›ciples. A Christian who is rich in grace is excellent all

over.

The family of George, prince of Anhalt, is said to have been a church, a university, and a court. A Christian who is rich in grace, has a heart as large as his head, yea, a heart that is as large as the whole will of God. I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfil all my will; in the Greek it is, all my wills, to denote the universality and sincerity of his obedience; Acts xiii. 22. Souls rich in grace, practise that themselves, which they prescribe to others. Lessons of

music, and copies, must not be read only, but acted also. Souls rich in grace, are good at this, and they will be good in all places and cases. They are as good in the particular duties of religion, as in those that are more general; they are good fathers, and good masters, and good husbands, as well as good Christians in a more general sense. But now souls that have but a little grace, are much in the general duties of religion, but very defective in the particular duties of religion, as sad experience does abundantly evidence. Those that have a blemish in their eyes, think the sky to be ever cloudy; and nothing is more common to weak spirits, than to be criticising and contending about others' duties, and to neglect their own. But such as are rich in grace, make it their glory to subject themselves to the rule of righteousness; as Baldasser, a German minister, cried out, Let the word of the Lord come; let it come; and we will submit to it, if we had many hundred necks to put under.' It must be much grace that must enable a man freely, fully, and sweetly, to subject himself and his actions, to the word of the Lord.

4. It is your principle, that you must deny yourselves, your own profit, ease, pleasure, for the public good. And this the scripture requires. It is your principle to deny yourselves, your own honour, pleasure, profit, for a public advantage, when your particular advantages stand in competition with the public. Now self must be laid by, and the public must carry the day. O but will a little grace enable a man to live up to this principle? Woeful experience shews the contrary. Aye, but now take a man who

is rich in grace, and he will live up to this golden principle, as you may see in Neh. v. 14-18. Nehemiah was a man eminent in grace, and he chooses rather to life upon his own purse, than upon the public purse. Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year, even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. But the former governors that had been before me, were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver, yea, even their servants bare rule over the people, but so did not I, because of the fear of God; yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land, and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work. Moreover, there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came unto us from among the heathen. Yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. O here was a brave spirit indeed; he was far from enriching himself by others' ruin, from emptying others' purses to fill his own. But he is dead, and it seems this brave spirit is buried with him; there are few of his name, and fewer of his spirit, if any, in this world; and therefore well might he pray, Think upon me my for good, according to all that I have done for this people. And accordingly God did think upon him for good, and made him very famous and glorious in his generation.

God

And that is a remarkable passage concerning Moses in Num. xiv. 12. I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and mightier than they, says God to Moses. Let me alone that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they, Deut. ix. 14. Nay, says Moses, this may not be, Lord. "O the people must be spared, the people must be pardoned, and the people must have thy presence with them; and rather than it should be otherwise, let my name, Lord, be blotted out of the book of life. Lord, I care not how ill it goes with me in par

ticular, so that they may live.' Can the self-seekers of our age think seriously of this, and not blush?

Mor

So Mordecai was a man of a brave public spirit. decai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people; or as the Hebrew has it, seeking good for his people; that is, he made it his business to seek their good, Esther x. 3. Christ also was full of grace, and had a brave public spirit. Christ healed others, but was hurt himself; he fed and filled others, but was hungry himself. He laid out himself, and laid down himself for a public good; and so did Paul. Few in our days are of his opinion and mind, who was willing to beautify Italy rather than his own house. That pilot dies nobly,' says Senaca, who perishes in the storm with the helm in his hand.' Such as seek themselves more than the public good, must be served as Æsop served his fellow servant; he gave him warm water to drink, by which means he vomited up the stolen figs. Friends, it is not a little grace that will make a man prefer the public good above his own particular good, but much grace will; therefore labour to be rich in grace.

6

5. It is your principle, that you are to do the duties that God requires of you, and quietly leave the issues and events of all, to the wise disposal of God. But pray tell me, will a little grace enable a man to live up to this principle? to do his duty, and to leave issues and events to him to whom they belong? Surely no. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest, Eccl. ix. 10. Mark, he does not say, what thy head finds to do; that may find a thousand things: nor what thy heart finds to do, for that may find ten thousand things; but what thy hand findeth to do; that is, Look what work God cuts out to thy hand to do; that do with all thy might, for there is no working in the grave. We are to do much good in a little time. We are made here, and set to be doing something that may do us good a thousand years hence, yea, that may stand us in stead to eternity. Our time is short, our task is great. The devil

knows that his time is but short, and that is the reason why he is so active and stirring, why he outworks the children of light, in a quick dispatch of the deeds of darkness.

Christians, do not deceive yourselves; it is not shews of grace, nor little measures of grace, that will enable a man to live to this principle, but great measures of grace will, as you may see in the three children, We are not careful to answer thee, O king, in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hands, Ŏ king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. We know our duty, and that we will keep to, whatever the issue and event be. So those worthies in Psa. Ixiv; Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death, yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. Here was much of Christ and grace within. So in Acts xxi. 13; when Paul was to go up to Jerusalem to suffer, his friends, by many tears and arguments, laboured to dissuade him, for fear of some sad issue and event that would follow; but Paul, rich in grace, answered, What, mean ye to weep and to break mine heart, for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus. 'I will go up to Jerusalem, and I am willing to go up, though I die for it.' Here is a soul that lives up to his principle; but now souls that are weak in grace, (as we have had large experience in our times) are more taken up and busied about the events and issues of things, than they are with their own duties. When they should be praying, believing, waiting, and acting for God, they have been questioning, and fearing what the issue and event of this, and that, and the other thing would be. And indeed they have been high and low, as secondary causes have wrought, which has made many of their lives a very hell. But now those that are rich in grace, say as one of old said, Let us be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good, 2 Sam. x. 12. Let us do our duties, and let the Lord do as pleaseth him.

6. It is your principle, that men are to be prepared, and to stand fast against all sudden assaults and invasions that may be made upon them.

Many a valiant person dares fight in a battle, or a duel, who yet will be timorous and fearful, if suddenly surprized in a midnight alarm. Many precious souls, when they have time to consider of the evil of sin, the holiness of God, the eye of God, the honour of God, the glory of the gospel, the joys of the saints, and the stopping of the mouths of sinners, will rather die than sin; they will rather suffer any thing, than do the least thing that may be a reproach to Christ. O, but when a sudden occasion or temptation is presented, why then they often fall, as David by chance spied Bathsheba, and falls before the temptation; he is conquered and carried captive by that sudden occasion. But that is a more comfortable and considerable passage that you have concerning Joseph in Gen. xlix. 23, 24. The archers sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Joseph never wanted counsel nor courage, when he was at the worst. Souls rich in grace usually stand firm under the greatest and most sudden pressures, assaults, and invasions; as you may see in Paul, 2 Cor. i. 9, 12; and the three children, and Daniel, and those worthies in Heb. xi. 35; They would not accept of deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Many sudden assaults and attempts were made upon them, their enemies would have stormed them, and overcome them, sometimes by golden offers, sometimes by terrible threats, but they are invincible; nothing stirs them, nothing takes them. Really friends, it must be much grace that will make a man live up to this principle; and there is nothing that speaks out more the strength of grace in a man, than his standing against sudden assaults and invasions that by the devil and the world are made upon him. You may talk of this, but without much grace you will never be able to do it.

7. It is your principle, that your hearts are to be ready for every work that God shall impose upon you. You are not to choose your employment, neither are you to refuse