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not faint. Make eternal life to depend upon himself, or any of his own works, and you deftroy all his hopes, his heart would faint, his joys would be no more. This doctrine is his

delight; falvation by free grace fheds gladness into his foul; that it is the gift of God through Jefus Chrift, fills his heart with joy, and this will be his rapturous enjoyment throughout eternity. Rejoice, O chriftian, that your falvation is wholly

of grace.

Secondly, what cause of gratitude is here? How fhould our fouls afcend to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, in ftrains of the highest praise for the wonderful plan of faving loft men revealed in the gospel. This will be the theme of celestial fong throughout the unwafting ages of eternity. Let us ever bless the Lord for the aftonishing scheme of falvation by free grace, that eternal life is the gift of God through Jefus Chrift. "Let chriftians facrifice the facrifices of thanksgiving, "and declare his works with rejoicing. Bleffed be the God "and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who according to his "abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope by "the refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the dead; to an inheri"tance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. "Praise the Lord, O Jerufalem, praise thy God, O Zion."

Let all the people of God be exhorted to live upon this grace; hold it faft and let it not go. Let your rejoicing in a free falvation appear by your godly living. Let your holy converfation put to filence gainfayers. "Therefore my belo"ved brethren, be ye ftedfaft, immoveable, always abounding "in the work of the Lord, forafmuch as ye know that your "labour is not in vain in the Lord. Work out your own "falvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who worketh "in you, both to will and to do."

Let finners be exhorted to flee to the grace of the gospel.

Renounce all dependence upon yourfelves and your own righte oufnefs, and humbly truft in the free mercy of God through Jefus Chrift for the gift of eternal life. This is the precious and fafe ground on which you may hope for everlasting bliss.

SERMON XXXV.

Death Wearing a Sting,

I Cor. xv. 56. The fling of death is fin

THE thought of death, leaving our relatives, friends, children, our dearest and bofom intimates, above all thofe adored. and ornamented temples commonly called our bodies, produces the most fenfible fhock, and the fharpeft touches of undescribed distress. Death is the greatest event known among the children of men, whether it be confidered in respect to individuals, or a collection of multitudes falling at once. Behold. nations overturned and destroyed by a fingle war; Sodom and Gomorrah, were confumed in a morning; the whole earth, except Noah and his little family, drowned in an hour; but all these horrid affemblages of events, confifted only of the death of individuals. Thefe awful catastrophes were no more than death to each perfon. The death of an individual carries fomething dreadful and folemn in it, especially if it be fudden or untimely; how incomprehenfibly terrible the idea, when millions become its victims at once. Let death then be re

garded as a fubject of the most important confideration by all the children of men.

It is no perfons duty to make himself miferable by poring to distraction upon what he cannot prevent. No wife man could wish to feel the unavoidable poignancy of a certain calamity before it actually arrives; or the anxious pains of mind equal to the evils feared. But, when ferious thoughtfulness, a due anticipation, and a proper conduct will contribute to turn a foreseen calamitous event to our advantage, reafon declares we ought to confider, though the confideration fhould hurt our feelings and disturb our prefent eafe. If we cannot wholly avert the evil, but only meliorate fome of its most aggravating circumstances, this would be a fufficient motive to attention in other cafes of inferior cenfequence, how much more in a business of infinite moment?

Reason and nature dictate that a common fate ought to be a common concern. And death, without any tedious de. ductions from premifes, or a long procefs of reafoning, informs us immediately what ought to be fully afcertained. Death cuts fhort all laborious investigations, and fixes duty inftantly by a natural anticipation. When in anguish and pain the mind directly applies itself to inventions for relief, and eagerly catches at every measure fuggefted for this intent. This dif pofition which in itfelf is both natural and innocent, yet by a wrong direction often plunges into the worst of confequences. Through ignorance, impatience, blindness and superflition of mind, the never failing concomitants of diftrefs, what wild unhappy and ridiculous methods are frequently taken for relief? Counfels are heard, and measures adopted without attention to their fuitablenefs to the nature and caufes of the trouble, and confequent aptnefs to redrefs it. The origin of forrows must be understood, in order properly to apply the balin of confolation. And it is likewife wife, to learn how far the best

application is capable of healing the malady, and how far not.

Let us at prefent contemplate the evil, anguish and diftrefs of death, which, viewed in all its circumftances, is the moft grievous event in this world. It is here in our text represen ted under the painful image of wearing a fting. "The fting of "death is fin." Death is awful in itself, and fin caufes it to fting like a ferpent and bite like an adder.

None can here fuppofe that death, fimply confidered, the mere diffolution of the foul and body, without any farther apprehenfions, is the thing moit awful; it is not this, but fin, which is here affirmed to be the poisonous and mortal thing. It is fin itself; fin infufes the incurable malady; arms death with his twinging pain, and anoints him the king of terrors.

Our text is a general aphorifm, offering two things to our confideration; one as a matter of fact and experience, the other as the true reafon and account of it. Death is exhibited in its nature and confequences, as the most afflictive event to the fons of men; and therefore the fource and fum of all mifery and diftrefs. The melancholy effects which death produces, however dreadful, are all refolved into fin as their procuring caufe, and only to be rationally accounted for in this way.

Let us at prefent confider death as here reprefented wearing a ting.

No refemblance could be better fitted to exprefs the fenfation of death to a foul under a realifing apprehenfion and contem. plation of it. How feelingly does it paint the touches of anguith, while the perfon reflects upon the gloomy fcene, meditates on his paft folly, or anticipates his future doom. Let apprehenfions of the near approaches of death poffefs his mind; fears at once furround him; seriousness makes a fudden and

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