cient to alarm the stoutest sinner, if any thing could "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die,”

alarm him.

&c. *

Ver. 17. He that hath pily upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given, will he

again.

repay him Without the pity of the heart, the bounty of the hand is unacceptable to the Searcher of hearts; and professions of pity are mere hypocrisy, without the fruit of bounty, if it is in the power of our hands to shew itt,

How great is the mercy of the Lord to the poor ! He hath appointed them to be the receivers of a part of his revenue, and what is given to them he accounts to be lent to himself. This mercy is not confined to the poor of his own people; although he interests those especially in our bounty, yet he would not have us to restrict the fruits of our compassion to them. Our Lord dispensed his cures to the ungrateful, although he knew what was in man, and God causes his sun to rise, and his rain to descend, upon the evil and the good, and requires us to give a portion to seven, and also to eight, dispersing the fruits of our liberality, as the husbandman scatters his grain, although he does not certainly know whether shall prosper, either this or that .

"He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord." This is an argument for charity of wonderful force. No Pagan moralist could ever produce a motive for any social duty, equal to this. It is sufficient to open the closest fist, and to enlarge the most selfish heart. Does God shew so much regard to the poor, and shall we be indifferent to their happiness? Can we lose any thing by lending it to the Lord? Men refuse to give when they do not expect to receive, and they expect

*Rom. viii. 13. † 1 John iii. 17. Gal. vi. 10. || Eccl. xi. 4. 6.

no return from the poor. If the rich were desirous to borrow from us, we would think our money safe in their hands, and esteem their bonds as good as money in our purses. But all the earth belongs unto the Lord, and shall we not trust our money in his hands, by giving to the poor? Here is his bond, and it must be a good one, if the Scripture is the word of God. The richest man in the world may, for ought we know, be poor to-morrow, or he may prove unfaithful to his word. But the Lord is the everlasting possessor of heaven and earth, and he cannot lie, nor deceive any one that trusts in him. Had we lived in the days of Christ's humiliation, when he had the goodness to live on the contributions of pious women, it is natural for us to think that we would cheerfully have given to him all our living, and thought ourselves greatly indebted to him for accepting it. We have not now Jesus with us, but the poor we have always with us; and when we have them to receive the fruits of our bounty, it is the same thing as if we had Christ himself.

God will be sure to repay what is given to the poor at his command, with great increase. The greatest usurer on earth cannot make so much of his money, as the man that gives to the poor. "Thou shalt be recompensed," says Christ," at the resurrection of the just." Is that a long time to wait for it? Then you are assured, by the same faithful witness, that you shall have an hundred fold, even in this life, for every thing you part with on his account, Luke xiv. Matt. xix. Men that may be safely trusted with our money, are not always ready with their payments. A poor man cannot have his money from them when he needs it, but God repays what is given to the poor at the best time; and if he does not return it in money, he pays it in what is incomparably better *.

Psalm xl. 1, 2.

Ver. 18. Chasten thy son whilst there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

If you mean to do good to your children by correction, begin in due time. For if he be left to grow up under the government of self-will, it is to be feared that he will become like a horse or mule that were never taught to obey the rider; and when these animals come to a full age, without being forced to obey the rein, you may sooner break their necks than break them to obedience.

you

But your heart melts, and your bowels yearn to hear the cries of your poor child, and you cannot give him another harsh word. Let him alone then, and leave him to the government of his own passions, unless think that it would be still more grievous to have your grey hairs brought with sorrow to the grave, and to hear him curse you at the left hand of your Judge, for suffering him to destroy himself, than to hear his groans for a few moments.

After all, parents ought neither to inflict unnecessary chastisement on their children, nor suffer their angry passions to mingle themselves with the duty here recommended. Those parents that make an angry use of the rod, need a rod to their own backs. ("Chasten thy son, so shall he be hopeful; but be not raised in thy wrath to insult him.")

An offending child must not be spared for his crying, and far less must he be spared for his anger. If his wrath procures his deliverance, he will soon learn the way of escaping all chastisement; and if thou deliverest him once, thou must deliver him again and again, till he is past all hope of amendment. This seems to be at least a part of the meaning of the next

verse.

Ver. 19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment; for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

When Peter asked our Lord how often he should

forgive his offending brother, he received a very surprizing answer: Not until seven times, but until se

venty times seven. But will not this give great encouragement to men to offend their brethren, and to give every indulgence to their angry passions? No, for it does not imply that an outrageous person shall escape from punishment. It was once said to a man that was killing his adversary, let him alone, and he will die of his own accord. So may it be said to a man that thirsts for revenge upon his passionate antagonist, let him alone, and he will take revenge upon himself. Although you spare him at this time, he will soon expose himself again to punishment, and it cannot be supposed that he will always escape. You ought rather to pity him, than rage like him, for he is his own irreconcileable enemy, and will be sure to plunge himself into mischief.

Anger is said to be a short madness, but the passionate man is always mad till he gains the victory over the tyrants that domineer in his soul. He has sober fits, but he so frequently relapses, that you cannot say he ever possesses the use of reason. Any man that wishes evil to him may deprive him of the use of his understanding, by a single word, or even by a look.

Are your souls subject to those storms of passion? Turn your anger upon itself. You are displeased with other men, because you take them for enemies; but your worst enemies are the passions of your own heart. Do you not hate that monster, Vitellius, who said that the carcase of a slain enemy was a pleasant sight, but the carcase of a slain citizen more pleasant? Why then don't you hate the violent tyrants of your own breast, that would wreak their fury upon the names and bodies of your neighbours, but discover it most of all in tearing your own souls? You are every day torturing yourselves, and exposing yourselves to a severe retalia

tion from those whom you insult, and to a more severe vengeance still, from your Judge, who will call you to account for every angry thought and every passionate word.

Ver. 20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

A friend that can give us good counsel is a precious treasure, and nothing but folly and self-conceit can keep us from valuing his good advice as more than fine gold.

If the counsels of our friends deserve respect, the counsels of the word of God are infinitely more useful. The testimonies of the Lord were David's counsellors in all his difficulties, and they made him wiser than the ancients.

Every name of our Redeemer is dear to the true Christian, and one of them is Wonderful Counsellor. He gives us counsel by his word and Spirit. Our ears and souls are his, and shall we not employ them in hearing and treasuring up his counsels, that we may direct all our actions by their light?

Instruction is very much needed by us, for we are naturally ignorant and foolish. When God gives us instruction, either by his word and ordinances, or by the rebukes of his providence, we must receive it with submission and meekness. Instruction, either by words or blows, would be welcome to us, if we had a due sense of our own stupidity, and of the value of our souls.

But what will we gain by hearing counsel, and receiving instruction? It will make us wise; "for the entrance of God's word giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the simple." The rod and reproof give wisdom, and wisdom is far more precious than gold and rubies. Without counsel and instruction, we must be fools for ever, and if we refuse wisdom, when it is presented to us in those means of God's appointment,