will be more humble, we know ourselves, and glory in the cross of Chrift.

ONLY let us walk worthy of the vo cation with which we are called, and receive not the grace of God in vain; for better had it been for us not to have known the way of righteoufnefs, than after we have known it to turn, through wilfulness or negligence, from the holy commandment delivered unto us. That grace of God which thus bringeth falvation, requires from us as a qualification for receiving its final effects, fincere endeavors to attain univerfal holiness in heart and life, without which no one can fee the Lord. And the way to attain this, viz. by denying ungodlinefs and worldly lufts, and living foberly, righteously, and godly in the prefent world, is fo clearly pointed out, fo recommended by example, and fo enforced by the most awful fanctions, that men muft wilfully

fhut

hut their eyes and harden their hearts if they do not fee and be converted. And that no encouragement may be wanting, it is the great and diftinguishing excellence of the chriftian religion, that it not only gives us the affurance of pardon for our paft fins, but promifes every requifite affiftance to our fincere endeavors for the time to come. This doctrine of holy fcripture hath not been by fome of late years valued as it ought to be, from the mistakes refpecting it, into which fome ill informed tho' well meaning perfons have fallen, thinking to exalt the glory of the Redeemer by disparaging the original work of his hand. For in holy scripture, the creation of man at first, is as exprefly ascribed to the eternal Son of God, as our redemption; and perhaps the circumftance of its being fo familiar to our minds, prevents its affecting us in the way it otherwife would. But let not the too high fenfe of the efficacy of

divine grace, which other perfons may have entertained, lead us to undervalue. its neceffity and importance.

FOR what are we with all the information we have received respecting our condition and God's purposes of mercy, if left to ourfelves. If God by his holy spirit did not still work in us both to will and to do, confiftently indeed with the free agency of creatures in a state of moral probation and discipline. But let us imagine to ourselves, that with a due consciousness of our own weakness and infufficiency, with frequent experience of the deceitful nature of un and the power of temptation, and with a perfuafion of the abfolute neceffity of obedience to the commands and conformity to the example of our Lord and Saviour, as proposed to us in the Gofpel, that we were this day informed for the first time, upon the indisputable authority of eternal

truth,

1

truth, that we fhould become the temple of Almighty God, that he would come and make his abode with us, and that by his gracious prefence and influence he would enlighten our understandings, correct and fanctify our wills, and guard, direct, and exalt our hearts and affections; with what holy confolation, with what awful gratitude would our hearts be filled! Let not then our sense of God's goodness be lessened by our more intimate knowledge of its effects.

AND whilft we carefully avoid the errors of enthusiasm, let us not fall into the delufions of pride, nor forget in whom standeth our help; whilft we make the attainment. of true and fubftantial godliness, in the most extenfive fenfe of the word, the firft object of our endeavors, as it is the only foundation of real happiness in this life as well as in the world to come, exerting all the

powers

powers of our nature in the pursuit of it; let us rely for the fuccefs of our exertions (and experience will foon teach us that we cannot find any other dependance) upon the encouraging promifes which are made us in the gospel of Christ, of grace to help in time of need. Not that with our best endeavors we may hope to be rendered perfect in goodness, notwithstanding our daily progrefs in it; for abfolute perfection is not the lot of man on earth, or angels in heaven; his very angels he chargeth with folly; and we are told that even a just man falleth seven times a day. In the midst therefore of our exultation we have caufe for humility, and after all to confess, that not by works of righteousness which we in any way have done doth he fave us, but through his free mercy in Chrift Jefus. And this duly confidered (and whether it be confidered as it ought let us ask our hearts seriously) must raise our

gratitude