load of troublesome care resting on us; our hearts would be light and free as to all these things; we should be secure, that nothing very bad or disastrous could befal us; we should experience it true what the prophet affirms in that prayer or psalm to God; Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.'Be careful for nothing,' St. Paul bids us; 'but in every thing let your requests be made known to God:" if we perform the latter part, the former will naturally be consequent thereon. Thus, in the last place, should we do all things in the name of Jesus, (on all occasions praying to him, or, which is all one, to God in his name,) which that we may do, (that we are allowed and encouraged to do it,) is also a privilege, and an advantage unvaluable.

In so many ways and particular respects may we, and ought we to perform all we do in the name of Jesus: we should do every thing out of grateful affection and respect to him, as our chief principle; every thing as his servants, aiming especially at the pleasing of him and promoting his honor, as our principal end; every thing according to his will and commandment, as our constant rule; every thing after his example, as our best pattern; every thing in confidence of his gracious assistance and blessing, as our only strength and support; every thing with hope of acceptance purely on his account; every thing with thankful sense and acknowlegement to God for the mercies and favors conveyed unto us by his means, conferred on us for his sake; every thing with humble invocation of him, or with prayer to God in his name: in sum, every thing with a due and proper regard had to him; so that he be not passed over or left out in any thing we undertake; but come always into consideration, according as our relations to him and our obligations to him do require. In the performances of which duties the life indeed of our religion (of all our good practice, of all our devotion) doth consist.

To all this I shall only subjoin the mention of one general duty, implied in all and each of those we have propounded, which is this:

VIII. That our Lord Jesus should be frequently (and in a manner continually; always, as to the habitual disposition of our souls, actually on all fit occasions) present to our minds

and thoughts. This, I say, is plainly implied in the former duties. For how is it possible we should perform all our actions (yea, utter all our words) with any sort of regard to him, if we seldom think of him? Such is the nimbleness and activity of our minds, that it is feasible enough to do thus; and, in respect to other objects, we commonly experience it done; for animus est ubi amat; whatever we affect, our mind, however otherwise employed, will be thinking on it; it is hard to restrain our thoughts from it: (the covetous man's heart will be among his bags; the voluptuous man's mind will be in his dishes; the studious person will be musing on his notions, do he what he can :) why then may we not as well, as often direct our minds toward our Lord, and mix the remembrance of him with all other employments or entertainments of our thoughts? To do so is surely very requisite, and very expedient toward our good practice. Things far distant or long absent can have small efficacy or influence: it is so, we see, in natural, and it is no less so in moral causalities; wherein representation to the fancy and memory have a force answerable to that, which real conjunction and approximation have in nature. As the heat and light of the sun, the farther he goes, and the longer he stays from us, do the more, proportionably, decrease; so, according to our less frequently and less seriously thinking on any object, our affection and our respect thereto decay. If therefore we desire, according to our duty, to maintain in our hearts such dispositions (due affection and due reverence) toward Jesus; if we intend to suit our actions accordingly with due regard to him; we should, in order to those purposes, apply this so necessary and useful mean, of frequently bending our minds toward him; the doing of which, in likelihood, will conduce much to the sanctifying our affections, and to the governing our actions in a constant performance of our duty. For we can hardly sure (admitting we do seriously believe him to be such as we profess to believe him) with any competent attention think of him, but that thought will be apt to restrain us from doing ill, to incite us to do well; since together with that thought, some of his excellent perfections, some of our principal relations, and some of our great obligations to him, (each of which hath much virtue and force to those purposes,)

will interpose and represent themselves. Frequently thinking of him, we shall sometimes apprehend him with incessant toil laboring in the service of God, and in promoting the welfare of men; sometimes we shall imagine him undergoing all kind of contumelies and bitter pains, suffering by the cruel hands and tongues of spiteful men ; we shall, as it were, behold him bleeding under the scourge, and hanging on the cross for our sakes. Sometimes he will appear to our minds crowned with majesty, reigning in sovereign power and glory, having all things in subjection under his feet; sometimes also he will be represented as our Judge, before whose tribunal we must all shortly stand, and be obliged to render an account of all our doings: which thoughts passing through our minds, will be apt to make some impression on our hearts, to have some influence on our actions. For can that most amiable and most venerable idea of a person so intirely pure and holy, so meek and humble, so full of benignity and charity toward all men, (particularly toward ourselves,) be otherwise than apt to beget some especial love and reverence toward him; than incline us strongly to do well, yea, than teach us what and how we should do so, in conformity to such a pattern set before us? it occurring to our thoughts that he is our Lord and Master, (who made us, and maintains us; who purchased us to himself, and redeemed us from miserable slavery by his own heart-blood;) how can it fail to raise in us some awe, some sense of duty toward him? Will not the apprehension of what he did and what he suffered for us powerfully mind us, that, according to all justice and equity, in all ingenuity and gratitude, we are bound to do only that which will please him? If we think of Jesus, when we are setting on any action, shall we not thereupon be apt thus to interrogate ourselves? Shall I do otherwise than he did, or would have done, so rendering myself unlike or contrary to him? Shall I be so unfaithful to my glorious Master, as to disserve him, or to neglect his service? Shall I be so unworthy toward my gracious Redeemer, my best friend, my most bountiful benefactor, as to disoblige him, to wrong him, to dishonor him, to grieve him by thus doing? Shall I be so vain and rash as to cross him who is my king, able to control and subdue me; as to offend him who is my judge, resolved to con

demn and punish me? Shall I wilfully forfeit that friendship and favor of his, on which all my happiness doth depend? Shall I procure his displeasure and enmity, from which my utter ruin must inevitably follow? Such considerations have a natural connexion with our frequent thinking on, and the presence, as it were, of our blessed Saviour to our minds; which therefore may be commended to us as an excellent instrument of bettering our hearts and our lives.

To conclude: Let us all always remember, and consider that we are Christians related unto Christ Jesus, and called by his name, and as so, in his name let us do all things.

Lord of all power and might; who art the Author and Giver of all good things; graft in our hearts the love of thy name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord.'

SUMMARY OF SERMON XXXIV.

I CORINTHIANS, CHAP. IV.-VERSE 16.

ST. PAUL, by an impartial reflexion on his heart and life, being well assured that he, by the divine Spirit, was enlightened with all necessary knowlege, and being conscious of a sincere zeal in himself to honor God and benefit men, knowing that his intentions were pure, his actions warrantable, and the tenor of his life blameless, does on all occasions, not from arrogance or ostentation, but from an earnest desire to glorify God and edify his disciples, describe and set forth his own practice as a rule of life. Instances of this given so also in the text: which custom of the Apostle chiefly teaches us two things; that we be careful to give, and that we be ready to follow good example the latter of which duties more directly agreeing with the intent of this passage, is only insisted on here. To which purpose it may be observed,

I. That it is the manner of the Apostles, on all occasions, to inculcate this duty instances quoted. And wherever the eminent deeds of holy men are mentioned, it is done with an intimation, or tacit supposition, that we are obliged to follow their example.

II. We may consider that to this end the goodness of God has raised up in all ages such excellent persons, furnishing them with rare endowments, and aiding them by his divine grace, not only that they might instruct us with wholesome doctrine, but lead us into the paths of righteousness by good example.

III. These things are written for our admonition: it was a special design of God's providence in recording and recom