THIS 2 CHRON. Chap, XXIV. ITS is the Hiftory of foafh the Seventh King of Judah, who continued to do his Duty during the Life of the High-Priest Jehoiada his Unkle, but afterwards he grew fo wicked as to caufe Zecha-` riah, the Son of Jehoiada, to be murdered in the Temple, because he reproached him of having forfaken God. But God punished foaf by delivering him into the Hands of the Syrians. And after he hadreigned Forty Years, he was flain, and Amaziah his Son fucceeded him... My Brethren; T After the Leffon. HAT ye may reap fome Fruit of this Leffon, confider, First, That King Joafh feared God, and endeavoured to establish his Service during the Life of Jehoiada the Prieft; but after his Death, he was corrupted; and hearkning to Evil Councils, he became an Idolater, and made the Chief Men of Judah fall into the fame Crime. This fhews us how much it concerns Great Men to have wife and vertuous Perfons about them. The Death of good Men is, ufually followed by a great many Misfortunes, and that Evil Councils are very pernicious to Princes and their People. Secondly, We fee that God was fo gracious as to warn Joah, but that King defpifed his Warnings; and not only fo, but caus'd the Prophet Zechariah to be murdered in the Temple, for reproving him of his Crimes There is an Example of that extream Impiety of foafh, and above all, a black: Ingratitude; for Zechariah was his Coufin, and Son of Joboiada the Prieft, to whom foah owed both his Crown and his Life. By this one fees, that Religious Perfons may fall into the greatest Crimes when they neglect themselves, and that thofe who have begun well; do sometimes end very ill. Thirdly, This Hiftory does inform us; that foafh had the Lot of wicked Kings; that God delivered him into the Hands of his Enemies; that he was flain in his Bed, and buried with Ignominy. From whence we may infer, that those who provoke God to Wrath by their Sins, do early or late experience the Severity of his Judgments. 3 A SPECIMEN of fome ARGUMENTS and EXHORTATIONS on the NEW TESTAMENT. The Gospel according to St. ESUS CHRIST propofes to his Difciples, and to the People, the Parable of the Seed, and he explains it privately to his Dif JE ciples. My Brethren, THE After the Reading of the Chapter. THE Explanation that our Lord has given of this Parable, teaches us, that there are Four Sorts of People to whom his Word was delivered. First, There are fuch as are not at all affected therewith, which is reprefented by the Seed that falls upon the Way. Secondly, Thofe that receive the Word only for a Time, but fall away under Temptations; thofe are the Seed that fall among Rocks. Thirdly, Those in whom the Word would bring forth Fruit if they were not taken up with Covetoufnefs, and with the Pleasures and Cares of this Life; and thofe are the Seed that falls among Thorns. The laft Sort is those whofe Hearts are good and well difpofed, and in whom the Word brings forth Fruit, although unequally; and they are reprefented by the Seed which is fown in good Ground. Acknowledge, Chriftians, as your Saviour does there exhort you, how happy you are to hear thefe Things, and take Care after what manner you receive the Word of God. Avoid the Hardness of those upon whom the Word makes no Impreffion, and the Inconftancy and Temptations which are the Caufe, that after having been affected with it, People do not perfevere in it: Avoid alfo the Defires and the Cares of this Life, which stifle the Word, and be of the Number of thofe good Hearers which bear Frnit with Perfeverance. The Lord give you Grace to do the fame. The Gospel according to St LUKE, Chap. III. S the T.Luke relates Three Things. First, The Preaching of John the Baptift. Secondly, His Imprisonment. And Thirdly, The Baptifm of our Lord. After the Leffon. EE here, My Brethren, what the Preaching of John the Baptift ought to inform you: That Amendment and Purity of Life, is the chiefeft Difpofition you must have to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. That it is of no Advantage to Hypocrites to be Baptized, and to be externally in God's Covenant: That Jefus Chrift will come and cleanse his Church, and will fend the Wicked into everlafting Fire. That which John the Baptist faid to the People, to the Publicans, and to the Soldiers, teaches us to be charitable, meek, righteous, to wrong no Body, and that every Body fhould ferve God, and dif charge thofe Dnties to which his State and Calling obliges him. The Hiftory of our Lord's Baptifm engages us to confider him as the Son of God, to obey him, and to reverence that Baptifm by which we are devoted to Him. The Gospel according to St. LUKE, Chap. IX. 46---62. ESUS CHRIST teaches Humility to his Difciples, who were difputing among themfelves who fhould be the Greatest: He blames the indifcreet Zeal of St. James and St. John, who would have had Fire come down from Heaven upon the Samaritans, and gives an Anfwer to Three Perfons that defire to follow him. R After the Leffon. Emember well, My Brethren, thofe Leffons of Humility that Jefus Chrift gave to his Difciples; and learn from thence, that Pride is unbecoming Chriftians; and that if you would enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, you must become as Children in Meekness and Humility. What Jefus Chrift faid to his Apoftles, who would have had Fire come down from Heaven upon the Samaritans, warns you you never to fuffer your felves to be furprized by a falfe and blind Zeal, but to be always endued, as Jefus Chrift was, with a Spirit of Forbearance and Meeknefs towards all the World, even towards those that are in Error and reject the Truth. The Answers that Jefus Chrift gave to the Three Perfons that would have follow'd Him, furnishes you with thefe important Inftructions: That our Lord does not promife worldly Advantages to his Difciples: That we must renounce all Things for his Sake: And that when we are once ingaged in his Service, we must follow his Call, and not look back again upon the World which we have promised to renounce. St.. LUKE, Chap. XV. "HE Pharifees being fcandalized because Jefus Chrift did eat with Sinners, He propofes to them Three Similitudes: That of the Strayed Sheep: That of the Loft Groat: And that of the Prodigal Son. My Brethren, After the Leffon. THE Three Comparisons that we have been reading, do all tend to fet before our Eyes the great Mercy of God towards Sinners, and the continual Care he takes to invite them to Repentance, and how much their Conversion rejoices the holy Angels. But above all, we ought to meditate upon the Parable of the prodigal Son, by which Jefus Chrift reprefented the Conversion of great Sinners, and of the Gentiles, and the Sentiments of the Pharifees and of the Jews, who would not allow that Sinners fhould be equall'd to them. We fee in this admirable Parable, the Wandrings of Sinners, the Goodness wherewith God chaftifes them, the Pardon He grants them, and the Joy that their Conversion ought to raise in all thofe that love God. These are excellent Inftructions, upon which every one of us ought to make the most serious Reflections. O St. LUKE, Chap. XVI. UR Lord fhews by the Parable of the unjuft Steward, the Ufe that one ought to make of worldly Goods: He fhews that the Love of Riches is very dangerous; and He propofes the Parable of the Rich Man. After C After the Leffon. `My Brethren, THI HIS whole Chapter teaches us the Ufe we ought to make of Riches. The Parable of the unjuft Steward fhews us, that we are to employ our worldly Riches, to aflift thofe that are in Want. Jefus Chrift tells us afterwards, that the Love of Riches is very dangerous, and that Covetoufnefs renders Men uncapable of ferving God; which he proves by the Example of the Pharifees, who were covetous. He lets us fee by the Parable of the Rich Man, what happens to thofe that ufe their Riches to gratifie their Senfuality and Gaudinefs, inftead of affifting Perfons that are in Mifery, and into what Condemnation they precipitate themselves: We may fee, befides this, in the fame Parable, the different State of good and bad Men, both in this World and after their Death; we find that both the State of the one and of the other, will be everlafting and unchangeable; that God gives us, during this Life, fufficient Means to avoid Perdition; and that if we do not make ufe of the Warnings of his Word, we shall remain without Excufe. May God engrave all thefe Divine Lessons in our Hearts. The Gospel according to St. JOHN, Chap. IV. IT. a Sama ritan Woman, and the Converfion of the faid Woman and feveral other Samaritans. For the Understanding this Chapter, you must know that the Samaritans made Profeffion of worshipping the True God, but they did not worship Him at Jerufalem as the Jews did, nor after the Manner as God had commanded them, which was the Caufe of the Enmity between them and the Jews. My Brethren, YOU After the Leffon. OU muft obferve in this Hiftory: First, The Goodness and Wisdom of our Lord, who meeting with a Samaritan Woman near a Well, made ufe of that Opportunity to inftruct her, by telling her of the Grace of God, under the Type of Water. Secondly, You may learn by the Difcourfe which Jefus Chrift held with that Woman, that the Grace of God is the most excellent Thing, and that we ought to defire it with the greatcft Concern: That this Grace |