whom he hath a right to dispose of according to his best advantage. But let it be duly noted, that God, from whom we derive our being, is no respecter of persons; that whatever be our fex, or nation, or rank, wė do all equally receive his bleffed invitation into his heavenly kingdom; and that if, in this mortal life, we do well, we fhall all certainly become as the angels of God.

2dly, We must be watchful over our own hearts, that they be not inflated with any misconceptions of our own worth. It is, indeed, as natural for us to flatter as to love ourfelves but we fhould confider, that we are the children of wrath, and born in fin, and that, only on condition of becoming humble and good, we fhall become the children of grace. When, therefore, any proud conceits begin to disturb our reafon, let us ftrive to fupprefs them with the recollection of our faults and indifcretions. Would we but often call to mind our fins, we fhould find but little reafon to boast of those few advantages which we enjoy above others; nay, the best of us might truly fay with St. Peter, "I am a finful man, O Lord!"

3dly, We should never compare ourselves with others, whom we think to be lower than ourselves, in any respect whatsoever ; but rather let us look up to thofe who are eminent for their piety and wisdom. Instead of pride, let us rather cherish in ourselves an honourable ambition, by which we may ftrive to excel in virtue, to go on from strength to ftrength, until at last we attain unto the end of our faith, even unto the falvation of our fouls.

4thly, We should use no base arts nor devices to purchase the praise of men; for such praife is as unstable, and of as little value, as the chaff which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth; and as it was fraudulently obtained, fo it will furely be followed with fcorn, hatred, and contempt. But if praise be deservedly given, let us humbly thank God for being the inftruments of good to others. Let us not be high-minded, but fear; left we err by prefumptuous comparisons, like the haughty Pharifee in the text, who difcerned not the fecret, but the all-prevailing virtue, of the devout publican.

5thly, Let us duly reflect on the little value and importance of the feveral worldly distinctions,

At

distinctions, that, at present, make the difference between one man and another. the day of judgment, all fuch distinctions. must give way to the two grand divifions of the righteous and the wicked. Surely this awful confideration is enough to mortify our pride, and to encourage us, by a good life, to attain that glorious pre-eminence, which death cannot deface, nor the grave destroy.

Laftly, Let us all be faithful imitators of the almighty, but humble, Saviour of the world, who was meek and lowly in heart. Let us pray, that neither the fplendor of any thing that is great, nor the conceit of any thing that is good in us, may withdraw our eyes from looking upon ourfelves as finful duft and afhes; but that we may prefs forward to the high calling that is before us, in faith and patience, in humility and meeknefs, through the aid of the Holy Spirit; to whom with the Father and the Son be ascribed, as is most due, all might, majesty, and dominion, both now and for ever. Amen.

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of the Christian religion, if even its truth were not evinced by incontrovertible evidence, must ever powerfully attract the attention and regard of liberal and enlarged minds; for Christianity is the pure fountain of honour and generofity. Human philofophy, whether in the guife of Greece or Rome, hides its diminished head before it. To do good, hoping for nothing again, is a noble, a sublime principle, that far excels any oftentatious heroifm, that foars far be

yond

yond the reach of Roman virtue. To bear the evils of life with firmness and spirit, is a far greater mark of magnanimity, than the boafted behaviour of Cato, who chose rather. to become his own executioner, than to encounter the evils of difaftrous fortune.

How glorious is the shining light of that good Chriftian, who goeth about doing good; relieving the needy, befriending the oppreffed, ftemming the torrent of flander, uncharitablenefs, and envy; guarding the meek and lowly of the earth against the guile of the covetous, the violence of the proud! How full of honour are his days! How large his reward, in the consciousness of having been a benefactor to mankind! How clear and brilliant are his prospects of

heaven!

On the other fide, the covetous, the selfish man, who beguiles his own foul with the falfe opinion, that his happiness may be independent of, nay, that it may be built on another's ruin, affords us, in his own woful condition, a ftriking inftance of the acquired darkness of the human foul. He confiders not, that it is the fublime character of the Deity, to take delight in the obferving of

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