that one soul should be lost through your neglect? Can you with indifference behold the impenitent, thronging the road to ruin, and stumbling over your backslidings? Yes, if you are not enlivened by the Spirit of Christ you can. But since he is the great, efficient agent for the conversion, sanctification and salvation of lost man; and for these things he is to be inquired of by the house of Israel, how careful should believers be, lest they grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and instead of being a light to the world, be an hinderance and effectual barriers to those, who otherwise would enter into the kingdom of heaven.

REFLECTIONS.

1st. In the light of this subject we see, that impenitent sinners have reason for mourning, when they behold the professors of religion in a backslidden state.

When the members of any church do generally grieve the Holy Spirit of God, the prospect of a general awakening in that place is truly darkened. The contentions and misdoings of believers are not only ground for their own deep humiliation; but they should cause those to mourn, who have never professed, nor embraced the gospel. Would the impenitent not oppose their own salvation? Let them not resist and grieve the spirit themselves; and desire also, that the friends of the Redeemer enjoy much of his life giving influence. Then a life of prayer and devotedness to God will be manifest; yea, they will wrestle in prayer for a divine blessing, till the Lord pour out his Spirit, and build up his church by the addition of numerous converts. Yes, they who have never experienced the joys of believing, have a deep interest in this subject, and particularly in the peace, harmony, and engagedness of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Let not the world, at any time, rejoice in the low estate of the church, as it respects either her numbers, or

her graces. Impenitent sinners, you should rather weep for yourselves, be afflicted, and mourn in the bitterness of your souls, when few come to the solemn feasts of Zion, and the love of many waxes cold.

2dly. How should there be one heart and one voice, that the Lord would quicken his people and build up Jerusalem !

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This would be for the joy and prosperity of believers, and for the furtherance of the gospel. If, with an audible voice from heaven, the interrogation should be made to us, "Can these dry bones live?" We might answer as did the prophet, "O Lord God thou knowest." Unless the Holy Spirit give life, we might add, they must remain in spiritual death. Unless the Lord from on high breathe on them, they never can live.

Then let it be our united petition for the Holy Spirit to be poured out yet more copiously into our own hearts, that we may live near to God. Let our kindred and friends, the church and the world, be remembered in our daily petitions. Are we now mourning with deep contrition, some past neglects, or grievous offences? Then may we double our watchfulness and diligence; and give up our hearts to be guided by the Spirit of grace and truth. He is the Spirit of life; and through his influence we may bid defiance to the fiends of darkness. To this end may our united petition be, Lord evermore give us of this spirit, and let us drink of the water of the river of life, that we may never thirst. Give heed to the kind exhortation, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Amen.

SERMON XIX.

NEGLECT OF PRESENT DUTY THE RUIN OF MAN.

1 KINGS, XX. 40.

As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.

VARIOUS and deeply interesting are the instructions of the sacred oracles. The revelation which God has given, is both glorious and worthy its author, and suited to the condition of mankind. On the one hand, the divine character is exhibited in all its glory and beauty; on the other, that of man in all its pollution and deformity. The great design of divine revelation is the glory of God, and the salvation of man. But, in order to this, we may see the propriety of those facts being recorded of the conduct of both good and bad men; of the faithful and unfaithful, and all their varied circumstances, to be a terrour to evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. Hence, a passage of scripture seemingly indifferent in itself, by its connexion becomes momentously interesting.

The words of the text are the account of a man's negligence, which cost his life. The connexion is solemn and instructive. "And a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, Behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him and slew him. Then he found another man, and said,

Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king; and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be, thyself hast decided it. And he hasted and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people."

By this account we are taught, that to be busy about remote concerns, to the neglect of immediate duty, proyes the destruction of man. The subject may be illustrated with great variety for our present and future well-being.

1st. The common calamities of idleness.

As it respects the various evils of civil life, the true reason to be assigned is, that mankind are so much busied in concerns remote from their present duty. Society is burdened by manifold evils, because so many are busy here and there; and for the greater part of their time, and the chief part of their conduct, no satisfactory account can be given. Mankind are generally busied about something; and if it be not for good, it must be for evil. Those pursuits which cannot be for the benefit of individuals and the community, must be for their injury. And to turn aside but one step from what is consistent with known duty, is to enter a course which may end in lasting disgrace and

infamy. When the mind is not employed with subjects which relate to immediate duty, a person is peculiarly exposed to temptation. To be busy here and there, by spending much of our time in loitering or frivolous pursuits, is to be in danger of some destructive vice; of intemperance, profanity, theft, or lasciviousness, and to an unfeeling mind and abandoned life. Would all be occupied in some of the varied duties of life, how quickly would bitter animosities, and painful and lasting contentions have an end! Why are our prisons filled with malefactors? Because many are busy here and there, contemplating schemes to which duty does not call, and inventing projects which are not their true interest. Forgery and robbery so often take place on the account of some who would be busy, but not in some honest calling. Why are locks necessary? For fear that some would be busy here and there, from motives foreign from present duty. The same reasoning will account for the conduct of duelists.

Would the person under the gallows assign the true reason how he came to ascend the scaffold to be a spectacle for the world, he would tell us he first embarked in some trivial pursuits, aside from the path of duty; and, persisting in this course by a climax of vices, he is suspended between the heavens and the earth. Murder, at first, was far from his intentions; his soul even shuddered at the thought of a profligate life, and of abandoned and desperate attempts. How varied the vices and evils of this present world! But to be busy about remote concerns to the neglect of immediate duty, proves the destruction of man in his present state, as it respects the various evils of civil life.

2dly. Destitution of earthly comforts.

Negligence and trivial pursuits, instead of industry and economy, cause many to live in the want of the conveniences of life. Earthly good things must not be accounted our chief portion, as they