gacity has attained to foundness of mind and integrity of manners? Were the complacency well founded, the arguments and conclufions would be juft. But being not well founded, it is truly an infatuation, how plausible foever; and deplorable is that infatuation, which precludes the use of those remedies the cafe requires.

Are men then, to renounce their habits of virtue, in order to render themselves qualified for the gofpel? Muft they commit fin deliberately, for the purpose that grace may abound? GOD forbid! Let the habits of virtue, like the principles of reason be retained; but let the vanity, the arrogance of moral wisdom, the pride of virtue and the pride of reason be taught equally to think thus that the wisdom of man is, at best, but his opinion, his virtue but his habit; neither of them complete, or formed on principles of abfolute or perfect truth. Under this conviction, let the practical and speculative philofopher equally prepare themfelves, by the renunciation of felfconceit, to pay a just submiffion to prescription, and bend their ears with equal reverence, to the dictates of their common inftructor, redeemer, faviour.

When the pride of heart, the pride of reafon,

reason, and the pride of virtue are thus renounced, the way is open to an entire reformation. The old man, to adopt the expreffive language of St Paul, thus crucified, the work of regeneration may begin; and the new man may be created, formed under the plaftick hand of chriftian difcipline.

But let it not be thought, that the work of reformation is performed at once, by one fingle act of renunciation, or at any fingle period. Though the convert have adopted the properest sentiments, though he come to the font of baptifm, with a mind, like the infant, untainted with conceit; ftill the work of renunciation is not finally accomplished. The world and the flesh do not so easily loose their influence, nor is the efficacy of chriftian grace (as it is called) displayed, as our Lord exhibited the power of his word when by one fingle interpofition, he caft out evil fpirits. The root of bitterness, the depravity remains, a wound deeply infixed in the heart and occafions will occur from time to time, to excite the latent fparks and renew the task, as the neceffity of mortification. Thus, the whole period of man's abode in this earthly taber

y Mart. c. 18. v. 3.

bernacle

bernacle is appointed for trial and probation. The fingle eye is no more to be obtained than the constitution without the feeds of latent malady. The influence of these defects will from time to time be perceived equally in both, to be obviated by occafional remedies and applications. But here the refemblance ceases: the difficulty of restoring bodily health, when attacked by conftitutional maladies, increases with old age, till the tenement worn out with repeated fhocks, can be repaired no longer. The difficulty of preferving foundness of mind decreases, as the maladies which attack it are weakened by oppofition and denial: fo that the task, if diligently performed, becomes every day more eafy; the attacks are more and more. feeble, the danger lefs and lefs imminent: till at the evening of life, the christian, exulting in affured hope, may fay with the confidence of St Paul: "I have fought a ' good fight, I have finished my course, I "have kept the faith. Henceforth there is "laid up for me a crown of righteousness, "which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that day."

SER

SERMON V.

GALAT. II. 20.

The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, gave himself for me.

aud

FR

ROM repentance let us proceed to confider the duty of faith, as of the virtue that is to mark the chriftian character: and in order that we may conceive rightly of the religion in which all our hopes concentre; let us take every precaution, that we fall not into low and narrow notions of that faith, so much extolled by St Paul as the quality in Abraham, which the Almighty rewarded with all the favours, by which that patriarch was diftinguished.

The mind accustomed to confider the repentance required by the gofpel, as the de

nial and mortification of every conceit, that might create a prejudice against the word of GOD; is led, of course, to view the virtue of faith, as the peculiar virtue of revelation: as that duty which arofe out of the new relation of man, that was produced when Gon was pleased to manifeft his will, in precepts and intimations delivered at his command, and under attefted divine authority. Nor is fuch difcernment an inconfiderable privilege. For it is certain, that in all moral difquifitions, the greatest difficulty lies in the incompetency of words to convey precifely the fentiments of one man to another because, the ideas of moral virtues are combinations framed arbitrarily in the mind; and, of course, variously compofed by different men: from whence it arifes, that the words, being uniform, which are used to fignify them, by no means exprefs each man's peculiar idea; but become, in fuch application, indefinite and equivocal. It is indeed generally found, where moral questions are made the fubjects of controverfy, that a misunderftanding occafions the difpute; because the hearer and the speaker make use of terms in common, to which they have not affixed the fame precife meaning. This difficulty, without question, attended the promulgation of

the