man is its conftant favourite, its peculiar care. And of this important truth every man may be convinced, who will at any time, in his more ferious moments, reflect on the motions of his own foul; for how often do we feel degrees. both of joy and grief within us, by no means proportionable to the external, apparent caufes of either? Advantages the moft trifling and inconfiderable, fhall exalt us into rapture; evils the most infignificant, fhall deprefs us into a ftate of the utmoft mifery and anguish. Groundless hopes fhall delight, and fears as groundlefs fhall torment us: and what is this but the invifible power of the Almighty, work-. ing within our hearts, and rewarding or pu nishing us as we deserve, even in this life, according to his own divine will and appointment? When we confider how totally the fpi-rit of man is in the power of God, with what unspeakable joy he can infpire, with what inconceivable horrors he can affright it; fhould it not make us rejoice in the hopes of pleafing, and tremble at the thought of offending him? To him then let the wounded fpirit apply for relief; let us truft in his juftice, and rely upon his mercy. Can we be fafer than under the eye of divine wifdom? Can we be more fecure than in the hands of almighty power? If we addrefs him as dutiful children, he will smile upon us with all the indulgence of an affectionate parent; if we seek him as our physician, he will cure us; if we implore him as our guardian, he will protect us If he permits the wound to be inflicted, he hath a balm ready to pour

into it; he will not fuffer us to be afflicted beyond what we are able to bear, but will with the affliction make us a way alfo to escape from it. To him then let us deliver up our fouls; of him, in the day of profperity, let us beg that we may not be inflamed and elated with it; to him, in adverfity, let us pray that he will either remove, or enable us to bear it. And lastly, as our spirit is an immortal fpirit, let us send up our prayers to him, that it may even whilst on earth be mindful of its dignity, that it may rise fuperior to mortality, and, unwounded by the little concerns of this life, in hopes of being admitted to a better and more durable one: to a place where the body cannot be hurt, and where the spirit can never be wounded: where that fpirit which is immortal will be bleft with health and reft; with health, which the moth and ruft of fin cannot corrupt; with reft and tranquility, which no earthly cares can break through and fteal: to a place, where, whilft the fpirits here below are wounded by pain and mifery, it shall smile in uninterrupted joy, and taste the never-fading pleasures of peace and immortality.

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ON THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION.

SERMON VIII.

PROVERBS III. 17.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

AMONGST all the fubtle and impious

endeavours of the adverfaries of our holy religion to defame and difgrace it, there is not perhaps any scheme or artifice which has been fo univerfally, or indeed fo fuccefsfully practifed, as their unwearied pains and industry in mifrepresenting and disguising it to the ignorant and unwary; as they have painted it in the blackest colours which malice could invent, or hatred infpire; and prefented mankind with the most horrid picture their own gloomy imaginations could fuggeft; religion, if you will believe them, is a cruel and tyrannical miftrefs,. who is perpetually chaftifing and punishing her fervants; whofe cruel and favage difpofition would extort from them the unreasonable facrifice to her, of every pleasure, every comfort and fatisfaction in life, to attend on her commands, and pay a blind obedience to the feverity of her laws; that fhe would perfuade us to give up all the blifs and enjoyment of this world, whilft fhe deludes us with idle dreams

of

of promised happiness in another. But in a point fo folemn and fo important, methinks we fhould seriously confider the truth of these affertions: Is this the faith we adhere to, the religion we profefs? or is it but the glofs of falfe reafoning and fpecious argument; the wicked fuggeftions of bad men, defigned merely to alleviate thus their guilt, and palliate, if poffible, the bafeness of their own ingratitude: or the artifice of perfidious rebels, to reprefent the fovereign whom they defert, as a tyrant and an ufurper, whofe commands are grievous, and whofe laws are unjust?-Let us seriously con fider the attributes of that divine Being whom we worship: Can this be the offspring of the God of long-fuffering, charity, love, goodness, and benevolence? Would he fet up fuch an idol in his ftead? Surely this is fo poor, fo unlike, fo bad a copy, that it cannot poffibly deceive any who have ever had the least tranfient view or glimpse of the divine original.

It will therefore be at leaft a pleafing and perhaps a neceffary task to ftrip religion of this unbecoming garb; to take off the bloody garment, and to put on her the robe of peace; to wreft the fword of oppreffion from her hand, and place her own olive in its ftead; and to convince mankind, that, as the wife man fays, her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace-that fo far from debarring us from the enjoyments of life, that without regard to her, and the obfervance of her laws, pleasure can only be attended by guilt, fear and

remorse,

1

remorfe, and that it is to this very wisdom, this holy fanction, she owes all her charms.

And here it may be obferved, that most difputes and controverfies which arise amongst men, fpring from the want of a right sense and understanding of the terms made use of in their propofitions; and it is in vain to dispute with our adverfaries concerning pleasure, if at the fame time our notions of that pleasure, are entirely oppofite. If they will affert that pleafure confifts merely in the gratification of our appetites, and the enjoyment of fenfual delights, in a perpetual round of folly, riot, and debauchery, we muft indeed own, that these ways of pleasantness are not her ways, nor can they ever be the paths of peace. But if, on the contrary, the notion which the wisest and best men of all ages have entertained of pleafure be the only true and fatisfactory one; if it is to the mind we are indebted for the most refined and most exquifite sensations, it will not be difficult to prove, that this pleasure is the conftant handmaid of Religion, the daughter of Truth and Wifdom, and the infeparable companion of all thofe who tread in the paths of honour and virtue. My yoke is eafy, fays our Saviour, and my burthen is light; and furely, to a serious and thinking man, the morality of the gofpel has nothing harsh or unreasonable in its precepts, nothing severe or difficult in the practice of it.

Love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and thy neighbour as thyself; whatfoever ye would that men should do unto you,