god's distinguished regard for the poor.
Jam. ii. 5. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of th e kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him ?
IT is a duty incumbent on all ministers to dis- countenance any errors, whether of faith or practice, that may have crept into the Church. But when compelled by necessity to reprove what is amiss, they should shew by most unquestionable evidence, that there is just occasion for censure ; and, by their tender manner of reproving, they should evince that they are actuated only by a sense of duty to God, and of love to man. St. James had seen a very shameful partiality prevailing in the Church in favour of the rich, while the poor were too generally neg- lected and despised. Against this great evil he bears his testimony, not merely with fidelity, but with unoffending tenderness, and unanswerable wisdom. His argument is to this effect ; Hath not God chosen the poor, and selected them as monuments of his love, and as heirs of his glory ? With what con- sistency then can you pour contempt upon them, as though they were unworthy of the smallest atten- tion ?
In discoursing upon his words we shall shew,
I. What inheritance God has chosen for the poor —
While man is unmindful of the poor, God has exalted them above others in respect of,
1. Their present portion — [Faith is that precious gift which he has bestowed on them : and though few among the rich regret their want of it, yet is it a most inestimable blessing. The smallest portion of it is sufficient (provided it be a true and living faith) to prove their election of Goda; to secure to them the remission of sinsb ; to bring peace into their conscience0; and to sanctify
a Actsxiii. 48. b Acts x. 43. c Rom. v. 1.