SECTION Ill. 35 watch over yourselves, to a more constant and severe guard upon all your words and motions. It is true, the eyes of God and angels are ever upon us all, and this ought to have the Most awful influence on us, in order to secure us from every sin and folly: but it should also awaken you to a constant care of your whole conduct, when youremem- ber that the eyes of men, and of some such as have no great kindness for you, are upon you too ; and they are sharp and piercing to spy out every transgression, and to magnify every instance of your departure from strict piety and virtue into a heinous crime and scandal. I confess this is no very pleasing circumstance and situation of life, to stand forth as a mark for every nice observer, to have everyword and motion watched and critically remarked by an eye of jealousy or professed enmity ; it is no pleasing circumstance indeed, but perhaps it is, or it should be, a profitable one; for it carries in it a constant spur to duty, a constant restraint upon sinful appetite, and a guard upon our whole behaviour. And here I cannot but make mention of an observation which I have often made in the course of my life, viz. If a person who professeshimself to belong to the established church is found guilty of swearing or-cursing, if he drink to excess, if he prove false and decèitful in his dealing, if his character be vicious and lewd, and he indulge iniquities of the grossest kind ; there is nosuch mighty matter made of it in the world, nor is the scandal of such a criminal thrown at all upon the church itself : we never hear it said upon such an occasion, These are the mem- bers of the church of England : but on the other hand, if a pro- testant dissenter, who attends constantly on the worship of God in our separate assemblies, and communicates with us, be guilty of any foul or infamous crime, what a loud clamour is raised in the town ? What a noise spreads and echoes through the neigh- bourhood ? And thenaine of the single offender is not only set up as a publicMark for the reproach of the world, but the whole party of the dissenters falls under disgrace thereby : These are your Nonconformists ; These are your saints ; These are the men that pretend to godliness, and who do not thinkour church pare enough for them ; See what hypocrites they are ! And thus they load the whole profession and party with the crimes and scandal of a single sinner. Now surely the view and consi= deration of this situation of things, and this circumstance of your case, should make you all inure watchful, more strictly religious toward God, more sober, temperate and careful in the practice of all personal virtues, and more exactly righteous and honourable in all the affairs of social life, that you may never suffer your foot to slide, nor give occasion to those who wait for your Malting, to blaspheme the good ways of the Lord, ,wherein, c 2
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=