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to be his disciples. But are we all truly his disciples? Let us not deceive ourselves with a barren name, or an empty profession. We have seen, in the text, what is the distinguishing mark of Christ's disciples. They do the will of God. It is not merely sitting in his house, and hearing his will, which will make us Christians," Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." It is not having ever so clear a knowledge of God's will, that will make us Christ's disciples. "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” If we would have an interest in the blessings and privileges of the Gospel, we must comply with the terms of it. We must be Christians indeed, and must answer to the Description given of them in the text. We must believe in Christ for salvation : we must repent of our sins, and walk in newness of life. It is only by so doing that we can save our souls alive.

If we

suppose that any thing else will do, we greatly deceive ourselves. If we suppose that we can be Christians without faith in the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, without repenting of our sins, without living a holy and a godly life, we are

broad road that leadeth to destruction. If this be the case, may the veil in mercy be taken from our eyes! May our feet be turned into the way of life! May we seek for grace to do the will of God in sincerity and truth! And may we find the blessedness of doing it, both here and for ever, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord, and our Redeemer !

20 Pera

SERMON VII.

THE TENDENCY TO WEARINESS IN WELL-DOING ILLUSTRATED AND OPPOSED.

2 THESSALONIANS, iii. 13.

But ye, Brethren, be not weary in welldoing.

HUMAN nature is in all ages the same. Ever since the fall of Adam, men have been subject to the same passions, liable to the same errors, and tempted to the same .sins. Hence it is that the Scriptures are so generally and universally useful. They were at first addressed to man, as a weak, fallible, and corrupt creature and such they still find him to be. The language therefore, which they speak to him at one time, will be equally suited to him at another. Even those precepts and warnings, which were originally given to persons under particular circumstances, are now of general application, because the like cir

this view, the admonition in the text may still be profitably considered by us. "But ye, Brethren, be not weary in well-doing." St. Paul seems to have given this Exhortation to the Thessalonians, in reference to the following circumstances. Among the members of their Church there were some who acted very inconsistently with their Christian profession. They "walked disorderly, working not at all, but were busybodies." While the Apostle reproved such persons, and exhorted them "with quietness to work and to eat their own bread,” he directed the Church in general to withdraw itself from them, so long as they continued thus disorderly, and to have no company with them, that they might be ashamed. But what might be the effect of this state of things on the Thessalonian Christians in general? Because any one of these offenders might not speedily reform his conduct, they might be tempted to give over their endeavours to reclaim him; or, because their kindness and benevolence had been in this instance abused, they might be inclined to desist from kind and benevolent exertions in future. Disappointed and discouraged, they might become remiss and inactive in the discharge of a great and an obvious duty. It was then with the

view of preventing this evil, of counteracting this injurious Tendency, that we may suppose the Apostle to have introduced the precept in the text, "But ye, Brethren, be not weary in well-doing." And under these circumstances, we may see the propriety and importance of the precept. But like circumstances are always to be found in the Christian Church. There is always a danger, lest the disciples of Christ should be weary in well-doing. We, at this time, are as likely, from some cause or other, to be discouraged in our benevolent exertions, and consequently to be tempted to desist from them, as the Thessalonians were. So that the precept applies with as much propriety and importance to us, as it did to them. In making this application of the passage, I shall endeavour,

I. To state some of the principal Causes of that Tendency to Weariness in Welldoing, against which the caution in the Text admonishes us to guard.

II. To offer some Considerations which may help to oppose this Tendency.

I. Among the Causes of the Tendency in question, one of the most obvious and prevalent is a natural fickleness of mind, a love of change and novelty, which of itself strongly tempts us to become weary in well