accompany us to another world. The bud which hath opened here will blow into full expansion above, and beautify the paradise in the heavens.

SERMON XII.

MATTHEW v. 19.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.

THE Roman Catholics divide sins into two classes, the

Al

venial and the mortal. In the first class, they include those slight offences which, as they say, are too inconsiderable to offend the Deity; and, in the second, those great and aggravated transgressions which expose men to the divine vengeance in the world to come. though this distinction, which overthrows the law of morality, is abjured by all Protestants, yet something like it is still retained by great numbers of men. What the Papists call venial sins, they call sins of infirmity, human failings, imperfections inseparable from men. And their own favourite vices, whatever they be, they call by these names. Cruel is the condition of the human kind, say they, and rigorous the spirit of the Christian law, if we are to lie under such terrible restrictions; if breaking one of the least commandments shall exclude us from the kingdom of God. Will the Great Creator be offended by a few trivial transgressions; with little liberties, which serve only for amusement? If others take a general toleration, shall we not have an indulgence at particular times? If we are prohibited from turning back in the paths of virtue, may we not make a randoni excursion? If we are not allowed to taste the fruits, may we not at least crop the blossoms of the forbidden tree? While the waters of pleasure flow so near, and look so tempting, shall we not be permitted to taste and live? Will the Great Judge of

the world condemn us to eternal punishment, for the indulgence of a wandering inclination, for the gratification of a sudden appetite, for a look, a word, or a thought?

As this is the apology of vice, which, at one time or another, all of you make to yourselves, I shall now shew you the dangerous nature and fatal tendency of those of fences you call little sins. And in entering upon the subject, Christians, I must observe to you, that the attempt to join together the joys of religion, and the pleasures of sin, is altogether impracticable. The Divine law regu lates the enjoyments as well as the business of life. You are never to forget one moment that you are Christians. The joys, which you are allowed to partake of, are in the train of virtue. While you are pilgrims in the wilderness, if you return to Egypt again, you forfeit your title to the promised land. You have left the dominions of sin, you have come into another kingdom; and if now you revolt to the foe, you are guilty of treason, and may expect to meet with the punishment which treason deserves. How shall we distinguish then, you say, between the sins of infirmity, into which the best may fall, and the violation of those least commandments which exclude from the kingdom of God? I answer, the text makes the distinction. Sins of infirmity proceed from frailty and surprise. The temptation comes upon men unexpected; the foe meets them unprepared; and, in such cases, the most circumspect may be off their guard, and the best natures may fall. But those sins, which exclude from the kingdom of God, are from deliberation and full consent of the mind. The persons who commit them, as the text says, "teach men so:" they justify themselves in what they do, and sin upon a plan. Their evil intentions are not occasional and transient, but permanent and governing; they sleep and wake upon their bad designs, and carry them along in their going out and coming in; and thus, forming evil habits, make their lives a system of iniquity. Whoever does so, though it be only in the violation of what he reckons the least commandment, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; that is, shall be excluded altogether from it.

It is proposed, at this time, to set before you the evil nature and dangerous tendency of the least transgressions. And,

I. It may be observed, that it is a series of little actions

that marks the characters of men. Human life is not composed of great events, but of minute occurrences; and it is not from a man's extraordinary exertions, but from his ordinary conduct, that we form our judgment of his character. When a great event is transacting, a man is on his guard, he is prepared to act his part well, and often, on such occasions, in the hour of exhibition, he appears to the world a different person from what he really is But in the series of little actions, in the detail of ordinary life, the turn of mind discovers itself, the temper unfolds, the character appears. It is then, when a man is himself, the mask falls off, and the true countenance is displayed.—— Human life, then, being a circle of petty transactions, and the temper of men being known from their conduct in little affairs, our character for virtue will depend on our performance of what the world calls the least of the commandments. This is not peculiar to virtue. What is it that constitutes the happiness of domestic life? Not the singular and uncommon situations, but the familiar and the ordinary: not the striking events that fly abroad in the mouths of the people, but the daily round of little things which are never mentioned. A miser may have a feast, and be a miser still; he only is a happy man who has his enjoyments every day. With very great talents, and without any remarkable vice, a man may become a most disagreeable member of society, by his neglect of the attentions and civilities and decorum of life. In like manner, without being guilty of any enormous sin, by the habitual neglect of inferior duties, and by the practice of little offences, a man may sin unto death.

A good life is one of those pictures whose perfection arises from the nice and the minute strokes. It is not one blazing star, but the host of lesser lights, which forms the beauty of the heavens. In like manner, how does the Great Judge at the last day decide the fate, and determine the characters, of men? You reckon sins of omission but little sins, yet, on account of these, the sentence of everlasting condemnation is passed. Because ye gave no bread to the hungry, no water to the thirsty, and no raiment to the naked, relieved not the oppressed, and visited not the prisoner, therefore, "depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." In like manner, he determines the character of the righteous, not from the striking and splendid virtues which they exhibited to the

world, but from the performance of the inferior duties of daily life: "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Why? Is it for the splendid works of piety, for building temples to the Deity, or dying as martyrs, to the Chrisrian faith? No. Men may build temples, without love to the Deity; they may die as martyrs, without real religion; but because ye have given food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, and raiment to the naked; actions of life in which ye must have been sincere, because ye never expected that such actions would be heard of, and the practice of them grew so much into habit, that ye scarcely thought it a virtue to perform them.

II. These little sins attack the authority of the Divine Legislator as much, or perhaps more than great sins.Evil thoughts are as expressly prohibited in the Divine law as evil deeds. The same God who says, thou shalt not kill, says thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart. What sentiment must you entertain of the Majesty in the Heavens, when his command cannot restrain you from the commision of the least sin? Hath not God forbidden the impure desire, and the malicious intention, as well as adultery and murder? And is it not as much his will that he should be obeyed in those commandments as in these? Have you a dispensation granted you to take the name of God in vain in common conversation, any more than you have to swear falsely before a civil magistrate? Have you more liberty allowed you to wound your neighbour's character than you have to shed his blood? No: the prohibition extends to the one as well as to the other. The same authority, that forbids the action, forbids the desire. The same law which says, thou shalt not steal, says also, thou shalt not covet. But you say, that the indulgences you plead for are with regard to things in their own natnre indifferent. Alas! if you had proper ideas of a God possessed of infinite perfection, nothing that he commands or forbids would appear indifferent. To you it may appear a matter of little moment or concern, what the strain of your thoughts is, or how the tenor of your conversation runs; but when you learn that your thoughts are known in heaven, and that by your words you shall be justified or condemned, these assume a more serious form, and become of infinite importance. But if the things, for which you beg an indulgence, are in their

own nature small, why do you not abstain from them? If the prophet had commanded you a great thing, you might have murmured against the precept; but when he only enjoins what you yourselves reckon a little thing, what pretence have you for a complaint? In place of being an excuse, this is an aggravation of your offence. With your own mouth you condemn yourself. Can there be a stronger proof of a degenerate nature and a stubborn mind, than this inclination to disobey your Creator, in things that you reckon of little consequence? What can shew a heart hardened against God, and set against the Heavens, so much as this refractory and rebellious disposition, which leads men to violate the Majesty of the law, to insult the authority of the Lawgiver, to risk the vengeance of the omnipotent, and to pour contempt on all the perfections of the Divine nature, rather than part with what they themselves reckon small and inconsiderable.

III. You may contract as much guilt by breaking the least of the commandments, as by breaking the greatest of them. You start back and are affrighted at the approach of great iniquity; the heart revolts from a temptation to flagrant sins; yet thousands of lesser sins, evil thoughts, malicious words, petty oaths, commodious lies, little deceits, you make no scruple to commit every day. But the guilt of such reiterated sins is as great, or greater, than that of any single sin. To hate your neighbour in your heart without cause, to take every opportunity of blasting his character, and defeating his designs, makes you as guilty in the Divine eye, as if you had imbrued your hands in his blood. To use false weights, and a deceitful balance, is as criminal as a direct act of theft. He, who defrauds his neighbours daily in the course of his business, is a greater sinner before God, and a worse member of society, than he who once in his life robs on the highway. The frequency of these little sins makes the guilt great, and the danger extreme. The constant operation of evil deeds impairs the strength of the soul, and shakes the foundation on which virtue rests. Wave succeeding wave undermines the whole fabric of virtue, and makes the building of God to fall. The thorns, which at first could scarcely be seen, spread by degrees over the field, and choke the good seed. The locusts, which Moses brought over the land of Egypt, appeared at first a contemptible multitude; but in a little time, like a cloud, they darken