2. Let those who boast of their obligations to God not be inattentive to their duties —
[They who " cry, Lord, Lord, and neglect to do the things which he commands," miserably deceive their own souls. And it must be confessed that such self-deceivers do exist, and ever have existed in the Church of God. But let those who glory in the deeper doctrines of religion bear in mind, that nothing can supersede an observance of its duties : for " He is not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of Godd." That is a solemn admonition which God has given to us all : " Circumcise yourselves unto the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench ite." It is not by our professions, but by our prac- tice, that we shall be judged in the last day. We may say to our Lord in the last day, that we have not only gloried in him, but " in his name done many wonderful works ;" yet will he say to us, " Depart from me, I never knew you," if we shall then be found to have been workers of iniquity. To all then who account themselves the elect of God, I say, Let the truth of your principles be seen in the excellence of your works : and, as you profess to be more indebted to God than others, let the heavenliness of your minds and the holiness of your lives be proportionably sublime and manifest : for it is in this way only that you can approve yourselves to God, or justify your professions in the sight of man.]
d Rom. ii. 28, 29. e Jer. iv. 4.