their

world know that they can cope with men; honour consists in taking a divine by the collar. These had rather be teachers than learners; choose to guide the officers of the household, rather than their own house; to handle the pen, rather than the spindle; to usurp authority over the man, rather than be in subjection; to break every positive command of God for a few pence, rather than work to earn it; and to be commanders in chief, rather than to be in silence. Hence the apostle calls them "busy bodies;" that is, they neglect all the business that God has set them at, and trouble themselves about the business of others; having discarded the distaff and the spindle, they take to the pen and tongue, and live by that, and all in absolute rebellion against God; hence it is called "speaking things which they ought not." The apostle, being sick of these female teachers, concludes by ordaining them some employment, in order I suppose to keep them quiet; “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully; for some [of these women] are already turned aside after Satan." Hence we learn that some preachers used gentleness with these prophetesses, but this is not the gentleness in my text,

This gentleness mentioned in my text is not to be found in ministers of the letter, nor yet in hypocritical professors; it is a grace peculiar to the regenerate, and is a gift from above, and God

will give it to whom he pleases; "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure;" it purifies the heart and judgment, and leads the mind into a pure love of the truth; "then peaceable;" it reveals the way of peace, it proclaims peace to the heart, and makes men earnest in preaching peace, and at keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It is "gentle" toward the weaklings of the flock; gentle toward the backslider, or those that turn aside; gentle in persecution toward those that oppose themselves, or set themselves to oppose the truth; "and easy to be intreated;" or easy to those that intreat, not slander; "full of mercy and good fruits;" full of the mercy of God, which produces good fruits instead of antinomianism; "without partiality, and without hypocrisy," James iii, 17. It teaches no man to be partial in the word of God; it teaches no man to justify a false preacher, nor to slander a true one; it is without hypocrisy; it makes a man honest in heart, and sound in the truth; it teaches no man to condemn the just, nor justify the wicked, for both these are an abomination.

Secondly, This gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith." If it be a fruit of the Spirit, it cannot be found in any but those that are born of the Holy Ghost, who love God, have peace with him, and joy in him; hypocrites may pretend to it, and contend for it, but they know nothing about it.

This grace was, and still is, wonderfully exercised by the Saviour toward his own tried children, especially towards poor humble penitents in soul travail: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young," Isaiah xl. 11. But the Saviour made use of none of this gentleness to Herod the fox; nor to the dogs, when he tells us not to cast that which is holy to them; nor to the swine, before whom we are not to cast our pearls; nor yet to the serpents and vipers, for he was not a gentle shepherd to them; they were not of his sheep; hẹ threatens them with the damnation of hell.

The apostle made use of this grace of gentleness, when he acted the part of a nurse to those that were babes in grace: "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: for neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness. Nor of men sought we glory, nor of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children."

Thus we may see that the Saviour in his character of a Shepherd used gentleness, but as the lion of the tribe of Judah, he will use his sword. So Paul, in the character of a nurse used gentleness, but this did not destroy his valour as a soldier; for when those of the circumcision called him an

Antinomian, asserting, that he made void the law through faith; and that he said, let us do evil that good may come; let us sin that grace may abound; Paul lays by his gentleness and takes his sword, and tells them that their damnation is just. I come now to treat of the aptness or aptitude of the Lord's servant to teach, and the cause of it; and of the unaptness of pretenders to it, and the reason why. I chose to handle my heads in this manner because the word of God is called a two edged sword; and if so, we ought to make it cut both ways.

This word, apt, signifies that he has received gifts and grace to fit him for the work; that his abilities are suitable to it; and by the constraining power of grace, he is inclined to teach others, and has a quickness or readiness for it, which he is inwardly moved to by the Spirit of God. He knows both law and gospel experimentally; the one fires his zeal, the other draws his love to God; and this fire moves him and constrains him; he knows the terrors of the Lord, and persuades men; he has felt the pardon of his own sin, and therefore can preach forgiveness to others; he is at peace with God, and therefore preaches peace; he believes, and therefore speaks; he is justified or made righte ous, and is a preacher of righteousness; he has tasted that the Lord is gracious, and preaches grace; he has made his own calling and election sure, and so calls others, and preaches election to them; God's word has quickened him, and he holds

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forth the word of life; the Spirit of the Lord ministers gifts and grace to him, and he is a minister of the Spirit to others, that they might partake of his grace; God has put abundance of grace in his heart, and it is out of the abundance of his heart that his mouth speaks; God has put the treasure into his earthen vessel, and he brings out of his treasure things new and old; in a word, it is an experimental knowledge of the happy enjoyment of these things that makes the servant of the Lord so apt, fit, forward, ready, and quick to teach.

The moving cause is God's love to him, and its constraining power in him; "The love of Christ constraineth us," says Paul, to" endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." The word of God dwelling richly in the heart, makes a man weary of holding in; it is like a fire, it will blaze out; the spirit is like new wine, it will have vent. It is a well of water springing up, and will flow over; and men of understanding will draw it out, and refresh themselves with it. I come now to shew the unaptness of graceless pretenders to this work, and the reason why they are so unapt.

First, Because they aim at nothing but the double honour that belongs to the office; the applause of the people, the fleece of the sheep, and at a genteel life; they grasp at the ministry to nurse their pride, and indulge their laziness; hence they are called, heady, highminded, dumb dogs,