CONTENTS OF VOL. II. The Duties of Benevolence considered and enforced.- In Two Parts. PHIL. II. 4.-Look not every man on his own things, but every man also himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband, -Let every one of you in particular, so love his wife even as Duties of Parents to their Children.. -In Three Parts. PROV. XXII. 6.-Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is EPH. VI. 1-3.-Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with pro- mise) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth, 133 Duties of Servants to Masters.In Three Parts. EPH. VI. 5-8.-Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters accord- ing to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ: not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free, 162 Duties of Masters to Servants.In Two Parts. EPH. VI. 9.-And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there re- of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion ; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, JOB 1. 4, 5.-And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters, to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. The Character of Inattentive Hearers considered.In Two Parts. MATT. XIII. 4.-And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side, and the The Character of Enthusiastic Hearers considered. In Two Parts. MATT. XIII. 5, 6.—Some seed fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they The Character of Worldly-minded hearers considered.— -In Two Parts. MATT. XIII. 7.-And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and DISCOURSE I. INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE. THE DUTIES OF BENEVOLENCE CONSIDERED AND ENFORCED. PHIL. II. 4.-Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. As man was made for society, it is the duty and interest of every one to contribute what lies in his power to the general good. This is a plain dictate of nature, and is abundantly confirmed and enforced by Scripture. Whoever considers the divine benevolence which breathes through the gospel, and which shone so illustriously in the countenance of its great author the Lord Jesus Christ, must clearly see that it is impossible for a man to be a genuine Christian, without feeling, in a degree at least, that generous warmth which a public spirit inspires. When the Sun of Righteousness first arose upon this miserably cold and benighted world, the balmy influence of his grace diffused itself through the breasts of thousands. Men who had hitherto lived in strife, hateful and hating one another, now felt their fierce and malevolent passions subside and die away, and their bosoms glow with all the godlike ardour of divine friendship and love. Of this character the apostle Paul was an eminent instance. No man better understood the gospel, and no man ever drank more deeply into the spirit of it than he did. In his sermons and epistles he soberly reasons on the great truths of Christianity, and in the course of his life shews what admirable effects the belief of those truths is capable of producing. Persuaded of their divine authority, and feeling their efficacy on his heart, he suffers himself to be transported, under the influence of the noblest enthusiasm, into a series of the most benevolent exertions for the good of mankind. With a disinterestedness that reflects a real lustre upon his character, he assures the Philippians in this context, that the spread of the gospel, though it were by men whose motives were base and unfriendly to himself, afforded him a sublime joy. And however he could not but ardently wish, fatigued as he was with the incessant labours of his public ministry, to be dismissed hence to the society of the blessed above, yet for their furtherance and joy of faith he was willing to abide in the flesh. And having thus, upon the most generous grounds, conciliated their affections to himself, he improves the interest he had therein to the purpose of animating them to the duties of a public spirit, If there be, says he, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies; fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife, or vain-glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. And so he adds in our text, Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. No pains, I presume, need be taken to shew that this admonition is as properly addressed to us as to the Philippians, especially those of us who are united in the bands of Christian fellowship. It consists, you see, of two parts. The apostle earnestly dissuades us from a private selfish spirit, and as passionately exhorts us to a public and benevolent spirit. FIRST, Each of these tempers we will explain. And then, SECONDLY, Consider our obligations to avoid the one, and to cultivate the other. FIRST, Let us explain the evil we mean to dissuade you from, and the duty we wish to recommend. I. The evil we are cautioned against is, a private and selfish spirit-Look not every man on his own things. In the same manner the apostle addresses the Corinthians, Let no man seek his own: but every man another's wealth a; reminding them in another place, that Charity seeketh not her own b. By our own things he means our own proper interests a 1 Cor. x. 24. b 1 Cor. xiii. 5. |