"the body," inftead of feeling the affurance of Redemption, and the confolations of Grace; instead of beholding, by faith, the holy Angels ready to convey your departing spirit into the hands of your Redeemer, you will be dif tracted with remorse, and agonized with defpair; your confcience will present a legion of devils, waiting, with impatient folicitude, the diffolution of the foul and body, to punish, with implacable, and eternal feverity, your inexcufable difobedience.

Let those who are learning, and those who have been already taught in, this school of profligacy, confider well the consequences of the progress they make in the vice of fwearing. If, in the young man, this detestable habit appears indecent and profane; in him whose forehead is furrowed by the wrinkles of age, it is fhocking and impious. Would to God, therefore, I could prevail with him to confider that the Grave is foon-he knows not how foon-to receive him! Would to God I could prevail with him to confider, how bitter will be his reflections, how melancholy his profpects, when he is ftanding on the precipice

of

of eternity, and the prop of time is falling faft from his fupport! Would to God I could prevail with him to confider, what it is to die, in defpair of God's mercy! For the word of God warrants the affertion, hard as it may feem, that the man, who "accuftoms "himself to much fwearing," hath no ground of hope for Salvation. And can I perceive one, or rather I might fay, fo many of you, my brethren, to be in that dreadful state, without warning you of your danger? Can I obferve you living at eafe in the commiffion of fo abominable a fin, without befeeching you, in the name of God, and for the fake of our Lord Jefus Chrift, to cease from it? Some, I fear, may, upon a review of their conduct, perceive their profane oaths to be "as the ftars "in the firmament;" their impious curfes, "as the fand upon the fea fhore." But from this day, my Christian brethren, no longer add to the catalogue of your offences against the Moft High. Do not, for God's fake, do not preferve your unhappy confiftency to the laft. Though you may have lived without Religion, and fwearing is almost inconsistent with the profeffion

profeffion of Religion,, let me, for God's fake, for the fake of your fouls, let me prevail with you not to die without repentance. In your return from this house of God, "fee, if you

can tell, how oft you have offended;" befeech God" to blot out your tranfgreffions," and to give you grace "to fwear no more."

SERMON

SERMON XXI.

JOB XIX. 21.

Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O, ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched

me.

UCH are many of the afflictions of life,

SUCH

that they can be no way alleviated without the sympathy of friendship, and the tenderness of compaffion.

For though a consciousness of integrity is the only fource of comfort, though a sense of uniform rectitude is alone able to fupport the violence of external affaults; yet fometimes fo formidable is their onfet, fo heavy is their preffure, the gentle hand of compaffion is required to ease the smart of anguish, and deaden the pain of affliction.

Of the truth of this pofition, the Patriarch of Uz is an eminent example.

"There is none like him," faith the Almighty,