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of that religion which seems to inspire such sentiments. You must therefore go at once to the root of the evil, you must extirpate those corrupt passions and propensities that have taken possession of your hearts, though it may be as difficult for you to part with them as it would be to pluck out an eye, or tear off a limb from the body. For it is better that you should renounce what is most dear to you in this life, than that you should suffer those dreadful punishments in the next, which I have told you will assuredly be inflicted on all impenitent offenders, and more particularly on those who offend in the way here specified.

He then returns to the main subject of his exhortation : "take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." That is, I again repeat to you, take heed that ye treat not with scorn and contempt such little children as you now see before you, or those believers in me who resemble these children in docility, meekness, humility, and indifference to all that the world calls great and honourable. Take care that you do not consider their welfare, their salvation, as below your notice and regard, and wantonly endanger both by giving way to your own irregular desires; for I say unto you, that however contemptibly you may think of them, your heavenly Father regards them with a more favourable eye. He even condescends to take them under his protection, he sends his most favoured angels, those ministers of his that do his pleasure, and stand always in his presence ready to execute his commands, even these he deputes to guard and watch over these little children and those humble Christians, who are like them in purity and innocence of mind.

From this passage some have inferred, that every child, and every faithful servant of Christ, has an angel constantly attached to his person, to superintend, direct, and protect him; and this is the opinion of the learned Grotius himself; whilst others only suppose that those celestial spirits, who (as we are told of Gabriel) stand before God, are occasionally sent to assist the pious Christian in imminent danger, in severe trials, or great emergencies. And hence perhaps the favourite and popular doctrine of guardian angels; a doctrine which has prevailed more or less in every age of the church, which is without question most soothing and consolatory to human nature, and is certainly countenanced by this and several other passages of holy writ, as well as by the authority of Origen, Tertullian, and other ancient fathers and commentators. In the Psalms

it is said, "The angel of the Lord tarrieth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."* And in 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 and omnipresent eye of God himself, watches over those true disciples of Christ, who, in their tempers, dispositions, 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 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 Jesus then goes on to exemplify, by a familiar similitude, his paternal tenderness to the sons of men.

to save.

*Psal. xxxiv. 7.

+ Chap. i. 14.

"How

The excellent Bishop Andrews has, in one of his animated prayers, a passage which plainly shows 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!"

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; 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 paternal 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, 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 extreme severity and

*Deut. xix. 15.

rigour; but first try the effects of private, and gentle, and friendly admonition; if that fail, then call in two or three persons of character and reputation to add weight and authority to our remonstrances; and if that has no effect, we are then justified in bringing the offender before the proper tribunal, to be censured or punished as he deserves, avoiding all communication with him in future, except what common humanity may require even towards an enemy.-These directions are evidently the dictates of that moderation, mildness, and benevolence, which characterize all our Saviour's precepts, and more particularly distinguish this chapter.

"Verily I say unto you," continues our Saviour, “whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven; for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

:

There is some difficulty and some difference of opinion with respect to the precise meaning of these verses; but they evidently have a reference to the case of the offender stated in the preceding verses; they are addressed exclusively to the apostles; and the most natural interpretation of them seem to be as follows: Whatever sentence of absolution or condemnation you shall in your apostolical capacity pronounce on any offender, that sentence shall be confirmed in heaven and whatever even two of you shall ask in prayer for direction and assistance from above, in forming your judicial determinations, it shall be granted you; for where only two or three of you are gathered together in my name, and are acting under my authority and for my glory, in any case of great importance, there am I in the midst of you by my holy spirit, to guide, direct, and sanction your proceedings.

We now come to one of the most interesting and most affecting parables that is to be found either in scripture, or in any of the most admired writings of antiquity. In consequence of what our Lord had said in the course of his instructions on the subject of injuries, Peter came to him, and said, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, till seven times?" an allowance which he probably thought abundantly liberal. Jesus saith unto him, "I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven ; that is, this duty of forgiving injuries has no limits. However frequently you are injured, if real penitence and contrition follow the

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offence, a Christian is always bound to forgive. To illustrate and confirm this important duty, our Lord subjoins the following parable. "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a king, which would take account of his servants; and when he had began to reckon, one was brought to him which owed him ten thousand talents, (that is nearly two millions, some think more than two millions of our money.) But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made." This seems a most severe penalty for insolvency; and yet it was a frequent practice among the Jews,* as we learn both from various passages of the Old Testament and from Josephus ; and we are told by several intelligent travellers, that insolvency is one of the causes of slavery in Africa at this very hour. So perfectly conformable to fact and to the truth of history is every circumstance that occurs in the sacred writings. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him," prostrated himself at his master's feet, and in the most moving terms besought him saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants which owed him an hundred pence, (a very trifling sum;) and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what thou owest. He assailed him with far greater violence and brutality than his lord had used towards himself for a debt of ten thousand talents. "And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;" the very same supplicating attitude, the very same affecting words that he had himself made use of towards his lord; "and he would not, but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry;" sorry for the sufferings of the unhappy debtor; sorry for the disgrace brought on human nature by the unfeeling creditor; "and they came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst me; shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due to him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

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* Exod. xxii. 3. Lev. xxv. 47.

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