calmly say,' weep not for me, but for yourselves, who have still to struggle with sin and with mortality. Earth and you I • leave behind me; but I go to angels, to God my Saviour, my everlasting joy.' He gently falls asleep in Jesus: he rests from his labours, and his works do follow him. Evil then shall never reach him; ignorance. shall never cloud his understanding; deviations from God's law shall never grieve his spirit he is then nade perfect; and his perfection and happiness are without measure and without end.

:

If then we have any reverence for God, any regard for the good of society, any regard for our own present peace and eternal felicity, we must listen to the voice of God, and be all zeal to obey his law. Let us not say within ourselves, it is time

enough; we may defer this great work 'to some future opportunity, when we • shall have more leisure or greater inclin

ation to perform it :' for that opportunity we may never find, before to-morrow: nay, this very hour, our souls may be required of us. And if death surprise us unprepared, destitute of that character

-

• there re

formed by the spirit of God and required by his law; all hope is gone: 'maineth no more sacrifice for sin,'-our ruin is inevitable. O let us not then trifle with the law of God, and with the things that belong to our everlasting peace; but let us give no sleep to our eyes, nor slumber to our eye-lids, till we have some evidence of our being followers of Jesus, and purified by him as his peculiar people

zealous of good works.' Let us be frequent at his throne of grace, praying that his Spirit may come mightily upon us, to mould us into a perfect conformity to his law, to make us holy as he is holy, and change us into the same image from glory to glory.'

.

BUT if it be already our fervent desire to obey God's law, and whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, to do all to his glory, let us lift up our hearts in praise to him for the distinguishing grace which he hath shewn us. Let us look at the children of disobedience around us, who in countless multitudes are blinded by sense and passion, and to all appearance going down to misery, let us look at them; and then

ask ourselves,

who hath made us to dif

fer?' To God we are wholly indebted; to him we owe every thing; and he it was who, rich in mercy, did open our eyes, that we might behold wondrous things out of his law.' We ought not therefore to be high-minded, but to fear and to give to the grace of God all the glory. We ought to testify our gratitude, by every day giving more earnest heed to his law; by allowing ourselves to commit no known sin, and to omit no known duty. We ought with constant care to keep a conscience void of offence towards God, and to adorn his doctrine in all things; to make our closets, our families, our private companions, as well as the public assemblies of the saints, to make all these bear us witness, that, notwithstanding the many failings which necessarily cleave to us, still our ardent desire is, that we may go on undeviating in the path of duty, that we may be 'sanctified wholly, and our whole

6

spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless, till the coming of our Lord. Behold he cometh quickly, and his reward

• is with him, to give unto every man ac

cording as his works shall be.' Before an assembled world he shall publish our obedience to his law, and pronouncing us good and faithful servants, shall welcome us to his glory.

1

APPENDIX.

In the preceding plain dissertation, I have avoided referring to any of the philosophical theories concerning the foundation of moral obligation. Such a reference, I thought, might tend to distract, unnecessarily, the attention of the reader. In this place, however, it may not be improper to state shortly the various accounts of moral obligation which have been given by some of the most celebrated modern writers on the subject.

1. DR. CLARKE maintains, That the eternal necessary differences in things, ob'vious to all whose understandings are not depraved, lay a foundation for different relations, and for the fitness or unfitness of certain actions to these relations.' M