ducing trivial effects, to treat trifles with extreme feriousness, and important matters with levity. Thus to the child and to the imbecillity of fecond childhood toys and puppetfhows are all in all, and nothing, even though it concerned the final catastrophe of his own life, or the downfall of nations, comes into any the flightest consideration with him. And can you be acquitted of this folly, ye who lead an unchriftian life, who are entirely carnal, and earthly minded? What means do ye neglect for relieving your corporeal wants and supplying the demands of your station, for pampering your body and decking it in coftly attire, for increafing your property, for accumulating treasures for yourself and your family, for acquiring or maintaining a certain confequence in fociety, for carrying to effect fome particular projects of temporal grandeur and happiness, for enjoying and multiplying and diverfifying your entertainments, for playing a flining part in the world, or in the narrower circle of your acquaintance and countrymen, for maintaining your poffeffions and rights, for vindicating your honour, and afferting your rank? What pains, what labour in these respects do ye grudge? What ferious confiderations do ye not engage in about them? With what care and caution ye proceed! What ftriving, what wrestling and running, how every thing is fet in motion! And what then after all are these repafts, these cloaths, thefe entertainments, this property, these distinctions, this pomp, these poffeffions, these rights? Are they of fuch vaft im

portance

portance as to deferve the application of all your capacities and powers, all your time to the acquifition, the fecurity, the enjoyment of them? Are they really worth the utmost activity of a rational, an immortal, a godlike intelligence? Have they not more semblance than reality? Muft ye not be deprived of them one day or another? Can you carry any of them with you into the grave, or into the future world? What then is the meaning of fuch great, fuch extenfive preparatives made at a venture, fuch strenuous exertions after objects that are fo totally infignificant in themfelves, and are of fo fhort duration? What meafures on the other hand do ye take about that which is the most important concern of all? For the perfection of your immortal fpirit? What do ye for becoming wife, virtuous, well-pleafing to God, capable of everlafting happinefs? How much time, how much reflection, how much seriousness, how much energy do ye apply to this purpofe? You fometimes attend divine worship, pray fometimes, occafionally receive the holy facrament, read fometimes, but how often or how feldom, in the facred writings, beftow your alms liberally fometimes, fometimes turn your thoughts on God, caft a glance towards heaven, wifh fometimes that you were better, more godly, and even intend it at fome future time; and then all these concerns are provided for, then you have nothing further to do with them for the remainder of your life, then again whole days and weeks pafs by without once employ

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employing your mind and your heart about them Is not this however a waste of one's faculties? Is not this to treat trifles with the greatest seriousness, and the most important objects with unwarrantable levity? And is not that a glaring folly?

It is fixthly folly, it is downright abfurdity, to believe certain points, or to acknowledge them to be true, and yet not to act in conformity with that belief. If any one fhould take into his ftomach, what he himself holds to be poifon; if another remains calmly and immovably fitting in a house, which he believes to be all on fire; if a third implicitly trufts to a perfon, whom he thinks his greatest enemy: fhould we not pronounce them all to be fools, perfons who had loft their wits, and were out of their mind? And how do we differ from them, my friends, in leading an unchriftian, a finful life? Does not our life as manifeftly contradict our belief? Do we not directly the reverse of what agreeably to our faith, we ought to do? We believe in an omnifcient, omniprefent deity, and we are not afraid of finning in his prefence, and we think of deceiving him by hypocritical words and geftures! We believe in Jefus Chrift, who gave himself for us, who is our deliverer, our faviour, our lord and king, and who hereafter will be our judge, and we love him not, we obey him not, we refufe to form ourfelves upon his temper and pattern, by a conduct at enmity with his will we expofe ourselves to the danger of -being confounded and condemned hereafter by him!

We

We believe that fin is displeasing to God, that it is the destruction of mankind, and we fin wittingly and wilfully let the confequences be what they will! We believe, that a day of judgment awaits us, and that then every one will be recompenfed according to his works, and yet we do fo many more evil than good works, and yet we concern ourselves fo little about how we shall be able to abide that judgment! We believe, that our foul is immortal, and that we are called to a never ending happiness, and yet we do fo little to render ourselves fufceptible of that happiness, and to prepare our immortal foul for a bleffed, a glorious portion in that future world! Can we call this however anything but a glaring inconfiftency? And can we be thus inconfiftent, without acting foolishly?

It is again folly, my pious hearers, to pretend to be rich, healthy, happy, while we are not fo. Who would not pity the fon of the vaffal, boafting of his grand extraction, the beggar bragging of his extenfive poffeffions, the emaciated patient vaunting his ftrength, and pronounce them to be out of their fenses? And are not ye guilty of the fame folly in more important matters, all ye who lead a finful unchristian life? Ye boast of being children of the Highest, and of bearing his image, and yet are the fervants of fin, and the flaves of your paffions. Ye: boast of being votaries and adherents of the meek, gentle, peaceable, placable, God-devoted, heavenlyminded Jefus, and yet fubmit to the domination of

pride, vanity, hatred, malice, to the government of a worldly, carnal mind. Ye pretend to be spiritually found and strong, and yet utter diforder reigns in your heart and mind, and yet you are deficient in the vital knowledge and firm belief of the truth, in inclination and energy to generous, honourable deeds, and yet submit to be hurried away by every temptation to fin and are prefently weary of ftruggling against iniquity. Ye reckon yourselves happy, and yet dare not thoroughly probe your hearts, and confider your condition, and carry about with you a wounded confcience, and have no right to confole yourselves with the favour and complacency of God, on whom however the whole of our happiness depends, and muft neceffarily be terrified at the idea of death, and its confequences, as menacing the overthrow of your wretched, fallacious happiness! What illufions, my pious hearers, what felf-deceit ! Can a man fo deceive himself, and fo miftake his real condition, and yet be in his right mind?

t

It is in fhort folly and ftupidity, if we know, or may and ought to know, ourselves to be in danger, and do nothing or not all we are able, to avoid that danger. And what various and imminent dangers environ you, ye who lead an unchriftian, a finful life, and yet are fo indolent and fecure! Ye are every moment in danger, of being hurried by your inordinate, violent paffions, to the commiffion of the most flagitious actions, actions at which you would now ftart with horror; and yet you allow thefe paffions

to