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to thee unprofitable. He was, it seems, a bad young man; a bad fervant to his master, as well as wicked towards God. However it is worth our obferving here, how gently, and tenderly the Apoftle touches upon his former bad character, and behaviour, he was to thee unprofitable. He might, to be fure, have faid a great deal more and worfe of him than this; for there is a hint, verfe 18. that Onefimus had wrong'd his master. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. It feems he had been thievish, as well as idle, injurious to his master, as well as unprofitable; but the Apostle chooses to fpeak in the foftest manner he could of his former wickedness: he will fay no more of him pofitively than this, that in time paft he bad been unprofitable; for he would have all Onefimus's former crimes to be forgotten, now he had repented of them, and God had forgiven them. Here the goodness of God fhould be our pattern; he is faid to blot out the iniquities of those whom he forgives, and be will not remember their fins, Ifaiah xliii. 25. that is, he will no more charge them in judgment, no, nor fo much as upbraid the true penitent with them, than if he had quite forgotten them. I have heard it faid in the cafe of fome injury receiv'd. "I'll forgive him, "but I will never forget him; but this is not God-like, for when he forgives he forgets. too; so should we do, we fhould not only

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forgive, but forget as much aspoffible the former crimes of thofe whom God has forgiven. Thus Paul draws a veil over the faults of Onefimus; he would not have it fo much as mention'd now how vile and injurious he had been; only he is forc'd to fay, that in time past he had been unprofitable, which was the fofteft thing. he could fay, to fay any thing.

Secondly, We obferve, how much Onefimus was now changed and altered for the better, which in time paft was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. Here was a bleffed change indeed, of bad he was become good, and of unprofitable he was become very useful; and fuch is the change which the grace of God makes in every true convert. He is now profitable, fays the Apostle, to thee and to me. He was profitable to the Apostle as a feal to his miniftry, and so a great comfort and encouragement to him in his work; for nothing more ftrengthens the hands, and encourages the hearts of faithful minifters, than to fee their miniftry made fuccefsful in the converfion of finners by it: and Philemon, his mafter, might depend upon it, that if he now received him into his family again, he would prove another fort of a fervant than what he had been, for he was now become another fort of a man; he had been unprofitable, but now he will be profitable. Thofe, who are good towards God, will be good towards men. True religion will

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make people good in every refpect, and in every relation; it will make good mafters, and good fervants, good husbands, and good wives, good parents, and good children; there is no other fecurity like it, that perfons will prove good in their refpective relations. Paul durft answer for Onefimus that he would prove a good fervant, now he was become a good man.

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There is a common complaint now-a-days of bad fervants, Never were fervants at fuch "a pafs as now." Perhaps it may be fo, I cannot tell, but if it is, I am affraid the fault lies very much at the door of masters and miftreffes; it is because they take fo little care of the religion of their fervants and families. You are content that they fhould be ignorant and wicked towards God, and then expect that they should be good and faithful to you; 'tis a thing not to be expected; while Onefimus was wicked, he was bad to his mafter, and you must not ordinarily expect better of wicked fervants. You complain of bad fervants, I'll tell you the way, the best and surest way in the world, to have good ones; fet up the worship of God in all your families, pray with them, catechife and inftruct them in religion, speak to them feriously about their fouls, do but take pains to make them good towards God, and, if once you gain that point, you may depend upon it, they will be good fervants to you. True

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religion will certainly make them both faithful and profitable; fuch fervants will make confcience of their time and truft, and of their mafters intereft as much as their own.

I would obferve one thing, more under this head, viz. that chriftianity does not impair the power of mafters over their fervants.Christ's doctrine and Paul's doctrine is no levelling doctrine, which would make all men equal as to their worldly condition. It teaches mafters to be good to their fervants, and it teaches fervants to be good and obedient and faithful to their mafters; but it no where teaches that mafters, and fervants are to be equals in focial and civil life. Though Onefimus was now converted, and become Chrift's free-man, he was Philemon's fervant for all that, and was ftill bound to ferve his mafter faithfully, and to make fatisfaction too for the wrong and injury which he had formerly done him.

Thirdly, We are farther to obferve in our text, what it was that made this mighty and happy change in this young man, and it was this, that he had been begotten by the Apoftle Paul in his bonds. That is, he had been converted by his preaching and ministry. Though it is, properly, God's work to regenerate any finner, yet it is fometimes afcribed to men too, because they are the inftruments of difpenfing the grace of God by the preaching, of his gofpel: They are minifters by whom finners are brought to believe, even as the Lord

gives to every man, 1 Cor. iii. 5. And it is a mighty encouragement and comfort to faithful minifters, when God is pleased to give his seal to their ministry, and finners are begotten and born again by their preaching, It was with vast pleasure and thankfulness that Paul could fay of Onefimus, whom I have begotten, in my bonds.

The Greek word, which is here translatedbegotten, is the fame which is elsewhere rendered horn, as particularly in the third chapter of John, ver. 3, 6, 7. both there, and in our text, it imports the conversion of a finner; or that mighty change which is wrought by the grace of God in the fouls of all that are faved. Once more

Fourthly, You may obferve in our text, what an endearing relation was confequent hereupon,, betwixt Paul and his convert, and how the Apostle lov'd him. I beseech thee for my fon Onefimus. In the fame fenfe, he calls Timothy his own fon, because he had been the inftrument of his converfion, 1 Tim. i. 2.. And thus he alfo claims the relation of a fpiritual father to the multitude of Corinthian believers, 1 Cor. iv. 15. Though you have ten thousand inftructors in Chrift, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Chrift Jefus I have begotten you through the gospel. He had been the happy inftrument of their new birth, and upon that account he claim'd the relation of a father to them, and felt the bowels of a father for them. There commonly is, and

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