little request, they will fupplicate for God's fake; or, if they would fhew reluctance to any trifle, they will cry out, God forbid! or, if they make any affeveration, they will usher it in by telling you, God knows.

Now any of these modes of exclamation, if uttered on a folémn occafion, may be confidered as an act of devotion. On hearing of the fudden death of a friend, if you cry Good God! you may mean it as a fort of prayer: Thou, O God, art good; and I fubmit, with pious refignation, to all thy appointments. But if you make the fame exclamation, when you meet your. your friend fuddenly, the idea is entirely changed.

Upon all trifling occafions, therefore, it is calling God to be a witnefs of your mirth-your joyor your furprize;-which is furely taking his name in vain. It is treating that facred name with irreverence-it is leffening that respect that is due to it and it is giving great offence to fuch ferious people as confider the matter in its true light.

You may, thoughtlessly, fuppofe thefe light exclamations of no confequence. But your conceptions of their innocence will not make them innocent. God Almighty has given you a rule.

Thou

Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain: and if these light invocations fhould be tranfgreffions of that rule, (and it will be very difficult for you to range them under any other head) confider what follows-God will not hold you guiltless.-Never, therefore, fuffer these light exclamations to come again out of your mouth. Leave them off-leave them off. They may hereafter appear against you they cannot here anfwer any end.

LV.

ACTS, iv. 32.

AND THEY WERE OF ONE HEART AND

ONE SOUL.

HE New Teftament was compofed by eight perfons-Matthew-Mark-Luke-John -Paul-Peter-James-and Jude. All these perfons wrote at different times, and in different places. Their writings confift of various fubjects -of hiftorical narratives-of accounts of the early establishment of the Chriftian church-ofexplanations of the religion they taught-and of the feveral rules it inculcated. And yet, notwithstanding they all treat, more or lefs, on the fame fubjects, and under fuch a variety of circumstances; yet both in the hiftorical and doctrinal parts, they all agree fo faithfully, as to conftitute one hiftory,

and

and one system of religion. What little variations we find among them, are of no confequence in themselves; but of great confequence in proving the authenticity of the whole. They plainly fhew, the several writers did not write in concert.

If all this do not amount to a full evidence of the truth of Scripture, I know not what can. Were fhall we find eight perfons coming forward from different places, and at different times, uniting fo circumftantially in a falfhood? Falfhood always falters, and is continually shifting its ground, and labouring to make out a confiftent story, One lying witness, on being closely questioned in many particulars, can hardly efcape detection. But when eight lying witneffes are examined separately on the feveral pretended facts of a fallhood, it is impoffible they fhould all agree.

LVI.

JAMES, ii. 23.

HE WAS CALLED THE FRIEND OF GOD.

HIS was fpoken of Abraham. But as we all

THIS

may have the fame accefs to God which Abraham had, we may all, in a degree, be, as he was, the friends of God-or rather (to exprefs our felves in more modeft language,) we may hope to make God our friend. If we can fix this hope on good grounds in our minds, we want nothing more to fecure our happiness, both in this world and the next. The friendship and protection of an Almighty God are fo great, that every thing in the world muft appear as nothing in the comparison.

Are our circumftances ftraitened? He who has a reverfion of infinite value in view, cannot, or ought not, to be much depreffed on the trifling circumstances of a journey to receive it.

Are