deny it, and in Words and Actions disclaim it. We can no otherwife fhew our Love or Obedience to God, than by loving our Brethren; for which Reafon all Duties of Religion, though performed with the greatest Regard to God, have the Good of the World for their immediate Object. Which is true, even of those Duties, which feem moft directly to refpect the Honour and Glory of God: For, when the Honour of God is promoted in the World, happy is it for the World, for the Benefit and Advantage will all be their own; and God feeks to be honoured, that his Creatures may be happy: His own Happiness wants no Advancement. Now if this be the true Spirit of Religion; if we have no Way of doing Honour to God, but by teaching his People to know and to obey him, that they may become acceptable in his Sight, and happy in his Favour and Protection; how is it that you conceive that there can be any Religion in a fecret Opinion, in a diffembled Faith, contradicted by an open Denial of God; which truly is a Dishonour to him, as it tends to make his People forget him, and render themselves miferable?

Laftly, If it be any Part of Religion to promote Religion and the Knowledge of God's Bb 2 Truth

Truth in the World, it cannot be confiftent with our Duty to diffemble, or to deny our Faith. We fee how infectious Example is; and if we wanted Evidence, this Age fhould witness how catching the Spirit of Libertinism is. The Man who hides his own Religion clofe in his Heart, tempts others, who fufpect not his Hypocrify, to throw theirs quite out; and whilft he rejoices in this Sheet-Anchor of a pure inward Faith, he sees others who fteer after him make fhipwreck of their Faith and their Salvation. And if he can in the mean time think himself innocent, and void of Offence towards God and towards Man, his Understanding is as unaccountable as his Faith.

Thefe Reasons, I think, will entitle me to conclude, that it is Part of every Man's Religion to own the Faith and Hope that is in him: That it is abfurd to have any Reliance upon a fecret Faith, which is of no Use to him who has it, as long as it is kept fecret; and whenever fuch Faith is openly contradicted or denied, it may aggravate, but never can atone for the Hypocrify.

I have hitherto spoken in general of denying God, and his Truth; and have reasoned upon the Nature of Religion in general, in order

order to come at my Conclufion. The Text indeed speaks particularly of being ashamed of Chrift, and of his Word; but then it speaks to fuch as believe in Chrift, for others are not liable to the Charge of being afhamed of him: The very Nature of the Crime here mentioned fuppofes a Faith in the Gofpel. Now, to every Believer in Chrift, and in his Words, the Arguments already used are directly applicable. If we believe him to have received all Power from the Father, and that he is our Governor, and shall be our Judge, there is the fame Reafon to profefs this Faith, the fame Danger in diffembling it, as our Faith in God, confidered as Governor of the World. If we receive the Words of Chrift, they are to us the Truths of God, and must be profeffed with the fame Conftancy, or denied with the fame Hazard of our Salvation.

Under this Head I have one Thing more to obferve to you, That there are in this Vice, as indeed in most others, very different Degrees. While fome were contented to hide themselves, and diffemble their Acquaintance with Chrift, St. Peter openly denied him, and confirmed it with an Oath, that he knew not the Man. Thus fome for Fear in former Ages, thofe Days of Perfecution, denied

B b 3

their

their Lord; and fome in these Days, fuch is our unhappy Cafe, are fo vain and conceited, as to be ashamed of the Lord who bought them. Among these, fome openly blafpheme him; others are content to make a Sport of his Religion; whilst a third Sort profefs a Pleasure in fuch Converfation, though their Hearts ache for their Iniquity, but they want the Courage to rebuke even by their Silence the Sin of the Scorner. All these are in the Number of those who are afhamed of Chrift: To all these it shall be one Day said, I know ye not. For, if this great Woe be threatened to all such who, to save their Lives, deny their Lord, and have the Extremity of their Cafe, the Cruelty of their Enemies, and the natural Infirmities of Men, to plead in their Behalf; what must be their Lot, who, for the fame Iniquity, have little more to alledge, than that they did it to please an idle Companion? But this Confideration will meet us again under the other Head, which is,

Secondly, To inquire into the feveral Temptations, which lead Men to this Crime of being ashamed of Chrift, and of bis Words.

The Fountain from which thefe Tempta-' tions fpring is plainly enough defcribed in the Text, This adulterous and finful Generation.

And

And we know full well, that there is not a natural Fear lurking in the Heart of Man, but the World knows how to reach it; not a Paffion, but it has an Enchantment ready for it; no Weakness, no Vanity, but it knows how to lay hold of it: So that all our natural Hopes and Fears, our Paffions, our Infirmities, are liable to be drawn into the Confpiracy against Christ, and his Word. Now you fee the Source of these Temptations, it is eafy to conceive how many, and in their Kinds how various they are. But there is one Distinction to be made, with respect to these Temptations, well worth our observing: Some there are which purfue us, and fome there are which we purfue: To the one Sort we unwillingly refign our Faith and our Religion, driven thereunto by Fears and Terrors, or by Pains and Torments, which we are not able to endure. This is the Cafe of fuch as fall in Times of Perfecution; and we, who are Men of like Paffions, cannot but commiferate their Condition, and plead in their Behalf the common Excufe, which belongs to the whole Race, of Weakness and Infirmity. But the other Kind of Temptations come upon our Invitation: We make our Faith a Sacrifice to the great Idol, the World, when

Bb 4