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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SERMON XVII. He flatteretb himfelf in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. Pfalm xxxvi. 2. HEN we inftitute a comparifon SERM. XVII between the morality of the Gof- pel, and the lives of its profeflbrs at the prefent day, the diverfity, or rather con- tradition is fo glaring as to fmite us at once with aftonifhment and horror. If there be any dependence ori the dictates of confcienceâ??if there be a word of truth in religion, the habitual practice of virtue is abfolutely and indifpenfably neceflary to falvation. And yet it is a folemn matter of fact, to be deplored, even with tears of blood, that the generality of Chriftians S E R M. are feldom to be found any further virtuous faithful, honeft, or true, than is confiftenf with the indulgence of their paffionsi and their worldly interefts. How mall we account for this ? Shall we attribute it to hypocrtfy ? and fay, that they do not believe in their hearts a fingle word of what they profefs with their mouths ? Shall we refolve it into a partial diforder of the under/landing ? and fuppofe they have deliberately fettled it in their minds that the pleafures of this world are preferable ta thofe of eternity? Or imagine, with fome, that the abfurd and impious doctrine of faith "without -works has been the fource of thefe monftrous evils ? No doubt, but in a great variety of cafes, the wickednefs of individuals may be referred to one or other of thefe originals; but ftilla principle of more general and exten- five influence muft bedifcovered before we mall be able to affign any caufe adequate to that epidemical licentioufnefs, to that almoft univerfal inattention to moral re£ti- . tude tude every where fo vifible in the purfuit of pleafure, the tranfaction of bufmefs, and the condudt of life. It is...