food can nourish us, and preserve our life, which only standeth upon the table, or which never goeth farther than our mouth.

Let me therefore intreat you to comply with the apostle's exhortation in my text. I speak to you who are Christians indeed; because you alone are in the capacity of serving the Lord; for "they that are in the flesh," who were never cut off from the natural stock, and ingrafted into Christ, the true vine, such persons, the apostle tells us (Rom. viii. 8.), "cannot please God." They may perform the outward acts of duty, they may even do them with a considerable degree of natural fervour; but all the while their most specious services are only dead works, offered up with "strange fire," which cannot ascend to God with acceptance. I speak therefore to the living members of Christ, to those who are regenerated by the Spirit of God; and my request to you is, that, from this time forward, you should "stir up the gift of God that is in you," and be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

The declining interest of religion requires all the support you can give it. Men are wearing out of acquaintance with God; nor is it greatly to be wondered at, seeing his image is so faintly to be discerned, even upon those who are really his children. Look around you, and observe how active and violent wicked men are in the service of Satan: their pace, like "the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, is swift and furious." With what zeal, with what carefulness, with what self-denial,-I had almost said with what fear and trembling-do many of them work out their own damnation! "drawing iniquity with cords of vanity, and sinning as with a cart-rope !" And will you be cold and negligent, nay, timorous and shamefaced, in the service of the true and living God? Oh! how unseemly, how scandalous, how hurtful were this! hurtful to yourselves, hurtful to your fellow Christians, hurtful even to the wicked with whom you converse; they know that heaven and hell are in direct opposition, and consequently that the roads which lead to them must be widely distant from each other; and therefore they will never be persuaded that they shall be thrust down into utter darkness, if such as you, who in appearance are treading the same paths that they do, shall get to heaven at last. Ungrateful servants! how hath your Redeemer deserved this at your hands? Is this the way to gain men's hearts to the love of holiness? Would you wish the world to write after so imperfect and blotted a copy as you set before them? I beseech, I obtest you, by all the regard you have for the glory of God, your own comfort, and the good of others, that henceforth you would distinguish yourselves more visibly from "the men of the world who have their portion in this life." "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Let Christianity be so deeply engraved on every part of your conduct, that he who runs may read whose servants you are, and thus God may be glorified in his saints.

It is a mean inglorious aim, merely to keep within the limits which divide the lawful from the forbidden ground. Show that you are men of another spirit," by "following the Lord fully," and straining every nerve as it were, to attain the highest perfection of which our nature is capable in its present imperfect state. Let faith realize to you the life of Jesus; and beg of God," for Christ's sake, that he, by his Spirit may kindle that holy fire in your hearts, which shall gradually consume all your dross, and carry you swiftly forward to the Zion above, that imperial city of the great King, where, like those flaming ministers who surround his throne, you shall serve God day and night in his temple, without interruption, without imperfection, and without weariness. To which exalted felicity, may God, of his infinite mercy, bring us all in due time, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERMON XVI.

NUMBERS XIV. 24.

But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath FOLLOWED ME FULLY; him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

I PROPOSE to recommend to your imitation this illustrious servant of the most high God, whose name is recorded with such distinguished honour in the passage I have just now read in your hearing. Caleb followed the Lord fully, and obtained a glorious reward; and if we hope or wish to be rewarded as he was, reason teacheth us, that we should walk in his steps, and do as he did.

But what are we to understand by following the Lord fully? This question is first in order; and after I have endeavoured to give a satisfying answer to it, I shall then proceed to press the duty by some motives and arguments.

Let us begin with enquiring what we are to undertand by following the Lord fully?

And here I must observe in the entrance, that no man can follow the Lord at all till once he be acquainted with him; "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is at rewarder of them that diligently seek him." A slavish reluctant subjection there may be; but there cannot be a voluntary, far less an unreserved obedience, without affectionate trust and filial confidence. Before we can follow God, we must not only know

that he is supreme, and hath a right to command; but we must likewise believe that he is worthy to command, and infinitely possessed of all those perfections which qualify him to govern the creatures he hath made. Two thing we must be thoroughly per suaded of; first, That the laws of our Sovereign are righteous and good; and, next, That he is both able and willing to protect us in his service. And indeed, my brethren, had we never of fended God, these views alone would have been sufficient induce, ments to follow him fully; but as we are guilty creatures, and liable to punishment, some farther discoveries are now become ne, cessary. We need something to vanquish those fears of wrath, which would rather prompt us to fly from the presence of our Judge than to make an uncertain attempt to pacify him by submission; some scheme of grace must be opened to our view, by which pardon may be dispensed to the guilty, and strength imparted to the weak, in a way that appears consistent with the honour of the divine government. Nay, we must not only know that such a scheme exists, but we on our part must cordially ap-. prove of it; and, by our personal consent, ascertain our claim to that mercy and grace which it offers to sinners; that, being at peace with God, we may no longer dread him as an enemy, but love him as a Father, and serve him with joy, being assured that "our labour shall not be in vain."

This being premised as a necessary preparative for following the Lord fully, the duty itself may be considered as including the following particulars :

1st, That we acknowledge no other Lord besides him. One Lord we must have; for it is folly to imagine we can be independent and free. Man was made to serve; and nothing is left to him but the choice of his master. But more than one Lord we cannot have, unless by a derived or delegated authority. He who is supreme may appoint another to rule under him, and to enforce the observance of his laws; and when both concur in the same command, then both may be served by one act of obedience: but "no man can serve two opposite masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. We cannot serve God and Mammon." And therefore to follow the Lord fully is to follow him only; it is to make his will the sole and absolute rule of our conduct, in opposition to our own humour, the temptations of Satan, and the corrupt maxims of a world that lieth in wickedness.

2dly, To follow the Lord fully is to obey him without any reserve or limitation: it is to serve him with an affectionate and liberal heart; and to do this at all times. Each of these might be considered apart; but I have chosen to join them together under one head, as they serve to illustrate and support one another.

Our obedience, I say, must be without reserve or limitation ;

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for unless we follow the I ord in all things, we cannot truly be said to follow him in any thing. We give cause to suspect, that when, in other instances, we perform the duties he enjoins, yet even in those we are governed by something else than a regard to his authority; and that, though we seem to follow him, yet, in reality, we are prosecuting some interested scheme of our own, and are seeking ourselves instead of serving our God. The universality of our obedience, then, is a proof of our sincerity; for "whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all." We do not follow the Lord fully, unless we follow him whithersoever he leadeth us, through the most rugged paths of self-denial and mortification, as well as in those smooth delightful ways in which we find the most immediate advantage and pleasure. Again, we must serve him with an affectionate and liberal heart; continually asking such questions as these: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits ?" The term following plainly implies this. A person may be dragged or driven against his will, but to follow is an act of choice; it denotes a voluntary and cheerful obedience; a service of love, which is not sparing or niggardly, but always deviseth liberal things. Would we then follow the Lord fully, we must be "ready to every good work;" and not only embrace opportunities of service when they present themselves, but even seek out opportunities of improving those talents with which we are entrusted, that, as it is expressed in the parable, "when our Master returns, he may receive his own with usury." I further added, that we should behave after this manner at all times; that our conduct on every occasion may be consistent and uniform. The true servant of the Lord must always be one man, speaking the same language, and observing the same conduct in every place and in every company. Which leads me to a conto

3d Remark of considerable importance; namely, That to fol low the Lord fully, is to follow him openly, and in the face of the world. We must not think of stealing to heaven by some clandestine unfrequented path, as if we were ashamed of being seen, or afraid lest it should be known to what family we belonged: this is a sneaking cowardly artifice; so base in itself, and so ungrateful to the kindest, as well as to the greatest and most honourable Master, that, were it not too commonly practised, one should scarcely think it needful to he mentioned.

There are two extremes into which people are apt to run, and both ought to be guarded against with equal care. Some proclaim their religion as on the house tops; they love to talk of their high attainments, and discover an anxiety to make themselves observable, and to gain the admiration and applause of their neighbours. This our Saviour expressly condemns, Matth. vi. from the 1st to the 19th verse, where he tells his disciples,

that they who fast, or pray, or give alms, to be seen of men, only serve themselves; and what is the consequence? It is but just they should be left to reward themselves as they can; for duties done with such an aim can never be accepted by God as any part of that religious homage he requires. Others again, from a false modesty and bashfulness, or perhaps a pretended dislike of ostentation and hypocrisy, run into the opposite extreme; they hide their light, (if any light they have), they hide it, I say, "under a bushel," as the Scriptures express it. They go as great lengths as they dare, in a servile compliance with the humours and customs of the world: and even keep at an affected distance from every thing that might betray any serious impression of God upon their minds.

Now, the duty I am recommending lies at an equal distance from both these extremes. It is a profession that is neither ostentatious nor shame-faced; it neither courts observation nor avoids it. The true follower of the Lord, keeping the laws of his Master continually in his eye, performs every duty in its place and season. It appears a small matter to him to be judged of man's judgment," he endeavours "so to speak," and so to act, "not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth the heart." He doth not shun the view of his fellow-creatures, but is willing to give all who choose it an opportunity of learning, from his conduct, the nature and spirit of that religion he hath embraced. He feels, and practically acknowledgeth, the divine authority of such precepts as these: "Let your moderation be known to all men;" ""Provide things honest in the sight of all men ;" and, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." His soul is alarmed with that awful declaration of our Saviour, (Luke ix. 26.) "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's glory, and of the holy angels." Would we then follow the Lord fully, we must confess him openly, and dare to be holy in spite of devils and men. We must be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,-holding forth the word of life." Once more, in the

4th place, To follow the Lord fully, is to cleave to him stedfastly when others forsake him; and to persevere in his service, even when it exposeth us to the world's hatred, and the persecu tion of wicked and unreasonable men. It was on account of this brave and honourable singularity that Caleb obtained the title of man of another spirit. He was one of four, among some hundred thousands, who retained his loyalty to the King of heaven; for besides Moses and Aaron, and his own companion Joshua, it doth not appear that there was one dissenting voice in all the tribes of Israel; the revolt was universal, the whole congrega