and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate and verily I say unto you, ye shall not see me until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And who would not welcome such a Saviour, when he appears on so kind a design! who would not bless him that cometh in the name of the Lord, to gather our souls with the tenderest care and to shelter us from wrath and ruin! that Saviour, whose bowels yearned over us, and whose heart poured forth its blood for us! Too many reject him, and will not hearken to the kindest calls of his compassionate voice. Unhappy creatures! the time will come, when they too late will be convinced of their fatal error.

Let each of us be solicitous for himself. Away with those vain curiosities, which serve only to amuse and distract our thoughts. Let us call, and fix them down to the great concerns of our own salvation: and, if we would secure it, let us prepare to encounter difficulties, and strive, as for our lives, to break through all the opposition of our enemies, and resolutely to enter in at the strait gate. How many have sought it, when the door has been barred? and how soon may the great Master of the house arise and shut it for ever against those who are yet trifling!

Let not hypocrites trust in vain words. The workers of iniquity shall be disowned by Christ at last, though they may have eaten and drank in his presence. But oh, who can express the disappointment, the rage, and despair, of those who fall from such towering hopes, and plunge, as from the very gates of heaven, into the lowest abyss of darkness and horror! Their hearts will endeavour to harden themselves in vain; their doleful cries shall be distinguished in that region of universal horror! but they shall not penetrate the regions of the blessed, nor interrupt the delight, with which even the dearest of their pious relatives shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

If we through grace have more substantial hopes, let us imitate the zeal and courage of our Divine Leader; and, whatever threatenings or dangers may oppose, let us go on day after day, till our work be done, and our souls at length perfected in glory. But let us carefully distinguish between those

things, in which our Lord meant himself as our Pattern, and those which were peculiar to his office as a Prophet sent from God. That extraordinary office justified him in using that severity of language, when speaking of wicked princes and corrupt teachers, to which we have no call; and by which we should only bring scandal on religion, and ruin on ourselves, while we irritated, rather than convinced or reformed, those whom we undertook so indecently to rebuke.

SECTION XLVI.

LUKE XIV. 1-14.

AND it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath-day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath-day? And they could not answer him again to these things.

And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him: and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room: that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Then said he also to him that bade him, When

thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a

feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

How happy were they, who had frequent opportunities of conversing with Christ, whose discourses were always so wise and so useful: how well did he repay all the entertainments he received, in the advantages which he gave for religious improvement! In vain might his enemies watch for occasions against him. In his tongue was the law of wisdom as well as of kindness, (Prov. xxxi. 26.) And surely the lips of his ministers and disciples would feed many to their everlasting benefit, were this blessed model to be more carefully traced ! (Prov. x. 21.)

Let us particularly observe, what he here says concerning a modest and humble deportment, which is indeed the surest way to be honoured and respected. And let us take great heed, that that good breeding, which consists so much in the expressions of humility and readiness to prefer others to ourselves, do not degenerate into a mere form, and prove, as it too often does, the cloak of arrogance and pride; but that it have its foundation in a lowly opinion of ourselves, and an habitual disposition to submit even to our inferiors, when we may do it without breaking in upon the duties and decencies of life, and injuring those to whom it may be exercised, by an indulgence which they know not how to understand and improve.

Let us hearken to these exhortations to charity from the mouth of our charitable Saviour, who gave himself for us. And as Christ pleased not himself (Rom. xv. 3), let us not allow ourselves to squander away great quantities of money, in what may gratify our own senses, or make a gaudy shew in the eyes of the vainer part of mankind; but let us be willing to spare from the luxuries and superfluities of life, that we may bestow it on the poor and the distressed. And indeed, whatever our circumstances and possessions be, we must expect that the stream of our bounty will soon be dried up, if it be not supplied from the fountain of a prudent frugality. This selfdenial may now in some instances be painful; but it will be amply recompensed at the resurrection of the just. May we then meet with many, whom our liberality has fed and clothed, whom our knowledge and zeal have instructed, and whom our

holy example have edified and quickened! Here will be a foundation laid for the endearments of an eternal friendship; when that which has been formed upon a partnership in vice, or animal pleasure, shall be for ever forgotten, or be remembered with mutual horror.

Then

AND when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto

him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master

of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the high-ways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

May the infinite mercy of God forbid, that this should ever be our condition? The gospel feast, like the sumptuous banquet of Ahasuerus (Esth. i. 3, 4,) is of a very long standing; not only from week to week, but from age to age, God is sending to invite new guests: and, after all the millions that have been regaled by it, and nourished up to everlasting life, there is yet room for more. Still are his servants sent from

one time to another, with all the fervor of the most affectionate persuasion, to urge sinners to accept of these desirable blessings! (for such only is the compulsion that becomes a feast, and suits the nature of reasonable creatures.) May we not receive the grace of God in vain! May we not perish, as thousands before us have done, by making light of the gospel!

It has often been observed from this parable, that they were lawful occasions which these unhappy people pleaded as their excuse for neglecting the invitation. And how many perish by what is indeed lawful! But the care of our estates or cattle, our domestic affairs, and our dearest relatives, will be destructive to us, if they be minded as our main care, and our hearts be so attentive to them as to forget the one thing needful.

Are we of the number of those who, though once blinded, impoverished and enfeebled by sin, are now brought as welcome guests to the table, which Divine love has spread? Let us adore the grace which opened the door to us, and opened our hearts to comply with the call; by its strong and powerful though rational and gentle influence, compelling us to come in. Let the servants employed in the message urge it with a becoming earnestness; as well knowing, how much the heart of their great master is in it, and how much the happiness of souls depends on their accepting it. Lord! may we see thy table furnished with guests, and ourselves be so happy as finally to partake of those blessings, to which we are now commanded to invite others! For blessed indeed are they, who shall eat breed in the kingdom of God!

SECTION XLVIII.

LUKE XIV. 25-35.

AND there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another