passions tear your foul: you are buried in fin and you are your own grave.

Our bleffed Saviour met this dead corpfe; his goodness fought the occafion; chance did not offer it; and his power reftored it to life: he alone is master of life, who overcame death by dying, and triumph'd over it by his refurrec

tion.

The tears of the mother foften'd our bleffed Lord's heart, and moved him to compassion. The Lord faw her, he had compaffion on her, and faid unto her, Weep not. Our Saviour does not

condemn all forrow at the death of our relations; for it would be a kind of inhumanity, not to drop fome tears at parting with perfons fo dear; but he would have us keep a moderation, and not fly out into murmurs or exclamations against Providence, but receive the lofs with patience and fubmiffion to his orders.

He teaches us to comfort our afflicted brethren, to vifit them, and not to wait to dry their tears, till they come and fhed them in our bofoms: he teaches us to deplore the death of our brethrens fouls, to pray for their return to grace. What defolation, good God! do we daily fee in families, at the death of an only fon, who perchance had been dead to grace fome years; and yet, who was touch'd at this misfortune, tho' ten times greater than his natural death? He came near and touch'd the bier. This method God takes to raise a finner, from the death of fin, to the life of grace: he approaches by his mercy; he touches him with his grace; he raises his confcience against him; he lays before him the danger of his ftate, the pains of hell, the joys of heaven: he inflames his will 1; he cries out, Young man, I fay unto thee, arife! yet, alas! these follicitations are unprofitable,

unless

unlefs we hear his voice, and make the last effort to arife from the grave, in which our fins have buried us.

Why are we more infenfible, dear Chriftians, than the dead? This young man heard and obeyed the first call how often has he repeated to me, young man, I fay unto thee, arife; leave your disorders, and return to me: and how often have I been deaf to his kind and merciful invitations? Shall we be always obftinate? always rebellious? He calls this moment upon you why do not you answer? He bids you arife; why will you difobey? Perchance this may be the laft favour: do not neglect it ; he may perchance for the future be as deaf to your tears, as you are to his infpirations, and not only refuse you affiftance, when you ask it, but laugh at your mifery. I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh, Prov. i. 26. O terrible menace! Follow therefore at present the apostle's counsel; Awake thou that fleepeft, and arife from the dead, Eph. v. 14. You that fleep in fin, that are dead to grace, awake from your lethargy, and embrace thofe inspirations Chrift infufes into your fouls: ftay not till the disease grows ftronger upon you, and God's mercy lefs: tire not his patience by unreasonable delays, which generally end in a final impenitence.

The tears of the mother procured the life of the fon, and our Saviour return'd him to her alive, as the reward of her forrow. And he deliver'd him to his mother. Chrift reftores every converted finner to the church his mother, who by her prayers and tears obtained his converfion : Oh! with what tenderness of affection ought every finner to love fo kind a mother, who is pot content to deplore the fpiritual death of her children,

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children, but prays daily for their refurrection Let us learn from our mother the church, to pray for all our brethren; for those that live up to the precepts of the gofpel, that God will crown their virtues with perfeverance; and for those that fleep in fin, that he will be pleased to awaken them, and to foften their hearts; and accomplish by a fincere repentance their conver

fion.

We cannot employ our charity more advantageously, nor more gratefully to our bleffed Lord: he defires the converfion of every finner. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezek. xxxiii. 11. No! he defires their repentance, and he has fhewn it, by laying down his life, an infinite price for their redemption. He affures us, heaven rejoyces at the return of a finner: How therefore can we gratify our Saviour more efficaciously than by imploring his mercy for our stray'd brethren, than by defiring him to caft an eye of compaffion upon their unfortunate state, and to withdraw them from the danger of perishing eternally.

O my Saviour! in the first place, from the bottom of my heart, I conjure you rather to ftrike my body dead, than to permit me to murther my foul by fin: or, if I am fo unfortunate, in fpite of thy divine affiftance, as to turn a homicide of myself, raise me to life by a quick and fincere repentance.

In the fecond place, I join my prayers to thofe of thy holy church, for all thofe that live in thy difpleasure, by tranfgreffing thy juft and righteous commands.

Reftore them to their mother, who deplores their death, and begs thy goodness to raise them, that they may perfevere here in thy grace, and live eternally hereafter in thy glory. EPISTLE

EPISTLE to the Ephefians, Chap. iii. Ver.

13. Wherefore I defire that ye faint not at my tribulation for you, which is your glory. 14. For this caufe I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift.

15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and

earth is named.

16. That be would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

17. That Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18. May be able to comprehend with all faints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19. And to know the love of Chrift, which paffeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us;

21. Unto him be glory in the church by Chrift Jefus, throughout all ages, world without end.

Amen.

The MORAL REFLECTION.

UR Saviour foretold what perfecutions this great apostle should undergo for the propagation of his gofpel, and the event proved the truth of the prophecy. He gives himself a ca-. talogue of his fufferings, and what is strange, he recounts with joy, what one can scarce read without compaffion. He feared left his new converts fhould take scandal at this conduct of God, and waver in faith, as if either he had not power to protect

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protect his fervants, or wanted goodness to defend them. He conjures them therefore not to faint at his tribulations, which he underwent for their converfion; but rather to glory which is your glory. That is, lofe not courage, when you fee me fuffer all that malice can invent, or fury can put in execution: it is for your fakes I fuffer; it is to procure you the glory of being children of God, members of Chrift's church, and heirs of heaven.

Acknowledge, O Chriftians! the greatness of this favour, and admire God's bounty, who has been more good, more liberal to you, than to many thousands whom he has left in infidelity. Stoop not to any thing that is human or fenfual, but raise your thoughts above earth, and fix them in heaven, whither ye are called. Ah! how can a Chriftian neglect all the advantages he has received to fave his foul, and take all poffible means to damn it? He would be excufable, if he wanted them, and perchance less criminal, if he did not believe them. But Oh! to believe as a Chriftian, and to lead the life of a pagan, is a crime unpardonable.

The apoftle, with bended knees, afks of God for the Ephefians three things, which all Chriftians fhould every moment ask for themselves: that he grant you, according to the riches of his glory, power to be ftrengthen'd with might by bis Spirit, in the inner man that he, whofe power has no bounds, whofe bounty has no limits, would fo fortify them with his grace, that they might overcome all temptations. Oh! that we had as much charity for ourselves, as St. Paul had for his converts: we fhould not fo often make false steps; so often fcandalize our neighbour, and expofe our fouls to the utmoft hazard, by tranfgreffing our duty and God's commands.

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