high ftation, will not be more rewarded than he who hath behaved as properly in a low one. Let the poor man therefore walk humbly with his God -let him bear his poverty with religious refignation, and do his duty in his low estate, and his wealthy neighbour, who gives away thousands in charity, and on the best motives, fhall not hereafter be more rewarded than he.

CONSIDER then with attention, and reverence, the great end, and defign of your stations herethe wisdom, and goodnefs, with which God hath appointed them. He hath sent you into the world. For what purpose think you? Not as a place of abode-but to fit you for a blessed eternity; and your several stations in life, whether high or low, are the means he employs-thofe different talents, as they are called, which the parable inftructs you to improve.

Let us confider the world therefore as God's great family; and ourselves as fervants in that family-as acting immediately, whatever our ftations are, under our great master; and of dif charging the feveral offices, which he hath affigned, with a conscientious regard to our duty. Let us not amuse ourselves with trifling fuppofitions, how

we

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we should be have, if God fhould place us in fuch, or fuch circumstances of life-how well we should bestow our wealth, if we were rich; or how vigorously we should act, if God should give us power and authority. All this is abfurd. Let us confider only the station in which we are placed. This is our proper business; the whole of our concern here and we may be affured, that he who mifapplies the talent he has, would find fome excufe, for misapplying a fuperior talent, if it had been intrusted to him.

(50)

SERMON V.

MATTHEW, xxii. 14.

MANY ARE CALLED; BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN.

THIS paffage, among others, has been strangely perverted by those christians, who interpret it, as if God Almighty had decreed-fome men to be eternally happy, and others eternally miferable. Our own good lives have nothing to fay in this matter. Our Saviour's merits have nothing to fay in it. It is God's decree. We read, that many are called; but few chofenthat is, fay they, out of the number of us finners, God chufes fuch a particular fet, by his abfolute decree; and all the rest must perish.

I think

I think it needlefs to confute this mifchievous interpretation of the text. Indeed it fufficiently confutes itself. Many, we are told, are called. What is meant by being called? It is ridiculous to suppose God calls any one, who cannot answer the call. The real interpretation of the text therefore seems to be this. The chriftian religion is the call of repentance to many but alas! out of these many, very few qualify themfelves by their holy lives, to accept its mercies. So that, although many are called, few are chofen but they are rejected, not through God's decree, but through their own fault.

:

THE text, thus explained, naturally leads us to take a view of the many who are called; that is, of the different kinds of christians if we are to give all people that name, who live in a chriftian country. I fhall confider them under three heads as openly wicked men-as fpecious, or decent men and as truly religious men and I fhall leave you all to judge, as I go on, among which of them you are to rank yourselves.

In the first place, by openly wicked men, we mean all those, who are under no kind of restraint either

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either of religion, or of decency. Tell fuch people of a world after this-of their being accountable for their actions; and of the gospel denunciations of damnation upon all who lead fuch ungodly lives, without repentance; they are hardened to every thing of this kind-it has no effect upon them. They trouble themselves no more about the next world; and what is to become of their souls after death; than if they had no fouls. All fear of the next world therefore being removed, we need not wonder to fee them prepared for any kind of wickedness. They are generally abandoned to low pleasures; and become knaves, because their pleasures make a larger demand upon them, than they can fatisfy in an honest way.

Many of you, I doubt not, have met with these men of pleasure, who, without any visible employment, live upon their wits, as it is calledthat is, upon their own knavery, and the fimplicity of others. They are found both in high life and low.I need not however lengthen my defcription of this race of men; as none fuch, I am perfuaded, are among my present hearers. They are not a church-going people. Leffons of religion have no effect upon them.

Their re

ftraint