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350

CBÀISTIAN MORALITY,

VIZ.

(SERA.

txr.

to

make

us

truly

wise

and

holy,

without

the

honesty and

integrity

of

the

heart.

Truth

demands

a

room and

place

there

also

:

And

this

is

the

truth

which

my

text recom-

mends.

The

first thing

I

proposed,

was

to shew

the

latitude

and extent of

this

duty

and

I

have described

it

as

con-

sisting in these three things

:

1.

Veracity,

which

is,

when

our

words

are conformable

to

the sentiments

of

our

mind.

2.

Faithfulness, when

our

actions agree

with

our

words.

3.

Constancy,

and that

is

when

our

practices are con-

sistent

with

our pious principles, and the

whole

course

of

our

life

is

of

a

piece,

governed

by

the same rules

and

dictates

of

morality and

religion.

Where

these are

want

-

ing,

that

person

is false,

faithless,

fickle,

and incon-

stant, and

acts

neither

agreeable

to his

nature

as

a

man,

nor

to

his

character

as a

christian.

The

second thing

I

designed to

shew, was

that

the

light

of

nature

dictates

and requires

the

practice of

this

virtue

:

And

it

will

appear,

if

we

consider

our relation

either

to

God

or man.

I.

If

we

consider

our natural relation

to

God, both

as

our

Creator

or Father, and

as

our Lord

or Go-

vernor.

Consider

him as

our Father, the Author

of

our

being.

Truth

and

faithfulness

are

the

attributes

of

his

nature,

and

the

necessary

characters of

his

conduct

toward

his

creatures;

and many

of

the

heathens

could tell

us,

that

a

likeness to

God

the

Father

of our

spirits, in such moral

perfections of

his

nature,

is

the duty

and

glory

of

man-

kind.

We are

his offspring,

saith Aratus,

a

heathen

poet;

Acts

xvii.

8.

and

children should

be

like

their

divine

Parent.

The

light

of nature

tells

us,

that

he

is

not

only

our

Creator, and our

Father

in this sense,

but

be

is

our

Lord

and

Governor

also.

And he has knowledge,

and

he

has

power to answer

and

fulfil

this

high

character and

station. The great God

who looks

into our hearts,

who

sees

our

souls

through and

through,

he knows

what

our

inward sentiments are

while

the falsehood

is

on

our

lips;

he remembers what

our

engagements and contracts

are

while

we

renounce

and

break them;

he

hates

deceit,

lying,

and

falsehood;

and

all

the

civilized

nations

have

ever

supposed

that

he

will

avenge

it

with

peculiar

judg-

ments.