lance, are you excufable in declining them? Why will you render ufelefs all your former efforts, by the refusal of a thing so easy? Why fhould you have renounced the world, and all its criminal pleasures, only to find in piety the fame rock, which by flying from fin you thought to have escaped? And would it not be lamentable, if, after having facrificed to God the principal parts, you should lose yourselves, by wishing ftill to difpute with him a thou fand little facrifices, much less painful to the heart and to

nature.

Finish then in us, O my God! that which thy grace has already begun; triumph over our languors, and our weak, neffefs, fince thou haft already triumphed over our crimes; give us a heart fervent and faithful, fince thou haft already deprived us of a criminal and corrupted one; infpire us with that willing submission which the just poffefs, fince thou haft extinguished in us that pride and obftinacy which occafion fo many finners: Leave not, O my God! thy work unfinished; and fince thou haft already made us enter into the holy career of falvation, render us worthy of the holy crown promised to those who shall have legally fought for it.

Now to God, &c. Amen.

SERMON

SERMON V.

THE CERTAINTY OF THE LOSS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN A STATE OF LUKEWARMNESS.

LUKE iv. 38.

And he rofe out of the Synagogue, and entered into Simon's houfe: and Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever: and they befought him for her.

SINCE Simon thought the prefence of our Saviour necef

fary for the cure of his mother-in-law, it would appear my brethren, that the evil was preffing, and threatened an approaching death; the ufual remedies must have been found ineffectual, and nothing but a miracle could operate her cure, and draw her from the gates of death: Nevertheless, the Scriptures mention her being attacked by only a common fever. On every other occafion, we never find that they had recourse to our Saviour, but to raise people from the grave, to cure paralytics, reftore fight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf, from their birth: In a word, to cure diseases, incurable by any other, than the Sovereign Master of Life and Death: In this inftance, he is called upon, to restore health to a perfon attacked by a fimple fever.

Whence comes it, that the Almighty Power is employed on fo flight an occafion? It is, that this fever being a matural image of lukewarmness in the ways of God, the

Holy

Holy Spirit has wished to make us understand by it, that this disease apparently so flight, and of which they dread not the danger; this lukewarmness, so common in piety, is a disease, which inevitably deftroys the foul, and that a miracle is neceffary to refcue it from death.

Yes, my brethren, of all the maxims of Chriftian morality, there is none upon which experience allows us lefs to deceive ourselves, than the one which affures us, that . contempt for the smallest points of our duty infenfibly leads us to a tranfgreffion of the most essential; and that, negligence in the ways of God is never far from a total lofs of righteousness. He who defpifes the smaller objects of religion, fays the Holy Spirit, will gradually fall; he who defpifes them, that is to fay, who deliberately violates them; who lays down as it were, a plan of this conduct; for, if through weakness or surprise you fail in them sometimes, it is the common destiny of the juft, and this discourse would no longer regard you; but, to despise them in the fense already mentioned, which can happen only with luke warm and unfaithful fouls, is a path which must terminate in the loss of righteousness. In the first place, because the fpecial grace neceffary towards perfeverance in virtue is no longer granted. Secondly, Because the paffions are ftrengthened which lead us on to vice. Thirdly, Because all the external fuccours of piety become useless.

t

Let us investigate these three reflections: They contain important inftructions in the detail of a Christian life: Useful, not only to those who make profeffion of a public and avowed piety, but likewife to those who make all virtue to confist in that regularity of conduct, and propriety of behaviour, which even the world requires.

PART

PART I. It is a truth of falvation, fays a holy Father, that the innocence of even the most upright has occafion for the continual affiftance of grace. Man, delivered up to fin, by the wickedness of his nature, no longer finds in himself but principles of error, and fources of corruption : Righteoufnefs and truth, originally born with us, are now become as ftrangers; all our inclinations, revolted against God and his law, in spite of ourselves, drag us on towards illicit objects; in so much, that to return to the law, and submit our heart to order, it is neceffary to refift, without ceafing, the impreffions of the fenses; to break our warmeft inclinations, and to harden ourselves continually against ourselves. There is no duty but what now costs us fomething; no precept in the law, but combats fome of our paffions; no ftep in the paths of God against which our heart does not revolt.

To this load of corruption, which renders duty fo difficult and irkfome, and iniquity fo natural, add the snares which furround us, the examples which entice us, the objects which effeminate us, the occafions which surprise us, the compliances which weaken us, the afflictions which difcourage us, the properties which corrupt us, the fituations which blind us, and the contradictions which we experience; every thing around us is indeed only one continued temptation. I fpeak.not of the miferies which are natural to us; or the particular oppofition to order and righteousness, which our paft morals, and our first passions have left in our hearts: That love for the world and its pleasures; that dislike to virtue and its maxims; that empire of the fenfes, fortified by a voluptuous life; that invincible indolence, to which every thing is a burden, and to which whatever is a burden, becomes almoft impoffible; that pride, which knows neither how to bend or break; VOL I.

R

that

that inconftancy of heart, incapable of end or uniformity, which presently tires of itself; which cannot fubmit to rule, because that it is always the fame; which wishes, and wishes not; paffes in a moment from the lowest state of dejection, to a vain and childish joy, and leaves scarcely the interval of a moment betwixt the fincereft refolution, and the infidelity which violates it.

Now, in a fituation fo miferable, what, O my God! can the most just accomplish, delivered up to his own weaknefs, and all the fnares which furround him; bearing in his heart the source of all his errors, and in his mind the prin ciples of every illufion? The grace of Jefus Chrift, therefore, can alone deliver him from fo many miferies; enlighten him in the midst of so much darkness; support him under fo many difficulties; reftrain him from following the dictates of fo many rapid defires, and strengthen him against fo many attacks. If left a moment to himself, he inevitably ftumbles, and is loft: If an Almighty hand ceafes an inftant to retain him, he is carried down by the ftream: Our confiftency in virtue, is therefore a continual grace and miracle; all our fteps in the ways of God are new motions of the Holy Spirit; that is to fay, of that invifible guide, which impels and leads us on. All our pious actions are gifts of divine mercy; fince every proper use of our liberty comes from him, and he crowns his gifts in recompenfing our merits: All the moments of our Chriftian life are like a new creation, therefore, in faith, and in piety; that is to fay, (this spiritual creation does nor sup. pose a non-existence in the juft, but a principle of grace, and a liberty which co-operates with it,) that as, in the order of nature, we fhould again return to our non-entity, if the Creator ceased an inftant to preferve the being he has given us; in the life of grace, we would again fall