not be fhaken by little immoralities. A fifth is mean, churlish, peevish, troublefome, and vexatious to his family and all around him; but he can tell an excellent story of experiences, therefore his confcience calmly bafks on the mountains of tranquillity, without any painful fears or doubts. Thus deluded man poifes virtues against vices, balances down immoralities with greater religion, calms the furges of his confcience, and floats down the current of perdition.

If, my brethren, we attend more to reafon and revelation, and lefs to the falfe dictates and prejudices of our own corrupted hearts, we should furely be better Chriftians. We fhould be effectually convinced that God has immoveably fixed the uniform religion and obedience of his rational creatures at too high a value to dispense with any branch of them. Univerfal holiness and righteoufnefs are of fuch infinite moment with God, that he fent his only begotten Son to fuffer and die for the world, in order that men fhould be made holy, and reduced to the obedience of the laws of rectitude and purity. With this view he has granted the revelation of his will-his fabbaths, ftatutes, and the means of grace. He inftructs by his word-admonishes by his Providence-alarms by his threatenings-allures by his promifes, and deals with us by his Holy Spirit. Surely God has high defigns in conferring rich temporal mercies, and fpiritual immunities, privileges, and bleffings upon his people and his church. It is that they may be fruitful, rich in good works, pure and holy in all manner of conversation.

Does the husbandman plow and fow without view to a crop? Does he dig, manure, and dress his vineyard without expectation of fruit? God is often, in holy writ, compared to a husbandman; the reafon is obvious, and the above queries fufficiently fuggeft it. Can we fuppofe

that

that the Majesty of heaven, who does not suffer the abuse of temporal mercies to pass unpunished, will not refent the mifimprovement of spiritual and heavenly things? Did he display the light of his glorious Gospel only that a rebellious and obftinate world might fhut their eyes against it, and harden their hearts? Did he give his Son, his only begotten Son, that the Jews and Gentiles might first shed his blood, and the more impious and ungrateful Chriftians afterwards trample on it as an unholy thing? Does he bestow his Spirit to move upon the heart merely to be quenched and grieved? Surely fuch conduct is a contradiction of heaven, and a reception of its grace in vain.

Are there any expectations of God, in confequence of his bestowment of great and eminent bleffings, improper or unreasonable? Is it not infinitely juft and fit that he fhould expect a due improvement of the means and advantages we enjoy? That we should be grateful for his benefits? That we fhould love him, and render him the most chearful duty and obedience of heart and life? That we should walk by the light of his revelation, believe in Christ, submit to the Gospel, renounce fin and the world, and be no longer flaves to them?

These things are the dictates of reafon and fcripture. Our wickedness cannot hurt God, nor our righteousness profit him; yet an holy God expects the fruits of holinefs from us. How often does the bleffed Saviour compare his word to feed, and his hearers to ground, which he pronounces good or bad according as it does, or does not bring forth fruit? The Gospel every where testifies, that the great end of all the benefits of God the Father and God the Son to men, is, That being made free from fin, and become the fervants of God, they should have their fruit unto holiness, and, in the end, everlasting life.

Now,

Now, my brethren, look into your hearts and lives. You enjoy all the means of grace and falvation. Are you made better by them? You have the word of God to read, and it is abundantly preached unto you. Do they make any proper impreffion upon your hearts? Are you fanctified by them? Are you awakened to any ferious concern about your fouls? Do you make confcience of prayer, and the duties of piety and devotion? Are you diligent in moral and relative duties? Are you peaceable neighbours, comfortable friends, good husbands, affectionate wives, faithful parents, dutiful children, kind masters, and obedient fervants? Are your hearts thus established in grace, your lives fhining in godlinefs, and your fruits the fruits of righteousness?

After all the pains of Heaven, and the mercies God hath bestowed upon you, after all the love of God, the fufferings of Chrift, the strivings of the Spirit, the labours of minifters, and the prayers and tears of parents, are there not many of you ftill under the power and dominion of fin, in the gall of bitterness, and bonds of iniquity? Remember, O finners, your day of grace and mercy will come to an end! If you spend the refidue of life, as that which is past, who can paint the horror of the ruin and deftruction which will be your fate? Your meditations ought to be infinitely interested in these things. This will be readily difcerned, and glare like fun-beams from a fea of glass, in the next observation; that,

II. Upon Chrift's curfing the fig-tree, it was immediately blafted, and perished from the roots. From hence we infer, that barrennefs or unfruitfulness, under the bleffings and ordinances of the Gofpel, and the means of grace, is an awful and dangerous state. Hear what St Paul fays in this cafe: The earth which drinketh in the

rain

rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God; but that which beareth thorns and briars is nigh unto curfing, whofe end is to be burned. Attend to the words of our Lord, the deciding and final judge of the conduct of men. Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none; cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? Oh! how foon may a poor careless finner be hardened into a reprobate fenfe, and hurled into irretrievable wo! Soon the day of grace may fet, and rise with you no more for ever! You may exhauft eternity in excruciating groans, That the harvest is paft, and the fummer is ended, and we are not faved.

Behold, O carelefs finner, the barren and fallen leaves around you! How many are drying up from the roots, and dropping into the invifible world? Some dying in a miferable, fome in a doubtful flate; fome in the full career of their fins, and others amidst the purposes of future repentance.-Doft thou, O barren finner, dare the justice, omnipotence, and jealousy of Almighty God? Or doft thou still foolishly prefume on despised grace and infulted mercy? He who fpared not the angels who fell, who fpared not his only Son, will he fpare you, O ftupid Christians, who perfift, in defiance of light, to despise his grace and mercy? He that fpared not his chofen people, the feed of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, his friends :-What! Shall the question drop from my lips? Will he fpare and fave you? No. The blinded mind, and even the feared confcience muft fpurn the thought. Alas! is the indignation of heaven, the wrath, tribulation and anguish from the Eternal King loft, as the paffing wind, upon you? Have the torments of hell no terror? Aroufe, O barren foul open thine eyes! shake thy felf! flee de

Atruction,

struction, before thou art enwrapped in liquid fheets of endless flames!

If preaching, and the other ordinances of God, cannot affect your adamantine hearts, and bring forth the penitential refolve, and induce you, in fincerity, to yield up your hearts to the bleffed Jesus, to walk in the ways of righteousness, and to become fruitful Chriftians, attend the dying rooms of barren fouls, clofing their eyes upon all terrestrial things! Follow them in your contemplations to the land of darkness; and, in your retired moments, confider their final doom, and ask yourselves, where is it probable they are gone? See how friends and relatives bend over the departing life; they render strong groans for weak; they figh at the intervals; they restrain their own breath to hear the departing-the long intermitted gasp returns no more! Loud laments fill the chambers-open the creaking, groaning doors-flash through the inferior apartments-burst forth in horrid peals, and follow the barren spirit down to eternal perdition!-Now is the accepted time-now is the day of falvation is the laft voice to Gospel reprobates this fide hell! Lord, have mercy upon us! Amen.

SER