fections, will promote a reverential Fear of

him.

2dly, The Remembrance of God which SOLOMON recommends is an affectionate devotional Remembrance, or fuch as is attended with the fupreme Love of God, and Devotedness of our Hearts to him. The irrefiftible Power of God, abstractly confidered, may promote a Fear of a fervile Nature: We are therefore to remember God not only as an All-powerful Being, but as Infinitely Wife, Good, and Gracious. This Idea, and Remembrance of him, will produce a filial Fear of God, and ftrengthen our Love to him. Goodness in a created Being attracts our Love, and inward Efteem. What is the Goodness which Creatures have, but a Ray from God, the Fountain of Mercy and Goodness? Should not He, who is effentially, immutably, and eternally Good and Gracious, be loved, and esteemed fupremely? Who that confiders and remembers God the Fountain of Goodness, but must find his Heart powerfully attracted, and drawn towards him? View the Goodness of God in the conftant Supplies you have from him; taste and fee that the Lord is good; meditate on the Glories he hath prepared for them that love him; what rich Provision he hath made for your everlasting

Welfare,

Welfare and Happiness; and then ask yourfelves, Ought not this Infinitely Good and Gracious God to be loved above all? 'Tis, no Doubt, fuch an affectionate devotional Remembrance of God which is here intended.

3dly, 'Tis a practical Remembrance, or

fuch as is attended with an obediential Regard to all God's Commandments. Where there is a Reverence and Love of God, and a fincere Devotedness of Heart to him, it will have this practical Influence on the Life. He who has an internal Veneration of God, and a fincere Love to him, will certainly exprefs it in his Words and Actions. See the 13th Verse of this Chapter. Let us hear the Conclufion of the whole Matter; what is the Result of all his Inquiry after Happinefs; where is it to be found, after all his fruitless Endeavours to feek it in Worldly Grandeur, in vaft Riches, in political Wifdom, or in fenfual Indulgences? Being dif appointed in feeking Happiness for the Soul in fuch Things as thefe, he concludes that the whole Duty of Man, Man's chief Wifdom, Interest, and Happiness, is to be found only in fearing God and keeping his Commandments. Wherever there is a Reverence and Fear of God, and fincere Love to him, this will be the happy Fruit and Confequence. And this is that Remembrance

which is here meant. But, on the contrary, of the Wicked, who caft off the Fear of God, and break his Commandments, they are faid to forget God; he is not in all their Thoughts. If a Thought of God come into their Minds, they are uneafy, and do what they can to thrust it out.

Having explained the Nature of this Duty which is here recommended to Young Perfons, I proceed, in the second Place,

II. To take Notice of the Notion and Relation wherein God is to be remembered, and that is, as the Creator; Remember now thy Creator.

This calls on us to contemplate the primary Bleffing we receive from God; namely, the Favour & Benefit of Creation. There has been a Difpute, whether there are any innate Ideas imprinted on the Soul, as it comes out of the Hand of God. If there be any Idea born with the human Mind, 'tis most natural to think, that it should have the Idea of its Maker: But whether it have this originally or no, 'tis certain in this Senfe it may be called natural; that is, 'tis fuch as the Mind is very fufceptible of, as foon as it becomes capable of making Reflections on the Works of Creation. Whoever will at

tend

tend to these will be led naturally to inquire, How came this vaft Fabrick of the Universe into Being? To suppose it should proceed from Chance and Accident is to offer an Affront to the Reason of our Minds. The rational attentive Soul difdains and rejects the Notion at the first Propofal: Confequently we are led by the Things that are feen to acknowledge ONE ETERNAL CAUSE AND ORIGINAL OF ALL THINGS. The invifible Things of God are clearly feen by the Things which are made, even his Eternal Power and Godhead; for not difcerning of which the very Heathens are faid by the Apostle to be inexcufeable, Rom. i. 20. So that by the visible Creatures we may easily afcend in our Thoughts to the invifible Almighty Creator, who, the Light of our own Minds will inform us, must be poffeffed of all poffible Excellencies and Perfections. From the Na¬ ture and Grandeur of his Works we form our Judgment of his Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, which he must neceffarily have, and that to a Degree furpaffing all human Thought and Expreffion. SOLOMON, therefore, recommends to young Perfons the Remembrance of God their Creator; for if they will any way attend to the Voice and Dictates of Reason, they will inquire after GOD their MAKER, and confider their Obligation to the Author of their Being, and Pre

ferver of their Lives, upon whom they have a conftant and neceffary Dependance.

God is ftiled the Father of Spirits, HEBR. xii. 9. When the Body returns to the Duft, the Spirit returns to God who gave it; the 7th Verse of the Chapter wherein is the Text. The Spirit, when feparated from the Body, returns to God, the Judge of all. He who gave the Spirit hath a Right to call for it when he pleases; for all Souls are his; he is the God of the Spirits of all Flesh. The Remembrance of God as our Creator, and the Father of our Spirits, will naturally lead any rational Mind to acknowledge a peculiar Obligation to him, who placed us in fuch a noble Order and Rank in his Creation. When we see a vast Number of Creatures in a State of Subjection, and Inferiority, how diftinguishing is the Goodness of God to those into whom he hath breathed living Souls, formed after his own Image, endowed with intellectual Powers and Abilities; with Reason, which is the Glory of the human Mind, if rightly improved; but will turn to our Everlafting Shame and Confufion if it be degraded and debased, by giving in to the criminal Indulgence of fenfual Paffions and carnal Affections.

Further; the Remembrance of God as

C

our