when we part with it for Honour, Wealth, or Pleasure. In this Circumstance Men take Pains to fhew how little they value their Religion, and feek Occafions to display their Libertinism and Infidelity, in order to make their Way to the Favour of a corrupt and degenerate Age. This Behaviour admits of no Excuse. These are they, who, properly fpeaking, love the World more than God and his Chrift; and let us not envy them the Love of the World, for they will find it a dear Purchase at the laft.

But whenever Infidelity grows into Credit and Repute, and the World has fo vitiated a Tafte, as to esteem the Symptoms of Irreligion as Signs of a good Understanding and found Judgment; when there is fo little Senfe of ferious Things left, that a Man cannot appear to be in earnest concerned for his Religion without being thought a Fool, or fufpected to be a Knave; then there arifes another Temptation to make Men ashamed of Chrift, and of his Word. No Man likes to be despised by thofe about him; and he who wants perhaps neither Riches nor Honour, wants however to live in Credit, and in good Efteem with his Acquaintance, and to preserve at least the Character of a Man of Sense

and

and Understanding. How this general and almost natural Inclination must work, whenever the Age is so far debauched, as to esteem Irreligion a fure Sign of a good Understanding, is easily conceived. Those who have a large Share of Vanity will be drawn in to approve and encourage, to admire and imitate the much celebrated Freedom of thinking; for fo it is called, though, properly fpeaking, it might more truly be styled a Freedom of talking. Others will be tempted to fit ftill, and give way to the Humour of the World; and will carefully hide their Faith in their Hearts, for fear any Signs of it should appear to the utter Difcredit of their Understanding. This is, this always will be, the Cafe in fuch Circumftances. But what must be done? may fome fay: Muft we feclude ourselves from Converfation, or must we fet up to reprove and rebuke every idle Word we hear? If we do, our Company will foon leave us, though we leave not them. Wonderful Difficulties thefe! So hard, it feems, it is to refrain from the Company of thofe, who make a Mock of Sin! An Hardship which a good Man would chufe, and which every bad one must chufe, if ever he intends to forfake the Error of his Ways.

There

There is a Contagion in ill Company, and he who dwells with the Scorner fhall not be guiltless. But, fince these Difficulties appear fo great, compare them with the real HardThips that furrounded the Chriftians of the firft Ages: They lived in Perils, on all Sides were Terrors, within were Fears, without was Death. In these Circumftances they were called to confefs Chrift in the Face of an enraged and cruel World; and the Rule given them to go by was, Not to fear those, who could kill the Body only, but to fear Him, who could destroy both Body and Soul everlastingly. If this was their Rule under fuch real Difficulties, what must be yours under fuch pretended ones? If they were not permitted to fear the Rage of Kings and Princes, fhall you be excused for fearing the Scorn or the Refentment of a light Companion? If they were called to brave the Sword, and to look every Image of Death boldly in the Face; fhall you find Pity, because you were afraid perhaps of being laughed at, and defpifed by thofe who are void of Understanding?

But not to infift upon this, which may perhaps be too high a Degree of Virtue for the Times we live in, let us come lower: If

you

you care not to be a Reprover or Rebuker of this Iniquity, yet furely there is no Neceffity for you to be an Admirer or Encourager of it: It is no great Sacrifice you make to Christ, when you refign your Share of the Applause, which belongs to those who perfecute and blafpheme him. In a word: Confider with yourselves that Religion is, of all others, the most serious Concern. If its Pretenfions are founded in Truth, it is Life to embrace them, it is Death to despise them. We cannot in this Case stand neuter: We cannot ferve two Mafters; we must hold to the one, and defpife the other. If we confefs Christ before Men, he will also confess us before God, and his holy Angels: If we deny him before Men, he will deny us at the laft Day, when he shall come in the Glory of his Father to judge the World.

Had our Lord been merely a Teacher of good Things, without any special Commiffion or Authority from the great Creator and Governor of the World, it would have been highly abfurd to aflume to himself this great Prerogative of being owned and acknowledged before Men. Several have from the Light of Reason taught many good Leffons to the World: But are we bound to take

every reasonable Man, who recommends the Practice of Virtue, for our Master? to own his Authority at the Peril of our Lives? No Man ever thought fo. Socrates taught many great Things to the Greeks before Chrift came into the World. If he followed Reafon, he did well; and we shall do well to follow it too, and farther we have no Concern with him. But, if there be any Truth at all in the Gospel, the Cafe is far otherwise with respect to our bleffed Redeemer; we must own his Authority, we must confefs him before the World, be the Danger of fo doing ever fo great or extreme. Whence arises this Obligation? It cannot reft merely upon this, that he was a Teacher of Reason and good Morality; for in that Cafe it would be fufficient to submit to the Reason and the Rules of Morality which he taught, without concerning ourselves with his Authority, which was no more than what Reason and Virtue give every Man. But the Cafe with us is otherwife: Our Lord requires of us, that we fhould confefs him before Men; and has declared, that if we deny him before the World, he will deny us in the Prefence of God and his holy Angels, when he comes to judge the Quick and the Dead. Confider what manner

of