that you could perform an acceptable serby "hearing, with

vice to almighty God, by out doing, his word."

2. If you do no good, be assured that you can receive no good from such hearing as this. For how can it possibly profit you, to hear "what ye must do to be saved," unless ye also do it? Is a man at all the better for hearing of an advantageous bargain, unless he makes it? Is a man at all nearer his journey's end for knowing the way thither, unless he proceeds in it? How then can you imagine, that the mere hearing of the word, the mere knowledge of the terms of salvation and of the way of life will bring you to everlasting happiness, unless you do as it requires you; unless you labour to fulfil the terms; unless you strive to run diligently in the path, that leadeth to heavenly bliss? Deceive not yourselves: it is impossible. The very word, which you hear, tells you, "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified:" justified for

Rom. ii. 13.

the sake of Him, who died to purchase admission into his heavenly kingdom for his "good and faithful servants." And in the passage, that follows my text; "Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed:" "this man," and he only; he that both hears the word, and doeth the work, shall be blessed; and he " shall be blessed in his deed;" not in hearing, but in doing what he hears. And so saith our Saviour himself, the foundation and author of all blessings; "If ye know these things, happy are ye if do them a:" not, if ye ye know these things, happy are ye: but happy are ye, if ye do them. The knowledge of the things, which lead to happiness, is indeed necessary to our doing them: but unless we do them, our knowledge will be of no avail.

3. But the evil rests not here. For they, who are "hearers only, and not doers of

' Matt. xxv. 21.

John xiii. 17.

the word," are so far from being placed by their knowledge in a better condition, that they are indeed placed in a worse. To have heard, and so to have known, the will of God, is a high aggravation of their crime, in not doing it. It is to sin against knowledge it is to rebel against the light. Such sinners are wilful, obstinate, presumptuous: they are sinners of the worst sort; and as is their sin, so will their punishment be; punishment of the worst sort will be inflicted upon them. them. Do you think otherwise, my brethren? Believe me, you "deceive your own selves." For He, who cannot lie, hath said, "Every one, that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Of such hearers the fall shall be great, greater than that of other men for so our Lord himself elsewhere

Matt. vii. 26, 27.

explains it; "The servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew it not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes "." All that do not the will of God, shall be beaten, both they that did know it by his revealed law, and they that did not know it, otherwise than " by the law written in their hearts." But they who knew it by the express word of the Almighty, and yet would not do it, they shall be most beaten. Their stripes shall be most numerous: their punishment shall be most severe if there be degrees in the torments of hell-flames, and that there are the word of God assures us, more terrible shall be their portion amid " everlasting burnings," more agonizing shall be "their worm," and more intolerable "their fire," who, when they have heard and known the will of God, have yet obstinately refused to obey it. Now indeed they may deceive them

selves: now they may lull themselves into a delusive and fatal security: they may refuse to believe it now: but hereafter they will be painfully convinced of the truth of the warning of the Apostle, that "it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment, delivered unto them." Surely, my beloved brethren, it were more prudent to suffer ourselves to be persuaded of this in time, than to be satisfied with barely hearing of the way whereby we may attain to heaven, and so deceive ourselves with a groundless conceit that we are advancing towards it, when in truth. by hearing, and not doing as we hear, we shall only be sunk lower into the pit of hell.

To conclude. If the things, that have now occupied our thoughts, be as they have been represented, I pray and beseech you all, as you value your eternal welfare, do not deceive yourselves any more in an