SERMON and a more impartial tribunal. The day XIX. cometh, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall

descend from heaven in all the glory of his Father, to unveil every character, and to render to every man according to his works. At that day, how shall he lift up his head, who hath been all his life the slave of the world's opinion; who hath moulded his principles, and his practice, solely to please the multitude; who hath been ashamed of his Saviour and his words; and, to gain favour with men, hath apostatised from the native sentiments and dictates of his heart? -To say all in one word: there is a contest now between God and the world. These form the opposite sides. which divide mankind. Consider well, to which of these you ⚫ will choose to adhere. On the one side, lie your allegiance, your honour, and your interest; on the other, lie your guilt and your shame. For the one, conscience and reason; for the other, passion and inclination, plead. On the one hand are the approbation of God, immortal honour, and divine rewards; the other, remember and beware!-are the stings of conscience, endless punishment, and endless infamy.

L.

on

SERMON XX.

On the WISDOM of GOD

I TIMOTHY, i. 17.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory, for ever and ever! Amen.

IT is of the highest importance to reli- SERMON

gious conduct, that our minds be filled with suitable conceptions of the attributes of God. They are the foundations of

our

reverence for him; and reverence is

* This concluding discourse was chiefly intended to be a general recapitulation of instances of the wisdom of Providence, several of which have been more fully illustrated in other discourses contained in this or in some of the preceding volumes.

XX.

1

XX.

SERMON the foundation of religion. All the divine perfections are interesting to man. Almighty power, in in conjunction with Eternity and Omnipresence, naturally inspires solemn awe. Infinite Goodness relieves the mind from that oppression which Power alone would produce; and, from our experience of present benefits, and our remembrance of the past, creates love, gratitude, and trust. In the middle between these stands the contemplation of Divine Wisdom, which conjoins impressions of awe with those of comfort; and, while it humbles us into profound submission, encourages, at the same time, our reliance on that King eternal, immortal, and invisible, who is justly styled in the text, the only wise God.

Among men, wisdom is a quality entirely different from cunning or craft. It always supposes good and fair intention in the person who possesses it; and imports, that laudable ends are pursued by proper and justifiable means. In like manner, wisdom in the Supreme Being cannot be separated from the rectitude of his nature. It is, in him, an exertion of benevolence

and

XX.

and imports, that the purposes of justice SERMON and goodness, are carried on and accomplished by means the most effectual. To meditate on some of those instances in which this divine wisdom is displayed cannot but be highly favourable to the impressions both of piety and of virtue.

It is difficult to say, whether the natural, or the moral, world, afford the most conspicuous and striking displays of the wisdom of God. Not one, nor many discourses, nor indeed the study and labour of a whole life, were, in any degree, sufficient to explore them. Of the, proofs of wis dom which the natural world affords I cannot attempt now to discourse. Any illustration of these would lead to discussions of a scientific kind, which more properly belong to the philosopher; and on which philosophy has often employed itself, with much utility and honour. I shall only take notice, that, in proportion as human knowledge hath enlarged its sphere of research and discovery, in the same proportion hath the wisdom of the Creator struck the minds of all inquirers and

Cc 3

XX.

SERMON and observers, with the highest admiration. All nature is in truth a scene of wonders. In the disposition of the heavenly bodies, and the general arrangement of the system of the universe; in the structure of the earth; in the endless variety of living creatures that fill it; and in the provision made for them all, to enable them to fulfil the ends of their being; it is not easy to determine, whether power, wisdom, or goodness, be most conspicuous. It belongs not only to the heavens to declare the glory of God, and to the firmament to shew forth his handy work; in the smallest and most inconsiderable, as well as in the most illustrious works of God, equal marks appear of profound design and consummate art. It has been justly said, that there is not a vegetable that grows, nor an insect that moves, but what is sufficient to confound the atheist, and to afford the candid observer endless materials of devout adoration and praise.

WHEN we turn to the moral world, the field of admiration which opens to us is no less extensive and striking, I can only