SERMON

JAMES I. 26.

XI.

If any man among you feem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth bis own heart, that man's religion is vain.

Ο

F the many duties owing both to GOD and our neighbour, there are scarce any men fo bad, as not to acquit themfelves of fome, and few fo good, I fear, as to practife all.

Every man seems willing enough to compound the matter, and adopt fo much of the fyftem, as will leaft interfere with his principal and ruling paffion; and for those parts, which would occafion a more trouble fome oppofition, to confider them as hard fayings, and fo leave them for those to practise whofe natural tempers are better fuited for the struggle. So that a man shalb be covetous, oppreflive, revengeful,

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revengeful, neither a lover of truth, or common honesty, and yet, at the fame time, shall be very religious, and fo fanctified, as not once to fail of paying his morning and evening facrifice to GOD. So, on the other hand, a man fhall live without God in the world, have neither any great sense of religion, or indeed pretend to have any, and yet be of nicest honour, confcientiously juft and fair in all his dealings. And here it is that men generally betray themfelves, deceiving, as the apostle says, their own hearts; of which the inftances are so various, in one degree or other throughout human life, that one might fafely fay, the bulk of mankind live in such a contradiction to themselves, that there is no character fo hard to be met with as one which, upon a critical examination, will appear altogether uniform, and in every point confiftent with itself,

If fuch a contraft was only obfervable in the different stages of a man's life, it would cease to be either a matter of wonder, or of juft reproach, Age, experience, and much reflection, may naturally enough be fuppofed to alter a man's fenfe of things, and fo entirely to transform him, that not only in outward appearances,

pearances, but in the very caft and turn of his mind, he may be as unlike and different from the man he was twenty or thirty years ago, as he ever was from any thing of his own species. This, Ifay, is naturally to be accounted for, and in fome cafes might be praise-worthy too: but the observation is to be made of men in the fame period of their lives, that in the fame day, fometimes in the very fame action, they are utterly inconfiftent and irreconcileable with themselves.-Look at a man in one light, and he shall seem wife, penetrating, difcreet, and brave: behold him in another point of view, and you see a creature all over folly and indiscretion, weak and timorous, as cowardice and indifcretion can make him. A man fhall appear gentle, courteous, and benevolent to all mankind; follow him into his own houfe, may

be you see a tyrant, morofe and favage to all whose happiness depends upon his kindness. A third,in his general behaviour, is found to be generous, difinterefted, humane and friendly;hear but the sad story of the friendless orphans, too credulously trufting all their little fubftance into his hands, and he shall appear more fordid, more pitiless and unjuft, than the injured themfelves have bitterness to paint him. Another

shall be charitable to the poor, uncharitable in his cenfures and opinions of all the rest of the world befides;-temperate in his appetites, intemperate in his tongue; fhall have too much confcience and religion to cheat the man who trufts him, and perhaps, as far as the business of debtor and creditor extends, shall be just and scrupulous to the uttermost mite; yet in matters of full as great concern, where he is to have the handling of the parties reputation and good name, the deareft, the tendereft property the man has, he will do him irreparable damage, and rob him there with out measure or pity.

And this feems to be that particular piece of inconfiftency and contradiction which the text is levelled at; in which the words feem fo pointed, as if St. James had known more flagrant inftances of this kind of delusion than what had fallen under the obfervation of any of the reft of the apostles; he being more remarkably vehement and copious upon that fubject than any other.

Doubtless

Doubtlefs fome of his converts had been notoriously wicked and licentious, in this remorseless practice of defamation and evilfpeaking. Perhaps the holy man, tho' spotlefs as an angel, (for no character is too facred for calumny to blacken), had grievously fuffered himself, and, as his bleffed Mafter foretold him, had been cruelly reviled, and evil Spoken of.

All his labours in the gofpel, his unaffected and perpetual folicitude for the preservation of his flock, his watchings, his faftings, his poverty, his natural fimplicity and innocence of life, all perhaps were not enough to defend him from this unruly weapon, fo full of deadly poifon. And what in all likelihood might move his forrow and indignation more, fome who seemed the most devout and zealous of all his converts, were the most merciless and uncharitable in that refpect; having a form of godliness, full of bitter envyings and ftrife.