of the heavenly King were entirely clear of the imputation.-It -It is no uncommon thing for the honour of an earthly monarch to be wounded through the fides of his miniiters. The defamation and flander that is directly thrown at them, is obliquely intended against him; and as fuch it is taken. So to attempt to make the ministers of the gospel, in gene. ral, the objects of derifion, as fome do, plainly fhews a mind very diffolute and difaffected to God and religion itself, and is to act a part very unbecoming the dutiful fubjects of his kingdom.-(Lastly,) As good fubjects, we are to do all we can to promote the intereft of his kingdom; by defending the wifdom of his adminiftrations, and endeavoring to reconcile others thereunto, under all the darkness and difficulties that may appear therein, in oppofition to the profane cenfures of the profperous wicked, and the doubts and difmays of the afflicted righteous. This is to act in character as loyal fubjects of the King of heaven: and whoever forgets this. part of his character, or acts contrary to it, fhews a great degree of felf-ignorance. But, (2.) As the creatures of God, we are not only the fubjects of his kingdom, but the children of his family. And to this relation, and the obligations of it, must we carefully attend, if we would attain the true knowledge of ourfelves. We are his children by creation; in which refpect he is truly our father. *But now, O Lord, thou art our Father: we are the clay, and thou our Potter; and we all are the work of thine hands. And in a more fpecial fense we are his children by adoption. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ: Jesus. And therefore (1.) we are under the high+ Gal. iii. 26. * Hai. Ixiv. 8. eft obligations to love him as our Father. The love of children to parents is founded on gratitude for benefits received, which can never be requited; and ought in reafon to be proportioned to thofe benefits. And what duty more natural than to love our benefactors? What love and gratitude then is due to him, from whom we have received the greateft benefit, even that of our being, and every thing that contributes to the comfort of it? (2.) As his children, we must honour him; that is, muft fpeak honourably of him, and for him; and carefully avoid every thing that may tend to difhonour his holy name and ways. A son bonourets his father if then I be a Father, where is mine bonour ?—(3.) As our Father, we are to apply to him for what we want. Whither should children go but to their father for protection, help, and relief, in every danger, difficulty, and diftrefs?-And (4.) We must truft his power and wifdom, and paternal goodnefs, to provide for us, take care of us, and do for us. that which is beft; and what that is he knows best. To be anxiously fearful what will become of us, and: difcontented and perplexed under the apprehenfion of future evils, whilft we are in the hands and un-.. der the care of our Father who is in heaven, is not to act like children. Earthly parents cannot avert from their children all the calamities they fear, becaule their wisdom and power are limited; but our all-wife and almighty Father in heaven can. They may poffibly want love and tendernefs, but our heavenly Father cannot, Ifai. xlix. 15.-(5.) As children, we must quietly acquiefee in his difpofals, and not expect to fee into the wifdom of all his will. It would be indecent and undutiful in a child: +Mal. i. 6. to difpute the authority, or queftion the wifdom; or neglect the orders of his parents every time he could not difcern the reafon and defign thereof. Much more unreasonable and unbecoming is fuch a behaviour towards God, who giveth not account of any of his matters; whose judgments are unsearchable, and whose ways are past finding out*. (Laftly,) As children, we muft patiently fubmit to his difcipline and correction. Earthly parents may fometimes punish their children through paffion, or for their pleafure; but our heavenly Father always corrects his for their profit, and only if need bet, and never fo much as their iniquities deserve.-Under his Fatherly rebukes then let us be ever humble and fubmiffive.-Such now is the true filial difpofition. Such a temper and fuch a behaviour fhould we fhew towards God, if we would act in character as his children. These then are the two fpecial relations which, as creatures, we stand in to God. And not to act towards him in the manner before mentioned, is to fhew that we are ignorant of, or have not yet du ly confidered our obligations to him as his fubjects and his children; or that we are as yet ignorant both of God and ourfelves. Thus we fee how directly the knowledge of ourselves leads us to the knowledge of God. So true is the obfervation of a late pious and very worthy divine, that "He that is a ftranger to himfelf, is a itranger to God, and to 66 every thing that may denominate him wife and "happy (q)." *Job xxxiii. 13. Heb. xii. 10. Rom. xi. 33. tI Pct. i. 6. Ezra ix. 13. (q) See Mr. Baxter's Dedicatory Epiftle, prefixed to his Troa tife on the Benefits of Self-acquaintance. But (2.) In order to know ourselves, there is another important relation we fhould often think of, and that is, That in which we ftand to Jefus Chrift our Redeemer. The former was common to us as men; this is peculiar to us as chriftians, and opens to us a new fcene of duties and obligations, which a man can never forget, that does not groffly forget himself. For, as chriftians, we are the difciples, the followers, and the fervants of Chrift, redeemed by him. And, (1.) As the difciples of Christ, we are to learn of him. To take our religious fentiments only from his gofpel, in opposition to all the authoritative dictates of men, who are weak and fallible as ourfelves. Call no man master on earth. Whilst fome affect to distingiufh themfelves by party-names, as the Corinthians formerly did, for which the Apostle blames them one faying, I am of Paul another, Iam of Apollos; another, I am of Cephas*, let us remember that we are the difciples of Chrift; and in this sense make mention of his name only, It is really injurious to it, to seek to diftingiulh ourfelves by any other. There is more carnality in fuch party-diftinctions, denominations, and attach, ments, than many good fouls are aware of; tho' not more than the apoftle Paul (who was unwillingly placed at the head of one himself) hath apprifed them off.-We are of Chrift; our concern is, to honour that fuperior denomination, by living up to it. And to adhere inflexibly to his gofpel, as the only rule of our faith, the guide of our life, and the foundation of our hope, whatever contempt or abuse we may fuffer either from the profane or bigotted part of mankind for fo doing.—(2.) As † 1 Cor. iii. 4. I Cor. i. 12. christians, we are followers of Chrift; and therefore bound to imitate him, and copy after that most excellent pattern he hath fet us, who hath left us an example, that we should follow his fteps*. To fee that the fame holy temper be in us which was in him; and to difcover it in the fame manner he did, and upon like occafions. To this he calls us, and no man is any further a chriftian than as he is a follower of Chrift; aiming at a more perfect conformity to that meft perfect example which he hath fet us of univerfal goodness.-(3.) As chriftians, we are the fervants of Chrift; and the various duties which fervants owe to their mafters in any degree, thofe we owe to him in the highest degree; who expects we fhould behave ourselves in his fervice with that fidelity and zeal, and steady regard to his honor and interest, at all times which we are bound to by virtue of this relation, and to which his unmerited and unlimited goodness and love lays us under infinite obligations.-(Lastly,) We are moreover his redeemed fervants; and, as fuch, are under the strongest motives to love and trust him. This deferves to be more particularly confider ed, because it opens to us another view of the human nature, in which we fhould often furvey ourfelves, if we defire to know ourselves; and that is, as depraved or degenerate beings. The inward contest we fo fenfibly feel, at fome feafons efpecially, between a good and a bad principle (called, in fcripture-language, the Flefh and the Spirit) of which fome of the wifeft heathens feemed not to be ignorant this, I fay, is demonítration, that * I Pet. ii. 21. Mat. xi. 29. A fatal inbred ftrife does lurk within, Pythag. Aur. Carm |