concern about falvation, that shall have the most delightful iffue? Purfue this thought a little farther, and only imagine what a tranfporting circumstance both in your heaven and theirs, this will prove. Here's the dear man, fays the converted Pagan, to whose generofity, as a mean, I am indebted for my first. acquaintance with the joyful found. And there's the bleffed perfon, fay you, to whose prayers, and the account of whofe converfion, my repentance unto life was happily owing. He will praise God that ever you was born at all;-you, that ever he was born again; and both will join in one anthem, for this furprising, this ravishing interview, in the realms of falvation. Nor is it poffible to fay how much, in the course of providence, your pofterity, in future generations, may be indebted to fuch contributions as you are now called to. May not fome of them, from choice or neceffity, fojourn in diftant lands? May not their lot be caft in the very places to which our fociety with, and, according as you enable them, will endeavour to fend the means of converfion? May not God accompany thele means with fuch a bleffing, that churches fhall be planted where Satan now hath his feat; and churches in whofe future increafe and glory your offspring may greatly rejoice? For though, in our day, the people we have in view, through ignorance, fuperftition, and horrid cruelty, are black as the tents of Kedar, may not the children unborn fee their pofterity, through gospel light, life, and righte ousness, beautiful as the curtains of Solomon ? If, therefore, you love yourselves, or have any bowels toward your children, and childrens children; though love to God and the fouls of other men fhould have no influence, the argument for your your fuffering this word of exhortation, and complying with it, is quite conclufive... And fee That God's promifing to render the gospel, when published, effectual to the falvation of Gentile finners, affords the higheft encouragement to all who are any how intrufted with that facred meffage, to deliver, explain, and warmly recommend it. Though all are not warranted to act in the capacity of public teachers, or, as office-bearers in the church of Chrift, called to labour in word and doctrine; all are permitted, yea, commanded, according to the different spheres in which they move, to recommend Jefus Chrift to the faith and esteem of others. Parents, in particular, have great encourage ment from this doctrine to inftruct their children, and mafters their fervants: encouragement to aim, not only at informing the judgment, but at reaching and affecting the heart....Through diligence, in this way, numbers have been brought to the kingdom of heaven,--where children praise God that ever they were bleffed with fuch parents, and fervants that they were bleffed with fuch mafters on earth.-Though the fruit of your en deavours, who are parents or mafters, may not ap-. pear to your comfort now, the feed of Godly inftruction which you have fown may grow to a beautiful harvest, after you are gathered to your fathers. If there is no other way in which you can endeavour to bring finners to the kingdom of God, you may recommend Chrift and Christianity to others by the holiness of your converfations. Our Lord confidered this as a very proper and probable mean of falvation, when he faid to his difciples, "Let your light fo fhine before men, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your 66 "Father "Father which is in heaven "-As if he had faid "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you "are called; because, in as far as your practice "fhall give the lie to your profeffion, you will caft "a ftumbling block in the way of finners, and "marr their acceffion to the true church, either on earth, or in heaven." Nor is it in the least improbable, that when the family of redemption are fully convened, it may appear how frequently the circumfpet behaviour of faints was a mean of conviction, converfion, and edification to fin ners. Nothing, we are affured, is more prejudicial to the fuccefs of the gospel, amongst even the wild Americans, than the irregular lives of many who bear the Chriftian name. And the effect, upon finners, of a Chriftian's not acting in character, must be the fame in Europe as in any other division of the globe. It wounds Chriftianity under the fifth rib;-ftrengthens the hands of open enemies; and, where others halt between two opinions, it feldom fails to caft the balance on the fide of infidelity. Though, therefore, you should have no zeal or ambition to be inftrumental in the converfion of finners; yet if you would not wish to have even an indirect hand in their final perdition, make confcience of ordering your conversation aright. Minifters of the gofpel are more especially encouraged, by the promife in our text, to ftir up the gift that is in them, with a view to the converfion and falvation of Gentile finners.Though God hath not confined himself to particular means,-in infinite wisdom and fovereignty, he hath feen meet, more generally, moft ufually, to fave men by the foolishness of preaching. Our labours, indeed, may not always fucceed to our wifh; with; but they must not, on that account, be laid afide; for no untuccessfulness can juftify the neglect of our facred truft. The harvest is our Mafter's, and he may reap when, where, and by whom he pleafeth. Men's getting good by the gospel, and our having access to know it, are very different things; the former, we truft, hath often place without the latter; and if the great end be reached, what though our Lord referve the fatisfaction to us of feeing it until our arrival at his Father's houfe? And yet times of refreshing, even upon earth, may be awaiting us, wherein God fhall make us glad, according to the days in which we have feen evil and had grief Or, Though, for argument's fake, it were admitted, that fome of us laboured altogether in vain, and fpent our ftrength wholly for nought;-if we are faithful in the difcharge of our paftoral duty, and continue fo unto death, we shall not lofe our reward. But how ravishing the thought of fucceeding in the work of the gofpel, as well as getting our own fouls for a prey!-Would the numerous conversion of finners under our miniftry, be in itlof an unspeakable reward of all our toils ?--How inconceivable, then, muft the glory be, of fining forth in the kingdom of God, as the fun, and as the ftars for ever and ever! Since the caufe is good, and the fuccefs fure; fice the work is honourable, and the reward immenfe; let us cxhibit line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little. Do our dear brethren in the American. fervice, with a view to convert the forelorn natives, fubmit to hardships unknown in our fpheres of action? and fhall we grudge to perform a much easier talk with. a view to convert our own brethren and kinf men! |