is no standing; you will fometimes be difcouraged because of the way, question whether you are right, and debate with yourselves whether to advance or turn back. Yes, Chriftians, you will have need of patience, and perhaps of much more than you are aware. You know not what a day will bring forth. "Rich"es" may "make to themselves wings, and flee away." Your friends may deal deceitfully with you as a "brook." Your prefent comforts may become your greatest troubles. Trials which so far from expecting never entered your thoughts, may fuddenly arise. Has not this world been always a vale of tears? Did any of your brethren who were before you efcape forrow? Are you not affured that it is through much tribulation you must enter the Kingdom? But patience will prepare you for every changing scene, and every fuffering hour. What it cannot remove, it will alleviate; what it cannot diminish, it will strengthen you to bear. It will produce a compofure which will allow you to discover every favourable circumstance in your fituation; a filence which will enable you to hear every meffage of the Rod. "Let patience have "her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and en"tire, lacking nothing."

Fifthly. GODLINESS is indifpenfable. Courage and Prudence, Temperance and Patience, would be no Chriftian qualities, if in the exercise of them we were not influenced by fuitable regards to God. Without this reference, our religion is nothing more than morality; our practice has no adequate principle; our duties are in vain as to their acceptance; and precarious, variable, lifelefs, irksome

as to their performance. When we are governed by the authority of God, and make his word our rule, and his glory our aim, we please him; and though our fervices are attended with many imperfections, they are accepted. When we love and fear him, when we realize his prefence, confide in his mercy, implore his grace, and maintain continual communion with him through the mediation of his Son and by the influences of his Spirit, our work becomes our privilege; all is enlivened; all is fecured. In this Godliness confifts; it is to bring God into every part of life and religion; to make him the alpha and omega of all we do. Though morality is diftinguished from godliness, it always and infeparably attends it; and he never performs his duty towards God, who lives unrighteously towards man: "If a man fay, I love God, "and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that loveth "not his brother whom he hath feen, how can he love "God whom he hath not feen? And this command

;

ment have we from him, That he who loveth God, "love his brother alfo." Hence

We are to add to Godliness, BROTHERLY KINDNESS. And who are our brethren? All Chriftians. However they may differ from us, in their age, their drefs, their features, they are all children of the fame Father, members of the fame family, heirs of the fame grace, travellers towards the fame heavenly country. They have therefore claims upon us; and we are to aid and relieve them. "Whofo hath this world's "good, and feeth his brother have need, and shutteth

up his bowels of compaffion from him, how dwell"eth the love of God in him? Let us not love in

*word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." Who are our brethren; all mankind. "God hath "made of one blood" all the nations of the earth; they poffefs the fame powers of confcience, reafon, and immortality; they are capable of the fame privileges; need the fame fuccours; are liable to the fame afflictions. Hence love, good-will to the whole human race finishes the train, and becomes "the bond of per"fectnefs."

And

-To Brotherly kindness, CHARITY.

Thus we are

"the children of our Father which is in heaven: for "he maketh his fun to rife on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjuft." Thus every difpute concerning the extent or limitation of benevolence is fettled. As we have opportunity, we are to do good unto ALL MEN, especially unto THEM who are of the HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH. "To fome indeed I am peculiarly bound, to few only "can I be perfonally useful; but my kind wishes and

prayers extend to every individual of the human "race. By the law of the Gospel I am required to "cherish in my bofom those fentiments of benevo"lence which are only hindered from being univerfal in their exercife by inability and neceffity."

Thus you are to add to your faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, temperance; to temperance, patience; to patience, godlinefs; to godlinefs, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. But let us,

II. Inquire how this is to be accomplished. The apostle tells us; It is by GIVING ALL DILIGENCE,

To excite you to this, we would remind you, that these things deferve your diligence, that diligence will fecure them, and that they cannot be attained without diligence.

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First. These things DESERVE YOUR DILIGEnce. It is pitiable to fee men employing their zeal and confuming their ftrength upon trifles; but this is the cafe with regard to the purfuits of thoufands. You may ask them as they rufh by, "Wherefore do ye fpend your money for that which is not bread, and cc your labour for that which fatisfieth not?" None of these things can relieve them in their greatest exigencies, promote their chief interefts, reward them for their toil, or indemnify them for the facrifices they make. But this cannot be faid of spiritual bleffings and Thefe are in the fight of God of great graces. price. They are neceffary to man. They purify his paffions, and tranquillize his confcience. They enrich, they dignify him; they are his perfection. They make him happy in himself, and render him a bleffing to all around him. Conceive how striking and how useful a single individual would be if feen, thus adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; not only a believer, but courageous; not only courageous, but wife; not only wise, but selfdenying, and gentle, and pious; and all this followed by kindness and benevolence! What then would a number of these characters accomplish as they paffed along through life? They would look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the fun, and terrible as an army with banners; bearing down reproach, difarming infidelity, putting to filence the ig

norance of foolish men, and constraining beholders to glorify God in the day of vifitation.

turn.

"He

Secondly. Diligence WILL INFALLIBLY SECURE these things. In the career of worldly good, many run, but few obtain the prize; and the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the ftrong, neither yet bread to the wife, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Fame depends upon a combination of circumstances, which may never reA despised rival may fuddenly rise up, and carry off an acquifition which you had been pursuing inceffantly through life. Though the fower foweth in hope many things may fruftrate his expectations. "But to the righteous there is a fure reward." "that goeth forth weepeth, bearing precious feed, “Thall doubtless return again with rejoicing, bringing "his fheaves with him." "Afk, and it shall be given you; feek, and ye fhall find; knock, and it fhall "be opened unto you; for every one that asketh, re"ceiveth; and he that feeketh, findeth, and to him "that knocketh, it shall be opened." In the world men spare no pains, decline no difficulty, fear no hazard, though they have nothing more than probability to excite and encourage them; and shall we be infenfible and motionless, who have nothing less than actual certainty?

Thirdly. There is NO ATTAINING THESE THINGS WITHOUT diligence. Diligence is indifpenfable.

Indifpenfable, if we appeal to analogy. You must labour even for "the meat that perifheth." Through what a fucceffion of procefs does your bread pafs be.