kindness, righteousness and judgment in the earth--a juft God and a Saviourabundant in goodness-delighting in mercy-multiplying to pardon. There is none good, but one, that is God. The Father of the whole family in heaven and earth: The God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, through whom grace hath fuperabounded where fin did abound-in whom he hath magnified the law; and difpenfeth pardon and peace confiftently with moral rectitude. As feemeth meet to him, he distributeth to one five talents, to another two, and to another one. May he not do what he will with his own? With whom fhall he take counfel? who fhall inftruct him?

God is glorified, when we imitate his moral perfections make his will our end-take his holy word for our only rule of faith and practice-and feek his approbation as our chief good-when we love him with all our heart, and foul, and strength, and mind-love his whole character, and joy in his government.

We glorify God, when the fame mind is in us which was alfo in Chrift Jefus. He fought not his own glory, but the glory of his Father. "I delight to do thy "will, O my God! yea, thy law is within my heart. "I muft work the works of him that fent me, while "it is day." This was his meat, which the world knew not of. He "humbled himself, and became obedient "unto death," that he might glorify God, and finish the work given him to do. The fame mind is in us, when none of the commandments of our God are grievous-when we learn obedience by what he calleth us to fuffer-when we feek not our own things, but those which are Jefus Chrift's.

We glorify God, when we honor all his attributes, fanctify his fabbaths, and walk in all his commandments and ordinances-obferve the footsteps of his providence-have none in heaven but God, and none upon earth that we defire befide him—study the edification of our fellow-chriftians, rejoice in their gifts,

acceptance and usefulness-when the advancement of the kingdom of God lies nearest our heart.

As the end to which human actions should be directed, fome have proposed happiness. Others have called this a mercenary principle, and pronounced it inconfiftent with the nature of virtue. They have therefore argued for difinterestedness. Or the fentiment may be expreffed more intelligibly thus: Virtue fhould be chofen, not for the advantages which may or do accrue from it, but from an abstract view of its intrinfic excellence. Others found it on the fanction of divine authority.

Many speculations and refinements on this fubject have conduced to bewilder it. May we not maintain, that virtue, in the moral and religious acceptation of the word, is a conformity to the will of God, however made known-that it has respect to him as governor of the world-that his government and laws are founded in wifdom and rectitude-and that he will make virtue the happiness of the virtuous; and, of confequence, vice the ruin of the vicious? If these things must be admitted, fhall we separate what God hath joined? There is no virtue without obedience and fubmiffion to him. We are under law and accountable to him. Our powers, faculties and advantages are his gifts. He feeth what ufe we make of them-whether our opportunities to get and do good are improved or neglected-whether they are used to fubferve his glory, or abused in the fervice of our lufts. If we are found good ftewards, we fhall enter into the joy of our Lord. If flothful and wicked, we fhall be doomed to weeping and wailing.

We will then fuppofe that true virtue denotes a fupreme reverence of God, according to the manifeftations he hath made of himself; and fupreme delight in his law and government. This implies our belief that he is the rewarder of them who diligently feek him— a truth intimately connected with his exiftence. In

this view, the beauty of holiness, the glory of God, and a refpect to the recompence of reward, are principles of action which do not in the leaft interfere. The divine perfections are infinitely amiable in themfelves, the just object of fupreme delight, homage and truft. His laws are all holy, juft and good. In keeping of them there is a great reward. We love him, becaufe he first loved us.

Here it will not be improper to remark, that God hath interwoven in the nature of man a ftrong defire of happiness. The enquiry is, Who will fhew us any good? The difference between the religious man and men of no religion is not, that the latter feek their own happiness, while the former does not. The true difference is, that he fets his affection on things above; whereas their affection is fet on earthly things. He feeks firft the kingdom of God: Their heart is fet on riches, and honor, and fenfual delights. His heart's defire and prayer is for the light of God's countenance.Their portion is in externals. He delighteth himself in the Lord. God is his chief joy, his reft forever. They forfake the fountain of living waters, and have recourfe to broken cifterns. They walk through dry places, ແ seeking rest, but finding none. Surely they are dif "quieted in vain." ." But But "the peace of God, which "paffeth all understanding, keepeth his heart and "mind through Jefus Chrift. How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their truft under the shadow of thy wings. My foul fhall be fatisfied as with marrow and fat"nefs."

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From falfe notions of happiness, it is fought in the creature. When we have juft ideas of happiness, we feek it in the Creator. The connection between feeking the glory of God and true happiness is infeparable. HE placeth his glory in the moral perfection and happinefs of his intelligent offspring. All who have died in faith, fought another, an heavenly country. All who

fuffer in the cause of truth, who love not their lives to the death, have hope of a better refurrection. Whatever the self-denial to which we are called, if we suffer as animated by the joy set before us, the fame mind is in us as was in Chrift Jefus.

The opinion that a good man is willing to be damned, may it be for the glory of God, is inadmiffible. Does it not fuppofe that the damnation of a good man may be for the glory of God? No one, probably, will affirm, that this is poffible. And if not, why should it be put as a fuppofeable cafe? Does a good man then acquiefce in what cannot be for the glory of God? Is this any proof of his entire devotedness and refignation to him? Let no groundless, felf-contradictory, prefumptuous hypothefis be made; nor a felf-contradictory opinion be built upon it; nor the defence of fuch opinion be attempted; nor the admiffion of it be represented as a neceffary evidence of a good eftate. We submit to confideration the following propofitions. First, no good man will be damned. Secondly, it cannot be for the glory of God that he should be. Thirdly, a good man cannot confent to that which he believes would not be for the glory of God. Fourthly, a view to the glory of God cannot therefore make him willing to be damned. Fifthly, a willingness to be damned, if fuch a case were poffible, can be predicated only of an abandoned finner.

Contemplate, for a moment, what it is to be damned, and what a willingness to be fo muft mean. To be damned is to spend an eternity in blafpheming the. God of heaven and the Redeemer of the world. A willingness for this is a cordial confent to affociate forever with infernal fpirits, in unutterable and interminable woe, in ceaseless execration of the author of our being. Could any creature poffibly confent to fuch a doom, to fuch employment, he must be a child of the devil, and could not escape the damnation of hell.

No good man ever confented to forego his perfonal intereft in Chrift-to be eternally separated from him. The difciple of Chrift confents to any tribulation in the way to the kingdom-any fufferings for, and in imitation of, Chrift; any which may turn to the furtherance of his caufe, and conduce to purify and refine the foul for the joys above. He can forfake all for Christ, and even lay down life. for his fake. For he trufts the promise, that fuch as lofe life in this world, for the fake of Chrift and the gofpel, fhall find it to life eternal. If we fuffer, we shall also reign with him. Without this hope, his perfecuted followers would be of all men moft miferable. Paul could rejoice, though offered on the facrifice and fervice of the Chriftian faith. For faid he, There is laid up for me a crown of righteoufnefs. Would we not make the apoftle contradict himself, we must understand, in perfect confiftency with his affured expectation and hope of the crown of glory, that extraordinary declaration of his, I could wifh that myself were accurfed from Chrift for my brethren, my kinfmen according to the flesh. The original text admits, and perhaps requires, a different tranflation. If we conftrue thefe words to extend beyond temporal fufferings, we not only violate the general analogy of faith; but take occafion, from a warm expreffion of concern for his nation, uttered in the depth of grief and heaviness, to infer, that he could wish to forego that ONE THING, to which he continually pressed forward, even the prize of the high calling of God in Chrift Jefus. We think the man infane, who dies by felfaffault. Yet it is more than intimated, that the deftruction of foul and body in hell may be confented to, from the moft pure, deliberate regard to God's glory; that it is indeed neceffary to prove a filial relation to him. Attend to the meaning of the expreffion, Willing to be eternally miferable! I add no more on this point.