ing forward that happy period, foretold by ancient prophecy; when there shall be one Lord over all the earth, and his name one; when that name shall be great from the rising to the setting sun; when there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all the holy mountain of God; but judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field: the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose : and the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Zech. xiv 9. Mal. i. 11. Isa. xxxii. 16.-xxxv. 1.

VOL. II.

SERMON XXXI.

THE TRUE HONOUR OF MAN.

PROV. iv. 8.

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour.

THE love of honour is one of the strongest passions in the human heart. It shews itself in our earliest years; and is coeval with the first exertions of reason. It accompanies us through all the stages of subsequent life; and in private stations discovers itself no less than in the higher ranks of society. In their ideas of what constitutes honour, men greatly vary, and often grossly err. But of somewhat which they conceive to form pre-eminence and distinction, all are desirous. All wish, by some means or other, to acquire respect from those among whom they live; and to contempt and disgrace, none are insensible.

Among the advantages which attend religion and virtue, the honour which they confer on man is frequently mentioned in Scripture as one of the most considerable. Wisdom is the principal thing, says Solomon, in the passage where the text lies, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall

bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. It is evident that throughout all the sacred writings, and particularly in the book of Proverbs, by wisdom is to be understood a principle of religion producing virtuous conduct. The fear of the Lord is said to be the beginning of wisdom and by this fear of the Lord men are said to depart from evil; to walk in the way of good men, and to keep the path of the righteous. Prov. ii. 20. Man is then regulated by the wisdom which is from above, when he is formed by piety to the duties of virtue and morality; and of the wisdom which produces this effect, it is asserted in the text, that it bringeth us to honour.

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On this recommendation of religion it is the more necessary to fix our attention, because it is often refused to it by men of the world. Their notions of honour are apt to run in a very different channel. Wherever religion is mentioned, they connect it with ideas of melancholy and dejection, or of mean and feeble spirits. They perhaps admit that it may be useful to the multitude, as a principle of restraint from disorders and crimes; and that to persons of a peculiar turn of mind it may afford consolation under the distresses of life: but from the active scenes of the world, and from those vigorous exertions which display to advantage the human abilities, they incline totally to exclude it. It may soothe the timid or the sad; but they consider it as having no connection with what is proper to raise men to honour and distinction. I shall now endeavour to remove this reproach from religion; and to shew that in every situation in human life, even in the highest

stations, it forms the honour, as well as the happiness of man.

But first, let us be careful to ascertain what true religion is. I admit that there is a certain species of religion, (if we can give it that name,) which has no claim to such high distinction; when it is placed wholly in speculation and belief, in the regularity of external homage, or in the fiery zeal about contested opinions. From a superstition inherent in the human mind, the religion of the multitude has always been tinctured with too much of this spirit. They serve God as they would serve a proud master, who may be flattered by their prostrations, appeased by their gifts, and gained by loud protestations of attachment to his interest, and of enmity to all whom they suppose to be his foes. But this is not that wisdom to which Solomon ascribes, in the text, such high prerogatives. It is not the religion which we preach, nor the religion of Christ. That religion consists in the love of God and the love of man, grounded on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer of the world, the intercessor for the penitent, and the patron of the virtuous; through whom we enjoy comfortable access to the Sovereign of the universe in the acts of worship and devotion. It consists in justice, humanity, and mercy; in a fair and candid mind, a generous and affectionate heart; accompanied with temperance, self-government, and a perpetual regard, in all our actions, to conscience and to the law of God. A religious, and a thoroughly virtuous character, therefore, I consider as the same.

By the true honour of man is to be understood, not what merely commands external respect, but

what commands the respect of the heart; what raises one to acknowledged eminence above others of the same species; what always creates esteem, and in its highest degree produces veneration. The question now before us is from what cause this eminence arises? By what means is it to be attained?

I say, first, from riches it does not arise. These, we all know, may belong to the vilest of mankind. Providence has scattered them among the crowd with an undistinguishing hand, as of purpose to shew of what small account they are in the sight of God. Experience every day proves that the possession of them is consistent with the most general contempt. On this point, therefore, I conceive it not necessary to insist any longer.

Neither does the honour of man arise from mere dignity of rank or office. Were such distinctions always, or even generally, obtained in consequence of uncommon merit, they would indeed confer honour on the character. But, in the present state of society, it is too well known that this is not the case. They are often the consequence of birth alone. They are sometimes the fruit of mere dependence and assiduity. They may be the recompence of flattery, versatility, and intrigue; and so be conjoined with meanness and baseness of character. To persons

graced with noble birth, or placed in high stations, much external honour is due. This is what the subordination of society necessarily requires; and what every good member of it will cheerfully yield. But how often has it happened that such