more shall that be found in the day which is especially set apart for the display of God's righteous judgments. The Prophet Isaiah, as God's herald, received this awful commission : " Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him : for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. But woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him : for the reward of his deeds shall be given him'." And this do we also proclaim. For the righteous is reserved a state of unutterable joy; but for the wicked, a state of utter exclusion from the realms of bliss, " in the lake tliat burnetii with fire and brimstone," " where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." If the present inequalities of his dispensations lead us to expect this, much more does that previous distribution of good and evil which is even now accorded to men in correspondence with their moral habits. What is at this moment felt in the minds of the different characters, may well teach us what to expect in the day of judgment ; even a separation of the righteous and the wicked ; the one to everlasting fire ; and the other to everlasting life, and blessedness, and glory.]
Let me now, from this subject, recommend,
1. Religion in general —
[It is this which makes the chief difference between dif- ferent men. The prince on his throne, and the beggar on the dunghill, are but little apart in comimrison of " the good" and " the sinner." Piety sets men asunder, as far as light from dark- ness, heaven from hell. Let those then amongst you, who would be happy either here or hereafter, give yourselves up to God, and approve yourselves to him. Only be " good in his sight," and happiness will be yours, both in time and in eternity.]
2. A due improvement of all that you possess — [To squander it away in self-indulgence, or to hoard it for
some future possessor, will be alike foolish and vain. Neither of these modes of employing wealth can ever make you happy. The serving of God, and the benefiting of your fellow-creatures, will, on the contrary, bring peace and joy into the soul: for " the work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteous- ness is quietness and assurance for ever." Not that any libe- rality of yours can ever form a ground of hope before God in a way of merit: all that you have is the Lord's: and it is only of his oivn that you give him : but if you are seeking righteous- ness and salvation by Christ alone, then will your works be accepted for Christ's sake : and whatever you dispose of for the advancement of his glory, he will acknowledge it as "lent to him, and he will pay you again." The talents that are im- proved for him, shall receive, in due proportion, a recompence at his hands.]
' Isai. iii. 10, 11.
832.]