most abandoned of mankind; for however profligate a man may chuse to be in this world, he would certainly desire rather to be happy than miserable in the next; though he may prefer the pleasures of vice, he would clearly wish for the rewards of virtue; though he cannot prevail on himself to live the life of the righteous, he would indubitably be rejoiced to die his death. One who is in earnest then with respect to obtaining Heaven, knows that to wish for it alone would be of no service to him. Another thing also, of which he is sensible, is, that to be devout by fits and starts only, will not answer his purpose; his exertions to please God (which can only be done by piety towards him, kindness towards men, and by temperance, sobriety, and chastity, in his own conduct) must be constant and unremitted; he does not then put on these virtues only at particular times, and on particular occasions, but makes them habitual to him; he renders himself so completely master of them, that they pervade, they make a part of his whole behaviour; another particular, also, which he knows to be necessary, and therefore strives to obtain is, not merely to be obedient to a part of God's commands, but to them all; he knows, that though the Almighty will take up with our imperfect obedience, if our endeavours are sincere, yet that he will by no means suffer us to live in the willing breach of any one of his commands. Life and death, God and the world, are before us; we must make our choice between

them; if we are resolved to indulge ourselves in any one known sin, we plainly shew that there is something which we prefer to God, and we must take the consequences of our folly. He who strives to obtain the kingdom of Heaven, may, and probably will, sometimes fall, but he must not fall willingly; he must exert himself against temptation; he must recover himself as soon as possible; he must be grieved and humbled by his frailty: and he must use every effort to keep himself more steady for the time to come. The man who strives for the kingdom of Heaven will, besides, never think that he is good enough; he will be still aspiring at higher degrees of perfection. Let it not be thought, by the command which is laid upon us to strive after the kingdom of Heaven, that it is meant that we should pay no regard to the concerns of this world; on the contrary, God expects from us a diligent performance of our duties towards each other, as well as of our duty to him: now this cannot be done without an attention to worldly concerns. How shall a father provide for his family without applying to his particular profession, or working at his particular calling? How shall the greater part of mankind get even a subsistence, if they do not exert themselves in some kind, either of study or labour? without this, they must, generally speaking, either starve, or be a burthen upon their neighbours. How is the earth to be cultivated and its fruits produced, if it were unlawful to attend at all to

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worldly business, and what would become of the human race if this were neglected? Besides the dangers of idleness are great, and it is impossible that the immediate duties of religion can take up our whole time; it is therefore as clearly a part, of our duty to follow some honest method of getting a livelihood, and to follow it with diligence, as it is the first part to pray to, to praise, and to offer up our thanks to God.

But it is time for me to pass to the third thing I proposed, which is, to shew the weighty motives by which we are urged to be in the number of those that strive. To this a few words will be sufficient.

These motives are no less than the good or bad condition in which we shall be, from the time that we die, to all eternity, according as we are among this number, or are not.

The hour is coming, in the which all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they that have done good, that is, they who have strove to gain Heaven, unto the resurrection of life, and they who have done evil, that is, they who have not strove, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Let us frequently dwell upon this magnificent and awful spectacle; let us represent to our minds the alarming trumpet of the archangel, by which we shall be awakened from our graves, and the summons which we shall receive to stand before the judgment seat of Christ: let us suppose him seated on a lofty throne, surrounded by myriads

of angels, and clothed with that splendor and majesty with which he was seen by Peter, James, and John, at his transfiguration, and again by those chosen disciples, who were present at his ascension into Heaven: let us think of the grand scene of all the nations of the earth gathered before him, and the tremendous decision about to take place, as to the final and everlasting condition of each individual. Let me appeal to your consciences, what hopes do they give you? I address myself to every one of you here present: Has thy conduct been such as to entitle thee to look for

that transporting sentence, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord?" Or hast thou not reason to apprehend the sound of these words (of all that can be uttered the most dreadful) "Depart from me thou cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels?" If thou shrinkest with terror at this inquisition; if thou canst not bear thus to have thy conscience probed; if thou buoyest up thyself with some such consolation as this, "though my hopes are nothing now, I intend to repent and live better before I die," alas! how miserably dost thou deceive thyself! Attend to what I tell thee; almost all the wicked, who have gone before thee, comforted themselves in the same false manner, but they never thought the hour of reformation arrived; they were still for delaying it yet a little while longer, and were finally cut off with all their imperfections on

their head. What gross folly is this! How soon does this world pass away, and how quickly does even the very remembrance of us perish; whereas to that which is to come there is no end! Let us think of these things; let us recollect that the kingdom of God is not to be got by seeking only; and when we remember of what infinite importance it is to us not to come short of it, let us resolve, and let us be steady to our resolutions, to be in the number of those who strive.