your doom for ever fixed.

What mean you then by delaying to flee from the wrath to come?"Awake thou that sleepest, and arife from the dead." Do you say, 'We will repent to-morrow?" This night your foul may be required of "Behold you. now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of falvation." While it is called

to-day, hardẹn not your heart. Lie not down on your bed this night, till you have begged of God to enable you to renounce the fervice of fin, and to yield yourselves fervants to righteoufnefs. So "fhall you have your fruit here unto holinefs, and in the end everlasting life."

SERMON III

Impoffibility of ferving God and Mammon.

MATTHEW, vi. 24.

No man can ferve two masters: for either he will bate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and defpife the other. Ye cannot ferve God and Mammon.

TH

6

HERE are few perfons who could be brought plainly to fay, even in their own hearts, We will not ferve God.' Moft men would be fhocked at avowing fuch a refolution. But there are numbers who act in the spirit of it; who are refolved to serve the world, and at all events to have a portion on earth. And what is this, but in fact to give up the fervice of God? It is true that they do not profeffedly intend to give it up. They mean to fecure a portion in heaven, as well as a portion on earth. But in attempting this they are attempting an impoffibility.

Our Saviour in the text ftrongly condemns the folly of fuch an attempt. "No man

.

can ferve two mafters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. -Ye cannot ferve God and Mammon." In difcourfing on thefe words let us confider,

I. The Meaning and Truth of the Maxim here laid down.

II. Our LORD's Application of it.

be

1. The Maxim is this, "No man can ferve two masters; for either he will hatethe one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and defpife the other." Now the meaning and truth of this maxim may clearly feen from a very little confideration. Every one understands what is meant by ferving a master. It is fpending our time, and our talents in his fervice. It is doing his will and his work, furthering his interefts, and obeying his orders. What fhould we fay of the man, who fhould betray the truft which his master puts in him; who, as foon as his mafter's back is turned, fhould neglect his bufinefs; or who, whenever his own inclination, tempt him, fhould disobey his master's orders, or facrifice his master's interefts to thofe of fome other perfon? Should we fay of fuch a man, that he ferved

4

his mafter? No. The man who ferves his master, is one who ferves him with faithfulnefs, with diligence, with fingleness of heart, with a mind ready, and willing, and wholly given up to his fervice. Now for a man thus to ferve two mafters is utterly impoffible. He cannot love them both alike. He cannot be devoted to both of them alike. He muft fecretly at least prefer the one to the other; and thus, in truth, must belong to the one, and nor to the other. So long, indeed, as both thofe, whom he calls his mafters, may travel the fame road, or give the fame orders, he may appear to ferve them both. He may follow both; he may obey both; and fo may deem himfelf the fervant of both. But when they go different ways, or give different orders; when one of them turns to the right hand, and the other to the left; when one of them commands one thing, and the other gives a directly contrary command; then what will be the cafe? It will then be feen, which of them the man really ferves. It will then be feen to which of them he really belongs. However he may have hitherto hidden his mind from others, or even deceived himself, by calling them both master; yet he can now hide the matter no longer: he must now follow one of them, and forfake the other; he

muft now obey one of them and disobey the other; he must now clearly fhew to which of them, either from intereft or from affection, he is bound, and whofe fervice of the two he really prefers.-The Meaning and Truth then of the Maxim in the text are clear. "No man can ferve two masters." He may intend to do it. He may try to do it. He may for a time feem to do it ; and may even think that he does it. But when fomething happens which brings the matter to a trial, then his real mind is dif covered: then it is decidedly feen, however ignorant he may have hitherto been of his own heart, that in fact he "hates the one, and loves the other; that he holds to the one, and defpifes the other."

II. We confider our LORD's Application of this Maxim; "Ye cannot ferve God and Mammon."

Mammon is a word which fignifies gain: and it may be understood as meaning honour, riches, pleasure, fenfual gratifications, or any thing of a worldly nature, which men account to be gain, and to which they look for happiness. Of this Mammon then our LORD fays, "Ye cannot ferve it and God." He does not fay, "Ye ought not to serve God and Mammon. Your duty, your intereft forbid you to ferve them both. But you cannot ferve them both. To attempt it