298 The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED LORD prefer to the vani{hing pleafures of fin, the fmiles of a reconciled God, and an eter- nal weight of glory : and is this a rigor- ous exaaion, a heavy burden not to be endured? How can frnful mortals harbour a thought fo ridiculous and unworthy? Can any man who is a real friend to the caufe of virtue and to the intereft of mankind, ever be an enemy to Chriftianity, if he truly underllands it, and ferioufly re- fleas on it's wife and ufeful tendency ? Impoffible, for it conduaeth us to our journey's end by the plainefl and fecurefl path, where the fleps are not flraightened, and where he that runneth flumbleth not. Let us who live under this.lafl, and moll gracious difpenfation of God to mankind, count all things but toff fir the excellency of the knowledge of Chr f Jefus our Lord : and not fuffer ourfelves, by the flight cavils ofunbelievers, to be moved away from the hopeof the gofpel. Let us demonffrate, that we believe the fuperior excellency of the Chriflian difpenfation, by conforming to it's precepts. Let us thew that we are Chriflians in deed and in truth ; not by endlefs difputes about trifles, and the tranf- ports of a blind zeal, but by praaifrngthat univerfal, that exalted goodnefs, our holy religion recommends, and by abounding in thofe fruits ofrighteoufnefs which are by Jefus Chrift, unto the glory and praife of God, Phil. i. t i. We may clearly perceive, from what has been Paid, how groundlefs all thofe prejudices are which fome conceive againff religion, as if it was a peevifh, morofe fcheme, burdenfome to human nature, and inconfiflent with the true enjoyment of life. Such fentiments are too apt to pre- vail in the heat of youth, when the fpirits are brifk and lively, and the pallions warm and impetuous : but it is wholly a miflake, and a miflake of the moll dangerous ten- dency. The truth is, there is no pleafure like that of a good confidence, no real peace but what refults from the praaice of virtue ; this enobles the mind, and can alone fupport it under all the various and unequal fcenes of the prefent flate of trial ; lays a fure foundation of kn eafy, comfortable life, of a ferene, peaceful death, and of eternal joy and happinefs hereafter: whereas vice is ruinous to all our moll: valuable interefls ; it fpoils the native beauty, and fubverts the order of the foul ; it renders us the fcorn of man, the rejeaed of God, and, without timely repentance, will rob us ofa happy eternity. Religion is the health, the liberty, and the happinefs of the foul; fin is the difeafe, the fervitude, and deflruaion of it, both here and for ever. If thefe arguments be not fulficient to convince you, let me lead you into the chamber of an habitual' rioter, the lewd debauchee, worn out in the caufe ofini- quity, his bones full of the fins of his youth, that from his own mouth, as he lies on his expiring bed, you may learn that the way of tranfgreffion is hard ; and that however fweet fin may be in the commiflion, it bitetle like a ferpent, and flingeth like an adder, Prov. xxiii. 32. This awful truth', is exemplified in a very flrong point of view, by the late celebrated Dr. Young, in his -Gentaur not Fabulous, page 149'161, where he draws a moll awful piaure of the 'all fcene of an abandoned profligate,' Who had defpifed religion, and led a life of pleafure and diiTipation. The relation is as follows : I am going, Reader, to reprefent to thee the laflrnonients of a perfon ofhigh birth and fpirit, of great parts and flrong pallions, every way accomplifhed, nor the leaf[ in iniquity : his unkind treatment was the death of a moll amiable wife, and his monflrous extravagance, in effea, difinhe- rited his only child. And furely the death-bed of a profligate is next in horror to that abyfs to which it leads : it has the rnofl of hell that is vifible upon earth, and he thathas feen it has more than faith to confirm him in his creed. I fee it-now, fays the worthy divine from whom I (hall borrow this relation; for who can forget it? Are there in it no flames and furies?- - You
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=