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SEEM.
XXIIL,
GRAVITY,
DECENCY,
&C,
3íz9
night and darkness
:
Let
us
not
sleep,
nor
trifle as
others
do,
but
watch
and
be
sober.
And especially
if
our na-
tural
temper
be
sanguine and
sprightly,
and
incline-
to
assume vain
airs,
there
is
more
need of constant
watch-
fulness over the
heart
and
life,
and
a
bridle upon
the
tdngue, lest
we
should speak indecencies, and
be
guilty
of
folly
and madness.
(Here
this sermon may be
divided.]
The.last
thing
I
designed, was to
propose
some
direc-
tions
in
order
to
cure the levity
of
the
mind,
and to
maintain such a decent gravity in the course
of
our
life
as
becomes
the
gospel.
DIRECTION
I.
Let
us
meditate
often on the most
sublime
and
the
most
awful
parts
of
c.hristianity
;
and
through the
assistance
of
the
Spirit of God,
these
will
be
effectual guards
against
this vanity
of
temper.
The
sublime
truths
of
Christianity
demand
our
fre-
quent
review.
Let
us
often rise high in
our
thoughts,
and let our
faith look
far
backwards
to
the
eternal
ages
before
this
world
was.
Let
us
contemplate the
love
of
God
the
Father,
in
contriving
our
salvation, before he
stretched abroad
these heavens, or laid the
foundations
of
this
earth.
Let
us
think
of
the condescension
of
his
mercy,
when he
chose fallen
perishing sinners to
be the
objects
of
his
everlasting
love.
Let
us dwell
upon
his
compassion
to man, when he
appointed
his own
Son
to
take
flesh.upon
him,
and
to become
pur Mediator
and
sacrifice.
Let
us
survey with holy wonder the various
glories
of
the
Son
of
God,
by
whom
and
for
whom all
things were made,
who
upholds
all
things
by
the word
of
his
power,
and
who
is
the express
image
of
his
Father.
Let
us
behold
him
consenting
to hide
all
these,
honours
behind a
veil
of
flesh
and
blood,
walking
the streets
of
Jerusalem, and
travelling
3
on
foot through the
villages
of
Israel, attended
with a
few
poor despicable
men,
or
surrounded
with the
reproaches of
the blaspheming Jews:
Let
us
look upon
this
illustrious person,
who was
adored
by angels,
yet unknown and
unglo.rified
among the
sons
of
men,
and
humbled
even
to death and
the grave
;
then
gaze on him
rising again from
the
dead,
and declared to
be the
Son
of
God
with power,
exalted
at
the
.right
-hand
of
the
Majesty
on
high,
and ruling
all
the millions
of
in,
habitants
of
the
visible
and
invisible worlds, Surely
if
C3