the promise." If thou wilt enter into life," faith our Saviour, "keep the commandments.' This is the indifpenfable condition of the Chriftian covenant and no man, who refufes to comply with fo reasonable a requisition, can have any just ground to complain that God is unfaithful in denying him the bleffing which he has promised only to the righteous. Nay, it may be added, that the Divine veracity itself precludes the expectation of future happiness on any other terms; for the fame voice which hath promised glory, honour, and immortality, to every man that worketh good, hath alfo denounced indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every foul of man that worketh evil and we have no right to queftion the threatening, more than the promife, of Omnipotence. Although the Lord be long fuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all fhould come to the knowledge of the truth, the day of just retribution will

come,

come, in which the wicked will be doomed to everlasting destruction. Wherefore, beloved, feeing that ye look for fuch things, be diligent, that ye may be found of your Judge in peace, without fpot, and blameless; and having confcientiously endeavoured to keep the commandments of God, live in the joyful expectation of the promised felicity. Under all the troubles of this life, let the promise of eternal happiness afford you good hope and strong confolation; and in the hour of death commit your spirits into the hands of your merciful and faithful Creator, looking for the bleffed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and of our Saviour Jefus Chrift.

Laftly, let us learn, from the doctrine of the Divine faithfulness, to be ourselves true and faithful both towards God and

man.

An appeal to Heaven by an oath appears peculiarly folemn, when it is confidered, that in this act of religion we call the God

of truth to attest that we speak the truth. It is impoffible to conceive any obligation more facred than this; nor any higher indignity which can be offered to the Supreme Being than perjury. But it is not merely in an oath that we bind ourselves to truth and faithfulness towards our Maker, but in every pious refolution and purpose which we form in his prefence. Whether we voluntarily take upon ourfelves the profeffion of religion in the ordinances of Christianity, or in folemn acts of devotion declare our defire and determination to obey the will of God, we ought to confider thefe external acts of religion as a folemn promise, by which we acknowledge our affent to the eternal law of reason, and bind ourselves to comply with the condition upon which the Divine promise of eternal life is fufpended. If, after fuch engagements, we continue to live in the violation of the Divine laws, our difobedience becomes unfaithfulness, and involves us in aggravated guilt. Let

us,

us, then, remember the vows of God which are upon us, and fay with the pious Pfalmift" I have fworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep all God's righteous judgments.”

not.

Let us, moreover, be careful to imitate the Divine veracity in all our transactions with each other. It is an effential part of the character of the good man, that if he fweareth to his own hurt, he changeth The law of truth is in his heart, and deceit and falfehood have no place in his words. What he thinks, he speaks; what he promifes, he performs. That we may the more easily discharge this part of our duty, we fhould be careful not to enter into any engagements which we cannot fulfil without fubjecting ourselves to great, and otherwise unneceffary, inconvenience. But having bound ourselves by a folemn promife, we are under indifpenfable obligations to execute it faithfully, in all cafes which would not imply a violation of the prior obligations of moral duty.

In fine, if we wish to become followers of the God of truth, we must in all our devotions worship him in fincerity and in truth; fincerely intending that obedience to his will which we profefs ourselves refolved to maintain: in the whole of our lives we must steadily adhere to the pious refolutions and purposes we express in our prayers; and in our daily intercourse with each other we must refrain from every kind of falfehood and diffimulation; faithfully execute every trust; strictly adhere to our engagements; and, in all things, obey that eternal law of truth which is the rule by which the actions of all good beings, even of God himself, are directed. "Lie not one to another," faith the apostle Paul," feeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

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