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the mind; leaves it open to every | pleasing sensation; gives a lightness to the spirits, similar to the native gaiety of youth and health; ill imitated, and ill supplied, by that forced levity of the vicious, which arises not from the health, but from the drunkenness of the mind.

perity of good men, by the prospect which it affords them of greater happiness to come in another world. I shewed, in the foregoing Discourse, the mighty effect of the hope of heaven, in relieving the mind under the troubles of life. And sure, if this hope be able to support the falling, it cannot but improve the flourishing state of man; if it can dispel the thickest gloom of adversity, it must needs enliven prosperity by the additional lustre which it throws upon it. What is present, is never sufficient to give us full satisfaction. To the present we must always join some agreeable anticipations of futurity, in order to complete our pleasure. What an accession then must the prosperity of the righteous man receive, when, borne with a smooth and gentle gale along the current of life, and looking round on all the blessings of his state, he can consider these as no more than an introduction to higher scenes which are hereafter to open; he can view his present life, as only the porch through which he is to pass into the palace of bliss; and his present joys, as but a feeble stream, dispensed for his occasional refreshment, until he arrive at that river of life, which flows at God's right hand!-Such prospects purify the mind, at the same time that they gladden it. They prevent the good man from setting too high a value on his present possessions; and thereby assist him in maintaining, amidst the temptations of worldly pleasure, that command of himself which is so essential to the wise and temperate enjoyment of prosperity.

Feeble are all pleasures in which the heart has no part. The selfish gratifications of the bad are both narrow in their circle, and short in their duration. But prosperity is redoubled to a good man, by his generous use of it. It is reflected back upon him from every one whom he makes happy. In the intercourse of domestic affection, in the attachment of friends, the gratitude of dependants, the esteem and good-will of all who know him, he sees blessings multiplied round him, on every side. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing with joy. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame: I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not, I searched out. (Job xxix. 11. 17.)— Thus, while the righteous flourisheth like a tree planted by the rivers of water, he bringeth forth also his fruit in his season; and that fruit, to pursue the allusion of the text, he brings forth, not for himself alone. He flourishes, not like a tree in some solitary desert, which scatters its blossoms to the wind, and communicates neither fruit nor shade to any living thing; but It is the fate of all human plealike a tree in the midst of an inha- sures, by continuance, to fade; of bited country, which to some affords most of them, to cloy. Hence, in the friendly shelter, to others, fruit; which most prosperous state, there are freis not only admired by all for its beau- quent intervals of languor, and even ty, but blessed by the traveller for the of dejection.-There are vacuities in shade, and by the hungry for the sus- the happiest life, which it is not in the tenance it hath given. power of the world to fill up. What IV.-Religion heightens the pros-relief so adapted to those vacant or

dejected periods, as the pleasing hopes which arise from immortality? How barren and imperfect that prosperity, which can have recourse to no such subsidiary comfort, in order to animate the stagnation of vulgar life, and to supply the insufficiency of worldly pleasures!

Worldly prosperity declines with declining life. In youth its relish was brisk and poignant. It becomes more sober as life advances; and flattens as life descends. He who lately overflowed with cheerful spirits and high hopes, begins to look back with heaviness on the days of former years. He thinks of his old companions who are gone; and reviews past scenes, more agreeable than any which are likely to return. The activity of pursuit is weakened. The gaiety of amusement is fled. The gratifications of sense languish. When his accustomed pleasures, one after another, thus steal treacherously away, what can he, who is an utter stranger to religion, and to the hope of heaven, substitute in their place? -But even in that drooping period, the promises and hopes of religion support the spirits of a good man to the latest hour. His leaf, it is said in the text, shall not wither. It shall not be in the power of time to blast his prosperity: but old age shall receive him into a quiet retreat, where if lively sensations fail, gentle pleasures remain to soothe him. That hope of immortality, which formerly improved his other enjoyments, now in a great measure supplies their absence. Its importance rises, in proportion as its object draws near. He is not forsaken by the world, but retires from it with dignity; reviewing with a calm mind the part which he has acted, and trusting to the promise of God for an approaching reward. Such sentiments and expectations shed a pleasing tranquillity over the old age of a righteous man. They make the

evening of his days go down unclouded; and allow the stream of life, though fallen low, to run clear to the last drop.

Thus I have shewn, I hope, with full evidence, what material ingredients religion and a good conscience are in the prosperity of life. Separated from them, prosperity, how fair soever it may seem to the world, is insipid, nay frequently noxious to the possessor: united with them, it rises into a real blessing bestowed by God upon men. God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth sore travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. (Eccles. ii. 26.)

Allow me now to conclude the subject, with representing to the those prosperous men of the world, crimes and miseries into which the abuse of their condition is likely to betray them, and calling upon them to beware of the dangers with which they are threatened.

It is unfortunate for mankind, that those situations which favour pleasure are too generally adverse to virtue. Virtue requires internal government and discipline; prosperity relaxes the mind, and inflames the passions. Virtue is supported by a regard to what is future; prosperity attaches us wholly to what is present. The characteristics of virtue are modesty and humility; the most common attendants of prosperity are pride and presumption. One should think, that prosperity would prove the strongest incitement to remember and to honour that God who bestows it. Yet such is the perverseness of human nature, that it much oftener proves the motive to impiety. The changes of the world call the attention of men to an invisible power. But a train of events proceeding according to their wish, leads them to nothing beyond what they see. The supreme Giver

events, is needed to overturn your prosperity. By slow degrees it rose. Long time, much labour, and the concurrence of many assisting causes, were necessary to rear it up; but one slight incident can entirely overthrow it. Suspicions are infused into the patron or the prince on whom you depend; and your disgrace ensues. Exercise, or amusement, kindles a fever in the veins of those whom you loved; and you are robbed of your comforts and hopes. A few grains of sand lodge themselves within you; and the rest of your life is disease and misery. Ten thousand contingencies ever float on the current of life, the smallest of which, if it meet your frail bark in the passing, is sufficient to dash it in pieces.-Is this a place, is this a time, to swell with fancied security, to riot in unlawful pleasure, and, by your disregard of moral and religious duties, to brave the govern

is concealed from view by his own gifts. This instance of success they ascribe to a fortunate concurrence of worldly causes; that acquisition, to their own skill and industry; unmindful of Him, who from the beginning arranged that series of causes, and who placed them in circumstances where their industry could operate with success. From forgetting God, they too often proceed to despise him. All that is light or giddy in their minds is set in motion by the gale of prosperity. Arrogance and self-sufficiency are lifted up; and their state is considered, as secured by their own strength. Hence that pride of countenance, through which the wicked in their prosperity, as David observes, refuse to seek after God. They are described as speaking loftily, and setting their mouth against the Heavens. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ: and they say unto God, Department of the Almighty? He hath from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve him? Or, what profit should we have, if we prayed his peculiar displeasure against unto him?

They say unto God, Depart from us. -What an impious voice! Could we have believed it possible, that worldly pleasures should so far intoxicate any human heart? Wretched and infatuated men! Have you ever examined on what your confidence rests? You have said in your hearts, You shall never be moved; you fancy yourselves placed on a mountain which standeth strong. Awake from those flattering dreams, and behold how every thing totters around you! You stand on the edge of a precipice; and the ground is sliding away below your feet. In your health, life, possessions, connexions, pleasures, principles of destruction work. The mine advances in secret, which saps the foundations, while you revel on the surface. No mighty effort, no long preparation of

stamped every possession of man with this inscription, Rejoice with trembling. Throughout every age, he hath point

the confidence of presumption, and the arrogance of prosperity. He hath pronounced, that whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. And shall neither the admonitions which you receive from the visible inconstancy of the world, nor the declarations of the Divine displeasure, be sufficient to check your thoughtless career? Know that, by your impiety, you multiply the dangers which already threaten you on every side; you accelerate the speed with which the changes of the world advance to your destruction. The Almighty touches with his rod that edifice of dust, on which you stand, and boast of your strength; and, at that instant, it crumbles to nothing.

As men, then, bethink yourselves of human instability. As Christians, reverence the awful government of God. Ensure your prosperity, by con

light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. So shall it resemble those celestial fires which glow above, with beneficent, with regular, and permanent lustre; and not prove that mirth of fools, which by Solomon is compared to the crackling of thorns under a pot, a glittering and fervent blaze, but speedily extinct.

secrating it to religion and virtue. Be humble in your elevation; be moderate in your views; be submissive to Him who hath raised and distinguished you. Forget not, that on his providence you are as dependant, and to the obedience of his laws as much bound, as the meanest of your fellowcreatures. Disgrace not your station, by that grossness of sensuality, that levity of dissipation, or that indolence of rank, which bespeak a little mind. Let the affability of your behaviour shew that you remember the natural equality of men. Let your moderation in pleasure, your command of passion, and your steady regard to the great duties of life, shew that you possess a mind worthy of your fortune. Establish your character on the basis of esteem; not on the flattery of dependants, or the praise of sycophants, but on the respect of the wise and the good. Let innocence preside over your enjoyments. Let usefulness and beneficence, not ostentation and vanity, direct the train of your pursuits. Let your alms, together with your pray-flourish like a tree planted by the rivers ers, come up in memorial before God. of water. The ungodly are not so; but So shall your prosperity, under the are like the chaff, light and vile, which blessing of Heaven, be as the shining the wind driveth away.

On the whole, let this be our conclusion, that, both in prosperity and in adversity, religion is the safest guide of human life. Conducted by its light, we reap the pleasures, and at the same time escape the dangers, of a prosperous state. Sheltered under its protection, we stand the shock of adversity with most intrepidity, and suffer least from the violence of the storm. He that desireth life, and loveth many days that he may see good, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from guile. Let him depart from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace with God, and pursue it. Then, in his adversity, God shall hide him in his pavilian. In his prosperity, he shall

SERMON IV.

ON OUR IMPERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF A FUTURE STATE.

For now we see through a glass darkly.-1 Cor. xiii. 12.

THE Apostle here describes the imperfection of our knowledge with relation to spiritual and eternal objects. He employs two metaphors to represent more strongly the disadvantages under which we lie: one, that we see those objects through a glass, that is, through the intervention of a medium which obscures their glory; the other, that we see them in a riddle or enigma, which our translators have rendered by seeing them darkly; that is, the truth in part is discovered, in part

concealed, and placed beyond our comprehension.

This description, however just and true, cannot fail to occasion some perplexity to an inquiring mind. For it may seem strange, that so much darkness should be left upon those celestial objects, towards which we are at the same time commanded to aspire. We are strangers in the universe of God. Confined to that spot on which we dwell, we are permitted to know. nothing of what is transacting in the

regions above us and around us. By much labour, we acquire a superficial acquaintance with a few sensible objects which we find in our present habitation; but we enter, and we depart, under a total ignorance of the nature and laws of the spiritual world. One subject in particular, when our thoughts proceed in this train, must often recur upon the mind with peculiar anxiety; that is, the immortality of the soul, and the future state of man. Exposed as we are at present to such variety of afflictions, and subjected to so much disappointment in all our pursuits of happiness, why, it may be said, has our gracious Creator denied us the consolation of a full discovery of our future existence, if indeed such an existence be prepared for us?-Reason, it is true, suggests many arguments in behalf of immortality: Revelation gives full assurance of it. Yet even that gospel, which is said to have brought life and immortality to light, allows us to see only through a glass darkly. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. Our knowledge of a future world is very imperfect; our ideas of it are faint and confused. It is not displayed in such a manner as to make an impression suited to the importance of the object. The faith even of the best men is much inferior, both in clearness and in force, to the evidence of sense; and proves on many occasions insufficient to counterbalance the temptations of the present world. Happy moments indeed there sometimes are in the lives of pious men, when, sequestered from worldly cares, and borne up on the wings of divine contemplation, they rise to a near and transporting view of immortal glory. But such efforts of the mind are rare, and cannot be long supported. When the spirit of meditation subsides, this lively sense of a future state decays; and though the general belief of it remain, yet even good men, when they return to

the ordinary business and cares of life, seem to rejoin the multitude, and to reassume the same hopes, and fears, and interests, which influence the rest of the world.

From such reflections a considerable difficulty respecting this important subject either arises, or seems to arise. Was such an obscure and imperfect discovery of another life worthy to proceed from God? Does it not afford some ground, either to tax his goodness, or to suspect the evidence of its coming from him?-This is the point which we are now to consider; and let us consider it with that close attention which the subject merits. Let us inquire, whether we have any reason, either to complain of Providence, or to object to the evidence of a future state, because that evidence is not of a more sensible and striking nature. Let us attempt humbly to trace the reasons why, though permitted to know and to see somewhat of the eternal world, we are nevertheless permitted only to know in part, and to see through a glass darkly.

It plainly appears to be the plan of the Deity, in all his dispensations, to mix light with darkness, evidence with uncertainty. Whatever the reasons of this procedure be, the fact is undeniable. He is described in the Old Testament as a God that hideth himself. (Isa. xlv. 15.) Clouds and darkness are said to surround him. His way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters; his footsteps are not known. Both the works and the ways of God are full of mystery. In the ordinary course of his government, innumerable events occur which perplex us to the utmost. There is a certain limit to all our inquiries of religion, beyond which if we attempt to proceed, we are lost in a maze of inextricable difficulties. Even that revelation which affords such material instruction to man, concerning his duty and his happiness, leaves many doubts unre

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