Grace still enable us all to fet God always before us, and in every Part of our Lives fo to conduct ourselves as bebolding him who is invifible; (Heb. ii. 27.) never to miss the ftated Hours of the Church, and ever to worship God with an boly Worship, with a deep Seriousness of Attention and the devoutest Affection of our Minds; not only to worship him in Spirit and in Truth, conftantly, fervently, but to be Followers of God as dear Children, purifying ourselves from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit; that after doing his Will upon Earth we may be accepted at last, and enter into our Mafter's Joy through the Merits and Mediation of our bleffed Redeemer, to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the one ever bleffed God, be afcribed all Dominion, Obedience, and Praife, in alp Churches of the Saints, both now and for ever more. U 2 SER SERMON IX. LUKE xiii. 5. I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewife perish. HE Belief of a Deity, and that God THE does inspect the Lives of Men, and the Manners of Nations, that he often inflicts present and temporal Judgments on the wicked, is undoubtedly a reasonable Sentiment, neceffary to fupport Religion in the World, and to keep up a publick and national Dependance on Providence. But then it is a very weak and unjustifiable Use that that is often made of this Belief, to infer the Guilt or Innocence of particular Perfons from their external Circumstances in Life; to conclude from this Man's being greatly miferable, that therefore he is greatly wicked; or because another profpers in the World and has Riches in poffeffion, that he is confequently a Favourite of Heaven. Our Saviour to prevent uncharitable Conclufions from the vifible Diftreffes of Men directs us in fuch Cafes to turn our Thoughts rather upon ourfelves. There were prefent at that Season, says the Evangelift, some that told him of the Galileans, whofe Blood Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices. And Jefus answering faid unto them---fuppofe ye that thefe Galileans were Sinners above all the Galileans, because they fuffered fuch Things? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewife perish. Or thofe eighteen upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell and flew them, think ye that they were Sinners above all Men that dwelt in Jerufalem? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewife perifs. Our Saviour might justly thus expoftulate with with the Jews, whose national Wickedness deferved the feverest Cenfure.---And would God the prefent Character of the English Nation did not furnish Cause for these, or fome fuch melancholy Reflections as these ! Think you of thofe Countries where the War rages, where the Fields are made a Desert, where the miserable Inhabitants are mangled and butchered, or, if they escape the Sword, are yet plundered of their Fortunes, and from Plenty reduced to beg their Bread, nay to seek it out in defolate Places ;---think you, that their Wickedness is greater than that of others, greater than our own, or more deferying God's Vengeance? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye fball all likewife perish. As an Improvement of thefe Words, and with a view to the prefent folemn Occafion, which calls for our fincereft Humiliation and Repentance, to deprecate and avert the Judgments of Heaven, and to implore the Continuance of God's Bleffing upon us and 0 our Children, I shall shew you 1.---How |