Christ's religion, which will cause the man, who obeys them truly, not only to govern his actions, but his words; not only his words, but his inclinations, and his dispositions, his internal habits, as well as external life. "Ye have heard that it hath been said of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you He that looketh on a woman to lust after her;" that is, he who voluntarily indulges, and entertains in his mind an unlawful desire, "hath committed adultery with her already in his heart," is, by the very entertainment of such ideas, instead of striving honestly and resolutely to banish them from his mind, or to take his mind off from them, a sinner in the sight of God. Much the same kind of exposition belongs to the other commandments; not only is murder forbidden, but all unreasonable, intemperate anger and passion; not only stealing but all hard and unfair conduct, either in transacting business with those, who are upon a level with us, or, where it is more to be feared, towards those, who are in cur power. And do not these points open to us a field of inquiry, how

how far we are concerned in them? There may not be what, strictly speaking, can be called an act or deed, which is scandalously bad; yet the current of our imaginations, the bent of our tempers, the stream of our affections, may all, or any of them, be wrong, and may be requiring, even at the peril of our salvation, stronger control, a better direction.

Again, There may not be any action, which, singly and separately taken, amounts to what would be reckoned a crime; yet there may be actions, which we give in to, which even our own consciences cannot approve; and these may be so frequent with us, as to form a part of the course and fashion of our lives.

Again, It is possible, that some of the miscarriages in conduct, of which we have to accuse ourselves, may be imputable to inadvertency or surprise. But could these miscarriages happen so often as they do, if we exercised that vigilance in our christian course, which not only forms a part of the christian

character,

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character, but is a sure effect of a sincere faith in religion, and a corresponding solicitude and concern about it? Lastly, Unprofitableness itself is a sin. We need not do mischief in order to commit sin; uselessness, when we might be useful, is enough to make us sinners before God. The fig-tree in the gospel was cut down, not because it bore sour fruit, but because it bore noue. The parable of the talents (Matt xxv. 14.) is pointed expressly against the simple neglect of faculties and opportunities of doing good, as contradistinguished from the perpetration of positive crimes, Are not all these topics fit matters of meditation, in the review of our lives? Upon the whole, when I hear a person say, he has no sins to think upon, I conclude, that he has not thought seriously concerning religion at all.

Let our sins, then, be ever before us; if not our crimes, of which it is possible, that according to the common acceptation of that word, we may not have many to remember let our omissions, deficiencies, failures, our

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irregularities of heart and affection, our vices of temper and disposition, our course and habit of giving in to smaller offences, meaning, as I do mean, by offences, all those things, which our consciences cannot really approve; our slips, and inadvertencies, and surprises, much too frequent for a man in earnest about salvation. Let these things occupy our attention; let this be the bent and direction of our thoughts; for they are the thoughts, which will bring us to God evangelically; because they are the thoughts, which will not only increase our vigilance, but which must inspire us with that humility, as to ourselves; with that deep and abiding, and operating sense of God Almighty's love and kindness, and mercy towards us, in and through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, which is ever one great aim and end of the gospel, and of those, who preached it, to inculcate upon all, who came to take hold of the offer of grace.

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SERMON XII.

SALVATION FOR PENITENT SINNERS.

LUKE VII. 47.

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.

IT has been thought an extravagant doc

trine, that the greatest sinners were sometimes nearer to the kingdom of heaven, than they, whose offences were less exorbitant, and less conspicuous: yet I apprehend the doctrine wants only to be rationally explained, to shew that it has both a great deal of truth, and a great deal of use in it; that it may be an awakening religious proposition to some, whilst it cannot, without being wilfully misconstrued, delude or deceive any.

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