gation and history of the Jews, fucceed the prophetic writings. As the time of the promile drew fill nearer, the notices of its Approach became ftronger. The kingdom of the Meffiah, which was but obfcurely hadowed by the ceremonies of the Jewish law, was marked in ftronger lines by the prophets, and proclaimed in a more intelligible language. The office of the Mefh, his ministry, his life, his actions, his death, and his refurrection, are all very distinctly held out. It is true, the Jews, erlaining the warm figures of the prophic language too literally, and applying to a temporal dominion thofe expreffions, which were intended only as defcriptive of a fphitual, were offended at the meannefs of Carit's appearance on earth; and would not own him for that Melliah, whom tir prophets had foretold; though thefe very prophets, when they used a lefs figuritive language, had defcribed him, as he really was, a man of forrows, and acquinted with grief.

To these books are added feveral others, poetical and moral, which adminifter much intruction, and matter of meditation to devout minds.

The New Teftament contains first the fimple history of Chrift, as recorded in the four gofpels. In this hiftory alfo are delivered thofe excellent inftructions, which our Saviour occalionally gave his difciples; the precepts and the example blended together.

To the gofpels fucceeds an account of the lives and actions of fome of the principal apottles; together with the early flate of the chriftian church.

The epifles of feveral of the apostles, particularly of St. Paul, to fome of the new established churches, make another part. Our Saviour had promifed to endow his difciples with power from on high to complete the great work of publishing the gofpel: and in the epiles that work is completed. The truths and doctrines of the christian religion are here fill more unfolded, and inforced: as the great fcheme of our redemption was now finished by the death of Christ.

The facred volume is concluded with the revelations of St. John; which are fuppofed to contain a prophetic defcription of the future ftate of the church. Some of thefe prophecies, it is thought on very good grounds, are already fulfilled; and others, which now, as fublime defcriptions caly, amufe the imagination, will proba

bly, in the future ages of the church, be the objects of the understanding alío.

"to

The laft part of our duty to God is, ferve him truly all the days of our life." "To ferve God truly all the days of our life," implies two things: fit, the mode of this fervice; and fecondly, the term of it.

First, we must ferve God truly. We mult not reft fatisfied with the outward action; but must take care that every action be founded on a proper motive. It is the motive alone that makes an action acceptable to God. The hypocrite "may falt twice in the week, and give alms of all that he poffeffes:" nay, he may falt the whole week, if he be able, and give all he has in alms; but if his fafts and his alms are intended as matter of oftentation only, neither the one, nor the other, is that true fervice which God requires. God requires the heart: he requires that an earnest defire of acting agreeably to his will, fhould be the general spring of our actions; and this will give even an indifferent action a value in his fight.

As we are injoined to ferve God truly, fo are we injoined to ferve him "all the days of our life." As far as human frailties will permit, we fhould persevere in a conftant tenor of obedience. That lax behaviour, which inftead of making a steady progrefs, is continually relapfing into former errors, and running the fame round of finning and repenting, is rather the life of an irrefolute finner, than of a pious chriftian. Human errors, and frailties, we know, God will not treat with too fevere an eye; but he who, in the general tenor of his life, does not keep advancing towards chriftian perfection; but fuffers himself, at intervals, entirely to lofe fight of his calling, cannot be really ferious in his profellion: he is at a great distance from ferving God truly all the days of his life; and has no fcriptural ground to hope much from the mercy of God.

That man, whether placed in high eftate, or low, has reached the fummit of human happiness, who is truly ferious in the fervice of his great Mafter. The things of this world may engage, but cannot engrofs, his attention; its forrows and its joys may affect, but cannot difconcert him. man, he knows, can faithfully ferve two mafters. He hath hired himself to onethat great Mafter, whofe commands he reveres, whofe favour he feeks, whofe dif pleasure alone is the real object of his fears:

No

and

and whofe rewards alone are the real objects of his hope. Every thing else is trivial in his fight. The world may footh; or it may threaten him: he perfeveres fteadily in the fervice of his God; and in that perfeverance feels his happiness every day the more established. Gilpin.

$161. Duties owing to particular perfons -duty of children to parents-respect and abedience-in what the former confifts-in what the latter-fuccouring a parentbrotherly affection-obedience to lawfounded on the advantages of fociety.

From the two grand principles of "loving our neighbour as ourselves: and of doing to others as we would have them do to us," which regulate our focial intercourfe in general, we proceed to thofe more confined duties, which arife from particuJar relations, connections, and ftations in life.

Among thefe, we are first taught, as indeed the order of nature directs, to confider the great duty of children to parents.

The two points to be infilled on, are refpect and obedience. Both thefe fhould naturally fpring from love; to which parents have the higheft claim. And indeed parents, in general, behave to their children, in a manner both to deferve and to obtain their love.

But if the kindness of the parent be not fuch as to work upon the affections of the child, yet ftill the parent has a title to refpect and obedience, on the principle of duty; a principle, which the voice of nature dictates; which reafon inculcates; which human laws, and human customs, all join to inforce; and which the word of God ftrictly commands.

The child will fhew refpect to his parent, by treating him, at all times, with deference. He will confult his parent's inclination, and fhew a readiness, in a thoufand nameless trifles, to conform himself to it. He will never peevishly contradict his parent; and when he offers a contrary opinion, he will offer it modeftly. Refpect will teach him alfo, not only to put the best colouring upon the infirmities of his parent; but even if these infirmities be great, it will foften and screen them, as much as poffible, from the public eye.

Obedience goes a ftep further, and fuppofes a pofitive command. In things un lawful indeed, the parental authority cannot bind: but this is a cafe that rarely

happens. The great danger is on the other fide, that children, through obftinacy or fullennefs, fhould refufe their pa rents' lawful commands; to the obfervance of all which, however inconvenient to themfelves, they are tied by various motives; and above all, by the command of God, who in his facred denunciations against fin, ranks disobedience to parents among the worst *.

They are farther bound, not only to obey the commands of their parents; but to obey them chearfully. He does but half his duty, who does it not from his heart.

There remains still a third part of filial duty, which peculiarly belongs to children, when grown up. This the catechifm calls fuccouring or adminiftering to the neceffities of the parent; either in the way of managing his affairs, when he is lefs able to manage them himfelf: or in fupplying his wants; fhould he need affiftance in that way. And this the child fhould do, on the united principles of love, duty, and gratitude. The hypocritical Jew would fometimes evade this duty, by dedicating to facred ufes what should have been expended in affifting his parent. Our Saviour tharply rebukes this perversion of duty; and gives him to understand, that no pretence of ferving God can cover the neglect of affifting a parent. And if no pretence of ferving God can do it, furely every pretence muft ftill be more unnatural.

other

Under this head alfo we may confider that attention, and love, which are due to other relations, efpecially that mutual affection which should fubfift between brothers. The name of brother expreffes the highest degree of tendernefs; and is generally ufed in fcripture, as a term of peculiar endearment, to call men to the practice of focial virtue. It reminds them of every kindness, which man can fhew to man. If then we ought to treat all mankind with the affection of brothers, in what light muft they appear, who being really fuch, are ever at variance with each other; continually doing fpiteful actions, and fhew. ing, upon every occafion, not only a want of brotherly kindness, but even of common regard?

The next part of our duty is to honour and obey the king, and all that are put in authority under him."

By the King, and all that are put in authority under him," is meant the various

parts of the government we live under, of which the king is the head: and the meaning of the precept is, that we ought to live ia dutiful fubmiffion to legal authority.

Government and fociety are united. We cannot have one without the other; and we fubmit to the inconveniencies, for the fake of the advantages.

The end of fociety is mutual fafety and convenience. Without it, even fafety could in no degree be obtained: the good would become a prey to the bad; nay, the very human fpecies to the beafts of the field.

Stil lefs could we obtain the conveniencies of life; which cannot be had withcut the labour of many. If every man depended upon himself for what he enjoyed, how destitute would be the fituation of human affairs!

But even fafety and convenience are not the only fruits of fociety. Man, living merely by himself, would be an ignorant unpolished favage. It is the intercourse of fociety which cultivates the human mind. One man's knowledge and expenence is built upon another's; and fo the great edifice of fcience and polished life is reared.

To enjoy thefe advantages, therefore, men joined in fociety; and hence it became neceflary, that government fhould be eftablished. Magiftrates were created; laws made; taxes fubmitted to; and every one, instead of righting himself (except in mere felf-defence) is injoined to appeal to the laws he lives under, as the beft fecurity of his life and property. Gilpin.

162. Duty to our teachers and inftru&tors -arifing from the great importance of knowledge and religion--and the great ecefity of gaining habits of attention, and of virtue, in our youth-analogy of youb and manhood to this world and the

next.

We are next injoined to fubmit ourfelves to all our governors, teachers, fpiritual paftors, and mafters." Here another fpecies of government is pointed out. The laws of fociety are meant to govern our riper years; the inftructions of our teaches, fpiritual pattors, and mafters, are meant to guide our youth.

By our teachers, fpiritual paftors, and mafters," are meant all thofe who have the care of our education, and of our inftruction in religion; whom we are to obey, and liften to, with humility and attention,

as the means of our advancement in knowledge and religion. The instructions we receive from them are unquestionably fubject to our own judgment in future life; for by his own judgment every man must fland or fall. But, during our youth, it is highly proper for us to pay a dutifu' submiffion to their inftructions, as we cannot yet be fuppofed to have formed any judgment of our own. At that early age it fhould be our endeavour to acquire knowledge; and afterwards unprejudiced to form our opinions.

The duty which young people owe to their inftructors, cannot be fhewn better, than in the effect which the inftructions they receive have upon them. They would do well, therefore. to confider the advantages of an early attention to thefe two things, both of great importance, knowledge and religion.

The great ufe of knowledge in all its various branches (to which the learned languages are generally confidered as an introduction) is to free the mind from the prejudices of ignorance; and to give it jufter, and more enlarged conceptions, than are the mere growth of rude nature. By reading, you add the experience of others to your own. It is the improvement of the mind chiefly, that makes the difference between man and man; and gives one man a real fuperiority over

another.

Befides, the mind must be employed. The lower orders of men have their attention much ingroffed by thofe employments, in which the neceffities of life engage them and it is happy that they have. Labour ftands in the room of education; and fills up thofe vacancies of mind, which, in a flate of idleness, would be ingroffed by vice. And if they, who have more leifure, do not fubftitute fomething in the room of this, their minds alfo will become the prey of vice; and the more fo, as they have the means to indulge it more in their power. A vacant mind is exactly that houfe mentioned in the gospel, which the devil found empty. In he entered; and taking with him feven other fpirits more wicked than himfelf, they took poffeffion. It is an undoubted truth, that one vice indulged, introduces others; and that each fucceeding vice becomes more depraved.If then the mind must be employed, what can fill up its vacuitiès more rationally than the acquifition of knowledge? Let us therefore thank God for the opportunities

he

he hath afforded us; and not turn into a curfe thofe means of leifure, which might become fo great a bleffing.

But however necefiary to us knowledge may be, religion, we know, is infinitely more fo. The one adorns a man, and gives him, it is true, fuperiority and rank in life: but the other is abfolutely effential to his happiness.

In the midst of youth, health, and abundance, the world is apt to appear a very gay and pleafing fcene; it engages our defires; and in a degree fatisfies them alfo. But it is wisdom to confider, that a time will come, when youth, health, and fortune, will all fail as; and if difappointment and vexation do not four our tafte for pleasure, at least sickness and infirmities will deftroy it. In thefe gloomy feafons, and above all, at the approach of death, what will become of us without religion? When this world fails, where fhall we fly, if we expect no refuge in another? Without holy hope in God, and refignation to his will, and truft in him for deliverance, what is there that can fecure us against the evils of life?

The great utility therefore of knowledge and religion being thus apparent, it is highly incumbent upon us to pay a ftudious attention to them in our youth. If we do not, it is more than probable that we shall never do it: that we fhall grow old in ignorance, by neglecting the one; and old in vice by neglecting the other.

For improvement in knowledge, youth is certainly the fitteft feafon. The mind is then ready to receive any impreffion. It is free from all that care and attention which, in riper age, the affairs of life bring with them. The memory too is then stronger and better able to acquire the rudiments of knowledge; and as the mind is then void of ideas, it is more fuited to thofe parts of learning which are converfant in words. Be fides, there is fometimes in youth a modely and ductility, which in advanced years, if thofe years efpecially have been left a prey to ignorance, become felf-fufficiency and prejudice; and thefe effectually bar up all the inlets to knowledge.-But, above all, unlefs habits of attention and application are early gained, we fhall fcarcely acquire them afterwards. The inconfiderate youth feldom reflects upon this; nor knows his lofs, till he knows alfo that it cannot be retrieved.

knowledge, than to form religious habits. It is a great point to get habit on the fide of virtue. It will make every thing smooth and eafy. The earlieft principles are ge nerally the moft lafting; and thofe of a religious caft are feldom wholly loff, Though the temptations of the world may, now and then, draw the well-principled youth afide; yet his principles being continually at war with his practice, there is hope, that in the end the better part may overcome the worfe, and bring on a refor mation. Whereas he, who has fuffered habits of vice to get poffeflion of his youth, has little chance of being brought back to a fenfe of religion. In a common courfe of things it can rarely happen. Some calamity muft roufe him. He must be awakened by a ftorm, or fleep for ever.How much better is it then to make that eafy to us, which we know is beft! And to form thofe habits now, which hereafter we fhall wish we had formed!

There are, who would reftrain youth from imbibing any religious principles, till they can judge for themselves; left they fhould imbibe prejudice for truth. But why fhould not the fame caution be used in fcience alfo; and the minds of youth left void of all impreffions? The experiment, I fear, in both cafes would be dangerous. If the mind were left uncultivated during fo long a period, though nothing elfe fhould find entrance, vice certainly would: and it would make the larger fhoots, as the foil would be vacant. A boy had better receive knowledge and religion mixed with error, than none at all. For when the mind is fet a thinking, it may depofit its prejudices by degrees, and get right at laft: but in a state of flagnation it will infallibly become foul.

To conclude, our youth bears the fame proportion to our more advanced life, as this world does to the next. In this life we muft form and cultivate thofe habits of virtue, which muft qualify us for a better ftate. If we neglect them here, and contract habits of an oppofite kind, instead of gaining that exalted state, which is promiled to our improvement, we shall of courfe fink into that state, which is adapted to the habits we have formed.

planted.

planted. If we have fauntered away our youth, we must expect to be ignorant men. If indolence and inattention have taken an early poffeffion of us, they will probably increase as we advance in life; and make us a burden to ourselves, and ufelefs to fociety. If again, we fuffer ourselves to be miled by vicious inclinations, they will daily get new ftrength, and end in diffolute lives. But if we cultivate our minds in ear youth, attain habits of attention and industry, of virtue and fobriety, we shall find ourfelves well prepared to act our future parts in life; and what above all things ought to be our care, by gaining th's command over ourselves, we shall be more able, as we get forward in the world, to refit every new temptation, as it arifes. Gilpin.

§ 163. Behaviour to fuperiors. We are next injoined "to order ourfelves lowly and reverently to all our bet

ters."

By our betters are meant they who are in a superior station of life to our own; and by ordering ourselves lowly and reverently towards them," is meant paying them that refpe&t which is due to their ination.

The word betters' indeed includes two kinds of perfons, to whom our refpect is Cue-thofe who have a natural claim to t; and those who have an acquired one; that is, a claim arifing from fome particular Etuation in life.

Among the firft, are all our fuperior relations; not only parents, but all other relations, who are in a line above us. All thefe have a natural claim to our refpect. -There is a refpect alfo due from youth to age; which is always becoming, and teads to keep youth within the bounds of modelty.

To others, refpect is due from thofe particular stations which arife from fociety and government. Fear God, fays the text; and it adds, "honour the king." It is due alfo from many other fituations in life. Employments, honours, and even wealth, will exact it; and all may jatly exact it, in a proper degree.

But it may here perhaps be inquired, why God fhould permit this latter diftinction among men? That fome fhould have more authority than others, we can eafily fee, is abfolutely neceffary in government; but among men, who are all born equal,

why fhould the goods of life be diftributed in fo unequal a proportion?

To this inquiry, it may be anfwered, that, in the first place, we fee nothing in this, but what is common in all the works of God. A gradation is every where obfervable. Beauty, ftrength, fwiftnefs, and other qualities, are varied through the creation in numberlefs degrees. In the fame manner likewife are varied the gifts of fortune, as they are called. Why therefore fhould one man's being richer than another furprize us more than his being ftronger than another, or more prudent?

Though we can but very inadequately trace the wildom of God in his works, yet very wife reafons appear for this variety in the gifts of fortune. It feems neceffary both in a civil, and in a moral light.

In a civil light, it is the neceffary accompaniment of various employments; on which depend all the advantages of fociety. Like the ftones of a regular building, fome muft range higher, and fome lower; fome muft fupport, and others be fupported; fome will form the ftrength of the building, and others its ornament; but all unite in producing one regular and proportioned whole. If then different employments are neceffary, of course different degrees of wealth, honour, and confequence, muft follow; a variety of diftinctions and obligations; in fhort, different ranks, and a fubordination, must take place.

Again, in a moral light, the difproportion of wealth, and other worldly adjuncts, gives a range to the more extenfive exercife of virtue. Some virtues could but faintly exift upon the plan of an equality. If fome did not abound, there were little room for temperance: if fome did not fuffer need, there were as little for patience. Other virtues again could hardly exist at all. Who could practife generolity, where there was no object of it? Who humility, where all ambitious defires were excluded?

Since then Providence, in fcattering thefe various gifts, propofes ultimately the good of man, it is our duty to acquiesce in this order, and " to behave ourfelves lowly and reverently" (not with fervility, but with a decent refpect)" to all our fuperiors."

Before I conclude this fubject, it may