doctrine of the gospel, and a fhort directory for a Chriftian life. In the verfes going before, we have the characters of thofe, whom our Lord pronounces truly bleffed. And in these we may plainly fee how far the men of the world are mistaken in the notions they have of true happiness. They reckon none happy, but fuch as abound in wealth, and spend their days in worldly mirth and pleafure. They blefs the covetous, and account it a noble thing to refent injuries, and avenge themfelves on their fuppofed enemies. They fhrink at the very thought of the crofs, and can by no means endure to fuffer any thing that is grievous to flesh and blood. But our Saviour gives us quite other views of true happinefs. He bleffes the poor in fpirit, and thofe that mourn; the meek, and those that hunger and thirst after righteousness; the merciful and pure in heart; the peace-makers, and fuch as are perfecuted for righteoufnefs fake; inviting them to rejoice and be exceeding glad in the profpect of that great reward, which is prepared for them in heaven. Thefe are the maxims, which our bleffed Lord infils into the minds of his difciples. It is upon this model that he forms the first preachers of his gofpel. This is the falt wherewith he feasons them, in order to their being fitted and prepared to feafon others; and in the text he gives them an awful caution to beware of lofing the favour of it. We may understand there words as fpoken to the difciples of Chrift in general, that is, to all the profeffors of Chriftianity.. For indeed every one that nameth the name of Jefus, ought by a favoury converfation, and an exemplary holiness of life, to be as the fall of the earth, to feafon a corrupt world, and to check the impiety of the profane. And it is a lamentable thing when this falt lofes its favour, when the profeffors of Chriftianity abandon the fpirit and the practice of it; when they retain only the form, but deny the power of godlinefs. Such falfe Chriftians shall be difowned by our Lord, and rejected with difdain. He will fay to them in the great day, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. For unfavoury falt is good for nothing. but It con but to be caft out, and to be trodden under foot of men. But, though these words may be very fitly applied to all Christians, yet no doubt they are more peculiarly applicable to the minifters of the gospel, who are the teachers and guides of others. And in this view I fhall now confider them, as being addreffed by our bleffed Saviour in a more particular manner to his Apoffles, and in them to their fucceffors in the holy miniflry, even to the end of the world. Three things naturally offer themselves to our confideration. 1. The character of good and faithful paftors. They are the falt of the earth. 2. The oppofite character of unworthy and unfaithful minifters. They are as falt that has loft its favour. 3. Their dreadful doom. If the falt have loft its favour, wherewith fhall it be falted? It is therefore good for nothing, but to be caft out, &c. The first thing we are here to confider is the character of good and faithful paftors. They are the falt of the earth. This metaphorical expreffion very fitly ferves to represent to us the difpofition and conduct of true and faithful minifters. For falt is commonly made use of to feafon fuch things as are unfavoury, and to give them an agreeeble relifh. It is likewife ufed to preserve fuch things as are apt to corrupt and putrify, being an antidote against putrefaction. Now in both these respects good and faithful paftors are the falt of the earth. They are useful inftruments in the hand of God to feafon an unfavoury world, and to preferve it from all impurity and corruption. 1. True and faithful paftors are the falt of the earth, to season an unfavoury world. They are seasoned themselves, as falt which retains its favour, and then, by the blessing of God, they feafon others. Their minds are feasoned with the true knowledge of divine things, and their hearts are feafoned with the grace and spirit of Jefus Chrift. They have learned Christ, having heard him, aud been taught by him as the truth is in Jefus. Their Their knowledge is not merely fpeculative and notional, a knowledge that fwims in the head, but finks not to the heart, and has no influence to reform the life. This knowledge is of dangerous confequence. It puffeth up, and fwells a man with pride and felf-conceit, It infpires him with a haughty cons tempt of others, and makes him stiff and stubborn, so that being wedded to his own opinion, he flops his ear to wifer counfels. The knowledge wherewith true and faithful minifters are feafoned is of another kind. It is a real, folid, fruitful, practical knowledge of divine things; a knowledge that humbles and purifies the heart, and effectually reforms the life. They are taught of God, and endued with that wisdom from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrify. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath Shined in their hearts, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift. Now in confequence of this, they have a deep fense of the truths of the gofpel; they tafle, they feed upon them, they convert them into folid nourishment; they feel the power and efficacy of them; they are implanted in their hearts, and take deep root there, fo that they yield fruit in their lives. This is the knowledge wherewith true paftors have their minds feafoned, in order to their being fiued to teach and guide others. Their hearts alfo are feafoned with the grace and fpirit of Jefus Chrift. Being united to him by a true and living faith, out of his fulness they all receive, and grace for grace. They abide in him, and he in them, and thereby they are enabled to bear much fruit. Their fouls are his living temples where he dwells, and which he adorns with all the graces and gifts of his holy fpirit. They are crucified with Chrift, nevertheless they live, yet not they, but Chrift liveth in them, and the life which they live in the flesh, they live by the faith of the Son of God. Their hearts are difengaged from all inferior things, and raised to the things that are above, where Chrift fülleth at the right-hand of of God. They are crucified to the world, and the world is crucified to them. They are dead to all the appetites of flesh and blood, having crucified the flesh with its affections and lufts. They have learned of their bleffed Mafter to be meek and lowly in heart, to deny themfelves, to renounce their corrupt felflove and felf-will, and to take up their crofs. Their hearts burn with the pureft love of God; they love him for himself, and they love nothing elfe, but in him and for his fake. They are inflamed with ardent love to one another, and to all men, which disposes them to wish well, and to do good to all, as they have opportunity and ability; but their charity in a special manner exerts itself in doing what they can to promote the falvation of precious fouls, which their great Master valued at the rate of his own blood. In a word, their hearts are caft into the mould of the gospel, and receive the impreffion of it as wax from the feal. They have Chrift formed in them, fo that the fame mind is in them which was alfo in him. They are his living images, and in their life and conduct they fhew forth his virtues, and trace his steps. Being thus feasoned themselves, as the falt of the earth, they season others, both by the purity of their doctrine, and the holiness of their lives. They feafon an unfavoury world by the purity of their doctrine, inftilling into the minds of their people, the divine truths and maxims of the gospel, not as they are corrupted or adulterated by the false and perverse gloffes of men, but in their native purity and fimplicity. For they are not as many, who corrupt the word of God: but as of fincerity, but as of God, in the fight of God, speak they in Chrift. What they received of the Lord themfelves, and have learned from his gospel, that declare they unto others. They speak not the idle dreams and fancies of their own brain, or the dictates of their pride and paffion, but the word of truth delivered to them by their great Mafter. As it becomes his faithful ambaffadors, they keep clofe to their commiffion and inftructions, teaching men to obferve all things whatfoever he hath commanded them. They do not accommodate their doctrine to VOL. XIV. E the the lufts and humours of men; nor do they flatter and footh, and daub with untempered morter, faying, peace, peace, when there is no peace, and fewing pillows to all arm-holes; no, they faithfully deliver their Master's meffage, and deal fincerely with the fouls committed to their charge, as knowing they must give an account. They feafon others also by the holiness of their lives. It is their conftant care to practise what they preach, that they may approve themselves burning and shining lights. They caft out the beam out of their own eye, that they may fee the better to caft out the mote out of their brother's eye. As true fhepherds they go before the fheep. They not only point out, but lead the way to their people. They take heed to themfelves, as well as to their doctrine, and continue in fuch a courfe with a steady perfeverance, in all things fhewing themselves patterns of good works, that they may be an example of the believers in word, in converfation, in charity, in fpirit, in faith, in purity. [To be continued.] An EXTRACT of the LIFE of Dr. WATTS. D R. ISAAC WATTS was born at Southampton July 17, 1675, where his father, of the fame name, kept a boarding-fchool for young gentlemen with great reputation. The Doctor was the eldest son of a numerous family, and was early noticed for his fprightlinefs, and readinefs of parts. And though too often thefe prove fatal to many young perfons; yet he was not only preferved from criminal follies, but had alfo a deep fenfe of religion at a very early period of life. At four years of age, he began to learn Latin, in which as well as Greek, he made fuch proficiency under the Rev. Mr. Pincherne, a clergyman of the established church, that a subfcription was propofed for fending him to one of the Univerfities; but this he declined, intending to continue amongst the |