heaven. Such are, felf-denial, patience, humility, purity, and charity, how much foever they are neglected by the generality of Chriftians, as if they were no longer Christian duties. And as I pray daily that God's will may be done; for myself, I will endeavour to resign my will to the will of God in all the dispenfations of his providence. And, forasmuch as the promise of feeing God is made to the pure in heart, I will endeavour to keep my heart from every thing that may defile my foul, and grieve that Holy Spirit by which I have been fealed unto the day of redemption. Lastly, (will every faithful Chriftian fay) I will keep a watch over myself, that I may not refift or forget thofe good purposes which the good Spirit of God puts into my heart.

Such a faith, and fuch a life as this it is, Christians, that must recommend us to the favour of God; and to be easy in our minds upon any other terms, is to be in the way of perdition without knowing it.

These things we must do, or give up our hope of heaven. For, as fure as God is true, and his word certain, none must go to heaven but the good, the devout, the piously-difpofed, the obedient, the fober, the chaßte, the just, the boneft, the religious Chriftian.

Let us not then, my Chriftian brethen, let us not content ourselves with the bare name of Chriftians, and with fhadows of religion

and

and piety, without striving after that holiness without which no man muft fee the Lord.

You fee plainly, that to be a Christian, and a true Christian, are two very different things. A true Christian, knowing that the want of a lively faith is the occafion of all the wickedness we meet with in the world, therefore begs this grace of God, with all the earnestness of his foul; he ftudies, he attends to, the truths of the gospel, as that which must make him wife unto falvation; he refolves, that what he learns there he will believe, let what will be faid against it; that what it requires, he will obferve and follow, and avoid what it forbids; never confulting the way of the world, its customs, its favours, or its frowns. By doing which, he secures the favour of God, his grace here, and happiness hereafter.

On the other hand; they that live at all adventures, in a general forgetfulness of God, of their duty, and religion, without feeling any thing of its power; fuch people, under the name of Chriftians, are in truth unbelievers; and as fuch will be rejected of God, and will be reserved for a punishment dreadful to be named, however little they confider and think of it.

In fhort; God has given us a law by which he will judge us. By faith we receive this law; and by this we are to judge what our condition is like to be hereafter, whether happy or miserable.

That

That we may make this judgment impartially, let us confider what our thoughts will probably be when we come to die. Whether, for inftance, we fhall not be under a moft terrible astonishment, when, reflecting upon our faith, and comparing it with our past life, it fhall appear that we have lived in a plain neglect of what we profess to believe, and what we knew to be our duty. Or whether, upon comparing our life and our faith, we fhall have the comfort of having lived by faith, repented of our errors, made our peace with God, and lived to bring forth fruits anfwerable to amendment of life.

One of these two will be the cafe of myself, and of all you that hear me; how foon we know not, but it highly concerns us to think of it, left the night come when no man can work, before we have finished the work we have to do.

My defign, you fee, Chriftians, has been to put you upon confidering and examining into the truth of your faith, and the state of your fouls. By the short hints, which, for the fake of your memory, I am going to give you, you will fee who is, and who is not, in the way of life and falvation.

All fuch as fear God, and are afraid for themselves, on account of the corruption of their nature:-fuch as are truly forry for having offended fo gracious a God and Father, and refolve to do so no more; fuch as receive

VOL. II.

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Jefus

Jefus Chrift as their lawgiver, faviour, and judge; fuch as strive to be holy in their lives, as God who hath called them is holy; fuch as watch, and purpose in their hearts to do nothing knowingly which may displease God: these have the principles of grace and life in them, and are in the way of life everlasting.

While fuch as are wilfully ignorant of God, and of the principles and duties of Christianity; fuch as are not fenfible of the corruption of their nature, and the danger they are in on that account; fuch as fee not, nor are fenfible of the bleffing of a Redeemer; fuch as are best pleased with fuch company and pleasures as divert the thoughts of what must come hereafter; fuch as live under the means of grace, without being bettered by them, whofe hearts are fet upon the world and its idols: all these are in the way of certain ruin, though they will not think of it, though they will not believe it.

From all which it appears, how Christians are to judge of the truth and fincerity of their faith, even by the manner of their lives.

If a man fears God, he will be afraid to do any thing which he believes God has forbidden him; if he loves God, he will defire to please him; if he believes God to be the fountain and giver of all good, he will pray to him for all the good he wants and defires; if he believes that God ordereth all things with infinite wisdom and goodness, he will

be

be pleased with all God's choices for himself and others.

Let no man, therefore, flatter himself that he is a Chriftian, who does not do the things which Chrift has commanded, and who will not learn from the example-from the meeknefs, humility, patience, and felf-denial of Jefus Chrift. He who will not be perfuaded that this is the only way to be restored to the favour of God, can neither be happy in this world nor in the world to come.

To conclude all that I have to say upon this fubject:-As Chriftians, we have the greatest obligations upon us to lead very ferious, very holy lives. We are bleffed with the true knowledge of God; we have his own Son for our master, and teacher, and protector, and faviour, and mediator, and advocate; we are received into his family by baptifm; we have the Holy Ghost to affift us, and an interest in all the prayers made in his holy church throughout the world; we know and believe that we shall rife again, if we have passed this life of trial as we know we ought to do, we shall rise to enjoy a life of happiness unspeakable and everlasting.

What can our hearts wish for, what can we defire more? Yes, O Jefus! this one thing we defire and beg, that we may all have the grace which Thou alone canft obtain for us, that we may have grace, to lay the things

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