Now and then take occafion to fpeak a kind and religious word to the children of the household; put them in mind of avoiding some childish folly, or of practising some duty that belongs to their age. Let your memory be well furnished with the words of fcripture, fuited to the feveral ages of mankind, as well as to the various occasions of life, that, out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth may speak to the advantage of all that hear you, and particularly to that of the younger parts of mankind, who are the hopes of the next generation. Make the lambs of the flock love you, and hear your voice with delight, that they may grow up under your inftruction, to fill up the room of their fathers, when they are called away to heaven: nor let fervants be utterly neglected, where providence may afford you an opportunity to fpeak a word to their fouls.

He that has the happy talent of parlour-preaching, has fometimes done more for Chrift and fouls in the space of a few minutes, than by the labour of many hours and days, in the ufual courfe of preaching in the pulpit. Our character should be all of a piece, and we should help forward the fuccefs of our public miniftrations, by our private addreffes to the hearts and confciences of men, where providence favours us with juft occafions.

In order to promote this work of particular watchfulness over the flock of Chrift, where he has made you a fhepherd and overfeer, it is useful to keep a catalogue of their names, and now and then review them with a paftoral eye and affection. This will awaken and incline you to lift up proper petitions for each of them, fo far as you are acquainted with their circumftances in body or mind. This will excite you to give thanks to God on account of those who walk as becomes the gospel, and and who have either begun, or proceeded and increafed in the chriftian life and temper by your miniftry you will obferve the names of the negli gent and backfliding chriftians, to mourn over them, and admonish them: you will be put in mind how to dispose of your time in chriftian vifits, and learn the better to fulfil your whole mi. niftry among them.

§ 40. (V.) The things which I have spoken hitherto, have been a display of the beft methods I can think of, for the execution of the facred office of the miniftry; and fo far as they are conformable to the word of God, we may venture to fay, these are your duties, my dear brother, and these are ours. It remains now to be confidered, in what manner fhall we ENFORCE them on our own confciences, and on yours? What folemn

obteftations fhall Iufe to prefs these momentous concerns on all our hearts? What pathetic language fhall I choose, what words of awful efficacy and divine fervour, which may first melt our spirits into softness, and then imprint thefe duties upon them with lafting power? We exhort and charge you, we exhort and charge ourselves, by all that is ferious and facred, by all that is important and everlasting, by all the folemn transactions between God and man which are past, and by all the more folemn and awful fcenes which are yet to come; by all things in our holy religion which are dreadful and tremendous, and by all things in this gospel which are glorious and amiable, heavenly and divine; we charge you by all that is written in this book of God, according to which we shall be judged in the last day, by all the infinite and aftonishing glories and terrors of an invifible world, and an unfeen eternity; we charge and exhort you, we exhort and charge ourselves, that we all take heed to the miniftry which we have received of the Lord Jefus, that we fulfil it.

41. We charge you, and we charge ourselves, by the decaying intereft of religion, and the withering state of christianity at this day, that we do not increafe this general and lamentable decay, this growing and dreadful apoftafy, by our flothful and

care

careless management of the truft which is committed to us. It is a divine interest indeed, but declining; it is a heavenly cause, but among us it is finking and dying. O let us ftir up our hearts, and all that is within us, and ftrive mightily in prayer and in preaching to revive the work of God, and beg earnestly that God, by a fresh and abundant effusion of his Spirit, would revive his work among us. Revive thy own work, O Lord, in the midst of these years of fin and degeneracy, nor let us labour in vain. Where is thy zeal, O Lord, and thy ftrength, the founding of thy bowels and thy mercies? Are they reftrained? O let us rouse our souls with all holy fervour, to fulfil our miniftry, for it will be a dreadful reproach upon us, and a burden too heavy for us to bear, if we let the caufe of Chrift and godliness die under our hands, for want of a lively zeal, and pious fervour and faithfulness in our miniftrations.

42. We entreat, we exhort and charge you, and we charge ourselves, by the folemn and awful circumstances of a dying bed, and the thoughts of confcience in that important hour, when we fhall enter into the world of fpirits, that we take heed to the miniftry which we have received: furely that hour is haftening upon us, when our heads will lie upon a dying pillow. When a few more morn

ings and evenings have vifited our windows, the fhadows of a long night will begin to fpread themfelves over us in that gloomy hour, confcience will review the behaviour of the days that are past, will take account of the conduct of our whole lives, and will particularly examine our labours and cares in our facred office. Oh may we ever dread the thoughts of making bitter work for repentance in that hour, and of treasuring up terrors for a deathbed, by a careless and useless ministry!

43. We exhort and charge you, and we charge ourfelves, by our gathering together before the throne of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the folemn account we muft there give of the miniftry with which he hath entrusted us, that we prepare, by our prefent zeal and labour, to render that most awful scene peaceful to our fouls, and the iffue of it joyful and happy. Let us look forward to that illuftrious and tremendous appearance, when our Lord fhall come with ten thousands of his holy angels to inquire into the conduct of men, and particularly of the minifters of his kingdom here on earth. Let us remember that we fhall be examined in the light of the flames of that day, what we have done with his gofpel which he gave us to preach! What we have done with his promises of rich falvation, which he fent us to offer in his

name!