from grace as to deny the Lord that bought them." And St. Jude faith exprefsly, that men of corrupt lives give evident proofs of their apoftacy, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jefus Chrift. And lastly; St. Paul affures us, that fuch as are cruel and uncharitable to their own kindred that are poor, have denied the faith, and are worse than infidels.

What are we to learn from all this? Why furely, to be afraid for ourselves; left any of us, while we tremble at the name of apostacy, should live in the practice of such works as are the fure marks of apostacy; lest, while we confefs Chrift with the tongue, we renounce him in our lives.

Now, one cannot think of a more effectual way, by the grace of God, to prevent this, than to put Chriftians in mind, and to make them understand, what it is they profess to believe; that whenever they do things contrary to their faith and profeffion, their consciences may fly in their faces, and make them uneafy, and afraid of the danger and ruin that attends them; which will be one good step towards repentance and amendment of life.

I will therefore fet before you the words of that Creed which we fo often repeat; or those things which every Chriftian declares he believes, and is perfuaded of the truth of; and then we shall more easily fee, what works are contrary to fuch a profeffion; that is, by

2 Pet. ii. I.

Jude ver. 4.

d 1 Tim. v. 8.

what

what works we deny our God and our faith. We fhall alfo fee, how neceffary every word of this faith is to a Christian life; how we ought to apply the feveral parts of the Creed, and put them in practice; and how we may judge of the fincerity of our faith, by the manner of our life.

These are the things which, by God's affiftance, I am now going to explain to you; and which I defire you will attend to, as things which very much concern every foul of us.

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

I believe; that is, I am as fully perfuaded of the following truths, as I am of the truth of any thing that I fee with my eyes.

For instance: I am as verily perfuaded that there is a God, a Being above this world, and who has created all other beings, as I am of my own being; and I find, that I refift and do violence to my reafon and confcience, if I go about to stifle or deny the belief of a God.

I am therefore as truly perfuaded of the almighty power of God, that with God nothing is impoffible, as if I had feen him make the world.

I believe alfo, that by the fame almighty power he still governs, and preferves, and takes care of, every thing that he has made, with infinite wisdom, juftice, and goodness.

This appears in a more efpecial manner with regard to men; for God having, from

the

the beginning, given them laws; he has either punished or rewarded them in all ages, according as they obeyed or broke thefe laws: an account of which we have in the holy fcriptures, the most certain history in the world, an history which, if seriously attended to, will inftruct us in all the perfections of God, his infinite power, his wifdom, his juftice, his truth, and his goodness, and will establish us in the firm belief of them.

For example:-We fee the infinite power of God, in the manner of his making the world, and in the manner it was afterwards destroyed by the Flood. He spake the word only, and all things were made; he commanded, and they were created. And by the fame word they were afterwards destroyed.

And then for the infinite goodness of God, this appears in this affecting inftance efpecially when man had broken the covenant of his God, and had thereby loft all hopes of eternal happiness, God was fo good as to enter into a new covenant with him, by which he may attain eternal life and happiness, if it is not his own fault.

At the fame time, I cannot but be convinced, that God is infinitely holy; that he hates all fin, and the workers of iniquity; because I find him every where, and in all ages, punishing fin without refpect of perfons.

That God is infinitely juft, I believe, and am affured of, because he has given us most righ

teous

teous laws; and because he renders to every man according to his doings; condemning the wicked, and juftifying the righteous.

That God is true and faithful to his word and promises, and that his fervants may depend upon his word with the greatest affurance, we cannot but believe, forafmuch as we find in all the fcriptures, that not one thing has failed of all that God ever promifed:-All came to pass.

And lastly, we believe, that God fees and knows every thing that paffes in the world; that his eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good; that there is no place where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves from his fight; and that the very thoughts and intents of our hearts are all known to God.

Now, these are the things which we profefs to believe, when we repeat this part of our Creed. Would to God we could fay with truth, that the generality of Chriftians do not contradict all this in their lives; that they do not, in effect, deny the almighty power, wisdom, juftice, knowledge, and goodness of God, by their works!

let

you, and

I will fet the truth plainly before every man judge for himself. And in the first place, every man who lives without God in the world; that is, who leads a careless life, and lives at all adventures, without confidering why he came into the world;

world; what it is which God expects of him; what will become of him when he dies. Every fuch perfon most certainly forgets, and in effect denies, that God made him, and that he made him for his glory.

So does every one who is more afraid of man than he is of God; who will venture to do what he knows will displease God, for fear of fome worldly lofs. Such a one confiders not the almighty power of God; that he is able to recompenfe fufficiently those that fuffer any lofs for his fake; and that he is able to punish, with the greatest severity, those who fear not his difpleasure, nor pay regard unto his laws.

If a man will do that in fecret, which he would be ashamed or afraid to do in the fight of men; let him never fo often profess to believe, that God is every where prefent, and fees all things that are done, it is plain he denies it in his works, and will one day find to his cost, that all things were naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

What will it avail a Chriftian to fay, every day of his life, that he believes in a God infinitely juft, if at the fame time he takes no care not to make this great and just God his enemy; if he takes no care to reconcile himself to God, by a timely and a fincere repentance, for the fins by which he has offended him?

I may fay with my lips, that I believe in God, who is infinite holy, and who therefore

cannot