which have thus been uttered, will be remembered and produced while those who have uttered them, will be required to prove their words, and to shew the truth and justice of their accusations. But in that day they will be speechless. They, who have been so forward to open their mouths, and to speak evil of their righteous neighbours, will then have nothing to say. Conscious guilt will close their lips. Convicted and confounded, they will stand before the Judge, and in dreadful silence will await the tremendous sentence which will assign them for ever to the place of punishment. That such will be the doom of these persons, has been long foretold by the Word of Truth. St. Jude tells us that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophecied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."'c Let not these solemn truths be lost upon us. Let those, who are disposed and perhaps accustomed to speak evil of religious persons take warning in due time. You will one day be called to account for your ungodly speeches. Remember the Lord is ready to judge the Quick and the Dead. The day is fixed in the counsels of God. Every hour is bringing it nearer. Think how much guilt you may have already contracted. Add not to your present load by further offences. Let fear prevent you from speaking evil of God and of his people. Those, whose conduct appears strange to you, whom c Jude

you would revile or ridicule,. are the Children, the Beloved of God and will he not avenge their cause? In assaulting, in persecuting, in speaking evil of them, you are kicking against the pricks: you are injuring, wounding, destroying yourselves. Cease from such a fruitless warfare with the King of kings. Throw down your arms, and instead of opposing him, become yourselves his willing subjects. Lay aside your enmity. Implore his pardon. Seek reconciliation with him. Join yourselves to his despised, but happy flock. He will yet receive you graciously. He will blot out all your iniquities. He will regard you with the favour which he beareth towards his people; and will give you to know the felicity of his chosen.

But especially, let this subject be applied to those, who make something more of a religious profession than others; who say that they fear God, believe in Christ Jesus, and are desirous of living according to his Gospel. My, Brethren, you see in the text, that it is your duty not to run to the same excess of riot with others. It is your duty to keep at a distance from those sinful and sensual practices in which wicked and worldly men find their delight. If indeed, you really are what you profess to be, if you are true Christians, you will. yourselves be unwilling to join in these things; you. will feel a distaste, a disrelish for them. Your own inclination will lead you to abstain from them. But think not on this account, the admonition is less necessary, or less seasonable. You may be induced even against your own inclination to do as others do, and to join with them in their sins. You may be over-per

suaded by their intreaties; or what is more likely, you may be prevailed on from the fear of provoking their anger or their ridicule, to act contrary to your conscience and your desires. You know that if you thus dare to be singular, you will probably be evil spoken of. When your neighbours, and former friends, perhaps your late companions in sin, see you forsaking their company and practices, you are aware that probably they will revile you, and laugh at you, and raise some evil report against you. And at the thoughts of these things your heart is ready to fail. Rather than encounter them, you will perhaps conform a little to the ways of the world, and thus to avoid the Cross, will even scem at least to run with others to the same excess of riot. It is this temptation against which you stand in need of being seriously warned. Remember, that as the servants and disciples of Jesus Christ, you must take up your Cross and come after him. You are not allowed to choose your way, but you must follow him in the path of duty," through evil report and good report." Neither the intreaties of friends, nor the threatenings of enemies will allow of your stepping aside to the right hand or to the left. You must go straight forward, and thus prove that you indeed are what you seem and declare yourselves to be. It is a great part of that salvation in which you profess delivered from this present evil world: shew that you are delivered from it, yourselves from worldly practices and from those sinful pleasures, in which the men of this world seek their enjoyment. By a contrary conduct, by joining with

to share, to be and you must by separating

them in these things, you will countenance them in sin, will disgrace your profession, and will wound your own peace. See then, what is your duty, and practice it. Run not with others to the same excess of riot. Regard not what they may think, or say of you. Let them deem your conduct strange; let them, if so disposed, speak evil of you. By so doing they hurt themselves, not you. Let it be your care to return them good for evil. Pray for them. Pray that they also may be recovered from their vain conversation, may cast aside the works of darkness, and may walk Let your example reprove them;

in newness of life. but let your behaviour towards them be kind and gentle. So shall you approve yourselves to be the followers of the mild and holy Jesus, partakers of his spirit, and heirs of his glory. In a word, adorn the Gospel by a meek, godly, and consistent conduct, and "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

SERMON XXII.

THE NATURE OF SIN, REPENTANCE, AND PARDONING MERCY ILLUSTRATED IN THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON.

LUKE, XV. 32.

It was meet that we should make merry and be glad :: for this thy brother was dead and is alive again; and was lost and is found.

THE proud heart of the unrenewed man, is

ever at variance with the humbling grace of the Gospel. He looks upon the offer of free, unmerited mercy, when made to himself, as degrading and insulting; when extended to others, as partial and unjust. Nothing however can be more absurd and indefensible than such a conduct and it was chiefly with the view of exposing and condemning it, that the Parable of the Prodigal Son, from which the text is taken, was originally spoken. The unreasonable behaviour of the Elder Brother, in being offended with his kind and compas sionate Father, for shewing favour to the returning Prodigal, exhibited a striking specimen of the unreasonable conduct of the Pharisees in taking offence at our Lord for calling notorious sinners to repentance, and for holding out to them encouraging assurances of acceptance and forgiveness; whilst in the condescending