up Jacob's ladder a few fteps, he is willing that Chrift fhould do fomething by and by. Now the object of all thofe devices, of which we are not ignorant, (as St. Paul fays) is to keep us in the fervice of the flesh; but remember, he that soweth to the flesh, fhall of the flefb reap corruption. A pharifee, who feels as if fomething was coming to him more than others receive, perhaps will not be fcrupulous about the exact quantity. He only wishes to have proper attention paid him; if he can flatter himself with a higher feat in heaven than thofe are to have, on whom he looks as worfe than himself, it fatisfies his carnal pride: Perhaps a period of punishment for finners, after death, in which they may be juftly corrected, for not being fo good and holy as this pharifee, would give him much fatisfaction. He would then be willing to have the poor wretches delivered from abfolute mifery, and enjoy fome fmall conveniencies. O, how hard it is, to be a humble difciple of the meek and lowly Jefus. It is death to carnal mind. If I preach the gofpel all my life long, fpend all my time and ftrength for the good of mankind, and the honor of my Saviour, fhall I not have fomething more hereafter, than one who has mocked and derided me? Anfwer, if I have, in truth and meeknefs, preached Chrift, and have been faithful in his caufe, ought I not to be thankful, that he has enabled me fo to do? Have I been the lofer, unless I am paid, in the world to come, by having fome privilege granted me which another may not enjoy? O, blufh, my foul, if thy follies rife fo high. No, every moment's faithfulness has been fupplied with ftreams of divine confolation; and it ought to be remembered, that, the preacher never refreshes others, unless he himU

felf is refreshed. If I have profeffed to preach Christ, but have preached myfelf, in room of him, undoubtedly I may think there is fomething coming, as my living has been very poor, while I have thus laboured; but the truth is, my reward has been equal to my fervice. I am willing to acknowledge, that carnal mind often contends, that I have done fo well, I ought, in confequence, to expect high approbations; and I begin to look down on thofe whom I fancy of lefs magnitude. But, O, the viperous fting! Well might an apoftle fay, "I find a law in my members warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to the law of fin which is in my members." Says the fame apostle, "Unto me, who am lefs than the least of all faints, is this grace given, that I fhould preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift." Upon what high advan-' tages did he calculate, above thofe who were much less in labor than himself? But, fays the reader, will not St. Paul fare better than the worft of finners, in eternity? Judge from what he says, "This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners, of whom I am chief." The more humble we are, the greater our enjoyments. But when all are completely humbled, and perfectly reconciled; when all old things are done away, and all things become new; when he, who fitteth upon the throne, maketh all things new in deed and in truth, I believe all ftrife, concerning who fhall be great in the kingdom of heaven, will be at an end. Ye, who preach righteoufnefs in the great congregations of the people, forget not the exhortation of the Captain of our falvation, "Learn of me." What good will all our labors do,

unless we learn of Chrift? If we learn of him, he will be unto us, wisdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification and redemption; and we shall preach, not ourselves, but Chrift Jefus our Lord, and ourfelves the fervants of the people, for Jefus' fake. Remember, again, the exhortation of him who is the leader and commander of the people, "Search the fcriptures." Make yourfelves acquainted with, and have free recourfe-to, this great ftore-houfe of divine riches, that you may be ready to “deal a portion to feven, and alfo to eight." "Ye are the falt of the earth." Asfalt preferves and feafons meats, fo that they are acceptable, fo ought the minifters of righteoufnefs to endeavor, as far as poffible, to preferve mankind from fin, that they may be acceptable members of the church of Chrift. "But if the falt have loft its favor, wherewith fhall it be falted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be caft out and trodden under foot of men "We cannot be profitable to others, unless we have the favor of the Spirit within us; this loft, and we are good for nothing; and in room of having a mouth, and wifdom, to put gainfayers to filence, we shall be overcome by them, and they will tread us under their feet.

"Con

tend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the faints." But be fure to remember, that, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but fpiritual, and mighty through God." Carnal mind frequently urges the neceffity of contending earneftly for the faith once delivered to the faints; but then, we must contend in a coat of mail, and with the weapons of him who fought the life of the Son of Jeffe. Be prepared to meet every kind of oppofition; we must be attacked on every fide, the adversary will not leave one ftone unturned, nor a weapon in his armor, untried. Be cautious

of any fyftem of divinity; remember "the path of the juft is a fhining light, which fhineth more and more unto the perfect day." The moment we fancy ourfelves infallible, every body must come to our peculiarities, or we caft them away. Even the truth may be held in unrighteoufnefs. Daniel's God was undoubtedly the true God; but I do not conceive Darius any more the real friend of that God, when he made a decree that all people fhould worship him, than he was when he made the decree, that no petition fhould be afked of any God or man, for thirty days, fave of himself. The cause of truth wants nothing in its fervice but the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, gentlenefs, goodness, faith, meeknefs and temperance. All the divifions and fubdivifions which now exift among chriftians, or ever have exifted, were caufed wholly for want of thofe graces. Should we be tenacious about certain fentiments and peculiarities of faith, the time is not far diftant, when univerfalifts, who have fuffered every kind of contemptuous treatment, from the enemies of the doctrine, will be at war among themfelves, and be trodden under foot of the gentiles Having begun in the Spirit, do not think to be made perfect by the flesh. In order to imitate our Saviour, let us, like him, have compaffion on the ignorant and those whom we view to be out of the way. Attend to the exhortation, "Let brotherly love continue." If we agree in brotherly love, there is no difagreement that can do us any injury; but if we do not, no other agreement can do us any good. Let us keep a ftrict guard against the ene my "that fows difcord among brethren." Let us endeavor to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace." May charity, that heavenborn companion of the human heart, never for

fake us; and may the promife of the Saviour be fulfilled concerning us, "Lo I am with you even unto the end of the world."

You have now, kind reader, caft your eye over thefe pages; perhaps you feel to fay," the doctrine of univerfal holiness and happiness cannot be true, notwithstanding all the author has faid in favor of it ;" and if fo, I condemn you not. The time has been, when I believed as little of the doctrine as you now do; I never adopted the belief of universal holiness and happiness out of choice, but from the force of real or fuppofed evidence. And I know you cannot believe it, on any other ground. I hope, however, you feel no enmity to fo glorious a fyftem of God's grace; I hope you have the spirit of Chrift, and wifh well to mankind.. I have, befure, great confolation in believing that my Redeemer has many faithful fervants and lov. ing difciples in the world, who do not believe in the extenfiveness of falvation as I do, and I often take great fatisfaction, in feafts of charity, with fuch brethren. St. Peter was undoubtedly a lov er of Chrift and his gofpel, before he was taught by the fea of Joppa to call no man common or unclean. The reft of the difciples, who were diffatisfied with his preaching the gofpel to the uncircumcifed, were doubtlefs poffeffed of the fpirit of Chrift, which caufed them to glorify God when they had more extenfive views of the gofpel,. through Peter's communications. As far as I fee men walk in the fpirit of love to God and one: another, I feel an union with them, whether their particular fentiments are mine, or not. Men can. not believe at will; we believe, as evidence appears to our mind.. The times have been, when. each denomination has been proscribed,, and, in