only to publish the Gospel, and to convert the souls committed to his charge: to restrain him then from attending to these important labours, is to force him aside from the true end of his calling, and must appear to every enlightened mind a greater act of eruelty, than to withhold the rich from giving alms, or to detain an expert swimmer from saving his drowning brethren. If such a pastor, in any period of his life, has acted like a monopolist of the Gospel, and, by denying to the poor in spirit, what was freely given for their support, has caused in any place a famine of the word; he believes himself abundantly more culpable than those avaricious merchants, who, by forming a monopoly of grain in the East Indies, caused a grievous famine in that country, by which an innumerable multitude of its inhabitants perished. Those covetous men denied to the bodies of their neighbours a perishable nourishment; but he has withheld from the souls of his brethren that precious manna, which might have preserved them to everlasting life. Such was the crime of those whom our Lord addressed in the following words-"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them, that are entering, to go in." Observe St. Paul's sentiments of such characters. With respect to those Jews," who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own Prophets, and have persecuted us; they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved," filling up by this means the measure of their sin: "for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."

If the character, which the Apostle here describes was odious in a Jew, without doubt it is more so in a christian, and still doubly detestable in a minister of the Gospel, whose heart should continually be animated with a fervent desire for the conversion of sinners, and the salvation of all mankind. Was it possible for those who are distinguished by this trait of the character, of Antichrist to discover the turpitude of their own conduct, they would acknowledge themselves abundantly more guilty than the robber, who should force away from a famished pauper the morsel of bread he had begged in his distress. They would pronounce, without any hesitation, that the foster-mother, who neglects the infant she has undertaken to cherish, and prevents her charitable neighbours from affording it any nourishment, is still more excusable than the pastor, who, not content with refusing to feed the flock of Christ, endeavours to scatter his sheep, wherever they are found feeding, seeking out accusations against those who have led them to a refreshing pasture, and studying by every means to withdraw the Gospel from those penitent sinners who, as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby.

Happy will be the age in which christian pastors shall no longer be found, like the Scribes in the days of St. Paul, labouring to fill up the measure of their iniquities! Then truth and piety shall no longer be restrained by the fetters of prejudice and bigotry! Then the faithful shall worship God, and publish the Gospel, with as much freedom, as the dissipated indulge themselves in the sports of the age, or the malevolent in slandering their neighbours!

TRAIT XXII.

THE ENGAGING CONDESCENSION OF HIS HUMBLE CHARITY.

CHARITY avoids all appearance of haughtiness, and is never seen to act in an unbecoming manner. On the contrary, full of courtesy, she fears lest she should give offence to any; and, full of benevolence, she labours for the edification of all. Hence the charitable pastor cannot act otherwise than with a holy condescension towards all men, and especially toward the ignorant and poor, with whom the ministers of the present age will scarcely deign to converse: and, without ever slipping his foot into the pit of error, he sometimes approaches it, with a happy mixture of compassion and prudence, for the relief of those, who are unable to extricate themselves from it. "Though I am free from all men," writes St. Paul, " yet I have made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews: to them, that are without law, as without law, that I might gain them, that are without" a written " law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the Gospel's sake. All things are lawful for me," continues he," but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. When ye sin against the brethren" by wounding" their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh, while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. Whether therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."

Behold that sweet prudence of charity, which our Lord recommended to his disciples, when he pointed out the folly of putting new wine into such bottles, as were unable to resist the force of the fermenting liquor, And of this affectionate discretion he himself gave them a striking example, when he said; "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." If this condescending carriage was lovely in the blessed Jesus, it will ever appear amiable in his humble imitators, who can say, with the Apostle Paul, to the weaker members of the church: "We have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it."

Special care is, however, to be taken, that this charitable condescension may never betray the interests of truth and virtue. "Abstain," saith St. Paul," from all appearance of evil. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.' For" herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men." And," our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward," among whom we have Jaboured in the Gospel.

If there exist pastors, who lack this condescension towards the poor, or who are destitute of that humble charity, which can famili arize itself with the most ignorant, for their edification and comfort: if there are ministers to be found, who are ever meanly complaisant to

the rich, and who are void of holy resolution in the presence of the great, instead of conducting themselves with that mingled humility and dignity, which are suitable to the character they sustain-may the one and the other be convinced of the grievous error, into which they are fallen, while they contemplate this opposite trait in the character of St. Paul.

Upon what consideration is founded the humiliating distinction, which is generally made between the rich and the poor? Was Christ manifested in a state of earthly grandeur? Did he not chiefly associate with the poor? Far from flattering the rich, did he not insinuate, that they would, with the utmost difficulty, enter into the kingdom of God? Did he not affirm, it were better for a man to be cast into the sea with a mill-stone about his neck, than to offeud the poorest believer? Did he not declare, that he would consider the regard shewn to the meanest of his followers, as though he himself had been the immediate object of it? When St. James assures us, that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way, performs the best of all possible good works, because, by preventing a multitude of sins, he places the soul in the road to every virtue-can this declaration be supposed to lose any of its force, when applied to the soul of a poor man?, Are not the lowest of men immortal as the most elevated? Did not Christ humble himself to the death of the cross for the poor, as well as the rich? "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom?" And, finally, were the angels less ready to convey the soul of perishing Lazarus to Paradise, than that of wealthy Abraham? Perish then for ever that unchristian prejudice, which dishonours the poor, nourishes the pride of the rich, and leads us to the violation of that great command, by which we become as guilty as though we had transgressed the whole Law, the spirit of which is love. And let us remember, it is only out of the ruins of so despicable a partiality, that the engaging condescension, of which St. Paul has left us so lovely an example, can possibly be produced.

HIS COURAGE IN DEFENCE OF OPPRESSED TRUTH.

CHARITY rejoiceth in the Truth. These two amiable companions are closely united together, and mutually sustain each other. It is possible, however, when an error has the suffrages of many persons respectable on account of their wisdom, their age, their rank, their labours, or their piety, that a sincere christian may be tempted to sacrifice truth to authority, or rather to a mistaken charity. But the enlightened pastor, putting on the resolution of St. Paul, will never suffer himself to be imposed upon by the appearance either of persons, or things: and though he should see himself standing alone on the side of evangelical truths, he will not fear, even singly, to act as their modest and zealous defender.

In these circumstances, a luke-warm minister loses all his courage. Behold his general plea for the pusilanimity of his conduct-"I am alone, and what success can I expect in so difficult an undertaking? The partisans of this error are persons, whom I both love and honour. Some of them have shewn me great kindness, and others have suf

ficient credit to prejudice the world against me. Moreover, it would be looked upon as presumption in me, who am weaker than a reed, to oppose myself to a torrent, which bears down the strongest pillars of the church." Such is the manner in which he apologizes for the timidity of his conduct in those situations, where his love of truth is publicly called to the test: not considering, that to reason thus, is to forget, at once, the omnipotence of God, the force of truth, and the unspeakable worth of those souls, which error may poison and destroy.

On the contrary, the faithful minister, who, on all occasions, rejoices in the truth, conferring not with flesh and blood, courageously refuses to bear the yoke of any error, that must evidently be accompanied with evil consequences. In the most trying situations of this nature he imitates the conduct of the great apostle, who, when he saw a shameful error making its way into the church, placed himself in the gap, and gave way to the emotions of his honest zeal, as related in the following passage: "False brethren came in privily to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. To whom we gave place by subjection, no not for an hour. that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you." And, "when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. Aud the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also" under the specious pretence of not offending his neighbour," was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter, before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"

This reasonable reprimand is, perhaps, one of the greatest proofs which St. Paul ever gave of the uprightness of his intention, and the steadiness of his resolution.

Ye men of integrity! ye, who have proved how much it costs to defend the rights of truth, when it stands opposed to that deference which condescending love obliges us to shew, in a thousand instances, to respectable authority; you alone are able to make a proper judgment of the holy violence which was exercised by St. Paul upon this occasion. But whatever they may be called to endure, in so honourable a cause, happy are those christians, and doubly happy those pastors, who have so great a love for truth, and so true a love for their brethren, that they are ready at all times, with this faithful apostle, to sacrifice to the interests of the Gospel, every inferior consideration, every servile fear, and every worldly hope.

TRAIT XXIV.

HIS PRUDENCE IN FRUSTRATING THE Designs OF HIS ENEMIES.

THERE is no kind of calumny which the incredulous have not advanced, in order to render christianity either odious or contemptible. According to the notions of these men, to adopt these maxims of evangelical patience, argues a want of sensibility, and to regulate our conduct,

according to the dictates of christian prudence, is to act the hypocrite. What we have to say, in this place, will chiefly respect the latter charge.

I. has been asserted by modern infidels, that the gentleness and forbearance, which the Gospel requires of its professors, must necessarily make them the dupes of designing men, and lead them unreluctantly into the snares of their persecutors. But to draw this inference from some few passages of scripture, understood in too literal a sense, is to set truth at variance with itself, merely for the purpose of charging christians with all the evil which, it is presumed, they might have avoided by prudence, or have overcome by resolution. The example of our Lord, and that of St. Paul, might have rectified the ideas of cavillers upon this point. When Christ exhorted his disciples to be harmless as doves, he admonished them at the same time to be wise as serpents and of this harmless wisdom he himself gave a striking example, when he was interrogated by the Jews, respecting the lawfulness of paying tribute unto Cesar. Well acquainted with the different sentiments of that people, with regard to the Roman yoke, without directly combating the prejudices of any party, he returned a satisfactory answer to all parties, by an inference drawn from the image and superscription borne upon their current coin, "Render therefore unto Cesar, the things that are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

The sincere christian, and the faithful minister, have frequent occasion for this happy prudence, as well as St. Paul, who, more than once, employed it with success. The Jews, irritated against this apostle, sought occasion to destroy him, on account of the zeal with which he published the Gospel among the Gentiles. Hoping to soften the prejudices they entertained against his conduct, he recounted to them, how Jesus, being raised from the dead, appearing to him in an extraordinary manner, had expressly sent him to the Gentiles: when the Jews, more irritated than before, would have torn him in pieces, had he not been rescued out of their hands by the Roman garrison. By this means Paul was preserved for a more peaceful hearing. And on the morrow, when he stood before the Jewish council, perceiving that the assembly was composed, partly of saducees, who say there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; and partly of pharisees, who believe equally in the existence of spirits and the resurrection of the body; he immediately availed himself of this circumstance, and cried out-" Men and brethren, I am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." As though he had said-The great cause of the violent persecution, that is now raised against me, is, that I preach Jesus and the resurrection. Our fathers, indeed, were not absolutely assured of a life to come; but the important doctrine of the resurrection, and of the judgment, that shall follow, is now demonstrated; since God has given an incontestable proof of it, in raising up his Son Jesus from the dead. And I myself have been an eye witness of his resurrection, to whom he has appeared two several times, once as I journeyed to Damascus, and afterwards as I prayed in the temple But when I mentioned this second appearance of a risen Saviour, my incredulous accusers began vehemently to cry out," Away with such a fellow from the earth.' By this just exposition of the fact, and by his prudent selection of the resurrection of Christ from among the other great doctrines of christianity, St. Paul happily caused a divisionVOL. II. 4 Q