SERMON,

Delivered at Princeton, before the Board of Trustees of the College of New-Jersey, May 6, 1795, occasioned by the death of the Rev. JOHN WITHERSPOON, D. D. L. L. D. President of said College, by JOHN RODGERS, D. D. Senior Minister of the United Presbyterian Churches, in the city of New-York.

PUBLISHED BY PARTICULAR REQUEST OF THE BOARD.

MATTHEW, xxv. 21.

"His Lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful Servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

THE

HE doctrine of a future ftate of rewards and punishments, lies deep at the foundation of our holy religi on: It is a doctrine perfectly confonant to reafon and fupported by it; and is either afferted, or juftly taken for granted, in every page of the facred oracles. This is the immortality, for the bleffedness of which we became incapacitated, by our apoftacy from God; and that, for the enjoyment of which, it is one great defign of the religion of Jefus Chrift to prepare us. The whole frame of this religion is wifely calculated for this end. Among the many evidences of thefe truths, we may appeal to the difcourfes of our Divine Mafter; and particularly to this, of which our text is a part.

In the preceding chapter, he had given his disciples an inftructive difcourfe on the certainty and folemnity of his fecond coming. He continues the fubject in this chapter, and enforces the great duty of preparation for it, by the parable of the ten virgins, from the firft verfe to the thirteenth; by the parable of the talents, from thence to the thirtieth verfe; and by a more particular account of the process of the judgment of the great day, from thence to the end of the chapter.

The more immediate defign of the parable of the talents, of which our text is a part, is to enforce the duty, and illuftrate the happiness of being prepared for giving up our account, when he fhall come to judge the world in righteoufnefs. You may read it at your leifure. The "man travelling into a far country," in this parable means our Lord himself; who is the great head of his church, which is his family. The "fervants," of whom we here read, mean all profeffing Chriftians; all who call themfelves the fervants of Clirift, whatever their nation or denomination may be; though foine fuppofe the Minifters of the Gofpel are more particularly intended.

By the talents, we are to understand the various gifts of Heaven, whether of a common or of a special nature. They include the bounties of Providence, fuch as health, strength, reason, genius, riches, honor, power, learning, reputation, the feveral advantages arifing from our stations in life; and, together with these, those graces of the fpirit that conftitute the Chriftian temper. These are all fo many talents put into our hands, to be improved for God, and the best interefts of our fellow-creatures; and they are different to different perfons. To one God gives more of these gifts or graces, and to another lefs; which is designed in the parable by the master's giving to one fervant five talents, and to another two, and to another one. By "the Lord of thofe fervants coming, after a long time, to reckon with them," we are to understand that particular judgment which every one paffes under at death, when our final ftates are determined: and alfo, and principally, our Lord's coming to judge the world in righteousness, at the laft day, "When every one fhall re

ceive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." At both these solemn periods, the faithful fervant of Chrift, whatever his character and station in life may have been, fhall be received with a "Well done, thou good and faithful fervant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

vants.

There are two things in these words that particularly deserve our notice. The character of those who fhall meet with the approbation of their Lord, in the great day of final awards; they have been good and faithful ferAnd the reward fuch fhall receive, on that folemn occafion, from the judge of quick and dead-They shall be each one received with a "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou haft been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

Agreeably to this view of my text, I fhall,

I. Briefly confider the character of the good and faithful fervant of Chrift.

II. The nature of that reward here promifed to all fuch, in the great day of the Lord.

Let us enquire,

I. What is the character of the good and faithful fervant of Chrift?

I have already faid this may be applied either to the difciples of Chrift in general of whatever nation, denomination, or character in life they may be; or to the minif ters of the Gospel in particular. I fhall confider the phrafe as including both. And it implies,

1. Love to Christ and bis service.-A good fervant always loves a good master. But it is neceffary to obferve here, that this love to Chrift and his fervice is not found in the heart of depraved man, in his natural state. We are by nature alienated from God: deftitute of every principle of love to him and his fon Chrift, in their true character. The apoftolic defcription of depraved human nature is, "having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is

in them, becaufe of the blindness of their hearts."a Hence, arifes the neceffity of being "renewed in the spirit of our mind; and of putting on the new man, which after God is created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs."b Eut one of the principal conftituents of this new man is, love to God and his fon Chrift Jefus. Love to God for his own divine excellence, as well as for the beneficence of his hand, to us-and love to Chrift, as being the "brightnefs of his father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon."c The fincere fervant of Chrift loves both his perfon and his character. His foul is pleafed with him, as he is exhibited in the oracles of truth. "He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely" in his efteem.d He loves allo his service: He efteems his laws to be altogether equal and juft.This is the native effect of his love to his perfon and his government: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous." The love we bear to the perfon of Chrift, in proportion to its prevalence, will not only induce us to obedience, but render that obedience eafy and delightfulWe delight to oblige thofe whom we love.

2. The good and faithful fervant of Chrift loves his fellow servants-He confiders them as children of the fame common father with himfelf: and we read, that " every one that loveth him who begat, loveth him alfo who is begotten of him. He confiders them as redeemed by the fame precious blood of Chrift; and as the fubjects of the fame fanctifying and comforting influences of the fpirit of grace, which are the common privilege of every true Chriftian; for" If any man have not the fpirit of Chrift, he is none of his." He confiders them as engaged in the fame common caufe with himfelf; the advancement of the kingdom of Chrift, and the illuftration of the honor of God in our world. Thefe are the great ends the good and faithful fervants of Chrift have in view, however they may differ in fome of the modes of pursuing them. Yet this difference does not forfeit their love, or deftroy their cha

a Eph. iv. 18. b ver. 23, 24. c Heb. i. 3. d Song. v. 10, 16. e 1 John v. 3. ƒ 1 John v. 1. g Rom. viii. 9.

rity for each other. If the perfon whofe character I defcribe, cannot agree to agree with his brethren, in denomination, or mode of worship, he will agree to differ with them-He will agree they fhould think and act for themfelves, in matters of fuch infinite concern; a privilege he justly claims to himself. And in how many things foever the difciples of Chrift may differ in matters of leffer moment, they will all agree in loving their Mafter, his honor, his truth, and his fervice-They will agree in adorning their profeffion in all godlinefs of converfation.

Again-The good and faithful fervant confiders his fellow-difciples as in the fame vale of tears, and in the fame fate of imperfection and trial with himfelf; and, therefore, that both they and he ftand in need of mutual fympathy, charity, and forbearance, one towards another. In a word, he confiders them as heirs of the fame future glory with himself; as travelling to the fame "city, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God;" and that, therefore, they ought not to differ by the way.

Of fuch importance is this brotherly love, in the eftimation of our Lord, that he not only enjoins it upon his difciples as their duty, but as their diftinguifhing and characteristic duty; that duty which more ftrongly marks their character as his difciples than almost any other; and that by which they are especially to distinguish themselves from the men of the world. You, therefore, hear him fay, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye have love one to another."a

3. Diligence in his Lord's work, is another ingredient in the character of the good and faithful fervant. You will eafily perceive the abfurdity of a good, and at the fame time a slothful fervant, in common life; and it is ftill more fo in the cafe before us. We all have our work in life affigned us, in the courfe of a wife Providence: and this is two fold, our general bufinefs as men and Chrif tians, and the special business of our respective stations.

a John xiii. 34, 35.