ourselves, and not as a thing which regards others; and let us not act herein as worldly persons ordinarily do, when they hear a sermon. A preacher addresses himself to them, for example, in this manner — You are like, says he, to those, whose employment it is to carve at great men's tables, and help others, without taking any meat for themselves. When you hear me say this, you cry out; an excellent reflection indeed, and very proper for such a one! this is quite adapted to one of my aquaintance! if such a one were here, O how it would answer him! — and notwithstanding after all this carving for others, you keep nothing for yourself. In this banquet of the word of God, I would have all of you to be of the number of guests, and not of the carvers. " All that a prudent man shall hear, that is good and profitable, he will practise," says Ecclesiasticus, "and will apply it to himself; but a vain, ambitious man will not hear but with disgust, and will cast it behind his back." (Ecclus. xxi. 18.) Let us then endeavour to be of the number of guests; of the number of those wise men, who so take to themselves what is said, as if it were spoken to them alone, and to none else. For perhaps that which seems to you to be very well applied to another, may be better applied to yourself, if you knew yourself better than you do; and if you were not like those, who can " Perceive a mote in their neighbour's eye, yet see not a beam in their own." (Mat. vii. 3.) But though in effect there should be nothing in what is said, which any way touches or concerns you at present, yet neglect not to hoard it up in your mind for the future; perhaps you will soon come to stand in need of it, and by this means you can never fail always to take what is said as addressed to yourself only.
In the fifth place, the better to explain what we have said, it is fit that every one should presuppose, that oftentimes in exhortations the preacher reprehends certain faults not as though he actually believed them practised by any of his auditors; but only with a design to hinder the practice or the introduction of such imperfections for the future. The physic which by precaution is given to prevent diseases, is no less advantageous than that which is given to cure them. Wherefore in our exhortations, we ought to have regard to this, following the counsel of the Wise Man, " Before sickness comes, make Use of remedies." (Ecclus. xviii. 20.) And as we ordinarily strive to apply the remedy before the disease is formed, or comes to a crisis; so we exhort to virtue and perfection; we blame vice and remissness;
