known and all hearts are open, shall call upon him, that he has not, through indolence, neglected to search after the truth, nor through passion, prejudice, or interest, refused to receive it. This will go to the bottom of the dispute, and lay open the deception.

It will enable us likewise to answer another plea sometimes urged in favor of infidelity, namely, that there can be no merit or demerit in believing or disbelieving; that a man cannot believe as he pleases, but only as the evidence appears to him.

How argues the apostle upon this topic "What if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the word of God of none effect?

God forbid! Let God be true "God will be true-though-" every man be a liar." If God have given, as he certainly has given, good and sufficient evidence, it is at any man's peril that he rejects it; and he rejects it not for insufficiency in the evidence, but from some hidden corruption in his heart, which ought to have been first cast out, before he sat down to judge.

in the production of faith; and that no evidence in the world will cause a man to believe that which, for private reasons, he does not choose to believe.

I shall conclude with mentioning the chief ground on which the necessity of faith is so much pressed in Scripture, namely, because it comprehends in it the great motives of action; it is the principle of life. "The just shall live by faith," says the apostle, at the conclusion of the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews; and if, at your leisure, you will peruse the eleventh chapter, you will there find a history of the great and wonderful works wrought by holy men in old time, from Abel downwards, through the power of this principle. In us, to whom more has been revealed than was revealed to them, it should not be less operative and effectual, than it was in them. We shall constantly perceive the vigor of our practice to be proportionable to the steadfastness and liveliness of our faith; what revives one, will always quicken the other. From every doctrine in the creed is

When, by reciting the creed, we declare our belief in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, with all that each has done for us; we should love the Father, for his tender love; adore the Almighty, for his infinite power; and commit our souls to him, in well-doing, as to a faithful Creator.

In the presence of a multitude of specta-sues a commandinent; and the doctrine stirs .tors, Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. On us up to keep the commandment. seeing the miracle, many believed on him, and became his disciples. Why did not all do so, for all saw the miracle? There could be no deception: none was thought of or suspected all allowed that a person dead was, by a word spoken, recalled to life. Yet there were those, who, instead of joining themselves to Christ, and acknowledging their From Jesus we should seek salvation; Messiah, consulted that they might put Laza- from Christ, the anointed, as a prophet, inrus to death. It does not always happen, struction; as a priest, atonement; as a king, that we can know what passes in the minds protection; as the only begotten Son, the of men on such occasions. But, in the pre-adoption of children. As our Lord, we should sent instance, we are admitted behind the serve him, for his conception, in faith; for scenes, and full information is communicated. his nativity, in humility; for his sufferings, "Then gathered the chief priests and Phari- in patience; for his cross, in crucifying sin; sees a council, and said, What do we? for for his death, in mortifying the flesh; for his this man doth many miracles. If we let him burial, in burying the old man with his evil thus alone, all men will believe on him; and desires; for his descent, in meditation on the the Romans shall come and take away both other world; for his resurrection, in newness our place and nation." Want of evidence is of life; for his ascension and enthronization, not the complaint. “This man doth many in setting our affections on things above, on miracles;" the point is conceded; but poli- the pleasures at God's right hand; for his tics interfered; they apprehended they return, in awe of his second coming; for his should suffer, if they confessed Christ, from judgment, in judging ourselves, before we the Roman government, to which they were come to be judged by him. then subject. They therefore stifled their convictions, forced their consciences, and from that day forth, to make all sure, took "counsel to put Jesus to death." They carried their counsel into execution; and the consequence was, that what before they vainly feared, now actually happened-"The Romans did come, and did take away both their place and nation." This may serve to convince you, how large a share the will has

From the Spirit we should seek the breath of saving grace; that so, in the church we may partake of a high and heavenly calling; in the holy church, of sanctification; in the catholic church, of communion with our brethren in prayers and sacraments; and all this to a firm persuasion of the remission of our sins, as well as a confident hope of resurrection and translation to life eternal. Thus is the creed at once a profession of faith, a

manual of devotions, and a directory of prac-| pure and undefiled, and that " by works faith tice- The just shall live by his faith." may be made. perfect," God of his infinite That we may evermore preserve this faith mercy grant, through Jesus Christ.

DISCOURSE XLV.

JOSHUA'S CHOICE.

JOSHUA XXIV. 15.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve—but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The means by

this very end, in case of their rebellion, "to be scourges in their sides, and thorns in their eyes, till they perished from off the good land, which the Lord their God had given them." He then draws all his instructions and admonitions to a point, and thus leaves his testimony recorded against them, on the behalf of himself and his family-"If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve-but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Such are the particulars of the case alluded to in the words of the text. The general instruction they contain may be drawn forth, for our own use, by considering, why we are to serve; whom we are to serve; and how we are to serve.

A NOBLE resolution! formed by a very emi-formance of his promises. nent person, on a very solemn occasion. That which these likewise would be accomplished, person was Joshua, the leader of the hosts of were pointed out. Notwithstanding their Israel, by whose arm it pleased God to exe-establishment in Canaan, enemies of that escute upon sinful nations the punishments due tablishment still. subsisted, and were left for to their crimes, and to place his chosen people in the land promised to their fathers. The general was now "old and stricken in age," and the hour of death drew near. Before it came, he wished to deliver his final sentiments to the people under his command. They were assembled for that purpose; "he called for all Israel, for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God," as you do this day. They were not backward, we may be sure in coming. Last words are always listened to with attention, as likely to be words of truth, and words of importance. Dying men do not usually utter falsehoods, or speak of trifles. But the last words of a veteran officer under whom they had fought and conquered, of a wise and heaven-directed ruler, by whom they had been settled, according to their tribes, in pleasant and peaceable habitations, must, above all others, deserve to be heard and remembered for ever. He reminded them of all the mercies which God from time to time had shown to the nation, of the wonders that had been wrought, and the very minute and punctual manner in which the divine promises had been fulfilled. He urged from hence the return which they ought to make, and the bitter consequences which they might expect to follow their ingratitude and apostasy; since God would not be less exact in the infliction of his threats, than he had been in the per

If we attend to the writings of some, and the manners of more, in the present age, we shall be led to think, that we are not to serve either God or man; that we have nothing to do with church or state; that the world is a forest, into which we are turned loose, like so many wild asses' colts, to snuff up the wind, and run till we . drop; in a word, that we are born free and independent. Alas, poor creatures! free and independent, indeed! Why, we should not live six hours to an end, after our birth, in such a state. From the first moment in which we see light, we depend, for preservation and support, on the good offices of those around us, they depend on others, and

are such in opposition to the true. The Son of God is come, and has led us into all truth. The Scriptures have dispelled (and it ought to have been for ever) such gloomy and comfortless principles. They give us full assurance, that the providence of God extendeth itself over all things, and

deed far removed from us, though it be exalted as the sun, yet that, like the sun, "Jehovah looketh from heaven, he beholdeth all the sons of men; from the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth;" that he doth what the sun cannot do" He fashioneth their hearts alike, and considereth all their works ;" that "the eyes of all wait on him, and he giveth them their food in due season.

all on God. One planteth, and another watereth; but who else can give the increase? Who is it else that can direct the operations of the powers of nature, concerned in bringing food out of the earth; that can open the bottles of heaven, to pour down a kindly rain; or can stay them when they threaten to overwhelm and de-all persons; that though his throne be instroy all the hopes of a promised harvest? Let others talk of matter and motion, of chance, or necessity; "we praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord." To behold the fair fame of the world, with the several parts so constructed as they are for use and beauty, and all the various movements carried on in it, and to suppose it had no Maker, must surely argue "The a great defect of understanding. fool hath said in his heart, there is no God;" and he is represented as having said it only in his heart, not daring to utter with his mouth so preposterous a sentiment. Lives there a man, who can look at a house, or even a plough, and imagine, for a moment, that it made itself? How much less, then, the heavens and the earth, and the works that are therein? Away with the idle fancy, the sick man's dream; it would be criminal to waste any more time in the consideration of it!

But shall we then suppose, that he who created the world has withdrawn himself from the care of it; that he regards not the creatures which he has made, nor desires to be regarded by them? The supposition is unnatural and absurd. It was made by one sect of the heathen only, in their lowest and darkest state, and that sect long abhorred by the rest for its folly and impiety. When riches flowed in from the East, and luxury had corrupted the minds and unstrung the nerves of the old Romans, these tenets became fashionable; a circumstance which was thought, by wise men, to prognosticate and to hasten the downfall of the empire. It is matter of melancholy reflection 'to observe, that the very same tenets have been of late revived and recommended in Great Britain, under the name and notion of philosophy, and are, if fame says true, daily gaining ground among the wealthy and the great, from whom they will soon descend to the middle and lower ranks, till the religious principle shall perish among us. May Heaven avert the omen, and save the land! The offence of Englishmen far exceeds that of the Romans, and is very greatly aggravated by this consideration; they who were atheists formerly, were atheists in opposition to a false religion; they who are atheists now, VOL. II. 30

Man being thus dependent, it is but reasonable that he should acknowledge such dependence, and that he should serve. We are to inquire,

Secondly, Whom he should serve? For, as the apostle has remarked, "there are gods many, and lords many," who in different ages have claimed and obtained the homage of mankind. The point in dispute between Joshua and his people was not, whether they should serve at all, but whom they should serve, whether the gods of the nations around them, or Jehovah, the God of Israel.

It may seem difficult to account for, and even to conceive, that strange propensity which appears in the early ages of the world to the worship of idols, and of which nothing less than a seventy years captivity in Babylon could finally cure the Israelites themselves. Before that event, notwithstanding all the miracles of power and goodness which God had wrought for them, we read continually of their forsaking him, and going over to the worship of strange gods. Who these strange gods were, or what charms they possessed, thus to bewitch and seduce the minds of persons better taught and instructed, deserves consideration.

Now it appears, by the testimony of all history, sacred and profane, that the oldest and first idolaters worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, the powers of nature instead of the God of nature. Receiving life, health, food, and many other blessings by means of the sun, the light, and the air, they forgot God who made those elements, and deemed them to be the gods that governed the world, supposing them to be endued with understanding and wisdom, as well as power and might.

This kind of idolatry perished long ago,

1

with the nations among whom it was prac- | them all. I have enjoyed all the pleasures tised. But let us not imagine we ourselves are therefore free from the crime; since every man is guilty of it, who offers to the world, or anything in the world, the service which is due to God only.

of the world, and consequently know their futility, and do not regret their loss. I appraise them at their real value, which is in truth very low; whereas those that have not experienced, always overrate them. The Scripture declares concerning covet- They only see their gay outside, and are ousness, that it is idolatry; and concerning dazzled with their glare. But I have been unbelievers and bad men in general, that behind the scenes. I have seen all the they serve the god of this world. He, there- coarse pulleys and dirty ropes which exfore, who devotes his time and his pains, his hibit and move the gaudy machines; and I words and his actions, his heart and his have seen and smelt the tallow candles, affections, to the pursuit of power, wealth, which illuminate the whole decoration, to or pleasure, in effect revives the old idola- the astonishment and admiration of an igtry, and virtually sacrifices to the gods of norant audience. When I reflect back the nations. He serves the creature, ra- upon what I have seen, what I have heard, ther than the Creator. . And of the service and what I have done, I can hardly perwhich he is often led to perform, it cannot suade myself that all that frivolous hurry be said, as it is truly said of another and and bustle and pleasure of the world had better service, that it is "perfect freedom." any reality; but I look upon all that has They who, in veneration of Baal, cut them- passed as one of those romantic dreams selves with knives and lancets, or, out of which opium commonly occasions; and I respect to Moloch, made their children to do by no means desire to repeat the naupass through the fire, would not suffer, per-seous dose, for the sake of the fugitive haps, by the comparison. Health and peace, dream. Shall I tell you that I bear this honor and conscience, present happiness and melancholy situation with that meritorious future expectancies, are costly oblations, constancy and resignation which most peodaily and hourly offered at the shrine of ple boast of? No; for I really cannot help these sublunary deities. .it. I bear it-because I must bear it, whether I will or no-I think of nothing but killing time the best I can, now that he is become mine enemy. It is my resolution to sleep in the carriage during the remainder of the journey."

The world, in short, under one form or other, has ever been the idol set up against God by the adversary of mankind, like the image erected by the monarch of Babylon, in the plain of Dura, before which "the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were to fall down, and worship." The world, with its fashions and its follies, its principles and its practices, has been proposed in form to Englishmen, as the proper object of their attention and devotion. A late celebrated nobleman has avowed as much with respect to himself, and by his writings said in effect to it, "Save me, for thou art my God!" He has tendered his assistance to act as priest upon the occasion, and conduct the ceremonial. At the close of life, however, his God, he found, was about to forsake him, and therefore was forsaken by him.-You shall hear some of his last sentiments and expressions, which have not been hitherto (so far as I know) duly noticed and applied to their proper use, that of furnishing an antidote (and they do furnish a very powerful one) to the noxious positions contained in his volumes. They are well worthy your strictest attention. "I have run," says this man of the world, "the silly rounds of business and pleasure, and have done with

When a Christian priest speaks slightingly of the world, he is supposed to do it in the way of his profession, and to decry, through envy, the pleasures he is forbidden to taste. But here, I think, you have the testimony of a witness every way competent. No man ever knew the world better, or enjoyed more of its favors, than this nobleman. Yet you see in how poor, abject, and wretched a condition, at the time when he most wanted help and comfort, the world left him, and he left the world. The sentences above cited from him compose, in my humble opinion, the most striking and affecting sermon upon the subject, ever yet preached to mankind. My younger friends, lay them up in your minds, and write them on the tables of your hearts; take them into life with you: they will prove an excellent preservative against temptation. When you have duly considered them, and the character of him by whom they were uttered, you shall compare them, if you please, with the words of another person, who took his leave of the world in a very different manner-"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at

hand. I have fought a good fight, I have our disobedience. There are not infrefinished my course, I have kept the faith; quently, therefore, certain points in rehenceforth there is laid up for me a crown serve, of so tender and delicate a nature, of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- that we suffer them not to be approached by eous judge, will give me at that day." Say, others, nor indeed dare to approach them shall your lot be with the Christian, or the ourselves.-But there are no reserves in St. man of the world; with the apostle, or the Paul's question-"Lord, what wouldest libertine? You will not hesitate a moment, thou have me to do?" Whatever it may but, in reply to those who may attempt to be, whatever the difficulties, whatever the seduce you into the paths of vice and error, consequences-" none of those things move honestly and boldly exclaim, every one of me "-I am ready. "Speak, Lord, for thy you, with Joshua, "Choose you this day servant heareth." whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

III. How we are to serve him, is the last point to be settled.

A concise way of coming at this, will be, to reflect upon the qualifications you require in a good servant, and to see that they be found in yourselves, considered as the servants of God.

It is a maxim laid down by our blessed Saviour, that " no man can serve two masters." A more indisputable maxim cannot be laid down; because as the wills of the two masters may, and probably will, be different, or even contrary, their commands will be so too; and therefore cannot be obeyed by the same person, who must soon be obliged to give up one, and adhere to the These qualifications may all be reduced other. Plain as this truth appears to be, it to two, that he be careful to know the will is late in life before we are convinced of it; of his master, and diligent to do it. Both before we cease to hope, that, by a little are most happily expressed and exemplified management, we can contrive to please God in the question asked by St. Paul, immedi-and the world. Different was the opinion ately upon his conversion,-"Lord, what of Joshua. He did not suppose it possible, wouldest thou have me to do?"-Never at the same time, to serve Jehovah, and the was there more interesting matter contained gods of the nations. "Choose you whom in so few plain and simple words. They ye will serve-I will serve Jehovah." were the first effect of the divine grace inspired into his heart. All the virtues and excellencies of his after life were comprehended in the disposition implied by them, as a plant is in its seed. They included the acorn, from whence arose that oak, which overshadowed and refreshed the world.

Upon a general view of them, they evidently intimate to us, a renunciation of all our former proceedings, during the time when we followed the motions of our own wills; a firm resolution of obeying the will of God for the residue of our days; and a hearty desire of attaining to the knowledge of it, for that purpose, and for that purpose only.

But it is worth while to be a little more particular.

Agreeably to which, St. Paul asks, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do" Notwhat will my own inclinations, what will my friends, what will my kinsfolk, what will the world-but-" what wilt thou-my Saviour and my God-what wilt thou have me to do?"—"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all other things (needful) shall be added unto you." Serve God; and the world, in the course of God's providence, will be made to serve you; and that, sometimes in a manner very surprising and unlooked for.

There is yet a different error in the conduct of men. It is when they employ themselves to discover the obligations and the failings of others, entirely forgetful of their own. They can tell you the duties In our inquiries after the will of God, we of the king and of his ministers, and of the are often apt to be partial. We inquire admirals, generals, and governors employed only after such parts of it as may hap- by them; of both houses of parliament; pen to coincide with our circumstances, of the bishops and the clergy; and of all our situation, our tempers, our constitu- their neighbors, great and small. They can tions, our interests. There are other parts, tell the duties of these respectively; they perhaps, which might cross and thwart the can point out the particulars in which such turn of our minds, or our views in life; duties are neglected; and inform you how take away some of our comforts, or deprive the neglects may still be remedied. Yet us even of some conveniences. With these when God shall call these censors and judges parts we care not to form any acquaint- of their brethren to account for their own ance, lest conscience should insist on our duties, they will perceive, perhaps for the obedience, or trouble and torment us for first time, to their utter amazement and