sweet savour unto the Lord11, so " the prayers and alms of Cornelius came up for a memorial before God0." Such a memorial shall our prayers and alms-deeds be, if offered unto God with real humility of mind, and with an earnest desire to obtain a fuller knowledge of his will. Though therefore I would not exhort any one to rest in a low state of knowledge and of grace, I would encourage the weakest person, if sincere, to expect from God still richer communications of his grace, together with the ultimate possession of his glory. God will " fulfil the desire of them that fear him, and of them that hope in his mercy." Only let us listen to the word of God with the same disposition as Cornelius and his family did?, and God will rather work miracles to save us, than suffer us to " perish for lack of knowledge." I mean not that God will really work miracles for any one ; but that he will either, by his pro- vidence, bring us an instructor for the further illumination of our minds ; or that, by his Spirit, he will guide us into all truth through the instrumentality of the written word : " He never said to any, ' Seek ye my face ' in vain."]
" Lev. ii. 1, 2, 9. ° ver. 4. p ver. 33.
Christ's diligence in benefiting man. Acts x. 38. Who went about doing good.
THERE are many principles in the human heart, that are capable of calling forth all the energy of our minds, and all the exertion of our bodies : but it is to be lamented that these principles, being evil in their nature, are, for the most part, destructive in their tendency. Ambition and the love of filthy lucre have operated in every age to the production of efforts that have excited the wonder and admiration of the world. But rarely has such zeal been found on the side of virtue. One however has appeared on earth whose only object was to do good ; and whose labours were never equalled by mortal man. He was steady and uniform in his course, like the sun in its orbit ; and, like that bright luminary, diffused the richest blessings wherever lie came. This man was Jesus of Nazareth ; of whom the Apostle justly says in our text, " He went about doing good."
1767.1 Christ's diligence in benefiting man. 375
We shall, I. Confirm this record from the history of Jesus —
That we may contract our subject within proper limits, we will confine our attention to three things that are peculiarly worthy of notice :
1. His condescension —
[The great and mighty of the earth, however disposed to benefit mankind, are almost inaccessible to the poor ; who must come often, and wait long, and get richer persons for their advocates, and, after all, be dismissed without having obtained the full object of their wishes. But Jesus gave liberty to all to come unto him: their poverty did not excite his contempt ; nor the loathsomeness of their disorders his disgust. He suffered them to throng him on every side, and to touch him. Not even their moral depravity caused him to stand aloof from them. On the contrary, he sought out the poorest, the most miserable, and the most depraved ; as though he had determined to honour those most, whom the rest of the world most disregarded and despised. Hence it was cast in his teeth, that he was " a friend of publicans and sinners."]
2. His diligence —
[From the time that our Lord entered on his ministry to the very hour of his crucifixion, there was not a single day wherein he was not actively engaged in doing good both to the bodies and the souls of men. " It was his very meat and drink to do the will of God" in this respect. He staid not at home that persons might come to him ; but he himself went about, he "went about" through all cities, towns, and villages, in order to administer instruction and comfort to " those who lay in darkness and the shadow of death." Sometimes when he had spent the whole night in prayer he would return to his labours, without regarding the calls of nature for rest and refreshment; insomuch that his friends were ready to blame him as transported with zeal bevond all the bounds of reason and propriety a.