I scarcely need to add, that the charity before us is not a mere love of one's own natural relations and family: this is far too confined; and under the cover of this, and often with the pretence of this, a spirit of covetousness prevails destructive of all charity. Where trade abounds, as in this country, what need have Christians to beware here! How often does rivalship in business so blind and besot the judgment, as to take away all charity between persons who profess godliness! And, in general, the greedy spirit of gain, and the habit of reducing every thing to calculations of profit and loss, which prevail in places of much trade, are apt to sap the foundations of Christian unity, peace, and love; and to freeze and deaden the souls of professors. This is, in short, the greatest discouragement in our ministry among professors which we meet with. We can but speak against it. O do Thou, who hadst not where to lay thy head when on earth, look down from thy glory, as Thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and shame, or rebuke, or convince thy own people of the great evil of selfishness and covetousness, and open their hearts to mutual charity; make them content with a little of the world, and teach them to press more earnestly after the true riches.

(2.) Enemies of the Church.-I call you so who live in open sin and profaneness; not only such of you as make a mock at all godliness,

but such as evidently neglect it, and think yourselves above paying any regard to it; who look on religion as a thing quite out of your way and line. You might read this Psalm by the method of contraries, all the way through. You are not glad when there is a spirit of religious and serious attendance on Divine ordinances in the place you live in: such of you as are far advanced in life may remember how you opposed and scoffed at it, when the Spirit of God was poured out in this place. Your feet do not gladly stand in the church, but in the gaming-house, the tavern, or places of pleasure and vanity. You have nothing to do with the unity and lovely order of Christ's church, and partake not of its health and spirit: your society is with Satan's people. You neither pray nor labour for the good of the church; you have not begun to pray and labour for your own. All the use I can make of the Psalm for you, is to convince you that you are void of the essential characters of true godliness. Be assured, that you must experience an entire change of heart, or you will never enter into the house of God which is above, nor will your feet ever stand within the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem.

SERMON XVIII.

THE CHARGE OF GOD TO ABRAHАМ.

GENESIS xvii. 1.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect.

THE relation of Father and son, which the blood of Jesus, through faith, cements between God Almighty and a poor sinful human worm, is a real relation, and is always attended with its due properties,-on the Father's side, with fatherly kindness; on the son's, with dutiful obedience. I shall endeavour, first, to open the true meaning of this weighty and comprehensive precept; secondly, to illustrate it a little by the conduct of Abraham; and, thirdly, to apply the subject before us.

1. The command, "Walk before me, and be thou perfect," bears a particular respect to the two names of the blessed God set forth in the text, rendered in our translation the Almighty God;" but more faithfully and exactly rendered the "all-bountiful One every

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where present." If He is all-bountiful, or shedding and pouring forth all good, a strong reason indeed is couched in His name for our walking before him with perfect hearts; seeing He only can fill us with good, we need no other benefactor than Himself, and none else deserves to be served with the whole heart. Likewise, if He is every where present, if none can hide themselves from His view, we ought to walk as in His presence, ever setting Him before us, as intimately conscious of our inmost thoughts and all our ways, and ever at hand to bless his friends and to punish his enemies. "I am the all-bountiful, the omnipresent One: walk before me, and be thou perfect."

The first member, Walk before me," or Walk in my sight, expresses the setting of God before us in all our conduct, as observing us, and being really present with us. It is observed of the wicked, that they know not the Lord: they are so proud that they care not for God, neither is God in all their thoughts. They say to the Almighty, "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.' Hence all unconverted men shun those thoughts and that conversation which would bring God into near view. You may easily see how in conversation they flee from it; they cannot bear it; guilt, enmity, and terror keep them at a distance. Not so Abram, and those who, with Abram, walk with God.

They are his children: his all-bounteous grace and his omnipresence engage them at once to dutiful reverence of his all-seeing eye, and a jealous fear of offending him, who ever sees and observes their goings; and also to a confident, affectionate, child-like dependence on his power, wisdom, and goodness, ever engaged in their behalf. And this walking in his sight is carried on by that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By this, God is realized to their souls, and his presence has a lively, steady, practical influence. Faith in an unseen God and Father supplies the place of sight. Hence, fear of evil is overcome; their Father is present to save them;--fear of sinning is established in the soul; their Father ever sees, and will be displeased. And hence, only, the fear of man and the walking before men, is overcome. The unconverted, not placing God before their eyes, place men before them. To please them; to seek in words and deeds to keep up a decent appearance, and make a regard for character the grand end of their dealings with one another; this is the way of the world: and hence the thousand thousand empty speeches, to the great abuse of language, with which men abound toward one another: hence the great pains taken to appear well, to look well, in our conversation and conduct, and the little regard paid therein to the will of God, the little or no sense of His all-seeing eye. The