not only to yourselves, but to your Maker alfo, for your ufage of your fouls, of yourfelves. And certainly you can give no good account either to God or yourfelves, for negLecting the one thing needful. And once more, Why fliould you neglect your fouls for the fake of your bodies, when in the ordinary ftate of things you may comfortably mind both? When a regular care of your fouls will admit of all reasonable concern for your outward welfare too; and will give you a better fecurity than your can have any other way,' for all that is needful and good for you in thislife?"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things fhall be added to you," Matth vi. 33. And by fecuring the future happiness of your fouls, you provide for the everlasting glory and felicity of your bodies too in the morning of the res-urrection. Therefore, 3. Be perfuaded to make everlasting life your governing aim through the prefent life, and not only a concern on the bye. When Chrift is come into the world to feek and fave loft fouls; when your time below is principally given you to mind their intereft; when the many dangers attending them require your earneft application to prevent their ruin; be in earnest here, wherever elfe you allow yourfelves to trifle. I may happily add for your encouragement in this cafe, what you cannot be affured of in the moft diligent and prudent' labours for the meat that perifheth; that you fhall not fail of fuccefs," Therefore, my beloved! C & beloved brethren, be ye ftedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forafmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 58. SERMON II. COL. iii. 12. middle of the verse. Humbleness of mind. The whole verfe runs thus, Put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and be loved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humblenefs of mind, meekness, long-fuffering. HE firft inftance of being wife for our THE felves, is to put the principal value upon that part of ourfelves which is moft noble and durable, our fouls; and to ufe our main diligence for fecuring their welfare. It is another branch of wisdom, to make a right estimate of ourfelves, compared with other beings, either above us, or or the fame order with ourfelves. Chriftian humility is the very temper to which fuch a thought will lead us. And that is to be our prefent fubject. St. Paul in the 9th and 10th verfes of this chapter, expreffes his charitable hope of the Coloffians, ! Coloffians, that they had "put off the old man with his deeds; and had put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him :" and hereupon in the text and fome following verfes, enumerates feveral particular excellencies, which are parts of the new man; and therefore he exhorts thefe Coloffians to put them on. If any fhould fay, Since the apoftle had already supposed that they had put them on, why does he yet exhort them to do so; cfpecially why does he therefore exhort them to it? The answer is plain. His charitable hope was founded upon their avowed profeffion of christianity, which was in other words a profeffion to have put on the new man: he there fore juftly exhorts them to fhew that this their profeffion was fincere and genuine, and his hopes concerning them well founded, by all the actual and proper expreffions of a renewed difpofition. Or, fuppofing them to have been undoubtedly renewed already, yet there would be room for improvement and advance in every part of the christian temper; and therefore they fhould ftill put on the new man more and more, daily grow in the strength, and activity, and just expreffions of every ho ly difpofition. Among thefe, "humbleness of mind," our prefent fubject, is reckoned up for one. My bufinefs fhall be, I. To explain the nature of this holy temper. And, II. To fhew the fpecial obligations which lie upon us as Chriftians to cultivate it. I. I would I. I would explain the nature of this tem per, or fhew wherein true humility of mind confifts. The word ταπεινοφροσύνη, which is here and in feveral other places of the New Testament used to exprefs this chriftian virtue, fignifies in general a low apprehenfion or esteem: and. from the fcope of the places, though the word does not directly exprefs fo much, it must mean a low apprehenfion or esteem of ourfelves. I think the apoftle's exhortation in Rom. xii. 3. is a natural paraphrase upon that in the text; "I fay, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think foberly." It ftands directly opposed to pride and arrogance. Generally the word is ufed in fcripture in a good fense; but twice in one chapter of this epiftle in a bad one, Col. ii. 18. 23. for a bafe and unworthy fubjection of mind; which fhews, that there is occafion to guard against miftakes in this matter, as well as to illuftrate the excellent temper defigned to be expreffed. by it. It is farther to be obferved, that the words leads us to confider it principally as a difpofition of mind; fuitable to the fcheme I amupon. There may be a feeming humility of outward expreffion and behaviour, which cov ers a very proud heart. But Chriftians are called to put on humbleness of mind," and not only a humble demeanor; though humil ity in the heart will certainly produce the proper fruits in the behaviour, The The actings of this temper will be beft difcerned in a relative view, as we entertain a humble opinion of ourselves, compared either with God or with our fellow creatures. And the defcription of it, as well as the diftinguifhing of it from what is unworthy and unbecoming, may I think, naturally fall under the following particulars. 1. A humble apprehenfion of our own knowledge. "Knowledge," St. Paul obferves, puffeth up;" is very apt to do fo, 1 Cor. viii. 1. There is nothing which men are more ready to be proud of, and to think better of themfelves in beyond defert. Many would fooner bear a reflection upon their moral character, than upon their understandings. One would think the ferpent was early fenfible that this was man's weak fide, when he made ufe of that artifice to feduce our first parents, to affure them, that if they would but follow his counsel, they fhould be as Gods, knowing good and evil," Gen. iii. 5. and we may remember what an unhallowed. flame this kindled in their inclination. And though they foon had fad evidence of the falfhood and folly of the fuggeftion; yet notwithstanding fo clear a confutation, there is no part of original fin, which they feem to have derived more univerfally and more ftrongly to their pofterity, than a proud furmife that they have gained what the Devil then promifed. No branch of pride hath more need of a cure, though indeed none hath lefs to fupport it, than conceit of our own knowledge. "Vain man would be wife," and would |