have been but little considered in the systems of moral philosophers. It was thine, O most merciful Redeemer, to take upon thee the form of a servant, and to show that the distinction of ranks is little regarded by him who made both the rich and the poor, who professes himself to be the father of them all, and who is ready to deliver them from sin and death, whenever they display indubitable proofs of faith and repentance!

Faith and repentance, then, after all the pretensions of philosophy, are the two great objects, to the attainment of which he who is wise in the wisdom of the gospel will direct his endeavours. The inventions of men are endless. Books and systems are so numerous, that though we were to live to the age of antediluvians, we should never be able fully to comprehend them all, or to reconcile their discordance. Let us not lament. One book is sufficient for the most important purpose of life, the insurance of present tranquillity and future salvation. We may certainly amuse and improve ourselves by human learning, and the pleasing productions of cultivated genius, but our chief attention must be fixed on the tablet of duty, plainly written on our own hearts by the finger of God, and in the volume which the spirit of God dictated, and which is justly called, the Book of Life.

RELIGION THE CHIEF CONCERN OF LIFE.

SERMON IX.

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RELIGION THE CHIEF CONCERN OF LIFE.

ECCLESIASTES xii. 13.-Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.

A GREAT variety of guides is scarcely less distressing than the total want of them. There was a time when books and instructors were few, and men deviated from the road, because they were destitute of direction; but both these assistances abound in the present age, and yet the mistakes of mankind are equally numerous and detrimental. The choice is distracted; and false lights are frequently exhibited so like the true, that the traveller is often conducted to dangerous ground, while he imagines himself treading in the firm and safe road that terminates in felicity.

No tongue indeed can relate the variety of opinions, on the nature of man, on his duties, on his end, which, in various periods and countries, have been advanced by the contemplative. One doctrine contradicts another; and though none of them should be found true, yet most of them are specious and plausible. The studious and thoughtful may probably select from the heterogeneous mass, a consistent system. They may congratulate themselves on their discoveries, and even claim the praise of. wisdom. But the studious and thoughtful constitute, comparatively speaking, but a small portion in the great mass of mankind. Their sublime speculations,

whatever effects they may produce upon themselves, are of little utility to the world at large. The poor, who have neither the advantages of education, nor the opportunities for study, stand in the greatest need of instruction. But will the labourer, the mechanic, and the husbandman, comprehend the elegant philosophy of an Athenian school? Indeed, it may be doubted, whether the refined theories of speculative morality produce any beneficial effect on their inventors and admirers; besides that of amusing them innocently, and preventing them from contracting vicious habits, or engaging in sordid practices. They are chiefly confined in their effects to the intellect; but that which is to regulate the conduct of mankind at large, the rude as well as the polished, must, at the same time, be addressed to the head, to the heart, to the understanding, to the imagination, and to the affections.

Happily for man, who previously to Revelation was wandering in a wilderness, a forlorn pilgrim, liable to be misled at every step by false or mistaken guides, an infallible direction has been vouchsafed, by a commiserating Deity. What philosophy in vain attempted, is accomplished by revealed religion. Fear God, and keep his commandments. The precept is short, but full. It is the essence of folios of morality compressed and concentered; the whole duty of man in a few words; the epitome of the law and gospel. The wandering bark of the mariner, which once knew no other guide than the dubious conduct of the stars often concealed by clouds, pursues, since the invention of the compass, a certain path in the great deep, and arrives, without any dangerous deviation, at the haven where she would be. Religion is the chart and compass for the guidance of the human soul in the pursuit of happiness,

the chief good of the Christian philosopher, peace and confidence in this world, and an humble, but sanguine hope of a blessed resurrection.

The subject on which I now address you, is, of all those which fall under the notice of the human mind, undoubtedly the most momentous. What is this short life, those enjoyments which we snatch as we journey on our way, compared to the objects of Christianity? The dust in the balance, the drop in the ocean, the gossamer that floats in the air, are expressions scarcely strong enough to describe the vanity of all earthly things compared to heavenly. Then let me entreat you, as you regard yourselves, and your own souls, to listen to all salutary doctrines from this place, not with the cavilling spirit of literary or controversial critics, but with the seriousness of auditors deeply impressed with the importance of the subject offered to their consideration. How trifling is the praise of elegance compared to that of sincerity! Regard not the merit or demerit of the preacher, but regard yourselves; and suffer him, however inadequate, to be the mean instrument, under God, of contributing to your immortal happiness and your present tranquillity. Let others seek the graces of words, and please your ears by studied periods; be mine to affect and penetrate your hearts with the word of truth as it is in Jesus; that word, by which both he who ministers, and they who are ministered to, must stand or fall at the great tribunal.

If a prospect of advancement or of riches occurs to men, with what eagerness do they attend to it? The heart palpitates, the cheek is flushed, as possession or enjoyment approaches. In the morning and in the evening it returns, and occupies the first place in the thoughts. On the pillow devoted to

repose, it keeps the eye open, and the bosom throbbing with anxiety. A small disappointment occasions a paroxysm of grief. Shame on human folly! In the midst of all this perturbation, not one thought on that, the neglect of which shall imbitter the pleasures of the world, sully its glories, and render all that opulence can bestow, or luxury desire, tasteless and disgustful.

Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. From these words I mean to inculcate the necessity of making religion the guide of our conduct, and to assert the importance of grace to every mortal under the canopy of heaven, above all that solicits desire, and paints itself, like a bubble blown by children, in gaudy colours to the imagination.

The irreligious usually shield themselves with effrontery, and attack the defenders of the faith with the shafts of ridicule. Many who have been accustomed from their youth upwards to the hourly pursuit of gain, and the sordid arts of preserving and augmenting it; many who have devoted every moment to the pursuit of civil rank or sensual pleasure, will be inclined to deride the doctrine which asserts that religion is of more consequence than any thing that ever entered into the heart to conceive. But their triumph will be short. The gaiety and ebullition of lively spirits will one day subside. Disease, disap. pointment, and the approach of death, will present them with a scene totally different from that which now dances, in all the brilliancy of a deceitful pageant, before their fascinated fancy. They will look back with shame and confusion on the years that are passed, never to return. They will then acknowledge the truth of that warning voice, which told them in their youth, how necessary it was to