by the supreme love to the world. But why is the. love of the world represented so dangerous and destructive to the souls of men? The plain reason is, that the world and all the things of the world, directly and powerfully tend to dissipate the thoughts of men; and so to prevent all serious reflections upon God and upon every thing serious, important and eternal. An habitual attention to this world excludes an habitual attention to another world; an habitual love to this. world excludes an habitual love to another world; and worldly mindedness excludes heavenly mindedness. While the scenes and objects of this world engross the attention and affections of men, they are always stupid and regardless of the happiness of heaven and the torments of hell. Why are young men men so generally careless and stupid about the salvation of their souls? The cause is visible.--They are all attention and zeal in pursuing the vanities and amusements of the world. Why are those on the stage of action and in the meridian of life, so stupid and regardless of future happiness and misery? It is because the more serious business and concerns of this life shut out the thoughts of a future and eternal life. Men are formed for thinking, reflecting and anticipating; and they cannot help employing their thoughts about either temporal, or eternal things. And if it were not for thinking about and loving the world, they would think about and love God and divine things. The world would do men no harm, if they would only give it its proper place in their thoughts and in their hearts. But it is of the most ensnaring nature and has ruined the souls of millions among the poor as well as the rich; among the learned as well as the un learned; among the industrious as well as the idle; among the moral as well as the immoral; and among the old as well as the young. The world would destroy all men, who live in it, if it were not for the sovereign grace of God, in controling the views and renewing the hearts of some. The apostle's admonition therefore, deserves the most serious regard. "Love not the world, neither the things of the world. If any

man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." But Christ's question is still more solemn and impressive. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

4. If the miseries of the damned arise from bitter reflections; then all sinners in their present state are fit for destruction. They have just such views and feelings and reflections in kind, as the damned have. They hate to be what they are, rational, immortal and aceounta ble creatures. They hate to be where they are in a state of probation, where life and death, eterual happiness and eternal misery, heaven and hell are so often exhibited before them. They hate to reflect upon what God is and what they are; or upon what others have done to save them, or upon what they have done to destroy themselves; or upon the state of the blessed in heaven; or upon the state of the miserable in hell, or upon what they may be to all eternity. They have the same love to sin and hatred to holiness, that the prisoners in despair have. They have the same the enmity to God, to Christ, to good men and to one another, that the great adversary and all his subjects have. Christ has told them, that they are of their father, the devil. And they need no change of heart, to fit them to be his companions in sin and misery forever. Their own weight of guilt would sink them down to the regions of darkness and despair, if the forbearing mercy of God did not prevent it. But yet they think and say, that they are not totally depraved; that they do not deserve endless torments, nor are in danger of being east into hell; that they are whole and need not a physician; that their character and state are misrepresented; and that they have a right to trust in their goodness. They justify themselves and condemn God and his law and despise the thought of being in danger of hell fire which they think is too often mentioned. They say to themselves, that they are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that they are wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked. Such views and feelings, if continued in,

must ripen them fast fo destruction. They are in the situation of one, who was cherishing the vain hope of long prosperity, but whose soul was suddenly called into eternity.

5. If the miseries of the damned and the character of sinners be such, as have been described, then there is reason to fear, that some sinners are very near to the pit of perdition. They are in the broad road, which has led many such persons as they are to the place, where there is no light and no hope. The symptoms of eternal death are upon them, though they know it not. They have reason to fear, that God will cut them down, or say, let them alone. To such Christ said, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" It is God's usual method to send the spirit of slumber to sinners, before he executes the sentence of eternal death. And has not the spirit of slumber been long visible among many sinners here? And does not this forbode, that the time may be near, when they will awake and lift up their eyes in torments? Preachers did not make these marks of danger, but God has made them in his word. Be entreated to read bis word and compare your characters and conduct with his word. And if you do not find yourselves condemned by Moses and the prophets, by Christ and his apostles, you need not fear what preachers say. But if you do find yourselves condemned by Christ himself, "fear him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

45

SERMON XXI.

CONSTANT JOY IN GOD THE DUTY OF CHRIS-
TIANS.

PHILIPPIANS, IV, 4.-Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice

The apostles took peculiar care of the Churches, which they planted, and employed many means to confirm them in their faith, preserve them from error and promote their peace, consolation and growth in grace. They either visited them personally, or wrote to them frequently and directed them to read the epistles they severally received to each other, that they might all derive edification and comfort from them. Paul wrote most of his epistles on some particular occasions, in order to rectify some particular error, or to guard against some particular danger, or to reprove some unchristian practice. But he seems to have written this epistle to enforce a particular duty, which all Christians were too apt to neglect; and that is the duty of rejoicing in God. He had said in the first verse of the third chapter in this epistle, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." And recollecting what he had said before, he still thought it proper to repeat again and again the same injunction in the fourth verse of this fourth chapter. "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice." These repetitions plainly indicate, that Christians in general are very backward to perform the duty, enjoined in the text; and that their duty of rejoicing in the Lord is not only very important, but needs to be repeatedly and forcibly inculcated upon them. Accordingly it is proposed in this discourse,

I. To consider what is implied in the duty of Chris tians rejoicing in God always;

II. To consider the propriety of their being required to perform this duty always; And,

III. To consider some peculiar reasons, why they should rejoice in the Lord always.

I. Let us consider what is implied in the duty of Christians rejoicing in the Lord always. And

1. This implies that they are pleased, that God does really exist. All mankind are naturally unwilling, that there should be a God. The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Every man, in a state of nature, dreads the thought of the divine existence. And though he cannot resist the weighty evidence of an eternal and self-existent Being; yet his belief of God instead of giving him the least pleasure, fills his mind with the same kind of fear and trembling, which apostate spirits feel. All men naturally wish to be independent, and therefore cannot bear the thought, that there is a Being above them, who can control and dispose of them, according to his pleasure. But Christians, whose enmity to God has been slain, are willing that he should exist. It is impossible, that men should rejoice in a Being, whose existence they disbelieve and dislike. If Christians, therefore, did not believe and like the existence of Gol, they could not rejcice in him. So that their rejoicing in God implies, that they rejoice, that he now exists and always will exist, without the least variableness, or shadow of turning.

2. The duty, enjoined upon Christians in the text, implies their rejoicing not only that God exists, but that he exists possessed of all divine excellencies and perfections. God is infinitely superior to any other and all other beings in the universe. His power, his knowledge, his wisdom and his goodness are unlimited and incomprehensible. It is the duty of Christians to rejoice, that God is the first, the greatest, the wisest and best of all beings, without the possibility of change, or becoming in the least degree mutable in the essential attributes of his nature. They ought to rejoice, that he always has been and always will be, without