with our bodies, and as the impurity of the one contaminates the other, a great degree of moral attention is, of course, due to our bodies alfo.

As our firft ftation is in this world, to which our bodies particularly belong, they are formed with fuch appetites as are requifite to our commodious living in it; and the rule given us is, " to use the world fo as not to abuse it." St. Paul, by a beautiful allufion, calls our bodies the " temples of the Holy Ghoft:" by which he means to imprefs us with a strong idea of their dignity; and to deter us from debafing, by low pleasures, what should be the feat of fo much purity. To youth thefe cautions are above measure necessary, because their paffions and appetites are ftrong; their reafon and judgment weak. They are prone to pleasure, and void of reflection. How, therefore, these young adventurers in life may beft fteer their course, and use this finful world fo as not to abuse it, is a confideration well worth their attention. Let us then fee under

what regulations their appetites fhould be reftrained.

By keeping our bodies in temperance is meant avoiding excefs in eating, with regard both to the quantity and quality of our food. We should neither eat more than our ftomachs can well bear; nor be nice and delicate in our eating.

To preferve the body in health is the end of eating; and they who regulate themselves merely by this end, who eat without choice or diftinction, paying no regard to the pleasure of eating, obferve perhaps the beft rule of temperance. They go rather indeed beyond temperance, and may be called abftemious. A man may be temperate, and yet allow himself a little more indulgence. Great care, however, is here neceffary; and the more, as perhaps no precife rule can be affixed, after we have paffed the first great limit, and let the palate loofe among variety Our own difcretion must be our guide, which should be constantly kept awake by

*

confidering the many bad confequences which attend a breach of temperance.Young men, in the full vigour of health, do not confider these things; but as age comes on, and different maladies begin to appear, they may perhaps repent they did not a little earlier practise the rules of temperance."

In a moral and religious light, the confequences of intemperance are still worse. To enjoy a comfortable meal, when it comes before us, is allowable: but he who fuffers his mind to dwell upon the pleasures of eating, and makes them the employment of his thoughts, has at least opened one fource of mental corruption †.

After all, he who would moft perfectly enjoy the pleasures of the table, fuch as they are, muft look for them within the rules of temperance. The palate, accuftomed to fatiety, hath loft its tone; and the greatest fenfualifts have been brought to confefs, that the coarfeft fare, with an appetite kept in order by temperance, affords a more delicious repaft, than the most luxurious meal without it.

As temperance relates chiefly to eating, fobernefs or fobriety relates properly to drinking. And here the fame obfervations recur. The ftricteft, and perhaps the best rule, is merely to fatisfy the end of drinking. But if a little more indulgence be taken, it ought to be taken with the greatest circumfpection.

With regard to youth indeed, I fhould be inclined to great ftrictnefs on this head. In eating, if they eat of proper and fimple food, they cannot eafily err. Their growing limbs, and ftrong exercife, require larger fupplies than full-grown bodies, which must be kept in order by a more rigid temperance. But if more indulgence be allowed them in eating, lefs, furely, fhould in drinking. With ftrong liquors of every kind they have nothing to do; and if they fhould totally abstain on this head, it were fo much the better. The languor which attends age t, requires perhaps, now and then, fome aids; but the

HOR

HOR. Sat.

Ibid.

fpirits

fpirits of youth want no recruits: a little reft is fufficient.

As to the bad confequences derived from exceffive drinking, befides filling the blood with bloated and vicious humours, and debauching the purity of the mind, as in the cafe of intemperate eating, it is attended with this peculiar evil, the lofs of our fenfes. Hence follow frequent inconveniences and mortifications. We expofe our follies-we betray our fecrets-we are often impofed upon we quarrel with our friends-we lay ourselves open to our enemies; and, in fhort, make ourselves the objects of contempt, and the topics of ridicule to all our acquaintance.-Nor is it only the act of intoxication which deprives us of our reafon during the prevalence of it; the habit of drunkenness foon befots and impairs the understanding, and renders us at all times lefs fit for the offices of life.

We are next injoined "to keep our bodies in chastity." Flee youthful lufts," fays the apostle, "which war against the foul." And there is furely nothing which carries on a war against the soul more fuccessfully. Wherever we have a catalogue in fcripture (and we have many fuch catalogues) of thofe fins which in a peculiar manner debauch the mind, these youthful lufts have always, under fome denomination, a place among them. To keep ourselves free from all contagion of this kind, let us endeavour to preserve a purity in our thoughts-our words-and our actions.

First, let us preferve a purity in our thoughts. Thefe dark receffes, which the eye of the world cannot reach, are the receptacles of these youthful lufts. Here they find their firft encouragement. The entrance of fuch impure ideas perhaps we cannot always prevent. We may always however prevent cherishing them; we may always prevent their making an impreffion upon us the devil may be caft out as foon as discovered.

Let us always keep in mind, that even into these dark abodes the eye of Heaven can penetrate: that every thought of our hearts is open to that God, before whom we must one day stand; and that however fecretly we may indulge thefe impure ideas, at the great day of account they will certainly appear in an awful detail against us.

Let us remember again, that if our bodies be the temples of the Holy Ghoft, our minds are the very fanctuaries of those

temples: and if there be any weight in the apostle's argument against polluting our bodies, it urges with double force against polluting our minds.

But, above all other confiderations, it behoves us moft to keeps our thoughts pure, because they are the fountains from which our words and actions flow. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Obfcene words and actions are only bad thoughts matured, and fpring as naturally from them as the plant from its feed. It is the fame vicious depravity carried a step farther; and only fhews a more confirmed and a more mischievous degree of guilt. While we keep our impurities in our thoughts, they debauch only ourselves: bad enough, it is true. But when we proceed to words and actions, we let our impurities loofe: we fpread the contagion, and become the corrupters of

others.

Let it be our first care, therefore, to keep our thoughts pure. If we do this, our words and actions will be pure of courfe. And that we may be the better enabled to do it, let us ufe fuch helps as reafon and religion prefcribe. Let us avoid all company, and all books, that have a tendency to corrupt our minds; and every thing that can inflame our paffions. He who allows himself in these things, holds a parley with vice; which will infallibly debauch him in the end, if he do not take the alarm in time, and break off fuch dalliance.

One thing ought to be our particular care, and that is, never to be unemployed. Ingenious amufements are of great ufe in filling up the vacuities of our time. Idle we fhould never be. A vacant mind is an invitation to vice. Gilpin.

167. On coveting and defiring other men's

goods.

§ We are forbidden, next, " to covet, or defire other men's goods."

There are two great paths of vice, into which bad men commonly ftrike; that of unlawful pleasure, and that of unlawful gain.-The path of unlawful pleasure we have juft examined; and have feen the danger of obeying the headstrong impulfe of our appetites. We have confidered alfo an immoderate love of gain, and have seen difhonefty and fraud in a variety of shapes. But we have yet viewed them only as they relate to fociety. We have viewed only the outward action. The rule before us, "We must not covet, nor defire other

men's

Covetousness, or the love of money, is called in fcripture "the root of all evil;" and it is called fo for two reafons; because is makes us wicked, and because it makes us miferable.

First, it makes us wicked. When it once gets poffeffion of the heart, it will let no good principle flourish near it. Moft vices have their fits; and when the violence of the paffion is spent, there is fome interval of calm. The vicious appetite cannot always run riot. It is fatigued at leaft by its own impetuofity: and it is poffible, that in this moment of tranquillity, a whisper from virtue may be heard. But in avarice, there is rarely intermiffion. It hangs like a dead weight upon the foul, always pulling it to earth. We might as well expect to fee a plant grow upon a flint, as a virtue in the heart of a mifer.

It makes us miferable as well as wicked. The cares and the fears of avarice are proverbial; and it muft needs be, that he, who depends for happiness on what is liable to a thousand accidents, muft of courfe feel as many diftreffes, and almost as many disappointments. The good man depends for happiness on fomething more permanent; and if his worldly affairs go ill, his great dependence is ftill left *. But as wealth is the god which the covetous man worships (for "covetoufnefs," we are told," is idolatry,") a disappointment here is a disappointment indeed. Be he ever fo profperous, his wealth cannot fecure him against the evils of mortality; against that time, when he must give up all he values; when his bargains of advantage will be over, and nothing left but tears and despair.

But even a defiring frame of mind, though it be not carried to fuch a length, is always productive of mifery. It cannot be otherwife. While we fuffer ourfelves to be continually in queft of what we have not, it is impoffible that we fhould be happy with what we have. In a word, to abridge our wants as much as poflible, not to increase them, is the trueft happinefs.

We are much mistaken, however, if we think the man who hoards up his money

is the only covetous man. The prodigal, though he differ in his end, may be as avaricious in his means +. The former denies himself every comfort; the latter grafps at every pleasure. Both characters are equally bad in different extremes. The mifer is more deteftable in the eyes of the world, because he enters into none of its joys; but it is a question, which is more wretched in himself, or more pernicious to fociety.

As covetoufnefs is esteemed the vice of age, every appearance of it among young perfons ought particularly to be difcouraged; becaufe if it gets ground at this early period, nobody can tell how far it may not afterwards proceed. And yet, on the other fide, there may be great danger of encouraging the oppofite extreme. As it is certainly right, under proper reftrictions, both to fave our money, and to spend it, it would be highly useful to fix the due bounds on each fide. But nothing is more difficult than to raise these nice limits between extremes. Every man's cafe, in a thousand circumftances, differs from his neighbour's: and as no rule can be fixed for all, every man of course, in these difquifitions, must be left to his own confcience. We are indeed very ready to give our opinions how others ought to act. others ought to act. We can adjust with great nicety what is proper for them to do; and point out their mistakes with much precifion; while nothing is neceffary to us, but to act as properly as we can ourfelves; obferving as just a mean as poffible between prodigality and avarice; and applying, in all our difficulties, to the word of God, where these great landmarks of morality are the most accurately fixed.

We have now taken a view of what is prohibited in our commerce with mankind: let us next fee what is injoined. (We are still proceeding with those duties which we owe to ourfelves). Inftead of fpending our fortune therefore in unlawful pleasure, or increafing it by unlawful gain; we are required" to learn, and labour truly (that is honeftly) to get our own living, and to do our duty in that ftate of life, unto which it fhall please God to call us."-Thefe words will be fufficiently explained by confidering, first, that we all have fome ftation in life-fome

HOR. Sat.
SAL. de Catal.

particular

particular duties to discharge; and fecondly, in what manner we ought to discharge

them.

First, that man was not born to be idle, may be inferred from the active spirit that appears in every part of nature. Every thing is alive; every thing contributes to the general good; even the very inanimate parts of the creation, plants, ftones, metals, cannot be called totally inactive, but bear their part likewise in the general usefulness. If then every part, even of inanimate nature, be thus employed, furely we cannot suppose it was the intention of the Almighty Father, that man, who is the moft capable of employing himself properly, fhould be the only creature without employment.

Again, that man was born for active life, is plain from the neceffity of labour. If it had not been neceffary, God would not originally have impofed it. But with out it, the body would become enervated, and the mind corrupted. Idleness, therefore, is jully esteemed the origin both of disease and vice. So that if labour and employment, either of body or mind, had no use, but what refpected ourselves, they would be highly proper: but they have farther ufe

The neceffity of them is plain, from the want that all men have of the affiftance of others. If fo, this affiftance fhould be mutual; every man should contribute his part. We have already feen, that it is proper there fhould be different` stations in the world that fome fhould be placed high in life, and others low. The lowest, we know, cannot be exempt from labour; and the highest ought not: though their labour, according to their ftation, will be of a different kind. Some, we fee, "muft labour (as the catechifm phrafes it) to get their own living; and others fhould do their duty in that state of life, whatever that ftate is, unto which it hath pleafed God to call them." All are affifted: all fhould affift. God distributes, we read, various talents among men; to fome he gives five talents, to others two, and to others one: but it is expected, we find, that notwithstanding this inequality, each fhould employ the talent that is given to the best advantage: and he who received five talents was under the fame obligation of improving them, as he who had received only one; and would, if he had hid his talents in the earth, have been punished, in proportion to the abuse.

Every man, even in the highest station, may find a proper employment, both for his time and fortune, if he please: and he may affure himself that God, by placing him in that ftation, never meant to exempt him from the common obligations of fociety, and give him a licence to spend his life in eafe and pleasure. God meant affuredly, that he should bear his part in the general commerce of life-that he fhould confider himself not as an individual, but as a member of the community; the interefts of which he is under an obligation to fupport with all his power;and that his elevated station gives him no other pre-eminence than that of being the more extenfively useful.

Having thus feen, that we have all fome station in life to fupport-fome particular duties to discharge; let us now fee in what manner we ought to discharge them.

We have an easy rule given us in fcripture on this head; that all our duties in life should be performed "as to the Lord, and not unto man:" that is, we should confider our ftations in life as truits reposed in us by our Maker; and as fuch fhould difcharge the duties of them. What, though no worldly truft be reposed? What, though we are accountable to nobody upon earth? Can we therefore fuppofe ourfelves in reality lefs accountable? Can we fuppofe that God, for no reason that we can divine, has fingled us out, and given us a large proportion of the things of this world (while others around us are in need) for no other purpose than to fquander it away upon ourselves? To God undoubtedly we are accountable for every blefling we enjoy. What mean, in fcripture, the talents given, and the ufe affigned; but the conscientious difcharge of the duties of life, according to the advantages, with which they are attended?

It matters not whether thefe advantages be an inheritance, or an acquifition: ftill they are the gift of God. Agreeably to their rank in life, it is true, all men fhould live: human diftinctions require it; and in doing this properly, every one around will be benefited. Utility fhould be confidered in all our expences. Even the very amusements of a man of fortune fhould be founded in it.

In fhort, it is the conftant injunction of fcripture, in whatever ftation we are placed, to confider ourselves as God's fervants, and as acting immediately under his eye,

not

168. On the facrament of Captifm. The facrament of baptifm is next confidered; in which, if we confider the inward grace, we shall fee how aptly the fign reprefents it.-The inward grace, or thing fignified, we are told, is a death anto fin, and a new birth unto righteoufnefs" by which is meant that great renovation of nature, that purity of heart, which the chriftian religion is intended to produce. And furely there cannot be a more fignificant fign of this than water, on account of its cleanfing nature. As water refreshes the body, and purifies it from all contracted filth; it aptly reprefents that renovation of nature, which cleanses the foul from the impurities of fin. Water indeed, among the ancients, was more adapted to the thing fignified, than it is at prefent among us. They ufed immersion in baptifing: fo that the child being dipped into the water, and raised out again, baptifm with them was more fignificant of a new birth unto righteoufnefs. But though we, in thefe colder climates, think immerfion an unfafe practice; yet the original meaning is still supposed.

It is next afked, What is required of those who are baptifed? To this we anfwer, "Repentance, whereby they forfake fin; and faith, whereby they stedfaftly believe the promises of God, made to them in that facrament."

The primitive church was extremely ftrict on this head. In thofe times, before christianity was established, when adults offered themselves to baptifm, no one was admitted, till he had given a very fatiffactory evidence of his repentance; and till, on good grounds, he could profefs his faith in Chrift: and it was afterwards expected from him, that he fhould prove his faith and repentance, by a regular obedience during the future part of his life.

If faith and repentance are expected at baptifm; it is a very natural queftion,

Why then are infants baptifed, when, by reafon of their tender age, they can give no evidence of either?

Whether infants fhould be admitted to baptifm, or whether that facrament should be deferred till years of difcretion; is a queftion in the chriftian church, which hath been agitated with fome animofity. Our church by no means looks upon baptifm as neceffary to the infant's falvation*. No man acquainted with the spirit of chriftianity can conceive, that God will leave the falvation of fo many innocent fouls in the hands of others. But the practice is confidered as founded upon the usage of the earliest times: and the church obferving, that circumcifion was the introductory rite to the Jewish covenant; and that baptifm was intended to succeed circumcision; it naturally fuppofes, that baptism should be administered to infants, as circumcifion was. The church, however, in this case, hath provided fponfors, who make a profeffion of obedience in the child's name. But the nature and office of this proxy hath been already examined, under the head of our baptismal vow. Gilpin.

§ 169.

On the facrament of the Lord's fupper. The first question is an enquiry into the original of the institution: Why was the facrament of the Lord's supper ordained?"

It was ordained, we are informed,"for the continual remembrance of the facrifice of the death of Chrift; and of the benefits which we receive thereby."

In examining a facrament in general, we have already feen, that both baptifm, and the Lord's fupper, were originally inftituted as the "means of receiving the grace of God; and as pledges to affure us thereof."

But befides these primary ends, they have each a fecondary one; in representing the two most important truths of religion; which gives them more force and influence. Baptifm, we have feen, reprefents that renovation of our finful nature, which the gofpel was intended to introduce and the peculiar end, which the Lord's fupper had in view, was the facrifice of the death of Chrift; with all the bo