debts and ceremonies of the law; not balancing the acount as he ought to have done, in this manner:-What! though this man is a publican and a finner, have not I my vices as well as he? 'Tis true, his particular office exposes him to many temptations of committing extortion and injuftice;-but then-am not I a devourer of widow's houses, and guilty of one of the most cruel inftances of the fame crime? He poffibly is a profane person, and may set religion at nought;-but do not I myself, for a pretence, make long prayers, and bring the greatest of all scandals upon religion, by making it the cloak to my ambition and worldly views?—If he, lastly, is debauched or intemperate-am not I confcious of as corrupt and wanton difpofitions; and that a fair and guarded outside is my beft pretence to the oppofite character.

If a man will examine his works by a comparative view of them with others; this, no doubt, would be the fairer way, and leaft likely to mislead him.But as this is feldom the method this trial is gone through,-in fact it generally turns out to be as treacherous and delufive to the man himself,—as it is uncandid

to

to the man who is dragged into the comparifon; and whoever judges of himself by this rule, so long as there is no scarcity of vicious characters in the world,-'tis to be feared, he will often take the occafions of triumph and rejoicing,where, in truth, he ought rather to be forry and ashamed.

A third error in the manner of proving our works, is what we are guilty of, when we leave out of the calculation the only material parts of them ;-I mean, the motives, and first principles from whence they proceeded. There is many a fair inftance of generofity, chastity, and felf-denial, which the world may give a man the credit of,-which, if he would give himself the leisure to reflect upon, and trace back to their firft fprings,-he would be conscious proceeded from fuch views and intentions as, if known, would not be to his honour.

The truth of this may be made evident

by a thousand inftances in life; and yet there is nothing more ufual than for a man, when he is going upon this duty of felf-examination,-instead of calling his own ways to remembrance, to close the whole enquiry at once, with this short challenge;-"That he de

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fies the world to say ill of him." If the world has no exprefs evidence, this indeed may be an argument of his good luck ;-but no fatisfactory one of the real goodness and innocence of his life.-A man may be a very bad man,and yet, through caution,-through deep-laid policy and defign, may fo guard all outward appearances, as never to want this negative teftimony on his fide,-that the world knows no evil of him,-how little foever he deferves it. Of all affays upon a man's felf, this may be faid to be the flighteft; this method of proving the goodness of our works-differing but little in kind from that unhappy one, which many unwary people take in proving the goodness of their coin,-who, if it happens to be fufpicious,-inftead of bringing it either to the balance or the touch-ftone to try its worth, they ignorantly go forth; try if they can pass it upon the world:-if fo, all is well, and they are faved all the expence and pains of enquiring after and detecting the cheat.

A fourth error, in this duty of examination of mens works, is that of committing the task to others;—an error into which thousands of well-meaning creatures are infnared in the

Romish church, by her doctrines of auricular confeffion, of works of fupererogation, and the many lucrative practices raised upon that capital ftock.-The trade of which is carried to fuch a height in Popish countries, that if you was at Rome or Naples now, and was difpofed, in compliance with the apostle's exhortation in the text, to set about this duty, to prove your own works,-'tis great odds whether you would be fuffered to do it yourself, without interruption; and you might be faid to have escaped well, if the first perfon you confulted upon it did not talk you out of your refolution, and poffibly your fenfes too at the fame time.-Prove your works!--for heaven's fake, defift from fo rafh an undertaking;

what!-truft your own skill and judgment in a matter of fo much difficulty and importance -when there are so many whose business it is,--who understand it fo well, and who can do it for you with fo much fafety and advantage?

If your works must be proved, you would be advised, by all means, to fend them to undergo this operation with fome one who knows what he is about, either fome expert and no

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ted confessor of the church,—or to fome convent or religious fociety, who are in poffeffion of a large ftock of good works of all kinds, wrought up by faints and confeffors, where you may fuit yourself, and either get the defects of your own supplied.—or be accommodated with new ones, ready proved to your hands, fealed and certified to be fo by the Pope's commiffary, and the notaries of his ecclefiaftic court. There needs little more to lay open this fatal error,-than barely to reprefent it. So I shall only add a short remark, -that they who are perfuaded to be thus virtuous by proxy, and will prove the goodness of their works only by deputies,—will have no reason to complain against God's justice,— if he suffers them to go to heaven only in the fame manner, that is,-by deputies too.

The laft mistake which I fhall have time to mention, is that which the Methodifts have revived, for 'tis no new error-but one which has misled thousands before these days, whereever enthusiasm had goot footing,-and that is, -the attempting to prove their works by that very argument which is the greatest proof of their weakness and fuperftition;-Imean, that extraordinary