A love to God, no real charity and benevolence towards men." Nay, do they not sometimes, without even making such a discovery, venture to use the same language; and for no other reason, than because a friend or neighbour appears more serious and concerned than the multitude about the salvation of his soul, do they not presume to infer, either that he is insincere, or under the influence of some strange and unaccountable delusion? Is it not from such a hasty judgment as this, that a great number of religious people are called Methodists? word which, it is well known, is generally used to express the disapprobation and contempt of those persons to whom it is applied. But, before any of you join in this censure, it will be prudent to inquire what a Methodist is. Does he learn his Religion from the Bible? What is the nature of his Faith, and what is the course of his practice? Is he one who prays, or who lives without prayer; who is kind or unkind, benevolent, or selfish, disposed to do good, or to do evil? And should you find upon the whole (upon the whole, I say, for where will you find the man that liveth and sinneth not?) that it is his desire to love the Lord his God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself, you will act the wisest part to lay aside your reproach, and to follow him so far as he is a follower of Christ. God, remember, seeth the heart; and if it should be found, at the great day, when all secrets shall be revealed, that your despised fellow creature has more faith and piety than yourself, he will be acquitted, and you condemned, and be given up to sorrow, and shame, and confusion of face. Perhaps the persons, whom you have loaded with opprobrious names, have chosen to fre quent places of worship, where you have not thought it proper to go, and to listen to preachers, whom you have not thought it expedient to encourage; and what if they did? Are not those beams of the sun, by which the eyes of man are enlightened, the same in every place; and is not, that food, by which his life is supported, of the same nature, by whosoever it may be administered? Never shall I blame you for forsaking my ministry, while it is clear that any other is of equal, or of greater advantage to your souls; and, as it is plain, from what we read in the Scriptures, that God has been pleased to make use of different instruments to. perform his work, no doubt some will prosper more under the preaching of this man, and some under the preaching of that; while all, loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and being members of his body, shall form but one Church in union with him, and in communion with one another. Oh! that the time may speedily come, when all divisions among sincere Christians shall cease, and universal harmony prevail. "Judge not that ye be not judged." As a farther inducement to make you attend to this precept, allow me to suggest the three following considerations: 1. Consider, that you have to deal with a God, who sees and knows all things; then, day by day, examine yourselves and ask"What has my God seen in me, which is not agreeable to his holy will? Dare I say "I have not transgressed-I am innocent? Alas! No. Iniquities prevail against me; my sins are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and perhaps in every deed, which I have per-formed, and in every imagination, which I have conceived, there has been something wrong; something omitted, which ought to have been done, and something done, which ought to have been left undone." What, then, if God should be extreme to mark in you what has been done amiss, would you not be speechless and confounded at his judgment? O! then, judge not your brethren too severely; for, know this, that, "with whatever measure you mete it shall be measured to you again."* Consider, * Matt, vii. 2. 2. How much diligence you ought to use to make your calling and election sure. Whoever meditates seriously upon the nature of his soul, as formed for an eternal existence, and of the nature of his body, which is composed of such frail materials, that it is continually subject to disease, and must speedily be turned to corruption; whoever thinks, moreover, that he has no certainty, even of a single day, in the land of the living; who believes, that there is a Heaven, into which the righteous shall enter, and be happy hereafter; and a Hell, into which the souls of the wicked shall be cast, and be most miserable in unquenchable fire. Whoever meditates, as seriously as he ought to do, upon these things, will not find time or inclination to turn his thoughts to the concerns of other people, but be so occupied in securing his own happiness, that from morning to night, and from night to morning, in the hours of wakefulness, yea, and in the hours of sleep too (for that, which fully engages the mind by day, is usually the subject of our dreams by night), he will only desire to obtain the favour of the Lord, that he may have hope in his death, and be delivered from the wrath to come. But, though I say such a serious character will have no time or inclination to busy himself with the affairs of his fellow crea tures, I do not mean to affirm, that he will have no regard for their spiritual welfare, or that he will forbear to admonish them against continuing in those practices, which he cannot but regard as sinful and improper; but then he will do this in the spirit of Christian love and compassion, beseeching them, with much intreaty, to be reconciled to God; for he loves his neighbour as himself, and would keep him, if possible, from being cast into that place of torment, which is reserved for the unrighteous. Consider, 3. That there is but one thing absolutely needful; and to obtain this for ourselves, or to communicate it to others, will not only be sufficient employment for us, but will, if our hearts are rightly disposed, be a most delightful occupation. While thus engaged for the benefit of our fellow creatures, men subject to like passions and frailties as ourselves, we shall find, with all their faults, that there is some good principle upon which we may work. We shall be able to trace, among all the ruins of the fall, the foundation of that edifice, of which God was the original builder, and we shall think ourselves honoured, if we are admitted to labour, under the great architect, for its reparation. In forming our judgment of men, let us remember, that they are the crea |