their time in seeking honors, riches, and pleasures! Their conduct is as foolish as would be that of the mariner, who, wishing to sail to the north, steers towards the east — neither will arrive at the end of his journey. Of such the prophet speaks when he says, "You have sowed much and brought in little; you have eaten but have not had enough; you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink. " (Agg. i. 6.) In fine, " they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell." (Job xxi. 13.) Do not follow their example.
The Duty of Man towards God. I.
I. The whole duty of man in regard to his God is comprised in this short sentence: " Decline from evil and do good." (Ps. xxxvi. 27.) These are the two principal points in a Christian life; they are the two wings on which we must fly to heaven. In regard to the first branch of a Christian's duty, the declining from evil, " the life of man upon earth" is declared in Holy Scripture to be "a continual warfare" (Job ix. 28); and Christians are termed soldiers, because it is their duty to stand on their guard, and resist the suggestions of the enemy and his temptations to sin.
II. In this warfare we are to combat sin, even to death; we must never desist, or think ourselves secure, but always stand under arms with watchful care and fear. Job, with all his virtue, examined and feared the smallest of his actions. David, though a man according to God's own heart, did in his own emphatical language continually "sweep his spirit." (Ps. lxxvi. 7.) The Baptist, although sanctified in his mother's womb, led a retired and austere life, for fear "lest (as the Church
