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come fellow-workers, with himself, in gaining new fubjects to his Son. Let us with thankfulness embrace the offer, and contribute as liberal an affiftance as we can, for carrying on this glorious design.

You must all be. fenfible, that your fubstance cannot be employed to a better purpofe, nor indeed laid out in a way more truly advantageous to yourselves. This is charity to the fouls of men, and, in the nobleft fenfe, "lending to the Lord," (Prov. xix. 17.), who will not fail to repay with ufury.

This is a certain way of laying "up for "yourselves treasures in heaven, where there "is no corrupting moth nor ruft, and where "thieves cannot break through to fteal." What is thus devoted to the immediate fervice of the Redeemer, can never be loft to the giver, but fhall defcend in showers of bleffings upon his own head. "The liberal "foul fhall be made fat, and he who water"eth fhall be watered alfo himself," (Prov. xi. 25.).

Such liberality will afford us, in the mean time, a most refined and delicate pleasure ; an enjoyment not confined to a day, but which

which lives and improves, by reflection: and then it fhall be amply recompenfed at the refurrection of the just, (Dạn. xii. 3.), “ When

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they that are wife shall shine as the bright"nefs of the firmament, and they that turn

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mány untó righteousness, as the stars for 66 ever and ever.'

Yea, this will bring down the blessing of God upon our land; the vigorous profecution of this noble design will be a better defence to us than the most potent fleets or numerous armies, as it will engage the Lord of Hofts on our fide, "who will be a wall "of fire about us, and the glory in the midst " of us."

But I hope I need not multiply arguments to perfuade you to fo reasonable a dúty: the glory of the Redeemer, the falvation of precious and immortal fouls, our own prefent and eternal interest, all unite their force in exciting us to it. Let us then, whilst we pray "Thy kingdom come," do every thing in our sphere that may contribute to promote it; and then shall we triumph in eternal glory, when the body of Chrift shall be completed. Amen.

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Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerufalem.

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HERE is an advice becoming the wif dom of Solomon (in Eccl. v. 2.), “ Be not rafh with thy mouth, and let not “thine heart be hafty to utter any thing "before God: for God is in heaven, and "thou upon earth: therefore let thy words"be few." To pray to the Most High God is a very folemn thing, even when we view him as feated on a throne of mercy. He is always prefent with us, whether we think of him or not: but when we pray, we, by our own deed, place ourselves in his fight, and folicit his attention. And is not this a very folemn and awful thought? We speak to one who looks immediately into the heart,

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heart, and who requireth "ward parts." Nay, we appeal to him as the Searcher of hearts, for the truth of every word which we utter before him, and challenge his omnifcience to take cognizance, whether what we fay doth not exprefs the real fentiments and defires of our hearts. I fay, the defires of our hearts; for these, and not the language in which we clothe them, are our prayers to God. Nay, the better the words are which we ufe in prayer, the more infolent is the profanation, if they are not animated by the defires which they ought to exprefs. Too many are apt to imagine, that they have fucceeded well in the exercises of devotion, if they have been able to addrefs God by his proper titles, and to recollect thofe words, indited by the Spirit of God, in which holy men of old expreffed their defires, and which they committed to writing for the use of the church. But they do not confider, that the very end for which thofe accepted prayers were recorded, was, to regulate our hearts instead of directing our lips; and that it is our most immediate bufinefs, when fuch peti

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tions occur to our minds, to try our hearts by them, that we may truly feel what they exprefs, before we adventure to present them to God.

It is the character of hypocrites, whom God abhorreth, that they "draw near to ❝him with their mouths, and honour him "with their lips, while their hearts are far " from him." This is to add abuse and infult to all their other fins; and those prayers which have proceeded from feigned lips, will in the great day of judgement, stop the mouths of tranfgreffors more effectually, than all the other offences with which they shall be found chargeable.

The articles of a man's belief may not always be prefent to his mind; or at least the practical inferences which may justly be drawn from them, may not be all fo obvious, as to command his uniform attention. To counteract indeed a plain and pofitive law, is fuch flagrant rebellion as admits of no excufe: and yet even in this case, the finner may pretend to plead, in alleviation of his crime, that the law appeared to him fo ftrict and rigorous, that he could

VOL. III.

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