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his manners, grave in his deportment, and upright and fincere in his dealings, is not only usually stiled a fober, but a good man. Think not, O youth, I would perfuade you to assume a dark countenance, a down caft look, and a gloomy phiz. Of all people in the world, these are the most dangerous; if they raise the fullen brow to a smile, injury follows after. And remember religion is a fweet, pleasant and cheerful thing. It Spreads pleasure over the face, and renders the conduct eafy and acceffable. In it is the command of heaven, "That we ferve "God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, in the abundance. "of all things." Pleafure enters into the effence of religion,. yet there is a wide difference between a religious cheerfulness and a vain frothiness..

But having thus explained the nature of fobermindednefs, I proceed,›

Secondly, to lay before the younger part of my audience, a few of the innumerable motives, which fhould induce them to become foberminded. The topics, from which sobermindedness might be urged upon you, are many indeed. But I have fo far enlarged on the former head, that brevity here is. expedient. You will all, my dear youth, acknowledge, that you are finners and guilty before God. You are all by nature.. children of difobedience and children of wrath, and the fcriptures have concluded you ail under fin. An awful fentence of death is paffed upon you. Yet bleffed be the most high, there is a way of mercy and grace revealed in the Gofpel, whereby. you may be recovered from the ruin of your fall, reflored to the favour of God, and made everlaftingly happy. You are. therefore called upon to repent and believe the gospel. Hearken to the voice of divine perfuafion and tender : compaffion. Turn unto the Lord with all your heart, and become fober minded. In this way you will be comfortable in life, have Hope in death, and be happy forever. You are here in this

ife in a flate of probation, and if you fincerely engage in religion, heaven will be your portion; but if you continue in fin, impenitent and unconverted, after taking a few turns of levity on this mortal stage, then you must fink down into the regions of interminable defpair. The longer you perfevere in courses of folly and iniquity, the more difficult it will be to relinquish them. Be intreated now in this your day, folemnly to attend to the things of your peace. God is calling upon you-minifters are calling upon you-the Holy Ghost is now moving upon the hearts of many. Refit not his motions, left God should fwear in his wrath, my spirit fhall no more strive with you, neither shall you enter into my reft. Recollect for a moment, what Chrift Jefus has done to accomplish your falvation, Did he not descend from the glories of heaven-forfake the adoration of angelic hofts-come down into this wretched world -veil his divinity in humanity, and fhroud all his infinite excellencies in the humiliating form of a fervant? Did he not continually go about doing good-teaching guilty man the way of life--taking little ones into his arms-laying his hands upon them--blefling them and declaring, that of fuch is the kingdom of God? Remember his poverty, cruel mockings and excruciating fufferings. Contemplate him in the garden of Gethefemene, agonizing under the awful weight of your iniquities, the preffure of which was fuch, that caused his blood to forfake its ufual channels and fall in clotted drops to the ground. Behold him betrayed by one of his defciples, in the bafeft and moft deceitful treachery, with the tender and warmest fignal of friendship. Follow him to the pretorium and to the high priefts hall; fee him arraigned before Pilate's unequal bar; barbarously accufed, and unjustly and inhumanly condemned -view him ftripped of his own own raiment, dreffed' in the mock robes of royalty, instead of a fceptre, a reed is put into his hand, and instead of a golden, a thorny crown is fixed on his head, and here he is molt contemptuously ridiculed in all his offices, he is fmitten, tantalifed, and when malice had exhauf

ted all its flores, as the laft and loweft exertion of meanness, he is fpit upon. Behold him dragged from this horror of contempt, hurried out of the city, away to Golgotha, there nailed to the cross, the delicate and nervous parts of the body, the hands and feet pierced through by the rugged fteel, fufpended in this tremendous plight between heaven and earth, forfaken by his God, and all hell let loofe upon him. He is here till fcornfully mocked, his fide pierced with a fpear. While the fun is hiding his face from the fcene, all nature in convulfion under the foot of the crois, he is praying for his murderers, expiring and fhedding his blood for the atonement of their fins.

you.

All this, and infinitely more than can be described, did the fon of God, my dear young friends, undergo and suffer for Are you able now to withstand this mighty collection of motives, ftill proceed on in fin, in impenitence, and unbelief; despise like the barbarous Jews, the blood of falvation; trample it under foot, and make the desperate plunge into damnation? Stop, my children, halt, paufe, confider for a moment. Heaven is clofing, hell is opening before you; be entreated and befought by all the blood of God, shed on Calvary's hill, that you lay your ways to heart, ceafe from evil and immédi ately become fober minded. Others are bathing in this blood and drinking in the ftreams of life eternal, and why fhould not you? This is the last particular address, you will ever proba. bly hear from my aged lips. And I fhall close it all in the words of Abraham's fervant to the houfe of Laban; " If "you will deal kindly and truly with my master tell me, if "not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the O! children, turn unto the Lord, and become fober

"left." minded.

SERMON XI.

The Glory of God the Chief End of Man.

1 Cor. x. 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

THESE words contain a general resolution of all cafes of confcience and difficulties that had arifen in the Corinthian Church respecting the eating of meats, which had been offered to idols. It was the common practice of the heathen, first to offer meat in their pagan worship on the alters of their gods. and afterwards fell it in the public markets. As this was an ufual practice in the city of Corinth, it created no small perplexity among the chriftians. Wherefore the Apostle enters fully into this fubject, and states the duty of every clafs of chriftians, the weak and the strong, those who thought they might eat these meats, and those who were of a different opinion. And here he fums up the whole matter in this general maxim or rule in our text. This was defigned not merely for the direction of this church in a particular inftance, but for the government of all chriftians throughout all generations in the general and habitual conduct of their lives. A principle

of fupreme respect to the glory of God must reign in the heart, and prefide over the whole tenor of their practice. The mere lawfainefs of an adion is not always to be confidered, but the expediency of it likewife must be taken into view. There are fome things which are duty without hesitation, but there are many things in which time, place, and a variety of circumftances must be attended to, in order to our determining, whether the performance of them be for the honor of God.

This rule is laid down by St. Paul as the standard of all our actions. The lowest and most common, as well as the highest and most important. There are no branches of conduct exempted from this authority. A neglect of or a disrespect to this rule, is as real rebellion against the principles of reafon, as those of revelation.

This maxim plainly fuppofes, that the glory of God, ought to be fo much the ground of human actions, that none can be morally good or virtuous, which originate not from this source. Where the heart is destitute of this principle and not governed by it, all must be wrong, vicious, and finful. The chief end of man is to glorify God, and the infallable connection is the en joyment of him forever.

The doctrine in our text is evidently this, that all our actions ought to be done to the glory of God.-This does not fuppofe we are always to have this object in view, or immediately contemplate it previous to the performance of every action. This would be an impoffible fuppofition. We know not that angels or the spirits of just men made perfect, or that even the man Chrift Jefus, called upon this principle to lead him in the performance of every action. It is enough for us finful and very imperfect creatures to know, that the glory of God, ought to be our habitual and prevalent end, though not continually ex ercifed and brought into view. If this be the habit of the foul, the frame of the heart, and maintain a prevalency in the con

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