and the Payment of due and diftinct Regards to the Father almighty, to his bleffed Son, and holy Spirit, of Courfe obtains an equal Rank in Revelation. In particular I recommend it to you, not to omit coming to Evening Prayers, becaufe now thefe Lectures will be difcontinued. Joining in God's Worship, and hearing his holy Word read to you, is always a fufficient, and fhould always be the principal, Motive to bring you.. For neither is he that planteth, any Thing; neither he that watereih: but God that giveth the Increafe. And be fure He will give it to thofe, who attend on his Ordinances with pious Minds: and we may juftly expect, that He will withhold it from thofe, who, instead of coming, because it is their Duty, come to hear this or that Man difcourfe.

we may

But then I must befeech you to obferve at the fame Time; that as neither Piety without Morals, nor Morals without Piety, nor heathen Piety without Chriftian, will fuffice: fo neither will the outward Acts of any Thing, without an inward Principle of it; and the true Principle is a reverent Efteem and Love of God. Other Inducements may allowably be joined with this but if this be not alfo joined with them, what we do may be Prudence, may be Virtue, but is not Religion; and therefore, however right, fo far as it goes, doth not go far enough to entitle us to Reward, or even to fecure us from Punishment; which Nothing can more jufily deferve, than to have little or no Senfe of filial Affection to our heavenly Father, and of thankful Love to our crucified Redeemer and gracious Sanctifier, who have the higheft Right to the utmoft Regard that our Souls are capable of feeling.

You must refolve therefore, not only to be Chriftians externally in your Lives, but internally in your Hearts. And, let me remind you further, you will refolve on neither to good Purpose, if you truft to

yourfelves alone for the Performance. You will con-trive, perhaps, great Schemes of Amendment and Goodnefs; but you will execute very little of them. or you will do a good deal, it may be, in fome Particulars; and leave others, equally neceffary, undone : or you will go on a While; and then fall, when you thought you were fureft of ftanding: or what feeming Progrefs foever you make, you will ruin it all, by thinking too highly of yourfelves for it: or fome Way or another you will certainly fail, unless: the Grace of God enable you, firft to be deeply fenfible of your own Guilt and Weaknefs; then to lay hold, by Faith in Chrift, on his promifed Mercy and. Help: in the Strength of that Help to obey his Com. mands; and after all to know, that you are ftill un-. profitable Servants". Servants. Now this Grace you may

and

cer

tainly have, in whatever Measure you want it, by earnest Prayer for it, humble Dependence upon it, and fuch honeft and diligent Ufe of the lower Degrees of it, as He hath promised to reward with higher Degrees: you can have it no other Way. If ever therefore, when we exhort you to Duties, moral or religious, we omit to mention the great Duty of ap plying for Strength from above to be given you, not. for your own Sakes but that of your bleffed Redeemer, in order to practife them: it is by no Means because we think fuch Application unneceffary; but because we hope you know it so well to be abfolutely neceflary, that we need not always remind you of i. But if we are, at any Time, wanting to you in this Refpect, or. any other; be not you therefore wanting to yourselves; but work out your own Salvation from this Motive, which alone will procure you Succefs, that God worketh in you both to will and to do3. And I pray God to. fanctify you wholly, and preferve your whole Spirit, Soul, and Body, blameless, unto the Coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift

7 Luke xvi. 10.

Phik ii. 12, 13.

91 Theff. v. 23.

Having

Having faid thus much to you all in general, I defire you, Children, to take Notice of what I am going to fay, in the laft Place, to you in particular. Your Condition is of the lower Kind: but your Inftru&tion hath been better than many of your Superiors have had. If therefore your Behaviour be bad, your Condemnation will be heavy; and if it be good, you may be to the full as happy, in this World and the next, as if you were of ever fo high Rank. For true Happinefs comes only from doing our Duty; and none will ever come from tranfgreffing it: but, whatever Pleafure or Profit Sin may promife, they will foon turn into Pain and Lofs. Remember therefore as long as you live, what you have been taught here. Remember partie cularly the Anfwers to thofe two main Queftions: What is thy Duty towards God; and, What is thy Duty towards thy Neighbour? And be affured, that unless you practise both, when you go hence to Services and Apprenticeships, all the Money and Labour, that hath been spent on you, will be fpent in vain; you will be a Digrace to the Education and Teaching that you have had; you will probably be very miferable here, and certainly fo for ever hereafter. But if you practife both, you will make an honest and grateful Return for the Kindness that you have received from your Benefactors: which I hope you will never forget, but imitate, if God enables you to do it: you will be loved of your Maker and Fellow-Creatures: you will live in Peace of Mind; you will die with Comfort, and be received into everlasting Bliss.

Think then, I intreat and charge you, ferioufly and often of thefe Things. And to remind yourselves of them more effectually, be diligent in reading fuch good Books as are given you at your leaving School, or otherwife put into your Hands; be conftant in coming to Church on the Lord's Days at least; fuch of you as go away before you are confirmed, take the first Opportunity, after you are fourteen, to apply to your Minifter, wherever you are, that you may be well in

ftructed

ftru&ted for that holy Ordinance, and then admitted to it. Within a reafonable Time after this, prepare yourselves, and defire him and your Friends to affist in preparing you, to receive the Lord's Supper: concerning which you have heard very lately, how exprefsly it is required of all Chriftians, (a Name that comprehends young as well as old) for the Means of improving them in every Thing that is good. And may God give his Grace to you and to us all, that by the Help of thofe Means, with which He hath fo plentifully favoured us, we may each of us improve daily in the Knowledge of his Truth, and the Love of our Duty, till at Length we come unto a perfect Man, unto the MeaJure of the Stature of the Fulness of Chrift".

Eph. iv. 13

A SER

A

SERMON

ON

CONFIRMATION,

ACTS VIII. 17.

Then laid they their Hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghoft.

THE

HE Hiftory, to which thefe Words belong, is this. Philip the Deacon, ordained at the fame Time with St. Stephen, had converted and baptized the People of Samaria: which the Apoftles at Jerufalem hearing, fent down to them Peter and John, two of their own Body; who, by Prayer accompanied with Impofition of Hands, obtained for them a greater Degree, than they had yet received, of the facred Influences of the Divine Spirit: which undoubtedly was done, on their fignifying, in fome manner, fo as to be underflood, their Adherence to the Engagement, into which they had entered at their Baptifm.

From this and the like Inftances of the Practice of the Apostles, is derived, what Bithops, their Succeffors, though every Way beyond Comparison inferior to them, have practifed ever fince, and which we now call Confirmation. Preaching was common to all Ranks of Minifters; baptizing was performed ufually by the lower Rank: but, perhaps to maintain a due Subor

dination,