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their work may be marred in their hands, religion defpifed, and finners hardened.

Ufe 1. As to you that are already in this honourable office, and you that are now to be ordained to it, I exhort you to labour rightly to discharge your duty. To prefs this exhortation, I offer the following motives.

Mot. 1. Confider it is a facred office in the house of God, to which God has called you; and therefore let us together take that exhortation, Acts xx. 28. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." The office is honourable in itself, however the world esteem of it. David, though a king, would have thought it no difparagement to him, when he faid, "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness," Pfal. lxxxiv. 10. But it has work annexed to it; and being facred, it is not to play with. Labour to approve yourselves to your

Lord and master.

Mot. 2. Ye have thereby a fair occafion to be serviceable to God and to advance Chrift's kingdom, and suppress that of the devil, in the congregation. And O what should we not do to do good to fouls? Jam. v. 20. "Let him know, that he which converteth the finner from the error of his way, fhall fave a foul from death, and shall hide a multitude of fins." I think that now, of a confiderable time, I and my brethren of the elderfhip might have faid, "The ftrength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall," Neh. iv. 10.; and it has gone near to the finking of fome of our fpirits. But now that God has inclined the hearts of so many to come over and help us; if we take courage in our Master's work, to ply it faithfully, diligently, zealously, and prudently, and the Lord blefs us with unity among ourfelves, and real zeal for his honour, to put to our fhoulders jointly to the work, we may hope, by the bleffing of God, to fee a more promifing face on this congregation, fin more discouraged, and piety more increased.

Mot. ult. You and I must give an account to our great Master, how we have carried ourselves in his work, Heb. xiii. 17. If we be faithful, we shall not want our reward from

the chief Shepherd, who will give us a crown of life. If we be unfaithful, wo will be unto us for betraying our truft.

I give you a few advices.

1. Remember always that it is God whom ye have to do with. This will make you little to regard men's feud or favour, if ye do your work agreeable to God's will.

2. Study to act in dependence on the Lord; for he fends none a-warfare on his own charges. Eye his promised affistance, when ye fet about your work.

3. Labour to believe, that the way of uprightness and faithfulness is the fure way. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him," Prov. xvi. 7. "He that rebuketh a man afterwards fhall find more favour than he that flattereth him," Prov. xxviii. 23. Let men's corruptions fay what they will, their confciences will speak in favour of faithful dealing.

4. Watch over your own perfons, that in your perfonal walk ye be blamelefs and exemplary, 1 Tim. iii. 1. 2. 3. If ye be untender in your walk, ye will do more hurt than ye can do good. Being honoured to be governors in the house of a holy God, ye must be holy as the master is holy; tender in your words, circumfpect in your actions, and there fore watchful over your hearts.

5. Watch over your families. Every one that has a family is obliged to this, and you in a special manner, 1 Tim. iii. 4. 5. The finful practices of thofe of your family will reflect a peculiar difhonour on you, and by you on your Lord and Mafter. Therefore your families fhould be a church wherein God is to be duly worshipped morning and evening; and good difcipline kept up, by admonition, rereproof, and watchfulness.

6. Ye muft watch over one another, each over his fellow-elders, knowing, that any thing fcandalous in one of the fociety reflects a dishonour on the whole, and by them on the Lord himself. And if ye be not careful on that fide, there will be little good of your watching over the flock. And therefore ftrict difcipline among yourfelves is abfolutely neceffary.

USE II. As to you the people, I would exhort you to make confcience of your duty towards your officers. Alas! for the little conscience that is made of that among us. I

am fure we may find matter of mourning this day in that

matter.

Instead of honouring of them, many defpife and pour contempt on them, more than otherwife they would do; thus vilely treating their facred office.

Instead of fubmiffion and obedience, what refractoriness and fpurning of difcipline for fcandalous offences! Some cannot endure to be told of their faults; but if we admonish or reprove them, even privately, they are made worse instead of better; and rather than take a reproof, they will give up with ordinances.

Inftead of being careful of their reputation, fome will bawl out upon them, and abuse them on every occafion. And there is nothing with many more readily received, than the vomit of malicious and spiteful spirits against minifters and elders, which is greedily licked up, 1 Cor. iv. 13.

Hence it is, that men's hands are weakened, and they are discouraged in their work, while they fee the people of that temper, Hof. iv. 4. And hence it is, that it is fo very hard to get men to undertake the office of elders; for they fee, that if they engage therein, they must be the very butt of the malice and spite of bitter fpirits; and that if they will be faithful, they engage themselves in a fighting life, and that the stream will go against them. But allow me to put you in mind of three things.

1. Whofe part you act in that matter. It is the part of Satan against these men and yourselves too. Can you fall upon a more expedite way to advance the kingdom of the devil in the congregation, than to difcourage and weaken the hands of thofe that are fet over you in the Lord? Is there a fairer way to rout the army, than to make their leaders ufelefs?

2. Whofe fervants they are. They are clothed with a commiffion from the King of the church; and the contempt poured on them reaches to their Master: " He that despiseth you (fays he), despiseth me," Luke x. 16. Will the laws of the land avenge the affronts done to a petty officer, who comes to execute the fentence of a civil court? did David feverely avenge on the Ammonites their maltreating of his fervants, whom he fent on a congratulatory meffage to them, as ye find in 2 Sam. x.? and will not the Lord Jefus refent

in his wrath the maltreatment of thofe that are clothed with his commiffion?

3. Lastly, Are ye not the profeffed fubjects of the kingdom of Chrift? Why then will ye not fubmit yourselves to the laws of his houfe? Why will ye not be obedient in the Lord to those whom he fets over you, complying with their exhortations, admonitions, and rebukes? Luke xix. 27. Why do not ye strengthen their hands in the Lord's work? If ye have any interest in Zion's King, it is the work of our common Lord, which you are obliged to in a private way, as well as they by virtue of their office; and therefore ye are bound to co-operate with them in what ferves to promote the interest of that King, whofe fervants you profess

to be.

I proceed now to confider the relation betwixt political fathers and their children; that is, magiftrates and.fubjects. First, I fhall fhew the duty of subjects to magiftrates.

1. They owe them fingular refpect and honour, 1 Pet. ii. 17. They are to be honoured by us in our hearts, thinking of and esteeming them reverently, and carrying a reverent fear and awe of them within our breafts, 1 Sam. xxvi. 16. 17. Prov. xxiv. 21. And this is to be expreffed in a respectful behaviour towards them in word and deed.

The grounds of this are fpecially two. (1.) The ordinance of God, whereby they are fet above us in the way of power and authority, Rom. xiii.; and subjects ought to walk in a confcientious regard to the fuperiority that God has given their rulers over them. (2.) The image of God that fhines in their dominion and eminency above their fubjects, Pfal. lxxxii. 6. They are God's vicegerents on earth, whose office bears a reprefentation of God's dominion.

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2. Subjects owe them the charity to conftruct the best of their actions that they will bear, and to beware of paffing a rafh judgment of their administrations. Notable is the inftance of it in David, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. "Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his fervant : if the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, curfed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, faying, Go ferve other gods." The liberty that many take in fpeaking of

magiftrates, and wresting their actions ftill to the worst fide, is what proceeds not from the spirit of the gofpel, but is contrary to the word, an effect of their own pride and prefumption, Exod. xxii. 28. Eccl. x. 20. 2 Pet. ii. 10. Jude 8. This is alfo highly reasonable, and hath these grounds. (1.) That candour and charity we owe to all men, but in a Ipecial manner to our fuperiors, requires it, 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 7. (2.) Our unacquaintedness with the fprings of public bufiness, fecrets of government, and reasons of state, Prov. xxv. 3. And natural modefty, as well as religion, teaches men not to answer a matter before they hear it, Prov. xviii. 13. This dutiful children will allow to their parents, wives to their husbands, fervants to their masters, and inferiors to their fuperiors; and why fhould not magiftrates have it too?

3. Subjection, loyalty, and obedience to their juft laws and commands. It is bad religion where loyalty to the magiftrate must stand in place of all religion towards God; but it is alfo bad religion where people's pretended religion towards God juftles out their loyalty to the magiftrate, Rom. xiii. 5. This duty Papists exeem churchmen from; and no wonder, for it is a part of the character of Antichrift, 2 Theff. ii. 4.; but the fcripture fubjects ministers to the magistrates, as having fouls as well as others, Rom. xiii. "Let every foul be fubject to the higher powers."

4. The payment of their tribute, Rom. xiii. 6, 7. This is a debt of thankfulness, and justice too, for the benefits of government which the fubjects enjoy, without which the government cannot be fupported, but all would go into confufion.

5. Defending of them in danger, each one according to his station, 2 Sam. xviii. 3. 1 Sam. xxvi. 15.

6. Lastly, Prayer to God for them; fupplications for fupply of wants, prayers for good things to them, interceffions for turning away of evil from them, and thanksgivings for mercies bestowed on them, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. There is a reafon for it too; for the welfare of fubjects is wrapt up in theirs, ib. Much depends on their management, God's honour, our own good; and their high place has many dangers, difficulties, Inares, and temptations.

USE. Let me therefore exhort you in the words of the apostle, 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14. "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's fake: whether it be to the

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