1 from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. You must for ever bear the wrath of a sin-avenging God. Sinner, though you have often been reproved, and heretofore have hardened your heart; in the strength of that God whose I am, I will make one more effort. Hear it then, O sinner. If you do not repent, you must perish:-if you do not forsake your wickedness, you shall fall by the sword of eternal vengeance. Hell moves from beneath, to meet you at your coming-the scale begins to turn-already you are almost gone-thy soul shall be required at thy hands in a few days. And now I shall call witnesses to attest the effort I have made for your good. Hear it, O God! Thou solemn God of heaven; and all ye powers above, saints, angels, ye fathers and mothers of these young people who are now in heaven, hear it! I this day have warned your children on earth. Yea, ye damned in hell, bear witness, and prepare fresh aggravation for the sinner, who still stands it out against the calls of mercy! But I am not satisfied. Miserable comfort! I had rather you would repent-I had rather you would return. But, says one, what shall I do? First, fall down, and thank God that you are not damned already; and then, with the greatest speed, fly to Jesus. And will he receive me? O yes, he will receive you, and abundantly pardon you, for he waits to be gracious. "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And 268 HARRIS'S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." I know not what more to say.-You mistake us, brethren, if you suppose that we preach for any thing but your salvation. Would to God you could feel the importance of religion. But we will commit you to God. You must make your own improvement of what has been said. O God! do thou be pleased to make thine own word quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. To God only wise, be honour and glory for ever. .Amen. SERMON XXVI. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts. MAN is a being of circumscribed capacities; in consequence of which his knowledge of many subjects must be defective. But perhaps he seldom misses the mark further, than when he proposes to himself, as a subject of contemplation, the divine perfections. Through the association of ideas in the human mind, and the help of analogy and inference, we may form something like correct sentiments on some subjects. But who, by searching, can find out God?` "For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord." Although man, in his original state, bore the nearest resemblance to his Maker of any created being; yet, clad as he is at present with the tissue of de ception, by which he easily imposes on his fellowcreature; if he form his idea of his God by comparing him with himself, he will obscure, he will eclipse the glory of that Being, whose thoughts are not like our thoughts:—that Being that planted the ear, that formed the eye, that chastiseth the heathen, and teacheth man knowledge; and, of course, that Being, who must hear, see, know, and correct. These inadequate conceptions, this ignorance of God, may be denominated the mother of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, whose fruitful womb, impregnated by the fell demon of hell without any abortion, has given birth to a progeny, odious and numerous as the croaking fry of Egypt. But of all the offspring of hypocrisy, false piety, perhaps, bears the nearest resemblance to her mother. Indeed you would take her for the same, though she attempts to disguise herself with a veil. My brethren, it is my present design to guard you against this hellish prude, I mean false piety; for be you well assured, that thousands of the human family have been sacrificed on her altars, whose groaning ghosts fill all hell with wailings. Would you be delivered from her destroying hand? Let your piety be entire, disinterested, and internal. I. Entire,-taking in whatever concerns the service of God, both counsels and precepts. II. Disinterested,-seeking only God and his kingdom, without any regard to temporal advan tages; or, at least, not making these our leading motive in our piety. III. Internal,-residing in the heart, and issuing from the heart. Bend, I beseech you, your whole attention to these three points. We have not treated, nor do we ever expect to treat, of a subject more useful or important. For behold, God desireth truth in the inward parts. I take up no time, my brethren, to explain the terms of the text. Every one must see, at once, that the meaning is similar to that of our Lord, where he says, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." Or, in other words, our piety must be ardent, and at the same time proceed from sincerity of heart, to render us agreeable in the divine sight. I. Our piety, to be acceptable to God, must be entire; taking in whatever concerns the service of God. I think, my brethren, if we have studied human nature, we have discovered a disposition in man to appease the tumult of his mind, to silence the clamours of his conscience by a false piety; the character of which is, to be exact to a degree of scrupulosity in small matters, and at the same time to neglect the most important points of the law of God. A piety this, which, under the colour of an imaginary |