All actions cannot appear alike in the sight of that "God of knowledge, who sees all "our ways, and counts all our steps, and by "whom we are assured that our actions are "weighed."* Neither therefore can all agents be equally acceptable to him.

God hath given in trust to man various powers and abilities, by a right application of which he is enabled at once to advance his own happiness, and to promote the happiness of others; or by a contrary use of them, to disturb the peace of mankind, and bring on his own ruin. For he hath linked us to each other by so strong a chain, that there is no solitary road to happiness or misery. If we would be happy, we must seek the happiness of others; and if we promote the ruin of others, we must be miserable ourselves. It is then by the strong sanction of happiness or misery, that we are engaged in the exercise of social vir. tue. And because those actions which we call virtuous, are calculated to promote the good of others, therefore they are distinguished by the name of "good works." This therefore is not a name which human pride idolizing its own merit, hath given them, but it is a name founded as we see in reason, nay more, a name by which those actions are constantly denoted in the sacred writings; which renders it the more surprizing, that any set of men should have the boldness, under any pretence whatsoever, to appear against them, since they do * Job xxxi. 6. and I Sam. ii. 3.

thereby oppose both the authority and the language of the gospel, which abounds with precepts and motives to virtuous actions under the express name of GOOD WORKS.*

In

* Because this circumstance must surely have been overlooked by those who make it their business constantly to declaim against good works, and to discourage us from every attempt to perform them, by persuading us that we are wholly unfit for the godlike exercise of doing good; I shall therefore subjoin a few of those numerous passages in which good works are expressly recommended to our practice.

"This is a faithful saying, says Saint Paul to Titus, "and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, "that they which have believed in God be careful to "maintain good works." You see Saint Paul directs his disciple to affirm constantly, to make it the constant subject of his preaching, that all christians, all who have believed, should be careful to maintain good works.

Charge them that are rich in this world," says the same apostle to Timothy, another of his disciples, whom he is instructing in what manner he ought to preach the gospel, charge them that they do good, that they be "rich in good works." In his epistle to the Romans he assures us, "that God will render to every man accord❝ing to his deeds; tribulation and anguish upon every "soul of man that doeth evil, but glory, honor, and (6 peace to every man that doeth good." He exhorts us to "consider one another to provoke unto love and to "good works; and never be weary in well-doing, for in "due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Hear our Saviour himself, who went about "doing "good," that we might follow his example; "Let your "light to shine before men, that they may see your "good works, and glorify your Father which is in heav“Well-done, thou good and faithful servant,” are the terms in which he expresses his approbation of him who had improved the talents entrusted to him.

"en."

In the original constitution of things, had that remained uninjured, man, by employing his abilities in obedience to the will of his Creator, and in promoting the good of his fellowcreatures, could not have failed of securing his own happiness. In that situation he would have obtained happiness with less assistance than what we under the gospel enjoy; and yet even then his happiness could by no means have been esteemed his own proper acquisition, or a debt due to his merit, but the freegift of God, who in his wisdom planned that constitution,

"Marvel not at this," are his own awful words on another solemn occasion, " for the hour is coming in the "which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, "and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto "the resurrection of life and they that have done evil, "unto the resurrection of damnation." So that, according to our Saviour, if we would obtain the resurrection of life, we must do good; if we do evil, we must be doomed to the resurrection of damñation.

Many other passages might be added to the same purpose, but they can escape no one who reads the holy scriptures. How amazing then is it after all this, that any set of men should have the presumption to oppose the doctrine of good works, and openly to preach against it! How amazing that these men should meet with their admirers and their followers, in a country where the gospel lies open to every Christian! Our Saviour preached good works; his apostles preached good works these men loudly decry them; and yet these are the men who assume to themselves the title of the only gospel preachers.

"Choose you this day, O house of Israel, whom ye "will serve."

constitution, and the result of wise laws established by him for the common good, and for the encouragement of man in a right use of his faculties.

The

In the dispensation founded on redemption, the trust to man is enlarged. He is here, in the language of scripture, "thoroughly furnished unto all good works:" all his powers of doing good to others are strengthened and increased; he receives new light for the direction of those powers, and is called to the exertion of them by the strongest motives to benevolence and charity that can be conceived. If he makes a proper use of these superior advantages, he will be entitled to that exalted happiness which is provided for the encouragement of virtue under this dispensation. merit in the mean while is entirely his, who procured these advantages for us. The whole merit of salvation is our Redeemer's; he alone could and did purchase it for us, and prescribed the conditions on which we are to obtain it. By endeavoring to perform his will, we do not pretend to lessen the merit of what he hath done for us; but, on the contrary, to avail ourselves of it. We have not the presumption to think of saving ourselves, since we cannot do that without settling the terms of our salvation. It is not to redeem himself, or to merit redemption, that the Christian does good, but to obey the will of him by whose merits he hath been redeemed, and in consequence of those advantages which he hath obtained by redemption. His good works are

not laid as the foundation of redemption, but are built upon it. His hopes do not rest on human merit, but on the Rock of Salvation, the merits of his Redeemer.

Whilst therefore the best Christian must own himself an unprofitable servant, having done only that which was his duty to do; yet there is undoubtedly, in the sight of his Redeemer, a wide difference between that good and faithful servant, who improves the talent entrusted to him by his Lord, and makes a right use of those inestimable advantages which redemption puts in his power, and that unprofitable servant who abuses or neglects them. And it is surely no less disparaging of the merits of redemption to say, that by it, and the helps which we have obtained in consequence of it, we can do nothing good, than to say, that we can do every thing without it. They who maintain the sufficiency of unassisted nature, deny only the necessity of redemption: they who maintain the insufficiency of nature after grace, to do any thing good or acceptable in the sight of God, deny the power, and depreciate the effects of redemption.

It will be considered by some as a second objection, that our Lord hath expressly promised salvation to faith, without mentioning good works.

Faith is the leading condition of our salvation, and the foundation of all other christian doctrines and virtues. We cannot wonder therefore, since through the door of faith we enter into the christian dispensation, that all the