But if sloth be such a crime,

Idle hands, and sleepy eyes;

Ah! how foul the waste of time,

When th' immortal soul's the prize: Let me labour, Lord, for thee, Labour for eternity.

VIII.

WAS

AGAINST WASTEFULNESS.

John vi. 12.

Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost.

SOME duties are more important in their nature and consequences than others; and our greatest carefulness shonld be exerted over those actions, which relate to them: but lesser duties are not to be neglected. A good man, will consider himself as under the eye of God, in every circum stance, and will therefore be concerned to please him, in the smallest points of morality, good manners, or economy; as well as in the higher duties of religion and godliness. He who has commanded

us to love the Lord, and keep his sabbath holy; has also, to guard us against wastefulness, told us to gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost.

First. In order to shew the folly of wasting any thing, we may consider it more generally, and observe,

1. Nothing needs be wasted; it will serve some. If it be not nice enough for a rich man, the poor will be glad of it: for though the full soul loatheth the honey comb, yet to the hungry person, every bitter thing is sweet. If it be not fit for human creatures to eat, the brute creation beg it of you: the dogs cat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. How cruel to deny the poor their homely fare, or even the beasts what would satisfy and please them. Who would throw away a shilling, because it is not so good as a guinea; neither should you despise a crust, though it be not so good as a joint of meat. If you do not want it, many do. Be kind to some one with it, if you are not gratified yourself in so doing, you are worse than those whom you neglect.

2. Nothing ought to be wasted; if it belongs to others it is unjust, if to ourselves it is imprudent. Servants, as they do not pay their masters bills, are apt to be careless, how high they run them up. Those who know nothing of housekeeping, but the mere eating and drinking what

is before them, should consider, that if masters are bound to provide sufficiency, servants ought equally to avoid excess. To drink a pint more than you want, for the sake of drinking, is as vile waste, as to pull out the tap, and let so much run. about the cellar: are not both very unjust? Workmen when they do a job, will be twice as long, or use twice as much as they need do, to make their bill the greater; which is but picking their em ployers pockets of the overplus. And as it is evidently not doing as they would be done unto, it is without doubt sin.

If it be said, we may do what we will with our own, it is in some sort true. Yet God as given us all we have, and nothing is so our own, but that we must give account to him, how we have used it. We are but stewards for God; and that steward who wastes his lord's goods, is not likely to win his lord's favour. If the matter regarded ourselves only, it is very imprudent: to waste, certainly is not to enjoy. Besides, a small leak may sink a great ship. If we now are able to waste, in a course of wastefulness, we shall soon not be able to live. A small thing thrown away, may occasion the loss

of a great one; like the man, who riding out one day, threw away a horse shoe nail he had picked up, presently his horse shoe, for want of a nail was lost, soon after the horse, for want of a shoe, got lame, and the man, for want of a sound horse, was benighted and robbed: all arose from his wasting the nail at first.

3. God wastes nothing; he has created every thing for use, and has made creatures to enjoy it. When he formed animals, he made every part useful: the flesh fit for food; either for other animals; as the rat, the fox, &c. which prey upon the lesser creatures, and are in turn food for larger ones: or for man; as the ox, the sheep, and a numerous list besides. Nay, what cannot be eaten for food, is often invaluable for medicine, as the fat of the whale, and the musk of the civet. The skins of animals serve for cloathing, especially in cold countries where no other dress is warm enough: the horns and teeth, for many purposes of use and ornaments. Ivory is but the tooth of an elephant the hair, is applied to a thousand uses; and the wool, in numberless forms, makes the dress of half the world.