelves, as a Hind with his cot- 
 tage, not becaufe, upon enquiry, they are 
 convinced of the reafonablenefs of the pre- 
 ference ; but becaufe they overvalue the 
 little they poflefs, for want of knowing its 
 
 littlcnefs ; 
 
( IS6 ) 
 
 littlenefs ; and are contented with their 
 own ftate, as a blind man feels no lofs from 
 the abfence of beauty. Nor needs there 
 any other proof of the origin of literary 
 pride, than that it is chiefly to be found 
 amongft thcfe, who have fecluded them- 
 felves from the world, in purfuit of petty 
 enquiries, and trivial ftudies. 
 
 To fuch men it fhouldbe recommended, 
 that, before they fufFer themfelves to fix 
 the rule of their own accomplifhments, 
 and look down on others with contempt, 
 they fhould enjoin themfelves to fpend 
 fome time in enquiring into their own 
 pretenlions ; and coniider who they are 
 vidiom they defpife, and for what reafon 
 they fufFer themfelves to indulge the arro- 
 gance of contempt. Such an examination 
 will foon drive back the pedant to his col- 
 lege^ with juicer conceptions, and with 
 humbler fentiments ; for he will find that 
 thofe, whom he imagined fo much below 
 his own exaltation, often flourifh in the 
 efteem of the world, while he himfelf is 
 unknown ; and teaching thofe arts, by 
 v/hich fociety is fupported, and on which 
 the happinefs of the world depends ; while 
 l)e is pleaiing himfelf with idle amufements, 
 
 and 
 
( 157 ) 
 
 and wafting his life upon queftions, of 
 which very few defire the folution. 
 
 But if this method of obtaining humili- 
 ty be ineffedlual, he may however eftablifh 
 it, upon more ftrong and lafting principles, 
 by applying himfelf to the duties of Reli- 
 gion, and the word of God. 
 
 That facred and infcrutable word, which 
 will fhew him the inefficacy of all other 
 knowledge, and thofe duties which will 
 imprint upon his mind, that he beft under- 
 ftands the facred writings who moft care- 
 fully obeys them. Thus will humility fix 
 a firm and lafiing bafis, by annihilation of 
 all empty diftin6iions and petty competi- 
 tions, by fhewing, that one thing only is ne^ 
 cejfary^ and that God is all in all 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON IX. 
 
 I Corinthians, Chap. II. Verfe '^8. 
 
 But let a man exarnine himjelf^ and Jo let him 
 eat of that breads and drink of thai cup. 
 
 lS OTHING Is more frequently injurious 
 to Religion, or more dangerous to Man- 
 kind, than the pradice of adding to the di- 
 vine inftitutions, and of teaching for doc- 
 trines the commandments of men.. The 
 doftrines of the blefied facrament, which, 
 as they are exprefTed in the holy fcriptures, 
 do not feem to be very dark or difficult, 
 yet have been fo perverted and mifreprc- 
 fented.as to occalion many difputes among 
 men of learning, and many divifions in 
 the Chriftian world. In our own church, 
 many religious minds have been filled with 
 
 groundlefs 
 
( I$0 ) 
 
 groiindlefs apprehenfions, and diftra6led 
 with unnecelTaiy inquietudes, by miftaken 
 notions of the Lord's Supper. Many have 
 forborne to partake of it, becaufe they have 
 not, in their own opinion, arrived at that 
 degree of holinels, required to it which 
 they erroneoufly conceive to be fuch, as in- 
 deed no mere man ever can attain ; a holi- 
 nefs, which conlifts in Httle lefs, than a 
 compleat exemption from lin, and an uni- 
 form, and uninterrupted obfervance of eve- 
 ry precept of Religion. They find them- 
 felves unable to perform this duty without 
 imperfe6^ions, and therefore they entirely 
 negle6t it ; not conlidering, that the fame 
 reafon is of equal force for the negle6l of 
 every duty ; fince none can be performed 
 by us, in this frail ftate, without lapfes, 
 negligences, and failings ; and that God 
 will except unfeigned repentance, fincete 
 intentions, and earneit endeavours, though 
 entangled with many frailties. They do 
 not conlider, that the participation of the 
 facrament is a duty enjoined all Chrif- 
 tians, though all do not rife to equal degrees 
 of virtue; and, by confequence, that many 
 muft be admitted to the holy table, who 
 have not reached the utmoft heights of re- 
 ligious 
 
( i6i ) 
 
 gious excellence. Heaven itfelf will be 
 accefTible to many, who died in their ftrug- 
 gles with lin, in their endeavours after vir- 
 tue, and the beginning of a new life. And 
 furely, they are not to be excluded from 
 commemorating the fufferings of our Savi- 
 our, in a Chriftian congregation, who would 
 not be fhut from Heaven, from the afTem- 
 blies of Saints, and the choirs of Angels. 
 
 There are fome who negle6l this duty, 
 as they omit others, not from fcruples of 
 melancholy piety, or miftaken feverity, 
 but from fupinenefs and carelefTnefs, or 
 an opinion, that this precept is lefs necefTa- 
 ry to be obferved, than fome others deli- 
 vered by the fame authority. 
 
 Many other notions, not well-grounded, 
 or capable of proof, are entertained of this 
 inftitution; which I fhall endeavour, with- 
 out giving a particular account of them, 
 to obviate and fupprefs, by fhewing, 
 
 Firft, What is the nature and end of this 
 inftitution according to the Scriptures. 
 
 Secondly, What are the obligations which 
 enforce the duty of Communion. And, 
 
 Thirdly, what things are required of 
 them that come to the Lord's Supper. 
 
 M Firft, 
 
( i6^ ) 
 
 Firftj I propofe to lay before you the 
 nature and end of this inlHtution according 
 to the fcriptures. 
 
 The account of the firft inftitution of 
 this fr :rament is thus delivered by the 
 Evangellft (Luke, chap. xxii. v. 19.) And 
 he took bread and gave thanks, and brake 
 it, and gave it unto them, faying, This h 
 my Body which is given for you ; 'This do in 
 reme7nbrance of Me- Likewife alfo the Cup 
 after fupper, faying. This Cup is the h ew 
 Tejlameni in my blood which is fJied for yvu. 
 This narration is repeated in the Epiftle to 
 the Corinthians, with this comment or ex- 
 planation : As often as ye eat this Breads or 
 drink this Ciip^ ye do fliew the Lord's death 
 mi He come. From thefe paflages compar- 
 ed then it appears, that this facrament is a 
 reprefentation of the death of our Saviour, 
 appointed by himfelf, to be celebrated by 
 all his followers, in all ages ; to the end 
 that, by commemorating his fufFerings in 
 a folemn and public manner, they might 
 declare their confidence in his merits, their 
 belief of his miffion, and their adherence 
 to his Religion. 
 
 It has likewife a tendency to increafe 
 this confidence, confirm this belief, and 
 
 eftablifh 
 
( 163 ) 
 
 eflabllfh this adherence, not only by the 
 new ftrength which every idea acquires by 
 a new impreflion, and which every perfua- 
 lion attains by new recolle6lion, approba- 
 tion, and meditation, but likewife by the 
 fuper natural and extraordinary influences 
 of Grace, and thofe bleffings which God 
 has annexed to the due ufe of means ap- 
 pointed by himfelf. 
 
 By commemorating the death of Chrift, 
 as the Redeemer of the world, we confefs 
 our belief in him i for why elfe fhould we 
 perform fo folemn a rite in commemorati- 
 on of him ? To confefs our belief in him, 
 is to declare ourfelves his followers. We 
 enter into an obligation to perform thofe 
 conditions upon which he has admitted 
 us to follow him, and to practice all the 
 duties of that Religion which he has 
 taught us. 
 
 This is implied in the word facrament, 
 which, being originally ufed to fignify an 
 oath of fidelity taken by the Soldiers to 
 their leaders, is now made ufe of by the 
 Church, to import a folemn vow, of un- 
 fhaken adherence to the faith of Chrifl:. 
 
 Thus the facrament is a kind of repeti- 
 tion of baptifm, the means v/hereby we 
 
 M % are 
 
C 1^4 ) 
 
 are readmitted into the communion of th'e 
 church of Chrift, when we have, by fin, 
 been feparated from it ; for every fin, and 
 much more any habit or courfe of iin long 
 continued, is, according to the different 
 degrees of guilt, an apoflacy or defe6lion 
 from our Saviour ; as it is a breach of thofe 
 conditions upon which we became his fol- 
 lowers ; and he that breaks the condition 
 of a covenant, difTolveS it on his iide. Hav- 
 ing therefore broken the covenant between 
 us and our Redeemer, we lofe the benefits 
 of his death ; nor can we have any hopes 
 of obtaining them, while we remain in 
 this flate of feparation from him. 
 
 But vain had been the fufFerings of our 
 Saviour, had there not been left means of 
 reconciliation to him ; fince every man 
 falls away from him occaiionally by fins of 
 negligence at leaft, and perhaps by known, 
 deliberate, premeditated offences. So that 
 fome method of renewing the covenant 
 between God and man was necefTary ; and 
 for this purpofe this facrament was infli- 
 tuted ; which is therefore a renewal of our 
 broken vows, a re- entrance into the fociety 
 of the church, and the a6t by which we 
 are reflored to the benefits of our Saviour's 
 
 death; 
 
( i6S ) 
 
 tkath, upon performance of the terms pre- 
 fcribed by him. 
 
 So that this facram^nt is a folemn rati* 
 fication of a covenant renewed ; by which, 
 after having alienated ourfelves from 
 Chrift by lin, we are reftored, upon our 
 repentance and reformation, to pardon and 
 favour, and the certain hopes of everlafting 
 life. 
 
 When we thus enter upon a new life by 
 a folemn, deliberate, and ferious dedica- 
 tion of ourfelves to a more exacl and vigi- 
 lant fervice of God, and oblige ourfelves 
 to the duties of piety by this facrament, we 
 may hope to obtain, by fervent and humble 
 prayer, fuch affiftances from God as may 
 enable us to perform thofe engagements, 
 which we have entered into by his com- 
 mand, and in the manner appointed by 
 him ; always remembering, that we mull 
 ufe our own endeavours, and exert our ut- 
 moft natural powers, for God only co-ope- 
 rates with the diligent and the watchful, 
 We mufl avoid fin, by avoiding thofe occa* 
 {ions which betray us to it, and as we pray 
 that we may not be led, we muft be cauti^ 
 ous of leading ourfelves into temptation. 
 
 All 
 
( i66 ) 
 
 All iin that is committed by Chriftians 
 is committed either through an abfolute 
 forgetfulnefs of God, for the time in which 
 the inordinate palTion, of whatever kind 
 it be, predominates and prevails; or be- 
 caufe, if the ideas of God and Religion 
 were prefent to our minds, they were not 
 ftrong enough to overcome and fupprefs 
 thedeiires excited by fome pleaiing, or the 
 apprehenlions raifed by fome terrible, 
 obje61. So that either the love or fear of 
 temporal good or evil were more powerful 
 than tlie love or fear of God. 
 
 All idea§ influence our condu6l with 
 more or lefs force, as they are more or lefs 
 ftrongly imprelfed upon the mind ; and 
 they are imprelfed more ftrongly, as they 
 are more frequently recollected or renew- 
 ed. For every idea, whether of love, fear, 
 grief, or any other paffion, lofes its force by 
 time ; and, unlefs revived by accident, or 
 voluntary meditation, v/ill at laft vanifh. 
 But by dwelling upon, and indulging any 
 idea, we may increafe its efUcacy and force, 
 make it by degrees predominant in the 
 foul, and raife it to an afcendant over our 
 pailions, fo that it fhall ealily over-rule 
 
 thofe 
 
( i67 ) 
 
 thofe affeaions or appetites which former, 
 ly tyrannized within us. 
 ' Thus, by a negle6l of God's worfhip 
 and facraments, a man may lofe almoft all 
 dif^inclion whatfoever of good and evil, 
 and, having no awe of. the .divine power 
 to oppofe his inclinations to wickedncfs^ 
 may go forward from crime to crime with- 
 out remorfe. And he that ftruggles againft 
 vice, and is often overcome by powerful 
 temptations, if, inftead of giving way to 
 idlenefs and defpair, he continues his re- 
 fiftance ; and, by a diligent attendance up- 
 on the fervice and facraments of church, 
 together v^ith a regular pra^ice of private 
 devotion, endeavours to ftrengthen his 
 faith, and imprint upon himfelf an habi- 
 tual attention to the laws of God, and a 
 confiant i:^:n{:Q of his prefence ; he will 
 foon find himfelf able to avoid the fnares 
 of fin, or, if he fall into them by inadver- 
 tency, to break them. He v/ill find the 
 fear of God grow fuperior to the defires of 
 wealth, or the Igve of pleafure ; and, by 
 perfifting to frequent the church and fa- 
 craments, and thereby to preferve thofe 
 notions of piety from being effaced or 
 weakened, he will be able to perfevere in 
 
 a fteadv 
 
( 168 ) 
 
 a fteady pra6lice of virtue, and enjoy the 
 unfpeakable pleafures of a quiet confci^ 
 pnce. 
 
 Thus it appears, that the blelTed facra- 
 ment is a commemoration of the death of 
 our Lord ; confequently, a declaration of 
 our faith ; and both naturally, and by the 
 co-operation of God, the means ofincreaf- 
 ing that faith. And it appears alfo that it 
 is a renewal of our baptifmal vow, after 
 we have broken it by iin ; and a renovati- 
 on of that covenant by which we are 
 adopted the followers of Jefus, and made 
 partakers of his merits, and the benefits of 
 his death. 
 
 This account has almoft anticipated 
 what I profefTed to treat of, 
 
 Secondly, the obligations which enforce 
 the Duty of Communion, 
 
 For the obligations to any duty muft 
 bear proportion to the importance of it ; 
 and the importance of a duty muft be rated 
 by the effe6l which it produces or pro- 
 motes ; and, therefore, as the benefits w^hich 
 we receive from this facrament have been 
 already fhewn, the neceffity of it is fuffici- 
 ently apparent. 
 
 But we may farther enforce this practice 
 
 upon 
 
( i69 ) 
 
 upon ourfelves and others, by coniidering^ 
 firl^, that it is a pofitive injundlion of our 
 blelfed Saviour, which, therefore, all thofe 
 who believe in him are bound to obey. 
 That to difpute the ufefulnefs, or call in 
 qu^ftion the neceflity of it, is to reform his 
 I'eligion, and to fet up our own wifdom in 
 oppolition to his commands ; and that to 
 refufe the means of grace, is to place our 
 confidence in our own flrength, and to ne- 
 gle6l the affiftance of that Comforter, who 
 came down from Heaven according to the 
 moft true promife of our bleifed Saviour, 
 to lead the Apoftles outof darknefs and er- 
 ror, and to guide them and us into the 
 clear light and certain knowledge of God, 
 and of his Son Jefus Chrift. 
 
 If we confider this facrament as a re- 
 newal of the vow of baptifm, and the means 
 of reconciling us to God, and reftoring us 
 to a participation of the merits of our Sa- 
 viour, which we had forfeited by fin, we 
 fhall need no perfuaiions to a frequent 
 communion. For certainly nothing can 
 be more dreadful than to live under the 
 difpleafure of God, in confiant danger of 
 appearing before him, while he is yet un- 
 appeafed, and of loiing the benefits of 
 
 our 
 
C 170 ) 
 
 our redemption. Whoever he be, whom 
 lin has deluded and led away, let him not 
 delay to return to his duty, left fome fud- 
 den difeafe feize upon him, and the hand 
 of death cut him off for ever from any 
 poffibility of reformation, while he is in- 
 dolent and voluptuous, irreligious and pro- 
 fane. It will be too late to bewail his fu- 
 pmenefs, and lament his folly, when the 
 dreadful and irrevocable fentence is paft, 
 and the gates of hell are clofed upon him. 
 " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; 
 " call ye on- him while he is near ! Let the 
 ^' wicked forfake his way, and the unrighte. 
 " ous man his thoughts ; and let him re- 
 " turn unto the Lord, and he will have 
 " mercy on him, and to our God, for he 
 " will abundantly pardon.'' 
 
 But left, inftead of obtaining pardon, we 
 aggravate our lins, by coming unprepared 
 to the holy table, let us coniider. 
 
 Thirdly, What is required of them that 
 come to the Lord's Supper. 
 
 With refpe6t to the preparatory duties 
 requilite to a worthy reception of the fa., 
 crament. Saint Paul has left this precept ; 
 " Let a man examine himfelf, and fo let 
 " him eat of that bread." Which will be 
 
( 171 ) 
 
 ealily explained, by recurring to what has 
 been already faid of the nature of the fa- 
 crament. 
 
 By partakino- of the communion, we de- 
 clare, in the moft folemn manner, in the 
 prefence of God and man, that we hold the 
 faith of Jefus ; that we are his followers, 
 who expert eternal falvation from his me- 
 rits ; and, therefore, that we engage our- 
 felves to that obedience to his commands, 
 and that ftri6lnefs and regularity of life, 
 which he requires from tb.ofc who place 
 their confidence in his mediation. We 
 profcfs, like wife, that we lincerely and 
 humbly repent of thofe offences by which 
 we have feparated ourfelves from him ; 
 and that, in confequence of this profeiTion, 
 we unite ourfelves again to the communi- 
 on of the church. 
 
 Nothing can be more reafonable before 
 this folemn profeffion, than that a man 
 examine himfelf, whether it be true ; whe- 
 ther he really nnd unfeignedly refolves to 
 accept the conditions of falvation offered 
 to him, and to perform his part of the co- 
 venant which he comes to ratify ; or, whe- ! 
 ther he is not about to mock God ; to 
 profeft a faith which he does hold, and 
 
 a purity 
 
( 17^ ) 
 
 a purity which he does not intend to 
 aim at. 
 
 The terms, upon which we are to hope 
 for any benefits from the merits of Chriil, 
 are faith, repentance, and fubfequent obe^ 
 dience. Thefe are therefore the three chief 
 and general heads of examination. We 
 cannot receive the facrament, unlefs we be- 
 lieve in Chrift, becaufe by receiving it we 
 declare our belief in him, and a lying 
 tongue is an abomination to the Lord. We 
 cannot receive it without repentance, be- 
 caufe repentance is the means by which, 
 after fin, we are reconciled to God ; and 
 we cannot, without dreadful wickednels, 
 hy partaking of the outward tokens of re- 
 conciliation, declare that we believe God 
 at peace with our fouls, when we know, 
 that by the omilTion of repentance we are 
 yet in a il:ate of voluntary alienation from 
 him. We cannot receive it, without a iin^ 
 cere intention of obedience ; becaufe, by 
 declaring ourfelves his followers, we enter 
 
 'into obligations to obey his command- 
 ments. We are therefore not traniiently 
 and carelefsiy, but frequently and ferioufly 
 
 'to afk ourfelves, whether we firmly believe 
 the promifes of our Saviour , whether we 
 
 repent 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 repent of our iuis, and refolve, for the fu- 
 ture, to avoid all thofe things which God 
 has forbidden, and pra6life all thofe which 
 he has commanded. And when any man 
 is convinced, that he has formed real refo- 
 lutions of a new life, let him pray for 
 ftrength and eonftancy to perfevere in 
 them, and then let him come joyfully to 
 the holy table, in fure confidence of par- 
 don, reconciliation, and life everlalling. 
 
 Which that we may all obtain, God of 
 his infinite mercy grant, for the merits of 
 Jefus Chrift, our Saviour; to whom with 
 the Father and the Holy Spirit, three Per- 
 fons and one God, be afcribed all honour, 
 adoration, and praife, now and for ever ! 
 Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON 
 
 Galatians, Chap. vi. Verfe 7. 
 
 Be 72oi deceived^ God is not mocked ; for 
 wJiaffoez'er a man Jbweth^ that JJiall he 
 reap» 
 
 vJnE of the mighty bleffings, beftowed 
 upon us by the Chriftian Revolution, is, 
 that we have now a certain knowledge of 
 a future ftate, and of the rewards and 
 punifhments that await us after death, and 
 will be adjufted according to our condu6l 
 in this world. We on whom the light of 
 the Gofpel fhines, walk no longer in dark- 
 nefs, doubtful of the benefit of good^ or the 
 danger of had a61ions; we know, that we 
 live and a6l under the eye of our Father 
 and our Judge, by whom nothing is over- 
 looked or forgotten, and who, though \o 
 
 try 
 
( 17^ ) 
 
 try our obedience he fuffers, in the prefent 
 fiate of things, the fame events to happen 
 to the good and to the evil, will at 
 laft certainly difiinguifh them, by allot- 
 ting them different conditions beyond the 
 grave ; when it will appear, in the fight 
 of men and of angels, how amiable is godli- 
 nefs, and how odious is fin, by the final 
 fentence, which fhall bring upon man the 
 confequences of his own a6tions, fo as that 
 nvhaifoeuer a man Jliall fow^ that Jhall he 
 
 reap. 
 
 The ancient Heathens, with whofe noti- 
 ons we are acquainted, how far foever they 
 mio-ht have carried their fpeculations of 
 moral or civil v/ifdom, had no conception 
 of a future flate, except idle fidlions, which 
 thofe who Gonfidered them treated as ridi- 
 culous ; or dark conjectures, formed by 
 men of deep thoughts and great enquiry, 
 but neither, in themfelves, capable of com- 
 pelling convi6fion, nor brought at all to 
 the knowledge of the grofs of m.ankind, of 
 thofe who lived in pleafure and idlenefs, 
 or in folitude and labour ; they were con- 
 fined to the clofet of the ftudent, or the 
 fchool of the lefturer, and were very little 
 diffufed among the bufy or the vulgar. 
 
 There 
 
( 177 ) 
 
 There is no reafon to wonder, that many 
 enormities fhould prevail, where there was 
 nothing to oppofe them. A'^'hen we conli- 
 der the various and perpetual temptations 
 ot appetite within, and intereft without ; 
 when we fee, that on every fide there is. 
 fomething that folicits the dciires, and 
 which cannot be innocently obtained ; 
 v/hat can we then expecl, but that, not- 
 withftanding all the fecurities of law, and 
 all the vigilance of magiflrates, thofe that 
 know of no other world will eagerly make 
 the mofi of this, and pleafe themfelves 
 whenever they can, with very little regard 
 to the right of others ? 
 
 As the ftate of the Heathens was a ftate 
 of darknefs, it mufl have been a ilate, like- 
 wife, of diforder ; a ftate of perpetual con- 
 teft for the goods of this life, and by conie- 
 quence of perpetual danger to thofe who 
 abounded^ and of temptation to thofe that 
 were in ^jjant. 
 
 The Jews enjoyed a very ample commu- 
 nication of the Divine will, and had a reli- 
 gion which an infpired I.cgiflator had pre- 
 fcribed. But even to this nation, the only 
 nation free from idolatry, and acquainted 
 with the perfe6tions of the Irue God, was 
 N the 
 
( I7S ) 
 
 the do61nne of a future fiate fo obfcurely 
 revealed, that it was not neccjfanly confe- 
 quential to the reception, or obfervation, of 
 their practical religion, l^he Sadducees, 
 who achtQivkdged the authority of the Mo- 
 faical law, yet denied the feparate exiftence 
 of the Ibul, had no expe6lation of a future 
 ftate. They held that there was no refur- 
 re^iion, neither Angel nor Spirit. 
 
 This was not in thofe times the general 
 ftate of the Jewifh nation ; the Pharifees 
 held the refurre6lion, and with them pro- 
 ba]>ly far the greater part of the people ; 
 but that any man could be a Jew, and yet 
 deny a future ftate, is a fufficient proof that 
 it had not yet been clearly revealed^ and that 
 it was referved for the Preachers of Chrif- 
 tianity to bring life and immortality to 
 light. In fuch a degree of light they are 
 now placed, that they can be denied or 
 doubted no longer, but as the Gojpel^ that 
 Hiews them, is doubted or denied. It is 
 now certain that we are here^ not in our 
 ioial^ nor in our idiimaie exijience^ but in a 
 ftate of exercife and probation, command- 
 ed to qualify ourfelvcs, by pure hearts and 
 virtuous actions, for the enjoyment of fu- 
 ture felicity in the prefence of God ; and 
 
 prohibited 
 
( 179 ) 
 
 prohibited to break the laws which his 
 wifdom has given us, under the penal 
 fan6lioa of banifhment from heaven into re ■ 
 gions of mifery. 
 
 Yet notwithftanding the exprefs declara- 
 tion of our Saviour, and the conftant re- 
 ference of our actions and duties to a fu- 
 ture ftate, throughout the whole volume of 
 the New Teftament ; there are yet, as in 
 the Apoilles time, men who are deceived, 
 who a6l as if they thought God would be 
 mocked or deluded, and who appear to 
 forget, that whatfoever a manfows^ that Jkall 
 he reap. 
 
 From this important caution, given by 
 the Apoftle immediately to thofe whom he 
 was then dire6ling, and confcquently to 
 all profelfors of the religion of Chrift, oc- 
 caiion may be taken to confider, 
 
 Firl\, How iinners are deceived. 
 
 Secondly, How certain it is, that God is 
 not mocked. 
 
 Thirdly, In what fenfc it is to be under- 
 flood, that whatfoever a man fows, that 
 fhall he reap. 
 
 In examining, firft, how finners are de- 
 ceived, it will immediately occur to us that 
 no man is deceived to his damnation, but 
 N 5 by 
 
( i8o ) 
 
 hy the devil himfelf. The fubtilties of the 
 devil are undoubtedly many ; he has pro- 
 bably the power ol' presenting opportuni- 
 ties of fin, and at the fame time of inflam- 
 ing the pafiions, of fuggefling evil denres, 
 and interrupting holy meditations; but his 
 power is fo limited by the Governor of 
 the Univerfe, that be cannot hurt us with- 
 out our own confent; his power is but like 
 that of a wicked companion, who may fo- 
 licit us to crimes or follies, but with whom 
 we feel no neceffity of complying ; he 
 therefore that yields to temptation, has the 
 greater part in his own deftru6lion ; he has 
 been warned of his danger, he has been 
 taught his duty i and, if thefe warnings and 
 inftruclions have had no efiecl, he may be 
 faid voluntarily to defert the right w^ay, 
 and not fo much to be deceived by ano-' 
 ther, as to deceive himfelf 
 
 Of felf-deceit, in the great buiinefs of our 
 lives, there are various modes. The far 
 greater part of mankind deceive themfelves 
 by willing negligence, by refuling to think 
 on their real ftate, ie{\ fuch thoughts 
 fhould trouble their quiet, or interrupt 
 their purfuits. To live religiouily, is to 
 v/alk, not by fight, but by faith ; to act in 
 
 confidence 
 
( i8i ) , , 
 
 confidence of things unfeen, in hope of 
 future recompenfe, and in fear of future 
 punifhment. To abftracl: the thoughts from 
 things fpiritual is not difficult ; things fu- 
 ture do not obtrude themfelves upon the 
 fenfes, and therefore eafily give way to ex- 
 ternal obje6ls. He that is willing to forget 
 Religion, may quickly lofe it ; and that 
 moft men are willing to forget it, experi- 
 ence informs us. If we look into the gay, 
 or the bufy world, we fee every eye di- 
 re6^ed towards pleafure or advantage, and 
 every hour filled with expe6lation or occu- 
 pied by employment, and day pafTed after 
 day in the enjoyment of fuccefs, or the 
 vexation of difappointment. 
 
 Nor is it true only of men, who are en- 
 gaged in enterprizes of hazard, which re- 
 train the faculties to the utmo ft, and keep 
 attention always upon the liretch. Religi- 
 on is not only neglected by the projector 
 and adventurer, by men who fufpend their 
 happinefs on the flcndcr thread of artifice, 
 or rtand tottering upon the point of chance. 
 For if we viiit the moft cool and regular 
 parts of the community, if wc turn our eye 
 to the farm, or to the fhop, where one 
 year glid-es uniformly after another, and 
 
 nothins: 
 
( iSa ) 
 
 nothing new or important is either expell- 
 ed or dreaded ; yet ftill the fame indiffer- 
 ence about eternity will be found. There 
 is no intereft fo fmall, nor engagement fo 
 flight, but that, if it be followed and ex- 
 panded, it may be fufficient to keep religi- 
 on out of the thoughts. Many men may 
 be obferved, not agitated by very violent 
 paffions, nor overborne by any powerful ha- 
 bits, nor depraved by any great degrees of 
 wickednefs ; men who are honeft dealers, 
 faithful friends, and inoffenlive neighbours, 
 who yet have no vital principle of Religi- 
 on ; who live wholly without felf-exami- 
 nation j and indulge any delire that hap- 
 pens to arife, with very little refiffance, 
 or compun6lion ; who hardly know what 
 it is to combat a temptation, or to repent 
 of a fault ; but go on, neither felf-approv- 
 ed, nor felf-condemned ; not endeavour- 
 ing after any excellence, nor reforming 
 any vicious pra6fice, or irregular deiire. 
 They have no care of futurity, neither is 
 God in all their thoughts ; they dire6l 
 none of their adlions to his glory, they 
 do nothing with the hope of pleafing, 
 they avoid nothing for the fear of offending 
 him. Thofe men want not much of being 
 
 religious. 
 
( iS3 ) 
 
 religious, they have nothing more than 
 cafual views to reform, and, from being 
 peaceable and temperate Heathens, might, 
 if they would once awaken to their eter- 
 nal interefb, become pious and exemplary 
 Chriftians. But let them not be deceived, 
 they cannot fuppofe that God will accept 
 him, v;ho never wilhed to be accepted 
 by him, or made his will the rule of 
 a6^ion. 
 
 Others there are, who, without attend- 
 ing to the written revelation of God's will, 
 form to themfelves a fcheme of conduil, in 
 which vice is mingled with virtue, and 
 who cover from themfelves, and hope to 
 cover from God, the indulgence of fbme 
 criminal deiire, or the continuance of fome 
 vicious habit, by a few fplendid inftances 
 of public fpirit, or fome few effulions of 
 occalional bounty. But to thefe men it 
 may, with emphatical propriety, be urged, 
 that God is not mocked ; he wmII not be 
 worfhipped nor obeyed, but according to 
 his owm laws. 
 
 The mode of felf-deception which pre- 
 vails moft in the world, and by which the 
 greateiT number of fouls is at Icaft betray- 
 ed to deflru6tion, is the art, which v^ e are 
 all too apt to pradlife, of putting far from 
 
 \ig 
 
( 184 ) . 
 
 US the evil day, of fetting the hour of 
 death, and the day. of account, at a great 
 dill a nee. 
 
 Thnt death is certahi, every one knows : 
 nor is it lefs known, that life is deftroyed 
 at all ages by a thoufand caufcs ; that the 
 ftrong and the vigorous are liable to dif- 
 cafes, and that caution and temperance 
 afford no fecurity againit the final ftroke. 
 Yet as tlic tliought of diii<)lution is dread- 
 ful, we do not willingly admit it ; the de- 
 fire of life is connected with animation ; 
 every living being fhrinks from his de- 
 ftru6^ion ; to wiih, and to hope, are never, 
 far afunder ; as we v.dfli for long life, we 
 hope that our wifhes will be granted, and 
 what wc hope we either believe, or do not 
 examine. So tenacioufly does our creduli- 
 ty lay hold of liio, that it is rare to find any 
 man fo old, as not to expe6l an addition to 
 his years, or fo far wafted and enfeebled 
 with difeafe, as not to flatter hiniieliwith 
 h o pes of r-eco\'ery . 
 
 To thofe, who procraftinate amendment, 
 in hopes of better opportunities in futiire 
 time, it is too often vainly urged by the 
 preacher, and vainly fi.iggeited by a thoii- 
 iiand e.tamplei, tliat the hour of death is 
 
 uncertain. 
 
( i85 ) 
 
 uncertain. This, which ought to be the 
 caufe of their terror, is the ground of their 
 hope ; that as death is uncertain, it may 
 be diftant. This uncertainty is, in efFe6V, 
 the great fupport of the whole iyftem of 
 life. The man who died yefterday had 
 purchafed an eflate, to which he intended 
 fome time to retire ; or built a houfe, 
 which he was hereafter to inhabit ; and 
 planted gardens and groves, that, in a cer* 
 tain number of years, were to fupply deli- 
 cacies to his feafts, and fhades to his medi- 
 tations. He is fnatched a.wa.y, and has left 
 his defigns and his labours to others. 
 
 As men pleafe themfeh^es with felicities 
 to be enjoyed in the days of leifure and re- 
 treat; fo among thefe felicities, it is not 
 uncommon to deiign a reformation of life, 
 and a courfe of piety. Among the more 
 enlightened and judicious part of mankind', 
 there are many who live in a continual 
 difapprobation of their own condu6i, who 
 knov/ that they do every day what they 
 ought to leave undone, and every day leave 
 undone what they ought to do ; and who 
 therefore conlider themfelvcs as living un- 
 der the divine difplcafure, hi a nate in 
 which it would be very dangerous to die. 
 
 Such 
 
( iS6 ) 
 
 Such men anfwer the reproaches of con- 
 fcience with promifes of amendment, pro* 
 mifes made with lincerity and intention of 
 performance, but which they confider as 
 debts to be difcharged at fome remote 
 time. They neither lin with ftupid negli 
 gence, nor with impious defiance, of the 
 divine laws ; they fear the punifhments 
 denounced againft fin, but pacify their 
 anxiety with poffibilities of repentance, 
 and with a plan of life to be led according 
 to the ftrid precepts of Rehgion, and to be 
 clofed at laft by a death foftened by holy 
 confolations. Proje61s of fliture piety are 
 perhaps not lefs common than of future 
 pleafure, and are, as there is reafon to fear, 
 not lefs commonly interrupted ; with this 
 dreadful diflerence, that he who milTes his 
 intended pleafure, efcapes a difappoint- 
 ment, but he who is cut off before the fea- 
 fon of repentance, is expo fed to the ven- 
 geance of an angry God. 
 
 Whoever has been deluded by this infa- 
 tuation, and has hitherto negledfed thofe 
 duties which he intends fome time to per- 
 form, is admonifhed, by all the principles' 
 of prudence, and all the courfe of nature, 
 to confider how much he ventures, and 
 1 ^ with 
 
( iSy ) 
 
 with how little probability in his favour. 
 The continuance of life, though, like all 
 other things, adjufled by Providence, may 
 be properly confidcred by us cafual ; and 
 wifdom always dire61s us, not to leave that 
 to chance which may be made certain, and 
 not to venture any thing upon chance 
 which it will much hurt us to lofe. 
 
 He who, accufed by his confcience of ha- 
 bitual difobedience, defers his reformation, 
 apparently leaves his foul in the power of 
 chance. We are in full pofTeflion of the 
 prefent moment; let the prejeni moment 
 be improved ; let that, which muft neceiTa- 
 rily be done fome time, be no longer ne- 
 gle61ed. Let us remember, that if our lot 
 fhould fall otherwife than we fuppofe ; if 
 we are of the number of them, to whom 
 length of life is not granted ; we lofe, what 
 can never be recovered, and what will ne- 
 ver be recompenfed, the mercy of God, and 
 the joys of futurity. 
 
 That long life is not commonly granted, 
 is fufHcienty apparent ; for life is called 
 long, not as being, at its greateft length, of 
 much duration, but as being longer than 
 common. Since therefore the com.mon 
 condition of man is not to live long, we 
 
 have 
 
( i88 ) 
 
 have no reafoii to conclude, that what hap- 
 pens to few will happen to us. 
 
 But to abate our confidence in our own 
 refolutions, it is to be remembered, that 
 though we fhould arrive at the great year 
 deflined for the change of life, it is by no 
 means certain, that we fhall etfe6l what we 
 have purpofed. Age is fnackled with in- 
 firmity and difeafes. Immediate pain and 
 prefent vexation will then do what amufe- 
 ment and gaity did before, will enchain 
 the attention, and occupy the thoughts, and 
 leave little vacancy for the paft or future. 
 Whoever fuffers great pain has no other 
 care than to obtain eafe ; and, if eafe is for 
 a time obtained, he values it too much, to 
 lefTen it by painful refie61ions. 
 
 Neither is an efiBcacious repentance fb 
 cafy a work, as that we may be fure of 
 performing it at the time appointed by our- 
 felves. The longer habits have been in- 
 cfulged, the. more imperious they become; 
 it is not by bidding them to be gone, that 
 we can at once difmifs them ; they may be 
 fupprefTed and lie dormant for a time, and 
 refume their force at an unexpected mo- 
 ment, by fome fudden temptation ; they 
 
 can 
 
( i89 ) 
 
 can be fubdued only by continued caution 
 and repeated confli6ls. 
 
 The longer iin has been indulged, the 
 more irkfome will be the retrofpe6l of 
 life. So much uneadnefs will be faffered, 
 at the review of years fpent in vicious en- 
 joyment, that there is reafon to fear, left 
 that delay, which began in the love of 
 pleafure, will be continued for fear of 
 pain. 
 
 Neither is it certain, that the grace, 
 without which no man can corre6\ his own 
 corruption, when it has been offered and 
 refufed, will be offered again ; or that he 
 who flopped his ears againft the firft call, 
 will be vouch fafed a fecond. He cannot 
 expe6l to be received among the fervants 
 of God, who will obey him only at his own 
 time;' for fuch prefumption is, in fome de- 
 gree, a mockery of God, and we are to 
 confider, fecondly, how certain it is, that 
 God is not mocked. 
 
 God is not mocked in any fenfe. He 
 will not be mocked with counterfeit piety, 
 he will not be mocked with idle refblu- 
 tions ; but the fenfe in which the text de- 
 clares, that God is not mocked, feems to 
 be, that God will not fuffer his decrees to 
 
 be 
 
( 190 ) 
 
 be invalidated ; he will not leave his pro- 
 mifes unfulfilled ; nor his threats unexe- 
 cuted. And this will eafily appear, if we 
 conlider, that promifes and threats can on- 
 ly become ineffe6^ual by change of mind, 
 or want of power. God cannot change his 
 will, he is not a man that he Jliould repent \ 
 what he has fpoken will furely come to 
 pais. Neither can he want power to ex- 
 ecute his purpofes ; he who fpoke, and the 
 world was made, can fpeak again, and it will 
 perifh. God's arm is not Jliortened^ that he 
 caJinot faz'e 'y neither is it fhortened, that he 
 cannot punifh ; and that he will do to eve- 
 ry man according to his works will be 
 fhown, when we have coniidered. 
 
 Thirdly, in what fenfe it is to be under- 
 ftood, that whatfoever a man fows, that 
 ihall he reap. 
 
 To fow and to reap are figurative terms. 
 To fow fignifies to a6f ; and to reap, is to 
 receive the produ6t of our a6lions. As no 
 man can fow one fort of grain, and reap 
 another, in the ordinary procefs of nature ; 
 as no man gathers grapes of thorns or figs 
 of thiftles, or, when he fcatters tares in the 
 furrows, gathers wheat into his garners ; 
 fo, in the tiual difpenfations of Providence, 
 
 the 
 
( 191 ) 
 
 the fame correfpondence fhall be found in 
 the moral fyftem ; every a6tion fhall at laft 
 be followed by its due confequences ; we 
 fhall be treated according to cur obe- 
 dience or tranfgreirions ; the good fhall 
 not mils their reward, nor the wicked ef- 
 cape their punifhment ; but, when men 
 fhall give account of their own works, 
 they that have done good fhall pais into 
 everlafting life, and they that have done 
 evil into everlafting fire. 
 
 Let us therefore at this, and at all times, 
 mofl heartily and fervently befeech Al- 
 mighty God to give us faithful and fincere 
 repentance, to pardon and forgive us all 
 our iins, to endue us with the grace of his 
 Holy Spirit, and to amend our lives ac- 
 cording to his holy will and command- 
 ments. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XL 
 
 I Peter, Chap. iii. Ver. 8. 
 
 finally he ye all of one mind^ having compaJJIori 
 one of another^ love as brethren^ be faithful^ 
 be courteous. 
 
 T 
 
 HE Apoftle, dire6ting this Epiftle to 
 the new converts, fcattered over the pro- 
 vinces of Afia, having laid before them the 
 great advantage of the Religion which they 
 had embraced, no lefs than the falvation of 
 their fouls, and the high price for which 
 they were redeemed, the precious Blood of 
 Chrift, proceeds to explain to them what is 
 required bv their new profeilion. He re- 
 minds them, that they live among the 
 Heathen, of whom it mull necellarily be 
 fuppofedj that every one watched their 
 
 O condu6l 
 
( 194 ) 
 
 condu6l with fufpicious vigilance ; and 
 that it is their duty to recommend right Be^ 
 lief by -virtuous Vra6lice ; that their example^ 
 as well as their arguments^ may propagate 
 the truth. 
 
 In this courfe of inftru6lion5 the firft 
 
 mentions the civil relation of governors 
 
 and fubje6ls ; and enjoins them to honour 
 
 the fupreme Magiftrate, and to refpe6l all 
 
 fubordinate authority, which ijf eftablifhed 
 
 for the prefervation of order, and the ad- 
 
 miniftration of juftice. He then defcends 
 
 to domeiiic conne6lions, and recommends 
 
 to fervants obedience and patience, and to 
 
 hufbands and wives their relative and re- 
 
 fpe6live duties ; to hulbands tendernels, 
 
 and to v7ive?s obedience, modefty aiid gen- 
 
 tlenefs ; that the huiband, who is not yet 
 
 converted by the power of exortation, may 
 
 be drawn to the religion of his wife, by 
 
 perceiving its good effedls upon her conver--' 
 
 fation and behaviotir 
 
 He then extends his precepts to greater 
 generality, and lays down a fhort ly-flera 
 of domefiic virtue to be univerfally adopt- 
 ed, direcliag the new Chriliians, 
 
 I'irft, to he all of qv^q mind. 
 
 Bv 
 
( 195 ) 
 
 By the union of minds which the Apt) file 
 recommends, it mull be fuppofed that he 
 means not fpeculative, but praftical union ; 
 not fimilitude of opinions, but limilitude 
 of virtues. In religious opinions, if there 
 was then any difagreement, they had then 
 living authority, to which they might have 
 recourfe : and their bulinefs was probably^ 
 at that time, more to defend their common 
 faith agaiuft the Heathen, than to debate 
 any fubtilties of opinion among them- 
 felves. But there are innumerable quefti- 
 ons, in which vanity or intereft engages 
 n>ankind, which have little connection 
 with their eternal intereft ; and yet often 
 inflame the paffions and produce diflike 
 and malevolence. Se6ts in philofophy, and 
 faftions in the ftate, eafily excite mutual 
 contempt, or mutual hatred. He whofe 
 opinions are cenfured, feels the reputation 
 of his underftanding injured ,- he, whofe 
 party is oppofed, finds his influence refifted 
 and perhaps his power, or his profit, in 
 danger of diminution. It could not be the 
 intention of St. Peter, that all men fhould 
 think alike, either of the operations of na- 
 ture, or the tranfa6lions of the ftate, but 
 that thofe who thought differently, fhould, 
 O % live 
 
( 195 ) 
 
 live in peace ; that contradiftion fhould 
 not exafperate the difputants, or that the 
 heat fhould end with the controverfy, and 
 that the oppolition of party (for fuch there 
 muft fonnetimes be) fhould not canker the' 
 private thoughts, or raife perfonal hatred 
 or infidious enmity. He required that they 
 fhould be all of one moral mind, that 
 they fhould all wifb and promote the hap^ 
 pinefs of each other, that the danger of a 
 ChriiVian fhould be a common caufe, and 
 that no one fhould wifh for advantage by 
 the mifcarriage of another. 
 
 To fuppofe that there fhould, in an^ 
 community, be no difference of opinion, is 
 to fuppofe al], of whom that community 
 coniifls, to be wife alike, which cannot 
 happen ; or that the underflanding of one 
 part is fubmitted to that of another, which 
 however would not produce uniformity of 
 opinion, but only of profeflion ; and is, in 
 important queflions, contrary to that iince- 
 rity and integrity, which truth requires ; 
 and an infradtion of that liberty, which rea- 
 fon aiiov7S. But that men, of different opi- 
 nions, fhould live at peace, is the true cf- 
 feSi of that humility, which makes eacli 
 cileem others better than himfelf, and of 
 
 that 
 
( 197 ) 
 
 that moderation, which reafon approves, 
 and charity comnnands. Be ye therefore 
 all of one mind ; let charity be the predo- 
 minant and univerfal principle that per= 
 vades your lives, and regulates your aai~ 
 
 ons. - 
 
 Secondly, they are direited by the Apof- 
 tie, to live as men, which have compaffion 
 one of another. 
 
 The word which is rendered having 
 compaffion^ feems to include a greater lati- 
 tude of fignification than the word com- 
 paffion commonly obtains. Compaffion 
 is not ufed, but in the fenfe of tender re- 
 gard to the unhappinefs of another. But 
 the term ufed by St. peter may mean mu-. 
 tually feeling for each other, receiving the 
 fame impreffions from the fame things, 
 and this fenfe feems to be given it by one 
 of the Tranllators f Caftalio.) The precept 
 will then be conne6ted and confequential, 
 JS^ all of one mind, each feeling, hy fympaihy, 
 ihe affe^ions of another. 
 
 Sympathy, the quality recommended in 
 the text, as it has been now eicplained, is 
 the great fource of focial happinefs. To 
 gain affe6lion, and to preferve concord, it 
 is neceffary not only to mourn with thofe 
 
 that 
 
( 198 ) 
 
 that mourn, but to rejoice with them that 
 rejoice. 
 
 To feel lincere and honeft joy at thefuc- 
 cefs of another, though it is necefTary to 
 true friendlhip, is perhaps neither very 
 common, nor very eafy. There is in every 
 mind, implanted by nature, a defire of fu- 
 periority, which counter a61s the pleafure, 
 w^hich the light of fuccefs and happinels 
 ought always to impart. Between men of 
 equal condition, and therefore willingly 
 cdnfulting with each other, any flow of 
 fortune, which produces inequality, makes 
 him who is left behind, look with lefs 
 content on his own condition, and with lefs 
 kindnefs on him who has reduced him to 
 inferiority. The advancement of a fupe- 
 rior gives pain by increafing that diftance, 
 by difference of llation, which was thought 
 already greater than could be claimed by 
 anv difference ; and tlie rife of an inferior 
 excites jealoufy, left he that went before 
 fhould be overtaken by his follower. As 
 cruelty looks upon mifery without partak- 
 ing pain, fo envy beholds increafe of hap- 
 pinefs without partaking joy. 
 
 Envy and cruelty, the moft hateful paf- 
 lions ot the human breaft, are both counter- 
 
 a61ec^ 
 
( 199 ) 
 
 aiSled by this precept, which commanded 
 the Chriftians of Afia, and now commands 
 us, who fucceed them in the profeflion of 
 the fame faith, and the confcioufnefs of the 
 fame frailties, to feel one for anoUier. He 
 whofe mind is fo harmonized to the interefl 
 of 'his neighbour, that good and evils is 
 common to them both, will neither ob» 
 f^ru6l his rife, nor infult his fall ; but will 
 be willing to co-operate with him through 
 all the vicifTitudes of life, and difpenfations 
 of Providence, to honour Iiim that is ex- 
 alted, to help him that is deprelfed. He 
 will controul all thofe emotions which 
 comparifon produces ; he will not confider 
 himfelf as made poorer by another's 
 wealth, or richer by another's poverty ; he 
 will look, without malignity, upon fuperi- 
 ority, either external or intelledlual ; he 
 will be willing to learn of thofe that excel 
 in wifdom, and receive inffru(3ijoh Vvith 
 thankfulnefs • he will be willing .to impart 
 his knowledge, without fearing left he 
 fhould impair his own importance, by the 
 improvement of his hearer. 
 
 How much this generous fympathy 
 would conduce to the comfort and ftabiUty 
 of life, a little conlideration will convince 
 
 us. 
 
( iiOO ) 
 
 us. Whence are all the arts of flander and 
 depreciation, but from our unwillingnefs 
 to fee others greater, or wifer, or happier, 
 than ourfelves ? Whence is a great part of 
 the fplendor, and all the oftentation of 
 high rank, but to receive pleafure from the 
 contemplation of thofe who cannot attain 
 dignity and riches, or to give pain to them 
 v\rho look with malignity on thofe acquifi.- 
 tions which they have delired in vain? 
 Whence is the pain which vanity fuffers 
 from neglect, but that it exa6ted painful 
 homage, and honour which is received with 
 more delight, as it is more unwillingly 
 conferred ? The pleafures ol comparative 
 excellence, have commonly their fource in 
 the pain of others^ and therefore are fuch 
 pleafures as the Apoftle warns the Chrifti^ 
 ans not to indulge. 
 
 Thirdly, In purfuance of his injun61ions 
 to be of one mind, and to fympathife one 
 with another, he dire61s them, to love as 
 brethren, or to be lovers of the brethren. 
 (Hammond.) He endeavours to eftablift^i 
 a fpecies of fraternity among Chriftians ; 
 that, as they have all one faith, they may 
 have all one intereft, and confider them- 
 felves as a family that muft profper, or 
 
 fuffer. 
 
^ 201 ) 
 
 juiffer, all together, and fliare whatever 
 fhall befall, either of good or evil. The 
 higheft degree of friendHiip is called bro- 
 therly love ; and the term by which man is 
 endeared to man, in the language of the 
 Gofpel, is the appellation of brother. We 
 are all brethren by our commoi;i relation to 
 the univerfal Father ; but that relation is 
 often forgotten amongft the contrariety of 
 opinions^ and oppofition of paflions, which 
 difturb the peace of the world. Ambition 
 has effaced all natural confanguinity, by 
 calling nation to war againft nation, and 
 making the deftrucStion of one half of man- 
 kind the glory of the other. Chrifiian 
 piety, as it revived and enforced all the 
 original and primseval duties of humanity, 
 fb it rettored, in fome degree, that bro- 
 therhood, or foundation oi kindnefs, v/hich 
 naturally arifes from fome common relati- 
 on. We are brothers as we are men, we 
 are again brothers as we are Chriftians ; 
 as men, we are brothers by natural necef- 
 fity ; but as Chriffians, we are brothers by 
 voluntary choice, and are therefore under 
 an apparent obligation to fulfil the relati- 
 on ; firff, as it is eftablillied by our Crea- 
 tor, and, afterwards as it is chofen by our- 
 
 felves. 
 
( 20^ ) 
 
 ffelves. To have the fame opinions natU'? 
 rally produces kindnefs, even v/hen thefe 
 opinions have no confequence ; becaufe we 
 rejoice to find our fentiments approved by 
 the judgment of another. But thofe who 
 concur inChriilianity, have, by that a2;ree- 
 ment in principles, an opportunity of more 
 than fpeculative kindnefs; they may help 
 forward the falvation of each other, by 
 counfel or by reproof, by exortation, by 
 example ; they may recall each other 
 from deviations, they may excite each 
 other to good v/orks. 
 
 Charity, or univerfal love, is named by 
 Saint Paul, as the greateft and moft illuf- 
 trious of Chriftian virtues ; and our Saviour 
 himfelf has told us, that by this it {hall be 
 known that we are his difciples, if we love 
 one another. Every alfe^^ion of the foul 
 exerts itfelf moft ftrohgly at the approach 
 of its proper obje61. Chriftians particularly 
 love one another, becaufe they can confer 
 and receive fpiritual benefits. They are 
 indeed to love all men ; and how much the 
 primitive Preachers of the Gofpel loved 
 thofe that diftered from them, they fuffici- 
 ently fhewed, when they incurred death 
 by their endeavours to make them Chrif;u- 
 
 ans. 
 
( 203 ) 
 
 ans. This is the extent of evangelical lovd, 
 to bring into the light of truth thofe who 
 are in darknefs, and to keep thofe from 
 falling back into darknefs to whom the 
 light has been fhewn. 
 
 Since life overflows with miferv, and tlie 
 world is filled Vvdth evil, natural anfl mo- 
 I'al, with temptation and danger, with ca» 
 1-amity and wickedneis, there are very fre- 
 quent opportunities of fhewing our unani- 
 mity, our fvmpathy, and our brotherly 
 love, by attempts to remove prefTures, and 
 mitigate misibrtunes. St. Peter, therefore, 
 particularly prelfe? the duty of commifera- 
 tion, by calhng upon us, 
 
 Fourthly, to be pitiful, not to look ne- 
 gligently or fcornfully on the miferies of 
 others, but to apply fuch confolation and 
 alTiftance as Providence puts into our 
 pow.cr. 
 
 To attempt an enumeration of all the 
 opportunities which may occur for the ex- 
 ercife of pity, would be to form a cata- 
 logue of all the ills to which human nature 
 is expofed, to count over all the polfibili- 
 ties of calamity, and recount the depreda- 
 tions of time, the pains of difeafe, the blafts 
 
 of 
 
( 3^4 ) 
 
 of cafualty, and the mlfchiefs of maIevo» 
 lence. 
 
 Wherever the eye is turned, it fees much 
 raifery, and there is much which it fees 
 not ; many complaints are heard, and 
 there are many pangs v^ithout complaint. 
 The external acls of mercy, to feed the 
 hungry, to cloathe the naked, and to vifit 
 the lick, and the prifoners, we fee daily op- 
 portunities of performing ; and it may be 
 hoped, they are not negle6ted by thofe that 
 abound with what others want. 
 
 But there are other calls upon charityo 
 There are lick minds as well as lick bo- 
 dies ; there arc underftandings perplexed 
 \A7ith fcruples, there are confciences tor- 
 mented with guilt; nor can any greater 
 benefit be conferred, than that of fettling 
 doubts, or comforting defpair, and reftor^ 
 ing a difquieted foul to hope and tranquil- 
 lity. 
 
 The duty of commiferation is fo ftrong- 
 ly prelTed by the Gofpel, that none deny 
 its obligation. But as the meafures of be- 
 neficence are left undefined, every man 
 neceiTarily determines for himfelf, whether 
 he has contributed his fhare to the necefli- 
 ties of others ; and amidft the general de- 
 pravity 
 
( ^05 ) 
 
 gravity of the world, it can be no wondei' 
 if there are found fome who tax themfelv^s 
 very liglitly, and are fatisfied with giving 
 very little. 
 
 Some readily find out, that where there 
 is diftrefs there is vice, and eafily difcover 
 the crime of feeding the lazy, or encou- 
 raging the difTolute. To promote vice i? 
 certainly unlawftil, but we do not always 
 encourage vice when we relieve the vicious. 
 It is fufficient that our brother is in want ; 
 by which way he brought his want upoii 
 him let us not too curioufly enquire. "VVe 
 likewife are fmners. In cafes undoubted 
 arid notorious, fome caution may be pro-> 
 perly ufed, that charity be not perverted ; 
 but no man is fo bad as to lofe his title to 
 Chriftian kindncfs. If a bad man be fuf- 
 fcred to perifh, how fhall he repent ? 
 
 Not more juftifiable is the omifTion of 
 duty, which proceeds from an expectation 
 of better opportunities, or more prelfing 
 exigencies. Of fuch excufes, or of fuclt 
 purpofes, there can be no end. Delay not 
 till to-morrov/, Vv'hat thou mayelt do to- 
 day ! A good v/ork is now ia thy power, 
 be quick and perform it ! By //}v refufal 
 others may };e difcouriged from afking ; or 
 
 fo 
 
( %o6 ) 
 
 lo near may be the end of thy life, that 
 thou mayeft never do what is in thy heart. 
 Every call to charity is a gift of God, to be 
 received with thankfulnefs, and improved 
 with diligence- 
 There are like wife many offices of kind- 
 nefs which cannot properly be clafled un- 
 der the duty of commiferition, as they do 
 not prefuppofe either mifery or neceffity, 
 and yet are of great ufe for conciliating af- 
 fection, and fmoothing the paths of life ; 
 and, as it is of great importance, that good- 
 nefs fbould have the power of gaining the 
 affections, the Apoftle has not negle6ted 
 thofe fubordinate duties, for he commands 
 Chrifiians, 
 
 Fifthly, to he courteous. 
 For courteous, fome fubftitute the word 
 humble, the difference may not be confi- 
 dered as great, for pride is a quality that 
 obftructs courtefy. 
 
 That a precept of courtefy is by no 
 means unworthy of the gravity and digni- 
 ty of an apo'Aolical mandate, may be ga- 
 thered from the pernicious effe6ts which 
 all mu{\ have obferved to have arifen from 
 harlli ftrictnefs and four virtue, fuch as 
 refufes to mingle in harmlefs gaiety, or 
 
 give 
 
( io7 ) 
 
 f^ive countenance to innocent amufem^nt^*^ 
 or which tranfa6ls the petty bulinels of the 
 clay with a gloomy ferocioufnefs that clouds 
 exiftence. Goodnefs of this charafter is 
 more formidable than lovely ; it may 
 drive away vice from its prefence, but will 
 never perfuade it to ftay to be amended ; 
 it may teach, it may remonftrate, but the 
 hearer will feek for more mild inftru6lion. 
 To thofe, therefore, by whofe converfation 
 the Heathens were to be drawn away from 
 error and wickednefs ; it is the Apoftle's 
 precept, that they be courteous, that they 
 accommodate themfelves, as far as inno- 
 cence allows, to the will of others ; that 
 they fhould pra61ife all the eftablifhed 
 modes of civility, feize all occafions of cul- 
 tivating kindnefs, and live with the reft of 
 the world in an amicable reciprocation of 
 curfory civility, thatChriftianity might not 
 be accufed of making men lefs cheerful as 
 companions, lefs fociable as neighbours, or 
 lefs ufeful as friends* 
 
 Such is the fyftem of domeftic virtue, 
 which the Apoftle recommends. His words 
 are few, but their meaning is fufficient to 
 fill the greater part of the circle of life. 
 Let us remember to he all of one mind, fo 
 
( ao8 ) 
 
 as to grieve, and rejoice together ; to con- 
 firm, by conftant benevolence, that brother- 
 hood which creation and redemption have 
 conftituted ! Let us commiferate and re- 
 lieve 2fiii6tion, and endear ourfelves by 
 general gentlenefs and affability ; it will 
 from hence foon appear how much good- 
 nefs is to be loved, and how much human 
 nature is meliorated by religion. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XII. 
 
 EccLESlASTES, Chap. i. Verfe 14. 
 
 / havefeen all the works thai are done wider 
 the Sttn ; a?2d be/iold, all is z'aniiy and 
 'vexation of Spirit, 
 
 HAT all human a6tions terminate in 
 vanity, and all human hopes will end in 
 vexation, is a pofition, from which nature 
 with-holds our credulity, and which our 
 fondnefs for the prefent life, and worldly 
 enjoyments, difpofes us to doubt ,• how- 
 ever forcibly it may be urged upon us by 
 reafon or experience. 
 
 Every man will readily enough confefs, 
 that his own condition difcontents him ; 
 and that he has not yet been able, with all 
 his labour, to make happinefs, or, with all 
 his enquiries, to find it. But he ftill thinks 
 P it 
 
( ^10 ) 
 
 it is fomewhere to be found, or by fome 
 means to be procured. His envy fonae- 
 times perfuades him to imagine, that others 
 poiFeis it ; and his ambition points the 
 way by which he fuppofes that he fhall 
 reach, at laft, the i^ation to which it ia an- 
 nexed. Every one wants lomething to 
 happinefs ; and when he has gained what 
 he firft wanted, he wants fbmething elfe ; 
 he wears out life in efforts and purfuits, 
 and perhaps dies, regretting that he muft 
 leave the world, when he is about to en- 
 joy it. 
 
 So great is our intereft, or fo great we 
 think it, to believe ourfelves able to pro- 
 cure our own happinefs, that experience 
 never convinces us of our impotence ; and 
 indeed our mifcarriages might be rea- 
 fonably enough imputed by us to our own 
 unfkilfuinefs, or ignorance, if we were able 
 to derive intelligence from no experieiice 
 but our 'own. But furely we rnay be con- 
 tent to credit the general voice of man- 
 kind, complaining inceiTantly of general 
 infelicity ; and when we fee the refllefs- 
 nefs of the young, and the peevifhnefs of 
 the old ; when we find the daring and the 
 a6live combating mifery, and the calm and 
 
 humble 
 
( ^ii ) 
 
 humble lamenting it ; when the vigorous 
 are exhaufting themfelves in ftruggles 
 with their own condition, and the old and 
 the wife retiring from the conteft in weari- 
 nefs and defpondency ; we may be content 
 at laft to conclude, that if happinefs had 
 been to be found, fome would have found 
 it, and that it is vain to fearch longer for 
 what all have mrlfed. 
 
 But though our obftinacy Ihould hold 
 out, againft common experience and com- 
 mon authority, it might at leait give way 
 to the declaration of Solomon, wno has 
 left this teftimony to fucceedins; ages ; 
 that all human purfuits and labours are va- 
 nity. From th^ like concluiion made by 
 other men, we may efcape ; by conGder- 
 ing, that their experience was fmall, and 
 their power narrow ; that they pronounced 
 with confidence upon that, which they 
 could not know ; and that m^ny pleafures 
 might be above their reach, and many 
 more beyond their obfervation ; they may 
 be confidered, as uttering the didlates of 
 difcontent, rather than perfuafion ; and as 
 fpeaking not fo much of the general Hate 
 of things, as of their own fhare, and their 
 
 own lituation. 
 
 P Q, But 
 
( %l^ ) 
 
 But the chara6ler of Solomon leaves no 
 room for fubterfuge ; he did not judge of 
 what he did not know. He had in his 
 poireflion whatever power and riches, and 
 what is ftill more, whatever wifdom and 
 knowledge, could confer. As he underftood 
 the vegetable creation, from the Cedar of 
 Libanus, to the HyfTop on the wall ; fo 
 there is no doubt, but he had taken a fur- 
 vey of all the gradations of human life, 
 from the throne of the prince, to the fhep- 
 herd's cottage. He had in his hand all the 
 inflruments of happinefs, and in his mind 
 the fkill to apply them. Every power of 
 delight which others polTelTed, he had au- 
 thority to fummon, or wealth to purchafe; 
 all that royal profperity could fupply, was 
 accumulated upon him j at home he had 
 peace, and in foreign countries he had ho- 
 nour ; what every nation could fupply, 
 was poured down before him. If power 
 be grateful, he was a King ; if there be 
 pleafure in knowledge, he was the wifel^ 
 of mankind ; if wealth can purchafe hap- 
 pinefs, he had fo much gold, that filver 
 was little regarded. Over all thefe ad- 
 vantages, prefided a mind, in the higheft 
 degree difpofed to magnificence and vo- 
 
 luptuoufnefsy 
 
( -^^3 ) 
 
 luptuoufnefs, fo eager in purfuit of gratifi- 
 .cation, that alas ! after every other price 
 had beed bid for happinefs, Religion and 
 virtue were brought to the fale. But after 
 the anxiety of his enquiries, the wearinefs 
 of his labours, and the lofs of his inno- 
 cence, he obtained only this conclufion : / 
 have feen all the works that are done under 
 the Sun ; and behold all is 'vanity and njexaiir 
 en of Spirit, 
 
 That this refult of Solomon's expe- 
 rience, thus folemnly bequeathed by him 
 to all generations, may not be tranfmitted 
 to us without its proper ufe ; let us dili- 
 gently conlider, 
 
 Firft, In what fenfe we are to under- 
 ftand, that all is vanity. 
 
 Secondly, How far the convi6lion, that 
 all is vanity, ought to influence the condudl 
 of life. 
 
 Thirdly, What confequences the ferious 
 and religious mind may deduce from the 
 poiition, that all is vanity. 
 
 When we examine, firft, in what fenfe 
 we are to underftand, that all is vanity ; 
 we mult remember, that the Preacher is 
 not fpeaking of religious pra61ices, or of 
 any a6tions immediately commanded by 
 
 God, 
 
( ^14 ) 
 
 God, or dire6lly referred to him ; but of 
 fuch employments as we purfue by choice, 
 and fiich works as we perform, in hopes of 
 a recompenfe in the prefent life; fach as 
 flatter the imagmation with pleaiing 
 fcenes, and probable increafe of temporal 
 felicity ; of this he determines that all is 
 vanity, and every hour confirms his deter- 
 mination. 
 
 The event of all human endeavours is 
 uncertain. He that plants, may gather no 
 fruit ; he that fows, may reap no harveft. 
 Even the moft fimple operations are liable 
 to mifcarriage, from caufes which we can- 
 not fore fee ; and, if we could forefee them, 
 cannot prevent. What can be more vain, 
 than the confidence of man, when the an- 
 nual provifion made for the fupport of life 
 is not only expofed to the uncertainty of 
 the weather, and the variation of the fky, 
 but lies at the mercy of the reptiles of the 
 earth, or the infe61s of the air ? The rain 
 and the wind he cannot command ; the 
 caterpillar he cannot deftroy ; and the 
 locuft he cannot drive away. 
 
 But thefe effe6ls, which require only the 
 concurrence of natural caufes, though they 
 depend little upon human power, are yet 
 
 made 
 
( '^15 ) 
 
 made by Frovidcnce regular and certain, 
 in comparifon with thofe extenlive and 
 complicated undertakings which mull be 
 brought to pafs by the agency of man, and 
 which require the union of many undei: 
 landings, and the co-operation of many, 
 hands. The hiftory of mankind is liitle 
 elfe than a narrative of defigns which have 
 failed, and hopes that have been difap- 
 pointed. In all matters of emulation and 
 conteft, the fuccefs of one implies the de- 
 feat of another, and at lcal\ half the tranf- 
 a6tion terminates in mifery. And in de- 
 figns not dire6riy contrary to tlie interefl 
 of another, and therefore not oppofed ei- 
 ther by artifice or violence, it frequently 
 happens, that by negligence or miftake, or 
 unfeafonable ofncioufnefs, a very hopeful 
 proje6f is brought to nothing. 
 
 To find examples of difappcintmcnt and 
 uncertainty, we need not raife our thoughts 
 to the intereifs of nations, nor follow the 
 warrior to the field, or the ftatefman to 
 the council. The little tranfadions of pri. 
 vate families are entangled with perplex! - 
 ties ; and the hourly occurrences of com- 
 mon life are filling the world with difcon- 
 tent and complaint. Every man hopes for 
 
 kindneis 
 
( ai6 ) 
 
 kindnefs from his friends, diligence from 
 his fervants, and obedience from his chil- 
 dren ; yet friends are often unfaithful, 
 fervants negligent, and children rebellious. 
 Human wifdom has, indeed exhaufted its 
 power, in giving rules for the condu6t of 
 life, but thofe rules are themfelves but va- 
 nities. They are difficult to be obferved, 
 and, though obfervcd, are uncertain in the 
 effea:. 
 
 The labours of man are not only uncer- 
 tain, but imperfe6t. If we perform what 
 we deligned, we yet do not obtain what we 
 expe6led. What appeared great when we 
 deiired it, feems little when it is attained ; 
 the wilh is ftill unfatisfied, and fomething 
 always remains behind, without which, the 
 gratification is incomplete. He that rifes 
 to greatnefs, finds himfelf in danger ; he 
 that obtains riches, perceives that he can- 
 not gain efteem. He that is careifed, fees 
 intereft lurking under kindnefs ; and he 
 that hears his own praifes, fufpe6ls that he 
 is flattered. Difcontent and doubt are al- 
 ways purfuing us. Our endeavours end 
 without performance, and performance 
 ends without fatisfadlion. 
 
 But, lince this uncertainty and imper- 
 
 3 fe6lion 
 
( 217 ) 
 
 ie6lion is the lot which our Creator has 
 appointed for us, we are to enquire, 
 
 Secondly, How far the convi6tion, that 
 all is vanity, ought to influence the condu6l 
 of life. 
 
 Human anions may be diftinguillied in- 
 to various clafles. Some are a'Slions of 
 duty, which can never be vain, becaufe 
 God will reward them. Yet thefe adiions, 
 conlidered as terminating in this world, 
 will often produce vexation. It is our du- 
 ty to admonifh the vicious, to inftru(5t the 
 ignorant, and relieve the poor ; and our 
 admonitions will, fometimes, produce an- 
 ger, inftead of amendment ; our inftru6li- 
 ons will be fometimes beftowed upon the 
 perverfe, the ftupid, and the inattentive ; 
 and our charity will be fometimes mifap- 
 plied by thofe that receive it, and, inftead 
 of feeding the hungry, will pamper the in- 
 temperate ; but thefe difappointments do 
 not make good a6lions vain, though they 
 ihow us how much all fuccefs depends 
 upon caufes, on which we have no influ- 
 ence. 
 
 There are likewife adlions of neceffity ; 
 thefe are often vain and vexatious ; but 
 llich is the order of the world, that they 
 
 cannot 
 
C -i^ ) 
 
 cannot be omitted. He that will eat bread 
 mufi: plow and fow ; though it is not cer- 
 tain, that he who plows and fows fhall eat 
 bread. It is appointed, that life fhould be 
 fuflained by labour ; and we mufi: not link 
 down in fullen idlenefs, when our induftry 
 is permitted to mifcarry. Vve fhall often 
 have occalion to remember the fentence, 
 denounced by the Preacher, upon all that 
 is done under the fun ; but we muli Rill 
 profecute our buiinefs, confefs our imbecil- 
 iity, and turn our eyes upon Him, whofe 
 mercy h over all his works, and who, 
 though he humbles our pride, will fuccour 
 pur .ieceilities. 
 
 Works of abfolute necefnty are few and 
 fimple ; a very great part of hum^an dili- 
 gence is laid out in accommodations of 
 eafe, or refinements of pleafure ; and the 
 further wc pafs beyond the boundaries of 
 neceffity, the more we lofe ourfelves in the 
 regions of vanity, and the more we expofe 
 ourfelves to vexation of fpirit. As we ex- 
 tend our pleafures, we m.ultiply our wants. 
 The pain of hunger is eanly appeafed ; but 
 to furmount the diiguft of appetite, vitiat- 
 ed by indulgence, all the arts of luxury 
 are required, and all are often vain. When 
 
 to 
 
( 219 ) 
 
 to the enjoyments of fenfe are fupcradded 
 the delights of fancy, we form a fcheme 
 of happinefs that never can be complete, 
 for we can always imagine more than we 
 pofTefs. All focial pleafures put us more 
 or lefs in the power of others, who fome- 
 times cannot, and fbmetimes will not, 
 pleafe us. Converfations of argument often 
 end in bitternefs of controverfy ; and con- 
 verfations of mirth, in petulance and folly. 
 Friendfhip is violated by intereft, or bro- 
 ken by pafTion ; and benevolence finds its 
 kindnefs beftowed on the worth lefs and 
 ungrateful. 
 
 But moft certain is the difappointment 
 of him, who places his happinefs in com- 
 parative good, and coniiders, not what he 
 him felf wants, but what others have. The 
 delight of eminence muff, by its own na- 
 ture, be rare, becaufe he that is eminent 
 muft have many below him, and therefore 
 if we fuppofe fuch defires general, as very 
 general they are, ilie happhiefsofafew muft 
 arife from the 7mfery of many. He that 
 places his delight in the extent of his re- 
 nown is, in fome degree, at the mercy of 
 every tongue ; not only malevolence, but 
 indifference, may difiurb him ; and he may 
 
 be 
 
( a^o ) 
 
 be pained, not only by thofe who fpeak 
 ill, but by thofe likewife that fay no-!, 
 thing. 
 
 As every engine of artificial motion, as it 
 conlifts of more parts, is in more danger 
 of deficience and diforder ; fo every effe6l 
 as it requires the agency of greater num- 
 bers, is more likely to fail. Yet what 
 pleafure is granted to man, beyond the 
 grofs gratifications of fcnfe, common to 
 him with other animals, that does not de- 
 mand the help of others, and the help of 
 greater numbers, as the pleafure is fubli- 
 mated and enlarged ? And, lince fuch is 
 the conftitution of things, that whatever 
 can give pleafure can likewife caufe unea- 
 linefs, there is little hope that uneafinefs 
 will be long efcaped. Of them, whofe of- 
 fices are neceffary to felicity, fome will be 
 perverfe, and fome will be unfkilful ; fome 
 will negligently with-hold their contribu- 
 tions, and fome will enviouily withdraw 
 them. The various and oppolite dire61ions 
 of the human mind, which divide men in-, 
 to fo many different occupations, keep all 
 the inhabitants of the earth perpetually 
 bufy ; but when it is confidered, that the 
 bufinefs of every man is to counteraft the 
 
 purpofe 
 
purpofe of fome other maiij it will appear, 
 that univerfal a6livity cannot contribute 
 much to univerfal happinels. Of thofe that 
 contend, one mufi: ncceirarily be overcome; 
 and he that prevails never has his labour 
 rewarded to his wifh, but finds that he his 
 been contending for that which cannot fa- 
 tisfv, and engaged in a contell where even 
 vi6lory is vanity. 
 
 What then is the influence which the 
 convi61:ion of this unwelcome truth ought 
 to have upon our condu6f ? It ought to 
 teach us humility, patience, and diffidence. 
 When we conlider how little we know of 
 the diflant confequences of our own a6ii- 
 ons, how little the greateft perfonal quali- 
 ties can prote6l us from mii:fortunej how 
 much all our importance depends upon the 
 favour of others, how uncertainly that fa- 
 vour is beftowed, and how eafily it is loft; 
 we fhall find, that we have very little 
 reafon to be proud. That which is moft 
 apt to elate the thoughts^ height of place, 
 and greatnefs of power, is the giil: of others. 
 No man can, by any natural or intriniick 
 faculties, maintain himlelf in a flate of fu- 
 periority ; he is exalted to his place, 
 whatever it be, by the concurrence of 
 
 thofe. 
 
( 321'3 ) 
 
 thofe, who are for a time content to be 
 counted his inferiors ; he has no authority 
 in himfelf ; he is only able to controul 
 fome, by the help of others. If dependence 
 be a ftate of humiliation, every man has 
 reafon to be humble, for every man is de- 
 pendent. 
 
 But however unpleafing thefe confidera» 
 tions may be, however unequal our condi- 
 tion is to all our wifhes or conceptions, w^e 
 are not to admit impatience into our bo- 
 foms, or increafe the evils of life, by vain 
 throbs of difcontent. To live in a world 
 v\7here all is vanity, has been decreed by our 
 Creator to be the lot of man, a lot which 
 we cannot alter by murmuring, but may 
 foften by fubmifiion. 
 
 The coniideration of the vanity of all 
 human purpofes and projects, deeply im- 
 prefTed upon the mind, neceiTarily produces 
 that diffidence in all worldly good, which 
 is necefTary to the regulation of our paffi. 
 ons, and the fecurity of our innocence. In 
 a fmooth courfe of profperity, an unbb- 
 ftru6ted progrefiion from wifh to wifh, 
 while the fuccefs of one deiign facilitates 
 another, and the opening profpe6t of life 
 fhews pleafures at a diftan.ce, to conclude 
 
 that 
 
( 223 ) 
 
 that the pafTage will be always clear, and 
 that the delights which folicit from far 
 will, when they are attained, fill the foul 
 with enjoyments, muft necelFarily produce 
 violent defires, and eager purluits, con- 
 tempt of thofc that are behind, and malig- 
 nity to thofe that are before. But the full 
 perfuaiion that all earthly good is uncer- 
 tain in the attainment, and unftable in the 
 polTeffion, and the frequent recolle61ion of 
 the {lender fupports on which v/e reft, and 
 the dangers which are always hanging 
 over us, vv^ill diftate inoffeniive modefty, 
 and mild benevolence. He does not rafhly 
 treat another with contempt, who doubts 
 the duration of his own fuperiority : he 
 will not refufe affiftance to the diftreiTed, 
 w^ho fuppofes that he may quickly need it 
 him.felf. He that confiders how imperfect- 
 ly human wifdom can judge of that, which 
 has not been tried, will feldom think any 
 pcffibilities of advantage worthy of vehe- 
 ment delire. As his hopes are moderate, 
 his endeavours will be calm. He wull not 
 fix his fond hopes upon things wdiich he 
 knows to be vanity, but will enjoy this 
 world, as one who knows that he does not 
 polfefs it : and that this is the difpofition, 
 
 which 
 
( ^^4 / 
 
 which becomes our condition, will appear^ 
 when we conlider, 
 
 Thirdly, What confequences the ferious 
 and religious mind may draw from the 
 polition, that all is vanity. 
 
 When the prefent ftate of man is confi- 
 dered, when an eftimate is made of his 
 hopes, his pleafures, and his pofTeffions ; 
 when his hopes appear to be deceitful, his 
 labours ineffe6lual, his pleafures unfatis- 
 fa6lory, and his pofTeffions fugitive, it is 
 natural to wifh for an abiding city, for a 
 ftate more conftant and permanent, of 
 which the obje6ls may be more proporti- 
 oned to our willies, and the enjoyments to 
 our capacities ; and from this wifh it is 
 reafonable to infer, that fuch a ftate is de- 
 ligned for us by that Infinite Wifdom, 
 which, as it does nothing in vain, has not 
 created minds with comprehenftons never 
 to be filled. When Revelation is confult- 
 ed, it appears that fuch a ftate is really 
 prom.ifed, and that, by the contempt of 
 worldly pleafures, it is to be obtained. We 
 then find, that, inftead of lamenting the 
 imperfe6tion of earthly things, we have 
 reafon to pour out thanks to Him who 
 orders all for our good, that he has made 
 
 the 
 
( 225 ) 
 
 the world, fuch as often deceives, and often 
 affli6ls us ; that the charms of intereft are 
 not fuch, as our frailty is unable to refill, 
 but that we have fuch interruptions of our 
 purfuits, and fuch languor in our enjoy- 
 ments, fuch pains of body and anxieties of 
 mind, as reprefs desire, and weaken temp- 
 tation : and happy will it be, if we follow 
 the gracious dire6lions of Providence, and 
 determine, that no degree of eathly felicity 
 fhall be purchafed with a crime ; if we 
 refolve no longer to bear the chains of fin, 
 to employ all our endeavours upon tranfi- 
 tory and imperfe6t pleafures, or to divide 
 our thought between the world and Hea- 
 ven ; but to bid farewell to fublunary va- 
 nities, to endure no longer an unprofitable 
 vexation of fpirit, but with pure heart and 
 fteady faitli to fear God^ and to keep his com" 
 mandmcniSj and r€me?nber that this is the. 
 whole of man. 
 
 O^ SERMON 
 
SERMON XIII. 
 
 II. Timothy, Chap. iii. part of the gth 
 Verle. 
 
 Having a form of Godlinefs^ hut denying the 
 power thereof 
 
 w. 
 
 HEN St. Paul, in the precepts given 
 to Timothy for his inftruclion how to re- 
 gulate and purify the converfation of the 
 firft Chriftians, dire61ed him to take care 
 that thofe men fhould be avoided, as dan- 
 gerous and peftilent, who, having the form 
 of godlinefs, denied the power ; it is rea- 
 fonable to believe, that he meant, in his 
 dire6l and immediate intention, to awaken 
 his caution againft grofs hypocrites ; fuch 
 as may ealily be fuppofed to have appeared 
 too often in the moft early feminaries of 
 Chriftianity; who made an appearance of 
 righteoufnefs fubfervient to worldly inter- 
 GL 2; eft.;. 
 
( ^218 ) 
 
 eft ; and whofe converfion, real or pre=* 
 tended, gave them an opportunity of prey- 
 ing upon artlels iimplicity, by claiming 
 that kindnefs which the firh Believers 
 fhewed to one another ; and obtaining be- 
 nefa61ions which they did not want ; and 
 eating bread for which they did not 
 labour. 
 
 To impoftors of this kind, the peculiar 
 ftate of the firil Chriftians would naturally 
 expofe them. As they were fun'ounded by 
 enemies, they were glad to find, in any 
 man, the appearance of a friend ; as they 
 were wearied with importunate contradic- 
 tion, they were deiirous of an interval of 
 refpite, by conforting with any one^ that 
 profeired the fame opinions ; and what was- 
 ftill more favourable to fuch Impoftors, 
 when they had, by embracing an unpopu- 
 lar and perfecuted religion, divefeed them- 
 felves, in a great degree, of fecular interefl, 
 they were likely often to want that vigil- 
 ance and fufpicion which is forced, even 
 upon honeft minds, by much commerce 
 with the world, and frequent tranfa61ions 
 with various chara^iers ; and v/hich our 
 divine Mafter teaches us to pra6life, when 
 lie commands us to join the Wifdom of the 
 
 Serj)e7jt 
 
( ^^-9 ) 
 
 Serpent with ihe harmlejfnefs of the Dove, 
 The firft Chriftians miift have been, in the 
 higheft degree, zealous to ftrengthen their 
 faith in themfelves, and propagate it in 
 others, and zeal eafily fpreads the arms^ 
 and opens the bofom to an adherent, or a 
 profelyte, as to one, that adds another 
 fuffrage to truth, and ftrengthens the fup- 
 port of a good caufe. Men of this difpofi- 
 tion, and in this ftate of life, would ealily 
 be enamoured o^ XhQ form of godlinefs, and 
 not foon difcover, that the power was 
 wanting. — Men naturally think others like 
 themfelves, and therefore a good man is 
 ealily perfuaded to credit the appearance 
 of Virtue. 
 
 Hypocrify, however, was not confined 
 to the Apoftolic ages. All times, and all 
 places, have produced n^en, that have 
 endeavoured to gain credit by falfe preten- 
 iions to excellence, and have recommended 
 themfelves to kindnefs or efteem, by fpe- 
 cious profeffions, and olientatious difplays 
 of counterfeited virtues. — It is, however, 
 lefs neceffary now to obviate this kind of 
 fraud, by exortations to caution ; for that 
 Umplicity, which lay open to its operation, 
 is not now very frequently to be found. 
 
 The 
 
( ^30 ) 
 
 The HypocritCj in thefe times, feldom 
 boafts of much fuccefs. — He is for the moft 
 part foon difcovered ; and when he is 
 once known, the world will not wait for 
 counfel to avoid him, for the good deteft, 
 and the bad defpife him. He is hated for 
 his attempts, and fcorned for his mifcar- 
 riage. 
 
 It may therefore be proper to confider 
 the danger of ?iform of righteoufnefs without 
 the power^ in a different and fecondary 
 fenfe ; and to examine whether, as there 
 are fome who by this form deceive otherSj 
 there are not fome, likewife, that deceive 
 themfelves ; who pacify their confciences 
 with an appearance of piety, and live and 
 die in dangerous tranquillity and delufive 
 confidence. 
 
 In this enquiry it will be proper to con^ 
 lider, Firft, what may be underftood by 
 the form of godlinefs, as diilin6t from the 
 
 power. 
 
 Secondly, What is that power of godli- 
 nefs, without which the form is defe61ive 
 and unavailing. 
 
 Thirdly, How far it is neceffary to the 
 Chriil;ian life, that the form and power 
 fhould fubfift together. 
 
 Let 
 
{ ^31 ) 
 
 Let it therefore be firft confidered, what 
 may be ealily and naturally underftood by 
 the form of godlinefs as diftin6l from the 
 power. 
 
 By the form of godlinefs, may be pro- 
 perly underftood, not only a fpecious prac- 
 tice of religious duties, exhibited to public 
 notice, but all external a6ls of worfhip, all 
 rites and ceremonies, all ftated obfervances, 
 and all compliance with temporary and 
 local injun6lions and regularities. 
 
 The religion of the Jews, from the time 
 of Mofes, comprifed a great number of 
 burthenfome ceremonies, required by God 
 for reafons which perhaps human wifdom 
 has never fully difcovered. Of thefe cere- 
 monies, however, fome were typically re- 
 prefentative of the Chriftian inftitution ; 
 and fome, by keeping them diftin6l, by dif- 
 fimilitude of cuftoms from the nations that 
 furrounded them, had a tendency to fecure 
 them from the influence of ill example, 
 and preferve them from the contagion of 
 idolatry. 
 
 To the ufe of obfervances, thus import- 
 ant, they were confined by the ftrongeft 
 obligations. They were indeed external 
 a6ts3 but tliey were inftituted by divine au^ .- 
 
 thoriitiou. 
 
( ^5^ ) 
 
 thority ; they were not to be confidered 
 merely as infirumental aad expedient, as 
 means which might be omitted, if their 
 ends were fecured ; they were pofitively 
 enjoined by the fupreme legillator, and 
 were not left to choice or difcretion, or 
 fecular laws ; to the will of the powerful, 
 or the judgement of the prudent. 
 
 Yet even thefe facred rites might be 
 pun6lually performed, without making the 
 performer acceptable to God ; the blood of 
 bulls and of goats might be poured out in 
 vain, if the defires were not regulated, or 
 the paffions fubdued. The facrifices of the 
 opprefTor, or extortioner, were not an 
 atonement, but an abomination. Forgive- 
 nels was obtained, not by incenfe,. but by 
 repentance ; the offender was required to 
 rend his heart, and not his garment ; a 
 contrite and a broken heart was the obla- 
 tion which the fupreme Judge did not 
 defpife. 
 
 So much was the moral law exalted above 
 all ceremonial infiitutions, even in that 
 difpenfation by which fo many ceremonies 
 were commanded, that thofe two parts of 
 duty were diftinguifhed by the appellati- 
 ons of body and fpirit. As the body^ fepa- 
 
 :^ rated 
 
( ^33 ) 
 
 rated from the fpirit, is a mafs lifelefs, mo- 
 tionlefs, and ufelefs ; fo the external prac- 
 tice of ritual obfervances was inefFedual 
 and vain, an a6lion without a meaning, a 
 labour by which nothing was produced. 
 As the fpirit puts the limbs into motion, 
 and dire6ls their a61ion to an end, fo Juftice 
 and Mercy gave energy to ceremonies, 
 made the oblation grateful, and the wor- 
 fbiper accepted. 
 
 The Profeffors of Chriftianity have few 
 ceremonies indifpenfably enjoined them. 
 Their religion teaches them to worfhip 
 God, not with local or temporary ceremo • 
 nies, but in fpirit and in truth ; that is, 
 with internal purity, and moral righteouf« 
 nefs. For fpirit, in this fenfe, feems to be 
 oppofed to the body of external rites ; and 
 truth is known to iignity, in the biblical 
 language, the fum of thofe duties which we 
 owe to one onother. 
 
 Yet fuch are the temptations of interefl: 
 and pleafure, and fo prevalent is the deiire 
 of enjoying at once, the pleafures of lin for 
 a feafon, and the hopes of happinefs to 
 eternity ; that even the Chriflian religion 
 has been depraved by artificial modes of 
 piety, and fuccedaneous pra6lices of recon- 
 ciliation. 
 
( 234 ) 
 
 ciliation. Men have been ei^er perfuaded, 
 that by doing fomething, to which they 
 think themfelves not obliged, they may 
 purchafe an exemption from fuch duties as 
 they find themfelves inclined to violate ; 
 that they may commute with Heaven for a 
 temporal fine, and make rigour atone for 
 relaxity. 
 
 In ages and countries, in which igno- 
 rance has produced, and nourifhed, fuper- 
 f;itiou ; many artifices have been invented 
 of praftiiing piety without virtue, and re- 
 pentance vvithout amendment. The devo- 
 tion of our blind fore-fathers coniifted, for 
 a great part, in rigorous auflcrities, labori* 
 ous pilgrimages, and gloomy retirement ; 
 and that which now prevails, in the darker 
 provinces of the Popifh world, exhaufts its 
 power in abfuvd veneration for fome parti- 
 cular Saint, exprelTed too often by honours 
 paid to his image, or in a ftated number of 
 prayers, uttered with very little attention, 
 and very frequently with little underhand- 
 ing. 
 
 Some of thefe pradlices may be perhaps 
 juftiy imputed to the groffneis of a people, 
 fcarcely capable of worfhip purely intellec- 
 tual ; to the necefHty of complying with 
 
 the 
 
( 235 ) 
 
 the v/eaknefs of men, who muft be taught 
 their duty by material images, and feniible 
 impreifions. This plea, however, will avail 
 but little, in defence of abufes not only per- 
 mitted, but encouraged by pertinacious vin- 
 dications, and fi6liLious miracles. 
 
 It is apparent that the Romifh Clergy 
 have attributed too much efficacy to pious 
 donations, and charitable efLablifiiments ; 
 and that they have made liberality to the 
 church, and bounty to the poor, equivalent 
 to the whole fyftem of our duty to God, and 
 to our neighbour. 
 
 Yet nothing can be more repugnant to 
 the general tenour of the Evangelical Re- 
 velation, than an opinion that pardon may 
 be bought, and guilt effaced, by a ftipulat- 
 ed expiation. We naturally catch the 
 pleafures of the prefent hour, and gratify 
 the calls of the reigning pafTion : and what 
 fhall hinder the man of violence from 
 outrage and mifchief, or reftrain the pur- 
 fuer of intereR: from fraud and circumven- 
 tion, when they are told, that after a life 
 paffed in difturbing the peace of life, and 
 violating the fecurity of poliefiion, thf" 
 may die at laft in peace, by foundi"^' ^7 
 
 -nfiances 
 lome lauda- 
 ble 
 
( ^2>^ ) 
 
 alms-hoiife, vvkhout the agonies of deep 
 contrition ? 
 
 But error and corruption are often to be 
 found where there are neither Jews nor 
 Papifts.-— Let us not look upon the depra- 
 vity of oTliers with triumph, nor cenfure it 
 with bitternefs. — Every i^eSt may find, in 
 its own followers, thofe who have the 
 form of godlinefs, without the power ; 
 every man, if he examines his own condu6l, 
 without intention to be his own flatterer, 
 may, to a certain degree, find it in him-^ 
 felf. 
 
 To give the heart to God, and to give 
 the whole heart, is very difficult ; the lafi:, 
 the great effort of long labour, fervent 
 prayer, and diligent meditation. — MaFiy 
 refolutions are made, and many relapfes 
 lamented ; and many confii61s with our 
 own deiires, with the powers of this world, 
 and the powers of darknefs, muft be fuf- 
 tained, before the will of man is made 
 wholly obedient to the will of God. 
 
 In the mean time, we are willing to find 
 fome v/ay to Heaven, lefs difficult and lefs 
 obftrucfed, to keep our hopes alive by faint 
 endeavours, and to lull our confciences by 
 fuch expedients as we may eafily pra6f ice. 
 
 Not 
 
( 337 ) 
 
 Not yet refolvcd to live wholly to God, 
 and yet afraid to live wholly to the world, 
 we do foniething in recompenfe for that 
 which we negle6l, and refign fomething 
 that we may keep the reft. 
 
 To be ftrictly religious, is difficult, but 
 we may be zealoufly religious, at little ex- 
 pence. — By exprefling on all occaiions our 
 deteftation of Herefy and Popery, and all 
 other errors, wt ere61: ourfelvcs into cham- 
 pions for truth, without much hazard or 
 trouble. — The hopes of zeal are not wholly 
 eroundlefs. — Indifference in queftions of 
 importance is no amiable quality. — He 
 that is warm for truth, and fearlefs in its 
 defence, performs one of the duties of a 
 good man ; he f^rengthens his own convic- 
 tion, and guards others from delufion ; but 
 fteadinef^ of belief, and boldnefs ofprofef- 
 iion, are yet only part of the form of god- 
 linefs, which may be attained by thofe who 
 deny the power. 
 
 As almoft every man is, by nature or by 
 accident, expofed to danger from particular 
 temptations, and difpofed to fome vices 
 more than to others ; fo all are, either by 
 difpofition of mind, or the circumftanxes 
 of life, inclined or impelled to feme lauda- 
 ble 
 
( 338 ) 
 
 ble practices. Of this happy tendency it 
 is common to take advantage, by pufhing 
 the favourite, or the convenient, virtue to 
 its utmoft extent, and to lofe all fenfe of 
 deficiency in the perpetual contemplation 
 of Come iingle excellence. 
 
 Thus fome pleafethemfelves withacon- 
 llant regularity of life, and decency of be- 
 haviour,— they hear themfelves commend- 
 ed, and fuperadd their own approbation. 
 They know, or might know, that they have 
 fecret faults ; but, as they are not open to 
 accufation, they are not inquiiitive to their 
 ov^n difquiet ; they are fatisfied that they 
 do not corrupt others, and that the world 
 will not be worfe by their example. 
 
 Some are pun61:ual in the attendance on 
 public worfhip, and perhaps in the per- 
 formance of private dex^otion. Thefe they 
 know to be great duties, and refolve not to 
 negle6l them. It is right they go fo far ; 
 and with fo much that is right they are 
 fatisfied. They are diligent in adoration, 
 but defeciive in obedience. 
 
 Such men are often not hypocrites ; the 
 virtues v.'hich they practife arife from their 
 principles. The man of regularity really 
 hopes, that he ihall recommend goodnefs 
 
 to 
 
( ^39 ) 
 
 to thofe that know him. The frequentei: 
 of the church really hopes to propitiate his 
 Creator. Their religion is iincere ; what 
 is reprehenlible is, that it is partial, that 
 the heart is yet not purified, ^ad that yet 
 many inordinate deiires remain, not only 
 unfubdued, but unfufpe<^l:ed, under the 
 iplendid cover of Ibme fpecious pra6tice, 
 with xvhich the mind delights itfelf too 
 much, to take a rigorous furvey of its own. 
 motions. 
 
 In condemnation of thofe who premme: 
 to hope, that the performance of one duty 
 will obtain excule for the violatioiti of 
 others, it is affirmed by St James, that he 
 who breaks one commandment is guilty 
 oi: all ; and ,he defends his poS-tion by ob- 
 ferving, that they are all delivered by the 
 fame authority. 
 
 Hls meaning is not, that all crimes are 
 equal, or that in any one crime all others 
 are involved ; but thst the law of God ss 
 to be obeyed with compleat and onrefen^ed. 
 fiabnoifiion; and that he who violates anr 
 of lis ordisaances, will not be juiHiied by 
 Ms ob&rvatioa of all the reft, Ence as the 
 whole is of di^lsae asithodty. ^vtrv breacK 
 
 wilful 
 
( HO ) 
 
 wilful and unrepented, is an 3.61 of rebel- 
 lion againft Omnipotence. 
 
 One of the artifices, by which men, thus 
 defedlively religious, deceive themielves, is 
 that of comparing their own behaviour 
 with that of men openly vicious, and gene- 
 rally negligent ; and inferring that them- 
 felves are good, becaufe they fuppofe that 
 they fee others worfe. The account of the 
 Pharifee and Publican may fhew us that, 
 in rating our own merit, we are in danger 
 of miftake. But though the eftimate fhould 
 be right, it is ftill to be remembered, that 
 he who is not worft, may yet fall far below 
 what will be required. Our rule of duty 
 is not ike 'viiiiie ofmen^ but the law ofGod^ 
 from which alone we can learn what will 
 be required. 
 
 Secondly, What is that power of godli- 
 nefs without which the form is defective 
 and unavailing ? 
 
 The power of godlinefs is contained in 
 the love of God and of our neighbour ; in 
 that fum of religion, in which, as we are 
 told by the Saviour of the world, the law 
 and the Prophets are comprized. The love 
 of God will engage us to truft in his pro- 
 te61ion, to acquiefce in his difpenfations, 
 
 to 
 
( 241 ) 
 
 to keep his laws, to meditate on his per- 
 feaion, and to declare our confidence and 
 fubmiffion by profound and frequent ado- 
 ration, to imprefs his glory on our mmds 
 by fongs of praife,to inflame our gratitude 
 by aas of thankfgiving, to ftrengthen our 
 faith, and exalt our hope, by pious medita- 
 tions, and to implore his protection of out 
 imbecillity, and his affiftance of our frailty, 
 by humble fupplication : and when we 
 love God with the whole heart, the power 
 of godlinefs will be fhewn by fteadinefs in 
 temptation, by patience in affliaion, by 
 faith in the divine promifes, by perpetual 
 dread of fm, by continual afpirations after 
 higher degrees of holinefs, and contempt 
 of the pains and pleafures of the world, 
 when they obftru6t the progrefs of religious 
 
 excellence. ^ , 
 
 The power of godlinefs, as it is exerted 
 in the love of our neighbour, appears in 
 the exaa and punaual difcharge of all the 
 relative and focial duties. He, whom this 
 power aauates and direas, will regulate 
 his condua, fo as neither to do injury, nor 
 willingly to give offence. He will neither 
 be a tyrannical governor, nor a feditious 
 fubiea 5 neither a cruel parent, nor a dif- 
 •^ R obedient 
 
obedient fon ; neither an oppreffi-^e mafter^ 
 nor an eye-fervant. But he will not ft op 
 at negative goodnefs, nor reft in the mere 
 forbearance of evil ; he will fearch out oc- 
 cafions of beneficence, and extend his care 
 to thofe who have no other claim to his 
 attention than the great community of re- 
 lation to the univerfal Father of mankind. 
 To enumerate the various modes of chari- 
 ty, which true godlinefs may fuggeft, as it 
 is difficult, would be ufelefs. They are as 
 exteniive as want, and as various as mi- 
 fery. 
 
 We muft however remember, that where 
 the form of godlinefs appears, we muft not 
 always fuppofe the power to be wanting, 
 becaufe its influence is not univerfal and 
 compleat; nor think every man to be 
 avoided, in whom we difcover either de- 
 fe6live virtues, or a6lual faults. The power 
 fubfifts in him who is contending with cor- 
 ruption, though he has not yet entirely fub- 
 dued it. He who falleth feven times a day 
 may yet, by the mercy of God, be num- 
 bered among the jull ; the pureft human 
 virtue has much faeculence. The higheft 
 flights of the foul foar not beyond the 
 clouds and vapours of the earth ; the 
 4 greateft 
 
( «43 ) 
 
 ■greateft attainments are very imperfe6l • 
 and he who is moft advanced in excellence 
 was once in a lower ftate, and in that lower 
 ftate was yet worthy of love and rever- 
 ence. One inftance of the power of godli- 
 nefs is readinefs to help the weak, and 
 comfort the fallen, to look with compaffion 
 upon the frail, to rekindle thofe whofe ar- 
 dour is cooling, and to recall thofe who, by 
 inadvertency, or under the influence of 
 ftrong temptation, have wandered from 
 the right way ; and to favour all them 
 who mean well, and wifh to be better, 
 though their meaning and their wifhes 
 have not yet fully reformed their lives. 
 
 There is likewife danger left, in the pur- 
 fuit of the power of godlinefs, too little re- 
 gard be paid to the form, and left the cen- 
 fure of hypocrify be too haftily pafTed, and 
 a life apparently regular and ferious be 
 conlidered as an artifice to conceal bad 
 purpofes and fecret views. 
 
 That this opinion, which fome are very 
 
 willing to indulge, may not prevail fo as 
 
 to difcountenance the profeffton of piety, 
 
 we are to confider. 
 
 Thirdly, how far it is necefTary to the 
 
 R 2 Chriftian 
 
( '^44 ) 
 
 Chriftian life, that the form and power of 
 godlinefs fliould fubiift together. 
 
 It may be with great reafon affirmed, 
 that though there may be the appearance 
 of godlinefs without the reality, there can 
 hardly be the reality without the appear- 
 ance. Part of the duties of a Chriftian are 
 necelTarily public. We are to worlhip 
 God in the congregation ; we are to make 
 open profeflion of our hope and faith. One 
 of the great duties of man, as a fecial 
 being, is, to let his light fhine before men, 
 to inftru6l by the prevalence of his exam- 
 ple, and, as far as his influence extends, to 
 propagate goodnefs and enforce truth. No 
 man is to boaft of his own excellence, for 
 this reafon among others ; that arrogance 
 will make excellence lefs amiable, and lefs 
 attra6tive of imitation. No man is to con- 
 ceal his reverence of religion, or his zeal 
 for truth and right, becaufe, by fhrinking 
 from the notice of mankind, he betrays 
 diffidence of the caufe which he wifhes to 
 maintain. He, whofe piety begins and 
 ends in zeal for opinions, and in clamour 
 againft thofe who differ from him, is cer- 
 tainly yet without the vital energy of reli- 
 gion ; but, if his opinions regulate his con- 
 
 dua, 
 
( 245 ) 
 
 du6l5 he may with great juftice Ihew his 
 fervour, having already fhewn his lince- 
 rity. He that worfhips God in public, and 
 offends him by fecret vices, if he m^ns to 
 make the good part of his conduil balance 
 the bad, is to be cenfured and inftru6led ; 
 if he means to gain the applaufe of men, 
 and to make outward fan6tity an inftru- 
 ment of mifchief, he is to be detefted and 
 avoided : but he that really endeavours to 
 obey God in fecret, negle6lspart of his duty, 
 if he omits the folemnities of public wor- 
 fhip. The form of godlinefs, as it conlifts 
 in the rites of religion, is the inftrument 
 given us by God for the acquifition of the 
 power ; the means as well as the end are 
 prefcribed ; nor can he expect the help of 
 grace, or the divine approbation, who feeks 
 them by any other method than that which 
 Infinite AVifdom has condefcended to ap- 
 point. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XIV. 
 
 Isaiah, xxvi. 3. 
 
 Thou nvilt hep hhn hi perfe(Fl pcace^ whoje 
 ??iind hjiayedon thse^ hecaufe he irujleih hi 
 thee. 
 
 1 N order to the explication of this text, 
 or the enforcement of the precept implied 
 in it, there fecniS to be no necefTity, either 
 of proving, that all men are deiirous of 
 happinefs, or that their defire, for the moll 
 part, fails of being gratified. Every man is 
 confcious, that he neither performs, nor 
 forbears any thing upon any other motive 
 than the profpecl, either ot an immediate 
 gratification, or a diftaiit reward; that 
 whether he complies with temptation, or 
 
 repels 
 
( 24^ ) 
 
 repels it, he is ftill influenced by the fame 
 general regard to his own felicity; but 
 that when he yields to the folicitation of his 
 appetite, or the impulfe of his paffions, he 
 is overborne by the prevalence of the ob- 
 je6l before him ; and when he adheres to 
 his duty, in oppolition to his prefent inter- 
 cft, he is influenced by the hopes of future 
 happinefs. 
 
 That almoft every man is difappointed 
 in his fearch after happinefs, is apparent 
 from the clamorous complaints which are 
 always to be heard ; from the reftlefs difl 
 content, which is hourly to be obferved^ 
 and from the inceflant purfuit of new ob- 
 je6ls, which employ almoft every moment 
 of every man's life. For a delire of change 
 is a fuflicient proof, that we are diffatisfied 
 with our prefent ftate ; and evidently 
 ftiews, that we feel fome pain which we 
 deflre to avoid, or mifs fome enjoyment 
 which we wifli to poflefs. 
 
 The true caufe of this general difguft, 
 an unprejudiced and attentive furvey of 
 the world will not long fail of difcoi^er- 
 ing. It will eaiily appear, that men fail 
 to gain what they fo much deiire, becaufe 
 they feck it where it is not to be found, be^ 
 gaufe they fufter themfeh^es to bedazzled by 
 
 Ipecious 
 
( 249 ) 
 
 fpecious appearances, refign themlelves up 
 to the dire6tion of their paffions, and, when 
 one purfuit has failed of affording them 
 that fatisfa(Sl:ion which they expc<5^ed from 
 it, apply themfelves with the fame ardour 
 to another equally unprofitable, and waf^e 
 their lives in fucceffive delufions, in idle 
 fchemes of imaginary enjoyment ; in the 
 chace of fhadows which fleet before them, 
 and in attempts to grafp a bubble, w^hich, 
 however it may attra6t the eye by the 
 brightnefs of its colour, is neither folid nor 
 lafling, but owes its beauty only to its dif^ 
 tance, and is no fooner touched than it dif^ 
 appears. 
 
 As men differ in age or difpofition, they 
 are expo fed to different delufions in this 
 important enquiry. The young and the 
 gay imagine happinefs to confill: in fhew, 
 in merriment and noife, or in a conflant 
 fucceffion of amufements, or in the gratis, 
 fication of their appetites^ and the frequent 
 repetition of fenfual pleafures. Inftead of 
 founding happinefs on the folid bafis of 
 reafon and refie6lion, they raife an airy 
 fabrick of momentary fatisfadfion, which 
 is perpetually decaying, and perpetually to 
 be repaired. They pleafe themfehcs, not 
 
 with 
 
( ^5^ ) 
 
 with thinking juftly, but with avoiding to 
 think at all, with a fufpence of all the ope- 
 rations of their intelle6lual faculties, which 
 defends them from remembrance of the 
 paft, or anticipation of the future. They 
 lull themfelves in an enervate, and cow- 
 ardly diflipation, and inftead of being hap- 
 py, are only indolent. 
 
 That this l\ate is notaftate ofhappinels, 
 that it affords no real fatisfaclion to a rea- 
 fonable mind^ thofe who appear moft en- 
 gaged in it will, in their calmeft moments 
 readily confefs. Thofe among them, on 
 whom Providence has beftowed fuch abili- 
 ties as are necelTary to the difcovery of 
 truth, and the difl:in6lion of appearance 
 from reality (for, among the negligent and 
 voluptuous, men of this chara61;er are 
 fometimes to be found,) have always own- 
 ed, that their felicity is like that of a deep 
 fleep, from which they wake to care and 
 forrow ; or of a plealing dream, that af- 
 fords them fhort gratifications, of which 
 the day deprives them ; and that their 
 pleafures only differ from the phantoms of 
 the night in this, that they leave behind 
 them the pangs of guilt, with the vexation 
 of dif appointment. 
 
( 2SI ) 
 
 It may be Imagined, that reafonable be- 
 ings muft quickly difcover how little fuch 
 fatisfa6lions are adapted* to their nature, 
 and how necefTary it is to change their 
 meafures, in order to the attainment of 
 that happinefs which they defire ; and in 
 efre6t, it is generally found that few, except 
 the young and unexperinced, content them- 
 felves with fenfual gratifications, and that 
 men, as they advance in years, and im- 
 prove their judgment by obfcrvation, al- 
 ways confefs,by the alteration of their con- 
 duct, that mere voluptuoufnefs is not fuf- 
 ficient to fill the deiires of the human 
 mind. 
 
 They therefore fhake off the lethar- 
 gy of lloth, forfake diverfion and amufc- 
 ments, and engage in the purfuit of riches 
 
 cr of honours. They employ thofe 
 
 hours, which were frequently fufiered to 
 pafs away unnumbered and unheeded, with 
 the mott folicitous application, and the 
 moft vigilant attention. They are no long- 
 er negligent of all that palFes about them, 
 no more carelefs of the opinions of man- 
 kind, or unconcerned with regard to cen> 
 fure or applaufe. They become anxious 
 left any opportunity fhould be loft of im- 
 proving 
 
( ^S« ) 
 
 proving their fortunes, and left theyfliould 
 give any occalion to reports which piay 
 injure their reputation, and obftru6l their 
 advancement. They conftrain their words^ 
 their adlions, and their looks, to obtain 
 popularity, becaufe they conlider popula- 
 rity as necelTary to grandeur, and gran-* 
 deur as the foundation of happinefs. 
 
 But a very fhort experience teaches, 
 what might indeed have been without the 
 trial difcovered by refle6\ion, that perfe6l 
 peace, that peace which is fo much deiired, 
 is not to be found in wealth and greatnels. 
 He that fucceeds in his firft attempts is 
 animated to new defigns j new deligns 
 produce nev/ anxieties and new oppoiitionj 
 and though the fecond attempt fhould be 
 equally happy, it will be found, as foon as 
 the tranfports of novelty have ceafed, as 
 foon as cuftom has made elevation familiar, 
 that peace is yet to be fought, and that 
 new meafures muft be taken for the at- 
 tainment of that tranquillity, for which it 
 is the nature of man to languifh, and the 
 want of which is ill fupplied by hurry an4 
 confufion, by pomp and variety. 
 
 The fame difpofition which inclines 
 any man to raife himfelf to a fuperiority 
 
 over 
 
( ^S3 ) 
 
 over others, will naturally cxxite the fame 
 delires of greater elevation while he fees 
 any fuperior to himfelf. There is there- 
 fore no hope that, by purfuing greatnels, 
 any man can be happy, or, at leaft, this 
 happinefs muft be confined to one, becaufe 
 only one can be without a fuperior ; and 
 that one muft furely feel his enjoyments 
 very frequently diflurbed, when he re- 
 members by how many the ftation which 
 he polfelfes is envied and coveted ; V\^hen 
 he refic6ls, how eaiily his polFefiions may 
 be taken from him, perhaps by the fame 
 arts by which he attained them ; how 
 quickly the affe6^ions of the people may, 
 hy artful reprefentations of his condu6l, be 
 alienated from him ; or liow eaiily he may 
 be dcftroyed by violence, and what num- 
 bers ambition or revenge may invite to 
 deftroy him. 
 
 There is at leail one confideration, 
 which muft imhitter the life of him, who 
 places his happinefs in his prefent ftate ; a 
 confideration that cannot be fuppreffed by 
 any artful fophiftries, which the appetites 
 or the fcnfes are aUvavs ready to fufr^eft, 
 and which it might be imagined not al- 
 ways polTible to avoid in the moll: rapid 
 
 W'iirl 
 
( 254 ) 
 
 whirl of pleafurC) or the moft incelTant tu- 
 mults of employment. As it is impoffible 
 for any man not to know, it may be well 
 imagined difficult for him not to remem- 
 ber, that however furrounded by his de- 
 pendents, however carefTed by his patrons, 
 however applauded by his flatterers, or 
 efteemed by his friends, he muft one day 
 die ; that though he fhould have reafon to 
 imagine himfelf fecured from any fudden 
 diminution of his wealth, or any violent 
 precipitation from his rank or power, yet 
 they muft foon be taken away by a force, 
 not to be reiifted or efeaped. He cannot 
 but fometimes think, when he furveys his 
 acquiiitions, or counts his followers, that 
 this flight his foul may he required ofhim^ and 
 that he had applauded himfelf for the at- 
 tainment of that which he cannot hope to 
 keep long, and which, if it could make 
 him happy while he enjoys it, is yet ot 
 very little value, becaufe the enjoyment 
 muft be very Hiort. 
 
 The ftory of the great Eaftern Monarch, 
 who, when he furveyed his innumerable 
 army from an eminence, v/ept at the re- 
 fle61ion, that in lefs than a hundred years 
 not one of all that multitude would remain, 
 
 has 
 
has been often mentioned ; becaufe the par- 
 ticular circumftances, in which that remark 
 occurred, naturally claim the thought, and 
 ftrike the imagination ; but every man 
 that places his happinels in external ob- 
 je6ts5 may every day, with equal propriety 
 make the fame obfervations. Though he 
 does not lead armies, or govern kingdoms, 
 hd may refledl:, whenever he finds his heart 
 fwelling v/ith any prefent advantage, that 
 he muft in a very ftiort time lofe what he 
 fo much efteems, that in a year, a month, 
 a day, or an hour, he may be ftruck out 
 from the book of life, and placed in a ftate, 
 where wealth or honour lliall have no re- 
 fidence, and where all thofe diftinc^ions 
 Ihall be for ever obliterated, which now 
 engrofs his thoughts, and exalt his pride. 
 This refle6lion will furely be fufficient 
 to hinder that peace, which all terreftrial 
 enjoyments can afford, from being perie6l. 
 It furely will foon diiperfe thofe meteors 
 of happinefs that glitter in the eyes only of 
 the thoughtlefs and the fapine, and awak- 
 en him to a ferious and rational enquiry, 
 where real happinefs is to be found ; by 
 what means man, whom the great Creator 
 cannot be fuppofed to have formed with- 
 out 
 
out the power of obtaining happinefs, tnzy 
 fet himfelf free from the Ihackles of anxi- 
 ety with which he is incumbered ; liiay 
 throw off the load of terror which oppreiles- 
 him, and liberate himfelf from thofe hor- 
 rors which the approach of death perpe- 
 tually excites. 
 
 This he will immediately find only to 
 be accoitiplifhed by fecuring to himfelf the 
 proteaion of a Being mighty to fave ; a 
 Being whofe afTiftance may be extended 
 equally to all parts of his duration, who 
 can equally defend him in the time of 
 danger, and of fecurity ; in the tumults of 
 the day, and the privacy of the night ; in 
 the time of tribulation, and in a time fre- 
 quently more fatal, the time of wealth ; 
 and in the hour of death, and in the day 
 of judgment. And when he has found the 
 necelTity of this fovereign Proteaor, and 
 humbled himfelf with a due conviaion of 
 his own impotence, he may at lafl find the 
 only comfort which this life can afford 
 him, by remembering, that this great, this 
 unbounded Being, has informed us of the 
 terms on which perfea peace is to be ob- 
 tained, and has promifed it to thofe whofe 
 
 mind is flayed on him. 
 
 Since 
 
( 357 ) 
 
 Since therefore the purfuit of perfe6l 
 peace is the great, the necelfary, the inevi- 
 table, bufinefs of human life ; lince this 
 peace is to be attained by truft in God, and 
 by that only ; lince, without this, every 
 ftate is miferable, and the voluptuous and 
 the bufy are equally difappointed ; what 
 <?an be more ufeful, than ferioufly to en- 
 quire, Firft, what is meant, by this truft in 
 God, to v/hich perfedt peace is promifed ? 
 and. 
 
 Secondly, By what means this truft in 
 God is to be attained ? 
 
 Firft, therefore, let us examine what is 
 meant by this truft in God, to which per- 
 fe6l peace is promifed. 
 
 Truft, when it is ufed on common occa- 
 fions, implies a kind of refignation to the 
 honefty, or abilities of another. Thus we 
 truft a phyiician, when we obey his direc- 
 tions without knowing, or afking, the par- 
 ticular reafons for the methods which he 
 enjoins. Thus we truft a friend, when we 
 commit our affairs to his management, 
 without difturbing ourfelves with any care 
 concerning them. Thus we truft a patron, 
 when we ferve him with diligence, with- 
 out any other certainty of a reward than 
 
 S what 
 
( 258 ) 
 
 what our confidence in his generofity af- 
 fords us. Thefe inftances may give us 
 feme idea of that truft which we ought to 
 repofe in God, but an idea, in the utmoft 
 degree, grofs and inadequate. Our truft in 
 God ought to differ from every other truftj 
 as infinity differs from an atom. It ought 
 to tranfcend every other degree of confi- 
 dence, as its obje6l is exalted above every 
 degree of created excellence. 
 
 But, in our prelent l^ate, it is impoflfible 
 to pra6life this, or any other duty, in per- 
 feStion. We cannot truii God as we ought, 
 becaufe we cannot know him as we ought. 
 We know, however, that he is infinite in 
 wifdom, in power, and in goodnefs ; that 
 therefore he deiigns the happinefs of all 
 his creatures, that he cannot but know the 
 proper means by which this end may be 
 obtained, and that in the ufe of thefe 
 means, as he cannot be miftaken, becaufe 
 he is ominifcient, fo he cannot be defeated, 
 becaufe he is almighty. 
 
 We know, therefore, that thofe whom 
 he fhall proteft cannot be in danger; that 
 neither the malice of vv^icked men, nor of 
 wicked angels, can really injure them, but 
 that perfccution and danger fhall only 
 
 harrafs 
 
( 259 ) 
 
 harrafs them for a time, and death fet them 
 free from difappointment and from pain. 
 He therefore that trufts in God will no 
 longer bediftracled in his fcarch after hap- 
 pinefs, for he will find it in a firm belief, 
 that whatever evils are fuffered to befal 
 him will finally contribute to his felicity ; 
 and that hyjlaying his mind upon ihe Lo7^d^ 
 fie ivillhe kept in peace. 
 
 But God has promifed this protection, 
 not indifcriminately to all, but to thofe 
 only who endeavour to obtain it, by com- 
 plying with the conditions which he has 
 prefcribed ; nor is the perfe6l peace, which 
 the confidence of divine fupport confers, 
 to be hoped for but by thofe who have 
 obtained a well-grounded truft in him ; 
 and, by the pra61:ice of his precepts, have 
 ftayed their minds upon him. It is there- 
 fore neceffary to enquire, 
 
 Secondly, how this truft is to be at- 
 tained ? 
 
 That there is a fallacious and precipi- 
 tate truft in God, a truft which, as it is not 
 founded upon God's promifes, will in the 
 end be difappointed, we are informed by 
 our Saviour himfelf. " Many will fay un- 
 " to me, in that day, Lord, Lord, have we 
 
 S 2 " not 
 
( 360 ) 
 
 ^^ not prophefied in thy name ? and in thy 
 " name caft out devils ? and in thy name 
 " have done many wonderful works ? and 
 " then I will profefs unto them, I never 
 " knew you. Depart from me, ye that 
 " work iniquity." 
 
 Thofe who contented themfelves with 
 believing, and profefling Chriftianity, with- 
 out obeying its precepts ; thofe who 
 while they call the great Author of our 
 faith the Lord, their Mafter, and their 
 God, and yet negle61: his precepts and 
 v7ork iniquity, v^'ill be reje6ted by him at 
 the laft day, as thofe whom he has never 
 known ; thofe to whom his regard never 
 was extended, and, notwithftanding the 
 confidence with which they may claim his 
 interceiTion, will not be diftinguifhed by 
 any favour from other finners. 
 
 Trufi: in God, that trufc to which per- 
 fect poace is promifed, is to be obtained ' 
 only by repentance, obe^dience, and fuppli- 
 cation, not by nourifhing in our own hearts 
 a confiifed idea of the goodnefs of God, or 
 a firm perfuaiion that we are in a ilate of 
 grace ; by which fome have been deceiv- 
 ed, as it may be feared, to their own de- 
 ■Rru61ior]. ¥.'e are not to imgaine ourfelves 
 2 fafe. 
 
( ^^I ) 
 
 fafe, only becaufe we are not harrafieii 
 with thofe anxieties about our future ftate 
 with which others are tormented, but 
 which are fb far from being proofs of re- 
 probation, that though they are often mif- 
 taken by thofe that languilh under them, 
 they are more frequently evidenceo of pie 
 ty, and a lincere and fervent defire of 
 pleafing God. We are not to imagine, 
 that God approves us becaufe he does not 
 afflift us, nor, on the other hand, to per- 
 fuade ourfelves too haftily that he affli6ts 
 us, becaufe he loves us. We are, without 
 expe6ling any extraordinary cfFulions of 
 light, to examine our anions by the great 
 and unchangeable rules of Revelation and 
 Reafon, io do io oihers as ^ive icoitid that they 
 Jhoidd do to us, and to love God with all 
 our heart, and exprefs that love by keeping 
 his commandments. 
 
 He that hopes to find peace by trufting 
 God muft obey him ; and when he has at 
 any 'time failed in his obedience, Vv'liicb 
 amongft the beft men will be very frequent, 
 he muft endeavour to reconcile God to 
 him by repentance. He may then find 
 another occafion of exercifing his trull, by 
 airuring himfelf, that when the wicked for- 
 
 fakers 
 
( 2,6% ) 
 
 Jakes his ni\ay^ and the iinrighteous 7nan his 
 ihoii^his^ and returns unto the Lord., he will 
 have mercy upon hifn^ and abundantly par- 
 don. 
 
 This conftant and devout pra6Uce is 
 both the effect, and caufe, of confidence in 
 God. He will naturally pour out his fup- 
 plications to the Supreme Being, who trufts 
 in him, for alTiftance and prote6tion ; and 
 he^ who, with proper fervour and humili- 
 ty, proftrates himfelf before God, v/ill al- 
 ways rife with an increafe of holy confi- 
 dence. By meditating on his own weak- 
 nefs, he will hourly receive neiv convi6liou 
 of the necefTity of foliciting the favour of 
 his Creator ; and by recolle6ling his pro- 
 mi fes, will confirm himfelf in the hope of 
 obtaining what he delires, and if, to fecure 
 thefe promifes, he fteadily pradlifes the 
 duties on which they depend, he will foon 
 find his mind ftayed on God, and be kept 
 in perfect peace, becaufe he trufteth in 
 him. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XV. 
 
 Job, xiv. i. 
 
 Man that is bom of a Woman^ is of few 
 days^ and full of trouble. 
 
 HE pofition, contained in this fentence 
 neither requires, nor admits, proof or illuf- 
 tration ; being too evident- to be denied, 
 and too clear to be miftaken. That life is 
 of fhort continuance, and is difquieted by 
 many moleftations, every man knows, and 
 every man feels ; andthe complaint, attri- 
 buted to Job, in the hiftory that is fuppof- 
 ed to be the oldefl book, of which man- 
 kind is in pofTeffion, has been continued, 
 and will be continued, through all humaal 
 generations with endlels repetitions. 
 
 But truth does not always operate in 
 proportion to its reception. What lias been 
 always known, and very often faid, as it 
 imprefles the mind with no new images, 
 
 excites 
 
( a64 ) 
 
 excites no attention, and is fuffered to lie 
 unheeded in the memory. Truth, pofTeft 
 without the labour of inveftigation, like 
 many of the general conveniencies of life, 
 lofes its eftimation by its eaiinefs of accels; 
 nor is it always fufficiently remembered, 
 that the moft valuable things are thofe 
 which are moft plentifully beftowed. 
 
 To conlider the fhortnefs, or mifery, of 
 life, is not an employment to which the 
 mind recurs for folace or diverfion ; or to 
 which it is invited by any hope of imme- 
 diate delight. It is one of thofe intelledtual 
 medicines, of which the naufeous eflence 
 often obftru6^s the benefit, and v^^hich the 
 faftidioufnefs of nature prompts us to re- 
 fufe. But we are told by Solomon, that 
 there is a time not only to laugh^ but a time, 
 to weep^ and that it is good fometimes ia 
 enter into the hoiije of mourning. Many things 
 which are not pleafant may be falutary; 
 9.nd among them is the juft eftimate of hu- 
 man life, which may be made by all with 
 advantage, though by few, very few, with 
 delight. As it is the bufinefs of a traveller 
 to view the way before him, whatever 
 dangers may threaten, or difficulties ob- 
 ftru6t him, and however void may be the 
 
 profpe6t 
 
( 26S ) 
 
 prorpe6\ of elegance or pleafure ; it is our 
 duty, in the pilgrimage ot life, to proceed 
 with our eyes open, and to fee our ftate ; 
 not as hope or fancy may delineate it, but 
 as it has been in reality appointed by Di- 
 vine Providence. From errors, to which, af- 
 ter moI\ diligent examination, the frailty of 
 our underf^andings may fometimes expofe 
 us, we may reafonably hope, that he, who 
 knows whereof we are made, will llifTer no 
 irremediable evil to folio v ; l:)ut it would" 
 be unrcafonable to expe6l, that the fame 
 indulgence fhall be extended to voluntary 
 ignorance ; or, that we fhall not fufi'er by 
 thofe dclulions to which we refign out'- 
 felves by idlenefs or choice. 
 
 Nothing but daily experience could 
 make it credible, that we fhould fee the 
 daily defcent into the grave of thofe whom 
 we love or fear, admire or dctcfl; that we 
 fhould fee one generation pad:, and ano- 
 ther paiUng, fee poflelTions daily changing 
 their owners, and the world, at very 
 fhort intervals, altering its appearance, 
 and yet fhould want to be reminded that 
 life is fhort ; or that we fhould, wherever 
 we turn our eyes, find misfortune and dif- 
 trcfs, and have our ears daily filled with 
 
 the 
 
( ^2.66 ) 
 
 the lamentations of mifery; that we fhoiild 
 often feel pain and licknefs, difappoint- 
 ments and privations, and yet, at every 
 reipiration of momentary eafe, or gleam of 
 fugitive and uncertain joy, be elated be* 
 yond the true fenfe of our condition, and 
 need the voice of falutary admonition, 
 to make us remember that life is mifera- 
 
 ble. 
 
 But lince the mind is always of itfelf 
 Hirinking from difagreeable images, it is 
 fometimes neceffary to recal them ; and 
 it may contribute to the repreffion of ma- 
 ny unreafonable deGres, and the prevention 
 of many faults and follies, if we frequently 
 and attentively conlider, 
 
 Firft, Ihai man horn of a woman is of few 
 days. And, 
 
 Secondly, That man horn of a woman is 
 full of irotihle. 
 
 As this changeable and uncertain life is 
 only the palTage to an immutable ftate, 
 and endleis duration of happinels or mife- 
 ry ; it ought never to be abfent from our 
 thoughts. That man horn of a woman is of 
 few days. 
 
 The buiinefs of life is to work out our 
 favalion ; and the days are few in which 
 
 provilion 
 
( ^^7 ) 
 
 proviiion muft be made for eteniUy. .^ 
 all Rand upon the brink of the grave ; o. ^ 
 that Itate, in which there is no repentance. 
 He, vvhofe lile is extended to its utinoft na- 
 turalbo undaries, can live but a little 
 while; and that he fhall be one of thofe, 
 who are comparatively faid to live long, 
 no man can tell. Our days are not only 
 few, but uncertain, The utnioft that can 
 be hoped, is little ; and of that little, the 
 greater part is denied to the majority of 
 mankind. 
 
 Our time is fhort, and our work is great, 
 jt is therefore, with the kindeft earneft- 
 nefs, enjoined by the Apoftle, that we ufe 
 all dilio^ence to make our •• calling and elec 
 tion fare.* But to an impartial furveyor 
 of the ways of men, will it appear that the 
 Apoftle's fum.mons has been heard or re- 
 garded ? Let the moft candid and charita - 
 ble obferver take cognizance of the gene- 
 ral pra6tice of the world ; and what can 
 be difcovered but gay thoughtlelTnefs, or 
 fordid induftry ? It feems that to fecure 
 their calling and election is the care of 
 few. Of the greater part it may be faid, 
 that God is not in their thoughts. One 
 forgets him in his bulinefs, another in his 
 
 amufe« 
 
( ^68 ) 
 
 amufements ; one in eager enjoyment of 
 to-day, another in folicitous contrivanc 
 for to-nnorrow. Some die amidft the 
 gratifications of luxury, and fome in the 
 tumults of conteRs urxdecided, and pur- 
 pofes uncompleated. Warnings are multi- 
 plied, but without notice. Wifdom crieih 
 in the Jlreeis^ but is rarely heard. 
 
 Among thofe that live thus wholly oc- 
 cupied by prefent things, there nre fome, 
 in whom all fenfe of religion feems extin6t 
 or dormant ; who acquiefce in their own 
 rnodes of life, and never look forward into 
 futurity, but gratify themfelves within 
 their own accuftomed circle of amufe- 
 rjients, or limit their thoughts by the at- 
 tainment of their prefent purfuit i andj 
 without fuffering themfelves to be inter- 
 rupted by the unwelcome thoughts of death 
 and judgement, congratulate themfelves on 
 their prudence or felicity, and reft fatisfied 
 with what the world can afford them ; 
 not that they doubt, but forget, a future 
 ftate ; not that they diibelieve their own 
 immortality, but that they never confi- 
 der it. 
 
 To thefe men it is furely proper to re- 
 prefentthe fhortnefs of life, and to remind 
 
 them 
 
( ^^9 ) 
 
 them that human acquiiitions and enjoy- 
 ments are of few days ; and that, whatever 
 value may be afligned them by perverted 
 opinions, they certainly want durability ; 
 that the fabric of terreftrial happinefs has 
 no foundation that can long fupport it ; 
 that every hour, however enlivened by 
 gaiety, or dignified by fplendour, is a part 
 fubdudled from the fum of life : that aee 
 advances alike upon the negligent and anxi- 
 ous ; and that every moment of delight 
 makes delight the fliorter. 
 
 If reafon forbids us to fix our hearts up- 
 on things which we are not certain of re- 
 taining, we violate a prohibition ftill 
 flronger, when we fufFer ourfelves to place 
 our happinefs in that which muft certainlv 
 be loll ; yet fuch is all that this world af- 
 fords us. Pleafures and honours mull 
 quickly perifli, becaufe life itfelf muft foon 
 be at an end. 
 
 But ifit be folly to delight in advan- 
 tages of uncertain tenure and fhort conti- 
 nuance, how great is the folly of preferring 
 them to permanent and perpetual good ! 
 The man whofe whole attention converges 
 to this vv'orld, even if we fuppofe all his 
 attempts profperous, and all his wiflies 
 
 granted, 
 
c ^70 ; 
 
 granted, gains only empty pleafure, which 
 he cannot keep, at the coft of eternal hap- 
 pinefs, Vv'hich. if now negle6ted3 he can ne- 
 ver gain. 
 
 Let luch men therefore ferioully refie61:3 
 that 7nan horn of a n.bmnan is of few days^ 
 that he comeih forth like a flower^ and is cut 
 down ; he jleeeih alfo as afJiadow^ and conii-^ 
 nueih not. 
 
 Others there are on whom the interefts 
 of life have very firong hold, who relax 
 their thoughts by pleafure, or enchain them 
 by attention to wealth or povv^er ; and yet 
 feel, with forcible conviftion, the import- 
 ance of futurity ; in whofe breafts pious in- 
 tentions are often budding, though they 
 are quickly nipped by fecular deiires. Such 
 men fuffer frequent difturbance from the 
 remonfirances of reafon, and the reproaches 
 of confcience, and do not fet reafon, or con- 
 fcience, at defiance, but endeavour to pa-- 
 cify them with aifuafive promifes of re» 
 pentance and amendment. They know that 
 their prefent ftate is dangerous, and there- 
 fore withdraw from it to a fancied futu- 
 rity, in which Vv^hatever is crooked is to be 
 made firaight \ in which temptations are 
 to be rejed'^ed, and paliions to be conquer- 
 ed : 
 
( 271 ) 
 
 ed ; in which wifdom and piety are to re- 
 gulate the day ; in which every hour fhall 
 have its proper duty. The morning fhall 
 awake beneficence, and the evenincr ftill 
 the foul in gratitude and devotion. 
 
 Purpofes like thefe are often formed, and 
 often forgotten. "When remorfe and foli- 
 tude prefs hard upon the mind, they afford 
 a temporary refuge, which like other fhel- 
 ters from a ftorm, is forfaken, when the 
 calm returns. The delign of amendment is 
 never difmiffed, but it refts in the bofom 
 without effe6t. The time convenient for 
 fo great a change of condu6l is not yet 
 come. There are hindrances which ano- 
 ther year will remove ; there are helps 
 which fome near event will fupply. Day 
 rifes after day, and one year follows ano- 
 ther, and produces nothing, but refolutions 
 without effe6l, and felf-reproach without 
 reformation. The time deftined for a new 
 life lapfes in (ilence ; another time is fixed, 
 and another lapfes ; but the fame train of 
 delufion ftill continues. He that fees his 
 danger, doubts not his power of elcaping it ; 
 and though he has deceived himfelf a 
 thoufand times, lofes little of his own con- 
 fidence. The indignation excited by the 
 
 paft 
 
( ^72 ) 
 
 paft will, he thinks, fecure him from any 
 future failure. He retires to confirm his 
 thoughts by meditation, and feels fenti« 
 ments of piety powerful within him. He 
 ventures again into the ftream of life, and 
 finds himfelf again carried away by the 
 current. 
 
 That to fuch men, the fenle of their 
 danger may not be ufelefs ; that they may 
 no longer trifle with their own convi6lion ; 
 it is neceffary to remind them, that man 
 is of few days ; that the life allotted to hu- 
 man beings is fhort, and, while they ftand 
 ftill in idle fufpence, is growing always 
 fborter ; that as this little time is fpent 
 w^ell or ill, their whole future exiflence 
 will be happy, or miferable ; that he who 
 begins the great w^ork of his falvation ear- 
 ly^ has employment adequate to all his 
 powers ; and that he who has delayed it, 
 can hope to accompliih it only by delay- 
 ing it no longer. 
 
 To him who turns his thoughts late to 
 the duties of Religion, the time is not only 
 fhorter, but the work is greater. The more 
 iin has prevailed, with the more difficulty 
 is its dominion rciifl:ed. Habits are formed 
 by repeated adfs, and therefore old habits 
 
 are 
 
( ^73 ) 
 
 are always ftrongeft. The mode of life, 
 to which we have been accullomed, and 
 which has entwined itfelf wi^h all our 
 thoughts and ailions, is not quitted but 
 with much difficulty. The want of thofe 
 vanities, which have hitherto filled the 
 day, is not eafily fupplied. Accuflomed 
 pleafures rufli upon the imagination; the 
 paflions clamour for their ufual gratifi- 
 cations ; and lin, though refolutely fhak- 
 en off, will ftruggle to regain its former 
 hold. 
 
 To overcome all thefe difficulties, and 
 overcome they mud be, who can tell what 
 time will be fufficlent ! To difburthen the 
 confcience, to reclaim the deiires, to com- 
 bat fenfuality, and reprefs vanity, is not 
 the work of an hour, or of a day. Many 
 confli6ls muft be endured, many falls reco- 
 vered, and many temptations repelled. 
 The arts of the enemy mtift be counter- 
 a<Sled, and the deceitful nefs of our own 
 hearts dete-fled, by Ikady and perfevering 
 vigilance. 
 
 But ho\Y much more dreadful does the 
 danger of delay appear, when it is confi- 
 dered, that not only life is every day 
 fhorter, and the work of reformation every 
 
 T day 
 
( 274 ) 
 
 day greater, but that firength is every day 
 lefs ! It is not only comparatively lelTened 
 by the long continuance of bad habits, but, 
 if the greater part of our time be paft, it is 
 abfolutely lefs by natural decay. In the 
 feeblenefs of declining life, refolution is 
 apt to languifh ; and the pains^ the fick- 
 nefs, and conlequent infirmities of age, too 
 frequently demand fo much care for the 
 body, that very little care is, or can be, 
 taken for the foul. 
 
 One coniideration more ought to be 
 deeply imprefTed upon every fluggifh and 
 c^ilatory lingerer. The penitential fenfe of 
 lin, and the defire of a new life, when they 
 arife in the mind, are to be received as 
 monitions excited by our merciful Father, 
 as calls which it is our duty to hear, and 
 our intereft to follow ; that to turn our 
 thoughts away from them, is a new fin ; a 
 fin which, often repeated, may at laft be 
 punifhed by dereli6tion. He that has been 
 called often in vain, may be called no 
 more ; and when death comes upon him, 
 he will recolle6t his broken refolves with 
 unutterable anguifli ; will wifh f5r time to 
 do what he has hitherto neglected, and 
 lament in vain that his days are few. 
 
 The 
 
( 27S ) 
 
 The motived to religious vigilance, and 
 diligence in our duties, which are afforded 
 by ferious meditation on the fliortnefs of 
 life, will receive afliftance from the view 
 of its mifery; and we are therefore to re. 
 member. 
 
 Secondly, That man born of a woman is 
 full of trouble. 
 
 The immediate effedl of the numerous 
 calamities, with which human nature is i 
 
 threatened, or affli6led, is to dire6t our de- ] 
 
 fires to a better ftate. A\ hen we Jaiow, ' 
 
 that we are on every lide befet with dan- 
 gers ; that our condition admits many 
 evils which cannot be remedied, but con- 
 tains no good which cannot be taken from 
 us ; that pain lies in ambufh behind plea- 
 fure, and misfortune behind fuccefs; that we 
 have bodies fubje(Sl to innumerable maladies 
 and minds liable to endlefs perturbations ; 
 that our knowledge often gives us pain, by 
 prefenting to our wifhes fuch felicity as is 
 beyond our reach, and our ignorance is 
 fuch, that we often purfue, with eagernefs, 
 what either we cannot attain, or what, if 
 we could attain it, difappoints our hopes ; 
 that in the dead calm of folitude vrc are 
 infufficient to our ov/n contentment, and 
 T Z that 
 
( ^76 ) 
 
 that when wearinefs of ourfelves impels us 
 to fociety, we are often ill received ; when 
 we perceive that fmall ofi^ences may raife 
 enemies, but that great benefits will not 
 always gain us friends ; when we find our- 
 felves courted by intereft, and forfaken by 
 ingratitude ; when thofe who love us fall 
 daily into the grave, and we fee ourfelves 
 coniidered as aliens and ftrangers by the rif- 
 ing generation ; it feems that we muft by 
 neceffity turn our thoughts to another life, 
 where, to thofe who are well prepared for 
 their departure, there will no longer be 
 pain or forrow. 
 
 Of the troubles incident to mankind, 
 every one is beft acquainted v^/ith his own 
 fhare. The miferies of others may attra6l5 
 but his own force, his attention ; and as 
 man is not afHi6led but for good purpofes, 
 that attention, if well regulated, will con- 
 tribute to purify his heart. 
 
 We are taught in the hiftory of Adam's 
 fall, that trouble was the confequence of 
 lin, and that mifery came into the world 
 by difobedience to the divine law. Sin and 
 vexation are ftill fo clofely united, that he 
 who traces his troubles to their fource will 
 commonly find that his faults have pro- 
 duced 
 
( ^77 ) 
 
 duced them ; and he is then to confidcr 
 his fuftcrings as the mild admonitions of 
 his heavenly Father, by which he is fum- 
 moned to timely penitence. He is fo far 
 from having any reafon to repine, that he 
 may draw comfortable hopes of pardon 
 and acceptance, and may fay, with the 
 higheft reafon, // is good for me that I have 
 been affli6ied. 
 
 It is, however, pollible that trouble may, 
 fometimc, be the confequence of virtue. 
 In times of pcrfecution this has often hap- 
 pened. Conieffors of the truth have been 
 punifhed by exile, imprifonment, tortures, 
 and death. The faithful have been driven 
 from place to place, and thofe imrce wan- 
 dered about in Jlieep-Jhins and goai-Jhins^ of 
 "whom the ivorld was not worthy. Heb. xi. 
 
 V. 37- 
 
 Of fuch violence Providence has now re- 
 moved us from the daviger ; but it is ftill 
 pofiible, that integrity may rife enemies, 
 and that a refolute adherence to the right 
 may not always be without danger. But 
 evils of this kind bring their confolation 
 with them ; and their natural effedl is to 
 raife the eye and thoughts to him who 
 certamly judges right ; and to excite ar- 
 dent 
 
( ^78 ) 
 
 dent deiires of that flate, where inno- 
 cence and happinefs fhall always be 
 united. 
 
 When we have leifure from our own 
 cares to caft our eyes about us, and behold 
 the whole creation groaning in mifery, we 
 mull: be careful that our judgement is not 
 prefumptuous, and that our charity is not 
 regulated by external appearances. We 
 are not to cou'ider thcfe on whom evil 
 falls, as the outcafts of Providence ; for 
 though temporal profperity was promifed 
 to the Jews, as a reward of faithful adher* 
 ence to the worfhip of God ; yet under the 
 difpenfation of the Gofpelwe are no where 
 taught, that the good fhall have any ex- 
 emption from the common accidents of 
 life, or that natural and civil evil fhall not 
 be equally ihared by the righteous and the 
 v/icked. 
 
 The frequency of misfortunes, and uni- 
 verfality of mifery, may properly reprefs 
 any tendency to difcontent or murmur. 
 We fuffer only what is fuffered by others, 
 and often by thofe who are better than 
 ourfelves. 
 
 But the chief reafon why we fhould fend 
 cut our enquiries, to colle6l intelligence of 
 
 mifery. 
 
( 279 ) 
 
 mifery, is that we may find opportunities 
 of'doing good. Many human troubles are 
 fuch as God has given man the power of 
 alleviating. The wants of poverty may 
 evidently be removed by the kindnefs of 
 thofe who have more than their own ufe 
 requires. Of fuch beneficence the time 
 in which we live does net want exam, 
 pies ; and furely that duty can never 
 be negle6led5 to which fo great rewards 
 are fo explicitly promifed. 
 
 But the power of doing good is not con- 
 fined to the wealthy. He that has nothing 
 elfe to give, may often give advice. Wif- 
 dom likewife has benefits in its power. A 
 wife man may reclaim the vicious, and in- 
 ftru6t the ignorant, may quiet the throbs 
 of forrow, or difentangle the perplexities 
 of confcience. He may compofe the re- 
 fentful, encourage the timorous, and ani- 
 mate the hopelefs. In the multifarious af- 
 fli6iions, with which every flate of human 
 life is acquainted, there is place for a thou* 
 fand ofBces of tenderneis ; fo that he, 
 whofe delire it is to do good, can never be 
 long without an opportunity ; and every 
 opportunity that Providence prefents, let 
 
 us 
 
( s8o ) 
 
 us feize with eagernefs, and improve with 
 diligence ; remembering that we have no 
 time to lofe, for Man that is Urn of a Wo-- 
 tvan is of few days. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XVI, 
 
 Job i. 'ZZ, 
 
 In all this Job finned noi^ nor charged God 
 foolijlil^. 
 
 i^UCH is the weaknefs of human nature, 
 that every particular flate, or condition, 
 lies open to particular temptations. Differ- 
 ent frames ofconflitution expofe us to dif- 
 ferent paffions, of equal danger to our vir- 
 tue ; and different methods of life, whe- 
 ther we engage in them by choice, or are 
 forced upon them by necefTity, have each of 
 them their inlets to fin, and their avenues 
 to perdition. 
 
 The two oppofite ftates of profperity 
 and adverfity equally require pur vigilance 
 
 and 
 
and caution; each of them is a flate of 
 confli6t5 in which nothing but unwearied 
 reiiftance can preferve us from being over- 
 come. 
 
 The vices of profperity are well known, 
 and generally obfcrved. The haughtinefs 
 of high rank, the luxury of affluence, and 
 the cruelty of power, every man remarks^ 
 and no man palliates. So that they are 
 the common fubjedls of inve61ive. 
 
 But though compaffion hinders men 
 from being equally fevere upon the faults 
 of the unhappy and dillreiTed, yet, as there 
 always has been, and always will be, at 
 leaft an equal number in this, as in the 
 other ftate, it is proper that they likewife 
 fhould be warned of the crimes to which 
 the circumftances of their condition expofe 
 them, and furnifhed with fuch reflections 
 as may enable them to avoid them ; that 
 one mifery may not produce a greater, 
 nor misfortune be the caufe of wicked, 
 nefs. 
 
 1 here is no crime more incident to thofe 
 w^hofe life is embittered with calamities, 
 and whom affli6tions have reduced to 
 gloom inefs and melancholy, than that of 
 repining at the determinations of Provi- 
 dence, 
 
( 283 ) 
 
 dcncQ^ OY of charging God fcolijiily. They 
 are often tempted to unfeemly enquiries 
 into the reafon of his difpen fat ions, and to 
 expoftulations abdut the juP:ice of that 
 fentence which condemns them to their 
 pre lent fulferings. They confider the lives 
 Oi ihofe whom they account happier than 
 themfelves, with an eye of malice and fuf- 
 picion, and if they find them no better 
 than their own, think themfelves almoft 
 juRiiied in murmuring at their own Rate. 
 
 But how widely they err from their du- 
 ty, by giving way to difcontent, and al- 
 lowina: themfelves to difpute the reafon- 
 ab'cneis of thofe laws by which the great 
 Creator governs the world, will appear, 
 
 Firrt, by confidering the attributes of 
 God. And 
 
 Secondly, hy refle6ling on the ignorance 
 of man. 
 
 Firft, by conlidering the attributes of 
 God. 
 
 Many of the errors of mankind, both in 
 opinion and pra6^ice, feem to arife origi- 
 nally from miftaken notions of the Divine 
 Being, or at leaR from want of attention 
 to the nature of thofe attributes which rea- 
 fon, as w^ell as the holy fcriptures, teaches 
 
 us 
 
( ^84 ) 
 
 us to affign to him. A temporary forget- 
 fulnefs has, for the time, the fame efFe6t as 
 real ignorance, but has this advantage, that 
 it is much more eafily remedied ; fince it 
 is much lefs difficult to recoUecl our own 
 ideas, than to obtain new ones. This is, I 
 fuppofe, the ftate of every man amongft us 
 who is betrayed by his impatience under 
 affiiclions to murmur at Heaven. He 
 knows, when he reflecls calmly, that the 
 world is iieither eternal, nor independent ; 
 that we neither were produced, nor are 
 preferved, by chance. But that Heaven 
 and earth, and the whole fyftem of things, 
 were created by an infinite and perfect Be- 
 ing, who fall continues to fuperintend and 
 govern them. He knows that this Great 
 Being is infinitely wife, and infinitely good ; 
 fo that the end which he propofes mufl; ne« 
 ceiiarily be the final happinefs of thofe 
 beings that depend upon him, and the 
 means, by which he promotes that end, 
 muft undoubtedly be the wifeft and the 
 befi. All this he is fufficiently convinced 
 of, when he is awakened to recolle6lion ; 
 byt his conviction is over-borne by the 
 fudden gulls of pafTion, and his impatience 
 huxries him to wicked exclamations, be- 
 fore 
 
( 285 ) 
 
 fore he can recal to his mind thofe reafon- 
 ings, which, if attended to, would flitle 
 every rebellious thought, and change liis 
 diftruft and dilcontent into confidence and 
 tranquillity. 
 
 It very nearly concerns every man, iince 
 every man is expofed, by the nature ofhii- 
 man things, to trouble and calamities, to pro- 
 vide againft the days of adverlity, by mak- 
 ing fuch ideas familiar to his mind as may 
 defend him againft any temptations to the 
 fin of charging God fool ipily. 
 
 It is frequently obferved in common life, 
 that forne favourite notion or inclination, 
 long indulged, takes fuch an entire poilef- 
 llon of a man's mind, and fo engrofies his 
 faculties, as to mingle thoughts perhaps 
 he is not himfelf confcious of with almoft 
 all his conceptions, and influence his 
 whole behaviour. It will often operate on 
 occafions with which it could fcarccly be 
 imagined to have any connexion, and will 
 difcover itfelf, however it may lie conceal- 
 ed, either in trifling incidents, or import- 
 ant occurrences, when it is leaft expe61ed 
 or forefeen. It gives a particular direclion 
 to every fentiment and a61:ion, and carries 
 
 a man 
 
( 286 ) 
 
 a man forward, as by a kind of reiiftlefs 
 impulfe, or infuperable deftin3\ 
 
 As this unbounded dominion of ideas, 
 long entertained by the fancy, and natura- 
 lized to the mind, is a very liong argument 
 againft fuifering ourfelves to dwell too long 
 upon plealing dreams, or delightful falfe-, 
 hoods, or admitting any inordinate pafTion 
 to inlinuate itfelf, and grow domeftic ; fo 
 it is a reafon, of equal force, to engage us 
 in a frequent, and intenfe meditation on 
 thofe important and eternal rules, which 
 are to regulate our condu6}, and re61ify 
 our minds ; that the power of habit may 
 be added to that of truth, that the moft 
 ufeful ideas may be the moft familiar, and 
 that every a61ion of our lives may be car- 
 ried on under the fuperintendence of an 
 over- ruling piety. 
 
 The man who has accuftomed himfelf 
 to confider that he is always in the pre- 
 fence of the Supreme Being, that every 
 work of his hands is carried on, and every 
 imadnation of his heart formed, under the 
 infpe61ion of his Creator, and his Judge, 
 eaiily withftands thofe temptations which 
 find a ready palTage into a mind not guard - 
 
 I ed 
 
( 287 ; 
 
 ed and fecured by this awful fenfe of the 
 divine prefence. 
 
 He is not enticed by ill examples, be- 
 caufe the purity of God always occurs to 
 his imagination ; he is not betrayed to fe- 
 curity by folitude, becaufe he never confi- 
 ders himfelf as alone. 
 
 The two great attributes of our Sovereign 
 Creator, which feem moft likely to influ- 
 ence our lives, and, by confequence moll: 
 neceffarily to claim our attention, are his 
 juftice and his mercy. Each of thefe may 
 fuggcft confiderations, very efBcacious for 
 the fupprefTion of wicked and unreafonable 
 murmurs. 
 
 The juftice of God will not fuffer him 
 to affiia any man, without caufe, or with- 
 out retribution Whenever we fuffer, 
 
 therefore, we are certain, either that we 
 have, by our wicked nefs, procured our 
 own miferies, or that they are fent upon 
 us as further trials of our virtue, in order 
 to prepare us for greater degrees of happi- 
 nefs. Whether we fuppofe ourfelves to 
 fuffer for the fake of punifhment or proba- 
 tion, it is not eafy to difcover with what 
 right we repine. 
 
 If 
 
( 288 ) 
 
 If our pains and labours be only prepara- 
 tory to unbounded felicity ; if we are per- 
 fectdedfor righicoiifnefs fake^ or fuifer by any 
 confequences of a good life ; we ought to 
 rejoice and he exceeding glad, and to glori- 
 fy the goodnefs of God, who by uniting us 
 in our fufferings with Saints and Martyrs^ 
 will join us alfo in our reward. 
 
 But it is not uncharitable to believe of 
 others-, that this is not always the reafon 
 of their fufferings, and certainly no man 
 ought to believe it ofhimfelf, without a 
 very fevere and cautious examination, long 
 continued, and often repeated ; for nothing 
 is more dario;erous than fpiritual pride. 
 The man that efteems himfelf a Saint will 
 be in danger of relaxing his circumfpe6lion, 
 of flopping in his progrefs of virtue, and, 
 if once he ftops, of falling back into thofe 
 infirmities from which his imaginary ex- 
 emption made him prefumptuous and fu- 
 pine. Every man therefore, when the 
 hand of God is heavy upon him, mufl: ap- 
 ply himfelf to an attentive, and exa6l re- 
 trofpeilion of his ov;n life. He muft en- 
 quire, if he has avoided all open enormi- 
 ties, and fcandalous degrees of guilt; whe- 
 ther he is not punifhed for fome fecret 
 
 crime 
 
( :i89 ) 
 
 crime unknown to the world, and perhaps 
 almoft forgotten by himfelf ; whether, in 
 furveying himfelf, he does not overlook 
 fome favourite iin,' fome criminal indul- 
 gence ; or whether he has not fatisfied 
 himfelf with increaiing his devotions, in- 
 ftead of reforming his morals, or whether, 
 from too much confidence in his morality, 
 he has not been negligent of his devo- 
 tions ; and v/hether he has not content- 
 ed himfelf with an imperfe6t and par- 
 tial fatisfa61:ion for fome injury done to 
 his n-eighbour, when an adequate and com- 
 pleat reparation was in his power. 
 
 To this enquiry he will be incited by 
 remembering that God is juft, that there is 
 undoubtedly a reafon for his mifery, which 
 will probably be found in his own corrup- 
 tion. He will therefore, inftead of mur- 
 muring at God, begin to examine himfelf; 
 and when he has found the depravity of his 
 own manners, it is more likely that he 
 will admire the mercy, than complain of 
 the feverity, of his Judge. 
 
 We have indeed fo little right to com- 
 plain of punifhment, when it does not ex- 
 ceed the meafure of the offence, that to 
 bear it patiently hardly deferves the name 
 U ' of 
 
( 290 ) 
 
 of virtue ; but impatience under it is, in a 
 high degiee, fbolifh and criminal. 
 
 It is well known how partial every man 
 is in his own caufe, and therefore it is ne- 
 ceiTary to meditate much upon the juftice of 
 God, left: we be tempted to think our pu- 
 nifhments too great for our faults ; and, in 
 the mid ft: of our anguifh and dift:rels, 
 charge God foolijhly. 
 
 But we fhall receive yet farther fatisfac- 
 tion from a frequent reflection on the mercy 
 of God. We Ihall learn to confider 
 him, not only as the Governor, but as 
 the Father, of the univerfe ; as a Being 
 infinitely gracious, whofe punifhments 
 are not infli6led to gratify any paflion 
 of anger, or revenge, but to awaken 
 us from the lethargy of lin, and to recal 
 us from the paths of defl:ru6tion. 
 
 Every man has obferved, that the great- 
 eft part of thofe who enjoy the pleafures of 
 this life, without interruption or reftraint, 
 are either entirely forgetful of any other 
 ft ate, or at leaft very little folicitous about 
 it. Men are ealily intoxicated with plea- 
 lure, dazzled with magnificence, or elated 
 with power. The moft pathetic or ra- 
 Vional difcourfe upon eternity has feldom 
 
 any 
 
( ^91 } 
 
 any lafting effeft upon the gay, the youtig, 
 the wealthy, and the profperous. Even 
 the Gofpel itfelf was firft received by the 
 poor. 
 
 The reafon of this is not, becaufe Reli- 
 gion is beft adapted to a gloomy and me- 
 lancholy ftate of the mind. For the truths 
 of Religion are attefted by evidence, which 
 muft be yielded to as foon as it is confider- 
 ed ; and conftrnied by proofs, which no- 
 thing but inattention can relift. But to 
 conlider, and weigh this evidence ferioufly 
 and impartially, the mind muft be abftra6t- 
 ed, in fome meafure, from the obje6ts that 
 furround us ; obje61:s that ftrike us ftrong- 
 ly, not becaufe they are great, but becaufe 
 they are near, while the views of futurity 
 afFe6l us but faintly, not becaufe they 
 are unimportant, but becaufe they are 
 diftant. 
 
 A conftant convi6lion of the mercy of 
 God firmly implanted in our minds, will, 
 upon the firft attack of any calamity, eafily 
 induce us to refiedt, that it is permitted by 
 God to fall upon us, left we fhould be too 
 much enamoured of our prefent ftate, 
 and negle6t to extend our profpe6ls into 
 eternity. 
 
 U 3 Thus, 
 
( 293 ) 
 
 Thus, by familiarizing to our minds the 
 attributes of God, fhall we, in a great mea- 
 iure, fequre ourfelves againft any tempta- 
 tion to repine at his arrangements ; but 
 fhail probably ftill more ftrengthen our 
 refolution, and confirm our piety, by re- 
 fle61ing. 
 
 Secondly, On the ignorance of Man. 
 
 On egeneral method of judging, and de- 
 termining upon the value, or excellence of 
 things, is by comparing one with another. 
 Thus it is, that we form a nation of wealth, 
 greatneis, or power. It is by comparing 
 ourfelves with others, that we often make 
 an eftimate of our own happinels, and even 
 fometimesof our virtue. They who repine 
 at the ways of Providence, repine often, 
 not becaufe they are miferable, but becaufe 
 they are not fo happy as others ; and ima- 
 gine their afflictions dealt with a partial 
 hand, not that they can conceive themfelves 
 free from guilt, but becaufe they fee, or 
 think they fee, others equally criminal, 
 that fuffer lefs. Should they be fuppofed 
 to judge rightly of themfelves and others, 
 fhould it be conceived that, in rating their 
 own excellencies, they are not milled by their 
 felf-love, or that they are not hindered by 
 
 envy 
 
( ^93 ) 
 
 envy from difcerning the virtues of thofe 
 whom they look upon as rivals for happi- 
 nefs ; yet unlels they could prove, that 
 the mercies which they have received, as 
 below their merits, they have no reafon to 
 complain. He that has more than he de- 
 ferves is not to murmur merely becaufe he 
 has lefs than another. 
 
 But when we judge thus confidently of 
 others, we deceive ourfelves; we admit 
 conje6tures for certainties, and chimaeras 
 for realities. To determine the degrees of 
 virtue and wickednefs in particular men, is 
 the prerogative only of that Being that 
 fearches the fecrets of the heart, that knows 
 what temptations each man has reiifted ; 
 how far the means of grace hai^ been af- 
 forded him, and how he has improved or 
 negledted them ; that fees the force of 
 every paffion, knows the power of every 
 prejudice, attends to every conflivSl of the 
 mind, and marks all the ftruggles of im- 
 perfe6l virtue. He only, who gave us our 
 faculties and abilities, knows when we ert 
 by infurmountable ignorance, or when we 
 deviate from the right by negligence or 
 prefumption. He only, that knovv's every 
 circumliance of life^ and every motion of 
 
 the 
 
( 294 ) 
 
 the mind, can tell how far the crimes, or 
 virtues, of each man are to be punifhed or 
 rewarded. No man can fay, that he is 
 better than another, becaufe no man can 
 tell, how far theother was enabled to refill 
 temptation, or what incidents might concur 
 to overthrow his virtue. Nor are we able 
 to decide^ with much greater certainty, 
 upon the happinefs of others. We fee only 
 the fuperficies of rnen, without knowing 
 what paifes within. Splendour, equipage, 
 and luxury, are not always accompanied 
 by happinefs ; but are more frequently the 
 wretched folaces of a min4 diftra6te4 with 
 perplexities and haralTed with terrors. 
 Men are often driven, by reflexion and re*- 
 inorfe, into the hurries of bufinefs, or of 
 pleafure, and fly from the terrifying fug- 
 geftions of their own thoughts to banquet? 
 and to courts, 
 
 Profperity and happinefs are very differ- 
 ent, though by thofe who undertake to judge 
 of the ftate of others they are always con- 
 founded. It is poflible to know that ano* 
 ther is profperous, that his revenues in- 
 creafe, that his dependents grow more nu- 
 merous, that his fchemes fucceed, and his 
 y^putation advances. But we cannot tell 
 
 hov7 
 
( ^95 ) 
 
 how much all thefe promote his happi- 
 nefs, becaufe we cannot judge how much 
 they may engage his care, or inflame his 
 defires : how much he may fear his ene- 
 mies, or fufpedl: his friends. We know not 
 how much this feeming felicity maybe im- 
 paired by his folly, or his guilt; and 
 therefore he that murmurs at the inequa- 
 lity of human happinefs, or accufes Provi- 
 dence of partiality, forgets his own imper- 
 fe6lions, and determines raflily, v/here he 
 cannot judge. 
 
 Let every one then whom God fhall vifit 
 with affli6tlon humble himfelf before him, 
 with fteady confidence in his mercy, and 
 unfeigned fubmiflion to his juftice ! Let 
 him remember that his fins are the caufe 
 of his miferies, that his troubles are fent to 
 awaken him to refle6lion, and that the 
 evils of this life may be improved to his 
 eternal advantage, if inftead of adding fin 
 to fin, and charging God fooliJJily^ he applies 
 himfelf ferioully to the great work of felf- 
 examination and repentance. 
 
 For furely the frailty of this life, and the 
 uncertainty of all human happinefs, is 
 proved by every view of the world about 
 us, and every reflc6lion upon ourfelves. 
 
 Let 
 
( 2^96 ) 
 
 Let not death arreft us in a ftate of mind 
 unfit to ft and the trial of eternal juftice, or 
 to obtain the privileges of infinite mercy 1 
 Let it not furprife us engaged in fchemes 
 of vanity, or wifties of empty pleafure ! 
 Let death, which may feize us now, which 
 will feize us at fome time, equally terrible, 
 find us, whenever it fhall come, animated 
 with the love of God, fubmifTive to hiseter. 
 nal will, and diffufed in univerfal charity 
 and benevolence to our brethren. 
 
 Let this inftant begin a new life ; and 
 every future minute improve it ! Then, in 
 exchange for riches, honours, or fenfual 
 delights, we may obtain the tranquillity of 
 a good confcience, and that ^eau of God 
 which pajjeih all under/landing. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XVn. 
 
 Exodus, xx. i5. 
 
 Thou Jhalt not hear falje wiinefs againjl thy 
 
 nehhhour. 
 
 N. 
 
 OTHING is more common than for 
 men to make partial and abfurd diftinc- 
 tions between vices of equal enormity, and 
 to obferve fome of the divine commands 
 with great fcrupuloufnels ; while they vio- 
 late others, equally importa^it, without any 
 concern, or the leaft apparent confciouf^ 
 nefs of guilt. 
 
 That to do our duty in part is better 
 than entirely to difregard it, cannpt be de- 
 nied ; and he that avoids fome crimes, 
 from the fear of difpleafing God, isdoubt- 
 
 lefs 
 
( 298 ) 
 
 lefs far more innocent than he that has 
 thrown off all reftraint, has forgotten the 
 diflindlions of good and evil, and complies 
 with every temptation. But it is a very- 
 dangerous miftake, to conceive that any 
 man, by obeying one law, acquires the li- 
 berty of brea'king another ; or that all fins, 
 equally odious to God. or hurtful to men, 
 are not, with equal care, to be avoided. 
 
 We may frequently obferve, that men, 
 who would abhor the thought of violating 
 the property of another, by dire6l methods 
 of oppreffion or rapine, men, on all com- 
 mon occafions, not only juft, but kind and 
 compafTionate, willing to relieve the necef- 
 fitous, and a6live in the prote6tion of the 
 injured, will neverthelefs invade the cha- 
 ra6lers of others with defamation and ca- 
 lumny, and deftroy a reputation without 
 remorfe. 
 
 If every day did not convince us, how 
 little either good or bad men are confii^ent 
 with themfelves, it might be wondered, 
 how men, who own their obligations to 
 the pra6lice of fome duties, can overlook 
 in themfelves the omiflion of others equal- 
 ly important, and enjoined by the fame 
 authority ; and that thofe who avoid iheft^ 
 
 becaufe 
 
( 299 ) 
 
 becaufe they are forbidden io Jleal^ do 
 not equally abftain from calumny^ fince 
 they are no leis forbidden io hear falfe nvii- 
 tiejs againji their neighbour ; a prohibition, 
 of which I fliall endeavour to explain the 
 nature, and enforce the necefTity by fhew^ 
 
 Firft, What are the different fenfes, in 
 which a man may be faid io bear falfe wHt 
 nefs againji his neighbour. 
 
 Secondly, The enormity of the fin of 
 })earing falfe laiinefs. 
 
 Thirdly, What refle611ons may beft en- 
 able us to avoid it. 
 
 The higheft degree of guilt forbidden by 
 this law of God, is falfe teftimony in a 
 literal fenfe, or deliberate and folemn per* 
 jury in a court of juftice, by which the life 
 of an innocent man is taken away, the 
 rightful owner ftripped of his pofreffions, 
 or an oppreffor fupported in his ufurpati.- 
 pns. This is a crime that includes robbe. 
 ry and murder, fublimed to the higheft 
 ftate of enormity, and heightened with the 
 moft atrocious aggravations. He that robs 
 or murders by this method, not only docs 
 it, by tlie nature of the aaion, with 
 calmnefii an^ premeditation, but by maldng 
 
 4 the 
 
( 300 ) 
 
 the name of God a fancllon to his wickcd- 
 nefs. Upon this it is unnecefTary to dwell 
 long, lince men, arrived at this height of 
 corruption, are fcarcely to be reformed by 
 argument, or perfuaiion ; and indeed fel- 
 dom fuifer themfelves to be reafoned with, 
 or admonifhed. It may be however pro- 
 per to obferve, that he who is ever fo re- 
 motely the caufe of any wickednefs, if he 
 really deligns, and willingly promotes it, 
 is guilty of that a6lion in the fame, or 
 nearly the fame, degree with the immedi- 
 ate perpetrator i and therefore he that 
 fuborns a falfe witnels, or procures fuch a 
 one to be fuborned, whether in his own 
 caufe, or in that of another, is guilty of the 
 crime of perjury in its utmoft extent. 
 
 Nor is that man only perjured, who de- 
 livers for truth what he certainly knows to 
 be falfe ; but he likewife that afTerts what 
 he does not know to be true. For as an 
 oath taken implies, in the opinion of the 
 magiftrate who adminifters it, a know- 
 ledge of the fa6l required to be proved, he 
 that, by offering; himfelf as an evidence, 
 declares himfelf acquainted with what he 
 is ignorant of, is guilty of bearing falfe 
 witnefs, lince, though what he fwears 
 
 fhould 
 
( 301 ) 
 
 fhould happen to be true, it is not true that 
 he knew it. 
 
 Such remarks as thefe feem, at the firft 
 view, very trifling, becaufe they are obvi- 
 ous, and yet are made neccflkry by the con- 
 dudt of mankind. Every man almofl: has 
 had opportunities of obferving, with what 
 grofs and artlefs delufions men impofe up- 
 on themfelves ? how readily they diftin- 
 guifti between adlions, in the eye of juftice 
 and of reafon, equally criminal ; how of- 
 ten they hope to elude the vengeance of 
 heaven, by fubftituting others to perpetrate 
 the villainies they contrive; how often they 
 mock God by ground lefs excufes ; and 
 how often they voluntarily fhut their eyeSy 
 to leap into deftru6^ion. 
 
 There is another fenfe in which a man 
 may be faid to hear falfe wiinefs againjl his 
 neighbour^ a lower degree of the crime for- 
 bidden in the text, a degree, in which mul- 
 titudes are guilty of it ; or, rather, from 
 which fcarcely any are entirely free. He, 
 that attacks the reputation of another by 
 calumny, is doubtlefs, according to the 
 malignity of the report, chargeable with 
 the breach of this commandment. 
 
 Yet this is fo univerfal a pradtice, that 
 
 it 
 
( 3<^^ 7 
 
 it is fcarcely accounted criminal, or num- 
 bered among thofe fins which require re-^ 
 pentance. Defamation is become one of 
 the amufements of life, a curfory part of 
 converfation and focial entertainment.— 
 Men Iport away the reputation ot others, 
 without the leaft refle6tion upon the inju- 
 ry which they are doing, and applaud the 
 happinels of their own invemtion, if they 
 can increafe the mirth of a feaft, or ani- 
 mate conviviality, by flander and detrac- 
 tion. 
 
 How it comes to pafs, that men do not 
 perceive the abfurdity of diftinguifhing in 
 fuch a manner between themfelves and 
 others, as to conceive that condu6l innocent 
 in themfelves, which in others, they would 
 make no difficulty of condemning, it is 
 not eafy to tell. Yet it is apparent, that 
 every man is fufficiently feniible, when his 
 own charadler is attacked, of the cruelty 
 and injuftice of calumny ; and it is not lefs 
 evident, that thofe will animadvert, with 
 all the wantonnefs of malice, upon the mo- 
 ral irregularities of others, whom the leaft 
 refle6lion upon their own lives kindles into 
 fury, and exafperates to the utmoft feveri- 
 ties of revenge. 
 
 To 
 
( 303 ) 
 
 To invent a defamatory falfehood, to 
 rack the invention for the fake of difguifing 
 it v;ith circumftances of probability, and 
 propagate it induftrioufly, till it becomes 
 popular, and takes root in the minds of 
 men, is fuch a continued a6l of malice, as 
 nothing can palliate. 
 
 Nor will it be a fufficient vindication to 
 alledge, that the report, though not wholly, 
 yet in part is true, and that it was no un- 
 reafonable fufpicion that fuggefted the reft. 
 For, if fufpicion be admitted for certainty, 
 every man's happinefs muft be entirely in 
 the power of thofe bad men, w^hofe confci- 
 oufnefs of guilt makes them eafily judge 
 ill of others, or whom a natural, or habitu- 
 al jealoufy inclines to imagine frauds or 
 villainies, where none are intended. And 
 if fmall failings may be aggravated at the 
 pleafure of the relator, who may not, how- 
 ever cautious, be made infamous and de- 
 teftable ? A calumny, in which falfehood 
 is complicated with truth, and malice is af- 
 lifted by probability, is more dangerous, 
 but therefore lels innocent, than unmixed 
 forgery, and groundlefs inve61:ives. 
 
 Neither is the firft author only of a ca. 
 lumny a falfc witnefs aga'mjl his ne'ighhotir^ 
 
 but 
 
( 304 ) 
 
 but he likewife that diffeminates and pro- 
 motes it ; fince without his affiftance, it 
 would perifh as foon as it is produced, 
 would evaporate in the air without efFedl, 
 and hurt none but him that uttered it. He 
 that blows a fire for the deftruftion of a 
 city, is no lels an incendiary than he that 
 kindled it. And the man that imagines he 
 may, without a crime, circulate a calumny 
 which he has received from another, may, 
 with equal reafon, conceive, that though it 
 be murder to prepare poifons, it may be 
 innocent to difperfe them. 
 
 Many are the pleas and e.xcufes, with 
 which thofe, who cannot deny this prac- 
 tice, endeavour to palliate it. They fre- 
 quently alTert, in their own juftification, 
 that they do not know the relation, which 
 they hand about, to be falfe. But to thofe 
 it may be juftly replied, that before they 
 fpread a report to the prejudice of others, 
 they ought, if not to know that it is true, 
 at leaft to believe it upon fome reafonable 
 ^rounds. They ought not to affift a ran- 
 dum whifper, or drive forward a flying 
 tale ; they ought not eagerly to catch at 
 an opportunity of hurting, or add weight 
 
 to 
 
( 305 ) 
 
 to a blow which may perhaps be unde- 
 fervcd. 
 
 It may happen indeed, that a calumny 
 may be fupported by luch tei\imony, and 
 conne6led with fuch probabilities, as may 
 deceive the circumrpe6t and juil; and tlie 
 reporter, in fuch cafes, is by no means to 
 be charged with bearing falle witnefs ; 
 becaufe to l^elieve and difbelieve is not in 
 our power ; for there is a certain degree of 
 evidence, to which a man cannot but yield. 
 He, therefore, who is deceived himfelf, 
 cannot be accufed of deceiving others, and 
 is only ib far blameable, as he contributed 
 to the diflionour or prejudice of another, 
 by fpreading his faults without any juft 
 occafion, or lawful caufe. For to relate 
 reproachful truths, only for the pleafure of 
 deprelTing the reputation of our neighbour, 
 is far from being innocent. The crime 
 indeed doth not tail under the head of ca- 
 lumny, but only differs from it in liie 
 lalfehood, not in the malice. 
 
 There is another occafion made ufe of, 
 by which, if this fault could efca^xj ironi 
 cenfure, many others might enjoy the 
 fame advantage. It is urged by fome, 
 that they do not adopt the tale, 'till it is 
 X gene- 
 
( 3o6 ) 
 
 generally received, and only promote what 
 they cannot hinder. But how muft v/icked- 
 nefs be controuled, if its prevalence be a 
 reafon for compliance ? Is it equitable and 
 juft to coalefce with opprelfors, becaufe 
 they are already too powerful for the in- 
 jured to relift ? Thus any man might vin- 
 dicate rebellion, by affirming that he did 
 not join with the rebels, 'till they were al- 
 ready numerous enough to dethrone their 
 prince. Thus a man may exempt himfelf 
 from blame, for betjraying his truft, and 
 felling his country, by alledgingthat others 
 had already fold it, and he only entered 
 into the combination, that he might fhare 
 the reward of perfidy. But it requires few 
 arguments to fhew the folly of fuch pleas 
 as thefe. It is the duty of every man to 
 regulate his condu6l, not by the example 
 of others, or by his own furmifes, but 
 by the invariable rules of equity and 
 truth. Wickednefs muft be oppofed by 
 fome, or virtue would be entirely driven 
 out of the world. And who muft oppofe 
 it in extremities, if, as it increafes more, it 
 be lefs criminal to yield without refift- 
 ance ? If this excufe will vindicate one 
 man, it will vindicate another ; and no 
 
 man 
 
( 30? ) 
 
 man will be found, who is obireed to 
 maintain a poft, from which others may 
 fly without a crime, and to endeavour to 
 reform the world, by which it is no re- 
 proach to be vitiated. If this reafoning 
 werejnll, there might be a fiate of general 
 depravity, in which wickednefs might loie 
 its guilt, fince every man might be led 
 away by predominant corruption, and the 
 univerfality of vice become its own de- 
 fence. 
 
 In fuch a fituation indeed, thet-e is a ne- 
 ceflity for an uncommon firmnefs and re- 
 lolution to perlift in the right, without re- 
 gard to ridicule on the one hand, or intcr- 
 ett on the other. But this refolution muft 
 be fummoncd ; we muft call up all our 
 firength, and awaken all our caution, and 
 in defiance of iniquity, however warranted 
 by fafhion, or fupported by power, main- 
 tain an unfliakcn integrity, and reproach 
 the world by a good example, if we cannot 
 amend it. 
 
 There is yet another way, by which we 
 may partake, in fo me mcafure, of the 
 fin of hearing faljc witnefs. That he, who 
 does not hinder the commiflion of a crime, 
 involves himfeifin the guilt, cannot be dc- 
 X z nied; 
 
( 3o8 ) 
 
 nied ; and that his guilt is yet more fla- 
 grant, if, inftead of obftru6ling, he encour- 
 ages it, is equally evident. He therefore 
 that receives a calumny with applaufej 
 or lifl:ens to it with a lilent approbation, 
 muil: be at leaft chargeable with conniving 
 at wrong, which will be found no trivial 
 accufation, when we have coniidered. 
 
 Secondly, the enormity of the lin of 
 hearing falfe witnefs. 
 
 The malignity of an offence arifes, either 
 from the motives that prompted it, or the 
 confequences produced by it. 
 
 If we examinethe fin of calumny by this 
 rule, we fhall find both the motives and 
 confequences of the worft kind. We fliall 
 find its caufes and effe6ls concurring to 
 diftinguifh it from common wickednefs, 
 and rank it with thofe crimes that pollute 
 "tlie earth, and blacken human nature. 
 
 The mofi: ufual incitement to defama- 
 tion is envy, or impatience of the merit, or 
 fuccefs, of others ; a malice raifed not by 
 any injury received, but merely by the 
 light of that happinefs which we cannot 
 attain. This is a paflion, of all others molt 
 hurtful and contemptible ; it is pride com- 
 plicated 
 
( 309 ) 
 
 plicated with lazinefs; pride which inclines 
 us to wifh ourfelves upon the level with 
 others, and lazinefs which hinders us from 
 purfuing our inclinations with vigour anct 
 affiduity. Nothing then remains but that 
 the envious man endeavour to ftop thofe, 
 by fome artiftcc, whom he will not ftrive 
 to overtake, and reduce his fuperiors to his 
 own meannefs, fince he cannot rife to their 
 elevation. To this end he examines their 
 condu6l with a refolution to condemn it ; 
 and, if he can find no remarkable defe6ls, 
 makes no fcruple to aggravate fmaller er- 
 rors, 'till, by adding one vice to another, 
 and detraining from their virtues by de- 
 grees, he has divefted them of that repu- 
 tation which obfcured his own, and left 
 them no qualities to be admired or re- 
 v/arded. 
 
 Calumnies are fometimes the offspring 
 of refentment. When a man is oppofed 
 in a defign which he cannot juftity, and 
 defeated in the pcrfecution of fchemes 
 of tyranny, extortion, or oppreffion, he fel- 
 dom fails to revenge his overthrow by 
 blackening that integrity which effeded it. 
 No rage is more fierce than that of a vil- 
 lain difappointed of thofe advantages 
 
 which 
 
( 310 ) 
 
 which he has purfued by a long train of 
 wicked nefs. He has forfeited the efteem 
 of mankind, he has burthened his con- 
 fcience, and hazarded his future happi- 
 nefs, to no purpofe, and has now nothing 
 to hope but the fatisfa6lion of involving 
 thofe, who have broken his meafures, in 
 misfortunes and difgrace. By wretches 
 like Ihefe it is no wonder if the vileft arts 
 of detra6tion are practifed without fcru- 
 pie, iince both their refentment and their 
 intereft dire6l them to deprefs thofe, whole 
 iniiuence and authority will be employed 
 againft them. 
 
 But what can be faid of thofe who, 
 without being impelled by any violence of 
 paffion, without having received any inju-^ 
 ry or provocation, and without any mo- 
 tives of intereft, vilify the deferving and 
 the worthlefs without diftin6lion ; and, 
 merely to gratify the levity of temper 
 and incontinence of tongue, throw out 
 afperfions equally dangerous with thofe of 
 virulence and enmity ? 
 
 Thefe always reckon themfelves, and 
 are commonly reckoned by thofe whofe 
 gaity they promote, among the benevolent, 
 the candid, and the humane ; men with- 
 out 
 
( 311 > 
 
 out gall or malignity, friends to good hu 
 mour, and lovers of a jeft. But, upon a 
 more fcrious eftimation, will they not be, 
 with far greater propriety, clalTeJ with 
 the cruel and the felfifh wretches that feel 
 no anguifh at facrificing the happinefs of 
 mankind to the loweft views, to the poor 
 ambition of excelling in fcurrility ? To 
 defcrve the exalted chara6ier of humanity 
 and good-nature, a man muft mean ivell ; 
 it is not fufficient to mean mAhiiKr. He 
 muft a6t and think with generous views, 
 not with a total difregard of all the confe- 
 quences of his behaviour. Otnervvife, with 
 all his wit and all his laughter, what 
 chara6ter can he deferix, but that of the 
 fool^ wlio Jcaiiers fte-brands^ atn^oivs^ and 
 deaths and fays ^ am I not in J port ? 
 
 The confequences of thiscrimc, what- 
 ever be the inducements to commit it, are 
 equally pernicious. He that attacks the 
 reputation of another, invades the moft 
 valuable part of his property, and perhaps 
 the only part which he can call his own. 
 Calumny can take away what is out of the 
 reach of tyranny and ufurpation, and what 
 may enable the fuffercr to repair the inju- 
 vies received from the hand of oppreflion. 
 
( 312 ) 
 
 The perfecutions of power may injure the 
 fortune of a good man; but thofe of calum- 
 ny muft complete his ruin. 
 
 Nothing can fo much obftrucl the pro- 
 grefs of virtue, as the defamation of thofe 
 that excel in it For praife is one motive, 
 even in the beft minds, to fuperior and dif- 
 tinguifhing degrees of goodnefs; and there- 
 fore he that reduces all men to the fame 
 ftate of infamy, atleaft deprives them of one 
 reward which is due to merit, and takes 
 away one incitement to it. But the effe6l 
 does not terminate here. Calumny deflroys 
 that influence, and powder of example, 
 which operates much more forcibly upon 
 the minds of men, than the folemnity of 
 laws, or the fear of punifhment. Our na- 
 tural and real power is very fmall ; and it 
 is by the afcendant which he has gained, 
 and the efteem in which he is held, that 
 any man is able to govern others, to main- 
 tain order in fociety, or to perform any im- 
 portant fervice to mankind, to which the 
 united endeavours of numbers are requir- 
 ed. This afcendant, which when confer- 
 red upon bad men by fuperiority of riches, 
 or hereditary honour, is frequently made 
 ufe of to corrupt and deprave the world, 
 
 to 
 
( 313 ) 
 
 to jaftify debauchery, and flicker villainy, 
 might be employed, if it were to be ob- 
 tained only by defert, to the nobleft pur- 
 pofes. It might difcountenance vanity 
 and folly ; it might make the fafbion co- 
 operate with the laws, and reform thofe 
 upon whom reafon and convi£lion have no 
 force. 
 
 Calumny differs from moft other injuries 
 in this dreadful circumiiance. He who 
 commits it, never can repair it-. A falfe 
 report may fpread, where a recantation 
 never reaches ; and an accufation muft 
 certainly fly fafler than a defence, while 
 the greater part of mankind are bafe and 
 wicked. The efre61s of a falfe report can- 
 not be determined, or circumfcribed. It 
 may check a Hero in his attempts for the 
 promotion of the happincfs of his country, 
 or a Saint in his endeavours for the propa- 
 gation of truth. 
 
 Since therefore this fin is fo deftru61ive 
 to mankind, and, by confequence, fo detef- 
 table in the light of God, it is neceffary 
 that we enquire. 
 
 Thirdly, W hat refic61ions may befl en- 
 able us to avoid it. 
 
 The 
 
( 314 ) 
 
 The way to avoid effe6ls is to avoid the 
 caufes. Whoever, therefore would not be 
 tempted to hear falfe wiinefs^ muft endea- 
 vour to fupprefs thofe paflions which may 
 incite him to it. Let the envious man 
 confider, that by detra6ting from the cha- 
 ra6ter of others, he in reality adds nothing 
 to his own ; and the malicious man, that 
 nothing is more inconliflent with every 
 law of God, and inftitution of men, than 
 implacability and revenge. 
 
 If men would fpend more time in ex- 
 amining their own lives, and inrpe6ting 
 their own chara6i:ers, they would have lefs 
 leifure, and lefs inclination, to remark with 
 feverity upon others. They would eafily 
 difcover, that it will not be for their ad- 
 vantage to exafperate their neighbour, and 
 that a fcandalous falfehood may be ealily 
 revenged by a reproachful truth. 
 
 It was determined by our blefled Savi* 
 our in a cafe of open and uncontefted guilt, 
 that he who nvas without faulty fhould caji 
 the jirji Jione. This feems intended to 
 teach us compaffion even to the failings of 
 bad men ; and certainly that religion 
 which extends fo much indulgence to the 
 bad, as to reiirain us from the utmoft ri- 
 
( 31S ) 
 
 gour of punifhment, cannot be doubted to 
 require that the good fhould be exempted 
 from calumny and reproach. 
 
 Let it be always remembered, that cha- 
 rity is the height of religious excellence ; 
 and that it is one of the charaaenftics ot 
 this virtue, that it thinkeih ng ill of others f 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XVIIT. 
 
 (PREACHED AT ASHBOUkN.) 
 
 I Corinthians, vi. 8. 
 
 Nay ^ you do wrong and defraud^ and thai your 
 Brethren. 
 
 O fubdue paffion, and regulate defire, 
 is the great talk of man, as a moral agent ; 
 a talk, for which natural reafon, however 
 aflifted and enforced by human laws, has 
 been found infufficient, and which cannot 
 be performed but by the help of Reli- 
 gion. 
 
 The paflions are divided by moralifls in- 
 to irafcible and concupifcible; the paffions 
 of refentment, and the palTions of defire. 
 The danger of the irafcible paflions, the 
 mifchiefs of anger, envy, and revenge, 
 every man knows, by evil which he has 
 
 felt, 
 
C iis ) 
 
 felt, or evil which he has perpetrated. In 
 their lower degrees, they produce brutality, 
 outrage, contumely, and calumny ; and, 
 when they are inflamed to the utmoft, 
 have too often rifen to violence and blood - 
 ihed. 
 
 Of thefe paflions, the mifchief is fome- 
 times great, but not very frequent ; for we 
 are taught to watch and oppofe them, from 
 our earlieft years. Their malignity is 
 univerfally known, and as univerfally 
 dreaded. The occafions ; that can raife 
 them high, do not often occur and when 
 they are raifed, if there be no immediate 
 opportunity of gratifying them they yield 
 to reafon, and perfualion, or fubfide by the 
 foothing influence of time. 
 
 Of the irafcible paffions, the dire6t aim, 
 and prefent purpofe, is the hurt, or mifery 
 of another ; of the concupifcible paflions, 
 the proper motive is our own good. It is 
 therefore no reproach to human nature, 
 that the concupifcible paflions are more 
 prevalent j for, as it is more natural, it is 
 more jui\, to defire our own good, than 
 another's evil. 
 
 The deiire of happinefs is infeparable 
 
 from a rational being, acquainted, by ex- 
 
 3 perience, 
 
C 319 ) 
 
 perience, with the various gradations of 
 pain and pleafure. The knowledge ot dif- 
 ferent degrees of happinefs feems necefTary 
 to the excitement of defire, and the ftimu- 
 lation of a6livity. He that had never felt 
 pain, would not fear it, nor ufe any pre- 
 caution to prevent it. He who had been 
 always equally at eafe, would not know, 
 that his condition admitted any improve- 
 ment, and therefore could have no end to 
 purfue, or purpofe to profecute. But man, 
 in his prefent ftate, knowing of how much 
 good he is capable, and to how many evils 
 he is expofed, has his mind perpetually 
 employed, in defence, or in acquilition, in 
 fecuring that which he has, or attaining 
 that which, he believes, he either docs, or 
 fhall, want. 
 
 He that deiires happinefs muft necefTa- 
 rily delire the means of happinefs, muft 
 wifh to appropriate, and accumulate, 
 whatever may fatisfy his dellres. It is not 
 fufficient to be without want. He will try 
 to place himfelf beyond the fear of want ; 
 and endeavour to provide future gratifi- 
 cations for future wifhes, and lay up in 
 ft ore future proviiions for future neccfli- 
 ties. 
 
 It 
 
( 3^0 ) 
 
 it is by the efiedl of this care to provide 
 againft the evils, and to attain the blef- 
 fings, of life, that human fociety has its 
 prefent form. For this purpofe profeiTi- 
 ons are ftudied, and trades learned ; dan- 
 gers are encountered, and labour endured. 
 Por this reafon every man educates his fon 
 in fome ufeful art, which, by making him 
 neceffary to others, may oblige others to 
 repay him what is neceffary to himfel£ 
 The general employment of mankind is to 
 increafe pleafure, or remove the prelTure 
 of pain. Thefe are the vital principles of 
 a6lion, that fill ports with fhips, fhops with 
 manufa6lures, and fields with hufbandmen, 
 that keep the ftatefman diligent in attend- 
 ance, and the trader a6tive in his bufi- 
 nefs. 
 
 It is apparently the opinion of the civi- 
 lized world, that he who would be happy 
 muft be rich. In riches the goods of life 
 are compendioufly contained. They do not 
 enlarge our own perfonal powers ; but 
 they enable us to employ the powers of 
 others tor our advantage. He who cannot 
 make what he wants, will however eafiiy 
 procure it, if he can pay an artift. He 
 who fuffers any remediable inconvenience, 
 
 needs 
 
C 33t ) 
 
 needs not to fuffer it long, If he can re- 
 ward the labour of thofe who are able to 
 remove it. Riches will make an ignorant 
 man prudent by another's wifdom, and a 
 weak man vigorous by another's ftrength. It 
 can, therefore, be no wonder, that riches 
 are generally defired ; and that almoft 
 every man is bufy, through his whole life, 
 in gaining, or in keeping them, for himfelf, 
 or his pofterity. 
 
 As there is no delire fo extenlive, or fo 
 continual in its exertions, that pofTelles fb 
 many minds, or operates with fuch reftlefs 
 a6livity ; there is none that deviates into 
 greater irregularity, or more frequently 
 corrupts the heart of man, than the 
 
 wifh to enlarge poireffion and accumulate 
 wealth. 
 
 In a difcourfe, intended for popular 
 inftru6lion, it would be of little utility to 
 mention the ambition of Kings, and dil^ 
 play the cruelty of Conquerors. To ilaugh- 
 ter thoufands in a day, to fpread defolation 
 over wide and fertile regions, and to car- 
 ry rapine and deih-u6lion indifcriminately 
 from one country to another, can be the 
 crime only of thofe few who have fceptres 
 in their hands; and, even among them, 
 Y the 
 
( 3^^ ) 
 
 the \vantonneis of war is not very commo* 
 in our days. But it is a fufficient evidence 
 of the power of intereft, that fuch a6ls 
 lliould ever have been perpetrated ; that 
 there could ever be any man, willing to 
 augment his wealth, or extend his power, 
 by flaughter and devaluation ; or able to 
 perfuade himfelf, that he might purchafe 
 advantages, which he could enjoy only in 
 imagination, at the expence of the lives of 
 thoufands of his fubje6ls, as well as his 
 adverfaries ; of adverfaries that never had 
 injured, or offended him, and of fubjedls 
 whom it was his duty and his engagement 
 to preferve and to prote6l. 
 
 Nor is it neceffary to mention crimes, 
 which are commonly found amongft the 
 loweft of mankind, the crimes of robbery 
 and theft. For, though they are too com- 
 mon, their enormity is fufBciently under- 
 ftood by the laws which are ena6ted 
 againft them, and fufHciently menaced by 
 the terrors which thofe laws hold out. 
 They are fo apparently deftru6live of fecial 
 fecurity, their confequences are fo eafily 
 perceived, and their pernicioufnefs fo ge- 
 nerally acknowledged, that to be fufpefted 
 ©f them is to be infamous ; and to be de- 
 
 teaed 
 
( 3^3 ) 
 
 te6led in the commiffion of them is to be 
 expofed to punifhment, and often to death. 
 
 But there is another mode of injuring 
 the property of others, and of gaining un • 
 juft advantages, which, though not equally 
 liable, at all times, to punifhment, with 
 theft and robbery, is, in its own nature, 
 equally criminal, and perhaps more perni- 
 cious ; therefore, equally open to the cen- 
 fures of reafon and religion. This fpecics 
 of guilt is diftinguilhed by the appellation 
 of fraud ; a word which, when uttered, 
 really excites a due degree of deteftation, 
 and which thofe, who pra(51:ice it, perhaps 
 difguife to their confciences by ftill fofter 
 terms. 
 
 But that fuch difguifes may deceive the 
 foul no longer ; and that what is univer- 
 fally mifchievous may be totally abhorred; 
 I fhall endeavour to fhew, 
 
 Firft, The nature of frauds and the 
 temptations to pra6life it. 
 
 Secondly, How much it is contrary to 
 the rules of religion, and how much it ob- 
 ftru6ts the happinefs of the world. 
 
 The nature of fraud, as diftindl from 
 
 other violations of right or property, feems 
 
 to conlifl in this, that the man injured is 
 
 y % induced 
 
( 3M ) 
 
 induced to concur in the a6l by which the 
 injury is done. Thus, to take away any 
 thing valuable, without the owner's know- 
 ledge, is a theft ; to take it away, againll 
 his confent, by threats or force, is a robbe' 
 ry ; to borrow it, without intention of re- 
 turning it, is a frauds becaufe the owner 
 confents to the a6l, by which it paffed out 
 of his own hands. 
 
 h\\ frauds therefore, fuppofes deceit, ei- 
 ther in the affirmation of what is falfe, or 
 the fuppreffion of what is true ; for no 
 man willingly wrongs himfelf He mufl 
 be deceived, either by falfe appearances of 
 the prefent, or by falfe promifes of the 
 future, by a difplay of fi6litious advan- 
 tages, or an artful concealment of certain 
 incoviveniences. 
 
 As it often happens, that in committing 
 ^fraud^ox perfuading a man to injure him- 
 felf, a coniiderable degree of Ikill and dex- 
 terity is required \ the fraudulent are often 
 confidered, by themfelves and others, as 
 pofTeffiag uncommon powers of under- 
 standing, fo that, though the a6l itfelf is 
 blamed, the artifice is admired. Confci- 
 ence is overpowered by vanity, and the 
 
 Ihame 
 
( 325 ) 
 
 Ihame of guilt is loft in the pride of 
 fubtlety and acutenefs. 
 
 It is to be feared, that the fcience of 
 over-reaching is too clofely conne61ed|with 
 lucrative commerce. There are claiTes of 
 men who do little lefs than profefs it, and 
 who are fcarcely afhamed, when they are 
 detedled in impofture. Such men li-^e in- 
 deed without reputation. They are cond 
 dered as exercifing difhonourable employ- 
 ments, but they are ftill tolerated ; and, 
 however they may be defpifed, are very 
 rarely punifhed. The whole practice of 
 buying and felling is indeed replete with 
 temptation, which even a virtuous mind 
 finds it difficult to refift. * A 7Herchani fJiall 
 hardly keep him/elf from doing wrongs and an 
 huckjier Jliall not he freed from Jin. 
 
 I Many have Jinned for a fmall ?natter ; 
 and he thatfeekeih for abundance^ ijuiU turn his 
 eyes away. As a nail Jiicketh faji betiveen 
 the joinings of thejiones^fo doth fin Jlick clofe 
 between buying and felling. 
 
 Such is the cenfure of the Son of Sirach, 
 which furely cannot be heard without 
 alarm and terror. 
 
 * Ecclefiafticus, xxvi. 29. 
 \ Ecclefiafticus, xxvli. i, 2. 
 
 It 
 
( 326 ) 
 
 It is, however, by no means to be admit- 
 ted, that all trade is neceffarily fraudulent, 
 or that all traders are diHioneft. Every 
 kind of life has its peculiar dangers, which 
 the negligent incur, and the wife efcape. 
 The danger of a trader, like that of others 
 may be avoided by refolution, vigilance, 
 and prayer, by a conftant reference of his 
 anions to his eternal intereft, and by the 
 help of God, diligently implored. 
 
 That the neceffity of this vigilance may 
 be more ftrongly recommended, it is fit 
 that we conlider, 
 
 Secondly, How much the pra6lice of 
 fraud is contrary to religion, and how 
 much it obftru6ls the happinefs of the 
 world. 
 
 The great rule, by which religion rega« 
 lates all tranfadtions between one man and 
 another, is, that every man Jlioiild do to 
 others what he would expeSl that others^ in the 
 fame cafe, fliould do to him. This Irule is 
 violated in every a6t of fraud. For, how- 
 ever the children qf the world may forgive, 
 or applaud, themfelves, when X\iQy pradiice 
 frauds they complain very loudly, when 
 Xhey fiiffer it. They then can clearly dif- 
 cern its bafenefs, and its mifchief ; and 
 
 difcover. 
 
( 327 ) 
 
 difcover, that nothing deferves praife biit 
 purity and goodnefs. 
 
 The crime oi fraud h^s this aggravation, 
 that it is generally an abufe of confidenee. 
 Robberies of violence are committed com- 
 monly upon thofe, to whom the robber is 
 unknown. The lurking thief takes indif- 
 criminately what comes by chance within 
 his reach. But deceit cannot be pra6lired, 
 unlefsby fome previous treaty, and gradual 
 advance, by which diftruft is diflipated, 
 and an opinion of candour and integrity 
 excited. Fraud, therefore, necefTarily dii- 
 guifes life with folicitude and fufpicion. 
 He that has been deceived, knows not af. 
 terwards whom he can truft, but grows ti- 
 morous, referved, afraid alike of enemies 
 and friends ; and lofes, at leall:, part of 
 that benevolence which is necelfary to an 
 amiable and virtuous chara6ter. 
 
 Fraud is the more to be fupprefTed by 
 univerfal deteftation, as its effects can 
 fcarcelybe limited. A thief feldom takes 
 away what can much impoverifh the lofer;* 
 but by fraud, the opulent may at once be 
 reduced to indigence, and the profperous 
 diftreifed ; the efte6ts of a long courfe of 
 jnduftry may be fuddenly annihilated, the 
 
 provilion 
 
( 3^8 ) 
 
 provifion made for age may be withdrawn, 
 and the inheritance of pofterity intercept- 
 ed. 
 
 For the particular application of this 
 do6lrine5 I am forry, that my native place 
 Ihould afford an opportunity. But lince 
 this fociety has called me to ftand here be- 
 fore them, I hope no man will be offend- 
 ed, that I do my duty with fidelity and 
 freedom. Truth requires, that I warn you 
 againft a fpecies of fraud, fometimes found 
 amongft you, and that of a very fhame* 
 ful and opprefTive kind. When any man, 
 whofe contributions have had their due 
 part in railing the fund for occafional re- 
 lief, is reduced by difeafe, or hurt, to want 
 the fupport which he has, perhaps, for ma- 
 ny years, fuppofed himfelf gradually ac- 
 cumulating againft the day of diftrefs; 
 and for which he has denied himfelf many 
 gratifications ; at the time, when he ex- 
 pe6^s the beneficial effe6ls of his prudence 
 and parfimony ; at that very time, every 
 artifice is ufed to defeat his claim, and 
 elude his right. He declares himfelf per- 
 haps unable to work, by which nothing 
 more can reafonably be meant, than that 
 he is no longer capable of labour equal to 
 
 his 
 
( 3^9 ) 
 
 his livelihood. This man is found employ- 
 ing the remains of his ftrength in fome 
 little office. For this furely he deferves to 
 be commended. But what has been the 
 confequence ? He has been confidercd as 
 an impoftor, who claims the beneEt of the 
 fund by counterfeited incapacity ; and that 
 feeble diligence, which, among reafonable 
 and equitable men, gives hjm a title to ef- 
 teem and pity, is mifapplied, and mifre- 
 prefented into a pretence for depriving 
 him of his right, and this done by judges, 
 who vainly imagine they fhall be benefit- 
 ed themfelves by their own wicked deter- 
 mination. 
 
 - It is always to be remembered, that a 
 demand of fupport from your com. r on 
 fund is not a petition for charity, but a 
 claim tojufiice. The relief thus demanded, 
 is not a gift, but a debt. He that receives 
 it, has firll purchafed it. The denial of 
 it, therefore, is a fraud and a robbery ; and 
 fraud fo much the more atrocious and de- 
 teftable, as, by its nature, it muft always 
 be praciifed on the poor. When this fuc 
 cour is required, there is no place for fa- 
 vour, or for refentmcnt. What is due niuH: 
 be paid, becaufe it is due. Other confide- 
 rations have here no Vv^i^^ht. The amiable 
 4 a:d 
 
C 330 ) 
 
 and the perverfe, the good and the bad, 
 have an equal right to the performance of 
 their contra6l. He that has trufted the 
 fociety with his money, cannot, without 
 breach of faith, be denied that payment, 
 which, when he payed his contribution, 
 was folemnly ftipulated. 
 
 It has been always obferved by the wife, 
 that it is every man's real intereft to be 
 honeft ; and he who ^X2iS(\ces fraud, to the 
 injury of others, Ihews, at the fame time, 
 how fraud may be pra6lifed againft him- 
 felf. Thole who have been forward in 
 watphing the fteps of others, and have ob- 
 jedted to payment when it was required, 
 may live to be themfelves watched, and 
 excluded by a precedent, which their own 
 fraud ulence, or malice, has incited them to 
 eftablifh. They will then feel the folly of 
 wickednefs, and know the neceflity of pro- 
 viding againft the day of calamity by in- 
 nocence and integrity ; they will wifh that 
 they could claim the kindnefs of others, as 
 a recompence for kindnefs formerly exhir 
 bited by themfelves. 
 
 Fraud is the more hurtful, becaufe the 
 wrong is often without redrefs. As he 
 that is wronged by fraudulent pradlices 
 muft always concur in the a6t that injured 
 
 him : 
 
( 331 ) 
 
 him ; it Is not always eafy to afcertain the 
 exa6l limits of his agency, fo as to know* 
 precifely how far he was deceived. This, 
 at leaft, is feldom to be done without an. 
 enquiry and difcuflion, liable to many le- 
 gal delays, and eludible by many artifices. 
 The redrefs, therefore, is often more per- 
 nicious than the injury ; and while the 
 robber lurks in fecret, or flies for his life, 
 the man o'^ fraud holds up his head with 
 confidence, enjoys the fruits of his iniquity 
 with fccurity, and bids defiance to detecti- 
 on and to punifhment. 
 
 But this triumph, however he may ef* 
 cape human judicatures, muft end with his 
 life. The time will come, and will come 
 quickly, when he that has defrauded his 
 neighbour muft ftand before the Judge of 
 all the earth, a Judge whom he cannot de- 
 ceive ; and before whom, whatever he has 
 taken wrongfully, without reflitution, and 
 without repentance, will lie heavy on his 
 foul. 
 
 " Let him, therefore, that has ftolcn, 
 fleal no more I let him who has gained by 
 Jraud^ repent and ref^ore, and live and die 
 in the exercife of honefty I 
 
 SERxMON 
 
SERMON XIX 
 
 2, Corinthians, ix. 7. 
 
 Every man according as he purpofeth in his 
 heart fo let him give^ not grudgingly^ or of 
 necejjiiy^ for God loveth a cheerful giver^ 
 
 HE frequency with which the duty of 
 alms-giving has of late been recommend- 
 ed ; the perfpicuity with which it has, oa 
 many occalions, been explained ; the force 
 of argument by which its neceffity has been 
 proved to the reafon, and the ardour of 
 zeal with which it has been impreffed up- 
 on the paffions ; make it reafonable to be- 
 lieve, that it is now generally underftood, 
 and that very few of thofe, who frequent 
 the public worfliip, and attend with pro- 
 per diligence to inftruction, can receive 
 
 much 
 
C 334 ) 
 
 much information, with regard to the ex- 
 cellence and importance of this virtue. 
 
 But as moft of the crimes and miferies 
 of our lives arife rather from negligence, 
 than ignorance ; as thofe obligations which 
 are beft known, are fometimes, from the 
 fecurity to which the confcioufnefs of our 
 knowledge naturally betrays us, moft eali- 
 ly forgotten, and as the impreffions which 
 are made upon the heart, however ftrong 
 or durable they may at firft appear, are 
 eaiily weakened by time, and effaced by 
 the perpetual fucceffion of other objedls, 
 which crowd the memory, and diftra6l the 
 attention ; it is necefTary that this great 
 duty fhould be frequently explained, that 
 our ardour fhould be rekindled by new 
 motion, our convi6lion awakened by new 
 perfualions, and our minds enlightened by 
 frequent repetitions of the inftruftions, 
 which, if not recolle6ted5 muft quickly lofe 
 their efFe6l. 
 
 Every man, who has either applied him- 
 felf to the examination of his own con- 
 duit with care proportioned to the import- 
 ance of the enquiry, or indulged himfelf in 
 the more frequent employment of infpe6t- 
 ing the behaviour of others, has had many 
 
 opportu- 
 
( 335 ) 
 
 opportunities of obferving, with how much' 
 difficulty the precepts of Religion are long 
 preferved in their full force ; how^ infenli- 
 bly the ways of virtue are forfaken, and 
 into what depravity thofe, who truft too 
 much to their own ftrength, fometimes fall, 
 by negle6ling to prefs forward, and to con- 
 firm their refolution, by the fame methods 
 as they at firft excited it. Innumerable 
 temptations continually furround us, and 
 innumerable obftru6lions oppofe us. We 
 are lulled with indolence, we are feduced 
 by pleafure, we are perverted by bad ex- 
 amplcs, and we are betrayed by our own 
 hearts. No fooner do we, in compliance 
 either with the vanities, or the buiinefs, of 
 life, relax our attention to the docStrines of 
 piety, than we grow cold and indifferent, 
 dilatory and negligent. When we are again 
 called to our duty, we find our minds%n- 
 tangled with a thoufand obje6iions ; we 
 are ready to plead every avocation, how- 
 ever trifling, as an exemption from the 
 neceffity of holy pradices ; and, becaufe 
 we readily fatisfy ourfclves with our ex- 
 cufes, we are willing to imagine that we 
 fhall fatisfy God, the God of infinite holi- 
 nefs and juftice, who fees the moft fecret 
 
 motions 
 
( 33^ ) 
 
 motions of our minds, who penetrates 
 through all our hypocrify, and upon 
 whom difinclination can be never impofed 
 for inability. 
 
 With regard to the duty of Charity, it 
 38 too common for men, of avaricious and 
 worldly difpoiitions, to im.agine that they 
 may be faved without compliance v^^ith a 
 command fo little agreeble to their inclina- 
 tions ; and therefore, though perhaps they 
 cannot always reiift the force of argument, 
 or repel convi6lion at its firfl affault, yetj 
 as they do not willingly fuffer their minds 
 to dwell upon reafonings which they 
 fcarcely wifh to be true, or renew, by fre- 
 quent recolle6\ ion, that fenfe of their duty 
 which they have received, they quickly re- 
 lapfe into their former fordid infeniibility, 
 and, by indulging every coniideration 
 which can be applied to the j unification of 
 pariimony, harden their hearts, and with- 
 hold their hands ; and Vv^hile they fee the 
 anguifh of mifery, and hear the cries of 
 want, can pafs by without pity, and with- 
 out regard ; and without even feeling any 
 reproaches from their hearts, pray to God 
 for that mercy which they have themfelves 
 denied to their fellow-beings. 
 
 One 
 
( 337 ) 
 
 One of the pleas, which is alledged in 
 juRification of the negle6l of Charity, is 
 inability to pra6tife it : an excufe, when 
 real, to which no objedion can be made ; 
 for it cannot be expelled, that any man 
 fhould give to another what he muft him- 
 ielf want in the fame degree. But this ex- 
 cufe is too frequently offered by thofe who 
 are poor only in their own opinion, who 
 have habituated themfelvesto look on thofe 
 that are above, rather than on thofe that 
 are below them, and cannot account them- 
 felves rich, while they fee any richer; men 
 who mealure their revenues, not by the 
 wants of nature, but by the demands of va- 
 nity; and who have nothing to give, only 
 becaufethey will not diminifh any particle 
 of their fplendour, nor reduce the pomp of 
 their equipage ; who, while their tables 
 are heaped with delicacies, and their 
 houfes crowded with feftal aflembliss, fuf. 
 fer the poor to languifli in the ftreets in 
 miferies and in want, complain that their 
 fortunes are not equal to the generofity of 
 their minds, and applaud their own incli- 
 nations to Charity and Mercy : inclinati- 
 ons which are never exerted in benefi- 
 cence, becaufe they cannot fpare any thing 
 from their appetites and their pride. 
 
 Z Others 
 
( 338 ) 
 
 Others there are, who frequently delight 
 to dwell upon the excellency of Charity^ 
 and profefs themfelves ready to comply 
 with its precepts, whenever proper obje6ls 
 ftiall be propofed, and an opportunity of 
 proper application fhall be found ; but 
 they pretend that they are fo nvell inform- 
 ed, with regard to the perverlion of Cha=. 
 rity, and difcover fo many ill efie6^s of 
 indiftinguifhing arnd carelefs liberality, 
 that they are not eafily fatisfi'ed with 
 the occaiions which are offered them= 
 They are fonietimes afraid of encourag- 
 ing idlenefs, and fometimes of countenance 
 ing impofture, and fo readily find objec- 
 tions to every method of Charity that can 
 be mentioned to them, that their good in- 
 clinations are of very little advantage to 
 the reft of mankind ; but however they con- 
 gratulate themfelves upon their merit, and 
 ftill applaud that generofity by which ca- 
 lamity was never foftened, and by which 
 want never was relieved. 
 
 But that all thefe imaginary pleas may 
 be once more confuted, , that the opportuni- 
 ty of Charity, which Providence has this 
 day put into our hands, may not be ne- 
 gle6ted5 and that our alms may be given 
 
 in 
 
( 339 ) 
 
 in fuch a manner as may obtain accept- 
 ance with the great Judge of all the earth, 
 who has promifed to fhew mercy to the 
 merciful, I fhall endeavour to lay before 
 you, 
 
 Firftj the importance and necefiity of 
 the pra6lice of Charity. 
 
 Secondly, The difpoiition of mind,which 
 is neceflary to make our alms acceptable 
 to God. 
 
 Thirdly, the reafonablenefs of laying 
 hold on the prefent opportunity for the 
 exercife of our charity. 
 
 And, Firfl, I Ihall endeavour to fhew 
 the importance and neceffity of the prac- 
 tice of Charity. The importance and ne- 
 celTity of Charity is fo evident, that as it 
 might be hoped that no proof could be ne- 
 ccffary, fo it is difficult to produce any ar- 
 guments which do not occur of themfelves 
 to every rcafonable and attentive mind. 
 For whither can we turn our thoughts, or 
 dire6t our eyes, where we fl:iall not find 
 fome motive to the exercife of Charity ? 
 
 If we look up to heaven, which we have 
 
 been taught to condder as the particular re- 
 
 lidence of the Supreme Being, we find there 
 
 our Creator, our Preferver, and our Judge; 
 
 Z 2, our 
 
( 340 ) 
 
 our Creator, whofe infinite power gave us 
 our exiftence, and who has taught us, by 
 that gift, that bounty is agreeable to his 
 nature ; our Preferver, of whofe affiftance 
 and prote6tion we are, every day and eve- 
 ry moment, in need, and whofe favour we 
 can hope to lecure only by imitating his 
 goodnefs, and endeavouring the affiftance 
 and prote6lion of each other ; and our 
 Judge, who has already declared that the 
 merciful fhall obtain mercy, and that in 
 the awful day, in which every man fhall 
 be recompenfed according to his works, he 
 that foweth fparingly fhall reap alfo ipar- 
 ingly. 
 
 If we caft our eyes over the earth, and 
 extend our obfervations through the fyften* 
 of human beings, what fhall we find but 
 fcenes of mifery and innumerable varieties 
 of calamity and diftrefs, the pains of fick- 
 nefs, the wounds of cafualty, the gripings 
 of hunger, and the cold of nakednefs ; 
 wretches wandering without an habitati- 
 on, expofed to the contempt of the proud, 
 and the infults of the cruel, goaded for- 
 ward, by the flings of poverty, to difhonefl 
 adis, which perhaps relieve their prefent 
 mifery, only to draw fome more dreadful 
 
 dillrefs 
 
( 341 ) 
 
 diftrefs upon them? And what are we 
 taught, by all thefe difFerciit ftates of 
 unhappinefs ? what, but the necefTity of 
 that virtue by which they are relieved ; by 
 which the orphan may be fupplied with a 
 father, and the widow with a defender; by 
 which nakednefs may be cloathed, and 
 licknefs fet free from adventitious pains ; 
 the ftranger folaced in his wanderings, and 
 the hungry reftored to vigour and to eafe ? 
 If we turn from thefe melancholy pro- 
 fpe6ts, and caft our eyes upon ourfelves, 
 what fhall we find, but a precarious and 
 frail being, furrounded on every fide with 
 danger, and befieged with miferies and 
 with wants ? miferies, which we cannot 
 avert by our own power, and wants which 
 our own abilities cannot fupply. We per- 
 ceive ourfelves wholly unable to ftand 
 alone, and compelled to folicit, every mo- 
 ment, the affiftance of our fellow-creatures ; 
 whom perhaps our Maker enables us at 
 prefent to repay by mutual kindnefs, but 
 whom we know not how foon we my be 
 neceiritated to implore, without the capaci- 
 ty of returning their beneficence. 
 
 This reflexion furely ought immediate- 
 ly to convince us of the neceflity of Chari- 
 
( 34^ ) 
 
 ty. Prudence, ex^en without Religioiij 
 ought to admonifh every one to alTift the 
 helplefs, and relieve the wretched, that, 
 when the day of diftrefs fhall come upon 
 him |he may confidently aik thatafTilrance, 
 which he hitnfelfj in his profperity, never 
 did deny. 
 
 As it has pleafed God to place us in a 
 fi^ate in which we are furrounded with in- 
 numerable temptations ; fo it has pleafed 
 him, on many occafions, to afford us tem- 
 poral incitements to virtue, as a counter- 
 t)alance to the allurements of fin ; and to 
 fet before us rewards which may be obtain- 
 ed, and punifhments which may be fuffer- 
 ed, before the final determination of our 
 future ftate. As Charity is one of our mofl 
 important duties, we are preffed to its 
 pradlice by every principle of fecular, as 
 well as religious, wifdom ; and no man 
 can fufFer himfelf to be diftinguifhed for 
 hardnefs of heart, without danger of feel- 
 ing the confcquence of his wickednefs in his 
 prefent ftate ; becaufe no man can fccure 
 to himfelf the continuance of riches, or of 
 power-; nor can prove, that he fhall not 
 himfelf ward the aififtance which he now 
 denies^ and perhaps be compelled to implore 
 
 it 
 
( 343 ) 
 
 it from thofe whofe petition he now re- 
 je6ls, and whofe miferies he now infults. 
 Such is the inftabihty of human affairi?, 
 and fo frequently does God alTert his go- 
 vernment of the world, by exalting the 
 low, and deprefling the powerful. 
 
 If we endeavour to confult higher wif- 
 dom than our own, with relation to this 
 duty, and examine the opinions of the reft 
 of mankind, it will be found, that all the 
 nations of the earth, however they may 
 differ with regard to every other tenet, yet; 
 agree in the celebration of benevolence, as 
 the mof^ amiable difpolition of the heart, 
 and the foundation of all happinefs. We 
 fhall find that, in every place, men are 
 loved and honoured in proportion to the 
 gifts which they have conferred upon man- 
 kind, and that nothing but Charity can 
 recommend otie man to the aHe61ion of 
 another. 
 
 But if we appeal, as is undoubtedly rea- 
 fonable and juft, from human wifdom to 
 divine, and fearch the Holy Scriptures, to 
 fettle our notions of the importance of this 
 duty, we fhall need no further incite^ 
 ments to its pra6tice ; for every part of that 
 facred volume is f^.lled with precepts that 
 
 diredl, 
 
(344 ) 
 
 direct, or examples that inculcate it. The 
 pra6lice of hofpitaUty among the Patri- 
 archs, the confidence of Job, amidft his 
 afflidtions, arifing from the remembrance 
 of his former Charity. 
 
 The precepts of the Prophets, and the 
 condu6l of the holy men of all times, con- 
 cur to enforce the duty of attending to the 
 cries of mifery, and endeavouring to re- 
 lieve the calamities of life. 
 
 But furely all further proof will be fu- 
 perfeded, when the declaration of our 
 bleffed Redeemer is remembered, who has 
 condefcended to inform us that thofe v^^ho 
 have fhewn mercy fhall find mercy from 
 him, that the pra6lice of Charity will be 
 the great teft by which we fiiall be judged, 
 and that thofe, and thofe only, who have 
 given food to the hungry, and raiment to 
 the naked, fhall, at the final doom, be 
 numbered by the Son of God amongft the 
 BiefTed of his Father. 
 
 There can nothing more be added to 
 fhow the neceffity of the pra6lice of Cha- 
 rity ; for what can be expe6led to move 
 him, by whom everlailing felicity is difre. 
 garded ; and who hears, without emoti- 
 on, never-ending miferies threatened by 
 
 Omni- 
 
( 345 ) 
 
 Omnipotence ? It therefore now remains 
 that we enquire. 
 
 Secondly, 
 
 How we may pra6lice this duty, in a 
 manner pleafing to him who commanded 
 it ; or what difpofition ot mind is necefTa- 
 ry to make our alms acceptable to God. 
 
 Our Saviour, as he has informed us of 
 the neceffity of Charity, has not omitted 
 to teach us likewife how our acts of Cha- 
 rity are to be performed. And from his 
 own precepts, and thofe of his Apoftles, 
 may be learned all the cautions necefiary 
 to obviate the deceit of our own hearts, 
 and to preferve us from falling into foU 
 lies dangerous to our fouls, while we ima- 
 gine ourfelves advancing in the favour of 
 God. 
 
 We are commanded by Jefus Chrifl, 
 when we give our alms, to divefi: ourfelves 
 of pride, vain-glory, and delire of ap- 
 plaufe ; we are forbidden to give, that we 
 may be feen of men, and inftru6led fo to 
 condu6t our Charity, that it may be known 
 to our Father w^hich feeth in fecret. By 
 this precept it is not to be underftood, that 
 w^e are forbidden to give alms in public, or 
 where we may be feen of men ; for our 
 
 Saviouir 
 
( 34^ } 
 
 Saviour has alfo commanded, that our 
 light Jhould Jo Jliine before men^ thai they may 
 fee our good works, and glorify our Father 
 which is in kea^ven. The meaning there- 
 fore, of this text is not that we fhould 
 forbear to give alms in the fight of men, 
 but that we fhould not fuffer the prefence 
 of men to a6i: as the motive to our Chari- 
 ty, nor regard their praife as any obje6t to 
 our wifhes ; a precept furely reafonable ; 
 for how can that a6t be virtuous, which 
 depends not upon our own choice, but up- 
 on that oi others, and which we fhould not 
 have performed, if we had not expe6led 
 that they would have applauded it ? 
 
 Of the fame kind, though fomewhat dif- 
 ferent in its immediate, and literal accep- 
 tion, is the inftru6lion contained in the 
 text, in which we are taught, by St. Paul, 
 that every man ought to give according to 
 the purpofe of his own heart, not grudg- 
 ingly, or of neceflity ; by which it is com- 
 manded, that we fhould, as our Saviour 
 had already taught us, lay afide, in the 
 di^ribution of our alms, all regard to hu- 
 man authority J that we fhould give ac- 
 cording to the purpofe of our own hearts, 
 without refpedt to folicitation or influence ; 
 
 that 
 
( 347 ) 
 
 that we fliould give, becaufe God has corn- 
 manded, and give cheerfully, as a proof of 
 ready and uncornpelled obedience ; obedi- 
 ence uncompelled by any other motive 
 than a due fenfe of our dependence upon 
 the univerfal Lord, and the reafonablenefs 
 of obferving the law of Him by whom we 
 were created. 
 
 There are likewife other rules to be ob- 
 ferved in the pra6^ice of Charity, which 
 may be gathered, at leaft confequentially, 
 from the Holy Scriptures ; and which the 
 common prudence of mankind at the fame 
 time evidently prefcribes. It js necefTary 
 that, in beftowing our slms, we fhould 
 endeavour to promote the fervice of God, 
 and the general happinefs of fociety, and, 
 therefore, we ought not to give them, with- 
 out enquiry into the ends for which they 
 are deiired ; we ought not to fuffcr our be- 
 neficence to be made inftrumcntal to the 
 encouragement of vice, or the fupport of 
 idlenefs ; becaufe what is thus fquandered 
 may be wanted by others, who would ufe 
 our kindnefs to better purpofes, and who, 
 without our afTifiance, would perhaps pe- 
 rifh. 
 
 Another 
 
( 348 ; 
 
 Another precept, too often negle6ledj 
 which yet a generous and elevated mind 
 would naturally think highly neceiFary to 
 be obferved, is, that alms fliould be given 
 in fuch a manner as may be moll; pleafing 
 to the perfon who receives them ; that our 
 Charity fhould not be accompanievd with 
 infults, nor followed, by reproaches ; that 
 we fhould, whenever it is poffible, fpare 
 the wretched the unneceiTary, the morti- 
 fying pain of recounting their calamities, 
 and reprefenting their diftrcfs ; and when 
 we have relieved them we fhould never 
 upbraid them with our kindnefs, nor recall 
 their affliftions to their minds by cruel 
 and unreafonable admonitions to gratitude 
 or induftry. He only confers favours ge- 
 neroufly, v/ho appears, when they are once 
 conferred, to remember them no more. 
 
 Poverty is in itfelf fufficiently af[li61ive, 
 and to moll minds the pain of wanting af- 
 iiftance is fcarcely balanced by the plea- 
 fure of receiving it. The end of Charity 
 is to mitigate calamities i and he has little 
 title to the reward of mercy, who afFii6ts 
 with one hand, while he fuccours with the 
 other. But this fault, like many others, 
 ^rifes from pride, and from the defire of 
 
 temporal 
 
( 349 ) 
 
 temporal rewards. Men either forget the 
 common nature of humanity, and therefore, 
 reproach others with thofe misfortunes, to 
 which they arethemfelves equally fubjedf ; 
 or they expe6l, from the gratitude, or ap- 
 plaufe, of thofe whom they benefit, that 
 ieward which they are commanded to hope 
 only from their Father which is in hea- 
 ven. 
 
 Such are the rules of Charity, and fuch 
 the cautions required, to make our alms 
 plealing to him, in whofe name they ought 
 to be given ; and, that they may be nomj 
 given not grudgingly^ or of necefftiy^ but 
 with that cheerfulnefs, which the Apoftle 
 recommends as necefTary to draw down the 
 love ot God upon thofe by whom they are 
 beftowed, let us confider, 
 
 Thirdly, the reafonablenefs of lavino- 
 hold on the prefent opportunity for the 
 exercifc of cur Charity. 
 
 It is jui^ that we fhould confider every 
 opportunity of performing a good a6\ion 
 as the gilt of God, one of tlie cliicf o-ifts 
 which God beff ou's upon man, in his pre- 
 fent f^atc, and endeavour to improve the 
 blcirmg, that it may not be withdrawn 
 from us, as a talent unemployed ; for it is 
 
 not 
 
C 550 ) 
 
 riot certain, that he, who negle6ls this call 
 to his duty, will be permitted to live, till 
 he hears another. It is likewife reafonable 
 to feize this opportunity, becaufe perhaps 
 none can be aftorded of more ufeful or be- 
 neficial Charity, none in which all the va^ 
 rious purpofes of Charity are more com- 
 pendioufly united. 
 
 It cannot be faid, that, by this Charity, 
 idlenefs is encouraged ; for thofe who are 
 to be benefited by it are at prefent incapable 
 of labour, but hereafter defigned for it. 
 Nor can it be faid, that vice is countenanc- 
 ed by it, for many of them cannot yet be 
 vicious. Thofe who now give, cannot be- 
 ftoW their alms for the pleafure of hearing 
 their Charity acknowledged, for they who 
 fhall receive it will not know their bene- 
 fa61ors. 
 
 The immediate effe(Sl of alms given on 
 this occaiion, is not only food to the hun- 
 gry, and clothes to the naked, and an habi- 
 tation to the deftitute, but what is of more 
 lajiing advantage, inJlrii6lion to the igno^ 
 rani. 
 
 He Xh?it fupporis an infant, enables him 
 to live hej'e ; but he ih^it educates him, af- 
 files him in his pafTage to an happier ftate, 
 
 and 
 
( 251 ) 
 
 and prevents that wickednefs which is, if 
 not ihQiiecefJary^ yet \\\q freq2ie7tt confeqiience 
 of unenlightened infancy and vagrant po- 
 verty. 
 
 Nor does this Charity terminate in . the 
 perfons upon whom it is conferred, but ex- 
 tends its influence through the whole ftate, 
 which has very frequently experiencedj 
 how much is to be dreaded from men, 
 bred up without principles, and without 
 employment. He who begs in the ftreetj 
 in his infancy^ learns only how to ro3 there 
 in his manhood J and it is certainly very 
 apparent, with how much lefs difficulty 
 evil sare prevented, than remedied. 
 
 But though Vv^e fhould fuppofe, what 
 reafon and experience fufficienty difprove, 
 that po\^erty and ignorance were calamities 
 to thofe only on whom they fall, yet fure- 
 ly the fenic of their mifery might be fuiii- 
 cient to awaken us to compaflion. For who 
 can hear the cries of a naked infant, with- 
 out remembering that he was himfclf once 
 equally naked, equally helplefs ? Who can 
 fee the diforders of the ignorant, without 
 remembering that he was born as ignorant 
 as they? and who can forbear to refle6l, that 
 he ought to beRovv on others thofe bene- 
 
 3 fits 
 
( 353 ) 
 
 fits which he received himfelf ? Who, that 
 fhall fee piety and wifdom promoted by 
 his beneficence, can wifh, that what he 
 gave for fuch ufes had been employed in 
 any other manner ? As the Apoftle exhorts 
 to hofpitality, by obferving that fome have 
 entertained Angels unawares, let us animate 
 ourfelves to this Charity, by the hopes of 
 educating Saints. Let us endeavour to re- 
 claim vice, and to improve innocence to 
 holinefs ; and remember that the day is 
 not far diftant, in which our Saviour has 
 promifed to coniider our gift to thefe little 
 ones as given to himfelf; and X\\2iVihey 
 who have turned many to righteoujnefs Jliall 
 Jhine forth as the fun^ for ever afidever^ 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XX, 
 
 % Peter iii. 3. 
 
 Knowing this frjl, that there Jlnllcomein 
 the lajl days Scoffers, walking after their 
 own lujls. 
 
 /V Very little acquaintance with human 
 nature will inform us, that there are few 
 men who can patiently bear the imputati- 
 on of being in the wrong; and that there is 
 no a6lion, how unreafonable or wicked 
 foever it be, which thofe, who are guilty 
 of it, will not attempt to vindicate, though 
 perhaps by fuch a defence as aggravates 
 
 the crime. 
 
 It is indeed common for men to conceal 
 
 their faults, and gratify their paffions in 
 
 fecret, and efpecially, when they are firft 
 
 ^ a initiated 
 
( 3S4 ) 
 
 initiated in vice, to make ufe rather of Ar- 
 tifice and difliniulation, than audacioufnefs 
 and effrontery. But the arts of hypocrify 
 are, in time, exhaufted, and fome unhappy 
 eircumftance defeats thofe meafures which 
 they had laid for preventing a difcovery. 
 They are at length fufpe6led, and by that 
 curiolity which fufpicion always exeites, 
 clofely purfued, and openly dete6led. It is 
 then too late to think of deceiving man- 
 kind by falfe appearances, nor does any 
 thing remain, but to avow boldly what 
 can be no longer denied. Impudence is 
 called in to the afliltance of immorality ; 
 and the cenfures which cannot be efcaped, 
 muf![ be openly defied. Wickednefs is in 
 itfelf timorous, and naturally Ikulks in 
 coverts and in darknefs, but grows furious 
 by defpair, and, when it can fly no farther, 
 turns upon the purfuer. 
 
 Such is the ftate of a man abandoned to 
 the indulgence of vicious inclinations. He 
 j unifies one crime by another ; invents 
 wicked principles to fupport wicked prac- 
 tices ; endeavours rather to corrupt others, 
 than own himfelf corrupted, and, to avoid 
 that fhame which a confeflion of his crimes 
 Would bring upon him, calls evil good^ and 
 
 oood 
 
155 ) 
 
 ^od evil^piiis darknefs for light-, and light for 
 darknefs. He endeavours to trample upon 
 thofe laws which he is known not to ob- 
 ferve, to fcofFat thofe truths which, if ad- 
 mitted, have an evident tendency to con- 
 vi6t his whole behaviour of folly and ab- 
 furdity, and, from having long neglected 
 to obey God, rifes at length into rebellion 
 againft him. 
 
 That no man ever became abandoned at 
 once, is an old and common obfervation, 
 which, like other affertions founded on ex- 
 perience receives nev/ confirmation by 
 length of time. A man ventures upon 
 wickednefs, as upon waters with which he 
 is unacquainted. He looks upon them with 
 horror, and fhudders at the thought of 
 quitting the fhore, and committing his life 
 to the inconftancy of the weather ; but, by 
 degrees, the fcene grows familiar, his aver- 
 iion abates, and is fucceeded by curiofity. 
 He launches out with fear and caution, al- 
 ways anxious and apprehcniive, left his 
 velfel fhould be dalhed againft a rock, 
 fucked- in by a quick-fand, or hurried by 
 the currents beyond light of fhore. But 
 his fears are daily leffening, and the deep 
 becomes lefs formidable. In time he lofes 
 A a 2, all 
 
( 356 ) 
 
 all fenfe of danger, ventures out with full 
 fecurity, and roves without inclination to 
 return ; till he is driven into the bouad- 
 lefs ocean, tolTed about by the tempefts, 
 and at laft fwallowed by the waves. 
 
 Moft men have, or once had, an efteem 
 and reverence for virtue, and a contempt 
 and abhorrence of vice ; of which, whe- 
 ther they were imprelTed by nature, im- 
 planted by education, or deduced and fet- 
 tled by reafon, it is at prefent of very lit- 
 tle importance to enquire. Such thefe no- 
 tions are, however they were ociginally 
 received, as reafon cannot but adopt and . 
 ftrengthen, and every man will treely con- 
 fefs that reafon ought to be the rule of his 
 condu6l. Whoever therefore recedes, in 
 his pra6lice, from rules of which he al- 
 lows the obligation, and fuffers his paffi- 
 ons to prevail over his opinions, feels at 
 iirll: a fecret relu6iance, is confcious of 
 fome fort of violence done to his intellec- 
 tual powers ; and though he v^ill not deny 
 himfelf that pleafure which is prefent be- 
 fore him, or that iingle gratification of his 
 paffions, he determines, or thinks he deter- 
 mines, that he will yield to no future 
 temptation, that he will hereafter reject all 
 
 the 
 
( 357 ) 
 
 the folicitation of his appetites, and live in 
 iiich a manner as he fhoiild applaud in 
 others, and as his own confcience fliould 
 approve in himfelf. 
 
 Perhaps every man may recolle6l, that 
 this was the temper of his mind, when he 
 firrt permitted himfelf to deviate from the 
 known paths of his duty, and that he never 
 forfook them, in the early part of his life, 
 without a defign to return to them, and 
 perfevere in them ; and that, when he was 
 tempted another time, he complied, always 
 with a tacit intention to add but this 
 one more to his offences, and to fpend the 
 rell; of his life in penitence and obedience. 
 Perhaps there are very many among the 
 moft profligate, who frequently Hill their 
 confciences, and animate their hopes, with 
 views of a reformation to be lincerely en- 
 tered upon in fome difiant period of their 
 lives, who propofe to dedicate, at leaft, 
 their laft years to piety, and at fome mo- 
 ments give way to wifhes, that they may 
 fome time tafte the fatisfaction of a good 
 life, and die the death of the righeious. 
 
 But thefe, however given up to their dc- 
 fires and palTions, however ignorant of 
 their own v/eaknefs, and prefuniptuouHy 
 
 confident 
 
( 3S8 ) 
 
 Confident of their natural powers, have not 
 yet arrived at the fummit of impiety, 'till 
 they have learned, not only to negleft, but 
 to infult, religion, not only to he vicious, 
 but to icoif at virtue. 
 
 This feems to be the lail: effe6l of a long 
 continued habit of fin, the ftrongeft evi- 
 dence of a mind corrupted almofl: beyond 
 hope of a recovery. Wicked neft in this 
 fiate feems to have extended its power 
 from the paiTions to the underftanding. 
 Not only the defire of doing well is extin- 
 guifbed, but the difcernment of good and 
 evil obliterated and dellroyed. Such is the 
 infatuation produced by a long courfe of 
 obftinate guilt. 
 
 Not only our fpeculations influence our 
 pradice, but our pra61ice reciprocally in- 
 fluences our fpeculations. We not only do 
 what we approve, but there is danger left 
 in time we come to approve what we do, 
 though for no other reafon but that we do 
 it. A man is always defirous of being at 
 peace with himfelf ; and when he cannot 
 reconcile his paffions to his confcience, he 
 will attempt to reconcile his confcience to 
 his paffions ; he will find reafon for doing 
 Vi/hat he is refoived to do, and rather than 
 
 not 
 
C 3S9 ) 
 
 not walk after his own lujis^ will feoff at 
 religion. 
 
 Thefe Scoffers may be divided into two 
 diftin6l claffes, to be addreffed in a very 
 different manner : thofe whom a conftant 
 profecution of their lufts has deluded into 
 a real difbelief of religion, or diverted 
 from a ferious examination of it ; an<J 
 thofe who are convinced of the truth of 
 revelation, but affect to contemn and ri- 
 dicule it from motives of intereft or\ra. 
 nity. 
 
 I fhall endeavour therefore to evince, 
 
 Firft, The folly of fcoffing at religio^ 
 in thole who doubt the truth of it 
 
 And, 
 
 Secondly, The wickednefs of this prac- 
 tice in thofe who believe it. 
 
 Pirft, I fhall endeavour to evince the 
 folly of fcoffing at religion in thofe who 
 doubt the truth of it. 
 
 Thofe who in reality difbelieve, or doubt 
 of, religion, however negligent they may 
 be in their enquiries after truth, generally 
 profefs the higheft reverence for it, the 
 lincereft delire to difcover it, and the 
 ftrongeft refolutions to adhere to it. They 
 will frequently affert, and with good rea- 
 
 fOiL 
 
( 36o ) 
 
 ton, that every man is valuable in propor- 
 tion to his love of truth ; that man enjoys 
 the power of reafon for this great end, that 
 he may diftinguifli truth from falfehood ; 
 that not to fearch for it is the moft crimi- 
 nal lazinefs, and not to declare it, in oppo- 
 iition to the frowns of power, or the preju- 
 dices of ignorance, the mofi: defpicable 
 cowardice. 
 
 When they declaim on this darling fub- 
 je6l, they feldom fail to take the opportu- 
 nity of throwing out keen inve61ives againfS: 
 bigotry ; bigotry, that voluntary blindnefs, 
 that lavilh fubmiffion to the notions of 
 others, which fhackles the powers of the 
 foul, and retards the progrefs of reafon ; 
 that cloud, which intercepts our views, 
 and throws a fliade over the light of 
 truth. 
 
 Such is the difcourfe of thefe men ; and 
 who, that hears it, would not expe6t from 
 them the moft diiinterefted impartiality, 
 the moft unwearied ailiduity, and the moft 
 candid and fober attention to any thing 
 propofed as an argument upon a fubje6t 
 worthy of their ftudy ? Who would not 
 imagine that they made it the grand bufi- 
 nels of their lives to carry the art ofrea- 
 
 foning 
 
( 36i ) 
 
 fonlng to its greateft height, to enlighten 
 the underftandiiig of the ignorant by plain 
 inftrudUons enforced Vv'ith folid arguments, 
 and to efiablifh every important truth up- 
 on the moft certain and unfhaken princi- 
 pies ? 
 
 There feems to be nothing more incoii* 
 fiftent with fo philofophical a chara6ler 
 than carelefs vivacity and airy levity. The 
 talents which qualify a man for a difput* 
 ant and a buffoon feem very different; and 
 an unprejudiced perfon would be inclined 
 to form contrary ideas of an argument and 
 a Jeff 
 " Study has been hitherto thought necef- 
 fary to knovv^ledge, and ftudy cannot well 
 be fficcelsfully profecuted without fblitude 
 and leifure. It might therefore be con- 
 ceived that this exahed feci is above the 
 low employments and empty amufements 
 of vulgar minds ; that they avoid every 
 thing v^'hich m.ay interrupt their meditati- 
 ons, or perplex their ideas ; and that there- 
 fore, whoever ftands in need of their in- 
 ftru6lions mutt feek them in privacies and 
 retirements, in deferts or in cells. 
 
 But thefe men have difcovered, it feems, 
 a more compendious way to knowledge. 
 
 They 
 
( 36a > 
 
 They decide the mod momentous queftions 
 amidft the jollity of fealls, and the excelTes 
 of riot. They have found that an adver- 
 fary is more ealily iilenced than confuted. 
 They infult, inftead of vanquifhing, their 
 antagonitts, and decline the battle to haft- 
 en to the triumph. 
 
 It is an eftablillied maxim among them, 
 that he who ridicules an opinion confutes 
 it. For this reafox^ they make no fcruple 
 of violating every rule of decency, and 
 treating with the utmoft contempt what- 
 ever is accounted venerable or facred. 
 
 For this condu6l they admire them- 
 felves, and go on applauding their own 
 abilities, celebrating the vi61ories they 
 c^ain over their grave opponents, and loud- 
 ly boafling 4:heir fiiperiority to the advov 
 cates for Reli^^ion. 
 
 As humility is a very necefiTary qualifi. 
 cation for an examiner into Religion, it 
 may not be improper to deprefs the arro- 
 gance of thefe haughty champions, by 
 Ihewing with how little juilice they lay 
 claim to vi6lory, and how much lefs they 
 deferve to be applauded than defpifed. 
 
 There are two circumftances which, ei- 
 ther fmgle or united, make any attain- 
 ed ments 
 
( 3^3 ) 
 
 ments eRimable among men. The firft is 
 the iifefulnefs of it to Ibciety. The other 
 is the capacity or application neceflary for 
 acquiring it. 
 
 If we confidcr this art of fcoffing with 
 regard to either of thcfc, w^e fliall not find 
 great reafon to envy or admire it. It re- 
 quires no depth of knowledge, or intcnfe- 
 nefs of thought. Contracted notions, and 
 fuperficial views, are fufficicnt for a man 
 who is ambitions only cf being the author 
 of a j eft. That man may laugh Vv'ho can- 
 not reafon ; and he, that cannot compre- 
 hend a demonftration, may turn the terms 
 to ridicule. 
 
 This method of controverfy is indeed 
 the general refuge of thofe whofe idlenefs 
 or incapacity difable them from producing 
 any thing folid or convincing. They, who 
 are certain of being confuted and expofed 
 in a fober difpute, imagine that by return- 
 ing fcurrility for reafon, and by laughing 
 mofl: loudly, when they have leaft to fay, 
 fhey fliall fhelter their ignorance from de- 
 te6tion, and fupply with impudence what 
 they want in knowledge. 
 
 Nor will the poffelfors of this boafted 
 taknt or ridicule appear more to deferve 
 
 refpedt 
 
( 3^4 ) 
 
 refpea on account of their ulefulnefs to 
 mankind. Thefe gay fallies of imaginati- 
 on, when confined to proper fiibje6ts, and 
 reftrained within the bounds of decency, are 
 of notarther ufe to mankind than to divert, 
 and can have no higher place in our ef- 
 teem than any other art that terminates ia 
 mere amiifement. 
 
 But v/hen men treat ferious matters lu- 
 dicroufly, when they ftudy, not for truth, 
 but for a jeft, when they unite the moft 
 awful and moft trifling ideas, only to tickle 
 the imagination with the furprize of no- 
 velty, they no longer have the poor merit 
 of diverting ; they raife always either 
 horror or contempt, and hazard their 
 higheft intereft, without even the low re^ 
 compence of prefent applaufe. 
 
 That they hazard their higheft intereft 
 can hardly be denied, when they determine, 
 without the moft fcrupulous examination, 
 thofe queftions which relate to a future 
 ftate; and none certainly are lefs likely to 
 difcufs thefe queftions with the care which 
 they require, than thofe who accuft.om 
 themfelves to continual levity. 
 ^ The mind, long vitiated v/ith trifles, and 
 entertained with wild and unnatural com- 
 
 binations 
 
( o65 ) 
 
 binatlons of ideas, becomes in a fhort 
 time unable to fupport the fatigue of rea- 
 foning ; it is difgufted with a long fuccef- 
 fion of folemn images, and retires from fe- 
 rious meditation, and tirefome labour, to 
 gayer fancies, and lefs difficult employ^ 
 ments. 
 
 Befides, he that has pra6lifed the art of 
 filencing others with a jeft, in time learns 
 to fatisfy himfelf in the fame manner. It 
 becomes unnecefTary to the tranquillity of 
 his own mind to confute an obje<5lion ; 
 it is fufficicnt for him if he can ridi- 
 cule it. 
 
 Thus he foon grows indifferent to truth 
 or falfehood, and almoft incapable of dif- 
 cerning one from- the other. He confi- 
 ders eternity itfelf as a fuij eft for mirth, 
 and is equally ludicrous upon all occa^ 
 lions. 
 
 What delufions, what bigotry, is equal 
 to this ! Men negled to fearch after eter- 
 nal happinefs for fear of being interrupted 
 in their mirth. If others have been milled 
 they have been mifled by their reverence 
 for great authorities, or by iirong preju- 
 dices of education. Such eVrors may be 
 extenuated, and perhaps excufed. They 
 
 have 
 
have at Jeaft fomething plauiibie to plead,- 
 and their afiertors acl with fome fhow of 
 reafon. But what can the moft extenfive 
 chanty alledge in favour of thofe men 
 who, if tliey perifh everlafcingly, perifh 
 by their attachment to merriment, and 
 their confidence in a jeft ? 
 
 It is afionifhing that any man can for- 
 bear enquiring ferioufly, Vvhether there is 
 a God- whether God is 'jui\ ; whether 
 this life is the only ftate of exiflence; whe- 
 ther God has appointed rewards and 
 punifbments in a future ftate ; vrhether he 
 has given any laws for the regulation of 
 our conducl here ; whether lie has given 
 them by revelation ; and whether the reli- 
 gion publicly taught carries any mark of 
 divine appointment. Thefe are queftions 
 v;hlch every reafonable Being ought un. 
 doubtedly to cooiider wdth an attention 
 fuitable to tl:e:r importance ; and he, 
 whom the coniideration of eternal happi- 
 nels or mifery cannot awaken from his 
 piealing dreams, cannot prevail upon to 
 iiifpend his mirth, furely ought not to 
 defpife others for dulneis and llupidity. 
 
 Let it be remembered, tliat the nature of 
 things is not alterable by our conducl. 
 
 We 
 
( 36'7 ) 
 
 We cannot make truth ; it is our bulinefs 
 only to find it. No propoiition can be- 
 come more or lefs certain or important, 
 by being coniidered or neglected. It is to 
 no purpofe to wifli, or to fuppofe, that to 
 be falfe which is in itfelf true, and there- 
 fore to acquiefce in our own wifries and 
 fuppofitions, when the matter is of eternal 
 confequence, to believe obftinately without 
 grounds of belief, and to determine with- 
 out examination, is the laft degree of folly 
 and abfurdity. It is not impolfible that he 
 who a6ts in this manner may obtain the 
 approbation of madmen like himfelf, but 
 he will incur the contempt of every wife 
 man ; and, what is more to be feared^ 
 amidft his fecurity and fupinenefs, his faL 
 lies and his flights, He ihat fitteth in the 
 heavens [fiall laugh him to [corn ; the Lord 
 JJiall have him in dey^ijion. 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to give a faint 
 idea of the folly of thofe who feoff at Reli- 
 gion, becaufe they difbelieve, and, by 
 fcoffing, harden themfelves in their difbe- 
 licf But I fhall be yet more unable to 
 defcribe, in a proper manner, what I am to 
 mention in the fecond place, 
 
 The 
 
( 368 -) 
 
 The wicked nefs of thofe that believe 
 Religion, and yet deride it from motives of 
 intereft or vanity. 
 
 This is a degree of guilt againft which it 
 might feem, at the firft view, fuperfluous 
 to preach, becaufe it might be thought 
 impoiTible that it fhould ever be commit- 
 ted ; as, in ancient ftate, no punifhment 
 was decreed for the murderer of his father, 
 becaufe it was imagined to be a crime not 
 incident to human nature. But experience 
 taught them, and teaches us, that wicked- 
 nefs may fwell beyond imagination, and 
 that there are no limits to the madnefs of 
 impiety. 
 
 For a man to revile and infult that God 
 whofe power he allows, to ridicule that 
 revelation of which he believes the autho- 
 rity divine, to dare the vengeance of omni- 
 potence, and cry, am jwi I in [port ! is an 
 infatuation incredible, a degree of madnefs 
 without a name. Yet there are men who, 
 by walking after their own luf^s, and in- 
 dulging their pa^Tions, have reached this 
 ftupendous height of wickednefs. They 
 have dared to teach falfehoods which they 
 do not thcmfelves believe ; and to extin- 
 
 guifh 
 
( 3''i9 ) 
 
 guiHiin ollitrs that convi6lion which they 
 cannot fupprels in ihcuifelvcs. 
 
 1 he motive of ihar proceeding is fomc- 
 times a dclirc ot'promoting their own plea- 
 fures, by procuring accomplices in vice. 
 Man ib lb tar tbrmcJ for fociety, tiiat even 
 lulitary wickednels quickly difguflii ; and 
 debaucliLM'y requires its combinations and 
 confederacies, which, as intemperance di- 
 minifhes their numbers, mull be filled up 
 with liCW Profelytcs. 
 
 Let thofe who praiilife this dreadful 
 method of depraving the morals, and en- 
 fnaring the foul, conlider what they arc 
 engaged in ! Let them conlider what thev 
 arc promoting, and wliat means they arc 
 employing I Let them paufe, and reflect a 
 little, betbre they do an injury that can ne- 
 ver be repaired, before they take awav 
 what cannot be rei\ored ; before they cor- 
 rupt the heart of their companion by 
 perverting his opinions, befjre they lead 
 him into tin, and by dellroying his rever- 
 ence ior Religion, take away every motive 
 to repentance, and all the means oi' retor- 
 maiioii I 
 
 This is a degree of guilt, before v.-lilch 
 robbery, p'.'rjury, and murder, vanifh into 
 f*' b nothing 
 
'v 370 ) 
 
 nothing. No mifchief, of which the con- 
 fequences terminate in our prefent ftate, 
 bears any proportion to thj crime of decoy- 
 ing our brother into the broad way of eter- 
 nal mifery, and flopping his cars againft 
 that holy voice that recalls him to falva- 
 tion. 
 
 What muft be the anguifh of fuch a 
 man, when he becomes fenlible of his own 
 crimes ! How will he bear the thought of 
 having promoted the damnation of multi- 
 tudes by the propagation of known delufi- 
 ons ! What lafting contrition, wliat fevere 
 repentance, muft be necelfary for fuch deep 
 and fuch accumulated guilt ! Surely if 
 blood be required for blood, a foul fball 
 be required ior a foul. 
 
 There are others who deride Religion 
 for the fake of difplaying th-ir own inm- 
 ginatious, of following the iafhion of a 
 corrupt and licentious age, or gaining the 
 friendihiip of the great, or the applaufe of 
 the gay How mean mull that wretch be 
 wdio can be overcome by fuch temptations 
 as thefe 1 Yet there are men who fell that 
 foul which God has formed for infinite 
 felicity, defeat the great work of their re- 
 demption, and plunge iuto thofc pains 
 
 which 
 
( .vl ) 
 
 which fhall never end, lcl\ they fhould lole 
 tb.e patronage ofvilinins, and the praife ot 
 IboLs. 
 
 I fuppofc thofe, whom I am now fpcak- 
 ing of, to be in themfelvcs fufficiently con- 
 vinced of the truth of the Scriptures, and 
 may therefore, very properly, lay belore 
 them the threatnings denounced by God 
 againi\ their conduct. 
 
 It may be ufcful to them to rcflc6t be* 
 times on the danger o^ fearing 7nan rather 
 than Gcii ; to conlider that it Ihall avail a 
 man nothing, if he gain the ivhole ivorldy and 
 loje his own foul ; and that whoever fiall be 
 nfliamed of his Saviour before men^ of him will 
 his Saviour be afliarncd btfore his Father 
 which is in heaven. 
 
 That none of us may b>e in the number 
 of thofe unhappy perfons who thus fcoft'at 
 the means of grace, and relinquifh the hope 
 of glory, may God, of his infinite mercy, 
 grant, through the merits of that Saviour 
 who hath brought lite and immortalitv to 
 
 light' 
 
 B b i SERMON 
 
SERMON XXI. 
 
 Psalm cxlv. 9. 
 
 The Lord is good h all, ami his tender mercies 
 are 01 er all his "juorks. 
 
 1 N this devout, marterly, and ufcful per- 
 forrmncc, the Author appears deeply iea- 
 lible of the divine greatntl^, and peculiarly 
 tranfixDrted with contemplatiiig God's in- 
 Hnite goodnefs ; even to that degree, that 
 he cheerfully engages in, and abfolutely 
 devotes himfelf to, the very important 
 fcnnce of adoring and obeying this Al- 
 mighty, Unbounded, and mod Benevolent 
 Being. 
 
 This his religion, as he intimates, was 
 founded upon the moft folid ground of 
 reafon ; for as the great Father and Lord 
 of all is certainly matchlefs, and unrivalled 
 in maicftv and in power, fo ib he diiinter- 
 
 ci\ed. 
 
( 3-74 ) 
 
 efted, wonderful, and glorious, in bounty 
 and compaflion ; averfe and flow to anger, 
 but ready to receive, to favour and reward 
 all who diligently feek, and faithfully ferve 
 him. The Lord is good to all^ and his tender 
 mercies are oi:er all his works. 
 
 In difcouriing on this fubjedl, I fhall 
 conlider, 
 
 Firfl:, Some arguments that fupport, or 
 prove it. 
 
 Secondly, Illuflrate its extenlive lignifi- 
 cation and import in feme remarkable 
 inftances, and conclude with a pradlical 
 application. 
 
 Firil, I am to conlider fonie arguments 
 that efiablifh this fentiment. 
 
 Our great Lord and Mafier has taught 
 us, that there is none good but one, that is 
 God. By which expreflion we may un- 
 derftand, that there is none fo perfe6\ly 
 dilinterefled, fo diffufively, and fo afton- 
 ifhingly good as God is. For, in another 
 place, he inf^ru6ts us both how to compre- 
 hend, and rely on, this unchangeable and 
 never-failing attribute of the divine na- 
 ture ; refembliiig it to, or reprefcnting it 
 by, an human quality or virtue, namely, 
 the affection and tender regard of parents 
 
 to 
 
( 375 ) 
 
 to their children. If yc ihen^ heing evil^ 
 know how to give good gifts in:to your chil- 
 dren^ how much more Jhall your I'aiher^ which 
 is in Heaven^ give good thijigs to them that ajk 
 him? From whence it is obvious to remark, 
 that as the liumanc and generous man has 
 a peculiar tendernefs for his more imme- 
 diate defcendants, and, proportionally to 
 his power and influence, is willing and ac- 
 tive to fuccour and relieve the indigent, to 
 divide care, lelTen mifery, and diffufe hap- 
 pinefs through the world \ inconceivably 
 more afrc61ionate is the eternal Parent un- 
 to, and regardful of, all his intelhgent crea- 
 tures, truly difpofed, according to their 
 rank of exiftence, to promote their wel- 
 fare ; and beyond comprchenfion inclined 
 to condu6l them, through the grcateft 
 variety of circumRances, to the nobleft 
 perfe6tion, and the higheft degree of feU- 
 city. In his righteous and benevolent na- 
 ture there cannot pofTibly be the mofk dif- 
 tant tendency to caprice, feveritv, or felf- 
 ifhnefs ; for the multitude of fharers, he 
 knows, can never fubtra6l from his inex- 
 hauflible lulnefs. He created to commu- 
 nicate. In every evil which he prevents, 
 he is pleafed, and in all the good that he 
 
 bellows, 
 
. (' 376 ) 
 
 bepLOVv'oj lie glories. His goodnefs di£^ated 
 the beftowing of exifience, in all its forms, 
 and with all its properties Kis goodnefs 
 difplays itfelf in fuftaining and difpofing 
 of all things. His goodnefs con;;e6ls un- 
 numbered worlds together, in one fpacious, 
 vad, and unbounded univerfe, and em^ 
 braces every fyftem. His tender mercies are 
 over all his ncrjrh. 
 
 Without goodnefs, what apprchenlions 
 could we entertain of all the other attri- 
 butes of the Divine Being ? Without the 
 utmoil" extent of benevolence and mercy, 
 they would hardly be perfedfions, or ex- 
 cellencies. And v\/hat would an univerfai 
 adminlf^ration produce, in i\\q liands of an 
 evil, or a partial, or malevolent dircclion^ 
 but icenes of horror and devaflation ? Not 
 afHi6tion and punifhment for the fake of 
 difcipline and corre6lion, to prevent the 
 offence, or reform the finner ; but heavy 
 judgements and dreadful vengeance, to de- 
 ftroy him ; or implacable wrath and iiery 
 indignation, to prolong his mifery, and 
 extend the duration of his torture through 
 the revolving periods of an endlefs eter- 
 nity. 
 
 Without 
 
( 377 ) 
 
 Without tlie moft enlarged notions of ^ 
 an infinite and evcrlalling goodnefs in the 
 divine nature, nn impenetrable gloom muft 
 hang over every mind, and darknefs ovcr- 
 fpread the whole face of being. Neither 
 could any other conceivable fentiment dif- 
 perib our fufpicions, or banifli one of our 
 guilty, or fuperfiitious fears. For fuppofe 
 he confined his goodnefs to a few, without 
 any reafonable caufe or juft ground, and 
 we could be fo whimiically partial to our- 
 felves, as to conceit that we were of this 
 feledt number; yet there could be no fecu- 
 rity of happinefs, not even to this little 
 flock. He that chofe them by chance, 
 might as accidentally abandon them ; and 
 as the former V7as without rcafon or good- 
 nefs, the latter might be without righte- 
 oufhefs or mercy. Therefore it is infinitely 
 defirable to think, and we are confident of 
 the truth of our idea, that the Lord is 2ood 
 io all^ and hh iendcr mercies are O'vcr all his 
 works. 
 
 For if he be felf-exif^ent, omnipotent, 
 and poirdfed of perfect liberty ; if it be 
 impofllble for him ever to err, or miftake, 
 in what is good and fitting, and if he enjoys 
 ail infinite ability to ef^edt, with a thou^^ht 
 
 only, 
 
( 378 ) 
 
 only, what fhall always be for the«greateft 
 advantage, he muft be originally and ef- 
 fentially, immutably and for ever good. 
 
 Holy Scripture, as if beauty and good- 
 neis were fynonymous terms, or infepara- 
 ble qualities, thus defcribes him; How great 
 is thy goodnefs ! And lei the heauiy of the Lord 
 our God be upon us. And, as if glory and 
 goodnefs fignified the fame thing, you iind 
 Exod. xxxiii. l8, 19, And he fa? d^ I befeech 
 thee^ flieiv me thy glory. To which the an- 
 fwer is, / ivill make all my goodnejs pafs be- 
 fore thee. ' And when, as it is written in the 
 next chapter, the Lord defcended, and pro- 
 claimed his name, or publifhed the attri- 
 butes in which he is peculiarly delighted, 
 what is this diftinguifhing name, or what 
 thefe divine and glorious attributes ? The 
 Lord^ the Lord God^ mstxiful and gracious^ 
 loner -fuffering^ and abunda^it in goodnefs and 
 truth., keeping 7nercy for thoufands., forgiving 
 iniquity ^ tranfgrejjion^ and fin. The Apoflle 
 fams up all thefe in one word, when he 
 faith, God is love. "Which leads me to the 
 fecond thing propofed, 
 
 Namely, to illuftrate the extcnfive iigni- 
 ncation and import of this fubje61: by fome 
 remarkable inftanccs. The Lord is good to 
 
 allj 
 
( 379 ) 
 
 all J and his tender mercies are oz'er all his 
 works- 
 
 No bounds can be fixed to the divine 
 prefence, nor is any part of illimitable 
 fpace without his infpect'on, and a6\ive in_ 
 fluence. There is nothing remote, or ob- 
 fcure to him, nor any exceptions to his fa- 
 vour among all the works of his hands. Far 
 and wide then as is the vaR: range of ex- 
 iftence, fo is the divine benevolence extend- 
 ed ; and both in the previous trial, and 
 final retribution, of all his rational and 
 moral productions. The Lo7^d is good io all, 
 and his tender ?nsrcies are over all his ic'orks. 
 
 In the firft place, to illuftrate this, we 
 need only to take a tranfient view of the 
 outworks of the vilible creation, a general 
 furvey of the nature and correfpondence of 
 the various parts of this regular and grand 
 machine, this finifhed and Rupcndous fa- 
 brick, in which every thing is contrived 
 and concluded for thebefi. 
 
 For do but imagine an appetite, or fa- 
 culty, altered ; or a change in the objc6l 
 prepared to gratify it, in any refpe6l. Sup- 
 pofe a material alteration, or confiderabie 
 difference in nature, and vvc (hall cafjly 
 pcrcciv(\it would boa manifold difadvan- 
 
 tage. 
 
( 38o ) 
 
 t-are, either to individuals, or to the whole. 
 Siippofe the earth othervviie than it is, or 
 the atmofphere and furrounding air to be 
 varied, and in any degree niore rarefied or 
 more condenfed ; fuppofe the element of 
 water greatly increaled, or confiderably 
 diminifhed; or the Sun's blazing orb fixed 
 nearer, and its vertical beams therefore 
 ftronger, or fuppofe it more remote, and 
 its heat fcnfibly abated, the alteration 
 v/ould be a misfortune, if the difference 
 did not termin?.te in mifery and defiru6ti- 
 on. So that from the prefent adjuftment, 
 proportion, and accommodation of all mat- 
 ters in the wide creation, the confequence 
 is fairly drawn, and very evident, that God 
 is ^ood io alL and his 'tender mercies are over 
 all his 'worh. 
 
 This is certain of the i.vhoIe of God's 
 works, and is peculiarly apparent in maUj 
 the principal inhabitant of this earth. For, 
 as his welfare, dignity, and fatisfa6fion5 
 nav his happinefs, and even the end of his 
 bcinor, depend on, and arifefrom, his regu- 
 larity and ccnflancy in virtue, what an in., 
 finite concern hath tlie Deity expreifed 
 about it ? What, that can confifl with li- 
 berty, hath been omitted by fupreme wif- 
 
 dom. 
 
( 381 j 
 
 dom, in this moft important affair ? To 
 incline him to be moderate in all his era- 
 titications, true pleafure proceeds from no- 
 thing elfe. To keep off intemperate in- 
 dulgence, and to guard him agaiuft all 
 voluptuous exceifcs, it is Co ordained, that 
 extravagance and inconvenience are near 
 together, and that vice and pain are, 
 though not immediate and infeparable af- 
 fociates, never far afunder ; and that it is 
 impolTible for that foul to be calm and at 
 eafe, which iniquity has ftained, and which 
 impenitent guilt corrodes. 
 
 The parts of man's body are wonderful- 
 ly defigned, and curioully conRru6\ed : 
 regularly difpofed of, and mofc accurately 
 proportioned for the fafety and advantage 
 of the whole. As apt as we may be to quar- 
 rel with our nature, fuppofe an inftin61: was 
 ftruck out of our frame, or a fingle pafnon 
 taken from us ; fuppofe our fenfes any 
 ways altered, by being either flrengthened, 
 or impaired ; or even reafon refined and 
 abftra6\ed to fuch a degree as to render us 
 wholly negligent of food and raiment, ne- 
 cefTary exercifes, and fecular concerns ; in 
 any of thefe- inftances, the imaginary 
 emendation would be a real deficiency, 
 
 anc} 
 
( 38a ) 
 
 and a proportionable ded'j6lion from the 
 moment and quantity of our happinefs. 
 
 It is evidently the fame with refpe61: to 
 all the other creatures we are acquainted 
 with. Their nature and condition, their 
 qualities and circumdances, are fo adapted 
 to one another, that, as the intelle6lual 
 powers of a being of a more exalted nature 
 would not probably fuit an inhabitant of 
 this lower world, fo neither would the ca- 
 pacities of human nature guide the fowls 
 of the air, or condu6l the beafls of the field, 
 to fo much happinefs, as they find, by fol- 
 lowing the motions and impulfes of fenfe 
 and inftinft. And if refle61ion, enlarged 
 ideas, and moral difcrimination, be denied 
 them, it is plainly becaufe they would be a 
 burthen and a misfortune, rather than a 
 benefit to them. 
 
 But thefe univerfal notices, and unde- 
 niable tefti monies of divine goodnefs, 
 throughout the animated regions of earth, 
 fea, and air, in the propriety and fuitabie- 
 nefs of creatures to their ilate, and objedis 
 to their appetites, are too evident and obvi- 
 ous to all men to need enlargement. God's 
 works are all wonderful ; and in wifdom, 
 and with goodnefs, hath he made them. 
 
 I Secondly, 
 
( o'^o ) 
 
 Secondly, This attribute is likewife il- 
 luflrioufly difplayed in the divine provi- 
 dence and government of the creation, 
 though our facuhies are too limited and 
 fcanty, and our views too narrow and im- 
 perfedl, to trace its lecret and myfterious 
 ways. 
 
 An omnipotent fupport, and a perfe6^1y 
 wife direction, are evident in the laws ef- 
 tablifhed, and regularly obferved through 
 all the divine produ6lions in heaven above, 
 or on the earth beneath. Neither have the 
 moll celebrated Philofophers been able, 
 with all their boafted fagacity, and after all 
 their laborious rcfearches into the volume 
 of nature, to ailign any other caufe, but an 
 inviiible agency, and an iT:mediate energy 
 of Providence, for mutual attraction in bo- 
 dies, and the determination of all portions 
 of matter to their centre ; for the great 
 ftrength nt appetite, inUin6l, and fagacity, 
 in animals ; that the prevalence and con- 
 tii.uance thereof fhould be fo preclfely and 
 exacily commenfurate to the occaiions 
 which require them, and that they fhould 
 be no longer urgent, than for the time 
 necelTary, as in the aiie'3.ion for their 
 young. All v;hich do greatly illuftrate 
 
 the 
 
( 384 } 
 
 the wifdom aud goodnefs of God's admi- 
 niitration, and fuperintending care. 
 
 Koly writ elegantly and emphatically 
 delcribes the excellence of goodnefs in the 
 divine Providence in various places, parti- 
 cularly in this Pfalm, of which my text is 
 a part. l,he eyes oj all wait upon thee : thoit 
 g'rveji ihem their meat in due Jcajon, Thou 
 openeft thine hand, and fatisjieji the defires of 
 everv li^uin^ thince. Behold (faith our blelfed 
 S2iViour) the fowls of ike air, for they Jbw not, 
 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns .\ 
 yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Con - 
 /tder the lillies of the field, how they grow ; 
 they toil not, neither do they fpin ; and yet I 
 Jay unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was 
 not arrayed like one of thefe. Kot one indi- 
 vidual can be fo minute and inconiiderable 
 as to €fcape the notice of Heaven's all-fur- 
 veying eye ; nor one fo importantly large, 
 and feemingly felf fuilicient as to fubfift a 
 moment without the divine fupport. By 
 him all things conlift : The Lord is good to 
 all, and his tender mercies are over all his 
 works. 
 
 But Man anoears the diftinc^uiined 
 charge of the beneficent Creator ; and un- 
 lefs Providence had conne6led rational be- 
 ings 
 
( 38S ) 
 
 ings by the peculiar ftrong tics of mutual 
 obligation, perpetual depend cncy, and in- 
 leparable interell, they would, of all crea- 
 tures, be the moft deftitute and mlferable ; 
 for there is not one that in thefirftllages of 
 its exiftcnce is fo totally helplefs, and ab- 
 folutely infufficient for its own prefervati- 
 on, fupport, or defence, as man. There- 
 fore parental tendernefs is both early and 
 paffionate, permanent and lafting. Our fo- 
 cial difpoiitions and affedtions are enbrgsd 
 to the utmoft limits, and continue with us 
 in the concluding decays, and laft end of 
 this mortal life ; that we n:ay abvays love 
 one another and glorify the Lord nvho is 
 rrood io all^ and whofe tender 7neraes are OTtr 
 all his works. 
 
 The conftquenccs in the lail place, 
 which refult from the arguments you have 
 heard, are fo obv'ious, that I make no 
 doubt but your own thoughts have already 
 anticipated them. Iiigratitude among men 
 hath, in every age, and in every region of 
 the earth, been an objedl of general detef- 
 tation, and univcrfally accounted a glar- 
 ing indication of depravity of heart. If 
 the cafe ftand thus among mortals, whofe 
 common interei^s require a rccipr'^cation 
 C c ' of 
 
( 3^^ > 
 
 of kindnefs lind beneficence, ho\V greatly 
 is the crime aggravated, when it is conl- 
 mitted againft that Being, whole goodnefs 
 towards the fons of men is perfe6tly difin- 
 terefted ! The exertions of Divine Provi- 
 dence in our behalf tend folely to our own 
 welfare ; nor can any thing we do in re^ 
 turn contribute, in the fmalleft degree, to 
 the augmentation of the happinefs of the 
 Almighty .Benefa6tor.1This unqueftionably 
 ousrht to be fufficient to exa6t from us the 
 moft profound veneration, the moft fervent 
 gratitude, and implicit obedience to hivi 
 facred laws. 
 
 David, after having enumerated the 
 tender mercies of God, is penetrated with 
 the l^rongeft fenfe of devotion. My mouth 
 (he exlaims) fiall [peak the praife of the 
 Lord', and let all flefJi hlefs his holy name for 
 e'ver and ever. Such was the tribute which 
 the royal Pfalmiil thought due to the 
 Deity for the creation and prefervation of 
 man. The debt is accumulated to us in an 
 infinite proportion; for while we are 
 bounden to the fame return for the lame 
 benefits voluntarily conferred upon us, a 
 grander obligation is fuperadded to that 
 for the means of grace^ and for the hope of 
 <flory, Vv^ere the mercies of the Lord li- 
 mited 
 
( 387 ) 
 
 mited to the tenure of our prefent exift- 
 ence, great and glorious as they are, the 
 human mind would be clouded by the 
 confcioufnefs that a very few years muft 
 exclude us for ever from the participation 
 of them. But fince the gracious rays of 
 life and immortality have diffipated the 
 gloom that hung upon futurity, lincc, by 
 the propitiatory facrifice of the Son of 
 God, death is difarmed of his fting, and 
 the grave deprived of its vi6lory, divine 
 goodnefs hath received its perfedl confum- 
 mation. 
 
 If gratitude, praife, and adoration, there- 
 fore, be due to the Author of our being for 
 thofe bleflings which we enjoy at prefent, 
 it is no lefs our higheft intereft fo to ufe 
 them in this previous ftate of trial, that 
 we may finally exchange them for thole 
 purer and incorruptible treafures referved 
 for the righteous in the kingdom of hea- 
 ven. 
 
 Which that we n%ay all do, may that 
 God who created and preferves us grant, 
 through the merits and mediation of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift ! 
 
 C c% SERMON 
 
SERMON XXir. 
 
 I Corinthians xi. ^9. 
 
 He ihai eateth and drinkeih unnvorihUy^ eaieh 
 and drinkeih damnation io himfelf. 
 
 HE celebration of the Sacrament is ge- 
 nerally acknowledged, by the Chriftian 
 Church, to be the higheft a6l of devotion, 
 and the mofl folemn part of poiitive reli . 
 gion, and has therefore moft engaged the 
 attention of thofe, who either profefs to 
 teach the way to happinefs, or endeavour to 
 learn it, and, like all other fubje61:s, fre- 
 quently difculFed by men of various inter- 
 efts, difpolitions, and capacities, has given 
 rife to various opinions, widely different 
 from each other. 
 
 Such is the weaknefs of mankind, that 
 one error, whether admitted, or dete^lied, 
 
 is 
 
' ( 590 ) 
 
 is very often the caufe of anotherc Thofe 
 who reje6l any opinion, however jufty, are 
 commonly mcited by their zeal to condemn 
 every pofition, in which they dilcover any 
 affinity with the tenets which they oppofe, 
 ot which they have been long accuftomed 
 to fhow the falfehood and the danger, and 
 therefore imagine themfelves nearer to 
 truth and fafety, in proportion as they re- 
 cede from them. For this reafon it 
 fometimes happens that in paflionate con- 
 tells, and difputations long continued, each 
 controvertift fucceeds in the confutation of 
 his adverfary's poiitions, and each fails in 
 the eftablifhment of his own. 
 
 In this manner have writers, of different 
 perfualions, treated en the worthinefs re- 
 quired of thofe who partake of the Lord's 
 Supper; a quality, not only necefTary to 
 procure the favour of God, and to give ef- 
 ficacy to the inftitution, but fo ftri6tly en- 
 pined in the words of the text, that tb ap- 
 proach the holy table without it, is to per- 
 vert the means of falvation, and to turn 
 prayer into fin. 
 
 The a,rdour and vehemence with which 
 thofe are condemned, who eat and drink 
 unworthily, have filled the melancholy, 
 
 the 
 
( 391 ) 
 
 the timorous, and the humble, with urme- 
 ceflary terrors, which have been fometimes 
 fo much increafed by the injudicious zeal 
 of writers, erroneoully pious, that they liave 
 conceived the danger of attempting to 
 obey this precept of our Saviour more for- 
 midable than that of negledling it, and 
 have fpent the greateft part of their lives 
 in the omifTion of a duty of the higheft 
 importance; or, being equally terrified on 
 either hand, have lived in anguifh and 
 perplexity, under a conftant fenfe of the 
 necefTity of doing what they cannot, in 
 their opinion, do in an acceptible manner, 
 and which of courfe they iliall either do, 
 or omit, at the utmoft hazard of eternal 
 happinefs. 
 
 Such exalted piety, fueh unfhaken vir- 
 tue, fuch an uniform ardour of divine af- 
 feclions, and fuch a conftant pradlice of 
 religious duties, have been reprefented as 
 fo indifepenfably necefTary to a worthy re- 
 ception of this facrament, as fe\>r men have 
 been able to difcover in thofe whom tiiey 
 moft: efteem for their purity of life, and 
 which no man's confcience will perhaps 
 fuffer him to find in himfclt^ and therefore 
 •^hofe who know themfelves not to hav« 
 
 arrive4 
 
C 392 ) ■ 
 
 arrived at fuch elevated excellence, who 
 ftrugg e with paflions which they cannot 
 wholly conquer, and bewail- infirmities, 
 which yet they perceive to adhere to them, 
 are frighted from an adl: o^' devotion, of 
 which they have been taught to believe, 
 that it is fo fcarcely to be performed wor- 
 thily by an embodied fpirit, that it re- 
 quires the holinefs of angels, and the un~ 
 contaminated raptures of Paradife. 
 
 Thus it appeared, that, inftead of being 
 excited to ardent delires of perfection, and 
 unwearied endeavours after the utmoft 
 height of fauility, not only the fenfual 
 and the profligate were hardened in their 
 wickednels, by conceiving a life of piety 
 too hard to be borne, but the diffident and 
 fcrupulous w^ere terrified into defpair, con- 
 lidered vigilance and caution as unavailing 
 fatigues, remitted their ardour, relaxed 
 their diligence, and ceafed to purfue what 
 they could no longer hope to attain. 
 
 To remove thefe doubts, and difperfe 
 thefe apprehenlions, do6frines of very dif- 
 ferent tendency have been induftrioufly 
 promoted ; lower degrees of piety have 
 been declared fufiicient, and the dangers of 
 reception have been extenuated ; nor have 
 
 j^ny 
 
( 393 ) 
 
 any arts of interpretation been untried, or 
 any conje6lure, which fagacity or learning 
 could produce, been fbrgolten, to affign to 
 the words of the text a fenfe Jefs to be 
 dreaded by the unv/orthy communicant. 
 But by thefe opinions, imprudently incul- 
 cated, many iiave been milled to conlider 
 the Sacrament, as little more tlian a cur- 
 fory a6l of devotion ; the exhortations of 
 the Apoftle have lofl their efficacy, and the 
 terrors of the Lord, with which he enforces 
 them, have no longer rcprelFed the licenti- 
 oufnefs of the profligate, or difturbed the 
 indolence of the fupine. Religion has funk 
 into ceremony ; God, has, without fean 
 been approached with the lips, when the 
 heart has been far from him; and the 
 Supper of the Lord has been frequented 
 by thofe, of whom it could not be perceiv- 
 ed, that they were very folicltous to avoid 
 the guilt of unworthy communication. 
 
 Thus have different interpretations of 
 the fame text produced errors equally dan- 
 gerous, and which might have been equal- 
 ly obviated, by a careful attention to the 
 nature and inftitution of the Sacrament, 
 an unprejudiced examination of the pofiti- 
 on of the Apofile, and the comparifon of 
 
 this 
 
( 394 ) 
 
 this paflage with other comminations ,• 
 methods of enquiry, which, in the explica- 
 tion of doubtful texts of fcripture, ought 
 always to be obferved, and by which it 
 may be proved, to the comfort of the de- 
 prefled, and the confirmation of the doubt- 
 tulj that the lin of unworthy reception, 
 though great, is yet to be pardoned ; and 
 to the reftraint of the prefumptuous, and 
 confulion of the profane, that the prepara- 
 tion required is ftri6l, though pra6licablej 
 lind the denunciation fuch as ought to ter- 
 rify the negligent, though not difcourage 
 the pious. 
 
 "When eternal punifhments are denounc- 
 ed againft any crime, it is always evident- 
 ly the intention of the writer to declare 
 and enforce to thofe, that are yet innocent, 
 the duty of avoiding them, and to thole 
 who have already committed them, the 
 neceffity of repentance, reformation, and 
 future caution. For it is not the will of 
 God, that any fhould perifh, but that all 
 fhould repent, and be faved. It is not by 
 one aft of wicked nefs, that infinite mercy 
 will be kindled to everlafting anger, and 
 the beneficent Father of the univerle for 
 tver alienated from his creatures ; but by 
 
 a long 
 
( 395 ) 
 
 a long courfe of crimes, deliberately com- 
 mitted againltthe coavi6\ions of confcience 
 and the avimonitions of grace; by a life 
 Ipent in guilt, and concluded without re. 
 pentance. No drunkard or cxioriioner^ fays 
 the Apoftle, fliall inherit eiernal life. Yet 
 fhall no man be excluded from future hap- 
 pinels, by a iingle inftance, or even by long 
 habits, ot intemperance, or extortion. Re- 
 pentance and new life will efface his crimes, 
 reinftate him in the favour of his judge, re* 
 Rore him to thofe pron-.ifcs which he has 
 forfeited, and open the paths to eternal 
 happinefs. 
 
 Such is the crime of unworthy reception 
 of the Holy Sacrament, by which he that 
 eaieth and drinkeiJi wruuorihily^ eaieih and 
 drinketh da^nnation io himfelf ; lo which no 
 man can come unprepared, or partake of, 
 if he is divefled of the intentions, fuitable 
 to fo folemn a part of divine worfliip, with- 
 out ar^iling to the number of his fins, and, 
 by a necelTary confequence, to the danger 
 of his foul. But though the foul is, by 
 iuch an a6t of wickednels, endangered, it is 
 not neceifarily deftroyed, or irreveriibly 
 condemned. He that eateth and drinketh 
 unw^orthily, contributes indeed, by eating 
 
 and 
 
( 396 ) 
 
 and drinking, to his own damnation, as he 
 that engages in fraudulent, or unlawful 
 commerce, may be faid, with great pro- 
 priety, to traffic for damnation, or to let 
 his foul to fale -, yet as it is^ certain, that 
 fraud is not unpardonable, if it fiiall after- 
 wards give way to juftice, fo neither is the 
 profanation of the Sacrament a crime, 
 which the goodnefs of God cannot forgive, 
 if it be fucceeded by true devotion. The 
 whole life of man is a ftate of probation ; 
 he is always in danger, and may be always 
 in hope. As no fhort fervours of piety, nor 
 particular a6ls of j:^'^neficencey however ex- 
 alted, can fecure him from the pofTibility 
 of finking into wickednefs, fo no negleft of 
 devotion, nor the commifiion of any crimes, 
 can preclude the means of grace, or the 
 hope of glory. He that has eaten and 
 drank unworthily may enter into falvati- 
 on, by repentance and amendment i as he 
 that has eaten and drank worthily may, by 
 negligence or prefumption, perifh ever- 
 laiiingly. 
 
 This account of the guilt of unworthy re- 
 ception makes it neceffary to enquire, whe- 
 \\\QY by the original word in the text be 
 pieant, as it is trauflated, damnation^ the 
 
 eternal 
 
( 397 ) 
 
 eternal punifhments of a future ftate ; or, 
 as it is more frequently interpreted, 
 condemnation, temporary judgements, <ir 
 worldly afiii6lions. For, from either fcnfe, 
 the enormity of the crime, and the anger 
 af God enkindled by it, is fufficiently ap- 
 parent. Every a6l of wickednefs that is 
 punifhed with immediate vengeance, will, 
 if it be aggravated by repetitions, or not 
 expiated by repentance, incur /;7^/ con- 
 demnation ; for temporal puniOiments are 
 the merciful admonitions of God, to avoid, 
 by a timely change of condu6l, that ftatein 
 which there is no repentance, and thofe 
 pains which can have no end. So that the 
 confident and prefumptuous, though it 
 fhould be allowed that only temporal pu- 
 nifhments are threatened in the text, are to 
 remember, that, without reformation, they 
 will be only aggravations of the crime, and 
 that at the laft day, thofe who could not 
 be awakened to a juft reverence of this di- 
 vine inftitution, will be deprived of the be- 
 nefits of that death, of which it was efta- 
 blifhed as a perpetual commemoration. 
 And thofe who are deprefled by unnecefra- 
 ry terrors, may repel any temptations 
 to defpondency, by eoniidering, that the 
 
 crirne 
 
( 398 ) 
 
 crime of unworthy communication is like 
 ali others, only unpardoned, where it h 
 unrepented. 
 
 Having thus fhewn the danger incurred 
 by an unworthy reception of the Sacra* 
 ment, it is neceflary to enquire how it 
 may be avoided, and to confider, 
 
 Firft, What it is to eat and drink un- 
 v7orthily. 
 
 Secondly, By what means a man may 
 become a worthy partaker o£ the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Firft, I am to confider what it is to eat 
 and drink unworthily. 
 
 Theunworthinefs with w^hich the Corin- 
 thians are upbraided by the Apoftle, was, in 
 part, fuch, as the prefent regulated efta- 
 blifhment of Chriftianity, and the aflift- 
 ance which religion receives from the civil 
 power, make it unnecelFary to cenfure, 
 iince it is not now committed even by the 
 moit prefumptuous, negligent, or profane. 
 It was a pra6lice amongft them to alfemble 
 at the Holy Table in a tumultuous man- 
 ner, and to celebrate the Eucharift with 
 indecency and riot. But though fuch open 
 profanation of this facred ordinance is not 
 now to be apprehended, and, therefore, no 
 
 man 
 
C 399 ) 
 
 man needs to be cautioned agalnft it, yet 
 the caufe which produced it is fuch, as we 
 cannot too anxiouily fear, or too diligently 
 avoid ; for its influences are various and 
 extenlive, and often weaken the efficacy of 
 the Sacrament, though they produce no 
 apparent diforders in the celebration of it. 
 The Corinthians fell into this enormous 
 fin, fays the Apoi^le, not difcerning the Lord's 
 Body, for want of difcerning the import- 
 ance and fan6lity of the inftitution, and of 
 diflinguifhing the Lord's Body, from the 
 common elements of bread and wine ex- 
 hibited on common occalions of ieflive 
 jollity. It is therefore the firfl duty of 
 every Chrif^ian to difcern the Lord's Bo- 
 dy, or to imprefs upon his mind a juft idea 
 of this aft of commemoration, of thecom- 
 rtiands by which it is enforced, of the great 
 facrifice which it reprefents, and of the be- 
 nefits which it produces. Without thefe 
 refle6tions, often repeated, and made habi- 
 tual by long and fervent meditation, every- 
 one will be in danger oT eating and drinking 
 unworthily^ of receiving the Sacrament 
 without fufficient veneration, without tliat 
 ardent gratitude for the death of Chrift, 
 and that f^eady confidence in liis merits, 
 
 br 
 
( 4^0 ) 
 
 hy which the Sacrament is made efficacious 
 to his falvation ; for of what ufe can it be 
 to commemorate the death of the Redeem- 
 er of mankind without faith, and without 
 thankfuhiefs ? Such a celebration of the 
 Sacrament is nothing lefs than a mockery 
 of God, an a6l bv which we approach him 
 with our lips J tvheii our hearts are far from 
 him ; and as fuch inQncerity and negli- 
 gence cannot but be, in a very high de» 
 j>ree, criminal, as he that eateth and drink- 
 f th thus unworthily cannot but promote 
 his own damnation, it is necelTary to en- 
 quire, 
 
 Secondly, By v/hat means a man may 
 become a worthy partaker of the Lord s 
 Supper. 
 
 The method by which we are directed 
 bv the Apoftle to prepare ourfelves for the' 
 Sacrament, is that of felf-examination, 
 which implies a careful regulation of our 
 lives by the rules of the Gofpel ; for to 
 what purpofe is our condu6l to be examin- 
 ed, but that it miiy be amended, where it 
 appears erroneous and detective ? The du- 
 ty of examiiiat^ion therefoie vs only menti- 
 oned, and repentance and reforma-ion are 
 fuppoled, with great reafon, infeparable 
 
 a from 
 
( 4CI ) 
 
 from it ; for nothing is more evident, 
 than that wc are to enquire into the ftate 
 of our fouls, as into aftairs of Icfs import- 
 ance, with a view to avoid danger, or to 
 fecure happinefs. When we enquire with 
 regard to our faith, whether it be fuffici- 
 ently vigorous or powerful, whether it re- 
 gularly influences our condu6t, reftrains 
 our palTions, and moderates our delires, 
 what is intended by this duty, but that if 
 we tind ourfelves Chriftians only in name, 
 if we difcover that the example of our di- 
 vine Mafter has little force upon our con- 
 ftant converfation, and that God is feldom 
 in our thoughts, except in the folemn a6ls 
 of ftated worfhip, we muft then endeavour 
 to invigorate our faith by returning fre- 
 quently to meditate upon the obje6ls of it, 
 our creation, our redemption, the means of 
 grace, and the hope of glory ; and to en- 
 lighten our underftandings, and awaken our 
 affe6\ions, by the perufal of writings of 
 piety, and, above all, of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 If any man, in his examination of his 
 life, difcovers that he has been guilty of 
 fraud, extortion, or injury to his neigh- 
 bour, he is to make reparation to his utmofl 
 D d power. 
 
( 403 ) 
 
 power. If he finds malice or hatred lurking 
 in his mind, he muft expel them by a 
 ftrong refolution never to comply with 
 their motions, or fuffer them to break out 
 in any real a6t of revenge. If he obferves 
 that he is often betrayed, by paffions, or 
 appetites, into unlawful methods of grati- 
 fying "them, he muft refolve to reftrain 
 them for the future, by watching and faft- 
 ing, by a fteady temperance and perpetual 
 vigilance. 
 
 But let him beware of vain confidence in 
 his own firmnefs, and implore, by fervent 
 and iincere prayer, the coo-peration of 
 God's grace with his endeavours ; for by 
 grace alone can we hope to refill the num- 
 berlefs temptations that perpetually fur- 
 round us ; by grace only can we rejeft the 
 felicitations of pleafure, reprefs the moti- 
 ons of anger, and turn away from the al- 
 lurements of ambition. And this grace, 
 when fmcerely implored, is always grant- 
 ed in a degree fufiBcient for our falvation ; 
 and it ought, therefore, to be one of the 
 firft parts of our preparation for the Sacra- 
 ment, to pray for that grace, without 
 which our examination itfelf will be ufe- 
 lefs, becaufe, without it, no pious refolu* 
 
 tian 
 
( 403 ) 
 
 tion can be formed, nor any virtue be prac- 
 tifed. 
 
 As, therefore, it is only by an habitual 
 and unrepented unworthinefs that damna- 
 tion is incurred, let no man be harafled 
 with defpondency for any paft irreverence 
 or coldnefs ! As the Sacrament was infti- 
 tuted for one of the means of grace, let no 
 one, who iincerely delires the falvation of 
 his own foul, negle6l to receive it ; and as 
 eternal punifliment is denounced by the 
 Apoftle againft all thofe who receive it un- 
 worthily, let no man approach the Table of 
 the Lord, without repentance of his former 
 lins, fteadfaft purpofes of a new life, and 
 full confidence in his merits, whofe death 
 is reprefented by it. 
 
 IX d ^ SEHMON 
 
SERMON XXIII. 
 
 (Preached on the 30th of January.) 
 
 James iii. 16. 
 
 Where envying andjlrife is^ there is confujlon, 
 
 JL HAT the life of man is unhappy, that 
 his days are not only few, but evil, that he 
 is furrounded by dangers, diftra6led by un- 
 certainties, and opprefTed by calamities, 
 requires no proof This is a truth, which 
 every man confeffes, or which he, that de- 
 nies it, denies againft conviction. Accord- 
 ingly we find the miferies of our prefent 
 i\ate lamented by Writers of every clafs, 
 from the infpired Teachers of Religion, 
 who admonifh us of our frailty and infeli- 
 city, that they may incite us to labour aftpr 
 a better ftate, where there is fulnefs of joy. 
 and pkafures Jor e^vermore to the vainel^ a d 
 loofeft Author, whofe delign is to teach 
 methods, not of improving:, but of wartuip 
 ^ime, and whofe dodtrine St. Paul, fpeakine 
 
 i 
 
( 4o6 ) 
 
 in a borrowed chara6ter,has well expreiTed 
 in one fhort fentence. Let us eat and drink^ 
 for to-morrow we die. 
 
 When fuch is the condition of beings, 
 not brute and favage, but endowed with 
 reafon, and united in fociety, who would 
 not expe6l that they fhould join in a per- 
 petual confederacy againft the certain, or 
 fortuitous, troubles to which they are ex- 
 pofed ? that they fhould univerfally co- 
 operate in the promotion of univerfal feli- 
 city ? that every man fhould ealily difco- 
 ver that his own happinefs is conne6'ted 
 with that of every other man ? that thou- 
 fands and millions fhould continue toge> 
 ther, as partakers of one common nature ? 
 and that every eye fhould be vigilant, and 
 every hand a6iive, for the confirmation of 
 eafe, and the prevention of misfortune ? 
 
 This expedlation might be formed by 
 fpeculative wifdom, but experience will 
 foon diffipate the pleafing illufion. A flight 
 furvey of life will fhew that, inftead of 
 hoping to be happy in the general felicity, 
 every man purfues a private and independ- 
 ent intereft, propofes to himfelf fome pecu- 
 liar convenience, and prizes it more, as 
 it is lefs attainable by others. 
 
 "VVheii 
 
( 407 ) 
 
 When the ties of fociety are thus broken, 
 and the general good of mankind is fubdi- 
 vided into the feparate advantages of indi- 
 viduals, it muft neceirarily happen, that 
 many will defire what few can polfefs, and 
 confequently, that fome will be fortunate 
 by the difappointment, or defeat, of others, 
 and fmce no man fuffers difappointment 
 without pain, that one muft become mife- 
 rable by another's happinefs. 
 
 This is however the natural condition of 
 human life. As it is not poffible for a be- 
 ing, neceffitous and infufficient as man, to 
 a6t wholly without regard to his intereft, 
 fo it is difficult for him to place his inte- 
 reft at fuch a diftance from him, as to a6t, 
 with conftant and uniform diligence, in 
 hopes only of happinefs flowing back upon 
 him in its circulation through a whole 
 community, to feek his own good, only by 
 feekino- the good of all others, of many 
 whom he cannot know, and of many whom 
 he cannot love. Such a diffuiion of inter- 
 . eft, fuch fublimation of fclf-love is to all 
 difficult, becaufe it fo places the end at a 
 great diftance from the endeavour ; it is to 
 many impoffible, becaufe to many the end, 
 thus removed, will be out of light. And 
 
( 4<38 ) 
 
 fo great are the numbers ofthofe whofe 
 views either nature has bounded, or cor- 
 ruption has contraaed, that whoever la- 
 bours only for the public, will foon be left 
 to labour alone, and driven from his atten- 
 tion to the univerfe, which his fmgle care 
 will very little benefit, to the infpeaion of 
 his own bufmefs, and the profecution of 
 his private wifhes. Every man has, in the 
 prefent ftate of things, wants which cannot 
 wait for public plenty, and vexations which 
 muft be quieted before the days of univer- 
 fal peace. And no man can Hve only for 
 others, unlefs he could perfuade others to 
 live only for him. 
 
 ^ The mifery of the world, therefore, fo 
 far as it arifes from the inequality of con- 
 ditions, is incurable. There are defires, 
 which almoft all feel, but which all cannot 
 gratify. Every man may, without a crime, 
 ftudy his own happinefs, if he be careful 
 not to impede, by defign, the happinefs of 
 others. In the race of life, fome muft gain 
 the prize, and others muft lofe it ; but the 
 prize is honeftly gained by him who out- 
 runs his competitor, without endeavouring 
 to overthrow him. 
 
 In 
 
( 4^9 ) 
 
 la the profecLition of private intereft, 
 which Providence has either ordained, or 
 permitted, there murt necefTarily be fome 
 kind of ftrife. Where blelTings are thrown 
 before us, as the reward of induftry. there 
 mufi: be a conftant ftruggle of emulation. 
 But this ftrife would be without confufion, 
 if it were regulated by reafon and religi- 
 on, if men would endeavour after lawfuj 
 ends by lawful means. 
 
 But as there is a laudable defire of meli- 
 orating the condition of life, which com- 
 munities may not only allow, but encour- 
 age, as the parent of ufeful arts, by which 
 firft necelTity was fupplied ; and conveni- 
 encies will always be multiplied ; as there 
 is likewife an honeft contention for prefer- 
 ence and fuperiority, by which the powers 
 of greater minds are pufhed into a6lion, 
 and the antient boundaries of fcience are 
 overpaft ; fo there is likewife a ftrife, of a 
 pernicious and deftru6live kind, which daily 
 difturbs the quiet of individuals, and too 
 frequently obftru6ls, or difturbs the happi^ 
 nefs of nations ; a ftrife which always ter- 
 minates in confufton, and which it is there- 
 fore every man's duty to avoid himfelf, 
 
 and 
 
( 410 ) 
 
 and every mans intereft to reprefs in 
 others. 
 
 This Jirifey of which cometh confi(Jton, 
 the Apollle haSj in his prohibition, joined 
 with envying. And daily experience will 
 prove, that he has joined them with great 
 propriety ; for perhaps there has feldom 
 been any great and lafting ftrife in the 
 world, of which envy was not either the 
 original motive, or the mofl: forcible in- 
 centive. The ravages of religious enthu- 
 liafts, and the wars kindled by difference 
 of opinions, may perhaps be coniidered as 
 calamities, which cannot properly be im- 
 puted to envy ; yet even thefe may often 
 be juftly fufpe6led of riling from no high- 
 er, or nobler caufes. A man convinced of 
 the truth of his own tenets, wifhing the 
 happinefs of others, and confidering happi» 
 nefs as the certain confequence of truth, is 
 necelTarily prompted to extend his opinions, 
 and to fill the world with profelytes. But 
 furely pure zeal cannot carry him beyond 
 warm difpute, and earneft exhortation ; 
 becaufe by difpute and exhortaion alone 
 can real profelytes be made. Violence may 
 extort confeilion from the tongue, but the 
 mind mull: remain unchanged. Opinion, 
 
 3 whethet 
 
( 411 ) 
 
 whether falfe or true, whether founded on 
 evidence, or raifcd by prejudice, ftands 
 equally unfhaken in the tempefts of com- 
 motion, and fets at defiance the flames of 
 hoftility, and the fword of perfecution. 
 
 No man, whofe reafon is not darkened 
 by fome inordinate perturbation of mind, 
 can poifibly judge fo abfurdly of beings, 
 partakers of the fame nature v^ith himfelf, 
 as to imagine that any opinion can be re- 
 commended by cruelty and mifchief, or 
 that he, who cannot perceive the force of 
 argument, will be more efficacioully in- 
 ftru61ed by penalties and tortures. The 
 power of punifhment is to Jilence, not to 
 confute. It, therefore, can never ferve for 
 the efFe61:ual propagation, or obftruftion, 
 of do6\rines. It may indeed fometimes 
 hinder the diffemination of falfehood, and 
 check the progrefs of error, but can never 
 promote the reception of truth. 
 
 Whenever, therefore, we find the teach- 
 er, jealous of the honour of his fe6l, and 
 apparently more folicitous to fee his opi- 
 nions eJlahliJJied than approved^ we may 
 conclude, that he has added envy to his 
 zeal ; and that he feels more pain from 
 
 the 
 
( 413 ) 
 
 ihe want of H)i6lory^ than pleafure from the 
 enjoyment of truth. 
 
 It is the prefent mode of fpeculation tq 
 charge thefe men with total hypocrify, as 
 wretches who have no other defign but 
 that of temporal advancement, and gonli- 
 der religion only as one of the means by 
 which power is gained, or wealth accumu- 
 lated. But this charge, whatever may have 
 been the depravity of iingle perfons, is by 
 no means generally true. The perfecutor 
 and enthufiaft have often been fuperior to 
 the defire of v/orldly poffeffions, or, at leaft, 
 have been abftra6ted from it by ftronger 
 paffions. There is a kind of mercantile 
 fpeculation, which afcribes every a6lion tq 
 intereft, and coniiders intereft as only ano- 
 ther name for pecuniary advantage. But 
 the boundlefs variety of human affe6lions 
 is not to be thus ealily circumfcribed. 
 Caufes and cffedts, motives and a6lions, are 
 complicated and diveriified without end. 
 Many men make party fubfervient to per- 
 fonal purpofes ; and many like wife fuffer 
 all private considerations to be abforbed 
 and loft in their zeal for fome public caufct 
 But envy ftill operates, however various 
 IXi its appearance, however difguifed by 
 
 -ipecioiis 
 
( 413 3 
 
 fpecious pretence, or however removed 
 from notice by intermediate caufes. All 
 violence, beyond the necefTity of" felf-de- 
 fence, is incited by the defire of humbling 
 the opponents, and, whenever it is applied 
 to the decifion of religious queflions, aims 
 at conqueft, rather than converfion. 
 
 Since, therefore, envy is found to ope- 
 rate fo often, and fo fecretly, and X\\q Jirife 
 which arifes from it is certain to end in 
 confiifion, it is furely the duty of every 
 man, who defires the profperity of his 
 country, as conneaed with a particular 
 community, or the general happinefs of 
 the world, as allied to general humanity, 
 Firft, To confider, by what tokens he 
 may difcover in himfelf, or others, that 
 Jirife which fprings from envy, and ends in 
 confiiJio7i. 
 
 Secondly, What are the evils, produced 
 by that confufion, which proceeds from 
 Jirife. 
 
 Firft, Let us confider, by what tokens we 
 may difcover in ourfelves, or others, that 
 Jirife which fprings from envy, and ends in 
 confiijion. 
 
 That ftrife may well be fuppofed to pro- 
 ceed from fome corrupt paffion, which is 
 
 carried 
 
( 414 ) 
 
 carried on with vehemence, difproportioned 
 to the importance of the end openly pro- 
 pofed. Men naturally value eafe and tran- 
 quillity at a very high rate, and will not, 
 on very fmall caufes, either fufFer labour^ 
 or excite oppofition. When, therefore, aqy 
 man voluntarily engages in tafks of diffi- 
 culty, and incurs danger, or fufFers hard- 
 ihips, it muft be imagined that he propofes 
 to himfelf fome reward, more than equi- 
 valent to the comforts which he thus re- 
 ligns, and of which he feems to triumph 
 in the refignation ; and if it cannot be 
 found, that his labours tend to the advance- 
 ment of fome end, worthy of fo much af- 
 fiduity, he may juftly be fuppofed to have 
 formed to himfelf fome imaginary inter - 
 eft, and to feek his gratification, not in 
 that which he himfelf gains, but which 
 another lofes. 
 
 It is a token that ftrife proceeds from 
 unlawful motives, when it is profecuted by 
 unlawful means. He that feeks only the 
 right, and only for the fake of right, will 
 not ealily fuffer himfelf to be tranfported 
 beyond the juft and allowed methods of 
 attaining it. Tq do evil that good may 
 cc^rne, can, never be the purpofe of a man 
 
 who 
 
( 4IS ) 
 
 who has not perverted his morality by 
 feme falfe principle ; and falfe principles 
 are not fo often colle6ted by the judge- 
 ment, as fnatched up by the pafllons. The 
 man whofe duty gives way to his coni^e- 
 nience, who, V7hen once he has fixed his 
 eye upon a diftant end, haftens to it by 
 violence over forbidden ground, or creeps 
 on towards it through the crooked paths of 
 fraud and ftratagem, as he has evidently 
 fome other guide than the word of God, 
 muft be fuppofed to have likevvife fbme 
 other purpofe than the glory of God, or 
 the benefit of man. 
 
 The evidence of corrupt deiigns is much 
 ftrengthened, when unlawful means are 
 ufed, in preference to thofe which are 
 recommended by reafon, and warranted hy 
 juftice. 
 
 When that which would have been grant- 
 ed to requefV, or yielded to remonflrance, 
 is wantonly feized by fudden violence, it 
 is apparent that violence is chofen for its 
 own fake, and that the claimant pleafes 
 himfelf, not vAth the pojpj/lon, but the jjo^cV^ 
 er by which it was gained, and the morti- 
 fication of him, to whom his fuperiority 
 has not allowed the happinefs of choice, 
 
 but 
 
( 416 ) 
 
 but has at once taken from him the honour 
 of keeping, and the credit of religning. 
 
 There is another token that ftrife is pro- 
 duced by the predominance of fome vici- 
 ous paffion, when it is carried on againft 
 natural or legal, fuperiority. This token, 
 though perhaps it is not very frequently 
 fallaciousj is not equally certain with the 
 former ; becaufe that fuperiority, which 
 nature gives, or inftitutions eftablilh, too 
 frequently incites infolence, or oppreffion ; 
 fuch infolence as may juftly be reftrained, 
 and fuch oppreffion as may be lawfully re- 
 lifted. Many modes of tyranny have been 
 pra6lifed in the world, of which it is more 
 natural to afk, with wonder, why they 
 were fubmitted to fo long, than why they 
 were at laft oppofed and quelled. But if 
 hiftory and experience inform us that pow- 
 er and greatnefs grow wanton and licenti- 
 ous, that wealth and profperity elate the 
 mind, and enllave the underftanding to 
 deiire, and when men once find that no 
 one has power to controul them, they are 
 feldom very attentive to juftice, or very 
 careful to controul themfelves : Hiftory 
 and experience will likewife fhew us,, that 
 the contrary condition has its temptations 
 
 and 
 
( 417 ) 
 
 and its crimes, that he who conliders him- 
 felf as fubje(5l to another, and liable to fuf- 
 fer by caprice or wicked nefs, often antici- 
 pates the evils of his ftate, imagines himfelf 
 to feel what he only fears, and imputes 
 every failure of negligence, or Hart of pal^ 
 lion, to ftudied tyranny and fettled male- 
 volence. To be inferior is neceflarily un- 
 pleaiing, to be placed in a ftate of inferiori- 
 ty to thofe who have no eminent abilities, 
 or tranfcendent merit, (which muft hap- 
 pen in all political conftitutions) increafes 
 the unealinefs ; and every man finds in 
 himfelf a ftrong inclination to throw down 
 from their elevated ftate thofe whom he 
 obeys without approbation, whom he re- 
 verences without efteem. When the paf- 
 lions are once in motion, they are not ea- 
 lily appeafed, or checked. He that has 
 once concluded it lawful to refift power, 
 when it Vv^ants merit, will foon find a want 
 of merit, to juftify his own reliftance of 
 power. 
 
 Thus, if we confider the condu6l of in- 
 dividuals towards each other, we fhall 
 commonly find the labourer murmuring 
 at him who feems to live by eafier means. 
 We ftiallhear the poor rcphiing that others 
 are rich, and even the rich fpeaking with 
 E e malignity 
 
( 4i8 ) 
 
 malignity of thofe who are ftill richer than 
 themfelves. 
 
 And if we furvey the condition of king- 
 doms and commonwealths, it will always 
 be obfervedj that governors are cenfured, 
 that every mifchief of chance is imputed to 
 ill deligns, and that nothing can perfuade 
 mankind, that they are not injured by an 
 adminiftration, either unfkilful, or corrupt. 
 It is very difficult always to do right. Tp 
 feem always to do right to thofe who de- 
 fire to difcover wrong, is fcarcely poffible. 
 Every man is ready to form expedtations 
 in his own favour, fuch as never can be 
 gratified, and which will yet raife com- 
 plaints, if they are difappointed. 
 
 Such is commonly the difpofition, w^ith 
 which men look upon thofe who are plac- 
 ed above them, and with fuch difpolitions 
 we cannot hope that they fhould be often 
 pleafed. Life is a ftate of imperfedlion, 
 and yet every man exa61s from his fuperi-. 
 ors confummate wifdom, and unfailing 
 virtue ; and whenever he fees, or believes 
 himfelf to fee, either vice or error, thinks 
 himfelf at liberty to loofen the ties of duty, 
 and pafs the boundaries of fubordination, 
 without coniideringthat of fuchy/r^ there 
 
 muft 
 
( 4^9 ) 
 
 mufl: come confujion^ or without knowing, 
 v;hat we fhall coniider. 
 
 Secondly, The evils and mifchiefs pro- 
 duced by that confuflon which arifes from 
 Jirife. 
 
 That the deftruction of order, and the 
 abolition of Rated regulations, mufl: fill the 
 world with uncertainty, diftraftion, and 
 folicitude, is apparent, without any long 
 deduction of argument. Yet it has too 
 frequently happened, that thofe who either 
 feel their wifhes reftrained, fee their for- 
 tunes wearing away, or imagine their me- 
 rit negle6led, and their abilities employed 
 upon bufinefs unworthy of their attention, 
 detire times of tumult and difturbance, as 
 affording the faireft opportunities for the 
 a6live and fagacious to diflinguifli them- 
 felves, and as throwing open the avenues 
 of wealth and honour, to be entered by 
 thofe who have the greateft quicknefs of 
 difcernment, and celerity of difpatch. In 
 times of peace every thing proceeds in a 
 train of regularity, and there is no fudden 
 advantage to be fnatched, nor any unufual 
 change of condition to be hoped. But when 
 fedition and uproar have once lilenced law, 
 and confounded property, then is the hour 
 E e 21 when 
 
( 4^0 ) 
 
 when chance begins to predominate in the 
 world, when every man may hope with- 
 out bounds, and thofe, who know how to 
 improve the lucky moment, may gain in 
 a day what no length of labour could have 
 procured, without the concurrence of cafual 
 advantage. 
 
 This is the expe6lation which makes 
 fome haften on confulion, and others look 
 with concern at its approach. But what is 
 this other than gaining by univerfal mife- 
 ry, fupplying by force the want of right, 
 and riling to fudden elevation, by the fud- 
 den downfal of others ? 
 
 The great benefit of fociety is that the 
 weTxk are prote6ted againft the ftrong. The 
 great evil of confuiion is that the world is 
 thrown into the hands, not of the beft, but 
 of the flrongeft ; that all certainty of pof- 
 fefiion or acquilition is deftroyed ; that 
 every man's care is confined to his own 
 Intereft ; and that general negligence of 
 the general good makes way for general 
 licentiouliiels. 
 
 Of the ftrife, which this day brings back 
 lio our remembrance, we may obferve, that 
 it had all the tokens o^ Jlrife proceeding 
 from envy* The rage of the fa6lion, which 
 
 invaded 
 
( 421 ) 
 
 invaded the rights of the Church and Mo- 
 narchy, was difproportionate to the provo- 
 cation received. The violence, with which 
 hoftility was profecuted, v/as more than the 
 caufe, that \yzls publicly avowed, could in* 
 cite or juftify. Perfonal refentment was 
 apparent in the perfecution of particular 
 men, and the bitternefs of faction broke out 
 in all the debates upon public queftions. 
 Ko fecurities could quiet fu fpicion, no 
 conceffions could fatisfy exorbitance. Ufur- 
 pation was added to ufurpation ; demand 
 was accumulated on demand ; and, when 
 V\7ar had decided againft loyalty, infult 
 was added to infult, and exa61ion to ex- 
 a6lion. 
 
 As the end was unjuft, the means like- 
 wife were illegal. The power of the fac^ 
 tion commenced by clamour, was promot- 
 ed by rebellion, and eftablifhed by mur- 
 der ; by murder of the moft atrocious 
 kind, deliberate, contumelious, and cruel ; 
 by murder^ not neceffary even to the fafety 
 oF thofe by whom it was committed, but 
 chofen in preference to any other expedi- 
 ent for fecurity.- 
 
 This war certainly did not want the 
 third token oS. Jlrifc proceeding froilfi eny. 
 
 It 
 
( 4^^ ) 
 
 It was a war of the rabble agairiR: their fu- 
 periors; a war, in which the loweit and 
 bafeft of the people were encouraged by 
 men a little higher than themfelves, to lift 
 their hands againft their ecclefiaftical and 
 civil Governors, and by which thofe who 
 were grown impatient of obedience, en- 
 deavoured to obtain the power of com- 
 manding. 
 
 This Jirife, as we all know, ended in cou' 
 fiifion. Our laws were over- ruled, our rights 
 were abolifhed. The foldier feized upon 
 the property, the fanatick rufhed into the 
 church. The Ufurpers gave way to other 
 Ufurpers ; the Schifmaticks were thruft 
 out by other Schifmaticks ; the people felt 
 nothing from their matters but alternatives 
 of oppreilion, and heard nothing from 
 their teachers but varieties of error. 
 
 Such was the Jirife^ and fuch was the 
 confiifion. Such are the evils which God 
 fometimes permits to fall upon nations, 
 when they ftand fecure in their own great- 
 nefs, and forget their dependence on uni- 
 verfal fovereignty, depart from the laws 
 of their Maker, corrupt the purity of his 
 worfhip, or iwerve from the truth of his 
 revdation. Such evils furely we have too 
 
 m ucli 
 
( 4^3 ) 
 
 much reafbn to fear again, for we have no 
 right to charge our Anceftors with having 
 provoked them by crimes greater than our 
 own. 
 
 Let us therefore be warned by the cala- 
 mities of paft ages ; and thofe miferies 
 which are due to our llns, let us avert by 
 our penitence- Let the ^wicked forfake his 
 ways^ and the unrighteous man his thoughts^ 
 and let him return unto the Lord^ and he 
 will hwue mercy upon hi?n^ and to our God^ 
 a7id he ivill abundantly pardon. 
 
 SERMON 
 
— ■■■ u i m iuMf IM 
 
 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 Proverbs, xxix. %. 
 
 When the righteous are in mdJioriiy^ ihe peo^ 
 pie rejoice, 
 
 JL HAT the inftitutions of government 
 owe their original, like other human alli- 
 ens, to the defire of happinefs, is not to be 
 denied ; nor is it lefs generally allowed, 
 that they have been perverted to very dif- 
 ferent ends from thofe which they v/ere in- 
 tended to promote. This is a truth, which 
 it would be very fuperfluous to prove by 
 authorities, or illuftrate by examples. Eve- 
 ry page of hiftory, whether facred or pro- 
 fane, will furnifh us abundantly with in- 
 ftances of Rulers that have deviated from 
 juftice, and fubje61s that have forgotten 
 their allegiances of nations ruined by the 
 
 tyranny 
 
( 43^ ') 
 
 tyranny of Goi'ernors, and of Governors 
 overborne by the madnefs of the populace. 
 Inftead of a concurrence between Governor 
 and fiibjecls for their mutual advantage, 
 they feem to have conlidered each other, 
 not as allies or friends, to be aided or fup- 
 ported, but as enemies, whofe profperity 
 was inconiiftent with their own, and who 
 were therefore to be fubdued by open 
 force, or fubjefted by fecret ftratagems. 
 
 Thus have flavery and licentioufnefs 
 fucceeded one another, and anarchy and 
 defpotic power alternately prevailed. Vir- 
 tue has, at one time, ftood expofed to the 
 punifhments of vice ; and vice, at another 
 time, enjoyed the fccurity and privileges of 
 virtue. Nor have communities fliffered 
 more, when they were expofed to the paf- 
 iions and caprices of one man, however 
 cruel, ambitious, or infolent, than when 
 all reftraint has been taken off the a61ions 
 of men by public confulions, and every one 
 left at full liberty to indulge his owndeiires, 
 and comply, without fear of punifhment, 
 with his wildeff imaginations. 
 
 Man is, for the moft part, equally un. 
 happy, when fubjecfed, without redrefs, to 
 the paflions of another, or left, without 
 
 controul. 
 
( 4-7 ) 
 
 controul, to the dominion of his own. 
 This every man, however unwilling he 
 may be to own it of himfelf, will very 
 readily acknowledge of his neighbour. No 
 man knows any one, except himfelf, whom 
 he judges fit to be fet free from the coerci- 
 on of laws, and to be abandoned entirely 
 to his own choice. By this confideration 
 have all civilized nations been induced to 
 the ena61ions of penal laws, laws, by which 
 every man's danger becomes every man's 
 fafety, and by which, though all arc rc^ 
 firained, yet all are benefited. 
 
 Government is therefore neceiTary, in 
 the opinion of every one, to the fafety of 
 particular men, and the happinefs fociety; 
 and it may be confidered as a maxim 
 imiverMly admitted, xh^t the people cannot 
 rejoice, except the righteous arc in auihonty ; 
 that no public profperity, or private quiet, 
 can be hoped for, but from the jufiice and 
 wifdom of thofe, to whom the adminiika- 
 tion of affairs, and the execution of the 
 laws, is committed. For corrupt govern- 
 ments operate, with equal for<:e and effica- 
 cy, tothe deftruction of a people, as good 
 oovcrnmen'is to their prefervation. 
 
 But 
 
( 438 ) 
 
 But that authority may never fwell into 
 tyranny, or languiili into fiipinenefs, and 
 that fubje6tion may never degenerate into 
 Havery, nor freedom kindle into rebellion, 
 it may be proper, both for thofe who are 
 intrufted with power, and thofe from v\7honi 
 obedience is required, to coniider, 
 
 Firft, How much it is the duty of thofe 
 in authority to promote the happinefs of 
 the people. 
 
 Secondly, By what means the happinefs 
 of the people may be moft effedlually pro- 
 inoted. 
 
 Thirdly, How the people are to affift and 
 further the endeavours of their Governors. 
 
 Firft, How much it is the duty of thofe 
 in authority to promote the happinefs of 
 the people. 
 
 If it be true in general that no man is 
 born merely for his own fake, to confult 
 his own advantage or pleafure, unconnect- 
 ed with the good of others ; it is yet more 
 evidenty true of thofe v\7ho are exalted into 
 high rank, dignified with honours, and 
 invefted with authority. Their fuperiority 
 is not to be coniidered as a fandion for la« 
 zinefs, or a privilege for vice. They are 
 not to conceive, that their paiTions are to be 
 
 allowed 
 
( 429 ) 
 
 allowed a wider range, or their appetites 
 fet more free from fubjeciion to reafon, 
 than thofe of others. They are not to con- 
 fult their own glory, at the expence of the 
 lives of others, or to gratify their avarice, 
 by plundering thofe whom diligence and 
 labour have entitled to affluence. Thev are 
 not to conceiix that power gives a right 
 to opprefs, and to punifh thofe who mur. 
 mer at oppreffion. They are to look upon 
 their power, and their greatnefe, as inftru- 
 ments placed in their hands, to be employ- 
 ed for the public advantage. They are to 
 remember they are placed upon an emi- 
 nence, that their examples may be more 
 confpicuous, and that, therefore, they muR: 
 take care, left they teach thofe vices which 
 they ought to fupprefs. They muft reflect, 
 that it is their duty to fecure property 
 from the attempts of rapine and robbery, 
 and that thofe whom they prote6t, will be 
 very little benefited by their care, if, what 
 they refcue from others, they take away 
 themfelves. 
 
 It appears from thofe firuggles for do- 
 minion, which have filled the world with 
 war, bloodfhed, and defolation, and have 
 torn in pieces almoft all the fiates and 
 
 kingdoms 
 
C 430 ) ' 
 
 kingdoms of the earth, and from thofe dai- 
 ly contefts for fubordinate authority, v/hich 
 difturb the quiet of fmailer focieties, that 
 there is fomewhat in power more pleaiing 
 than in any other enjoyment; and, confe- 
 quently, to befl:ow upon man the happinefs 
 of ruling others, is to beftow upon him the 
 greateft benefit he is capable of receiving. 
 Nothing then can equal the obligation of 
 Gov^ernors to the people, and nothing but 
 the moft flagrant ingratitude can make 
 them carelefs of the interefts, or uncon- 
 cerned at the misfortunes, of thofe to whom 
 they owe that, for which no danger has 
 been thought too dreadful to be encounter- 
 ed, no labour too tedious to be undergone, 
 and no crime too horrible to be commit- 
 ted. 
 
 Gratitude is a fpecies of judice. He 
 that requites a benefit may be faid, in fome 
 fenfejto pay a debt ; and, of courfe, he that 
 forgets favours received may be accufed of 
 negle6ling to pay Vv^hat he cannot be de- 
 nied to owe. But this is not the only fenie 
 in which juftice may be faid to require 
 from a Governor an attention to the wants 
 and petitions of the people. He that en- 
 gages in the nianagement of public buli- 
 4 Tie is, 
 
( 431 ) 
 
 nefs, takes a truft upon him, which it was 
 in his power to decline, and which he is 
 therefore bound to difcharge with dili- 
 gence and fidehty ; a truft which is of the 
 higheft honour, becaufe it is of the greateft 
 difficulty and importance, a truft which 
 includes, not only the care of the property, 
 but of the morals of the people. 
 
 It is w^ith the jufteft reafon, that large 
 revenues, pompous titles, and all that con- 
 tributes to the happinefs of life, are annex- 
 ed to thefe high offices ; for what reward 
 can be too great for him, to whom multi- 
 tudes are indebted for the fecure enjoy- 
 ment of their poITeiTions ? for him, whofe 
 authority checks the progrefs of vice, and 
 affiftsthe advancement of virtue, reftrains 
 the violence of the opprelfor, and aiferts 
 the caufe of the injured ? Thefe are doubt- 
 lefs merits above the common rate, merits 
 which can hardly be too loudly celebrated, 
 or too liberally rewarded. 
 
 But it is always to be obferved, that he 
 only deferves the rccompenfe, who per- 
 forms the work for which it is propolcd ; 
 and that he^ v/ho wears the honours, and 
 receives the revenue?, of an exalted nation, 
 without attending to the duties of his poft, 
 
 is. 
 
( 43^ ) 
 
 IS, in a very high degree, criminal, both in 
 the eye of God and man. 
 
 It is, therefore, the certain and apparent 
 duty of thofe that are in authority, to 
 take care that the people may rejoice, and 
 diligently to enquire, what is to be confi- 
 dered, 
 
 Secondly, By what means the happinefs 
 of the people may be mofc efix^dlually pro- 
 moted. 
 
 In political, as well as natural diforders, 
 the great error of thofe who commonly 
 undertake, cither cure or prefervation, is, 
 that they rcH in fecond caufes, without 
 extending their fearch to the remote and 
 original fources of evil. They therefore 
 obviate the imm.ediate evil, but leave the 
 defiru'3-ive principle to operate again ; and 
 have their work for ever to begin, like the 
 hufoandman v.^ho mows dov/n the heads of 
 noifome weeds, inftead of pulling up the 
 roots. 
 
 The only uniform and perpetual caufe of 
 public happinefs is public virtue. The ef- 
 fe6^s of all other things which are coniider- 
 ed as advantages, will be found cafual and 
 tranfitory. Without virtue nothing can 
 be fecurely poiieired, or properly enjoyed. 
 
 In 
 
( 433 ) 
 
 In a country like ours, the great demand, 
 which is for ever repeated to our Governors, 
 is for the fecurity of property, the confir- 
 mation oi liberty, and the extenfion of 
 commerce. All this we have obtained, and 
 all this we pofTefs, in a degree which per- 
 haps was never granted to any other peo- 
 ple. Yet we ftill find fomething wanting 
 to our happinefs, and turn ourfelves round 
 on all ndes, with perpetual reftlefTnefs, to 
 find that remedy for our evils which nei- 
 ther power nor policy can afford. 
 
 That eftablifhed property and inviolable 
 freedom are the greateft of political feli- 
 cities, no man can be fuppofed likely to 
 deny. To depend on the will of another, 
 to labour for that, of which arbitrary pow- 
 er can prohibit the enjoyment, is the Hate 
 to which want of reafon has fubjedted the 
 brute. To be happy we muft know our 
 own rights ; and we muft knov/ them to 
 be fafe. 
 
 But though this knowledge be necefTary 
 to happinefs, this knowledge is not fuffici- 
 ent. Liberty, if not regulated by virtue, 
 can be only licence to do evil ; and pro- 
 perty, if not virtuoufly enjoyed, can only 
 corrupt the polTefTor, and give him the 
 F f power 
 
( 434 ) 
 
 power to injure others. Trade may make 
 us rich ; but riches, without goodnefs, can- 
 not make us happy. 
 
 Let us, however, fuppofe that thefe ex- 
 ternal goods have that power which wif^ 
 dom cannot believe, and which experience 
 never could confirm ; let us fuppofe that 
 riches and liberty could make us happy. 
 It then remains to be conlidered, how rich- 
 es and liberty can be fecured. To this the 
 Politician has a ready anfwer, that they are 
 to be fecured by laws wifely formed, and 
 vigorouily executed. But, as laws can be 
 made only by a fmall part of an extenfive 
 empire, and muf^ be executed by a part 
 yet far fmaller, what fhall prote6l us 
 againft the lawsthemfelves? And how Ihall 
 we be certain, that they Ihall not be made 
 without regard to the public good, or 
 ftiall not be perverted to oppreffion by the 
 minili:ers of jufiice ? 
 
 But if profperity, and laws, by which, 
 as far as the mutability of this world per- 
 mits, that profperity is made permanent 
 and fafe, cannot make the people happy, 
 what is it the Governors can do ? How 
 far is their care to be extended, and what 
 ■lore can ikill and vigilance perform ? 
 
 The 
 
( 435 ) 
 
 The wifdom of mankind has been exercif- 
 ed in enquiries how riches may be gained 
 and kept ; how the different claims of men 
 may be adjufted without violence ; and 
 how one part of the community may be 
 retrained from encroachments on the 
 other. For this end governments have been 
 inftituted, in all their various forms, with 
 much ftudy, and too often with much 
 bloodflied. But what is the ufe of all this, 
 if, when thefe ends are obtained, there is 
 yet fo much wanting to felicity ? 
 
 I am far from intending to indnuate, that 
 the ftudies of political wifdom, or the la- 
 bours of legiflative patriocifm, have been 
 vain and idle. They are ufeful, but not 
 effe6lual; they are conducive to that end, 
 which yet they cannot fully gain. The Le- 
 giflator, who does what human power can 
 attain towards the felicity of his fellow- 
 creatures, is not to be cenfured, becaufe, by 
 the imbecillity of all human endeavours, 
 he fails of his purpofe ; unlefs he has be* 
 come culpable, by afcribing too much to his 
 own powers, and arrogated to his induftry, 
 or his wit, that efficacy which wit and in- 
 duftry muft always want, unlefs fome 
 F f s higher 
 
( 436 ) 
 
 higher power lends them afliftance, and 
 co-operates with them. 
 
 The huibandman may plow his fields 
 with induftry, and fow them with fkill ; 
 he may manure them copioufly, and fence 
 them carefully ; but the harveft muft de- 
 pend at laft on the celeftial influence ; and 
 all his diligence is fruftrated, unlefs the 
 fun flieds its w^armth, and the clouds pour 
 down their moifture. Thus, in all human 
 affairs, w^hen prudence and induftry have 
 done their utmoft, the work is left to be 
 completed by fuperior agency ; and in the 
 fecurity of peace, and liability of poflefli- 
 on, our policy muft at laft call for help up- 
 on religion. 
 
 Human laws, however honeftly inftitut- 
 ed, or however vigoroufly enforced, muft 
 be limited in their effe6l, partly by our 
 ignorance, and partly by our weaknels. 
 Daily experience may convince us, that all 
 the avenues by which injury and oppreffi- 
 on may break in upon life, cannot be 
 guarded by pofitive prohibitions. Every 
 man fees, and may feel, evils, which no 
 law can punifti. And not only will there 
 always remain polTibilities of guilt, which 
 legiilative forelight cannot difcover, but 
 
 the 
 
( 437 ) 
 
 the laws will be often violated by wicked 
 men, whofe fubtilty eludes deteclion, and 
 whom therefore vindidlive juftice cannot 
 bring within the reach of punifhment. 
 
 Thefe deficiencies in civil life can be 
 fupplied only by religion. The mere ob- 
 lerver of human laws avoids only fuch 
 offences as the laws forbid, and ihofe only 
 when the laws can dete6l his delinquency. 
 But he who a61:s with the perpetual con- 
 fcioufnefs of the divine prefence, and con- 
 liders himfelf as accountable for all his ac- 
 tions to the irreverlible and unerring 
 jijdgment of omnifcience, has other mo- 
 tives of a6lion, and other reafons of for- 
 bearance. He is equally reftrained from 
 evil, in public life, and in fecret folitude ; 
 and has only one rule of a6lion, by which 
 he does io others ^tvhat he ivould ihai others 
 Jhoidd io iohim^ and v;ants no other enforce- 
 ment of his duty, tlian the fear of future 
 punifhment, and the hope of future re- 
 wards. 
 
 The firfl duty therefore of a Governor is 
 to diffufe through the community a fpirit 
 of religion, to endeavour that a fcnle of 
 the divine authority fhould prevail in all 
 orders of men, and that the laws fhould 
 
 be 
 
( 438 ) 
 
 be obeyed, in fubordination to the univer- 
 fal and unchangeable edi6ls of the Creator 
 and Ruler of the world. 
 
 How religion may be moft efFe6lually 
 promoted, is an enquiry which every Go- 
 vernor ought diligently to make ; and he 
 that enquires, with real wifhes for refor- 
 mation, will foon know his duty ; for 
 Providence has feldom made the fame 
 things neceifary and abftrufe. 
 
 That religion may be invigorated and 
 difFufed, it is neceiTary that the external 
 order of religion be diligently maintained, 
 that the folemniti-s of worfhip be duly ob- 
 ferved, and a proper reverence preferv- 
 ed for the times and the places appro- 
 priated to piety. The appropriations of 
 time and place are indeed only means to 
 the great end of holinefs ; but they are 
 means, without which the end cannot be 
 obtained j and every man muft have ob- 
 ferved, how much corruption prevails, 
 'where the attention to public worfhip and 
 to holy feafons is broken or relaxed. 
 
 Thofe that have in their hands the difl 
 pofal oi riches or honours ought to bellow 
 them on perfons who are moft eminent for 
 fan6lity of life. For though no man ought 
 to coniider temporary goods as the proper 
 
 rewards 
 
( 439 ) 
 
 rewards of religious duties, yet they, who 
 have them to give, are obliged to diftribute 
 them in fuch a manner as may make them 
 moft ufeful to the public ; and they vnW 
 be moft ufeful, when they increafe the 
 power of beneficence, and enlarge the in- 
 fluence ot piety. 
 
 It yet remains that Governors co-ope- 
 rate with their laws by their own exam, 
 pies, and that as, by their height of place, 
 they are always confpicuous, they exhibit: 
 to thofe eyes which are turned upon them 
 the beauty of holinefs. 
 
 The prefent ftate of the world however 
 aflbrds us little hope, that virtue can, by 
 any government, be fo ftrongly imprefTed, 
 or fo widely diffufed, as to fuperfede the 
 ncceflity of fupprelUng wickednefs. In the 
 moft diligent cultivation of the happieft 
 foil, weeds will fomctimcs appear among 
 fruits and flowers, and all that vigilance 
 and labour can do is to check them as they 
 rife. However virtue may be encouraged 
 or rewarded, it can never appear to all 
 minds the fliorteft means of prefent good. 
 There will always be thofe who would ra. 
 fher grow rich by fraud, than by diligence, 
 and who v;ill provide f )r vicious pleafures 
 
 hy 
 
( 440 ) 
 
 by violence, rather than by labour. Agalnft 
 the attempts and artifices of fuch men, 
 ivhence have fimplicity and iv/anc- ce 
 their defence and fecurity ? Whence, but 
 from the Lex armata^ the vindi'-^lve law, 
 that ftands forth the cham]. in of the 
 weak, and the prote6trcfs of the inno- 
 cent ? 
 
 Kor is quiet and fecurity in danger only 
 from corrupt minds ; for honeil and bene- 
 fice; t men might often, were not the law 
 to imerpofe, difturb fociety, and fill the 
 country with violence. Two men, both of 
 them wife, and both of them virtuous, may 
 lay claim to the fame polfellion, with pre- 
 teniipns, to the v/orld fpecious, in their 
 own thoughts juft. Such difputes can be 
 terminated only by force or law. Of force, 
 it is apparent, that the exertion of it is an 
 immediate exal, and that prevalence at laft 
 will be no proof of juflice. Of law, the 
 means are gentle and inoffenfive, and the 
 concluiion not only the confirmation of 
 property, but the eflablifhment of right. 
 For this power of the law virtue itfelf will 
 leave employment \ for though crimes 
 would hardly be committed but by predo- 
 minance of paflion, yet litigation muft al- 
 ways 
 
( 441 ) 
 
 ways fubfift while there is difference of 
 opinion. We can hope but faintly for the 
 time when all men fhall be honeft ; but 
 the time feems ftill more remote in which 
 all men fliall be wife ; and until we may 
 be able to fettle all claims for ourfelves, 
 let us rejoice that there is law to adjuft 
 them for us. 
 
 The care however of the beft Governor 
 may be fruftrated by dilbbedience and per- 
 verfenei's ; and the beft laws may ft rive ia 
 vain againft radicated wicked nefs. 
 
 It is therefore fit to conlider, 
 
 Thirdly, How the people are to affift 
 and further the endeavours of their Go- 
 I'ernors. 
 
 As all government is power exerted by 
 few upon many, it is apparent, that nations 
 cannot be governed but by their own con- 
 fent. The firft duty therefore of fubje6^s 
 is obedience to the laws; fuch obedience as 
 is the effe6l, not of compuHion, but of re- 
 verence ; fuch as arifes from a convi(hlion 
 of the inftability of human virtue, and of 
 the neceftity of fome coercive power, 
 which may reftrain the exorbitances of 
 paffion, and check the career of natural 
 deCres. 
 
 No 
 
( 44^ ) 
 
 No man thinks laws unneeefTary for 
 others ; and no man, if he coniiders his 
 own inherent frailly, can juftly think them 
 unnecelTary for himfelf The wifeft man 
 as not always wife, and the beft man is not 
 always good. We all fometimes want the 
 admonition of law, as fnpplemental to the 
 di6tates of reafon, and the fuggeftions of 
 confcience. And he that encourages irre. 
 verence, in himfelf, or others, to public in- 
 ftitutions, weakens all the human fecurities 
 of peaccj and all the corroborations of vir- 
 tue. 
 
 That the proper influence of govern- 
 ment may be preferved, and that the liber- 
 ty which ajuft distribution of power natu- 
 rally fupports may not operate to its de- 
 ftru6lion, it is always to be remembered, 
 that even the errors and deficiencies of au- 
 thority muft be treated with refpeft. All 
 inftitutions are defe6live by their nature ; 
 and all Rulers have their imperfect. ions, 
 like other men. But, as not every failing 
 makes a bad man, fo not every error 
 makes a bad government ; and he that 
 coniiders how few can properly adjuft their 
 ownhoufes, will not wonder that into the 
 multiplicity of national affairs deception 
 
 or 
 
<. 
 
 ( 443 ) 
 
 or negligence fhoukl fometimes find their 
 way. It is likewife neceifary to remem- 
 ber, that as government is difficult to be 
 ad'iiinilkred, it is difficult to be undcr- 
 ftnod ; and that where very few have ca- 
 pacity to judge, very few have a right to 
 cenfure. 
 
 The happinefs of a nation muft arile 
 from the co nbined endeavours of Gover- 
 nors and fubjefts. The duties of governing 
 can be the lot of few, but all of us have 
 the duties of fubje6ls to perform ; and 
 every man ought to incite in himfelf, and 
 in his neighbour, that obedience to the 
 laws, and that refpect to the chief Magif- 
 trate, which may fecure and promote con- 
 cord and quiet. Of this, as of all other vir- 
 tues, the true balls is religion. The laws 
 will be ealily obeyed by him who adds to 
 human fanvSlions the obligations of confci-^ 
 ence ; and he will not ealily be difpofed to 
 cenfure his fuperiors, whom religion has 
 made acquainted with his own feelings. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON XXV. 
 
 [Written by Dr. Johnson, for the Funeral 
 ot his Wife.] 
 
 John xi. 25, 26 (former part.) 
 
 Jefusfajd unto her^ I am the Refurrt6lion^ and 
 the Life : he that helieueth in me^ though 
 he were dead ^ yet Jliall he liz^e ; 
 
 And whofoever liveth^ and believeih in me^ fhall 
 7ie%'er die. 
 
 O afford adequate confolatlons to the 
 laft hour, to cheer the gloomy palTage 
 through the valley of the fhadow of death, 
 and to cafe that anxiety, to which beings, 
 prefcient of their own diffolution, and con- 
 fcious of their own danger, muft be necef- 
 farjly expofed, is the privilege only of re- 
 vealed 
 
( 446 ) 
 
 vealcd religion. All thofe, to whom the 
 fiipcrnatural light of heavenly do6lrine has 
 nei^er been imparted, however formidable 
 for power, or illuftrious for wifdom, have 
 wanted that knowledge of their future ftate 
 ivhich alone can give comfort to mifery, or 
 fecurity to enjoyment ; and have been forc- 
 ed to rufli forwards to the grave, through 
 the darknefs of ignorance ; or, if they hap- 
 pened to be more refined and inquifitive, 
 to folace their paifage with the fallacious 
 and uncertain glimmer of philofophy. 
 
 There were, doubtlefs, at all times, as 
 there are now, many v;ho lived with very 
 little thought concerning their end ; many 
 whofe time was wholly filled up by public 
 or domeftic bulinefs, by the purfuitsof am- 
 bition, or the deiire of riches ; many who 
 diifolved themfelves in luxurious enjoy, 
 ment, and, when they could lull their 
 minds by any prefent pleafure, had no re- 
 gard to difiant events, but withheld their 
 imagination from Tallying out into futuri. 
 ty, or catching any terror that might inter- 
 rupt their quiet ; and there were many 
 who rofe fo little above animal life, that 
 they were completely engroifed by the ob- 
 jedts about them, and had their views ex- 
 tended 
 
( 447 ) 
 
 tended no farther than to the next hour ; 
 in whom the ray of rcafon was half extin6l5 
 and who had neither hopes nor fears, but 
 of fomc near advantage, of fome preffing 
 danger. 
 
 But multitudes there muft always be, 
 and greater multitudes as arts and civility 
 prevail, who cannot wholly withdraw their 
 thoughts from death. All cannot be dif^ 
 tra61:ed with bufinefs, or ftunned with the 
 clamours of airemblics, or the fhouts of 
 armies. All cannot live in the perpetual 
 diflipation of fucceffive diverfions, nor will 
 all enflave their underftandings to their 
 fenfes, and feek felicity in the grofs grati- 
 fications of appetite. Some muft always 
 keep their reafon and their fancy in a6lion, 
 and feek either honour or pleafure from 
 intelledlual operations ; and from them, 
 others, more negligent or iluggifh, will be 
 in time fixed or awakened ; knowledge 
 will be perpetually diffufed, and curiofity 
 hourly enlarged. 
 
 But, when the faculties were once put in 
 motion, when the mind had broken loofe 
 from the fliackles of fenfe, and made ex. 
 curfions to remote confequences, the firfl 
 confideration that would ftop her courfe 
 
 muft 
 
( 448 ) 
 
 mufl be the incelTant wafte of life, the ap- 
 proach of age, and the certainty of death ; 
 the approach of that time, in which ftrength 
 muft fail, and pleafure fly away, and the 
 certainty of that dilTolution which fhall 
 put an end to all the profpe6ls of this 
 world. It is impolTible to think, and not 
 ibmetinnes to think on death. Hope, in- 
 deed, has many powers of delufion ; what- 
 ever is poffible, however unlikely, it will 
 teach us to promife ourfelves; but death 
 no man has efcaped, and therefore no man 
 can hope to efcape it. From this dreadful 
 expe6lation no fhelter or refuge can be 
 found. Whatever we fee, forces it upon 
 us ; whatever is, new or old, flourifhing or 
 declining, either dire6lly, or by a very fhort 
 dedu6tion, leads man to the confideration 
 of his end ; and accordingly we find, that 
 the fear of death has always been conlider- 
 ed as the great enemy of human quiet, the 
 polluter of the feaft of happinefs, and em- 
 bitterer of the cup of joy. The young man 
 Vv'ho rejoiceth in his youth, amidfl his mu- 
 lic and his gaiety, has always been dif- 
 turbed with the thought, that his youth 
 will be quickly at an end. The monarch, 
 to whom it is faid that he is a God, has 
 4 always 
 
( 449 ) 
 always been reminded by Ijis own heart, 
 tliat he fhall die like man, 
 
 This miwelcome convicllon, which is 
 thus continually preffi^d upon the mind, 
 every, art has been employed to oppofe. 
 The general remedy, in all ages, has been 
 to chtfe it away from ths prelent moment, 
 and to gain a fiafpence of the pain that 
 could no't be cured. In the ancient writ- 
 ings, we, thetefore, find the lh.ortiiefs of life 
 I'requently mentioned as an excitement to 
 jollity and pleafure ; and may plainly dif- 
 cover, that the authors had no other means 
 of relieving that gloom with which the 
 uncertainty of human life clouded their 
 conceptions. Some of the Philofcphers, in- 
 deed, appear to have fought a nobler, and 
 a' more certain remedy, and to have en- 
 deavoured to overpower the force of death 
 by arguments, and to difpel the gloom by 
 the light of rcafon. They enquired into 
 the nature of the foul of man, and fhewed, 
 at leaft probably, that it is a fubftance dif- 
 tin6l from matter, and therefore indc- 
 pendend on the body, and exempt from 
 diirolution and corruption. The arguments, 
 whether phyikal or moral, upon which 
 they efiablilhed this doiSrine, it is not ne^ 
 G g cefTary 
 
( 4S0 ) 
 
 cefTary to recount to a Chriftian audiencej 
 by whom it is believed upon more certain 
 proofs, and higher authority ; fince, though 
 they were fuch as might determine the 
 calm mind of a Philofopher, inquifitive 
 only after truth, and uninfluenced by ex- 
 ternal obje6ls, yet they were fuch as re- 
 quired leifure and capacity, not allowed in 
 general to mankind ; they were fuch as 
 many could never underftand, and of 
 which, therefore, the efficacy and comfort 
 were confined to a fmall number, without 
 any benefit to the unenlightened multi- 
 tude. 
 
 Such has been hitherto the nature of phi • 
 lofophical arguments, and fuch it mufl 
 probably for ever remain; for, though, 
 perhaps, the fucceffive induflry of the ftu- 
 dious may encreafe the number, or ad- 
 vance the probability, of arguments ; and, 
 though continual contemplation of matter 
 will, I believe, fhew it, at length, wholly 
 incapable of motion, fenfation, or order, by 
 any powers of its own, and therefore ne- 
 cefTarily eflablifh the immateriality, and, 
 probably, the immortality of the foul ; yet 
 there never can be expeaed a time, in 
 which the grofs body of mankind can at- 
 tend 
 
( 4SI ) 
 
 tend to fuch fpeculations, or can compre- 
 hend them ; and, therefore, there never can 
 be a time, in which this knowledge can be 
 taught, in fuch a manner, as to be general- 
 ly conducive to virtue, or happinefs, but by 
 a mefTenger from God, from the Creator 
 of the World, and the Father of Spirits. 
 
 To perfuade common and uninftru61ed 
 minds to the belief of any faft, we may 
 every day perceive, that the teftimony of 
 one man, whom they think worthy of cre- 
 dit, has more force than the arguments of a 
 thoufand reafoners^ even when the argu- 
 ments are fuch as they may be imagined 
 completely qualified to comprehend. Hence 
 it is plain, that the conftitution of mankind 
 is fuch, that abftrufe and intelle6lual truths 
 can be taught no otherwife than by pofi- 
 tive alTertion, fupported by fome feniible 
 evidence, by which the alfertor is fecured 
 from the fufpicion of falfehood ; and that 
 if it fhould pleafe God to infpire a teacher 
 with fome demonftration of the immorta- 
 lity of the foul, it would far leis avail 
 him for general inftru6lion, than the power 
 of working a miracle in its vindication, 
 unlefs God fliould, at^the fame time, in- 
 G g 2, fpire 
 
( 45^ ) 
 
 fpire all the hearers with dodlity and ap- 
 preheniion, and turn, at once, all the fenfu- 
 al, the giddy, the lazy, the bufy, the cor- 
 rupt, and the proud, into humble, abftra6l. 
 ed, and diligent Philofophers. 
 
 To bring life and immortality to light, 
 to give fuch proofs of our future exiftence^ 
 as may influence the moft narrow mind, 
 and fill the moft capacious intelle61:,to open 
 profpe6ts beyond the grave, in which the 
 thought may expatiate without obftrudli- 
 on, and to fupply a refuge and fupport to 
 the mind, amidft all the miferies of decay- 
 ing nature, is the peculiar excellence of the 
 Gofpel of Chrift. Without this heavenly 
 Inftruc\or, he who feels himfelf linking 
 under the weight of years, or melting 
 away by the flow wafte of a lingering dif- 
 eafe, has no other remedy than obdurate 
 patience, a gloomy refignation to that 
 which cannot be avoided ; and he who fol- 
 lows his friend, or whoever there is yet 
 dearer than a friend, to the grave, can 
 have no other confolation than that which 
 he derives from the general mifery ; the 
 refieilion, that he fufFers only what the 
 reft of mankind muft fufFer; a poor conli- 
 
 deration, 
 
( 4b3 ) 
 
 deration, which rather awes us to filence, 
 than fooths us to quiet, and which does not 
 abate the {enih of our calamity, though 
 it may fometinies make us afhamed to 
 complain. 
 
 But i'o much is our condition improved 
 by the Gofpel, fo much is the fting of death 
 rebated, that we may now be invited to 
 the contemplation of our mortality, as to a 
 pleafing employment of the mind, to an 
 exercife delightful and recreative, not only 
 when calamity and perfecution drive us 
 out from the ademblies of men, and for- 
 row and woe reprefent tiie grave as a re- 
 fuge and an afylum, but even in the hours 
 of the higheft earthly profperity, when our 
 cup is full, and when we have laid up ftores 
 for ourfelves ; for, in him who believes 
 the promife of the Saviour oFthe World, 
 it can caufe no difturbance to remember, 
 that this night his foul may be required of 
 him ; and he who fuffers one of the fharp- 
 eft evils which this life can fliew, amidil 
 all its varieties of mifery ; he that has 
 lately been feparated from the perfon 
 whom a long participation of good and evil 
 had endeared to him ; he who lias fccn 
 
 kindnefs 
 
( 4S4 ) 
 
 kindnefs fnatched from his arms, and fide- 
 iity torn from his bofom , he v/hofe ear 
 is no more to be delighted with tender in- 
 itru6tion3 and whofe virtue fhall he no 
 more awakened by the feafonable whifpers 
 of mild reproof, may yet look, without 
 horror, on the tomb which enclofes the 
 remains of what he loixd anVl honoured, 
 as upon a place which, if it revives the 
 fenfe of his lofs, may calni him with the 
 hope of that ftate in which there fliali be 
 no more grief or feparation. 
 
 To Chriftians the celebration of a fune- 
 ral is by no means a folemnity of barren 
 and unavailing forrow, but eftablifhed by 
 the Church for other purpofes. 
 
 Firft, for the confolation of forrow. Se- 
 condly, for the enforcement of piety. The 
 mournful folemnity of the burial of the 
 dead is inriituted, Rrft, for the confolation 
 pf that grief to which the heft minds, if not 
 fupported and regulated by religion, are 
 moft liable. They who mod: endeavour 
 the happinefs of others, who devote their 
 thoughts to tendernefs and pity, and ftu- 
 diouily maintain the reciprocation of kind- 
 nefs, by degrees mingle their fouls, in 
 
 fuch 
 
( 455 ) 
 
 fuch a manner, as to feel from their fepa^ 
 ration, a total destitution of happinefs, a 
 fudden abruption of all their profpc6i:s, a 
 celfation of all their hopes, fchcmcs and 
 defires. The whole mind becomes a gloo- 
 jny vacuity, without any image br form of 
 pleafure, a chaos of confufed wifhes, di- 
 re6ted to no particular end, or to that 
 which, while we wifh, we cannot hope 
 to obtain ; for the dead will not re- 
 vive ; thofe whom God has called av/ay 
 from the prefent ftate of exigence, can be 
 feen no more in it ; we mull go to them ; 
 but they cannot return to us. 
 
 Yet, to fhew that grief is vain, is to af- 
 ford very little comfort; yet this is all that 
 reafbn can afford ; but religion, our only 
 friend in the moment of diftrefe, in the mo- 
 ment when the help of man is vain, when 
 fortitude and cowardice link down toge- 
 ther, and the fage and the virgin m.ingle 
 their lamentations ; religion will inform 
 us, that forrow and complaint are not only 
 vain, but unreafonble and erroneous. Tlie 
 voice of God, fpeaking by his Son and his 
 Apof\les, will inf\ru6t us, that fhe, whole 
 departure we now mourn, is not dead, but 
 
 fleepetti r 
 21 
 
( 45^ ) 
 
 fleepeth ; that only her body is committed 
 to the ground, but that the foul is returned 
 to God, who gave it ; that God, who is in- 
 finitely merciful, who hateth nothing that 
 he has made, who deiireth not the death 
 of a irauQV ; to that God, who only can 
 compare performance with ability, who 
 alone knows how far the heart has been 
 pure, or corrupted, how inadvertency has 
 furpriled, fear has betraye^^, or weaknels 
 has impeded j to that God, who marks 
 every afpiratiun after a better ftate, who 
 hears the prayer which the voice cannot 
 utter, records the purpofe that perifhed 
 without opportunity of aclion, the wifh 
 that vaniflied away without attainment, 
 who is always ready to receive the peni- 
 tent, to whom fmcere contrition is never 
 late, and who will accept the tears of a re- 
 turning linner. 
 
 Such are the refled^ions to which we are 
 called by the voice of Truth ,• and from 
 thefe we fhail find that comfort which 
 philofophy cannot fupply, and that peace 
 which the world cannot give. The con- 
 templation of the mercy of God may juftly 
 afford fo me confolation, even when the ofo 
 
 fice 
 
( 457 ) 
 
 lice of burial is performed to thofe who 
 have been fnatched away without vilible 
 amendment of their lives ; for, who fhall 
 prefume to determine the ftate of depart- 
 ed fouls, to lay open what God hath con- 
 cealed, and to fearch the counfels of the 
 Moft Highefi: ? — But, with more confident 
 hope of pardon and acceptance, may we 
 commit thofe to the receptacles of mortali- 
 ty, who have lived without any open or 
 enormous crimes ; who have endeavoured 
 to propitiate God by repentance, and have 
 died, at laft, with hope and reiignation. 
 Among thefe fhe furely may be remem- 
 bered whom we have followed hither to 
 the tomb, to pay her the laft honours, and 
 to refign her to the grave ; fhe, whom ma- 
 ny, who now hear me, have known, and 
 whom none, v^ho were capable of diftin- 
 guifhing either moral or intellectual excel- 
 lence, could know, without efteem, or ten- 
 dernefs. To praife the extent of herknow - 
 ledge, the acutenels of her wit, .the accura- 
 cy of her judgement, the force of her fen- 
 timents, or the elegance of her expreiiion, 
 would ill fuit with the occaiion. 
 
 Such praife would little profit the liv- 
 ing, and as little gratify the dead, who is 
 
 now 
 
( 458 ) 
 
 flow in a place where vanity and competi* 
 tion are forgotten for ever ; vvhere flie 
 finds a cup of water given for the relief of 
 a poor brother, a prayer uttered for the 
 mercy of God to thofe v^hom fhe v^anted 
 power to relieve, a word of inftru6lion to 
 ignorance, a fmile of comfort to mifery, of 
 more avail than all thofe accomplifhments 
 which confer honour and diftin6lion among 
 the fons of Folly.— Yet, let it be remem- 
 bered, that her wit was never employed to 
 feoff at goodnefs, nor her reafon to difpute 
 againft truth. In this age of wild opinions, 
 fhe was as free from fcepticifm as the cloif- 
 tered virgin. She never wifhed to figna- 
 lize herfelfby the fingularity of paradox. 
 She had a juft diflBdence of her own reafon, 
 and denred to pra6lice rather than difpute. 
 Her praciice vvas fuch as her opinions na- 
 turally produced. She was exaft and re- 
 gular in her devotions, full of confidence in 
 the divine mercy, fubmiffive to the difpen- 
 fations of Providence, extenfively charita- 
 ble in her judgements and opinions, grate- 
 ful for every kindnefsthat fhe received, and 
 willing to impart aifiilance of every kind 
 to all whom her little power enabled her 
 
 to 
 
( 459 ) 
 
 to benefit She pafTcd through many 
 months languor, weaknefs, and decaiy, 
 without a fingle murmur of impatience, 
 and often exprefTed her adoration of that 
 mercy which granted her fo long time 
 for recolleftion and penitence. That fhe 
 had no failings, cannot be fuppofed : but 
 fhe has now appeared before the Almighty 
 Judge ; and it would ill become beings 
 like lis, weak and tinful as herfelf, to re- 
 member thofe faults which, we Iruft, Eter- 
 nal Purity has pardoned. 
 
 Let us therefore preferve her memory 
 for no other end but to imitate her vir» 
 lues ; and let us add her example to the 
 motives of piety which this folemnlty was, 
 fecondly, inftituted to enforce. 
 
 It would not indeed be reafonable to ex- 
 pert, did we not laiow ^^^he inattention and 
 perverfenels of mankind, that any one who 
 had followed a funeral, could fail to return 
 home without new refolutions of a holy 
 life : ibr, who can fee the final period of 
 all human fchemes and undertakings, with- 
 out convidlion of the vanity of all that 
 terminates in the prefent ftate ? For, who 
 can fee the wife, the brave, the powerful, 
 
 or 
 
( 4<5o ) 
 
 or the beauteousj carried to the grave, 
 without refledliou on the emptiaefs of all 
 thofe diil:in6tiGns, which fet us here in op- 
 pofition to each other ? And who, when he 
 fees Xhe vanity of all terreftrial advantages, 
 can forbear to wiOi for a more permanent 
 and certain happinefs ? Such wifhes, per- 
 haps, often arife, and fuch refolutions are 
 often formed ; but, before the refolution 
 can be exerted, before the wifh can regu- 
 late the condu6l, new profpe61s open be- 
 fore us, new impreffioDS are received ; the 
 temptations of the world folicit, the paffi- 
 ons of the heart are put into commotion ; 
 we plunge again into the tumult, engage 
 again in the conteft, and forget, that what 
 we gain cannot be kept, and that the life, 
 for which we are thus bufy to provide, 
 muft be quickly at an end. 
 
 But, let us not be thus Ihamefully delude 
 ed 1 Let us not thus idly perifh in our 
 folly, by negiecl-ing the loudeft call of Pro- 
 vidence ; nor, when we have followed our 
 friends, and our enemies, to the tomb, fuf- 
 fer ourfelves to be furprifed by the dread- 
 fid fummons, and die, at laft, amazed, and 
 unprepared ! Let every one whofe eye 
 glances on this bier, examine what would 
 
 have 
 
( 461 ) 
 
 have been his condition, if the fame hour 
 had called him to judgement, and remem- 
 ber, that, though he is now fpared, I '^ may 
 perhaps, be to-morrow among feparate 
 fpirits. The prefcnt moment is in our 
 power ; let us, therefore, from the prefent 
 moment, begin our repentance ! Let us 
 not, any longer, harden our hearts, but 
 hear, this day, the voice of our Saviour and 
 our God, and begin to do, with all our 
 powers, whatever we fliall wiih to have 
 done, when the grave fhall open before 
 us I Let thofe, wlio came hither weeping 
 and lamenting, reflc6l, that they have not 
 time for ufelefs forrow ; that their own 
 falvation is to be fecured, and thatthe day 
 is far fpent, and the niglit cometh, when 
 no man can work ; that tears are of no 
 value to the dead, and that their own dan- 
 ger may juflly claim their whole attenti- 
 on I Let thofe who entered this place un- 
 affe6ted and indifferent, and whole only 
 purpofe was to behold this funeral fpcila- 
 cle, confider, that fhe, whom they thus be- 
 hold with negligence, and pafs by, was 
 lately partaker of the fame nature with 
 themfelves ; and that they likcwife are 
 haRcning to their end, and muft fo-jn, by 
 
 others 
 
( 463 ) 
 
 ^Others equally negligent, be buried and 
 forgotten ! Let all remember, that the day 
 of life is fhort, and that the day of grace 
 may be much Ihorter ; that this may be 
 the laft warning which God will grant us, 
 and that, perhaps, he^ who looks on this 
 grave unalarmed, may link tinreformed 
 into his own ! 
 
 Let it, therefore, be our care, w^hen we 
 retire from this folemnity, that we imme- 
 diately turn from our wickedneis, and do 
 that which is lawful and right ; that, 
 whenever difeafe, or violence, fhall dif- 
 folve our bodies, our fouls may be faved 
 aiive, and received into everlafting habi- 
 tations ; where, with Angels and Archan- 
 gels, and all tlie glorious Hoft of Heaven, 
 they fhall fing glory to God on high, and 
 the Lamb, for ever and ever. 
 
 T H E E N D. 
 
J-#«^-;