"Why art thou malicious? Why art thou in66 temperate ? And canft thou think, that fafting "alone can atone for a bad life? If the envi"ous man doth not become friendly-hearted; the angry man, meek; the covetous man, moderate; "the vain-glorious man, humble; the intemperate man, chafte, and fober; tho their whole lives

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were one continued faft, yet ftill would they be

unjuftified before God. God requires not mor"tification for its own fake. Could we be good "without mortification, mortification were need"lefs. But becaufe human nature is negligent, "and prone to pleafure; its bad inclinations muft "be corrected. Chrift is not fo ftrict about faft

"ing, as about a holy life. He does not fay, "Learn of me, for I fafted forty days, and forty "nights but Learn of me, for I am meek and "lowly in heart. These things, fays the holy father, "I fay, not to depreciate fafting, or any other "kind of useful feverity: only I am forry to fee, "men lay the ftrefs upon what is leaft neceffary; "while mercy, charity, piety, and temperance, are “neglected.—Let us then, he concludes, fet a guard upon our ears, our eyes, and our minds; "and fully perfuade ourselves, that the beft faft, is, "abftinence from vice."

'

Thus far the words of this pious man; fo full to the purpose, so reasonable, and truly christian, that I fhall add nothing, but an earnest recommendation of them to your serious attention.

SERMON

SERMON XXXIII.

JAMES i, 12.

BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDURETH TEMPTATION; FOR WHEN HE IS TRIED, HE SHALL RE

CEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE, WHICH THE LORD

HATH PROMISED TO THEM THAT LOVE HIM.

WE

E have in this paffage an intimation of that grand order of Providence, in the go vernment of the world, which we acknowledge under the name of a fate of trial.

In confidering the fubject I fhall first point out a few of the chief paffages of fcripture, which relate to this state; and fecondly make fome obfervations which it fuggefts.

By a ftate of trial we mean that kind of difcipline, which God hath appointed to prove and perfect

us,

It con

fect the virtue of his rational creatures. fifts in fuch temptations, as arife from profperityfrom adverfity-from riches-from poverty-from power-from obfcurity, and all the various circumftances of human life. Or, in other words, this world is a school, in which God leads us forward to a fuperior station, by fetting difficulties before which we are to conquer. Indeed this is the only way, in which we can obtain religious conduct. The world is a warfare. How is military glory acquired? Only by conquering oppofition. The very existence of virtue in the fame way depends on the oppofition it meets. Who would not be honeft, if he had no temptation to be a knave? Who would not be fober, if he had no temptation to drunkennefs? It is vanquishing temptation, that forms the virtuous action. To this end, we are every where befet with temptations; and we must either conquer them; or they, us that is, when we have temptations to oppose, we must either be virtuous by oppofition-or vic_ ious, by giving way.

Now tho an exprefs declaration, that mankind are in a state of trial, is no where found either in the old, or new teftament, yet in the history and precepts of both, it is plainly the leading idea.

Our

Our first parents, tho favoured beyond any of their pofterity, were yet placed in a state of trial. This ftate, it is true, was a very eafy one, when compared with ours. As they were the only inhabitants of the world the temptations arifing from gain, power, or pleasure, could afford them little ground of trial: and yet that they fhould be placed in fome trial was God's intention. Nothing can

be conceived more fuited to their peculiar circumftances, than the fimple trial, in which they were placed and however flight the eating of a forbidden tree may appear to us, it was an act furely of great difobedience in them; and must certainly be confidered as containing a high degree of guilt. They were placed in a ftate of happiness-they had an upright nature given them-the trial was flight -the penalty clear-and under all thefe circumftances the punishment was proportionably great. ―Their trial, no doubt, was continued after their fall; and was then, of course, a more difficult one; as the encreafing world afforded a variety of more temptations to tranfgrefs.

One of the next great inftances of trial, which we meet with in the bible-history, was in the cafe of Abraham, when God ordered him to depart from his own country into a foreign land. His trial