Religion, and the only one too, that has Speech; which is no obfcure Intimation, that the one was defigned to be fubfervient to the other. For what fhall a Man talk of? What Subject is there worthy his Discourse, if not that, which is at once both the Perfection and Diftinction of his Nature? If not that, wherein the Glory of God, as well as the Fate of his own and his Brother's Soul, is fo nearly concerned? And yet, alas! if we look into the World, we shall find nothing less talked of than Religion. Wicked Men cannot, and good Men, for Fear of being accounted fingular, will not make it the Subject of their Difcourfe; fo that, what through the Indifpofition of the one, and the Incapacity of the other, a Man may make Vifit after Visit, go from House to Houfe, out of one Company into another, for, it may be, a TwelveMonth together, and not hear one Word of Religion pafs. It is no Wonder indeed, if wicked Men prefer the light Flashes of a wanton Mirth, which, for a while, fufpend Reflection, and hide the Sinner from himself, to fuch Difcourfes, as awaken Confcience, and prophesy no Good concerning them, but only Evil continually; or, if Men of Virtue are, aț any Time, guilty of so much Weakness, as to ap pear displeased with a serious and inftructive Converfation, it cannot proceed from an Aversion to the Argument, because it is impoffible that they fhould really be offended with fuch Subjects, as are the great Entertainment of their Retirement; but it is the Uneafinefs they perceive in the Company, and Want of Courage to oppofe fo corrupt a Cuftom, that makes them behave in this Manner whereas, had they Refolution enough to attempt it, thefe foolish Difcouragements would foon be removed. Would good Men, I fay, with the Liberty of an honest Zeal, oppose and remove all profane and immodeft Freedoms in Converfation,

and study to promote and encourage the contrary, Veneration and Refpect would attend them, and Religion would foon improve itself into a Fashion. The Libertine would retire to the Stews, and Profaneness be confined to the Brothel; Joy, and Peace, and Esteem would blefs the Dwellings of the Righteous, and the Purity and Holiness of their Converfation here would fit and prepare them for that Alembly of the First-born, where, (inftead of the prefent Impertinencies of Society) the Excellency of the Di vine Being and Perfections, the Order and Wisdom, the Juftice and Goodness of his Government, the Reasonableness and Equity of his Laws, the Pleafantnefs and Freedom of his Service, and the great Inftances of his Love, efpecially that amazing one, in the Redemption of the World by the Paffion of his Son, fhall be the eternal Theme, whereof we fhall then difcourfe with all mutual Freedom and Endearments, without Referve, without Paffion, without Affectation, or any of thofe little Designs and Artifices, which now both disguise and difrelish Converfation.

II. The other fore Mifery, which affects the Soul, is Obftinacy of Will, in wicked and pernicious Courses. For what a deplorable Sight is this, to fee a wretched Soul, madly pursuing its own Deftruction, and forcing, as it were, its Way into Hell, through all the Refiftances of its Religion, its Reason and Confcience together? Were we to fee a Madman break loose from his Chains, and run his Head again a Wall; or, catching up a Dagger, thruft it into his own Breast, and repeat Stab after Stab, in Defpite of all our Counfels and Diffuafives; fhould we not pity and lament his Cafe, and endeavour to restrain him from fuch violent Outrages against himself? And is it not a much more lamentable Spectacle, to fee a wild and defperate Soul break loose from those Ties of Reli

gion

gion and Conscience, which bind it to its Duty and Happinefs, and, in a deaf and obftinate Rage, feize on the Weapons of Perdition, (for fuch all Wickedness is) plunge them into its own Bowels, and, with repeated Acts of Iniquity, imbrue its Hands in its own Blood; whilft the bleffed Spirit, together with its own natural Senfe of God, is ftruggling with it, and endeavouring in vain to difarm its defperate Fury? What merciful Heart would not be tempted to interpofe, in order to restrain it by Reproof, and bind it down with good Counfel and Admonition? Now this is the proper Act of Mercy in the Cafe before us: When we see an obftinate Sinner refolutely purfuing his own Destruction, we should endeavour, by prudent and seasonable Reproofs, and by pious and compaffionate Admonitions, to reclaim him from the Error of bis Way.

There are fome Offices of Humanity, which thofe, who had no other Light, but that of natural Reason, to guide their Actions, thought themselves obliged to perform, not only to their Familiars, but Strangers, not only to their Friends, but to their Enemies. To fhew the Way to Travellers, who had lost it; to warn Perfons in Danger of a Rock, or of a Precipice; to permit others to light their Lamp by ours, are particularly fpecified as Benefits, which, being useful to thofe, that receive them, and no Ways prejudicial to thofe, that give them, are to be denied to none. can we think ourselves bound by the Laws of Humanity to those common Inftances of Kindness, and can we pretend to be exempt from others of much more Importance? Does common Humanity oblige us to put mifguided Travellers into their right Way; and will not Christianity prevail with us to call back those wandering Souls, which have ftrayed from the narrow Paths, which lead

Now

unto

unto Life, into the more wide and beaten Way, which leads to Deftruction? Are we fo careful to rescue an unwary Voyager from the Danger of ftriking on a Rock, and have we no Compaffion on thofe, who, without our Interpofal, are in immediate Hazard of making Shipwreck of a good ConScience? Do we cry out, when a Stranger is running upon a Precipice, and are we filent, when our Brother is falling into the bottomless Pit? Should we think it an Inftance of Surliness and Barbarity, to deny another to borrow Light from our Light, and is there no Cruelty in with-holding from them, who fit in Darkness, and in the Shadov of Death, that Light, which would not fhine with lefs Luftre to us, by guiding their Feet likewise in the Way of Peace?

The Law of Mofes gives us this Injunction; Thou shalt not fee thy Brother's Ox or bis Afs go aftray, and hide thyself from them: Thou shalt in any Cafe bring them again to thy Brother. Thou shalt not fee thy Brother's Afs or his Ox fall down by the Way, and bide thyself from them; thou shalt furely help him to lift them up again. And may we not apply to this Cafe what St Paul faith in another ? Doth God take Care for Oxen? Or faith he it altogether for our Sakes? For our Sakes no Doubt it is written, that thofe, who, by the Laws of Charity, are obliged to bring back a ftrayed Sheep, and to lift up a fallen Ox that belongs to their Brother, fhould think themselves much more obliged by the fame Law to bring back their Brother himfelf, when gone aftray; and to lift him up, when fallen into the Pit of Destruction. But it is not only in Parables that this Duty is delivered to us; the Scripture says exprefsly, Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thine Heart, thou shalt in any wife rebuke tby Neighbour, and not fuffer Sin upon him; where, in the Eye of the Mofaic Law, not to rebuke our

Brother

Brother is to hate him, and he that hateth his Bro ther, in the Eye of the Chriftian Law, is in Darknefs, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that Darkness bath blinded his Eyes. If therefore the not rebuking our Brother is Hatred of him, as Mofes affirms; and if the Hatred of our Brother is a Sign of Infidelity, as St John afferts; then does. the Duty of reproving our Brethren stand upon as firm Ground as any other in the Word of God. The Law, which was given by Moses, required it of those that lived under that Difpenfation; and the Grace and Truth, which came by Jesus Christ, has enforced it upon all Chriftians, directing us, that we fhould exhort one another daily, while it is called To day, left any of us fhould be bardened through the Deceitfulness of Sin: And, to prevail with us to fet about fo good and charitable a Work, this is the great and bleffed Encouragement which St James has left us; Brethren, if any of you err from the Truth, and one convert him, let him know, that be, who converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Way, fball fave a Soul from Death, and fhall hide a Multitude of Sins. But whofe Sins they are, that by this Means are hid, is a Point, wherein Expofitors are not fo well agreed.

Grotius, indeed, is of Opinion, that they are the Sins of the converted Perfon, which, upon his Repentance and Reformation, (wherein his Brother's Zeal for his Soul was, under God, a great Inftrument) are all pardoned and forgiven, be they never fo numerous and many; but the more obvious and eafy Senfe of the Words, as well as the plain Design of the Apostle, feems to refer to the Perfon converting. The Apoftle's Defign was, to fhut up his Epiftle with recommending to all Chriftians one of the most important and useful Duties, that of endeavouring the Converfion and Reformation of Men; and he intended likewife

to