to his service? But holy Scripture not only represents the relation of the Almighty towards man as that of a sovereign, a king, a lord and master, but also graciously blends with these, the softened, though not less just authority, of a Father, and the gracious and condescending claims of a Saviour. It is useful for us, I conceive, to cherish in our minds the same comprehensive regard to the whole character of the divine Being that Scripture warrants us to do; for by this means we shall have the benefit of motives addressed both to our intellect and to our affections; and an acknowledgment of simple duty will be aided by a sense of gratitude; thus we shall be drawn to the performance of duty by affection and love. Indeed, I do not think it useful to detain our minds in the contemplation of the relation between the great Creator and man as an innocent creature, since that relation does not now exist; but rather view man's relation to the divine Being as that relation is revealed by the Saviour. The Saviour, or God in Christ, is now, in relation to human beings, the great Lord of all. It is Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth; he is our Lord, and it is with him that we have to do, and not with the Almighty, simply as Creator, Preserver, and final Judge. And all persons, whether the as yet impenitent sinner, or the sinner who has repented, returned to God, and been sanctified-all classes of persons should view God our Saviour as their supreme Lord, who has prescribed to every one the work proper for him to perform. For all characters, all ranks, all ages, and all conditions of men and of women, there are appropriate duties, to which the Master hath commanded them to attend. It is not practicable to enter now into a minute specification of those duties in every case. The duty of each will appear from briefly viewing the relations in which men stand to God, either Simply, as creatures, Or as saints. All are creatures, all are sinners, but it cannot be said that all are saints. And duties will further appear from an attention to the place which each person holds in the great family or household. Some are entrusted with certain offices, intended to promote the well-being of the whole, such as princes and magistrates, in the state; fathers, and mothers, and teachers, in families; bishops, or pastors, and deacons, in the church. These should be faithful and wise servants of their Lord, and give to his household their meat in due season. Blessed is the servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing! But duty is not confined to these rulers of the household; there are also duties binding on those who are under authority, and the younger branches of the great family. Duties owing by the people towards princes and magistrates; by children and scholars, towards parents and teachers, and by members of churches towards their pastors and deacons. And all these relative duties among men should be performed with a supreme regard to the great Lord of all. His will is man's law; and pains should be taken to ascertain his will, according to the means which he may have put in our power; and moreover, the different branches of this great family, or, in other words, the different nations and tribes of men, should kindly communicate whatever they know regarding their Lord's will to each other. Those who, like the Jews and Christians, have had superior means of knowing their Lord's will, were made keepers of the oracles of God, not solely for their own use, but for the benefit of all mankind. It is not less a duty in those who know their Lord's will to instruct others, than it is a duty in the uninformed to exert themselves to ascertain it. Let us, in this part of our discourse, stop a while to consider the character of the Lord or Master of the household, as made known to us in the inspired history of Divine Providence, which constitutes the records of the family. In the beginning he reared a magnificent mansion for the accommodation of the family, and stored it with all that could contribute to the happiness and delight of its inmates; and in so doing, displayed his power and his goodness, both of which are infinite. He was not a hard nor a tyrannical master; the house was munificently supplied, and the service required was honourable, just, and easy; goodness and liberality were conspicuous in this first arrangement. Still, however, there were rules to be observed in the family, and previous intimation was given, that a violation of these would be punished. These rules were, alas! violated, and punishment followed; by which it was manifested, that the Lord was true to his word. When he threatened, calmness and truth were essentially in what he said; and none could trifle or disobey with impunity. But again, the Lord admitted of a respite, and a mediatorial interference, by which his mercy is shewn. Power, goodness, justice, truth, and mercy, then, are manifestly characteristics of the great Lord. Alas! that the hearts of wicked servants should so often, it is to be feared, conceive of him as weak, unkind, unjust, untrue, and cruel. The human family is but a small part of the great Lord's vast domain; but still he exercises constant regard to it, and superintendence over it. He has, in every age, manifested himself to chosen servants, and communicated messages of mercy, and of judgment, by patriarchs and by prophets; and in every land, has often rewarded the humble who sought to know and do his will; and has punished the wicked and rebellious, and those who maltreated their fellow servants. In the fulness of time, He himself appeared, and perfected the great mediatorial work. Since which time he is strikingly likened to "a man taking a far journey," who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye, therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, adds the Saviour himself, I say unto all-Watch," (St. Mark xiii. 34.) Observe, the command to watch is universal; whether rich or poor, or young or old, all are enjoined to watch; for although absent, his return is certain; but when, is uncertain; therefore watch. We have before proved, from the records of the family, that all his words are spoken in truth and righteousness; faithful is he when he promises. It is possible, should he permit, that heaven and earth may pass away; but his word shall never fail. In Providence he comes to call nations and churches to an account for their privileges. He comes also to judge the rulers of the family, emperors, and kings, and great captains; and judges, and magistrates, and ecclesiastical dignitaries; bishops and priests, pastors and deacons, and parents and teachers; as well as the great multitude of human beings who belong to the household. But the time of his occasional coming, as well as of his final coming, is uncertain; therefore, it is the duty and interest of all to watch, This brings me to the Second leading idea proposed, viz. man's obligation to watchfulness. The original word, employed by the Sacred Penman for watching, denotes keeping awake, in contradistinction from sleeping; to be awake to what is about one, or concerns one, like a person alive, in opposition to the inactive state of death; and it denotes a being vigilant, heedful, attentive not to omit any duty, or commit any error; and a being on the look out to prevent the approach of any evil or calamity. The Lord, who has gone on a long journey, has left to every man his work; let every man, therefore, be careful and attentive to do it. The Lord hath forewarned the evil servant, who shall say in his heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken." That the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, in a place where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, arising from the terrible agony and hopeless condition of a lost spirit. We are not called to preach to the great ones of the earth, kings and conquerors, and statesmen and judges; not yet to popes and cardinals, and archimandrites or archbishops; otherwise we could read them a lecture on the awful responsibility which rests upon their souls; and the terrible account which some of them must give for the abuse of power, and the neglect of duty, when the great Lord of the human family shall suddenly appear. We shall not, therefore, dwell on what is peculiar to those in high stations, lest, by so doing, we should omit what is more generally applicable and useful to ourselves. I would say then to all, watch against neglecting proper means to know the Lord's will. Some persons are satisfied with being ignorant of religion; and some even prefer ignorance to knowledge, hoping that ignorance will be an excuse for the omission of duty. And our Lord's saying may seem to justify this presumption, when he remarked, that those who disobeyed, notwithstanding their knowledge, should be beaten with many stripes; whereas, those who disobeyed, being ignorant of their Lord's will, should be beaten with few stripes. But this remark can apply only to unavoidable ignorance, not to wilful ignorance. For wilful ignorance is wilful disobedience: acquaint thyself with God and be at peace. Search the Scriptures, for they testify of Christ, the Saviour. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; get wisdom, get understanding; wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom. Neglect not the means of understanding your relation to God as a creature and as a sinner; and the heaven-revealed way of obtaining, through faith in the Saviour, the pardon of sin. Many, alas! are satisfied with the self-righteous notions which are common to human nature in all countries, instead of searching the Scriptures, and receiving the divine instruction contained therein, concerning the mediatorial arrangement, made by the great Lord himself, planned so as to maintain his own honour, and to secure the pardon of the penitent. I would earnestly exhort the young to watch against the imbibing of false opinions concerning the situation in which they stand as creatures; supposing, as too many do, that they are not responsible; as if he who placed them in his household was not their rightful Lord; or, perhaps, deeming his dominion unjust, his superintendance vague and lax, or his coming uncertain; saying, in the rebellion |