takes occasion from them to entertain a good opinion of his state before God. He puts them in the place of good attain- ments; and, because he hopes that they shall at some futvire period accomplish their proper work, he overlooks the neces- sity of immediately experiencing that work, and conceives, that God will, if I may so speak, accept the will for the deed. To countenance this delusion, he applies to himself such promises as these ; " The Lord will fulfil the desire of them that fear him^:" "The desire of the righteous shall be granted*^." He forgets that the end is connected with the means ; and that, however we may acknowledge our obligations to God for abi- lity to will what is good, we can have no hope of acceptance with him, unless we exert ourselves with all diligence to do it, and to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling*^." Hence he is a living witness of that melancholy fact, " The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing, whilst the soul of the diligent is made fat^." Yes, to all eternity will he be a monument of that mysterious truth. " The desire of the slothful killeth him."]
Having marked the operation of good desires, I now proceed, II. To offer some salutary comisel in relation to them —
Doubtless good desires must take the lead, yea, and must move us, in the whole of our Christian course : but, as " faith itself is dead without works," so are good desires of no value any farther than they are productive of holy lives. I say then, if God have given to any of you good desires, see to it that those desires be,
1. Abiding — [There are few persons so depraved but they have felt on some particular occasion the risings of good desire. But to what purpose are such emotions in the soul, if they " pass away like the morning cloud, or as the early dew"?" To know what is good, and not to do it, involves us in the heavier guilt'', and will prove a ground of heavier condemnation to the soul ; as God has said, " This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil ^" If then you would derive real benefit from the desires which God has mercifully implanted in you, see that they take root within you, and become living and active principles in your souls.]
e Ps. cxlv. 19. f Prov. X. 24. g Phil. ii. 12, 13.
^ Prov. xiii. 4. ' Hos. vi. 4. ^ Jam. iv. 17.
^ John iii. 19.