men ; so that all who behold you may be constrained to say, *' We will go with you; for we see that God is with you of a truth."]
Prov. iii. 35. The ivise shall inherit glory ; hut shame shall he
the promotion of fools.
A DESIRE of distinction and a fear of shame are powerful incentives to the human mind, and produce, in every department of life, exertions far beyond those to which mere natural inclination would prompt us. The soldier on the field of battle finds those principles stronger than the fear of death : nor is the student insensible of their influence upon his mind : on the contrary, the nearer the time approaches for a judgment to be passed upon him, the greater are his anxieties respecting it^ Now, these feelings being founded in nature itself, God is pleased to call them into action in reference to things of far higher moment than those which too generally engross them. Dis- grace or honour are awarded to men, even in the present life, on moral and religious grounds, and much more will they in the life to come : and I wish that a due concern may be felt in reference to them, whilst I point out the influence of wisdom^
I. On our present state —
Wisdom may fitly be described as a conformity to the mind of God ; and folly, as any aberration from it. But it is the Gospel alone that places these in their true light. Let us,
1. Distinguish the two characters —
[The Gospel is a proclamation of mercy to perishing sin- ners, through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ ; nor is there any way of salvation for fallen man, except that which is there revealed. All who are not interested in that Saviour must perish under the guilt of their sins
^ Preached a Httlo previous to the Degree time at Cambridge ; a time of extreme anxiety to the young men preparing for the Exami- nations.