therefore I would have you to be not only zealous in devotion in fecret, in your families, and in public, but alfo juft, honourable, and faithful in all your dealings with mankind; kind, affectionate, meek and inoffenfive in your conduct towards them; in fhort, that you should treat them as you would have them treat you. You find a great deal of fault with the conduct of others towards you, but confider, have they not equal reason to blame your conduct towards them? My dear brethren, be yourselves what you would have others be: Would you have them to be better than yourfelves? Would you meanly refign to them that true honour? Do you defire that they fhould be better chriftians and better men than you? What an awkward, perverfe, prepofterous humility is this? But,

(2.) A proper conduct towards mankind in the profeffors of religion is neceffary to recommend religion to the world, and reflect honour upon their profeffion; whereas the want of it brings a reproach upon the christian name. The blind world has but little knowledge, and still lefs concern about the duties that we owe immediately to God, and therefore the neglect of them is not fo much obferved; but as to the duties we owe to mankind, they themfelves are concerned in them, and therefore they take the more notice of the omiffion of them, and are more fenfible of the importance. And when they fee a man that makes a mighty profeffion, that talks a great deal about religion, and is zealous in frequent attendance upon fermons, prayer, &c. when they fee fuch a man make no confcience of the laws of juftice and charity towards men; when they obferve he is as deceitful, as over-reaching, as confcientious, as fordid and covetous as others, and perhaps more fo, what will they think of his religion? Will they not think it a cloak for his knavery, and a ftratagem to accomplish his own wicked defigns? And thus are they hardened in impiety, and confirmed in their neglect

of

of all religion. My brethren, it is incredible what injury the chriftian religion has received from this quarter: the bad lives of profeffors is the common objection against it in the mouths of heathens, Jews, Turks, and infidels among ourselves. There is indeed no real force in the objection: you may as well fay that moral honefty is but villany, because many who pretend to it are knaves, and make that pretence to carry on their knavery with more fuccefs. It must alfo be confeffed, that many discover much of their enmity against religion itself, by raising a clamour against the bad lives of its profeffors; and that there is much lefs ground for the objection than they would have you believe. The true fecret is this: they hate ftrict religion themselves, and would find fome unbrage to expofe it in others, in order to excuse or defend their own neglect of it; and as they can find no objection against religion in itself, they abuse all its profeffors: and if it is evident that their vifible conduct is good, they would find out fome fecret flaw; and if they can discover no glaring defect in their duty to God, they pry into their conduct towards man, to discover fome fecret wickedness: and, alas ! in too many inftances their malignant fearch is fuccessful; and they find fome that make a mighty profeffion, whoare fecretly guilty of fome mean or wicked artifices in their tranfactions with men. Now they think they have found them out, and furmise, "They are all fuch; they pray and make a great ftir about religion, but they will cheat and lie, when they can do it clandeftinely, as readily as their neighbours.' This imputation, when made to chriftians in the bulk, is not only ungenerous, but utterly falfe. But it muft, alas! be owned, that the fact, upon which it is founded, is true with regard to fome. And what a melancholy thought is this! The innocent, I mean the confiftent and uniform profeffors of religion, fuffer by this conduct of their falfe brethren; for the fame artful hypocrify will be furmised of them; and reli

gion itself suffers by fuch conduct; for it gives a difadvantageous idea of religion, as though it were all fhow and oftentation, and made its most zealous votaries no better in reality than those that neglect and defpife it. My brethren, I seriously tell you, I know of nothing in the world that would have a more efficacious tendency to propagate chriftianity through the nations of the earth, than the good behaviour of its profeffors. The impiety and bad morals of those that make no profeffion of religion is evident to all; and if all that profefs it would live according to their profeffion, then the difference would be difcernable to all; and even common fenfe would teach an heathen that it is a difference much for the better; and the world would foon conclude there is fomething fingularly excellent and divine in a religion that fanctifies every thing within its reach, and makes its subjects fo evidently better than all mankind besides : they would need no laboured arguments to convince them of this point; their own confciences would afford them fufficient evidence of it, and then it would be fufficient to make an heathen a chriftian to bring him into the acquaintance of chriftians; and it would be impoffible there fhould be fuch a thing as a Deist or an infidel free-thinker in a chriftian country: he would receive conviction from the practice of every one about him, and he would not be able to fhut his eyes against it. I am forry, my brethren, the cafe is fo much the reverfe through the generality of the christian world. It is really melancholy that the name of a christian should raise in a stranger any ideas but thofe of justice, benevolence, and every thing honourable and excellent. I am fure our religion, as we find it in the Bible, is fuch; but, alas! how different, how oppofite is the chriftian world! Those that trade among infidels, or that are employed as miffionaries among the heathen, can inform you what a fatal obftruction the bad lives of its profeffors is to the propagation of our holy religion. Why fhould

fhould they embrace a religion which leaves the morals of its followers as bad or worfe than their own? This inquiry the light of nature teaches them to make; and it is really hard to answer it fatisfactorily. When a Turk could turn upon a christian who infinuated that he lied, with this reprimand, What! do you think I am a christian, that I fhould lie? When an Indian can tell a chriftian miffionary, If your religion be fo much better than ours, as you fay it is, how comes it that you white people are no better than we? Nay, you have taught us many vices, which we knew nothing of till our acquaintance with you?' I fay, when Turks and heathens can make fuch repartees, is there any prospect that christianity should be received among them? Alas! no. The fame thing may be applied to thofe careless, vicious, impious multitudes among ourselves, who do indeed ufurp the name of chriftians, but can hardly be faid to make any profeffion of chiftianity, as their whole lives are openly and avowedly contrary to it. If all who make a ftricter profeffion were to live in character, it would foon afford conviction to these profane finners: they could not but fee the difference, and that it is a fhocking difference for the worfe on their fide. And now, my brethren, shall our holy religion fuffer? fhall nations be prejudiced against it? fhall multitudes of fouls be loft by our misconduct? O! can you bear the thought of incurring fuch dreadful guilt! Well, if you would avoid it, obferve the facred precept in my text. On the other hand, would you not contribute all in your power to render your religion amiable in the world, to convert mankind to it, and thus fave fouls from death? If you would, then observe this divine rule. Let the world fee that you are really the better for your religion, and that your fingular profeffion is not a vain, idle, oftentatious pretence. I have this particular much at heart, and therefore you will bear with me that I have enlarged fo much upon it.

(3.) The

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(3.) The obfervance of this facred rule of equity would have the most happy influence upon human fociety, and would make this world a little paradife. If men did to others whatever they would have others do to them, fuch a conduct would put an end to a great part of the miseries of mankind. Then there would be no wars and tumults among the nations, no jealoufies and contentions in families, no oppreffion, fraud, or any form of injuftice, no jars, animofities, and confufions in neighbourhoods; but human fociety would be a company of friends, and justice, equity, love, charity, kindness, gratitude, fympathy, and all the amiable train of virtues, would reign among them. What an happy ftate of things would this be! How different from the prefent! And fhall not each of us contribute all in our power to bring about fuch a glorious revolution?

(4.) The obfervance of this rule is a piece of prudence with regard to ourselves. It is of great importance to our happiness in this world, that others fhould treat us well. There are none of us abfolutely independent of others; we are not able to ftand as the butt of univerfal oppofition; or if we are now in happy circumstances, we ftand upon a flippery place, and may foon fall as low as our neighbours. Now the readiest way to be treated well by others, is to treat others well ourselves. If you would have others to behave agreeable to you, you must do fo to them; do what you expect from them. Men often complain of bad neighbours, when they are the occafion of it, by being bad neighbours themselves. There is hardly any place fo bad, but a benevolent inoffenfive man may live peaceably in it; but the contentious will always meet with contention; for they raise the ftorm which difturbs them. Therefore, if no other argument has weight with you, for your own fakes obferve this divine rule.

(5.) I fhall only add, that unless you confcientioufly obferve the duties of social life, you cannot enter

the