to warn you against secret departure of heart from Christ.

Yet, as my beloved, I warn you. For it is strange how gradually and yet rapidly a great declension from a lively and devoted zeal for Christ makes its way. Men in such cases fall by little and little; and become worldly in the tone of their conversation; unedifying to others and perhaps even averse from the company of deeply serious and holy Christians. Such declensions are distressing (sooner or later) to those who are the subjects of them, and discreditable to religion itself.

Now, there is nothing so effectual to prevent such lamentable falls as a constant view of the glory and excellency of Jesus Christ. It is the contemplation of Christ, in the dignity of his person: holding constant communion with him in secret prayer: meditating on his life, his words; it is while you are thus musing that the fire will kindle and at length you will speak with your tongue, Lord, whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

And this you will find the only happy life: all other endeavours to promote happiness are a cheat and delusion. God hath made an eternal decree that all happiness shall flow from himself through his Son.

It is here, then, in Christ, that you must seek, if you will be happy. Oh, I beseech you, (as you value your present peace and

future glory,) make no mistake here! The great ones of this world may flutter for a season, in their fast-failing prosperity, (like gaudy butterflies in the summer's sun,) but the day is fast coming that shall strip them of all their worldly gaiety and all their false hopes in religion; the day is coming when the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings. And, then, happy will it be for them, and for them alone, who have been wise enough to choose Christ in preference to all his creatures. Oh! how many proud, selfish, high-minded men, (aye, even amongst those who have pretended love for Christ, and shewn great zeal, but not according to knowledge, for religion,) will then be covered with shame and everlasting contempt!

Our Lord Christ will then expose them: expose them before an assembled universe. He will shew that, with all their decent ceremonies and heartless formality, with all their self-righteous morality, they were worldlyhearted men, who never felt, though with lying lips, they have often said, Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. No: he will not own them: he will reject and curse them to all eternity.

But it will not be so with you, who really love the Lord Jesus! you, who really desire to be delivered from sin and selfishness. You, who really seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. You who neither make

use of religion as a cloke to gain your own worldly ends, nor secretly feel your conscience giving the lie to your lips when you say, Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. You whose hearts desire and prayer to God is that you may be enabled to adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour by a holy walk and conversation. It shall not be so with you. Christ will own and bless you.

Oh, that all who are true-hearted, might take the comfort of this assurance! Do so:

beloved in Christ! It will encourage my you in the path of duty.

It will give you ability to overcome the world. It will draw the sting out of all your trials. It will add greatly to all your blessings: It will save you from a thousand humiliations and cares to which worldly-hearted professors of religion are exposed: It will deliver you from the snares in which they are taken: It will help you, in every particular, to live the life of a Christian.

Persevere if you have begun; (Begin today if you have not) to make it your daily, hourly sentiment for encouragement in tribulation, for warning in prosperity, Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

SERMON XII.

LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

PSALM CXII. 4.

UNTO THE UPRIGHT THERE ARISETH LIGHT IN THE

DARKNESS.

DAVID, in this Psalm, is speaking of the blessings and privileges of God's people.

He begins by calling upon them to praise the Lord, and that because they are blessed. But that no man should take this honour unto himself, except him that is called of God, he goes on to describe the character of the man that is thus blessed. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Blessed indeed are such persons! God puts his fear in their hearts and writes his law there, and so they serve him with reverence and rejoice to do his will: While God, on the other hand, takes pleasure in them that fear him, and delight to run in the way of his commandments. Blessed are the people that are in such a case, for they have the Lord for their God.

It is not enough that they fear God; the devils do that: Sooner or later, every unconverted man shall do that, if not before, at least when he ariseth, to shake terribly the earth, when he comes with righteousness to judge the world and the people with equity. Then shall they with great fear and trembling, call upon the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne; for the great day of his wrath is come.

Here indeed will be fear of God: great fear, but they that feel it will not be blessed. No! they will be sent away with that heavy sentence, Depart ye cursed! and that, because (however they may fear his judgments) they never loved his commandments.

These are not the upright spoken of in the text. These are the crooked and perverse people among whom the righteous are said to shine as lights in the world. For such there will then remain no place for repentance: the summer will be past, the harvest will be ended, but they will not be saved! They will not be like the wheat gathered into the garner. But like the tares, bound up in bundles, and cast into unquenchable fire.

But the righteous, the upright, it will not be so with them. The angels will be sent forth like the reapers at harvest time, and when they have gathered out of the kingdom them which do iniquity, the righ