for the glorious recompence is no lefs, even life eternal; according to the never failing promife, and for the merit's fake of Jefus Chrift our Savior. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory for ever and ever.

Amen.

DISCOURSE VII.

The Second Part of the Sermon upon the fame Subject.

ECCLESIASTICUS xxxv. 7, and 11.

The facrifice of a just man is acceptable, and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten: For the Lord recompenfeth, and will give thee feven times as much.

IT

T having been fhewn you, in the first discourse upon this fubject, that the relief of the poor, and the contributing to the neceffities of the miferable, were duties moft acceptable to our Savior Chrift; and that in truth, he esteemeth that to be done to himself, which, for his fake, we are ready to do to others: As the example and fentiments of the prophets, apoftles, and holy fathers, have likewife been fo fully delivered upon this point, and as you must be fenfible, how well pleafed God has always been with thofe of whom the fcriptures give a good report in this matter; let thefe united teftimonies, and especially the love of your Savior, (of which by thefe means we are fo thoroughly affured) incline us, from this moment, to pay this grateful and bounden fervice to Almighty God;

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and to be ready on all occafions to evince a charitable spirit, to the very utmost of our power.

We come now, to this fecond divifion of the difcourfe, in which it was purposed to prove what great advantage is derived to ourselves from the faithful exercife of this virtue. Our Bleffed Lord teaches us, in the xxvith chap. of St. Matthew, That it would profit a man nothing though he should gain the whole world and lose his own foul; for (as he most juftly argues) what shall a man gain in exchange for bis foul? If he becomes a captive to Satan when he dies, what will it benefit him then, though he had once been in poffeffion of all the riches and glories of the earth in his life-time? By this faying then, we are moft clearly inftructed in the value of the foul's health and peace, beyond all worldly enjoyments whatsoever; and this confidertion doth fo tend to awaken the mind, as to urge us likewise to seek earnestly by what means we may preferve our fouls from all danger; that is, how we may recover them into a faving condition, if unhappily we have turned afide from the right way; as alfo, how, if we are in a fafe course, we may be enabled to keep it: And we are hereby further taught, to fet the highest value upon fo precious a remedy, fo inestimable a means that hath fufficient ftrength and virtue to provide and preferve fo great a treasure: for thus much moft furely will be granted, that if we justly regard that medicine, or balfam which is able to repair any of the grievous diforders, or wounds to which the human frame is fubject, much more ought we to value that which is capable of fo greatly benefitting cur immortal part; and that we may be sure of the effect, and never at a lofs for the application of fo choice a remedy, the divine physician exhibits to us both his love and wifdom, in fhewing us what it is, where we may find it, and how to apply it to faving purposes.

Now

Now this we learn in the xith chap. of St. Luke, 41ft ver. for when our Savior and his difciples were heavily accused by the pharifees 'fot having defiled their fouls in flighting the tradition of the elders, because they fat down to meat with unwashen hands, contrary to the cuftom of the Jews, our Lord, in reply to their fuperftitious charge, acquaints them with a certain remedy how to purify their fouls, although they should be guilty of flighting these unprofitable ceremonies; Rather give alms of fuch as you have, (faith he) and behold all things are clean unto you; by which speech he clearly enforceth this doctrine, that to have a heart difpofed to charity and mercy, was the fureft method of keeping the foul pure in the fight of God: Ye fools (faith he again) did not he who made that which is without, make that which is within alfo? Hence doubtless we are inftructed, that a readiness to diftribute of our good things unto the poor, is of effential fervice in cleanfing the foul from the infectious taint of fin: It is the moft effectual wea pon to combat covetoufnefs, which is a deadly poison to the foul: And the holy spirit of God doth inculcate the fame leffon, in various parts of the inspired writings; for alms are said to deliver from death, and fuffer not the foul to come into darkness; for a merciful fpirit is a great gift of God, and they will have good trial before the Moft High, who are exercifed in acts of kindness and compaffion towards those who are in trouble. The valuable ftore that of old was fet by this virtue of charity, may be collected from the fentiment of the preacher (Ecclefiafticus iii. 30.), who affirms, That as water will quench a flaming fire, fo alms maketh an atonement for fins *: and this indeed

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* It is almost needlefs to obferve to the chriftian reader, that here, and in any other place where fuch choice effects are attributed to

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is certain, that where the grace of mercy dwelleth in the foul of man, the violence of fin will not be able to take deep root in him; and when, through weakness or surprise, he happens to fall, ftill fhall the powerful influence of a merciful difpofition affift in recovering him to a right state of mind, and act as a fovereign remedy in healing the wounds of depraved nature. And on this account one of the ancient fathers (St. Cyprian) dwelleth largely on the neceffity of cultivating fo rich a virtue, fince tender good-will, and active bounty, are able to obtain fuch benefits to the foul; but it is very needful to add this caution by the way, that though there is abundant reafon for magnifying the excellence of a compaffionate temper, yet we do not allow it to exclude all other virtues; for if a man indulges in any wilful fins, a benevolent turn of mind will avail him nothing in the fight of an all-pure God: We by no means therefore propofe this good quality as a compofition for other deficiencies; but what occafions us to dwell fo much upon its excellence is this, that where it is exercifed UPON PRINCIPLE, its influence is fo pervading and univerfal, its nature is fo exalted and corrective, that it is almost impoffible for any premeditated guilt to dwell in the mind where it hath taken root; and confequently it is a property moft defirable to be cherished.

moral virtues, they are always to be confidered as proceeding from the pure principle of divine grace upon the heart, and not from any unaffified power in fallen nature; they are commended only as being the fruits of a lively faith in him who worketh in us to will and to do; and fo far they may be truly faid to profit thofe who perform them, but in point of atonement they are never to be confidered as the primary caufe of man's juftification or acceptance, but only as a part or proof of it, in that they are the effect wrought by the fatisfaction made by Chrift, and demonstrated by this renewal of man's nature to good works.

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