SERM. " turn men from the evil of their ways, and to save CCXII. 1 " their fouls from death;" to be ready to supply men's outward wants and necessities, to comfort them in their forrows, and to relieve them in their affliction and distress. And these works of compassion and charity are perhaps more particularly intended here in the text, for so the Chaldee paraphrase interprets these words of Solomon, as a precept of charity, rendering them thus, " Do all thou canft, according to thy utmost ability " in alms and charity:" for nothing but this will turn to our account in another world; no other way of laying out our estates will be of any advantage to us in the future state. And though I do not think Solomon did here intend to exclude any part of religious practice, yet he might very well have a more especial eye and regard to this, as one of the principal instances and best evidences of a true and sincere piety, according to that of St. James, chap. i. ver. last, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Fa"ther is this, to visit the fatherless and widows " in their affliction." To be sure, our SAVIOUR lays mighty weight upon it, by making it the great article upon which men fhall be tried at the judgment of the great day. And indeed no religion is to be valued, that wants humanity and compaffion; for fo far as it departs from this, it departs from the true nature of God and religion. So that it is a vast work which lies upon our hands, and which every one of us, from the highest to the lowest are engaged in; this business of religion, this care of our whole man, and of our whole duty, of the inward frame and disposition of our minds, and of all our words and actions, "to keep our hearts with all dili"gence," and carefully to observe and govern all the inclinations * T 1 V CCXII. inclinations and motions of our fouls, and to "order ourSERM. " whole conversation aright;" in a word, to do GOD all the service, and men all the good that possibly we can, while we are in this world. This is the first. 2. And because " in many things we offend all, " and there is no man that sinneth not," another part of our work and care is, in case of transgression and miscarriage in any part of our duty, to exercise repentance for it, that so we may be reconciled to GOD, and at peace with him. It And this is absolutely necessary, because our life and happiness depend upon it, and " except we repent, " we must perifsh," and be miferable for ever. cannot be denied, but that this work of repentance is - very harsh and unpleasant, like the taking of physic and searching into a wound; but because it tends to our health and safety, and is the necessary way and means to a better condition, this severity must be fubmitted to, if we defire to be cured, and have a mind to be well; and the fooner we make use of this remedy the better, we shall find so much the less difficulty and pain in the cure. And there is great reason why we should frequently exercise and renew our repentance, because our failings are frequent, and in one kind or other we offend and provoke God every day; especially when we are coming to the holy facrament, in which we folemnly renew our covenant with God, and promise him better obedience for the future; we should examine our lives more strictly, and call our fins more particularly to remembrance, and exercise a most folemn and deep repentance for them; this is the way to keep our accounts in a good measure even. And this surely is great wisdom, to provide that we may have no long account to make up, no great scores to wipe off, when we SERM. we come to be overtaken by fickness, and to lie upon CCXII. our death-bed; that " innumerable tranfgreffions" unrepented of may not then “ compass us about," and stare us in the face, and fill our fouls with fear and confufion, with horror and amazement in a dying hour; that an unsupportable load of guilt may not then lie upon our minds, and oppress our confciences, when we are least able to bear it, and most unfit to deal with it, when we may not have time to call our fins particularly to remembrance, and to exercise a particular repentance for them, and yet perhaps a general repentance may not be fufficient, and available with GOD for the pardon and forgiveness of them. Therefore we should exercise ourselves much in this work of repentance in the days of our health, when we are fittest for it, and when it will be most acceptable to God, and when the fincerity of it will be most evident and comfortable to us, when we may know it to be true by the real and certain effects of of it, in the change and amendment of our lives. Whereas a death-bed repentance is infinitely hazardous, because we may not perhaps have time and opportunity for the exercise of it, or if we should have that, yet hardly can we have opportunity for the trial of it, whether it be fincere or not, and confequently must needs die very uncomfortably, and in great doubt and-anxiety of mind, what will be our fate and doom in another world. So that it is a great work which lies upon our hands, and equally concerns every one of us. The bufinefs of religion, which confists in the strict care of our duty to God and man, and in the frequent exercise of repentance for the fins and miscarriages of our lives; and we may confequently judge, how great a care and diligence a work of fo much difficulty and of fo great moment and importance, does require and call for at our hands. But befides this we muft, in the II. Place コ CCXII. II. Place likewise be diligent in our particularSER M. calling and charge, in that province and station which God hath appointed us, whatever it be; whether it consists in the labour of our hands, or in the improvement of our minds, in order to the gaining of knowledge for our own pleasure and fatisfaction, and for the use and benefit of others: whether it lie in the skill - of government, and the administration of public justice; or in the management of a great estate, of an honourable rank and quality above others, to the best advantage for the honour of God, and the benefit and advantage of men, so as by the influence of our power and estate, and by the authority of our example, to contribute all we can to the welfare and happiness of others. For it is a great mistake to think that any man is without a calling, and that God does not expect that every one of us should employ himself in doing good in one kind or other. Some persons indeed, by the pri-vilege of their birth and quality, are above a common trade and profession, but they are not hereby either exempted or excused from all business, and allowed to live unprofitably to others, because they are so plentifully provided for themselves: nay, on the contrary, they have so much the greater obligation, having the greater liberty and leifure to attend the good of others; the higher our character and station is, we have the better opportunities of being publicly useful and beneficial; and the heavier will our account be, if we neglect these opportunities. Those who are in a low and private condition, can only shine to a few; but they that are advanced to a great height above others, may, like the heavenly bodies, dispense a general light and influence, and scatter happiness and blessings among all that are below them. And SERM. And as they are capable of doing more good than CCXII. others, fo with more ease and effect; that which perfons of an inferior rank can hardly bring others to, by all the importunity of counsel and perfuafion, as namely to the practice of any virtue, and the quitting and abandoning of any vice, a prince and a great man that is good himself, may easily gain them to, without ever speaking a word to them, by the filent authority and powerful allurement of his example. So that though every man have not a particular profession, yet the highest among men have fome employment allotted to them by God, fuitable to their condition, a province which he expects they should adminifter and adorn with great care. The great bufiness of the lower part of mankind is to provide for themselves the neceffaries of life, and it is well if they can do it, with all their care and diligence; but those who are of a higher rank, their proper business and employment is to difpenfe good to others; which furely is a much happier condition and employment, according to that admirable saying of our SAVIOUR, mentioned by St. Paul, "It is a more blef" fed thing to give, than to receive." Those of meaner condition can only be men to one another, and it were weli if they would be fo; but he that is highly raised and advanced above others, hath the happy opportunity in his hands, if he have but the heart to make me of it, to be a kind of God to rien. Let ro man then, of what birth, or rank, or quality foever, think it Leneath him to ferve Gor, and to be useful to the benefit and advantage of men; let us remember the Son of God, a perfon of the higheft quality and extraction that ever was, who fpent kimfelf wholly in this bleffed work of doing good, toiled and laboured in it as it had been for his life, fubmit ted |