I * 1 John i. 9. His* Faithfulness and Truth are inviolably engaged for their Pardon, and there can be no † Condemnation to any who are thus in Christ Jefus. The Plagues and Fears, which wound the Wicked mortally, fly over the Good Man's Head, and not one of them touches him. This gives to fuch Boldness to lift up their Heads, even in that Dreadful Day, that their Redemption now draws nigh: The utmost and most defirable Accomplishment of that Great Work, fo wonderfully begun, fo wifely carried on for God's Elect; the End of their Warfare, the Pardon of their Tranfgreffions, the Recompence of all their Toil and Sufferings; the fpeedy and entire Deliverance from Oppreffion and Wrong, from Danger and Temptation, from Corruption and Mortality, and, which is beft of all, from Frailty, and Imperfection, and the very poffibility of finning any more. This is that Blifsful Day, in which their vile Bodies are to be changed Phil. ili 21. and fashioned like unto Chrift's Glorious Body; Their Souls fatisfied with, and likened to, the Divine Excellencies; their every Faculty enlarged; and They from henceforth feeing, admiring, praifing, loving, living and reigning with, their Lord for ever. Such is the Honour all his Servants have. Such is the Bounty of their gracious Mafter. So tranfcendently great the Reward for poor and mean, because they have been faithful and fincere, Labours; fo bright, fo maffy their Crown, for the light Afflictions of a Moment: An 2 Cor. iv. 17. Eternity of Happiness in Heaven; Happi iii. nefs as exquifite, as Men are capable of receiving, for a Moment of Sorrow and Labour upon Earth. O Bleffed Voice of the Archangel, that fhall proclaim this general Jubilee! O Joyful Sound of the last Trump, that shall awaken the confused Heaps of Duft, to Incorruption and Immortal Glory! O welcome Tidings to thofe righteous Souls, who fhall receive the Warnings of this Judgment, with that peaceful Song of the Pro phet, Ifa. xl. 9, 10. phet, Behold your God! Behold, your God and Saviour comes with a strong hand, his Arm shall rule for him; Behold, his reward is with him, and his Work before him! O gracious Sentence to all that love and fear him, Come ye blessed Children Matth. xxv. 34. of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World! O happy Stewards, whofe Talents well employed, fhall then be thought worthy that Commendation, Well done good and faithful Servants, because you have Matth. xxv. 21. been faithful over a few things, I will make you Rulers over many things, enter ye into the Joy of your Lord! Grant, Blessed Lord, that these, and all thy holy Scriptures, may be fo read, beard, Collect for the Day mark'd, learned, and inwardly digested by us, that by Patience and Comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold faft the Blefjed Hope, of everlafting Life, which thou haft given us in our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Amen. **Luke i. 76. Mark i. 2. Matth. xi. 10, 14. + I Cor. iv. I. Luk. 17. The Third Sunday in Advent. O The COLLECT. Lord Jefu Chrift, who at thy firft coming didft fend thy Meffenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the † Minifters and Stewards of thy Myfteries, may likewife fo prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the difobedient to the wisdom of the juft, that, at thy fecond coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in thy fight, who liveft and reigneft with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen. for themselves, and upon their own Heads, but as Servants employed by Chrift, Chrift, our common Mafter. But withal, let them confider, how honourable a Service this is, fince Chrift hath made Them his Stewards, the Dispensers of his Word, and other Means of Grace, to the reft of the Family. 2. Moreover, it is required in ftewards, that a man be found faithful. 2. Now every body knows, that the main Qualification for this Poft, and that which recommends the Perfons in it, is Fidelity in their Master's Bufinefs. 3. But with me it is a very small thing, that I fhould be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own felf. 3. But of this Fidelity Men are not fo competent Judges, as to fay, who beft does his Duty, and who does it not fo well; and fo to prefer one before another, upon any external Advantages, which one may seem to have above another. And therefore the Judgment of Men is of no great weight with me; nay, I dare not rely upon my own Judgment so far, as to depreciate others, and prefer my self. 4. For I know nothing by my self; yet am I not bereby juftified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord, 4. For though, I bless God, my Confcience reproach me not with any Neglect or Mismanage these Matters, and knows ment in my Office; yet I will not be bold to fay, I am abfolutely clear of any: Because God will make a stricter Enquiry into me better, than I do my self. 5. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifeft the counfels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 5. Let this Confideration therefore prevail with you to fufpend such Cenfures of your Teachers, and do not anticipate the Judgment of God. For all judging of others in this manner is at present rafh, and hafty, and unfeafonable. You are yet in the Dark, and want that Evidence to proceed upon, which only He, who hath Right and Ability to judge the Perfons intrusted by him, will one Day produce. For he will disclose many lurking Motives, that no mortal Eye could difcover; He will make plain to all the World, not only what each Man did, but with what Intent and Dispofition of Mind he did it. And this is the time for those, who have discharged their Stewardship fairly and honeftly, to be rewarded by their own Mafter and proper Judge, the Juft and All-feeing God. TH COMMENT. HEApoftle, in the Chapters before, had reproved thefe Corinthians, for Divifions and Party-quarrels, fprung up among them, to the great Disturbance of the Church. These were chiefly fomented by fome falfe Teachers, who laboured to ingratiate themselves, by affected Chap. i. 12. iii. 4 affected Eloquence, fubtle Reasonings, and other popular Arts; to the bringing the Simplicity of the Gofpel, and those plain Methods of Teaching, ufed by St. Paul and his Affistants, into General Disesteem. This drew on many invidious Comparisons between their Preachers; infomuch that, not only They, who had been feduced into Error, but even the Orthodox Christians too, began to distinguish themfelves, by their adherence to this or that Perfon, under whofe Ministry they had been baptized, or inftructed in the Faith. In Oppofition to fuch Carnal and Mischievous Diftinctions, St. Paul puts them in Mind, that He, and his Fellow-Labourers in the Gofpel, were not, like the Philofophers of Old, Men ambitious of advancing new Doctrines, or inftituting peculiar Sects called after their own Names; but fubordinate Officers only, and fuch as made it their Business, to unite all their Profelytes under One common Head and Master, Chrift Jefus. The Defign of them all was the fame, and their Commiffion from one and the fame Hand; though they who acted, by it, were different, and acted in different Capacities. The Character then, which they were to be confidered under, and the Efteem proportioned to it, must be such as belongs to Perfons in Truft. So that no Difciple, gained over by their Labours, might be al Chap. iii. 21, 22. lowed to glory in Men; Since Men were only Inftruments, chofen and used by the Wife Mafterbuilder, for carrying up his Spiritual House. The Edification whereof would be beft promoted, by attributing to thofe Workmen neither more nor less than their Due. Not giving that refpect to Minifters, which is His Right alone, whofe Minifters they are: Nor Chap. vi. I. treating those, as Servants of the meaneft Quality, who, though Servants, are yet of the first and moft honourable Rank. Stewards, intrufted with a Charge no less important than the Myfteries of God; and, as fuch, accountable T Ver. Zip to Ver. 3, 4, 5. to their Great Lord. That the thing they are properly accountable for, is not Skill and Addrefs, fo much as Fidelity and Honefty: And, as none but their Master hath Authority to reckon with them, fo none but He can be a competent Judge, how they have acquitted themselves in this refpect. The reafon is, because many things, the most material in an Enquiry of that Nature, are yet in the dark; and like to continue fo, till that time come, (and come it will) when not only the Actions of each Man employed, but the true Principles and fecret Views upon which he acted, shall be disclosed. This makes it reasonable for every one thus intrusted, to be content with referring himself and his Proceedings, to the Juftification and Reward, which every faithful Servant fhall then receive in the Face of the whole World; and not to be extremely follicitous, what Others (who fee things but imperfectly, who confider and cenfure them partially, and who have nothing to do to cenfure these Matters at all) fhall take upon them to fay or think of his Integrity, in the mean while. This makes it neceffary for Men to fuspend their Judgments, and not pronounce too haftily, of Things and Perfons which they have neither Authority to judge, nor as yet fufficient Matter in Evidence, to ground a Juft and Peremptory Sentence upon. This is plainly the Substance and Defign of the Exhortation, recommended to our Thoughts in this Day's Epiffle. Which would furnish me with several useful Heads of Difcourfe. For inftance, Ver. 10. 1. First, Hence Private Christians may learn, in how honourable a Character thofe Men ferve, to whom the Care of their Souls is committed; and what a Defence this ought to be, against that vilifying Malice and Contempt, which Proud and Profligate People are fo ready, upon all Occafions, to let fly at Them, and their Office. For fince every Employment of confequence derives a Regard upon the Perfon G fet |