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and faithful high-prieft; who could be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities, Heb ii. 17. becaufa he was in all points tempted like as we are, Heb. iv, 15 and himself all compaffed with infirmity, Heb. v. 2. If then, by taking upon himself human nature at large, he hath a compaffionate and tender fenfe of the firmities of mankind in general; he must needs, in a peculiar manner, feel, and commiferate the infirmitics of the poor, in which he himfelt was fo eminent a fharer. To the reft of mankind he was allied indeed by his humanity; but to the poor, even by the humble and suffering circumftances of it: He was made "in the likenefs of men;" but most like the meaneft among the fons of men. "Wherefore he is not afhamed to call them brethren," by way of diftinction; to publish their near relation to him; to recommend their cafe particularly to us; to espouse all their interests; to take part in all their afflictions; and · even to acknowledge the good offices we do them, as done to himself- "I fay unto you, inafmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of these my brethren ye have done it unto me."

I have dispatched the argument in both its branches, which I undertook to confider. The ufe we are to make of it, is obvious and eafy; fo obvious, that I queftion not but you have prevented me in this refpect, and have all along, as I paffed from point to point, applied it to your selves, to the enforcing of the great duty of charity, to the enflaming your fouls with an ardent love of it, and a refolution of practifing it in fuch an exalted degree, as becomes the true difciples (nay the friends and brethren) of Jfus. Many

excellent

excellent things are Spoken of this divine grace, in Scripture; many high encomiums are there given of it; many encouraging promises are made to it: But I queftion, whether all of them taken together carry more life, and force, and warmth in them, than the two affecting confiderations I have explained to you. The wit of man cannot contrive (for even the wisdom of God hath not fuggefted) any more preffing motives, more powerful incentives to the exercise of charity, than thefe; That we fhall be judged by it at the laft dreadful day; and that then, all the acts of mercy we have done to the poor, fhall by our merciful Judge be owned and rewarded as perfonal kindneffes done to himself.

What can awaken us to do good, if the found of the last trumpet cannot? If a lively fenfe and anticipation of the great scene of judgment which shall then be unfolded, of the procefs which shall be formed, of the fcrutiny which fhall be made, of the sentence which fhall be pronounced; if, I fay, the bright ideas of these folemnities, which the Scripture hath taken care to imprint upon our minds, do not excite us to abound in the labour of love, whilst it is yet day, ere the night cometh, when no man can work; John xi. 4. Vain will be the attempt of roufing us into the love and practice of goodness, by any less astonishing methods; all other applications and motives whatsoever will be loft upon us; and we must even be fuffered to fleep on in our fecurity, and take our rest, till our judgment, which lingereth not, overtakes us, and our damnation, which flumhereth not, lays hold of us, 2 Pet. ii. 3.

Do

Do we, in good earneft, believe the account of that day's transaction which our Lord hath given us; Let us fhew our faith by our works and pass the time of our fojourning here (as it will then be well for us we had paffed it) in the unwearied exercife of beneficence and charity. Can we believe that God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world by the Man Chrift Jefus; without believing alfo, that he will judge it in that very manner, and with those very circumftances, which the Judge himfelf hath revealed to us? And if fo, how can we ever think of appearing at that awful Tribunal, without being able to give a ready answer to the questions which he fhall then put to us, about the poor and the afflicted, the hungry and the naked, the fick and the imprisoned? What confufion of face fhall we be under, when that grand inqueft begins; When an account of our wealth and our opportunities of doing good is difplayed, on the one fide, and a particular of our ufe, or mifufe of them is given in, on the other? And it fhall appear, That the good things we have done, are few, and little, in comparison of those we have received? How fhall we then with (to no purpose wifh) that it might be allowed us to live over our lives again, in order to fill every minute of them with charitable offices, which, we find, will at that time be of so great importance to us?

In vain fhall we then plead (though we could truly plead) that we have been frequent and devout worshippers of God, temperate and fober in our enjoyments, just and confcientious in our dealings; in vain fhall we attempt to justify ourfelves,

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felves as the rich young man in the gofpel did,
by appealing to the great duties of the law, and
faying, "All these have I kept from my youth
"up;
"Matt. xix. 20. unlefs we can fay alfo
fomewhat more for ourselves, than he could;
even that we have been liberal in our diftributions
to the poor, and well difcharged that important
Stewardship with which God hath entrusted us.
One single inftance of relief afforded to the afflic
ted and the miferable, one
66 cup of cold water
given to a difciple," that is, the smallest act of
charity, done out of a fincere principle of good-
nefs, fhall then ftand us in greater ftead, and re-
commend us more effectually to the favour of our
Judge, than all our pretended zeal for the divine
honour and the advancement of religion, than
all the flights and fervours of devotion, than all
the rigors and feverities of the mortified ftate,
nay, than whatever Chriftian graces and virtues
we can fuppofe it poffible to attain, without at
taining true Christian charity, i. e. fuch an ars
dent love of God, as manifefts itself in a propor-
tionable love of our neighbour, and particularly
in those genuine fruits of love, with which Chri-
ftian mercy and tendernefs will be fure to
infpire us.

This is a truth, which cannot be too often, or too earnestly inculcated, becaufe (important as it is) we are apt, extremely apt, to overlook it, and to perfuade ourselves, that, if we do but obferve the rules of moral honefty in all our tranf actions; if we wrong no man, or make reftitution to those we have wronged; such a righteous and faultless conduct will secure our title to hap

piness.

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pinefs. We own, indeed, that extraordinary acts of charity are commendable, and fhall have their reward: But we think we can efcape hell, without performing them; and are humble enough to be contented with the loweft ftation in heaven. Human judicatories, we observe, give fentence only on matters of right and wrong, but enquire not into acts of bounty and beneficence; and we eafily transfer this known method of proceeding from earthly tribunals to that of heaven. To rectify a mistake of so great confequence as this, it was requifite to affure us, that, though the forms and folemnities of the laft judgment, as they are defcribed in the gospel, may bear fome refemblance to thofe we are acquainted with here below, yet the rule of proceeding fhall be very different: That we shall be tried at that bar, not merely by our righteousness, but moreover and chiefly by our charity; That it will not avail us then to fay, We have done no evil, if we have done no good; That however virtues of omiffion (if I may fo fpeak) will not fave us, yet, that fins of omiffion will certainly damn us. 'Tis becaufe we have not given the hungry, meat; and the thirsty, drink; because we have not taken in the ftranger, and cloathed the naked; becaufe we have not vifited the fick, and those that are in prifon; that we fhall be then included in that terrible fentence, "Depart from me, ye curfed, "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and "his angels!" The ignorance of thofe, who are ftrangers to the covenant of Christ, may be wink-ed at, and their future happiness secured to them upon lower terms: But it is madness in Christians, VOL. II.

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