conceive, that they are pleasant and peaceful. Do not all immediately apprehend that a thing fo amiable in its nature, fo advantageous, rich and promifing in its confequences, is calculated to induce every one to wish to acquire it for himself? The prayer and wish of each should be, “O that I was a traveller in fuch pleasant ways and delightful paths, that will iffue in fuch happy regions, in fuch an eternally glorious end." Confider feriously with yourselves, are these things fo? Is true religion attended with thofe comforts pleasures and joys, which you have heard? Why then will you not enter upon this heavenly journey, and engage to travel in these delightful walks? Surely you cannot but love profit and pleasure, riches and honor. Here are durable riches, and crowns of glory which fade not away. "Wisdom is more precious than rubies, "and all the things thou canst defire are not to be compared "unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left riches and honor. Truly, all her ways are pleafantrefs and all her paths are peace."

Perhaps fome stard ready to fay, it is me befinefs and cal ling to recommend. on, and therefore I will endeavor to exhibit it in the belt light it can ply bear. This is my em ployment indeed, and I glory in it, and rejoice to magnify mine offic And let him that glorieth ever glory in the Lord. But you will grant me the liberty, to affure you, religion is not like the man and damaged wares of the merchant, which are often extolled above their intrinfic value; if you ever come to purchase this pearl, and behold its precioufnefs, you will cry out with the queen of Sheba who had come from afar to fee the wisdom of Solomon, "that half its excellency had not been "told you." But left you should be jealous the preacher's defign is to impofe upon you, and to praise to you things above their worth, you cannot poffibly entertain any fuch apprehenfions in refpect to the bleffed God. If you fcruple and hesitate to believe man, you must furely believe the Lord of heaven and

earth, who is truth itfelf and cannot lie. "The Lord of "hofts makes unto all people, a feast of fat things, a feaft of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on << the lees well refined?" Are feafts, marriage entertainments, luxuriant vineyards, fruitful fields, and delightful gardens pleasurable things? All these images and a thousand more are employed by Jehovah himself to reprefent to our view the beauties and charms of fincere piety, in order to captivate our hearts and engage us to fall in love therewith.

But it will still be objected, if religion be so pleasant, peaceful, joyous and delightful, how does it happen that we continually fee so many of its votaries mopish, fad and melancholy, always mourning, always complaining? It is truly afflicting to behold fo many of the friends of this comfortable fervice, gloomy and diftreffed. But have you not feen fome perfons at the richest feafts and highest entertainments filent and diftreffed, and dark melancholy refting on their brow? Were thefe forbidding and gloomy appearances ever attributed to the feaft and cheerful company? Surely not. It was fome inward pain, fome in.vifible affection, which none knew but the subjects of them, that caused this gloomy fadnefs in fcenes of pleasure. So here the fadness, diftrelles and complaints of chriftians, cannot with juftice be attributed to religion, but to fome other caufe. The fource of all these miserable appearances is fin and corruption, and because they have fo little of the exercifes of grace in their hearts. Religion makes none of its friends to mourn or com. plain; these are the genuine effects of fin. Therefore it is both unreasonable and wicked to afcribe to the former, what are always the fruits of, and juftly appertain to the latter. O that religion might never fuffer in the houfe of its friends! Let none ever join with Satan in perverfely and wrongfully attri buting to religion, what belongs to fin.

But fome will be ready here to afk, is not repentance a part

of religion, and is not this an unpleafurable and mortifying work? This is granted to be true in the opinion of those who have never experienced the grace of repentance. But enquire of the aged faint, over whofe checks fireams of tears have flowed for his fins, whether his feelings at thofe feasons were painful or pleafant? He will immediately anfwer, that his tears were sweet and comfortable. Sin in itself gave him bitternefs of heart, but mourning for it, was his pleafure and fatisfaction. Many a faint has experienced more peace, comfort and spiritual joy in weeping for his fins, than ever an impen. itent finnner did in all the round and noife of jovial mirth. Yea, fome chriftians have had fo much pleasure and happiness in true repentance, that they could not well fee how fuch a bleffing fhould be excluded heaven. Hence Solomon declares, "Sorrow is better than laughter, and the heart of the wife "is in the house of mourning." Surely in the bleffing of our Lord must be comprehended fubftantial pleasure and true feli city. Thus he pronounces, "Bleffed are they that mours, "for they fhall be comforted." "For those who forrow af"ter a godly fort, the Lord hath appointed, beauty for ashes, "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the "spirit of heavinefs." All the faints teftify that repentance is a fweet and pleafant exercife, and thofe who are ignorant of it, and never experienced any of its confolations, muft, to fay the leaft, be very incompetent and improper judges.

But it is high time to clofe this fubject with fome improve

ment.

First, this theme calls for praise and gratitude to the most High, who hath opened ways of pleafure and paths of peace to the land of perfect felicity. The religion in the gofpel, inftitu ted for the happiness of the children of men, is pleasure, peace and delight in itself as well as all glorious in its end. How hard, cruel and inhuman are many of the falfe religions in the

world. Some oblige their votaries to turn anchorites, and banish themselves from the fociety of men; others are forced into cells and cloyfters, to spend their folitary days in tormen ting penances, to lafh themfelves with bloody cords, to fuffer all the pains of hunger by emaciating faftings, to go on diflant and dreary pilgrimages, to wear hats of iron, and stand on pillars of fainting and death. Others must offer in facrifice their tender children to appease the anger of their monstrous deities, &c. Thus the greatest bulk of mankind are overwhelmed in barbarous fuperftitions, and their religion is cru elty, anguish and horror.-But how humane, rational, fweet and benevolent is the religion of chriftianity? All the ways of our religion are pleafure and all her paths are peace. Let us therefore rejoice in it, and embrace it with our whole hearts imbibe all its graces and practise all its virtues. Let us continually offer the facrifices of joy, and fing praifes unto the Lord. Let fentiments of gratitude and love ever dwell in our hearts, and fongs of bleffing and praife upon our tongues.

Secondly, allow me to fhut up this difcourfe in a fhort addrefs to the younger part of my audience. I turn to you, my amiable young friends, who confider yourselves in the age of pleasure. You here fee that religion is not that frightful and gloomy thing, which you have often falfely pictured to yourselves in your own deluded fancies. There is nothing forbidding, diftant or difagreeable in it. Here alone can you find true pleasure and durable delight. You think, you are in the period of life, wherein you may be allowed to take your fill of pleasure, before the calamitous appendages of old age come on. And, O that you could be perfuaded, to feek it where alone it can be found. Would you rejoice in your youth, and have your hearts cheer you in the days of your youth, enter upon the ways of religion. Relinquifh folly, iniquity and youthful lufts, and chufe God for your God, Chrift for your Saviour, and the Holy Ghoft for your Sanctifier;

chufe religion for your courfe of life, her counfels to direct you and her graces to comfort you; then will you have the highest pleasures in life, the most confoling fupports in death, and confumate felicity throuhgout the unwafting ages of eternity. Wherefore shake off the shakles of fin, falfely called pleasure, and fay unto laughter, thou art mad, and to carnal mirth, thou art foolishness, and make the wife choice of Mofe; with whom God converfed face to face, as a man with his friend, "Who chose to fuffer affliction with the people of God, " rather than dwell in the courts of fin for a feafon." Be entreated to come and take Christ's yoke upon you and you will furely find it easy. Lay it up in your minds, that the pleafures of religion are infinitely preferable to the pleasures of fenfe. "Seek the Lord while he may be found, and call up"on him while he is near." Let this great truth be inscribed on the palms of your hands, that it may be always before you, and let it never flip from your memories, "That all religion's વર્ષ ways are pleasantnefs, and all her paths, peace."