do afcertain a legal right to a man's poffeffions, by having undisturbedly enjoyed them for a determinate number of years; yet this makes no alteration in reafon and confcience: for what is vicious and wrong this year, will not be more right and virtuous the next. But on the contrary, If I be deprived of my right to-day, the damage I fuftain will be doubled by with-holding it from me to-morrow; the next day it will be ftill the greater, and so on, continually increasing, until reftitution fhall be made.

If any of us be the unhappy children of those parents whom I fpoke of under my laft confideration, we are to reflect, that natural affection doth not look forward altogether, but hath a retrospect alfo to our parents and progenitors. Let us then wipe off the ftain from their memory, by doing what they ought to have done had they been yet living.

If one may in any cafe fuppofe, that men's misery doth increase in the other world, in proportion to the increase of the bad effects of their fins which they com→ mitted in their lives; we can in no instance

Cc 2

stance admit it more reasonably than in the matter before us. And if fo, this will lay an additional charge upon our minds, and fasten the duty upon us by all the ties which can engage human nature. If we have any regard to the moft natural affections of our fouls, if we have any love to our neighbours or to ourselves, to our children or to our parents, we must disburden our estates and our confciences, and make reftitution.

I SHALL add but one motive more, to quicken the practice of this duty, and that is, the uncertainty of our lives. We must make hafte, left death be too nimble for us. We are but of yesterday, and perhaps may not be on the morrow. Let us not leave it in the power of a fever, or an unwholesome breath of air, or an ill compounded medicine, or the ftumbling of an horse, to rob and fpoil us of our eternal well-being.

When we defer our reftitution to ficknefs or old age, we fuppofe many things herein which may not be granted us. We suppose that we fhall live to be old; we fuppofe that we fhall die of a lingering fickness; we fuppofe that we shall be

more able and willing to do that in weaknefs and pain, which we will not do now in our health and ftrength; and that the nearer we shall be to the finking into eternity, the less we shall cling unto the world; and lastly, hereby we suppose, that in the distemper which will carry us to our graves we shall not be delirious, but shall enjoy the free use of our reason and fenfes to the laft: But the only thing certain. among all these fuppofitions is, that we are not in our right minds at present; otherwife we fhould not leave our everlafting welfare at the hazard of fo many uncertainties. Death, we know, is fubject to no controul. He mixeth himself with our pleasures and our business: He is prefent at our tables, and in our beds; and no man shall stay his hand, or fay unto him what doft thou? Let us then not delay what is fo neceffary to our well-being, to a time which perhaps we may never live to fee; and if fo, we must not prefume to defer it to another day.

I SHALL only add one fingle inference from this whole difcourfe, and that is Cc 3 this:

this: If reftitution must be made, it is better not to fin. For who would do an unjuft thing, if he were fenfible that he muft undo it again, or perish everlastingly? This is labouring to no purpose, It is troubling ourselves at prefent, only for the fake of creating to ourselves more trouble hereafter. It is taking pains to make others miferable now, only that we ourselves may be more miferable in the time to come.

If reftitution is a hard duty, it is beft not to force ourselves upon the practice of it: Not to incur a danger, which we are not fure of furmounting; nor to fall into a temptation, which will be fo likely to work our fhame in the conflict.

Let us therefore keep innocency, and do the thing which is right. Let us with-hold our hands from violence; and our tongues, that they fpeak no guile. Let us do juftice, love mercy, relieve the oppreffed, defend the caufe of the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Let us not do that to others, which we would not have thofe others to do unto us; and let us mete unto them the fame measure, which we think it reasonable for us to receive from them. SERMON

SERMON XXI.

Motives to remember our Mortality.

[From a Sermon of Dr. SCOTT'S ]

ECCL. xi. 8.

If a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.

I

SHALL not trouble you with the

various renderings of thefe words; which, with a very little difference, do all amount to the fame fenfe; viz. That fuppofing it should be a man's good fortune to live very long, and exceeding happy in this world; yet he ought to have great care, that the joys of this life do not fo wholly take up and ingrofs his thoughts, as to make him forget those days of darknefs, which muft ere long fucceed this delightfome funfhine; which days will be many more, and of much longer continuance, than the longeft life of happiness we can promise to ourselves in this world.