the heavenly road, bless God for the example; but believe me, neither your Father, your Mother, nor your Minister could bear up under their difficulties, if there was not one mightier to bear them up. He is able to do the same for you, a Child; and has already done it, in innumerable instances. If even so great a character as David be left to himself, the weakest and vilest creature cannot fall lower than he did.

Upon the whole, you see that nothing in religion can be done without Christ, while every thing to which he calls us may be done with him. In this way it is, that the Christian becomes a conqueror: for 'who is he, that overcometh the world; but he, that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

I shall leave you this morning with only adding a short word of EXHORTATION.

You have been shown,

1. How you should remember your Creator. 2. WHEN HE should specially be remembered: and 3. WHY you should not put off this remembrance. Now let me beseech you to think seriously of the dreadful evil of living longer destitute of a real acquaintance with, and remembrance of your God; and to think on the other hand, of the blessed privileges of those who truly remember' Him. 'Cleave to him,' therefore, 'for He is thy Life.' And that, in the days of thy youth; for then it is not only done with less difficulty, but your Youth may be your only opportunity for doing it at all; and should you even live to old age, I have shown you how evil those days are for such a work, and how unlikely it should succeed if put off to that time.

Oh that it may please God to help, if it were but one of you, to become wise unto salvation from this moment! Then shall we and even the angels rejoice that another lost sheep is found and secured. In thus addressing

you, we seek only to make you truly rich, truly wise, truly happy and we know none can be really so till he remembers his Creator.

When you see a poor, forsaken, wicked Child, wandering about the streets, ragged, hungry, and diseased, you are naturally led to pity him; but it would be well if you recollected that his rags and hunger, and disease are not the principal parts of his wretchedness. They render him, indeed, very pitiable, and call for such help as we can afford hin; but, as I said before, his outward want is not the worst part of his misery: the worst part is, what we call his moral misery, namely, that he knows not God, and never remembers his name but to profane it-that he is a willing slave of the devil, who tempts him to swear, to lie, and to steal-that in short he is a lost sheep, wandering from Christ, the true and only shepherd and bishop of souls. What are his outward rags, and filth, and wants, and diseases, compared with this? They only respect his dying body; but these wants and disorders beggar and destroy his immortal soul.

But now suppose that any one of us could bring this poor Child to read the Bible, to pray for grace, and to remember' his 'Creator in the days of his youth;' his wants and disorders might be removed: but even if they were to remain, and he to lie in the street, like Lazarus, covered with diseases, and with none but dogs to pity him yet, if his heart could rise to God, and his faith take hold of a Redeemer, what then would be the changes and chances of this mortal life to him? As it was said of Joseph in his affliction, it must be said of him in his very lowest and worst temporal circumstances-his 'God is with him: Angels are ready to receive him; and a crown of glory is preparing for him.

You have also heard, that your Creator will judge the world which he has made; and that the day cometh, when 'great and small shall stand before him,' Consider, my dear children, what a joy it will be to any of you in that day to be able to say "I know the Judge. I have trusted in his promises. I have remembered him in my feeble prayers and endeavours; and now I know that he will remember ME."

Does such an one wish to ask, "Will he remember me? Will he remember me, should I die while a poor little child-and that, among the millions who shall stand before Him in that great day?-Will He indeed remember ME?"—Hear what he says, (and when you hear any thing from his word, say to yourself, "At least THIS is certain") 'They that feared the Lord, spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that

thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my Jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.'

That these truths may be written in every heart, God of his infinite mercy grant for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

ADDRESS

TO THE

PARISHIONERS OF CHOBHAM AND BISLEY.

MY DEAR PARISHIONERS:

London, Jan. 16th, 1801.

My sending an address to you at this time, is in consequence of a violent attack, which I lately received from my old and painful disorder while at Chobham, and which obliged me to return suddenly from a situation which I found so prejudicial in the winter season. This prevented my expressing to you more at large what I now briefly attempt by a letter.

Nothing could render me more happy while I was with you, than to find that a serious regard to true religion had taken place in some of your minds. I trust I can say, with the Apostle, 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth: 3 John, 4.

It was, however, with some anxiety, that I received the information that some of you had lately held such meetings for private religious instruction, as well as devotion, as may eventually prove inconvenient. I have lived to see that sometimes unforeseen and dangerous consequences have followed the best intentions: and also that the safest way of preventing such consequences is to meet the wishes of such as are religiously disposed, as nearly as propriety will admit. It was the opinion, therefore, both of myself and my valuable Assistant, that it would be expedient for one of us to pre

side in any assembly of yourselves that should be thought necessary for your edification. We considered that this would be the most advantageous means for securing at once Unity, Harmony, and Truth,—points highly essential in a day like the present, in which divisions and heresies of all sorts are rending the Church of Christ, and exposing his religion to the contempt of its adversaries. We thought, therefore, that the pious purposes of your assembling together would be fully answered, in your attendance upon our family-worship and exposition of the Scriptures on the Sunday evening, and one other evening in the week. But I meant this only as a resource in that season of the year, in which it would prove dangerous to my health (and perhaps to some of yours) to attend in the evening at Church, as I used to do in the summer. I am glad also to commend your ready concurrence with us in this measure.

With respect to the Doctrines of Christianity, I need not repeat what I have so lately enlarged upon among you. I will, however, remind you, that, next to what the Scriptures present, the best view which I ever met with of those doctrines, is to be found in the Articles and Liturgy of our Church. But, to say nothing here of the dangerous errors of some who oppose them, I wish you to beware of that Narrowness of Mind, which is so ready to catch and cavil, at a few expressions in them. For such objectors, we are apt to turn aside to vain and unprofitable janglings, 'doating about questions, and strifes of words: whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, and evil surmisings: 1 Tim. vi. 4. Let us rather be thankful that we live under a Government, which maintains a Church built upon the sound and evangelical principles of our illustrious Reformers, and which they sealed with their blood.