goeft through the dark valley, he will go with thee: In the hour of diffolving nature, he will fupport thy fpirit. Thou canft not go but where God is. Around thee is infinite love, and underneath thee are the everlasting arms. SER SERMON IX. PROVERBS iv. 18. The path of the juft is as the fhining light that fbineth more and more unto the perfect day. UMAN life has been often compar HUMAN life ed to a journey, for this as well as for other reasons, that we are always making progrefs in our way. In whatever path we fet out, there is no ftanding ftill. Evil men wax worse and worfe: The corruptions of their nature gather ftrength: The vices which they have contracted grow into habit; the evil principle is for ever on the increase, till having attained the afcendant over the whole man, it fubjects him entirely to its own power, the willing and obedient fervant of fin. Good men, on the other hand, make advances in the paths of righteoufitefs. L 4 righteousness. The grace of God, which is given unto them, lies not dormant. The better mind with which they are endowed, incites them to virtue: The new nature which they have put on, pants after perfection. They give all diligence to add to their faith virtue, and to virtue temperance, and to temperance brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity, until having abounded in every good work, they perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, Such a life is here called the path of the juft. By the juft in Scripture, are not meant those who merely abftain from doing unjust and injurious things to their neighbours. The juft man is he who poffeffes that fincerity of heart, and that integrity of the whole life which God requires of man, The life of fuch a man is here compared to the light of the morning. Nothing in nature is more lovely than the light. When the Spirit began to move upon the face of the deep, light was the first effect of his creating power; and when the fix days work was finished, light collected and centered in the fun, continued to be the grandeft ny Brandeft and most beautiful work of nature; fo grand and beautiful, that among maof the heathen nations it was worshipped, as the visible divinity of the world. What light is to the face of external nature, the beauty of holiness is to the foul. It is the brightest ornament of an immortal spirit; it throws a glory over all the faculties of man; and forms that robe of beauty with which they shine, who walk in white before the throne of God. But it is chiefly on 'account of its progreffive nature, that the path of the just is here compared to the fhining light. In order to illuftrate this, I fhall, in the first place, fhew you how we shall know if we have made progress in the paths of righteoufnefs. Secondly, Give you fome directions how to make farther progrefs. Thirdly, Exhort you to a life of progreffive vir tue. I am first then to fhew how we shall know if we have made progress in the paths of righteousness. In the first place, Let me afk you, are you fenfible of your faults and imperfections? The first indication of wisdom is to confefs our ignorance, and the firft ftep to virtue is to be fenfible of our own imperfections. The novice in science is puffed up with his early difcoveries; when the firft ray of wisdom is let in upon his mind, he thinks that by it he can fee and know all things: Deeper views and maturer reflection convince him how little he knows. In like manner, he knows little of religion, and has been but a short time in the fchool of Chrift, who is blind to his own imperfections. Our fall from innocence was by pride; and we must rife by humility. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted," is the doctrine which our Lord delivered upon all occafions. Till we feel our own weakness, we can never be strong in the Lord; we never can rife in the Divine fight till we fink in our own eftimation. We often meet with persons in life who talk very strangely upon this fubject. They tell us that they are as good as ever they expect to be: That in looking back npon their past life they see nothing done 66 |