hardened wretch; but was no fooner ftruck with a fenfe of his own guilt, than he cried out, What shall I do to be faved? He was graciously answered, Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thou shalt be faved. The apoftle then explained to him the doctrines of christianityand fhewed him that repentance and a holy life muft follow his faith in Chrift. On this he was baptized, we are told, and rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house.

Here was at least one inftance of a finner reclaimed from deftruction. Happy would it be, if to this inftance every one of us now prefent, could in his own thoughts, add another.-I fear it will be much easier to recollect instances of thofe, who, to all appearance, died as they had lived, in all the habits of guilt.

THINK of these things, my brethren, while time is yet in your hands. Look back upon your past lives; and let every finner, in the fincerity of his heart cry out, like the example of penitence before us, What shall I do to be saved? To every one the gofpel hath a gracious answer; Repent of your fins-believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, lead a pious life for the future; and thou Jhalt be faved. Chrift came not to call the righteous

righteous, but finners to repentance; and hath with a most compaffionate kindness, affured them, there is joy in heaven over one finner, that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine juft perfons, who need no repentance—that is, who need not that severe repentance, which the one finner required.

One should think that nothing could fo effectually convince us of the neceffity of doing what we can to be faved, as the confideration of the last great judgment, which awaits us all. He who hath ever feen, in our courts of juftice, fome wretched criminal tried for his life-when he hath heard the evidence of his guilt brought out so strong against him-and how little he has had to fay in his own defence-when he hath feen him ftand trembling in expectation of his doom-and finally heard the fentence of death pronounced against him-when he hath feen him led back to his dungeon; and afterwards heard the convict-bell tolling the hour of his execution-if he has had any feeling about him, he muft have been ftruck with all this dismal folemnity; and have pitied a fellow creature, though fo deferving of his fate, in an hour of fuch deep diftrefs.

But

But what is all this, my brethren, to that general judgment, which awaits us at the last day, when we must all appear before the judgment feat of Christ-when the grave, and the fea, fhall give up their dead-when finners of every kind, and crimes of every name--when thousands, and ten thousands of terrified wretches, fhall all be called to one general account? We may imagine the wild fright and confusion of those, who have carried guilty lives, and unrepented fins, into the other world. Then, no doubt, they will be ready to cry out with horror, What shall we do to be faved? But it will then be too late. Their doom is fixed. Salvation was once in their power, as it is now, thank God! in ours. To them will only remain the recompence of guilt. Their fentence is on record: Depart from me, ye curfed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil, and his angels.-There shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.

SERMON XI.

LUKE XVI. 2.

GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THY STEWARDSHIP; FOR THOU MAYEST BE NO LONGER STEWARD.

THIS verfe is taken from one of our Saviour's parables, in which he introduces the mafter of a family calling an unjust steward to an account. I shall not however enter into the particular intention of the parable; but confine my discourse to the fingle circumftance mentioned in the text, Give an account of thy fewardship, for thou mayeft be no longer feward. -Thefe words I fhall confider in an inlarged fense; and shall endeavour to fhew you first, that we should all confider ourselves in the light of stewards to our heavenly master; and Secondly that we should all act faithfully, as we must give an account of our ftewardships.

VOL. I.

K

IN

In the first place, we fhould all confider ourfelves in the light of Stewards to our heavenly mafter. A fteward is a perfon appointed to manage affairs, in' which he himfelf has no property; but must give an account of the management of them to the perfon, who appoints him. In this fenfe then, according to the fcripture account, we are all ftewards to God Almighty. We have no property, we know, in any of the things we enjoy; but enjoy them merely on the good will, and fufferance of our heavenly inafter, who expects an account of our feveral trufts. Let us then fee what those things are, which are intrufted to us, and of which we must give an account.

In the first place, we fhould confider ourfelves as stewards of our time, not a moment of which is our own. What belongs to God therefore we should ufe as God directs. Our time is intrusted to us by our great mafter; and he hath given us directions how to employ it properly in working out our own falvation, and in being of service to others. These are the great ends, for which our time is intrusted to us. Like good stewards therefore we should endeavour, in the general employment of our time, that is, when it is not neceffarily engaged in the

5

matters