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SERMON XV,

On INTEGRITY as the GUIDE of Life,

PROVERBS xi. 3.

The integrity of the upright shall guide

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them.

IGHTEOUSNESS and fin are, in this book of Proverbs, frequently contrasted with each other, and the advantages of the former difplayed. The righteous man is fhown to be more excellent than his neighbour, as the ways in which he walks are ways of pleasantness. while the way of tranfgreffors is hard. Honour is represented as attending the

one,

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SER M. one, while fhame is the portion of the XV. other. The path of the one leads to

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life; that of the other to destruction. In the text, an advantage of righteoufness is specified, which is not commonly attended to, and which fome will not readily allow that it poffeffes. We are told by the wife man, that it affords light and direction to conduct, and will prove our best guide through all the intricacies of life. The integrity of the upright fhall guide them; or, as it is added, to the fame purpose, in a following verfe, the righteousness of the perfect Shall direct his way. There are ma▾ ny who will admit, that integrity is an amiable quality; that it is entitled to much refpect, and in moft cafes ought to influence our behaviour ; who nevertheless are unwilling to allow it the chief place in the direction of their worldly conduct. They hold, that a certain artful fagacity, founded upon knowledge of the world, is the best conductor of every one, who would be a fuccefsful adventurer in life; and that a strict attention to integrity, as his only

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guide, would often lead him into danger S ER M and diftrefs. In oppofition to tenets of this kind, I now purpose to shew, that amidst all perplexities and dangers, there is no guide we can choose so safe, and so fuccefsful on the whole, as the integrity of an upright mind; and that upon every trying occafion, principles of probity and honour will conduct a good man through life with more advantage, than if he were to act upon the most refined fyftem of worldly wisdom,

It will not take much time to delineate the character of the man of integrity, as by its nature it is a plain one, and eafily understood. He is one, who makes it his conftant rule to follow the road of duty, according as the word of God, and the voice of his confcience, point it out to him. He is not guided merely by affections, which may fometimes give the colour of virtue to a loose and unstable character. The upright man is guided by a fixed principle of mind, which determines him to esteem nothing but what

SER M. what is honourable; and to abhor whatXV. ever is base and unworthy, in moral con

duct. Hence you find him ever the fame; at all times, the trusty friend, the affectionate relation, the confcientious man of business, the pious worshipper, the public fpirited citizen. He affumes no borrowed appearance. He feeks no mask to cover him; for he acts no ftupid part; but he is in truth what he appears to be, full of truth, candour, and humanity. In all his purfuits, he knows no path but the fair and direct one; and would much rather fail of fuccefs, than attain it by reproachful means. He never fhows you a fmiling countenance, while he meditates evil against you in his heart. He never praises you among your friends; and then joins in traducing you among your enemies. You will never find one part of his character at variance with another. In his manners, he is fimple and unaffected; in all his proceedings, open and confiftent.-Such is the man of integrity fpoken of in the text. Let us now proceed to show, in what

what manner, and with what effect, in- S ER M. tegrity serves for the guide of his life.

EVERY one who has begun to make any progress in the world, will be fenfible, that to conduct himself in human affairs with wisdom and propriety, is often a matter of no small difficulty. Amidst that variety of characters, of jarring difpofitions, and of interfering interests, which take place among those with whom we have intercourse, we are frequently at a stand, as to the part most prudent for us to chufe. Ignorant of what is paffing in the breafts of those around us, we can form no more than doubtful conjectures concerning the events that are likely to happen. They may take some turn altogether different from the course in which we had imagined they were to run, and according to which we had formed our plans. The flightest incident often fhoots out into important confequences, of which we were not aware. The labyrinth becomes fo intricate, that the most faga

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