"crown of rejoicing in the prefence of Jefus Chrift at his "coming," I Theff. ii. 19. There is a full reward affured by promise to those that labour in this great fervice, Dan. xii. 3. "And they that be wife, fhall fhine as the brightness of the "firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the "ftars for ever and ever." The wifdom here ipoken of, I conceive not to be only that whereby a man is made wife to the falvation of his own foul, but whereby he is alfo furnished with fkill for the faving of other mens fouls, according to that, Prov. xi. 30. "He that winneth fouls is wife:" And fo the latter phrafe is exegetical of it, meaning one and the fame thing by being wife, and turning many into righteousness: And, to put men upon the study of this wisdom, he puts a very honourable title upon them, calling them D'', the justifiers of many, as in 1 Tim. iv. 16. they are faid to fave others. Here is fingular honour put upon the very inftruments employed in this honourable service, and that is not all, but their reward is great hereafter, as well as their honour great at present, they

fhall fhine as the brightnefs of the firmament, and the stars *" for ever and ever." The firmament shines like a sapphire in itfelf, and the ftars and planets more gloriously again; but those that faithfully labour in this work of faving fouls fhall shine in glory for ever and ever, when the firmament shall be parchedup as a fcroll. O what rewards and honours are here to provoke men to the study of faving fouls! God will richly recompense all our pains in this work, if we did but only fow the feed in our days, and another enter into our labours, and water what we fowed; fo that neither the firft hath the comfort of finishing the work, nor the laft the honour of beginning it; but one did fomewhat towards it in the work of conviction, and the other carried it on to greater maturity and perfection; and so neither the one nor the other began and finifhed the work fingly, yet both fhall rejoice in heaven together, John iv. 36.

You fee what honour God puts upon the very instruments employed in this work, even the honour to be faviours, under God, of mens foul's, James v. 20. and what a full reward of glory, joy, and comfort, they fhall have in heaven, all which fpeaks the great value of the foul with God. Such encouragements, and fuch rewards, would never have been propounded, and promifed, if God had not a fingular eftimation of them.

And the more to quicken his inftruments to all diligence, in this great work, he works upon their fears as well as hopes; threatens them with hell, as well as encourages them with the hopes of heaven; tells them he will require the blood of all

thofe fouls that perifh by their negligence: "Their blood (faith "he) will I require at the watchman's hands," Ezek. xxxiii. 6. which are rather thunderbolts, than words, faith Chryfoftome. By all which, you fee, what a weight God lays upon the fav ing, or lofing of fouls: Such fevere charges, great encouragements, and terrible threats, had never been propofed in fcripture, if the fouls of men had not been invaluably precious.

II. It is no small evidence of the precious, and invaluable worth of fouls, that God manifests so great, and tender care over them, and is fo much concerned about the evil that befals them.

Among many others, there are two things in which the tender care of God, for the good of fouls, is manifefted.

(1.) In his tenderness over them in times of diftrefs, and danger; as a tender father will not leave his fick child in other hands, but fits up, and watches by himself, and administers the cordials with his own hands; even fo the great God expreffeth his care, and tenderness. Ifa. lvii. 15. “I dwell in the high " and holy place, with him, alfo, that is of a contrite and humble "fpirit, to revive the fpirit of the humble, and to revive the "heart of the contrite ones." Behold the condescending tenderness of the highest Majefty! Is a foul ready to faint, and fail, O how foon is God with it, with a reviving cordial in his hand! left the fpirit fhould fail before him, and the foul "which he hath made?" as it is ver. 16. Yea, he put it into Christ's commiffion, "to preach good tidings to the nieek, and to bind up the broken-hearted," Ifa. lxi. 1. and not only inferts it in Chrift's commiffion, but gives the fame in folemn charge to all his inferior messengers, whom he employs about them. Ifa. xxxv. 3." Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the "feeble knees; fay to them that are of a fearful heart, Be "ftrong, fear not."

(2.) His fpecial regard to fouls, is evidenced in his fevere prohibitions to all others to do nothing that may be an occafion of ruin to them. He charges it upon all, "That no man put a ftumbling-block, or an occafion to fall in his brother's 66 way, "Rom. xiv. 13. that by the abuse of our own liberty, we deftroy not him for whom Chrift died," Rom. xiv. 15. And what doth all this fignify, but the precious, and invaluable worth of fouls?

12. Lastly, It is not the leaft evidence of the dignity of men's fouls, that God hath appointed the whole hoft of angels to be their guardians, and attendants.

"Are they not all miniflring fpirits fent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of falvation Heb. i. 14.

Are they not? It is not a doubtful queftion, but the strongest way of affirmation; nothing is furer than that they are.

All Not one of that heavenly company excepted. The highest angel thinks it no difparagement to ferve a foul for whom Chrift died; well may they all stoop to ferve them, when they fee Chrift, their Lord, hath frooped, even to death, to fave them. They are all of them

Miniftring fpirits.] Aerspyna vala, public officers, to whom their tutelage is committed: To them it belongs to at tend, ferve, protect and relieve them. The greatest barons, and peers, in the kingdom, think it not below them to wait upon the heir apparent to the crown, in his minority; and no lefs dignity is here stampt by God upon the fouls of men, whom he calls

Heirs of falvation.] And in fome refpeet, nearer to Christ, than themselves are; on this account it is, that the angels delight to ferve them. Chrift's little ones upon earth have their angels, which always behold the face of God in heaven, Mat. xviii. 10. and therefore faith our Lord there, Take heed you "defpife not one of thofe little ones;" they are greater perfons than you are aware of. Nor is it enough that one angel is appointed to wait upon all, or many of them, but many angels, even a whole host of them, are, sometimes, fent to attend upon one of them. As Jacob was going on his way, the angels of God met him; and when he faw them, he faid, "This is "God's hoft," Gen. xxxii. 1, 2.

The fame two offices which belong to a nurse, to whom the father commits his child, belong, alfo, to the angels of heaven, with respect to the children of God, viz. to keep them tenderly whilft they are abroad, and bring them home to their Father's house at last. And how clearly doth all this evince, and demonftrate the great dignity, and value of fouls? Was it an argument of the grandeur, and magnificence of king Solomon, that he had two hundred men with stargets, and three hundred men with shields of beaten gold, for his ordinary guard, every day? And is it not a mark of far greater dignity than ever Solomon had in all his glory, to have hofts of angels attending us? In compari on with one of this guard, Solomon himfelf was but a worm, in all his magnificence.

And now lay all thefe arguments together, and fee what they will amount to. You have before you no ordinary creature: For, (1.) It was not produced, as other creatures were, by a

mere word of command; but by the deliberation of the great Council of heaven. And (2.) Such are the high and noble faculties, and powers found in it, as render it agreeable to, and becoming fuch a divine Original. Yea, (3) By reafon of these its admirable powers, it becomes a capable tubject, both of grace here, and glory hereafter. (4) Nor is this its capacity in vain ; for God hath made glorious preparations for fome of them in heaven. (5.) And purchased them for heaven, and heaven for them, at an invaluable price, even the precious blood of Christ. (6.) And ftampt immortality upon their actions, as well as natures. (7.) Both worlds contend, and strive for the foul, as a prize of greatest value. (8.) Their converfion to Chrift is the triumph of heaven, and rage of hell. (9.) The lamps of gofpel-ordinances are maintained over all the reformed Chriftian world, to light them in their paffage to heaven. (10.) Great rewards are propounded to all that shall heartily endeavour the falvation of them. (11.) The care of heaven is exceeding great, and tender over them. And (12.) The heavenly hofts of angels have the charge of them, and reckon it their honour to ferve them. These things, duely weighed, bring home the conclufion, with demonftrative clearness, to every man's underAtanding, That one foul is of more value than the whole world; which was the thing to be proved. What remains, is the improvement of this excellent fubject, in thefe following inferences.

Infer. 1. The foul of man appearing to be a creature of fuch tranfcendent dignity, and excellency, this truth appears of equal clearness with it; That it was not made for the body, but the body for it; and therefore it is a vile abufe of the noble, and high born foul, to fubject it to the lufts, and enflave it to the drudgery of the inferior, and more ignoble part.

The very law of nature affigns the most honourable places, and employments, to the most noble, and excellent creatures, and the bafer, and inferior, to things of the lowest rank, and quality: The fun, moon, and ftars, are placed, by this law, in the heavens; but the ignis fatuus, and the glow worm, in the fens, and ditches. Princes are fet upon thrones of glory, the beggars lodged in barns, and ftables: and if at any time this order of nature is inverted, and the bafer fupprefs, and perk over the more noble, and honourable beings, it is looked up. on as a kind of prodigy, in the civil world. And fo Solomon reprefents it, Ecclef. x. 7. "I have feen fervants upon horses, "and princes walking as fervants upon the earth;" (i. e.) I have feen men that are worthy of no better employments than to rub horfes heels, in the faddle, with their trappings; and

men who deserve to bear rule, and to govern kingdoms; men, who for their great ability, and integrity, deferved to fit at the helm, and moderate the affairs of kingdoms; thefe have I seen walking as fervants 'upon the earth; and this he calls an evil under the fun, that is, an ataxy, confufion, or diforder in the courfe of nature.

"Bet-.

Now there can never be that difference, and vast odds betwixt one man, and another, as there is betwixt the foul and body of every man: A king upon the throne is not so much above a beggar that cries at our doors for a crust, as the foul is above the body; for the foul of a beggar is of the fame. fpecies, original, and capacity of happiness, with the foul of the most illuftrious prince; and fometimes greater excellencies of mind are found in the lowest rank, and order of men. "ter is a poor, and wife child, than an old, and foolish king," Ecclef. iv. 13. but the foul of the meanest perfon in the world is better than all the bodies in it; and therefore, to make the noble, and the high born foul a flave, a mere drudge to the vile. body, as the apoftle calls it, Phil. iii. 21. "The body of this, "vilenefs;" what is it but to fet the beggar on horfeback, and make the king lacquey after him on foot?

It was a generous refentment that a* Heathen had of the dignity of his own foul, and a very just abhorrence of fo vile an abuse of it, when he faid, I am greater, and born to greater things, than that I should be a flave to my body.

I know there is a debt of duty the foul owes to its own body, and few fouls are to be found too carelefs, or dilatory, in the discharge thereof; where one foul needs the fpur in this cafe, thousands need the curb. Most fouls are over-heated with zeal, for the concerns of the flesh, worn out, and spent in its conftant drudgery; their whole life is but a ferving of divers lufts and pleasures, as the apoftle fpeaks, Tit. iii. 3. Imperious lufts are cruel talk mafters, they give the foul no reft; the more provifion the foul brings in to fatisfy them, the more they rage, like fire, by the addition of more fuel. What a fad fight is it, to fee a noble, immortal foul enslaved, as the apostle's word is, Tit. i. 7. to wine? to filthy lucre, to a thoufand forts of vaffalage; like a tapfter in a common inn, now running up-ftairs, and then down, at every one's knock, and call.

Μη οινω πολλω δεδιπλωμένος.

O what a perpetual hurry, and noise, do thousands of fouls.

Major fum, et ad majora natus, quam ut corporis mei fim mancipium. Sen.