SERM.bearing than they might be, or may be in XI. another state, but yet they are fufficient, 'efpecially fince he has given us fatisfying evidence of his own moral perfections and his moral government, though they do not fhine out in their full splendor.

The true confequence therefore from the promiscuous administration in the present ftate, fo far as it is promifcuous, is not that it fhall be fo throughout; but quite on the contrary, that the less manifeftly it appears now to be well with the righteous, the more manifest it shall be hereafter: for, if the government of the rational creation be moral, and the ends of it must be obtained, it follows that they who fincerely adhere to the caufe of virtue, muft in proportion be happy, not perfectly and apparently in every circumftance and condition of their being, for that the divine wisdom and rectitude do not require, but in the whole: When, and where, and in what manner> are points which our unfinished reason doth not reach to. Here the fcripture inftructs us more particularly, affuring us that the latter end of the perfect and upright man is peace; that the dead are blessed who die in the Lord; that God has appointed a day in

which

which he will judge the world in righteousnessSERM. by Jefus Chrift, who will be glorified in his XI. faints, will give them crowns of life and glory, and fhall take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel.

If we fincerely believe the christian religion, it is impoffible to disbelieve this arti cle, which lies at the very foundation of it; indeed it may juftly be called the foundation of all religion, which is nothing else but the practice of virtue out of respect to the Deity, or from a fincere perfwafion and acknowledgement of his Being, his moral perfections, and moral government, or his providence ruling the world in righteousness; nay, virtue itself, in the most abstract way of confidering it, however amiable it may appear to the human mind, is left naked and deftitute of its greatest fecurity, unless we be convinced of its connection with happiness, and that it shall be well with the righteous. But ftill this principle, as clear as it is and important, confirm'd by the concurring evidence of reafon and revelation, and fo nearly affecting the highest interest of every man in particular, has not that influence and effect on the minds and the practice of men which it ought to have. Whence T 3

doth

SERM. doth this arife? Certainly from inattention, XI. from the influence of particular affections, paffions, and habits. There is nothing more unaccountable in the ftate of human nature, and the conduct of its powers, than that men should be determined to act against the conviction of their minds, and that the lower springs of action should prevail against those which are acknowledged to be fuperior. This is our infirmity, but it is not remediless; and the remedy is in ourselves: By a vigorous careful attention, and strong refolution, which our hearts will tell us are in our power, our contracted and even natural weaknesses may be cured; but if we will not shew ourselves men, we choose our own deftruction, and perish like fools. However, if the filthy will be filthy ftill, let the righteous be righteous ftill, affured that it fhall be well with him.

SER

SERMON XII.

The Path of the Juft, like the fhining Light.

Proverbs iv. 18.

But the path of the just, is as the Shining light, that shineth more and more, unto the perfect day.

N' this book Solomon recommends reli- SERM.

IN

gious virtue to our affectionate esteem, XII. to our choice and conftant purfuit, by the character of wisdom; a character which if it be justly applied, fhould render it highly amiable to mankind; for what can be more agreeable to an intelligent nature, than the proper use, and the beft improvement of understanding? Indeed, if we fix our thoughts attentively in the contemplation of this excellent object, we cannot mifs of difcerning its beauty; it fhines by its own native fplendor, and must strike every rational being with a fense of glory and dignity, which

T4

SERM. which is no where else to be seen. Every XII. thing under the fun, when fet against it, is but low in comparison; the most finished beauties of corporal nature are empty shadows; for it is in reality reason itself in its highest exaltation. But we must make a difference between the abftracted idea of virtue or wisdom, and the practice of it in human life. The one is truly a divine form; for moral rectitude and goodness is the glory of God himself, and in him it is a transcendent excellence, which is the object of our highest admiration and love, though we cannot form adequate conceptions of it. The other virtue, as exemplified in human characters, is a faint image, fhaded not only with intellectual imperfections, as it is in all finite beings, whereby they come infinitely fhort of abfolute wisdom and original holiness, but with moral defects in our present state; for there is not a just man that liveth upon the earth and finneth not, who has not fome remaining weakness, whereby he is in danger of being drawn away into evil and folly. And yet imperfect as it is, virtue makes an important difference among men, a difference between their characters, and a difference between their conditions.

The