All this foresight, diligence, and sagacity, the ant employs by an instinct of nature, untutored and unawed. She hath neither guide, overseer, nor judge: There is none to go before and mark out her task; none to superintend and prompt her to her labour; none to require an account of her industry, or to punish her either for her neglect or miscarriages. This circumstance the wise man mentions with a peculiar emphasis, on purpose to draw the sluggard's attention to it. For surely nothing can be suggested of greater force and efficacy to rouse him from his lethargy, and to convince him that his sloth is not only criminal, but without excuse.

The ant hath no guide; but we, my brethren, have many guides." There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Our Maker hath endued us with reasonable souls, capable of discerning betwixt good and evil. He hath favoured us with a complete revelation of his will, and hath showed us "what is good, and what the Lord our God requireth of us."—"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." He hath sent his Son into the world to show us the path of life, not only by his doctrine, but by his example too. And he offers us his Spirit, to lead us into all truth, to open our eyes, and to turn us from darkness to light, by taking of the things of Christ, and showing them unto us. He hath assured us of his willingness to assist and to guide us. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." If men therefore are sluggards, and loiter in their work, they can neither pretend ignorance of their duty, nor the want of a guide to direct them in it.

Again, the ant "hath no overseer;" but man acts un

der the immediate inspection of him, "whose eyes are as a flame of fire."-"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."-Can any hide himself in secret "places that I shall not see him? do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?"-" Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, O Lord, but the night shineth as the day." Besides, God hath placed an overseer in our own breasts, which acts within us as his deputy; for the voice of conscience is the voice of God. This bosom-witness marks our steps, reminds us of our duty, condemns us when we do wrong, and never fails to render those unhappy whom it fails to keep faithful to their duty. For conscience at first speaks forcibly to every human being; and many a hard struggle doth it cost even the worst of men, before this awful monitor can be silenced. Thus we have not only a guide to point out the way to us, but an overseer to attend us in every step; and therefore, if we either loiter or turn aside, we must be without excuse: "our own hearts condemn us, and God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things."

Once more, the ant "hath no ruler" or judge to call her to account for her conduct; but every one of us must give an account to God. "God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead.” “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And it deserves our notice, that the sluggard is particularly pointed out in Scripture as one of those who shall certainly be condemned in that decisive day. This is clearly intimated to us in the parable of the talents. The unprofitable servant, who is condemned

to utter darkness, is not accused of having squandered his talent, or of having applied it to wicked purposes: on the contrary, he had preserved it entire, and returned it unimpaired to his master: his crime was, that he had not improved it. He was a wicked servant, because he had not been active for the interest of his Lord: he was, in short, the sluggard here addressed by the wise man; and his doom was just. For it is only "to those who, by a patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality, that God will render eternal life, in the day when he shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

Thus, then, the ant, which without a guide, overseer, or judge, labours with such diligence, sagacity, and foresight for the preservation of a life which must soon come to a final period; instructs, reproves, and condemns those who, having all the advantages which are denied to her, are yet remiss and negligent in the great business assign

them on which depend not their present interests only, but the interests and the life of their immortal spirits-of their spirits, which shall survive the dissolution of their bodies, and shall last through eternal ages.

These observations may be sufficient both to illustrate the meaning, and to show the propriety of Solomon's advice. Let me now, as the improvement of the subject, press you to reduce to practice the lessons which I have been considering. And for this end, I would represent to you,

1st. THAT the sluggard sins against the very nature which God hath given him. For what are all the high powers and faculties with which we are endowed, but so many tokens that we were formed for active service? The nature of things has evidently in this respect the force of a law; since it is impossible to conceive, that

powers and capacities were given us, which were not meant to be exerted and improved. Even in the state of innocence man had his task assigned him, whilst the inferior animals were left to roam at large, without being accountable for their conduct. And as our natures are formed for action, so our inclination evidently prompts us to it. This is plain from the various methods by which those who will not labour endeavour to relieve themselves from the oppressive load of idleness. Their time itself is a misery: and there is nothing so impertinent to which they will not fly, that they may be free of it. The burdens of the most laborious slaves are light, when compared with the burden which the sluggard carries about with him in an enfeebled body, and a vacant, discontented mind.

2dly. The sluggard sins against the manifest design of Providence. God hath indeed made a liberal provi sion for the supply of all our returning wants. But he hath done this in a way that requires industry on our part, in order to render that provision effectual. The earth, by the blessing of God, is fruitful of herbs and grain for the use of man. But man must be careful to do his part in the labour of the field, that it may yield him a regular or a certain produce. The rough materials of all things necessary and convenient for the purposes of life are laid plentifully at our hands; but the skill and industry of the workmen must bring them into form, and render them fit for use. "All things are full of labour." Who then art thou, O sluggard, to counteract the designs both of Nature and of Providence?

But some may say, perhaps, We have nothing to do. Our wants are abundantly supplied from the patrimony which we have inherited; and nothing remains for us but to enjoy what we have. Do you then indeed believe,

that any human being can have a right to live idle on the earth? If ye believe this, ye have yet to learn this fundamental principle of common sense, That all obligations are reciprocal. Ye sluggards, why cumber ye the ground? Shall God give you all things richly to enjoy, and is there no active service which he requires of you? Must the labour of the husbandman nourish, and the art of the manufacturer clothe you? Must all ranks of men labour for your convenience; and are there no obligations which ye are bound to discharge to them in return for so many, and so important services? For what end then do you live? Your being is an embarrassment and burden to the creation. "For if any man will not work, neither should he eat."-Once more, in the

3d place, The sluggard sins against the great design of the Gospel. For we have not only a Guide to instruct us, an Overseer to observe us, and a Judge to whom we are accountable; but we have also a great Redeemer, who shed his blood for the ransom of our souls, and who gave himself for us, not to purchase our release from duty, but to "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Christ spoiled principalities and powers, "that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives." Let us hear and reverence the language of the Gospel. "Ye are not your own: ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and