brother, than irritated against, or fcandalifed by his errors ; that, far from going to publish them to others, it would wifh to be enabled to conceal them from itfelf; and that the zeal which cenfures them, far from leffening the evil, ferves only to augment the fcandal.

4thly, Remember, that the cenforious zeal which you display, is ufelefs to your brother, feeing he witnesses it not; that far from being of service, it is even hurtful to his converfion, to which you raise up obftacles, by irritating him against your cenfures, fhould he happen to be informed of them; that it is injurious to his reputation, which you wound; and lastly, to those that liften to you, who refpecting your pretended virtue, never entertain a doubt that they can err, while following your fteps; and no longer place flander among the number of vices. Zeal is humble and has eyes for nothing but its own wants; it is fimple, and much more difpofed to be credulous with regard to good than evil; it is merciful, and is always indulgent to the faults of others, in the fame proportion as it is severe to its own weaknesses; it is gentle and timorous, and prefers to have failed in fufficiently blaming vice, to rafhly exposing itself to go too far in cenfuring the finner.

Thus, my brethren, you who returned from the errors of the world, now ferve the Lord, allow me to conclude, with addreffing to you the fame words, formerly fpoken by a holy father, to the fervants of Jefus Chrift, who through an indifcreet zeal, made no scruple of tearing in pieces the characters of their brethren.

"A tongue which has confeffed Jefus Chrift; which has "renounced the errors and splendours of the world; which ' every day blesses the God of peace, at the foot of the altar; " and

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"and is often confecrated, by participation of the holy myf"teries, should no longer be intolerant, dangerous, and full of gall and bitterness against its brethren. It is difgracing religion, after having offered up pure prayers and thankfgivings to the Lord, in the affembly of believers, to go "and spit out the venemous traits of the serpent, against "those whom the unity of faith, charity, the facrament, " and even their very errors, fhould render more endeared and more refpectable to you."

By the wisdom and moderation of our difcourfes, let us deprive the enemies of virtue, of every occasion to blaspheme against it; let us correct our brethren, by the fanctity of our example, rather than by the keenefs of our cenfures; let us recal them, by living better than they, and not by fpeaking against them; let us render virtue respectable by its fweetness, rather than by its feverity; let us draw finners towards us by compaffionating, rather than cenfuring their faults; in order that our virtue may be confpicuous to them, only through our charity and indulgence, and that our tender care to cover and excufe their faults, may induce them to accufe and condemn themfelves with more feverity, when they perceive the difference of our conduct: By these means, we shall regain our brethren ; we shall honour piety; we fhall overthrow impiety and freethinking; we fhall deprive the world of all occafion for those discourses, fo common, and fo injurious to real virtue: And, after having ufed mercy towards our brethren, we fhall with more confidence go to present ourselves before the Father of mercies, and the God of all confolation, to ask mercy for ourselves.

SERMON

SERMON VII.

ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF TIME.

JOHN vii. 33.

Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that fent me.

An improper use of time, is the fource of all the diforders which reign amongst men. Some pass their whole. life in idleness and floth, equally useless to the world, their country and themselves: Others, in the tumult of bufinefs and worldly affairs. Some appear to exift, only for the purpose of indulging an unworthy indolence, and escaping, by a diverfity of pleasures, from the weariness which every where pursues them, in proportion as they fly from it: Others in a continual fearch, amidst the cares of the world, for occupations which may deliver them from themselves. It appears, that time is a common enemy, against which all men have agreed to confpire: Their whole life is one continued and deplorable anxiety, to rid themfelves of it. The happieft are those, who beft succeed, in not feeling the weight of its duration; and the principal fatisfaction they reap, either from frivolous pleasures, or ferious occupations, is the abridgment of days and moments, and deliverance from them, almoft without a preception of their being paffed.

Time, that precious depofit confided to us by the Lord, is therefore become a burden which fatigues and oppreffes us: We dread, as the greatest of evils, its deprivation for ever; and we almoft equally dread the obligation, to fupport its wearinefs and duration. It is a treasure which we would wish to retain for ever; yet which we cannot suffer to remain in our poffeffion.

This time, however, of which we make fo little estima. tion, is the only mean of our eternal falvation. We lose it without regret, which is a crime; we employ it only for worldly purposes, which is a madness. Let us employ the time which God allows us, because it is fhort: Let us employ it only in labouring for our falvation, because it is only given us, that we may be faved: That is to fay, let us be fenfible of the value of time, and let us lose it not; let us know the use of it, and employ it only for the purpose it was given: By these means, we fhall avoid both the dangers of a flothful, and the inconveniences of an hurried life. This is the subject of the present Difcourse.

PART I. Three circumftances, in general, decide upon the value of things, among men: The great advantages which may accrue to us from them: The fhort fpace we have to enjoy them: And, laftly, every hope destroyed of ever regaining them, if once loft. Now, behold, my brethren, the principal motives which ought to render time precious and estimable, to every wife man: In the first place, it is the price of eternity: In the second place, it is fhort; and we cannot make too much hafte to reap the benefit of it: And lastly, it is irreparable; for, once lost, it can never be regained. It is the price of eternity: Yes, my brethren, man, condemned to death by the fin of his

birth, ought to receive life, only to lose it, even from the moment he has received it. The blood alone of Jefus Chrift has effaced this fentence of death and punishment, pronounced against all mankind, in the person of the firft finner: We live, though the offspring of a father condemned to death, and inheritors ourselves of his punishment, because the Redeemer died for us: The death of Jefus Chrift is, therefore, the fource, and the only claim of right we have to life; our days, our moments, are the firft bleffings, which have flowed to us from his cross; and the time which we so vainly lofe, is the price however, of his blood, the fruit of his death, and the merit of his facrifice. :

Not only as children of Adam, we deserve no longer to live; but even all the crimes we have added to those of our birth, are become new sentences of death against us. So many times as we have violated the law of the Author of Life, so many times, from that moment, ought we 'to have loft it.

Every finner is, therefore, a child of death and anger; and every time the mercy of God has fufpended, after each of our crimes, the fentence of condemnation and death, it is a new life, as it were, his goodness has granted, in order to allow us time to repair the criminal use we had hitherto made of our own.

I even speak of the difeafes, accidents, and numberless dangers, which fo often have menaced our life; which fo often we have seen to terminate that of our friends and near. eft connections; and from which, his goodness has always delivered us. The life which we enjoy, is like a perpetual miracle, therefore, of his divine mercy: The time which