creation and direction of the natural world; so remarkable the interposition of his providence in the revolutions of kingdoms; that he who cannot thence infer the necessity of fearing him, and the wisdom of being subject to him, has neither the faith of a Christian, nor the understanding of a man. And now, if to the foregoing considerations we add this, the last and greatest of all; that the same God, who visits us here in this life, is to judge us in another; all other fear will resolve itself into the fear of him; according to that precept of our blessed Saviour, "I will forewarn you whom you shall fear fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him." But then you are to understand with all this, that our religion is not intended to make life melancholy and miserable, but rather to make us happier by making us wiser, and to keep us in safety by bringing us nearer unto God. It teaches the necessity of a reasonable fear; the wisdom of a voluntary subjection; a fear which brings security, and a subjection which leads to liberty.

If, after what I have said, there should be any here present, who have not the fear of God, and will not be persuaded to it; I must warn them of one thing, which perhaps they have not considered. I give them to know, then, that no man born into this world can live without fear. If he does not fear God, he shall not escape fearless, as he thinks; for he shall certainly fear something else. The fear of God would do him good, and make him happy': but if he does not fear God, he shall fall into some other fear, which will do him no good at all, but haunt him like an evil spirit, to make his enjoyments worthless, and his life miserable.

You are to observe, then, that he who does not fear God, shall fear death. When God is banished from the mind, the hope of immortality goes with him, and the fear of death prevails: and death being an enemy whom no man can cheat, or conquer, or avoid; the mind that is appre

hensive of him falls under a sort of bondage, for which the whole world has no remedy.

When a man does not fear God, he is possessed with a servile fear of the world; he becomes the slave of fashion, in his mind, his body, and his morals: he dreads nothing so much as to be thought little and insignificant, by those who give laws to the fashionable part of society. He looks up to the opinion of the world with all that anxious reverence with which a Christian looks to the word of God. How many do we meet with, who are miserable, unless they are seen where the world is, and go where the world goes! How many renounce their judgment, or conceal it, and that with respect to the greatest subjects, if it contradicts the current of the day!

You are to consider farther, that he who does not fear God shall fear poverty. The fear of God gives a man the hope of an inheritance in another world; therefore he is easy if he has but little property in this. But where this world is all a man hath, and all he is to expect, he will fly from poverty with the loss of his conscience, and at the hazard of his soul, if he is in the higher class of life: if he is a profligate of the lowest order, he will expose himself daily to the iron hand of justice, for the sake of some stolen possession, and all his enjoyments are embittered with the terrors of the halter and the gibbet.

All cases are not equally bad: yet I may venture to pronounce, that although many do not entirely forget God, yet, in proportion as the fear of God is wanting in the heart, in that same proportion will these other fears enter in and dwell there and a thoughtful and sensible person can no more enjoy himself in such company, than if he were daily beset with ruffians and murderers. All the base passions which murder a man's soul, murder his peace at the same time and this is what he gets by a dislike to the fear of God. Therefore, as it is the worst of folly to live without the fear of God, it must be the beginning of wis

dom to have it, and be directed by it. But folly in this world leads to misery in another; which is the most dreadful consideration of all. Who can express or conceive the amazement of those, who have lived here without the fear of God, when they shall see the day of vengeance approaching, and all the terrors of the last judgment gathering round about them! Then shall that fear of God come upon them, which now for a while they can put away: and the hearts of those, who now seem to care for nothing, shall sink and melt away within them. What would they then give, if they had but been wise enough to attend to instruction while the day of grace lasted? What will then become of their proud speeches, and their looks of defiance? when they shall remember their folly in the bitterness of their souls, and be afraid to lift up their heads towards heaven, where their Judge is now revealed to every eye, no longer to be despised and insulted, but attended with millions of the heavenly host; seated on a throne rendered majestic and terrible, with dark clouds and flames of fire.

For the present hour, we talk of these things, as distant from us; yet when they shall be displayed before our sight, the interval between this time and that will seem but as a moment. What are we then to do, but to "set the Lord alway before us;" who, if he is our fear now, will be our defence then and in the mean time, we shall find our fears of all other things lessening every day, and our hopes increasing; till an acquaintance with God shall give us a foretaste of the peace and liberty of that glorious kingdom, in which we shall" serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness."

SERMON XXXIII.

THEN SAID JESUS UNTO HIS DISCIPLES; IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME.Matth. xvi. 24.

OUR

UR blessed Saviour, in these words, hath proposed us himself to us, as "the Captain of our Salvation, made perfect through sufferings." And he, that wishes to come after him, must consider himself as the follower of a selfdenying, suffering Saviour; a disciple, whose profession is signified by the sign of the Cross; to which his whole character must be conformed, till the cross shall be exchanged for the crown.

But here you are to observe, that there is no necessity imposed, no compulsion; a proposal is made, which it is in our power to reject, if we are so disposed. It is only said, if any man is willing, if he chooses to follow Christ, these are the conditions of so doing; he must deny himself; he must take up his cross. The profession of a Christian is a service of choice: he must not follow Christ, as malefactors follow the officers of justice, because they cannot avoid it; but as one who seeks the rewards and blessings of the Christian profession; and having set down to consider the cost, determines to take it upon him, with all its present disadvantages. With this spirit and temper Christianity was professed by those saints and martyrs, who endured unto the end, and triumphed over all the enemies of our salvation. But now the whole doctrine of self-denial is dismissed with a high hand, as fit only for weak women, solitary monks, or deluded enthusiasts. And, I am sorry to say it, there are too many in the church, who, although they ought to know better, because it is their calling to teach better, are yet so ignorant, or so mistaken,

* Ει τις θελει.

as to congratulate themselves on the established lawfulness of ease, pleasure, and self-indulgence, as a great and very happy improvement of the Protestant Reformation and they think we are fallen into blessed times, now the calendar of a wise man has no fasting days in it. But this opinion is not only false in itself, injurious to Christianity, and a fatal snare upon Christian people; but contrary also to the common sense of the whole world. I will appeal to all mankind, whether it is not their general practice to suffer pain willingly, for the sake of future profit ?Whether they do not, by their own choice deny themselves, and part with what they value, to obtain what they hope for? How then can he be thought to have the hope of the Gospel in him, who will neither abstain from any present good, nor bear any present evil, for the sake of it? The Christian hath nothing in his power, whereby to testify the sincerity of his hope, but abstinence and patience and he, who refuses to give this proof, can never be thought to set much value on "the prize of the high calling that is set before him."

If we observe mankind in their several pursuits, we shall find, that they never seek a prize, without submitting to some hardships in obtaining it. For what they expect in future they give up present ease and pleasure; and there are few examples, where future enjoyment does not depend upon present self-denial. "He that striveth for the mastery, is temperate in all things." The champions, who were candidates for the victory in any trials of skill, prepared themselves by laborious exercise; abstaining also from every gratification, which might reduce their strength, abate their courage, or lessen their activity; and cheerfully exposing themselves to all that severity of discipline, which was necessary to ensure the victory. Now they did it, as the Apostle notes, to obtain a corruptible crown; while we strive to obtain an incorruptible one, a crown of glory which fadeth not away, as those temporary garlands