forget this important leffon, he took an SERM. effectual method of riveting it in their III. minds, by stooping himself to one of the lowest offices in washing their feet; and and this a very little time before he was removed from them; at the fame time,

fhewing them the meaning of this action in these expreffive words, * Ye call me Mafter and Lord; and ye fay well, for fo I am. If I then, your Lord and Mafter, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Agreeably to this, the facred writers exhort Chriftians to be cloathed with humanity, and to put on bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind, and long-fuffering; and do themselves breathe the humbleft fpirit; particularly that apostle, who could truly fay, he was not behind the very chiefeft apostles. He was indeed fuperior to the reft, in gifts and endowments, and in his labours as a minifter of Chrift; yet he fpeaketh of himself with the deepest humility, and expreffeth the greatest abhorrence of all loftiness of spirit, and of all defire of dominion over others. To this

SERM. virtue, meeknefs of fpirit, and that mos III. deration, by which the wrathful paffions.

are reftrained, is nearly allied, and is a great and most useful ornament to human life ; recommended much by our Saviour, and of which he hath given us a noble pattern, according to what was prophefied concerning him, My fervant fhall not frive nor cry, neither fhall any man hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed shall be not break, and fmoaking flax fhall be not quench, till he bring forth judgment unto victory. He went as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a sheep before his hearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth. Who,

when he was reviled, reviled not again; when be fuffered, he threatned not, but committed himself to him, who judgeth righteoufly.

The time would fail, in treating particularly of that tenderness of fympathy, patience of injury, contentment, and other virtues, which are earnestly recommended to the difciples of Chrift, and which are in the fight of God of great price. Nor was it my design to treat particularly of

*Matt. xii. 19, 20. † Acts viii. 32. 1 Pet. ii. 23.

them;

them, and of the many advantages to hu- SERM. man life, which flow from them; but III. only to bring them before your minds, as effential parts, and principal graces, of the Christian character; and to fhew, how happily life must appear in its best form in the true Chriftian, in him, whose spirit is utterly abhorrent of all malice, envy, caufeless wrath, and all difpofitions to do evil; on the contrary, always engaged earneftly to do good.

But it ought to be very particularly obferved, how often and warmly the difciples of Christ, (that the truly liberal and generous fpirit may have its influence unreftrained,) are warned against covetousness; which, of all moral diftempers, moft contracteth the heart, and counteracteth all worthy affections. Our Lord, with great justice, teacheth, * that a man's life doth not confift in the abundance, which he pofSeffeth and he instructeth his disciples, to take heed and beware of covetousness; intimating, that it is apt to infinuate itself, and get poffeffion of the heart, which it cannot fail of corrupting. This argument he hath very particularly infifted upon,

:

SERM. Matt. vi. 19. Lay not up for yourselves III. treasures upon earth, where moth and ruft

doth corrupt, and where thieves break througḥ and fteal; but lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and ruft doth not corrupt, and thieves do not break through and steal: for where your treafure is, there will your hearts be alfo. A moft juft account this of the state of the mind, as correfponding to the apprehenfions, which men have concerning their fupreme good. If they place this good in earthly poffeffions, and look no higher, their hearts will be fixed to these ¿ and all the powers will be engaged in the pursuit of them. But if, directed by reafon, and nature, and the word of God, they purfue the true perfection of the human mind, which hath no connexion with earthly poffeffions, their hearts, raised above thefe, will be fet upon far more excellent objects. But as the whole of life muft neceffarily take a tincture from that, which is fixed upon as the chief end of it, and as a man's fteps must be directed according to his views and fenfe of things; fo our Saviour, in the following verfes, intimates the great importance of right judgments, of a juft fenfe, with refpect to the

true

true ends of life, and of having the taste SERM. accordingly formed. The light of the body III. is the eye if therefore thine eye be fingle, thy whole body fhall be full of light but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body fhall be full of darkness; and if the light, which is in thee, be darkness, how great is that darknefs? And farther goes on to fhew, that, in this matter, there can be no compromise or compofition. The heart cannot be both in heaven and upon earth ; fet upon temporal poffeffions as the chief good, and yet, fet upon things, which are, in their nature, not only different from, but oppofite to, fuch poffeffions. No man can ferve two mafters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will cleave to the one and defpife the other; ye cannot ferve God and mammon. In a word, if men have their chief good in this world, and a taste accordingly debased, they can have no pretenfions to the inheritance of the Saints in light, nor relish for the unfpeakable bleffings and advantages of it. Agreeably to this, he pronounceth them bleffed, who are poor in fpirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven and elsewhere, he inti