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SERM. lue thyself upon thy Wisdom more whilst VII. thy Conduct thus proclaims thy Folly.

you

And canft thou not after all find in thine
Heart to be in good earnest about thine ever-
lafting Well-being? Are thy earthly Inte-
refts indeed of fo much greater Concern to
thee? And wilt thou, Man, ftand by that Re-
folution at Death ?-no, thou canst not. Why
then, I beseech
chufe to
you, why will you
live by thofe Principles, by which you know
dare not die? Is this to act like a Man?
And yet thou haft the Understanding
of a Man; and Sense and Reason, and Con-
fcience too, which inform thee better; and
the Word of Go D, and the Spirit of GOD,
often call upon thee to chufe a better part.
And fhall not all this determine thee? Shall
one Clod of this bafe Earth, outweigh in
thy Esteem, or keep the Balance even against
GOD, and Heaven, and eternal Happiness,
in the oppofite Scale?—Think with thyself:
can any thing poffibly equal fuch Stupidity?
-Thou wilt foon be of one Mind. No dying
Man is double minded. Be of the fame Mind
now as thou wilt be of then. And fuffer thy-
felf no longer to be divided and deluded by
foolish Appetites and falfe Appearances. For

thou

thou canst not in thine own Reafon believe

that this vain and tranfitory World thou art going out of, ought to be held in equal Efteem with that eternal Happiness which GOD in his Word hath offered to thee.

I shall conclude all with Elijah's Propofal to the People of Ifrael, 1 Kings xviii. 21. How long balt ye between two Opinions? If the LORD be GOD, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. Chufe now the Alternative: determine one way or other. If you are refolved for GOD, cleave to him then with all your Heart; if Heaven be your Aim, seek it in good earnest. And learn to contemn the World, which hath fo long divided your Heart, and been an unworthy Competitor with your Maker. But if you are determined for this World, and feek all your Happiness here, throw off then the uneafy Restraints and Obligations of Conscience and Religion, which will but cramp and fhackle you in your Pursuits of an earthly Felicity. And let not your Heart be any longer thus diftracted and divided between GOD and Mammon.-But this latter Choice you cannot make. You tremble at the very Thought. What remains then, but that N 3

you

SERM.

VII.

SERM. you make the former and make it in good VII. carnest, and stand by it for ever?

In fine then, let GoD have all our Hearts, and Eternity more of our Thoughts. And let the future part of our Lives shew, that we are in good earnest determined for Go D, and feek all our Happinefs from him and his Love, as the Fountain of everlasting Joy. Amen.

SER

SERMON VIII.

The common SOURCE of falfe JUDGMENT.

JOHN Vi. 24.

Fudge not according to the Appearance, but judge righteous Judg

ment.

T

HIS excellent Piece of Advice was given by our Saviour to the Jews at the Feaft of Tabernacles: and hath a particular Reference to two things (as you may obferve from the preceding Context) viz. his Action of healing a Man on the Sabbath-day, for which the Jews reproached him; and the rash and wrong Judgment which they formed of his Character and Doctrine; for had they judged righteous Judgment, and not fuffered them

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felves

SERM. felves to be governed by the mere outward VIII. Appearance of things, they would not have

been fo much offended at that Action of his, and would evidently have feen that both He and his Doctrine came from GOD.

From these Words of our Saviour then we learn these two things.

I. That Men are often deceived in their
Judgment by external Appearances.
II. If therefore we would form a right or
righteous Judgment, we must take care
to diftinguish between the Appearance
and Reality of Things.

Had the Jews done this, they had not been fo fatally mistaken in their Opinion of Chrift's Character in general, or of many of his Actions in particular. But their prejudices against him inclined them to catch at every flight Appearance, or minute Circumftance, to form Arguments, or draw Conclufions to his Disadvantage. Than which nothing is more commonly practised now by Men who fuffer their Minds to be prejudiced against those Persons and Things about which they form their Judgment; which renders

it

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