and good man, who so passes through the things temporal, as not to lose those that are eternal. On the right hand, or right side of the question, it must be admitted that there have been extravagances and errors; but on the other, there is a large majority of mistaken, misguided, human beings, who give to the least concern the greatest attention; and who pursue the shadows of temporary bliss, whilst they forsake the realities of eternal happiness. Having guarded our doctrine against a plausible objection, which infidelity has alleged not only against this article of our faith, but against the whole Christian system, on the ground of its withdrawing man from the duties and the pleasures of the passing state of existence; we proceed to mention some of its beneficial results, which will appear the more clearly, the more impartially the subject is considered; as indeed is the case, wherever substantial truth is concerned.

The doctrine of the world's end and a final judgment, which in the pages of St. Peter's Second Letter go together, presents a check to wickedness, and is sufficient to make prosperous villany turn pale, with frightful anticipations of the approaching day. When viewed in reference to the great truths of Divine Revelation now brought before us, how absurd and foolish the pursuits of violence, oppression, and injustice, do appear; the gains are positively good for nothing, which injustice and wickedness acquire. The earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up-and the naked spirit of the wicked aggressor must face the impartial tribunal of the Eternal. Here the mightiest conqueror, who, in proud ambition, grasped at the dominion of a world, with the comparatively puny village oppressor, who, by unjust means, added house to house, and field to field, must stand confounded and appalled. Trace wickedness in its progress, from the highest to the lowest, through all its varied forms of injustice and deceit, and impiety and lust, and bring the conscience of the offender in close contact with a burning universe and an omniscient tribunal, and it will have good reason to tremble and feel an astounding check to its progress. In this predicament, the conscience that

1

is not seared as by a hot iron, and callous as the indurated hoof, must feel. The world and all that is therein consumed by fire, and awaiting the imperishable spirit, a state of suffering, acute and lingering as the Indian widow's concremation, to endure for ever! This, O my fellow sinners, is what every impenitent worldling is fast hastening to; and are not such anticipations calculated to be a check to wickedness? Oh! who can dwell with devouring fire? who can inhabit everlasting burnings? Is it not incumbent on every ungodly man, either to prove satisfactorily that these dire calamities shall never come upon him, which he cannot do, or betake himself to the divinely revealed mode of averting them, to faith in Jesus, the Almighty Saviour; to repentance, and to a holy conversation, and a life of godliness? In this case remissness and procrastination are big with eternally lamentable conse→ quences. Now is the day of salvation; now is the time to repent and be converted, that sin may be blotted out, and a life of holy conversation and godliness be commenced ere it be too late.

I have thought it right to begin with the lowest class in this congregation; not lowest in worldly temporal circumstances, but lowest in reference to a spiritual preparation and fitness to meet the terrors of the final conflagration. The experienced Christian may feel impatient whilst the preacher is dwelling on these first principles, faith and repentance, but it is wrong to do so. We must divide the word of truth, and apportion it according to the states and circumstances of men; and to awaken the unconcerned, and to change the unconverted, and gather in the scattered sheep, is to me more pleasing work than simply to feed the flock, who should, in the proper use of means, be competent to procure their own food.

But St. Peter, in our text, addresses professed Christians, which authorizes me to turn my exhortation from the young and the inexperienced, who have not as yet submitted to the Saviour's yoke, but who will, I trust, from henceforward do so; that I may address those who have already entered on the Christian journey and conflict,

what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy behaviour and godliness!

The conversation, conduct, or manner of life, incumbent on a Christian, from a great variety of considerations, and particularly from the anticipation of the world's dissolution, is here expressed by "holiness and godliness ;" or in other words, by purity and piety; a separation from all that is sinful and polluting, and a dedication or devotedness to the service of God. It is not the mere absence of gross vice, not the suppression of bad tempers and spiritual wickedness alone, that is here required, but an eminence in sanctity and devotion which is inculcated. The requirement of the Apostle rises infinitely higher than the mere negation of overt-acts of vice and wickedness, and demands of the Christian a spiritual purity and heavenly aspiration, which shall for ever distinguish him from the sensual and the earthly minded. The man who has regard either to health or to reputation, or to pecuniary prosperity, will never be a profligate debauchee; and therefore a degree of sobriety and industry, which common worldly prudence dictates, is far short of the holiness and godliness which our text requires; so far short, indeed, that they possess not one particle of the principle of true holiness and real piety; for these, at the outset, have a reference to God, but worldly prudence regards only man. Think not that I am decrying moral and benevolent actions; I ask not for the absence or neglect of these, but I ask for something more, and immeasurably superior to these; I require of the human spirit an entire submission, and a total consecration of itself to God. It must be un-earthly, it must be heavenly, it must be set apart for God, it must "well-worship" God, and must subordinate all affairs to the cause of God.

"The word holiness, when applied to God, signifies the peculiar eminency of the divine nature, whereby it is separated and removed to an infinite distance from moral imperfection, and that which we call sin; that is, there is no such thing as malice, or envy, or hatred, or revenge, or injustice, or falsehood, or unfaithfulness in God; or if

there be any other thing that signifies sin, and vice, and moral imperfection, holiness signifies that the divine nature is at an infinite distance from all these, and is possessed of the contrary perfections." And the Almighty requires in his people resemblance to himself in this particular. As he which hath called you is holy, (saith St. Peter,) so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy and without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The import of the word holy will be more clearly seen by attending to the explications given of it in scripture. Thus it is explained by opposition to sin and impurity. "Let us, (says the Apostle,) cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Sometimes, by the negation of sin and defilement; so we find "holy and without blame," put together; "holy and without blemish," "holy, harmless and undefiled." It is true, indeed, this negative notion doth imply something that is positive; it doth not only signify the absence of sin, but a contrariety to it. The absence of sin implies the presence of grace; as, take away crookedness from a thing, and it immediately becomes straight. Whenever we are made holy, every lust and corruption in us is supplanted by the contrary grace.

It is scarcely necessary to remark that the word "conversation,” in our text and elsewhere in Sacred Scripture, is not confined to the modern and popular sense of speaking or talking, but includes also behaviour, or conduct, or actions. Holy conversation requires holiness in thought, word, and deed, and not merely talking religiously or piously; nor, on the other hand, is religious conversation excluded. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," and there are times in families, and in general society also, when it is right to speak for God, to confess Christ, and to explain or to defend the truth.

The term godliness, in our text, and in other parts of Holy Scripture, refers to the respect, reverence, or worship, which man owes to God; and in a preceding paragraph of this discourse, I have used for it the words "well-worship," i. e. worship which is sincere, and spiritual, and

DISCOURSE XXI.

THE ANTICIPATED END OF THE WORLD SHOULD INDUCE A USEFUL AND PIOUS LIFE.

2 PET. III. 11.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness ; looking for, and hasting unto (expecting and earnestly desiring) the coming of the day of God.

THE Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments differ from all other writings in this particular, as well as in other things; they give a credible history of creation, and of the successive ages of the world, to the end of time, onward to eternity; and many circumstances of these successive ages, now past, were given by anticipation, in prophecies, which have been long ago realized; from which facts we have substantial ground to believe the statements in Holy Writ concerning the future destinies of this world, and the final consummation of all things. And the things declared concerning the future are not put down as mere abstract facts, which are not to influence our hopes and fears, our tempers and conduct, in passing through life; but are declared to us, like the whole of divine revelation, for practical and useful purposes.

The earth, with all its animated beings, the sun, the moon, the distant starry worlds of light; the vast system of the universe, which we behold, presents to contemplative minds, a grand display of the infinite and incompre