This subject affords me a fit occasion to impress upon your minds,
1 . The wisdom of industrious habits —
[Think not that this is a suggestion unworthy of a minister of the Gospel. St. Paul inculcates strongly and frequently this lesson : " Be not slothful in business1:" " If any man will not work, neither shall he eatm:" " Let him that stole, steal no more ; but rather let him labour with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth11." God has, in relation to the greater part of the world, appointed a connexion between industry and the possession of earthly comforts. He has told us, and we daily see the truth of it, that " the diligent hand maketh rich;" and that "idleness will clothe a man with rags." I would, therefore, say to all, Be diligent in your respective callings ; and account it not beneath you to exert yourselves to the uttermost in every work that is assigned you, whether it be intellectual, for the improvement of your minds, or corporeal, for the discharge of any inferior duties. I am not prepared to go the full length of a profound writer0, and say, that, in the pursuit of happiness, " occupation is all :" but certainly a constant and diligent prosecution of our respective duties contributes essentially, in the very act, to the happiness of our minds, and ultimately, in its consequences, to the comfort of our lives. Nor will it in the least interfere with the exercises of true piety : for when St. Paul says, " Be not slothful in business," he adds at the same time, " Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lordp."]
2. The wisdom of seeking after God — [Diligence in the prosecution of earthly good may be
defeated by a thousand unforeseen occurrences : but who ever failed in seeking after God ? Moreover, many who have pos- sessed the good things of this life, have afterwards, by untoward circumstances, been bereaved of them : but who, or what, can rob you of your God ; who, if you really give yourselves up to him, has said, not only that " he will never depart from you, and that he will put his fear in your hearts, that you shall not depart from himq?" Besides, in the full possession of earthly things you may have no comfort in them, by reason of pain of body or distress of mind : but in those seasons God will be nearer to you, and will impart his consolations to you more abundantly, in proportion as you need his gracious helpr. I say, then, Seek after God : seek him as a reconciled God in Christ Jesus : seek him, till he has revealed himself fully to your souls, and enabled you to say, " O God, thou art my
1 Rom. xii. 11. m 2 Thess. in. 10—12. n Eph. iv. 28.
0 Paley. p See l. 1 Jer. xxxii. 40. r 2 Cor. i. 5.