all events according to his pleasure, exacting obedience and dispensing recompence, rewarding each man according to the purposes of his heart and the practices of his life, — that virtue is the best endowment, and sin the worst mischief,-that nothing can be really profitable which does not consist with our duty to God,that every thing not suitable to that purpose is either a trifle or a snare, a damage or a bane,-that content of mind, springing from innocence of life and discharge of duty, is much to be preferred before every delight of temporal possession,-and that a bad mind is the sorest adversity which can befall us, — such are the grounds of upright practice, more sure than any rock, more immovable than the earth's foundations; assured by sacred oracles, attested by many remarkable providences, avowed by the wiser sort, admitted by general consent, most agreeable to reason, most approved by experience. The practice, therefore, built on such foundations, must be very secure. And if God does not cease to be, if his word does not deceive, if the wisest men are not infatuated, if the common sense of mankind do not prove extravagant, if the main props of society do not fail, Upright Walking is sure walking!

Thirdly, The upright person walks steadily, holding his main course through all occasions without wavering or inconsistency. Passion, humour, and interest, are very changeable things, depending upon temper of body and casualties of time, whence he that is guided by them must needs be many-minded and unstable; he can enjoy no settled rest, nor observe any smooth tenor. But good conscience is stable and unwearied in all vicissitudes. It steers by fixed stars, and aims at sure marks. An upright man is always the same man, and goes the same way; the external state of things does not alter the moral reason of things with him, or change the law of God.

The way of uprightness is safe. He who designs

only that which is reasonable and just, who innocently prosecutes his intentions, can hardly fall into any extreme disaster; — cannot irrecoverably sink into miserable disappointment. As he yields no just provocation or urgent temptation to oppose him, so he is not very likely to meet with obstructions to his designs: he can hardly raise up adversaries that will be very formidable and very fierce; he is sure that few wise men, and no good men, will trouble him. A man who is constantly upright in all his dealings, will most probably not be involved in any grievous mischief, or exposed to any extreme distress. However, an upright man hath this comfortable reserve, that whatever doth befall him, he shall not want that which shall support and erect his mind: he shall triumph, if not in the felicity of his success, yet in the integrity of his heart, and in the innocence of his deportment; even as blessed Job did, under all the pressure of his adversity:"Till I die" (said he) "I will not remove my integrity from me; my righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live."

He that walketh uprightly, reflects on his own heart with complacence, and looks on the world with confidence; he is content that his thoughts should be sounded, and his actions sifted. The more curiously his ways are scanned, the more thoroughly his designs are penetrated, the greater approbation he is sure to receive. If the upright walker seems disappointed, yet he will not be disparaged;- wise and candid men will excuse him, good men will patronise his cause, no man of sense will insult his misfortune; - he shall not, as the Psalmist assureth, be ashamed in an evil time.

But now, my brethren, let me, in the spirit of pastoral kindness, explain to you a little more particularly what upright walking is. If you wish to walk uprightly, and therefore safely, be clear, be frank, be candid, be harmless, be consistent in your behaviour, your discourse,

and your dealing. Let your heart be seen in your face, your mind suit with your speech, your deeds have a just correspondence with your professions; never fail to perform what you promise, and to satisfy the expectations you raise. Do not wrap yourselves in clouds, that none may see where you are, or know where to find you; disguise not your intentions with fallacious pretences of conscience, use no disingenuous spiteful tricks to serve a present turn; lay no baits or snares to catch men; have little of the serpent, and much of the dove; let your wisdom be tempered by humanity, meekness, and charity. Let your wisdom be that which is from above, first pure, then gentle, easy to be intreated; full of good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. You may prudently reserve your mind, but let your words never clash with your meaning, so as to deceive or disappoint any man. You may warily prevent harm, but you may do it without casting mischief on your neighbour. The engines you should employ in all your transactions, if you wish to walk uprightly, are providence in contriving, diligence in acting, heedfulness not to provoke. If you use these methods, you will not lie under perpetual constraint,—you will not fear the disappointment and shame which attend the detection of unworthy designs. You will be at no pains to obviate the jealousy which craft and dissimulation ever raise against those who practise them. In fine, men do not shun the society of an upright person, but gladly deal with him, and seek his alliance; they are not apt to suspect him, but place an entire confidence in him, and use a clear frankness towards him. No man fears him as dangerous, or crosses him as an adversary; and in this way he undisturbedly enjoys the benefits of society with safety, ease, and comfort.

To conclude. It is an infinite advantage of upright dealing, that at the last issue, when all things shall be accurately tried, a man will be fully justified in it, and

accurately rewarded for it. Then all deceits shall be laid bare, all schemes shall be unravelled, all shrewd contrivers of mischief shall be exposed to shame. So also, the righteous man shall stand in great boldness ;his case will be rightly stated, and fully cleared — what he has done shall be approved - what he has suffered shall be repaired; then will it clearly appear that simplicity is deep wisdom, and that he who is just to others is most friendly to himself. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, every man's work shall be made manifest." The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the councils of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God!

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SERMON XI.

ON THE REPROACHES OF THE HEART.

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JOB, Xxvii. 6.

My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

JOB abounds with wise resolutions and good thoughts; but there is nothing finer and better in the book of Job than this. In the midst of all his calamities, children perished, property wasted, health injured, friends fled away, in the midst of all this, he still reserves for himself the greatest and best of all human pleasures; My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live." Now, my brethren, it shall be my business this day, to treat upon this point. I will recommend to you to think as Job thought, to act as Job acted, to place before your eyes the same object he placed before his eyes; — to beware, whatever else may happen to you, that your heart does not reproach you as long as you live.

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In the first place, my brethren, respect the heart! for God has made it your monitor and your judge. There lies in your breast a tribunal — a judgment seat! - In the very inmost parts of the mind the great work of justice and judgment is going on!-Conscience is God's servant; it judges you on earth, as you will be judged in heaven; respect your conscience as you would respect a presiding angel from heaven- the representative of God and Christ!

We talk of man's superiority over the beasts of the field: where is that superiority so clear as in that