thou wilt hear the voice of God calling thee to repentance, and by repentance to charity, harden not thy heart: but what thou knowest that in thy last moment thou shalt wish done, make haste to do, lest thy last moment be now upon thee.

And let us all, at all times, and in all places, remember, that they who have given food to the hungry, raiment to the naked, and instruction to the ignorant, shall be numbered by the Son of God amongst the blessed of the Father.

79

SERMON V.

NEHEMIAH, CHAP. IX. VERSE 33.

Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly.

THERE is nothing upon which more writers, in all ages, have laid out their abilities, than the miseries of life; and it affords no pleasing reflection to discover that a subject so little agreeable is not yet exhausted.

Some have endeavoured to engage us in the contemplation of the evils of life for a very wise and good end. They have proposed, by laying before us the uncertainty of prosperity, the vanity of pleasure, and the inquietudes of power, the difficult attainment of most earthly blessings, and the short duration of them all, to divert our thoughts from the glittering follies and tempting delusions that surround us, to an inquiry after more certain and permanent felicity; felicity not subject to be interrupted by sud

den vicissitudes, or impaired by the malice of the revengeful, the caprice of the inconstant, or the envy of the ambitious.They have endeavoured to demonstrate, and have, in reality, demonstrated to all those who will steal a few moments from noise and show and luxury, to attend to reason and to truth, that nothing is worthy of our ardent wishes, or intense solicitude, that terminates in this state of existence, and that those only make the true use of life that employ it in obtaining the favour of God, and securing everlasting happiness.

Others have taken occasion, from the dangers that surround and the troubles that perplex us, to dispute the wisdom or justice of the Governor of the world, or to murmur at the laws of divine Providence; as the present state of the world, the disorder and confusion of every thing about us, the casual and certain evils to which they are exposed, and the disquiet and disgust which either accompany or follow those few pleasures that are within our reach, seem, in their opinion, to carry no marks of infinite benignity. This has been the reasoning by which the wicked and profligate, in all ages, have attempted to harden their hearts against the reproaches of conscience, and delude

others into a participation of their crimes.By this argument weak minds have been be trayed into doubts and distrust, and decoyed by degrees into a dangerous state of sus pense, though, perhaps, never betrayed to absolute infidelity. For few men have been made infidels by argument and reflection; their actions are not generally the result of their reasonings, but their reasonings of their actions. Yet these reasonings, though they are not strong enough to pervert a good mind, may yet, when they coincide with interest, and are assisted by prejudice, contribute to confirm a man, already corrupted, in his impieties, and at least retard his reformation, if not entirely obstruct it.

Besides, notions thus derogatory from the providence of God tend, even in the best men, if not timely eradicated, to weaken those impressions of reverence and gratitude, which are necessary to add warmth to his devotions, and vigour to his virtue; for, as the force of corporeal motion is weakened by every obstruction, though it may not be entirely overcome by it, so the operations of the mind are, by every false notion, impeded and embarrassed, and though they are not wholly diverted or suppressed, proceed 6

VOL. VIII.

at least with less regularity, and with less celerity.

But these doubts may easily be removed, and these arguments confuted, by a calm and impartial attention to religion and to reason: it will appear, upon examination, that though the world be full of misery and disorder, yet God is not to be charged with disregard to his creation; that if we suffer, we suffer by our own fault, and that "he has done right, but we have done wickedly."

We are informed by the Scriptures, that God is not the author of our present state; that when he created man, he created him for happiness; happiness, indeed, dependent upon his own choice, and to be preserv ed by his own conduct; for such must necessarily be the happiness of every rea sonable being, that this happiness was forfeited by a breach of the conditions to which it was annexed; and that the posterity of him that broke the covenant were involv ed in the consequences of his fault. Thus religion shows us, that physical and moral evil entered the world together; and reason and experience assure us that they continue for the most part so closely united, that, to avoid misery, we must avoid sin, and that, while it is in our power to be virtuous, it is