of others, to derive his happiness chiefly from the exalted fatisfactions of piety, and the cultivation of his own mind; from a disposition formed to the worship of God and the love of man, by the precepts and example of the Saviour of the world. His forrows and disappointments therefore are but few. In the figurative language of fcripture, " he drinks waters "out of his own ciftern; and running

waters out of his own well." Such is the character that maintains dignity and respect in every fituation of life. fituation of life. In prof perity, we view it with love and admiration; in adversity, we look up to it with

reverence.

STUDY, then, to acquire thofe habits of thinking and reflection, on which fo much intellectual excellence depends. It is this will give you stability of character, and render you happy in yourselves, and respectable in the eyes of all men. It is this will teach you to unite prudence to virtue, without diminishing its ardor, and enable

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enable you to join reason to religion without destroying the fervor of devotion. It is this too, that will distinguish you from that thoughtless and inconsiderate tribe of mortals, who, properly fpeaking, have no character at all; who difcover no fteady resolution to pursue good, and no constant care to avoid evil.

To render what has been faid the more effectual, let it be always remembered, that it is the excellence of his intellectual powers, which exalts man far above the brutes; and the diligent improvement of thefe, is what forms the only meritorious diftinction between one man and another. But let it never be forgotten, that all knowledge is ufelefs, and all excellence. vain, which is unconnected with the practice of virtue, and which tends not to fanctify the heart.

PERHAPS, angels and those beings who were originally created fuperior to man, or by gradual improvement in paffing through

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through different modes of exiftence, have become fo in procefs time, differ only from man, in the purity and exaltation of their nature. Indeed, we can form no other idea of the Almighty Father, than that he is a being who enjoys the intelligent powers of rational creatures, free from every infirmity, in a degree of infinite perfection. The faint dawnings of wisdom, which we now enjoy, and the gradual progress towards perfection which the wife and virtuous experience, feem to promise to us a brighter day. Imperfect as our reafon may at present be, it must, notwithstanding, be deemed a feeble emanation of that omniscience, by which the Great Creator "formed the heavens, and

laid the foundations of the earth." We ought to cultivate it, therefore, with the utmost diligence and ardor; and though, after every anxious enquiry, we must stop far fhort of perfection; yet it is in the power of every one, under the divine affiftance, to gain what is fufficient for the purposes of this life, and for bringing

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bringing to our minds that gracious God, "from whom every good and perfect gift "cometh," with adoration, gratitude and praife. He has clearly traced the path of duty, and scattered inftruction before our eyes in a thousand different forms. Ponder well, therefore, the path of life; and, in " preffing on towards the

high calling of Chrift Jefus, our Lord, "take heed unto thyfelf and keep thy "foul diligently, left thou forget the "things which thine eyes have seen, and " left they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life."

SER

SERMON II

THE CHARITY AND FORBEARANCE OF CHRIST, CONTRASTED WITH THE MANNERS OF THE WORLD.

MATT. xii. 20.

A bruifed reed shall He not break, and fmoaking flax fhall He not quench.

HESE words, which St. Matthew

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quotes from the great evangelical prophet, are descriptive of our bleffed Lord's ministry on earth, and afford us a ftriking inftance of that fublime language, and beautiful imagery, with which the facred volume abounds. There is an unadorned majesty, a fimple grandeur found in the word of God, which we may

look

for