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the conduct of religious men; is it not evident that you have not a warm and cordial love for religion? Your heart is not right with God. Delude not yourselves by whif pering to your confciences that, although you must admit the truth and the relevancy of the preceding obfervations, you occafionally make respectful mention of religion, and pay a decent regard to her ordinances and to many of her injunctions. The Scribes and Pharifees talked, according to their own views of the fubject, largely of religion; and in fome points were punctilious obfervers of the law. But you know that their religion was not the religion of the Scriptures. You know that in body and foul they were devoted to wickedness. See that your religion be the religion of Chrift Jefus. See that you love that religion. If you do not feel pain when it is contemptuously treated, if you are not grieved when its followers are calumniated: in the bottom of heart you love it

not.

your

Secondly: If, through the influence of divine grace, you have been brought to the love of religion, wonder not, nor be discouraged, when you hear the truths of the gospel flandered, or yourself made the

theme

theme of evil fpeaking for their fake. Thus it always has been; and thus, until Chrif tianity shall have established a more general dominion over the hearts of thofe who avow themselves her fubjects, it always will be. Evil men, confcious that their neighbour is a far more religious character than themselves, will feel his fuperiority as a reproach, and will affuredly be on the watch to contrive opportunities of degrading him in public efteem, of fixing fome name of obloquy upon him, and of difparaging thofe views of religion which have conducted him to excellence in holinefs. If you are a zealous fervant of God, prepare to behold many of your purest intentions mifconftrued; prepare to hear yourself reproved and vilified for actions, which, according to a more equitable interpretation, would have been deemed worthy of praise. Prepare yourself to hear principles afcribed to you the reverse of those which you hold, the reverse of those which you publicly maintain. Prepare to hear epithets and appellations borrowed from obnoxious fects; fects, it may be, from whofe errors you may have been the inftrument in the hand of God of rescuing or guarding weaker brethren; prepare to

hear them borrowed for the purpose of fixing the odium of those errors upon yourself. What is the leffon which this expectation should teach you? It should teach you how great is the folly of folicitude for the applause of men. When you deserve it not, it may be copiously poured out upon you: when you have the fairest claim to it, you may be repelled with cenfure and contempt. Wo unto you, faid our Lord to his difciples, when all men Speak well of you: for fo did their fathers unto the false prophets *. If you are praised by the world, is it not because you are conformed to the evil principles and practices of the world? Is it not because you live to the world, not unto Chrift? The world will love its own. Men will praife thee, faith David, when thou doft well to thyself †. If you are fuccessful in your worldly plans; if you give the reins to vanity and pleafure; if you devote your riches to splendid and luxurious enjoyment; then it is that the world will flatter you and proclaim you happy. Live to the world, and the world will applaud you.

and an evil world cannot

* Luke, vi. 26.

Live to Chrift,

but revile and

+ Pfalm xlix. 18.

condemn

Abstain even

condemn you. How righteous, how rational, is the judgement of Holy Writ! How equitable is the condemnation which the Scriptures pronounce against those who love the praise of men more than the praise of God! Chrift is not like the world, an undifcerning, a capricious, an unjust, a forgetful mafter. Be ye His fervants: seek His favour. Give no real occafion to others to speak evil of you. from the appearance of evil. There let anxiety cease. Be not uneafy as to the opinions of men. Be not depreffed by the lofs of human approbation. Be not elated nor enfnared by poffeffing it. Let it be your main folicitude to be found among those whose praise is not of men, but of God. The Lord will come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifeft the counfels of the heart; and then shall every man, every true Chrif tain, have praise of God*. That praise is praise indeed. That praise endureth for

ever.

Thirdly Justify wisdom, juftify true religion, by manifefting yourselves to be her children. Draw not from the preced

Rom. ii. 29. 1 Cor. iv. 5.

ing

ing obfervations à conclufion which they do not warrant. If you are cenfured by the world on account of your opinions, or your conduct respecting religion, imagine not that the cenfure is a proof that you are religious. The cenfure of the world, though often misplaced, is not always misplaced. If you are charged with having judged erroneously, it may be that you have judged erroneously. If you are accused of having acted amifs; you may have acted amifs. If enthusiasm or fanaticifm be imputed to you; perhaps you more or less deserve the imputation. Let the cenfure and the praise of others equally fend you to your Bible. Search the word of truth. Compare your religious opinions, your religious practice, with the doctrines and commandments of your Lord. Lord. Confult him, in his revealed word, with an humble, contrite, and teachable heart, as a child liftens to its inftrucIt was in vain that John the Baptift preached to the fcornful and hardened Pharifees; that generation of vipers, who, though defirous to efcape the wrath to come, would not abandon their fins, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. It was in vain that Jefus Chrift addressed himfelf to that felf-righteous race, who trufted

in

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