'tis in vain to expect, either devotion towards God, or justice and charity towards man. Nay, nothing good or great can be accomplished without them: fince without them we have no ground to hope for, either the affiftance of divine grace, or the protection and concurrence of divine providence. Only the pure and chafte foul is a fit temple for the refidence of the Spirit : and the providence of God watches over none, or at least none have reason to expect it should, but fuch as are themselves vigilant and induftrious. But now, how repugnant to, how inconfiftent with those virtues, is that infatuation of mind, and that debauchery of affections, wherein fin confifts? How incapable either of fobriety or temperance do felfishness, fenfuality, and the love of this world, render us? What a falfe eftimate of things do they cause us to form? How infatiable do they render us in our defire of fuch things, as have but falfe and empty appearances of good? And how imperiously do they precipitate us into thofe fins, which are the pollution and difhonour of our nature? On the contrary, let man be but once enlightened by faith; let him but once come to believe, that his foul is himself, that he is a Stranger and pilgrim upon earth, that heaven is his country, and that to do good works is to lay up his treafure in it; let

him,

him, I fay, but once believe this, and then, how fober, how temperate, how wife, how vigilant, and induftrious will he grow? And this he will foon be induced to believe, if he be not actually under the influence of vicious principles and vicious customs. When the mind is undeceived and difabufed, and the affections difengaged, 'tis natural to man to think calmly, and to defire and enjoy with a moderation, fuited to just and fober notions of worldly things: for this is to think and act as a man. A fecond part of holiness regards God as its im-. mediate object, and confifts in the fear and love of him, in dependance and felf-refignation, in contemplation and devotion. As to this, 'tis plain, that whoever is under the dominion of any fin, must be an enemy, or at least a stranger to it. The infidel knows no God; and the wicked will not, or dares not, approach one. Their guilt, or their averfion keeps them from it. Selfishness, fenfuality, and the love of the world, are inconfiftent with the love of the Father, and all the feveral duties we owe him : they alienate the minds of men from him, and fet up other gods in his room. Hence the covetous are pronounced guilty of idolatry, Col. iii. 5. and the luxurious and unclean are faid to make their belly their god, and to glory in their shame, Phil. iii. 19. But as foon as a poor man dif

cerns

cerns that he has fet his heart upon falfe goods; as foon as he finds himself cheated and deceived in all his expectations by the world, and is convinced that God is his proper and his foveraign good; how natural is it to turn his defires and hopes from the creature upon the Creator? How natural is it to contemplate his greatness and goodness, to thirst impatiently for his favour, and dread his displeasure? And fuch a man will certainly make the worship of God a great part, at leaft, of the business and employment of life. With this he will begin, and with this he will end the day: nor will he reft here; his foul will be ever and anon mounting towards heaven, in ejaculations; and there will be fcarce any action, any event, that will not excite him to praise and adore God, or engage him in fome wife reflections on his attributes. But all this, will the loofe and atheistical fay, may be well spared; 'tis only a vain and idle amufement. War and peace, bufinefs and trade, have no dependance upon it; kingdoms and common-wealth's may stand and flourish, and fenfible men may be rich and happy without it. But to this I answer, religion towards God, is the foundation of all true virtue towards our neighbour. Laws would want the better part of their authority, if they were not enforced by an awe of God: the wifeft counfels would

have

have no effect, did not virtue and religion help to execute them: kingdoms and common-wealths would be diffolved, and burst to pieces, if they were not united and held in by these bonds: and wickedness would reduce the world to one great folitude and ruin, were it not tempered and restrained, not only by the virtues and examples, but by the fupplications and interceffions too, of devout men. Finally, This is an objection fit for none to make, but the fottish and the ignorant; men of defperate confidence, and little knowledge. For whoever is able to confider, by what motives mankind has ever been wont to be moft ftrongly affected; by what principles the world has ever been led and governed; how great an interest even Juperftition has had, either in the civilizing and reforming barbarous nations, or the martial fucceffes of the first founders of monarchies, and the like; whoever, I fay, is able to reflect, tho' but flightly, on these things, can never be fo filly, as to demand what the use of religion is; or to imagine it poffible to root up its authority in the world.

The third part of holiness regards our neighbour; and confifts in the exercise of truth, juftice, and charity. And no-where is the ill influence of felfishness, fenfuality, and the love of the world, more notorious than here: for these rendring us impatient and

R

and infatiable in our defires, violent in the profecution of them, extravagant and exceffive in our enjoyments; and the things of this world being few and finite, and unable to fatisfy fuch inordinate appetites; we ftand in one another's light, in one another's way to profit and pleafures, or, too often at leaft, Jeem to do fo: and this must unavoidably produce a thousand miferable conJequences. Accordingly, we daily fee that thefe paffions, felfishness, fenfuality, and the love of the world, are the parents of envy and emulation, avarice, ambition, ftrife and contention, hypocrify and corruption, lewdnefs, luxury and prodigality; but are utter enemies to honour, truth and integrity; to generofity and charity. To obviate therefore the mischievous effects of these vicious principles, religion aims at implanting in the world others of a benign and beneficent nature; oppofing against the love of the world, hope; against felfiflness, charity; and against fenfuality, faith: and to the end the different tendency of thefe different principles may be the more confpicuous, I will briefly compare the effects they have in reference to our neighbour. Selfishness makes a man look upon the world as made for him alone; and upon all as his enemies, who do any way interfere with, or obftruct his defigns: it feals up all our treafures; confines all our care and thoughts

to