manners and politeness, and brought up in a respectful and courteous behaviour towards others.

4. I shall mention those virtues of the Apostle that respected both God and men, in which we should imitate his example.

First. He was a man of a most public spirit; he was greatly concerned for the prosperity of Christ's kingdom, and the good of his church. We see a great many men wholly engaged in pursuit of their worldly interests: many who are earnest in the pursuit of their carnal pleasures, many who are eager in the pursuit of honours, and many who are violent in the pursuit of gain; but we probably never saw any man more engaged to advance his estate, nor more taken up with his pleasures, nor more greedy of honour, than the apostle Paul was about the flourishing of Christ's kingdom, and the good of the souls of men. The things that grieve other men are outward crosses; losses in estates, or falling under contempt, or bodily sufferings. But these things grieved not him. He made little account of them. The things that grieved him, were those that hurt the interests of religion; and about those, his tears were shed. Thus he was exceedingly grieved and wept greatly for the corruptions, that had crept into the church of Corinth, which was the occasion of his writing his first epistle to them. 2 Cor. ii. 4. "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you, with many tears." The things about which other men are jealous, are their worldly advantages and pleasures. If these are threatened, their jealousy is excited, since they are above all things dear to them. But the things that kindled the apostle's jealousy, were those that seemed to threaten the interests of religion, and the good of the Church : 2 Cor. xi. 2, 3. "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy ; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." The things at which other men rejoice are their amassing earthly treasures, their being advanced to honours, their being possessed of outward pleasures, and delights. But these excited not the apostle's joy; but when he saw, or heard of any thing by which the interests of religion were promoted, and the Church of Christ prospered, then he rejoiced 1 Thess. i. 3. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father." And chapter ii. 20. "Ye are our glory and joy," He rejoiced at those things, however dear they cost him, how much soever he lost by them in his temporal interest, if the welfare of religion and the good of souls were promoted; Phil. ii. 16, 17. "Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in

vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." He rejoiced at the steadfastness of saints: Col. ii. 5. "For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." And he rejoiced at the conviction of sinners, and in whatever tended to it. He rejoiced at any good, which was done, though by others, and though it was done accidentally by his enemies Phil. i. 15, 16, 17, 18. "Some indeed preach Christ, even of envy and strife, and some also of good will. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." When the apostle heard any thing of this nature, it was good news to him: 1 Thess. iii. 6, 7. "But now, when

Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also you; therefore brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith." When he heard such tidings, his heart was wont to be enlarged in the praises of God: Col. i. 3, 4. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love, which ye have to all the saints." He was not only wont to praise God when he first heard such tidings, but as often as he thought of such things, they were so joyful to him, that he readily praised God. Phil. i. 3, 4, 5. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now." Let us compare ourselves with such an example, and examine how far we are of such a spirit. Let those on this occasion, reflect upon themselves, whose hearts are chiefly engaged in their own private temporal concerns, and are not much concerned respecting the interests of religion and the Church of Christ, if they can obtain their private aims; who are greatly grieved when things go contrary to their worldly prosperity, who see religion as it were, weltering in its blood, without much sorrow of heart. It may be, that they will say; it is greatly to be lamented that there is such declension, and it is a sorrowful thing that sin so much prevails. But if we could look into their hearts, how cold and careless should we see them. Those words are words of course. They express themselves thus chiefly, because they think it creditable to lament the decay of religion; but

they are ten times as much concerned about other things these, about their own private interest, or some secular affai of the town. If any thing seems to threaten their being disa pointed in these things, how readily are they excited and alarme but how quiet and easy in their spirit, notwithstanding all th dark clouds that appear over the cause and kingdom of Chris and the salvation of those around them! How quick and ho high is their zeal against those, who they think, unjustly oppos them in their temporal interests; but how low is their zeal, com paratively, against those things, that are exceedingly pernicion of the interests of religion! If their own credit is touched, ho are they awakened! but they can see the credit of religion wounded, and bleeding, and dying, with little hearty concer Most men are of a private, narrow spirit. They are not of the spirit of the apostle Paul, nor of the Psalmist, who preferred Jerusalem before his chief joy. Psalm cxxxvii. 6.

Secondly. We ought to follow the apostle in his diligent and laborious endeavours to do good. We see multitudes incessantly labouring and striving after the world; but not more than the apostle laboured to advance the kingdom of his dear Master and the good of his fellow-creatures. His work was very great and attended with great difficulties and opposition; and his la bour was answerably great. He laboured abundantly more than any of the apostles: 1 Cor. xv. 10. "I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." How great were the pains he took in preaching and in travelling from place to place over so great part of the world, by sea and land, and probably for the most part on foot when he travelled by land, instructing and converting the heathen, disputing with gainsayers, and heathen Jews, and heretics, strenuously opposing and fighting against the enemies of the church of Christ, wrestling not with flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places; acting the part of a good soldier, as one that goes a warfare; putting on Christ and using the whole armour of God; labouring to establish and confirm, and build up the saints, reclaiming those, that were wandering, delivering those that were ensnared, enlightening the dark, comforting the disconsolate, and succouring the tempted; rectifying disorders that had happened in churches, exercising ecclesiastical discipline towards offenders, and admonishing the saints of the covenant of grace; opening and applying the scriptures, ordaining persons and giving them directions, and assisting those that were ordained; and writing epistles, and sending messengers to one, and another part of the church of Christ! He had the care of the

ingirches lying continually upon him: 2 Cor. xi. 28. "Besides afse things, that are without, that which cometh upon me daidi the care of all the churches." These things occasioned him rebe continually engaged in earnest labour. He continued in al night and day, sometimes almost the whole night, preaching Crd admonishing, as appears by Acts xx. 7. 11. "And upon the nd st day of the week, when the disciples came together to break optead, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morow, and continued his speech until midnight. When he therere was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and d. lked along while, even till break of day, so he departed." And e did all freely, without any view to any temporal gain. He ells the Corinthians that he would gladly spend and be spent or them. Besides his labouring in the work of the gospel, he aboured very much, yea, sometimes night and day, in a handiraft trade to procure subsistence, that he might not be chargent ble to others, and so hinder the gospel of Christ: 1 Thess. ii.

For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail, for lanburing night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God." And he continued this course of labour as long as he lived. He ever was weary in well doing; and though he met with coninual opposition, and thousands of difficulties, yet nothing distouraged him. But he kept on, pressing forward in this course of hard, constant labour to the end of his life, as appears by what he says just before his death. 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7. "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." And the effects and fruits of the apostle's labours witnessed for him. The world was blessed by the good he did; not one nation only, but multitudes of nations. The effects of his labours were so great in so many nations before he had laboured twenty years, that the heathens called it his turning the world upside down. Acts xvii. 6. This very man was the chief instrument in that great work of God, the calling of the Gentiles, and the conversion of the Roman world. And he seems to have done more good, far more good, than any other man ever did from the beginning of the world to this day. He lived after his conversion not much more than thirty years; and in those thirty years he did more than a thousand men commonly do in an age. This example may well make us reflect upon ourselves, and consider how little we do for Christ, and for our fellow-creatures. We profess to be Christians as well as the apostle Paul, and Christ is worthy that we should serve him, as Paul did. But how small are our labours for God and Christ and our fellow-creatures! Though many of us keed

ourselves busy, how are our labour and strength spent, and with what is our time filled up? Let us consider ourselves a little, and the manner of spending our time. We labour to provide for ourselves and families, to maintain ourselves in credit, and to make our part good among men. But is that all for which we are sent into the world? Did he who made us and gave us our powers of mind and strength of body, and whɔ gives us our time and our talents, give them to us chiefly to be spent in this manner; or in serving him? Many years have rolled over the heads of some of us, and what have we lived for; what have we been doing all this time? How much is the world the better for us? Were we here only to eat and to drink, and to devour the good which the earth produces? Many of the blessings of Providence have been conferred upon us; and where is the good, that we have done in return? If we had never been boin, or if we had died in infancy, of how much good would the world have been deprived of? Such reflections

should be made with concern, by those who pretend to be Christians. For certainly God does not plant vines in his vineyard, except for the fruit, which he expects they should bring forth. He does not hire labourers into his vineyard, but to do service. They who live only for themselves, live in vain, and shall at last be cut down, as cumberers of the earth. Let the example of Paul make us more diligent to do good for the time to come. Men that do but little good, are very ready to excuse themselves, and to say, that God has not succeeded their endeavours. But is it any wonder that we have not been succeeded, when we have been no more engaged? When God sees any persons thoroughly and earnestly engaged, continuing in it, and really faithful, he is wont to succeed them in some good measure. You see how wonderfully he succeeded the great labours of the apostle.

Thirdly. He did not only encounter great labours, but he exercised also his utmost skill and contrivance for the glory of God, and the good of his fellow creatures; 2 Cor. xii. 16. "Being crafty, I caught you with guile." How do the men of the world not only willingly labour to obtain worldly good, but how much craft and subtilty do they use? And let us consider how it is here among ourselves. How many are our contrivances to secure and advance our own worldly concerns? Who can reckon up the number of all the schemes that have been formed among us, to gain money, and honours, and accomplish particular worldly designs? How subtle are we to avoid those things, that might hurt us in our worldly interest, and to baffle the designs of those, who may be endeavouring to hurt us! But how little is contrived for the advancement of religion, and the