anguifh, and even whilft they felt the inconveniencies of pain, had the folly to deny its existence.

It would become the man, who is proud of his knowledge, to reflect, that the wifeft of men, after he had toiled through the whole round of science, and had feen all things under the fun, confefied his knowledge to be vanity, and felt it to be vexation alfo.

And no lefs would it become the man who is proud of his virtue, to call to mind what our bleffed Redeemer faid when he was faluted by the name of good, Why call you me good? faid he, there is none good but one.

Shall we, my brethren, be proud of knowledge, when he who had the best title to the name of wife, acknowledged himself ignorant? or fhall we be proud of our virtue, when he who alone deferved the name of good, refused to be called fo?

God graciously implanted in the mind of man, a capacity of knowledge to improve and adorn it, and fowed the feeds of virtue in his heart, that they might yield the future harveft of felicity. To be proud, therefore, of knowledge, is to be blind with light; and to be proud of virtue, is to poifon ourselves with the antidote. Is it not ftrange that fuch foul fireams flow from fountains fo pure? and that what was doubtlefs defigned by the Almighty to render us meek and lowly, fhould fill us with pride and infolence?

But there is a fpecies of pride very different from thofe already mentioned, and far more aflonif

aftonishing; and that is, the ftrange and unaccountable pride of our follies, vices, and imperfections.

What is it after all, that men will not be proud of when we fee fuch as value them felves on their knowledge of mankind, make no feruple to boat of their fuccefs in the art of fraud and treachery? as if there were any real merit in deceiving their fellow-creatures, and that no qualities were fo amiable as falfehood and diffimulation.

What is it men will not be proud of, when we fee them degrade piety into weakness, and brand compaflion with the name of folly; when we hear them boafting of their apathy as a perfection, and exulting in their inhuma nity?

Such is the fatal power and influence of example, that a time may come (and perhaps is not far from us) when idlenefs may be fo fafhionable a vice, that induftry fhall be looked upon as a reproach, and to do nothing, and think of nothing, fhall be ranked amongst the greatest privileges of our nature.

Pride is of all vices the moft unfortunate, and always fails of its end. The covetous man gains his point when he has amaffed his treasures, and is breeding over his mammon: the fenualift gains his when he revels in the pleasures of fenfe, and, at least for a time, enjoys himfelf: whilft the proud man, inftead of that deference and refpect which he is in perpetual Karch of, is for the moft part rewarded with nothing but contempt.

To

To make us cheerful and happy in each other, there must be an equality of condition; a kind of common chain, to link and unite the affections; the ground muft be levelled, before we can walk together with any tolerable eafe or fatisfaction. But where there is pride, there must be diftance and dependancy; and where dependance is, freedom cannot enter. The proud man, therefore, cuts himself off from the body of fociety, and is excluded from all the mutual endearments of focial converfe; he can keep company with none but thofe he muft hate; affociate with none but fuch as he muft defpife. If he fets himself up as an idol, if he will have worship and adoration, he can receive it from none but fools or knaves; from fools who do not know what he is made of, or from knaves who do. What is it then to be proud? To live the life of an idol of wood or ftone, and to be like unto it; to lofe all the privileges and all the pleafures of our nature; to facrifice every real bleffing, for fuch as are merely imaginary; to be above the wants and neceffities, and at the fame time alfo above the joys and comforts of life; to be laughed at by our fellow creatures, and defpifed by our Creator; to be the fcorn and derifion of

men, the hatred and abomination of God! And yet, as the Prophet fays, we call proud hoppy. If they are wife, it is a wifdom we ought to be afhanied of; if they are happy, it is a happiness we have no reafon to envy.

Let us then attend the commands of our God; he speaks to us every day by the voice

of

of Death, that great teacher of mankind; commiffioned by him to rule over the children of pride; to bind their kings in chains, their nobles in links of iron. He is the great leveller who fubducth all beneath his feet; from him who fitteth on a throne of glory, to him that is humbled in earth and afhes. Alas! when the thought of our final diffolution ftrikes our imagination, how do all the idle diftinctions amongst us vanish and difappear! Where are the votaries of ambition, or the heroes of the war? Where are the rich, the powerful, the wife, and the learned? The small and great are there! they fhall lie down alone in the duft, and the worms fhall cover them.

Let us therefore already imagine ourselves to be, what in a little time we inevitably must be, all upon a level, high and low, rich and poor, one with another. These confiderations will moft probably induce us to behave with humility towards each other, not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, but to love juftice and mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. To lend our knowledge to infruct the ignorant; our power to protect the weak; our riches to relieve the poor and needy. If we would be esteemed the followers of Chrift, we must act like him; we muft loop to imitate his meeknefs, if we would rife to inherit his favour; for he hath declared, that in the laft day, he that exalteth himself, fhall be abafed, and he that humblelh himself, and he only, fhall be exalted.

SERMON

Behold how good and joyful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

AMONGST all the indelible traces, the

glorious marks of divine wisdom and power in the formation of the universe, nothing hath perhaps more awakened the minds of men to a contemplation on the omniscience and goodness of their Creator, than the ferious confideration of that conftant union and har. mony, which the Supreme Difpofer of all things hath diffused over all his works.

Unity is the great chain which first combined, and ftill holds together the frame of nature, which bids different elements confpire, and different feafons join in fweet variety to make our habitation here pleafant and cornmodious, and promote the general eafe and happiness of mankind.

It is obfervable that the same scheme of providence which God thought fit to conftitute in the natural world, hath he alfo appointed in the moral one.

That man was made for union and fociety, doth fufficiently appear both from the frame

and