all faulty, and cannot live together without wronging one another. And these proud, over tender men are often hurt by their own conceits: like a man that has a fore, who thinks that it fmarts the more when he imagines fome body hits it. They will often think that a man jeers them or means them ill, when it never came into his thoughts.- -Till this SELF be taken down, we fhall every man have a private interest of his own, which will lead us all into feparate ways, and spoil the peace and wel fare of the church. While every man is for himself and his own reputation, and all mind their

own things,' no wonder if they mind not the things of Chrift..

XII. [Do not confine your ministerial labours to your own flock, but be ready to do good where ever you have an opportunity for it.]

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If we are heartily devoted to the work of the Lord, let us compaffionate the congregations about us that are unprovided for, and endeavour to help them to able minifters. In the mean time, we fhould ftep out now and then to their affiftance, when the business of our own particular charge will give us leave.A lecture in the more ignorant places, purpofely for the work of converfion, carried on by the moft lively, affectionate preachers,

might

might be very useful where constant means are want ing.

XIII. In your whole ministerial work keep up conftant defires and expectations of fuccefs.

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If your hearts be not fet on the end of your bours, and if you do not long to see the converfion. and edification of your hearers, and you do not ftudy and preach in hope, you are not likely to fee much fuccefs. It is a fign of a false self-seeking heart, when a perfon is contented to be ftill doing, without feeing any fruit of his labour. And I have obferved that God seldom bleffes any man's work fo much as his whofe heart is fet upon the fuccefs of it. Let it be the property of a JUDAS to have more regard to the bag than to the business: leave it to fuch worldings as he to be fatisfied, if they have their falary, and the esteem of the people: but let all that preach for Chrift and the falvation of men, be diffatisfied till they have the thing they preach for. He never had the right ends of a preacher in view, who is indifferent whether he obtains them or not; who is not grieved when he miffes them, and rejoiced when he can fee the defired iffue. When a man only ftudies what to say, and how to fpend the hour with commendation, without looking any more after it, but to know what the peo

ple

ple think of his abilities, and thus holds on from year to year, I must needs think that he preaches for himself; that he drives on a private trade of his own; and that when he preaches Chrift, he preaches not FOR Chrift, how excellently foever he may feem to do it.- I know that a faithful minifter may have comfort when he wants fuccefs: tho' "ISRAEL be not gathered, our reward is with the

Lord. Our acceptance is not according to our fruit, but according to our labour. But then he who longs not for the fuccefs of his labours, can have none of this comfort, because he is not a faithful labourer. This is only for them whose hearts are set upon the end, and grieved if they miss it. This is not the full comfort that we must defire, but only what may quiet us, if (notwithstanding our utmost care) we fail of the rest. What if God will accept the physician tho' the patient die? He muft ftill work in compaffion, and do his utmoft to fave his life. We labour not for our own reward, but for other men's falvation.I confefs for

my part, that I wonder at fome ancient reverend men, who have lived thirty, or forty, or fifty years with an unprofitable people, where they have been fcarcely able to difcern any fruit of their labours,, that they can with fo much patience continue there. I fhould not be easily fatisfied to spend my days in

fuch a manner; but should fufpect that it was the I will of God I fhould go fome where elfe, that another perfon might come there, better fuited to them, and more useful among them. Once more

XIV. Our whole work must be carried on under a deep fenfe of our own infufficiency, and in a pious, believing dependance upon CHRIST.

We must go to him for light, and life, and ftrength, who fends us on our work. When we feel our faith weak, and our hearts grown dull, and unfuitable to fo great a work as that we have to do, we must have recourfe to the Lord, and pray that we may not go to perfuade others to believe, with an unbelieving heart of our own: or to plead with finners about everlasting life and death, while we have but a faint belief and feeling of these things ourselves; but that, as he has fent us forth to his work, he would furnish us with a spirit fuitable to it.-[Further, we must not only pray for ourselves, but we must often pray in behalf all our hearers.] Prayer must carry on our work as well as preaching. He preaches not heartily to his people, who will not often pray for them. If we prevail not with God to give them faith and repentance, we are unlikely to prevail with them to believe and repent. PAUL gives us his example in this respect,

who

who tells us that he prayed for his hearers night ' and day exceedingly.** Since our own hearts and thofe of our people are fo far out of order as they be, if we prevail not with God to help and mend them, we are likely to make but unsuccessful work.

CHA P. X.

The Conclufion of the work; being a particular Application of the whole.

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EVEREND and dear brethren, [having taken a furvey of our duty and of our fins] let us now humble our fouls before the Lord for our paft negligence, and implore his affistance for the time to come. Indeed we cannot expect the latter without the former. If God will help us in our future duty, he will certainly first humble us for our paft fin. He that has not so much sense of his faults as unfeignedly to lament them, will hardly have fufficient to make him reform them.-Shall WE deny, or excufe, or extenuate our fins while we call our people to fuch free confeffions? It is too common with us to expect that from them which we do little or nothing of ourfelves. Too many labour for other men's fouls while they feem to forget that they have any of their own to re