swered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The On the Benefits to be derived from the ECCLESIASTES, vii, 2, 3, 4. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will X X SERMON I. On the IMPORTANCE of ORDER in CONDUCT. R I CORINTH. xiv. 40. Let all things be done-in order. I. ELIGION, like every regular and SERMON well-conducted system, is composed of a variety of parts; each of which possesses its separate importance, and contributes to the perfection of the whole. Some graces are essential to it; such as faith and repentance, the love of God, and the love of our neighbour; which, for that reason, must be often inculcated on men. There are other dispositions and habits, VOL. II. which, B SERMON which, though they hold not so high a rank, I. yet are necessary to the introduction and support of the former; and therefore, in religious exhortations, these also justly claim a place. Of this nature is that regard to order, method, and regularity, which the apostle enjoins us in the text to carry through the whole of life. Whether you consider it as, in itself, a moral duty, or not, yet I hope soon to convince you that it is essential to the proper discharge of almost all duties; and merits, upon that account, a greater degree of attention than is commonly paid to it in a religious view. If you look abroad into the world, you may be satisfied at the first glance, that a vicious and libertine life is always a life of confusion. Thence it is natural to infer, that order is friendly to religion. As the neglect of it coincides with vice, so the preservation of it must assist virtue. By the appointment of Providence, it is indispensably requisite to worldly prosperity. Thence arises a presumption, that it is connected also with spiritual improvement. When you behold a man's affairs, through neg ligence and misconduct, involved in dis I. order, you naturally conclude that his ruin SERMON approaches. You may at the same time justly suspect, that the causes which affect his temporal welfare, operate also to the prejudice of his moral interests. The apostle teaches us in this chapter, that God is not the author of confusion*. He is a lover of order; and all his works are full of order. But, where confusion is, there is, its close attendant, every evil work †. In the sequel of this discourse, I shall point out some of those parts of conduct wherein it is most material to virtue that order take place; and then shall conclude with shewing the high advantages which attend it. Allow me to recommend to you, order in the conduct of your affairs; order in the distribution of your time; order in the management of your fortune; order in the regulation of your amusements; order in the arrangement of your society. Thus let all things be done in order. I. MAINTAIN order in the conduct of your worldly affairs. Every man, in every station of life, has some concerns, private, • Ver. 33. B 2 James, iii. 16. domestic, |