don't love rites and ceremonies, no not in the church, and yet, perhaps, are more conformed to the world than numbers of the church, and have nothing but rites and ceremonies about their houses and families. What do we more than others? a churchman should prove himself a churchman, by having his articles, and keeping up the practice of religion; and a Dissenter should prove himself one, not by dissenting from the church, but from the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life, and then we shall agree very well together, though one went to a place called a church, and another to a place called a meeting: would to God every soul now present would put this question to himself, Am I come to Christ, or am I not? There is a great number of persons here, you have heard of Providence calling me abroad, no doubt curiosity brings many of you here, to hear what the poor babbler says: I tell you what I will say to you, that without you have an interest in the Son of God, you must be damned. Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith, whether your religion reaches any further than the church door, whether you are the inward court worshippers conscience, conscience, conscience, thou faithful monitor, God help thee to give a proper verdict. When I had the honor of opening lady Huntingdon's chapel, as I turned about I observed over my head were these words, Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord : O that every earthly soul may hear God's word this day. Don't be angry with me, I am now upon the decline of life, going toward threescore, surely now I may claim leave to speak to you freely; after next Sunday, perhaps, you may never hear me any more, though I do not intend to live abroad, but return if please God, in a proper time

ven.

but long before that thou mayst be in hell or heaAs the Lord lives, in whose name I speak, if you will not come to Christ to have life, you must come to his bar to hear him pronounce you damned to all eternity. If you come to him that you may have life, Come, ye blessed, will be the sentence there, but if you refuse now, Depart, ye cursed, will be your sentence then from the Lord, for in a little while he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Hark! hark! don't you hear him, don't you hear him, don't you hear him yon--der; hark methinks I hear him, what does he say ? see yonder, don't you see, good people, that yonder sun is darkened, and the moon turned into blood. O, who can abide the day of his coming? O, to think of his coming, may the sinner say, when I know his coming is only to damn my soul! How do the murderers dread the assizes, but pardoned sinners, pardoned criminals, are glad when they hear the high-sheriff coming: O, say they, I long to go to the bar, because I am going there only to plead the king's pardon. Happy, happy, happy you, that have come to this Jesus Christ that you might have life, that you mightTM walk becoming him in your life and conversation. O, Christ will come, and come to you as his children; but God grant this life may be displayed in you and me more and more! If we are helped to know that Christ came that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly, O, pray that others may come, bring your children to Christ. I was pleased one day after I had been preaching on Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, I think it was in New England, I was taken up into a room to repose myself, there was a mantlepiece, representing the children brought

in the arms of their parents to look at the brazen serpent: O may God help you to bring your children and your relations to view Christ. O Lord help my mother, my father, my child, my servant, to come to Jesus Christ that they may have life. The Lord help you to come, come young people. I was charmed this morning, and every morning I give the sacrament, to see so many young men there crouding to the table; may the Spirit of God keep you near to Jesus Christ; and you young women, may God draw you nearer unto Christ. I remember when God touched my heart, and sent me down to see my friends in the country, I prayed God to bless me to those to whom I was called to dance and to play at cards, and, blessed be God, he blessed me to them all before I was twenty years of age, and after that he sent me to a prison, and I there preached to a murderer, and some others, and, blessed be God, they came to Jesus Christ, and one of them went off most triumphantly. A poor creature, fourscore years of age, who has made it a practice to go and read to poor people, and to prisoners, said, "Sir I began late, but by the help of God, I now work the harder for Jesus Christ." May he incline you to come, O young women and young men. There was a good woman who died sometime ago, whose last word I think was, I now go to my God. Will you come and go too you old grey-headed sinners, that have one foot in the grave, God help you to go, God remove every obstacle; God grant that every mountain may be brought low, and a highway made into your hearts for Jesus Christ. Don't be angry with me; in a week or two I shall be tossing on the ocean, while you are hearing God's word

here; while I am amidst storms and tempests, you will be upon the earth. Paul could stand the

whipping, but it is not a whipping, but weeping, that breaks my heart; my greatest trial is, what if this sermon should help to sink these people deeper in the pit, that makes my blood run cold. that my sermon may never rise in judgment against you, my poor dear souls. I believe you

find it hard when any of you are forced to be witnesses against your own children, your own friends and whoever deals with the word with disinterested spirit, must do it; the only way to prevent it, is to come to Christ; and if you cannot come, if you are sensible of it, God be praised; he will come to you if you cannot come to Christ, he will come and make you willing in the day of his power; that this may be the happy case, God grant to us all, for his name's sake. Amen.

I

SERMON XV.

ALL MENS PLACE.

ECCLESIASTES vi. ver. 6.

Do not all go to one place?

REMEMBER an ingenious writer, who had been very copious in his publications, observed that the best and most profitable were written after he was fifty years of age: It is supposed, then the judgment is ripened, and the genius is as it were advanced to maturity and knowledge; and experiences gathered when young, will be more useful in the decline of life, when grey hairs are

seen here and there upon them. It is said indeed, that old men are twice children; but there are some whose geniuses are so very low that they cannot be twice children, because they are no better than children from their cradle to their grave; but this is not the case with God's children, for upon a reflection of the wrong steps they have taken, if it proceeds from the sanctified sense of afflictions, they serve to make them more instructive in their latter day. This was the case of Solomon, though highly favoured when young, for the Lord appeared unto him twice, yet he fell most awfully, and had we not read of his recovery again, the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, must seem to fall to the ground, but we have reason to think that he was restored, and gave evidence of his recovery by writing in such a manner, that none could but one that knew much of God and himself; witness the book of Ecclesiastes, which in all ages of the church has been received with a peculiar respect. Ecclesiastes signifies a preacher, such Solomon was from his own experience, and exceeded by none but him who spake as no man ever did.

The chapter in which is the text, describes the vanity and misery of our present state, if unsanctified. There is an evil, saith he, that I have seenun➡ der the sun, and it is common among men: thoughhe is going about to describe a monster, yet it is a monster that walks and stalks abroad, a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, though God gives him not power to eat, this is vanity and a great disease. Was there ever a more striking description of an old covetous miser, who leaves his wealth to some person