ON GOOD WORKS.

ROMANS VI. 22, 23.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Of all the motives which should ac- SERM.

tuate the Christian to lead a good life, that XIV. which ought to be the most efficacious and prevailing, is commonly altogether overlooked and neglected, or else made too much of. To lead a good life, or to endeavour to do so, through the mere hope of future reward, or dread of future punishment, is acting from a low and mercenary principle in comparison with the motives that should operate upon the true Christian,

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SERM. Christian, and stimulate him to works of

XIV.

righteousness. Besides, Christianity does
really not promise us any thing future as a
reward of virtue, strictly so called; not as
a recompence for the worthiness of the
work, but as proceeding from God's mere
bounty. To virtue in all its branches we
were bound, long before Christianity pre-
vailed among us.
The law of the Lord
written in our hearts would have laid us
always under the obligation of strict obe-
dience to it, independent of any promises
which the Gospel holds forth. We never
were, nor ever shall be, free from this obli-
gation; but how far we are to look for a
reward for our obedience, it would well
become us to consider. There is a short
but very apt parable to this purpose to be
found in the Gospel of St. Luke, which,
though it may not perhaps strike you at the
first hearing, yet I shall not despair of
proving to you that it is greatly connected
with what I have been saying. " And the

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Apostle said unto the Lord, increase our

faith. And the Lord said, If ye bad faith "as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say

"unto

unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up SERM. by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, XIV. " and it should obey you. But which of you

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having a servant ploughing, or feeding cattle, "will say unto him by and by, when he is

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come from the field: go and sit down to "meat. And will not rather say unto him, "make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird

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thyself, and serve me till I have eaten and “drunken, and afterwards thou shalt eat and "drink? Doth be thank that servant because "he did the things that were commanded him? "I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall "have done all those things which are com"manded you, say, we are unprofitable ser"vants, we have done that which was our

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duty to do." Now this parable sets the matter in the right light. Whatever we may suppose, we have no title to reward for obeying the commandments of God; it is our bounden duty, let what will come of it. The parable indeed cannot set it in its full light, because among ourselves there is always something due to a good and faithful servant; and as he is our fellowcreature, we may owe him even thanks for

SERM. his care and fidelity, but between God and XIV. us the case is different-God receives no

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thing from all our services; " If thou be righteous," says Elihu to Job, "what givest thou him, or what receiveth he at thy "band?" Towhich we may add the remark of the holy Psalmist, "Thy goodness reach"eth not unto him." God is above all wants, and therefore in reality in need of no services; but he is supreme above all things, and therefore he may promulgate his laws freely, and require strict obedience. But from what I have been saying, let it not be imagined I am depreciating good worksfar from it. They are not the less amiable for being necessary, but as the case stands with us Christians, we have a nobler hope, than what can arise from any prospect of recompence strictly due to our just deeds. And the text I have chosen may serve to open your eyes to the truth of what I have been urging. In the text, two things are very prominent and noticeable: we are there called the servants of God-death is said to be the wages of sin, but that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ

our