apostle does not appear to confine the obfervation either to this world or the next; but feems to take them both together, declaring, in general, that a man's happiness, or mifery, fhall on the whole, depend upon his conduct in this prefent life.

Neither does the apoftle mention the merits of Christ, as the ground of our falvation; taking it for granted, that this will easily be understood; and that he who foweth to the fpirit can only, after his best endeavours, reap life everlasting through Jefus Christ.

Having thus explained the apoftle's general meaning, I fhall, in the following discourse, first, endeavour to prove the truth of it; and shall, fecondly, add a few obfervations, which arise from it.

Now in many cases, even in this world, a man's reaping as he fows is fo plain, that we cannot avoid feeing it. The virtue and the re ward-the fin and the punishment, follow fo closely upon each other, that the most careless obferver cannot but acknowledge the connection. -Thus, when we obferve a course of prudent actions crowned with fuccefs, it is easy to fee the effect

10

effect following the cause. Or, when we see a matt ruin his fortune at a gaming-table, we need no body to point out the fource of the mischief.

But, in many cafes, the good or the bad confequence is not so easily traced. It may be fome time before industry and frugality meet their deferved fuccefs; or the punishment may follow the offence fo very flowly, that we may not difcern the progrefs. When this is the cafe-wher fuffering does not immediately follow the tranf greffion, men are apt to run blindly on, without confidering confequences. Thus the man, who would not directly destroy himself by drinking poifon, will without fcruple indulge in continued acts of intemperance; notwithstanding this vice will as generally bring on his ruin in the end, as if he had destroyed himself at once by poison. The only difference is, that in one cafe the mifchief works immediately; in the other, by degrees. But though a variety of circumftances may for a while keep off the evil or the good, yet they are still advancing with a fteady pace, though perhaps too flow for common obfervation. Thus, for inftance, a man may fometimes live imprudently: he may never look into his affairs, nor compare his expences with his in

come;

come; yet, if his fortune be confiderable, it may be fome time before any great inconvenience may appear; and his neighbours, for a long time, may fee no difficulties arife in his family. The mischief, however, is inevitably drawing on his income becomes fcanty, debts increase, his creditors make demands, and, in the end, his imprudence becomes his ruin.

It would be easy to fhew the particular mifchief that attends every other kind of vice.

With the fame ease it might be fhewn, how much the practice of every particular virtue is fuited to make us happy, and how little fuch happiness is liable to be disturbed.When, therefore, we see the wicked man in prosperityfortunate in his fchemes, and blessed with every thing his foul can defire-what then? To ftop here, without making any farther inquiry, would be to stop too soon, and to form a judgment before we have all the circumftances of the cafe. His profperity may, all this while, be a delusion; and the man may, in fact, be heaping up a flowpaced mifery to himself, instead of happiness.David was convinced of this great truth, and gives us a very expreffive defcription of it:--

I was grieved," fays he, " at the wicked, I

"fee

fee them in fuch profperity: for they are in "no peril of death; but are lufty and strong. "They come in no misfortune, like other folk; "neither are they plagued like other men. And "this is the cause that they are fo holden with pride and overwhelmed with cruelty. Lo! thefe are the ungodly-thefe prosper in the

66

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world, and these have riches in poffeffion. "And I faid, then have I cleanfed my heart in "vain, and washed my hands in innocency: "yea, I had almost faid even as they.-Then "thought I to understand this; but it was too "hard for me, until I went into the fanctuary of God: then understood I the end of these

men. Namely, how thou doft set them in flippery places, and cafteft them down, and "destroyeft them. O! how fuddenly do they

confume, perish, and come to a fearful end?”

But though we may not always fee that conclufion which David here faw, yet we may be affured that the truth is undoubted; and that either from circumftances without, or distress within, wickednefs will always, in some shape, meet its defert. What a man foweth, he fall certainly reap.

Then

人

Then again, when we fee good men suffering affliction in this world-oppreffed with fickness, or reduced to poverty-it is too hafty to conclude immediately, that goodness will not meet its reward. What we foolishly imagine to be misfortunes to good men, are many times the fecret workings of Providence to draw good upon them always fpiritual, but often even temporal good. We have all perhaps, in more inftances than one, obferved that accidents, from which we feared great diftrefs, have in the end been the means even of temporal advantage. When Jofeph, for instance, was taken from his father's house and fold to the Ifhmalites, what a misfortune, it might be faid, have we here! and afterwards, when his virtue expofed him to the calamities of a dungeon, what mifery, might people cry, had now befallen a poor, unhappy, though virtuous young man! And indeed, if we stop at this part of the hiftory, we might be apt to exclaim, that in one instance, at least, virtue had been the cause of mifery. But let us proceed a little farther, and we shall find that all these misfortunes were, in the hands of a gracious God, the fteps the natural and easy steps, by which Joseph rose to the highest of all earthly honours

VOL. IV.

M

that