SERMONS, . / G. GREGORY, D.D. F.A.S. Author of essays historical and moral, &c. To which are prefixed, THOUGHTS on the COMPOSITION and DELIVERY of a SERMON. In the church I had rather /peak Jive words with my under* Jlanding, that by my voice I might teach others al/a* than ten thoufand words in an unknown tongue, i Cor. xiv. 19. THE SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED, LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, N° 72, ST. PAUL' CHURCH-YARD. M.DCC.LXXXfX. 5CC Stom f0e feifirarg of (pxofmox .©., &&.©. presentee 6p (glre. ftaxton to f0e £i6rar£ of (Princeton &0eofo$icaf Jgeminarg J; ^3 T O His Grace THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. My Lord, TF, by the difplay of extenfive or pro- found erudition, the following pages were calculated to attract the learned eyej or if, by their elegance and correclnefs, I might flatter myfelf that they could en- dure the delicate teft of critical difcern- ment ; the propriety of infcribing them to your Grace would be eafily feen, and no apology would be required for the liberty I have taken. Circumftanced, however, as I am, the only confideration, which I can plead in my own favour, is, that this A 2 publication DEDICATION. publication is intended to promote the interefts of that ferious and rational fcheme of piety, which your Grace has ever diftinguifhed by your patronage, and re- commended by your example. lam, my Lord, With great refpecl, Your Grace's Moft faithful fervant, Winkworth Buildings, JAN. I, I789. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS, Page THOUGHTS on the Composition and Delivery of a Sermon. i SERMON I. Faith in Chrift a pofitive Duty. john viii. 24. If ye believe not that I am he, yejhall die in yourjins. 1 SERMON II. The Characters of the Infidel and the Enthufiaft compared. 1 cor. viii. 1. Knowledge puffetb up, but charity edifietb. 1 7 SERMON III. On the Parable of the rich Man and Lazarus. luke xvi. 23, 24. And in bell he lift up bis eyes, being in torments, and feetb Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bofom. And he cried, and /aid, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and fend Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for, 1 am tormented in this flame. 33 SER- CONTENTS. Page SERMON IV. On the Nature of human Happinefs, and the Means of attaining it. prov. xix. 3. The foolijhnefs of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth againji the Lord, 47 SERMON V. The Origin and Ufe of Prayer. job xxi. 15. IVhat is the Almighty, that we jhould ferve him ? and * what profit Jhould we have if we pray unto him f 69 SERMON VI. The eflential Duties of Morality. MICAH vi. 8. He hath Jhewed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do jufily, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? S$ SERMON VII. On Humility. 1 pet. v. 5, Be clothed with humility. 107 SER- CONTENTS. SERMON VIII. On Temperance. Page I COR. XV. 32. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. I If SERMON IX. On the Licentioufnefs of the Tongue. MATTHEW XXVI. 74. Then began he to curfe and to /wear. t$t SERMON X. On the Government of the Paffions. gal. v. 17. 7*/* Jlejh lujleth againji the Spirit, and the Spirit againjl tbejlejh j and thefe are contrary the one to the other. 161 SERMON XI. The Characters of the Hypocrite and the Libertine compared. MATTHEW V. 20. For, I fay unto you, except your righteoufnefs /hall exceed the righteoufnefs of the fcribes and pharifees, ye Jhall in no cafe enter into the kingdom of heaven. ijj SERMON XII. Onthelnftitutionof Preaching, and the Means of Improvement in religious Knowledge. 2 COR. XII. 14. Jfeek not yours, but you. 195 SER- CONTENTS. SERMON XIII. On the Preparation for Death. Page LUKE VIII. 52. She is not dead, butjleepeth* 21 1 SERMON XIV. On Education. exodus xx. 15. Tboujhalt notjleal. 117 SERMON XV. On Conference. matt. xiv. 1 & 2. At that time, Herod the Teirnrch he fame of J and faidu bis fervants, this is John the Bapiljf, he is rifenfrom the dead, 245 SERMON XVI. On Toleration. LUKE IX. 55, 56. Ye know not what mar.m: if fpirit ye are of. For, the Son of Man is not come to dejiroy men's lives, but tofave them. 261 SERMON XVII. On the Lawfulnefs and Expediency of Inocualtion for the Small- Pox. MARK III. 4. Is it lawful to do good on the fabbath-days^ or to do evil P tofave life, or to kill? 279 An EXHORTATION, &c. 305 THOUGHTS ( i ) THOUGHTS ON THE COMPOSITION and DELIVERS O F A SERMON. WHEN one, who is to appear as & Culprit at the bar of the public, has the temerity to feat himfelf upon the bench, he feems voluntarily to provoke a fevere inquifition, and to be left without excufe, fhould he be found to violate thofe laws by which he himfelf has prefumed to appreciate the merit of his .contemporaries. There is another, and, I will confefs, a flill ftronger, objection to B prefatory il ON THE COMPOSITION AN'ff prefatory diflertations ; and that is, that they are too frequently indirect apologies for the author's defects ; or, the artful means of gratifying his vanity, by. permit- ting him, without the appearance of open effrontery, to be the herald of his own com- mendation. I fhall, however, be deterred by none of thefe confiderations from what I conceive to be my duty. I fhall therefore content myfelf, for the prefent, with dif- claiming, in general terms, every fordid in- tention of the kind ; and, without enter- ing into the merits of the difcourfes which . are contained in this volume, or their con- nexion with this efTay, I would wiili to point the reader's attention to what appears of more immediate confequence, the utili- ty of the defign, and the importance of the object. I do not know any fpecies of compofi- tion, which is more deferving of critical at- tention than that which is appropriated to the pulpit ; and I will add, that I do not know any which appears to want it more. That DELIVERY OF A SERMON. Ill That it is from its nature liable to very great abufes, and at no time fince the apof- tolic age has been free from error, mufl be allowed by every perfon converfant in the literary hiflory of the church -, but, of late years, fo depraved a tafte has been introdu- ced by the love of novelty, and the admif- fion of illiterate perfons into holy orders, that the keeneft infpection of criticifm is become necefTary to reduce to order the ex- travagancies of pulpit empiricifm. A few obfervations, therefore, having occurred to my recollection during the courfe of my la- bour in preparing the difcourfes which fol- low for the prefs, and conceiving that this volume might probably be read by fome of the younger clergy, as well as by a few of the religious part of the laity, I determined to embrace the opportunity of prefenting them to the public. The utility of thefe remarks, however, may poffibly not be altogether confined to one fpecies of compofition. What I have to advance, with refpecl to ftyle in particu- B 2 lar, IV ON THE COMPOSITION AND" lar, will, I flatter myfelf, not be unaccept- able to young writers in general : indeed, every attempt to refine the tafte, and to ex- ercife the judgement, is generally found of advantage beyond the fphere of its imme- diate intention. As I do not pretend to exhibit a complete view of the fubject, I have entitled this at- tempt, " Thoughts on the Compofition and Delivery of a Sermon 1 ." But, as deful- tory maxims or precepts are feldom of much ufe, I have endeavoured to reduce my fentiments to fome kind of order ; and (after ftating in general terms the rise and PROGRESS of THIS SPECIES of ORATORY IN the christian church) the grand divi- fions, which I mean to adopt, will be, the CHOICE OF A SUBJECT, the ARRANGEMENT, and the style : to which I mean to add a few curfory obfervations refpecling manner Or DELIVERY.* I. OF * The defign of Chriftian oratory (fays St. Auguftin) is- cither to inftruft men in the truth, to refute their errors, or to perfuade them to the practice of virtue, and an abhor- rence of vice. The firfl requires plain narration ; the fe- eond, ftrength of argument and ratiocination j and the third, the. DELIVERY OF A "SERMON. V I. OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF PULPIT ORATORY. I N the primitive church a cuftom pre- vailed, which may be ultimately traced into the Jewifh 5* though the time of its intro- duction into the latter is not veiy eafily af- certained. The bifhop or prefbyter, who read the portion of Scripture felecled for the day, concluded that part of the fervice with a general explanation of what had been read, the art of moving the mind and affections. As the Chrif- tian orator fpeaks that only which is holy, juft, and good, he endeavours to fpeak in fuch a manner, that he may be heard with underftanding, with pleafure, and with efFedt. — That he may be heard with underftanding, he fpeaks with plainnefs and perfpicuity, and a regard to the capacities and knowledge of his hearers ; that he may be heard with pleafure, he will pay fuch attention to the common rules of eloquence, as to endeavour to fpeak with acutenefs, ele- gance, and ftrength ; and, that he may be heard with eiFecl, he will labour to perfuade and to convince his auditors of ihe truth and importance of his doctrines. Auo.de Doctrin. Chrifto, 1. 4. c. 4. Idem, 1. 4. c. 15. Idem, 1. 4. c. 5. Idem, I, 4. c. 12. * See luke iv, 16, 17. xx. 1. xxi. 37. john viii. 20. AGTi xiii. 13. B 3 and VI ON THE COMPOSITION AND and with earneftly exhorting the audience to profit fromtheinfhuc~tions, or to imitate the example, which had then been exhi- bited.* Thefe exhortations were brief and unadorned, and were fometimes accompa- nied with other explications of Scripture, which were fucceffively delivered by thofe of the fociety, who declared themfelves under the peculiar influence of the Spirit 5 while their prophetic brethren, who were prefent in the afTembly, decided upon the refpect which was due to their authority. -j- It is probable that what at firft confided only of a few iliort and perhaps unconnected fen- tences would gradually, and by thofe who poiTefTed fluency of thought and facility of expreffion, be made to afTume a more regu- lar form. Origen i was the firft. who in- troduced long explanatory difcourfes into Chriftian affemblies -, and preaching in his time began to be formed upon the nice rules of Grecian eloquence. * Juftin. Apol. 2, p. 98. -J- Mofheim, Cent. I, Part 2, Chap. 4. \ Mofti. Cent. 3, Part 2, Chap. 4. The DELIVERY OF A SERMON. Vll The great fuperiority of thefe fludied and regular corapofitions over extempore effu- fions foon excluded the latter almoft entire- ly from the fervice of the church, though at fome periods we find them occafionally reforted to. Origen,* the great father of pulpit-oratory, at above fixty years of age, and when by continued ufe and exercife he had acquired great facility both in compo- fition and delivery, began to indulge him- felf in the practice of extempore oratory. The cuflom, however, was not confined to him. Cyril and feveral of his contempora- ries addreffed their refpe£live audiences in unprepared difccurfes, which the diligence of the public notaries of the church has preferved from oblivion : and many of the fermons of Chryfoflom, together with his celebrated di/courfe upon his return from banifhment, are proofs not only of theex- iftence of the cuflom, but that extempore compofitions are not necelfarily deficient * Eufeb. lib. 6. c. 36. B 4. either Viii ON THE COMPOSITION AND either in elegance or method. It is proba- ble, however, that, at a time when nice and determined rules had been formed for pulpit-oratory, few would attempt extem- pore addrefles, except upon fudden and par- ticular emergencies, and then they would be attempted by fuch only as previous ha- bits of ftudy and recitation had peculiarly qualified for the practice. Of thofe which have reached poflerity, we know that ma- ny, and probably the greater part, received the after-corre&ions of their refpective au- thors.* However diminutive and fimple in its origin, preaching very foon came to be confidered as a principal part of public worfhip, Sometimes two or three fer- * At the Reformation in England, many complaints were made of thofe, who were licenfed to preach ; and, that they might be able to juftify themfelves, they began gene- rally to write and read their fermons : the manifefl fuperio- rity of this mode over extempore preaching has continued it in the church of England ever fince. See burnet's #//?. Reform. Vol. I. p. 317. nions DELIVERY OF A SERMON. IX mons* were preached in the fame aflembly by theprefbyters and bifhops in fuccefiion ; and, when two or more bifhops happened to be prefent, it was ufual for them to preach after each other, referving the laft place for the moft eminent perfon. The fermons upon thefe occafions were necefTa- rily fhort, as the time limited for public worfhip was only two hours. It was pro- bably upon fome of thefe occafions that the fhort fermons of St. Auguftin were compofed, many of which may be pro- nounced diftinelly, and delivered in eight minutes, and a few in almofl half that time. The general regard which was paid to preaching, as a neceffary part of public worfhip, is evident from its having formed a part of the difcipline of every Chriftian church, except that of Rome, in which, as Sozomen ~\- informs us, at the time he * Bingham's Eccl. Antiq. book 14. c, 4. •J- Spzom. lib. 7. c. 19. wrote X ON THE COMPOSITION AND wrote no fuch curlom exiiled. Sermons were however again introduced into that church by Leo, but again difcontinued, till, after an interval of more than five hundred years, Pius V. once more made them a neceffary part of public worfhip. As the inflitution of preaching commen- ced in the explication of Scripture, it frill retained, through the many revolutions of the public tafte, fbme ref : igin j and, with a few exceptions, a portion of the facred writings always conftituted the bafis ofthedifcourfe;* though latterly it was re- duced aim oft to the form of a motto, which had frequently but little connexion with the principal fubject. From this flate of facts we may eafily perceive the fource of thoi ies of exhortation, which now prevail in the church : I mean the fimply explanatory, and the didactic or eflay ftyle. Both have their particular ufes, and perhaps neither ought to be uniformly preferred. * Some of the homilies of Chryfoftom were preached without a text. Chrys. Horn. Fcjl. Red. 3, 4, 5, 6, &C. Melanfthon heard a prieft at Paris, who took his text from Ariftotle's Ethics. II. OF DELIVERY OF A SERMON. XI II. OF THE CHOICE OF A SUBJECT. However cuitom may have indulged the Chriflian orator with refpect to the modes in which he is to convey inftruction, ftil!, in the choice of a fubj eel, young preachers will do well to advert in general to the origin of the inftitution ; to confider that its imme- diate defign is the expofition of Scripture. And, though I fee no reafon for excluding utterly from the pulpit thofe difcourfes, which treat of the virtues and vices in an abftract and philofophical manner ; yet I confefs, that fermon, which follows the or- der of the text, appears more immediately confident with the defign, and more cor- refpondent to the nature of the compofition. For the fame reafon, I am induced to prefer thofe difcourfes, which tend to re- move the difficulties, and elucidate the ob- fcurities of the Scriptures. I do not wi(H to be underftood, as recommending any te- dious philological difquifitions, any labo- rious collations, or thofe exercifes, which are obvioufly only calculated for the clofet. It Xli ON THE COMPOSITION AND It is difficult to command the attention of a common congregation, be the matter ever fo plain and practical. It would therefore be fcarcely lefs abiurd to introduce mathe- matical calculations than fuch difquifitions as thefe. I am frill more offended with thofe preachers, who regularly pay their au- dience the unwelcome compliment of fup- pofing their faith in continual danger of invafion ; and conceive it abfolutely necelTary to be con flan tly infifling on the proofs of revelation. The perfons, to whom alone fuch reafoning can beofufe, take care very feldom to throw themfelves in its way > and, as Swift remarks, can any thing be more abfurd, " than, for the fake of who am a £LIV£RY OF A SERMON. xlix but I think we fliould not look further back than the Revolution : Hooker, Bacon, Milton, Hobbes, and even Temple, are fcarcely to be confidered as authorities in this refpect. Contrary to this, is the more fafhionable error of ufing affected language, and par- ticularly Gallicifms. This nation has been little indebted to the literature of France ; and we have no occafion to change the bullion of our language for the tinfel of theirs. Dr. Campbell has, with great accuracy, collected a variety of thefe new- imported phrafes, which he very properly calls, " ftray words, or exiles," that have no affinity to our language, and indeed are no better than infects of the day. It is of the utmofl importance to literature to adopt fome ftandard of language ; there is no fetting bounds to the liberty of coining words, if it be at all admitted j and, in that cafe, the invaluable productions of our anceflors will foon become totally unintel- ligible. E 2d, 1 ON THE COMPOSITION AND 2d. But the more dangerous vice, be- caufe it is the more common, and efpecially among the popular preachers of the day, is vulgarity. Some inftances of this, however, are to be found in very approved authors, and feem to demonstrate how ne- cefTary it is to be on our guard againft it. Lord Kaims fpeaks of the comedies of Ariftophanes wallowing in loofenefs and de- traction,* (which is moreover a falfe meta- phor ;) of " the fujhing genius of a na- " tion j-j* of a nation being devoid of bow- els" % &c. The following phrafe is furely intolerably low for ferious compofition : fotil-faving, &c. and the fulfome repetition of the moft fa- cred names, introduced by fome preachers. XJnaffeSied is an epithet, appropriated in a manner to real devotion, which is difplayed in actions, and in fentiments, and not in words ; indeed I do not know, whether the too frequent and familiar introduction of the moft folemn exprefiions, even in the pulpit, maynotferve to leffen, rather than to increafe our refpect for the great object of Chriftian worfhip. " fcure terms, yet in their fermons very liberal of thofe * which they find in ecclefiaftical writers, as if it were ". our duty to underftand them ; which 1 am Aire it is not." Swift's Letter to a young Clergyman. " I believe, I may jM venture to infift, further, that many terms ufed in holy «* writ, particularly by St. Paul," (he means in our antiqua- ted tranflation of the apoftle's writings,) " might, with '* moredifcretion, be changed into plainer fpeech." lb. Purity DELIVERY OF A SERMON. lv Purity of ftyle, as far as refpects ar- rangement, is equally violated by affecled ftatelineis, and by negligence and incor- ^ recinefs. Of the former kind are the fol- lowing inftances.. i ft. Placing the nominative cafe after the verb. Ex. " Wonderful are the efTecls of " this paffion in every view." " Not a c< little elesrant is this manner of wri- *' ting."* 2dly. The objective cafe in the beginning of the fentence. " Varieties of national " character we obferve imprinted on the " phyfiognomy of nations." -f* And not unlike this is Mr. Gordon's very depraved cenftr action in his tranflation of Tacitus : " At this time war there was none." 3dly. The objective cafe before the impe- rative mood. " How many nations have " certainly fallen from that importance, " which they had formerly borne among * Tranflation of Trapp's Prsle&iones. f Du:jbar.'s Eflays. E 4 " the Ivi ON THE COMPOSITION AND " the focieties. of mankind, let the annals " of the world declare." * I know nothing that more enfeebles a ftyle, than beginning fentences with con- nective particles, fuch as and, though, but, however, therefore, &c. It feems to put the reader out of breath, and partakes in fome meafure of the ungracefulnefs and confufion of long fentences. It alfo de- ftroys that cornpa£tnefs, which gives ener- gy to ftyle. Thefe circum fiances have made it common to introduce the connec- tive as the fecond or third word of the fen- tence: and the fame reafons are almofr. equally forcible againfl the ufe of relatives in the beginning of fentences. It has alfo been generally efteemed un- graceful to conclude a fentence with a pre- pofition or a trilling word. The auxiliary verbs are generally very bad conclufions. Ex. " If this affects him, what mud the fC firft motion of his zeal be ?**+ 9 Jb. -f- Robinson from Maffillon. taftly, DELIVERY OF A SERMON. lvii Laftly. There is often inelegance in pla- cing the adverb before the auxiliary verb, as in the following inftance : " The quef- " tion flated in the preceding chapter ne- 11 ver has been fully confidered." * It would, I think, be better, * f has never been fully, &c." It would be impoflible on this occafion to defcend to a very minute detail. A good ear, and the perufal of good authors muft unite to form a good tafte in this particu- lar. Pedantry, however, more frequently mifleads us than any other caufe. The flyle of female writers flows eafier, and is commonly more harmonious, than that of profefTed fcholars. One general rule may indeed be admitted : in narrative or plain didactic compofition, in thofe which are intended merely to convey information, the natural order of the words is to be prefer- red ; but, when paflion or fublimity is the object, this order may be departed from, * Lord monboddo, Orig. and Prog. Lang, c. ii. and Iviii ON THE COMPOSITION AND and a fentence muft never conclude with a weak member or a trifling word. As per- fpicuity demands that enough fhall be dif- played in the nrft part of the fentence to make the aim of it manifefts fo elegance and vivacity demand a degree of energy at the termination of it in order to leave an impreffion on the mind. Sometimes, however, in very animated expreffion, it has a good effect to place the emphatic word the firfl in order, as : Blejfed is he " that cometh in the name of the Lord." — fC Silver and gold have I none, but fuch as " I have I give thee." In this laft fentence, the eager expectation, and the imploring look of the beggar naturally lead to a vivid conception of what was in his thoughts 5 and this conception is anfwered by the form, in which the declaration of the apoftle is couched. III. As a fermon is an oratorical com- pofition, as it is intended for a popular aflembly, and ought to intereft the atten- tion at leaft of the auditors, perfpicu- ity DELIVERY OF A SERMON. llX ity and purity of flyle are fcarcely fufricient commendations. It fhould be calculated not only to initruct, but to perfuade ; not only to inform the judgement, but to con-* ciliate the pailions. Some degree of rhe- torical embellishment, therefore, be- comes abfolutely neceflary > and it is one of the moft difficult points to determine the nature, as well as the degree of this em- beliifhment. It is obvious that the ornaments of ora- tory are materially different from thofe of poetry. The aim of the former is to in- form and perfuade -, of the latter to amufe. The one addreffes the judgement and the paffions ; the other, the fancy. The one re- quires the utmofh perfpicuity ; in the other, fome degree of obfcurity is frequently a beauty : a different choice and felecrion of the imagery and figures, which are em- ployed, becomes therefore requifite in thefe different forms of compofition. The elegance of poetry frequently de- pends upon the happy application of ima- gery Ix ON THE COMPOSITION AND gery alTumed from natural objects : the imagery proper for oratory is the ima- gery of fentiment. In the one, the woods, the plains, the fountains, and the hills, the expanded ocean, the ferenity of the heavens, are the mofl {hiking objects ; in the other, the human paffions andpurfuits, the fate of empires, the revolutions of for- tune, and the uncertainty and variation in human affairs. The comparisons which is frequently one of the molt engaging figures in poetry, and affords the fuller!: fcope for luxuriant defcription, is in general too cold and for- mal for oratory. The beauty of metaphors will frequently be loft in an attention to the fubjecl, or in the warmth of the enun- ciation j and allufions and metonymies will ra- ther obfcure than enlighten the fubjecT. T erfonification is frill more allied to obfcu- rity ; and allegory is leaft adapted of all to this fpecies of compofition. Inftead of this play of the imagination, the orator mud: employ a force and energy of exprefiion, a warmth DELIVERY OF A SERMON. Ixi warmth of fen ti merit, and the ftronger figures of iteration) erotefis, and climax.* • The following is a fine inftance of what I call the ite- ration, or repetition. — " I have flain, I have (lain, not a. " Sp. Mselius, who was fufpecled of aiming at the regal •' power; not a Tiberius Gracchus, who feditioufly depofed " his colleague from the magistracy : but I have flain the " man, whofe adulteries our nobleft matrons difcovered in " the facred receffes of the gods; the man, by whofe pu- " nifhment the fenate fo frequently determined to expiate " the violation of the moft folemn rites ; the man, who by " the hands of his flaves expelled a citizen, who was " efteemed by the fenate, by the people, by every nation " upon earth, the preferver of the city ; the man, who *' gave and took away kingdoms, and, distributed the world •* at his pleafure ; the man, who defiled the forum, " with blood ; the man, who fired the temple of the " nymphs ; in a word, the man who governed himfelf by " no principle, who acknowledged no law, who fubmitted " to no limitation." Cic. pro Milone. The writings of St. Paul abound in thefe bold figures, particularly the erote- sis, of which there are fome uncommonly animated exam- pies : " What ! have ye not houfes to eat and to drink in ? " or defpife ye the church of god, and fhame them that •■' have not I What lhall I fay to you ? Shall I praife you " in this ? I praife you not." i cor. xi. 22, The follow- ing is an example of the three figures united : " Are they " Hebrews? foam I: are they Ifraelites ? fo am I : are "• they the feed of Abraham ? fo am I : are they ministers *' of christ? (1 fpeak as a fool,) I am more, &c" 2 cor. xi. 22, 23. In Ixli ON THE COMPOSITION AND In the ufe of thefe, however, he mutt be extremely cautious ; for they are dangerous in the hands of the unfkilful, and require the nicefl tafle in the application of them. After all, it is a queflion, whether the modern compofitions of the pulpit are not rather to be blamed for too much than for too little affectation of ornament.* In this cafe, perhaps, negative instruction may be the moil ufeful ; and to mew what a flyle ought not to be, may anfwer a better pur- pofe, than an imperfect endeavour to defcribe all the excellences and graces which a lively imagination and a fine tafle may invent. In the firfl place, the popular harangues of the day have more of poetry -f- than of oratory * " The ornaments of language generally coll the wri- " ter much trouble, and produce fmall advantage to the " hearer. Let the character of your fermons be truth and " information, and a decent particularity." — - Paley's Or- din. Serm. f ■' Another thing, that brings great difrefpeft and mif- " chief upon the clergy, is their packing their fermons fo " full DELIVERY OF A SERMON. lxiii oratory in them, if falfe metaphor, incon- fiftent allegory, and in all refpecls tc profe run mad," can have any claim to that ap- pellation. Not fatisfied with adopting whimfical aliufions, they purfue them to an extreme of abfurdity : " And duttile dulnefs new meanders makes, " And one poor word a thoufand fenfes takes."* It can be no gratification to a rational mind to give pain, otherwife I could furnifh fpe- cimens of this kind abundantly ridicu- " full of Jimilitudes ; which all the world know, carry with '■* them but very fmall force of argument, unlefs there be * ( an exacl agreement with that which is compared ; of *' which there is very feldom any fufficient care taken." Eachard's Contempt, &c. p. 58. * " This is almoft the perpetual vice of mean and low " preachers ; for, when they catch a figurative word, or a *.' metaphor, as when god's word is called a. fire, or 3, /word, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory : and are we to wonder, that there fhould exift minds not vigorous enough to purfue and to comprehend a feries of facls, which feern contradictory to all thofe notions we have received through the medium of experience? and are not thofe men rather to be pitied than ^condemned, who, wanting the higher en- A POSITIVE DUTY. endowments of the understanding, have not been able to elevate their minds to thofe great intellectual fpeculations which regard the fpiritual world, and which feem necefTary in order to conceive rightly of the doctrine — God made manifeft in the fie jh. ButtheafTertion, contained in the words of my text, feems to imply a contradiction to other parts of Scripture, which in- form us, that men fhall be judged by their actions, and not by their belief. The voice of infpiration has declared to us : What is required of thee, O man, but to do juflly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Jesus christ himfelf annexes a pofitive blefling, and even eternal happi- nefs, to the practice of virtue. He gives us a rule of moral conduct, which he alTures us is equivalent to the whole of the law and the prophets. If we love one another, he tells us, we are truly his difciples j and furely we cannot be his difciples, and in a ltate of reprobation. True religion, and un- ified, before God and the Father, fays the apoftle. 4 IAITH IN CHRIST apoflle, is this : to vifit the fatherlefs and the widows in- their affli5lion y and to keep onr- fehes unfpotted from the world. Thus far may be urged, with fome de- gree of plaufibility, againfl the flricl: and literal application of the words in my text. It is indeed inconfiftent with the bell attributes of the Deity to condemn a crea- ture for an involuntary crime ; and I am ready to acknowledge, that belief h not always in the abfolute power of the will. But, fhall we prefume to fay, that the will has no power whatever over the under-* {landing ? Shall we fay that there does not exifl a certain perverfe fpecies of infi- delity, when the underflanding is fuffi- ciently inclined to be convinced, but when pride, fenfuality, felMinefs, malice, or fome other corrupt pafllon, prevents men acknowledging the convi£lion ? Shall we fay, in fine, that, if a fyftem of faith be held forth to our acceptance, which many have at firft reUv?;ed, but, on a deep inves- tigation, have received and acknowledged, we A POSITIVE DUTY we are without (in, if, through indolence, conceit, or prejudice, we refufe to beftow upon it that candid attention and examina- t tion which its importance merits ? Let us remember, that the words under our confideration were addreiTed immediate- ly to the jews, to xh&tjliff-necked and flab- born generation , who had feen the blind re- flored to fight, the deaf to hearing, the le- pers cleanfed, and even the dead raifed up, by a miraculous power. Can we conceive that men, who were eye-witneflfes of fuch facts as thefe, could refufe their afTent but through a degree of perverfenefs and con- tumacy which could not fail to be fmful ? and, indeed, for this they are directly re- proved by christ : If I had not done among them the works that none other man did, they had not had fin ; but now they have no cloak for their fins. If we could conceive an unbeliever to exift, who, with an humble and a willing mind, heartily defired and folicited the con- victions of grace, who with candour la-, bourecj FAITH IN CHRIST boured to be fatisfied, and fubmitted pa- tiently to the pains of investigation, we have no reafon to pronounce fuch a man (if he demean himfelf according to the moral precepts of the Christian law, and live in right eoafnefS) and fobernefs y and charity) ut- terly excluded from the hope of mercy. But, with which of our modern unbelievers is this the cafe ? They are, on the contrary, men, for the moll part, led captive by di- vers lujls, who feek in unbelief an excufe for their depravity j or they are men, who, pofTefTed of an overweening opinion of themfelves, endeavour ambitioufly for re- nown by differing from others j who would acquire the reputation of learning, fagaci- ty, and wit, by the affectation of Angula- rity. Thefe perfons, who fo obftinately reject the teftimony of the Scriptures, will receive a fact upon the evidence of a fingle profane hiftorian, nay, will fome- times give unlimited credit to the moft monflrous fictions and abfurdities that ever difgraced A POSITIVE DUTY. 7 difgraced the legends of a barbarous peo- ple.* But let any man, with coolnefs and candour, lit down to the investigation. Let hirn confider, in all our refearches after knowledge, how many things we are obli- ged to accept upon mere probability. The material world, and all its wonders, are indeed detailed to our view ; but, how lit- tle do we really underftand of the caufes which produce this motion, life, order, and difpofition, which we daily behold ? Let him afk himfelf if there be any thing more wonderful, in all which the books of Revelation offer to our understanding, than all this which is continually Subjected to the apprehenfion of our fenfes. Let him remark the feeble efforts of man to ac- count for the origin of this world, the in- * Nothing can reflecl mere difgrace on the human under- standing than the avidity with which fome of the ridiculous fiftions of the Chinefe, concerning the antiquity of their nation, &c. have been fvvallowed by fome of the modern infidels. Fictions juft as worthy of credit as their miracu- lous ftories of Fobi eating up the moon, &c. confident S FAITH IN CHRIST confident and vifionary theories which phi- lofophers have invented, the eternity of the world, and the fortuitous concourfe of atoms. Let him examine well the traces of authenticity which are to be found in the fcriptural records even of the earlieft pe- riods, and the furprifing confirmation of them which is afforded by the beft and old- eft of the pagan teftimonies. Let him compare thefe with other hiftories, and with the fabulous accounts which bear a refemblance to them ; let hi rn weigh and determine which wears the mod ftriking appearance of probability ; let him confider which is the copy, which the imitation, and which the original. Let him afTume candour enough to make allowance for the antiquity of thofe Scriptures j for the im- perfecl manner in which, at the beft, ma- ny paffages muft be underftood ; the obfcu- rity in which many things muft be involved, and the exaggerations with which others muft be reprefented to us, in a ftyle of compofition uncommonly bold and poetical, almoft A POSITIVE DUTY. aim oft totally obfolete at prefent, and fo different from that to which we have been accuftomed. When he has contemplated the great ap- pearance of truth (to fpeak in the mod mo- deft terms) which fuch an inquiry will re- flect upon the ground-work and leading facts of the Scripture-Hiftory, let him next advert to the nature and purpofe of that revelation for which we contend. Let him remember, that its defign is to melio- rate, to purify, the foul ; to convert men from every evil word and work -, to difFufe among them the principles of love, of peace, of every virtue conducive to the good of fociety. Let him turn his eyes upon the conduct of thofe from whom we re- ceived this religion. Let him mark its in- fluence on the morals and the heart. Let him fee the fame men contending for the facts, which they had feen and heard, (facts, in mcft of which they could not poffibly be deceived,) even at the peril of their lives : — blamelefs men, of the moft unimpeachable characters, 10 FAITH IN CHRIST characters, and uninfluenced by any tem- poral or felfifh motive, indeed with every fuch motive in oppofition, rejtfiing unto bloody and breathing out their laft breath in the fevereft torments, without departing, in the flighteft inflance, from their former teftimony. Let any man of common candour, any man of common fenfe, pa- tiently fit down to fuch an investigation as this, and let him rife an infidel if he can. It is true, indeed, that the Scriptures flipulate a juft, a holy, and a moral life, as effential to falvation ; but where is this holinefs, this integrity, this purity, to be found out of the Chriftian communion ? To allege the purity of heathen morals is an abfurdity too grofs to be digefted by any man converfant in the writings of the hea- thens. So little confiflency is there even in their fpeculative fyftems, that fcarcely any two of their wife men are agreed reflecting the end, or bufinefs, of human life. Some placed the chief happinefs of man altoge- ther in the gratifications of fenfe : fome in the A POSITIVE DUTY. IX the vifionary purfuits of ambition and glo- ry : fome in total apathy and indifference : and an ancient author has enumerated up- wards of three hundred different opinions concerning the great or principal conftitu- ent of human felicity.* The moft unex- ceptionable of their moralifls refufe to the fympathetic feelings, companion and focial affection, the name of virtues ; nay, have placed them in the clafs of foibles, if not of vices. Suicide was tolerated by all, and diflinguifhed as honourable and virtuous by the principal feels of philofophers. The moft depraved of paflions were not ftigma- tifed as finful or difgraceful : and the father * For a complete view of thefe abfard fpeculations con- cerning the fuvimum honum, confult Lactantius de falfa. Sapientia, particularly c. vii. andviii. a work equally emi- nent for found reafoning, extenfive knowledge, and anima- ted rhetoric. Patronage was almoft upon the fame footing in the age of Lactantius as we find it at prefent : this incom- parable advocate for the truth of his religion was, as Dr. Jortin remarks, equally diftinguiihed by his learning and his poverty. H of 12 FAITH IM CHRIST of Stoicifm, that fyftem which -reflected moil: honour on unenlightened nature, has not fcrupled to apologife for obfeenity and lewdnefs. Perufe with attention the reve- ries of Plato and the fcepticifm of Tully j compare thefe, the beft of the ancient mo- ralifts, with thofe who have written under the fanction of Chriftianity ; and mark what human reafon, by its own efforts alone, has been able to accomplifh. That thofe illuftrious perfons, who, without the light of revealed truth, con- formed as far as confeience directed, to the will of their Creator, fhould fall into con- demnation* Chriftian charity will not al- low us to fuppofe. It is perverfe and con- tumacious infidelity which is reproved, as being highly fmful, in the words of my text : and, when we confider attentively the fubject, we cannot but acknowledge, that amiable conduct: and virtuous actions can fcarcely, in the nature of things, be confiftent with fuch principles. If A POSITIVE DUTY. 13 If we examine, with the moil candid difpofitions, the lives of thofe who have contumelioufly fhaken off the yoke of christ, fhall we find reafon thence to re- tract this conclulion ? The man, who propofes to himfelf no motive but temporal interert, or, at mod, a certain myfterious notion of beauty and harmony, may in- deed be coolly and deliberately good j but, in the tumult of paffion, in the crifis of temptation, will he not fee other interefts which may impofe upon his fenfes ? Will not his ideas of beauty alter ? Will not the power of fafhion, the fafcinating in- fluence of the multitude, difturb the even tenor of his conduct ? As from the pernicious opinions and the gracelefs lives of the generality of unbe- lievers, fo may the good providence of god protect ail in this afTembly from the bitter- nefs of that death which is without hope in christ. It is not in the bloom and vigour of health, — it is in the hour of ad- verfity, of ficknefs, in the dark and gloomy H 2 moments 14 FAITH IN CHRIST moments which precede his dhTolution, -— that the tenets of the infidel are put to their proper teft. The fcene may indeed, in fome inftances, have been tolerably acted, where vigour and ftrength of nerves might in fome degree fupport the defpairing fpirit* or when fhame of the world, or the un- bounded love of literary fame, prevented the difclofure of their real feelings. But the fatal cataftrophes of fome of the moil noted unbelievers afford a moft ftriking and alarming leflbn, and a moft powerful anti- dote againft the contagion of their fenti- ments. Without entering into the abftrufe fpecu- lations concerning faith and works, I muft confefs, that, on the principles of common fenfe, I am unable to feparate them. I do- not fee how it is poffible to attain any high degree of moral perfection but on the prin- ciples of faith in christ. On the other hand, I muft confider every immoral action, in a profefiing Chriftian, fo far an inftance of infidelity. If you believe the Gofpel, you? A POSITIVE DUTY. you muft believe the promifes of the Gof- pel j if the promifes, the threatenings alfo. To illuftrctc the pofition by a very plain example: — Suppofe yourfelf proceeding in fome tracklefs wafte, unconfcious and un- fufpecting of evil; and fuppofe fome friendly fpirit, in fuch a fituation, to accoft you, and to warn you that a precipice lies directly before you, or that fome imme- diate difficulty or danger impends over your head. If you have any reliance on the truth of his information, any confidence in his integrity, — • in plain terms, if you be- lieve him, you will alter your courfe. Thus, if christ has afTured yon, that, by the irrevocable decree of Almighty god, eternal punifhment be annexed to the prac- tice of certain vices ; if you believe in christ, it is impoffible to continue in the practice of thefe vices ; and if, in this fenfe, you do not believe in his divine au- thority and minion, you then, literally, and to all intents and purpofes, die in your fins* H 3 SERMON SERMON II. THI CHARACTERS OF THE INFIDEL AND THK ENTHUSIAST COMPARED.* I COR. VIII. I. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. np HAT real knowledge fhould be the object of the apoftolic cenfure is not eafy to believe, or that it could be meant by fuch a reproof to check or to retard our progrefs in fubftantial improvement. True wifdom has virtue for its objecl ; humility and urbanity are its infeparable companions. The beft-informed of the ancients con- fefled it as the happieft effect of their learning, that it enabled them to feel their own ignorance and incapacity : and the moft enlightened minds have ever been the moft candid. * Preached, at Richmond, in Surrey, OSlober the 12th, 1783. H 4 There l8 THE CHARACTERS OF THE There is no greater miftake than to fup- pofe human learning inconfiftent with the te- nets of thofewho affert the truth and neceffity of divine revelation. Not to fpeak of the difpenfation of nature, which imparted to us thefe intellectual faculties certainly with the intent that they fliould not be unem- ployed, the importance of wifdom, and its alliance with virtue, is openly alTerted in almoft every page of Scripture.* The choice of Solomon was approved by the Almighty, when he preferred the gifts of wifdom and underftanding to ail the common ingre- dients of earthly felicity. God, by the mouth of his holy prophet, complains, my people are dejlroyed for lack of knowledge, Thefcribes, and the prefuming feclaries of the JewiCh church, are reproved by our bleffed lord: Ye do err,, not knowing the Scriptures and the power of God. In fine, the gifts of the Spirit feemed principally * Sea th; rbverbs tF Solomon, pailim, and all the di- c tic writings in "both the Old and New Teftament. intended INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. I9 intended to compenfate the want of tem- poral affiftance ; that knowledge and elo- quence, which a confined education had denied to the firft teachers of our religion, was fupplied by a miracle : and yet the cho- fen vejfel of God was a man, who fuperadded to the divine infpiration, with which he was fo copioufly endowed, every affiftance which human inftruction could afford. If we attend to the circumftances under which the Epiftle was compofed, and ob- ferve carefully the former part of the verfe from which I have felecled the words of my text, it will appear highly probable that fomething is there implied like an ironical cenfure of the upftart pride of certain new converts in the church of Corinth. We know, fays the apoftle, that we all have knowledge* We all have, or think we have, knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but cha- rity edifieth. Certain it is, that real know- ledge can neither merit nor provoke fo bit- ter a farcafm -, and the apoftle's obferva- tion can only apply to that confufed, ill— afTorted, 20 THE CHARACTERS OF THE afTorted, fmattering kind of knowledge, which has for its motive vanity, for its ob- ject the blind and filly admiration of the vulgar and the weak. Among the various pretends 3 to reli- gious knowledge, there are twc characters, which, as the two extremes, are gerr illy confidered in oppofition tq each other 5 but which, however they may feem to dif- fer, are in principle much alike; and in one particular. are too fatally agreed, name- ly, in the fubvei fion of real piety and effen- tial virtue. It is difficult to fay, whether pride and prefumptr. n be more particularly the characleriRics of the infidel or of the enthufiaft. The one believes himfelf quali- fied by nature to decide arbitrarily on every thing ; and, what his mallow judgement cannot immediately comprehend, he thinks himfi.If at liberty to treat with ridicule and contempt. On the other hand, the enthu- fiaft is apt to fancy that he is the peculiar favourite of heaven, and enlightened by the Spirit of god himfelf. If he has not par- ticular INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 21 ticular revelations, he is at leaft certain that he is pofTefTed of fome fources of in- formation fo much fuperior to the wifdom of the reft of mortals, that they can only be the effects of a fecret infpiration. In the pride of his heart, not content with looking down on the reft of mankind as in- finitely his inferiors, he affects a familiarity with his omnipotent Creator : and, while he purfues the illufions of a diftracted ima- gination, he thinks he has tailed at the very fountain of truth, and that he is felected from among the fons of men to be the chief difpenfer of the divine ordinances. Each of thefe characters has a perfect reliance on his own righteoufnefs. The one rejects every aid of divine truth -, the other relies altogether on an imaginary pre- dilection of the Deity, and expects to reach the manfions of blefTednefs without a fin- gle effort of his own. The one prefumes upon his excjuifite tafte for moral beauty and decorum, which however he referves as a myftery only underftood by himfelf, and never 24 THE CHARACTERS OF THE never difplays to the world in his practice ; the other rejects the name as well as the fubftance of morality, and hopes confi- dently for falvation through a barren and unprofitable faith, which is not the parent of a fmgle virtue* The one extols his own difinte. .' '-lefs, which enables him now and then to perform an action not entirely felnfh, without (as he tt'Is you) the fordid expectation of future reward ; the other veils his felfifhiiefs under the pretence that good works are not eiiential to falvation, that a prayer is better ihan an alms-deed, and a ghoftly exhortation a more generous office than a well- directed benefaction . Each is a refolute defpifer of others. The unbeliever is extremely lavifh of the epithets, felfifh, ignorant, and hypocritical j the pharifee thanks his God that he is not as ether men are. The clergy are equally the fcorn and deteilation of each. The fagacious infidel fhrewdly difcovers, that they are the drones of the fwarm, who only prey upon the ind urinous part of the community ; that INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 2$ that a body of men, whofe intereft it is to conceal the truth, can never fei ve vo pro- mote real fcience -, that priefts have, in all ages, been grafping and ambitious ; that they have fubverted empires, diflurbed the peace of families, perfecuted and oppofed (he will not add, fometimes confuted) fuch li- beral and acute reafoners as himfelf. On the other hand, the fanatic faint is ajealous infpector into the morals of the clergy. Secretly diflarTecled to the government of our church, he induftrioufly endeavours to find a flaw in our demeanour. Every the fmalleft fraiity is magnified into an offence of the mofr. portentous afpecl. ' It is for * the honour of christ to expofe unworthy ' and hypocritical priefts.' A gloomy and captious temper has jaundiced his eye, and even virtues are faults under his infpection. Is the victim of his animadverfion humble and condefcending ? ' He is a fawning hy- * pocrite, a glutton and a wine-bibber, a ' friend of publicans and firmer s* Is he pofTefTed of a fenfe of dignity, and confcious of 24 THE CHARACTERS OF THE of his virtue ? f He is a high-prieft, and ' above that humble demeanour which ' becomes the difciple of christ/ Has he erudition or abilities ? ' He trufts only * to human learning, and is afhamed of € the Gofpel.' Does he endeavour to in- form his hearers with a knowledge of the focial and domeftic duties ? ' He is a mere c moral preacher, and ftudies only the f doctrines of paganifm/ Is he argu- mentative ? ' He is dry or declamatory : ' and fome fantaftical myftic, without edu- cation or principle, who has tacked toge- ther a few incoherent patches of Gentile philofophy,* and adorned them with a dia- lect as motley as the matter, mail bear away the palm from the moft accomplilhed preacher. * There is not a tenet of the modern myftics which is not borrowed from the Gnoftic herefy ; and that was altoge- ther founded on the reveries of the Eaftern magi, with a few of the moft abfurd doctrines of Platonifm. Thefe prin- ciples have been tranfmitted from the firft ages of the church, by a feries of fanatics, to the prefent times. Each INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 2$ Each has a j:r;;o: peculiar tohimfelf; a fcience of wo, , /Men he fubftitutes for ideas. Our profound philofopher pretends to meafure earth and heaven, to know the fprings of nature, and the firit movements of the material world. He gives names to effects, and imagines the caufe quite with- in the fcope of his comprehenfion. The fecret counfels of the Deity, the mofl re- mote decrees of the divine Providence, are, if you will credit them, perfectly appre- hended by forne prefuming enthufiafts. They can limit the unbounded freedom of the divine will ; they can define Omnipo- tence j they can judge his juftice, and pe- netrate his mod awful myfteries. The in- fidel affects to believe nothing but what, by his imperfect faculties, he underftands, or pretends to understand ; the enthufiaft ap- proves nothing, thinks nothing worth knowing, but what paffes man's under- standing: and, while he eagerly preffes forward to what angels have defired to look in- to 26 THE CHARACTERS OF THE to in vain, the duties of a man are beneath his attention. - To caution any in this affembly againft the abfurdities of the former character would, I truft, be unnecefTary. Thofe of the latter are more confiftent with upright- nefs of intention. A fplenetic difpofition, a miftaken zeal, circumftances or occafions, or natural vanity, may frequently expofe a good heart, efpecially if united with a weak underftanding, to the fatal infection. It is therefore my duty briefly to point out the means of avoiding a falfe and over- weening opinion of ourfelves in what refpecls religion, and to imprefs upon your minds the great utility of the apoftolic re- flexion : Knowledge (fuch knowledge as I have been defcribing) puffeth up, but charity edifietb. In the firil place, let us beware of fancying ourfelves more the favourites of heaven than the refl of mankind ; and let us, if we wifh to form a true eftimate of our own deferts, judge INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 27 judge by our actions and not by our opi- nions. The Gofpel informs us, that, 'without bolinefs, no man can fee the Lord, that every one that nameth the name of Chrifl muft depart from iniquity. The Jlothful fer- 12 ant was caft into outer darknefs ; and yet we are affined, that, when we have done all we can, we are but unprofitable fervants j that is, we have barely performed our du- ty. A falfe confidence in our own virtue and piety not only excludes repentance, but improvement : befides that pride will generally be found to accompany it, as well as a want of charity 5 and to want charity is to want every efTential of real Chriftianity. It is departing widely from the example, as well as from the precepts, of the meek and lowly jesus, to be fevere or illiberal in our reflexions upon our fel- low-mortals. He was merciful and candid towards his creatures ; inftead of expofing, he wept over, their vices : and it is re- markable, there are fcarcely any iins which he openly reproves but fpiritual pride and I affecled 2S THE CHARACTERS OF THE affe&ed fanclity. St. Paul allures us, that, though we had the gift of prophecy, all other virtues, and all knowledge, and have not cha- rity, it profiteth nothing. Virtue and wif- dom are generally mild and condefcending ; but little minds are always captious and conceited. Let me add, (and I fpeak it with all poffible caution,) I have feldorn known a good and' fincere Chriftian who took pleafure in defaming or reviling the clergy. Perhaps it would be for the interefls of religion, if even fome degree of refpecl were to be paid where it is not alto- gether defer ved ; but this is an indulgence we do not look for at your hands -, all we demand are the common rights of man- kind, truth, honefty, and candour. When lucrative rewards are not the lot of the ftu- dious and induftrious parlor, it is furely hard to deny him the gratification and pleafure of knowing that his endeavours are well accepted. Nay, with regard to your- felves, the matter is not quite indifferent. That captious and difcontented difpofition, which INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 29 which expects more from human nature than it is reafonable to expect, which mag- nifies petty omiffions into enormous offen- ces, which is only happy in the purfuit and difcovery of blemifhes and errors, or which creates faults where there are none, is by no means a difpofition adapted to mo- ral and religious improvement. Diilruff, therefore, the infpiration or the emotion which is accompanied with a malevolent fenfation, for it cannot come from god. Let your zeal, on every occafion, be accor- ding to knowledge, and Knowledge proceed hand in hand with her fifter, Charity. There is no action of life that requires fo much caution in the performance as cen- fure. " Cenfure," fays a finiihed writer, £t is in feafon fo very feldom, that it may " be compared to that bitter plant which " hardly comes to maturity in the life of a " man, and is faidto flower but once in a " hundred years." Secondly. Beware of the temptation of fancying you rfelf wifer, or better informed, I 2 in 30 THE CHARACTERS OF THE in fpiritual concerns, than the reft of man- kind. Except- ye become as little children, ye can in no wife enter into the kingdom of heaven. ■ The pretence of imparting fuperior know- ledge was the artifice of Satan to undo our firft parents : nor is there any reafon to be- lieve him now lefs active in infpiring us with afalfe opinion of our own judgements, and in filling us with pride, faftidioufnefs, and contempt for others. I am far from wiftiing to reftrain a well-di reeled ardour in that moll: important of ftudies, that which refpects our eternal falvation. I would on- ly recommend, that this and every other work of religion fliould be accompanied with a proper fenfe of our own weaknefs and unworthinefs. When humility is loft fight of, it is to be feared that truth will not long remain in view. In the frame of god's creation, there are many myfteries which the profoundeft naturalift is unable to unravel: and, though the Scriptures be, in general, a plain and intelligible guide to happinefs and virtue, yet (as St. Peter well obferves) INFIDEL AND ENTHUSIAST COMPARED. 3I obferves) they contain fome things, which the ignorant and unjiable wreji to their own dam- nation. The moil exalted understandings, in whom the lamp of piety fhone with the moil unblemifhed iuftre, aided by the moil perfect knowledge of the original languages, and enlightened by all the information to be collected from collateral hiftorians, (both which, give me leave to obferve, are indif- penfibly neceffary to enable us to deter- mine, with any degree of probability* on the difficult pafTages of Scripture,) have at laft confeffed themfelves but as babes, and have exclaimed, with David, juch knowledge is too wonderful for me, 1 cannot attain unto it. But let not this, my brethren, abate our veneration for the facred volume ; it in- culcates maxims, and enforces duties, for which every reafonable being has a capacity and a natural relifh j in the obfervance of which, however, there are few but are fome way deficient. Inilead, therefore, of bewildering our minds in the puriuit of vi- fionary fcience ; let us attend to what all I 3 may 32 THE CHARACTER, OF THE INFIDEL, &C. may perfectly underftand. Knowledge puffeth up, but -charity edifieth : for, if any man think he knoweth any thing, he know- eth nothing yet as he ought to know. If we cannot be angels in comprehenfion, let us be Chriftians in practice. Let us be thankful to Almighty god for that mare of ufeful knowledge which he has been fo bountiful as to impart, and which, in his proper feafon, he will enlarge. Let us remember, and let it check our pre- fumption : The Lord anfwered Job out of the whirlwind, haft thou an arm like God, and canfl thou thunder with a voice like his t — > How unfearchable are his judgements, fays the apoitle, and his ways paft finding out I SERMON SERMON III. ON THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. * LUKE XVI. 23, 24. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- ment;, and feeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bofom. And he cried, and /aid, Father Abraham, bav? mercy on me y and fend Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. CO fevere a fentence can fcarcely fail to excite our attention, and to attract an inquiry into the nature of the crime. * Preached, at the Foundling Hofpital, March, 1785. For the general outline of this Sermon I am indebted to massillon. It is, however, no more than an imitation, and that a very free one, of the French orator. Probably the original may be much fupenor ; fur it is, I think, with- out exception, the bel!: fermon in the French language: it would, however, have been too iorig for an Fnglilh au- dience, if literally.tranflated. I 4 This 34 THE PARABLE OF This fufFering (inner, — Has he bowed the knee to Baal ? Has he deierted or blafphemed the god of his fathers ? Has he imbrued his mercilefs hands in the blood of the in- nocent? Has he feafted on the fpoils of the fatherlefs and widow ? — Attend but to his moans, ye men of the world, ye who imagine that a foft and luxurious life is a , life of innocence, and that barely not to do. evil is fulfilling the Gofpel. There was, fays our bleffed lord, a cer* tain rich man. — But he has added nothing odious or difgraceful to this circumftance. He has not told us that this man was in- debted for his riches to flattery or any cri- minal means j or that he enjoyed with in- folence what by bafenefs he had acquired. The filence of Scripture jufthies us on this head. - - He was rich. — He expended his wealth in a round of peaceful enjoyments j free from ambition, encircled with plea- fures, exempt from care ; and how few are there at this day in the world who pofTefs the goods of fortune in more innocent cir- cumftances ? THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 35 cumftances ? Neverthelefs, mark the firfl caufeof his reprobation! He was rich. He was clothed in purple and fine linen. Yet we do not learn that in his pomp he exceeded the limits of his revenue 5 that the tradefman or artificer were fufferers by his orientation and extravagance : we do not learn that he regarded his equals or inferiors with an eye of contempt, or that rapine was employed to nourifh his vanity. He was clothed in purple and fine linen. — He loved parade and magnificence ; and that, too, in ah age when every thing contribu- ted to this paffion j when Religion herfelf was apparelled in the moll gorgeous attire ; and when piety was believed in a great mea- fure to confin: in a fplendid temple, and in the majefty and fublimity of exterior cere- monies. He fared fumptuoujly every day, continues the parable. But the law of Mofes had not, as yet, irnpofed that rigid temperance which the purity of our religion recom- mends. A land flowing with milk and honey was 36 THE PARABLE OF was one of the firir. promifes made to the feed of Abraham, and one of their chief inducements to obedience. Nor do we find that this rich man is accufed of having tranfgrfiid the law in this point, of ha- ving eaten of thofe viands the Jewifh law- prohihited, or broken through the rules of abftinence his religion had prefcribed. He fared fwnptuoitjly .— XzX we have no abfolute authority to charge him with gluttony. We are not informed that drunkennefs or profanenefs waited on his repafts, or that flander or ridicule made a part of the entertainment ; that from one fcene of debauchery he rallied to another j that he added avarice to voluptuoufnefs, and fallied from the board of intemperance to the gaming-table ; that he there affb- ciated with the moft abandoned among mankind, and on the can: of a die hazarded that which ought to have afforded fub- hftence to poor and induilrious multitudes, that with which he was intruded for very different purpofes. In THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 37 In fin?, he is not upbraided with impiety or irreligion. He is not called a cruel maf- ter, an uridutiful child, a faithlefs hufband, or a perfidious friend. He is not faid to have made ufe of his riches to corrupt the integrity of others ; to feduce and ruin un- guarded innocence ; to vex and diflrefs his neighbour, to obftrucl: his projects, or to difconcert his meafures. He was not en- vious or infatiable. He lived a life of eafe and luxury ; fuch a life as is conformable to the notions of thofe whom we denomi- nate men of the world : a life, compared with that of many among us, blamelefs ; — I fhould fay, praife-worthy. To this flate of the queftion you will doubtlefs oppofe his hard-heartednefs to- wards Lazarus, his infenfibility to the fuf- ferings of thofe beneath him. You will afTert your own title to the mercy and fa- vour of God, finceyou have ever attended to the lamentations of diflrefs. — You have bellowed much in charity. — To this I an- fwer, fuch a conduct is not withput its me- rits j 38 THE PARABLE OF rits ; but chanty is of a flill more extenfive nature. Unlefs you pofTefs a foul meek, gentle, patient, not vaunting it/elf, not pvffed up ; thcugh you give half your goods to feed the poor, and though you give your body to be burned, it profit eth nothing . A 1 m s - gi ving is indeed a neceflary duty, but it does not involve the whole fyftem of Chriflian be- nevolence. However, let us inquire a lit- tle further into the crime of this unhappy though rich man, and perhaps we fhall find ourfelves fcarcely lefs culpable. tfhere was a certain beggar, named Laza- rus, who was laid at his gate full of fores, and defiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich mans table. Here is indeed a picture, at which the indignant fpirit of humanity at once catches the alarm, and every virtuous affection of the foul is excited to pity and to condemn. The rich, volup- tuous, and fenfual man, feated at his ta- ble that overflows with delicacies, and in- fenfible to the mifery of a fellow-creature, who is reduced to wifh for a few crumbs to appeafe THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 39 appeafe the fharpnefs of his hunger, — this is indeed a fight monftrous in the eyes of Religion and Charity. Neverthelefs, if we examine a little more accurately, we fhall find that our Lord does not reprefent the conduct of the rich man as an extraordinary and aftonifhing inftance of barbarity, but as the ordinary proceeding of perfons in a fimilar iituation ; the proceeding, in fhort, of a man carelefs, indolent, and unre- flecting. « Lazarus was a common beggar ; and men are ufually lefs touched with the wretched- nefs of thefe, than with the indigence of thofe who only petition in fecret. We are apt to perfnade ourfelves, that their impor- tunities are only artifices to attract the at- tention of the wealthy. In fhort, moil of thofe confiderations, which render us deaf to the intreaties of the common mendi- cants and wanderers that appear about our doors, might ferve, in like manner, to make him deny the requeft of Lazarus : and fo far may ferve in excufe for that want 40 THE PARABLE OF want of common companion, of which we are perhaps too ready to accufe him. Lazarus was laid at his gate full of fores. Such an object, though it may draw a tear from the eye of reflexion, is not always equally fuccefsful in working on the feelings of others. Such an object, laid daily at their gate, would offend the delicacy and provoke the. indignation of many of the rich men of the preient age. They would order the odious fpectacle to be driven from their fight, and fome infolent minifler of their cruelty would add reviling to difappoint- ment. But we do not read that the rich man in the parable fo much as made ufe of an intemperate expreflion. Nor are we even informed that Lazarus made a perfonai application to the rich man. He defred, or wiined, to be fed with the crumbs. — -He perhaps was filent, and left his affliction, his infirmities, his fores, to plead for him : while the rank and engage- ments of the rich man did not allow him leifure to reflect on the miiery of a poor beggar. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 4T beggar. And for this Abraham reproves him, as, one day or other, all the thought- lefs and inattentive fons of pleafure and diffipation will be reproved at the judgement - feat of Chriji : Lazarus was naked, and you clothed him not -, he was fck, and you vifited him not ; he was an-hungered, and you admi- niftered not to him. — Son, remember that thou in thy life- time receive dfl thy good things, and likewife Lazarus evil things j but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. You, who have not as yet tailed the bit- ter draught of adverfity ; you, whofe de- fires are gratified at a willi ; you, who fay to your foul, eat, drink, and be merry, there is much good laid up for thee for many years ; you, who live for yourfelf, and take no thought for the fufferings of others : — ■— Should you, after this, be led to inquire to whom the parable under our confidera- tion is addreffed, I anfwer, as the prophet to the king, thou art the man. — Thou haft overftepped the frugality and fimplicity of thy anceftors -, thou haft received thy good things, 42 THE PARABLE OF things * and thou haft made them fubfer-* vient only to the gratification of thy paf- fions j thou haft laid the foundations of thy happinefs upon earth j there haft thou built a city ; there haft thou placed thy ut- moft confidence. Come, then, and aid me while I fhift the fcene; while, with the evangelift, we purfue this thy predeceflbr to that after-ftate, where he is no longer clothed in purple and fine linen, and fares no longer fumptuoufly, as he was wont. Attend, therefore, to the conclufion of the parable : // came to pafs that the beggar died: opprefTed with years, with ficknefs, and with penury,he finks beneath the burthen of calamity, and is conveyed, without pomp or folemnity, to the filent grave. Eut mark the change ! He was carried^ by the angels> into Abrahams bofom ; to thofe regions of blifs, the final reward of virtue, fortitude, and patience. There his tears are wiped away, his afflictions are confoled, his pover- ty is enriched, his humility is glorified, and his penitence rewarded with eternal felicity. The THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 43 'The rich man alfo died, and was buried. Behold, then, every mark of orientation and magnificence which can accompany that laft fad folemnity. The whole city is in motion ; his vaft pofTeffions are the theme of univerfal converfation j his profufion and liberality are every where extolled : a train of affected mourners attend his bier ; his relations flrive to eternife his fame by pompous titles and infcriptions engraven upon brafs and marble : — in vain ; for all his glory muff, die with him. His yery name is not handed down to us : For the me- mory of the wicked perifjeth with him, fays the wife man j and thofe, who have fought wealth and honours, are pajfed away, fays the fon of Sirach, and are become as though they had never been born. But, though finis of this perifhable nature here below, it is of but too fatal a duration in another ftate : for, the next place, in which we find the rich man, is hell : and in hell he lifted up his eyes, and feeth Abraham afar off, and Laza- rus in his bofom -, and he cried, andfaid, -Fa- K ther 44 THE PARABLE OF ther Abraham i have mercy on me, and fend Lazarus, that be may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue j for I am tor- mented in this flame. Such an image is too tremendous to dwell upon, and indeed I truft there are none among you fo infenfible as to require it to be heightened by the co- louring of rhetoric. Let us, therefore, once more revert to the firft object of this difcourfe, namely, an enquiry into the chief caufe of his condemnation : and this appears, beyond all poffibility of difpute, no other than a life of indolence, THOUGHTLESSNESS, EFFEMINACY, AND luxury j a life, unmarked with great crimes, but deflitute alfo of virtues. Now, if fuch a punifhment awaited the difciple of Mofes, under a grofs and carnal law, — what ! think you that the difciple of christ, under a law which is purity and fpirituality itfelf, will be more favourably received than the rich voluptuary under the Jewiih difpenfation ? We are commanded to be ferfe& 9 even as our father, who is in hea- ven, THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 45 w»i is perfect. We have an example, which we are bound to follow, our great and bleiTed Matter. But is it imitating him, my brethren, merely not to commit adultery, murder, facrilege ? Are thele the bounds of Chriftian virtues ? Was Christ content with doing wrong to no man, with paying tribute to Cefar, with not being accufed of any enormous fin ? Did he not fubdue and mortify all earthly affections ? Did he not pray for his ene- mies ? Did he not go about doing good? Was he not meek and lowly of heart, fimple, dif- interefted, exact to fulfil the law to the mi- nuted point? Did he love the world; he, who contradicted,- fought, and overcame it? Did he promiie falvation to the worldly; he, who has {o repeatedly condemned them ? Did he declare in favour of riches ; he, who has execrated them ? In favour of honours and dignities -, he, who fo flu- dioufly, fo conftantly, avoided them ? In favour of pleafures ; he, who defpifed them ? K 2 Behold, 46 PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. Behold, then, our model ! and reft af- fured, that, in profperity or adverfity, in a court or in a cloiiier, unlefs we bear his image in our hearts, and are conformed to his likenefs, we are in a fituation but little preferable to that of the rich, but unfor- tunate, perfon, who has been the fubject of this exhortation. SERMON SERMON IV. ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN HAPPINESS AND THE MEANS OF ATTAINING IT.* PROV. XIX. 3. The foolijhnefs of man perverteth his ivay 3 and his heart fretteth againjl the Lord. p ASS ION, like an unikilful artift, fel- dom prefents-us with any bat the moft deformed of portraits. In the gloomy mo- ments of fpleen, or amidft the keen anguiih of difap.pointment, the medium through which we fpeculate is clouded and conf ufed ; it diftorts while it magnifies. In this un- comfortable ftate of mind, men have not failed to reprefent the world, and every fair and flourifhing objecl which it contains, in the moft difgufting colours. They have depreciated its beauties j they have magni- * Preached at St. Anne's, Weltminfter, in September, 1785. K 3 fied 4-8 ON HAPPINESS, AND. fied its deformities. All the powers of fancy, and ail the pomp of words, have been exhaufted in the laudable talk ofperfuading us, that we are naturally and irretrievably miferable, that all is vanity and vexation of fpirit. And it muft be confefled, that thefe morofe and mifanthropical fpirits have, at leaft, fully enjoyed one gratification, the only one indeed of which their natures ap- pear capable, that of believing, that the whole mafs of mankind is deftined to expe- rience the fame unplealing fenfations that haunt and diffract their miferable bofoms. It is remarkable, however, that moll of the inftances, which are produced of difap- pointment in the purfuit of happinefs, are taken from the conduct of the vicious or the imprudent. Thus Solomon, in enu- merating the employments, which led him to the melancholy conclufion wehave already noticed, fcarcely mentions any one that was laudable and virtuous. I /aid, I will prove thee with mirth ; there- fore enjoy pleafure. I fought in my heart to give ITS ATTAINMENT. 49 .give my f elf unto wine, and to lay hold on fol- ly. I made me great works, / builded me houses, I planted me vineyards. I got me servants and maidens, alfo great pos- sessions of great and small cattle. I gathered me alfo silver and gold, and the peculiar treafure of kings. I got me men- singers and women-singers, and the de- lights of the fons of men. — Whatfoever mine eyes defired I kept not from them j I withheld not my heart from any joy. Here it is obvious, that every enjoyment, which he has fpecified, is of a fenfual and worldly nature ; and, though, in the courfe of the defcription, the royal preacher fometiraes adverts to his love of wifdom, or, more properly, of fci- ence, yet it is certain, that fuch a purfuit is very inconfiftent with the indulgence of li- centious pleafures, very infufficient to af- ford fatisfaction amidft the tumults of paf- fion and the enervating influence of conti- nued diffipation -, and a little experience will eafily convince us, that the man, who feeks to give himfelf unto wine, and withholds K 4 not 50 ON HAPPINESS, AND not his heart from any joy , will find but little opportunity, however he may retain the in- clination, for the improvement of his in- tellectual powers. But, becaufe happinefs is not to be at- tained by the acquifition of wealth, by the joys of conviviality, or the blandifhments of pleafure, fhall we rafhly conclude, that its exiftence upon earth is altogether chi- merical and delufive ? Shall the reftleffnefs and diiTatisfaclion of the man of the world, or even thofe inconveniences and afRiclions, which are fometimes the lot of the befr. of characters, lead us to confider happinefs or enjoyment altogether as an imaginary phantom, that unceafingly encourages and invites our approach, but as unceafingly eludes our embrace ? Surely, though the wildernefs of the world prefents to the tra- veller many intricate and perplexing paths, flill it mud be confeffed that it affords fome pleafant fpots, calculated not only for his repofe and refreshment but for his comfort and delight. God, indeed, has not ordained that ITS ATTAINMENT. 51 that we fhould find in this terreftrial habi- tation our abode and reft, and confequently has mingled our highefl worldly enjoyments with fuch a degree of imperfection as may ferve to imprefs this great truth effectually upon our hearts ; but, on the other hand, he has provided us with fuch bleiTings and comforts as may enable us to go through our pilgrimage with cheerfulnefs and gra- titude. He intended not to make our pro- bation an uninterrupted fcene of af- fliction, or that men mould arrive at glory only through the avenues of wretchednefs and pain. If we turn our eyes upon the virtuous part of the world, though it is not pre- tended that human life is or ought to be exempt from calamities, we fliall find that happinefs greatly preponderates on the whole. Let us confider but a few of thofe innumerable fources of pleafure, which our heavenly father has opened for us with a liberal hand. Confider the various advantages of fciencej the inflant delight that 52 ON HAPPINESS, AND that refults from the fuccefsful investigation and difcovery of truth ; the fublime plea* fure of thofe high {peculations that lead to the contemplation of infinite wifdom and gcodnefs ; the fweet and varied amufement, in the infpection of this vaft chain of natu- ral objects ; the refined fenfations, which attend the diligent ftudy of moral beauty and fitnefs ; the heart-felt fatisfaction which accompanies the well-meant endea- vour to enlighten and to meliorate our fellow- mortals ; the enchanting profpecl, which is afforded by a clofe and attentive view of the increafing virtue of a good and wife man, even in this imperfect flate, in the expectation that his faculties will be Hill further enlarged in that which is to come, and that, in fucceeding ages, he will keep advancing from glory to glory. It will perhaps be objected, that thofe enjoyments, which enfue from the exercife of our intellectual faculties, are necefTarily confined to a few, and therefore by no means applicable to the prefent argument. But, ITS ATTAINMENT. 53 But, in reality, thefe form a very fmall part ofthofe delights, of which our Creator has made us capable. Afk the benevolent man, what were his fenfations when the thankful eye dropped a tear of joy, or when the overcharged bofom heaved with filent gratitude ? Inquire from him, whether he has not experienced true happinefs in af- fiftingthe diftrefled, in comforting the de- jected, in protecting the opprefTed, in re- ceiving the blejjing of him ivho was ready to perijh ? This, however, would prove but little, if it led us to fuppofe happinefs and plea- fure confined to the fuperior claiTes of mankind. The truth is, there are few dates of life, in which virtue and induitry will not infure a moderate portion of enjoy- ment. Let us inquire whether the humble cottager finds exiftence altogether joylefs and infipid. View him, furrounded by his poor indeed, but happy, circle of friends, by his healthy and innocent offspring, with the dear partner of his life, by whom every - joy 54 ON HAPPINESS, AND joy is increased, every forrovv is alleviated. Does the morning call him to labour ? It is for the fupport of thofe who are dearer than himfelf. Do the evening (hades ap- proach ? They are the fweet harbingers of domeftic joy. He finds in labour an ex- emption from that fpleen and chagrin which poifon the happinefs of others ; and derives from toil not only fubfiftence, but health. It will perhaps be faid, again, that ihefe are little better than poetical and imaginary defcriptions, or, at raoft, the pictures of individual profperity ; that it would be more philofophical to enumerate the particular fources of happinefs, and to fet them in oppofition to the evils of life. Even here, were there time or opportunity, or were it poflible to complete a catalogue which is almoft endlefs, I am perfuaded the argu- ment would not fail us. Gloomy indeed, and fcarcely human, mud be that breaft, which refufes to acknowledge the exhilara- ting influence of focial intercourfe ; the pleafures ITS ATTAINMENT. 55 pleasures of a well-earned reputations or the inexpreffible delights of virtuous friend- fliip. Every elegant improvement of art, every beautiful and interesting object of na- ture, prefects us with fomething to cheer our fpirits, to unbend our minds, or to di- verfify our purfuits and enjoyments. But, fuperior to all thefe, there is a fource of pleafure, my brethren, which (though hitherto but flightly glanced at in this difcourfe) I doubt not you have very frequently adverted to j and that is, a holy confidence and faith in the good providence of our god and in the mercies of our re- deemer. The benighted understanding or the unfeeling heart, that afcribes to blind chance the difpofal of events, may, with reafon, murmur or complain. The Chriftian is a Stranger to fuch inconfiften- cies. He fees his god in every part of na- ture ; he feelc his directing hand in its mi- nuteft operations. His life is one conti- nued feries of admiration, of gratitude, of hope, of all thofe amiable paflions which are 56 ON HAPPINESS, AND are the true fources of whatever felicity we can enjoy on this fide the grave. Our utility in this life (and consequently our claim to another) depends fo much up- on our forming a juft eftimate of the pow- ers with which we are entrufted for the good of ourfelves and others,' that it is of importance to examine and to refute every erroneous principle which may in any refpe£t affect the conduct of mankind. Of this nature is the fallacious maxim, " that " human happinefs confifts merely in " hope : " a maxim not totally devoid of foundation, but by no means true in the extent in which it is commonly under- stood. The propofition feems to reft upon an ancient error, namely, the fuppofition that human happinefs confided chiefly in a irate of apathy or inaction. Now the di- rect contrary is the cafe, and man is never happy but when his faculties are employed. A ftate of hope is a ftate of engagement, of agitation, and activity ; the ftate, when we have attained our wiiTies, is a ftate of indo- lence ITS ATTAINMENT. 57 lence and ftillnefs. Hope is, therefore, in general, a happier ftate than ponefnon, becaufe it difpofes to activity ; but the ax- iom, c< that all human felicity confifts in " hope," is by no means well founded*; and, a more accurate way of expreffing our- felves would be to fay, that every pafnon, which engages the mind in fome laudable employment, orpurfuit, contributes to the happinefs of man, fmce he is then fulfilling the will of his creator and the end of his creation. But, having, I truft, fiirficiently evinced that happinefs is, in a confiderable degree, the lot of humanity, even in this imper- fect ftate, let us, in the next place, pro- ceed to a brief inquiry concerning that plan and fyftem of conduct, which appears mod conducive to its attainment: that our hearts, no longer perverted by folly and il- lusion, may ceafe wantonly and wickedly to murmur again]} the Lord, I. In the fir ft place, therefore ; it was, I think, evidently proved, in the former part 58 ON HAPPINESS, AND part of this difcourfe, thaf the general caufe of mortification and unhappinefs among mankind has been the fixing of their affections upon objects which were unworthy their re- gard, and expecting enjoyment from four- ces whence it was not to be derived accor- ding to the nature of things. I muft con- fequently recommend to you to be particu- larly cautious on what principles you fet out in your purfuit of happinefs, and to be certain that they are right. It has been objected to the Gofpel-fyitem of morality, that it neglects the bleffings of the prefent life through a romantic attention to thofe of a future, and intercepts the gratifica- tion of thofe paffions, with which the Al- mighty has endued us. Now, on the other hand, the belf philofophy even of the hea- thens has afTerted, and I think has proved, that on the moderating and reftraining of thofe very paffions depends the chief, if not the whole, of human happinefs : and I am convinced, that no rules fo rational or fo effectual can be devifed, for the regu- lation ITS ATTAINMENT. 59 latlon of the paflions, as tbofe with which we are fumifhed by the Gofpel of christ. • — My advice is, therefore, on this rock to ground the bafis of your happinefs. What though the Gofpel command you not to fet your affections on the things of this world, but to deny yourfelf, and to give to the poor : — The more difmterefted you are, the fewer objects you will find to difconcert or to de- ftroy the tranquility of your foul. What though it enjoin you to meet evil and perfe- ction with cheerfulnefs : — Would you gain any thing by receiving them with murmurs and complaints ? What though it recommend to you to love your enemies :— Could there be devifed a better method to prevent your having any ? The longer you live, and the more itriclly you examine thefe injunctions, the more of truth and wifdom you will find in them. — Yes, my brethren, it is happinefs not to love the world; it is happinefs to crucify the flefh, with the affeclions and lu/ls -, it is happinefs to be humble. The Gofpel will inftru£l you, L not 60 ON HAPPINESS, AND not only what to do, but what to defire. This man, for inftance, prays that he may obtain riches ; you, who are a difciple of christ, pray that you may not covet them. This man's iiate and condition is irneafy to his human feelings, and he prays to be releafed from it - y but you, pray to god to give you ftrength and grace to bear your condition. Some pray that they may live long ; but you, pray that you may not fear to die. II. Next to your duty to God, let me recommend to you to determine ferioufly on fulfilling thofe duties, which you owe to your fellow-creatures ; and one of the firft of thefe is conrlant, ufeful, and laudable employment. Indolence produces fpleen, repining, and defpair ; but activity is the parent of vigour, content, and enjoyment. It removes us from vice ; it conducts us to virtue. It is not only effential to health, but almoft to life itfelf. Complaints of the tedioumefs of exifience proceed not from the lowly abodes of the induftrious poor, ITS ATTAINMENT; 6 1 poor, but from the lofty palaces of the flothful. The saviour of the world has recommended activity to us, both by his precepts and example ; nay, the neceffity of it to earthly happinefs is fo apparent, that the celebrated Impoftor of the Eaft, whofe fenfual laws indulged his followers in the unlimited gratification of their molt vicious propenfities, has yet commanded each of them, however di fling ui died by ftation or abilities, to be educated in the exercifeof feme manual employment. The Chriftian profeffion is itfelf an active calling; and, if it require not all to labour ■, working with their hands > yet it implicitly demands, that we fiall not be weary of well- doings but willing to dijlribute^ and ready to communi- cate to the diftrefTes of all around us, III. In the third place, though it is ge- nerally advifeable to have one great object of purfuit, left the mind fhould occafional- ly fink into languor and inactivity through the want of conftant employment 3 yet there is no greater miftake than that of fixing L 2 our 62 ON HAPPINESS, AND our affections on a fingle terreftrial object, and fuppofing our liappinefs to depend on that alone. So bountiful has our creator been, fo many pleafurable objects and em- ployments has he provided, that, if men will not fuffer themfelves to be milled by that great miftrefs of miftake, Fancy, or Opinion ; * if they will not determine to imagine themfelves miferable, unlefs pof- feffed of fome toy, or trifle, which they pleafe to term a bleffing ; they may find re- fources of pleamre in almoil every ftate. Our happinefs (as far as it is merely tem- poral) is a fabric compofed of diverfified materials, of a number of parts apparently trifling and minute. Great objects ferve commonly to cheat and delude the hopes and expectations of thofe who ardently purfue them -, but their inefficacy to pro- duce real comfort is aim oft proverbial. It is the part of true philofophy, as well as of religion, to divert us from thefe vain at- * See the Thoughts of M. Pafchal. tachments, ITS ATTAINMENT. 63 tachments, which, by engaging every fa- culty of the foul, neceffarily force us into excefs, into vice, and into ruin. It is this violent adherence to one favourite paffion or purfuit which has deluged the earth with blood ; it is this, which has not only de- ftroyed the peace of individuals, but of families and of focieties. When difap- pointed in any fond purfuit, look around you with a philofophic eye, and confider how many fources of amufement and fatis- f action lie elfewhere open to you. Deter- mine to ufe them ; force yourfelf from the wretched captivity, to which your imagi- nation has reduced you, and try another fcheme of enjoyment. Be allured that ha- bit will be equally powerful in one cafe as in another : for, moil probably, the very object you lament was not lefs the child of habit than of fancy. Nay, I have fcarcely a doubt that you may ftill find pleafure, in thofe things which are yet in your power, even fuperior to that which you think you have loft. L 3 IV. 64 ONHAPPINESS, AND IV. Laftly. To avoid the rifk of difap-r pointment, in your intercourfe with man-? kind take care not to expect too much f He, who hopes to find all things perfect in a world, which mud of neceflity contain a mixture of evil, moral as well as phyfical, will, of courfe, find himfelf in a flate of continual difappointment. " What," fays an ancient moralift, " is there new or lace, beware that you do not over- rate your own merits : for, though thefe complaints are commonly made in general terms, yet they ufually center in felf. But, fuppofing your allegation well founded 5 — - you are virtuous.- — —It is well 5 — it is your duty, your intereft. It would certainly be better for fociety if fuch claims were more generally ITS ATTAINMENT. 65 generally attended to. But, as it is, you ought to be informed, that temporal gain is not the object of virtue. If you take proper methods, I mean induftry and pru- dence, you will probably fucceed in that more fordid purfuit j and, before you rafh- ]y conclude that you have mined of your defired end, confider, with fome degree of candour, whether you have employed the proper means. That an equal vein of happinefs or mi- fery runs through the various conditions of human life, I am far from aflerting j and, that there are fome real evils attendant on this tranfitory ftate, I am ready to acknow- ledge : the principal of which, indeed al- raoft the only evils that can be faid utterly to exclude enjoyment, are, the total deprivation of health, and extreme poverty. This, however, will not fuffice to invalidate the doctrine of my text ; for, it is enough to eftablifh the pofition, if I have proved, in the general, that the moft powerful caufes of uneafinefs are our own folly, per- L 4 verfenefsj 66 ON HAPPINESS, AND verfenefs, and indifcretion. You have fezn, that the great -miftake, in which mankind have been involved in their purfuit of hap- pinefs, is that of feeking for it in the gra- tifications of fenfe rather than of intellect, in following after earthly in preference to fpiritual pleafures. If we inquire with any degree of accuracy, we (hall find, that thofe, who have acted on the former plan, have feldom failed to be difappointed ; and, con- fequently, that they conftitute the majority of thofe who arraign the difpenfations of Providence, while the voice of rejoicing and fahation is in the tabernacles of the righteous. Hence we fhall probably be enabled to formfbme reafonable conjectures concerning the true end and perfection of man, and his proper bufinefs on the theatre of life. And this, if the general tenour of this difcourfe be true, mull confifl in the cultivation and improvement of the fpiritual part of his nature, in the refinement of his fenti- ments, in the enlargement of his ideas, in converting and forming all the loofe and fcattere4 ITS ATTAINMENT. 6j fcattered principles and difpofitions of vir- tue into fettled habits of the foul : in one word, in gradually fitting and preparing himfelf for the bleffed fociety of faints and angels ', and the fpirits of juft men made per- fect, and for thofe fublimer offices and functions, which he will be called upon to perform in that heavenly city which is builded of God, in the prefence of his Creator, his Redeemer , and Sanclifer ; when thefajhion of this world as a vejlure Jhall be changed-, when there Jhall be no more death, nor forrow, nor pain } becaufe the former things are pajjed away. SERMON SERMON V. THE ORIGIN AND USE OF PRAYER.* JOB XXI. 15. What is the Almighty, that we Jhould ferve him f and what profit Jhould we have if we pray unto him f "CROM the remoteft periods of antiquity, we find mankind eagerly afpiring after the knowledge of their creator, and anxioufly endeavouring to pay him fuch at- tention and worfliip as demonftrates both a confcioufnefs of his exiftence and an appre- henfion of his power. If it were necefTary to draw the line be- tween the thinking and the inftinctive parts of creation, this perhaps would be the fu- reft mark by which to define the limits. Other ranks of being, confined bythephy- fical neceflity of their lefs perfect natures, * Preached at Oakingham, September 19, 1784. can JO V THE ORIGIN AND USE can only exprefs the glory of their crea- tor in the beauty and propriety of their external form, and in the wonderful difpo- fition of Providence, which caufes them, without the fmalieft deviation, and as it were involuntarily, to conform to their refpeclive ends. In the moft fagacious of the animal creation we can difcern nothing like a confcioufnefs of its original : and it may be truly faid, that they exift in the world without the fmalieft reflexion whence they came or whither they are going ; while man, in the moft favage and unen- lightened ftate, has never failed to adopt fomething like a code of religious belief. Wild and fantaftical as his ideas may be, there is ftill an exalted power of mind, which prompts to an enquiry into the na- ture and attributes of the moft perfect of beings, and a generous confidence, which would cultivate a more intimate communi- cation with him. When a practice is general, there is more than a prefumption that it is founded in nature. OF PRAYER. 71 nature. Men, however, at different pe- riods, have appeared, who, through that moft dangerous paflion, the affectation of Angularity, have refolutely determined -to difpute the propriety of whatever is com- mon : men, who would fancy themfelves above the vulgar only becaufe they choofe to differ from them -, who would arrive at eminence, not by the paths of patient in- duftry and ufeful fcience, but by the devious track of conjecture and fancy. It may leffen, in fome degree, the confe- quence of the felf-created philofophers of the prefent day to be informed, that their difcoveries and objections are neither new nor extraordinary. There were men, even in the days of Job, who could fay to the Omnipotent Deity : Depart from us, for we defire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we Jhould ferve him ? and what profit fiall we have if we pray unto him ? and into this fimple queftion may all the objections of infidels againft the expe- diency of religious worfhip be refolved. What 72 THE ORIGIN AND USE What is the Almighty, that we fiould ferve him f The fabric of the univerfe, with the vaft variety of creatures which it contains, lufficiently inform us, that fome firft caufe muft have called them forth into exiftence -, and the order, beauty, defign, and artifi- cial arrangement, of the feveral parts of creation, fpeak this caufe to have been in- telligent. The power of the creator is no lefs evident than his wifdom ; and his benevolence and mercy are among the moft apparent and moft fplendid of his attributes. — This is the Almighty. Now, a Being fuch as this, all-powerful and all-wife, muft of neceffity excite the admiration of a reflecting creature. A Being, ever merci- ful and beneficent, cannot fail to at- tract his gratitude ; and a Being, on whom our exiftence, and that of univerfal nature, depends, cannot poffibly be thought upon without fome degree of reverence and awe. The complex of thefe fenfations is worfhip, which, whether we will or not, we muft pay to him, if we but fuller our- felves OF PRAYER, 73 felves to reflecT: upon him. It is perfectly agreeable to the law of our nature to appro- priate fome part of our time to this reflexion -, and it is equally natural to demonftrate, by fome external figns, thofe emotions which it fpontaneoufly excites in our hearts. In trouble or unealinefs, it is impoflible to know that fuch a Being exifts, and not to breathe a wifh that he would ilretch forth his almighty arm to help and comfort us. The heart mull be devoid of every finer feeling of humanity, that can tafte the bounties of his hand, and not be warmed with gratitude and with love. Shall we, therefore, give utterance to our affections, or fhall we flifle every riling emotion of goodnefs ? Which is mod congenial to the human feelings ? which is moft likely to promote habits of fympathy and focial vir- tue? With refpecl to the fecond objecl: of in- quiry, What profit Jhall we have if we pray unto him $ we have no authority to think that the decrees of infinity will be altered by 74. THE ORIGIN AND USE by the intreaties of a mortal : The lord is not a man, that he jlmild repent . But it is an old and a common maxim, that the favour which is not worth afking is not worth conferring. If the afliflance of the Deity be defirable, why mould we not implore it with a becoming humility ? Such a con- duct will, at leaf!, demonftrate us not ut- terly unworthy the attention of the Al- mighty ; it wi]l evince, that we put our truft and place our dependance on him ; it will evince, that we do not forget god ; and, if the particular blefling which we fupplicate be on good reafons denied us, he will not be unmindful of us in his proper feafon. But, a more evident advantage of prayer is the leflbn of inftruction it affords our- felves. I confefs I fhould be much inclined to doubt that man's practice, whofe faith is imperfect or unliable; and his faith is queftionable at Jeail, who neglects the duty of prayer. Prayer ferves to keep alive in our minds a proper fenfeof the exigence of OF P,RAYER. 75 of a god, and of his divine attributes. It warms the heart with his praifes, and ani- mates the affections with the enthufiafm of virtue. It is of the utmofl importance to a religious life, frequently to meditate on our pad conduct, and to infpect the faith- ful record of our confcience ; and this we are obliged to do, if we confefs our fins be- fore god. The very hope of obtaining our petitions will naturally engage us to render ourfelves agreeable to the Difpenfer of every good and perfect gift, by a ftric~r. conformity to his precepts, and by a pure and uniform practice of virtue. Befides this, there is fcarcely a fingle prayer in our excellent Liturgy which is not replete with moral inftrudtion.* The ufe and defign of M • a * One of the moft common objections to a liturgy (though I think the fatt may be very reasonably queilioned) is, that a compofition, to which the ears of the congregation are much accuftomed, is not fuificient]y interefting to keep alive the attention. This, however, is, I think, amply counter- balanced by another circumftance, which is, that thefe prayers are generally imprefied upon the memory of the people j and, as erery prayer contains fome precept or doc- trine, 76 THE ORIGIN AND USE a Liturgy has been canvaffed with much ardour, and with no lefs acrimony, by Tome zealous difputarits of the laft century. But thofe, who plead againft forms of prayer, do not feerri to recollect, that there is but one fet of ideas, and that very limited, which may be addrerTed to the Deity on ge- nera) fubjects and in a public affembly : and, to ring changes upon words only is of no advantage, andean be little gratification to a rational perfon. It feems proper, al- fo, that a congregation fhould have fome previous information of what nature the prayers are, in which they are expected to join. -Every minifler of the Gofpel is not of equal capacity, nor are all of difpofi- tions equally amiable and fedate. It muft be, to fay the lead, a difagreeable thing to hear petitions offered up to the Deity in our names, and in which we are fuppofed to unite, which (hock our understandings trine, moral or religious, their u ride rflan dings are, by thefe means, furnilhed with a variety of ufeful ideas, which can- not fail to recur on different occafions in life. by OF PRAYER. 77 by their abfurdity or unfeafonablenefs. Leaft proper of all mud be extempore prayer. When we preflime to addrefs the great Author of Nature, the all-wife god, every fyllable fhould be duly weighed, and the greater!: caution ought certainly to be obferved. It is a refpecr. we owe to god, and it may prevent fome great indecorums, if not appearances of actual impiety. Public wodhipisa decent, focial, acr. of duty j nor can the whole compafs of nature afford, in my opinion, a fight more inte- refting, and even fublime, than a devout congregation uniting in the praifes of their infinite creator. As for private devotion, thofe, who have tried its efficacy in afflic- tion, folitude, or ficknefs, can befl fpeak for the comforts which it has always af- forded. There is a fet of men, who will fcarcely understand this language ; but I believe the fincere and devout Chriftian would not refign his pleafures for all that ambition or fenfuaiity could bellow. M 2 Before 78 THE ORIGIN AND USE Before I conclude, I (hall beg leave to point out one or two of the abufes of prayer : for, the bell: of institutions have ever been abufed. The fiiTt is, when men fubftitute the mere externals of worfhip for that imcere and fpirituai fervice which is required of us. This people honour eth me with their lips y but their heart is far jrom me* This is literally a mockery of our maker, and, believe me, is much better let alone. True devotion is of the heart ; every nerve mud feel, the affections muft be excited, the mind muft be purified of every earthly taint. The Phahfees were ftudious to clean the outfide of the cup and platter ; they made long prayers ; they prayed frequently, fer- vently to appearance, and let their light fhine before men : — But, for ail thefe things, we are allured by christ himfelf, they fhall only receive the greater damnation. And you, my brethren, who think yourfelves religious, beware of fpirituai pride. The Pharifee thanked his god that he was not as ether men are. — But the Publican, who dared fcarcely OF PRAYER. 79 fcarcely to lift up his eyes to heaven, but finote his breaft, and cried, God be merciful to me, a [inner ! went to his hcufe jujlified ra- ther than the other. Believe me, one fingle grain of ChrifUan chanty, one fingle de- vout ejaculation, accompanied with any act of fympathy and benevolence, is worth a whole lifelpentin cold (I could almoft call it hypocritical) prayer. Not that I would be underftood to difcourage your devotion; I would only caution you againfl miilaking its true end, which is to engage the heart more warmly in thefervice of its creator, and to prepare it for fulfilling more effec- tually the active duties of Chriftiahity. The other error, againfl: which 1 tfteem it my duty to admonilli you, derives its ori- gin from that great miftrefs of craft and de- lufion, the Church of Rome. To increafe the treafures of her priefts, flie ftrenuoufly endeavoured to promote the opinion, that fhe had eftabiifhed a kind of traffic with god, who might be laid under obligation -, and that the righteoufnefs of one man M 3 could 80 THE ORIGIN AND USE could atone for the fin of another. Un- happy criminals relied on the ab folate power of the church to forgive fins, and the confident reprobate went forward in his career of depravity without compunction or remorfe. A prayer on his death- bed, the facrament, or fome ceremony of even lefs importance, was fuppoied effectually to clean fe his polluted foul j or a mafs, cele- brated after his deceafe, miraculoufly un- barred the gates of heaven. I have re- marked it even in this country, and with no lefs regret than ailonifnment, that an opinion is prevalent, and efpecially among the uninformed part of mankind, that the prayers of a minifler, or the receiving of the facrament, are effectual means of re- conciliation to god, even upon a death- bed, however the account may fland be- tween the finner and his confeience. I in- treat you, my brethren, with as much af- fection as fincerity, be milled by no fuch artifices of your fpiritual enemy. They are dclufiofts, and of the moft fatal kind ; to OF PRAYER. 8l to rely upon them is trifling with your dearefr. mtereft, your eternal falvation. Let the man, who iufpefts his diflblution to be at hand, inftead of fending for the prieft, and expecting from his prayers abfolution and forgiver tefs, — let him fend for every perfon whom he has injured in thought, word, and deed ; let him, if he would ob- tain pardon and reconciliation, if he would rentier himfelf really acceptable with god, make the rcoft. per feci: restitution in his power ; let him repair every wrong, and heal the heart which he has wounded with the envenomed fhafts of falfehood, injuf- tice, cruelty, and ingratitude. This is in-, deed a duty which ought not to be deferred to the laft ftage of exiftence, but which ought to take place as foon as you are con- vinced of its neceflity. There is but little chance that at the clofe of life you will have an opportunity; and, at all events, a death- bed repentance is generally very imperfect : without prefuming to limit the mercy of the Almighty, to fay the mod of it, its M 4 effects ?2 THE ORIGIN AND USE OF PRAYER. effects are doubtful ; and who would flake his eternal happinefs on a doubtful ifTue ? But, above all things, beware of the de- ceitful, the deitructive hope, that a fruit- ier player, or an empty ceremony, will blot out your tranfgremons and infure your falvation. On the whole, the duty of prayer is a na- tural, a falutary, a delightful duty ; but, Unlefs it be accompanied with a good life, it is bloflbm without fruit. It is not reli- gion ; for, religion is a confident whole, formed out of a variety of correfpondent duties, which promote and confpire with each other ; and the want of any of them deftroys the beauty and utility of the whole machine. The true worfhippers roufi iter J hip god in fpirit and in truths and lam fare, if you addrefs him with fin- Centy, you will not hefitate to obferve his Cu^mandments. SERMON SERMON VI. THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES OF MORALITY.* MICAH VI. 8. . He hath JJjewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do jujlly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ? '■"INHERE is great reafon to believe, that the pafTage, from which I have fe- lecled my text, made a part of that famous reply of the Prophet Balaam to Balak, the King of Moab, the occafion of which is related at large in another part of Scrip- ture. It may therefore be confidered as one of the moft ancient fpecimens of di- dactic or ethical compofition extant ; and affords a proof, not lefs fatisfactory than curious, of the fuperior knowledge, re- * Preached, at St. Peter's, Liverpool, September, 1780. finemenr, 04 THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES finement, and civilization, which diitin- guifned the wor/Vppers of the true god, in oppofition to the barbarity and ignorance, which pervad , th< idolatrous nations. In the paflage under our confideration, and in that immediately preceding, the prophet feems to aflame merely the character of an hiftorian : Remember, fays he, what Balak, King of Moab,. confulied % and what Balaam, the fon of Be or, anfwered him, from Shittim unto Gilgal ; that ye may know the right eoufnefs of the Lord, (or that righteoufnefs which is acceptable to the Lord.) Ke then pro- ceeds to (rate with how much folicitude and anxiety the fuperftitious monarch inquires concerning the means of obtaining the fa- vour of god : Wherewith Jkall I come before the Lord, and how myfelf before the high god ? Shall I come before him with burnt- offerings, with calves of a year old? IViil the Lord be fleafed with thoufands of rams, or with ten thcufands of rivers cf oil? Shall I give my firjl-bornfor my tranfgrefjion, the fruit of my body for the fin of my foul f The prophet anfwers, OF MORALITY. 85 anfwers, in the fhort and fententious lan- guage of the times, as if he had faid : — " Thou art miftaken, O man, in thy con- and at the hand of every mans brother will I require three juflices of the peace may, at any time, condemn a n:gro to the mo ft cruel death. * " Authors on this fuhjecl have remarked the cuftom *« of advertiling a higher reward for the h-ad of a fugitive " negro than for taking him alive." lb. " As government always pays the full price for any ne- " gro who fufFers death upon conviction of felony, when " an unprincipled planter has an old negro who is paft his " labour, the planter takes care to ftarve him till he is rc- " duced by hunger to a ftate of defperation ; fomeprovifion *' is then laid in his way, in order to tempt him to Ileal, " &e." lb, the OF MORALITY. 95 the life of man. Lrt ;, im ponder this, and let him (if he be a man pofRrflVl of any fenfe of religion) reflect on the innocent multitudes, whom he has been the means of bringing to an untimely and miferable end j * let him then, jf it be possible, filence the. reproaches of his confeience, and reft tranquil and fatisfied under the appre- henfion of that juflice, which will render to every man (exactly) according to his works. Thefe are among the more glaring breaches of juflice; but there are others, lefs notorious, which yet, if we will exa- mine with the attention and accuracy that become a believer in the truths of the Gof- pel, we (hall find totally inconfntent with the practice of a Chriflian. The compila- tion would indeed be voluminous which * " I am confident I am I clow the truth, when I fay that *' not lefs than one-fifth of thefe viflims of avarice are mur- " dered in their pafiage ; and, an infallible proof of the " cruelty of the trade is, the vail: fupplies annually re- " quired to fupply the confumption, wnich, I think, Ray- fl r.rJ ellimates at about zfe-venth." lb, N x fhould 96 THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES fhould exhibit a complete catalogue of thefe. Let it fuffice to fay, that not only every fpecies of fraud or deceit, but whatever, in writing or converfation, in word as well as action, may detract from the peace and happinefs of your neighbour, is a direct of- fence againft this cardinal virtue. Not only to invent a flander is criminal in this refpect, but to propagate it. Men little imagine, that theyareexpofmgthemfelvestothedifpleafure of the Almighty by receiving and promul- gating every idle report or anecdote. But remember, that, to mention any thing to the difadyantage of another, without at the fame timedifcovering your author, without explaining the grounds and reafons of your opinion, is pledging yourfelf for the au- thenticity of the report ; and, you may de T pend upon it, you are fcarcely lefs culpable than the original author, and will have to anfwer for it where every idle word is to be accounted for. Another circumftance permit me, while J am upon this fubject, to caution you a- gainft, OF MORALITY. 97 gainft, fince it is one of the mod common and mod dangerous of temptations : I mean, the abufe of power. Beware of on any occafion oppreffing thofe beneath you.; for this is a complex crime, in which cruelty is mingled with inj uftice. Act better towards that ufeful body, the labouring poor,- than even ltnct juftice would require. Pay them not only honeftly, but generoufly; not only faithfully, but punctually ; and let not the hand, which calls itfelf the vo- tary of juftice, hold back, even for an hour, the fcanty pittance of the labourer. To defer the payment can be little gain to you, but may be infinite lofs and inconve - nience to him : Thoujhalt not opprefs an hi- red fervant, that is poor and needy j and day thou Jhalt give him his hire ; his wages jhall not abide with thee all night unto the morning -, for, he is poor, and fetteth his heart upon it ; left he cry againjl thee unto the Lord, and it be Jin unto thee, It is remarkable, that, among the nu- merous moral precepts of the Gofpel, N 4 there 90 THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES there are Co few directly explanatory of the nature of injufdce, while it forms a prin- cipal topic in other fy Items of ethics. The truth is, our lord could imagine no fuch defect in any perfon who aflumed the cha- racter of his difciple. The man, who does not love the world; the man, who has crucified thefieflj, with the affections andlujls; the man, who hates and abhors covetoafnefs ; who loves the lord his god with all his mind, and with all hisjlrength, and his neighbour as himfelf; cannot be a villain. Thus, the whole of the Gofpel is a provifion agamfl: the pofiibi- lity of irijufHce; even in thought; and every one that nameth the name of christ mufi de~ fart from all iniquity. To repair thofe breaches of focialhappinefs, which the injujftice of fomemay have occa- fioned; to heal the broken-hearted -, to dry the tears of the mourner ; to unite mankind by the gentled bonds, thofe of gratitude and affection, the Deity has infufed into the human foul an emanation from his own eternal eflence; this molt noble principle he has OF MORALITY. 99 has called mercy : and what dcth the lord require cf thee, but to do jujily and to love mercy % But neither is the nature of this precept well underftood, nor is it limited in its operation. Mercy (as well as every other Chriftian virtue) Eiuft be formed into a habit of the foul, and mult extend to every part of our demeanour. We can fcarcely form a fair eflimate of the virtue of any man from that part of his conduct which is restrained and regulated by law and cuftom ; we can fcarcely judge of the real fympathy and companion of the heart from a few kind offices to his fellow-men ; nor can I account that perfon merciful, who is not fo infpirit and in truth . If, therefore, we try menbytheirconduclto the brute-creation, how miferably -deficient will they be found in this attribute of fupreme goodnefs ! For what petty interefls and paffions are the noblefl of creatures tortured and abufed ! * It * ' c No fmall part of mankind derive their chief am ufe- " rnents (fays a late writer) from the deaths and fufferings " of inferior animals j a much greater confider them only «« as ioo the Essential duties It appears to have been a part of that curfe, which the difobedience of the firft man brought upon his pofterity, that we were compelled to ftain our hands in blood, and to fubfift on the deftruction of other animals. But furely, if the necefTities of our nature oblige us to deprive an innocent being of life, it ought to be done in the eafieft and " as engines of wood or iron, ufeful in their feveral occu- ** pations. If there are fome few, who, formed in a fofter ■* mould, view with pity the fufferings of thofe defencelefs " creatures, there is fcarce one who entertains the leaft idea " that juftice or gratitude can be due to their merits or fer- " vices. The friendly dog is hanged, without remorfe, if, *' by barking in defence of his mailer's property, he hap- '« pens unknowingly to difturb his reft. The generous •* horfe, who has carried his ungrateful matter for many " years with eafe and fafety, worn out with age and infir- " mities contracted in his fervice, is by him condemned to «' end his miferabledays in aduft-cart ; where, the more he •' exerts his little remains of ftrength and fpirit, the more « c he is whipped, to fave his driver the trouble of whipping " fome other lefs obedient to the lafh. Sometimes, having « e been taught the practice of many unnatural and ufelefs " feats in a riding-houfe, he is at laft configned to the do- *' minion of a hackney-coachman, by whom he is every " day inhumanly corrected for performing thofe tricks, " which he has learned under fo long and fevere a difci- " pline." fpecdiefl OF MORALITY. fpeedieft manner: and fuch was the cuflom among the peculiar people of god. What fhall we fay to that luxury, which, for a momentary gratification of appetite, con- demns a creature, endued with feeling, and perhaps with mind, to languifh in tor- ments, and to expire by a protracted and cruel death ? * Such luxury I can- not help efteeming as the fop of Judas, and have little doubt that a curfe enters in along with it. The god, whofe bounty feeds us, and whofe providence fuftains us, the god, whofe attributes we are bound to imitate, inculcates mercy, both by his precepts and example. He extends his favour to the whole creation : the young Horn do feek their meat from God; and not afparrow falleth to * This luxury is however frequently merely fanciful ; for, the flefh is commonly rendered more unwholefome and ill- flavoured by the means ufed to make it whiter and more pleafing to the eye. The roafting or boiling of animals alive cannot poflibly heighten the flavour. Brawn and other fpecies of food, which are procured by the torture of the animal, are in general extremely unwholefome, the i02 THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES the ground without our heavenly Father, He implicitly commanded his chofen people, not to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn : and a merciful man, fays an author who wrote by the divine infpiration, confidcreth the life of his beaft. I confefs, therefore, that I never am witnefs to any inftance of wanton barbarity to inferior animals, but I look upon the perfon who exercifes it as a fallen angel, acting under the immediate direc- tion of Satan, and with all the rancour and malignancy of that evil lpirit predominant in his bread.* Let us not fuppofe that there are no ill confequences, with refpect to our focial and moral fentiments, attendant on this mode of conduct. There is no letting bounds to the malevolent paffions ; there is no faying to them : hitherto ft: alt thou come, and no further. The man, who cannot feel for a poor, fubjecc, * For a multitude of facts illuftrative of this fubjefl:, I will beg leave to refer the reader to a very ingenious author already quoted. — Difquijitions , attributed to S. Jenyns, dumb, OF MORALITY. IC3 dumb, innoffenfive animal, will hardly acl with juftice or companion on any occafion ; and I will venture to z ] .vHc. with refpecl to fuch an one, — " Let no fuch man be truft-? " ed." Some infatuated parents I have known look upon cruelty to other animals as a mark of fpirit ; but I confefs 1 mould not wonder (fuch is the force of habit) if that parent's heart were to acl e under the malignancy, which he took fo little paLis to reflrain, or if children fo educated were to bring down his grey hairs with [or row to the grave. It is obvious, that, as the lafl precept feemed to include the former, (for, the merciful man can fcarcely be guilty of injus- tice,) fo both of them appear to be indirectly intimated in the words, walk humbly with thy God ; fmceto walk humbly with god is to be obedient to his precepts. In a more limited fenfe, this part of the text will ap- ply to the performance of fuch religious duties as he has enjoined, and to the exclu- fion of all profane or irreverend actions or expreiiKT; - 104 THE Essential duties eapreffions. On this fubject we fhall, if poffible, find lefs room to compliment the prefent generation than on the two former topics. A fuperficial and trifling tafte has emancipated us no lefs completely from the influence of humility than from that of re- ligion. So fmall a flock of erudition is in- deed required to equip a fashionable man and a fafhionable writer, that it is nothing extraordinary if our manners and our fenti- ments fhould be found different from thofe of other times. With our anceftors the al- liance between learning and piety was held facred and inviolable - 3 and even at prefent the truth of the principle, which eflimates the knowledge and genius of any character by his profligacy and irreligion, may, I ap- prehend, admit of fome difpute. The in- fluence of religion upon morals has been frequently inveftigated, and with little ho- nour to the fceptical fide of the queftion : fo ftric~t, indeed, does the connexion ap- pear between the three precepts, which are enjoined by the prophet, that I am inclined to OF MORALITY. IO5 to doubt, whether any man, who does not walk humbly with his God, can either dojuftly or love mercy as he ought. There is a wide difference between the fudden impulfe of paffion and caprice, and that fready love of virtue, which a firm belief in the Gofpel mull always infpire. Habits of order and decency, at lead, are infeparably connected with the reftraints and renunciations of a religious life j and here alfo I fear we fhall lofe by the comparifon, when the fober manners ofouranceflorsare oppofed to the irregularity, the diflipation, the profligacy and fuicide of the prefent times. Nay, I will go further ; and I will affert, from my acquaintance with individuals, that I have feldom known a refpeclable, or even a really profperous man, who was not exact and regular in the performance of thofe duties, which he immediately owes to his creator. If, therefore, you would pro- ceed'in an honourable and orderly courfe of virtue ; if you would be confident j if you would be refpeclable, attend to the admo- nition, 106 THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES OF MORALIT Y. nition, — Walk humbly with thy god. Stu- dy to acquire fuch notions of the Deity and his attributes as are conformable to truth and reafon. View him as the fountain of jujtice, mercy, wifdom, of all virtue and all power. Endeavour even to emulate that example of perfection which he has fet be- fore you ; thofe attributes of infinity, which excite the higher! admiration the human mind is capable of feeling, are wholly em- ployed and exerted in doing good. The felicity of every being, human and divine, is in exact proportion to their goodnefs. To do juftly and to love mercy are the only folid foundations of happinefs, even in this life, private as well as focial ; in fulfilling thefe, as well as every other maxim of divine truth; you are only doing a favour to yourfelf j and yet, O man ! this is all that is required of thee, this is the only condition for the attainment of eternal felicity : to do juftly, and to love mercy > and to walk humbly with thy GOD. SERMON SER M O N VII. ON HUMILIT Y.* I PET. V. 5. Be clothed with humility, '""pHOUGH a holy and religious life be rather an alTemblage and union of all the moral and evangelical virtues, than a fabric produced from any fimple material j yet there are fome qualities or habits of the foul, which may be juftly accounted the bafes or fundamentals, by which the {frac- ture is chiefly fupported j and of this kind is the virtue of humility. It is eiTential to us as men, becaufe an humble demeanour only is confident with truth and nature, and all pride and arrogance is falfehood and deception. It is eiTential to us as Chrif- tians, becaufe without it we faall be utterly * Preached at the Afylum, June the 12th, 1785. O incapacitated 108 O N H U M I L I T Y. incapacitated for the exercife of thofe duties and condefcenfions, which the fpirit of our religion requires of us. Such appears to have been the fentiment of the apoftle Peter, if we may judge by the ftrength and boldnefs of the metaphor which he employs on this occafion : for, he does not barely fay, " adorn, or ornament, " yourfelves with the graces of humility j" but, be clothed with it, let the whole of your external conduct aiTume the form and the colour of this virtue, let it be the gar- ment in which you are attired, not only for ornament, but ufe. The metaphor is in- deed evidently borrowed from the Jewifh ceremonies, from the fanc~tity and virtue which the facred veftments of the priefts of Ifrael were fuppofed to contain, and to im- part to the wearer ; for, by the Levitical law, the minifters of the temple were ftri6lly prohibited from performing any part of their duty, unlefs previoufly in veil- ed with thefe enfigns of their holy office. The apoftle, therefore, having in the for- mer ON HUMILITY. IO9 mer part of this Epiftle diftinguiftied his Chriftian converts by the high appellation of a holy and a royal priejlhood, a chofen gene- ration, he now exhorts them, agreeably to the fame figure, to be clothed with hu- mility, as the peculiar veftment and attire of the Chriftian priefthood. I do not recollect, that this virtue was held in equal eftimation by the moraiifts or philofophers of Greece and Rome; nor did any of them, in the detached precepts which they have furniilied in its commenda- tion, build the arguments in its favour up- on proper principles. They have told us, indeed, in general terms, that pride is not proper or expedient for man } but the ora- cles of divine truth, which direct our at- tention, beyond fecond caufes, to the great fource and fountain of all, affign the pro- per reafon for this fentiment ; they exhort us to give God the glory, becaufe pride is really not becoming in any created being, and becaufe there is nothing in creation O 2 that ON HUMILITY. that can reafonably adminifter to this paf- fion. Whatever eminence of parts, whatever fplendour of fituation we have attained, however diftinguifhed by rank or prece- dence, we fhall find no caufe for felf-com- placency in thefe acquifitions, if we but ferioufly reflect that we did not make our- felves ; and that we are indebted for them, not to ourfelves, but to another ; that they redound not to our own glory, but to that of another. He that called you out of no- thing, he endued you with parts and un- derfcandk'g, he fhowered bleffings into your lap, he caufed you to be reflected and to be efieemed. — His be the praife, his the glory ! — For, who maketh thee to differ •, cr what haft thou which thou didfi not receive ? To depreciate external and earthy pof- feffions is not always the peevifh effort of mifanthropy, or the language ofdifappoint- ment. It is viewing things as they are 3 for, in reality, though they may redound to the honour of their infinite Creator, they ON HUMILITY. Ill they are nothing in themfclves. f< How for to-morrow we die" That god has indeed given us appetites to be fatisfied, and a number of excellent creatures to fatisfy them in their utmofr. extent, is true. That to eat and to drink may be productive of a certain degree of pleafure, we will not deny. But, that thefe are the chief of human delights, or the ends for which man is created, is a principle ON TEMPERANCE. I3I principle deftructive in its confequences, and capable of refutation even by the evi- dence of experience. If thefe be the chief of pleafures, the brute-creation, nay, the vileft and mofl contemptible of them, are fuperior to man, and poflefs a much more exalted degree of felicity. But, after all that we can do, it is impoffible to confine our views altogether to the prefent. It is the nature of man to look forward to the future, and the expectation of that future will unavoidably mix itfelf with the enjoy- ment of the prefent. If this be the cafe, much of the Epicurean argument will ap- pear to be erected with little or with no foundation. The pleafures of appetite are momentary ; and, if not actually attended with difguft, are feldom capable of fupply- ing, upon reflexion, any true fatisfaction or delight. We may, on this occafion, retort the ar- gument upon our adverfaries -, we may re- ply, if to eat and to drink be the fole or even the principal end of human exiftence, why 132 ON TEMPERANCE. why are thefe other much more complex and extenfive faculties and paffions la villi ed upon us ? Why have we minds elevated to the contemplation of the nobleft and moft exalted objects ? Memories capable of col- lecting and preferving a feries of intellec- tual truths ? Imaginations, that will wan- der into worlds unknown ? Hopes, that purfue pleafures beyond the boundaries of human exiftence ? Much more limited fa- culties would havefufnced for a life of mere animal and fenfual gratification. Nay, what is flill more extraordinary, thefe other faculties and paffions ferve commonly to interrupt and to diminifh the fenfual enjoy- ments. God, by the voice of nature, has indeed commanded us, to eat and to drink j but, neither god, Nature, nor Reafon has war- ranted excefs in the gratification of thefe appetites. Afk the flave of fenfuality, what fruit had you in thefe things ? — Afk him, in the tedious hours, that fucceed a fatiety of pleafure, (and how numerous are thefe, when O :< TEMPERANCE. I33 when compared with the hours of what he calls enjoyment !) — Afk him, when depri- ved of health j when, lingering out an uneafy exiftence in a ftate of liftlefs folU tude, he is deftitute of prefent blifs, has no confolation in reverting to the pail, and dares not lift up his eyes to look forward to the future : — Afk him, when ruined and undone; his fortune diffipated j his reputa- tion gone ; his fociety avoided ; perhaps not only in want of the luxuries, but even of the common neceffaries of life : — Afk him, if to eat, drink, and be merry, be the certain means of procuring even temporal felicity ? It cannot furely be reafonable or prudent, for the pleafure of a moment, to expofe ourfelves to years of pain and infir- mity ; to fquander away our health and re- putation, and all the conftituents of hap- pinefs for the remainder of our lives. That Nature and Reafon point out ex- cefs and intemperance at lead not to be the end of man's creation, will fufficiently ap- pear, if we but confider, that there is no man 134 ON TEMPERANCE. man but is afhamedofthefe vices when de- tected in them j that they blunt and deftroy the faculties of the mind j that they extin- guifh the natural independence and dignity of man, and reduce him to the meaneft ex- pedients for the gratification of his appe- tite -, that they expofe us to the commiffion of almoft every other vice, fometimes invo- luntarily, when the reafon is clouded and confufed by excefs, and generally by the force of habitual depravity. Very dif- ferent, in their nature and effects, are the pleafures of intellect, the acquirement of knowledge, the fervice of our Creator, the performance of the moral duties. Thefe can never be attended with repentance, fhame, or mental uneafmefs. They are conftant, and not liable to interruption ; and thofe, who have made the experiment upon both, will inform you, that they are infinitely more diverfified, more lading, and more exquifite, than all that fenfe can prefent to our acceptance. The ON TEMPERANCE. I35 The fact is, if it were poffible to admit the fenfual pleafures to be the chief bufmefs, and to conftitute the chief happinefs of life, the end would be counteracted by the unlawful and exceffive indulgence of them. The writings of antiquity, and even of the Epicureans themfelves, are full of apho- rifms in commendation of the bleffings of moderation ; proving, that occafionally to forbear is to heighten enjoyment ; that fa- tiety is uniformly attended with difguft j that a found body and a good appetite are the hand-maids of pleafure, which it is im- poffible for him to retain, who leads a life of continual diffipation. Such would be the ftate of the cafe, if natural religion only were known upon earth, and if the will of god had never been revealed to man. But, fince the al- mighty has thought proper to fubmit us to this ftate of probation -, fince he has made thefe the abfolute terms of our acceptance with him, namely, that we mortify or fub- due every inordinate qfeclion 5 that we keep wider I36 ON TEMPERANCE. under the body, and bring it into fnbjecfion j that we make tip provijion for thefifejh, to fulfil the lufts thereof - y fince this is the cafe, there is, there can be, no plea for the ftupidity of thofe, who adopt the maxim of an an- cient atheiftical feci:. For, thus the mat- ter Hands with us : either the Scriptures are a forgery, and their authors impoflors ; or thoUy who livefi in pleafure, art dead while thou livefi ; thou, who beareft the name of ckrist in vain, art altogether in the gal! cf bitternefs and bond of iniquity ! In thy pur- fuit of enjoyment, thou flialt find nothing but fatiety, difguft and repentance. A debilitated conftitution, an aching head, a reproachful confcience, a ruined fortune, a loft, reputation, will be thy portion in this world i without the fmallefl hope of confo- lation, with rather indeed the certain ex- pectation of mifery, in another. The ftupidity of the maxim can only be equalled by that of the argument, which is alleged in its fupport : for, to-nwrrow we die. It is right, indeed, that the intem- perate ON TEMPERANCE. 177 perate perfon fhould be prepared for death, for he frequently meets it prematurely. Many, in the height of a debauch, are cut off by fudden difeafe -, not to fpeak of the brawls and quarrels, the numerous acci- dents to which fuch a courfe of life is inevi- tably expofed. But, has he, who difcour- fes thus familiarly about death, confidered what it is to die f Has he confidered, that it is to be rudely torn in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, from all he loved, va- lued, or defired ? That it is the painful burlting of thefe vital cords ? That, on the fuppofition molt favourable to him, it is to fink into nothing ? to iofe fenfation, motion, thought and remembrance ? " to " become a kneaded clod?" But, has he confidered it in another, far more awful view ? Has he confidered the great probabi- lity, let me fay the certainty, of an after- ftate ? Has he confidered, then, that to die is to be hurried off, in the very maturity of his fin, to the prefence, and before the throne of that great being, whofe majefry he I38 ON TEMPERANCE. he has affronted, whofe commandments he has trampled on ? Has he confidered what enfues ? that it is punifhment eternal, not to be defcribed, not indeed to be conceived ? If the maxim, which has been the fubje£t of our animadverfion, be folly and contra- diction even in the mouth of an impious Epicurean j furely to him, who has the re- moteft belief in the Gofpel of christ, or in any part of the Holy Scriptures ; who has even a fufpicion that they may chance to be true, the idea of to-morrow we die, deferve the appellation cf re -:ig >us, nor only poffefs the virtues of a man, bat of a goa ? Muft we expecl to find in it no taint, no (eafoning of human paflion and weaknefs, in the moll arduous * Adls xvii. 30. _Eph. i. 10. Col. i. 13. circumftances. OF THE TONGUE. J45 circumftances, in the hard ftruggles of ad- rerfity, and the ftill feverer trials of unli- mited profperity ; amidft the vanities of courts, the fociety of flatterers, and the imbecillity of age ? * Far, therefore, from efteeming the tranfaclion recorded in the words of my text a j uftificaticn of profane or indecent language; let me flatter myfelf, that it will afford to this affembly an ufeful leilbn againft the LICENTIOUSNESS OF THE TONGUE; that it will teach them to fet a guard upon their lips, as well as upon their conducl ; to re- frain their tongue from evil, and their lips from f peaking guile. It is, I prefume, almoft unnecefFary to remind you, that the offending per fon, fpo- ken of in the text, is Peter : — not only an apoftle, but one of the chief of the apof- * See the Bifhop of Chefter's admirable and traly-philo- fophical Vindication of the Chara&er of David. It was printed as a fingle Sermon, and furely it is to be regretted that it is not inferted in his excellent Colle&ion of Sermons, lately publifhed. Q 4 ties : I46 ON THE LICENTIOUSNESS ties : — one on every occafion difdnguifhed by his faith, as well as by his zeal in main- taining it 5 the moil ardent friend, the moil forward difciple of his bleffed Mailer. But, my brethren, the nature of the fin cannot be altered by the dignity of the perfon in whom it predominates j and the only ra- tional enquiry is, not who has been found guilty of this particular crime, but what is the crime itfelf, and what are its confe- quences. So little advantage, however, will the common fwearer derive from this example of Peter, that there are circum- fiances, which render the cafe altogether inapplicable to his own, and prove it the moil impotent of all poffible excufes for the licentioufnefs of the tongue. In the firft place, though the Jewifh law had forbidden the facred name of god to be vainly or irreverendly ufed, it does not ap- pear (at leail according to the mode of in- terpretation purfued in the Rabbinical fchool ) to have been equally fevere againil other oaths, and other fpecies of profane- nefs. OF THE TONGUE, I47 nefs. Chriftianity, as it holds forth greater advantages to its votaries, fo it requires from them a much greater degree of purity and exactnefs in the performance of every duty. It enjoins us : Swear not at all\ neither by the heaven , for it is God's throne ; nor by the earthy for it is his foot ftool ; but let your com- munication be yea and nay. Now, the doc- trines of christ, though they were indeed partially explained and publifhed by our Lord himfelf, were not collected and for- med into a fyflem at the time of this defec- tion of Peter. Peter might pofiibly not have been prefent at that part of our Lord's fermon, which regarded this particular branch of difcipline; or, if prefent, it is poflible enough that, among fuch a multi- tude of precepts, one of them might be overlooked ; or, at leaft, the impreffion might be tranfitory, and not fuch as to force itfelf, on all occafions, upon his re- collection. It does not appear, that Peter dealt irreverendly with the facred name of his Creator on this occafion : he only began U 14-3 ON THE LICENTIOUSNESS to curie and to [wear. Peter was (till a Jew, and, as a Jew,- his offence was lefs than that of a .Chriftian, who fwears at all j and much lefs than that of one who prefumes to take the name of the Lord his God in vain. Secondly. It is on all parts agreed, that Peter, at the time of the denial of christ, was very far from being in fuch a flate of moral and Chriftian perfection, as is term- ed, in the language of Scripture, a ftate of regeneration, or renewal of heart and life. His zeal, it is true, was great j but, he had been but very lately converted, and evil ha- bits are not to be furmounted at once. The time of his probation was very fhort, when he was called upon to this fevere trial ; and there is reafon to believe he had been before a notorious (inner, for, the firfl inftance of his convention was a confefilon of his confcience : Depart fro?n me, j or .1 am a fin- ful man, O Lord! — Not to mention, that he had not yet received the Holy Ghoft. Very different was the conduct of Peter, when confirmed in the faith. Before the chief OF THE TONGUE. I4.9 chief priefts and elders fummoned to appear at the peril of his life, he did not then begin to curfe and to fwear ; but preached Jefus boldly, and teftified, 'faying* we ought to obey God rather than men ; and, when perfecuied and beaten, he departed, rejoicing that he had been counted worthy to fufj'er fame for the name of Chrijt. In the third place. It mull: be indeed confefTed, that Peter, on this occafion, fwore falfely. But, let us confider, that his life was in immediate danger: Skin for fkin, fays Satan in Job ; all that a man hath will he give for his life. The fpirits of Peter were at that moment deprefTed by every cir- cumftance that could confpire to deprive him of his fortitude, and diflurb and per- plex the human feelings. He faw the man in whom he trufted delivered up, and una- ble to affift him. He faw his friends and companions deferted, and he h.imfelf alone in the hands of an enraged multitude, dif- pofed, with all the rage and violence of po- pular fury, to put hirp. to an inftant and cruel I5» ON THE LICENTIOUSNESS cruel death : and, fhall the common (wear- er, who fwears falfely on the mod trivial occafion s who fwears indeed without con- fidering whether what he fwears be true or falfe ; who . fwears wantonly, and without the fmalleft motive or neceffity, think to juftify himfelf by fuch an example ? Fourthly. Though Peter began to curfe and to /wear, none has ever prefumed to affert, that this was no crime in him. On the contrary, it remains, to this very hour, a ftain upon his character, which all his meritorious actions, his unremitted zeal, his fufferings, his martyrdom, are fcarcely fufficient to expunge. You, who have fworn, not for the fake of life, but out of pure wantonnefs, out of an habitual con- tempt for your saviour and your god : — Has your repentance ever equalled that of Peter ? Did you ever go out, when you had committed fuch a crime, and hackneyed a ftratagern ; I would rather advife him to avoid profane- nefs as he would avoid the reputation of ignorance, err.ptinefs, and weaknefs of un- derftanding. Indeed ; 154 0N THE LICENTIOUSNESS Indeed; as knowledge becomes more difFufed, and as converfation improves, I truft I am not miflaken in the hope that profanenefs is at prefent going gradually out of fafhion. I know that it is of the utmofr, importance to every perfdn, who willies to write or to fpeak with elegance or correctnefs, to obferve a delicacy and po- litenefs of language in his common conver- fation. The flyle, which is eked out with oaths or common-place expreffions of any kind, will naturally be lame and incorrect on occafions, when thefe cannot be in- troduced 3 whoever, therefore, would ap- pear either the gentleman or the fcholar, ought, on every account, to avoid them. There are a few perfons, I fear, with whom religious motives will have little weight upon this occafion. Thefe perfons, however, I would admonifh, that it is paying too high a compliment to that reli- gion, which they affect to defpife, to make ule of language, which is utterly deftitute of force or meaning, if the fyftem to which it OF THE TONGUE. I55 it relates be quite deftitute of foundation. They, therefore, at the very beft, fubjec"c themfelves to the imputation of talking nonienfe; with the addition of another dis- agreeable circumftance, namely, that they may poffibly be fufpecled of having fome little notion or apprehenlion of that reli- gion, the peculiar language of which they condefcend to employ. To thofe, who have any degree of faith in the truth of revelation, the abfurdity of this vice muft be inftantly apparent. It muft be inftantly apparent, that the vices of the tongue are intimately connected with the vices of the heart ; that an abaiv donment of principle, a levity of manners will conftantly accompany a levity and li- centioufnefs of converfation. Our minds are the creatures of habit j our actions are the confequents of our ideas. Profane- nefs, therefore, naturally leflens thofe re- fpecls, which ought ever to be efteemed fa- cred. The tongue cannot ufe the name of god in a free and unlicenfed manner, with- R out I56 ON THE LICENTIOUSNESS t out taking from that reverence, which the welfare of fociety and of our own fouls re- quires we mould ever retain for him. The folemn oaths, which jarHce employs for the general fafety and tranquillity, be- come a mockery and a jeft in the eye of him who fwears commonly, wantonly and falfely. In a word, fmce the almighty has thought proper to prohibit it in fo folemn a manner ; to praclife a vice, which neither can contribute to our temporal intereft or our temporal pleafure, is certainly but few degrees fhort of actual infanity. All vices are more eafily prevented than reformed ; and, as this is not a vice of paf- iion, but of habit only, and is frequently, I might fay generally acquired by imitation only ; one mofl obvious mode of prevent- ing it, is to avoid the company and conver- fation of thofe, whofe contagious manners may affect the rectitude of our hearts, and efpecially of thofe minor wits, who would purchafe at an eafy rate a few tranfient ap- plaufes from dulnefs and ignorance, byre- tailing OF THE TONGUE. f|« tailing the trite objections of infidel and profligate writers. In this too, too liberal age, fuch a caution will be thought, or ra- ther will be faid, to favour of bigotry. But, let us not, I intreat you, in our zeal for toleration* forget that there is a very ample difference between perfecution and encouragement ; between actually laying violent hands upon a man for the fake of his c ions, and giving countenance and fuppoi t to thofe opinions by taking that man to our bo (bin. The utmoft ftretch of cha- rity furely cannot require an intire facrifice of common fenfe and private happinefs. It is impoffibie to efleem that man my friend, who would deprive me of every dearefr. hope, of every befl of comforts, would leave me without a fmgle motive to virtue* a fmgle principle of belief. Let fuch a man enjoy with freedom his own gloomy and difcontented difpofition ; but let me enjoy at leafl the fame equal liberty, and give me leave only to make choice of my company* May the god of truth and righteoufnefs R 2 ever I58 ON THE LICENTIOUSNESS ever defend us from that liberality, which fhall induce us to become tame and patient fpeclators of blafphemy and impiety, to /land in the way of fmners, or Jit in the feat of the fcornful. This caution applies principally, indeed, to the inexperienced and the young. To thofe finners, who may have deviated from the paths of truth and piety, and yet wifli to return, it may be fatisfaclory to add, that, of all vices, this of profanenefs is perhaps the moft eafy to be reformed. Even where the habit is already fixed, a few exertions will reclaim it. It is but putting a flight reftraint upon yourfelf at firft; and this reftraint will be attended with a further advantage, namely, that it will reduce you, by degrees, to the habits and order of a religious life 5 teach you to fubdue other evil propenfities, make you acquainted with difcipline, and render it eafy and commodious to you. To infill on the danger of continuing in the habit muft be totally unnecefTary after what OF THE TONGUE. 159 what has been faid, and fince the confe- quences of unrepented fins are fo notorious, and fo generally underftood. There is, however, one doctrine of our religion, which will perhaps be more effectual than any other in promoting your reformation. I therefore conclude with earneftly recom- mending it to your moft ferious attention. As Mofes gave the law to the children of Ifrael, I give it you for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes ; for a maxim to be engraven on your hearts, and of which you are never to lofe fight. By our words we foall be jufiified, and by our words wejhall be condemned -, and, at the lafi great day, every idle word mufi be accounted for. R 7 SERMON SERMON X. ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PASSIONS,* GAL. V. 17. *rhe flefi lufieth againft the Spirit, and the Spirit againft thefte/h ; and thefe are con- trary the one to the other. TN an age, when much declamation has been expended in favour of a philofophy independent of the Scriptures, it may pof- fibly be thought vifionary and enthufiaftic to refer the curious inquirer into the me- chanifm of the human mind to the Gofpel of Christ. That in this fyftem the fprings of action are not always minutely invefti- gated, nor the feveral principles detailed with the pompous difplay of philofophic precilion, I am ready to grant. The aim * Preached at St. Anne's, Weftminfter, September, 1786. R 4 indeed l62 ON THE GOVERNMENT indeed of theGofpel is different; its purpofe is to inftrucl by precept, not to amufe by fpeciilation ; and, as its immediate relation is to practice, its maxims are plain, forci- ble, and comprehenfive, rather than cu- rious or abftrufe. The foundations, how- ever, are not the lefs folid, nor the ftruc^ ture lefs confident. Every conclufion, if inveftigated with the niceft and mod fcru- pulous attention, will be found perfectly conformable to the founded: philofophy, and deduced from the moil intimate ac- quaintance with the mind of man. * Such is the nature of the propofition contained in the words of my text. It is a truth, which appeals to common exper- ience for confirmation, and yet is founded on fome of the moil curious principles in moral fcience. That man, in his tempo- ral flate, is fubject to the influence of two diftintt principles, the fenfitive and the ra r tional foul, the flefh and the fpirit, was one of the leading maxims in the beft philofo- phy of the ancient world. The former of thefe OF THE PASSIONS. 163 thefe feems to depend altogether on the or- ganization of our mortal frame j the latter appears to be the action or energy of that immortal part, which derives its exiftence more immediately from the divine efience, and, we are informed, bears in fome degree the ftamp of the divine image. The one feems neceflary to attach us to this prefent life, and to lead us cheerfully through our pilgrimage j the other prevents the too great violence of this attachment, and is even neceflary to direct the affections to their proper objects. Paflion is the fpring, which in this life brings us forth to action, and gives a confequence to the things upon earth ; reafon checks, confines, and regu- lates its excefTes. As paflion is no other than a modifica- tion of the animal appetites, it is juftly efleemed the inferior principle ; it lives with the body, it dies with the body ; and, as reafon is the effect of that immortal energy, which even in this life is - more immediately under the direction of the al- mighty, 164 ON THE GOVERNMENT mighty, with which indeed his Holy Spi- rit is fuppofed occafionally to co-operate, it is that which gives us this rank and emi- nence among created beings, and is the ground- work of fcience and of focial hap- pinefs. The former we enjoy in common with the brute- creation, and, when indul- ged to excefs, it levels us with inferior ani- mals, or perhaps degrades us beneath them ; by the latter we are enabled to at- tain the knowledge, and to conciliate the love of our great creator, and indeed to raife ourfelves to the condition of angels. Befides the ufes, therefore, which I be- fore pointed out for thefe diftincl: princi- ples, there is yet another : for, they appear efTential to this flate of probation, to which our divine mailer has thought proper to fubmit us, preparatory to a flate of more perfect felicity. Pafiion is the fource of all our guilt j hence proceed murders, thefts, adulteries, and that numerous train of moral evils, by which human nature is de- bafed, and human fociety diflracled : Rea- fon OF THE PASSI9NS. 165 fon is the correclor of thefe abufes, by which we forefee their confequences and the means of avoiding them : and thus (accor- ding to the apoftle) a perpetual conflicts maintained between reafon and pallion, the flefh and the fpirit. But the god, whom we adore, is a god of mercy j and, as fuch, it is confident with his gracious providence to incline the balance in our favour, and to afford us all advantages in a contefl where our all is at flake. It is the exprefs purpofe of Chrif- tianity to come in aid of the rational prin- ciple, and enable us to vanquifh effectually all our fpiritual enemies, by making known to us the will of our creator, and direct- ing our view to confequences, above the reach of the human underftanding un- audited by divine revelation. Thus Reafon tells us, that it is our interefl to regulate the paffions, and to hold them in proper fubjettion j Chriftianity tells us, that fuch is the exprefs command of our heavenly Father. Reafon informs us, that to be mo- derate 1 56 ON THE GOVERNMENT derate and virtuous will infure our tempo- ral happinefs, and that vicious courfes will end in the ruin of our fortune, our reputa- tion, and our health ; but Chriftianity an- nounces to. us an eternity of happinefs or mifery, dependent upon our conduct ; and afTures us, that, if we become captives to our corrupt paffions, we (hall feel all the weight of almighty vengeance, through ages of pain and torment, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. After this, my brethren, can it "be ne- ceffary to enter more minutely into the im- prudence, the folly, the danger, the dam- nation of indulging the corrupt and vicious propenfities ? Can it be necefTary, to di- rect your attention to the fate of {rates and empires, to exhibit there the vices of paffion bringing down upon the guilty nation anar- chy and defolation ; to exhibit the diflipa- ted and abandoned confpiring againft the community, and facrificing, to their own corrupt lufts, the interefts of millions ? Obferve well the felfifhnefs, the rapacity, which OF THE PASSIONS. ifyj which are occafioned by ungoverned paf- fions and defires. Obferve all the delicate bonds, which connect men in fociety, and form our bed enjoyments, rudely buril afunder. Hear the complaints of the delu- ded friend, the injured hufband, the ruined virgin, the miferable parent. Mark the horrid tales of perjuries, breaches of truft, feduclions, aflaffinations, parricides ! and then judge whether that people does not exift under the fevereft curfe of the almighty, whom ne has delivered over to the domi- nion of luxury and pafhon. But, to judge more perfectly concerning the neceflity of fubduing our paffions, let us but remark their effects upon the indivi- dual. The man, who is under the domi- nion of paffion, is incapable of any great or virtuous undertaking. The abject Have of appetite, he mingles with the common inftinctive herd, and his thoughts are never elevated for a moment above the groveling purfuits of the brute- creation. Propelled by the rage of paffion, every trifling inci- dent l68 Ort THE GOVERNMENT clent is able to difappoint and difconceft ■him j and, as -the gratification of appetite is tianfitory, the very completion of his wiflies is fatiety and difguft. As guilt is the confequence of every unlawful paffion, he has to encounter fhame, and remorfe of confcience, and the fear of difcovery. As expence and profufion are ever connected with vicious purfuits, he is generally in want, he is haunted with importunate cre- ditors, he is abridged of his liberty, he is obliged to fubmit to innumerable mean- neffes : and poffibly he is at length engaged in fome criminal action tofupply his prodi- gality, which brings him, with forrow and late contrition, to an ignominious end. The flill more alarming effects of crimi- nal paffions in the other fex are too obvious to require a detail. The deluded female commences her career with public infamy and fcorn ; and ends it with vice, drunk- ennefs, ill-treatment, want, cold, hunger, difeafe, and untimely death. To OF THE PASSIONS. 169 To thefe, give me leave to add, on reli- gious principles, another argument : and that is, unlefs the fpirit be victorious over the paffions, you can have no part or inhe- ritance in the kingdom of god. The grace of god is a ftranger to the heart, while fin- ful paffions are predominant there. This is in truth the only mark, by which we are enabled to judge of the flate of our fouls. If all be tranquil and compofed ; if the love of virtue, the peace of God and of our Lord jefus Cbrijiy be within you, you are fare and happy. If violent and unlawful paffions, if unruly appetites and defires have poffef- fion of your heart, conclude that god has given you over to a reprobate mind, and no- thing lefs than immediate repentance can fave you from utter perdition. It would doubtlefs, my brethren, be highly fatisfa6tory to be able to guide you out of the track of thefe alarming evils, and to be inftrumental in refcuingyou from the fatal .empire of paffion. Your own fa- gacity will point out many motives and ex- pedients -, I7O ON THE GOVERNMENT pedients ; and, if you heartily wifh and refolve to dedicate yourfelves to the practice of virtue, the grace of god will ftrengthen and affift you. I fhall neverthelefs briefly ftate a few of the mofl practicable means of cultivating good and virtuous affections, and of eradicating vicious and corrupt pro- penfities from the heart. Firft. Let me exhort you, earneftly to recommend yourfelves to the peculiar care and attention of the Divine Providence ; to pray, morning and evening, that he will ftrengthen your good intentions, and cor- recl whatever he obferves amifs. For, if you lofe your religion, or become remifs in thefe duties, I muft tell you, that every other foundation of morality is laid upon the fand -, and, if you prove good, it will be, as it were, by chance. Secondly. Whatever leifure you may have, employ it in the reading of good books. By the term good books, I do not mean to confine you to books of devotion ; I mean books that will inform your under- flanding Ofr THE PASSIONS. I 7 I {landing and refine your fentiments j all, in a word, that have a virtuous or moral tendency. By thus cultivating the intel- lectual plea fu res, your minds will become elevated above the fenfual ; you will expe- rience enjoyments of the fublimefl nature, and unalloyed by any mixture of gall or bit* temefs. Thirdly. You cannot be too careful in the choice of your company. It is almoft unneceflary to inform you, that the in- fiances are few of perfons depraved by the natural force of paffion, in comparifon with the multitudes who owe their ruin to the allurements of bad company. Con- nected with this, is the obligation to avoid moft carefully every fpecies of indelicacy or licentioufnefs in converfation. In an age, indeed, when almoft every perfon aims at the reputation of wit, it is no wonder that obfcene allufions fhould be in fome meafure in fafhion, fmce they enable a man to pur- chafe the character at fo very cheap a rate. That mind, however, which can conde- S fcend I72 ON THE GOVERNMENT fcend to entertain a company in fuch a man- ner -, that company, who can patiently lend their attention to fuch entertainment, muft be filthy and depraved in no trifling degree. He muft be a weak as well as a wicked man, who wifhes to publifh. his vices. It may, therefore, contribute to leffen the tafle for this fpecies of mock wit, to remark, that it can only be from a barrennefs of real w r it that men have recourfe to it ; and I have feldom known it practifed but by very mal- low perfons. Mark the obfervation, that, unlefs it be through a preconcerted defign upon the innocence of fome of the compa- ny, the man, who offends your modefty and delicacy by licentious converfation, is not only a very wicked perfon, but a fool.* In * The double entendre is a fpecies of wit, for which, if we have regard to the analogy of the name, we are chiefly in- debted to our neighbours on the continent ; and fuch a practice is perfectly confiltent with the frivolity and littlenefs which characterize that nation. A Frenchman is perpetually attempting to be witty, without any fund of knowledge or information to furnifh him with materials. A certain cri- tic, whofe opinion indeed on this fubjecl is not of very high authority. OF THE PASSIONS. 1 73 In the fourth place. Be temperate in all things. Thofe, who indulge in the excefles of the table can never anfwer properly for their own conduct - 3 as, at feafons, they will not, they cannot, be their own maf- ters. Befides that temperance and fobrie- ty are among the firft duties of our reli- gion, and the practice of them will render us more particularly objects of the divine favour and protection. Laftly. Apply diligently to fome lawful calling, which will abforb your attention, and engage that active principle, the mind. Suffer your thoughts as little as poiiible to wander from the track of virtue -, and, if the enemy of mankind mould at any time aiTail you, (for, it is in the hours authority, taking his in*lance from the French nation, has pretended to deny the well-etfabiifhed maxim, that a regard to decency is to be accounted among the certain marks of ci- vilization. If, however, that critic will have the goodnefs to look at a note in my traniktion of Bifhop Lowth's Lec- tures, vol. ii. p. 318, he will find fome other, not lefs de- cifive, proofs, that the French are by no means in that high ftate of civilization, which he feems to take for granted. S 2 Of 174 ON THE GOVERNMENT of indolence that the tempter fows his tares,) be inftantly upon your guard, and divert your thoughts into fome other chan- nel either of bufinefs or devotion. The force of habit, and the accommo- dating power of the human mind, afford encouragement not only to the young and innocent to perfevere in the path of virtue, but even to thofe, who have been lefs cau- tious in their demeanour, to rectify their choice. The infinite fuperiority of the in- tellectual over the fenfual pleafures has been afferted by all who have made the experi- ment ; and this ought to be an inducement to every reflecting being to direct his atten- tion to thofe nobler objects. To acquire good habits is almoft as eafy as to acquire bad ones j nay, thofe who are yet undepra- ved will have much more to furmount, will find more real difficulty, in deviating into vicious exceffes, than in adhering to that order and regularity, in which they are al- ready initiated ; and even the habitually vi- cious will find the victory much eafier than they GF TflE PASSIONS. 1 75 they at firft conceive. The paflions are fu- rious aflailants, but their ardour is prefent- ly quelled by a fpirited refiftance. No man, I prefume, who has the remoter!: belief in the truth of revealed religion, can poffibly be at eafe in his confcience, while engaged in the commiflion of thofe crimes, the end of which he is convinced can be only a fear- ful looking-for of judgement and fiery indigna- tion. You, who are involved in the giddy vortex of fafhionable diflipation ; you, who fin through ignorance perhaps of your danger, or at leaft for want of attending to it : — You I exhort to beflow one hour's fe- rious confideration on this important fub? jecTt. — Behold \ I call heaven and earth to re- cord againjl you, this day, that I have fet be- fore you blef/ing and curffig, life and death. — Go, then ; and, if there be any conflation in Chrijl, if any fellow/hip of the Spirit : — Go, like the reformed Athenian youth, tear the enfigns of riot from your brow, the feftal S 3 garlands I76 ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PASSIONS. garlands from about your neck. * — You have a much greater Mailer to imitate. If the fpeech and practice of a heathen philofo- pher could work fuch a change in him"; what ought the precepts of the Gofpel, and the example of the son of god, to ef- fect in us ? * Polemon, a young man of Athens of a diffolute charac- ter, entered the fchool of Xenocrates one day, intoxicated, and in the drefs and character of a bacchanal, with a view of making merry at the expence of the philofopher. Xenocra- tes was jufl at that time difcourfing upon temperance and modeity ; the difcourfe made fuch an impreflion upon Pole- mon, that it produced an immediate change in his manners. He applied himfelf to philofophy, and fucceeded to the care of that very feminary which he had attempted to difturb and infuit. See Her. L. ii. S. 3. Diog. Laert. L.4. V.i!. Max. L.6. SERMON SERMON XL THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE AND THB LIBERTINE COMPARED. * MATTHEW V. 20. For, I fay unto you, except your righteoufnefs jhall exceed the righteoufnefs of the fcribes and pharifees, ye Jhall in no cafe enter into the kingdom of heaven. 'Tp H E scribes were the teachers and guardians of the Jewifh law; they not only had the cuftody of the books of Mofes and the prophets, but almoft the exclufive right of expounding them to the people ; and hence the term is frequently confounded with that of lawyer, intimating that part of their office, which refpeclied the explaining and adminiftering of the law. The college of fcribes is generally fuppofed to have fucceeded the college of * Preached at Fitzroy Chapel, October, 1781. S 4 prophets. I78 THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE prophets, in which all the youth deftined for the facred miniftry were educated; fo that, in its moft extenfive import, the word comprehended almoft all the people of leN ters in the Jewifh nation 5 but, in a more reftricled fenfe, it feems to apply chiefly to thofe who were members of the Sanhedrim, or great ecclefiaftical council, as cur Lord intimates in thefe words : the fcribes and fharifeesjit in Mofes'sfeat. The Pharisees were no other than a feci: of Jews, who diftinguifhed themfelves by a particular appellation, on account of their peculiar opinions, and profeifed a fuperior degree of ftrictnefs and feverity. As pha- rifees merely, they were not inverted with any legal authority, but they had equal ac- cefs with the reft of the nation to any of the offices or employments in the church. Accordingly we find that the fcribes were taken indifferently out~cf all the Jewifh fe£ts, (for, about the decline of their em- pire and religion, they were divided into many.) This is evidenced in the cafe of St. AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. 179 St. Paul, when the fcribes were divided, the one part pharifees, the other faddu- cees. The feclaries in general, and thofe who were of the fcribes in particular, were the profefTed enemies of our blelTed lord ; as is natural to men who have high notions of themfelves and of their own opinions. They faw with envy his growing reputation. The fimplicity and purity of his doctrines offended them, who had been accuftomed to confider piety as the concomitant only of ceremony, and the whole duties of mankind as placed in the external obfervances of the law. But, the chief caufe of their envy was the dan- ger which impended over their beloved fyf- tem of ceremony and fuperflition -, the ap- prehenfion, that his divine penetration would difcover the hypocrify of their reli- gious profeffions, and that his daring hand would withdraw the veil, which craft and fanaticifm had induftriouily woven. That noble freedom of fentiment, that unreferved demeanour, which is ever con- nected 130 THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE nected with virtue, is feldom acceptable to mankind, and leaft of all to the vicious. Refentment is a much eafier exertion of the mind than reformation ; and reproof is always fo unpalatable a potion, that, however fweetened with tendernefs and deli- cacy, it is feldom taken with fuch a willing mind as is necelfary to the falutary end it is intended to accornplifh. But thefe were not to be confederations with the Redeemer of mankind. He knew that irreconcilable enmity muft be the con- fequence of his boldnefs : but, truth and religion were in queflion. He defpifed earthly advantages. He was fearlefs of perfecution. Death, with all its terrors, was to him a fhadow. He was to conquer this world, and the prince of this world. Hell and the grave were to be fubjectedto him. The applaufe, therefore, or the cenfure of men could not poffibly affect his inten- tions : and the apprehenfions of thefe cor- rupt minifters of religion were juftified by the event. Inftead of courting their favour, he AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. l8l he attacks them without even that referve, which worldly prudence would perhaps judge neceffary, or which might leave an opening or excufe for reconciliation. E- qually fuperior to their menaces and allure- ments, he expofes all their infamy j he ex- hibits the picture to public view : a picture, which will be inftructive to the lateft pofte- rity, affording an excellent criterion for the difcovery and detection of that raoft com- plex and intricate of vices, hypocrify, by occafionally comparing their manners with our own. Hypocrify is a vice of a general charac- ter, and does not take its real form from any particular perfuafion ; a hypocrite is therefore the fame in all ages, and whatever the church of which he profeifes himfelf a member : a pharifee, or a pretendedly auftere Chriftian ; a fadducee, or a modern affertor of the law of nature. It will not, confequently, be very furprizing, if on ex- amination we find much congruity and re- femblance l82 THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE femblance in the manners of the hypocrites of ancient and modern times. The firft inftance of the refemblance, which I fhall mention, is, the pharifees did all their deeds to be feen of men. This is an invariable characleriftic of hypocrify, fince it is impoflible to deceive god, and fince fortune or fame can be its only object. They accordingly loved the iippermofl rooms at Jea/lsy the chief feats in the Jynagogues, and greetings in the markets. Nor are the hy- pocrites of our age materially different in this refpecl : for, whatever pretences they may make to humility, their ambition is to be feen of men ; to acquire authority, to have their good actions applauded; to be diftinguifhed as righteous, charitable, and devout. Thus they foolifhly fubftitute the fhort-lived commendations of the unfteady multitude, in the room of the fincere gra- tulation of their own confciences, in the room of the applaufe of the difcerning few, in fine, in the room of the almigh- ty's favour. Thefe AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. 183 Thefe ivhited fepulchres, as they are em- phatically ftyled, exhibited a conftant dif- play of fanctity and devotion. For a pre- tence they made long prayers -, {landing in the. corners of the Jireets ; not as perfons anima- ted with real piety, in fecrecy and folitude. Such are the pretenders to religion in our days ; they appear to give unremitted at- tendance to public worfliipj and, under the fan&ion of this appearance, conceal defigns the mod criminal and paflions the mod depraved. They faded too, and af- fumed a forrowful and mortified afpecl : many of them indeed might probably ima- gine that thefe would ferve inftead of real, internal purity, and integrity of heart, in- ftead of that religion which is evinced by facts, and which their own prophets had frequently afiured them was abfolutely ne- cefTary to give them favour in the fight of GOD. There are other more minute points, in which the refemblance will (till hold. The ancient hypocrites made broad their phylac- teries : 184 THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE teries :* the modern frequently affect a pre* cifion, if not a fingularity, in their drefs and manner. The ancient attended to the wafting of cups and vejfels, and made clean the outfide : The modern are nice obfervers of every petty ceremony j and, the omiflion of fome unmeaning rite, fome immaterial point of difcipline, is to them of more con- fequence than the neglect of any great or eflential virtue. But, though they Jlrained out a gnat, they /wallowed a camel. Fraud and covetoufnefs were no crimes with them, provided they could pafs unfeen ; for, they devoured widows houfes - } they compared fea and land to make one profelyte, and, when gained, they made him two-fold more a child of hell than themfehes. They paid tithe of mint, and anife, and cummin 5 (they were fcru- puloufly exact where the object was not worth fmningfor;) but they omitted the WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW, judge- * Thefe phyla&eries confifted of verfes, or precepts, from the books of Mofes and the prophets, written upon parch-* ment, &c. and fewed upon their garments. AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. 185 ment, mercy, and truth. To parallel thefe inftances might perhaps not be utterly im- poffible, but it would be an invidious tafk. There is a god above, and a monitor with- in j take heed that ye offend neither the one nor the other. Approach now, you, who pride your- felves, if I may fo fpeak, in the fincerity of your fm ! You, who defpife diflimulation equally with virtue. Now exult. — . Now is your hour. You have feen religion made the cloak of vice j you have feen pre- tended fanclity fhield from punifhment in this world. Proceed j tell us, " that ct piety is all an illufion ; — that it is anin- " flrument in the hands of the crafty."— " Happy for us," (you will add,) " this but, when once engaged, it is a linking ftate, and requires a mighty force to extricate us. Nor indeed is this an age, as was before obferved, to hope much for reformation $ lince libertines have now not only the ad- vantage of pafiing without punifhment or cenfure, but are as acceptable with the ge- nerality of the world, as if their characters were without a blemifli. Thus then it Hands : while vice is fo fuccefsful, it is not likely to defift; and, unlefs all thinking perfons would determine to treat it with that contempt and abhorrence it deferves, to AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. tgi to fhun the company of the abandoned, to expel them from their fociety j we bat ex- pofe ourfelves to ridicule, when we urge repentance from what is apparently at- tended with fo little inconvenience. Among the people of god, even in their moil de- praved Hate, fome diftinction was always maintained between the treatment of the oppofite characters of vice and virtue, and the Scripture abounds with exhortations againft the contagious nature of fin. En- ter not into the path of the wicked, fays the wifeft of men ; avoid it, pafs not by it ; turn from it, and pafs away. Lead of all is it confident with the purity of our religion, thus to break down the barrier between good and evil, by putting them upon an equal footing. Beware of evil-workers, fays the great apoftle, and be not thou partaker with them : fiouldcft thou help the ungodly , and love them that hate the Lord? I wrote unto you, fays he in another place, not to company with fornicators, or with the covetous , $r with extortioners ; if any man 3 that is called T 3 a brother, ig± THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE a brother, be a fornicator, or a railer, or d drunkard, or ari extortioner , with fuch a one, no, not to eat. Thus far it appeared neceflary to urge, left, in avoiding one extreme, we fhould, as is too common, fail into another, yet more fatal. But what ! is there not ano- ther mode of action ? Is there not another courfe to freer ? Becaufe we are not to imi- tate the corrupt manners of the fcribes and pharifees, are we therefore to adopt thofe of' the publicans and finners ? We have ken that thefe forms of vice, however they may appear to differ, are more nearly related than is generally fuppofed ; — and, will not the compafs of nature, reafon, or religion, fupply us with another character ? It will, my brethren, the real Chrifrian, the true difciple of our Lord. Behold the portrait ; and I truft it is not quite out of nature, weak and imperfedl as we are. Mark, then, the beauteous afTemblage. s — Meeknefs and Simplicity are feated on his brow 5 Patience and Humility dwell in his AND THE LIBERTINE COMPARED. M)$ his bofom ; and Cheerfulnefs, like a winged cherub, plays about his lips. Unpurfued by a difordered confcience, unruffled by the intrufion of criminal paflions or defires, that peace and ferenity, which he himfelf pofTefTes, he imparts to others ; and, like the fun, the nobleft, and perhaps mod ufe- f ul object of the vifible creation, he diffufes light and comfort to all around him. Al- though, like his blefied Matter, he be meek and lowly of hearty like him affable and obli- ging, apt to teach -, he is too confcious of the dignity he acquires from the rectitude of his life to ftoop to any thing mean or unworthy. Hypocrites and fmners may- be, nay muft be, flaves. The practical Chriftian only is free. He has no need of art, for he has nothing to conceal. He has made truth his fludy j he knows its beauty and its worth. Fie is injlrncied in the law of the Lord, and he is ready to conform to the minuted branch of his duty. He has inquired into the nature of things; he has feen the nothingnefs, the infipidity, the T 4 danger J()4 THE CHARACTERS OF THE HYPOCRITE, &C. danger of tbofe gratifications, which en- gage the paflions of lefs enlightened minds. He is fatisfied that happinefs can only, with any degree of reafon, be placed in pi- ety, probity and chanty here below, an4 in the well-grounded expectation of eternal life, and a crown of glory hereafter. 4 SERMON SERMON XII. ON THE INSTITUTION OF PREACHING, AND TH« MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT IN P.ELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE.* 2 COR. XII. 14. 1 feek not yours , but you, \T7HEN the firft teachers of our religion were called by the fpecial appoint- ment of almighty god, they were called, not to a flate of opulence, of fplendour, and of worldly enjoyment ; but to a flate of trouble, of perfecution, and of forrow. They were fent forth asfieep in the midftof wolves i they were accounted as vi Slims, appointed to the (laughter. They were re- quired to forfake all, even father and mother ', nay, the dearefl of temporal pofTefTions, * Preached at the parifh-church of the united parifhes of St. George Botolph-lane, and St. Botolph Billingfgate, on being elected their lecturer, life I06 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT life itfelf. Though it is certain that many of them were neceflitated to accept of fuch fupport as the circumftances of their fol- lowers could fupply ; and though in this they were authorized by our lord himfelf, who commanded them, into whatever houfe they entered, there to remain eating and drink- ing, and for this plain reafon, that the workman is worthy of his hire ; yet, it is equally certain, that, by the fame authori- ty, they were prohibited from abufing this privilege : and fome of them, who had the interefls of the Gofpel particularly at heart, feem to have taken no advantage whatever of it. The apoltle of the Gentiles, from whofe Epifde to the Corinthians I have fe- lected the words of my text, laboured work- ing with his hands, left, by making it charge- able in its infant-ftate, hefiozdd hinder the Gofpel of Chrijl. He therefore affures his Corinthian converts, that, though he had the fame right with the other apoftles to be maintained by them, indeed the right that every man who labours has to reap a liveli- hood IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. I97 hood from his labour, yet he never was, and never would be burthen fome to them : for, he adds in the words of my text, I feek not yours, but you. Though the apoftles were thus unfal Vourably fituated in point of worldly lucre, yet, as rational perfons, we are not to fup- pofe that they acted without motives, or that a wild enthufiafm, without any pro- fpec~fc of real advantage, engaged them in a life of labour and perplexity. They were confcious they were acting under the ap- pointment, and fulfilling the command, of the fupreme Governor and Creator of the world. They felt, within their own bo- foms, a conviction that they were ordained to a life of glory and immortality, and that their labours were confecrated to the no- bleft purpofes j that they were not only working out their own fahation, but that of others. They were endowed with all the fupernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, and had ample fcope for the gratification of all $he benevolent affections in the divine power of I98 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT of working miracles. Nor were they des- titute even of earthly advantages. The whole of temporal felicity does not confift in the pofleffion of wealth 5 nor even, as ibme of the philofophers abfurdly fuppofed, in an eafy and tranquil life. The apoftles were porTefled of a treafure far more efti- mable than thefe, the confidence and the love of their fellow-creatures. This was their earthly object, (and who could defire a better !) their heavenly objecl: was of a {till fublimer nature. It is a natural, it is a generous, and exalted paffion, which the apoftle expreffes in the words of my text: / feek not yours t but yon. " Think not that I regard your temporal pofTeffions ; that I look with a longing eye to that belo- ved mammon of which I obferve you are fo jealouQy watchful. Its advantages to fuch a man as myfelf would be trifling indeed ; nay, the great objecl: of my life would be counteracted by it. I defpife fenfual de- lights ; and, for avarice, it is the paffion of children for a glittering bauble, the attachment IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. 199 attachment of fools without any folid ground of liking. I afpireto a nobler pof- feffion: it is yourfelves that I covet; your hearts, your fouls, what neither ruji nor moth can corrupt, and what thieves cannot break through and JleaL — It is, in a word, the glory of god, and of our lord jesus christ. — It is your con verfion, your im- provement, your falvation which I covet." If the ministers of the Gofpel are not at this day pofleffed of advantages equivalent to thofe of the firft profefTors of our faith : if they cannot raife the dead, heal the fick, caufe the deaf to hear, or the dumb to fpeak; if they are denied the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit : if, on thefe ac- counts, they are lefs fnccefsful in their mi- nifbry, and are pofTefTed of fewer means of attracting the admiration, and conciliating the efteem of mankind 5 it muft be con- fefTed, on the other hand, that, inthepre- fent circumftances of Chriflianity, their talk is lefs arduous, and their fituation more tranquil and fecure. We are (liielded, by 200 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT by the mercy of Providence, from the irori hand of Perfecution, and a wife eftablifh- ment has not left us entirely to the caprice of Fortune for our daily fubfiftance. But, it does not follow from this, my brethren, that we are all of us determined to the fer- vice of the church by fecular or mercenary motives. This is a flander originating in malice, and fupported by ignorance alone. Permit me to trefpafs a little on your time, while I endeavour to remove an imputation fo injurious and ill-founded.* The nature of the revenues of the church of England * I fpeak from dear-bought experience, and from much obfervation. If this volume mould happen to fall into the hands of a parent who is bleffed with a promifmg child, let me conjure him not to facriiice, without fome peculiarly fa- vourable connexion or profpeel, the object of his affections to the ecclefiaftical profeffion. If he conceives a ftate of pe- nury to be effential to virtue, let him find out fome other inferior ftation, where the feelings of the man may bear fome proportion to his circumftances. But let him fpare his child the additional mifery of a refined education, fpare him the anguifh of disappointed hope, and the indignities which unpatronized abilities mult undergo even in feardi of a competent fubfiftance. IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, 201 is, in general, but imperfectly underftood. It appears, however, by fome late publica- tions, J that the whole income of the church, including that of the bifhops, the cathedral-churches, and even the two uni-* verfities, and their refpective colleges, is fo inconfiderable, that, if equally divided among the whole body of the clergy, it would not amount to one hundred and fifty pounds per annum to each : this, if there were no bifhops or dignitaries, no univerfities for the education of youth. The diftribution, it is true, is unequal, and in the ecclefiaflical lottery there are fome prizes. But, how few even of the beneficed clergy poffefs a clear income, for life, of five hundred pounds per annum f A fum, which would be accounted trifling in almofl any other rank of life, and which is exceeded by the profits of many in the very inferior, and by almoft ail in the fu- ll; See the Eifhop of Landaff's Letter to the Archbifhop of Canterbury, and the other publications on that contra- verfy, perior 202 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT perior commercial profeflions. Thefe* again, as I obferved, are prizes, which are the fortune only of a chofen few. They are chiefly the property of noble and weal- thy families, and are monopolized by the relations and dependants of the great. A conrfeof fervices, or a fortunate connexion will fometimes promote a man of merit 5 but, it is a melancholy fact, that many, too many, whofe parts and underftandings would qualify them for the firft offices of theftate, whofe claffical eloquence might have influenced fenates, whofe refined manners and converfation might havepolifhed courts, are condemned, in the fervice of the church, to languifh through a life of labour, in fome defpicable curacy, without diftinction or reward. It appears, from thefe obfervations, that he mufl be a weak man, who, without powerful connexions, enters into the church through the hope of profit or emolument. The truth is, the love of letters, or the love of god, or rather, as I trufl is in ge- neral IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, 203 neral the cafe, both of them united, are the only rational motives to invite a man of any abilities into the ecclefiaftical profeffion; A man, who is influenced by fuch motives as thefe, is not without his confolations : for, like the apoflle, hefeeks not yours ; but you. There cannot be a more refpectable character than a clergyman, who really dis- charges his duty ; nor, in my mind, a more enviable Situation than that of one, who difcharges it to the fatisfaciion of his hear- ers. He is effectually ferving god, and, if he be not pofleffed of wealth or dignity, thefe are amply compenfated for by confi- dence and efteem. Permit me, my brethren, to explain, in a few words, what I apprehend to be the true evangelical meaning of the phrafe, I feek not yours, but you. It is not cold appro- bation, nay, it is not your private friend- fhip, (eftimable as indeed I account it,) that will fatisfy a man zealous in the caufe of christ. — He ardently defires a more in- timate union, an union of fentiment, an U union 204 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT union in virtue. He wifhes you all fellow- fervants of the fame Mafter with himfelf; members of Chrift's myfiical body : not bound by the uncertain bonds of earthly paflion and intereit, but by the everlafting union of righteoufnefs and faith. In plain terms, what he feeks is you : ■ — you y not only in this life, but another;* your converfion, your improvement, yourfalvation. To effect thefe purpofes, there are two points of conduct indifpenfible on your parts : namely, frequent attendance on di- vine fervice, and, attention when you are .there. The man, who wilfully abfents himfelf from church, wrongs his own foul, for he throws himfelf perverfely out of the way of correction or improvement, and, whatever fins he may through ignorance happen to commit, will fall upon his own bead: for, inftead of employing his talent, he conceals it in a napkin ; and therefore merits the blame, not only of an unprofita- ble ', but of a wicked fervant. The iff RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. 205 *The work of converfion is not the work of a day; nor are the truths of 'the Gofpel, fpeculative as well as practical, fuch as can be learned without exertion or trouble.. The grace of God is vouchfafed to thofe float cjk it ; but the indolent, and thofe who wantonly reject it, God will judge. If it were even poffible to attain knowledge with- out feeking it, if inftinclively we were pof- feiTed of all the principles of morality j ftill, the human mind is naturally prone to evil* it requires to be excited, to be quickened, to be alarmed, to be put frequently on its guard againft the approaches of the tempt- er. Ill habits gain upon us as it were in- fenfibly, and we may be involved in a courfe of depravity before we are aware of the confequences, unlefs fome friendly warning awake us from our dream of fhij and inform us of our danger. Whatever of refined morality theprefent age can boafl may I think modeftly be attributed to the inftitution of Chrifiiamty, which provides for the inftruclion of fuch as want leifure U 2 or 206 ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT or diligence to obtain it by other means * fuch as are too bufy or too poor to apply to books for information ; and it is worthy of remark that vice prevails moft in thofe cha- racters, and in thofe claries of men, who moft frequently abfent themfelves from public worfhip. The great, who affect to be above that plain mode of inftruclion, which our church propofes, are diffipated and de- bauched j the poor, whofe miferable and unhappy fituation perhaps often keeps them away, are diflblute, profane, and difho- neft. In fine, god has made it a pofitive duty to attend upon his fervice ; and, if there were no other reafon, than that god has appointed it, that is motive fufficient with a rational being, who refpecls the or- dinance of god, or the welfare of his own foul. Next to him, who abfents himfelf from the church, the man, who is inattentive to his duty while he is there, is moft deferving of cenfure : and indeed I fee but little dif- ference in the nature of the offence. As drowzinefs IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. £07 drowzinefs or inattention are the effects of an indolent habit, and may be overcome by a little exertion, it may reafonably be ac- counted finful to perfevere in them. I know that the blame is fometimes laid upon * the preacher ; and it mufl be confelTed that one fermon may be, better than another, the matter more ufeful, the manner more interefting. A preacher may, it is true, fally forth into the unfruitful wilds of fpe- culative divinity, may involve his hearers in the clouds of myfiicifm. Yet, I will venture to. aver, that you will feldom hear a difcourfe, from which you may not, if you are well inclined, derive inftruclion. Indeed, the plainer! difcourfes, thofe which are lead admired, are often, I might fay generally, more inftructive than thofe which amufe the fancy and abound moft in rhetorical embellishments. Befides, while you are indulging in floth or negligence, it is impofTible to fay what you may iofe. Some ufeful precept, which might have been conducive to the whole happinefs of U 3 your SOS ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT your future life j fome feafonable intima-» tion, which might refcue you from the jaws of deftruclion, may efcape you. In one word, it is not the preacher you affront, 1 but your god and saviour, who requires that you ferve him with all your heart , and with all your mind, and with all your Jlrength. I faid, drowzinefs and inattention are vi- ce's of habit, and by a little pains the habit may be reclaimed. Only exert yourfelves for a little, and be properly on your guard againft them. Fix your mind on the fub- jec~t, and purfue it, as with a defire of committing it to memory, and attention will become eafy in a fhort time. Another practice, which I would recom- mend, is a mode of felf-examination, by which every perfon may be eafiiy enabled to judge of his progrefs in religious know- ledge, and which confifts in putting to himfelf a few plain queftions as he returns, from divine fervice : as, trouble not the majler. The alarming circumftance in this af- fecting narrative, and the practical conclu- fion, to which it is my defire at prefent to v direct your attention, (for, we have already confidered the apparent defign of the trans- action,) FOR DEATH. 2iq action,) is the abfurdity of flattering our- felves with the continuance of health and life, whateverour circum fiances or fituation $ fince we are, at the very beft, but Jtran^ gen and pilgrims ', and have here no continuing habitation* Jairus was rich j he was the ruler of a fynagogue : but, of how little efficacy is wealth or flation to the attain- ment of happinefs ! The daughter of Jairus was an only daughter ; the delight, the ornament of his declining years. Yet the diflrefTes of a fond parent could not flop the inexorable decree, or perfuade the flayer to flay his hand. The daughter of Jairus was young, and yet innocence is found an ineffectual defence, and youth itfelf unable to refifl the aflault of the univerfal De- flroyer. " Decrepit Age," fays the pious writer, whom I have already quoted, " expecls death, and frequently folicits it j " but immature and tender Youth looks * The lady, by whofe deceafe this difcourfe was occa- fioned, died very fuddenly, and in the bloom of life. X " fearfully $20 ON PREPARATION " fearfully on the approach of the awful 1 c mefl'enger of god ." You, my brethren, have doubtlefs, in the courfe of your experience, more than once beheld the gay, the profperous, the beauti- ful, and the young, untimely arretted in their career of life, and torn from the em- braces of their lamenting friends. So inef- ficacious are all earthly means of deferring this alarming fentence, that not virtue it- felf, which defends us from moft of the ca- lamities attendant on mortality, can fhield us from this. The niceft caution, the ut- moft prudence, the univerfal love of our fellow-creatures cannot alter our nature in this refpeft, or infure us even a moment of enjoymeniin the moft affluent circumftan- ces. If, my brethren, innocence of life, if purity of intention, if the moft concilia- ting manners, if gentlenefs of difpofition, affability of deportment, if the ftrict per- formance of every domeftic duty ; if unaf- fected piety, and the moft exact attention to all the offices of devotion, could refcue from FOR DEATH. from the ftroke of death, this congregation would not at this moment lament the lofs of one of its brighter! ornaments. If thefe, and other excellent qualities beft known to thofe, who bell knew the pofiefTor of them, could detain on earth a beloved fpirit ; the difconfolate hufband, and the dejecled friend would not at this moment lament in vain. The fatal fummons ar- rives, as a thief in the night. — To-day it is my lot, to-morrow yours. So delicate and complex is the frame of man, that, rather than be furprized at its impermanency, we have caufe to wonder that fo many inflan- ces are found of protracted exiftence. E- very flep we tread is upon precipices and quickfands : the fnares of death, fays the Pfalmift, encompafs me about > and the fains of hell get hold upon me. Go to the houfe of mourning, gay and thoughtlefs fons and daughters of diffipa- tion. — Behold the mournful confufion, the fpeechlefs forrovv. — Behold the pale image of mortality j and let your consciences fpeak X 2 with 222 ON PREPARATION with an eloquence irrefiftible, and which the fight of death can alone infpire ! Behold this, and tell me, what is there to attach you longer to fin and to the world ? What fhall feparate you longer from the only ob- ject that deferves your attention ? I truft, with the apoftle, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, fiall be able to feparate us from the love of God, which is in Chrift Jefus. The life of man, confidered in its moft extenfive view, is but a fhort preparation for that which is to endure for ever. c< In " a certain part of the world," fays an an- cient writer, " there are creatures produ- " ced, which live but a fingle day. Of " thefe, therefore, that which dies at the " eighth hour, dies well advanced in life j Religion tells you, that you are an inftru- ment in the hands of Providence to refcue him from fin, from Satan, from the wrath of god, and from a (late of reprobation. Humanity tells you, that you make thefe poor creatures happy by wifdom, and know- ledge, and ufeful employment ; Religion tells you, that you introduce them to that which is above all knowledge, the know- ledge of god himfelf. Not only the dic- tates of humanity, but thofe of felf-interefl acquire a peculiar force when united with religious motives. Self-intereft fuggefls, that you are benefiting fociety, and confe- quently ON, EDUCATION. 243 quently yourfelf, by the cultivation of arts, commerce and induftry ; that you are protecting your perfon and property from violence and afiault, by employing and edu- cating thofe, who would otherwife have nei- ther fubfiftance nor principle : but Religion tells you, that you are engaged in the fame work with Christ and his apoflles $ and that, in providing for the fpiritual necefli- ties of others, you are caring for your own. SERMON SERMON XV. ON CONSCIENC E.* MATT. XIV. I & 2. At that time, Herod the Tetr arch heard of the fame of Jefus, and faid unto his fervants, this is John the Baptift, he is rifen from the dead, npH AT evil mould be productive of good, that Pain and Adverfity fhould be the handmaids of Virtue, difplays the wifdom as well as the mercy of our creator, who has fubmitted us to this varied ftate. — Or rather, this difpenfation ferves to diminifh the weight of that curfe, which the difobe- dience of the firfl man had entailed upon pofterity. * Preached at the Magdalen Chapel, Auguft, 1784. Of 246 ON CONSCIENCE. Of all the train of moral (I might per- haps add natural) evils, there is none more intolerable, and yet none more falutary, than the pain of confcience. It is the moil intolerable, becaufe the fenfation of terror is generally added to that of remorfe ; and that, not a tranfient terror, excited by the apprehenfion of a temporary afniclion, but a conftant terror founded on the too certain knowledge and expectation of a punifh- rnent which is to endure for ever. — But the difeafe, if feafonably attended to, points immediately to its remedy. That remorfe, which brings to our recollection ideas fraught with anxiety and dread, points to us the means of happinefs and comfort. The commencement of virtue in the heart of a finner is remorfe \ repentance follows as its natural fuccefibr. — Repentance teaches us to hope in the promifes of god, — and by hope we arefaved. If, on the other hand, we are inattentive to the admonitions of confcience, and think by other means to efcape the perfecution ; let ON CONSCIENCE. 247 let us remember that from the reproaches oi confcience and the terrors of futurity no ftation is fee u re. — Confcience, like death, aifails the monarch as well as the peafant. No life fo buly, but the (inner will find occafions to recoiled: his guilt and his dan- ger 5 no life fo retired as to enable the vic- tim ofdefpairto fly from himfelf. In proof of this obfervaticn, you have before you, my brethren, the vain, the fenfual, the ambitious Herod. You have a fatal example, that happinefs is not necef- farily connected with rank or fortune ; — that our vices only are our real tormentors % and that profperity is commonly no more than the fpecious betrayer of human life. In ail the luxury of an Eaftern court, when the confcience fhould feeni to be charmed to reft by the mod exquitite enjoy- ments, or diverted by the variety of plea- fure, — Herod is wretched. Seated on an hereditary throne, a ftatefman and a con- queror, — Herod trembles. An obfeure in- dividual, who had only fignalized himfelf by 2/fi ON CONSCIENCE. by works of mercy and benevolence, dis- turbs the confcience of a king. — But the guilt of murder fat heavily on his heart. — Murder was the poifon that rankled in his wounded foul. When Herod heard of the fame of Jefus, hefaid, this is John the Bap- tifiy he is rifenfrom the dead. The folution was forced, the apprehenfion was contrary to nature and reafon. — To rife from the dead was a miracle of a far more ftupen-- dous nature than any which jesus had hi- therto performed. Elijah and the prophets had all wrought miracles ; and was it not ealier to fuppofe, that another had fucceed- ed, endued with fimilar powers, than that a deaf or blind man could not be cured, or a cripple reflored to the ufe of his limbs, without one rifing from the dead ? and yet Herod exclaims : — This is John the Baptift, — he is rifenfrom the dead. But Herod was the murderer of John the Baptift. ; — with John the Baptift, therefore, every thought was aflbciated. The bloody fpeclre of the mangled prophet accompanied him in every action. © N CONSCIENCE." 24§ action. — By John the Baptift his (lumbers were interrupted, by John the Baptift his appetite was palled even before he had tafted of the banquet. Every ftranger that ap- peared was John the Baptift ; every rumour that was propagated had fome relation to this hideous phantom, which inceflantly haunted his imagination. Dreadful, com- fortlefs, diffracting ftate ! Society is a ter- ror j folitude is hell! Every cloak may conceal a traitor. The impatient dagger may tremble in the hand of the enthufiaftic difciple ; and Herod fears the multitude, be- caufe they counted 'John for a prophet. Go, then, moft wretched of tyrants, to thy fe- cure and fecret clofet. Fortify the entrance againft the intruding rabble. Thy ftate, alas ! requires that thou mouldft*be fecured from thyfelf. Thy enemy, thy perfecutor is thyfelf. The murdered John, behold he haunts thee ftill ! He points to a ven- geance far more ample, more fevere. The multitude ! What can the multitude ? They may rebel againft thee, they may dis- turb 250 ON CONSCIENCE, turb thy government, they may reject it's authority. But god ? he can caft thee down into the abyfs of hell, and torment thee everlaftingly. Obferve, my brethren, by what infenfi- ble gradations the heart is vitiated and de- praved. Obferve the necefiity of attending in time to the admonitions of confcience. Herod begins with lust, he ends with murder. Born to a throne, with an ex- ample of cruelty in the perfon of his father, (the detefled author of the mafiacre at Bethlehem,) the heedlefs monarch places his only happinefs in the indulgence of his paflions. We may imagine many pro- greflive Heps before his heart arrived at that callous period, when it was no longer to be fatisfied with a vulgar crime. His bro- ther's wife is the object of his impure de- fires ; and yet, while he was ftill young in vice, he heard John gladly. Such is the eloquence of virtue, that even bad men will take pleafure in its praifes, while their own foibles and extravagances are not the im- mediate 6 N CONSCIENCE. 'i^I mediate objects of cenfure. But, the preacher of repentance could not tacitly be- hold an act, which put juftice and even de- cency to the blufh. He boldly taxes the tyrant with his crime, and tells him, how- ever lovely and inviting the perfon of Hero- dias might be, It is not lawful for thee to have her. The confcience of Herod rebu- ked him more feverely than the expostula- tion of the prophet j and, by a miitaken effort to fiience this importunate monitor, John is caft into prifon. The refource, however, is as ineffectual as the action is unjuftj while John lives, there is a wit- nefs and a cenfor of his infamy. Hero- dias has a confcience too - } and, to relieve her from its reproaches, it is railily and impioufly concluded that John muft die. The man, who has refigncd the reins to pafTion, who has devoted himfelf to the gratification of his vicious and impure de- fires, is no longer under the awe of god, or the dominion of confcience. Refpe6l to the laws, fhame of the wo: Id, regard to Z his 252 ON CONSCIENCE. his fortune, care of his family, friends, reputation, body and foul, are facrificed. The prophet falls a viclim to the rage and folly of a licentious woman : the bafe and unmanly Herod is made eternally wretch- ed. Taught by this example, you who dwell in the tents of Tranquillity, whofe bloom- ing and cheerful Companion is Innocence, learn to prize that bleffing as it deferves. The abandoned fmner, who wifhes to ren- der you as v/retched as himfelf, will tell you, you want to know the world. But in what would he inftrucl: you ? In mifery, in folly s in what to be ignorant of, is the beft of knowledge. Beware of the firft advance in fin. It may feem perhaps but a trifling deviation ; but whither it may lead you is impoffible to guefs. No human be- ing ever became abandoned at once ; and petty omiflions ufually lead to univerfal de- pravity. It is a queftion, whether, inno- cence once loft, the mind's tranquillity is ever totally reftored. The converted fmner experiences on conscience:, 25 3 experiences indeed a fenfationof happinefs; but it is the "Joy of grief ;" it is a penfive pleafure, mingled with regret. Perfect in- nocence is the great conftituent of perfect felicity. The celeftial fpirits are happier than we are, becaufe they are better ; and god is all in all, happinefs fupreme, be- caufe he is infinite in goodnefs. You have a monitor, that will not permit you to go aflray uninformed of your danger. Con- fcienceis not only a judge, but an advifer; as fuch, refpect her dictates, and, as yon value your own happinefs in this life and that which is to come, never, never wan- tonly difregard her. You, who have indeed deviated into the paths of error, but have not as yet totally bewildered yourfelf in the mazes of depra- vity : you, who have experienced, and now perhaps experience the fevere re- proaches of an outraged confcience : confi-' der them as the voice of god, as a di- vine grace operating within you for the re- demption of your foul. Your remorfe is Z 2 not 254 ON CONSCIENCE. not the agony of a Herod, or the trembling of a Felix ; it is the humiliation of David, it is the tear of Peter. Go, then, like that holyapoflle, and weep for your w'eak- nefs j but let your repentance not finifh. there. As you dread the renewal of your crime, deftroy completely all the means of temptation. Here, in the awful prefence of your god and saviour, make a folemn offering of every darling object, that may again endanger your peace and your falva- tion. Refolve, with a holy ardour, moll carefully to avoid thofe dangerous con- nexions, thofe profligate companions, whofe art, whofe gaiety, wlAfe alluring converfation, may betray you a fecond time to infamy and ruin. You, laft f f all, if any fuch be prefent, who are a veteran in fin, — tell me, have you found nothing to alarm you in the pic- ture that has been exhibited ? Perhaps the voice of conference may be weak within you ; extinguished I cannot fuppofe it, for Herod had a confeience, and that too in al- moft ON CONSCIENCE. 255 moil the ultimate ftage of depravity. If, therefore, a fpark of virtue yet remain ; if a ray of goodnefs can yet be found to en- lighten you ; — retract in time. Confider to what the warnings of confcience ingene-^ rai relate. Confider that her prophetic voice forebodes not evil in this life alone, but in another. Confider that, if even now your confcience be lulled into the deep of fenfuality and fin, it will awake to mi- fery at one time or other j at a time, per- haps, when to hope for a remedy were ab- futd and impofTible. Let not a fatal fug- gefcion of your fpiritual enemy, a fad fui- picion that your cafe is too dcfperate for amendment, miflead you. Whatever your difficulties, fpiritual and temporal, god will not defert you, if you truly turn to him. Through faith in christ, and obe- dience to his commandments, a glorious profpecl yet opens to your view. Though thy [fin's be as Jcarlet> fays the prophet, they Jhall be white as Jnow ; and, though they be red like crimfon] they Jhall be as wool. Thy Z 3 forrow, 25& ON CONSCIENCE. forrow, thy contrition fhall not pafs unre- warded. Thou, the loft Jheep^ JJ:alt caufe rejoicing even in heaven. And you, my young friends : gaiety, perhaps, or the hopes of entertainment, may have invited fome of you to the moft edifying of fpectacles. Come, then, and in the houfe of penitence learn the neceflity of attending feduloufly to the lefTons of confcience. Let thefe unhappy fmners tell their tale of woe. Let them tell you what remorfe, what apprehenfions they expe- rienced on their Srft fatal dereliction of vir- tue. Let them defcribe the painful con- flicts between modefty and hunger, be- tween honour and poverty, when reduced to the ihameful neceflity of general profti- tution. Let them tell you how they wan- dered defolate and friend lefs, and wanted perhaps a morfel of bread to fatisfy the cra- vings of nature ; how they palled the win- try night expoied to all the rigour of the elements j nor even in the tents of wicked- nefs could find a fhelter, or where to lay their ON CONSCIENCE. 257 their heads. Let them tell you the variety of anguifh they have experienced ; the brutal treatment, the infolent and inhuman inju- ries, to which they have fubmitted; the difeafe, the penury they have endured ; the atrocious and defperate crimes in which they have been induced to take a part. While your hearts yet melt with the affect- ing detail : behold the miferable wreck of beauty and of health j behold the delicacy of youth untimely finking under the infir- mities of age ! After this, I cannot think it necefTary to perfuade you liberally to fupport an inftitu- tion, which has for its object the refcuing of a fellow-creature from fuch accumulated affliction ; which has for its objecl the faving of fo many lives that may be ufeful to the community} which has for its objecl: the reformation of manners and the prevention of vice ; which has for its objecl: the recon- ciling to god fo many fouls eflranged from their redeemer, and exifting in the gall of pittemefs and the bond of iniquity. — It is a Z 4 mocking 25^ ON CONSCIENCE. fhocking cafe, when the unhappy victim of imprudence is involved in fin, without a poffibility of efcape ; it is a fhocking cafe, when hunger and cold, poverty and difgrace force the reluctant penitent to a continuance in fin, and when the necefhties of the body impel (as it were) to the ruin of the foul. Let the voice of confeience, my brethren, be the voice of charity. As you are not without fin yourfelves, learn to have pity on your fellow-criminals. And, in particular, if any finner be pre fen t, who is fo wretched as to have been acceffary to the entailing on a deluded female the mife- rjes of proftitution, let the voice of con- feience now tell him, that his crime is no common crime ; and that, if he bellowed, at this moment, on this excellent infiitu- tion, not the half, (like the virtuous publi- can,) but the whole of his goods, he would then fcarcely expiate the blacknefs of his guilt. It is to be lamented that the prejudices or the felnmnefs of mankind have not af- forded to this charity that fupport, to which, ON CONSCIENCE. 259 which, in the eye of reafon, it is juMy en- titled. Let not the voice of illiberality tell us, that without this houfe of mercy there are other means of relief. It is not in the indifcriminate mafs of a common work- houfe, that the heart is to he converted,' the underflanding to be enlightened, and habits of profligacy to be changed into ha- bits of order and devotion ; fach objects as thefe might indeed contribute to the gene^ ral depravity, and corruption of the place, but they could neither be reformed there themfeives, nor would they be out of the way of perverting others. Let it not be faid, again, that the good intentions of the chanty are not always anfwered. Perhaps not : (and yet I can fcarcely imagine that a reflecting being, who has experienced the miferies of a life of profdtution, mould willingly return to them.) But, allowing the poffibility of this : if but a few are fa- yed, or if (as I am inclined to believe) the majority are reflored to religion, to indus- try, to their difconfolate parents, the foundeft 260 ON CONSCIENCE. foundeft head and the pureft heart muft certainly approve your bounty. Let your generofity, my brethren, make fome com- penfation for the obduracy of others ; and, for this exertion of benevolence, be aflured that the blejjing of her, who was ready to pe- rijh, will come down upon you ; and that be, who givetb liberally and upbraideth not, will reward you feven-fold into your own bo- foms. SERMON I SERMON XVI. ON TOLERATION. * LUKE IX. 55, 56. Te know not what manner of fpirit ye are of. For, the Son of Man is not come to dejiroy metis lives, but tofave them. \T7HEN the supreme author of na- ture created mankind dependent upon each other, it was a iufficient intima- tion of his divine will : that, as he loved us, fo fhoidd we alfo love one another. Subject, as we are to innumerable wants and infirmi- ties j and expofed as we are to various dan- gers and calamities, the ftrong and pre- vailing voice of felf-intereft folicits us to * The following difcourfe was preached at St. Nicholas, Liverpool, June 11, 1780, during the dreadful riots in the metropolis ; at a time when there was great reafon to apprehend the fame tragedy would be a&cd in that place. the 262 ON TOLERATION. the conftant exertion of the benevolent af- fections. In the weak and tender ftate of infancy, to thefe we are indebted for nur- M ture and fupport ; and, in maturer age, it 2 is from thefe alone that we are to look for '^ fatisfactiori and comfort. Without thefe, this garden of Eden, which the lord has appointed us to drefs and to keep, would be- come a dreary and difconfolate wafte ; the thorns of difappointment would overfpread every pleafant fpot, nor would it affordj \ one gay ilower, one fragant and luxuriant fhrub, to cheer and entertain the paffenger in his melancholy way. 80 ON THE LAWFULNESS AND EXPEDIENCY per jurifdiclion ; who would condemn, without confederation, actions in them- felves indifferent, nay in a moral view lau- dable; who would make a crime of felf- prefervation. The words, I have juft now cited, point out, in my opinion, the only fafe mode of judging where there is no ex- prefs prohibition, and human reafon is left to decide : Is it lawful to do good, or to do evil ? To five life, or to kill f We are of neceffity very ignorant in what concerns the divine government of the world. We can have but a very partial view of the defigns of Omnipotence. The contemplation involves a chain of caufes too great, too many, and too far extended for our comprehenfion, were it even pofii- ble for us to approach the fources of this knowledge. We have indeed a general view of the greatnefs of the wifdom and power of the almighty. We fee that he bangeth the earth upon nothing ; that he bind- eth up the waters in his thick clouds ; that he faith to the fnow, be thou on the earthy like- wife OF INOCULATION FOR THE SMALL-POX. 281 wife to the fmall rain, and to the great rain of his firength \ that he bringeth low and lift eth up ; he killeth and maketh alive ; he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. Human prefumption, in fpeculating too nicely on this fubject, has been the moll: fertile fource that ever fupplied mifguided zeal with fo- phiftry to perplex the common fenfe of mankind. Men make a Providence of their own, and, on the fame plan, confciences of their own; at thefe unjuft tribunals, and by this falfe criterion, mud every truth be tried j no wonder, if the decisions are often arbitrary, in contradiction to reafon, experience, nay, the voice of Scripture it- felf. Two erroneous conclufions of this kind, it is proper to notice : flrlt, > " Becaufe the creator has appointed the courfe of nature in all things for the befi," it has been fuggefted,