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fore, you should think my private advice on any particular occafion, or my good wishes and my prayers worth any thing, you may depend upon having them; the former, whenever it is asked, and the two latter without it.

LET me just add, that if any of you, after hearing, and requesting the publication of these difcourfes on chriftian fobriety, fhould conduct yourselves unfoberly, unrighteously and ungodly in the world, instead of living as the grace of GOD which has appeared, teaches you to live; these very fermons, and your own written, figned requeft, will be as swift witneffes against you: You will be judged out of your own mouths, like wicked fervants; and condemned, as it were, under your own hands and feals. God forbid, that what is now a token for good concerning you, and a testimony in your favor, fhould eventually be a means of aggravating your guilt, and inflaming your condemnation! As my beloved brethren I warn you; at the fame time hoping " better things of you, and things that accom pany falvation:" Being

BOSTON, February $763

Your fincere Friend

and Brother,

Jonathan Mayhew.

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See Corrections at the End.

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Obfervations on TITUS, and the Epiftle to him. The defign and method of the following Difcourfes exhibited. Remarks on the terms young men, and fober-minded: And, what is implied in exhorting them to be fo, particularly fhewn.

TITUS II. 6.

YOUNG MEN likewife exhort to be sober

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minded.

ITUS, to whom the apostle Paul wrote this fhort, but excellent epiftle, is generally fuppofed to have been converted to the chriftian faith by his miniftry: And it is doubtlefs with reférence hereto,that the apoftle calls him "his own fon, after the common faith *" Titus being a young man of great hopes, when he first became a difciple of Chrift, St. Paul feems to have had a particular kindness

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* Chap. i. 4.

kindness and regard for him; fometimes taking him with him as his companion and affiftant in the kingdom and patience of Chrift, while he travelled from country to country, to preach his unfearchable riches among the gentiles. It appears from divers paffages in the new teftament, that Titus was a perfon of no fmall confideration among the Chriftians of that day, even before he came to refide at Crete; being deputed, fometimes by one apoftle or another, and fometimes by an whole church, to tranfact affairs of great importance to the common caufe of chriftianity; which trufts he feems to have dif charged with great ability and reputation.

WHETHER Titus went with St. Paul to Crete, in one of his peregrinations, as seems most probable: And whether it was by his, or the apoftle's own miniftry, or by that of fome other perfon, that the gofpel was firft planted in that ifland, is not material at prefent to be inquired, or determined. It is ftill evident that they were, on fome occafion or other, both together at this populous ifland; famous long before that time, as the fuppofed place of Jupiter's birth; for Minos, its juft king; for its labyrinth, its hundred cities, &c. It is now more commonly known by the name of Candy, from its chief city, founded by the Saracens; and at this day fubject to the Turks. It is, morcover, certain that, at the time when St. Paul and Titus were together at Crete, there was a confiderable number of chriftian converts there; who were, 'tis likely, part Jews by birth, and part Gentiles.

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