(3.) To every one is committed a place and employment in the world, and particular ftations and relations therein. Now, the faithful man is one that employs the power and privilege of his calling for God's honour; and fo he is a faithful magiurate, a faithful minifier, a faithful head or member of a family, behaving himself wifely, and walking within his houfe with a perfect heart, as David, Pialm ci. 2. He is faithful in every

relation.

(4.) To every one is committed a time and opportunity; a particular feafon, and day that he is called to improve: "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of falvation." And he is a faithful man that redeems the time, and improves the time of his vifitation; that numbers his days, and applies his heart to wifdom; that in this their day, know the things that belong to their peace; that understand the times, and what ifrael ought to do; that takes the opportunity of the prefent time, to witnefs for the prefent truth. Many, in our day, are flipping that opportunity; and therefore God is leaving them to be carried down with the ftream of the corruptions and defections of the time. Their apoftafy is open; and it goes on to fuch a height as would never have been expected; nay, once a day they would have thought, "Am I a dog, that I should do fuch things?" But apoftafy wants but a beginning; and it ufually begins with unfaithfulness, in neglecting the day, the time, the opportunity of appearing for God and his cause.

[3] The faithful man is trufly to all whom he is concerned with you fee to what he is faithful; and now the queflion is, To whom he is faithful? To this the answer is alfo fourfold: He is faithful to God,, to man, to himself, and to all the generations of his

concern.

(1.) To God; having his heart right with God, in oppofition to the way of hypocrites, fpoken of, Pfalm lxxviii. 36, 37. that flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue; for their heart was not right with him. Set a wicked man, or hypocrite to prayer, he would afk these things which he would not

thank

thank God to give him; his tongue will fay, Give, and his heart will fay, No: like Auguftine, before his converfion, he confeffed he would have prayed, when his heart was faying, Non adhuc, Domine, "Not "yet, Lord." But the faithful foul is one that deals ingenuously with God.

(2.) He is faithful to man: not fubjecting himself to fleshly interest; not moved from the way of God, by the fears or flatteries of men; not joining with them in a courfe of fin, wickednefs, or defection; not running with them to the fame excefs of riot; not openly joining with them, nor tacitly approving of them; but giving a plain teftimony against their finful ways, according to that law of the Lord, Lev. xix. 17. "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou fhalt in any wife rebuke thy neighbour, and not fuffer fin upon him;" or, as it is in the margin, That thou bear not fin for

him.'

(3.) He is faithful to himself; to his light, to his confcience: herein doth he exercife himfelf, to keep a confcience void of offence toward God, and toward men, Acts xxiv. 16. Endeavouring to have the teftimony of confcience, fpoken of, 2 Cor. i. 12. He is an unfaithful man that croffes the light of his own confcience, as many have done at this day, and God has given them up to fide with all the dreadful defections, and awful delufions of the day, according to that threatening, Pfal. lxxxi. 11, 12. "But my people would not hearken unto my voice, and Ifrael would none of me. So I gave them up to their own hearts luft: and they walked in their own counfels." The faithful man is fo faithful to himfelf, that he fearches and tries himfelf, and loves to be fearched and tried by God himfelf, Pfalm xxvi. 2. "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins. and my heart. Pfal. cxxxix. 23, 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and fee if there be any wicked way in me," The man fufpects himself, because he knows the deceitfulness of his own heart, and is jealous of his own heart; and therefore ready, with the first, to cry, Mafter, is it 1? He judges himself, condemns himfelf;

and

and though he condemns fin in all men, and is grieved to fee fin in others; and is willing to witnefs against the fins of the time he lives in; yet he is more fevere against himself, and his own fin, than he is againft others and their fins: hence abftinence from fin will not fuffice him, without hatred; nor hatred, without mortification.

(4.) He is faithful to all the generations of his conI mean, to the generations paft, prefent, and to come. He is faithful to the paft generations of his predeceffors and forefathers; if they have tranfmitted to us any good thing, and given us any good examples, conveyed to us any notable treafures, fuch as the pure do&rine, worship, difcipline, and government of the church; found Confeflions of Faith: the faithful man knows he cannot be faithful to his forefathers, if thefe be not faithfully kept. If any of you have had parents, now in the duft, who gave you good examples, counfels, and inftructions, if you now neglect thefe, you cannot be faithful to your parents that are gone. The faithful man ftudies to be faithful to the prefent generation, and to the prefent truth that is controverted in his day, that he may glorify God, in his day; and, by his example, excite others about him, his family, and neighbourhood: fuch faithfulness we fee how it is commended in Abraham, Gen. xviii. 19. "I know him, that he will command his children, and his houfhold after him; and they fhall keep the ways of the Lord, and do juftice and judgment."The faithful man ftudies thus to be faithful to the generation to come, by tranfmitting to them a faithful teftimony for God and his truth. See this exemplified, Pfalm Ixxviii. 3,-8. A faithful man may thus be a bleffing to pofterity.

2dly, What is imported in being faithful unto death? Here is the perfeverance in this duty that we are called to and upon this there are thefe four things I would obferve, as imported in it.

1. That it would contribute much to make us faithful and fteady in the Lord's way, to be in the view of death and mortality: therefore fays the Spirit of God,

Deut

Deut. xxxii. 29. "O that they were wife! that they understood this! that they would confider their latter end!" What makes many fo unfaithful in their life? Even becaufe they are fo unthoughtful of their death: they cannot think of expofing themfelves to any loffes, croffes, or hazards and inconveniences for religion's fake; hoping they will live fo long and fo long in this world, not confidering their latter end, and how near it may be at hand; and confequently what need there is to make a faithful improvement of a fhort life.

2. That there is no other term-day of the faithfulness of God's people, but the day of death; Matth. xxiv. 12. "He that endures to the end fhall be faved. Rev. ii. 25. Hold faft till Icome. Luke xix. 13. Occupy till I come;" till I come by death, and releafe thee. Hence it is, that no victory obtained in our life-time, releases us from the task of faithfulness, Eph. vi. 13, 14. Having done all, ftand:" in the margin, 'Having overcome all, ftand.' Having flain one enemy, you muft engage with another; the warfare is not accomplished till the day of death.

..

3. That death is the upfhot and conclufion of the believer's work and warfare amongst enemies; after death there is no enemy. Hence the time of Chrift's coming is called the time of refreshing, Acts iii. 19.; a timeof cooling: their hot war never cools till then; but then they may look over their fhoulders, and laugh at all their enemies; "Sorrow and fighing fhall flee away." Then will the faint lay down his arms, and put on his crown; he will lay down his fword, and take up his fceptre, faying, Farewel faith, and welcome vifion; farewel hope, and welcome fruition; farewel forrow and fighing, and welcome joy and finging, &c. Blefs God there is a term-day of trouble coming; you are promifing yourself an outgate this day and that day; but here is a term day that will not fail you.

4. It imports, that we fhould be conftant and faithful, though death were laid in the way of our duty and fidelity and, indeed, a faithful man, that knows the work of God's fervice, and the value of his truth,

will quit his life before he quit his fidelity; and that for two reafons.

(1.) Because, in the cause of God, and in the courfe of faithfulness, a man's loffes turn out advantages; and all the advantages that are got by unfaithfulness, turn to loffes; if a man would gain his life, he muft lofe it, Matth. x. 39. There was never a furer way for a man to gain his life, than to lofe it for faithfulness to Chrift.

(2.) Because a faithful man finds the Lord's favour better than life; for," In his favour is life, Pfal. xxx. 5. Thy loving-kindnefs is better than life," Pfalm lxiii. 3. Put God's favour, with death itfelf, in the one hand, and God's wrath, with life, in the other, the faithful man will foon know what to chufe, and will say, Lord, there is no choice, there is no comparifon. Ye that clofe with Chrift, may fee what you are, through grace, to refolve upon, even to be faithful unto death; and to lay down all, yea, and life itself, for his fervice. And death itself fhould be refolved upon, rather than be unfaithful; then how patiently fhould you bear any thing that he fends lefs than death? Thus the apoftle fays, Heb. xii. 4. "You have not yet refifted unto blood;" you might have had greater burdens; therefore bear the lefs more patiently. Many are peevish and fretful under public and neceffary burdens; but, what if Chrift came and fought your life? Would you then be faithful unto death? If he fhould feek all your worldly accommodation, your houfes, lands, and poffeffions? Would you then fuffer joyfully the fpoiling of your goods? So much for a hint about being faithful unto death.

3dly, The next thing to be explained is the crown of life. What are we to understand by this? We find eternal life and happiness is elsewhere called a crown of life, James i. 12. "Bleffed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he fhall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promifed to them that love him." It is called a crown, as it is a gracious reward of the faithful man; in allufion to the cuftom of the times, when a crown was given to wrestlers and runners, as a badge