reach home to the present day in one instance or another. And yet in every instance we must be forced to confess we acted unsuitably with our profession, and took the name of the Lord our God in vain. To say the truth, careless persons are always doing so; their whole lives are a continual taking God's name in vain, and giving occasion with a witness to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. This is an awakening thought. But, alas! such miscalled Christians regard not how much dishonour they bring on the Lord Jesus, nor how many unhappy souls they are the instruments of encouraging and forwarding into hell. Yet how deplorable is it, that while the true believer is pierced to the very heart when he takes but one step dishonourable to God, that they should every step be trampling down his glory, and feel no concern for the matter? But, to pass on,

Besides our general we have all of us a special calling; and it is peculiarly needful we should all inquire if we have not by our conduct therein dishonoured God's holy name. In the commonwealth, the minister of state, the commander by sea or land, the judge, and every other officer, is expected to do nothing hurtful to the honour of the king and the interests of the people; when at any time they do, all, and very reasonably too, are calling for justice. Now we each of us bear a particular office under Christ, and that according to his assignment, whatever our station of life be; while also our misconduct therein doth peculiarly dishonour God, and hurt the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. I say we have all our particular callings: let us all examine how we have acted in them. You know what your calling is, for a calling each of you have, though Providence may have distinguished some of you by a fortune, which exempts you from those determinate employments, or that more restrained course of life, which others are confined to. You know, I say, your calling; how then have you acted in it? Have you been seeking to glorify God in it? If not, you have totally abused it, and taken his name in vain. If worldly honour, worldly interest, or carnal gratification, hath been the thing you have been aiming at, you have dishonoured your Lord, and taken God's name in vain.. Look back now and see, hath God no charge against you concerning your special calling? Did you never betray your trust

through idleness, sloth, vanity, company-keeping, desire of man's favour? Did you never pervert it to the ends of pride and vain glory? Has the world never seen anything in your conduct respecting your calling which has been dishonourable to the Christian name? What! never any compliances for filthy lucre's sake? never any trimming, or truckling, or dissembling, or flattering? I cannot stop to be more particular. Yourself must see if there have not been many things dishonourable to God's name in your distinct and particular calling; and especially this, whether the world may not have most discernibly seen you were not carrying it on with a single design to glorify God. Now,

Secondly. For the positive side: Have we so conducted ourselves always in our general and special calling as might most tend to glorify God's name? The Scripture is express, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.'* Now, the inquiry is, have we acted as children of our Father which is in heaven, zealous always for his glory?

In our general calling, have we been always shining lights? Was the will of God our rule always, and our only rule? Ever concerned to glorify God, have we always conformed to this rule, and so shown forth our good works before men to God's honour? Have we been always such examples of faith and heavenlymindedness, hope and charity, meekness and humility, patience and contentedness, diligence and zeal; have we always in such manner approved ourselves dead to sin, dead to the world, dead to the esteem, the pleasures, the interests of it, dead to self-will and self-pleasing, without anger, pride, envy, and revenge; and so chaste, modest, temperate, sober, as that in the whole of our conduct God has been glorified in us; and wherever we have been, and whatever we have done, we have shone as lights unto the world? Who will say this? None but they who know not what manner of men they are. The humble Christian will smite upon his breast, and say, "Father, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that in all these things I have not glorified thee as I ought. How exceedingly have I failed in that

*Matt. v. 16.

faith, hope, and charity, which make thy children a light unto the world, and are the good works which men may see and glorify thee for ?" Indeed the self-sufficient will pretend a claim, and be rash to cry out almost as Christ did, Father, I have glorified thee upon earth,' when, alas! they have been seeking nothing but self-praise and honour from others; while the most have never thought of glorifying God by their conduct, nor can produce so much as one act in their lives undertaken in that view, which should have influenced the whole of them.

Also, in our special callings, have we done all we might for God's glory? have we been faithful, diligent, laborious, cheerful, undaunted, unwearied, upright, day after day, in our Father's work? have we always said in our hearts, thus and thus shall God be glorified? and hath this stirred us up to labour and not to faint? Not to speak of Christ's example, which leaves all so far behind, only compare your conduct in your calling with that of St. Paul in his: and certainly you can assign no reason why you should not have been zealous, active, laborious, ceaseless, as he. Make then the comparison, consider the Apostle's conduct and your own, and see if you have been in your conduct the thousandth part of what he was, and what the glory of God required you should be. Brethren, God hath put a talent into every one of our hands, and bid us go and work; whether ministers, magistrates, or tradesmen, whether men in authority or inferiors, whether parents or children, masters or servants, we have all a special calling. Let us look then what we can severally answer. Will all that have been witnesses of our conduct bear testimony we have not borne our calling in vain? To instance only in one instead of all, masters of families, will your children and servants bear testimony for you that you have ruled in your house for the glory of God, encouraging godliness, discountenancing vice, worshipping God, and carefully instructing and watching over those committed to your care? Can you call them all together, even each of all that have been under your roof, and will they be your joint and unanimous witnesses, that throughout your whole families you have done all you could to glorify God?

By this time the design of this commandment may be mani

fest, and that it reaches further than cursing and swearing, and a light use of God's name. It commands us not only to own the Lord to be our God, and to own him by the worship we pay him, but to do it in the whole of our conduct in word and deed. And you will easily see how all other owning of God is nothing, if this owning him in word and deed be wanting. Consider what you have heard with application. And may the Lord forgive us our sins, and put a new heart into us, for Jesus Christ's sake!

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SERMON XXXII.

GALATIANS iii. 24.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

IN laying open the law with a view to examination and application, I have already set before you the inward principle required in the first commandment, godliness itself lying in the heart, and also the outward expressions of it enjoined by the second and third commandments, both in worship and in the whole of our conduct.

So

The fourth commandment requires the sanctification of the seventh day to God's glory and our spiritual profit. God's people must keep a weekly holyday, in remembrance of the works of creation and redemption, and in a way of preparation for that rest which remaineth for them in the life to come. you see the sabbath is a day not only of rest from worldly labour, but of holiness; and therefore a day of ceasing from worldly labour, that it may be spent in such exercises as tend to sanctification, without which a day of rest would be no other than a day of idleness, and so of sin.

Principally, that the

The design of the sabbath is twofold. servants of the Lord, by ceasing from ordinary employments, and devoting themselves to God's worship on that day, might make a public profession of his name. And, subordinately hereto, that by the exercises of public and private worship the sanctification of their souls might be promoted, and they forwarded in the way to their better and everlasting rest. In the former of which views, the sabbath appears calculated for the glory of God in the world; as in the latter it is manifestly an institution given us in great mercy, that we might not be lost in