make it a Form of Godliness, and deceive our felves ftill, tho' it be fo hard to be deceived, where there is fo little Temptation to it. We may place our Confidence in the outward Baptifm without the Regeneration of the Spirit, in the holy Communion without the Love of God and Charity towards Men, in our outward Profeffion without a fuitable Temper in Mind and Practice of Life. In our Prayers, and Thanksgivings, and Religious Affemblies, we may draw near to him with our Lips, while our Hearts are far from him. But then in thus doing we are more inexcufable than the Jews, and it shall be more tolerable for them at the Day of Judgment than it fhall be for us, who have turned the Gospel, the Grace of God, into Wantonnefs, who have held the Chriftian, the moft holy Truth, in Unrighteousness, and have not profited by the moft Divine Difpenfations of Knowledge and Religion.

To conclude: 'Tis an ill thing to trust in a Form of Godliness without the Power of it; but then the lefs Danger there is of mifcarrying by Hypocrify of this fort, the greater Condemnation fhall we incur by it; and if of the Formal Few it was faid, as an Aggravation of his many Faults, notwithstanding that were condemnable in him, that he however approved the Things that were more excellent, Rom, 2. 18, much more shall it be

reckon'd

reckon❜d to our Account in the great Day of Accounts, that we knowing and approving Things more Excellent, have yet fallen into Jewish Hypocrify, and made a Shew of Religion and ferving God, while yet our Hearts were full of Iniquity, and our Natures and Tempers of Unrighteoufnefs, and in our Minds were Enemies to God by wicked Works. What fhall we then do to prevent fo great Condemnation? There is no question but we are all fatisfied that God expects from us an Heart full of Piety and Charity, and a Life full of Virtue and good Works, and we should take care to answer the Expectation of God in this thing; for the more effectual fecuring of which End, can we do better, than after our outward Honour is given to God, when we have converfed with his Word, and have been in any measure affected with his Service in Prayer or Praise, than, I fay, often to reflect every one of us upon our felves in this manner? "Is my Nature "and Temper any thing reformed by my. Worship, and converfing with holy Things? Am I better able to refift Temp"tations, and to deny the Pleasures of Sin "in the Hope of Eternal Life, and more "ready to do good, and to abound in Works

of Charity? Am I made Partaker any "thing more of the Divine Nature by "God's Service, and have I learnt to live +

"above

"above the common Principles of worldly "Wisdom, and above the rate of common "Examples?

Now truly if no fuch Effects and Alterations be wrought in us by our Religion and Worship, all that we have left to commend us to God is a Form of Godliness, which tho' it may help to deceive others, and our felves moft of all, yet God will not be deceived or impofed upon. God is not mocked, for he is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in Spirit and in Truth.

~~~~

SER

SERMON XIII.

Of Right Intention.

MATTH. VI. xxii, xxiii. The Light of the Body is the Eye: If therefore thine Eye be fingle, thy whole Body Shall be full of Light. But if thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body fhall be full of Darkness.

is manifeftly the Defign of our Saviour, in that Part of his Sermon on the Mount with which this Chapter begins, to teach us the Neceffity of a Right and Pure Intention in all the Good that we do. And the particular ill End he would have us avoid in any Kind of well-doing, is Vain-glory. And the good Actions he particularly mentions, bidding us have a care that we fpoil them not, by propounding fuch an End to our felves in the

doing thereof, are thefe, Alms, Prayer, and Fafting. His Doctrine is againft Vain-glory particularly in the beginning of the Chapter, because it was a great Vice of the Hypocrites of the Age; and he inftances in the three popular Duties, because those Hypocrites fo notoriously served their vain-glorious Ends by them. But then it is very plain that our Saviour's Diffuafive from Vain-glory was meant by him for an Inftruction to us to beware of any other bad Ends, especially of worfe Ends than that mentioned. For Inftance, if we are not to faft to be feen of Men, much less are we to faft for Strife and Debate. If we are not to pray for the Praise of Men, much lefs are we to make Prayers to devour Widows Houfes, as fome of thofe Hypocrites did. So likewife these three, Alms, Prayer, and Fafting, our Saviour in the first Verses of the Chapter puts for all Actions materially good. And what he would teach us is this, that we are to be careful not to lose the Reward of those Religious Performances, or of any other our good Deeds, either by a vain-glorious Meaning, or by any corrupt End whatsoever. Upon which Part of our Saviour's Sermon we may therefore juftly ground this Doarine, that except we be Right in our Intentions as well as in our Actions, we can

not