in the Day of :lodgment. 187 not commit adultery, thou 'halt not kill, thou S a R M. (halt nst fleal, thou 'halt not bear falfe wit- VIII. nef, thou (halt not covet, and if there be any `M4 other commandment (d.iredting our behaviour to our fellow-creatures of mankind) it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely, thou (halt love thy neighbour as thyfe f. But, tho' this is the fubftance of that wherein we mull be made perfect, that we may have boldnefs in the day of judgment, it is nccef- fary to add, that the facred writers fometimes (peak of religious perfection in a comparative fenfe. They diftinguifh chriftians into chil- dren and grown men, and exhort us always to endeavour that we may advance from the one of thefe Bates to the other ; the former are the fincere, but weak difciples of Chrift, in whom are the true, though low beginnings of religious virtue, fo feeble that, as the apoftle fpeaks, they are like children tofs'd to and fro with every wind of temptation ; they often fail, and are always endeavouring to recover themfelves ; they are conftantly in- clin'd to do their duty, but perform it in fuch an impeded manner, as fcarcely to be confcious of what is called the fpiritual life, or the prevalence of good difpofitions. The perfect man is he in whom virtuous habits have,
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