com

flock with the "sincere milk of God's word;" so must it be a great terror and confusion to the slothful and negligent, the false and deceitful dispensers of the divine mysteries, who have either carelessly lost, or treacherously deluded the souls of those co mitted to their charge, which they must one day answer for, as well as for their own. And, therefore, that nothing of this kind may be ever laid to my charge, I solemnly promise and resolve, before God, so to demean myself in the exercise of my ministerial function, as to make the care of souls, especially of those committed to my charge, the chief study and business of my life.

And that without partiality or exception. I must not single out some of the best of my flock, such as I have the highest respect for, or have received the greatest obligations from; but "minister to every one according to their several necessities." If I meet with men of knowledge and virtue, my business must be to confirm and establish them therein; if with those that are ignorant and immoral, to teach and instruct them in the ways of religion, and by all means possible, to reclaim and reduce them to the exercise of their duty; always remembering, that as the blessed Jesus, the "great shepherd and bishop of our souls, was not sent, save unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance;" so it is the indispensable duty of his apostles and ministers (and by the grace of God I shall make it mine) to follow his example in this particular; to spare no time nor pains in the reformation of sinners, though it be ever so irksome and difficult to accomplish; even

though I should meet with such as the prophet David speaks of, "who hate to be reformed, and cast my words behind them." And therefore, as I

know it is my duty, so I shall always endeavour to take pleasure in the several offices I perform of this kind," to strengthen the weak, heal the wounded, and bind up the broken heart;" to call in those that err and go astray, and "seek and save them that are lost."

To these ends, though preaching is, without doubt, a most excellent and useful, as well as necessary duty, (especially if it be performed, as it ought, with zeal and reverence, and the doctrine applied and pressed home, with sincerity of affection) yet, I shall not think it sufficient to instruct my people only from the pulpit, but take all opportunities to instil good thoughts and principles into their minds in my private conversation. I know it is impossible for all ministers frequently to visit every particular person or family in their parish, there being, in some parishes, especially in and about London, so many thousands of souls: but, howsoever, if it should please the Lord to call me to such a flock, though I cannot visit all, I shall visit as many as I can; especially those that are sick or infirm, and be sure to feed "with the sincere milk of the word," such as may turn to their spiritual nourishment, and make them " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” I will not fill their heads with speculative notions and niceties in divinity; (which, among the less judicious, are very often the occasion of heresy and error, and sometimes also, of delusion and distrac

tion:) but my chief care shall be to instruct them in those necessary truths which their Christian faith indispensably obliges them to know and believe; and press them to the performance of those duties, without which they cannot be saved; meekly and impartially reproving the particular vices they are most inclined and addicted to, and cheerfully encouraging and improving whatever virtuous actions they are, any of them, exemplary in, and whatever good habits and inclinations the divine grace has put into their hearts.

And since love and charity is the great characteristic of our profession, the bond and cement of all other Christian duties, in order to make my ministry the more successful, I resolve, in the last place, not only to avoid all differences and disputes with them myself, but amicably to compose all such as may arise among the neighbours. In a word, I shall make it my endeavour, in all things, so to approve myself as a faithful minister, both in life and doctrine before them, that at the last day, when the great God shall call for my parish, and myself to appear before him, I may be prepared to give an account of both; at least, to answer for as many of them as he requires; and may with joy and comfort pronounce this sentence of my Saviour, if it may, without offence, be applied to his ministers, "Behold I, and the children which thou hast given me!"

RESOLUTION VI.

I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as faithful and constant to my friend, as I would have my friend to be faithful and constant to me.

For

HAVING before resolved to be zealous in loving God, I here resolve to be as constant in loving my friend. But why do I resolve upon this? Is it possible to live and not to love? This to me seems as plain a contradiction, as to live and not to live. love, in my opinion, is as much the life of the soul, as the soul is the life of the body. So that, for my own part, I shall expect to cease to live, at the very moment that I cease to love: nay, I do not look upon love only as my life, but as the joy and comfort of it too. And, for this I shall never envy any man his riches, pleasures, or preferments, provided that I can but enjoy the persons my soul delights in; namely Christ in the first place, and my friend and neighbour in the second.

reason,

But then I must have a great care where and how I place this affection; for if I place it wrong, my very loving will be sinning. And therefore, I

it as

shall always endeavour to make such only my friends as are friends to God. Not that I look upon necessary to love my friends always under that notion only as they are friends of God; for then, no love but that which is spiritual would be lawful: whereas there is doubtless, a natural love, that is no less a duty, and, by consequence, no less lawful, than the

other; as, the love of parents towards their children, and children towards their parents; and the mutual complacency that arises betwixt friends, as well as relations, from the harmony and agreement of humours and tempers. Thus our Saviour is said to have loved St. John more than any of his other disciples, which cannot be understood of a spiritual love; for this, undoubtedly, was equal to all; but being a man subject to the like passions (though not imperfections) as we are, he placed more natural affection upon, and might have more natural complacency in John than in his other disciples.

And, therefore, when I say, I am to make such my friends only, as are friends to God, my meaning is, that I will make none my friends, but such as I know to be good men and good Christians, such as deserve my love in a spiritual as well as a natural sense; and since I may lawfully love my friend in both these senses, the one is so far from being exclusive, that it is really perfective of the other. And for this reason, as the spiritual good of my friend is always to be preferred before that which is temporal, I am resolved to found the one upon the other. I will always be ready, as oft as he stands in need, either of my advice, encouragement, or assistance, to do him all the kind offices I can, in his worldly affairs, to promote his interest, vindicate his character from secret aspersions, and defend his person from open assaults; to be faithful and punctual in the performance of my promises to him, as well as in keeping the secrets he has intrusted me with. But all these things are to be done with a tender regard to the honour of God, and the duties