among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children, I Theff. ii. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Thus we may fee that the Saviour in his character of a Shepherd ufed gentleness, but as the lion of the tribe of Judah, he will ufe his fword. So Paul, in the character of a nurse used gentleness, but this did not deftroy his valour as a foldier; for when thofe of the circumcifion called him an Antinomian, afferting, that he made void the law through faith; and that he said, let us do evil that good may come; let us fin that grace may abound. Paul lays by his gentleness and takes his fword, and tells them that their damnation is just. I come now to treat of the aptnefs or aptitude of the Lord's fervant to teach, and the cause of it; and of the unaptness of pretenders to it, and the reafon why. I chofe to handle my heads in this manner because the word of God is called a two edged fword; and if fo, we ought to make it cut both

ways.

This word apt, fignifies that he has received gifts and grace to fit him for the work; that his abilities are fuitable to it; and by the conftraining power of grace, he is inclined to teach others, and has a quicknefs or readiness for it, which he is inwardly moved to by the Spirit of God. He knows both law and gospel experimentally; the one fires his zeal, the other draws his love to God; and this fire moves him and constrains him; he knows the terrors of the Lord, and perfuades men; he has felt the pardon of his

own

own fin, and therefore can preach forgiveness to others; he is at peace with God, and therefore preaches peace; he believes, and therefore Speaks; he is justified or made righteous, and is a preacher of righteoufnefs; he has tafted that the Lord is gracious, and preaches grace; he has made his own calling and election fure, and fo calls others, and preaches election to them; God's word has quickened him, and he holds forth the word of life; the Spirit of the Lord minifters gifts and grace to him, and he is a minister of the Spirit to others, that they might partake of his grace; God has put abundance of grace in his heart, and 'tis out of the abundance of his heart that his mouth speaks; God has put the treasure into his earthen vessel, and he brings out of his treasure things new and old; in a word, it is an experimental knowledge of the happy enjoyment of these things that makes the fervant of the Lord fo apt, fil, forward, ready, and quick to teach.

The moving caufe is God's love to him, and its conftraining power in him; the love of Chrift conftraineth us, fays Paul, to fuffer all things for the elects fake, that they may obtain the falvation that is in Chrift Jefus with eternal glory. The word of God dwelling richly in the heart, makes a man weary of holding in; 'tis like a fire, it will blaze out; the fpirit is like new wine, it will have vent. It is a well of water Springing up, and will flow over; and men of understanding will draw it

out, and refresh themselves with it. I come now to fhew the unaptnefs of graceless pretenders to this work, and the reafon why they are fo unapt.

ift. Because they aim at nothing but the double bonour that belongs to the office; the applaufe of the people, the fleece of the sheep, and at a genteel life; they grasp at the miniftry to nurse their pride, and indulge their laziness; hence they are called, heady, highminded, dumb dogs, fleepy dogs loving to flumber, and greedy dogs that can never bave enough. These men are apt to drefs, apt to fleece, apt to eat, and apt to fleep; but not apt to teach. Because though they may have a gift, yet they have not life; they are inftruments without life-giving found; but God fays, take away the noife of thy viols-he is not charmed with violins or fiddles.

The reafon of their unaptnefs is, there is no Springing well in their hearts, no oil in the crufe, no new wine in the bottle, no divine treasure in the earthen vesel, no life in the foul, no faith in the beart. Their treasure is at least stole from others, pilfered out of other men's works, and committed to paper; their treafure lays all in their pocket, and how should fuch be apt to teach who have no heart-treasure for it; if the heart be exercifed with covetous practices, as Peter fays, it cannot be exercifed with an aptness or fitness to teach.

Others have got a strong memory, and all that they can hear or borrow they commit to that;

their treasure is laid up in their head; headknowledge without the Springing well, is like a pool of standing water, foon ftale, and foon dry. Yet with this stock they will at times cut a tolerable figure in a pulpit; and the godly themfelves will fay the doctrines are found, the prayer is evangelical, the fpeech in prayer and in the fermon is found Speech that cannot be condemned; but when the preacher is out of the pulpit he is quite another thing; he is no evangelift only when he preaches; hence enquiring fouls who go to him when he has done, and make use of fome part of his fermon, telling him how it agreed with their experience, can get no fatisfactory answer; the fermon was one thing, the converfation is another; this is the man that wears a garment of linen and woollen together; he is a time-ferver, a man-pleaser, who thirsts for nothing but applaufe, a genteel appearance, and an dle life; fuch cannot preach the faith, for they have no faith; how can they believe that receive konour one of another, and not the honour that cometh from God only? These are not fervants of the Lord, they ferve their own belly, and as the love of God is not in them, we cannot suppose that they are apt to teach; which leads me,

3dly, To confider the patience of the Lord's fervant, and of them that are faid to wear it out. A labourer in the Lord's vineyard has need of patience, for he is called to bear the burden and beat of the day; fuperficial profeffors will con

demn

demn his plowing; erroneous men will oppofe the precious feed that he bears; his zeal will be called rage; his fervour, fpleen and bitternefs; his attachment to study, refervednefs; his continuing wherein he is called, fingularity; his endeavours to feparate the vile from the precious, the effects of a party fpirit; preaching free grace will be called. Antinomianism; handling dark paffages, is enthufiafm; and refufing confederacy with them that fay a confederacy is the effect of pride; and those that earnestly contend for the faith, have no candour. The fervant of the Lord, as a labourer in the vineyard, had need of patience to bear all this, fo as not to be difcouraged nor frightened from his work by it; Because thou haft kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the bour of temptation that shall come upon all the world to try them. The Lord's labourer is not to leave his work, because of the oppofition that is made against him; he is to continue patiently in his labour, ufe the mouth and wisdom that God has given him, and oppofe all that oppose the truth; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil; and thou bast tried them that fay they are apostles and are not, and baft found them liars; and baft born, and haft patience, and for my name fake haft laboured, and hat not fainted, Rev. ii. 2, 3. Thus we see a man's patience is not to drive him from his labour,

nor from trying them that fay they are apostles or evangelifts; this is a good work, and is coupled