testimony of all God's counsel, and not to the favouring of a part. The preference of a part, whether it be of faith or duty, springeth always from the pleasing of ourselves, or the pleasing of others, or the pleasing of the times. Now, this is directly the form of pleasure wherewith the religious people are taken to wit, the pleasing of themselves with flatteries, and the pleasing of themselves with glozing falsehoods. This is the reason why they cannot enter into any truth, old or new, which the religious world hath not approved, or may not approve. But if they loved God, they would speak out his word, without the fear of man; and, instead of endeavouring to continue ignorant, and to keep others ignorant of the same, they would stir themselves up, and awaken all diligently to search God's word-whether, for example, the Trinity were a true doctrine, and what use it is of in the Christian life; whether reprobation and election were a true doctrine; what is meant by Christ the Prophet, and Christ the King, aye, and Christ the Priest, as well as Christ the Sacrifice; and whether there be such a thing as the coming of the Lord in glory and majesty, mentioned in all the Scriptures; and whether there be ever such a thing as a spiritual coming of the Lord (which I confess I never heard of, or read of, till within these half-dozen years); and whether there be such a thing as a mystery of iniquity, and an AntiChrist for I am sure there is more written

in the Bible concerning these things, than either concerning Bible Societies, or Missionary Societies, or Sunday Schools, or Infant Schools, or other things of the like notoriety. Methinks, if there were not a great love of pleasure, a great love both to please and to be pleased, amongst the people calling them. selves the Religious World, they might be as well employed in opening out and searching these wells, now of a long time stopped up, as in writing philippics against those who do their best endeavour to clear away the rubbish from those ancient fountain-heads of doctrine, and cry Fools,' 'Madmen,' and 'Enthusiasts' upon certain of us, who are zealous that the church should drink the living waters which flow from thence. There is one sure way by which you shall know whether a man loves pleasure or not, which is, by seeing how he bears to be contradicted, or in any way put out of his ordinary course. Now, if I might judge by this rule, I should decidedly say, that I have met with no people so unwilling to listen to what contradicts, or even enlarges upon, their few opinions; who resent as an insult, as a personal insult, that you should differ from them in any thing; who are so rude and riotous against any one who does not row in their boat, or steer their course, as are the people commonly called the Religious World. And therefore I very strongly suspect, that this characteristic of loving pleasure, of loving sweet things, more

than loving God; of desiring the agreeable, or, as they call it, the useful-that is, what takes with and tells upon their own friends and favourites-is specially applicable to them. They are so fretful when opposed, they are so fearful of giving offence, they are so courteous of dignities, and withal so self-complacent and so well satisfied that all others besides themselves are surely wrong, that I shrewdly suspect the cement of the heterogeneous materials is a mutual forbearance with each other's sins, and mutual pleasing of each other's dispositions, and playing into each other's hands, and, above all, the union of one common spirit to please and to be pleased with one another.

But I must conclude.-It is the part of a man, when he undertakes a work of reproof, to do it in an honest, straight-forward, and righteous manner; and being now about this work, I have endeavoured, as ye have heard, to express distinctly my convictions with respect to the pleasure-loving times in which we live. You have the convictions of the preacher, and no more. I think I do express them in the spirit of speaking the truth in the love of it; but, as I would not receive the convictions of any man, though expressed with the smoothness of oil; nor yet reject the convictions of any man, though expressed with the bitterness of wormwood: so neither do I ask any of you rashly to adopt these convictions of mine; but to come to them slowly, and through a wide.

observation, as I have sought to do. But if I have touched the conscience of any of you, with respect to your own sins and short-comings in this matter whereof I have discoursed, I entreat you to give ear to that whereon you are agreed, though you may differ from me in the main conclusion. For though I have proposed to myself in these discourses, which are now well-nigh finished, the distinct object of wrestling with the evil spirit of the times, I trust I have been able to commend the truth to your consciences also, for of this I have never lost sight and I do entreat you, dearly beloved brethren, to love God with all your heart, that you may be able to enjoy the good things of this life without offending him; and that you may be defended from being man-pleasers, and world-pleasers, and self-pleasers. Let us speak the truth one to another, in simplicity and in godly sincerity; let us rebuke one another, with all long-suffering; and in all things shew an example of honesty, simplicity, sincerity, and truth.

379

SERMON XVI.

HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING THE POWER THEREOF.

2 TIM. iii. 1, 5.

This know also, that in the last days perilous times For men shall, &c....having a form

shall come.

of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

IT is very remarkable that such a series of

characteristics of the last times should conclude thus, " having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it." One would have rather supposed, that the conclusion and consummation of such a state of the church would have been the destruction of all those outward forms whereof the inward substance had departed; that, when the love of self, and the love of money, and the love of pleasure, had gotten the victory over the love of God and of goodness; when pride, boasting, blaspheming, incontinence, and fierceness, had gotten the victory over obedience to parents, grace, holiness, and natural affection; there would have continued no longer any observation of the outward forms and ordinances of religion, but all