Dishonesty; that he robs fome Hufband of the Property, which God has allotted him, and of the Peace, and Happiness of his Life; that He brings Difcredit, and Grief upon fome Father, Mother, or other Relations; that he gives Birth perhaps to an Infant, whofe Innocence will not protect Him from the Reproaches of his Parent's Infamy; that he ftrips, and plunders a Fellow Creature of that Virtue, which should support Her in this World, and in the next; that He is very probably the Occafion of Distress, and Mifery to the Partner of his Shame, and very probably too, of her being driven, by that Distress, to an abandon'd Proftitution; And what else can he expect at the Hands of the Righteous Judge, but to be called to answer, in the last Day, for the Soul, which he has destroyed, and to take his Share in the Punishment of every Sin, of which he has been the Occafion?

But perhaps, He is not the Corrupter, He only follows in the Track of Vice began by another: Is he therefore innocent? Will He, that receives the Stolen Goods, be allowed to plead that he did not Steal Them? Let this Wife Distinguisher bring forth his Reasons; Let him fee if he can juftify, before his Maker, and his Judge, the comforting, abetting, and encouraging a Fellow Subject in Rebellion against Him; the paying the Price of Sin, by hiring another to commit it, and the prevent

ing, as much as in him lies, the return of a ing Guilty Soul, to God.

When You, reflect upon thefe Things, You will fee very plainly the Reafon, why St. Paul has fo pofitively declared, that * no Adulterer, nor Fornicator fhall enter into the Kingdom of God. And I hope Your Reflection thereupon will be fufficient to keep You clear from those Great Offences.

But perhaps fome may think, that if they keep to one Woman only, living with her in all Refpects as a Hufband with a Wife, the Matrimonial Ceremony may be fafely omitted, as a mere human Inftitution. But let fuch afk their own Confciences, whether their fecret Reason for omitting that Ceremony, be not, that They may have the Liberty of feparating Themselves, at their Pleasure, from the Woman, whom they pretend to regard as a Wife; And, if that be the Cafe, Let them not reprefent that Conduct as Conformable to the Law of God, which is founded upon a Refervation to themselves of a Power to break it,

whenever they shall be weary. of complying with it.

But thefe Irregularities are, I hope, very rare `amongst Us.

The Thing which I shall next mention to o and defire to Caution You against, is Gaming, Which is of late, to the great Grief

Corving.

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of all good Men, crept into several Towns in Your Neighbourhood. Confider this only in the Light of Worldly Prudence, Can You think it reasonable to hazard What You have earn'd with the Sweat of Your Brow, by long Labour, and Care, upon the Chance of a Moment, and to hazard it perhaps against Thofe, whofe Profeffion is Knavery, and who have no other Subfiftence but what arifes from the Plunder of Your unguarded Simplicity? Or can You expect Honesty, and a faithful Management of Your Concerns from Your Sons, and Servants, if You fuffer them to expofe themselves to fo great a Temptation ?

Look upon this Practice in a Religious View, Can there be a greater Immorality than to stake the Maintenance of Your Wife, and Children, upon the Caft of a Dye, or Turn of a Card; to play for the future Happiness of Yourself, or Neighbour; and to put Yourself Voluntarily into a Situation, where You muft either ruin, or be ruined; and Where, if You have any Pleasure, it must arife from the Grief, and Mifery of Your Fellow Chriftian?

If there be Drunkenness amongst You, if there be Swearing, and Obscene Talking, if Pilfering amongst the poorer Sort, especially from their Benefactors, and any Species of Dishonesty and Fraud, with regard to Buying, Selling, Paying of Rent, Tythes, Taxes, or any other Matter, amongst the more Subftantial; I have

the

the Pleasure of thinking that they are not very commonly practifed in our Country, and shall therefore content myself with exhorting Those unhappy People, whofe Confciences may accuse them of any fuch Tranfgreffions, to remember, before it is too late, that for all thefe Things - God fhall bring them to Judgment.

If these Reflexions make the Impreffion they ought upon You, and You are defirous to know more perfectly, What You Should do to be faved, the best Advice which I can give You, is, to feek for the Law of God, in the Book of God, and to compare Your Behaviour with the Rules laid down in the Gospel.

You will there fee what Sort of Obedience is required by Qur Lord and Saviour, to make us worthy Members of his Kingdom; that it must be a Compliance, not with This, or That, but with all his Commands; That it must proceed from a purified Heart, purified, as much as poffible in this Carnal State, from all fecret Approbation of Sin, and from a fincere Defire of pleafing God,

You will fee too, that the promoting this Glory of God, this Univerfal Obedience of his Creatures to him, was of fo great Confequence, that it was the Caufe, why * all Scripture was given, and one of the great Objects even of the Death of Chrift.

And You will obferve that, amongst all those

Tim. iii. 16, 17.

Tit. ii. 14.

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Commandments of God, what is chiefly infifted on, as the New, the Royal, and the most important Law, is Charity, which I chufe to mention particularly to You, that You may not understand it, in that Narrow and Limited Sense only, to which our Language commonly applys it; I mean the giving Alms to the Poor, (That being in Truth but one Branch of it) But may know, that, when You are ordered to be Charitable, You are ordered to bear fincere Good-Will to all Men, of all Denominations, of all Countrys, of all Sects, and Partys; looking upon them, without Diftinction, as Your Neighbours, forgiving Offences, justifying Characters, difcouraging Scandal, reconciling Differences, and feeking all Opportunities to promote the Welfare, both Temporal and Eternal, of all, with whom You have any Connexion.

Laftly, You will fee with Joy and Gratitude, that to him, who thus fincerely obeys God, delighting in the Performance of his Will, and preferring his Approbation to all other Things whatfoever, Exceeding great and precious Promifes are made, and that even Everlasting Happiness, an Eternal Weight of Glory, (as it is ftiled by St. Paul) is referved for Thofe, who fhall come off Conquerors in this Contention with the World, with Themfelves, and with the great Adversary of God, and Man; Not however, as due to the Merit of our own imperfect Performances, but from the free Gift and

Bounty