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be prevailed on to comply with the essential SER M. conditions. Examine the scriptures, and you will find them uniformly asserting, that the virtues of a good life are the only terms on which we can claim to ourselves the merits of our Lord's death. St. John the Baptist, the forerunner cf Christ, and Christ himself, began their preaching in the same manner:-" Repent ye, or rather, "reform ye, for the kingdom of heaven is "at hand;" as if they had said, Break off your sins, and turn yourselves to a life of righteousness, that ye may be ready to receive the gospel, and may become proper objects of its privileges. Our Saviour, in the course of his ministry, commands his disciples to be exemplary in good works: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glo"rify your Father, which is in heaven." In the same discourse he says, Except your

་་

righteousness (that is, your practice of

N3

"what

SERM."what is right) shall exceed the righteous

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"ness of the scribes and pharisees, ye

" of heaven."

shall, in no case, enter into the kingdom And to this effect you will find the constant language both of our Lord and his apostles. Nor indeed could it in reason be otherwise; eternal life was originally meant for those only, who had no taint or infection of sin whatever, for God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; therefore, after the fall of Adam, and the consequent degeneracy of his posterity, all mankind became obnoxious to the wrath of God, and had he not mercifully found out a way to reconcile them to himself, they could never have hoped to become objects of his favour. He, however, out of his boundless benevolence, did find out a way, he sent his only son upon earth to die for them. But, can it be thought that he intended, by so doing, to leave them en. tirely under the dominion of their vicious

passions?

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passions? Can it be thought, that from $ERM. that time it was his design to bestow eternal happiness upon them, without any exertions of their own whatever? that they who, in a state of nature, were only to be accepted on perfect obedience, in a state of grace had nothing to do but to sit down, to eat, to drink, and to be merry;—to be as wicked as passion transported, or temptation invited them? The very idea is a derogation from the purity of God.

The original law given to man was

Obey and live, transgress and die;' by the

Christian law, the severity of this first law is mitigated; but to whom is it mitigated? not to those who continue in their transgressions until their death, but to those, who by a timely repentance establish themselves in such habits, as may appease the displeasure of the Almighty, and render them fit companions for the blessed saints above. Without the acquisition of virtuous habits

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SERM. habits (which can alone be gained by the

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constant practice of virtue, and the sincere love of it) we should not only be totally unworthy of the society of heavenly spirits, but absolutely unable to partake of their happiness, were it possible we could intrude ourselves amongst them.

Christianity, no less than the religion of nature, commands from her votaries perfection; but here is the difference between the two the latter accepts of nothing but a perfection, which is absolute; while, through Christ, the earnest and constant endeavours of his disciples will be accepted, however short they may fall of success. This is a point, which requires well to be understood. Christ came upon earth to save us from the rigour of divine justice, which can take up with nothing but an unsinning obedience; but an unsinning obedience is what no man ever arrives at; we should all therefore, but for Christ, be exposed

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posed to the wrath of God; on our sincere SERM. endeavours, however, Christ interposes, and protects us; the will, through him, will be taken for the deed; but if we do not endeavour, his sufferings and death will, as far as concerns us, have been in vain. But besides those who are desirous to accept Christ as their Saviour, though not willing to receive him as their King, there are others who renounce him in both characters, who either neglect to examine into the justice of his pretensions, or, taking some offence at his life and doctrine, altogether refuse to acknowledge him. It is not, I believe, uncommon for persons of this kind to reason thus: Faith, say they, is not an act of the will, it is an act of the understanding; we would believe, if we could see reason, but we really cannot, and therefore, though the gospel should be true, we hope to meet with pardon. But, I say, supposing the

gospel