LXXXIII. SERM. retain that Holy Spirit which is conferred upon them by imposition of hands. We pray, that God may defend you with His heavenly grace. We shew you that God is ever ready to bless His own holy appointments. We may convince you that this is one of His ordinances, and as such you may earnestly desire to be partakers of it; and yet, after all, reap no benefit by it. [Ps. 16. 8; For you may neglect the gift bestowed upon you, forget your promises and holy purposes, and grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by which you are sealed unto the day of redemption. God forbid it should be so with any of you on whom I am now going to lay my hands. But since it may be so, it is fit you should have warning to be careful of your ways, and know how to value the grace of God so as not to forfeit it. And value it surely you will, if you consider the blessing of being under the government of the Spirit of God: for then no temptation can overcome you; the devil cannot hurt you; for greater is He that is with you, than he that is against you. You will, by His assistance, learn to despise this world, and set your affections upon a much better. You will be enabled, by that same Spirit, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, that you may live-live as free from sin as may be here, and for ever in heaven. For this good Spirit will enlighten your mind with saving truths; when you go astray, will pull you back; when you grow careless, will awaken you; when you want help, will assist you; when you want comfort, will rejoice your heart; when you do well, will encourage you; and when you do amiss, will correct and chasten you; until He brings you to heaven, when all your trouble and your danger will be over, and, for the short trials you have undergone in this life, you will be made happy for ever and ever. IV. And now you will desire to know, by what means this good Spirit is to be secured, how you may attain the end of your faith and Christian profession; namely, the salvation of your souls; which was the last particular we proposed to speak to. The holy Psalmist set himself (as he tells us) this rule: 119. 60.] I set God always before me, therefore I shall not fall." That is, he endeavoured to have these thoughts ever in his : mind that God saw all his actions, heard all his words, and knew the very thoughts of his heart; that therefore he might not offend God, he took care of his thoughts, words, and actions. But if at any time he had the misfortune to fall, his way was not to continue in rebellion: "I made haste," saith he, "and delayed not to keep Thy commandments." And thus must you do, if you hope for the continuance of God's grace. You must strive to live in the fear of God, remembering His judgments upon wilful sinners, frequently calling to mind the vows that are upon you, calling upon Him in all your wants, and giving Him thanks for every blessing you receive. By this means, the knowledge of God will be ever present with you, and the Spirit of God will delight in you, and lead you in the way wherein you should go. And if at any time you go astray, He will by the methods of His providence bring you back, that you may in the end be saved. In the second place, be sure not to neglect any opportunities of improving yourselves in Christian knowledge and the grace of God; remembering, that to profane the Lord's day, to neglect the holy Sacrament, to despise the advice and admonitions of your spiritual guides, is to despise the Lord; and I need not tell you what they are to expect that do so. Be sure to let no day pass without begging God's pardon and blessing; for to neglect this duty, is a sure way to lead you into an indifference for God and goodness. What is the reason that you respect your parents? Is it not because you frequently receive good from them? And do you hope to keep a love for God in your hearts, unless you constantly pray to Him, and constantly give Him thanks for His favours; ever remembering, that it is as impossible to live a good life without God's grace and assistance, as it is to live without food? And pray believe me, in a matter which very nearly concerns you, when I do assure you, it is much easier now to begin to live a Christian life, than it will be hereafter. Re- [Eccles. 12. member thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before evil company have corrupted you, before evil habits have got domi i.] LXXXIII. SERM. nion over you, before the love of the world has got possession of your hearts; for then it will be hard indeed to turn to the Lord with all your heart, when sin and hell have got the dominion over you. In one word; as you hope to be saved, (and who is there that does not?) consider what you are doing: that you are going to dedicate yourselves to God, with the full consent of your own wills; and that you have only this choice for the future, either you must be God's servants, doing His will, and serving Him faithfully all the days of your lives; or the devil will take you into his service, and you are undone for ever. But may God bless, protect, and govern you all your days; may He possess your hearts with such a lively sense of His great mercy in bringing you from the power of Satan unto God, in giving you an early right to His holy covenant, and an early knowledge of your duty, that you may honestly devote yourselves to His service, that you may receive the fulness of His grace, and be able to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. And as He has made you His children by adoption, may He bring you in His good time to His everlasting kingdom, for Jesus Christ's sake. To Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour, glory, thanksgiving, and praise, now and for ever. Amen. SERMON LXXXIV. PREACHED AT A CONFIRMATION. THE INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN IN THE KNOWLEDGE AND FEAR DEUT. vi. 6, 7. These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; See Prov. and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. THAT is, as ever you value your own or your children's happiness, you must endeavour to fix and preserve in their hearts, the knowledge, the fear, and the love of God, what He has commanded, and what He hath forbidden; for, without this, they will be unhappy in this world, and in the next undone for ever. 22.6. To fear God, and to keep His commands, is the whole Eccl. 12. 13. duty and happiness of man. Forasmuch as God has declared, and determined, that He will bring every work into judgment, and every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. And they that have done good, who have led good lives, shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, who have led idle and wicked lives, and have not repented, and brought forth fruits meet for repentance, shall go into everlasting fire. Certainly, parents do not consider this so well as they should do, or they would not suffer their children to grow wild, and wicked, and ignorant of God, and of their duty, as too many of them do. Parents are obliged, both by nature and grace, to take care of their own children; to instruct, to restrain, and to correct them. And they that do not do so, do, by a just LXXXIV. SERM. judgment of God, bring upon themselves sorrow, and upon their country a curse, by breeding up so many children of Satan to corrupt their neighbours. Parents are very often the greatest enemies that their children have. Some leave them riches, not always honestly gotten; and these become a curse to their children, and not a blessing. Others strive all their life long to leave their children a great deal, which too often becomes a snare and a temptition; makes their children forget their dependence upon God, and the duty they owe their Maker. Many, very many parents are so blind, that they cannot, or so perverse that they will not, see their children's faults, nor correct them. Such parents very often live to see their children, to their sorrow, disobedient, stubborn, self-willed, neither minding their commands, nor their advice. There are parents so little concerned for their children's welfare, that they let them have their own will and ways. They see their children keep idle and wicked company; they see them given to lying, to swearing, to the taking of God's name to idle and wicked purposes, to the profaning of the Lord's day; and often without rebuking them, seldom chastising them, though they are in the ready way to destruction. Lastly; too many parents deprive their children of a comfortable subsistence, many by drinking away their estates, others by idleness, prodigality, litigiousness, and many such extravagant ways, by which their children are exposed to hardships and misery, and are tempted to take unlawful ways to get their bread. This is a crime so barbarous, so cruel, so unnatural, that a thief, in comparison of such a parent, is a better man. One might insist much more upon the faults of too many parents, by which they leave a miserable or a wicked posterity behind them, for which they must answer in another world. But this is not what the subject we are upon leads us to, for this is, To shew what parents ought to do,-what is in their power to do, in order to make themselves and their children happy in this and in a better world. "These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; and |