every morning and evening? pious, and humble, and fober, and chaste, and neighbourly, and kind to all; defirous to improve, fearful to offend; and when you have done all, do you rely wholly upon the mercy of God for the acceptance of these imperfect fervices? If with a hearty good intention you have set yourselves to the performance of these necessary gospel-duties, you are of the number of "the righteous."

This

But ftill it is faid, that even "these righteous will scarcely be faved." feems at first fight "a very hard faying";

yet it is no more than the uniform declaration of the scriptures; and, therefore, I proceed the more readily, as I promised, to explain it.

Now it is to be noted, that the word "fcarcely," which makes all the difficulty here, does by no means imply any, the smallest, doubt of any fuch fincere chriftians being faved, but only the impoffibility of their being placed in a state of salvation by their own righteousness alone.

Even the very best man living abounds with imperfections, and has reafon to ap

proach

proach the throne of infinite juftice in no bolder terms than those of the humble

publican, "Lord! be merciful to me a finner." I believe those who live the beft, and examine the most narrowly into their own conduct, are the moft fenfible of this truth. But there are few of you will contradict the express words of the scripture and of our liturgy;) viz. that "we are all gone out of the way," that "we have done amifs and dealt wickedly;" both in "doing those things which we ought not to have done," and in " leaving undone those things which we ought to have done.”

I might enlarge upon this fubject, but I must proceed to confider the remaining characters in our text of "the ungodly and the finner," and to fhew their deplorable and hopeless fituation.

Nothing is fo common as to expect to be faved by a partial compliance with God's laws, or that two or three of the talents paid which we owe to his juftice, will excufe us for the many thousands remaining on account. For, not to infift at prefent on that fundamental article of our falvation, "faith in

Chrift;

Chrift;" nor to mention the fcandalous defects of all, in the more active duties of chriftianity; suchas, fuppreffing vice by our counfel and example, promoting every scheme for the advancement of God's honour with as much diligence as we should do our private interest or pleasure, endeavouring constantly to convey instruction in our common converfation, vifiting the fick, comforting the afflicted, and following the steps of our divine mafter, "in going about doing good;" duties which are thought peculiar to the clergy, or, however, above the sphere of common chriftians, though no other than the undiftinguithed precepts of the new Teftament to every man, at every seasonable opportunity. When we caft our eyes upon our own people in the plaineft acts of chriftian morality, we fhall fee one who will not come to church, under a pretence of faying his prayers at home; another who will not relieve the poor, or perhaps as he walks home from the public worship of his God, defames his innocent neighbour; a third, who will indulge himfelf in drunkenness; a fourth in his lust another in fwearing frequently in his difcourse;

courfe; in fhort, there is not one commandment in the whole decalogue that has not been excepted against by fome chriftian or other in the general plan of his life, who, nevertheless, very gravely talks of being a good man, and doubts not of being faved, fome how or other, when he comes to die. But, furely, if these men be faved, it must be by fome revelation that we are unacquainted with; and fome other gospel than that we have received by Jesus Christ. By that gospel we are indeed informed that

Jefus Chrift the righteous is a propitiation for our fins," but that can only be for those fins that we have repented of and forfaken and, moreover, it is recorded, that "whoever (wilfully, confiderately, and habitually) offends in one point, he is guilty of all."

The next character described in our text is "the finner;" that is, as I conceive, that wretched body of men who live in open defiance of all morality, in a general course of cheating, fwearing, drunkenness, or luft ; intending, probably, fometime or other, to repent, and having a confused notion, in general, that God is merciful. O wretched finner!

finner! God is merciful, but what is that to thee? There is a point which mercy cannot exceed, for though he is merciful, he is also juft. Though baptifed into his faith, thou haft never taken the trouble to inquire about it; though retained in his fervice, thou haft daily broken his commandments; though living by his power, thou hast been unmindful of thy creator; though fupported by his providence, thou haft been ungrateful to thy preferver. Well, therefore, may we conclude with the apostle in my text, that if" the righteous," those who fincerely endeavoured to do the whole will of God, "fhould fcarcely be faved'; or, could with difficulty make their fervices acceptable to God, " where fhall the ungodly and the finner appear?" that is, in how wretched a ftate must they be, who either partially obey his commands, or intirely flight his injunctions. But let us hear what other fcriptures fay in conformity to this obfervation: "Know ye not," fays the apostle to the Corinthians, "that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,

nor