fer any consideration, be it what it will, to interfere with, or diminish, his sense of that bounty and goodness. Still it is true, that he will not obtain what is offered, unless he comply with the terms: so far his compliance is a condition of his happiness. But the grand thing is the offer being made at all. That is the ground and origin of the whole. That is the cause. And is ascribable to favour, grace, and goodness, on the part of the prince, and to nothing else. It would, therefore, be the last degree of ingratitude in such a subject, to forget his prince, whilst he thought of himself; to forget the cause, whilst he thought of the condition to regard every thing promised as merited. The generosity, the kindness, the voluntariness, the bounty of the original offer come by this means to be neglected in his mind entirely. This, in my opinion, describes our situation with respect to God. The love, goodness and grace of God, in making us a tender of salvation, and the effects of the death of Christ, do not diminish the necessity or the obligation of the condition of the tender, which is sincere endeavours after holiness; nor are any wise inconsistent with such ob. ligation.

SERMON XXI.

PURE RELIGION.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.-James i. 27.

NOTHING can be more useful than summary views of our duty, if they be well drawn and rightly understood. It is a great advantage to have our business laid before us altogether: to see at one comprehensive glance, as it were, what we are to do, and what we are not to do. It would be a great ease and satisfaction to both, if it were possible, for a master to give his servant directious for his conduct in a single sentence, whicli

160

he, the servant, had only to apply and draw out occasions offered themselves, in into practice, as order to discharge every thing which was requir ed or expected from him. This, which is not practicable in civil life, is in a good degree so in a religious life; because a religious life proceeds more upon principal, leaving the exercise and manifestation of that principle more to the judgment of the individual, than it can be left where, from the nature of the case, one man is to act precisely according to another man's direction.

But then, as I have said, it is essentially neces sary, that these summaries be well drawn up, and Tightly understood; because if they profess to state the whole of men's duties, yet, in fact, state it partially sad imperfectly, all who read them are led, and dangerously misled. In religion, as in ather dings, we are too apt of ourselves to substi

Ente a part for the whole. Substituting a part for

the whole is the grand tendency of human corrup matters both of morality and religion; which propensity, therefore, will be encouraged, when tine, which professes to exhibit the whole of religion does not, in truth, exhibit the whole. What is are omitted, we shall omit, glad of the esan sad exeuse; what is not set down as our ng, we shall not think ourselves obliged to perform, not caring to increase the weight of our own Ds is the case whenever we use sumgion, which, in truth, are imperfect But there is another case more comdeductive of the same effect, and that sconstrue these summary accounts u principally when we conceive of heading to express more than they were

d to express: for then it comes to
hough they be right and perfect, as
e intended for, yet they are
et, as to what we construe and
This observation is particu-
the text. St. James is here de-
not in its principle, but in its et-

fects: and these effects are truly and justly and fully displayed. They are by the apostle made to consist in two large articles, in succouring the distress of others, and maintaining our own innocen. cy: and these two articles do comprehend the whole of the effects of true religion; which were exactly what the apostle meant to describe. Had St. James intended to have set forth the motives and principles of religion, as they ought to subsist in the heart of a Christian, I doubt not but he would have mentioned love to God, and faith in Jesus Christ; for from these must spring every thing good and acceptable in our actions. In natural objects it is one thing to describe the root of a plant, and another its fruits and flowers; and if we think a writer is describing the roots and fibres when in truth, he is describing the fruit or flow. ers, we shall mistake his meaning, and our mis. take must produce great confusion. So in spiritu al affairs, it is one thing to set before us the principle of religion, and another the effects of it. These are not to be confounded. And if we apply a description to one, which was intended for the other, we deal unfairly by the writer of the description, and erroneously by ourselves. Therefore, first, let no one suppose the love of God, the thinking of him, the being grateful to him, the fearing to disobey him, not be necessary parts of true religion, because they are not mentioned in St. James's ac. count of true religion. The answer is, that these compose the principles of true religion; St. James' account relates to the effects. In like manner concerning faith in Jesus Christ. St. James has recorded his opinion upon that subject. His doctrine is, that the tree, which bears no fruit, cannot be sound at the root; that the faith, which is unproPuctive, is not the right faith: but then this is alwing, (and not denying,) that a right faith is e source and spring of true virtue: and had our ostle been asked to state the principle of reli an, I am persuaded he would have referred us a true faith. But that was not the inquiry; on

the contrary, having marked strongly the futility of faith, which produced no good effects upon life and action, he proceeds in the text to tell us what the effects are, which it ought to produce; and these he disposes into two comprehensive classes, (but still meaning to describe the effects of religion, and not its root or principle,) positive virfue and personal innocence.

Now, I say, that, for the purpose for which it was intended, the account given by St. James is full and complete and it carries with it this peculiar advantage, that it very specially guards against an error, natural, I believe, and common in all ages of the world; which is, the making beneficence an apology for licentiousness; the thinking that doing good occasionally may excuse us from strictness in regulating our passions and desires. The text expressly cuts up this excuse, because it expressly asserts both things to be necessary to compose true religion. Where two things are necessary, one cannot excuse the want of the other. Now, what does the text teach? it teaches us what pure and undefiled religion is in its effeets and in its practice: and what is it?" to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world:" not simply to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction; that is not all; that is not sufficient: but likewise "to keep himself unspotted from the world."

the fatherless and widows in their afflicibing a class, or species, or kind of ing out one eminent example of it. postle as meaning to represent the force the obligation, of active chabenificence, and that he has done

a particular instance. A stronger stance could not have been selectit is to be regarded as an instance, sive of other and similar instances, but f these exertions. The case before is heightened by every circum

stance which could give to it weight and priority. The apostle exhibits the most forlorn and destitute of the human species, suffering under the severest of human losses: helpless children depriv ed of a parent; a wife bereaved of her husband, both sunk in affliction, under the sharpest anguish of their misfortunes. To visit, by which is meant to cons le, to comfort, to succour, to relieve to assist such as these, is undoubtedly a high exercise of religion and benevolence, and well selected: but still it is to be regarded as an example, and the whole class of beneficent virtues as intended to be included. This is not only a just and fair, but a neceseary construction: because although the exercise of beneficence be a duty upon every man, yet the kind, the examples of it, must be guided in a great degree by each man's faculties, opportunities, and by the occasions, which present themselves. If such an occasion, as that which the text describes, present itself, it cannot be overlooked without an abandonment of religion: but if other and different occasions of doing good present themselves, they also, according to the spirit of our apostle's declaration, must be attended to, or we are wanting in the fruit of the same faith. The second principal expression of the text, "to keep himself unspotted from the world," signifies the being clean and clear from the licentious practices, to which the world is addicted. So that "pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father," consists in two things-beneficence and purity: doing good and keeping clear from sin ; not in one thing, but in two things; not in one without the other, but in both; and this in my opinion, is a great lesson and a most important doctrine.

I shall not at present, consider the case of those, who are anxious, and effectually so, to maintain their personal innocency without endeavouring to do good to others: because I really believe it is not a common case. I think that the religious principle, which is able to make men confine their