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Both these are fruitful of a variety of duties, too nume rous to be recited in this place-They embrace the whole compass of duty, both moral and pofitive, that we owe to our God, our neighbour, or ourfelves. Nor is there a fingle character we fuftain, or relation we bear, in either of thofe views, but what is the fource of important duties. And if you confider the variety and multiplicity of these relations and connexions, you will readily perceive these duties must be numerous, as well as important. But all thefe are fo many claims on the diligence of the fervants of Chrift; fo many obligations on them to be "not flothful in bufinefs, but fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord."a We must be diligent too, that one duty may not interfere with another, for every thing is beautiful in its feason.

Again-Diligence is implied in the idea of faithfulness; for the fervant cannot be faithful who is not dili. gent. No man ever employed a fervant to run idle; nar can any thing be more contrary to the defign for which Heaven has made us, than a life of floth and idleness, un. lefs it be a life of open and undifguifed prophaneness. The author of our lives has fufficiently marked the great end for which he made us, upon the active powers with which he has endowed us--And this diligence is to be particularly employed in the discharge of the duties of our feveral ftations in life. This is one way, among others, by which we are to bring forth fruit to the honor of our Lord. "And herein," faith our Saviour," is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit; fo fhall ye be my difciples."b 4. The good and faithful fervant has a sincere regard to his master's honor. This is the end at which he wishes and ftudies to aim in all his actions: agreeably to the Divine command, "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." And in this the fervant of Chrift accords with his mafter: the great end of whofe incarnation, atonement, and interceffion, on the behalf of finners, was, the illuftration of God's declarative glory. He undertook the vindication of the character and government of God, from the contempt fin had caft upon

Romans xii. 11. b John xv. 8.

c 1 Cor. x. 31.

them; and in this he fully fucceeded, and appeals to his father, that fo he had done" I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."a You will perceive, then, that to aim at the honor of God, as the highest end of all our actions, is, in a capital inftance, to have the "fame mind in us, which was alfo in Chrift Jefus, our Lord."b The true fervant of Chrift regards the honor both of his character and of his perfon. By the honor of Christ's character, I mean his honor as mediator; particularly as the great atonement for fin, and as our interceffor at his father's right hand. But to honor Christ under this character, in a proper manner, is not only to profefs our firm faith in thefe doctrines, but to accept him as the Lord our righteoufnefs; it is to truft in the merit of his atonement, as the fole ground of our accep tance in the fight of God-Thus the good and faithful fervant of Chrift puts the highest honor in his power upon him, in the character of a Saviour. He practically risks his very falvation on his ability, fuitablenefs, and willingnefs to fave him.

I fhall mention but one ingredient more in the character I am at present illuftrating, and that is,

5. Faithfulness in the difcharge of the duties of life. The character under which our text reprefents the fervants of Chrift, is that of stewards, with whom their Lord had entrusted his goods; to fome he gave more, and to others lefs, to trade withall. But the Apoftle tells us, "That it is required in ftewards, that a man be found faithful."c And you will please to observe, our text exprefsly ftiles the true difciple of Chrift, "a good and faithful fervant."

This faithfulness confifts, principally, in a confcientious fincerity and diligence in filling up the duties of our feveral fiations and characters in life. and the great rule by which we are to act, is the will of our Lord and Mafter. Thus much for the character of the good and faithful fervant.

Let us now proceed to enquire,

a John xvii. 4. & Phil. ii. 5. c 1 Cor. iv. 2.

II. What is the nature of that reward promifed in our text to all fuch good and faithful fervants?

And, as it is here defcribed, it implies, principally, the four following things:

1. The acceptance of their persons with God.-This is. implied in the character here given them, and reprefented in the parable, as given them by their Lord, when he calls them to give an account of their ftewardship, good and faithful servants. And you will pleafe farther to obferve, they are not only acknowledged as good and faithful, but received with a "Well done, ye good and faithful fervants." This, indeed, chiefly imports an approbation of their conduct but it is no lefs expreffive of the acceptance of their perfons.

But to estimate this bleffing in a proper manner, it is neceffary to recollect, that as finners, we had forfeited allright to this acceptance with God, and juftly merited his fevere difpleasure. That we deferve nothing but indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguifh, from him, throughout an immortality of woe. Yea, that fuch is the nature of the forfeiture we have made of the Divine favor; and fuch the juftice of the fentence that binds us down to fuffer his difpleafure, that it appears not to have been compatable with the honor of God, to reverse the sentence and reftore the finner to favor, without an adequate fatisfaction. And the price paid for this bleffing, the precious blood of the Son of God, greatly contributes to enhance its value. But how rich the mercy, for an heir of Hell to become, in this way, "an heir of God, and a joint heir with Chrift Jefus !"

2. It implies the approbation and acceptance of their services for God, and his caufe in the world. Every individual among them fhall be received with a "Well done,a thou good and faithful fervant, thou haft been faithful over a few things." Language cannot exprefs the approbation of the great Judge of quick and dead, in ftronger terms. But did our time admit of confidering the many

4 The original word Ev, here rendered "well done," has a force that cannot be fully expreffed in our language.

imperfections that attend the very best fervices performed by the holieft of our Lord's fervants, for him, how deeply fiained they are with guilt, it would ferve, not a little, to illuftrate the riches of that reward conferred upon them, in this acceptance of their fervices for him. And this farther fuggefts, what it is of importance to attend to, that this acceptance of our perfons and services, when we come to stand before unblemished purity, is not of merit, but of grace, through the atonement and interceffion of the Divine Mediator. "It is to the praife of the glory of his grace, that he makes us accepted in the beloved."a But it is not the lefs certain, for its being of grace.

This acceptance of our perfons and fervices, is of itself a high reward, for all we have ever done, or can do, for God, while in this life, where there none other: but this is not all-for,

3. This reward implies actual and superadded honors, conferred upon the faithful fervants of Chrift, in the great day of God. This is the import of "Thou haft been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." What the nature of these honors fhall be, we are not fo clearly taught. Two things, however, seem to be plain refpecting them, in the facred oracles, namely, That they fhall bear fome proportion to our faithfulness and diligence in our Lord's fervice here-and that they fhall be great.

They fhall bear fome proportion to our diligence and faithfulness in our Lord's fervice in this life. We read, "There is one glory of the fun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the ftars: for one ftar differeth from another in glory-So alfo is the refurrection of the dead." These words plainly point us to a difference in the degrees of that glory which fhall be conferred on the feveral fervants of Chrift, in the day when he fhall finish the mediatorial fyftem, by raifing the dead, and judging the world in righteoufnefs. They fhall differ as the fun differs from the moon, and the moon from the ftars, and the stars one from another. But the ground of this differ.

VOL. I.

a Ephefians i. 6. b 1 Cor. xv. 41, 42.
C

ence will be, the zeal, the diligence, and the faithfulness with which his fervants have ferved him in this life. I may not fay their fuccefs will have no influence on this difference of reward: for we read, "That they who turn many to righteoufnefs, fhall fhine as the ftars, forever and ever."a But when we confider that it is an act of mere fovereignty in God, whether he will fucceed the faithful labors of his fervants, yea, or not, it is not fo confonant to our ideas of equity, to make it an equal ground of diftinguished honors, with thofe things that are voluntary in us, as our faithfulnefs and diligence, in a great measure are. Befides, this would be to weaken, if not to destroy, the encouragement to diligence and faithfulness, arising from those promises of reward to them, fo frequent in the oracles of truth; efpecially as the most diligent and faithful fervants of Chrift, are not always the most fuccefsful. And it farther deferves our notice that the reward conferred, in our text, on the good fervant, is founded, not on his success but on his faithfulness; "Thou haft been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things."

I fhall only add, under this particular, that the parable of the ten pounds, entrusted by their Lord to the ten fervants, which you have in the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel by Luke, fufficiently demonftrates, that the rewards that fhall be conferred on the fervants of Chrift at laft, will not only differ in their degrees of honor, but that this honor fhall bear a proportion to their diligence and faithfulness for him in this life. They each one received one pound a piece, as you may perceive by reading the parable. Of these, one, by his diligence and faithfulness, had gained ten pounds and he is made ruler over ten cities. -Another by his diligence, had gained five pounds, and he is made ruler over five cities.

You will please to obferve, the fums entrusted to thefe fervants were the fame; but the improvement is reprefented as different, and that the difference in the reward is proportioned to the difference in the improvement.

a Daniel xii. 3.