And, my young friends, let me tell you, The Lord hath need of you; for you may do much service to his caufe. You think, that he needs your fathers, your grandfires, and other elderly people; for their advice and example will have great influence in fupporting his religion; and if they should defert his cause, it would foon fink in the world, and the next generation would come forward indifferent to it, and unacquainted with it. But, my friends, you by your good example and pious converfation may have as much influence among your youthful affociates, as the aged can have, and perhaps more. Befides; you fhould confider, that your fathers will foon be gone; and if there fhould be no young Chriftians to fucceed them, where will be Chrift's church then? The church, like the human race, must be continued by fucceffion, for it confifts of mortals. If none of you will join yourselves to it, it must cease when your fathers are dead. Come, then, give yourselves to the Lord, and declare yourselves for him, encourage your fellow youths to embrace and obey his religion. How much good may thus be done? Think not yourselves useless and infignificant beings. You are important in your place, and the Lord hath need of you. He never is better pleased, than when he fees the young engaged in his caufe, and hears them fing, Hofanna to the fon of David. Out of their mouths he ordains praise.

Chrift expects of his fervants a ready compliance with his commands, and a cheerful refignation of every thing, which he needs from them. When he fent his difciples to procure him a beast, on which he might make his entrance into Jerufalem, he fignified, that nothing more would be neceffary, than to fay, "The Lord hath need of

On this information, the

him." And fo it was.
owner ftraitway let him go.

We should willingly ferve the Lord with all our ability, and all our fubftance; for all that we are, and all that we have belong to him. When David had made a liberal offering for the honour of God's worship, he said, " Of thine own have we given thee: All this ftore that we have prepared cometh of thine hand: it is all thine own." "Who," fays the apoftle, " hath first given to the Lord? And it shall be recompenfed to him again. For of him, and through him, and to him are all things." "Know ye not," fays he, "that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghoft, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are his."

If all our abilities are endowments from his creating power, and all our goods are the gifts of his bountiful providence, and all our graces are the fruits of his fanctifying fpirit, then we are to employ them all in the promotion of his cause, and to the honour of his name. "By the grace of God," fays faint Paul, "I am what I am, and his grace bestowed on me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me."

We are to do all for Chrift that he needs from us; for he has done, and ftill is doing all for us, that we need from him. He has not been backward to promote our intereft; we should not be reluctant to honour his name. He has given himfelf a ransom for us; in due time, when we were without ftrength, he died for us; he has fent his gospel to us for our inftruction; he has opened a way for our access to the throne of God; he makes interceffion for us, when we come to God in his name; he has procured the grace of the divine

VOL. V.

S

fpirit, which, on our humble application, he will vouchfafe for our feasonable help. And ought we not to give ourselves to him; to employ our time and ftrength, all the powers of our body, and faculties of our mind, all our fubftance, every thing that we have, in his fervice, and to his glory? Can we ever do enough for him, who has done and fuffered fo much for us?" The love of Christ constraineth us," fays the apoftle," becaufe we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead and that he died for all, that we who live should not henceforth live to ourselves, but to him who died, and rofe again."

We are to render to Chrift what he needs, because we thus co-operate with him in the most friendly and benevolent defign. The work which he is pursuing is of the greateft utility to us and our race. The religion which he has taught, will, fo far as it prevails, banish vice and mifery, and introduce virtue and happiness. There is in it nothing unkind, malevolent or unfocial, but every thing good, beneficent and useful. It relieves the forrows, and heightens the enjoyments of this world where we now dwell; and it prevents mifery and fecures happiness in that world to which we are going. What Chrift requires of us is, that we obey the rules, and accept the bleffings of this religion for ourselves; and that we fupport the credit, and affift the influence of it among others—In a word, that we seek to be happy, and study to make others fo. What can we do better? If we ought to ferve our generation, then let us ferve our divine Lord in every thing which he needs from us; for all that he requires has fome refpect to this benevolent end, the general good.

We should theerfully give to him whatever he has need of, for thus we fhall derive greater benefit from it, than by any other application which we can make of it.

If we cultivate the religion of Chrift in our own hearts, we shall enjoy the peace and hope which fpring from it here, and be entitled to the happinefs, which is the reward of it hereafter. If we promote this religion among others, we fhall experience the fatisfaction of dwelling in the midst of juft and good men-kind and friendly neighbours. If we train up our children in the knowl edge and practice of this religion, we fhall have the joy of feeing them wife, virtuous and useful on earth, and the fuperior joy of believing, that they are entitled to a rich inheritance in heaven. Every thing which we do for our Lord, will return to us bringing a reward with it.

When we give to Chrift what he has need of, we are fure it is well beftowed. Our charities to men are sometimes mifapplied. But our fervices for Christ are not only well accepted by his goodness, but well directed by his wifdom. He will fmile on our labours in his caufe, and make them, in fome way or other, fubfervient to his glory and our felicity. "Be ye therefore stedfaft and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; for as much as ye know, that your la bour is not in vain in the Lord. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that of the Lord ye fhall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye ferve the Lord Chrift." This we ought to regard as a fufficient motive to cheerful diligence in the work appointed us, that we ferve the Lord Chrift. "With good will do service as to the Lord, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth, the fame shall he receive of the Lord, for with him there is no refpect of perfons. His word is fure, his promise faithful, his reward glorious. None who ferve him, will labour in vain.

SERMON X.

The Gate of Heaven strait, and many shut out of it.

LUKE xiii. 24.

Strive to enter in at the ftrait gate; for many, I fay unto you, will seek to enter in, and fhall not be able.

As

S our Lord paffed through several cities and villages of Judea, on his journey to Jerufalem, teaching by the way, there attended him a confiderable number of people, who, fome for one reafon, and fome for another, gathered around him to hear his difcourfes. Somewhere in his journey, a perfon came to him with this question,

Lord, are there few that be faved?" From the queftion and our Lord's anfwer it seems, that the man was a Jew, tinctured with the common national prejudice, that the Jews, by their covenantrelation to God, were entitled to falvation; but the gentiles, being strangers to the covenant and aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, would be rejected. Often, no doubt, had he heard this doctrine afferted among his countrymen; and he wished to know Chrift's opinion upon it. As the queftion related to the prevailing fentiment of the day, Chrift directed his anfwer to the body of the people who attended him. He firft rebuked this