ostentation of a form of godliness, of such a lifeless, unanimated form as does not consist with the power of it.

By the prophecy, that in the perilous times men shall be "lovers of pleasures "more than lovers of God," is not meant, that during the continuance of these times there shall be no bright instances of a sincere and earnest devotion of the heart and all its affections, and of the mind and all its faculties to the service of God; that there shall no where be any prevailing attention to the one thing needful; no predominant pursuit of "the kingdom of God and his righteousness;" God, who hath never left himself "without witness" in the works of creation and of providence, hath in every age and in every country had some to worship him in spirit and in truth; some, whose simple faith and uncorrupted manners have glorified their heavenly Father. Neither does the prophecy, that men shall have the form, but deny the power of godliness, imply, that in the ostentation of the former, they shall be entirely destitute of the latter. The prophecy is fulfilled, if in com

parison and degree only the love of pleasure is made to exceed the love of God, and the due proportion between the form and the power of godliness is destroyed. Under this limitation, the prophecy is applicable to ourselves. In our age and country the love of pleasure is too generally made the constant end and aim of every desire; the unaltered, actuating principle of every action, which employs all our vigour and lessens every fatigue: the love of God is the cold reflection of the moment, when the heart is distracted with care, or exhausted with labour; the rule of deeds in which neither interest nor passion has any concern; the object of a distant hope, which, it is vainly imagined, may be achieved by many a devious and circuitous path. The one is the enthusiastic feeling which absorbs every other consideration; the other, the cold calculating judgment, which weighs occasions, and deliberates upon opportunities. The one occupies the whole man in all times and in all places, and leads him in his very extravagance to act a consistent part; the other is relaxed and

intermitted, regarded to-day, and neglected to-morrow; entertained upon occasion in the closet, but in the public haunts of men, disguised through fear, or counterfeited through ambition.

Such is the love of pleasure, as it acts in opposition to the love of God; and the contrast between the form and the power of godliness is equally visible and distinct. They may unquestionably consist together, as the shadow follows the substance, or as the finished portrait exhibits the beauty of the original. Good and holy men will never be inattentive to those simple forms which are worthy of the power of godliness, which are derived from a divine precept or institution, which have been observed in the best ages of the Church, and of which the rejection would be more offensive to Christian charity, than the maintenance of them can be prejudicial to Christian piety. Such are the most earnest endeavours "to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond "of peace;" the devout sanctification of the seventh day, and the punctual observance of all the negative and positive

duties which it enjoins; the constant celebration of the Supper of the Lord, with serious preparation and self-inspection ; and the daily worship of God in the family and in the closet. These are forms which bespeak the power of religion operating in the heart; and which have been recommended by men, who, in their several days, shone "like lights in the world,” and adorned "the doctrine of God our Saviour " in all things."

The form of godliness is then only censurable, when it is distinct and separate from the power; when, being designed for the auxiliary, it seeks the principal station in the order of religious duties; when, instead of a humble conformity with a prescribed rule, it betrays itself in the vanity of invention; when it seeks the praise of man without reference to the praise of God. The many forms of pharisaic godliness were not founded in obedience to the strict provisions of the moral or the ritual law, but consisted of a scrupulous tithing of "mint, ❝ and anise, and cummin," when there was neither “justice, nor mercy, nor faithful

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ness;" of frequent washings of the hands, when there was no purification of the heart, and it was full" of extortion and

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excess," of "hypocrisy and iniquity;" and of praying "at the corners of the streets," when the destruction of the "widow's house" was in contemplation. All these things were done to be seen" and "have glory of "men," and they obtained the little recompense to which they aspireda.

The Apostle prophesied that in the Christian Church also, there should be men of the same sort with those whose manners are detailed in the text, whose minds should be " corrupted and without 'judgment concerning the faith;" and who should “ creep into houses, and lead "captive silly women laden with sins, led

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away with divers lusts; ever learning, "and never able to come to the know

ledge of the truth." The attempts and the successes of these men were to be worthy of each other; and it does but too plainly appear on the records of ecclesias

d Matt. vi. 1. 2. xxii. 14. 23. 25. 28. Mark xii. 3840. Luke xi. 39-44. e 2 Tim. iii. 6—8.