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man is poffeffed with a paffion, it is incorporated, as it were, with himself; it feems to him effential to his felicity; every thing troubles, and every thing puts him on the rack, when he can not gratify it; without gratifying his paffion, his food hath no tafte, flowers no fmell, pleafures no point, the fun is dark, fociety difagreeable, life itself hath no charms. To attack a reigning paffion is to deny self; and here is the patience of the saints; this is the enemy, whom the chriftian attacks; this is the war, which he wageth. How tremulous and weak is the hand, when it toucheth a fword to be plunged into one's own bofom ! Love of order, truth, and virtue, fupport a christian hero in this almoft defperate undertaking.

4. In fine, compare bim, that ruletb bis spir it, with him that taketh a city, in regard to the acclamations with which they are accompanied, and the crowns prepared for them. Who are the authors of thofe acclamations, with y which the air refounds the praife of worldly beroes? They are courtiers, poets, panegyrists. But what are ! people of this order the only perfons, who enter tain just notions of glory; and, if they be, are they generous enough to fpeak out? How can a foul wholly devoted to the will and caprice of a conqueror; how can a venal creature, who makes a market of eulogiums and praifes, which he fells to the highest bidder; how can a brutal foldiery determine what is worthy of praife or blame? Is it for fuch people to distribute prizes of glory, and to affign heroes their rank? To be exalted by people of this fort is a fhame; to be crowned by their hands an infamy.,

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Elevate, elevate thy meditation, chriftian foul, rife into the Majefty of the Great Supreme. Think of that fublime Intelligence, who unites in his effence every thing noble and fublime. Contemplate God, furrounded with angels and

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archangels, cherubims and feraphims. Hear the -concerts, which happy fpirits perform to his glory. Hear them penetrated, ravished, charmed with the divine beauties, crying night and day, "Holy, holy, holy,' is the Lord of Hofts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Bleffing and glory, wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty juft and true are thy ways, thou King of faints. Who fhall not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy name "This being, fo perfect, this being, fo worthily praised, this being, fo worthy of everlafting praife, this is he, who will pronounce upon true glory; this is he, who will compofe the eulogium of all who afpire at it; this is he, who will one day praife in the face of heaven and earth, all those, who fhall have made the noble conquefts, which we have been deferibing.

Imagination finks under the weight of this fubject, and this object is too bright for eyes like ours: but the nature of things doth not depend on our faculty of feeing them. As God

calls us to combats more than human, so he sees fit to fupport us by a profpect of more than ku... man rewards. Yes, it is the Supreme Being, it is he, who will one day diftribute the "praises, which are due to fuch as have triumphed over themselves. What a fpectacle! what a profpect! Yes, chriftian champion, after thou haft refifted flesh and blood, after thou hast been treated as a fool by mankind, after thou haft run the race of tribulation, after thou haft made thy life one perpetual martyrdom, thou shalt be called forth in the prefence of men and angels, the mafter of the world fhall feparate thee from the crowd; there he will addrefs to thee this lan guage, Well done, good and faithful servant ; there he will accomplish the promife, which he

this day makes to all who fight under his standard, be that overcometh shall sit down in my throne. Ah! glory of worldly heroes; profane encomiums; faftidious infcriptions; proud trophies; brilliant but corruptible diadems; what are you in comparifon with the acclamations which await the chriftian hero, and the crowns which God, the rewarder, prepares for him.

And you, mean and timid fouls, who perhaps admire thefe triumphs, but who have not the ambition to strive to obtain them; you soft and indolent fpirits, who, without reluctance, give up all pretenfions to the immortal crown, which God prepares for heroifm, provided he require no account of your indolence and effeminacy, and fuffer you, like brute beafts, to follow the first instincts of your nature; undeceive yourselves. I faid at the beginning, you are all called to heroifm; there is no midway in religion; you must be covered with fhame and infamy along with the bafe and timid, or crowned with glory in company with heroes. The duty of an in telligent foul is to adhere to truth, and to fol low virtue; we bring into the world with us obstacles to both; our duty is to furmount them; without this we betray our truft; we do not anfwer the end of our creation; we are guilty, and we shall be punished for not endeavoring to obtain the great end for which we are created.

Let this be the great principle of our divinity and morality. Let us invariably retain it. Let us not lose ourselves in difcuffions and refearches into the origin of evil, and into the permiffion of the entrance of fin into the world. Let us not bury ourselves alive in fpeculations and labyrinths; let us not plunge into abyffes, from which no pains can difengage us. Let us fear an

ocean full of rocks, and let an idea of the fhipwrecks, which fo many rafh people have made, Atop us on the shore. Let us confider thefe quef

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tions lefs with a view to discover the perfections of the Creator in the thick darknefs, under which he hath thought proper to conceal them, than in that of learning the obligations of a creature. I do not mean to decry thofe great geniufes, who have treated of this profound fubje&t. Their works do honor to the human mind. They are eternal monuments to the glory of a reafon, which knows how to collect its force, and to fix itself on a fingle object; but, it is always certain, that we cannot arrive at clear truth on this fubject, except by means of thoufands of distinctions and abstractions, which most of us cannot make. This fubject is fo delicate and refined, that most eyes are incapable of seeing it, and it is placed on an eminence fo steep and inacceffible, that few geniufes can attain it.

Let us religiously abide by our principle. The duty of an intelligent foul is to adhere to truth, and to practife virtue: We are born with a difinclination to both. Our duty is to get rid of this, and without doing so we neglect the obligation of an intelligent foul, we do not answer the end, for which we were intended, we are guilty, and we fhall be punished for not having anfwered the end of our creation.

Let us confider ourfelves as foldiers placed round a befieged city, and having fuch or fuch an enemy to fight, fuch or fuch a poft to force. You, you are naturally fubject to violence and anger. It is fad to find in one's own conftitution an oppofition to virtues fo lovely as thofe of fubmiffion, charity, fweetnefs, and patience. Groan under this evil: but do not defpair; when you are judged, lefs attention will be paid to your natural indifpofition to these virtues than to the efforts, which you made to get rid of it. To this point direct all your attention, and your ftrength, and all your courage. Say to yourself, this is the poft, which my general intends I

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fhould force; this is the enemy I am to fight with. And be you fully convinced, that one of the principal views, which God hath in preferving your life, is, that you fhould render yourself mafter of this paffion. You, you are naturally difpofed to be proud. The moment you leave your mind to its natural bias, it turns to fuch objects as feem the most fit to give you high ideas of yourself, to your penetration, your memory, your imagination, and even to exterior advantages, which vanity generally incorporates with the perfon who enjoys them. It is melan

choly to find within yourself any feeds of an inclination, which fo ill agree with creatures vile and miferable as men. Lament this misfortune: but do not defpair; to this fide turn all your attention and all your courage and ftrength. Say to yourself, this is the poft, which my general would have me force; this is the enemy, whom he hath appointed me to oppofe. And be fully convinced, that one of the principal views of God, in continuing you in this world, is, that you may refift this paffion, and make yourself mafter of it.

Let us, all together, my brethren, endeavor to rule our own spirits. Let us not be difmayed at the greatness of the work, becaufe greater is he that is in us, than be that is in the world. Grace comes to the aid of nature. Prayer acquires ftrength by exercife. The paffions, after having been tyrants, become flaves in their turn. The danger and pain of battle vanifh, when the eye gets fight of conqueft. How inconceivably beautiful is victory then! God grant we may obtain it To him be honor and glory.for ever, Amen.

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SERMON

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