men.

the number and greatnefs of our faults, and. our need of allowances both from God and If we are not ftrangers at home, it is certain we are privy to many more irregularities and defects of our own, than we can be of any other man: if we are not confcious. of the fame enormous fins as fome publicly commit; yet we must be fenfible of very many particulars which will not bear a ftriét fcrutiny, but need gracious indulgence from the bleffed God daily: Let us judge ourselves for these, and we fhall be very tender in judging others. We cannot but difcern many parts of our conduct, which are capable of an ill conftruction by other men, though we fhould be confcious of our own honeft intentention in them. How fhould we complain, if our neighbours fhould take them by the worft handle? Let us then not do fo by them; but judge favourably and charitably, left we alfo be tempted.

Finally, think often, how gentle and longfuffering God has been to us already; and that if he enter into judgment with us, we can have no hope for eternity but that if we judge ourfelves impartially, and our neighbours charitably, we fhall not be judged.

SER.

SERMON XV.

SINCERITY.

2. COR. v. 8. the latter part.

But with the unleavened bread of fincerity and truth.

TH

'HE apoftle had. in the seventh verse reprefented Chrift as our paffover, facrificed for us: That is, in his becoming a facrifice for us, he refembled the pafchal lambs, which were flain by the Ifraelites in Egypt. When God was about to accomplish the deliverance of his people out of the house of bondage, and Pharaoh was unwilling to let them go, God inflicted many judgments upon Egypt; and after others, appointed a deftroying angel to pafs through the land, and to flay all the firft-born in every house, from the royal palace down to the meaneft family. But he was pleafed, in order to make a gra cious diftinction in the cafe of the Ifraelites from that of the Egyptians, to appoint them to flay a lamb for every house and to fprinkle the blood of it upon the fide-pofts, and upon the upper door-poft of their houfes; promifing, that upon fight of the blood, the destroying angel should pass over and spare their families. Thus, while divine vengeance was hanging over the heads of finners, God fent his own

Son

Son to fhed his blood as a facrifice.; in virtue of which, thofe on whom it is fprinkled, who are entitled to the benefit of it according to the Gofpel-conftitution, thall be graciously fpared and paffed over by God.

St. Paul having thus reprefented Chrift as our pafchal lamb, goes on to prefs the duty of Christians in language alluding to the Jewish paffover.

The Jews kept a feftival throughout all their generations, in thankful remembrance of this great and gracious deliverance. So, fays he, let us Chriftians keep the feaft.

And it was a circumftance very particularly enjoined in the celebration of the paffover, that they fhould eat it with unleavened bread." The Hebrew word, Matfoth, which is fo rendered, ftri&ly imports as much as pure and fincere bread, that is, unmixed with leaven. In allufion to this, the apostle exhorts Christians to keep the feaft with a qualification that answers to that figure. As the Ifraelites were to remove leaven out of their houfes before the paffover: fo we should lay afide "the old leaven," the "leaven of malice and wickedness," all forts of known fin, either in corrupt affection or finful practice; and keep the feast "with the unleavened bread of fincerity and truth." Christ himself warns his difciples against hypocrify, under the fame allufion of leaven, Luke xii. 1. "He began to fay unto his difciples firft of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharifees, which is hypocrify."

We may underftand the apoftle, by the phrafe

phrafe of keeping the feaft, to have the Lord's fupper particularly in his eye; which is to Chriftians juft fuch a commemorative fign of the facrifice of Chrift, as all the Jewish paffovers in after-ages were of that in Egypt. And fo the text would be a direction to us for the frame which is especially neceffary in observing that particular festival.

But I apprehend, with the general ftream of interpreters, that the apoftie had not his eye fo much to that ordinance in particular, as to a chriftian courfe in general, correfpondent to the Jewish paffover. As if he had faid, "Let 166 your whole lives be like their paffover, an "exercife of praife, and fervice, and obedi16 ence to God, as it becomes those who are "redeemed by Chrift from fo great evils and "by fo great a price; but then fee that all be done with the unleavened bread of fincerity • and truth.”

After all that has been faid of the chriftian temper, in the general characters of it, and in the principal branches of which it confifts; I would in the laft place confider fome qualifications which fhould run through every -branch of the christian temper: And this paffage is a proper foundation for difcourfing on that with which I chufe to begin, fincerity; for it is here recommended as a property requifite in the whole of our chriftian obedience.

In the profecution of it, I would fhew, I. The nature of Gofpel-fincerity. And II. Our engagements to fee that this be a qualification of all the exercifes of the chriftian temper and life.

1. Let us inquire in the nature of Gospelfincerity.

Two words are used in the text, I apprehend, to fignify much the fame thing. The former, tranflated fincerity, is as much as to say, a thing which may be beft judged of in clear funfhine.* A counterfeit will not bear the light; but that which is true will: Such is fincerity. Or it may be an allufion to the judgment paffed upon grain, when it is winnowed; whereby that which is valuable, is feparated from the reft. Sncerity will bear fifting, and will appear the better for it. The other word fignifies reality, in oppofition to that which is feigned or a mere appearance. And when fincerity and truth is recommended by the emblem of unleavened bread, or pure and unmixed bread, it denotes fimplicity; which we find joined with godly-fincerity, 2 Cor. i. 12. The word tranflated fimplicity §, fignifies being without folds, a metaphor that intimates an open and undifguifed behaviour.

It was the character of Jacob, that he was "a plain man,' Gen. xxv. 27. The Greek version imports * a man not formed or fhaped, that is, to ferve a turn. Sincerity is the fame thing, which the Scripture so often expreffes by uprightness; and is oppofed to guile and hypocrify, which we are called to lay afide, 1 Pet. ii. 1. The defcription of the bleffed man is given from his fincerity, Pfal. xxxii. 2. "In whofe fpi

* Ειλικρινία, qu. τη εἷλη κρινόμεις. Confantin. Lex. † Παρα τὸ κρίνεσθαι τῶ εἰλεῖν teu εἰλεῖσθαι. Note in Hefychium, edit. 1668. Ania. § Απλότης.

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