An extract from Mr. LAW’s Serious Answer to Dr. ♦Trapp’s four sermons, on the sin, folly, and danger of being Righteous overmuch. Some animadversions upon Dr. ♦Trapp’s late reply. ♦ “Trap’s” replaced with “Trapp’s” A short but sufficient confutation of Bishop Warburton’s projected defence (as he calls it) of Christianity, in his divine legation of Moses in a letter to the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London. Illustration: (‡ decoration) An Extract from Mr. LAW’s SERIOUS CALL TO A HOLY LIFE. CHAPTER XVIII. _Recommending devotion at three o’clock, called in scripture the |ninth hour| of the day. The subject of prayer at this hour may be |resignation| to the divine pleasure. The nature and duty of conformity to the will of God in all our actions and designs._ 1. * THERE is nothing _wise_, or _holy_, or _just_, but the _great will_ of God. This is as strictly true as that nothing is infinite and eternal but God. * No beings therefore, whether in heaven or on earth, can be wise, or holy, or just, but so far as they conform to _this will_ of God. It is conformity to this will, that gives virtue and perfection to the highest services of angels in heaven; and it is conformity to the same will, that makes the ordinary actions of men on earth become an acceptable service to God. * The whole nature of virtue consists in conforming, and the whole nature of vice in declining from the will of God. All God’s creatures are created to fulfil his will; the _sun_ and _moon_ obey his will, by the necessity of their nature; _angels_ conform to his will, by the perfection of their nature: if therefore you would shew yourself not to be a _rebel_ and _apostate_ from the order of the creation, you must act like beings both above and below you; it must be the great desire of your soul, that God’s will may be done by you on earth, as it is done in heaven. It must be the settled purpose of your heart, to _will_ nothing, _design_ nothing, _do_ nothing, but so far as you have reason to believe, it is the will of God. 2. ’Tis as necessary to think thus of God and yourself, as to think that you have any dependance upon him. And it is as great a rebellion against God, to think that your will may ever differ from his, as to think that you have not received the power of _willing_ from him. You are therefore to consider yourself as a being, that has no other business in the world, but to be that which God requires you to be; to have no tempers, no rules, no designs of your own, but to fill some _place_, and act some _part_ in strict conformity, and thankful resignation to the divine pleasure.