in vain. Thus thinks the virtuous man, the chriftian; and is not this to think fagacioufly and wifely?

Yes, my dear friends, let us confider the matter on whichever fide we will, the declaration in our text fhines to our eyes as an undeniable, a divine truth: God himself has faid to man, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding! Yes, it is certain, that a virtuous, godly, christian life is an eminently wife and intelligent life; certain, that he alone deferves the appellation of a real fage, who adopts fuch a temper and conduct! Happy he, who inwardly feels and firmly believes this truth, and, being now inflamed with the moft ardent afpirations after this wifdom, implores it of him who alone can give it, and who freely beftows it on every one who is earnestly folicitous about it! Thrice happy the man, who finds this wisdom, the man who acquires this understanding!" The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of filver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantnefs; and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her!" Oh may ye all, my dear friends, prize according to her real worth, this heavenly wisdom, feek her with unremitted ardour, happily find her, and in her poffeffion enjoy that entire felicity which he procures to her friends, both in the present and in the future world! Amen.

SERMON XLIV.

The Beauty and Honour of a christian Temper and

Conduct.

MOST

OST gracious God, bountiful parent, humble as may be the station which we occupy among thy intelligent creatures capable of felicity, yet our deftination is fublime. We are not to remain at this inferior stage, are never to go backwards, but always to advance, continually to become more perfect and happy, and thereby continually to approach nearer to thee, the primeval fount of perfection and felicity. In thy benignity thou haft made us capable of a perpetually progressive, an everlasting growth in knowledge, in wisdom, in virtue, in generally useful activity, in refemblance with thy image and representative Jesus Christ. And what motives, what encouragements to perpetual, unwearied progrefs on the paths of chriftian perfection haft thou not given us! Security, repofe of mind, pure pleasure, fuperlative delight, substantial honour, undecaying renown are our fure attendants on thefe paths; the affurance of thy fuperintendance and thy loving kindness, and the confolation of a good confcience render our course on them easy and pleasant ; and at the end of our carreer the crown of the conqueror sparkles before us, the

prize of everlasting life, Oh that we were all of us perpetually mindful of our grand destination, and inflamed by a noble ambition, ftrove constantly more completely to obtain it! Do thou thyself, o God, by thy good fpirit, direct our ambition to the beft, the worthieft objects, to wifdom and virtue, to intrinfic fpiritual perfection, to that which is and will for ever continue to be honourable in heaven as well as upon earth. Blefs in this view the confiderations that are now to employ us, and grant that they may contribute fomewhat to the refinement of our fentiments and to the amendment of our conduct. For these things we pray thee, in firm reliance on the promises given us by thy fon Jefus, and adore thee farther in his name and comprehensive form of words: faying, Our father, &c.

PHILIPP. iv. 8,

If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

AMBITION is natural to us all ; as natural as

the endeavour after fuperior perfection, after

the enlargement of our sphere of action, after greater influence on the whole. We are defirous that others fhould entertain a good opinion of us, place great confidence in us, have a high esteem for us; because we know, how much influence their judgment concerning us and their difpofition towards us have

upon

upon our welfare, upon our usefulness and upon our happiness. Even the judgment of more dif tant, unknown perfons and otherwife unconnected with us in any bond of friendship, is not indifferent to us. The very idea, that people will speak well of us after our death, will make mention of our deferts in behalf of fociety, will recollect our good example, will enjoy with gratitude the fruits of our labour, and will perhaps more than once with for us back again in our terrestrial sphere; even this idea how powerfully does it not operate on numbers of perfons! To what facrifices, to what achievements, to what acts of heroism has it not frequently impelled them! What dangers has it not taught them to despise! With what ardour has it not inflamed them for the cause of truth, or of liberty, or otherwife for the public good! -As furely however as ambition is natural to us, fo furely is it harmless in itself: for, whatever is natural to us, proceeds from God, and whatever proceeds from God, is right and proper. Here, as in fo many other cafes, my pious hearers, every thing depends on the direction of our natural inftincts and affections, on the means whereby we feek to gratify them, and on the use that we make of them. Ambition may abfolutely become an exceedingly corrupt and deftructive paffion, and how often has it not become fo, how often does it not daily become fo! - namely, when we feck our honour in imaginary, frivolous, empty, tranfient distinctions, when we feek it by the violation of our

duty

duty and our confcience, when we facrifice to it the tranquillity, the welfare, the legitimate fatisfaction of our brother, when we purloin it by lies, by flattery, when we acquire it not, by fair means, not by real merit in behalf of the community, but by artifice and knavery, or when we make use of it, to the annoyance of our neighbour, to the advancement of selfish and covetous projects and defigns. It is then a corrupt and criminal paffion: we then feek our honour in our fhame, and employ that which might and fhould have rendered us extraordinary benefactors to mankind, to their detriment and ruin. · Far be it from us, my dear friends, to cry up fuch an ambition! But juft as far be it from us, entirely to reject that appetite, the abuse whereof we are cenfuring! No, generous ambition is neither difapproved by found reafon, nor condemned by christianity rightly understood. On the contrary, christianity would likewise excite and refine this inftinct of our nature, evolve and fructify this germ of good fentiments and great actions. It promises to "them who by patient continuance in well-doing feek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life." It calls to us by the apoftle in our text: "If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things," ftrive after these things. And in fact, my friends, he that follows the precepts of christianity, he that fubmits to be actuated and governed by its fpirit, walks the way which leads to real, lafting honour, to the pinnacle of fame.

And