opinion and friendship of men, than upon the friendship of God and Chrift?

Will our faith and love constrain us, to confefs Jefus Chrift, to follow his precepts and example, to fuffer for his fake, and to bear witness to the truth of the gospel, even before those that despise it?

Let us afk ourselves again, Will our love of Chrift, and our faith, constrain us with Mofes1 to look upon the riches, pleasures, and idols of this world, as nothing, in regard of the recompence of reward which Chrift hath purchafed for us; or, with St. Paul, to count them but lofs, that we may win Chrift?

Do we, by faith, fet our affections on things above, not on things on the earth? Is our converfation fuch as becomes the gofpel of Chrift?*

If we find, upon examination, that we do indeed love the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the laws which he has given us, then we may depend upon it, that we are within the covenant of grace, [mentioned Heb viii. 10.] by which God has engaged to put his law in our minds, and write it in our hearts, to give us a new heart, and a new fpirit.

If the knowledge and belief of thefe things do not affect our hearts and our lives, it is a fign our faith is not fuch as it should be, and that our falvation is not much regarded by us. A too fure fign of this is, when we fee Chrif

tians turning their backs upon that very ordinance, whenever it is administered, which Jefus Chrift himself appointed on purpose to keep up the remembrance of what he has done and fuffered for us; that our own death, whenever it shall happen, may be a comfort to us, and when nothing in this world, nothing but a firm faith in Jesus Christ, can fupport or comfort our dying fpirit.

What we believe concerning the HOLY GHOST, to whom with the Father and the Son we are dedicated in baptifm, is this: that he is the cause of all that holiness in Chriftians, which must fit them for heaven and happiness. And that, as we hope for thefe, we are every day of our lives to pray for his gracious affiftance, his guidance, and bleffing. And this we are to do in a more especial manner, that we may continue true members of the church of Christ, as becomes members of fo holy a fociety; that believing the forgiveness of fins, we may never defpair of mercy, having fo powerful an advocate as Jefus Chrift and the Holy Ghoft to affift us to perfect our repentance. That being by the fame Holy Spirit affured of a refurrection, we may never forget, that we shall come forth of the grave just as we go into it, either objects of God's wrath or of his

mercy. believe these truths as we ought to do; that our faith is fuch as will fave us? Why, as we know a tree by its fruits.

How fhall we know that we

We

We profefs to believe, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Ghoft. No man of common sense will abuse, or profane, or defile a church, because he confiders it to be a place dedicated to the honour of God. Now, our bodies are more the temples of God, than our churches; they are confecrated to God, to his glory and fervice, in baptifm. And if after this we defile them, by uncleanness, by intemperance, or by any other base or filthy use, the Holy Ghost will forfake them, and we fhall become the temples of Satan.

8

A Christian, who lives by faith, will make a better use of this temple of the Holy Ghost; he will in his heart apply to him upon all occafions, and beg of him to increase his graces, to fhew him the way in which he should go, to defend him against his spiritual enemies, to make him every day more holy, that he may be capable of being more happy when he dies. He will beg this holy Spirit to give him a love for, and an understanding of, those holy fcriptures, which he himself caused to be written for our comfort and falvation. He will beg of him to preferve him a true and living member of that holy church, out of which, in the ordinary way of providence, there is no falvation. He will give him hearty thanks that he has made him a member of that holy society, where there is a communication of all good things, where we have a share of all the prayers and bleffings which God vouchfafes to his

church

church throughout the whole world. And, because he is fenfible of his daily fins and failings, he will pray for the forgiveness of his fins every time he is fenfible that he has done amifs. And, knowing affuredly that the fame Spirit, which raised up Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, will raise up our mortal bodies; he will moft earnestly and often beg that good Spirit, that he may lead fuch an holy life, as that he may die in peace, and rest in hope, and rise in glory.

These are the truths which we profess to believe. That we may not deceive ourselves, let us examine our faith by the fruits it produceth in the ordinary duties of life.

Now, Chriftians are reprefented in fcripture as a people who by faith know God, and the duty they owe to him, as well as the duty they owe to themselves and others, which are all very plainly fet down in Sacred Scripture. It is impoffible to confider this, without fome melancholy reflections, when one fees too many as ignorant of these things, and as little concerned to know them, as if nothing depended upon them.

When one fees people praying for the pardon of their fins, for grace to amend their lives, for deliverance from eternal misery, and for the joys of heaven, with the indifference of people who are not much concerned whether their prayers are heard or not; when one fees them as fond of the world, as if they were

fure

fure never to leave it; or that God had no better inheritance to give them hereafter. Such Christians, to be fure, do not live by faith, nor think that they are in the way of ruin.

Every Christian who lives by faith must be able to fay, I will not, by the grace of God, live in any known fin whatever; I will not be carelefs or indifferent how I lead my life, how I fpend my time, how I spend my eftate; I will not difhonour God, or my Christian profeffion, by an idle, ufelefs life; in all my dealings with others, I will fet this command of God before my eyes, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; because I know and believe, that this is one of thofe two commands on which my falvation depends. I will not, therefore, want to be compelled to give every man his due, or not to hurt my neighbour. I will, (will every faithful Chriftian fay) I will make a confcience of doing the leaft wrong; of ufing any deceit or fraud; or of taking advantage of the ignorance or neceffities of others. If I have done wrong to any man, I will make him reftitution; and as for fuch as are my enemies, I will forgive, and give, and love, as becomes a disciple of Jefus Chrift.

As to the duty which I owe to myself, I will consider, that the first and great duty is, to take care of my foul; I will therefore, (faith a Chriftian who lives by faith) I will take fpecial care to mind those rules of the gofpel, which are abfolutely neceffary to fit me for

heaven.