virtues under God, you have to truft to, let your own little do.And if diftreffes fall. to your fhare-if it please God to lay his hand upon you in fome fore affliction, be refigned, and gentle, trusting in God's providence to relieve you, in his own good time, by means, which he knows best how to adminifter. By thus acting, you turn poverty into religion. You become those poor, to whom the Almighty has promised his favour. You gain that bleffed temper, which St. Paul expreffively calls the patient waiting for Chrift. -None of you can have more worldly diftreffes, than that holy apostle had. Yet all of you may have the means to bear them, which he had-faith and trust in God, and Christ; and humble hope in his mercies. It is a wretched thing, when a poor man makes himself first unhappy here; and then, by his wickedness, makes / himself miserable hereafter: but if, by behaving religiously in his station, he gains a happy immortality; he will bless that poverty, which was the means of his happiness.

LET me then intreat you to believe, that neither riches, nor poverty, are matters of such mighty confequence, as you are apt to imagine. It is the great business of the world indeed to ac

quire the one, and to avoid the other; and by having your ears and eyes continually filled with the splendor of wealth, you are apt to be mifled. But if we weigh things in the only true balance, the scale of religion, what is the value of the greatest worldly poffeffions?-Poffeffions we should not call them: their transitory nature destroys their value. Do you now regret the lofs of fuch little paftimes of your youth, as formerly gave you high delight? You think not of them. They are paft, and totally forgotten. Juft fuch are the pleasures of your riper years. They fly off; and others fucceed, equally fugitive. Nothing is ftable, but the joys of religion.

Of what value then, we ask again, are the greatest worldly poffeffions?-What matters it, if we think justly, how our poor bodies are treated?-whether they fare hardly, or fumptuously every day? whether they are clothed in purple, and fine linen; or in coarse apparel ?whether they are carried to their graves in pomp, or in obfcurity? These are matters about which the world makes a mighty stir: but it is the part of the minifters of the gospel, to recal your thoughts frequently from these things-to remind you, that in a few years all will be forgotten, like the days of your childhood. A

different scene of things will foon take placethe great day of accounts approaches, when an inquiry will be made-not, who was rich, and who was poor-these are the inquiries of this world-but, what account the rich man can give of his wealth? whether he made mammon his friend; or left him to be his accufer? Again, whether the poor man behaved properly in his ftation?-whether he was contented with his humble lot; and refigned to God in all his diftreffes?-or whether he endeavoured to relieve his wants by any dishonest means?—These, my brethren, are the inquiries, that will be made at that great day. God grant we may all be enabled through Jefus Chrift to answer these questions as we ought; and that whether we are rich, or whether we are poor; whether we have had ten talents intrufted to us, or only one; we may each employ his trust in such a way, as to make things temporal lead to things eternal; and may all be received, after this world is over, with happy Lazarus, into Abraham's bofom.

SERMON XXV.

PHILIPPIANS, iv. 7.

THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS, AND MINDS, THROUGH JESUS

CHRIST.

THE Apoftle to the Philippians, having given

his converts fome excellent inftructions, concludes his advice with this bleffing; which is fo expreffive of every religious fentiment, that it hath generally been used in the church as the last benediction.

As you have perhaps oftener heard this bleffing pronounced, than thoroughly confidered it, I propose, in the following difcourfe, to explain

it to you. And first, I fhall fhew you, what is meant by the peace of God-fecondly, how it may be faid, to pass all understanding— and thirdly, how it keeps our hearts, and minds, through Jefus Chrift.

I AM to fhew you, first, what is meant by the peace of God.

The word peace implies every thing that is kind, gentle, and friendly. In the quarrels of nations, when war rages in all its violence, we look up to peace, as the bleffed end of its horrors. When faction diffolves the bands of fociety, and oppofite parties are tearing each other in pieces, we implore the bleffed aid of peace to re-unite us. And when families become scenes of ftrife and bitterness, it is peace only which reftores them to the comforts of domeftic life.

In all thefe lights we confider peace as one of the greatest of earthly bleffings. No earthly bleffing can well be enjoyed without it; and its influence is fuch, that it will often fupply the place of other earthly bleffings. Better (furely in the opinion of all people) is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith.

But ftill the peace of God is fomething more

than