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foundness of their reformation,-their gratitude to their Saviour by their kindness to his difciples-their humility, by disclaming every idea of merit in themselves, and by giving unto God and their Saviour all the praife.

We are alfo to lead the thoughts of our hearers beyond this tranfitory scene, and to carry them forward to the awful folemnities of the future judgment. We are to prefs upon their minds that great fanction of all religion and morality, the certainty of a state of future retribution, wherein the imperfect services of Chrift's faithful fervants fhall for his fake be rewarded, and the offences of incorrigible and impenitent finners fhall be punished—“ the righteous fhall go into life eternal, and the wicked into everlasting punishment."

This, my reverend brethren, is to preach the word faithfully, to take the holy fcriptures as the rule of Christian doctrine, and the standard of Christian practice; to keep clear of those per

nicious extremes into which many have unhappily fallen. Human nature is prone to extremes, and whilft fome of our over zealous reformers, in their abhorrence of the prefumptuous doctrine of works of fupererogation, have gone into the oppofite error of Antinomianism ; other divines, difgufted with the folly and impiety of Antinomian doctrines, have reduced Christianity to a level with natural religion, and have difcarded its peculiar doctrines, its fublime motives, and its awful fanctions. But let us remember, that the true nature of an action depends on the principle, the aim, the intention with which it is performed; let us not attempt to build without a foundation, or substitute any other foundation than that which is laid in the gofpel of Chrift: for where elfe can we find motives fo pure, fo powerful, fo effectual for holinefs? At the fame time, let us bear in mind that infallible teft of true religion, "by their fruits ye fhall know them." Let us imprefs upon the minds of them that believe, their indifpenfable obligation to be

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careful to maintain good works. Let us call upon them to add to their faith, virtue; to let the light of the gospel shine before men in the purity and integrity of their conduct. Unity and harmony pervade the Christian system; let us not introduce divifion and discord, by attempting to separate what God hath joined together.

II. We should also, to comply with the fpirit of the Apostle's charge, PREACH THE WORD earneftly. When we reflect on the vaft importance of the fubjects on which we treat, one would hardly think it possible that any perfon could speak of them with coldness and indifference. For a minifter of Christ to preach the awful truths of the gospel, as though he neither felt an interest in them himself, nor was anxious for the cordial reception of them by others, is to degrade his profefsion, to mock his hearers, and to infult his God. He might as well preach to the winds and feas, for they would as foon obey him, as one fin