remembered, that, whatever may be a man's fituation in life, there will be others who ftand in this relation to him, and who will be defirous of reducing him to their own ftandard. Frequent dif appointments and mortifications, to the ambitious man, must confequently enfue; many defires must be left ungratified; many views unaccomplished. The thoughts of God and religion, whenever they obtrude themselves into his mind, will be to the ambitious man, only the fource of grief and difquietude. He has never cried unto the Lord with the humble confidence of holy David*, "Oh, fet "me upon the rock, that is higher than I; for "thou haft been my hope, and a strong tower for "me against the enemy. I will dwell in thy "tabernacle for ever; and my trust shall be under "the covering of thy wings." He hath never had the heart-felt conviction, that, " power belongeth "only unto God;" and, therefore, it is not to be wondered at, that God fhould leave him to reft upon the broken reed of his own might. * Pfalm lxi. 3, 4. Prayer-book Version. [W. Appleton, Printer, Stockton.] PART PART II. SHALL forbear to enlarge on the flate of the Glutton, whofe God is his belly;" whofe "table is made a fnare to take himself withal:" his unhappy life bearing, in many refpects, fo ftrong a refemblance to that of the drunkard. Neither fhall I dwell on the racking torments of the envious or the revengeful man; unto whom the bleffings which God bountifully fhowers down on other men, are a conftant fource of pain and uneafinefs; nor of the paffionate or angry man perpetually troubling his own fpirit. I fhall, alfo, pafs over the torpid and wretched state of the flothful man, with the dreadful fentences continually hanging over his head, "Cut it down, "why cumbereth it the ground. Caft ye the "unprofitable fervant into utter darknefs. There "fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I fhall, likewife, omit the confideration of any other defcriptions of finners against their own fouls, for the fake of more particularly regarding the three following: 1. The worldlyninded 2. The lovers of pleasures more "than lovers of God*:" And, 3. The uncharitable, who are to be met with in every rank and fituation of life; and, together, include by much : the more confiderable portion of mankind. In thefe, there often appears no very firiking fymptom, no very favourite purfuit; and the difeafe is frequently hidden from the fufferers themfelves, and fometimes from their moft intimate friends. But, our concern, at prefent, is with the enjoyments of thefe ftates; which the deluded many imagine to be very confiderable. enquiry, it will, I truft, be found far otherwife. On ft, Then, of the worldly-minded.----Thefe are in a state, perhaps, of all others the most frequently condemned in the Holy Scriptures; because, perhaps, it is, of all others, the most common on earth. "I have (faid our Re"deemer to his difciples) chofen you out of the world *." "The cares of this "world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lufts of other things entering in, choke the "word, and it becometh unfruitful t." ❝ Holy Father, keep, through thine own name, thofe whom thou haft given me, that they may be one, as we are. I pray not that thou shouldest "take them out of the world; but, that thou "fhouldest keep them from the evil ." "God for bid (faid St. Paul) that I fhould glory, fave "in the cross of Chrift; whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world ||." "Love not the world (faid St. John) neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. "For Mark iv. 19. John xv. 19. Mat. xiii. 22. For all that is in the world,----the luft of the "flefh,----the luft of the eyes,----and the pride of "life, is not of the Father, but is of the world*.' "Ye adulterers, and adultereffes (faid St. James) "know ye not, that the friendfhip of the world is enmity with. God? Whofoever, therefore, "will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of "Godt." Thus, we find the world conftantly. oppofed to Heaven, and the children of this "world" contrafted with the children of light + " Indeed, the numerous cares and allurements of this world are the most powerful engines in the hands of our great fpiritual enemy. He, who "goeth about, as a roaring lion, seeking whom " he may devour," is continually fixing perfons, of every rank and ftation, to this world, that he may take them captive at his will;" and his filly prifoners hug the chains by which they are enslaved. How many perfons do we obferve performing almost every action of their lives for the fake of gratifying the world! "What will the world. "fay? What will the world think?" are queftions for ever in their minds, and frequently in their mouths. They heap up riches, without being led by avarice; they diffipate them, unfwayed by prodigality; they amafs power, without feeling. ambition; they are guilty of exceffes, untempted by fenfuality ---and all to pleafe the world. Their very B 2 * 1 John ii. 15. 16. See alfo 1 John iii, 1.iv. 4, 5 v. 4, 5, 19. James ív. 4. See Luke xvi. 8.. very drefs,their whole manner of life.----their fociety,their recrcations,----are all regulated by the fame ftandard. They purfue diverfions, in which they feel no delight, becaufe the world calls them pleafures; they wafte their time in tiresome company, engaged in the moft infipid amufements, or equally infipid conversation; because the world terms fuch modes of paffing time agreeable. I need not expatiate on the irkfomenefs of fuch drudgery as this, which nothing (one would imagine) but fome great reward, could cause them to fubmit to. And, yet, what, in this cafe, is the reward? How does the world repay them for their anxieties, their care, and trouble? With its approbation, or applaufe? With its wealth, or honours? In truth, no, but with the moft mortifying neglect and indifference. Where they expect all eyes to be turned on them, they frequently find themfelves difregarded. Let them for a while retire from the world, and they perceive themselves forgotten. Let them die, and they are thought of no more. In the mean time, the world ftill goes on in the fame giddy round of vanity and care, and their infignificant places are filled by other triflers. But, there are worldly-minded men who pay not this flavish regard to the opinion of the many. They imagine themfelves in a fcene abounding with treasures and delights, and they either take up with one or many, or rove from one to another, as their fancy leads them. But ftill here, on this earth, they have collected all their treafure ;--here they have fixed their hearts. Whether riches, |