love, and rendered us too fenfible to that kind of happiness which piety procures in this world; and if they have prevented our fouls from rifing into a contemplation of that bleffed ftate, in which there will be no more temple, no more facraments, no more grofs and fenfible worship. The man, who is too much attached to the fe things, is confounded at the hour of death. The land of love, to which he goes, is an unknown country to him; and as the borders of it, on which he stands, and on which alone his eyes are fixed, prefent only precipices to his view, fear and trembling furround his every step.

But a believer, who loves Jefus Chrift with that kind of love, which made St. Paul exclaim, The love of Christ constraineth us, 2 Cor. v. 14. finds himself on, the fummit of his wifhes at the approach of death. This believer, living in this world, refembles the fon of a great king, whom fome fad event tore from his royal parent in his cradle; who knows his parent only by the fame of his virtues; who has always a difficult, and often an intercepted correfpondence with his pa rent; whofe remittances, and favours from his parent, are always diminished by the hands through which they come to him. With what tranfport would fuch a fon meet the moment appointed by his father for his returu to his natural ftate!

I belong to God, (thefe are the fentiments of the believer, of whom I am fpeaking) I belong to God, not only by his fovereign dominion over me as a creature; not only by that right, which as a master, who hath redeemed his flave, he hath acquired over me; but I belong to God, becaufe I love him, and because, I know, God alone de ferves my higheft efteem. The deep impreffions, that his adorable perfections have made on my mind, make me impatient with every object, which intercepts my fight of him. I could not

be

be content to abide any longer in this world, were he not to ordain my ftay; and were I not to confider his will as the only law of my conduct. But the law, that commands me to live, doth not forbid me to defire to die. I confider death as the period fixed for the gratifying of my most ardent wishes, the confummation of iny highest joy. "Whilft I am at home in the body, I am abfent from the Lord," 2 Cor. v. 6. But it would be incomparably more delightful to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord, ver. 8. And what can detain me on earth, when God fhall condefcend to call me to himfelf?

Not ye criminal objects! you I never loved; and although I have fometimes fuffered myself to be feduced by your deceitful appearances of pleafure, yet I have been fo feverely punished by the tears that you have caufed me to fhed, and by the remorfe which you have occafioned my confcience to feel, that there is no reafon to fear my putting you into the plan of my felicity.

Nor hall ye detain me, lawful objects! How frong foever the attachments, that unite me to you, may be, you are only ftreams of happiness, and I am going to the fountain of felicity. You are only emanations of happiness, and I am going to the happy God. Neither hall ye, You are only means, duct me to the end;

religious objects! detain ine. and death is going to conyou are only the road, to die is to arrive at home. True, I fall no more read thofe excellent works, in which authors of the brighteft genius have raifed the truth from depths of darknefs and prejudice, in which it had been buried, and placed it in the most lively point of view. I fhall hear no more of thofe fermions, in which the preacher, animated by the holy Ipirit of God, attempts to elevate me above the prefent world. But I fhall hear and contemplate

eternal

eternal wifdom, and I fhall difcover in my commerce with it the views, the defigns, the plans of my Creator; and I fhall acquire more wifdom in one moment by this mean, than I fhould ever obtain by hearing the beft compofed fermons, and by reading the best written books. True, I fhall no more devote myself to you, clofet exercises! holy meditations! afpirings of a foul in fearch of its God! crying, Lord, I beseech thee skew me thy glory! Exod. xxxiii. 18. Lord, diffipate the dark thick cloud that conceals thee from my fight fuffer me to approach that light, which bath hitherto been inacceffible to me! But death is the diffipation of clouds and darkness; it is an approach to perfect light; it takes me from my closet, and prefents me like a feraph at the foot of the throne of God and the Lamb.

True, I fhall no more partake of you, ye holy ordinances of religion! ye facred ceremonies! that have conveyed fo many confolations into my foul; that have fo amply afforded folidity and folace to the ties, which united my heart to my God; that have fo often procured me a heaven on earth; but I quit you because I am going to receive immediate effufions of divine love, pleafures at God's right hand for evermore, fullness of joy in bis presence, Pfal. xvi. 11. I quit you because

Alas! your hearts perhaps have efcaped me, my brethren! perhaps thefe emotions, fuperior to your piety, are no longer the subject of your attention. I have, however, no other direction to give you, than that which may ftand for an abridgement of this difcourfe, of all my other preaching, and of my whole miniftry; Love God; be the Lord's by inclination, as you are his by condition, and by engagement. Then, the miferies of this life will be tolerable, and the approach of death delightful. God grant his blefling on the word! To him be honour and glory for ever. Amen.

I

THE EQUALITY OF MANKIND.

PROVERBS Xxii. 2."

The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.

AMONG the various difpenfations of providence, which regard mankind, one of the most advantageous in the original defign of the Creator, and at the fame time one of the most fatal through our abuse of it, is the diverfity of our conditions. How could men have formed one focial body, if all conditions had been equal? Had all poffeffed the fame rank, the fame opu lence, the fame power, how could they have relieved one another from the inconveniences, which would have continually attended each of them: Variety of conditions renders men neceffary to each other. The governor is neceffary to the people, the people are neceffary to the gov. ernor; wife ftate fmen are neceffary to a powerful foldiery, a powerful foldiery is neceffary to wife ftatefmen. A fenfe of this neceffity is the ftrong.. eft bond of union, and this it is, which inclines one to affist another in hopes of receiving affift ance in his turn,

But if this diverfity be connected with the higheft utility to mankind in the original defign of the Creator, it is become, we must allow, productive of fatal evils through our abuse of it. On the one hand, they, whofe condition is the moft brilliant, are dazzled with their own brightnefs; they study the articles, which elevate them above their fellow creatures, and they choose to be ignorant of every thing, that puts themselves on a level with them; they perfuade themselves,

that