eternal life. Whatever pretences the world may make-whatever allurements it may hold out, we are affured they are all false; and that nothing can be depended on but the truths of the gospel.

Having thus opened the general meaning of the text, let me now examine it more at large. It contains a question and an answer. The queftion is, Whither shall we go?-what guides fhall we follow ?-what fteps fhall we take, to fecure our happiness? The anfwer refers us to the words of eternal life.

Let us firft examine the queftion, Whither Shall we go

?

It is certainly, of all queftions that can be put to man, one of the most important; as happiness is the grand point we are all in queft of. In anfwering it, let us firft examine the various pretences which the world fets up as guides to happiness. Nothing indeed can promife fairer: its pleasures-its riches-its ambitious fchemes, and worldly wisdom, are all difplayed before the eye, and furnish various temptations, fuited to every age, and every difpofition. When the wandering mind therefore afks, Whither shall we go in fearch of happiness? what can be more. plaufible

plausible than that long train of enjoyment which the world holds out? Whither shall you go?Go to the pleasures of fenfe. These things are fuited to you, and you to them; they cannot fail of making you happy.-Or, if these begin to lose their relish, feek the happiness that arises from riches; or follow the call of ambition and power. And, indeed, these delufions are generally strong enough to engage the greatest part of the world.

Yet one would think, that in a fober hour their beft pleas might eafily be answered. Nothing more, one fhould imagine, is requifite, than to ask the plain queftion of the text, Have ye the words of eternal life ?-If the pleasures of fenfe, and temptations of the world, propofe themselves as guides to happiness, they should at least pretend to fomething beyond this life; for as we confift of a soul, as well as a body, if both are not provided for, the provifion is certainly very defective. But delufive as its pleas are, they cannot fo far impose upon us. The moft

One

joyous of them cannot pretend to fay, they can make any provifion for the fouls of men. should hope, then, that all, who are not guided merely like the brutes by paffions and appetites,

but

but wish to be thought in fome degree reasonable creatures, would difmifs, with a fhort answer, all the pleafures of the world, in the light of guides to happiness.

But the world produces other guides to happiness.

And first we are told that reafon is the great light which God hath appointed for the direction of man. Reason is his guide in every thing which relates both to this world and the next. A written law, like the fcripture, may be fubject to various interpretations. Different men put different fenfes upon it. But reafon holds up a steady light; to which if we attend carefully, we cannot err.

And, no donbt, to dismiss our reason, is to dismiss one of our best friends; and yet, to fet it up as a guide above fcripture is, on the other hand, as dangerous. What is our reason, unless it be informed? How are the favages of the earth regulated by its light? They are human beings-they have the ufe of reafon as much as we: but if reafon is no light to them, it is at leaft plain it is not' qualified to be a general guide. Without proper information, indeed, our reafon can be no guide at all; and we may with

great

great probability fuppofe, that its beft improvements, in civilized countries, have been obtained from the words of eternal life. So that they who fet up reafon againft revelation, would destroy the very thing to which their reafon is indebted for its chief improvement. For it hath been. often fhewn by learned men, that human reafon hath been greatly indebted to revelation for that knowledge, which the Jewish religion first spread in the world, and afterwards the chriftian.

Another inftructor, again, will tell us, there may be fome truth in this; and that reafon, in many parts of the world, appears very unable to conduct us rightly. But that, inftead of reason, if we set up conscience, we fhall have an inward judge, which if properly attended to, will keep us free from all mistakes. In liftening to confcience we cannot err; for it will fufficiently dif tinguish between right and wrong.

Conscience, no doubt, is an admirable principle to regulate our actions: but here again, unless the dictates of confcience, like thofe of reafon, are properly informed, they will mislead us. Suppofe a judge comes down to try caufes among us; before he can judge properly, fhould he not first, think you, make himfelf acquainted

with the laws of the land?-fhould he not take his direction from them? And without this direction, would he be any judge at all? How could he know what was lawful, and what was unlawful? How could he know the nature of offences; and how to fuit proper punishments to each?-Juft fuch a judge is conscience, without information. Things, even wicked, the confciences of men have often allowed. In countries, even where the christian faith is profeffed, we find men have been put to torture and death, barely for holding innocent opinions in religion: and confcience allows it; nay, calls it religion; and fuppofes, that the God of mercy is ferved by the exceffes of cruelty. Confcience in truth, unless it be properly informed, will allow any thing. Our confciences therefore, though they are the best directors, when under the influence of true religion, are certainly, when left to themselves, no directors at all; and, when illdirected, are great misleaders.

Among fashionable people, another principle is fometimes fet up in the room of confcience, called honour-a very nice principle, which will not bear the flightest imputation. The man of honour is a finished character: the least reflection

on