committed to him, both as bishop and priest; both how to ordain and govern others, and likewise how to preach himself the Gospel of Christ. And having spent the whole Epistle in directions of this sort, in the close of it, as it were at the foot of the Epistle, he subjoins one general caution to be constantly observed by him; Charge them that are rich, &c. Which words, though first directed to Timothy, were in him intended for all succeeding ministers, and preachers of the Gospel; such I mean who are solemnly ordained and set apart for this work. We are all obliged to observe the command which is here laid upon us, as without which we are never likely to do any good upon them that hear us: for so long as their minds are set altogether upon riches, and the things of this world, we may preach our hearts out, before we can ever persuade them to mind heaven and eternal happiness in good earnest. This St. Paul knew well enough, and therefore hath left this not only as his advice and counsel, but as a strict command and duty incumbent upon the preachers of the Gospel in all ages, that they charge them that are rich, &c, where it may be observed in the first place, how we are expressly enjoined to charge them that are rich, &c. a word much to be observed. The apostle doth not say, desire, beseech, counsel, or admonish the rich, but agάyyɛλλE TOÏS λovolos, charge and command them that are rich. The word properly signifies such a charge as the judges at an assize or sessions make in the king's name, enjoining his subjects to observe the established laws and statutes of the kingdom. And so the word is always used in Scripture for the strictest way of commanding any thing to be observed or done, as Acts v. 28. où wagayyedia wagnyyelλaμev jμiv; Did not we straitly command you? Luke v. 14. waghyysidev auT He charged him to tell no man. Thus therefore it is that we are here enjoined to charge the rich in the name of the King of kings, not to be high minded, nor to trust in uncertain riches, &c.

And this is the proper notion, and the only true way

of preaching the word of God; which therefore in Scripture is ordinarily expressed by the word xngúoos, which properly signifies to publish or proclaim, as heralds do, the will and pleasure of the prince, and in his name to command the people to observe it. Thus we are enjoined to preach the word of God, by publishing his will and pleasure to men; charging them in his name to obey and practise it. For we come not to them in our own names, but in his that created and redeemed them; and therefore, although we neither have nor pretend to any power or authority over them, from ourselves; yet by virtue of the commission which we have received from the universal and supreme Monarch of the world, we not only lawfully may, but are in duty bound, to charge and enjoin all in his name, to observe what he hath commanded them. Insomuch, that although we pretend not to divine inspiration, or immediate revelations from God, such as the prophets had; yet we, preaching the same word which they did, may, and often ought to use the same authority which they used, saying, as they did, Thus saith the Lord of hosts. For whatsoever is written in the Scriptures, is as certainly God's word now, as it was when first inspired or revealed to them. And therefore it cannot be denied, but that we have as much power to charge upon all, the observation of what is there written, as they ever had, we being sent to preach and proclaim the will of God unto all, by the same person as they were. Hence it is that the apostle, in the name of God, commands Titus, and in him all succeeding ministers of the Gospel, to speak or preach the word of God, to exhort and rebuke with all authority, Tit. ii. 15. From whence nothing can be more plain, than that it is our duty to preach with authority, as those who have received power from God, to make known his will and pleasure to all men ; or, as the apostle here expressly words it, to charge them not to be high minded, and the like.

But this I fear may be a very ungrateful subject to

many, and therefore I should not have insisted so long upon it, but that there is a kind of necessity for it. For I verily believe, that the non-observance of this hath been, and still is, the principal reason why people receive so little benefit by hearing of sermons, as they usually do; for they look upon sermons only as popular discourses, rehearsed by one of their fellow-creatures, which they may censure, approve, or reject, as themselves see good. And we ourselves, I fear, have been too faulty, or at least remiss, in this particular; in that when we preach, we ordinarily make a long harangue or oration concerning some point in polemical, dogmatical, or practical divinity, and use only some moral persuasions to press upon our auditors, the observance of what we say, without interposing, or exercising the authority which is committed to us, so as to charge them in the name of the most high God, to observe and practise what we declare and prove unto them to be his will, and by consequence their duty. But for my own part, did I think that preaching consisted only in explaining some point in divinity, and using only moral arguments to persuade men to perform their duty to God and man, I should not think it worth my while to do it, because I could not expect to do any good at all by it. For all the moral arguments in the world can never be so strong to draw us from sin, as our own natural corruptions are to drive us into it. And therefore we can never expect to do any good upon men, either by our logic or rhetoric; but our arguments must be fetched from on high, even from the eternal God himself, or else they are never likely to profit or prevail upon them. We must charge and command them in God's name, or else we had as good say nothing.

It is true, did we, who preach God's word, propose nothing else to ourselves, but to tickle men's ears, and please their fancies, and so to ingratiate ourselves into their love and favour, it would be easy to entertain them with discourses of another nature, stuffed with such fine

words, quaint phrases, and high notions, as would be very pleasing and acceptable unto them. But I must take leave to say, that we dare not do it; for we know, that as our auditors must give an account of their hearing, so it is not long before we also must give an account of our preaching too; for so God himself hath told us beforehand by his apostle, Heb. xiii. 17. But how shall we be able to look the eternal God in the face, yea, or to look our auditors in the face at that time, if instead of charging their duty upon them, in order to their eternal salvation, we should put them off with general discourses, which signify nothing, only to please and gratify them whilst we remain with them; no, we dare not do it, and therefore I wish men would not expect it from us; for we must not hazard our own eternal salvation to gain their temporal favour or applause. And therefore, seeing God hath been pleased to entrust us so far with men's souls, as to direct them in the way to eternal life, howsoever they resent it, we are bound in duty, both to God, to them, and ourselves, to deal plainly with them, and to use the authority which he hath here committed to us, where he hath expressly commanded us in his name, to charge them that are rich in this world, &c.

Where I desire the reader to observe in the next place, that we of the clergy are not only empowered to charge the poorer or meaner sort of people, who, by reaton of their extreme poverty and want, may seem inferior to us, but even rich men too; charge them, saith the Apostle, that are rich in this world. And the reason is, because we come unto them in his name, who gives them all the riches they do enjoy, and can take them away again when he himself pleaseth; so that he can make the poor rich, and the rich poor, when he pleaseth, and therefore the poor and rich are all alike to him; his power and authority is the same over both; and therefore we, coming in his name, are ordered to

make no distinction, but to charge the one as well as the other; yea, here we are particularly commanded to charge them that are rich.

Which is the next thing to be considered in these words, even whom the Apostle means by them that are rich in this world; which is a question that needs a serious resolution. For many men, not thinking themselves as yet to be rich enough, will be apt to conclude from thence, that they are not to be reckoned amongst those whom the apostle here calls rich in this world. But whatsoever they may think of themselves, I believe there are but few, except the very poor, who in a Scripture sense are not rich men. For whatsoever any have over and above their necessary maintenance, that the Scriptures call riches, as is plain from Agar's wish, Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me, Prov. xxx. 8. From whence it is easy to observe, that as nothing but the want of convenient food is poverty; so whatsoever a man hath over and above his convenient or necessary food, is properly his riches; and so he that hath it is in a Scripture sense a rich man, who is therefore called here in my text #20σ105, πλούσιος, quasi πολυούσιος, one that hath much substance, or more than he hath necessary occasion for. And therefore, although some may be richer than others, yet I believe the generality may be justly reckoned in the number of the rich men here spoken of, at least all such as by the blessing of God have not only what is necessary for their present maintenance, but likewise something to spare, and so may all come under the notion of those whom we are here commanded to charge not to be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, &c.

Having thus considered the act which we are here commanded to exert, and the object, the rich of this world, we are now to consider the subject matter, what that is which we are here commanded to charge upon