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SERMONS.

SERMON I.

ON THE UNION OF PIETY AND MORALITY.

Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Acts x. 4.

THE High and Lofty One who inhabit- | eth eternity dwelleth also with him that is of humble and contrite heart. In the midst of his glory, the Almighty is not inattentive to the meanest of his subjects. Neither obscurity of station, nor imperfection of knowledge, sinks those below his regard who worship and obey him. Every prayer which they send up from their secret retirements is listened to by him; and every work of charity which they perform, how unknown soever to the world, attracts his notice. The text presents a signal instance of this comfortable truth. In the city of Casarea, there dwelt a Roman centurion, a military officer of inferior rank, a Gentile, neither by birth nor religion entitled to the privileges of the Jewish nation. But he was a devout and a benevolent man; who, according to his measure of religious knowledge, studied to perform his duty, prayed to God always, and gave much alms to the people. Such a character passed not unobserved by God. So highly was it honoured, that to this good centurion an angel was sent from heaven, in order to direct him to the means of full instruction in the truth. The angel accosts him with this salutation: Cornelius, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

It is to the conjunction of prayers and alms that I purpose now to direct your thoughts, as describing the respectable and amiable character of a

man, as forming the honour and the blessedness of a true Christian; piety, joined with charity, faith with good works, devotion with morality. These are things which God hath connected, and which it is impious in man to separate. It is only when they remain united, that they can come up as a grateful memorial before God. I shall first endeavour to shew you, that alms without prayers, or prayers without alms, morality without devotion, or devotion without morality, are extremely defective; and then shall point out the happy effects of their mutual union.

Let us begin with considering the case of alms without prayers; that is, of good works without piety, or a proper sense of God and religion. Examples of this are not uncommon in the world. With many, virtue is, or at least is pretended to be, a respectable and an honoured name, while piety sounds meanly in their ears. They are men of the world, and they claim to be men of honour. They rest upon their humanity, their public spirit, their probity, and their truth. They arrogate to themselves all the manly and the active virtues. But devout affections, and religious duties, they treat with contempt, as founded on shadowy speculations, and fit to employ the attention only of weak and superstitious minds. Now, in opposition to such persons, I contend, that this neglect of piety

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argues depravity of heart; and that it infers an irregular discharge of the duties of morality.

First, it argues internal depravity; for it discovers a cold and a hard heart. If there be any impression which man is formed by nature to receive, it is a sense of religion. As soon as his mind opens to observation and reflection, he discerns innumerable marks of his dependant state. He finds himself placed by some superior power in a vast world, where the wisdom and goodness of the Creator are conspicuous on every side. The magnificence, the beauty, and order of nature, excite him to admire and adore. When he looks up to that omnipotent hand which operates throughout the universe, he is impressed with reverence. When he receives blessings which he cannot avoid ascribing to divine goodness, he is prompted to gratitude. The expressions of those affections, under the various forms of religious worship, are no other than the native effusions of the human heart. Ignorance may mislead, and superstition may corrupt them; but their origin is derived from sentiments that are essential to man. Cast your eyes over the whole earth. Explore the most remote quarters of the east or the west. You may discover tribes of men without policy, or laws, or cities, or any of the arts of life but nowhere will you find them without some form of religion. In every region you behold the prostrate worshipper, the temple, the altar, and the offering. Wherever men have existed, they have been sensible that some acknowledgment was due, on their part, to the sovereign of the world. If in their rudest and most ignorant state this obligation has been felt, what additional force must it acquire by the improvements of human knowledge, but especially by the great discoveries of the Christian revelation? Whatever,

either from reverence or from gratitude, can excite men to the worship of God, is by this revelation placed in such a light, as one should think were sufficient to overawe the most thoughtless, and to melt the most obdurate mind.

Canst thou, then, pretend to be a man of reason, nay, a man of virtue, and yet continue regardless of one of the first and chief dictates of human nature? Where is thy sensibility to what is right and fit, if that loud voice which calls all nations throughout the earth to religious homage, has never been heard by thee? Or, if it has been heard, by what strange and false refinements hast thou stifled those natural sentiments which it tends to awaken? Calling thyself a son, a citizen, a friend; claiming to be faithful and affectionate in these relations; hast thou no sense of what thou owest to thy first parent, thy highest sovereign, thy greatest benefactor? Can it be consistent with true virtue or honour, to value thyself upon thy regard to inferior obligations, and yet to violate that which is the most sacred and the most ancient. of all? When simple instinct teaches the Tartar and the Indian, together with his alms and good works, to join his prayers to that power whom he considers as the source of good, shall it be no reproach in the most enlightened state of human nature, and under the purest dispensation of religion, to have extinguished the sense of gratitude to Heaven, and to slight all acknowledgment of the great and the true God? What does such conduct imply, but either an entire want, or a wilful suppression, of some of the best and most generous affections belonging to human nature?-Surely, there must be an essential defect in that heart which remains cold and insensible, where it ought to be affected most warmly. Surely, such a degree of depravity must be lodged

there, as is sufficient to taint all the other springs of pretended virtue.

But besides this, I must contend, in the second place, that where religion is neglected, there can be no regular nor steady practice of the duties of morality. The character will be often inconsistent; and virtue, placed on a basis too narrow to support it, will be always loose and tottering. For such is the propensity of our nature to vice, so numerous are the temptations to a relaxed and immoral conduct, that stronger restraints than those of mere reason are necessary to be imposed on man. The sense of right and wrong, the principle of honour, or the instinct of benevolence, are barriers too feeble to withstand the strength of passion. In the tranquil seasons of life, these natural principles may, perhaps, carry on the ordinary course of social duties with some regularity. But wait until some trying emergence come. Let the conflict of passions arise. Let the heart be either wounded by sore distress, or agitated by violent emotions; and you shall presently see, that virtue without religion is inadequate to the government of life. It is destitute of its proper guard, of its firmest support, of its chief encouragement. It It will sink under the weight of misfortune; or will yield to the solicitation of guilt.

The great motives that produce constancy and firmness of action, must be of a palpable and striking kind. A divine legislator, uttering his voice from heaven; an omniscient witness, beholding us in all our retreats; an almighty governor, stretching forth his arm to punish or reward, disclosing the secrets of the invisible world, informing us of perpetual rest prepared hereafter for the righteous, and of indignation and wrath awaiting the wicked: these are the considerations which overawe the world, which support integrity, and check guilt.

They add to virtue that solemnity which should ever characterize it. To the admonitions of conscience they give the authority of a law. Co-operating with all the good dispositions of a pious man, they strengthen and ensure their influence. On his alms

you can have no certain dependance, who thinks not of God, nor has joined prayer to his charitable deeds. But when humanity is seconded by piety, the spring from which it flows is rendered, of course, more regular and constant.-In short, withdraw religion, and you shake all the pillars of morality. In every heart you weaken the influence of virtue: and among the multitude, the bulk of mankind, overthrow its power.

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Having thus shewn that morality without devotion is both defective and unstable, I proceed to consider the other extreme, of prayers without alms, devotion without morality.

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In every age the practice has prevailed, of substituting certain appearances of piety in the place of the great duties of humanity and mercy. Too many there have always been, who flatter themselves with the hope of obtaining the friendship of their Creator, though they neglect to do justice to their fellow-creatures. such persons may be assured, that their supposed piety is altogether of a spurious kind. It is an invention of their own, unknown to reason, unknown to the word of God. In Scripture we are ever directed to try our faith by our works, our love of God by our love of men. are directed to consider piety as a principle which regenerates the heart, and forms it to goodness. We are taught that in vain we address any acts of homage to Christ, unless we do the things which he saith; and that love, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and temperance, are not only the injunctions of his law, but the native fruits of his Spirit. (Luke v. 46.

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Gal. v. 22.) If therefore, while piety seems ardent, morality shall decline, you have full reason to believe, that into that piety some corrupting ingredients have entered. And if ever your regard to morality shall totally fail; if while you make many prayers, you give no alms; if while you appear to be zealous for God, you are false or unjust to men; if you are hard or contracted in heart, severe in your censures, and oppressive in your conduct; then conclude with certainty, that what you had termed piety was no more than an empty name. For as soon, according to the Scripture similitude, will bitter waters flow from a sweet fountain, as such effects be produced by genuine piety.

heart. If God will only dispense with some articles of obedience, they will repay him with abundant homage. If they fail in good practice, they will study to be sound in belief; and by the number of their prayers, will atone, in some measure, for their deficiency in charitable deeds.

But the attempt is as vain as it is impious. From the simplest and plainest principles of reason it must appear that religious worship, disjoined from justice and virtue, can upon no account whatever find acceptance with the Supreme Being. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto me. The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is inihy-quity, even the solemn meeting. (Isa. i. 11. 13.)-Cease, foolish and impious man! cease to consider the Almighty as a weak or vain-glorious being, who is to be appeased by thy devout protestations, and thy humble words; or to be gratified by the parade and ostentation of external worship. What is all thy worship to him? Will he eat the flesh of thy sacrifices, or drink the blood of offered goats? Was worship required of thee, dost thou think, upon his account, that thou mightest bring an increase to his glory and felicity by thy weak and insignificant praises? Sooner mightest thou increase the splendour of the sun by a lighted taper, or add to the thunder by thy voice. No it is for the sake of man, not of God, that worship and prayers are required; not that God may be rendered more glorious, but that man may be made better; that he may be confirmed in a proper sense of his dependant state, and acquire those pious and virtuous dispositions in which his highest improvement consists.

What you have called by that name, resolves itself into one or other of three things. Either it is an hypocritical form of godliness, assumed in order to impose on the world; or, which is the most favourable supposition, it is a transient impression of seriousness, an accidental melting of the heart, which passes away like the morning cloud and the carly dew; or, which I am afraid is too often the case, it is the deliberate refuge of a deluded and superstitious, but at the same time a corrupted, mind. For all men, even the most depraved, are subject, more or less, to compunctions of conscience. It has never been in their power to withdraw totally beyond the reach of that warning voice, which tells them that something is necessary to be done, in order to make their peace with the Ruler of the world. But, backward at the same time to resign the gains of dishonesty, or the pleasures of vice; averse from submission to that sacred law, which enjoins righteousness in its whole extent, they have often attempted to make a sort of composition with Heaven; a composition which, though they dare not avow it in words, lurks in secret at the bottom of many a

Of all the principles in religion, one should take this to be the most

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