this place at present on your poor children, can be but small, or at beft fhort-lived. To you, therefore, I leave it, to give them the deepest sense that you are able, of the unspeakable privilege of their education, the dreadful guilt of making a bad use of it, the indifpenfable duty of doing juftice and credit every way to the schools to which they belong; and of recompenfing hereafter, as God fhall enable them, the benefit which they receive. But I must not even yet conclude, till I have in one word more reminded you all, who are here affembled, that without continual help this excellent undertaking cannot be supported; and that almost every one is capable of giving it help, more or less, in fome way or another. They who have the burden of conducting it as trustees, all afford it the aflistance of their purfes, as well as their pains and advice. And I hope fuch of you as are proper will be ready, when occafion fhall require, to share in the fame truft. For nothing is more abfolutely neceffary to fuch a charity, than a conftant fucceffion of wife, and good, and reputable managers. But if you cannot ferve it this way, ferve it, however, in the much ea-, fier way, of a cheerful liberality. Its being a good thing evil Spoken of, obliges you, who are convinced it is unjustly so spoken of, both to patronise it more earnestly, and contribute to it more bountifully. The trueft objects of compaffion upon earth, are young perfons left, uninftructed and unrestrained, to the dangers of a corrupted nature and a vicious world. And fuch, without the timely interpofition of a Chriftian fpirit, would thefe have been, whofe appearance now not only gives your eyes the pleasure of a beautiful and affecting spectacle, but your hearts the joy of beholding at once fo many thousands of young candidates for usefulness in this world, and endless felicity in the next, as perhaps no nation under the fun befides hath ever feen together. Let us comfort ourfelves in the profpect, and oppofe it to the very gloomy ones that we have around us. Amongst the poor our religion first had its rife; and there at least it may yet maintain its ground, till it shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward*,, amongst other ranks of men. We are following the original 3 U VOL. III. * Ifa. xxxvii. 31. plan SER. CXXXII. plan of the divine wisdom, in making provision for revealing those things to babes, which the wife and prudent in their own eyes have bid from themselves*. And may God, out of the mouths of these babes and fucklings †, ordain and perfect praise to his holy name, and strength to the kingdom of his ever, bleffed Son! • Matth. xi. 25. Pfal. viii. 2. Matth. xxi. 16 SER SERMON CXXXIII. (Preached in the Parish-Church of St. James, Westminster, March 11. 1749-50, on Occafion of the Earthquake, Marth 8.) ON THE REVERENCE DUE TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE, ON OC- PSALM ii. II. Serve the Lord with fears and rejoice unto him with reve rence. THE paflion of fear is an extremely neceffary one for all creatures, whofe good or evil depends on their behaviour: for it prompts them inftantly to avoid whatever would harm them; and accordingly God hath given it a strong and deep root in human nature. But as our frame is difordered throughout, we are liable, in this refpect, as well as many more, now to exceed, now to be deficient; and fearing too little, on fome occafions, is the cause of our fearing, on others, much more than elfe we should need. Religion, if we permit it, will regulate all our inward feelings to our present and eternal advantage; and is particularly serviceable, not only in exciting, but directing and moderating this. Without religion, there may be endless alarms. Were not the world governed by infinite juftice and goodness, every person that would, might, in multitudes of cafes, do any hurt to others with impunity; and all mischief of all kinds befal us, however innocent, fingly or jointly, through the whole course of life, unalleviated 1 by a profpect of recompence after death. Nay, indeed, as nothing hinders, but that, if it were poffible for us to exift without God here, it might be poffible hereafter too, there could be no certainty that death itfelf would end our fufferings, or even would not increase them. But the knowledge of a gracious and wife Providence entirely fecures us, if we believe it as we ought, not only against all imaginations of inexorable fate and blind chance, but all real detriment from the worst efforts of men or devils. For if God be for us, who can be against us*? It is very true, religion banishes thefe objects of apprehenfion, by substituting in their room another, unspeakably more formidable than them all. I fay unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will fortwarn you whom you fall fear. Fear him, which after be bath killed, bath power to caft into hell: yea, I fay unto you, Fear bim †. And did not reafon afford us hope, and fcripture affurance, of his accepting and rewarding us, on most equitable terms, our condition under the divine government would be furrounded with incomparably greater terrors than any other poffibly could. But fince we know the means of obtaining his favour, in this life and the next, if we will but ufe them confcientiously, the awe, which we cannot but feel, of an Almighty arm, will be fweetly mixed with faithful love; and thofe things, which give others the most grievous disturbance, will not need to give us the leaft. Fear ye not their fear, neither be afraid: but fanctify the Lord of bofts, and let bim be your fear, and let him be your dread; and he shall be a fanctuary . First, therefore, learn to ferve the Lord with fear, and then you will be entitled to rejoice unto him with reve rence. The word of God, far from encouraging groundless and fuperftitious horrors, cautions against them strongly. In all ages and nations, men have been terrified with eclipfes of the fun and moon; in many, with conjunctions, oppofitions and ufpects of the stars, and otlier celeftial appearances; things altogether harmless. Therefore fuch frights the prophet exprefsly condemns. Thus faith the Lord, Learn not the way of Rom. viii. 31. + Luke xii, 45. ‡ If, viii. 12, 13, 1 of the Heathen, and be not difmayed at the figns of heaven, becaufe the Heathen are dismayed at them: for the customs of the people are vain *. But whatsoever things are real instruments of our Maker's will, we are to confider as fuch; and respect all that is wrought by them, as proceeding from his appointment. Were we sure of living ever fo long on earth; we are abfolutely in his hands all the time we live; and ought to be deeply fenfible, that our happiness or mifery, even here, depends continually upon him. But he hath paffed a sentence of death on us all, to be executed, at furtheft in a few years; and this furnishes a new motive to seriousness of heart, which we should be recollecting daily and hourly. But instead of that, we contrive all poffible means never to think of it; and we fucceed too well. Therefore to awaken us from this lethargy, he hath ordained befides, that the whole of life fhall be full of difcafes and accidents, to cut it fhort on a fudden, often when there was least cause to expect them; and here is - a more preffing call to confider our latter endt. But however furprifing each of these may be, when it happens very near us: yet, as one or another of them happens pretty frequently; for that very reafon, though they ought to affect us the more, they fcarce affect us at all. Therefore he alfo brings on, from time to time, the less common, and more widely destructive events, of wars and peftilences. Of the former we have for feveral years, not long paft, had heavy experience. And what we fee and hear to this day of the latter amongst our cattle, tells us, one should think, in a very interefting manner, to what we are fubject ourselves. But if all these things fail of the good effects, which he propofes by them, as it is notorious they do with us most lamentably: he hath in reserve more alarming methods of admonition ftill: one in particular, by which he shakes whole cities, whole countries and nations, fometimes to the extent of many hundred leagues at once, notwithstanding the intervention of large and deep feas; and hath frequently taken away the lives of thoufands in a moment, by a ruin, which no wisdom can forefee, no caution prevent, no strength withstand, no art evade. You Jer. x. 2, 3. ↑ Deut. xxxii. 29. |