poffeffed of eternal life that we can never lofe, upon our first believing, as the faints in heaven are, though not in that measure, 1 John v. 11. 12. When the Lord had a mind to honour Paul to propagate religion, he reached his own heart firft by his grace; and then having fo furnished him, he fet him to work. Is not that the fpecial business of life, for which God brings people into a state of falvation?

4. It is the business of life, that the new creature as natively falls to, as the new-born infant falls abreathing. Hence it is faid, Pfal. xxii. 30. 31. A feed fhall ferve him, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They fhall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. So the woman of Samaria, John iv. 29. Come, fee a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Chrift? Paul, as foon as he was converted, fell a-propagating the religion that before he perfecuted. Grace makes people communicative; and there is never a foul in which the leaven of grace is received, but would, if it could, leaven the whole world with the fame.

5. It is the business of life, that is most useful to mankind. And we should remember, that both confcience and interest requires us to live fo, as to be useful to our fellow-creatures: Rom. xiv. 7. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Some have been great bleffings to mankind by their usefulness, in propagating arts and fciences, in relieving the oppreffed, and helping the needy: but none so useful as those who have propagated religion among them; as extending not on ly to their good in this, but the other world, I. xix.

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24. 25. And a difpofition to be useful to mankind would prompt men to this, duty.

6. It is the bufinefs of life of the moft diffusive usefulness. It brings honour to God, comfort to one's felf, and advantage to others; it brings advantage to their fouls, tends to make them holy here, and happy hereafter. It reaches not only to the prefent generation, but to the generations yet unborn; in fo far as, you propagating religion to your children, they will propagate it again to theirs, and theirs to theirs, and fo on. It is to be lamented, that fome children follow not the steps of their religious parents. But every body may obferve, that there are fome families wherein one generation after another appears for God; others wherein, generation after generation, religion can never get place among them. Trace thefe back, and ye may come to one that was careful to propagate religion to his children, and his children propagated it again to theirs, and so on; and to another that had no care that way about his children, and his children had as little again about theirs, and so on.

7. laftly, It is the bufinefs of life that is the moft valuable, moft worthy of the dignity of an immortal foul, and likeft the life that Chrift led in the world. The bufinefs of moft men is nothing but laborious trifling; their thoughts, cares, and time, are wholly spent on things pertaining to this life; as if they had fouls of no other conftitution than their bodies. It is nothing like the life of Chrift, who went about doing good, propagating religion: Pet. ii. 21. Chrift suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye hould follow his Steps. Compared with 1 John ii. 6. He that faith

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he abideth in him, ought himself alfo fo to walk, even as he walked.

IV. The fourth thing proposed was, to fhew, In what refpect it is the Special privilege of life.

1. It is that whereby we may honour God moft, and fo answer the end of our creation moft. In our own embracing of religion we receive the light, in propagating of it we diffuse the light received to the greater glory of God: 1 Pet. ii. 9. Ye are a chofen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy na- 、 tion, a peculiar people; that ye fhould fhew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of dark-~ nefs into his marvellous light. Hence among thofe who turn from fin unto righteoufnefs, thofe who turn most of others to it, will have the greatest glory: Dan. xii. 3. They that be wife, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteoufnefs, as the ftars for ever and ever.

2. It is that whereby we may be most useful in the world to others. No benefit done to our fellow-creatures is comparable to it. We have indeed access to do for their temporal advantage, but this is for their eternal. And when the opportunity of life is over, there is no more doing that way, Luke xvi. 27. downwards.

USE. 1. Of Reproof to feveral forts of perfons. And,

1. To those who make no confcience of propagating religion to their families, among their chil dren and fervants. Every man is by divine ap pointment the prophet of his own family to teach them, the priest to worship God with them, and

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the king to rule them. Each will maintain his own authority to his power; but family worship with many is not fo clofely ftuck to, but familyteaching leaft of all, which is yet commanded of God: Deut. vi. 6. 7. These words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and halt talk of them when thou fitteft in thine houfe, and when thou walkeft by the way, and when thou lieft down, and when thou rifeft up. The want of this makes minifterial teaching in preaching and examination so unfuccefsful. How will men answer this neglect of the fpecial business of life?

2. To thofe who are backward and averse to receive family-inftruction, or fubmit to family difcipline, checks and reproofs for their mifcarriages. They will get away from family-catechifing on fabbath-nights, fhift family-exercife, and cannot endure to be checked for their miscarriages; and therefore they like beft to be in those families where least of these is to be found. But if it is the duty of others to propagate religion to you, it is on the peril of your fouls ye refuse to receive it. It will aggravate your condemnation, John iii. 10.

3. To those who fet an ill example before those that are younger than they. Much of the corruption of children is owing to the ill examples fet them by parents, fervants, and others whom they are near. This lets them see much ill which they would otherwise be ignorant of; and the bias of their nature lying that way, they are by that means carried down the ftream. So a woe is brought on themselves, and them that fet them the copy: Matth. xviii. 7. Woe unto the world because of offen

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ees: for it must needs be that offences come: but we to that man by whom the offence cometh. Oh that men would confider, that they do in effect teach that which they do or fay before the younger fort; for childhood is the imitating age.

4. To those who do not check the outbreakings of corrupt nature in thofe of the younger fort, efpecially parents in their children. O the cruelty of fome parents, who, by their ceafing to nip fin in the bud in their children, betray them into fuch habits of fin, as, afterwards it is too late to correct. They will neglect prayer, profane the fabbath, fwear, lye, and meet with no check: they will steal little things, and the parents will make them welcome. And thus, by their parents means, fome are fo accustomed to fin, that as they grow, it grows, till it brings fome to an ill end. Remember the children of Bethel, 2 Kings ii. 23. 24.

5. To those who propagate irreligion to the rifing generation; who teach a young generation to defpife ferious godlinefs, to contemn the ordinances of God, and to lead loofe and licentious lives impatient of reftraint. Do they not propagate irreligion, who keep up their minced oaths, Haith, Faith, &c. which would die out of our language, were it not that they were propagated from father to fon, from the old to the young; who keep up the obfervation of fuperftitious times and cuftoms, Yule, Faftens-even, &c. the relics of Popery and Paganifm, which might be razed out of memory, were it not that they are carefully propagated from one generation to another?

6. To those that go about to debauch a young generation, by inftilling into them loose and licentious principles, which youth is ready to fall in

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