the Epistle to the Hebrews we are told, "that the angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." No one therefore that cherishes this notion can be charged with weakness or superstition; and if it should be at last an error, it is, as Cicero says of the immortality of the soul, so delightful an error, that we cannot easily suffer it to be wrested from us. But whatever may be the decision of learned men on this point, there is one thing most clearly proved by the text now before us, and confirmed by a multitude of others, and that is, the doctrine not only of a general but of a particular providence, which in one way or other, whether by ministering angels, or by the all-comprehending

* Chap. i. 14.

+ The excellent Bishop Andrews has, in one of his animated prayers, a passage which plainly shews that he believed this doctrine. It is as follows: "That the angel of peace, the holy guide of thy children, the faithful guard set by thee over their souls and bodies, may encamp round about me, and continually suggest to my mind such things as conduce to thy glory, grant, O good Lord!"

hending and omnipresent eye of God himself, watches over those true disciples of Christ, who, in their tempers, disposi tions, and manners, approach nearest to the humility, the meekness, the innocence, and the simplicity of a child.

This doctrine is indeed so distinctly and explicitly asserted in various parts of Scripture, that it stands in no need of any confirmation from this particular passage; but every additional proof of so material a support under the afflictions and calamities of life, must be grateful to every heart that has known what affliction is.

The verse that comes next in order is this: "For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost." The connexion of this verse with the preceding one is somewhat obscure, but seems to be as follows: You may think, perhaps, that man is too mean, too insignificant a being, to be worthy of the ministration and guardianship of celestial spirits. But how can you entertain this imagination, when you know that for this creature man, for fallen

fallen and sinful man, did the Son of God condescend to offer himself up a sacrifice on the cross, and came to save that which was lost? Well then may the angels of heaven be proud to guard what their Lord and Master came to save. Jesus then goes on to exemplify, by a familiar similitude, his paternal tenderness to the sons of men. "How think ye, if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish." We are not to infer from this similitude, that God sets more value, and looks with more complacency and approbation on one repenting sinner, than on ninety and nine righteous persons who have uniformly and devoutly served him. This can never be imagined;

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imagined; nor would it correspond with the illustration. The shepherd himself does not set a greater value upon the lost sheep than he does upon those that are safe; nor would he give up them to recover that which has strayed. But his joy for the moment, at the recovery of the lost sheep, is greater than he receives from all the rest, because he has regained that, and is sure of all the others. The whole, therefore, that was meant to be inculcated by this parable is, that God's parental tenderness extends to all, even to the sinner that goes astray, and that he rejoices at the conversion and recovery of the meanest individual, and of the most grievous offender. This is the very conclusion, and the only one which our Lord himself draws from the parable. "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."

Such then being the mercy of the Almighty even to his sinful creatures, our Lord goes on to intimate to his disciples, VOL. II.

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that they ought also to exercise a similar lenity and forbearance towards their offending brethren. If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established; and if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." In this passage there are evident allusions to the laws and customs of the Jews, who, for the conviction of any offender, required the testimony of at least two witnesses*; and in the case of notorious and obstinate offenders, reproved them publicly in their synagogues. But the obvious meaning in regard to ourselves is, that even against those who have ill-treated and injured us, we should not immediately proceed to

Deut. xix. 15.

extreme