he had been difcourfing of in the foregoing, and profecutes in this chapter," shall the kingdom of heaven, (the state of profeffors in the gospel church) be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." In which words, is a manifeft allufion to a cuftom prevailing in our LORD's time among the Jews, at marriage folemnities, which were generally at night, and at which it was cuftomary for the perfons of the bride-chamber to go out in proceffion, with many lights, to meet the bridegroom. By the bridegroom, you are here to understand JESUS CHRIST. The church, i. e. true believers, are his fpoufe; he is united to them by one spirit, even in this life; but the folemnizing of these facred nuptials, is reserved till the day of judgment, when he shall come to take them home to himfelf, and present them before men and angels, as his purchase, to his Father, without spot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. By the ten virgins we are to understand, the profeffors of chriftianity in general. All are called virgins, because all are called to be faints. Whosoever names the name of CHRIST, is obliged by that very profeffion to depart from all iniquity. But the pure and chafte in heart, are the only persons that will be fo bleffed as to fee GOD. As' CHRIST was born of a virgin, so he can dwell in none but virgin fouls, made pure and holy by the cohabitation of his holy Spirit. What fays the apoftle?" All are not Ifraelites that are of Ifrael," all are not christians that are called after the name of CHRIST: No, fays our LORD, in the 2d verse, "Five of thofe virgins were wife," true believers," and five were foolish," formal hypocrites. But why are five faid to be wife, and the other five foolish? Hear what our LORD fays in the following verses; "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wife took oil in their veffels with their lamps." They that were foolish took their lamps of an outward profeffion. They would go to church, fay over several manuals of prayers, come perhaps into a field to hear a fermon, give at a collection, and receive the facrament conftantly, nay, oftner than once a month. But thenhere lay the mistake; they had no oil in their lamps, no principle of grace, no living faith in their hearts, without which, though we should give all our goods to feed the poor, and our bodies to be burnt, it would profit us nothing. In fhort, they

were exact, nay, perhaps fuperftitious bigots as to the form, but all the while they were ftrangers to, and, in effect, denied the power of godliness in their hearts. They would go to church, but at the fame time, think it no harm to go to a ball or an affembly, notwithstanding they promifed at their baptifm, to renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world. They were fo exceedingly fearful of being righteous over-much, that they would even perfecute those that were truly devout, if they attempted to go a step farther than themfelves. In one word, they never effectually felt the power of the world to come. They thought they might be christians without fo much inward feeling, and therefore, notwithstanding their high pretenfions, had only a name to live.

And now, Sirs, let me paufe a while, and in the name of GOD, whom I endeavour to ferve in the gofpel of his dear Son, give me leave to afk one queftion. Whilft. I have been drawing, though in miniature, the character of these foolish virgins, have not many of your confciences made the application, and with a small, ftill, though articulate voice, faid, Thou man, thou woman, art one of those foolish virgins, for thy fentiments and practice agree thereto? Stifle not, but rather encourage thefe convictions; and who knows, but that LORD who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him faithfully, may fo work upon you even by this foolishness of preaching, as to make you wife virgins before you return home?

What they were you fhall know immediately: "But the wife took oil in their veffels with their lamps." Obferve, the wife, the true believers, had their lamps as well as the foolish virgins; for chriftianity does not require us to cast off all outward forms; we may use forms, and yet not be formal: for inftance, it is poffible to worship God in a fet form of prayer, and yet worship him in spirit and in truth. And therefore, brethren, let us not judge one another. The wife virgins had their lamps; herein did not lie the difference between them and the foolish, that one worshipped GoD with a form, and the other did not: No: as the Pharifee and Publican went up to the temple to pray, fo thefe wife and foolish virgins might go to the fame place of worship, and fit under the fame ministry; but then the wife took oil in their veffels with their lamps; they kept up the form, but did not reft in it; their

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words in prayer were the language of their hearts, and they.' were no ftrangers to inward feelings; they were not afraid of, fearching doctrines, nor affronted when minifters told them. they deserved to be damned; they were not felf-righteous, but were willing that JESUS CHRIST fhould have all the glory of their falvation; they were convinced that the merits of JESUS CHRIST were to be apprehended only by faith; but yet were they as careful to maintain good works, as though they were to be justified by them: in fhort, their obedience flowed from love and gratitude, and was chearful, conftant, uniform, univerfal, like that obedience which the holy angels pay our Father in heaven.

Here then let me exhort you to pause again; and if any of you can faithfully apply these characters to your hearts, give GOD the glory, and take the comfort to your own.fouls; you are not falfe but true believers. JESUS CHRIST has been made of GOD to you wisdom, even that wisdom, whereby you fhall, be made wife unto falvation. GOD fees a difference between. you and foolish virgins, if natural men will not. You need not be uneafy, though one chance and fate in this life may happen to you both. I fay, one chance and fate; for, ver. 5. "while the bridegroom tarried," in the space of time which paffed between our LORD's afcenfion and his coming again to judgment," they all flumbered and flept." The wife as well as foolish died, for duft we are, and to duft we must return. It is no reflection at all upon the divine goodness, that believers, as well as hypocrites, must pass through the valley of the fhadow of death; for CHRIST has taken away the fting of death, so that we need fear no evil. It is to them a passage to everlasting lite: death is only terrible to those who have no hope, because they live without faith in the world. Whofoever there are amongst you, that have received the first-fruits of the fpirit, I am perfuaded you are ready to cry out, we would not live here always, we long to be diffolved, that we may be with JESUS CHRIST; and though worms must destroy our bodies as well as others, yet we are content, being affured that our Redeemer liveth, that he will stand at the latter days upon the earth, and that in our flesh we fhall fee GOD.

But it is not so with hypocrites and unbelievers beyond the grave; for what fays our LORD? "And at midnight :"

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obferve, at midnight, when all was hufhed and quiet, and not one dreaming of any fuch thing, "a cry was made;" the voice of the arch-angel and the trump of GOD was heard founding this general alarm; to things in heaven, to things in earth, and to things in the waters under the earth, "BEHOLD!" mark how this awful fummons is ushered in with the word behold, to engage our attention? "Behold the bridegroom cometh !" even JESUS CHRIST, the defire of nations, the bridegroom of his fpoufe the church: Because he tarried for a while to exercise the faith of faints, and give finners fpace to repent, fcoffers were apt to cry out, "Where is the promife of his coming? But the LORD is not flack concerning his promife, as thefe men account flacknefs." For behold, he that was to come, now cometh, and will not tarry any longer he cometh to be glorified in his faints, and to take vengeance on them that know not GOD, and have not obeyed his gofpel: he cometh not as a poor defpifed Galilean; not to be laid in a ftinking manger; not to be defpised and rejected of men; not to be blindfolded, fpit upon, and buffeted; not to be nailed to an accursed tree; he cometh not as the Son of man, but as he really was, the eternal Son of the eternal GOD! He cometh riding on the wings of the wind, in the glory of the Father and his holy angels, and to be had in everlafting reverence of all that fhall be round about him. "Go ye forth to meet him ;" arife, ye dead, ye foolish, as well as wife virgin, arife and come to judgment. Multitudes, no doubt, that hear this awakening cry, would rejoice if the rocks might fall on, and the hills cover them from the prefence of the Lamb: what would they give, if as they lived as beafts, they might now die like the beafts that perifh? How would they rejoice, if those same excufes which they made on this fide eternity for not attending on holy ordinances, would ferve to keep them from appearing before the heavenly bridegroom! But as Adam, notwithstanding his fig-leaves, and the trees of the garden, could not hide himfelf from GOD, when arrested with an "Adam, where art thou?" So now the decree is gone forth, and the trump of God has given its laft found; all tongues, people, nations, and languages, both wife and foolish virgins, muft come into his prefence, and bow bencath his footftool; even Pontius Pilate, Annas and Caiaphasi

Caiaphas; even the proud perfecuting high-priefts and Pha rifees of this generation, must appear before him: for lays our LORD, then, (when the cry was made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh!) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the graves were opened, the fea gave up its dead, and "all thofe virgins, both wife and foolish, arose and trimmed their lamps," or endeavoured to put themselves in a proper pofture to meet the bridegroom.

But how may we imagine the foolish virgins were furprized, when, notwithstanding their high thoughts and proud imaginations of their fecurity, they now find themselves wholly naked, and void of that inward holiness and purity of heart, without which no man living at that day fhall comfortably meet the LORD! I doubt not, but many of thefe foolish virgins, whilft in this world, were cloathed in purple and fine. linnen, fared fumptuously every day, and difdained to fet the wife virgins, fome of whom might be as poor as Lazarus, even with the dogs of their flock. These were looked upon by them as enthusiasts and madmen, as perfons that were righteous over-much, and who intended to turn the world upfide down: but now death hath opened their eyes, and convinced them, to their eternal forrow, that he is not a true chriftian, who is, only one outwardly. Now they find (though, alas! too late) they, and not the wife virgins, had been befide themselves. Now their proud hearts are made to ftoop, their lofty looks are brought low; and as Dives entreated that Lazarus might dip the tip of his finger in water, and be fent to cool his tongue, so these foolish virgins, thefe formal hypocrites, are obliged to turn beggars to thofe whom they once despised: "Give us of your oil;" O! impart to us a little of that grace and holy fpirit, for the infifting on which we fools accounted your lives madness; for alas! our lamps are gone out" we had only the form of godliness; we were whited fepulchres; we were heart-hypocrites; we contented ourfelves with defiring to be good; and though confident of falvation whilst we lived, yet our hope is entirely gone, now GOD has taken away our fouls: Give us therefore, O! give us, though we once defpifed you, give us of your oil, for our lamps of an outward profeffion, and tranfient convictions, are quite gone out. "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, faith

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