Our Saviour having before declared how dear believing Souls are unto him, tho' their Quality, or Parts be nor like others, here he gives the World a further Charge not to deſpiſe, thar j1s, not ro Contemn or Negle& them, becauſe God the Heavenly Farher hath ſuch a Care of them, ſo as he hath given his Angels a Charge over them, Pſal. 34. 7. Pſal. 91. 11. Heb, 1.14. which Angels (faith he) do always behold che Fzce of my Father, which is in Heaven, thart is, are always Miniſtring before him, and ready to execute his Will, and Pleaſure; ſo as the Argument 1s not only drawn from the Indecency, and Undutifulneſs, that fuch eſpi- fing muſt import, bur alſo from the Danger of it. 7our Heavenly Father fo lovech theſe little ones, thar he hath given his Angels a ſpecial Charge concerning them, and rheſe Angels being continu- ally in the Lord's Preſence, are ready both to make Report how chey are uſed in the World, and likewiſe having Commiſſion from God, to execute his Vengeance upon thoſe who negle&, de- ſpiſe, or affront thoſe chat he harh taken into ſucha ſpecial Prote@i- on. Here is no Grouud in this Text for their Notion, who fancy char every particular Child of God hath his proper Angel to atrend them. Our Saviour doth not fay cheir ſeveral, and reſpeRive Angels, bur their Angels, and ifall the Angels be miniſtring Spirits, for the Good of God's Ele, Heb. 1.14. I ſee no great reaſon to contend for a particular Angel, for every Individual amongſt chem. Bur be thar as it will, che Opinion hath no Patronage from this
Text. | * Luk. 19. TT * Forthe ſon of man is come to fave that which x0, was loſt.
we find the ſame in Luke, Ch. 19. 10. bur applied upon ano- rher Occaſion. Our Saviour here riſeth higher in his Argument, avainit giving Offence to his little ones. All Scandal tendeth ro rhe Ruin and Deſtruction of him to whom it is given. Scandalum nm eft niſ} male rei adificans ad Gehennarn, faith Tertullian, and a greater than he hath caught us the ſame Leſſon, Rom. 14, 15. 1 Cor. 8. 11, Now (ſaith our Saviour) IT am come to ſave that which was 1, you ought therefore to take Care, that you be nor the Cauſes. and Inſtruments ofany being loft. Or thus, you look up>n poor humble Souls, that believe in me, as mean Contemp- tible Creatures, therefore you think you may deſpiſe rheng: Were not all thoſe whom I came ro redeem, in as mean and defpicable a Condition, yer 1 did not deſpiſe their Souls? Did I come to fave them, and fhall it be your Work to deſtroy them ?
12 How think ye? If a man have an hundred theep. and one of them be gone aſtray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the moun- t1ins, and ſeeketh that which is gone aſtray ?
13 And it fo be that he find it, verily I fay unto you, He rejovcerh more of that heep, than of the
T HEM
14 Even ſoit is not the will of your Father whic\ is in heaven.rhart one oftheſe little ones ſhould periſh,
We ſhall ineet with the Parable, or Similicude more fulj;; Luke 15. 44 To what purpoſe it is brought here, our Lord haz rold us, 4. 14. to ſhew us, That it is not the Will of our He evenly Father, that the leaſt and meane$t Believer ſhould periſh. ys every Scandal or Offence (as I before ſhewed) hath a Tendenc ro deſtroy that Soul, before whom it is laid, or to which it J given, Take heed, faith our Saviour, of giving Scandals ang of fences to others, yea, tho' you ſhould have obſerved them - ſomething ſlipping and going aſtray, you will be more anchor rable to Men than you are to the Beaſts which you keep; you do not chus with a Sheep; tho' ir be gone aſtray, you do nor deſpiſc and negle& it, much leſs take Courſes to drive it further, * you rather leave the reft as being ſafe, and go, tho* it be inrg the. Mountains, to recover the Sheep that 1s loſt; and if you fing it, have a greater Paſſion of Joy for that one Sheep fo recover. ed, than for all che other. It you fee ſome Error in any of my Sheep, if they do wander, ſhould ic not be your Care, rather 5 reſtore ſuch in the Spirit of Meekneſs ? as Gel. 6. 1. than to lay fur. ther Stumbling-Blocks betore them, and give them occaſion of further Stumbling and Falling My Father hath done fo for lo Man, my coming to ſeek and to fave that which is loſt, is an Evidence to you, that it is not his Will that one of my Little Ones ſhould be loſt.
15 Moreover, if thy brother ſhall treſpaſs againſt thee, go and rell him his fault, between thee and
thy brother,
three witneſfles, every word may be eſtabliſhed.
a publican. Our Saviour very appoſitely addeth this ro his former Dif.