quickly come!-may our utmost endeavours haften it!-and may the pity and compassion of our chriftian hearts extend as far as Africa, and melt down all the chains that ever bound a flave!!

But, my chriftian friends, to conclude this subject, let me recommend to you all, in all cafes, and with all descriptions of persons, to manifest, to cultivate, to exercise, this godlike virtue of cOMPASSION. You have seen the unspeakable pity of the Lord Jesus Chrift to you, to finners, to all mankind. Moved with compaffion, he cleansed the leper-moved with compaffion, he fed five thousand fouls at one time-moved with compassion, he healed all bodily and spiritual diseases and, moved with compassion, he redeemed our fouls, bore with our infirmities, saves us from our cruel enemies, leads us through every difficulty and forrow, and at length will bring us (if we love and serve him) to thrones of glory, honor, peace, and joy; where, in his own prefence and kingdom, we shall be happy for ever and ever.

Be ye merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful. Be kind, tender, compassionate, and loving to all your enemies or friends your neighbours or relations-your domestics and fervants. Remember the Roman captain-"My fervant lieth fick at "home!" Imitate him-excel him if you can!Come as near as possible to the divine example of your Lord and Saviour!

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This grace to ev'ry christian virtue join,
And in compaffion NEVER FAIL to shine;
Be kind, and tender, full of meekness, love,
And live below as angels live above.
To aid the fons of grief exert your power,
The mourning victim bless, in forrow's hour;
To check the tide of woes, do all you can-
And be at once, the CHRISTIAN and the MAN.
Great your reward while here will surely prove,
And foon 'twill be, an endless heav'n of lave!

SERMON

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SERMON VI.

THE TRUE NATURE AND PLEASURE OF RELIGION.

MATT. xi. 30.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I AM inclined to believe there is hardly any

one thing in the world, which mankind are more mistaken in, than real religion; nor is any fubject represented in more different and contrary points of view, than this is. The principal cause of these mistakes and false representations, is (in my judgment at least) that men have entertained very wrong conceptions of God himself, who is the author of all true religion. They have formed ideas of him according to the bare letter of the word, without

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without entering into the true spiritual and internal meaning thereof. And when our ideas are merely confined to the letter only, we may easily confirm ourselves in the most palpable errors and false doctrines. For, in some places of that word, wrath, vengeance, anger, and fury, are predicated of Jehovah; in others, that he is all meekness, compassion, and love.

Now we know that the Lord our God cannot be both the one and the other of these. But in different parts of the word he is represented as he appears to men, according to the state they are inand this for wife and good purposes; that hereby they may repent of their evils, and live. So when a man reads the word, who is under the power of evil-filled with every lust and abomination-he confiders God as a being of wrath and vengeance; because his own nature is such, that he apprehends. fury and wrath will be poured out upon him. And, indeed, the heat of divine love itself appears as wrath and vengeance to the ungodly man; because it is directly opposite to that infernal love in which he dwells-infomuch, that were such a man to approach the divine sphere of heavenly love, it would be to him as a confuming fire; he would be tortured and tormented by it-so very opposite is hellish love to heavenly love.

But again, even men of religion have formed to themselves ideas of the Almighty, which are directly contrary to his nature and perfections; and confe

consequently that religion which is founded upon those ideas, must be confonant to the ideas themselves. What I chiefly allude to is, the notion of a trinity of Gods, or persons in the Godhead; and that one perfon, or God, came down to appease the wrath and anger of another; together with the opinion, that God is a partial being.

Now under such views of God, it is impoffible but religion should be represented in a very difagreeable light. But my design is not to enlarge upon these subjects now; suffice it to say, we form no fuch conceptions of the Divine Being. We are convinced from reason and scripture, that God is one, in one divine person-that he is an impartial Godhas no wrath or anger to appease, but is love itself in its very essence, full of mercy, goodness, and truth. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is this God, the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, and is (as in the verse preceding our text) meek and lowly in heart; that is, infinitely condescending and kind to his creatures-eafy of access-ready to teach-willing to fave and make happy all that come unto him. And also that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. My design in making choice of these words, is to reprefent unto my hearers

THE TRUE NATURE AND PLEASURE OF RELIGION.

I shall, first, drop a few words as to the NATURE of it, and then attempt to prove and describe its pleafures; or the true happiness derived from it. And first, As to the nature of religion.

We

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