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works of mercy, and sooner give up anything than their endeavours to spread the knowledge of salvation. For what is your loss of some indulgences, compared to these children's destitution of the bread of life? Walk by faith, and not by sight. If almsgiving is to stop where self-denial must otherwise begin, such alms-deeds will never amount to charity. But, beloved, I am persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though I thus speak. Ye know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. To himself ye can make no return; but his own word hath spoken it. " Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”*

But

"let us not love in word, my brethren, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth."†

* 1 John iv. 11.

+ 1 John iii. 18.

VOL. III.

M M

530

SERMON XXIV.

NO WISER OR HAPPIER MAN THAN THE
FAITHFUL MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.

[A Visitation Sermon, preached at Church Stretton.]

PROVERBS xi. 30.

"He that winneth souls is wise."

THERE go two things in general to entitle a man to be accounted wise. He may be justly so esteemed, whose life is devoted to the pursuit of some worthy and noble end; and who, in that pursuit, employs, with fixed determination and persevering diligence, the best and most appropriate means. Now, our end, my brethren, to which, as ministers of Christ, we have devoted ourselves, is, by divine testimony, a most worthy and noble end indeed. For it is the same which Solomon brings before us in the text, namely, "to win souls" to God. And God himself, in his infallible word, has given us explicit and

ample directions as to the means to be employed in the prosecution of it, and, at the same time, has fully authorised us, in the faithful and obedient use of them, to expect success.

If these things are duly examined and considered, it will not be difficult to prove this proposition following, and to evince the justice of the inference which I would deduce from it; namely, That there cannot be a wiser man, or one who has less need to envy the condition of others, than he who rightly understands and honestly discharges the duties and obligations of a minister of the Gospel. And that, therefore, whether we would consult for our own best interests, or act in the way which in itself is right, we must conscientiously bestow our time, our talents, and our industry, upon that work to which we are actually pledged by our ordination vows; thanking God, who hath called us to an employment so high and honourable; and renouncing, as evil and injurious in our case, and as idle and beneath our notice, all cares and studies which may interfere with it.

It shall be the business of my present discourse to confirm and illustrate these particulars.

I. To" win souls," then, is the work to which, as far as in us lies, we stand engaged. See, first, what is comprehended in these few pregnant words.

The soul is the spiritual and immortal part

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of man, to which the bodily members were assigned to be its submissive instruments. It was planted wholly a right seed,"-made capable of communion with God-made to be his peculiarly, by explicit dedication of its powers and faculties to his service,-made to admire, adore, and love him,-to "delight itself in the Lord" himself,-to behold him, and to dwell with him. But it is fallen, and the body with it,fallen into sin, and so into contrariety to God; into an utter incapacity for abiding with him; into obnoxiousness to his wrath; into obligation to suffer punishment. And it cannot restore or renovate itself. It may proceed in the way which it hath chosen; it may heap up unto itself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;" it may become contented with its bondage, and yield itself with a keener appetite to do wickedness; it may learn to glory in its shame; from corruption it may proceed to obduracy; from disobedience to defiance; and from forgetfulness of God to insensibility to its own awful peril; but, of itself, it cannot arise from the dead, or return to its rightful master; for, the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." And this

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* Rom. viii. 7.

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is the condition of every individual around us. For if one be not so far gone as another towards filling up the measure of his wickedness, yet every one hath within him that evil leaven which will infallibly leaven the whole lump, if it be not counteracted. And therefore, (setting aside the consideration of that treasure which God hath given to his ministers in their earthen vessels,) turn we our eyes which way we will," there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun."

By the Gospel, however, there is a remedy. Though many by their sensual profligacy, and many by their base prostitution of themselves to the service of the world, seem to be proclaiming with those scorners of old, "we have made a covenant with death, and with hell we are at agreement;" and though some, by their avowed infidelity and contempt of God's word and commandments, are asking, "who is the Almighty that we should serve him?" yet there is not one of these of whom we may presume to say, that he may not yet become "a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared to every good work:"-not one, of whom we may affirm it to be impossible, that he should " put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,"-yea, and be received

* Num. xvi. 46.

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