DUKE UNIVERSITY © DIVINITY SCHOOL ce LIBRARY y 4 FRANK BAKER COLLECTION | OF WESLEYANA ‘ ; AND BRITISH METHODISM ai THE PORTRAIT OF St PAUL: OR, THE . TRUE MODEL FOR CHRISTIANS ano PASTORS. TRANSLATED From a French Manuscript of the Late Rev. JOHN WILLIAM pz 1a FLECHERE, VICAR OF MADELEY, By tHe Rev. JOSHUA GILPIN, Vicar oF RocKWARDINE, IN THE CoUNTY OF SALOP. EDP The Fourth Edition. ==|—— Be ye followers of me, even as I alfa am of Chrif—1 Cor. xi. 1. 40-Or Ke O-Onte Ponda : PRINTED FOR W. BAYNES, 54, PATERNOSTER-ROW.- 1806. Be Pera NR a BL Hi al Mo Ra eda, Sai ce vf ¥ hc. seas eT ee roy) ae Pe § ahi ae ; ie : We te = Bat ¢ GPA JAMES IRELAND, EsQuire. OF BRISLINGTON, NEAR BRISTOL, THE FOLLOWING WORK IS RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED, AS A MONUMENT. OF THE LONG AND INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP, WHICH SUBSISTED BETWEEN HIM AND THE AUTHOR; AND AS A PUBLIC ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE VERY LIBERAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, WITH WHICH HE HAS FAVOURED HIS TRULY OBLIGED AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, THE TRANSLATOR. ADVERTISEMENT. THE following work was undertaken, and nearly ) completed, during M. de la Fiecnere’s laf refidence . in Switzerland, where it was originally intended for — publication. A “— THE. AUTHOR’S PREFACE. Many celebrated writers have offered excellent treatifes to the public, fome on the character of a true chriftian, and others on the duties of a good paf- tor. It were to be wifhed, that thefe two objeéts might be fo clofely united, as to fall under the fame point of view : and to effeé fuch an unionis the defign _of this work, in which may be ieen, at one view, what were the primitive chriftians and the apoftolic patlors ; — and what they are required to be, who are called to follow them in the progreis of piety. _ - As example is more powerful than precept, it was neceffary that fome perfon fhould be fingled ont, who was both an excellent chriftian, and an eminent mini- fter of Jefus Chrift. The perfun we fix upon ts St. Paul, in whom thefe two characters were remarkably ' united, and a fketch of whoit wondrous Portrait we endeavour to exhibit in the followmg pages. When this A pofile is confidered as a chriftian, his diligence in filling up the duties of his vecation, his patience in times of trial, his courage in the midft of dangers, his perfeverance in well-duing, his faith, his humility, his charity, all fweetly blended together, conftitute him an admirable model for every chriftian. And when we regard him as a diipenfer of the mytleries of God, lis inviolable attachment to truth, and his unconguer- able zeal, equally diftant from fanaticifm and indiffer- ence, deferve the imitation of every miniiter of the Gofpel. ~ The Holy Scripture furnifh materials in abundance for the prefent work, The Ads of the Apojiles trom 3 s 4 vi THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE. chapter viii. containing little elfe than a narration of the labours of St. Paul, or an abridgment of his fer- mons and apologies. The new Teftament, befides the Acts, contains twenty two different books, four- teen of which were compofed by this Apoftle himfelf, avith all the franknefs juited to the epiftolary ftyle, and all the perfonal detail, into which he was obliged to enter, when writing in an uncommon variety of cir- cumftances, tohis friends, his brethren and his {piritual children. It is an fuch occafions, that a man is moft likely to difcoyer, what he really is: and it is om fuch oceafions, that the moral painter may take an author in the moft interefting pofitions, in order to delineate, with accuracy, his fentiments, his circumftances, and_ his conduct. Let it nat be faid, that in propating this Apofile as, a model to chriftians, we do but caft difcouragements in the way of thofe, who are at an immenfe diftance behind him, with refpeét both to grace and diligence. The mafterly fkill, that Raphael and Rybens have dil> covered in their pieces, ferves not te difcourage modern painters, whe rather labour to form themfelyes by fucl, grand models. Poets and oratorsare not difheartened — hy thofe chef-doewvres of poetry and elequence, which Homer and Virgil, Demofihenes and Cicero, have tranfmitted to pofterity: why then fhould we be dif- couraged by confidering the eminent virtyes and un- wearied labours of this great apofile? The greater the excellence of the pattern prope the lefs likely isthe _ laboured copy to be incomplete. Itis granted, that all the faithfyl are not called tobe minifters, and that all-minifters are not appointed, like St. Paul, to eftablifh new ehurches: but it is maintained, that all chriftians, in their different {tates, are to be filled with the piety of that Apoftle. If the moft inconfiderable trader among us is not allowed to fay, ‘‘ I deal only in trifling articles, and therefore ** fhould be indulged with a falfe balance’ —if fuch a THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE. Vii trader is required to be as juft ip his thop, as a judge on his tribunal; and if the loweft volunteer in an army is called to fhow as much valour in his humble poft, as a general officer inhis more exalted ftation ; the fame kind of reafoning may be applied to the chriftian church: fo that her younge{t comniunicant is bot per- mitted to fay, ‘* my youth, or the weaknefs of my “* fex, excules me from exercifing the charity, the hu- “* mility, the diligence, and the zeal, which the Scrips ** tures preferibe.”’ It fhould belaid down as an incontroyertible trath, that the fame zeal which was manifetied by St. Paul for the glory of Gop, and the fame charity, that he difplayed, as an Apofile, in the very extenfive fcene of his labours, a minifter is called to exercife, as a pafior, in his parifh, anda private perfon, as father of a family, inhisown houfe. Nay, even every woman, in proportion to her capacity, and as the other duties of her fiation permit, fhould feel the fame ardour to promote the falvation of her childrenand domeftics, as St. Paul once difcovered to promote that of the ancient Jews and Gentiles. Gbterve, in the barvefi-field, how it fares with the labourers, when they are threat- ened with animpetuous fhower. All do not bind and bear the weighty fheaves. Every one is occupied ac- cording to their rank, their ftrength, their age, and their fex; and all are in ation, even tothe little glean- - ers. The truechurch refembles this field. The faith- ful of every rank, age, and fex, have but one heart and one mind. According to their fiate, and the de- gree of their faith, all are animated to labour in the caufe of Gop, and al! are endeavouring to fave either communities, families, or individuals, from the wrath to come; as the reapers and gleaners endeavour to fe- cure the rich fheaves, and even the fingle ears of grain, from the gathering ftorm. If, in the courfe of this work, fome truths are pro-= pofed, which may appear new to the chrifiian reader, Z AéG6 viii THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE. let him candidly appeal, for the validity of them, to the Holy Scriptures, and to the tefiimony of reafon, — fupported by the moft refpeétable authorities, fuch as the confeffions of faith adopted by the pureft churches, together with the works of the moft celebrated paftors and profeflors, who have explained fuch confetlions. Among other excellent ends propofed in publifhing the following theets, itis hoped, that they may brin back bigoted divines to evangelical moderation, and — either reconcile, or bring near to one another, the or- thodox profetior, the imperfect chriltian, and the fin- cere deilt. — THE 4 3 FIRST TRAIT IN THE MORAL CHARACTER OF Sr. PAUL. HIS EARLY PIETY. iS Msg great apoftle of the Gentiles bore no refemblance to thofe, who rejeé the fervice of Gon, till they are tendered incapable of gratifying their unruly paffions. He was mindful of his Creator from his early youth, and as an obferver of religious rites outftripped the moft exaét, and rigid profeffors of his time: fo that the regularity of his con- ‘ duét, the fervour of his devotion, and the vivacity of his zeal, attra€ted the attention of his fuperiors in every place. Ob- ferve the manner in ‘which he himfelf {peaks on this fubje@, before the tribunal of Feftus; « My manner of life, from my youth, which was at the firft among my own nation at Jeru- falem, know all the Jews, which knew me from thebeginning, they would teftify) that after the ftraiteft fe& of our re- igion I lived a pharifee.? Having occafion afterwards to mention the fame circumftances, in his epiftle to the Galatians, he writesthus: 2 have heard of my converfation in time paf?, how I profitedin the Jews religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly =ealous of the traditions of my ene Aind to what an extfaordinary pitch of excellencé e had carried his morality, may be inferred from the follow- AS F . 10 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, ing fhort but folemn declaration, which was made in the pre- | fence of perfons, who were very well competent to have con- viGted him of falfehood, had there been found the leaft blemifh in his outward condu@t: Men and brethren, I have lived in all good confcience before God, unto this day. Such was the early piety of St. Paul; and fuch was the righteouf- nefs, in which he trufted, when through zeal for the church and ftate, of which he was amember, he perfecuted chriftians as difturbers of the public peace. As we have feen the beautiful fide of this apoftle’s early charaéter, let us now confider his defeéts. As a member of the Jewith church, he was infpired with zeal, but that zeal was rigid and fevere: as a member of fociety his manners were probably courteous, but on fome occafions his behaviour was tyrannical and mhuman: in a word, he poffeffed the whole of religion, except thofe effential parts of it, humility and charity. Supercilious and impatient, he would bear no contradiétion. Prefuming upon his own fufficiency, he gave himfelf no time to compare his errors with truth; and hence, covering his cruelty with the {pecious name of zeal, he breath- ed out threatenings and flaug hier againgl the difcipiles of the Lord. He himfelf, {peaking of this part of his charaGter, makes the following humiliating confeflion. ¢ I was a blafphemer, and a perfecutor and injurious. I verily thought with myfelf, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jefus of Nazareth. Which thing JT alfo didin Jerufalem, and many of the faints did I fhut up in prifon, having rece‘ved authority from the chief priefts; and when they were put to death, ] gave my voice againft them, And I puvifhed them . oft m every fynagogue, and compelled them to blafpheme ; and being exceedingly mad againft them, ¥ perfecuted them ¢xen unto firange cities,’ - gett Neverthelefs, this rigid pharifee, who carried his devotion to bigotry, and his zeal to fury, had an upright heart in the fight of Gov. J obtained mercy, fays he aiter his converfiop, becaufe I did it igworantly in, unbelicf, imagining, that when 3 erfecuted the difeiples of Jefus, 1 was oppopg a torrent of | fe moft dangerous errors. Fiety is that eugwled ge of Gop and the various relations he ftands in to man, which leads us to adore, to love, and obe kim, in public and in private, This great virtue is the fait taait in the moval charadtes of St. Paul; and it is abfolusely “ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. li neceflary to the chriftian charaéter in general, fince it is that tofall virtues, to which Gon has given the promife of the prefent life, and of that, which is to come. But it is more particularly neceflary to thefe, whe confecrate them- felves to the holy miniftry; fince being obliged, by their office, to exhibit before their flock an example of piety, if they themfelves are deftitute of godlinefs, they muft neceffarily a&t without any conformity to the facred charafter, they have dared to aflume. If Quintilian, the heathen, has laid it down as a general principle, that it is impoflible te become a good orator, with- out. being a good wax ; furely no one will deny, that piety fhould be confidered as the firit qualification effential to a chriftian fpeaker, Monf, Roques, in his Evangelical Paffor, obferves, that ‘“‘ The minifter by his fituation, is a man re- “¢ tired from the world, devoted to Gon, and called to evan- *¢ gelical holinefs.” ‘ He is,’? continues he, ‘‘ according to ¢ St. Paul, a man of God, i. e. a perfon entirely confeerated “to Gop; aman of fuperior excellence ; a man, in fome « fenfe divine: and to anfwer, in any degree, the import of ** this appellation, it is neceflary, that his piety fhould be * illuftrious, folid, and univerfal.”” Without doubt this pious author had collected thefe beautiful ideas from the writings of St. Paul, who thus addrefles Titus upon the fame fubjeé : « A minifter muft be blamelefs, as the fteward of God; not felf-willed, not foon angry, not given to wine, no ftriker, not given to filthy lucre :. but a lover of hofpitality, a lover of good men, fober, juft, holy, temperate: holding faft the faith- ful word, that he may be able, by found doGrine, both to ex- hort and to convince, the gainiayers.. He muft ufe found {peech, that cannot be condemned: in do€trine fhewing un- corruptnefs, gravity, fineerity; that he, who is of the con-. tag part may be afhamed, having no evil thing to fay of . um.” > ‘ ~ A pafor without piety difgraces the profeffion, which - he has made choice of; mo& nobiles comin fame temporal motives, which influence others to embrace the ftudy of the law, or the profeffion of arms. If thofe, who were-called to ferve tables, were to be men of honzf? report, full of the Holy: Ghoft and wifdom, it is evident, that the fame difpofitioas and graces fhould be poffeffed, in a more-eminent degree, by thofe, who are called to minifter in holy things. When thou. ari converted, {aid Chrift to. Peter, frengthen-thy brethrene - Aé6 12 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. No fight can be more abfurd, than that of an impenitent infidel engaged in calling finners to repentance and faith. Even the men of the world look down with contempt upona minifter of this defcription, whofe condu& perpetually con- tradi&ts his difcourfes, and who, while he is prefling upon others the neceffity of holinefs, indulges himfelf in the plea-_ fures of habitual fin. Such a preacher, far from being in- ftrumental in effe€ting true converfions among his people, will generally lead his hearers into the fame hypocrify, which dif- tinguifhes his own charater: fince that, which was faid in ancient times, holds equally true in the prefent day, Like freople, like prief?. Lukewarm paftors make carelefs chriftians ; and the wordly preacher leads his worldly hearers as necef- farily into carnal fecurity, as a blind guide conduéts the blind _ into the ditch. And to this unhappy fource may be traced the degenerate manners of the prefent age, the reproach un- der which our holy religion labours, and the encreafing tri- umphs of infidelity. An: Soak t! The natural man, faith St. Paul, receiveth not the things of the fpirit of God; for they are foolifhnefs unto him ; neither can he know them, becaufe they are fpiritually difcerned. Now, if a minifter, who is deftitute of {criptural piety is counted un- able to comprehend the doétrines of the gofpel, how much Sefs is he able to publifh and explain them? And if thofe, - who live according to the vain cuftoms of the world, have not the righteoufnefs of the pharifees, with what propriety can they be.called, I will not fay, true minifters, but even pious deifts ? ; Though every candidate for the facred miniftry may not be in circumftances to declare, with St. Paul, J have lived in all good confcience before God unto-this day ; yet all who afpire _to that important office, fhould, at leait, be able to fay with — fincerity; Herein do I exercife myfelf, to have always a confeience void of offence, toward God and toward man. Such were the morals and the conduct of a Socrates and an Epiftetus: and worthippers like thefe, coming from the eaft and from the weft, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven, while the children of the kingdom fall be caf? out into. outer darkne/s. q THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 13 TRAIT II. HIS CHRISTIAN PIETY. T has been made fufficiently plain, under the preceding article, that St. Paul was poffefled of a good degree of piety from his very infancy. Having been brought up in the fear of Gop by his father, who is fuppofed to have been a zealous pharifee, he was afterwards inftructed at the feet of Gamaliel, a pious doétor of the Law, to whofe wifdom and moderation St. Luke has borne an honourable teftimony. And fo greatly had he profited in his youth by thefe inefti- mable privileges, that touching the righteoufne/s, which is of the Law, he was blamele/s. But this piety was not fufficient under the new Teftament. Was ¢ To become a chriftian, and a true minifter of the Gofpel, it is neceflary to have, not only the piety of a fincere deiff, or of a devout Jew, as St. Paul had before his converfion, but alfo thofe higher degrees of piety, which that apoftle poffef- fed, after he had received the gift of deep repentance toward Gop and living faith in Jefus Chrift. The bafis of piety, among the Jews, was a knowledge of Gop, as Ceator, Pro- teGor, and Rewarder; but, in order to have chriftian piéty, it is neceflary, that to this knowledge of Gop, as Creator, &c. © thould beadded that of Gop the Redeemer, Gop the Deftroyer of all our evils, Gov our Saviour; or in other words, ‘the knowledge of JefusChrift. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jefus Chri/t, whom thou haft Sent. But who can truly now, I will not fay Ais Saviour, but merely his aced of a Saviour, without firft becoming acquaint~ ed with his own heart, and receiving there a lively imprefilion both of his fin and his danger? A ftudent in theology, who has not yet fubmitted himfelf to the maxim of Solon, snow “thyfel 3 and who has never mourned under that fenfe of our natural ignorance and depravity, which forced Socrates to _ confefs the want of ‘a divine inftruGor ;—a candidate, I fay, who is wholly unacquainted with himfelf, inftead of eagerly foliciting the impofition of hands, fhould rather feek after a true underftanding of the cenfure, which Chrift once paffed i 14 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL+ upon the paftor of the Laodicean church: Thou art wretched, — and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked. a If a young man fteals into the miniftry without this know- ledge, far from being able to preach the Gofpel, he will not even comprehend that /irf evangelical principle, Befed are the poor in fpirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And in- ftead of devoutly offering up to Gon the prayers of an af- fembled congregation, he will conftantly begin the facred effice by an a&t of hypocrify, in faying—Almighty Father, qwe have erred and frayed fram thy ways like loft focep. We have offended againft thy holy Laws. There is no health in us. Byt Thou, O Lard, have mercy upon us, miferable finners. After making thefe confeffions in public, when he is interro- gated in private refpeCting that mifery and condemnation, under a fenfe of which he fo lately appeared to groan, he will not fcruple immediately to contradiét, what he has fo plainly ex- prefled : thus difcovering to every impartial obferver, that when he prays in public, he prays, either asa child, who underftands not what he repeats; or as a deceiver, who ap- pears to believe, what he really gives no credit to, and that merely for the fake of enjoying the penfion of a minifter, and his rank in foeiety. What. is here faid of minifters, is equally applicable to chriftians in general. If any one dares to approach the facramental table, there to make a profeffion of being redeem- ed from eternal death by the death of Chrift, before he is deeply humbled under a fenfe of the condemnation due to his fin : can fuch aone be faid to perform an aé of piety? Is he mot rather engaged in performing an aét of vain ceremony and prefumptuous diffimulation in the prefence of Gop? The feigned humiliation of fuch a communicant, would refemble that of a rebel fubject, who, without any confcioufnefs that his aétions had merited death, fhould caft himfelf, from mo- tives of inteveft, at the feet of his prince, and affe& to rejoice. under a fenfe of that undeferved clemeney, which permitted him tolive. All our profeffions of faith in Chriftare tin@ur- ed, more or lefs, with hypocrify ; unlefs preceded by that. painful conviction of paft errors, whenee alone can cordially flow thofe humihiating confeffions, with which we are ac- euftomed to begin our facred fervices. . ' . The true chriftian, and confequently, the true minifter, is genitvained to cry out, with St. Paul, when he difcovered THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 15 the purity of Jehovah’s Law and the greatnefs of his own guilt: Phe law is fpirityql, and demands an obedience corref- pondent to its nature; * but Iam carnal, fold under fin: for what I would, that I do not ; but what I hate, that I do, T know, that in me, that is, in my flefh, dwelleth no good thing. O wretched man, that I am! who hall deliver me from the body of this death ? In this manner the true penitent, weary and heavy laden, makes his approaches to the Saviour; and while he continues to implore his grace and favour, an incomprehenfibie change takes place in his foul. His groans are fuddenly turned inta fongs of deliverance, and he is enabled to adopt the trium- hant language of the great apoftle; ‘ Ithank God, through yehis Chriit our Lord; for the law of the fpirit of life in j Chrift Jefus hath made me free from the law of fin and death. There is therefore now no condemnation to them, which are in Chrift Jefus, who walk not after the flefh, but after the {pirit.’ Every true follower of Chrift, therefore, and efpecially, every true minifter of the Gofpel, has really experienced the evil of fin, the inability of man to free himfelf from fuch eyil, and the efficacy of that remedy, which endued the firft chrif- tians with fo extraordinary a degree of purity, power, and joy- And in teftimony of the virtue of this fovereign remedy, every fuch follower has a right to declare with his happy predecefiors, ‘ We give thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light : who hath vtiwered us from the power of darknefs, and hath tranflated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the fors givenefs of fins.” Whena preacher is pofleffed of chriftian piety ; or in other words, when he has made his peace with Gop, by that deep repentance which enables us to die unto fin, and by that ving faith, which unites us to Chrift, he naturally invites the world __ to embrace a Saviour, who has wrought for him fo wonder- -ful a deliverance : and this invitation he enforces withall the power and’ warmth, which muft ever accompany deep fenfi- bility. . After having believed with the heart to the obtains ing of righteoufnefs, he is prepared to confefs with his lips, and to tellify of his falvation: erying out, as fincerely: as Simeor, but in a fenfe far move compleat, Lord, aow late 16 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Thou thy fervant depart in peace 3 for according to thy word, mine eyes have feen thy falvation. ‘ Here,” fays Mr. Ofter= vald, “* may be replied, what was fpoken by our bleffed “© Lord— good man, out of the good treafure of his heart, “ bringeth forth good things. Erafmus fpeaks the fame thing s« Nihil potentius ad extandos bonos affeftus, quam piorum “< affe€tuum fontem habere in peétore. Si vis me flere, dolen- « dum eft, &c. 1. e. following the idea of the author, You — « will never win others over to a religious life, unlefs you « yourfelf are firft poffeffed of piety. This infpires thoughts, « difpofitions, and words, which nothing elfe can produce. “Tt is this, that animates the voice, the gefture, and every * aGtion of the chriftian preacher. When he is thus ground- “ ed in piety, itis difficult to conceive with what facility, and « with what fuccefs he labours, ftill enjoying an unfpeakable « fweetnefs in himfelf. Then it is, that he is truly fenfible *‘ of his vocation ; then he fpeaks in the caufe of Gon, and *¢ then only he is ina proper fituation to affe&t others.” ‘It appeared fo neceffary to the fathers, who compofed the fynod of Berne, that every minifter fhould be poffeffed of folid piety, that they believed it impoffible for a man to bea good catechift without it. After recommending it to paf- - tors to explain among the youth, the Lord’s prayer and the Apoftles’ creed, they add: “ This will be abundantly more « effeCtual, if firft of all, we are careful that Jefus Chrift may « arife in our own hearts. The fire, with which we fhould « then be animated, would foon ftir up and warm the docile ¢ « minds of children. Otherwife, that which reafon alone | « draws from books, and is taught by other men, is no more * than a human work, and will be ineffe€tual, till the great «* mafter, the Holy Spirit itfelf, becomes of the party, creat- « ing, renewing, and regenerating to a celeftial and eternal 6 Jife.”? qa, ams REFLECTIONS © * ‘ Upon the fecond trait of the charafter of St. Paul. 1. HE experimental knowledge of our mifery as finners, and of our falvation, as finners redeemed, is the por- tion of every believer under the Gofpel. If we are deftitute of this twofold knowledge, we are yet in a ftate of danger- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 17 ous ignorance, and are denominated chriftians in vain: for chriftian humility has its fource m the knowledge of our cor- ruption, as chriftian charity flows from a knowledge of the great falvation, which Chrift has procured for us: and if _thefe two graces are not refident in our hearts, our religion is but the fhadow of chriftianity. 2. Asthere are fome perfons, whofe phyfiognomy is ftrong- ly marked, and who have fomething peculiarly ftriking in the whole turn of their countenance; fo there are fome, the traits of whofe moral character are equally ftriking, and whofe con- verfion is diflinguifhed by uncommon circumftances. Such was the apoftle Paul. But a train of wonderful occurrences is by no means neceffary toconverfion.. For example—It is not neceflary, that all believers fhould be a@tually caft to the earth: orthat groaning beneath the weight of their fins, and ‘under the conviction of a twofold blindnefs, they fhould con- tinue in prayer for three days and nights, without either eat- ing or drinking. But it is abfclutely neceflary, that they | fhould be fenfible of an extreme forrow for having offended a gracious Gop; that they fhoud condemn themfelves and their vices by an unfeigned repentance ; and that confeffing the depravity of their whole heart, they fhould abandon them- felves tothat fincere diftrefs which refufes all confolation, ex- eept that which isfrom above. Neither isit neceffary, that they fhould heara voice from heaven, that they fhould fee a ight brighter than the Sun, or behold, ina vilion, the minif- _ter chofen to bring them confolation in the name of the Lord _Jefus.. But it is abfolutely neceffary, that they fhould hear the word of Gop, that they fhould be illuminated by the Gof- pel, and receive directions from any meffenger fent for their relief ; till, placing their whole confidence in Gop through a gracious Redeemer, they :zel a new and heavenly nature produced within them. This fincere repentance and this /iving faith; or, which is the fame thing, this chriffian piety, is ftn&- dy required of every believer under the new Teitament. 5. Chriflian piety conititutes the great difference, that is _obferved between true minifters and unworthy paftors.. The Tatter preach, chiefly, either in order to obtain benefices, or to preferve them; or, perhaps, to relieve one another in the difcharge of thofe duties, which they efteem heavy and pain- ful. But the defire of communicating to finners that fpi- ritual knowledge, which is more frrecious than rubies, is the 18 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. , grand motive for preaching with the true minifters of Gop. They publith Chrift, like St. Paul, from fentiment and in- clination ; expofing themfelyes even to perfecution on ac- count of preaching the Gofpel, like thofe faithful Evan- gelifts, who, when commanded to teach no more in the name of Jefus, anfwered with equal refpe& and refolution ; ‘ Whe- ther it be right in the fight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but fpeak the things, which we have feen and heard,’ - 4, It is worthy of obfervation, that St. Paul fupplicates not only for all public teachers, but for every private believer in the church, the higheft degree of grace and chriftian exe perience. J cea/e not, faith he ta the Ephefians, ‘to make mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father of glory, may give unto you the {pirit of wifdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your underftanding being enlightened, that ye may know, what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance, in the faints: and what is the exceeding greatnefs of his power to us-ward, who be- lieye.* And the fame end, which this apoftle propofed to himfelf in hig private fupplieations, St. John alfo propofed to himfelf in writing his public epiftles—* That which we haye feen and heard declare we unto you, that ye alfo may haye fellowfhip with us; and truly ovr fellowfhip is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift, And thefe things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” As though he had faid, we write, if haply we may excite you to feek after higher-degrees of faith, charity and obedience, shat bes ing rooted and grounded in love, ye may be able to comprehend with all faints, the love of Chriff, which paffeth knowledge ; that ye may be filled with all the pulnefs of God. The attentive reader will eafily perceive, that what was once the fubje& of St. Paul’s moft ardent prayer, is at this day confidered, by nominal chriftians in general, as a proper fubject forthe moft pointed raillery. 5. Thofe minifters, who are not yet farnithed with chrif- tian experience, and who are not feeking after it, as the pearl of great price, held out te us in the Gofpel, are not yet truly converted to the chriftian faith; and (I repeat it after Mr. Oftervald) being deftitute of chriffian piety, far from being in circumftances to preach the Gofpel, they are not able evea THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 19 to comprehend it. Thefe are they, ‘ who having a form of -godlinefs, deny the power thereof.? And the greateft eulo- gium, that can be pronounced upor fuch charaCers, is that, with which St. Paul honoured the unbelieving zealots of his time : ‘I bear them record, that they haye a zeal for God ;’ but that zeal is unaccompanied with any true knowledge, either of man’s weaknefs, or the Redeemer’s power: ¢ For they, being ignorant of God’s righteoufnefs, and going a- hout to eftablifh their own righteoufnefs haye not fubmitted themfelves unto the righteoufnefs of God, For Chrifi is the ne of the Law for rightegufnefs to every one, that be- lieve 4 4 6. Whoever has not experienced that conviction of fin; and that repentance, which is defcribed by St, Paul in the feyenth chapter of his epiftle to the Romans, though, like Nicodemus, he may be a dofor in J/racl, yet he fhall newer fee the kingdom of Gop, . Totally carnal, and fatisfied to continue fo, he neither underfiands nor defires that regene- ration, which the Gofpel propofes and infifisupon. He en- deayours not to fathom the fenfe of thofe important words: * Verily, verily, I fay unto thee, except a man be bora again, he cannot fee the kingdom of God.’ He canfiders thofe, who are born of the {pirit as rank enthufialts, and difdains to _ make any ferious enquiry refpecting the foundation of their hope, . if his acquaiatance with the letter of the {cripture did not reftrain him, he would tauntingly addrefs the artlefs queftion of Nicodemus to every miniiter, who preaches the ' doétrine of regeneration—How can q man be born, when he js old 2 Cau heenter the fecond time into his mother’s wampb and be born ? Ang unlefs he was withheld by a fenfe of politenefs, - he would rudely repeat to eyery zealous follower of St, Paul the ungracious expreflion of. Feftus— Thou are befide thy- felf; much myfltic learning doth make thee mad.” ' _ 7, Qn the contrary, a minifter, who is diflinguifhed by the fecond trait of the charafter of St. Paul, at the {ame time proportionably poifleffes exery difpofition, neceflary to form an evangelical paitor: fince it is not poffible for chriffian f fies to exift withoyt the brillant light of ¢rutk, and the yurning zeal of céqrity. Andevery minifter, who has this light and this loye, is enriched with thofe two powerful re- fources, which enabled the firft chriftians to a€ as citizens “oi heaven, and the frit minifiers as ambaffadors of Chrift. ™~ > Da 20 “THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. j “et TRAIT IIl. oe 4 4 ie HIS INTIMATE UNION WITH ~~ if CHRIST BY FAITH. PS Ie q tos AM come, {aid the good fhepherd, that my /beef might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I an the light of the world. I am the way, the truth, and the li b I am the vine; ye are the branches. The faithful minifter underftands the fignification of thefe myfterious expreffions. He walks in this way, he follows this ight, he'embraces this truth, and enjoys this /ife, in all its rich abundance. Con- ftantly united to his Lord, by a humble faith, a lively hope and an ardent charity, he is enabled to fay, with St. Pa © The love of Chrift conftraineth me; becaufe we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died’ for all, that they, which live, fhould not henceforth live unto’ themfelves, but unto him, who died for them, and rofe again. We are dead, and our life is hid with Chrift in God. When Chrift, who is our life, fhall appear, then fhall we alfo appear with him in glory. For if we have been planted together in’ the likenefs of his death, we fhall be alfo in the likenefs of his refurretion, Knowing that Chrift, being raifed fromv the dead, dieth no more; but liveth unto God: we likewife’ reckon ourfelves to be dead indeed unto fin, but alive unto’ God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord.’ ; wy This living faith is the fource, from whence all the fanc- tity of the chriftian is derived, and all the power of the true minifter : it is the medium, through which that fap of grace and confolation, thofe ftreams of peace and joy, are perpe= tually flowing, which enrich the believing foul, and make it: fruitful in every good work: or, to fpeak without a meta- phor, from this powerful grace proceeds that love of God and man, which influences us to think and a&, either as mem- ‘bers, or as minifters, of Jefus Chrift. The charaéter of the chriitian is determined according to the ftrength or ~weak- nefs of his faith. If the faith of St. Paul had been weak or wavering, his portrait would have been unworthy of our con- templation : he would neceffarily have fallen into doubt and difcouragement ; he might probably have funk into fin, as’ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 5 21 St. Peter. plunged into the fea; he muft, fooner or later, have loft his fpiritual vigour ; and have made the fame ap- ce in the church, as thofe minfters and chriftians, who are influenced by the maxims of the world. The effects of faith are still truly mysterious, though our Lord has ex- plained them in as intelligible a manner, as their nature. will permit. * He that abideth in me,’ by_a living faith, « and won Labide,’ by the light of my word and the power f my {pirit, ‘ the fame bringeth forth much fruit ; for with~ out me ye can do nothing.. If any man abide not in me, he is cast forth as.a branch, and being withered, is cast into the fire and burned. Herein is my father glorified, that,’ unit- ed to me as the branches to the vine, ‘ ye bear much fruit ; fo fhall ye be my difciples.’ ba ' Penetrated with thefe great truths, and daily cleaving more firmly to his living head, the true minister expreffes what the natural man cannot receive, and what few paitors of the prefent age are able to comprehend, though St. Paul fot only experienced it in his own heart, but openly declares it in the following remarkable paflage: J am crucified with Chrift: neverthelefs, I live ; yet, not I, but Chrift liveth in me : and the life, which I now live in the flefh, I live by the faith of the Sen of God, who loved me, and gave him/elf for me. a? ? at ‘TRAIT IV. 3 - HIS EXTRAORDINARY VOCATION TOTHE HOLY * MINISTRY, AND IN WHAT THAT MINISTRY » CHIEFLY CONSISTS. ; ey the be profeffor of chriftianity is acquainted with the honour, which our Lord conferred upon the apof- tle Paul, in not only calling him to a participation of the chriftian faith, but by appointing him alfo to publifh the everlafting Gofpel. A juft fenfe of this double honour pene- tiated the heart of that apoftle with the moft lively grati- tude—ZJ give thanks, faith he, ‘to Chrift Jefus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the miniftry ; | who was before a blaf{phemer, and a perfecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy becaufe I did it ignorantly in unbe- 92 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ‘ lief: and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant in nié, With faith and love, which is inChrift Jefus. Howbeit, for this caufe I obtained mercy, that in me first Jefus Christ might fhew forth all me eet for a pattern to them, which fhould hereafter believe on him to everlasting life.’ The evangelical ministry to which St. Paul was sentaerhiatal called, is in général the fame, thiouga every age enlightene by the Gofpel, and confists in publifhing the truth after fuch a thannet, that the wicked may be converted, ahd the faith- ful édified. The commiffion which the great apostle re~ ceived from Christ, contains, effentially, nothing more than the acknowledged a of every minister of the (ofoes Leave out the miraculous appéarance of our Lord; p over the circumstance of a commiffion given in an extraordi- nary manner; fubftitute the word finners for that of gentiles, and inftead of Jews, tead hypocritical profefors; and you will perceive, that, with thefe immaterial alterations, th commiffion of St. Paul is the commiffion of every faithfi minifter in the church. Obferve the tenor of it. Tn perfon, or by my ambafladors, in a manner either extraordinary, or ordinary, ‘I appoint thee a minifter, and a witnefs of thofe things which thou haft feen, or experienced, and of thofe things, in the which I will appear fo thee; atid I will deliver thee from the hands of the people, and from the gentiles,’ i. e. from the hands of hypocritical profeffors, and from ignorant finners, ¢ unto whom I now fend thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from the darknefs of error, to the light of truth, and from the-power of Satan to God.’ i. e. from fin, which is the image of Satan, to holinefs, which is the image of God, that they may receive forgivenefs of fins, and an inhe- ritance among them, which are fan&ified, by faith that is in me. Such was the office to which St. Paul was appointed, nioré efpecially among the gentile nations; and fuch, without doubt, is the office of every paftor, at leaft, within the limits of his particular parifh. As for taking the’ ecclefiaftical habit, reading over fome pages of a liturgy, folemnizing marriages, baptizing infants, keeping régiftersy and réctiving ftipends, thefe things are merely accidental: and every mi- nifter fhould able to fay, with St. Paul, Chriff fent me not; principally, to bagi but to preach the Gofpel. It is evident from various paflages in the different offices of our church, that our pious reformers were unanimoufly of THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 28- Opinion, that Chrift himfelf appoiats, and, in fome fort, in- fpites all true paftors; that He commits the flock to their keeping, and that their principal care is the fame with that of the firft evangelifts, namely, ‘the converfion of fouls.’ And truly, the fame Lord, who appointed his difciples as apofiles or octular witneffes of his refurreGtion, has alfo ap- pointed others as fiaffors, ot ¢ witneffes of a fecondary order,’ - arid faffragans of the firft evangelifts. If the witneffes of a higher order weré permitted to fee Chrift after his refurrece - tion, thofe of a fecondary order have felt the efficacy of his refurreGion, being raifed together with him, or regenerated through the reception of a lively hofie, by the rifing again of Cheipifvon the dead. So that every true minifter, who bears his feitimony to the truths of the Gofpel, whether it be from the pulpit, or before tribunals, is f{upported by his own par- ticular experience of Chrift’s refurrection, as well as by a tonvidion founded upon the depofitions of the firit witnefles. Now this convition, and this experience, are by no means éonfined to the miniftering fervants of Gop ; but the hearts of the faithful, m their feveral generations, have been influ- enced by them both ; if it be true, that they have conftantly ftood prepared, to feal with their blood thefe two important _ truths, Jefus Chrift died for our fins, and rofe again for our | juftification. Millions of the laity have been called to give this laft proof of their faith, and, beyond all doubt, it is abun- _-dantly more difficult to bear teftimony of the truth upon a {caffold, than from.a pulpit. If St. Paul and-the other apoftles are confidered as per- fons of a rank far fuperior to ours, they themfelves cry out, O firs! we alfo are:men of like paffions with you. fit be faid, ’ | that God infpired the apoftles with all the wif/dom and zeal néceffary to fulfil the duties of their high vocation; it may be replied, that our churches implore for their eftablifhed pastors the fame wifdom and zeal, grounding fuch prayers _ Upon the authority of many plain paflages of Holy Scrip. tute. *‘ Now unto him, that is able to do exceeding abun- dantly above all, that we afk or think, according to the pows ér that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jefus, throughout all ages, world without end.’ Moreover, it is an error to fuppofe, that the apoftles needed ho augmentation of that divine light, by which fpiritual ob-~ <. jects are difcerned. St. Paul who was favoured with an ex- 24 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. traordinary infpiration, and that fufficient to compofe facred books, in which infallibility is to be found, writes thus to believers: Now qwe fee through a glafi darkly but then face to face. Now I know in part ; but then fhall I know, even as alfo Iam known. Anhumble, but happy confeffion! which, on the one hand, will not fuffer us to be difcouraged, when we are moft fenfible of our inadequate light ; and teaches us, on the other, how neceflary it is to make inceffant applica tion to the Farther of lights: equally guarding us againit the pride of fome, who imagine themfelves to have apprehend- ed ail the truth; and.the wilful ignorance of others, who pronounce fpiritual knowledge to be altegether unattainable. Now if the apoftle Paul could but imperfe@tly difcern the depths of evangelical truth, and if angels themfelves defire to look into thefe things ; who can fufficiently wonder at the prefumption of thofe men, who are fo far perfuaded of their own infallibility, that they regard all truths, which they are unable to fathom, as the mere reveries of fanaticilm? But, turning our eyes at prefent from the pernicious error of thefe felf-exalted chriftians, let us confider a fubje&, in which we are more interefted, than in the extraordinary vocation of St, Paul to the holy miniftry. REFLECTIONS ade Upon the ordinary vocation to the holy minifiry, a HE harveft truly is plenteous, but the labourers ave few ; fray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harveft, that He will Jend forth labourers into his harvefl. Retaining in memory thefe remarkable words of our Lord, the confcientious man is incapable of thrufting himfelf into the holy miniftry, with- out being firft duly called thereto by the Lord of the harveft © the great Shepherd and Bifhop of fouls. pet The minifter of the prefent age is not ordinarily called to the holy miniftry, except by carnal motives, fuch as his own vanity, or his peculiar tafte for a tranquil and indolent life, . Perhaps his vocation to the miniftry is principally from his father or mother, who have determined that their fon fhall enter into holy orders. Very frequently, if the candidate forholy orders had fincerity enough to difeover_the real in- clination of his heart, he might make hig fubmiffions to the ~ \ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 25 dignitaries of our church, and fay ;- Put me, I pray you, into one of the prieft’s offices that I may eat a piece of bread. ' — It isnot thus with the real believer, who confecrates him- felf to the holy miniftry. He is not ignorant, that Chri/t glorified not himfelf to be made an high prieft : and he is per- _ feétly affured, that no man has a right to take upon himfelf the facerdotal dignity, but he that is called of God, either in an extraordinary manner, as Aaron and St. Paul, or, at leait, in an ordinary manner, as Apollos and Timothy. As it is ‘a matter of the utmoft importance, to underftand by what tokens this ordinary vocation to the holy miniftry may be difcovered, the following reflections upon fo interefting a fubje& may not be altogether fuperfluous. _. Ifa young man of virtuous manners is deeply penetrated with this humiliating truth,—4// have finned and come fhort » of the glory of God. Jf further, he is effeCtually convinced \ of this confolatory truth. God fo loved the world, that he a gave his only-begotten Son that whofoever believeth in him fhould not perifh, but have everlafting life. If his natural talents have been ftrengthened by a liberal education ; if the pleafure of doing good is fweeter to him thanall the pleafures of fenfe ; if the hope of converting finners from the error of their way, occupies his mind more agreeably than the idea of acquiring all the advantages of fortune; if the honour of publifhing the _ Gofpel, is fuperior, in his eyes, to the honour of becoming '- the ambaffador of an earthly prince: In fhort, if by a defire, _ which fprings from the fear of Gon, the love of Chrift, and _ the concern he takes in the falvation of his neighbour, he is led to confecrate himfelf to the holy miniftry ; if, in the or- der of providence, outward circumftances concur with his own defigns ; and if he folicits the grace and affiftance of Gopwith greatereagernefs than hefeeksthe outward vocation _ from his fuperiors in the church by the impofition of hands ; he may then fatisfy himfelf, that the great High-Prieft of ' the Chriftian profeffion has fet him apart for the high office, | to which he afpires. ie 2 = ¢ / When, after ferious examination, any ftudent in theology difcovers in himfelf the neceffary difpofitions mentioned \ above ; then, having received impofition of hands, with faith | and humility, from the paitors, who prefide in the church, he may folidly conclude, that he has been favoured with the ordinary vocation. Hence, looking up to the fource of the t B ss 26 . THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. important office, with which he is honoured, he can adopt with propriety the language of St. Paul: ‘I thank Chrift Jefus our Lord, for that he hath counted me faithful, put- ting me into the miniftry. Though Ivpreach the gofpel, I have nothing to glory of; for neceffity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gofpel: for then I. fhould be found unfaithful to my vocation. God was in Chriff reconciling the world to himfelf, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambaffadors for Chrift. And, if he becomes not like that wicked and flothful fervant, who refufed to adminifter to the neceflities of his mafter’s houfehold, he will be able at all times to fay; ‘Therefore, feeing we have this miniftry, as we have re~ ceived mercy, we faint not ; but have renounced the hidden things of difhonefty, not walking in craftinefs nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifeftation of the truth, commending ourfelves to every man’s confcience in the fight of God. ¢ . ; A perfon of this defcription, fearching the depths of the human heart, of which he has acquired a competent know- ledge by the ftudy of his own, meditating with attention upon the proofs, and with humility upon the myfteries of our holy religion, giving himfelf up to the ftudy of divine things, and above all, to prayer and to good works; fuch a paftor may reafonably hope to grow in grace and in the knowledge of that powerful Saviour, whom he earneftly proclaims to others. Nor is it probable that fuch a one will labour altogether in vain. Gradually inftru&téd in the things, which concern the kingdom of Gop, he will become like the father of a family, bringing forth out of his treafures things new and old: and whether he fpeaks of the old man, the earthly nature, which he has fut off with fuch extreme pain, or the new man, the heavenly nature, which he has put on with equal joy, he will {peak with aconviGtion fo power- ful, and a perfuafion fo conftraining, that the carelefs mult neceflarily be alarmed, and the faithful encouraged. ’ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 27 TRAIT V. HIS ENTIRE DEVOTION TO JESUS CHRIST. HE true chriftian called to become a difciple of the bleffed Jefus, rather than refufe the offered privilege, renounces his all. If this token of devotion to Chrift is difcernable in the chara¢ter of every true chriftian, it is ftill more confpicuous in the character of every true minifter. Such a perfon, inwardly called by the grace of Gop toa _ ftate of diciplefhip with Chrift, and outwardly confecrated to fuch a ftate by the impofition of hands, gives himfelf unre- fervedly up to the fervice of his condefcending mafter. He withftands no longer that permanent command of our exalted Lord, to which his firft difciples fhewed fo cheerful a fubmif- fion, Follaw me. Nor is he difcouraged, while Chrift con- tinues, ‘ If any man will come after me, let him deny him- felf, take up his crofs, and follow me. No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the king- dom of God. He, that loveth father and mother, fon or daughter, more than me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life fhall lofe it: and he that lofeth his life, for my fake, fhall find it.” If there be found any paftor who cannot adopt the folemn appeal of the firft minifters of Chrift, Lowe have left all and followed Thee, that man is in no fitua- tion to copy the example of his forerunners in the chriftian church, and is altogether unworthy the chara¢ter he bears : fince without this detachment from the world, and this de-. votion to the Son of Gop, he flatters himfelf in vain, that he is either a true minifter, or a real member, of Jefus Chrift. Obferve the declaration of one, whofe attachment to his divine mafter deferves to be had in everlafting remembrance : * Thofe things which were gain to me, I counted lofs for Chrift. Yea, doubtlefs, and I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord ; for whom I have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Chrift, and be found in him, having the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith.’ For none of us, true chriftians or true minifters, ‘liveth to himfelf, B2 28 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. or dieth to himfelf: but whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.’ Profeffing to be, either a minifter, or a believer, of the Gofpel, without this entire devotion to Jefus Chrift, is to live in a ftate of the moft dangerous hypocrify : itis neither more nor lefs, than faying, Lord! Lord! withouthavinga — firm refolution to do, what our gracious mafter has com- — manded. ' “TRAIT VI. HIS STRENGTH AND HIS ARMS. HE minifters of the prefent age are furnifhed in a SD manner fuitable to their defign. As they are more — defirous to fleafe than to convert their hearers, fo they are peculiarly anxious to embellifh the inventions of a feducing imagination. They are continually feeking after the beauty of metaphors, the brilliancy of antithefes, the delicacy of de- {cription, the juft arrangement of words, the aptnefs of gef- ture, the modulations of voice, and every other ftudied orna- ment of artificial eloquence. While the true minifter, ef- fe€tually convinced of the excellence of the Gofpel, relies alone, for the effe&t of his public miniftry, upon the force of truth, and the affiftance of his divine mafter. Obferve the manner in which St. Paul expreffes himfelf upon this fubjeé&t ; ‘ We having the fame fpirit of faith, ac- cording as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I fpoken ; we alfo believe, and therefore fpeak. And I, bre- — thren, came not with excellency of fpeech, or of wifdom, de- claring unto you the teftimony of God: forI determined ~ not to know any thing among you, fave Jefus Chrift, and him crucified. And my fpeech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wifdom, but in demonftration of the Spirit, and of power: that your faith fhould not ftand in the wifdom of men, but in the power of God. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty, through” God, to the pulling down of ftrong holds: cafting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itfelf againft the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chritt.’ The true miniiter, following the example of St. Paul, after et of THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 29 having experienced the power of thefe viftorious arms, ex- horts every foldier of Chrift to provide himfelf with the fame {piritual weapons. < Finally, my brethren, be ftrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to ftand. For we wreftle not merely againfi flefh and blood, but againft prin- © cipalities, againft powers, againft the rulers of the darknefs of this world, againft f{piritual wickednefs in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withftand in the evil day, and having done ~ all, to ftand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breaft-plate of righteoufnefs, and your feet fhod with the preparation of the Gofpel of peace: above all, taking the fhield of faith, wherewith ye fhall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of falvation, and the {word of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And, that you may perform heroical fervice with thefe arms, pray always with all prayer and fup- plication in the fpirit.’ So long as the faithful minifter, or fervant of Chrift wears and wields thefe {criptural arms, he will be truly invincible. But no man can gird himfelf with thefe invifible weapons, except he be born of the Spirit; nor can any chriftian foldier employ them to good purpofe, unlefs he be first endued with all that divine power, which flows from the love of God and man: he must feel, at least, fome {parks of that fire of charity,: which warmed the bofom of St. Paul, when he cried out— Whether we be befide ourfelves, it is to God: or whether we be Sober, it is for your caufe. For the love of Chrift and of fouls conftraineth us. _s «« From the time, that the eyes of St. Paul were opened to’ “a perception of the Gofpel,”’ fays Monf. Romilly, pastor of a church in Geneva, “ we find him no lonser the fame’ “ perfon. He is another man, he is a new creaturé, wha‘ *¢ thinks no more bit on Gofpel-truths ; who hears nothing, “ who breathes nothing but the Gofpel; who {peaks on “no other fubje@, who attends to no other thing but ‘the * voice of the Gofpel ; who defires all the world to attend « with him to the fame voice, and wifhes to communicate his * tranfports to all-mankind. From this happy period, neither * the prejudices of flefh and blood, neither refpeG@ to man, _ © nor the fear of death, nor any other confideration is able to B3 wh 7 80 . THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ‘* withstand him in his courfe. He moves on with ferenity “*in a path fown thick with reproaches and pain. Whathas — “he to fear? He defpifes the maxims of the world, nay the *« world itfelf ; its hatred as well as its favour, its joys as well ‘* as its forrows, its meannefs as well as its pomp. ‘Timeis * no longer an obje& with him, nor is his economy regulated “by it. He is fuperior to every thing; he is a#mmortal.— “Though the univerfe arms itfelf against him, though hell “ opens its abyffes, though affliétion affaults him on every “ fide, he stands immoveable im every storm, looking with “ contempt upon death, confeious that he can never die. Sus _ © perior to all his enemies, he refists their united attempts ' « with the arms of the Gofpel, oppofing to time and hell, “ eternity and heaven.” EE a ae ee TRAIT VII. HIS POWERTO BIND,TO LOOSE, ANDTO BLESS, INTHE NAME OFTHE LORD. cs Bhp armour of Gon, defcribed in the preceding article, is common to all christians ; but the true minister is irded with weapons of a peculiar temper. Asa christian, Bis {word is the word of God in pee but, as a minister, it is efpecially thofe parts of the Gofpel, by which he is inveft- ed with authority to preach the word of God, and to perform the fun@ions of an ambaflador of Jefus Chrift. Go, faid our bleffed Mafter to his firft difciples, and preach the Gofpel to every creature. * He that believeth my doétrine fhall be faved ; but he that believeth not, fhall be damned. All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them im the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to obferve all things, whatfoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Verily, verily I fay unto you, he, that receiveth whomfoever’I fend, receiveth me ; and he, that receiveth me, receiveth Him that fent me. Verily I fay unto you, what- foever ye fhall bind on earth, fhall be bound in Heaven ; and whatfoever ye fhall lofe on earth, according to the fpirit of my Gofpel, fhall be loofed in Heaven.’ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. $1 Behold, from whence the ministers of Christ have authori- ty to abfolve true penitents, and to excommunicate obstinate finners. An authority, which fome have called the power of _ the clergy ; a power, which unrighteous pastors fo much abufe, and which the faithful never prefume to exercife, but with the utmost folemnity : a power, which, neverthelefs, be- longs to them of-divine right, and which can.be denied them with no more reafon, than éhey can refufe the facramental cup to the people. Such, at least, is the judgment of many ex- cellent and learned divines, among whom may be reckoned Monf. Ostervald, and Monf. Roques. It may however be enquired, with propriety in this place—Can ecclefiastics be justified in still making ufe of their authority in theie refpects, unlefs they do it with prudence and impartiality ? And would it not become them to exercife the ecclefiastic difcipline, in an efpecial manner, upon unworthy pastors, following the maxim of St. Peter ; The time is come, that judgment muff begin at the houfe of God ? Invefted with the authority, which Chrift has conferred upon him, the true minifter is prepared to denounce the judgments of Gon againit obftinate finners, te confole the dejected, and to proclaim the promifes of the Gefpel to every fincere believer, with an energy unknown to the worldly paftor, and with a power, which is accompanied by the feal of the living God: Thus, when fuch a minifter clearly dif- cerns the profound malice of another Elymas, he is permit - ted to fay, with the authority of an ambaffadorof Jefus Chrift; * O full of ail fubtilty, and all mifchief, thou child of the Devil, thou enemy of all righteowfnefs, wilt thou not ceafe to pervert the rizht ways of the Lord? Behold! the hand of the Lord fhall be upon thee.’ But the true minister is careful never toabufe this awfil power. ‘We can do nothing,” fays St. Paul, ‘against the truth, but forthe truth: I write thefe things being abfent, lest being prefent, I fhould ufe fharpnefs, according to the power, which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.? The denun- ciation of vengeance is to the minister of Christ, what the execution of judgment is to the Gop of love, his painful and frrange work. The good pastor, confcious that the ministration of mer- cy exceeds in glory the mmistration of condemnation, places his chief glory and. pleafure in {preading abroad the bleffings B4 32 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. of the new covenant. He knows, that the promifes are yea, and amen, in that beneficent Redeemer, who gave the follow- — ing charge to his first miffionaries: Jnto whatfoever houfe ye — enter, firft fay, Peace be to this houfe. And if the fon of peace — be there, your peace fhall reft upon him : if: net, it fall turn to you again. ‘The wifhes and prayers of a minister, who acts and ~ ipeaks in conformity to the intent of this benign charge, really communicates the peace and benediétion of his graci- ous master to thofe, who are meet for their reception: and according to the degree of his faith, he can write to the faith- ful of distant churches, with the confidence of St. Paul—I _ am perfuaded that when J come unto you, I foall come in the ful- nefs of the bleffing of the Gofpel of Chrift. Whenever he falutes_ his brethren, his pen or his lips become the channel of thofe evangelical withes, which flow from his heart: * Grace be un- to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jefus Christ. The grace of the Lord Jefus Christ, and the. love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.’ Thus the true minister approves himfelf a member . of the roy yal friefthood, a priest of the most high, after the order of Melchifedec; who bleffed the Patriarch Abraham =. or rather, a ministring fervant of the fon of Gop, who was. manifested in the flefh, that in him all the families of the earth might be bleffed. Great God! grant that the whole company of chirietiadi pastors may be men after thine own heart. Leaving to the ignorant thofe compliments, which a flavifh dependence has invented, may thy ministers perpetually carry about them the love, the gravity, and the apostolic authority, which be- long to their facred chara&ter. May all the benediétions, which thou hast commiffioned them to pronounce, caufe them still to be received, in every place as angels of God. Far from: being defpifed as hypocrites, fhunned as troublefome guests, or feared as men of a covetous and tyrannical difpofition, may that moment always be esteemed a happy one, in which - they enter any man’s habitation: and whenever they make their appearance upon thefe charitable occafions, may thofe, who compofe the family, each feeking to give the first falute,. cry out—How beautiful are the feet of them, that frreach the Goffrel of peace. The power of pronouncing exhortations and bleffings is not. the exclufive privilege of pastors, but belongs to all experi- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 33 enced believers. The Patriarchs had a right to blefs their _ children; and Jacob bleffed not only his fons and grandfons, but alfo the king of Egypt himfelf. If the followers of ‘Chrift, then, are deprived of this confolatory power, the chil- -dren of ancient Ifrael were more highly privileged than the members ofthe chriftian church, who are called, neverthelefs, to ‘receive more precious benedi¢tions, and to be, as our Lord ex- preffes it, ‘ the falt of the earth, and the light of the world.’ WhenSt. Paul writes to believers: ¢ Defire{piritual gifts; but rather that ye may prophefy: for he that prophefieth, {fpeak- eth unto men to edification, to exhortation, and comfort :’ he doubtlefs excites them to afk of Gop that overflowing cha- rity, and that patriarchal authority, without which, it is im- poffible for them fully to comply with the following apotto- lic injun&tions—Ble/s, and curfe not—knowing that ye are thereunto called that ye foould inherit a bleffing,—and, without a high degree of which they cannot fincerely obey thofe distin- guifhed precepts of our blefled Lord—Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, aud pray for them, which defpitefully ufe you and perfecute you. : ; TRAIT VIII. THE EARNESTNESS WITH WHICH HE BEGAN, AND CONTINUED TO FILL UP THE DUTIES OF HIS VOCATION. HE trie penitent having renounced himfelf for the honour of following his exalted Lord, stands faithfully in his own vocation, whether it be fecular orecclafiastic. He is prepared, upon.all occafions, to perform the will of his gracious Mafter : and if he is commiffioned to a& as a mini- tter of Chriit, after furnifhing himfelf with the whole armour of God, he will expofe himfelf, without fear, to the mott threatening dangers, that he may compel finners to come in to the marriage-fupper of the Lamb. < I rejoice, faith St. Paul, in my fufferings for the body of Chrift, which is the church, whereof [ am made a minifter, according to the dif- penfation of God, which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God ; even the myltery, which hath been hid from ages, but which is now made =e to his faints: to whom 5 34 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. God would make known, what is the riches of the glory of this myftery among the gentiles; whichis Chrift in you, the - hope of glory ; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wifdom, that we may prefentevery man perfect in Christ Jefus ; whereunto I alfo labour, striv- ing according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. For 1 would that ye knew what great confli€t I have for you, and for all thofe among whom the word of God is preached, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full affurance of underftanding to the acknowledgment of the myftery of God, and of. the Father and of Chrift ; in whom are hid all the treafures of wifdom and knowledge.’ t Such are the great ideas, which the Apoftle Paul enter- tained of the miniftry he had received ; and obferve the affi- duity, with which he difcharged the duties of fo important an office—Ye know, fays he, {peaking to the paltors, to whom he committed the care of one of -his flocks ‘ from the firft day, that I came into Affa, after what manner I have been with you at all feafons, ferving the Lord with all humility _of mind, and with many tears and temptations: and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have: fhewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from houfe ‘to houfe, teftifying both to the Jews, and alfo to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jefus — Chrift. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that E am pure from the blood of allmen. For I have not fhunned to declare unto you all the counfel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourfelves ; for I know this, thatafter my de- parting fhall grievous wolves, unfaithful paftors, enter in among you, not fparing the flock. ‘Therefore watch and remember, that by the {pace of three years I ceafed not to. warn every one night and day with tears.> In every place he difcharged the obligations of a minifter with the fame ap- plication and zeal, travelling from city to city, and from church to church, bearing teftimony to the redemption that is in Jefus, and declaring the great truths of the Gofpel. When the fynagogues were fhut againft him, he preached in the fchools of philofophers, upon the fea-fhore, on fhipboard, and even in prifons: and while he diwelt a prifoner in his own houfe at Rome, ¢ he received all, that came in unto him, to whom he expounded and teftified the Kingdom of THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 35. _ God, perfuading them concerning Jefus, both out of the Law of Mofes and out of the Prophets, from morning till evening.” Thus the Son of God himfelf once publicly laboured for” the converfion of finners, fometimes gomg through all Gali- | lee, teaching in their fynagogues, and preaching the Gofpel ; and at other times inftruGting the multitudes, who either follow- ed him imto the fields, or reforted to the houfe, where he lodged: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leifure fo much as to eat. And when through the pleafure ' of bringing the Samaritans acquainted with {piritual truth, he diiregarded the neceffities of nature, his difciples requeft- ing him to partake of the food they had prepared, received from him this memorable anfwer: J have meat to eat, that ye know nat of—my meat is to do the will of kim that fent me and to finifh his work, that is, to enlighten and fave finners. Thus St. Paul was diligently and daily occupied in ful- filling the duties of his apoftolic vocation; and thus every miniiter of the Gofpel is called to labour in his appointed fphere. It remains to be known, whether all who do not labour according to their ability, are not condemned by the following general rule ; if any will not work neither fbould he eat: For thefe words fignify, applied to the prefent cafe, that they who will not labour as paftors, fhould by no means be permitted to eat the bread of paftors ; an evangelical pre- cept this, which deferves the firicteft attention, as the bread of paftors is, in fome fort, facred bread, fince it is that, which the piety of the public has fet apart for the fepport of thofe,. who have abandoned every worldly purfuit, that they might. dedicate themfelves freely and fully to the fervice of the ehurch. % ——eeSiiese—— TRAIT FX. THE MANNER IN WHICH HE DIVIDED HIS — TIME BETWEEN PRATER, PREACHING, AND TFHANKSGIFING. _ HE minifter of the prefent age is but feldom engaged i in publifhing to his peeple the truths of the Gofpel ; and fill more rarely in fupplicating for them the pofleffien of . : B6 Ch THE PORTRAIT OF st PAUL.” : thofe bleflings, which the Gofpel propofes. It is chiefly ~-—— before men, that he lifts up his hands, and affeéts to pour — out a prayer from the fulnefs of his heart ; while the true minifter divides his time between the two important and re- frefhing occupations of preaching and prayer ; by the former making a public offer of divine grace to his hearers, and by — the latter, foliciting for them in fecret the experience of that grace. Such was the manner of the bleffed Jefus himfelf, who after having reproved his difciples for the low degree of their faith, retired either into gardens, or upon mountains, praying that their faith might not fail. The good paftor, who conftantly imitates the example of his diyine matter, is _ prepared to adopt the following language of St. Paul, in ad- dreffing the flock, upon which he is immediately appointed to attend: ‘For this caufe I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, of whom the whole family in Hea- ven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be ftrengthened with might by — his {pirit in the inner man; that Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be filled with all the fulnefs of God. Andthis I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, and in ail judgment; that ye may approve things, that are excellent ; that ye may be fincere and without offence till the day of Chrift; being filled with the fruits of righteouf- yefs, whichare by Jefus Chrift, unto the glory and praife of God.’ By prayers like thefe, the Apoftle Paul was accuf- tomed to water, without ceafing, the heavenly feed, which he had fo widely fcattered through the vineyard of his Lord, manifefting an increafing attachment to thofe among whom he had at any time publifhed the tidings of falvation, and breathing out in all his epiftles to diftant churches, the moft earneft defire that Gop would fu/f/ in them all the good plea- Sure of his goodnefs, and the work of faith with power 5 that the name of the Lord Jefus Chrift might be glorified in them, and they in him. ‘a AKT? Paftors, who pray thus for their flocks, pray not in vain. Their fervent petitions are heard ; finners are converted, the faithful are edified, and thank{giving is fhortly joined to fup- plication.” Thus the fame apoftle—* I thank my God al- ways on your behalf for the grace of God, which is given you by Jefus Chrift ; that in every thing ye are enriched by THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 87 him, in all ‘utterance, and in all knowledge. So that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Having heard of your faith in the Lord Jefus, and your love unto all the faints, I ceafe not to give thanks for you.’ Worldly minifters have no experience of the holy joy, that accompanies thefe fecret facrifices of praife and thankfgiving. But this can by no means be confidered as matter of aitonifh- ment. Is their attachment to Chrift as fincere as that of his faithful minifters ? Are they as folicitous for the falvation _ of their hearers ? Do they teach and preach with equal zeal? Do they pray with the fame ardour and perfeverance ? a at See TRAIT X. THE FIDELITY, WITH WHICH HE ANNOUNC- EDTHE SEVERE THREATENINGS, AND CON- SOLATORY PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. HE worldly minifter has neither the courage, northe ten- : dernefs of the true paftor. He is fearful of publithing thofe truths, which are calculated toalarm the carelefs finner ; and he knows not, in what manner to apply the promifes of the Gofpel, forthe reliefof thofe, who mourn. Ifeverhe at- . tempts to defcant upon the confolatory truths of the Gof- pel, he only labours to explain, what isnearly unintelligible to himfelf ; and all his difcourfes on fubje&ts of this nature are void of that earneit perfuafion, and that unétion of love, which charatterize the minifters of Chrift. On the other hand, his dread of giving offence will not fuffer him to ad- drefs finners of every rank, with the holy boldnefs of the Pro- phet Samuel: “If ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel againft the. commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be againit you. If ye ftill do wicked- ly ye fhall be confumed. The faithful paftor, on the con- trary,)confcious that the harfheft truths of the Gofpel are as neceffary, as they are offenfive, courageoufly infifts upon them, in the manner of St Pavl—* Thinkeft thou, O man, that doeft fuch things, that thou fhalt efcape the judge- ment of God? Know this, that after thy barduefs and impe- _ 38 TRE PORTRAIT OF STs PAUL« nitent heart thou treafureft up unto thyfelf wrath againft the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: for indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguifh fhall be upon every foul of man, that doeth evil. If every tranfgreffion under the firft covenant received a juft recom- pence of reward, how shall we efcape if we negle@ fo great falvation, which at the firft began to be fpoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them,that heard him. This ye know, that no unclean perfon, nor covetous man hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Chrift and of God: let no man deceive you with vain words; for becaufe of thefe things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of dif- obedience. See that ye refufe not him that fpeaketh: for if they efcaped not, who refufed him, that fpake on earth,’ viz. the prophet Mofes ; ‘ much more fhall not we efcape, if we turn away from him, that fpeaketh from Heaven,’ viz. The Saviour Jefus Chrift. ‘ Wherefore let us ferve God ac- ceptably, with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a confuming fire.’ , But though the true minifter courageoufly announces the- moft fevere declarations of the word to the unbelieving and the impenitent ; yet he is never fo truly happy, as when he invites the poor in fpirit to draw forth the riches of grace from the treafury of Gop’s everlafting love. God hath not, faith St. Paul, ‘appointed us te wrath; but to obtain fal- vation by our Lord Jefus Chrift. Thisis a faithful faying, and worthy of all aceeptation, that Chrift Jefus came inte. the world to faye finners. Ye are not come unto the mount, that burned with fire, nor unto blacknefs, and darknefs, and tempeft. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, and to Jefus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of {prinkling, that fpeaketh — better things than that of Abel. Having therefore, bre- — thren, boldnefs to. enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus, and having an High Prieft over the Houfe of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith. — Hf, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we thall be faved by his life. He, that fpared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how thalt he not with him alfo freely give us all things? Who fhall lay any thing to the - eharge of God’s ele&t? It is God that juftifieth: whois he, r% | THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 39 “that condemneth ? It is Chrift that died, yea, rather that is “rifen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who alfo _ maketh interceffion for us.’ When thefe exhilarating declarations are found infufficient “40 revive the hearts of the contrite, the evangelical preacher fails not to multiply them, in the moft fympathizing and affeGtionate manner. J fay unto you, continues he, ¢ all man- ner of fin and blafphemy fhall be forgiven unto men: forthe blood of Jefus Chrif cleanfeth from allfin. And by him all, _who believe, are juftified from all things, from which ye could “not be juftified by the law of Mofes. There is therefore “now no condemnation to them, which are in Chrift Jefus: for where fin abounded, grace did much more abound.’ _ Such are the cordials, which the faithful evangelift admi- _nifters to thofe, who are weary and heavy laden: precious _eordials, which the worldly paftor can never effectually ap- ply ; which he either employs out of feafon, or renders ufe- _Tefs by fuch additions of his own, as are contrary to the fpirit of the Gofpel. KK EE | TRAIT. XI. HIS PROFOUND HUMILITY. PY HERE is no evil difpofition of the heart, with which the clergy are fo frequently reproached, as pride. ‘And it is with reafon, that we oppofe this-finful temper, _ efpecially when it appears in paftors, fince it is fo entirely contrary to the f{pirit of the Gofpel, that the apoitle Paul _ emphatically terms it, The condemnation of the Devil. There is no amiable difpofition, which our Lorp more ftrongly recommended to his followers, than lowlinefs of mind. From his birth to his death, he gave himfelf a ftrik- "ing example of the moft profound humility, joined to the ; moft ardent charity. After having wafhed the feet of his | firft difciples, i. e. after he had taken the place of a flave at their feet, he addrefled them as follows—‘ Know ye, what Ihave done unto you? ¥e call me Mafter, and Lord: ard | ye fay welh: for fo Iam. ii I then, your Lord and Mai- ter, have wafhed your feet; ye alfo ought to wafh one ano- 40 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL» ther’s feet. For I have ‘given you an example, that ye fhould do as I have done to you. Verily, verily I fay unto you, the fervant is not greater than his Lord: neither he, that is fent, greater than he that fent him.’ Again he fays to the fame effe@—* Ye know, that the princes of the Gen- tiles exercife dominion over them, and they, that are great, exercife authority upon them. But it fhall not be fo among you: but whofoever will be great among you, let him be your minifter: and whofoever will be chief among you, let him be your fervant: even as the Son of man came not to be miniftered unto, but to minifter.’ i Tyg : Real chriftianity is the fchool of humble charity, in which every true minifter can fay, with Chrift, according to his growth in grace, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye foall find ref? unto your fouls. ‘And unhappy avill it be for thofe, who, reverfing chriftianity, fay, by their example, which is more ftriking than all their difcourfes, _£ Learn of us tobe fierce and revengeful, at the expence of peace both at home and abroad.’ ‘They, who receive the ftipends of minifters, while they are thus endeavouring to fubvert the religion, they profefs to fupport, render them- felves guilty, not only of hypocrify, but of a fpecies of fa~ crilege. rip fuppofed, that St. Peter had the pre-eminence among the apostles, at least by his age: it is certain, that he fpake in the name of the other apostles; that he first confeffed Christ in two public orations ; that our Lord conferred par- ticular favours upon him; that he was permitted to be one df the three witnefles of his Mafter’s transfiguration and a- gony ;. and that, on the day of Pentecoft, he proved the power of his apoftolic commiffion, by introducing three thou- fand fouls at once into the kingdom of Chrift. Far, how- ever, from arrogating, upon thefe accounts, a fpiritual fupre- macy over his brethren, he aflumed no other title but that, which was given in common to all his fellow labourers in the — ministry ; ‘The elders, which are among you, fays he, I ex- hort, who am alfo an elder: Feed the flock of God, which is among you, taking the overfight thereof, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being enfamples to the flock.’ A piece of ad- vice this, which is too much negleéted by thofe prelates, who distiiguifh themfelves from their brethren, yet more by — S THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 41 antichristian pride, than by thofe ecclefiastical dignities ‘e which they have made their way by the intrigues of am- ‘Dition. . All pastors fhould Eek after humility with fo much the ’ greater concern, as fome among them, feduced with the de- "fire of distinguithing themfelves as perfons of eminence in * the church, after making certain ecclefiastical laws contrary to the word of Gop, have become perfecutors of thofe, who refufed fubmiffion to their tyrannical authority. Obferve ‘here the injuftice of fome modern philofophers, who mifre- Peciorine the chriftian religion, a religion which breathes _ nothing but humility and love, fet it forth as the caufe of all the divifions, perfecutions, and mafflacres, which have "ever been fomented or perpetrated by its corrupt profeffors.: ’ Difafters, which, far from being the produce of real chrif- " tianity, have their principal fource in the vices of a fuper- - cilious, uncharitable, and antichriftian clergy. _ . The church will always be expofed to thefe imputations, till every ecclefiaftic fhall imitate St. Paul, as he imitated: ‘Chrift. That apoftle, ever anxious to tread in the fleps of his divine Mafter, was peculiarly diftinguifhed by his hu-. -mility toGop and man. Ever ready to confefs his owm _ ‘Bative poverty, and to magnify the riches of grace, he cries: | out—Who is fufficient for thefe things ? who is properly quali-. d to difcharge all the fun&ions of the holy miniltry ? Such truft have we through Chrift to God-ward: net that we are fufficient of ourfelves to think aay thing~as of our- felves ; but our fufficiency is of God, who alfo hath made ~ us able minifters of the new Tefament ;- not of the letter, but- ‘of the fpirit ; for the letter killeth, but the fpirit giveth life. Who is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minifters by whom, ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have- planted, Apollos watered ; but God gave the increafe. So ‘then, neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that. _ watereth: but God that giveth theiacreafe. Jam the leait. a the apoftles, that am not meet to be called an apoftle; but. by the grace of God Iam what Fam. God hath fhined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory- - ef God, in the face of Jefus Chrift: but we have this trea-- _ fare invearthen veffels, that the excellency of the pire nay: be of God, and not of us.? | If the humility of St. Paul is ftrikingly evident in thefe xX 42 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAVE. remarkable paflages, it is ftill more ftrongly expreffed im thofe that follow. *‘ Ye fee, brethren, that not many wife — men after the flefh, not many mighty, not many noble are. called. But God hath chofen the foolifh things of the world — to confound the wife, and the weak things of the world to — confound the things which are mighty ; and bafe things of — the world, and things, which are defpifed hath God chofen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things, that are ; that no flefh fhould glory in his prefence. Unto me, who am lefs than the leaft of all faints, who am nothing, who am the chief of finners, is this grace given,,that I fhould preach the unfearchable riches of Chrift.” Reader, if thou haft that opinion of thyfelf, which is ex- preffed in the foregoing paffages, thou art an humble chrif- tian. Thou canft truly profefs thyfelf the fervant of all thofe who falute thee; thou art fuch already by thy charitable intentions, and art feeking occafions of demonftrating, by a€tual fervices, that thy tongue is the organ, not of an infidi- ous politenefs, but of a fincere heart. Like a true difciple of Chrift, who concealed himfelf, when the multitude would have raifed him to a throne, and who prefented himfelf, when. they came to drag him to his crofs, thou haft a facred plea- fure in humbling thyfelf before Gop and man, and art anxi- eus, without hypocrify or affeGtation, to take the loweft place among thy brethren. i he The humble christian, convinced of his wants and his weaknefs, feels it impoffible to a& like thofe proud and bafh- ful poor, who will rather perifh in their distrefs, than folicit — the aflistance of their brethren. St. Paul had nothing of this falfe modesty about him. Penetrated with a deep fenfe of his'‘own unworthinefs and infufficiency, after imploring for himfelf the gracious affistance of Gop, he thus humbly — folicits the prayers of all the faithful: ‘ Brethren, pray for us. I befeech you, brethren, for the Lord Jefus Christ’s fake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye’ strive together in your prayers for me. Pray always for all faints ; and for me, that utterance may be given me, that Fmay open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gofpel, for which I am an ambaffador in bonds; that therein I may {peak boldly as I ought to fpeak: You alfo continuing to help by prayer for us, that’for the gift bestowed upon ue THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 43 by the means of many perfons, thanks may be given on our Behalf.” _ Thus humility, or poverty of /pirit, which is fet forth by 'Chrift, as the first beautitude, leads us, by prayer, to all the ‘Benediétions of the Gofpel, and to that lively gratitude, which gives birth to thank{giving and joy. Lovely humi- ‘lity ! penetrate the hearts of all christians, animate every | ag give peace to the church, and happinefs to the unis yerfe. Se sere TRAIT XIL THE INGENUOUS MANNER, IN WHICH HE AC- KNOWLEDGEDAND REPAIRED HISERRORS. { ie is difficult for a proud man to confefs himfelf in an error: but they who are poffeffed of humility and love, ean make fuch acknowledgments with chearfulnefs. When St. Paul was called upon to justify his conduét before the tribunal of the Jews, the fame {pirit of refentment which ani- mated his perfecutors, fuddenly feized upon the more paffion- ate of his judges, when the High Priest, still more exafpe-. rated than the rest, commanded thofe, who stood near Paul to {mite him on the mouth. It was in that moment of furprizé and indignation, that the apostle, unacquainted with the ‘author of fo indecent a proceeding, and not imagining, that the prefident of an august affembly could fo far forget his own dignity, as to act with fo reprehenfible an impetuofity, gave this fharp reply to fo unjust an order ; God /hall /mite thee thou whited wall: for fittceff thou to judge me after the Law, and commandeft me to be /mitten contrary to the Law ? Immedi- ately thofe, who stood by, reproaching him with his apparent , difrefpeGful carriage, enquired with the utmost indignation, Revileft thou God's high Pricff 2? Here the apostle far from justifying his own conduét, in refenting the feverity of a judge, who hath degraded himfelf by an a& of the most fla- grant injustice, immediately acknowledged his error: and lest the example he had given fhould encourage any perfon to withhold the refpeé due to a magistrate, still more refpec- table by his office than blameable by his rigorous proceeds 44 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ings, he endeavoured to make instant reparation for his isvog) luntary offence by citing a pertinent paflage from the law, anfwering with all meeknefs; J wif? not, brethren, that he the high Prieft ; for it is written, Thou fhall not Speak cull ofthe ruler of thy people. ~ ‘There is another inftance of the indifcretion and candor. of this Apoftle. Paul and Barnabas going forth to publifh the Gofpel, took for their companion John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas. That young evangelift, however, Rap peredl by the dangers, which thofe apoitles were conftantly obliged to encounter, forfook them in Pamphilia in the midft of their painful labours. But afterwards, repenting of his former irrefolution, he offered to acompany them in another journey. Barnabas, who had charity enough to hope all things of his nephew, withed to afford him a fecond trial: while Paul, whofe prudence taught him to fear every thing froma young man, who had already given an indifputable proof of his inconftancy, refufed his confent. At length the two Apof- tles, unable to decide the matter to their mutual fatisfa@tiony took the refolution of feparating one from another. Paul went to preach the Gofpel in Syria with Silas; while Bar- nabas, accompanied by his nephew, proceeded to proclaim” Chrift in the ifle of Cyprus. Thus the feparations of true chriftians, without producing any {chifm in the church, fre-: quently tend to the propogation of the Gofpel. _ Time alone could determine, whether Barnabas was de- ceived by an abundance of charity, or St. Paul through an excels of prudence. ‘The event turned the balance in favour of the judgment of Barnabas: the condu@ of John Mark on this fecond miffion was irreproachable. From that time St. Paul with his ufual candor, forgetting the former inftability, of Mark, placed the utmoft confidence in him, received him with joy as the companion of his labours, revoked the order. he had formerly given refpeGing him, and recommended him to the churches as a faithful minifter. Thus much may be inferred from the following paffage in his epiftle to the Co- Jofians: Ariffarchus my fellow-prifoner falubeth you, and Mar- cus, fifter’s fon to Barnabas, touching whom ye received command= ments ; if he come unto you, receive him. Thus the fincere followers of Chrift are ever anxious to repair their involuntary faults: faults which we, as well as the apoftles, are always expofed to the commiffion of, and THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 45 which fhould conftrain us to fay, with St. Paul ; Now we now things and perfons in part. This imperfection i in our knowledge will fometimes produce errors in our judgment, and thofe errors may probably influence our condu€t. But, if in thefe failings there is no mixture of malice; if we fin through i ignorance, and in the integrity of our hearts ; ; Gop imputes not to us thofe errors ; provided that we are always prepared, like St. Paul, to confefs andrepair them. Toerr is the lot of humanity: obftinacy in error is the charaéter of a Demon: but humbly to acknowledge, and anxioufly to re- pair an error, is to exhibit a virtue more rare and valuable than innocence itfelf, when accompanied with any degree of conceit and pride. _ They, who give the portraits of legendary faints, generally ‘paint them without a fingle failing. But they, who with faithfully to imitate the facred authors, are obliged to em= ploy fhades.as well as lights, even in their moit celebrated pieces. If this part of the portrait of St. Paul fhould not appear brilliant, it will ferve, at leaft, to manifeft the reality of the original, the liberality of the Apoftle, and the fitislity of the painter. SSE TRAIT XIII. HIS DETESTATION OF PARTY-SPIRIT AND DI- F VISIONS. | HILE the fpirit of the world is confeffedly a {pirit of particular intereft, pride, and divifion, the fpirit of true religion is manifefted, among its fincere profeffors, asa {pirit of concord, humility, and brotherly love. The ‘true minifter, animated in an efpecial manner by this divine Apirit, lofing fight of his own reputation and honour, is un- weariedly engaged in-feeking the glory of Gop, and the edi- “fication of his neighbour. Perfectly fatisfied with the loweft “place, and diftinguifhed as much by condefcenfion to his bre- _ thren as by refpeé& to his fuperiors, he is ever on his guard againft that fpirit of party, which is continually feeking to _ difturb the union of the church, whether it be by too great a - fondnefs for particular cuftoms, by an obftinate zeal for any x. 46 _THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. fyftem of doétrines, or by too paffionate an attachment te fome eminent teacher. Without perfecuting thofe, who are led by fo dangerous a fpirit, the good paftor employs every effort to reunite tae under the great Head of the church. Arguing againft the folly of thofe who are ready to feparate themfelves from the company of their brethren, he takes up the language of St. Paul, and fays: ‘ © foolith chriftians, who hath bewitched you that you fhould not obey the truth, before whofe eyes Jefus Chrift hath been evidently fet forth, crucified among you? Are ye fo foolifh? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfeé& by the flefh? Ye have indeed, been called unto liberty: only ufe not liberty as an occafion to the flefh, but by love ferve one another. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not confumed one of another. Now the works of the flefh are manifeft, among which are thefe, hatred, vari- ance, emulations, wrath, ftrife, feditions and herefies: of the which I tell you before, as I have alfo told youin time paft, that they, which do fuch things, fhall not inherit the king- dom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentlenefs, faith, meeknefs, temperance. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be defirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. ‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one fied one faith, one baptifm, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Endeavour, therefore, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ ; When the people feek to honour a true minifter by plac- ing him at the head of any party in the church, he refufes the proffered dignity with a humble and holy indignation. His foul is conftantly penetrated with thofe fentiments, un= der the influence of which the apoftle Paul thus nobly ex- preffed himfelf: ¢ I feek not my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be faved. I befeech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, that ye all fpeak the fame thing, and that there be no divifions among you; but that ye be perfe€tly joined together in the fame mind. For jt hath been declared unto me, that there are contentions among you ; and that every one of you faith, I am of Paul, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 47 and, I of Apollos, and, I of Cephas, and, I of Chrift. But, Is Chrift divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized inthe name of Paul? Whois Paul, but a minifter by whom ye believed? Therefore let no man glory in men, whether Paul, or Apollos, orCephas; but rather in our Lord Jefus Chrift, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named.’ By fuch exhortations, it is, and by maintaining, at the fame “time, a condu& conformable to the nature of fuch exhorta- tions, that every faithful minifter endeavours to engage chrif- tians of all denominations, to walk together in love, as Chrift alfo walked, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord, and fub- mitting one to another in the fear of God, till the arrival of that -promifed period, when the whole company of the faithful fhall be of one heart and one mind. ; But after all thefe exertions, for the extirpation of a fec- tarian fpirit from the church, they, who content themfelves with the exterior of chriftianity, as the pharifees were con- tented with the ceremonies of the mofaic worfhip, will, fooner or later, accufe every evangelical paftor of attempting to form @ particular feét. When modern pharifees obferve the ftri& union, which reigns among true believers, a union, which every faithful minifter labours to eftablifh among his people, _ as well by example as by precept ; when they behold penitent finners deeply fenfible of their guilt, and frequently affem- bling together for the purpofe of imploring the bleffings of _ wifdom, righteoufne/s, Jandification, and redemfition ; they im- mediately take the alarm, and cry out—The/e men does exceed- ingly trouble our city, teaching cuftoms, which are not lawful for us to receive, and maintaining fuch a condué as is most incon- venient for us to follow. : Happy are thofe cities, in which the minister of Christ is able to difcover a Nicodemus, a Gamaliel, or fome worfhip- pers poffeffed of as much candour as the Jews of Rome, who defired to hear what the perfecuted Paul had to offer, in be- half of that newly-rifen fe&, which was every where /poken ~ againft. ‘Till this amiable candour fhall univerfally prevail | among the nominal members of the church, true christianity, ' even in the centre of Christendom, will always find perverfe contradiction, and fometimes cruel perfecution. | 48 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, TRAIT XIV. HIS REJECTION OF PRAISE. na HE minister of the prefent day labours chiefly with a : view to his own advantage and honour. He endea- vours to pleafe, that he may be admired of men. He lowes the chief feats in fynagogues, public greetings, and honourable titles: thus tacitly challenging, by his unreafonable preten- dions to the refpeét and homage of men, a part of that glory, which is due to God alone. , ’ A totally different charaGter is maintained by the true minif- ter. His difcourfes, his a€tions, his look, his deportment, all agree to fay, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unio thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s fake. Tf the arm of the Omnipotent enables him to perform any extra- ordinary work, which the multitude do not immediately refer to the Author of every good and perfeR gift, he cries out with St. Peter, Why look ye foearnefily on us, as though by our own pfrower or holinefs we had performed what appears to excite. your aftonifhment ? The God of our fathers hath upon this oce calion, glorified his Son Jefus: and the faith, which is by him, hath effeGted this extraordinary work in the prefence of you all. On all occafions he can fay with the great Apoftle: ‘Do I feek to pleafe men? if I yet pleafed men, unlefs for their edification, I fhould not bethe fervant of Chrift. With -me it is a very {mall thing, that I fhould be judged of you, or of man’s judgment. But as we were allowed of God to_ be put in truft with the Gofpel, even fo we fpeak, not as pleafing men, but God, who trieth our hearts. Neither at’ any time ufed we flattering words, as ye know: nor of men fought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others.? By fuch a condu& he diftinguifhes himfelf, as a faithful ambaf- fador of the bleffed Jefus, who expreffed himfelf in the fol- ~ lowing lowly terms, to thofe, who had reproached him with — a fpirit of felf-exaltation: ‘I do nothing of myfelf, but as my father hath taught me, I {peak thefe things. I feek not mine own glory: thereis one, that feeketh and judgeth, If I honour myfelf, my honour is nothing. It is my Father, that honoureth me; of whom ye fay, that He is your God.’ - THE PORTRAIT oer: PAUL. 49 There miay be peculiar cafes, in which a ministring fer- vant of Gop may be allowed to call upon chriftians, for a public teftimony of their approbation ; and when this is re- fufed, he is juftified in modeftly calling their attention to every paft proof of his integrity and zeal. Thus St. Paul, as a proper means of maintaining his authority among the Corin- thians, who had manifefted an unjuft partiality toward teach- ers of a very inferior order, entered into a long detail of thofe revelations and labours, which gave him a more than Ordinary claim to the refpect of every church. But when- ever he commended himfelf, he did it with the utmo# re- luétance, as one conftrained by the peculiarity of his circum- flances to aé in immediate contrariety to his real difpofition. Hence, whenever he recounts the particular favours, with which Gop had honoured him, he {peaks in the third per- fon, as of another man: Of fuch a one will I glory ; yet of — myfelf I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For we dare not make ourfelves of the number of thofe, who commend themfelves, meafuring themfelves by themfelves, without any reference to the excellent graces and endowments of others. But he, that gloricth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he, that commendeth himfelf is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. Nothing affords greater fatisfaétion to falfe apoftles than commendation and praife; while the true minifter fhrinks with horror from thofe very honours, which they affume all the forms of Proteus toobtain. When the multitude, led by their admiration of a faithful preacher, follow him with un- fuitable expreflions of applaufe, he meets them with unfeigned indignation, arrefts their impious plaudits, and rejects their idolatrous adulations, crying out with St. Paul—Sirs! why do ye thefe things ? we alfo are men of like paffions with you, ant preach unto you, that ye foould turn from thefe vanities unto the living God. We are neither the way, the truth, nor the Life; but we point you to that way, which the truth has difcover _ ed, and through which eternal life may be obtained, entreat- ing you to walk therein with all fimplicity and meeknefs. And remember, that inftead of affe€ting in our difcourfes that vain wifdom, which the world fo paffionately admires, we faithfully proclaim Chrift: and, to humble us the more _ before Gop and man we frreach Chrift crucified. By this humble carriage the minittring difciples of Chrift are principally known. By this they copy the amiable ex, Cc G ° 50 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ample of John the baptift, who cheerfully humbled himéelf, that Chrift might be exalted, crying out in the language of that felf-renouncing teacher—‘ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the fin of the world! There ftandeth one among you, whom ye know not, whofe fhoes latchet we are not worthy to unloofe. We baptize with water: but he baptizeth with the Holy Ghoft.? Beware then of entertain- ing too high an idea of our miniftry ; and remember, that He muft increafe in your eftimation, but we muft decrea/e. After beholding John the baptift, who was accounted greater than any of the prophets, abafing himfelf in the pre- fence of Chrift; and after hearing St. Paul, who was far fu- perior to the Baptift, exclaiming in the humility of his foul —I live not ; but Chrift liveth in me—how can we fufficiently exprefs our aftonifhment at the conduét of thofe titular apof- tles, who either fet upa vain philofophy in the place of Chrift, or employ the crofs of their Lord, as a kind of pedeftal, for the fupport of thofe fplendid monuments, by which their pride is endeavouring to perpetuate the memory of their eloquence. Self-conceited orators! When fhall we rank you with the faithful minifters of the humble Jefus? When fhall we behold the charaGter you have affumed, and the condu& you maintain {weetly harmonizing with each other? When fhall we hear you addrefling your flocks, with the unaffe&ted fimplicity and condefcenfion of the great apoftle; We preach not ourfelves, but Chrift Jefus the Lord; and, far from elevat- ing ourfelves above you, on account of the commiffion we have received, our/elues your fervants for Jefus fake. ‘Then we might with propriety falute you, as humble imitators of St. Paul, as zealous minifters of the Gofpel, and as faithful fer- vants of that condefcending Saviour, who came not to be minif= tered unto, but to minifler. “i TRAIT XV. HIS UNIVERSAL LOVE. 3 RUE chriftians are diftinguifhed from Jews, Maho- : metans, and all other worfhippers, by that fpirit of univerfal love, which is the chief ornament and glory of their THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 51 profeffion. But among evangelical paftors this holy dif- pofition appears in a more eminent degree. They feel for the inconfiderate, and the finful, that tender compaffion, of which Chrift has left usan example. Their condudét anfwers to that beautiful defcription of charity, with which St. Paul prefented the Corinthian church, and which may be confider- ed, as an emblematical reprefentation of his own charaéter, from the time of his converfion to the chriftian faith. Uni- verfal love is that invigorating fap, which, paffing from the true vine into its feveral branches, renders them fruitful in every good work. But this divine principle circulates through ' chofen minifters, with peculiar force, and in more than ordi- nary abundance, as fo many principal boughs, by which a communication is opened between the root and the leffer branches. The faithful paftor entertains an affeCting remembrance of thofe benevolent expreffions, which the good Shepherd ad- dreffed to the apoftle Peter, and in the perfon of that apoftle to all his fucceffors in the miniftry, repeating them even to the thirdtime: Love/f thou me? Feed my Sheep. As though he had faid, the greateft proof you can poflibly give of your unfeigned attachment to me, is, to cherifh the fouls, which I have redeemed, and to make them the objects of your tendereft regard. Such is the affeCtionate precept, which every faith- ful minifter has received together with his facred commiffion, and to which he yields a more ready and cheerful obedience, from a firm dependence upon the following folemn declara- tion of his gracious Mafter—W~hen the Son of man /eall come in his glory, he fhall fay to all the children of love, Verily I fay unto you, inafmuch as ye have done good unto one of the leaft of thefe my brethren, whether their wants were corporeal or {piritual, ye have done it unto me. The love of the evangelical paftor, like that of St. Paul, isunbounded. God, faith that charitable apoftle, ¢ will have all men to be faved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth: I exhort, therefore, that fupplications, prayers, inter- ceffions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men: for this is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour.’ But not content with fubmitting to the exhortation of St. Paul, with refpe& to the duty of univerfal prayer, he endeavours to copy the example of that apoftle, in labouring for the fal- vation of all men: J am made all things to all men, that I might C2 52 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. by all means fave fome. Being by regeneration a partaker of the divine nature, he bears a lovely, -though imperfeé&t refem- blance to his Heavenly Parent, whofe chief perfe€tion is Love. Like the High Prieft of his profeffion, he breathes nothing but charity; and like the Father of lights, he makes the fun of beneficence to rife uponall men. To deferihe this leffer fun in its unlimited courfe, and to point out the admir- able variety, with which it diftributes its light and its heat, is to delineate with precifion the character of a faithful paf- tor. . —$—=> 98 9 TRAIT XVI. HIS PARTICULAR LOVE TO THE FAITHFUL. HE univerfal love of the true minifter manifefts itfelf in a particular manner, according to the different fitua- tions of thofe, who are the objets of it. When he finds the whole condu& of profeffing chriftians conformable to the nature of their facred profeffion, he loves them with a pure heart fervently; and giving way to the effufions of a holy joy; he expreffes his affection in words like thefe: ‘ Brethren, we are comforted over you, in all our affli€tion and diftrefs, by your faith: for now we live, if ye ftand faft in the Lord. And what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy» wherewith we joy for your fakes before God?’ In thefe exprrffions of St. Paul an aftonifhing degree of affeétion is difcovered. Now we live—as though he had faid, We have a two-fold life, the principal life which we receive immediate- ly from Chrift, and an acceffory life, which we derive from his members, through the medium of brotherly love. And fo deeply are we interefted in the concerns of our brethren, that we are fenfibly affected by the variations they experience in their fpiritual state, through the power of that christian fympathy, which we are unable to deferibe. ‘Thus when fin has detached any of our brethren from Christ, and feparated them from the body of the faithful, we are penetrated with the most fincere distrefs: and, on the contrary, whenever they become more affeétionately conneG&ed with us, and more intimately united to Christ, our common Head, our THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 53 {pirits are then fenfibly refrefhed, and invigorated with new degrees of life and joy. Reader, doft thou underftand this language ? Haft thou felt the power of this chriftian fympathy? Or has thy faith never yet produced thefe genuine fentiments of brotherly love? Then thou hast fpoken as a perfon equally deftitute of fenfibility and truth, whenever thou haft dared to fay—J believe in the communion of faints. eee TRALIY AX VTE HIS LOVE TO THOSE WHOSE FAITH WAS WAVERING. HEN a minifter, after having been made inftrument- al in the converfion of finners, perceives their faith decreafing. and their love growing cold, he feels for them, what the Redeemer felt, when he wept over Jerufalem. Net lefs concerned for the remiffnefs of his believing hearers, than St. Paul was diftrefled by the inftability of his Galatian and Corinthian converts, he pleads with them in the fame affec- tionate terms: ‘ Ye know, ye who are the feals of my minif- try, how I preached the Gofpel unto you at the firt. And ye defpifed me not, but received me as an Angel of God. Where is then the bleffeduefs ye fpake of? for I bear you record, that if it had been poffible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have giventhemto me. Am I there- fore become your enemy, becaufe IJ tell you the truth ? My little children, of whom [ travail in birth again, until Chrift be formed in you,’ I tell you with forrow, that after all my: confidence in you, ‘I ftandin doubt of you. Our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. ¥e are not {traitened in us, but ye are ftraitened in your own bowels. Now fora recompenfe in the fame, (I fpeak as unto my children) be -ye alfo enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers ; for what fellowfhip hath righteoufnefs with un- righteoufnefs? or what part hath he, that believeth, with an infidel ? Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye feparate, faith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ;. and I will receive you, and willbe a Father unto you, and ye C3 54 _ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. fhall be my fons and daughters, faith the Lord Almighty. We befeech you, therefore brethren, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.’ This language of the chriftian paftor is almoft unintelligible to the minifter, who is merely of man’s appointing. Having never converted a fingle foul to Chiift, he has neither fpiri- . tual fon nor daughter, and is entirely unacquainted with that painful sravail, which is mentioned by St. Paul. His bowels are ftraitened towards Chrift and his members, and having clofely united himfelf to the men of the world, he confiders the affembly of the faithful as a company of ignorant en- thufiafts, But, notwithftanding the {piritual infenfibility of thefe ill-inftrudted teachers, who never ftudied in the {chool of Chrift, there is no other token, by which either fincere chriftians, or true minifters can be difcerned, except that fervent love, which the Galatians entertained for St. Paul, before their falling away, and which that Apoftle ever continued to entertain for them. By this, faith our Lorp, Jball all men knorw, thet ye are my difeiples, if ye have love one 40 another, TRAIT XVII . HIS LOVE TO HIS COUNTRYMEN AND HIS ENE. M. J T. Paul, like his reje&ted mafter, was perfecuted even to death by the Jews, his countrymen, while he generoufly expofed himfelf to innumerable hardfhips, in labouring for their good. ‘Thefe furious devotees, infpired with envy, re- venge, and a perfecuting zeal, hunted this Apoftle from place to place, as a publicpeft. And when the Gentiles, ona cer- tain occafion, had refcued him out of their hands, forty of the moft hardenedamong themengaged themfelves, byanoath, neither to eat nor drink, tillthey hadaffaffinated him. But notwithftanding the moft indubitable proofs of their bloody difpofition towards him, his fervent charity threw a vail over their cruelty, and made him wifh to die for his perfecutors. ‘ I declare, faith he, the truth in Chrift, my confcience alfo bearing me witnefs in the Holy Ghoft, that I have great THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 55 heavinefs and continual forrow in my heart : for I could with, | that myfelf were accurfed from Chrift for my brethren, my _ kinfmen according to the flefh.? As though he fhould fay : It is written, curfed is every one, that hangeth on a tree: Thus Chrift himfelf became accurfed for us, and I alfo would lay down my life for my brethren, * that I may have fellowfhip with him in his fufferings being made conformable unto his death, and filling up that, which is behind of the affliftions of Chrift in my fleth, for his body’s fake, which is the church.’ It is by expreffions fo charitable, and by ations, which de- monftrate the fincerity of thofe expreflions, that chriftians avenge themfelves of their enemies, and work upon the hearts of their countrymen. _ If the fentiments of every fincere difciple of Chrift are ex- preffed in the preceding language of St. Paul, how deplor- able then muft be the ftate of thofe chriftians, whofe anxiety, either for their own falvation, or for that of their neareft re- lations, bears no proportion to that eager concern, which this Apoftle manifefted for the falvation of his bittereft perfecu- tors! And if good paftors feel fo ardent a defire to behold all men atuated by the fpirit of Chrift,, without excepting even their moft malicious enemies, what fhall we fay to thofe minifters, who neyer fhed a fingle tear, nor ever breathed one ardent prayer, for the converfion of their parifhioners, their friends, or their families ? TRAIT XIX. HIS LOVE TO THOSE WHOM HE KNEW ONL? BY REPORT. HOUGH the true minifter takes a peculiar intereft in every thing, that concerns the falvation of his country- men, yet his christian benovolence is far from being confined within the narrow limits of a particular country. He defires to bear the name of his Saviour to the ends of the earth; and if he is not able to do this by his perfonal addreffes, he will do it, at least, by his earnest wifhes and his constant prayers, If providence has not yet fixed him in a particular church, he writes, in the manner of St. Paul, to the inhabi- C 4 56 THE PORTRAIT OF $T. PAUL. tants of the most distant countries—* I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that [ confider myfelf as a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians ; ; both to the wife and the unwife. And, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gofpel to you, that are at Rome, where error and im- piety have fixed their throne. For I am not afhamed of the Gofpel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto falyation to every one, that believeth.’ If he writes to stranger-con- verts, whofe faith is publicly fpoken of in the world, he de- clares his fincere attachment to them, and his longing defire to afford them every fpiritual affistance in terms like thefe— ‘ God is my witnefs, whom I ferve with my fpirit in the Gofpel of his Son, that without ceafing I make mention of you always in my prayers. Making request, if by any means, I might have a profperous journey by the will of God, to come unto you. For I long to fee you, that I may impart unto you, fome fpiritual gift, to the end ye may be establith- ed: that is, that I may be comforted together with you, by the mutual faith both of you and me.’ if the Apoftle Paul; when he knew the Romans no othe: wife than by report, expreffed fo ardent a defire to fee them, for the fole purpofe of inciting them to feek after higher de- grees of faith and piety ; what maft be the difpofition of thofe minifters, who feel no defires of this nature even for the members of their own flock ? And in how great an error are thofe chriftians, who frequently affemble together, either in their own houfes, or in more public places, for the very purpofe of mutually forgetting the reftraints of piety, lofing their time in frivolous converfation, and debafing their minds by puerile amufements! Further: If the new nature of the regenerate excites in them that lively concern for the falva- tion of their neighbours, which St..Paul expreffed for the fal- vation of thofe, who inhabited the remoteft parts of the earth, is it becoming in the faithful to ftiflethe motions of that commendable zeal, which chriftian charity alone can in- {pire ? And if there are to be found ameng us dignified teach- ers, who, far from feconding a zeal fo neceflary in our day, are rather difpofed to extinguifh the firft fparks of it, wherever they are difcernable; whom may they be faid to take for their model, Paul the Apoftle, or Saul the Pharifee ; doubtlefs Saul, the agent of a bigoted fe&, and the open ae fecutor of the faithful. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL,» 57 TRAIT XX. HIS CHARITY TOWARDS THE POOR IN GIV- ING OR PROCURING FOR THEM TEMPO.- RAL RELIEF. 1 HOUGH our Lord came principally to fave the fouls of finners, yet he was by no means unmindful of their bodies. He went about doing good, in the moft unlimited fenfe, daily relieving, with equal care, the corporeal and fpiritual maladies of the people. Thus when he had diftributed the word of Gop to thofe, who were hungering and thirfting after righteoufnefs, he expreffed an anxious concern for the fupport of thofe among his followers, who were fenfible of no other wants, except fuch as were of a temporal nature: I have compaffion on the multitude, becaufe they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat—and not content with barely exprefling his concern for their corporeal necef- fities, he wrought an aftonifhing miracle for their immediate relief. The true minifter chearfully imitates the conduc of his gracious Mafter, by a {trict and affectionate attention to the fpiritual, and temporal wants of his people. ‘ James, Cephas, and Joha, faith St. Paul, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowfhip, that we fhould go unto. the heathen: only they would, that we fhould remember the poor; the fame which I alfo was forward to do.’ When the liberality of St. Paul toward his. neceffitous brethren was reftrained’ by his own exceflive indigence, he employed the mott effectual means to procure for them the generous benefactions of their wealthier companions in the faith of the Gofpel. The following paflages extraéted from his epiftles may ferve as fufficicent proofs of this. ¢ Brethren, I cannot but inform you of the grace of God, bestowed on, the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their jay and their deep. poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality... For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themfelves ; praying us.with much entreaty, that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellow-. fhip of the ministering to on faints—Therefore as ye abound \ i) f 58 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love to us, fee that ye abound in this gracealfo. I {peak by occafion of the forwardnefs of others, and to prove the fincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our’ Lord Jefus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your fakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Wherefore fhew ye, before the churches, the proof of our love; and of our boasting on your behalf.” -_ Not yet content with thefe earnest folicitations in behalf of the poor, the Apostle thus proceeds to enforce his impor- tunittes. ‘I thought it neceflary to exhort the brethren, that they fhould go before unto you, and make up before- hand your bounty, that the fame might be ready, as a mat- ter of bounty, and not as of covetoufnefs. But this I fay, he, that foweth {paringly, fhall reap alfo fparingly ; and he, that foweth bountifully, thal! reap alfo bountifully: God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all fufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: as it is writ- ten, he hath difperfed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteoufnefs remainéth for ever. Now he that minif- tereth feed to the fower, both minifter bread for your food, and multiply your feed fown, and increafe the fruits of your righteoufnefs : that ye may be enriched in every thing to alk” bountifulnefs, which caufes through us thankfgiving to God. For the adminiftration of this fervice not only fupplieth the want of the faints, but is abundant alfo by many thank{giv- ings unto God: while by the experiment of this miniftration they glorify God for your profefled fubjeétion unto the Gofpel of Chrift, and for your liberal diftribution unto them, and unto all men.” Who could poffibly refufe any thing to a godly minifter pleading the caufe of the poor, with all this apoftolic dignity, fimplicity, and zeal ? Fase ieee After having obtained alms for the poor, the Apoftle Paul cautioufly avoided all fufpicion of appropriating any part of them to the relief of his own necefflities; and was equally careful, that they were never mifemployed through the un- faithfulnefs of thofe, who were appointed to diftribute them. One of our brethren, adds the Apoftle, chofen of the churches accompanies us in our journey ‘ with this’ grace, which is ad- miniftered by us to the glory of the fame Lord, and declara- tion of your ready mind : avoiding this, ‘that no‘man fhould THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 59 blame us in this abundance, which is adminiftered by us: providing for honeft things not only in the fight of the Lord, but alfo in the fight of men.’? Mentioning again his fa- vourite employment, he writes toa diftant church—* Now I go unto Jerufalem to minifter unto the faints. For it hath spleafed them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor faints, which are at Jerufalem. ‘When therefore I have performed this, and have fealed to them, this fruit, I willcome by you into Spain. Now I be- feech you brethren, that ye ftrive together in your prayers for me, that I may be delivered from them, that do not be- lieve in Judea ; and that the fervice, which I have for Jeru- falem may be accepted of the faints.’ Thus to wait upon the churches, and particularly thus to attend upon the poor, is to merit the name of a faithful minifter. ed a TRAIT XXI. HIS CHARITY TOWARD SINNERS IN OFFER- ING THEM EVERY SRIRITUAL ASSISTANCE. O folicit alms for thofe, who are deftitute of food and a raiment, and at the fame time to withold the word of Gop from thofe, who hunger and thirft after righteoufnefs, is to manifeft an unhappy inconfiftency of charater. Such in- eonfiftencies, however, arefrequently difcoverable, evenamong paftors, who pique themfelves upon their difpofition to works of benevolence and charity. _ Man has an immortal foul. This foul, which is properly himfelf, is rendered, by fin fo totally ignorant and fo com- pletely miferable, that fhe feeks to enrich herfelf with the vanities of the world, and to gratify her inclinations with the pollutions of fin. In pity to the foul in this ftate of wretch- ednefs, the truths of the Gofpel are propofed by a compaffio- nate God, as a facred remedy adapted to the nature of her innumerable wants: they illumine the blind with fpiritual light and knowledge ; they clothe the naked with the robe of righteoufnefs ; they feed the hungry ; they heal the fick ; they burft the captive’s.bands ; they give eternal life to thofe, C6 60 THE PORTRAIT OF STs PAUL. who are dead in trefpaffes and fin: in a word, they make us partakers of the great falvation of Gop. To publith this Gofpel then, or to procure the preaching of it to finners, is undoubtedly to give them an important proof of the moft excellent charity : while, on the other hand, to refufe them the word of God, or to avoid any occafion of adminiftering it, is abfolutely or occafionally to deny them thofe fpiritual alms and affiftances, which the Saviour of the world has ap- pointed for their daily relief. The paftor, who aéts in this - unbecoming manner, refembles a phyfician, or an almoner, who, having received a charge from his prince to fupply the poor with food, or the fick with medicine, not only refufes to acquit himfelf of his acknowledged duty with diligence and impartiality, but ftrenuoufly oppofes thofe, who endea- vour to fupply his lack of fervice. Such a minifter feems to maintain a fyftem as abfurd and cruel, as would be that of either of thofe charaéters juft alluded to, who fhould pretend, that no one had authority to adminifter alms to the poor, or medicine to the fick, except fuch as received penfions from the prince for that purpofe ; and that even thefe would a& in a diforderly manner, if they fhould dare to diftribute alms - or remedies except on the fabbath day, and then only during particular hours. So long as any paftor feeks his own glory, fo long he will be fubjeét to fome degree of that contemptible jealoufy, which will not fuffer him to behold with pleafure, the more abundant and fuccefsful labours of his brethren. But, the faithful minifter of Chrift, whofe chief defire is the profperity of thechurch, is auated by a totally different fpirit. Though he hes a peculiar fatisfaGtion in beholding the fuecefs of his own {piritual labours; yet, when he hears the Gofpel pub- liftied by others, and even by fuch as are apparently influenced by-unworthy motives, he greatly rejoices in their fuccefs. His charity, which neither envies another’s profperity, nor feeks his own particular advantage expreffes itfelf, upon fo delicate a fubje€t, in the language of St. Paul—< Some in- deed preach Chrift. even of envy and ftrife, fuppofing to add affiGion to my bonds. What then? notwithitanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Chritt is sage and I therein do rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice? Influenced by envy, or rendered infenfible by ehneit yk warmnefs, worldly miuifters are abfolute ftrangers to the ge~ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 61 nerous pleafure here mentioned by the Apoftle; nor have - they the leaft idea of ating in a criminal manner, when they will not permit the truths of the Gofpel to be freely declar- ed by all, who are difpofed to announce them. The good paftor, by whatever name he may be diftinguifh- ed, lives only to publifh the Gofpel, and to convert the fouls committed to his charge: ta,reftrain him then from attend- ing to thefe important labours, is to force him afide from the true end of his calling, and muft appear to every enlightened mind a greater act of cruelty, than to withold the rich from giving alms, or to detain an expert {wimmer from faving his drowning brethren. If fuch a paftor, in any period of his life, has aéted like a monopolift of the Gofpel, and, by de- nying to the poor in fpirit, what was freely given for their fupport, has caufed in any place a famine of the word; he believes himfelf abundantly more culpable than thofe avari- cious merchants, who, by forming a monopoly of grain in the Eaft Indies, caufed a grievous famine in that country, by which an innumerable multitude of its inhabitants perifhed. Thofe covetous men denied to the bodies of their neighbours a perifhable nourifhment ; but he has withheld from the fouls of his brethren that precious manna, which might have preferved them to everlafting life. Such was the crime of thofe whom our Lord addreffed in the following words— ‘ Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharifees, Hypocrites! for ye fhut up the kingdom of Heaven again{ft men: for ye neither go in yourfelves, neither fuffer ye them, that are entering to goin? Obferve, St. Paul’s fentiments of fuch charaéters. With refpe& to thofe Jews, ‘ who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own Prophets, and have perfecuted us ; they pleafe not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to fpeak to the Gentiles, that they might be faved,’ filling up © by this means the meafure of their fin: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermoft. If the charaéter, which the Apoftle here defcribes was odi- eus in a Jew, without doubt it is more foin a chriftian, and ftill doubly deteftable in a minifter of the Gofpel, whofe heart fhould continually be animated witha fervent defire for the converfion of finners, and the falvation of all man- kind. Was it poffible for thofe who are diftinguifhed by this trait of the character of Antichrift to difcoyer the tur- 62 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAVE. pitude of their own condu@, they would acknowledge them- felves abundantly more guilty than the robber, who fhould force away from a famifhed pauper the morfel of bread he had begged in his diftrefs. _They would pronounce, with- out any hefitation, that the fofter-mother, who negle&ts the infant fhe has undertaken to cherifh, and prevents her chari- table neighbours from affording it any nourifhment, is ftill more excufable than the paftor, who, not content with refu- fing to feed the flock of Chrift, endeavours to {catter his fheep wherever they are found feeding, feeking out accufa- tions against thofe who have led them to a refrefhing paf- ture, and ftudying by every means to withdraw the Gofpel from thofe penitent finners, who, as new-born babes defire the facere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby. Happy will be the age, in which chriftian paftors fhall no longer be found, like the Scribes in the days of St. Paul, labouring to fili up the meafure of their iniquities! Then truth and piety fhall no longer be reftrained by the fetters of prejudice and bigotry! Then the faithful thall worfhip God, and publifh the Gofpel, with as much freedom, as the diffipated indulge themfelves in the {ports of the age, or the malevolent in flandering their neighbours } — Sn Oo ara eel TRAIT XXII. THE ENGAGING CONDESCENSION OF HIS HUM- BLE CHARITY. HARITY avoids all appearance of haughtinefs, and C is never feen to a& in an unbecoming manner. On the contrary, full of courtefy, fhe fears left the fhould give offence to any: and, full of benevolence, fhe labours for the edification of all. Hence the charitable paftor cannot act otherwife than with a holy condefcenfion towards all men, and efpecially toward the ignorant and poor, with whom the minifters of the prefent age will fcarcely deign to con- verfe : and, without ever flipping his foot into the pit of error, he fometimes approaches it, with a happy mixture of compaffion and prudence, for the relief of thofe, who are un- able to extricate themfelves from it. *' Though Lam free TAE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 63 from all men, writes St. Paul, yet Ihave made myfelf fer- vant unto all, that I might gain the more. Unto the Jews E became as a Jew, that I might gainthe Jews; to them, that are without law, as without law, that I might gain them, that are without awrittenlaw. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means fave fome. And this I do for the Gofpel’s fake. All things are lawful for me, continueshe, butall things are not expedient: allthings _ are lawful for me, but all things edify not. When ye fin a- . gainft the brethren by wounding their weak confcience, ye fin againft Chrift. Wherefore if meat make my brother to of- fend, I will eat no flefh, while the world ftandeth, left 1 _make my brother to offend. | Whether therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Even as I pleafe all men in-all things, not feeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be faved.’ ~ Behold that fweet prudence of charity, which our Lord recommended to his difciples, he when pointed out the folly of putting new wine into fuch bottles, as were unable to re- fift the force of the fermenting liquor. And of this affe€tion- ate diferetion he himfelf gave them a ftriking example, when he faid ; 7 have many things to fay unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. If this condefcending carriage was lovely in the bleffed Jefus, it will ever appear amiable in his humble imita- tors, who can fay with the Apoftle Paul, to the weaker mem- bers of the church: We have fed you with milk, and not with meat ; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it. ~ Special care is, however,,to be taken, that this charitable condefcenfion may never betray the interefts of truth and virtue. Ab ffain, faith St. Paul, from all appearance of evil. Be ye followers of me, even as [ alfo am of Chrift. ‘For heres in do I exercife myfelf to have always a confcience void of offence toward God and toward men. And our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our confcience, that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, not with fiefhly wifdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our converfation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward,’ among whom we have laboured in ' the Gofpel. If there exift paftors, who lack this condefcenfion towards the poor, or who are deftitute of that humble charity, which can familiarize itfelf with the moft ignorant, for their edifica- 64 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUB. tion and comfort: if there are minifters to be found, who are- ever meanly complaifant to the rich, and who are void of holy refolution in the prefence of the great, inftead of con- ducting themfelves with that mingled humility and dignity, which are fuitable to the charaéter they fuftain—may the one and the other be convinced of the grievous error, into which they are fallen, while they contemplate this oppofite trait in the character of St. Paul. Upon what confideration is founded the humiliating dif- tin@tion, which is generally made between the rich and the poor? Was Chrift manifefted ina ftate of earthly grandeur? Did he not chiefly affociate with the poor? Far from flat- tering the rich, did he not infinuate, that they would, with the utmoft difficulty, enter into the kingdom of Gop? Did he not affirm, it were better for a man to be caft into the fea with a mill-ftone about his neck, than to offend the pooreft believer? Did he not declare, that he would confider the re- gard fhewn to the meaneft of his followers, as though he him- felf had been the immediate obje& of it? When St. James affures us, that he who converteth a finner from the error of his. way performs the beft of all poffible good works, becaufe, by preventing a multitude of fins, he places the foul in the road. to every virtue—can this declaration be fuppofed to lofe any of its force, when applied to the foul of a poor man? Are not. the loweft of men immortal as the moft elevated? Did not Chrift humble himfelf to the death of the crofs for the poor,. as well as the rich? Hath not God chofen the proor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom? And, finally, were the angels lefs ready to convey the foul of perifhing Lazarus to Paradife, than that of wealthy Abraham? Perifh then for ever that unchriftian prejudice, which difhonours the poor,, nourifhes the pride of the rich, and leads. us to the violation of that great command, by which we become as guilty, as, though we had tranfgrefled the whole Law, the fpirit of which is love. And let us remember, it is only out of the ruins of fo defpicable a partiality, that the engaging condefcen- fron, of which St. Paul has left us fo lovely an example, can, poflibly be produced. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 65 TRAIT XXIII. HIS COURAGE IN DEFENCE OF OPPRESSED TRUIH. , HARITY rejoiceth in the Truth. Thefe two amiable companions are clofely united together, and mutually fuftain eachother. Itispoffible, however, whenanerror hasthe fuffrages of many perfons refpeCtable on account of their wif- dom, their age, their rank, their labours, or their piety, that a fincere chriitian may be tempted to facrifice truth to au- thority, or rather to a miftaken charity. But the enlighten- ed paftor, putting on the refolution of St. Paul, will never fuffer himfelf to be impofed upon by the appearance either of perfons, or things: and though he fhould fee himfelf ftanding alone on the fide of evangelical truths, he will not fear, even fingly, to a&t as their modeft and zealous defender. - Inthefe circumftances a luke-warm minifter lofes all his courage. Behold his general plea for the pufillanimity of his condu€&—< I am alone, and what fuccefs can I expe@ in * fo difficult an undertaking? The partifans of this error are * perfons, whom I both love and honour. Some of them * have fhewn me great kindnefs, and others have fufficient ‘credit to prejudice the world againit me. Moreover, it _ * would be looked upon as prefumption in me, whoam weak- _ * er than a reed, to oppofe myfelf to a torrent, which bears * down the ftrongeft pillars of the church.’ Such is the manner, in which he apologizes for the timidity of his con- du& in thofe fituations, where his love of truth is publicly called to the teft: not confidering, that to reafon thus, is to forget, at once. the omnipotence of God, the force of truth, and the unfpeakable worth of thofe fouls, which error may poifon and deftroy. On the contrary, the faithful minifter, who, on all occafions, " rejoices in the truth, conferring not with fic/e and blood, cou- rageoufly refufes to bear the yoke of any error, that muft evi- dently be accompanied with evil confequences. Inthe moft _ trying fituations of this nature he imitates the condu@ of the great apoftle, who, when he faw a fhameful error making its way into the church, placed himfelf in the gap, and gave way 66 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. to the emotions of his honeft zeal, as related in the following paflage :—<‘ Falfe brethren came in privily to {py out our liberty, which we have in Chrift Jefus, that they might bring us into bondage. ‘T’o whom we gave place by fubjetion, no not for an hour; that the truth of the Gofpel might continue with you. And when Peter was come to Antioch, I with- fiood him to the face, becaufe he was to be blamed. For before-that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come he withdrew and fe- parated himfelf, fearing them, which were of the circumcifion. And the other Jews difflembled likewife with him, infomuch that Barnabas alfo, under the {pecious pretence of not offend- ing his neighbour, was carried away with their diffimulation. But when I faw, that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gofpel, I faid unto Peter before them all, if thou being a Jew, liveft after the manner of the Gen- tiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelleft thou the Gen- tiles to live as do the Jews ?” This reafonable reprimand is, perhaps, one of the greatett proofs, which St. Paul ever gave of the at an of re intention, and the fteadinefs of his refolution. Ye men of integrity! ye, who have proved how muetri it cofts to defend the rights of truth, when it flands oppofed to that deference, which condefcending love obliges us to fhew, in a thoufand inftances, to refpe€table authority 5 "you alone are able to make a proper judgment of the holy violence, which was-exercifed by St, Pant upon this occafion. But whatever they may be called to endure, in fo honourable a caufe, happy are thofe chriftians, and doubly happy thofe paftors, who have fo great a love for truth, and fo true alove for their brethren, that they are ready at all times, with this faithful apoftle, to facrifice to the interefts of the Gofpel, every inferior confideration, every fervile fear, andevery world ly hope, ’ TNE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 67 TRAIT XXIV. HIS PRUDENCE IN FRUSTRATING THE DE- ; SIGNS OF HIS ENEMIES. ry ‘HERE is no kind of calumny which the incredulous ( have not advanced, in order to render chrittianity either _ odious, or contemptible. According tothe notions of thefe men, to adopt the maxims of evangelical patience, argues a want of fenfibility ; and to regulate our conduét, according to the ditates of chriftian prudence, is to at the hypocrite. What we haye to fay, in this place, will chiefly refpe& the Tatter charge. _. It has been afferted by modern inSdels, that the gentlenefs and forbearance, which the Gofpel requires of its profeffors, -muft neceflarily make them the dupes of defigning men, and lead them unreluGantly into the {nares of their perfecutors. But to draw this inference from fome few paflages of fcrip- ture, underftood in too literal a fenfe, is to fet truth at vari- ance with itfelf, merely for the purpofe of charging chriftians with all the evil, which, it is prefumed, they might have avoided by prudence, or have overcome by refolution. The example of our Lord, and that of St. Paul, might have rece tified the ideas of cavillers upon this point. When Chrift exhorted his-difciples to be Aarmle/s as doves, he admonifhed them at the fame time to be wi/e as ferpents ; and of this harmlefs wifdom he himfelf gave a ftriking example, when he_was interrogated by the Jews, refpeéting the lawfulneds of paying tribute unto Cefar. Well acquainted with the different fentiments of that people, with regard to the Roman yoke, without direftly combating the prejudices of any party, he returned a fatisfaftory anfwer to all parties, by an inference drawn from the image and fufierfeription bore upon their current coin—Render therefore unto Cefar the things that are Cafar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. The fincere chriftian, and the faithful minifter, have fre- ‘quent occafion for this happy prudence, as well as St. Paul, who, more than once, employed it with fuccefs. The Jews, irritated againit this apoftle, fought occafion to deftroy him, on account of the zeal, with which he publifhed the Gofpel 68 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUE. among the Gentiles. Hoping to foften the prejudices, they entertained againit his conduét, he recounted to them, how Jefus, being raifed from the dead, and appearing to him in an’ extraordinary manner, had exprefsly fent him to the Gen- tiles: whenthe Jews, more irritated than before, would have torn him in pieces, had he not been refcued out of their hands by the Roman garrifon. By this means Paul was preferved - for a more peaceful hearing. And on the morrow, when he ftood before the Jewifh council, perceiving that the affembly was compofed, partly of fadducees, who fay there is no refur- redlion, neither angel, nor /pirit ; and partly of pharifees, who believe equally in the exiftence of fpirits and the refurrection of the body ; he immediately availed himfelf of this circum-. ftance, and cried out—Men and brethren, I ama pharifee, the fon of a pharifee ; of the hope and refurredtion of the dead I am called in queftion. As though he had faid—The great caufe of the violent perfecution, that is now raifed againft me, is, that I preach Je/us and the refurreétion. Our fathers, indeed, were not abfolutely affured of a life to come; but the im- portant dodtrine of the refurreGtion, and of the judgment, that fhall follow, is now demonftrated ; fince Gon has given an inconteftible proof of it, in raifing up his Son Jefus from the dead. And I myfelf have been an eye witnefs of his re- furre€tion, to whom he has appeared two feveral times, once as I journeyed to Damafcus, and afterwards as I prayed in the temple. But when I mentioned this fecond appearance of a rifen Saviour, my incredulous accufers began vehement- ly to cry out, Away with fuch a fellow from the earth. By this juft expofition of the fa&t, and by his prudent fele€tion of the refurreétion of Chrift from among the other great doc- trines of chriftiamty, St. Paul happily caufed a divifion to take place among his judges. And the eyent anfwered his expectation: for the feribes, that were of the pharifees part, arofe, Saying 3 We find noevilin this man: but if a fpirit, i. ev aman rifen from the dead, or an angel hath [poken to him, let us not fight againff God. "There is ftill another inftance of the wifdom of the ferpent, reconciling itfelf with the innocence of the dove, in the condué of this Apoftle, when marking the difpofition of his Athenian judges, he took advantage of their tafte for novelty by announcing to them The unknown' God, to whom they had already ere€ted an altar. This chriftian prudence, equally diftant from the duplicity THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 69 of hypocrites and the ftupidity of idiots, merits a place among the traits which charaCterize this great Apoftle, not only be- eaufe it is worthy of our imitation, but alfo becaufe it has been indireétly reprefented, by a modern Celfus, as mere cun- ning and artifice. The author here alluded to, who deferves rather to be called a great poet than a faithful painter, hav- ing disfigured this trait of St. Paul’s character, with a pencil dipt in the -gaul of prejudice; we gladly take this occafion of fetting forth the injuftice of his imputations, fo illiberally caft both upon chriftianity itfelf, and the moft eminent of its defenders. This witty philofopher, who has faid fo many good things againft the {pirit of perfecution, never perceived, that he himfelf was aQtuated by an intolerant fpirit: fo true it is, that the moft fagacious are liable to be blinded by paffion or prejudice. The fame fpirit of perfecution, which excited the Athenians to difcountenance the juftice of Ariftides, asa dangerous fingularity, and to punith the piety of Socrates, as a {pecies of atheifm, led the author of the philofophical di€tionary to reprefent the prudence of St. Paul, as the du- plicity of an hypocrite. Had this fevere judge occupied the feat of Ananias, he might perhaps, with an affected liberality, have overlooked _the peculiarities of the Apoftle’s creed ; but, in the end, his innate deteftation of piety would have affifted him, accord- ing to the general cuftom of perfecutors, to-feign fome juft _ caufe for treating him with the utmoft rigour. And this he has done in our day, as far as his circumftances would per- mit; fince, not being able to difgrace him by the hand of a | public executioner, he has ftudied to do it with his pen, by _ ravifhing from him, not only his reputation for extraordinary | piety, but even his claim to common honefty. Perfecutor! whoever thon art, be content that thy pre- _deceffors have taken away the lives of the righteous, and {pare them what they prefer infinitely before life itfelf, The | tefimony of a good confcience« 70 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 3 a TRAIT XXV. HIS TENDERNESS TOWARD OTHERS, AND HIS SEVERITY TOWARD HIMSELF. ~ HOUGH perfeétly infenfible to the warm emotions of brotherly love, the worldly paftor frequently repeats, in his public difcourfes, thofe affe€tionate expreffions, which flow fo cordially from the lips of faithful minifters, My dear brethren in Chrifi! Thefe expreffions from the pulpit are al- moft unavoidable, upon fome occafions, but, in general, th are to be regarded in no other light than the civil addreffes of a haughty perfon, who concludes his epiftles by affuring his correfpondents, that he confiders it an honour to fubfcribe himfelf their obedient fervant.. But while the worldly minif- ter affects a degree of benevolence, which he cannot feel, the good pattor, out of the abundance of a heart overflowing with chriftian charity, addreffes his brethren with the utmoft af- fe€tion and regard, not only without any danger of feigning what he has not experienced, but even without a poffibility of expreffing the ardour of his brotherly love. His exhorta- tions to the faithful, like thofe of St. Paul, are feafoned with an unétion of grace, and accompanied with a flow of tender- nefs, which frequently give them an aftonifhing affe@ upon his brethren, and which always evince the intereft he takes in the concerns of the church. Rebuke not an elder; fays St. Paul, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as bree thren ; the elder women as mothers, the younger as fifters, with all purity. Such was the exhortation of this apoftle to a young minifter, nor was his example unfuitable to his counfel. «I befeech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye prefent your bodies a living facrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Dearly beloved, be not overcome of eyil, but over- come evil, with good. I write not thefe things to fhame ou, but as my beloved fons I warn you. I, the prifoner of the Lord, befeech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation, wherewith ye are are called. If there be any confolation in Chrift, if any comfort of love, if any fellowfhip of the fpirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like- minded, being of one accord. My beloved, work out your THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 71 own falvation with fear and trembling, We befeech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jefus, that as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk, and to pleafe God, fo ye would abound moreand more. Though I might be much bold in Chrift, to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love’s fake I rather befeech thee, being fuch an one as Paul the aged, and now alfo a prifoner of Jefus Chrift. I befeech thee for my fon Onefimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: whoin time paft was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me, whom [ have fent again. Thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels. Yea, bro- ther, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refrefh my bowels in the Lord.’ Such was the tendernefs and affeétion, with which St. Paul was accuftomed to addrefs his believing bre- thren. But the language of this Apoftle was very different when he fpoke of himfelf, and of that body of fin, which eonftrained him to cry out, O wretched man, that J am. _ It is the charaéter of too many perfons to be fevere toward the failings of others, while they thew the utmott lenity to- ward themfelves, with refpe@ both to their infirmities and their vices. Always ready to place the faults of their neigh- bours inan odious light, and their own in the moft favourable point of view, they feem to be made up of nothing, but par- tiality and felf-love ; while the true minifter referves his greateft indulgence for others, and exercifes the greateft fe. verity toward himfelf. * All thin gs are lawful for me, writes St. Paul, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Know ye not, that they which run in a race, runall, but one receiveth the prize? And every one, that ftriveth for the maftery, is temperate in all things: now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore fo run, not as uncertainly ; fo fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body and bring it into fubjec- tion: left that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myfelf fhould be a caft-away. One refletion naturally finifhes this trait of the charaG@er of St. Paul. If this fpiritual man, if this great Apoftle, thought himfelf obliged to ufe fuch ftrenuous efforts, that he might not be rejeéted before Gop at the laft ; in how great danger are thofe carelefs paftors and chriftians, who, far from accumftoming themfelves to holy aéts of felf-denial, fatisfy their natural defires, without any apprehenfion, and treat e 72 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. thofe as enthufiafts, who begin to imitate St. Paul, by re- garding their baptifmal vow, and renouncing their fenfual appetites. —00@|O|eoee— TRAIT XXVI. HIS LOVE NEVER DEGENERATED INTO COW- ARDICE, BUT REPROVED AND CONSOLED AS OCCASION REQUIRED. HE charity of the true minifter bears no refemblance to that phantom of a virtue, that mean complaifance, that unmanly pliancy, that unchriftian cowardice, or that affefted generofity, which the minifters of this day delight to honour with the name of charity. According to thefe in- fufficient judges, to be charitable—is only to give fome trifling alms out of our abundant fuperfluities, to tolerate the moft dangerous errors, without daring to lift up the ftandard of truth, and to behold the overflowings of vice, without at- tempting to oppofe the threatening torrent. Such would be the miftaken charity of a Surgeon, who, to {pare the mor- tifying arm of his friend, fhould fuffer the gangrene to {pread over his whole body. Such was the charity of the high- prieft_ Elitoward Hophniand Phinehas; animpious charity, which permitted him to behold their fhameful debaucheries with too favourable an eye: a fatal charity, which opened that aby{s of evil, which finally {wallowed them up, and into which they dragged with them their father, their children, the people of Ifrael, and the church, over which they had been appointed to prefide. The good paftor, confcious, that he fhall fave a foul from death, if he can but prevail with a finner to forfake his evil way, ufes every effort to accomplifh fo important a work. And among other probable means, whieh he employs on this occafion, he tries the force of fevere reprehenfion, rebuking the wicked with a holy authority; and, if it be neveffary, returning to the charge with a fpark of that glowing zeal, with which his Mafter was influenced, when he forced from the temple thofe infamous buyers and fellers, who had pro- faned it with their carnal merchandize. Thus St. Paul, on THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 73 #eceiving information, that fcandalous errors had been dif- ‘covered in the condu& of a member of the Corinthian church, immediately wrote to that church, in the following fevere and folemn manner— It is reported, that there is fornication among you, And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he, that hath done this deed, might be taken away from among you. Know ye not, that a little leaven Jeaveneth the whole lump,’ and that the plague in any fingle member of a fociety is fufficient to infe&t the whole company ? * Purge out therefore theold leaven, and put away from among yourlelves that wicked :perfon. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, keep not company with fuch a one, no not toeat. Be not deceived: fornicators fhall not inherit the kingdom of God. Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Chrift? Flee fornication’ therefore, and avoid “the company of fornicators. ‘ For ye are bought witha price: ‘therefore glorify God in your body, and in your {pirit which are God’s. Further, I verily as abfent in body, but prefent in f{pirit, have judged already concerning” the lafcivious per- fon, that is among you, ‘to deliver fucha one unto Satan for the deftruGion of the flefh, that the fpirit may be faved in the day of our Lord Jefus.’ - When the true minifter has paffed the fevereft cenfures upon finners, and beholds thofe ceafures attended with the © defired effe&, he turns to the perfons he lately rebuked with teftimonies of that unbounded charity, that beareth all things, and hofieth all things. More ready, if poffible, to relieve the dejected than to the humble the prefumptuous, after having -manifefted the courage of a lion, he puts on the gentlenef, of a lamb, confoling and encouraging the penitent offenders and never ceafing to intercede for him, till his pardon is ob- tained both from Gop and man. Thus St. Paul, who had fo tharply rebuked the Corinthians in. his firft epiftle, gave them abundant confolation in his fecond, and exhorted them to receive with kindnefs the perfon, whom he had before en- joined them to excommunicate. It is eafy to recognize the tendernefs of Chrift in the following language of this bene- volent Apoftle. ‘I wrote unto you my firft epiftle out of much affliction and anguifh of heart, with many tears, not that ye fhould be grieved, but that ye might know the love, which Ihave more abundantly unto you. Great is my -glorying of you, I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding D a ee ~ t 74 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. joyful in all our tribulation. God, that comforteth them, that are caft down, comforted us by the coming of Titus my meffenger, when he told us your earneft defire, your mourning, and your fervent mind toward me. For though ‘I made you forry with a letter, Ido not repent, though I did repent. Now I rejoice, not that‘ye were made forry, but that ye forrowed to repentance. For ye were made forry after a godly manner—For behold, what carefulnefs it wrought in you! what clearing of yourfelves! what holy indignation! what fear! what vehement defire ! what zeal! what revenge !. In all things ye have approved yourfelves to be clear in this matter. Moreover, we were comforted in your comfort. Yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, becaufe his {pirit was refrefhed by you all. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilft hes remembereth the obedience of you all, and how you received him,’ together with my reproof, ¢ with fear and trembling. I rejoice therefore, that I have confidence in you in all things.’ And with refpe& to the perfon, who -has caufed us fo much diftrefs, ‘ Sufficient to fuch a man is this punifhment, which was infli¢ted of many. So that now ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, left per. hhaps fuch a one fhould be fwallowed up with overmuch for- xow. Wherefore, I befeech you, that ye would confirm your love toward him. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive alfo ;? nay, I have already forgiven’ him, for your fakes, as in the prefence of Chriit. Great Gon! appoint over thy flock vigilant, charitable, and courageous paftors, who may difcern the finner through all his deceitful appearances, and feparate him from t peaceful fold, whether he be an unclean goat, or a ravenous wolf. Permit not thy minifters to confound the juft with the unjuft, rendering contemptible the moft facred myfteries, by admitting to them perfons, with whom virtuous heathens would blufh to converfe. Touch the hearts of thofe paf- tors, who harden thy rebellious people, by holding out to- -kens of thy favour to thofe, who are the obje&ts of thy wrath : and permit no longer the bread of life, which they carelefsly diftribute to all, who chufe to profane it, to be- come in their unhallowed hands the bread of death. Dif cover to them the impiety of offering their holy things to ‘the dogs: and awaken in them a holy fear of becoming ag- as THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 75 -complices with thofe hypocritical monfters, who prefs into thy temple to crucify thy Son afrefh; and who, by a con- _ ftant profanation of the fymbols of our holy faith, add to ‘their other abominations the execrable at of eating and drinking their own damnation, and that with as much com- _ pofure, as fome among them {wallow down the intoxicating draught, or utter the moft impious blafphemies. AN OBJECTION ANSWERED. BEFORE we proceed to the confideration of another trait of the charaGter of St. Paul, it will be neceffary to re- fute an objection to-which the preceeding trait may appear liable. ¢ Dare you,’ it may be afked, ‘ propofe to us, as a model, a man, who ‘ could {trike Elymas with blindnefs, and ‘ deliver up to Satan the body of a finner Anfwer. The excellent motive, and the happy fuccefs of the Apoftle’s conduét, in both thefe inftances, entirely juftify him. He confidered affiGion not only as the cruci- ble, in which Gop is frequently pleafed to purify the jutt, but as the laft remedy to be employed for the reftoration of ‘obftinate finners. Behold the reafon, why the charity of the primitive church demanded, in behalf of Gop, that the rod fhould not be fpared, when the impiety of men was no longer able to be reftrained by gentler means; determining, that it was far better to be brought to repentance, even by the tharpeft fufferings, than to live and die in a finful ftate. To exercife this high degree of holy and charitable feverity toward a finner, was, in fome myfterious manner, to deliver up his body to Satan, who was looked upon as the executioner _ of Gcp’s righteous vengeance in criminal cafes—Thus _Satan deftroyed the firft born of Egypt, {mote the fubjeéts _ of David with the peftilence, and cut off the vaft army of Sennacherib. St. John has thrown fome light upon this . profound myftery, by affertiag, There is afin unto death: and the cafe of Ahab is fully in point ; for when that king had _ committed this fin, a {pirit of error received immediate or- _ ders to lead him forth to execution upon the plains of Ra- moth-Gilead. This awful doftrine is further confirmed by St. Luke, when he relates, that in the fame inftant, when the people, in honour of Herod, gave a fhout, faying, It is in the voice of a God and not of aman ; the.angel of the Lord {mote D2 i 76 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. him, becaufe he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten uf of — ‘worms, and gave up the ghoft. The punifhment thus infliG- ed, by the immediate order of Gop, was always proportion- — edto the nature of the offence. If the fin was not unto death, ‘it was followed by fome temporary affli€tion, as in the cafes of Elymas and the inceftuous Corinthian. If the crime committed was of fuch a nature that the death of the fin- ner became neceflary, either for the falvation of his foul, for the reparation of his crime, or to alarm thofe, who might — probably be corrupted by his pernicious example, he was ‘then either {mitten with fome incurable difeafe, as in the cafe of Herod ; or ftruck with immediate death, as in the ‘cafe of Ananias and Sapphira, who fought to vail their hy- pocrify with appearances of piety, and their double dealing with a lie. Had M. Voltaire confidered. the chriftian church, as a well regulated fpecies of theocracy, he would have feen the folly of his whole reafoning with refpe& to the authority of that church, in its primitive ftate. And convinced, that God has a much greater right to pronounce by his minifters a juft fentence of corporeal punifhment, and even death itfelf, than any temporal prince can claim to pro- nounce fuch fentence by his officers: that daring philofo- pher, inftead of pointing-his farcafms againft an inftitution fo reafonable and holy, would have been conftrained to trem- ble before the Judge of all the earth. _ Finally. It is to be obferved, that when this kind of ju- rifdiction was exercifed in the church, the followers of Chrift, not having any magiftrates of their own religion, lived under ‘the government of thofe heathenifh rulers, who tolerated thofe very crimes, which were peculiarly offenfive to the pure {pirit of the Gofpel. And on this account Gop was pleaf- ed to permit the moft eminent among his people, on fome extraordinary occafions, to exercife that terrible power, which humbled the offending church of Corinth, and over- threw the forcerer Elymas in his wicked career. If it be enquired—W hat would become of mankind, were the orey of this day poffeffed of the extraordinary power of St. Paul? “We aafwer—The terrible manner, in which St. Paul fome- times exercifed the authority he had received, with refpe& to impenitent finners, is not left as an example to the eccle- ‘fiaftics of the prefent day, unlefs they fhould come (which is almoft impoffible) into fimilar circumftances, and attain to THE PORTRAIT‘OF ST. PAUL. Te ‘equal degrees of difcernment, faith, and charity, with this Apoftle himfelf. TRAIT XXVII. HIS PERFECT DISINTERESTEDNESS. F charity feeketh not her own; and if it is required, that the converfation of the faithful fhould de without covetou/- nefs ; it becomes the true minifter, in an efpecial manner to maintain an upright and difinterefted condu& in the world. Though it be true, that. they which wait at the altar are artakers with the altar ; yet nothing is fo déteftable to the faithful pattor, as the idea of enriching himfelf with the fa- ered fpoils of that altar. Obferve how St. Pau! expreffes himfelf upon this fubje@. «We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Having, therefore, food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they, that will be rich, fall mto temptation anda fnare, | and into many foolifh and hurtful lufts, which drown men ~ in perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil : which while fome have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themfelves through with many forrows. But thou, O man of God,’ who art fet apart as a minifter of the everlafting Gofpel, « flee thefe things: and follow after righteoufnefs, godlinefs, faith, love, patience, meeknefs.’ With regard to myfelf,.« I have learned, in whatever {tate I am, therewith to be content. Every where, and in all things, I am inftru€&ted, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to fuffer need, Neither at any time ufed we flattering words, as ye know, nora cloak of covetoufnefs ; God is witnefs. For ye remember our labour and travel, becaufe we would not be chargeable unto any of you. Ye are our witneffes, and God alfo, how holily, and juftly, and unblameably, we behaved ourfelves among you, that believe. Behold the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdenfome to you; for I feek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly fpend and be fpent for you.’ Behold the difintereftednefs D 3 78 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. of the faithful fhepherd, who is ever lefs ready to receive food and clothing from the flock, than to labour for its pro- te&tion and fupport! Behold the fpirit of Chrift! And let the paftor, who is influenced by a different fpirit, draw that alarming inference from his ftate, which he is taught to do by the following expreffion of St. Paul: Jf any man hath not the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his. Happy would be the chriftian church, were it blefled with difinterefted paftors! Avyaritious minifters, who are more taken up with the concerns of earth, than with the things of Heaven, who are more difpofed to enrich their families, than to fupply the neceffities of the poor, who are more eager to multiply their benefices, or to augment their falaries, than to improve their talents, and encreafe the number of the faithful—Such minifters, inftead of benefiting the church, harden the impenitent, aggravate their own condemnation, and force infidels to believe, that the holy minifiry is ufedy by the generality of its profeffors, as a comfortahle means of fecuring to themfelyes the perifhable bread, if not the fading honours, of the prefent. life. j ' . onetal TRAIT XXVIII. HIS CONDESCENSION IN LABOURING, AT TIMES, WITH HIS OWN HANDS, THAT HE MiGHT PREACH INDUSTRY BY EXAMPLE, AS WELL AS BY PRECEPT. (i UCH is the difintereftednefs of the true minifter, that though he might claim a fubfiftence from the facred office, to which he has been folemnly confecrated, yet he generoufly choofes to facrifice his rights, when he cannot enjoy them without giving fome occafion for reproach. To fupply his daily wants, he is not afhamed to labour with his own hands, when he is called to publifh the Gofpel, either among the poor, or in thofe countries, where the law has not appointed him a maintenance, as among heathen nations and favage tribes: nor will he refufe to do this, when his lot falls among a flothful people, animating them to diligence in their feveral vocations by his prudent condefcenfion, that the Gof- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 79 ‘pel may not be blamed. In fuch circumstances, if his own’ patrimony is infufficent for his fupport, no difciple of Jefus will blufh to follow the example of St. Paul, who gives the following reprefentation of his own conduct in cafes of a like nature—‘ Have I committed an offence in abafing myfelf, that - you might be exalted, becaufe I have preached to you the Gofpel of God freely? When I was prefent with you and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: in all things I have kept myfelf from being burdenfome unto you, and fo will I keep myfelf. As the truth of Christ isin me ; no man fhall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. Where- fore? becaufe I love you not? God knoweth. But that IF may cut off occafion from them, that defire occafion,’ and who would not fail to reprefent me as a felf-interested per- fon, were they able to charge me with the enjoyment of my juft right among you. ‘I have coveted no man’s filver, or gold, or apparel: ye yourfelves know, that thefe hands have miniftered unto my neceffities, and to them that were with me. I have fhewed you all things, how that fo labouring ye- ought to fupport the weak ; and to remember the words of our Lord Jefus, how he faid, It is more bleffed to give than to receive.. Ye know, how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourfelves diforderly among you, neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought ; but wrought with labour and travel night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: not becaufe we have not power, but to make ourfelves an enfample unto you. For even, when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any man _ would not work, neither fhould he eat. For we hear, that’ there are fome, which walk among yow diforderly, working not at all, but are bufy-bodies.” Happy were thofe times of chriftian fimplicity, when the Apoftles of Chrift thought it no difgrace to follow fome ufefel occupation, for the re- lief of their temporal neceflities—when, initead of eating the bread of idlenefs, they caft their nets alternately for fithes and for men—when they quitted the tabernacles, in which they were wont to labour, for the facred recreation of fet- ting before finners a building of God, an houfe not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. Of how much greater value were the nets of St. Peter, than dogs of the chafe ; and the working implements of St. Paul, than thofe tables of play, D* 80 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL} at which many of his unworthy fucceffors are now feeking amufement! But notwithftanding all the cireumfpeGtion and prudence of the faithful paftor, even though he fhould think it necef- fary to preach induftry by example, as well as by precept ; yet if his exhortations are more frequent than thofe of his lukewarm brethren, he will be reproached, by the irreligious part of the world, as an indire&t advocate for indolence. The enemies of piety and truth are ftill ready to renew the old obje&tion of Pharach againft the fervice of Gop: ‘ Wherefore do ye let the people from their works? The people of the land are many, and you make them reft from their burdens. They be idle; therefore they cry, faying, Let us go and facrifice toour God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, and Jet them not regard vain words.’ Such is the erroneous judgment, which is generally formed refpeGting the moft zealous fervants of Gop: but while they. feel the bitternefs of thefe unmerited reproaches, they draw more abundant confolation from the encouraging lan- guage of their gracious Mafter—* Bleffed are ye, when men fhall fay all manner of-evil againft you falfely, for my fake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven: for fo perfecuted they the Prophets, which were before you.’ ‘ae The declared adverfaries of religion are not, however, the only perfons, who accufe a laborious minifter of diverting the people from their bufinefs, by the too frequent returns of public exhortation and prayer: there are others, not. wholly deftitute of piety, who. frequently add weight to thefe unjuft accufations. Such are the half-converted, who not yet underftanding the ineftimable worth of that bread, which nourifheth the foul to everlafting life, are chiefly en- gaged in labouring for the bread which perifheth.. Men of this charaéter, engaging themfelves in a vaft variety of earths ly concerns, inceflantly di/guiet themfelves in vain, and confi- der thofe hours as running to wafte, in which a zealous paf- tor detains them from worldly cares and frivolous enjoyments. While he is engaged in teaching, that one thing only is abfo- lutely needful, they are grafping at every apparent good, that folicits their affeGtions: and while he is infifting upon the neceflity of choofing that good part, which fhall not be taken away, thefe formal profeffors are ready to reafon with q THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 81 him, as Martha with Jefus—Doft thou not know, how greatly we are cumbered witha multiplicity of vexatious con- cerns, and care? thou not that our afliftants and dependants are detained from their neceffary avocations by an indolent attendance upon thy miniftry ? Thefe falfe fentiments, with refpe&t both to the minifters and the word of Gop, which too generally prevail among no- minal chriftians, have their fource in that direét oppofition, which -muft always fubfift between the grand maxim of the children of cop, and the diftinguifhing principle of worldly men—Seck ye firft the Kingdom of God and his righteoufue/s, faith the bleffed Jefus, and all the/e things, which are further neceflary to your welfare, /hall be added unto you : No, replies the prince of this world; feek ye firft the enjoyments of time and fenfe, and all other things, that are needful to your well-being fhall be added over and above. From thefe two oppofite principles refults that entire contrariety, which has been obferved in all ages between thofe, who are laying up treafures upon earth, and thofe, who have fet their affections upon things, that are above. Happy are the faithful, and doubly happy the pattors, who, conftantly imitating the great Apoftle, according to their feveral vocations, pray and labour at the fame time, both for their daily bread, and the bread of eternal life; In thus obferving the twofold com- mand of Mofes and of Chrift, fome reafonable hope may be entertained, that their good works will at length overcome the averfion of their enemies, as thofe of the firft chriftians overcame the deep-rooted prejudices of the heathen world. ERO TRAIT XXIX. THE RESPECT HE MANIFESTED FOR THE HOLY ESTATE OF MATRIMONY, WHILE CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE ENGAGED HIM TO LIVE IN A STATE OF CELIBACY. OME minifters have carried their difintereftednefs to. fo high a pitch, that they have refufed to enter into the marriage state merely with this view; that, being free. from all fuperfluous care and eee they might conlecrate. , 3 82 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. their perfons more entirely to the Lord, and their poffeffions lefs refervedly to the fupport of the poor, whom they confi- dered as their children, and adopted their heirs. t all pastors are not called to follow thefe rare examples of absti- nence and difinterefted piety. When we examine into the life of a celebrated man, we generally enquire, whether he paffed his days in a ftate of - marriage or celibacy, and what it was, that determined his choice to the one or the other of thefe ftates. Such an en- quiry is peculiarly neceflary with refpe@ to St. Paul, as many of the faithful, in the earlieft ages of the church, delu- ded by the amiable appearance of celibacy, embraced the monaftic life—a ftate, to which the clergy and the religious of the Romifh church ftill dedicate themfelves: whence thofe difgraceful accufations, which divers philofophers have preferred againft the chriftian religion, as deftrutive of fo- ciety in its very origin, which is the conjugal bond. But, leaving the reveries of legend, if we feek for chriftianity in the pure Gofpel of Chrift, we fhall find this accufation to be totally groundlefs: fince one view of the christian Legifla- tor, in publifhing that Gofpel, was to strengthen the nuptial tie, by declaring, that an immodest glance isa fpecies of a- dultery, by revoking the permiffion formerly given to the hufband to put away his wife for any temporary caufe of diffatisfa€tion, and by abfolutely forbidding divorce, except in cafes of adultery. Nay, fo far did this divine Lawgiver carry his condefcenfion in honour of the marriage state, that he was prefent at one of thofe folemn feasts, which were ufu- ally held upon fuch occafions, attended by the holy virgin and his twelve difciples; and not content with giving this public testimony of his refpeé forfo honourablean institution, he ac- companied it with the first miraculous proof of his almigh- ty power. 7 ts t- Paul, it is true, paffed the whole of his life in a state of celibacy ; but he never enjoined it to any perfon; and if he occafionally recommended it to fome, to whom it was indifferent, whether they married or not, it was chiefly on account of the distrefs and perfecution of thofetimes. To éngage the most pious perfons ordinarily to live in a state of defied. is not lefs contrary to nature and reafon, than to the Spirit of the Gofpel. This isto oppofe the propagation of the best christians, and the most faithful fubje€ts ; it is THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 83 to fuppofe, that thofe perfons, who join example to precept in the caufe of virtue, and who for that very reafon are pecu- liarly qualified for the education of children, are the only perfons in the world, who ought to have none. ‘The abfur- dity of this opinion constrained the Apostle Paul publicly to combat it, by declaring to the Hebrews, that Marriage, and the bed undefiled, are honourable among allmen. He far- ther affirmed, that a Bi/bop muff be the hufband of one wife, one _that ruleth well his own houfe having his children in fubjeGion with all gravity. And if he wifhed the Corinthians to con- tinue in the state, which he himfelf had chofen, on account of the peculiar advantages accruing from it, at that feafon, to the perfecuted members of the christian church ; zevere thelefs ta avoid fornication he counfelled, that every man fhould have his own wife, and every woman her cwn hufband, 1 will, faith he to Timothy, that the younger women marry, bear chil- dren, ond guide the houfe. And lastly, he cautioned the fame christian Bithop against the error of thofe, who, in the last times, fhould depart from the faith, giving heed to the doétrines of Devils and forbidding to marry ; earnestly exhorting his young fuc¢effor, to guard the brethren against a doétrine, fo fatal to the church in particular, and fo destruétive of fo- ciety in general. But it may be urged—If St. Paul.really entertained fuch high ideas of marriage, and reprefented it as the most perfect emblem of that stri@t union, which fubfists betwixt. Chrift and hisehurch ; why did he sot recommend it by his exame- ple? I anfwer—Although St. Paul was never married yet,. he exprefsly afferted his right to that privelege as well as St. Peter and fome others of the Apoftles; imtimating, at the fame time, that prudence and charity inclined him to forego his right in that refpe&. When aman is perpetu- ally called to travel from place to place, prudence requires, that he fhould not encumber himfelf with thofe domettic eares, which muft occafion many unavoidable delays in the profecution of his bufinefs: or, if he-derives his maintenance from the generolity of the poor,.charity fhould conftrain him to burden them as little as poffible. This zealous Apoftle eould not prevail upon himfeif to.expofe a woman and chil- dren to thofe innumerable. dangers, which he was conftantly obliged to encounter. The firft peril, from which he made his efcape, was that, which compelled him to defcend from D6 84 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULS the wall of Damafcus in a bafket : now if a family had thared with him the fame danger, what an addition would they have made to his affli€tion and his care! Is it not evident, that, in fuch circumftances, every man, who is not obliged to marry from reafons either phifical or moral, is called to imitate the example of this difinterefted Apoftle, from the fame motives of prudence and charity? this indefatigable ~ preacher, always on a miffion, judged it advifable to conti- nue ina fingle ftate to the end of his days: but, had he been. fixed in a particular church: had he there felt, how much it concerns a minifter, neither to tempt others, nor be tempt- ed himfelf; and had he known, how much affiftance a mo- deft, provident, and pious woman is capable of affording a pattor, by infpe€ting the women of his flock——he would then. probably have advifed every refident paftor to enter into the marriage flate, provided they fhould fix upon regenerate per- fons, capable of edifying the church, in imitation of Phebe, a deaconnefs of Cenchrea, and Perfis, who was fo dear to St. Paul on account of her labours in the Lord; or copy= ing the example of thofe four virgins the daughters of Philip, who edified, exhorted, and confoled the faithful by their pious difcourfes. The chriftian do&rine on this point may be reduced to. the following heads. 1. In times of great trouble, and griev- ous perfecutions, the followers of Chrift fhould abftain from marriage, unlefs obliged thereto by particular and powerful reafons. 2. The faithful, who mean to embrace the nuptial ftate, fhould be careful, on no account to connect themfelves with any perfons, except {uch as are remarkable for their ferioufnefs and piety. 3. If a man is married before he is converted ; or if, being converted, he is deceived in choofing a woman, whom he fuppofed to be pious, but dif= covers to be worldly ; inftead of feparating himfelf from his wife, in either of thefe cafes, he is rather called to give alk diligence in bringing her acquainted with the truth, as it is in Jefus. 4. Miffionaries ought not to marry unlefs there be an abfolute neceffity. 5. A Bifhop, or refident paftor is u- fually called to the marriage ftate.. Laftly. A minifter of the Gofpel, who is able to live in a ftate of celibacy far the Kingdom of Heaven’s fake, that he may haye no other ‘carey except that of preaching the Gofpel, and attending upon the members ‘of Chrift’s myftical body : fuch a one is un= THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 85 doubtedly called to continue in a fingle ftate. For, having obtained the gift of continence, he is difpenfed from carnal- ly giving children to the church, becaufe he begets her {pi- ritual fons and daughters: and fuch a one, inftead of being honoured as the head of a particular houfehold, fhould be counted worthy of double honour, as a fpiritual father in his Lord’s family. TRAIT XXX. - THE ARDOUR OF HIS LOVE. HE paffions are the fprings, by which we are ufually a€tuated. Reafonalone is too weak to put us in mo- tion, fo often as duty requires; but when love, that facred paffion of the faithful, comes in to its affiftance, we are then {weetly conftrained to a&t in conformity to the various rela- tions we fuftain in civil and religious life. Thus the Gop of nature has rooted in the hearts of mothers a fond affec- tion, which keeps them anxioufly attentive to the wants of their children? and thus the {pirit of Gop implants in the bofom of a good paftor that ardent charity, which excites him to watch over his flock with the moft affeGtionate and un- wearied attention. The love of a father to his fon, the ate tachment of a nurfe to her folter-child, the tender affe&tion _ of a mother to her infant, are fo many emblems employed _ in the Holy Scriptures, to fet forth the fweetnefs and ar- _ dour of that Chriftian love, which animates the true minifter to the performance of his feveral duties. ‘You know, fays St. Paul, how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged _ every one of you, as a father doth his children—We were gentle among you, even as a nurfe cherifheth her children ; {fo being afieCtionately defirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the Gofpel of God only, but alfo our own fouls, becaufe ye were dear unto us. God is my record, how greatly I long after youall, in the bowels of Jefus Chrift. Receive us: for ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.’ Worldly paftors can form no idea of that ardent charity, which dictates fuch benevolent lan- "guage, and accompanies it with actions, which demonftrate 86 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. its fincerity. This is one of thofe myfterious things which are perfectly incomprehenfible to the natural man, ard which frequently appear to him as the extremeft folly. This fervent love improves us into new creatures, by the fweet influence it maintains over all our tempers. This holy paffion deeply interefts the faithful paftor in the concerns of his fellow-chrittians, and teaches him to rejoice in the bene« fits they receive, as though his own profperity was infepara- bly conneéted with theirs. J thank my God writes the great Apofttle to the benefactor of his brethren, ‘ making mention of thee always in my prayers, hearing of thy love and faith, which thou haft toward the Lord Jefus, and toward all faints ; that the communication of thy faith may become effe€tual, by the acknowledging of every good thing, which is in you in Chrift Jefus. For we have great joy and confolation in thy love, becaufe the bowels of the taints are refrefhed b thee, brother.” The forrow and the joy of this zealous imi- tator of Chrift were generally influenced by the varyin ftates of the faithful. When any, who had once ran well, were feen loitering by the way, or ftarting afide from the path of life, he edinetite the moft fincere affi@tion on their account—There are fome, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the crofs of Chrift. On the other hand, the progrefs of believers was 2s marrow to his bones, and as the balfam of life to his heart-— _ © We are glad, when we are weak and ye are ftrong: and this alfo we wifh, even your perfe@tion. My brethren, dear- ly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, ftand ftaft in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Be blamelefs and harmlefs, the fons of God without rebuke, holding forth the word of life: that I may rejoice in the day of Chrift, that I have not yun in vain, neither laboured in vain.’ Reader, whoever thou art, permit me to aff thee one im- _ portant queftion. Art thou acquainted with that ardent eharity, that influenced the Apoftle Paul? Tf his chriftian love was like a rapid and deep river; is thine, at leaft, like a running ftream, whofe waters fail not? Do thy joys and — thy forrows flow in the fame channel, and tend to the fame point as the fan@tified paffions of this benevolent man? Relate — the chief caufes of thy fatisfa&tion and thy difpleafure, and ¥ will tell thee, whether like Demas, thou art a child of this: prefent world, or a fellow-citizen of Heaven with St. Paul. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 87 R- : TRAIT XXxXI. ; ‘ ) HIS GENEROUS FEARS AND SUCCEEDING ; CONSOLATIONS. HEN the church is threatened with a storm, the | worldly paftor has no fears except for himfelf and his relations. But the true minifter, if he is at all difquiet- ed with fear, when the Lord’s veffel is driven withthe winds, or appears to be in danger through the indifcreet condu& of falfe or unloving brethren, he feels mach lefs for his own fafety, than for the fecurity of his compantons in tribulation. _ He fears efpecially for the weak of the flock, and for thofe of the faithful, who are expofed to violent temptation: and thefe generous fears, which equally prove his holy zeal and his brotherly love, without robbing him of all his joy, afford him frequent opportunities of exercifing his faith, his refig- nation and his hope. We were troubled, faith St. Paul, © on every fide; without were fightings, within were fears. I fear, left by any means, as the ferpent beguiled Eve _ through his fubtilry, fo your minds fhould be corrupted from the fimplicity that is in Chrift. I fear, left when I. come, I fhall not find you fuch as I would. When we ' could no longer forbear, we fent Timothy to eftablih you, and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no man fhould be moved by thefe affliGtions: for yourfelves know, _ that we are appointed thereunto. Forverily, when we were | with you, we told you before, that we fhould fuffer tribula- tion ; even as it came to pafs. For this caufe, when I could no longer forbear, I fent to know your faith, left by fome _ means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.’ : Though thefe fehtings without, and thefe fears within, are always painful to the ficfh, yet they are as conftantly bene-’ ficial to the foul. If they fubject the true miniiter fora feafon to the keeneft affliction, they prepare him in the end | for ffrong confolation. Obferve the manner, in which the great Apoitle expreffes himfelf upon this point —‘ We would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble, which . came to usin A fia, that we were preffed out of meafure, above 88 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL« ftrength, infomuch that we defpaired even of life. . We had the fentence of death in ourfelves, that we fhould not truft in ourfelves, but in God which raifeth the dead: who deli- vered us from fo great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we truft, that he will yet deliver us. I would ye. fhould underftand, brethren, that the things, which happened unto me, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gof- pel; fo that my bonds in Chrift are manifeft m all the palace, and in all other places: and many of the brethren in the ‘Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to fpeak the word without fear. Hence, we glory in tribu- lations : knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not afhamed, becaufe the love of God is fhed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghoft which is given unto us. Bleffled be God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourfelves are comforted of God. For as the fufferings of Chrift abound in us, fo our confo- - lation alfo aboundeth by Chrift.’ ‘ If thofe who are honoured with a commiffion to publifh the Gofpel were fully convinced how gracious and powerful a Matter they ferve, inftead of being alarmed at the fight of thofe labours and dangers, which await them in the exercife. of their miniftry, they would ftand prepared to run all hazards. in his fervice ; as courageous foldiers, who fight under the eye of a generous prince, are ready to expofe their lives for the augmentation of his glory. Can it become good paftors to manifeft lefs concern for the falvation of their brethren,. than mercenary warriors for the deftru€tion of their prince’s foes? And if the Romans generoufly expofed themfelves to death, in preferving the life of a fellow-citizen, for the trif— ling reward of a civic wreath, how much greater magnanimity fhould a chriftian paftor difcover in refeuing the fouls of his. brethren from a ftate of perdition, for the glorious reward of a never-fading crown ? : | rive | THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 89 TRAIT XXXII. THE GRAND SUBJECT OF HIS GLORYING AND THE EVANGELICAL MANNER IN WHICH HE MAINTAINED HIS SUPERIO- RITY OVER FALSE APOSTLES. HE difpofition of a faithful paftor is, in every refpec, T diametrically oppofite to that of a worldly minifter. If you obferve the converfation of an ecclefiaftic, who is in- fluenced by the fpirit of the world, you will hear him inti- mating either that he has, or that he would not be forry to have, the precedency among his brethren, to live in a ftate of affluence and {plendour, and to fecure to himfelf fuch diftin- guifhed appointments as would increafe both his dignity and his income, without making any extraordinary addition to his paftoral labours: you will find him anxious to be admitted into the beft companies, and occafionally forming parties for the chafe or fome other vain amufement. While the true _ paftor cries out in the felf-renouncing language of the great _ Apoftle: «God forbid, that I fhould glory, fave in the crofs | of our Lord Jefus-Chrift, by whom the world is crucified - unto me, and I unto the world.’ If the minifter, who is really formed to prefide in the church, was fingled out from among his brethren, and placed in an Apoftolic chair, he would become the more humble for “his exaltation :—if fuch a one was flighted and vilified by falfe Apoftles, he would not appeal, for the honour of his charaéter, to the fuperiority of his talents, his rank, or his | miffion; but rather to the fuperiority of his labours, his dan- | gers, and his fufferings. Thus, at leaft, St. Paul defending _ the dignity of his character againft the unjuft infinuations of | his adverfaries in the miniftry—Are they miniflers of Chrift ? (I Speak as a fool) I am more. But in what manner did he, attempt to prove this? Was it by faying, I have a richer _ benefice than the generality of minifters ; [ am a do¢tor, a | profeffor of divinity, I bear the mitre, and dwell in an epzf- - eopal palace? No: inftead of this, he ufed the following | apottolic language. ‘In labours I am more abundant, in ttripes above meafure, in prifons more frequent, in deaths oft. q In: journeyings often, in perils in the city, in perils in the — wildernefs, in perils in the fea, in perils by the heathen, in perils among falfe brethren: In wearinefs and painfulnefs, in watchings often, in hunger and thirft, in faftings often, in cold and nakednefs. Befides thofe things, that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care ofall the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak ? who is offended and I burn not? 1f I muft needs glory, I will glory in the things, which concern mine infirmities. From henceforth let no man trouble me : for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jefus.? Such are the appeals of holy prelates. But fora man to glory in having obtained a deanery, a profeffor’s chair, or a bifhoprick, is in reality to boaft of his unfaithfulnefs to his vocation, and to prove himfelf unworthy of the rank, to which he has been injudicioufly raifed. y Ye who prefide over the houfhold of Gon, learn of the Apoftle Paul to manifeft your real fuperiority. Surpafs your inferiors in humility, in charity, in zeal, in your painful la- bours for the falvation of finners, in your invincible courage to encounter thofe dangers, which threaten your brethren, and by your unwearied patience in bearing thofe perfecutions, which the faithful difciples of Chrift are perpetually called. to endure from a corrupt world. ‘Thus fhall you honourably replace the firft chriftian prelates, and happily reftore the church to its primitive dignity. vee 90 THE PORTRAIT OF 8T. PAUL. = REED TRAIT XXXIII. — HIS PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE UNDER THE SEVEREST TRIALS. HARITY is not cafily provoked ; but on the contrary thinketh no evil.. Full of patience and meeknefs, Chrift diftinguifhed himfelf by his abundant love to thofe from whom he received the moft cruel treatment. Thus alfo the minifters of Chrift are distinguifhed, who, as they are’ more or lefs courageous and indefatigable in the work of the ministry, are enabled to adopt the following declaration of St.’Paul with more or lefs propriety: ‘ Being reviled, we blefs; being perfecuted, we fuffer it ; being defamed, we en- —— THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. \ 9] ‘treat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are as the ‘offfcouring of all things unto this day. Giving no offence jin any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourfelves, as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in neceffities, in distrefles, in stripes, ‘in imprifonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in |fastings, by purenefs, by knowledge, by long-fuffering, by 'kindnefs, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteouf- - -nefs on the right hand and on the left,’ which enables us to “attack error and vice, while it fhields us from their affaults ; € by honour and difhonour ; by evil report and good report 3 as deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet well known 5 as dying, and behold we live ; as chastened, and not killed ; as forrowful, yet alway rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many /tich ; as having nothing, and yet poffeffing all things.’ _. Far from being difcouraged by the trials, which befal him, the true minister is difpofed in fuch circumstances to pray with the greater fervency ; and according to the ardour and conftancy of his prayers, fuch are the degrees of fortitude and patience, to which he attains. * We have not receiveds faith St. Paul, the fpirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the fpirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, — Father. The fpirit itfelf, amidst all our distreffes, beareth: ‘witnefs with’our {pirit, that we are the children of God. Likewife the Spirit alfo helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we fhould. pray:for as we ought: but the ‘Spirit itfelf maketh interceffion for us with groanings whicly ‘cannot ‘be uttered,’ I befought the Lord thrice that this ‘trial might depart from me, And he faid unto me, my grace ‘is fufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfet in weaknefs. Therefore I take pleafure in infirmities, in re- ‘proaches, in neceffities, in perfecutions, in distreffes, for Christ’s fake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I ean do all things through Christ, which strenetheneth me.’ _ What an advantage, what an honour is it, to labour in the - fervice of fo gracious and powerful a Master! By the power, , with which he controls the world, he overrules all things for \good to them, that love him. ‘Their most pungent forrows are fucceeded by peculiar confolations ; the reproach of the -crofs prepares them for the honours of a crown; and the 92 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. flames in which they are fometimes feen to blaze, become’ like that chariot of fire, which conveyed Elijah triumphantly away from the fury of Jezebel. TRAIT XXXIV. : PR Sa ete OF eee > ted Be HIS MODEST FIRMNESS BEFORE MAGIS- TRATES. | UPPORTED by a strong perfuafion, that Gop and truth are on his fide, the faithful minister is’ carried above all thofe difheartening fears, which agitate the hearts of worldly pastors. Depending upon the truth of that folemn prediGtion; They will deliver you up: tothe council, and ye foalk be brought before governors and kings for my fake, for atefimony againf? them and the gentiles ; he expects in times of ion to appear before magiftrates, and poflibly before kings, for the caufe of Chrift and his Gofpel. Nor is he afflicted at fuch a profpe@. Relying on’ the promife of that» com- paffionate Redeemer, who once appeared for him before Annas and Caiaphas, Herod and Pontius Pilate, without anxioufly premeditating what he fhalt anfwer, and refting affured, that wifdom fhall be given him in everytime of need; he cries ont with the holy. determination of the Pfalmist : cs will {peak of thy teftimonies alfo before kings, and will not be afhamed, tet dietant Yoh. seniee When he is brought as a malefaétor before the judge: while his accufers, a€tuated by malicious’ zeal, agree to fay —We have found this man a peftilent fellow, a mover of fedition among the feople, and one of the ringleaders of a new and dangerous fect ; he juftifies himfelf by anfwering—The wit. nefles, who appear againft me this day, neither found me trampling under foot the authority of my fuperiors, not fowing the feeds of fedition among the people; * neither can they prove the things, whereof they now accufe me. — But this I confefs, that after the way, which they call herefy, fe worfhip I the God of my fathers, believing all things, which are written in the Law and the Prophets; and have hope toward God, which they themfelves allow, that there hal be a refurrection of the dead, both of the juft and unjuft. - i \ f THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 93 “And fuppofing his accufers are not ‘only deifts, but pro- feffors of the chriftian faith, he will add: This alfo I con- -fefs, that in conformity to thofe principles, which pretended ‘philofophers term /uferftitious, and which lukewarm chrif- ‘tians call enthufiaftic, [believe not only in God the Father Als _mighty, but alfo in Jefus Chrift his only Son whom I acknow- ledge to be King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and who after having fuffered. for our fins, rofe again for our juftifi- cation. Further; I joyfully fubfcribe to that confeffion of faith which is frequently in your own mouths—/J de.- lieve in the Holy Ghof, who regeneratesand fanétifies every _ true member «4 the holy catholic church ; and I participate with thofe members the common advantages of our moft holy faith, which are an humble confcioufnefs of the forgive- nef of fins, a lively hope of the refurredion of the body, and a | fweet anticipation of everlafting life. And herein do I exer- \ sife myfelf, to have always a confcience void of offence toward - God and toward men. If his judge already prejudiced a -gainft him, fhould unbecomingly join iffte with his accu- fers, and charge him with extravagance and fanaticifm ; he will anfwer after St. Paul, with all due refpe@, «Iam | mot'mad; but fpeak forth the words of truth and fobernefs. | And I would to God, that not only thou, but alfo all who shear me this day were altogether fuch as I am, except thefe _ bonds.’ : | After a pastor has had experience of thefe difficult trials, -he is then in a fituation to confirm younger ministers in the -manner of St. Paul— «I know, whom I have believed, and _ I am perfuaded, that he is able to keep, that which I have ’ committed unto him, against that day. At my first anfwer, ‘no man stood with me; but all men forfook me: Notwith- ‘standing the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me ; | that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear the Gofpel’; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord fhall deliver | ‘me from every evil work, and will preferve me unto his Hea- venly Kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.’ Behold the inconveniences ard dangers to which not only christian pastors, but all, who follow the steps of the Apostle Paul, will be expofed in every place where the bigoted or the incredulous occupy the first posts in church or state! And whether we are -called to endure torments, or only to 9+ THE PCRTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 1 infer reproach in the caufe of truth, let'us endeavour to bio ah the fufferings, that fhall fall to our lot, with that lution and meeknefs, of which St. Paul and his adorable Seater have left us fuch memorable examples, — f a) ———— ~ TRAIT XXXV. ery Is COURAGE IN CONSOLING HIS PERSE. CUTED BRETHREN. JNERSUADED, that all, who will live godly in Ch Jefus, and particularly his minifters, hall fuffer yrs tion, the good pastor looks for oppofition from every quar- ter ; and whenever he fuffers for the testimony he bears to the truths of the Gofpel, he fuffers not only with acariee but with joy. The more the God of this degenerate world exalts pe felf in oppofition to truth, the more he difpofes every fincere heart for the reception of it. The Gofpel is that everlast- ing rock, upon which the church is founded, and against which the gates of Hell can never prevail: and though this rock is affailed by innumerable hosts of vifible and invifible enemies, yet their repeated affaults ferve only to demonstrate, with increafing certainty, its unfhaken firmnefs and abfolute impenetrability. A clear fight of the /avereign Sood, as pre fented to usin the Gofpel, is fufficient to make it univerfal- ly defirable. . The vail of inattention, however, conceals in a great meafure this /overeign good, and the mists of preju- dice entirely obfcure it. But by the inhuman conduct of the perfecutors of christianity, their falfe aceufations, their fecret plots, and their unexampled cruelty, thefe mists are frequently diffipated, and thefe vails rent im twain from the top to the bottom. Error is by thefe means unwittingly expofed to the view of the world; while every impartial obferver attracted by the charms of perfeeuted truth, ex- amines into its nature, acknowledges its excellence, and at length triumphs in the poffeflion of that inestimable pearl, which he once defpifed. Thus the tears of the faithful and the blood of confeffors have been generally found to fcatter and nourifh the feed of the Kingdom. roel spit ee THE PORTRAIT OF 5T. PAUL. 95 Ye zealous defenders of truth! let not the fevereft perfe. _ eutionsalarm your apprehenfion or weaken your confidence ; fince every trial of this kind muft neceffarily terminate in your own advantage, as well as in the eftablifhment and glory of the chriftian faith. Error, always accompanied with contradictions, and big with abfurd confequences, will _ fhortly appear to be {upported by no other prop, than that of prejudice or paffion, or the defpotifm of a ufurped autho- _ rity, which renders itfelf odious by the very means employed for its f{upport. The more the partifans of every falfe docs _ trine found the alarm againft you, the more they refemble a _ violent multitude oppofing the efforts of a few, who are la- _ bouring to extinguifh the fire, that confumes their neigh- _ bours’ habitations: the different conduét of the one and the _ other muft, fooner or later, manifeft the incendiaries. Er- _ ror may be compared to a veffel of clay, and truth to a vafe _ of mafly gold. In vain is calumny endeavouring to render _ che truth contemptible by overheaping it with every thing _ that is abominable ; in vain would prejudice give error an _ amiable appearance by artfully concealing its defe€&ts: for _ whenever the hand of perfecution fhall furioufly hurl the latter againft the former, the folid gold will fuftain the fhock anhurt, while the varnifhed clay fhall be dafhed in pieces. The experience, however, of feventeen ages has not been fuf-. icient to demonftrate to perfecutors a truth fo evident ; nor sre there wanting inexperienced believers in the church, who are ready to call it in queftion, and who, when fer/fecutionarifeth becaufe of the word, are unhappily obferved to lofe their chrif- tian refolution. But, ‘ why do the heathen rage and the peo- | ple imagine a vain thing, the kings of the earth ftand up, and ' the rulers take counfel together againft the Lord, and againft _ his anointed ? He that dwelleth in Heaven hall laugh them _ to fcorn,’ and make their malice ferve to the accomplifhment of his great defigns. _. Thus the Jews, in crucifying Chrift, contributed to lay _ the grand foundation of the chriftian church : and afterwards by perfecuting the Apoftle Paul to death, gave him an op- _ portunity of bearing the torch to Rome, and even into the palaces of its emperors. And it was from Rome itfelf, as from the jaws of a devouring lion, that he comforted the _ faithful, who were ready to faint at his afflictions, and en- courage them to a& in conformity to their glorious voca- tion. ‘1 fuffer trouble as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but 96 ' «. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. q the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the ele€t’s fake, that they may alfo obtain the fale vation, which is in Chrift Jefus, with eternal glory. It isa” faithful faying ; For if we be dead with him, we fhall alfo live with him: if we fuffer, we fhall alfo reign with him: if we deny him, he alfo will deny us. Be not thou there- fore afhamed of the teftimony of our Lord, nor of me his pri- foner: but be thou partaker of the aflli€tions of the Gofpel, according to the power of God: who hath called us accord- ing to his own purpofe and grace, which was given us in Chrift Jefus, who hath abolifhed death; and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gofpel: where unto I am appointed a preacher, and an Apoftle, for the which caufe I alfo fuffer thefe things; neverthelefs, I am not afhamed. Thou, therefore, endure hardnefs, as a good foldier of Jefus Chrift.’ . Happy is the faithful minifter of Chrift amid all the fe- vere afflictions to which he is fometimes expofed! Though troubled on every fide, yet he is not diftreffed ; though perplex- ed, yet not in defpair; though frerfecuted, yet not forfaken ; though caft down, yet not deffroyed. All the violent attacks of his enemies muft finally contribute to the honour of his” triumph, while their flagrant injuftice gives double luftre to” the glorious caufe, in which he fuffers. ™ Seabees yw: TRAIT XXXVI. 3 F HIS HUMBLE CONFIDENCE IN PRODUCING THE SEALS OF HIS MINISTRT PASTOR muft fooner or later, convert. finnets, if he fincerely and earneftly calls them to repentance to- ward Gop, and faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift. Neverthe- lefs, though filled with indignation againft fin, with com- paffion toward the impenitent, and with gratitude to Chritt, he fhould, like St. Paul, in proportion to his {trength, wref- tle with Gop by prayer, with finners by exhortation, and with the flefh by abftinence ;_ yet even then, as much une- qual to that Apoftle, as he was unequal to his Mafter, he may reafonably defpair of frequently beholding the happy — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. RAUL. 97 | effects of his evangelical labours. But, if he cannot adopt _ the following apottolic language: Thanks be unto God, who always caufeth us to triumph in Chrift, and maketh manifeft, the | favour of his knowledge by us in every place: he will, at leaft, _ be able to fay in his little fphere—‘ We are unto God a fweet favour of Chriit, in them that are faved, and in them, _ that perifh: to the one we are the favour of death unto death ; and to the other, the favour of life unto life.’ If he has not, like St. Paul, planted new vines, he is engaged, with Apollos, in watering thofe, which are already planted ; he is rooting up fome withered cumberers of the ground, he is lopping off fome unfruitful branches, and propping up thofe tender fprigs, which the tempeft has beaten down. He would be the moft unhappy of all faithful minifters, had he not fome in his congregation, to whom he might _ with propriety addrefs himfelf in the following terms: ‘Da _ we need epiftles of commendation to you? Ye are manifeftly . declared to be the epiftle of Chrift, mimiftered by us, writ- _ ten not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tablesof ftone, but in flefhly tables of the heart. Are _ hot ye my work in the Lord? IfI be not an Apoftle unto others, yet doubtlefs I am to you: for the feal of mine A- | poitlefhip are yeinthe Lord. For though ye have ten thou- fand inftruGtors in Chrift, yet-have ye not many fathers: for in Chrift Jefus have I begotten you through the Gof- _ pel.’ ; When a minifter of the Gofpel, after labouring for feve. ral years in the fame place, is unacquainted with any of his . flock, to whom he might modeftly hold the preceding lan- guage; it isto be feared, that he has laboured too much _ hike the generality of paftors in the prefent day: fince ¢he _ word of God, when delivered with earnestnefs and without _ adulteration, is ufually ‘quick and powerful, and fharper than any two edged fword, piercing even to the dividing _afunder of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and marrow, _ He that hath my word, let him fpeak my word faithfully: _ what is the chaff to the wheat? faith the Lord. Is not my word like a fire ; and like a hammer, that break. _eth the rock in pieces? Behold I am againft them, that _ caufe my people to err by their lies and by their lightnefs : therefore they fhall not profit this people at all, faith the Lord.’ , E 98 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ; Thofe ministers, who are anxious fo to preach, and fo to conduét themfelves, as neither to trouble the peace of the formal, nor to alarm the fears of the impenitent, are undoubt- edly the perfons peculiarly alluded to in the following fo- lemn paflage of Jeremiah’s prophecy: * Mine heart within me is broken, becaufe of the prophets; all my bones, fhake becaufe of the Lord, and becaufe of the words of his holi- nefs. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my houfe have I found their wickednefs, faiththe Lord. They walk in lies,’ either actually or doétrinally : ‘they strengthen alfo the hands of evil doers, that none doth return from his wickednefs. From the prophets of Jerufalem is prophane- nefs gone forth into all the land. They fpeak a vifion of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They fay unto them, that fecretly defpife me, The Lord hath faid, ye fhall have peace: and they fay unto every one, that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil fhall come upon you. I have not fent thefe prophets, yet they ran: I have not fpoken to them, yet they prophefied. But if they had stood in my counfel, and had caufed my people to hear my words, then they fhould have turned them from their evil way, and from the evilo f their doings.’ Behold the reafon, why nothing can fo much affliét a faith- ful minister, as not to behold from time to time, unfeigned converfions effefted among the people by means of his minif- try. The hufbandman, after having diligently preparedand plentifully fowed his fields, is fenfibly affli€ted, when he fees the hopes of his harvest all {wept away at once by a furious storm: but he feels not fo lively a forrow as the charitable pastor, who after having liberally feattered around him the feeds of wifdom and piety, beholds his parifh overrun with the noxious weeds of vanity and vice. If Nabalsare still in- toxicated; if Cains are still implacable; if Ananiafes are still deceitful, and Sapphiras still prepared to favour their deceit ; if Marthas are still cumbered with earthly cares; if Dinahs are still expofing themfelves to temptation, even to the detriment of their honour, and to the lofs of that little relifh, which they once difcovered for piety ; and if the for- mal fill continue to approach Gop with their lips while their hearts are far from him—a good pastor at the fight of - thefe things is pierced through with many forrows, and feels, in a degree, what Elijah felt, when, overburndened with fa- \ ] | THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. - 99 tigue and chagrin, he fat down under a juniper tree, and faid Tt is enough ; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not betier than my fathers. : Indifference, in a matter of fo great importance, is one of the furest marks by which an unworthy pastor may be dif- cerned. Of what confequence is it to a worldly minister, whether the flock, about which he takes fo little trouble, is compofed of fheep or goats ? He feeks not fo much to bene- fit his people, as to difcharge the more exterior duties of his . office in fuch a way, as may not incur the cenfure of his fu- periors in thechurch, who, poffibly, are not a whit lefs luke- warm than himfelf. And if tolerable -party of his unclean flock do but difguife themfelves three or four times in a year, for the purpofe of making their appearance at the facramen- tal table, he is perfectly fatisfied with the good order of his : parifh ; efpecially, when the most detestable vices, fuch as ‘extortion, theft, adultery, or murder, are not openly practifed in tt. This outward kind of decency, which is fo fatisfac- a, to the worldly minifter, and which is ordinarily effected by the conftraining force of the civil laws, rather than by the truths of the Gofpel, affords the faithful paftor but little confolation. He is folicitous to fee his peopie hungering and thirfting after righteoufnefs, working out their falvation with fear and trembling, and engaging in all the duties of | chriftianity, with as much eagernefs, as the children of the world purfue their fhameful pleafures or trifling amufements: nd if he has not yet enjoyed this fatisfaction, he humbles imfelf before Gon, and anxioufly enquires after the reafon ‘ef fo great an unhappinefs, He is confcious, that if his miniftry is not productive of good fruit, the fterility of the word mutt flow from one or other of the following caufes— . either he does not publifh the Gofpel in its full latitude and urity, ina manner fufficiently animating, or in fimplicity and faith: perhaps he is not careful to fecond his zealous ifcourfes by an exemplary conduct: perhaps he is negligent in imploring the bleffing of Gop upon his-public and private abours: or probably his hearers may have conceived in- veterate prejudices againft him, which make them inattentive o his moft folemn exhortations; fo that inftead of being re- eived among them as an ambaflador of Chrift, he can apply to himfelf the proverb, formerly cited by his rejected Matter: 0 frophet is accepted in a Bs country, where he is ac- a : } . q 100: THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULe cuftomed to be feen without ceremony, and heard: with: curiofity. If the fault appears to be on his own fide, he en- deavours to apply the moit fpeedy and efficacious remedies, redoubling his public labours, and renewing his fecret f plications with more than ordinary fervour of fpirit. But if after repeated trials, he is convinced, that his want of fuccef; chiefly flows from the invincible hatred of his flock to the truths of the Gofpel, or from the fovereign contempt, which his parifhoners manifeft both for his perfon and his labours; he is then juftified in following the example of his unerring Mafter, who refufed to exercife his miniftry in thofe places where prejudice had locked up the hearts of the people againft the reception of his evangelical precepts. _ When, in fuch a fituation, a paftor is fearful of following the example of our Lord, left he fhould be left destitute o: a maintenance, in how deplorable a state must he drag through the wearifome days of a ufelefs life! If every fincere chrif. tian is ready to take up his crofs, to quit friends and pof. feffions, to renounce life itfelf, on account of the Gofpel; can we confider that minifter, as a man really confecrated te the fervice of Chrift, who has not refolution fufficient to give up a houfe, a garden, and a falary, when the welfare of hi: own foul and the interefts of the church requires fuch a fa. crifice ? When a preacher of the Gofpel counts lefs upon the pro. mifes of his Matter, than upon the revenues of his benefice, may we not reafonably conclude, that he is walking in the footfteps of Balaam, rather than of St. Paul? And is it for fuch a man, to declare the ftatutes of the Lord, or to recite the words of his covenant ? Attempting to publifh, before he effectually believes, the truths of the Gofpel? And has he not a front of brafs, when, with the difpofitions of a Demas, he mounts the pulpit, to celebrate the bounty of that Gop, who fupplies the little wants of /rarrows, who feeds the youn ravens that call upon him, opening his hand and filling al things living with plenteoufnefs ? Let fucha one confider, that the character of a virtuous preceptor, or an honelft tradef. man, is abundantly more honourable than that of a mercenary rieft. ; 4 In general, it may be reafonably fuppofed, that if a paftor faithfully exercifes his miniftry in any place, to which he has been appointed by the providence of Gop, he will either THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 101 benefit thofe among whom he is called to labour, or his hard- _ ened hearers will, at length, unite to drive him from among ’ them, as the inhabitants of Nazareth forced Jefus away from _ their ungrateful city. Or if he fhould not be forcibly re- ' moved from his polit, as was the cafe of our Lord in the country of the Gadarenes, yet believing it incumbent upon _ him to retire from fuch a part, he will feek out fome other place in his Mafter’s vineyard, that fhall better repay the pains of cultivation ; whatever fuch a removal may coft him in the judgment of the world. And, indeed, fuch a mode of condu& was pofitively prefcribed by our Lord to his firit minifters, in the fellowing folemn charge: Into whatfoever tity or town ye foall enter, enquire who in it is worthy. And whofoever fhall not receive you, nor hear your words ; when, flighted and reproached by its wzwerthy habitants, ye are conftrained to depart cut of that houfe or city, thake off the duft of your feet, as a teftimony againft thofe, who prefer ‘the maxims of the world before the precepts of the Gofpel. If any pattor refufes to adopt this method of proceeding, after patience has had its perfe& work; if he ttill fears to give up an eftablifhment, as the fons-in-law of Lot were afraid of forfaking their poffeffions in Sodom, he then acts in dire& oppofition to the command of Chrift ; he obilinately occupies the place of a minifler, againft whom, very probably, lefs prejudice might be entertained, and whofe minifiry, of con- fequence, would be more likely to produce fome falutary effect ; he lofes his time in cafting pearls before fwine ; and ' inttead of converting his parifhoners, he only aggravates the - condemnation due to their obduracy. The faithful paftor, however, is not foon difcouraged, though he beholds no beneficial confequences of his miniltry. _ His unbounded charity fuffers, hopes, and labours long, with- out fainting. The more flerile the foil appears, which he is ealled to cultivate, the more he waters it, both with his tears and with the fweat of his brow; the more he implores for it the dew of Heaven, and the influences of that divine Sun, which fpreads lizht and life throughevery part of the church. It is not, therefore, {let it be repeated) till after patience has had is ferfe? work, that a confcientious minifter takes the final refolution of quitting his poft, in order to feek out fome other fituation, in which his labours may be attended with greater prolit. ; E 8 ‘ Fd 102 ; THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 1 . i TRAIT ‘XXXVEL. wie ise HIS READINESS TO SEAL WITH HIS BLOOD THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL. 7 E, who is not yet prepared to die for his Lord, has not yet received that ferfed love; which cafleth out fear ; and it is a matter of doubt, whether any preacher is worthy to appear in a pulpit, whofe confidence in the truths of the Gofpel is not ftrong enough to difpofe him, in certain fitua- _ tions, to feal thofe truths with his blood. — If he really fhrinks from the idea of dying in the caufe of chriftianity, is it for him to publifh a Saviour, who is the refurre@ion and the life ? And may he not be faid to play with his confcience, his auditors, and his Gop, if, while he is the flave of fin and fear, he prefents himfelf as a witnefs of the falvation of that om- nipotent Redeemer, who, through death, has deftroyed him, that had the power of death; and who, by his refurre€tion, has delivered them, who through fear of death, were all their life. time fulje& to bondage. Love, in the’ language of Solomon, is ftrong as death : but the true minifter glows with that fer- vent love to Chrift and his brethren, which is abundantly frronger than thofe fears of death, which would prevent him, in times of perfecution, from the faithful difcharge of his minifterial fun@tions. Such was the love of St. Paul, when he cried out to thofe, who would have diffuaded him from the dangerous path of duty: ‘ What mean ye to weep, and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but alfo to die at Jerufalem for the name of the Lord Jefus. And now, behold, I go bound in the fpirit unto Jerufalem, not knowing the things, that fhall befal me there; fave that ~ the Holy Ghoft witnefleth in every city, faying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of thefe things move me, ‘neither count I my life dear unto myfelf, fo that I may finifh my courfe with joy, and the miniftry which I have received of the Lord Jefus. For I know, that this fhall turn to my falvation, through your prayer, and the fupply of the Spirit of Jefus Chrift : according to my earneft expectation, that Chrift {hall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For me to live is Chrift, and todieis gain. And THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 103 if T be offered upon the facrifice and fervice of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.’ | Thus The good fhepherd giveth his life for the fbeep : but he | that is an hireling, and not the fhepherd, feeth the wolf coming and leaveth the foeep, and fleeth ; and the wolf catcheth them, and _ feattereth the foeep. lappy is that church, whofe paftor is prepared to tread in the fteps of the great /hepherd and bifbop of fouls ! St. Paul would not have been afhamed to acknow- ledge fucha one, as his companion and fellow-labourer in the work of the Lord. - | | | TRAIT XXXVIII. THE SWEET SUSPENSE OF HIS CHOICE BE- TWEEN LIFE AND DEATH. HATEVER defire the faithful paftor may have to be with Chrift, and to reft from his labours; yet he endures with joy his f{eparation from the perfon of his Saviour, through the facred pleafure he experiences in the fervice of his members. The {weet equilibrium, in which his defire was fufpended between life and death, is thus expreffed by the Apoftle Paul: ¢ We know, that if our earthly houfe of this tabernacle were diffolved, we have a building of God, an houfe not made with hands, eternalinthe Heavens. For in this we groan earneftly ; defiring to be clothed upon with our houfe, which is from Heaven: knowing that whilft we are at home in the body, we are abfent fromthe Lord. Yet, what I fhallchoofe, I wotnot. For I amin aftrait betwixt two, having a defire to depart, and to be with Chrift ; which is far better: neverthelefs to abide in the flefh is more need- ful for you. And having this confidence, I know, that I fhall abide and continue with you all, for your furtherance and joy of faith.’ It is chiefly, when believers have the unconquerable love. of St. Paul, that all things work together for their good. Whe- ther they live, or whether they die, every occurrence turns out a matter of favour. If they live; it is, that they may fupport their companions in tribulation, and infure to them- felves a greater reward, by maintaining for a longer feafon, E 4 10% = -. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. the victorious fight of faith—if they dies it is, that they may: } reft from their labours, and come to a more perfect enjoy- — ment of their Maiter’s prefence. Bloffed are the dead, which — die in the Lord ; they reft from their labours, and their works da — follow them. And in the mean-time, bleffed are the living, — who live in the Lord: for they are honourably engaged in — thofe important conflif&s, which will daily add to their — fpiritual frength, and augment the brilliancy of their final triumph. : ) ' 44 oO TRAIT XXXIX. THE CONSTANCY OF HIS ZEAL AND DILI- GENCE TO TRE END OF HIS COURSE. IVING or dying, the faithful fervant of Chrift never ats unworthy of his charaéter. Blamele/s and harm- left in the midft of-a crooked and perverfe generation, a child of God, without rebuke, he fhines, to the end of his courfe, as a light in the world. He beholds death, whether it be naturak or violent, always without fear, and generally with pleafure, regarding it as a meflenger appointed for his fafe conduc in= to that glorious ftate, where they rejoice together, who have continued faithful tothe end. He is anxious only, that his Lord may find him occupied in the grand bufinefs, he was commiffioned to perform: and the nearer his hour approaches, — the more earneft he is, that he may finifh his miniftry with ~ joy. Ifhe is no longer able to exhort the brethren in per= — fon, he writes to them in the manner of St. Peter: ‘ I will not be negligent to put -you always in remembrance of thefe things, the do&rines, precepts, threatenings, and promifes of ~ the Gofpel, though ye know them, and be eftablifhediu the prefent truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to ftir you up by putting you in remembrance 3 knowing, that fhortly I muft put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jefus Chrift hath fhewed me.’ ‘He defires at fuch a feafon, to addrefs the faithful, and efpecially young minif= ters, as St. Paul addreffed the Corinthians and Timothy: — « My beloved brethren, be ye ftedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forafmuchas ye know, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 105 | that your labouris not in vain in the Lord. Thou, Timothy, haft fully known my doétrine, manner of life, purpofe, faith, long-fuffering, charity, patience, perfecutions, afsidions, | which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lyftra; _ what perfecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord _ delivered me. Yea, and all, that will live godly in Chrift Jefus, fhall fuffer peticcation, But watch thou in all things, _ endure afflitions, do the work of an evangelift, make full _- proof of thy miniftry ; for I am now ready to be offered, mad the time of my departure is at hand.’ Thus triumphantly St. Paul advanced toward the end of hiscourfe. And thus the faithful minifter, pouring frefh oil into his lamp as the night advances, goes forth to meet his approaching Gop, whom his faith already confiders as a faith- ful Judge, and his hope as a munificent Rewarder. ——2 8O|/S|C20>— TRAIT XL. HIS TRIUMPH OVER THE EVILS OF LIFE, AND THE TERRORS OF DEATH. gga living faith, that fuftains a good paftor, or a be- _ Jiever in Chrift, amid all the difficulties and affliGiions of life, caufes him moreefpecially. to triumph at the approach of death in all its terrific appearances. Ever filled with.an— humble confidence in him, who is the Refurredion and the _ Life, he frequently expreffes the affurance of his viftorious faith, at this folemn feafon, in the manner of St. Paul; ¢Thanks be unto God, which always caufeth us to triumph in Chrift. Knowing, that he, who raifed up the Lord Jefus, fhall raife up us alfo by Jefus, and fhall prefent us with you $. therefore, we faint not: but though our outward man perifh, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. _ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us-a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Thushold- ing up the fhield of faith, to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one, and to receive the piercing arrows of the angel of death, he expects his laft hour without-fear or impatience; cheerfully leaving the time, the place, ‘the manner, and the circumftances of this.concluding trial, to, the difpofal. of that E5 106 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Gop, whofe wifdom, goodnefs, and power, are all combined. ' to infure him the vitory. Whether he is called bythe pro- — vidence of Gop, in a chamber, or upon a {caffold, to tafte the bitter cup, of which his Mafter drank fo deeply, he pre- — pares himfelf to accompany a fuffering Saviour, encouraged with the hope, that he fhall not be tempted above his ftrength, — and that, if he fuffers and dies with the King of glory, he fhall alfo rife and reign together with him. At ler sth the fatal fhaft is thrown, whether by accident, by difeafe, or by the hand of an executioner is of little con- — fequence ; the true chriftian, prepared for all events, fees and fubmits to the order of providence. He receives the mortal blow, either with humble refignation, or with holy joy. Inthe firft cafe, his foul is fweetly difengaged from its earthly taber- nacle, while he breathes out the fupplicatory language of happy Simeon: Lord, now letteft thou thy fervant depart in peace, for mine eyes have feen thy falvation. But in the fecond cafe, he leaves the world in a ftate of holy triumph, crying out in the fulleft affurance of faith—my perfuafion takes place of fight, and without the help of vifion I endure as feeing him that is invifible ; as effe@tually fuftained, as though contemplating with Stephen an open Heaven, I faw the Son of Man ftanding at the right hand of Gop, ready to fave and glorify my foul. Of thefe two manners of holy dying, the moft enviable appears to have been the lot of St. Paul, if we may judge from the anticipated triumph he defcribes in feveral of his epiftles, and particularly in the laft he addreffed to Timothy from Rome, where he received the crown of martyrdom. ‘I defire to depart and to be with Chrift, for whom I have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may know him and the power of his refurre€tion, and the fellowship of his fufferings, being made conformable unto his death. I have fought a good fight, I have finifhed my courfe, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteoufnefs, which the Lord, the righteous Judge fhall give me at that day: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Who fhall feparate us from the love of Chrift? Shall tribulation, or diftrefs, or per- fecution, or the {word? Nay, in all thefe things we are more than conquerors through him, that loved us. For Iam per- fuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor princi= palities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, Y A THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 107 nor height nor depth, nor any other creature fhall be able to feparate us from the love of God, which is in Chrift Jefus. O death where is thy fting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the vitory through our Lord Jefus Chrift.’ Thus the great Apoftle went forth to meet his laft trial, counting it an honour to fuffer in the caufe of truth, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of Gop. The enemies of chrif- tianity rendered him at laft conformable to Chrift in his death: but while they fevered his head from his body, they united his happy fpirit more intimately to that exalted Jefus, who had once met him in the way, and who now was waiting to receive him, at the end ofhiscourfe. Happy are the faith- ful; who, like this faithful A poftle, live unto the Lord! yet happier they, who, like him, are enabled to die unto the Lord! Their works do follow them, while they ref? from their Jabours, and wait, in peace, the refurreGtion, and the fublime sewards of the righteous. E6 ‘att D 5 Hi ne anit aby tu Tis slono ody at atte NA Fa Di rinoba anole ‘ ta )' ot olfamictsion. & whe other ait nod Arad alt} bom d Ty hiviars tadt ot vlotemital Haliiew fox won ow Bas Tae Ee Aire? of) 37k TROL Fae 43%" tie) Say otty avi 4 fhe 2 ota oo a sities olay RY. we Me ah bast atladue aA: 3 ide } iF tour aolQaniaiey, ie at ; re AI sui ver MN + ab ao. ee ¥ - R . de ys 3 Ca ‘ 4 + -* Me Be Nt ae a nw" p. 1 Ze F ‘ 7 ; ¢ 4 THE PORTRAIT OF LUKEWARM MINISTERS, AND FALSE APOSTLES. era: ORT? Tt PIF MG Eom bg eee ik Sok 4 THE PORTRAIT, &c. ‘CHAPTER? ‘E. THE PORTRAIT OF LUKEWARM MINISTERS. dh ge effence of painting confifts in a happy mixture of light and fhade, from the contraft of which an admirable effe& is produced, and the animated figure made to rife from the canvafs. “Upon this principle we thall oppofe to the por- trait of St. Paul, that of lukewarm minifters and falfe apof- tles, whofe gloomy traits will forma back-ground peculiarly adapted to fet off the character of an evangelical paftor. If the primitive church was difturbed and mifled by un- faithful minifters, it may be reafonably prefumed, that, in this more degenerate period of its exiftence, the church of Gop muft be miferably overrun with teachers of the fame charaGer. There is, however, no fmall number of minifters who form a kind of medium between zealous paftors and falfe apoftles. Thefe irrefolute evangelifts are fincere to a certain point. They have fome defire after the things of Gop, but _ are abundantly more folicitous for the things of the world: They form good refolutions in the caufe of their acknow- ledged Matter, but are timid and unfaithful, when called upon adiual fervice. They are fometimes aftuated by a momen= tary zeal, but generally influenced by fervile fear. They have no experience of that ardent affeCtion and that invincible courage, with which St. Paul wasanimated. Their wi/dom is ftill carnal; they ftill confer with flefb and blood. Such was Aaron, who yielded, through an unmanly weaknefs, to the impious folicitations of his people. Such was Jonah, when he refufed to exercife his miniftry at Nineveh. That this prophet was poffeffed of a confidence in Gop, and a defire | for the falvation of his fellow-creatures, we have every reafon 112 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULe 1 to believe: but we find, that neither the one, nor the other, — was fufficiently powerful to engage him in a fervice, which appeared likely to endanger his reputation among men. Such were alfo the Apoftles before they were endued with power from on high. To every paftor of this charaGter, that ex- preffion of Chrift, which was once addreffed to the moft courageous man among his difciples, may be confidered as peculiarly applicable: Thou art an offence unto me, for thou favoureft not the things, that be of God, but thofe, that be of men. Lukewarmnefs, falfe prudence and timidity, are the chief characteriftics, by which minifters of this clafs may be dif- tinguifhed. Perceiving the excellence of the Gofpel in an obfcure point of view, and having little experience of its aftonifhing effeéts, they cannot poffibly difcover that religious zeal, which is indif{penfibly neceffary to the charaéter they affe& to fuftain. ; The pious Bifhop Maffillon gives the following reprefenta- tion of thefe unqualified teachers, and the ill effects of their unfaithfulnefs. ‘* Manners are every day becoming more «¢ corrupt among us, becaufe the zeal of minifters is daily be- «« coming colder; and becaufe there are found among us few « apoftolical men, who oppofe themfelves, as a brazen wall, & to the torrent of vice. For the moft part, we behold the _ « wicked altogether at eafe in their fins, for the want of « hearing more frequently thofe thundering voices, which «¢ accompanied with the fpirit of Gop, would effeCtually- s youfe them from their awful flumber. The want of zeal, « fo clearly difcernable among paftors, is chiefly owing to. « that bafe timidity which is not hardy enough to make a « refolute ftand againft common prejudice, and which regards «‘ the worthlefs approbation of men, beyond their eternal < interests. That must needs be a worldly and criminal con- « fideration, which makes us more anxious for our own glory, ‘than for the glory of Gop. That must truly be flefhly «¢ wifdom, which can reprefent religious zeal under the falfe «ideas of excefs, indifcretion and termerity : a pretext this, « which nearly extinguithes every {park of zeal in the gener ality of ministers. This want of courage they honour with «the fpecious names of moderation and prudence. Under s* pretence of not carrying their zeal to an excefs, they are * content to be entirely deftitute of it. And while they are MM | THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 1138 _ folicitous to thud the rocks of imprudence and precipitas “ tion, they run, without fear, upon the fands of indolence ** and cowardice. They defire to become ufeful to finners, “ and at the fame time to be had in eftimation by them. *¢ They long to manifeft fuch a zeal as the world is difpofed “to applaud. They are anxious fo to oppofe the pafflions *< of men, that they may yet fecure their praifes; fo to con- ‘* demn the vices they love, that they may ftill be approved ‘“‘ by thofe they condemn. But when we probe a wound to- “the bottom, we muft expect to awaken a degree of peevifh- ‘« nefs in the patient, if we do not extort from him fome bit- *¢ ter exclamation.”’ * Tet us not deceive ourfelves,’? continues the fame au« thor; ‘if that apoftolical zeal, which once converted the “« world, is become fo rare among us, it is becaufe, in the-dif- “charge of our facred funtions, we feek ourfelves, rather “ than the glory of Chrift, and the falvation of fouls. Glo- ** ry and infamy were regarded by the apoftle with equal ‘* indifference, while he filled up the duties of his important * office. He knew it impoffible to pleafe men, and to fave *¢ them: to bethe fervant of the world, and the feryant of ¢ Chrift. Neverthelefs, there are many among us, who are « feeking to unite thefe different fervices, which the apoitle s¢ believed to be irreconcileable.”? — iy Monf. Roques agrees with the pious Bifhop in condemning thofe minifters, who negle& to copy the example of St. Paul. «The little piety, that is to be found among mie * nifters,”’ fays this excellent writer, * is the mofte ffeQual ob- ** ftacle to the progrefs of the Gofpel. By piety, I mean *¢ that fincere and ardent love for religion, which deeply ine “ terefts a man in all its concerns, as well as in every thing, “that refpects the glory of Gop, and of our Lord Jefus « Chrift. If this divine love was found reigning in the hearts “* of thofe who proclaim Chrift; if every preacher of the ** Gofpel was enabled to fay with the fincerity of Peter, “ Lord! thou knoweft all things 3 thou knoweft that I love thee ; « thou knoweft, that I have no ambition but for thy glory, ‘and that my higheft pleafure confifts in beholding the ine “ creafe of thy kingdom—we fhould then perceive the word * of Gon, in their hands, like a ‘two-edged f{word, Pon *¢ afunder the very deepeft roots of fin, But as the Gofpe *-js preached more through contention, through vain glory; 9? 114 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULS *¢ and through the defire of getting a livelihood by ferving © sat the altar, than through an ardent zéal to advance the “‘ glory of Gon; hence it is, that minifters fal into various © “ errors, giving evident proofs of that indolence and uncon- *¢ cern, which afford matter of feandal rather than of edifi- *¢ cation.” Monf. Oftervald {peaks the fame language in his Third fource of the corruption, which reigns among chriftians. * A great part of our ecclefiaftics,” fays this writer, ‘* may be « juftly charged with the corruption of the people, fince «‘ there are among them many, who oppofe the re-eftablifh- «ment of aholy difcipline, while others render the exercife “ of it totally ufelefs, by an ill-timed foftnefs, and a fhame- “ ful indulgence.” “I except thofe,” continues this venerable paftor, who * ought to be excepted. But, on a general view, in what do “ ecclefiaftics differ from other men? Do they diftinguifh « themfelves by an examplary life? Their exterior, indeed, ‘‘ is fomewhat different ; They lead a more retired life ; *« they, in fome degree, fave appearances, though all do not ‘¢ go thus far, But, beyond this, are they not equally at- “‘ tached to the world, as much engaged with earthly things, *¢ as wholly taken up with fecular views, as conftantly ac- “tuated by intereft and paffion as the generality of man- “6 kind.” Chriftian prudence required, that thefe portraits of luke- warm minifters fhould be exhibited, as the defigns of paftors, who have been eminent for their piety, their rank, and expe= rience, and who, on that account, had a peculiar right to de- clare thofe truths, which might give greater offence, were they to come from lefs refpe€table perfons. . CHAP. It. THE PORTRAIT OF FALSE APOSTLES. °* ETWEEN the ftate of carelefs minifters, and falfe a- poftles, there is not, in reality, fo vaft a difference, as many are apt to imagine. An unworthy labourer in the {piritual vineyard, gives fpeedy proofs of a lukewarm tem- ‘ - | / 1 ’ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 115 per, in the fervice of his Lord ; fhortly after, his heart be- comes entirely cold with refpe& to piety, and what is ftill more lamentable, he frequently manifefts as warm a zeal for error and vice, as the true minifter can poffibly difcover in the caufe of truth and virtue. Such is the ftate of thofe who may properly be termed preachers of the third clafs, and who are fpoken of by St. Paul under the title of fa/é a- oftles. tT hele unworthy minifters are known by their works. Like many of St. Paul’s unfaithful fellow-labourers, they prefer the repofe and pleafure of the world, before the fer- vice and reproach of Chrift. Like Judas and Simon the forceter, they love the honours and revenues of minifters, _while they abhor the croffes and labours of the miniftry. Like Hophni and Phinehas, they are fons of Belial, and know not the Lord. Their finis very great before the Lord; for, on their account, many abhor the offering ofthe Lord. Like the wicked fervant, defcribed by their reputed Matter, inftead of providing meat for his houfehold in due feafon, they begin to Jmite, or to perfecute thofe of their fellow-/ervants, who are intent upon difcharging their feveral duties ; while they pafs away their time in mirth and fettivity with the riotous and the drunken. They may juftly be compared to lamps extinguifh- ed inthe temple of Gop. ‘« Inftead of fhining there to his « praife,”” fays Bifhop Maffillon, “they emit black clouds of « {moke, which obf{cure every obje&t about them, and be- *© come a favour of death to thofe, who perifh. They are “pillars of the fan&tuary, which being over-thrown and “ {cattered in public places, become ftones of fiumbling «to every heedlefs paflenger. They are the falt of the *< earth, and were appointed to preferve fouls from corrup- * tion; but having loft all their favour, they begin to cor- “‘rupt what they were intended to preferve.”” They are phyficians, who carry to their patients infeftion inftead of health. From the fpiritually difeafed, they withhold the healing word of Ged, while they diftribute among them the dangerous poifon of a lax morality, fetting before them an example of bitter zeal againf? the truth, puffing them up with that wifdom which is earthly, fenfual, and devilifh. «« A falfe paftor,’’ fays Monf. Roques, or a falfe apoftle, «* isa minifter whofe heart is not right before Gop, and who _ * lives not in fuch a manner as to edify his flock. He 116 - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. «« knows the holy courfe of life, to which chriftians in genes “ ral, and minifters in particular, are called; but, in fpite * of all his knowledge and his apparent zeal, he fears not — a **to trample under foot thofe very maxims of the Gofpel, © *« which he has publicly eftablithed and preached with the Utmoft energy. Every day he performs aéts of the moft «* deteftable hypocrify. Every time he preaches and cen- — “* fures, he bears open teftimony againft his own condu& : “ but he publicly accufes, without ever intending to corre& “‘himfelf. He isa conftant declaimer againft vice, in the — “pulpit ; but a peculiar protetor of it, while he is engaged *‘in the common concerns of life. While he exhorts his “hearers to repentance, he either imagines himfelf above ** thofe laws, which he propofes to others on the part of “Gop; or he believes himfelf under no other neceffity of “holding them forth, except his known engagement to fuch “ a work, and the falary he receives for the. performance (© of at,?? Monf. Oftervald, ina work already referred to, makes mention of thefe paftors in the following terms. * How. «¢ many do we fee, who regard their holy vocation in no * other light, than the means of procuring for them a com- * fortable maintenance. Are there not many, who bring a *¢ fcandal upon their profeflion, by the licentioufnefs of their «‘ manners? Do we not fee them hafty and outrageous? Do * we not obferve in them an extreme attachment to their « own interefts ? Are they careful to rule their families well ? « Has it not been a fubje& of complaint, that they are puff- «ed up with pride, and are implacable in their hatred? I “: fay nothing of many other vicesanddefe&ts, whichare'equal- * ly feandalous in the clergy, fuch as vain and loofe conver- «< fation, an attachment to diverfion and pleafure, a worldly “ difpofition, flothfulnefs, craft, injuftice, and flander. << It is impofflible to find a perfon,”” adds Monf. Oftervald, “ furrounded with more powerful motives to piety than a “man, whofe ordinary occupation is to meditate upon re- “ ligious things, to difcourfe of them among others, to re- “« prove vice and hypocrify, to perform divine fervice, to ad- ‘* minifter the holy facraments, to vifit the affiéted and the “ dying ; and who muft one day render to Gop on account * of the fouls committed to his charge. I know not, whether * it be poffible to find any ftronger marks of impiety and hy- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 117 _ pocrify, than thofe, which may be difcovered in the cha- _ raéter of a perfon, who, in the midit ofall thefe favourable _ * circumftances, is, neverthelefs, an unrighteous man. Such ¢ a one may be {aid to divert himfelf with the moft facred « things of religion, and to {pend the whole of his life in “ performing the part of an impoftor :—And this he does to *« his coft: fince there is no profeffion in the world, that will « moreeffectually fecureafentence of condemnation, thanthat “ of the priefthood, when exercifed in founfaithful a manner.”’ But it is chiefly in the holy fcriptures, where thefe un-~ worthy paftors are pourtrayed in fo ftrong a point of view, that every enquirer may readily difcern their diftinguifhing features. ‘Son of man, faith the Lord, prophefy againft the fhepherds of Ifrael, and fay unto them: Ye eat the fat, and ye cloth you with the wool, ye kill them, that are fed ; but ye feed not the flock. The difeafed have ye not ftrengthened, neither have ye bound up that, which was brok- en, neither have ye brought again that, which was driven away, neither have ye fought that, which wasloft: but with force and with cruelty have ye ruledthem. Therefore thus faith the Lord God, behold I am againft the fhepherds: and I will require my flock at theirhand. As Jannes, and Jam- bres withftood Moles, fo do thefe alfo refift the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. Woe un- to them ; for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perifhed in the gain-faying of Korah. Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees without fruit, twice dead, pluck- ed up by the roots; raging waves of the fea, foaming out their own fhame ; wandering ftars, to whom is referved the blacknefs of darknefs for ever.’ St. John has not only drawn the chara¢ter, but has like- wife given us the name of a certain tyrannical teacher, who began to difturb the peace of the primitive church. J wrote unio the church, faith he to Gaius concerning the reception of ftranger evangelifts ; ‘ but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. If I come I will remember his deeds, which he doeth, prating againit us. with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himfelf receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and cafteth them out of the church.’ Behold a ftriking defcription of proud and perfecuting ecclefiattics. 118 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. iio. a ~ But, perhaps, the moft complete defecription of thefe per= — fons is given by our Lord himfelf, where he treats of worth- _ lefs paftors, in general, under the gist names of fcribes — and pharifees. Here, a divine and impartial hand delineates — the jealoufy, the pride, the feigned morality, the malice, and the perfecuting fpirit, which charaGterize this clafs of men — in every age of the world. ¢ Do not ye, faith Chrift, after their works: for they fay anddo not. All their works they — do to be feen of men. They love the chief feat in the fyna- gogues, and greetings in the markets. . Woe unto you, hy- pocrites! for ye fhut up the Kingdom of Heaven againft men? ye neither go in yourfelves, neither fuffer ye them, that are entering, to go in. Ye neglect judgment, mercy and faith. Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but — within ye are full of hypocrify and iniquity. Becaufe ye garnifh the fepulchres of the righteous,’ ye vainly imagine « yourfelves free from a perfecuting fpirit, while in other mat- ters, as the children of them which killed the prophets, ye are - labouring to fil/ up the méafure of your fathers. Behold I fend unto you prophets and zealous preachers of the word, and fome of them ye frall kill, and fome of them ye foall perfecute from city to city. _ We need take but a curfory view of the New Teftament, for fufficient proof, that thefe worldly-minded fcribes and thefe furious bigots above reprefented, were the very perfons, who purfued the firft evangelifts with fuch deadly rancour. Nay, had it not been for Annas and Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate would filently have permitted the preaching of Jefus himfelf. Thefe who were the chief men in the ftate, after refufing to embrace the word of Gop, on their own part, would moft probably have contented themfelves, with deny- ing its truths, and ridiculing its followers: but they would never have paffed a fentence of death, upon perfons of fo ad- mirable a charaGter, as Chrift and his forerunner. The peculiar oppofers of Jefus and his difciples, were powerfully influenced by jealous pride ; and with the fame malignant difpofition, every falfe apoftle in the chriftian church is deeply infeéted. The prelate, whofe pen we have already borrowed, gives the following lively defcription of — this unhappy temper. ‘* This defpicable jealoufy not only «* difhonours zeal, but fuppofes it extinguifhed in the heart. ‘ ; | , THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 119 Tt is an infamous difpofition, which affli€ts itfelf even for the converfion of fianers, and for the progrefs of the Gof- pel, when it is through the miniftry of others, that Gop “is pleafed to work thefe miracles. The glory of Gop . * feldom interefts us fo much, as when our own glory ap- “ pears to be mingled with his. We endure, with fome kind “ of regret, that Gop fhould be glorified: and I will dare § to add, that fome of us could behold our brethren perifh- _ # ing, with pleafure, rather than fee them refcued from death, * by other labours and other talentsthan ourown. St. Paul. * rejoiced to fee the Gofpel {pread abroad, though it were « by the miniitry of thofe, who fought to difgrace him among * the faithful ; and Mofes defired, that all his brethren might * receive the gift of prophecy : but we are anxious to fland « alone, and to fhare with no perfon the glory and fuccefs of the holy miniftry. Every thing that eclipfes our own _ © brightnefs, or fhines too near us, becomes infupportable, « and we appear to regard the gifts of Gop in others, mere-~ ly asa fhame and reproach to ourfelves.”” Obferve here _ the true fource of thofe fpecious pretexts, which are profefi- edly drawn from the order, the cuftoms, and even from the _ prejudices of the world:.pretexts under which we dare to oppofe the zeal of our brethren, to withitand the word of Gop in its courfe, and to render the crofs of the miniftry more burthenfome to thofe, who carry it furtherthan weare — difpofed to do. One diftinguifhing mark of thefe turbulent evangelilts, is that of being thorns in the fides of true minif- ters, whom they never fail to reprefent as deceivers or novi- ces, caufing the trueft piety to wear the femblance of en- thufiafm and folly. They fpeak evil of the things they under- Jftand not: and by the moft malicious difcourfes, which have always an appearance of zeal for religion and order, they are gradually roufing anew that f{pirit of perfecution, by which the name of Chrift has been fo univerfally difgraced in the world. In-the earlieft age of the chriftian church, thefe falfe a- poitles, {welling with envy at the fuccefs of more faithful minifters, made ufe of every effort to render them contempti- ble; by giving falfe reprefentations of their holy zeal and their exemplary actions. Thus they accufed St. Paul of walking according to the ficfo; and afferted, that though his letters were weighty and powerful, yet his bodily prefence was .120 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. weak, and his fpreech contemptible: Nay, fo anxious were they in feeking occafions for offence in the conduét of this A- poftle, that he believed himfelf obliged, in the end, publicly to expofe them—‘ Thefe are falfe apoftles, fays he, deceit- ful workers, transforming themfelves into the apoftles of Chrift. And no marvel, for Satan himfelf is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing, if his minifters alfo be transformed, as the minilters’ of righte- oufnefs ; whofe end fhall be according to their works.’ As our Lord forefaw. that thefe ftrenuous oppofers of real reli- gion, would bring his church to the very brink of ruin, he exhorted his difciples continually to ftand upon their guard againft them. And the Apoftles, after fleadily following their Mafter’s important advice, were diligent in tranfmitting it to the lateft of their followers. One neceffary remark fhall conclude this chapter. In the portrait of St. Paul, we have feen that of an evangelical pa/- tor: in the preceding chapter, we have marked the cha- racter of a carele/s minifter ; and in this, we behold the faith- ful reprefentation of a falfe apofile Let us remember, that one of thefe three portraits muft. agree, more or lefs, with every preacher of the Gofpel. I fay more or lefs, bes caufe the various traits here marked out, may be varied to an almoft inconceivable degree. Moreover fo inconftant is man, that a minifter, who to-day is poffefled of zeal fuffici- ent to rank him with preachers of the firft clafs, may to- morrow, by an unhappy remiffnefs, fink into the fecond, as ence did John whofe furname was Mark; or even into the third, as Hymeneus and Philetus, Diotrephes and Demas. On the contrary, a man, who now difcovers many of thofe traits, by which Saul the pharifee was once diftinguifhed, | may, ere long, become an humble imitator of the zeal and charity of Paul the Apoitle. . THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: 121 CHAP. IU. AN ANSWER TO THE FIRST OBJECTION, WHICH MAY BE MADE AGAINST THE Por- TRAIT OF ST. PAUL. BJECTIONS are the ordinary weapons, with which error makes war upon truth, and thefe are fometimes fo powerful, that till they are effectually repelled, we fee truth deprived of its rights. The firft, that will probably be advanced againft the portrait of St. Paul, is this: The model placed before us is too exalted for thofe, who are not en- dued with the miraculous gifts of St. Paul. To this and every other objeCtion, we thall offer a variety _ of replies, in as concife a manner as poffible. To the pre- fent objection, a fufficient anfwer has been already returned by a truly refpeGtable author. ‘ This excufe,”’ fays Monf. Roques, “might have fome weight, if in propofing the ex- « ample of Chrift to perfons who are honoured with the « holy miniftry, we infifted upon their keeping pace with the _“ Saviour of mankind. But this excufe is altogether frivo- *¢ lous, when nothing more is required of minifters, than con- “ tinually to place Chrift as a model before their eyes, and “¢ to imitate him with all the exa€tnefs of which they are “ capable.” ‘ This excufe,”’ continues he, “is ftill more _* unreafonable, when applied to Prophets and Apoiiles, who _ * were men of like paffions with ourfelves; and who, of _.** confequence, may be placed before us as models, whofe “¢ perfe€tions are attainable by means of the very fame fuc- “¢ cours, which fupported them, and which are never refufed .** to thoie, who have fincere and apoftolical intentions. To the anfwer of this pious divine, we fhall add a few ob- " fervations. 1. In the Portrait of St. Paul there is found no large def- cription of miraculous gifts, but a faithful reprefentation of -thofe chriftian virtues which are found in every believer, ac- ‘cording to his vocation, and without which, it is impoffible for us to fill up our feveral duties—fuch as humility, faith, charity, zeal, and affiduity. _ 2. The morality, which was practifed by St. Paul, was F 122 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. no.other than the morality of the Gofpel, which is the fame in every age, and for every condition: whence it follows, — that the moral character of this Apoftle, belongs not only to all true fa/tors, but even to every fincere believer. If Sti Paul was truly humble, charitable, and pious, his humility, his charity, and his piety, are as effential to the religion of every chriltian, and three angles are effential ‘to the nature of every triangle. ' It is granted, that the piety of this Apof- tle was-greater than that of a thoufand other minifters, juft as one triangle may be greater than that of athoufand others. But as the angles of the moft diminutive triangle, are of the fame quality with thofe, which compofea triangle of an un- common magnitude, fo the moral charafter of:St. Paul is, with regard to effentials, the moral charatter of every true chriftian. 3. This Apoftle informs us, that he was obliged to keep his body in fubjeGion, left after having preached to others, he him- Jelf foould be a caft-away. This fingle acknowledgment fuf- ficiently proves, that he was expofed to all thofe dangers with which chriftians are generally befet, and that he faw no way of efcaping them, but by the ufe of thofe very pre- cautions, which the weakeft . believer is inftruéted to take. Now, if St. Paul was fo fearful of falling away ; if St. Peter was really feen to ftumble and fall,; and if Judas; an ele&ted Apoftle, irremediably plunged himfelf into the depths of perdition : it is but reafonable to fuppofe, that, by a faith-— ful improvement of our privileges, we may attain to a good decree of that exalted piety, from which one Apoftle fell for a feafon, and another for ever. 4. Inthe whole Portrait of St. Paul, there is not a ftronger trait than the eighteenth, which deferibes the ardour of his ‘love for the Jews, who purfued him even to death: a Jove, that made him willing to be accurfed in dying for them, as ‘his gracious Mafter had been in dying for the world. Now this charity is fo far from being an attainment too exalted for true minifters, that it is indifcriminately required of every profeffing chriftian. Hereby, faith St. John, ‘ perceive we the love of God, becaufe he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.’ And our Lord himfelf hath faid, «By this fhall all men know, that ye are my difciples, if ye have love one toanother.’ “It is by a new commandment to this efe@, thatthe morality of the Gofpel is peculiarly diftinguithed from that of the law. ‘ r ar THE PORTRAIT OF ST..PAUL. 143 And thall we impioufly attempt to enervate evangelical mor- ality ? Let us rather declare, upon all occafions, that He awho loveth not, knoweth not God. Let us cry out with the Apof- tle—Jf any man_lowe not the Lord Jefus Chrift, let him be Anathema Maranatha : and ifaman love not his brethren, he loves not the Lord Jefus; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath feen, how can he love God, whom he hath not feen. ¢ Onthe other hand, when we love our brethren with a pure heart fervently ; when, difpofed to univerfal benevolence, we .can look upon our very enemies with fentiments of pity and affection; we are then affuredly poflefled of that chriftian charity, which forms the mof brilliant trait in the moral cha- axaGer of St. Paul. 5. St. Paul was for three years the refident paftor of a fingle church. The city of Ephefus was his parifh: and while he refided there, he gave an example, which every mi- nifter, by the moft folemn engagements, is bound to follow ; wheiher he be commiffioned to Jabour in a city or a village. During two other years of his life, this Apoftle was confined -within narrower limits than any paftor of a parifh. Shut up at Rome in ahoufe, that ferved him fora prifon, and con- dtantly guarded by a foldier, he was unable to extend the ifphere of his labours. Yet, even in thefe circumftances, he - ‘continued in the diligent exercife of the holy miniftry, preaching the Kingdom of God, to all them, that came in unto him, and teaching thofe things, which concern the Lord Jefus _Chrift. amily nothing can appear more perfeétly reafonable, than that every paftor fhould difcover as much zeal in his parti- cular parith, as St. Paul was accuftomed to manifeft in the Roman Empire, when he was at liberty, and in his own _ apartment, when loaded with chains. 6. If the ardent charity and the inceffant labours of St. Paul were happily imitated by Timothy, why may they not _be copied by every paftor in the prefent day? That youth- ful minifter was anxious to tread in the fteps of this Apoftle, and they, who are otherwife minded, affuredly fall under _thofe apoftolical cenfures, which are thus indire@ly exprefled in his epiftle to the Philippians: ‘I truit to fend Timotheus thortly unto you; for I have no man like minded, who will naturally care for your ftate. For all feek their own, not : F2 ; 124 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. the things, which are Jefus Chrift’s. But ye know the proof of him, that as a fon with the father, he hath ferved with me in the Gofpel.’ Ww 7. The deftruétion of the eaftern churches commenced in the falling away of their paftors, who gradually abated in the fervours of that hely zeal, with which they had begun to jJabour in the vineyard of their Lord. Of fuch unfaithful teachers, Chrift affe€tingly complained in the earlieft period of his church, and accompained his complaints with the most terrible menaces. ‘ Write unto the Angel of the church of Ephefus,’ faid he to St. John, ‘I know thy formerworks, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canft not bear them which are evil: and thou haft tried them which fay they are apoftles and are not; and haft found them liars, &c. Neverthelefs, I have fomewhat againft thee, becaufe thou haft left thy firft love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the firlt works: or elfe I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candleftick out of his place, except thou repent.’ ree The warning was unattended to, and, at length, the threatened blow wasitruck. Thus fellthe church of Ephe- fus, and thus every church upon earth is fallen, making way for that my/lery of iniquity, and that general apoftacy, which have been fo long foretold. So true is it, that apoftolical charity, that charity which was firft lighted up on the day of pentecoft, is ftill abfolutely neceflary to every paf- tor, to every church, and, of confequence, to every, be- liever. Xi * From the combined force of thefe feven argumentative obfervations, we have a right to conclude, that the virtues of St. Paul are far from being inimitable, and that the firft objeGtion againft his portrait is void of folidity. ’ CHAP. IV. A SECOND OBJECTION ARGUED AGAINST. HEY, who follow the example of Diotrephes rather” F than that of St. Paul, add to the preceding another objection, to difcredit, if poflible, the imitators of this great THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 125 Apoftle. Do you frretend, fay they, to be the fucceffors of St. _ Paul and the other Apoftles, whom you prefumpiuoufly cite as _ your models ? To fuch objeGtors the following reflections will ferve as a fufficient reply. : 1. We have heard St. Paul, in the character of a believer, propofing himfelf as an example to all believers, and, as a minifter of the Gofpel, exhorting every paftor to ‘tread in _ his fteps. : 2. John the Baptift preached repentance : The Apoftles. proclaimed remiffion of iins in the name of Jefus Chri't, who was delivered for our offences, and was raifed again for our ju/= | tification: and every true minilter itill continues to infill upon thefe important doctrines. Now, as he, who takes the piace _ of a perfon deceafed, is accounted the fuccefior of fuch per- fon; fo thefe faithful paftors fhould be regarded as teachers _ appointed to fucceed both the forerunner, and the Apottles of Chrift. It muft be allowed, that the Apoitles, as e/ders _ in the family of our Lord, were in pofleffion of privileges, _ which we are not permitted to enjoy. But if the Gof- pel is unchangeable, and ifthe Kingdom of Gop itill re- mains under its ancient form of government, the prieit- _ hood muft, for the moft part, of necefiity, continue the fame. . 3. There was a time, in which the Jewith priests had lost _ the Urim and Thummim, with which Aaron and his fons were at first invested. There was-a time, in which Gop no longer manifested himfelf to his own appointed priests, as he had been accustomed to do. But.as, notwithstanding the lofs of that glory, which formerly rested upon the Jew- ifh church, every pious priest, fuch as Zacharias, was.a true fucceffor of Aaron; fo, during the eclipfe of that glory which once illuminated the christian church, every pious : leony may justly be accounted a true fucceffor of St. aul. 4. The word Apoflle fignifies one who is fent, and an{wers to the term Angel or meffenger. Our brethren, fays Si. Paul, who accompany Titus, are the meffengers, or Apostles, of the churches. Every minister, therefore, who carries with fin- cerity the meflages of his Lord, may, with propriety, be ranked among his Angels or mefiengers. Nor do fuch im- mediately lofe their title, when they negleé& to perform the 3 F3° on 196 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. duties of their office. They may, like Judas, go under the name of Apostles even to their death, though utterly unwor- thy of fuch an honourable appellation. Thus, afterthe paf- tors of Ephefus and Laodicea had ont-lived the tranfient fervors of their charity and geal, they were still addreffed, as the Angels of their feveral churches. Aind thus St. Paul — gave the title of A#o/Mes to the worldly ministers of his time : in quality of ministers; they were Apofiles ; but in quality of © worldly ministers, they were falfe Apofiles. : 5. As the name of Cefar ws ordinarily applied to the — twelve first Roman Emperors, fo the name of Afofile is or- dinarily applied to the twelve first ministers of the Gofpel, who had been permitted to converfe with their Lord, even after his refurreGiion, and to St. Paul, who was favonred* with a glorious manifestation of his exalted Saviour. In this confined fenfe, it is acknowledged, that the name of Apcfile belongs, in aw efpecial manner, to thefe, who were tent forth by Christ, after having received their confecration and commiffion immediately from himfelf. But as the name — of Cefar in a more general fenfe, may be given to all the Emperors of Rome, fo the name of 4fofle may be applied te every minister of the everlasting Golpel. ‘Thus Barna- bas, Andronicus, and Juiia, who were neither of the nunt- ber of the twelve, nor yet of the feventy difciples, were de= nominated Afofiles as well as St. Paul. 6. It is the mvariable opinion of flothful chriftians, that the zeal of minifters and the piety of believers, in the pre- fent day, muft neceffarily fall far below what they were iw the Apoftle’s time: as though the promifes of Chrift were unhappily limited to the primitive church. | This error has been frequently refuted, in vain, by a variety of chriftian — writers, fince nothing can be more conformable to that fpirit of incredulity, which reigns among us, than to renounce at once, the moft important promifes of the new Teftament. Had the fame promifes been made refpeGting temporal. ho- nours and profits, we fhould fee a different mode of condu& adopted : for the children of this world are, in their generation, wifer than the children of light. Monf. Roques bears the following teftimony to the truth contended for in this place. ‘The minifters of the Gof- « pel efteem themfelves, and with reafon, the fucceffors of the « Apofiles. Their employment is effentially the fame ; THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 127 *‘ though the Apoftles were honoured with many glorious “ prerogatives, as being the firft to lay the foundation of the * church.” «< The minifter of Chrift,”? fays the fame writer, cannot « be faid vainly to flatter himfelf, when he counts upon the “ gracious affiftance of his Mafter. He takes the promife “ of that Matter for the folid foundation of his hope. Jam * with you alway, faid Chrift to his apoftles, and, in their * perfons, to all thofe, who fhould fucceed them in the minif- “ try, even unto the end of the world.” ‘‘ It was this divine promife,’? continues he ; “ a promife “ more ftedfaft than earth or heaven, that filled the Apof- *¢ tles with fuch an ardent zeal, as enabled them to rejoice “ evermore; placing them above the fury of tyrants, and “ beyond the reach of fear ; affitting them to endure excef- « five fatigue, and toilfome journeys, the inclemency of the « feafons, and the refiftance of obdurate hearts.”? Impreffed with a juit fenfe of this important promife, the venerab'e writer concludes with this fervent prayer. ‘* Holy Jefus! « who haft promifed to continue for ever with thine Apof- “les, and to give them that wifdom, which no mam fhall s* ever be able to refift, give me to experience a participation “ of thefe fignal favours, that, animated by the fame /jirit, “ with which thy firft difciples were infpired, ‘I may lead «¢fome foul a happy captive to the obedience of thee.” Thefe beautiful quotations will make their own apology for appearing in this place. 7. If any are difpofed to condemn Monf. Roques, as an enthufiast in this point, they confider not, how many great and honourable names they difgrace by fuch a precipitate judgment; fince all thofe pious fathers, who are looked upon as the reformers of corrupted doGrines and degenerate manners, were unanimoufly of the fame opinion. From the preceding reflections, it feems but reafonable to conclude, that all the true minifters of Christ among thofe nations, which were formerly known by the name of Gen- tiles are to be confidered as the true fucceffors of the Apof- tles, and particularly of St. Paul, who by way of eminence is entitled the Apostle of the Gentiles, and who, on that ac- count, may with the greater propriety, be propofed to them as a model, F 4 128 THE PORTRAIT OF 8ST. PAULe CHAP. V. 4 THIRD OBJECTION REPLIED TO. HEY, who will allow neither believers nor pastors to become imitators of St. Paul, very rarely forget to propofe a third objection against fuch imitation. Jf you pre- tend, fay they, to be the Apofiles’ fucceffors, then prove your mifm Jjion by the performance of miracles equal to theirs. To this objection we reply 1. That no mention is made of the miracles of Andronicus, Junia, and Barnabas, who were real Apostles: nor are any miracles attributed to Titus or Timothy, though they were the undoubted fucceffors of the Apofiles. Further; it is exe prelsly faid, that John the Baftift, though he was greater than the Prophets, did no miracle. On the other hand, fome miraculous gifts were common in the church of Corinth, even among thofe, who were neither Apoftles nor Evangelifts ; and thefe gifts were fo far from being effential to apoftolic — zeal, that many unworthy brethren and many fal/fe Apofiles, as well as the traitor Judas, were endued with them. This we are taught, in the most exprefs terms, by our Lord himifelf. 2. If any of thofe pastors, who make a prafefflion of fol- lowing St. Paul, are obferved to publifh another Gofpel, or to depart from the arder establifhed by the Apostles, the world has then reafon to require miracles at their hand, as a demonstration, that their dotrines are divine, and that their recent customs are preferable to thofe, which were formerly adopted in the church of Christ. But, if they fimply pro- claim that glorious Gofpel, which has been already con- firmed by a thoufand miracles, and are obferyed to adopt no other method than that of the Apostles ; it is abfurd, in the highest degree, to infist upon miracles as the only fufficient evidences of their miflion. | From worldly pastors, fuch at- testations of their facred commiffion might, with propriety, “be required. ‘Thefe are the perfons, who turn afide from the beaten track of Christ and his difciples, both with refpec& to doétrine and difcipline : and thefe fhould be required, by the church, to give incontestible proofs, that their novel cul- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 129 toms are better than thofe of St. Paul and the ancient Evan- gelifts. 8. No fufficient reafon can be given, why the humble imitators of St. Paul fhould be required to evidence their - {piritual miffion by extraordinary actions. On the one hand, they do but fimply declare thofe religious truths, of which they have had the moft convincing experience : and, on the other, they earneftly folicit the wicked to become partakers of the fame invaluable bleffing. Now the certainty of fuch ’ declaration, and the fincerity of fuch invitation, may be folid- ly eftablithed upon two kinds of proof: firft, upon thofe proofs which fupport the Gofpel in general: and fecondly, upon the holy condud of thofe, who bear this teftimouy and repeat thefe invitations, by which they demonitrate the efficacy of their do€trine, and indifputably prove, that true chriftians are dead indeed unto fin, but alive unto God. ‘That paftor, who is unable to produce the former proofs, cannot poflibly be re- garded asa true fucceffor of the great Apoitle: and he, whoie uniform condué& is fufficient to fupply the /atier, is no other than a falie Apoftle. . 4. External miracles, which effe& no change in the heart, nor refcue the foul from a ftate of fpiritual blindnefs and - - death; miracles, which ferve only to repair the organs.of a body, that mutt fhortly be configned to the grave; miracles, which tend merely to modify matter, fuch as caufing green trees to wither, withered trees to fpring, and water to gufh out of the flinty rock: miracles of this nature, are far lefs important than thofe, which caufe the thorns of vice to wither, the feeds of grace to {pring, and ftreams of facred con- folation to flow through thofe very hearts which were for- merly barren as a defart, and hard as the rock, that Mofes fmote. 5. “If you with for miracles,”? fays a chriftian writer ; « if you are anxious to experience them in yourfelves ; if, in “the fecret of your heart, you would become witneffes ot “his almighty power, by whom that heart was formed, then “ afk of him this fublime virtue [this charity] from whichall ‘your inclinations and habits detain you at fo vait a dif- ** tance, that you are in no fituation to form any juft idea of “¢ it, nor even to conceive the poffibility of its exiltence.” 6. This fublime virtue, this divine charity and thele facred confolations, which were as a well of water fpringing ufi into FS 130 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. everlafting lifé, in the hearts of Chrift’s firft difciples, may — ftill be made to break forth in ours. The fource of thefe — ineftimablé graces can never be exhaufted; and the faithful, — who experience in themfelves this confoling miracle, ftand in — need of no other prodigy to eftablifh them in the faith of the Gofpel. 7 The moft important miracles were thofe, which were wrought by the Apoftles, when, as fellow-workers together with Gop, they opened the eyes of finners, turning them fron darknefs to light, and from the power of Satan untoGod. ‘True miracles of mercy thefe, and memorable converfions which the word of Gon, in the mouths of his minifters, is continual- — ly operating in every age. 8. The charity, which is difcovered by a faithful paftor, who humbly co-operates with Gop in the converfion of his inveterate enemies, fhould be regarded by the world, as the - trueft teft of his Apofile/hip. Whether there be prophecies, they foal fail; Whether there be tongues, they ‘bal ceafe; but cHarity never faileth. And though I have all faith, fo that J could remove mountains, and perform the moft unheard-of prodigies, if J have not cHarity, J am nothing. ; The preceding replies are abundantly fufficient to de- mon ‘trate the weaknefs of their third objection, who are the profeffed enemies of apoftolic zeal. CHAP. . Vi. A FOURTH OBJECTION REFUTED. HE objetion here propofed has been abundantly more prejudicial to the caufe of piety, than any of the pre- ceeding. ‘ You fuppofe,’ fay formal profeflors; * that every paftor is called to labour for the falvation of fouls, in the pre- tent day, with all that zeal, which animated St. Paul in pre~ mitive times. But their circumftances differ in a very material way. The Apoftles were commiffioned to preach the Gof- pel, either to obftinate Jews, or idolatrous Heathens; where- as our patftors are cailed to exercife their miniftry among fuch, as have received the truth from their earlieft infancy. Is it wot then contrary to common fenfe, that the fame laborious. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 131 efforts fhould be thought neceffary for the inftruction of cuHRistTrans which St. Paul was formerly conftrained to make ufe of for the con verfion of idolaters ?” As this fpacious objeétion has been more frequently re- peated, than properly refuted, it becomes neceflary, in this — place, to expofe all its weaknefs, and to demonftrate, that the difference between finners, who are baptized, and thofe, with whom St. Paul, had to do, is by no means in favour of indolent pattors. 1. There are found fwarms of infidels and idolaters in every chriftian country upon earth. We need not look be- yond proteftant churches to difcover multitudes of impious chriftians, who not only defpife the Gofpel in fecret, but who even dare to make it the fubjeé& of public ridicule: men, who have fet up their idols in their hearts, and who perfectly anfwer the apoftles’ defcription of degenerate profeffors. 2. St. Paul himfelf fufficiently anfwers this very objection, as follows: Jn Chrift Jefus, neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumeifion, but a new creature ; and as many as walk according to this rule, peace beon them. If there are any, who make a profeffion of receiving the chriftian faith, and who follow not this evangelical rule, the Apoftle thus ad- dreffes them, with an holy warmth: ¢ Examine yourfelves whether you be in the faith; prove your ownfelves; know ye not your ownfelves how that Jefus Chrift isin you, except ye be reprobates? Be not deceived: neither covetous per- fons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, fhall inherit the Kingdom of God.’ 3. Obferve how the fame obje@ion is combated again in another of St. Paul’s epiftles. ‘ Behold, thou art called a Curist14n, and makett thy boaft of God, and knoweft his will, beinginftru€ted out of the’ twofold law of Mofes and of Chrift. «Thou, that makeft thy boaft of this law; if thou through breaking the law, difhonoureft God, the name of God is then blafphemed among the gentiles through you. Therefore, thou art inexcwfable, O man, whofoever thou art,' that judgeft’ the-heathen, as finners more hopelefs than thy- felf: ‘ for wherein thou judgeft another; thou condemneft thyfelf; for thou that judgeft doeft the fame things. And thinkeft thou, O man,’ that thy privileges unimproved, will affift thee to ‘ efcape the judgment of God? Or defpifett thou the riches of his goodnefs ; not knowing, that the good- F6 132 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. nefs of God leadeth thee to repentance ?”? Beware left, «after the hardnefs of thine impenitent heart, thou treafureft up unto thyfelf wrath againit the day of wrath.’ 4. If every fcriptural threatening is denounced againit thofe, who are without that holinefs, which the Gofpel re- quires, it would ill become us to flatter either ourfelves or others with being the true followers of Chrift, merelyjon ac- count of that external profeffion of chriftianity, which is generally apparent among us. Is it not undeniably evident, that fuch a profeffion, unlefs it be accompanied with ftric&t holinefs, will fubje& us to more and heavier ftripes, than if we had never known the will of our heavenly Father, nor ever acknowledged Chrift as our rightful Lord? Did not our gracious Mafter himfelf once openly manifeft a greater degree of abhorrence toward the /ukewarm Chriflian, than to- ae the nofor ious finner ? And has he not plainly declared, that myraids of righteous heathens fhall be permitted to fit down in the Kingdom of Gop, while multitudes of his pro- feffing people fhall be caft into outer darknefs? 5. After infants have been baptized, and after young per fons have been admitted to the holy communion, the true pattor, inftead of taking it for granted, that they are become unfeigned chriftians by - partaking of thefe ordinances, examines them with diligence from time to time, and forms an attentive obfervation of their conduct, from a judgment of their faith. If, after the ftri@teft ferutiny, he difcovers {ome among them, who hold the form, without experiencing the power of godlinefs, he renews his work with encreafing ardour. The moft painful part of his daty is ftill before him, when he attempts to convert thofe fnners, who are bafi- tized, and thofe infidels, who are communicants 3 fince before he can lead them to that which worketh by love, as St. Paul was accuftomed to lead unprejudiced heathens, he muft firit unmaik them with a holy feverity, as the blefled Jefas was accuftomed to unmafk the pharifees of his day. 6. If unregenerate chriftians are heathens by their worldly difpofition ; if they are pharifees by their prefumption, and confirmed in their pharifaifm by the fallacious opinions they indulge of their prerogatives under the Gofptt:—it foliows, that every modern pattor is called to a performance of the twofold duty above defcribed. And if this be the cafe, how unreafonable is. it to imagine, that the minifters of our own THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 133 _time have a much lefs difficult tafk before them than thofe, who were formerly commiffioned to publifh the Gofpel ! 7. All paftors have an important tafk affigned them, and, till this is performed, they are required to labour without fainting. Obferve in what this tafk confifts :—* He that defcended from Heaven,’ faith St. Paul, ‘ gave fome A poftles; and fome paftors and teachers; for the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Chrift: Till we all come,’ both paftors and flocks, ¢ unto the meafure of the ftature of the fulnefs of Chrift.? When every chriftian has attained to this exalted ftate, the minifters of the Gofpel may then affert their work to be com- plete, and need imitate no longer the diligence of St. Paul. But while we are furrounded with baptized fwearérs, fabbath- breakers, flanderers, gamefters, drunkards, gluttons, de- bauchees, bla{phemers, and hypocrites, who are ufing every effort to render chriftianity defpicable before infidels, and execrable in the eyes of philofophers: at fuch a time it can- not be reafonably imagined that any individual labourer is permitted to ftand idle in the fpiritual vineyard. And yet, in this very time of univerfal degeneracy, there are not want- _ing many among us, who inconfiderately cry out ; “ St. Paul, “without doubt, had reafon to labour with unremitting ‘ afliduity for the converfion of idolatreus heathens; but — “ we are couverted already, and fee no neceffity for that *‘ burning zeal, and thofe {trenuous efforts among our mo- “< dern-teachers, which were formerly commendable in that «¢ Apoftle.”” 8. If it be objeGed, that chriftians are here reprefented in a more deplorable point of view than candour or obfervation can warrant; we make our appeal to thofe proclamations, which have been made with a view to fupprefs the fingle fin cf profaning the name of Gop, by impious oaths and -horrible imprecations. Thefe muft undoubtedly be confidered as _ public teftimonies of public guilt. In fuch proclamations every chriftian government, whether catholic or proteftant, equally complain, that all the civil laws, by which they have endeavoured to enforce the Law of Gon, have proved in- fufficient to prevent the overflowings of a crime, as infiped as it is difgraceful. In vain have new penalties and punifhments been decreed; in vain are they conftantly held forth from the pulpits of preachers and the thrones of Kings: this def- * 134 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ~ 1 : picable vice ftill reigns undifturbed among us, infulting over the broken laws of earth and Heaven. Nowif it has hitherto been found impoffible to prevent the commiffion of a fin, © which has neither pleafure nor profit to plead in its favour, © what can we expect of all thofe thoufand vices, which allure with promifes of both? are not diffimulation and perjury, injuftice and covetoufnefs, lacivioufnefs and luxury apparent among the members of every church? Do not rapine, re- venge, and murder, defile every part of Chriftendom, in fpite of prifons, banifhment and death ? It is a truth too notorious to be controverted, that every crime, with which human na- ture has ever been polluted, is ftill continually praétifed in the moft enlightened parts of the world. We might here mention, if it were neceflary, the contempt in which marriage is held, the inftability of that holy eftate, and the facility with which fo facred a bond is broken. We might go on to bewail the frequent commiffion of fuicide in chriftian communities—But to fpeak of thefe with many ~ other fins, which are encreafing around us to an alarming degree, would be only to echo back thofe fad complaints, which are every day breathed from the lips of the righteous. The above remarks may poflibly appear uncharitable to fome: but, if they are without foundation, how many unmeaning ex- frefions do we find in our liturgy! what Aypocrify in our public confeflions ! what fal/e humility in our prayers! From all thefe obfervations, it is evident, that the moft heathenifh manners are common among chriftians fo called, and that the most feandalous vices are prevalent, even in thofe. countries, where reformed christianity has erected its standard. Let the impartial enquirer then declare, whether it be not peculiarly neceffary to preach repentance among thofe, whofe rebellion against Gop is accompanied with perfidioufnefs and hypocrify ? ; - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 135 CHAP. VIL THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 1. ERE it even certain, that profefling christians in general walk according to their holy vocation, would it be commendable in pastors to fhew lefs concern for the falvation of Christ’s apparent difciples, than was ancient- ly difeovered by St. Paul, for the converfion of perfecuting heathens? Christians are our brethren. The church, our common mother, has nourifhed us with the fame fpiritual milk, and calls us toa participation of the fame heavenly in- heritance. Christians are no more /frangers ; and even thofe, who are dad citizens, and unfaithful domestics, are neverthe- ' Tefs in fome fenfe citizens of the fame city with ourfelves, and of the houfehold of God. THence, as we compofe but one houfehold, fo whenever we are difpofed to negle& any part of this family, we may apply to ourfelves the following words of the Apostle: Jf any provide not for his own, and effiecially Sor thofe of his own houfe, he has denied the faith, and is worfe than an infidel. Let ministers, then, be placed in the happiest imaginable circumstances, and it will still become them to ery out, with the pious “benevolence of St. Paul; 4s we have ofiportunity, let us do good unto all men, ESPECIALLY unto them, who are of the houfchold of faith. 2. We may here purfue the idea, which Christ himfelf has given us, by comparing his church to a vineyard. If it be neceflary to graft thofe stocks, which are naturally wild; is _it lefs neceffary to cultivate thofe, which have been already grafted? We fee the hufbandman bestowing most culture upon thofe vines, which produce’ the most excellent fruit. Let ministers attend to this general rule : and fince they only can be fruitful in the facred vineyard, who receive the word of Gop in faith, let them study to train up believers to the highest state of maturity. Thus the heavenly hufbandman is reprefented, as purging every fruitful branch, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3. The word of Gop must be offered to finners as a remedy fuited to the difeafe of their fouls: but to the faithful it must be administered as uouri/bing food. Hence, as the order of “136. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs grace refembles that of nature, it is neceflary, in a fpiritual {enfe, to minister nutriment to the healthy in much greater quantities, than medicine to thofe, who are difeafed. Thus believers, who constantly hunger and thirst after greater de- grees of grace, fhould more frequently receive the diving word, that they may abound yet more and more in knowledge, till they are filled with the fruits of righteoufne/s. 4, We find the following expreflions in the epiftle of St. Paul to the Romans: ‘ I am perfuaded of you, my brethren, that ye are full of goodnefs, filled with all knowledge, able to admonifh one another. Neverthelefs I have written the more boldly unto you, as putting youin mind. And I long to fee you, that I may impart unto you fome fpiritual gift, to the end ye may be eftablifhed.’ Now, if St. Paul could exprefs fo earneft a defire to inftru@t thofe chriftians, who were perfe&t ftrangers to him, and who were. already fo di- vinely enlightened ; far from being imitators of this great Apoitle, do we not forfeit all pretenfions to charity, while we fuffer thofe ignorant chriftians to perith for lack of know- ledge, who are not only of our neighbourhood, but probably of our very parifh ? 5. Though St. Paul was affifted with miraculous endow- ments, yet how anxioufly did he endeavour to fill up the twofold duties of a believer in Chrift, and a minister of his Gofpel. And fhall we refufe to labour with equal earnest- nefs, whofe gifts are fo mean, and whofe graces are fo incon- fidcrable ? Appointed, like the primitive preachers of chrif- tianity, to be fiers of men, is it not perfeétly reafonable, that we fhould manifest as great a€tivity with our feeble lines, as St. Paul was accustomed to difcover in the ufe of his capa- cious net? If that Apostle, filled with holy zeal, was enabled to convert more finners at a fingle difcourfe, than many paf- tors are known to convert’in a thoufand fermons, fhould we not, by our uncommon afliduity, fupply, as muchas poffible, — the want of thatincomprehenfible energy, which accompanied his ministerial labours ? 6. Ministers are compared to labourers, who go forth to cultivate the lands of their master. Now St. Paul, as the foremost of thefe labourers, wrought night and day with an | extraordinary instrument, which marked out furrows of an uncommon depth, and ploughed up entire provinces on a fudden.. He made the fullest proof of his ministry, and, by ~— THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 137 the most astonifhing efforts, {pread the feed of the Gofpel _from Jerufalem, round about into Iilyricum. How vasta differ- ence between the former and latter pastors of the christian church! Many of us are content to ftand altogether idle, till the night cometh, in which nomancan work: while others, who are difpofed to fome little occupation, employ them- _felves as workmen, who have need to be utterly afhamed of their infignificant labours. At beft we hold but a tardy inftrument; an inftrument, which with immenfe toil will _ but barely graze the earth, we are called to cultivate. And Shall we, thus unhappily circumftanced, permit our plough- fhares to gather ruit during fix fucceffive days, and then leifurely employ them but an hour upon the feventh ; Surely - fuch a mode of condué is as contrary to common fenfe, as to the example St. Paul has left us. 7. So aftonifhing isthe inconfancy, the weaknefs, and the _ depravity of the human heart, that in fpite of all the perfeyer- ' ing induitry of this Apoftle in the vineyard of his Lord, is full brought forth briars and thorns, to the anguith of his foul. Behold, faith he to the Corinthians, ‘ the third time Lam ready to come unto you, for your edifying. For J fear, left when I come, I fhall not find you fuch as I would, and that I fhall be found unto you fuch es ye would not: left there be debates, envyings, wraths, firifes, back-bitings, whif- perings, {wellings, tumults : and left when I come, my God . will humble me among you, and that I fhall bewail many, which have finned already, and have not repented.’ We fhall clofe this chapter by propofing the following queries, which may be reafonably grounded upon the pre- eeding paflage. If the natural and fupernatural talents of St. Paul; if his zeal, his diligence, and his apoftolie autho- rity were infufficient to engage his fiock to condu& them- felves as followers of Chrilt; if their want of piety drew from him tears of lamentation, and obliged him to renew his painful efforts with redoubled folicitude ; can thofe paitors be faid to poffefs the fpirit of the Gofpel, who behold with indifference the diforders of that falling church, which Chriit has, purchafed with his own blood ? And if the extraordi- nary labours of St. Paul were not fufficient fully to anfwer the defign of the facred miniitry, is it not prefumption in- deed to imagine, that our trivial fervicesare fufficiently com- plete ? 138 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. CHAP. VIII. 4 FURTHER REPLY TO THE SAME OB- JECTION. \ K 7 HEN we attack a prejudice, that is obftinately de- . fended, it is frequently as needful to multiply argu-— ments, as it is neceflary ina fiege to multiply affaults. Pur- fuing this method, we fhall endeavour, upon new grounds, . to eftablifh the do@rine contended for in the two laft chap- ters. 7 1. After exhorting Timothy to labour withont ceafing, St. Paul affigns the following reafon for fuch imjunétion > Know, faith he, that in the laff times of the chriftian church, men, who make a profefiion of faith, ¢ fhall be lovers of their ownfelves, defpifers of thofe, that are good—lovers of plea- fure more than lovers of God: having a form of godlinefs, but denying the power thereof.” Now, if Timothy was ex- horted to ufe ail diligence, in oppofing thofe evils, which were then only making their approach; is it reafonable that qwe fhould be remiis, who are unhappy enough to fee thofe laff times, in which the decay of piety, predicted by the Apoftle, is become univerfal? On the contrary, is not this the moment, in which we fhould ftreauoufly refift the over- flowings of ungodlinefs, and fortify thofe who are not yet fwept away by the impetuous terrent? 2. When the great Apostle benevolently carried the word of Gop to finners of every different nation, he thereby armed against himfelf the authority of magistrates and priests, as well Jewifh as pagan. His univerfal philanthropy, expofed- him to the most cruel perfecutions. Thoufands, and ten thoufands were fet in array against him, and the inhabitauts of every kingdom feemed determined to refist or destroy him, in his fpiritual progrefs. He faw thefe furrounding dangers; but he faw them without difcovering any fymptom of fear: and rather than difcontinue his painful labours, he chearfully proceeded to encounter every threatening evil. We, on the contrary, are appointed to build up the children of the king- dom in their moft holy faith. And fhall we labour Lf, be- caufe we can labour with // danger ? Shall we negle& the - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, 139 duties of our facred funétion, becaufe our fuperiors in church and state permit us to convert finners, command usto preach the Gofpel, ereé us temfles for the public celebration of di- vine worfhip, and allow us falaries, that our ministry may never be interrupted by fecular cares? The ministerial fervices, _ which St. Paul performed with fuch unabating zeal, when his reward was imprifonment and stripes, must we be engag- ed todifcharge by emoluments and honours? And, after all, fhall we limit our constrained obedience precifely to that point, which will merely, fecure us from public depofition and difgrace? 3. What was the error of Demas ; a man, as notorious by his fall among the Zvangeliffs, as Judas among the Afojiles ? Demas /oved this prefent world, and, ceafing to imitate the _ diligence of St. Paul, ungratefully left him to labour almost without afecond. And will unfaithful Evangelists prefume, that they may imitate, without fear, the apoftacy of Demas, and renounce, with impunity, the example of St. Paul > If fuch is their unhappy perfuafion, we fubmit the following gueries to their ferious confideration. Are the fouls of men lefs valuable; is iim of any kind lefs detefiable, or the Law of Gop lefs fevere; in the prefent day, than in the earlier ages of the chriftian church ? Have pattors a right to be remifs, while the night of incredulity is blackening around them? Are the attacks of antichriftian philofophers lefs frequent and audacious at prefent, than in former times? Or, finally, is the appearance of our omnipotent Judge no longer expected in the world ? 4, If the Apoftles and primitive paftcrs have removed many threatening impediments out of our way ; if they have procured for us our prefent advantages, by the moft amaz- ing exertions, and at the prodigious price of their blood ; furely it can never be imagined, that they a€ted with fo much refolution, and fuffered with fo muchconftancy,that we might becorae the indolent readers of their unparalleled hiftory. Was it not rather, that, animated with a becoming fenfe of their great example, we might make the higheft improvement of our ineftimable privileges ? 5. The mountains are now laid low, the valleys are filled up, the crooked ways are made ftraight, and we have only to carry that falvation to finners, for which fuch wonderful pteparations have been made. And are we negligent in 140 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. running on the errands of everlafling-Love? And are we backward in bearing the happieft tidings to the moft haplefs of creatures? No excufe then can poilibly be made for this coldnefs, except that, which the author of Emilius has put into the mouth of a fictitious charaéter: Of what importance is it to me, {ays the vicar Savoyard, ewhat becomes of the wicked ! I am but little concerned im their future defting. An excufe for the want of zeal, which can never be pleaded, without re- fleing the utmoft difgrace upon humanity. 6. Ye paftors of a flock ever prone to wander! choofe whom you will follow, philofophers or Apoftles; the inde- fatigable zeal of St. Paul, or the cruel indifference of the {ceptical vicar? But, if you take the latter for your model, we folemnly entreat you to lay afide the profefion, while you fo fhamefully renounce the duties, of the holy miniftry. * As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleafure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.’ With you, however, it isa matter of very inconfider- able importance, whether the wicked be finally faved, or de- ftroyed. And yet, carelefs as you are of its weal or woe, you prefume to appear as miniiters of the church, and as paftors over that Jittle flock, for which the good thepherd was content to lay down his life. To rank with the watchful attendants of the fold is an honour, of which you are altogether un- worthy ; but you may with propriety be counted, in the number of thofe ungrateful hirelings, who care not for the fbeep. 8. It is true, you are not without companions, as well ancient as modern. You have Hophniand Phinehas, Geha- zi and Balaam, to keep you in countenance? you have the prophets of Jezebel to plead in your favour, and every world- ly ecclefiaftic of the prefent day to approve your choice: but apottolical men will refolutely withftand you, like Elifhaand his Mafter, in the caufe of deferted truth. Ye flothful domeftics of the moft diligent Mafter! Ye cruel attendants of the tendereft fhepherd! fay, have ye never heard that Mafter crying out, with the voice of affec- tion, Feed my /beep ? Have ye not feen him conduéting his flock to an evangelical paftor, in the temple, in fynagogues, in villages, in houfes, in defarts, on the fea-fhore, and on the tops of mountains? He anxioufly fought out the miferable. Truth was the guide of his way, charity accompanied his fteps, and his path was marked with bleffings. His fecret - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 141 efforts were more painful than his public labours: he public- ly inftru¢ted through the day, but he privately agonized in prayer through the night. His firft difciples were anxious to tread in the fteps of their adorable Mafter. They exer- cifed their miniftry within fight of torments and death. And will you dare to negle¢t it, now the cry of perfecution is hufh- _ ed? Will you equally defpife, both the promifes and threat- enings of the Gofpel? Will you haften the times of anti- chrift, by an antichriftian condu&? And when the Son of ‘man fhall come, fhall he find you trampling under foot the Gofpel of his grace? Or, fhall ye furprize you diftributing cards round the tables of your friends, rather than earneftly inviting thofe friends to the table of your Lord ? O that we could prevail upon you to ftand in your proper poft, and aé in conformity to your profeffional character ! While you dream of fecurity, you are furrounded with the moft alarming dangers, ¢ Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth: having on the breaft-plate of righteouf- nefs, and your feet fhod with the preparation of the Gofpel of peace: above all, taking the fhield of faith, wherewith ye fhall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of falvation, and the fword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer, and watching thereunto with all perfeverance, and fupplications for all faints ;’ and for the minifters of the Gofpel in particular, * that they may open their mouth bold- ly, to make known the myftery of the Gofpel, and diffufe abroad the unfearchable riches of Christ.’ Thus, quitting yourfelves like men, in this facred warfare, after steadily re- fisting, you fhall finally overcome all the strength of the enemy, by the wird of truth, by the power of God, by the ar- mour of righteoufne/s onthe right hand and on the left : ‘Till hav- ing weathered out the evil day, continuing faithful unto death, ye fhall be rewarded with a crown of everlasting life. 142 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. - CHAP. Ix. A FURTHER REFUTATION OF THE SAME OB- JECTION. a 1. HEN we fee a number of perfons in perilous — circumftances, charity conftrains us to make our firft efforts.in ‘favour of thofe, who appear to be in the moft imminent danger. Such are unholy chriftians. Sin- ful heathens are doubtlefs in danger ; obftinate Jews in {till greater peril; but impenitent chriftians are in a fituation — abundantly more lamentable than either; fince-they offend againft clearer light and knowledge, equally inattentive to the moft gracious promifes, on oné hand, and the moft ter- rible menaces on the other. Tofa withthenew Teftament in our hand, and withthe foundof the Gofpelinourears—to fin with the feal of baptifm in our forehead, and the mame of Chrift in our lips—to fim and receive the holy communion ; to ratify and break the moft folemn engagements; what is this, but earneftly labouring out our own damnation, and plunging ourfelves into thofe abyfles of wretchednefs, which Pagans and Jews are unable to fathom? “How eagerly then fhould every, believer attempt to refcue his falling brethren? ~ and efpecially, how anxious fhould they be to arreft thofe leaders of the blind, who are drawing their followers to the brink of perdition? As this is one of thofe arguments, upon which the truth here pleaded for, muft principally reft, we fhall confider it in the feveral points of view, under which it is prefented to us in the Gofpel. 2. The commiffion of St. Paul was particularly directed to the Gentiles; yet, before he vifited their benighted na- tions, he judged it his duty to make a-full and free offer of the everlafting Goipel to the people of the Jews. For the conduc of the Apoftle in this refpeét, the following reafons are to be affigned, Firit, the promifes pertained to the Jews in a peculiar manner. Secondly, the children of Abraham, according to the flefh, hada more threatening profpeét before them, in cafe of final impenitence, than any other people up- on earth: Tribulation and anguifh fhall be upon every foul of man, that doeth evil, of the Jew, Fins and alfo of the Gentile. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 143 3. The fame reafons, though chiefly the latter, are ftill to be urged, why the minifters of Chrift fhould principally la- bour among christians. Forif finners of the cireumeifion fhall be more feverely punifhed than the ignorant heathen, fo the Apostle declares, that finners who are baptized into the name of Christ, fhall be treated with still greater rigour than impenitent Jews. ‘ He that defpifed Mofes’ law, faith he, died without mercy under two or three witnefles; of how much forer punifhment, then, fuppofe ye, fhall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God—and hath done defpite unto the fpirit of grace? If this confideration was accompanied with its due effect, it would fire us with the most unconquerable zeal for the fal- vation of negligent chriftians. , 4. In ene of the last difcourfes our Lord addreffed ‘to the cities of Galilee, we find him reading over them this dreadful fentence of condemnation. ‘« Woe unto thee ‘Cho- razin, woe unto thee Bethfaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, ‘had been done m Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in fackcloth and afhes. But I fay unto-you, it fhall be more tolerable for T'yre-and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou Capernaum, which’ by thy religious privileges, « art exalted unto Heaven, fhalt,? for the non-improvement of them, ¢ be brought down to Hell. Yea, it fhall be more tolerable, in- the day of judgment for the land of Sodom,’ which has been already confumed with fire from above, than for thee. 5. To draw the just confequences from this affecting me- mace, we must recolleét, that, when it was pronounced, the inhabitants of the abovementioned cities had been favoured, - -but for a very fhort interval, with the ministry of Christ and his meflengers: and if the death and refurreétion of Jefus were afterwards publifhed among them, it is more than pro- bable, that thefe important facts were-publifhed only ina defultory and tranfient way. ‘Neverthelefs the finners of Ca- -pernaum were thought worthy of greater punifhment, than the finners of Sodom. Hence we conclude, that, if the fin- ners of London, Paris, Rome, and Geneva, have hardened themfelves against the truths of the Gofpel for a much longer continuance, than the citizens of Capernaum were per- . mitted to do, there is every reafon to apprehend, that their fentence will not only be more dreadfulthan the fentence of ' 144 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Sodom but abundantly lefstolerable than that, which was pro- nounced upon the inhabitants of Galilee. | 6. While we confider the various proportions in which future punifhment fhall be administered to the wicked of dif- ferent claffes, we may turn to thofe remarkable expreflions of St. Peter and St. Paul :—¢ If after having efcaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome; the latter end is worfe with them than the beginning For, it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteoufnefs, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. If we fin wilfully after we have reeeived the know- ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more facrifice for fins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indig- nation, which fhall devour the adverfaries.? Thefe declara- tions affist us to difcover the true ground of that apostolic exhortation, with which we hall clofe this chapter: Of /ome have compaffion, making a difference: and others fave with fear, pulling them out of the fire. From this last view of the fubje€&t we may perceive, into how dangerous an error thofe perfons are fallen, who pre- fume to obje& againit imitating the zeal of St. Paul, ——~MEE{ ED Sa CHAP.) 4 FIFTH OBJECTION ANSWERED. HE folidity of the preceding remarks may be ac- knowledged by many paftors, who will ftill excufe themfelves from copying the example of St. Paul. ‘It is unreafonable’ they will fay, ‘to require that we fhould preach the word of God, in feafon, and out of feafon, as St. Paul once did, and as Timothy was afterwards exhort- edto do. We find it, in this day, a matter of difficulty to prepare any public addrefs, that may be either acceptable to the people, or honourable to ourfelves.’ To this objection we return the following replies. 1. He, who fpake as never man {pake, rejeted the ar of . i THE FORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 146 modern orators, delivering his difcourfés m 2 fiyle of fimplicity, and unaffected zeal. _ 2 We do not find, that St. Paul and the other Apoitles, yofed upon themfelves the troublefome fervitude of pen- | when the feventy, and the ce ese commuffioned to pub- ul ee en ot nature were givem i ew, flee Sowing pulled Sell-ufheen 10 em ¢ give attendance to reading, to exhortation, te Neglect not the gift, that ismthee. Meditate thefe-ghings, give thyfelf wholly tothem. Take heed Sisto thySlf onl to they dadbcine ; continue in them ; for im ‘doing this, thou halt both fave thyielf, and them that hear Preach the word: be métant m feafon, out af fea- > reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-fufermg and inbraec.? Now, had it ever entered mto the mind of the | Aipofile, that it would be proper for paiters to compoefe their fermons im the manner of rhetoricians, and to deliver them as public orators, he would mott probably have given fome intimation of this to his difciple. In fuch cafe, he | would have held out to his puptl m divmity, fome mitruc- Mitous of the followmg nature. © © Timothy my fon! [ ® have frequently commanded thee to labour in the work of t the Lord, accordmg to my example. But as thew art not am Apoftle, properly fo called, and bait not received ett ee ieee, 1 ade: tes: tn watic teres eg Es © mons as correctly as poffible. And after this, do not full /* to rehearfe them before a mirror, till thow art able to re- ™ peat them with freedomand grace : fo that when thou art Se Se eg Se a dra “approbation of thine auditors. Furthermore, whem thou . ay Sadan Sy im thy pert * manteau the cheiceii of thy fermons. And wherever thaw © art, take care to hae thee, ‘ pre x “yy areel agra areas dancers = leulty, are ready to plead the caufe of thet client before 2 of judicature; cam it be poflible, that, after feveral G q years of meditation and ftudy, a minister fhould still be un- prepared to plead the caufe of piety, before'a plain affembly of Nig unlearned parifhoners. 5. When we are deeply interested in a fubjeé of the last jeiporeanie, do we think it neceflary to draw up our argu- ments in an orderly manner upon paper, before we attempt to deliver our fentiments upon the matter in hand? Are not the love and penetration of a parent, fuflicient to diétate fuch advice as is fuited to the different tempers and con- ditions of his children? After perceiving the houfe of our neighbour on fire, we do not withdraw to our clofet to pre- pare a variety of affecting arguments, by way of engaging him to fave both himfelf and his family from the flames. In fuch cafe, a lively conviction of our neighbour’ sdanger, and an ardent defire to refcue him from it, afford us greater powers of natural eloquence, than any rules of art can furnifh us with. 6. Horace obferves, that neither matter nor method hen be wanting upon a well-digested fubje& : cui lela protenter erit res, Nec facundia deferet hunc, nec lucidus ordo. With how much facility then may fuitable expreffions be expected to follow thofe animating fentiments, which are in- fpired by an ardent love to God and man; efpecially when fubjeéts of fuch univerfal concern are agitated, as death and redemption, judgment and eternity? Upon fuch oceafions, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will fpeak, aor will the preacher be able to repeat a tenth part of the truths, which God has communicated to him, while meditating ufion his text. If malice can furnith thofe perfons with an inexhauifti- ble fund of converfation, who delight in malice, how much more may we fuppofe the charity of 4 paftor to furnifh him with an inexhauftible fund of exhortation, instruction, and comfort. 7. It has been a plea with many ministers of the Gofpel, that they negle& to proclaim that Gofpel during fix days in the week least they fhould be unprepared to addrefs their parifhoners, with fropriety, upon the feventh. With teachers, who are thus fcrupuloufly tenacious of their own reputation, we may justly be allowed to reafon in the following manner. To what purpofe are all thofe oratorical appendages, with which you are fo fludious to adorn your — and! 146 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. A rj “WHE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 147 t 2 s. _ who hath réquired all this ufelefs labour .at-your hand? Ifa ‘fervant, after being charged by his mafter with a meflage of the utmost importance, »{fhould, betake himfelf to his cham- ber, and defer the execution of it day after day; would not fuch a delay -be esteemed an unpardonable negleé&t-? Ory if he fhould attempt to apologife for the omiffion, by alledg- ing that he had been bufily engaged in learning to repeat with frecifion the’ meflage he had received, and to move upon his errand with dignity and grace—would not fuchan excufe be regarded, as an instance of the highest prefumption and folly ? And can we imagine, that our heavenly Master will overlook that negle& in his public meflengers, which would ~ _ appear, in the conduct of a private domestic; fo justly con- demnable ? 8. What advantage has accrued to the church, by renounc- ing-the apottolic method ‘of publifhing the Gofpel?. We have indolence and artifice, in the place of fincerity and vigi- lances Thofe public difcourfes, which were anciently the éffe&s of conviction and zeal, aré now become the weekly exercifes of learning and art. We believe and therefore fpeak, is an expreflion, that has grown entirely obfelete among mo- dern paftors. But nothing is more common among us, than to fay-—As we have fermons prepared upon a variety of fub- jects, we are ready to deliver them, as opportunity offers. 9. Many inconveniencies arife from that method of preach- ing, which is generally adopted in the prefent day. While the phyfician of fouls is labouring to compofe a learned dif- fertation upon fome plain paflage of {cripture, he has but little leifure to vifit thofe languifhing patients, who need his jx. ‘mediate affistance. He thinks it fufficient to attend them upon every fabbath day in the place appointed for public duty ; but he recolleéts not, that thofe, to whom his coune felis peculiarly neceflary, are the very perfons, who refufe to meet him there. His unprofitable employments at home, _ leave him no opportunity to go in purfuit of his wandering fheep. He meets them, it is true, at {tated periods, in the common fold: but it is equally true, that during every fuc- ceflive interval, he difcovers the coldeft indifference with re= fpe& to their fpiritual welfare. From this unbecoming con- du& of many a minifter, one would naturally imagine, that the flock were rather called to feek out their indolent paftor, than that he was purpofely hiredtopurfue every ftraying theep. G2 - Le ie 148 * THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. . J . 10. The moft powerful nerve of the facred miniftry is ecclefiaftical difcipline. But this nerve is abfolutely cut afunder by the method, of which we now fpeak. Whena paitor withdraws fatigued from his fludy, imagining that he “has honourably acquitted himfelf with regard to his people, he is too apt to negleét that vigilant infpeGtion into families, upon which the difcipline of the church depends. Such a fpiritual inftructor may juftly be compared to a vain-glorious pedagogue, who, after drawing up a copy, and adorning it, for feveral days together, with all the embellifhments of his art, fhould yet imagine, that he had admirably performed his part, in preparing it, at length, for his fcholars, without any vifible defe€&ts. And what could reafonably be ex- pected from the pupils of fuch a teacher, but, that, fearing neither fcholaftic difcipline, nor particular infpe€tion, they fhould negleét to tranfcribe what their mafter with fo much unprofitable toil had produced ? 4 11. Since the orator’s art has taken place of the energy of faith, what happy effect has it produced upon the minds of men? Have we difcovered more frequent converfions a- mong’ us? Are formal profeffors more generally feized with a religious fear? Are libertines more univerfally conftrained to cry out, Men and brethren, what fhall we do? Do the wieked depart from the church, to bewail their tranfgreffions ‘in private; and believers to-vifit the mourners in their afflic- tion? Is it not rather to be lamented, that we are at this day equally diftant from chriftian charity, and primitive fim- plicity ?» Me 12. Reading over a variety of approved fermons is general- ly fuppofed to be preaching the Gofpel. If this were really fo, we need but look out fome feheol-boy of a tolerable capacity, and after instruting him to readveyer, with proper emphafis and gesture, the fermons of Tillotfon; Sherlock, or Saurin, we fhall have made him an excellent ministéx of the _ word of Gop. But, if preaching the Gofpel is to publith among finners that repentance and falvation, which we have experienced in ourfelves ; if it is to imitate a penitent flave, who, freed from mifery and iron, returns to the romaaiiae of his former flavery, declaring the generofity of their Princes and perfuading them to fue for mercy ;—if this is to pwblifh the Gofpel of peace, then it is evident, that experience and {ympathy are more neceflary to the due performance of this THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 149 work, than all the accuracy and elocution that can poffibly beacquired. =~ 13. When this facred experience, and this generous fympathy began to lofe their prevalence in the church, their place was gradually fupplied by the trifling fubititutes of ftudy and affeGtation. Carnal prudence has now for many ages, folicitoufly endeavoured to adapt itfelf to the tafte of the wife and learned. But, while the offence of the crofs is avoided, neither the wife, nor the ignorant are effectually con- verted. The Gofpel is abundantly better {uited to the foor in [pirit, than to thofe, who value themfelves as men of faga- city and fcience. J thank thee, O Father! faid the lowly Jefus, that thou haft hid thefe things from the wife and prudent, and haft revealed them unto babes. ‘Thefe babes, however, in the language of Chrift, are the very perfons, who have been ufually negleGted by us, for the mere gratification of reputed fages. Alas! how many thoufand proofs do we require to convince us, that the wifdom of this world will continue to trample under foot the pearl of the Gofpel, though in order to fecure its reception, it fhould be prefented among the artificial pearls of a vain philofophy ? 14. In confequence of the fame error, the ornaments of theatrical eloquence have been fought after with a fhameful folicitude. And what has been the fruit of fo much ufelefs toil? Preachers, after all, have played their part with much lefs applaufe than comedians ; and their curious auditors are ftill running from the pulpit to the ftage, for the pleafure of hearing fables repeated with a degree of fenifibility, which the meffengers of truth can neither feel, nor feign. Notwithftanding the above remarks have been expreffed in the moft pointed manner, we mean not to infinuate, that the errors already expofed are the only miltakes to be guard- ed againft. Extremes of every kind are to be avoided with equal care. We condemn the carnal prudence of chriftian orators ; but we as fincerely reprobate the condu& of thofe enthufiafts, who, under pretence, that Chrift has promifed to continue with his difciples to the end of the world, exhibit the reveries of a heated imagination for the truths of the Gofpel. Too many of thefe deluded fanatics are found, who, taking their flothfulnefs and prefumption, for the effe&s of a lively faith and an apoftolic confidence, repeatedly affront the Almighty, and juitly offend thofe candid hearers, who G3 150 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL | are leaf difpofed to take offence. Offences will undoubtedly come; but it behoves us to make a juft diftinGtion between the real offence of the crofs, and. that, which is: given by an unlicenced prefumption on our part. If we are honoured with the paftoral office, let us Leonie the holy fcriptures as an inexhauftible mine of facred treafures. ~ Inthe Law of the Lord let us meditate day and night. Be- - fore we attempt to deliver evangelical truths in public, let it he our firft- care, to penetrate our hearts, in private, with an adequate fenfe of thofe truths. Let us arrange them in the moft fuitable order: let us adduce'and compare the feveral paflages of facred writ, which appear to fupport or explain the particular doctrines we mean to infi upon: but, above all, joining faith and prayer to calm meditation, after becom~- ing matters of our fubject, let us humbly afk of Gop, that axppnaig, that lively and forcible elocution, which flows from the un¢tion of grace. And here, inftead of refting contented with barely reque/t. "ing, we fhould labour to acquire what we feek, by frequently furring up the gift, that is in-us. Let us eubract every Op~ portunity of exhorting both believers and catechumens. Let us carry, with unwearied conftancy, inftru€tion tothe ignorant, and confolation to the afflicted. Let us be faithful in reprov- ing finners of every clafs, and diligent in training up the chil- dren of our parifh. It is neceffary indeed to be ferupuloufly cautious, lek we abufe the liberty of preaching from meditation, by becoming followers of thofe, who are more worthy of cenfure, than imita- tion. ‘There are paftors of this kind, who, having acquired a good degree of {piritual knowledge, and a wonderful facility of expreffion, unhappily begin to pique themfelves upon appearing before a numerous aflembly without any previous ftudy. Confcious of their own ability, thefe felf- {ufficient preachers make little or no preparation for one of the moft folemn duties, that:can poffibly be difcharged. They haften to a crowded auditory without any apparent concern ; and coming down from the pulpit with an air of the fame eafy confidence, with which they afcended it, con- tentedly return to that habitual liftleffnefs, which had been interrupted by the external performance of a neceflary work. Alas! if thefe prefuming paftors could be prevailed upon to write over their fermons, to how much better purpofe might fe THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. - 35) they thus employ their hours, than by heedlefly trifling them away, in frivolous converfation and fhameful ina€tivity ! f Itis not to imitate examples of this nature, that we folicit _ the ministers of Christ to recover thofe hours, which are ~ ufually employed in compofing their weekly difcourfes. How many are the important occupations, of which the faith- ful pastor has his daily choice ! The wicked are to be re- _ elaimed, and the righteous establifhed. Hope must be ad- ministered to the fearful, and courage to the tempted. The weak are to be strengthened, and the strong to be exercifed. The fick must be fupported, and the dying prepared for dif. folution. By frequent pastoral vifits to hamlets, fchools, and private houfes, the indefatigable minister fhould continually be moving through the feveral parts of his parifh ; difcover- ing the condition of thofe entrusted to his care, and regular- ly fupplying the neceffities of his flock ; diffufing all around instruGtion and reproof, exhortation and comfort. To fam up his duties in a fingle fentence, he fhould caufe the light, that is in him, to fhine out in every poflible direGion, before the ignorant and the learned, the rich and the poor; making the falvation of mankind his principal purfuit, and the glory of Gop his ultimate aim. Thus, after having faithfully performed the work of an evangelist, when he is about to. be removed from his charge by death, or by any other providential appointment, he may take an affeGtionate leave of his people, and fay ; Remember, my children, that, while I have fojourned among you, J have not ceafed to warn every one of you night and day ; and if my word has not always been accompanied with tears, yet it has constantly flowed from the truest fincerity and affeGion. CHAP. XI. A REPLY TO THE FIFTH AND LAST OBJEC- TION, WHICH MAY BE URGED AGAINST THE Porrrair or St. Pau. A en ye perfons who have already fo earnestly refisted the truths for which we contend, will not fail to ex- claim in the last place, by way of an unanfwerable argument, G ? 152 ' THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ‘ What you require of pastors is unreafonable, in the highest — degree. If they are indeed called to labour for the falva- | tion of fouls, with the zeal and affiduity of St. Paul, the — holy ministry must be regarded as the most painful of all profeffions, and, of confequence, our pulpits will be fhortly unoccupied.” Monf. Ostervald, who forefaw this objeGion, has com- pletely anfwered it in his Third fource of the corruption, which reigns among chriftians: “ It will not fail to be objected,” fays this venetable author, “ that if none were to be admit- “ted to holy orders, except thofe, who are poffeffed of every “ neceffary qualification, there could not poffibly be procur- *‘ed a fufficient number of pastors for the fupply of our “ churches. ‘To which I anfwer; that it would be abun- «« dantly better to expole ourfelves to this inconvenience, “« than to viclate the exprefs laws of the written word. A «* {mall number of chofen pastors is preferable to a multitude ** of unqualified teachers.”? [One Elijah was more powerful than all the prophets of Baal.] ‘* At all hazards, we must *¢ adhere to the command of Gop, and leave the event to “‘ providence. But, in reality, this dearth of pastors is not fo “< generally to be apprehended. To reje& thofe candidates “¢ for holy orders, whofe labours in the church would be al- ‘together fruitlefs, is undoubtedly a work of piety; and *¢ fuch alene would be repulfed by the apprehenfion of a fe- ‘¢ vere {crutiny and anexaét difcipline. Others, on the con- “¢ trary, who are in a condition to fulfil the duties of the fa- “cred offiee, would take encouragement from this exactnefs ‘¢ and feverity ; and the ministry would every day be render- ** ed more refpectable in the world.”? Behold an anfwer truly worthy an apostolical man ! If it still be objected, by the generality of pastors, that what we require is as unreafonable, as it is unufual ; Permit me to afk you, my lukewarm brethren, whether it be not necef- fary, that you fhould ufe the fame diligence in your facred profeffion, with which your neighbours are accustomed to labou:, in their worldly vocations and purfuits ? The f/berman prepares a variety of lines, hooks, and baits ; - he knows the places, the feafons, and even the hours, that are most favourable to his employment ; nor will he refufe to throw his line feveral hundred times in aday. If he is dif- appointed in one place, he cheerfully betakes himfelf to ano- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ' 56 ther; and if his ill fuccefs is of any long continuance, he will affociate with thofe, who are greater matters of his art. Tell me then, ye paftors, who make the bufinefs of a fifherman the amufement of many an idle hour, do you really imagine, that lefs ardour and perieverance are neceffary to prepare fouls for Heaven, than to catch trout for your table. The hunt/man rejoices in expectation of the promifed chafe. He denies himfelf fome hours of ufual repofe, that he may haften abroad in purfuit of his game. He feeks it with un- wearied attention, and follows it from field to field with ene creafing ardour. He labours up the mountain: he rufhes down the precipice: he penetrates the thickeft woods, and _overleaps the moft threatening obftacles: He practifes the wildeft geftures, and makes ufe of the moft extravagant lan- guage: endeavourmg by every poffible means, to animate ” both dogs and men 1m the furious purfuit. He counts the fatigues of the chafe among the number of its pleafures: and _ through the whole infignijicant bufinefs of the day, he ats with as much refolution and fervour, as though he had under- taken one of the nobleft enterprizes in the world. The fowler with equal eagernefs purfues his different game. From ftubble to ftubble, and from cover to cover he urges his way. He pufhes through the ftubborn break, and takes his way along the pathlefs dingle: he traverfes the gloomy mountain, or wanders devious o’er the barren heath: and, after carrying arms all day, if a few trifling birds reward his toil, he returns rejoicing home. Come, ye fifhers of men! who, notwithftanding your con- fecration to Gon, are frequently feen to partake of thefe con- temptible diverfions ?. come, and anfwer by your condu&, to the following queftions. Is the flock committed to your charge, lefs eftimable than the fowl, which you fo laborioufly purfue? Or are you lefs interefted in the falvation of your people, than in the deftruétion of thofe unhappy quadrupeds, which give you fo much filly fatigue, and afford you fo much brutal pleafure ? Permit me, ftill further, to carry on my argument. Was the panting animal, which ufually accompanies your fteps ia the laft-mentioned exercife, incautioufly to plunge into a dangerous pit ; though faint with the labours of the day, and now on your return, would you carelefsly leave him to perifh 2. Would you not, rather, ufe every effort to extricate him from G5 154 THE PORTRAIT OF ST.'PAUL. apparent death; Could you even fleep or eat, yon had afforded him every poffible affiftance? And yet, youeat, you ~ fleep, you vifit; nay, it may be, you dance, you hunt, you ~ fnoot ; and that without the leaft,inquietude, while your ~ flocks are rufhing on from fin to fin, and falling from preci- pice to precipice. Ah! if athoufand fouls are but comparable .to the vileft animal, and if thefe are heedlefsly ftraying through the ways of perdition, may we not reafonably exhort you to ufe every effort in preferving them from the moft alarming danger, and in fecuring them from the horrors of everlafting death? ' ; But, pafling by thofe amufements, which fo generally en- gage your attention, let me reafon with you from one of the moft laborious occupations of life. You are called to be good foldiers of Jefus Chrif. And can you poflibly imagine, that jefs refolution and patience are required in a {piritual warrior, than in an earthly foldier ? Behold the mercenary, who, for . little more than food and clothing, is preparing to go on his twentieth campaign! Whether he is called to freeze beneath the pole, or to melt under the line, he undertakes the appoint- ed expedition with an air of intrepidity and zeal. Loaded with the weapons of his warfare, he is harraffed out with pain- ful marches : and after enduring the exceflive fatigues of the day, he makes his bed upon the rugged earth, or perhaps, paffes the comfortlefs night under arms. In the day of bat- tle, he advances againft the enemy amid a fhower of bullets, and is anxious, in the moft tremendous fcenes, to give proofs ofan unconquerable refolution. If, through the dangers of the day, he efcapes unhurt, it is but to run the hazard of another encounter: perhaps, to force an entrenchment, or to prefs throughabreach. Nothing, however, difcourages him; — but, covered with wounds, he goes on unrepining to meet the mortal blow. Allthis he fuffers, and all this he performs in the fervice of his fuperiors, and with little hope of advance- ment on his own part. : Behold this dying veteran, ye timorous foldiers of an om- fipotent prince! and blufh at your want of f{piritual intre- pidity. Are you not engaged inthe caufe of humanity, and m the fervice of Gop? Are you not commiffioned to refcue eaptive fouls from all the powers of darknefs? Do you not fight beneath Ais fcrutinizing eye, who is Kine of Kines, and Lorp of Lorps? Are you not contending within fight THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 155 of eternal rewards, and with the hope of an unfading inher- tance? And will you complain of difficulties, or tremble at danger? Will you not only avoid the heat of the engage ment, but even dare to withdraw from the ftandard of your fovereign Lord? Let me lead you again into the field; let me drag you back to the charge: or, rather, let me fhame your cowardice, by pointing you to thofe refolute command- ers, who have formerly fignalized themfelves under the ban- ners of your Prince. Emulate their example and you fhall fhare their rewards. But if, hitherto, you have neither contemplated the beauty, nor experienced the energy of thofe truths, by which St. Paul was animated to fuch adts of heroifm ; it is vain, that we exhort you to /bine among the foremoft ranks of chriftians, as inextinguifhable lights, holding up, againft every enemy, as atwo-edged fword, the word of everlaiting life. Inftead’ of this, it will be neceffary to place before you the excellence, and efficacy of this Apoftle’s do€trines, together with the ’ infinite advantages, which they procure to thofe, who cor- dially embrace them. And this we fhall endeavour to do in the fecond part of this work. Mean-while, we will conclude this firft-part, with a fhort exhortation from Chryfoftom’s fifty-ninth fermon upon St. Matthew. ‘“ Since the prefent “life is a continual warfare; fince we are at all times fur- “ rounded by an hoft of enemies, let us vigoroufly oppofe «« them, as our royal chieftain is pleafed to command. Let * us fear neither labour, nor wounds, nor death, Letus all ~ “ confpire mutually to affift and defend one another. And “let our magnanimity be fuch, as may add firmnefs to the “ moft refolute, and give courage to the moft cowardly.” - END OF THE FIRST PARTes wey 1a any ee Ws efttihs APIS vane Last 7 * Suir 5 oh Y db eett. ape ee sf me ae ha wh nd Oey Mas CRN a ie Bh) Ti navaat oy) few N bes ey ae ‘ SP BCMSLS. 54. alla * = ‘THE PORTRAIT or Sr. PAUL, Sc. PA Rr aT ——— ss] —— The Dofirines of an evangelical Paffor. HE minifter of the prefent age, being deftitute of chrif. tian piety, is neither able to preach, nor clearly-to com- prehend, the truths of the Gofpel. In general, he contents himfelf with fuperficially declaring certain attributes of the Supreme Being ; while he is fearful of {peaking too largely of grace or its operations, left he fhould be fufpeéted of enthu- fialm. He declaims againft fome enormous vice, or difplays the beauty of fome focial virtue. He affects to eftablith the doétrines of heathen philofophers : and it were to be wifhed, that he always carried his morality to as high a pitch, as fome of the moft celebrated of thofe fages. If he ever pro- claims the Lord Jefus Chrift, it is but in a curfory way, and chiefly when he is obliged to it, by the return of particular days. He himfelf continues the fame through all feafons ; _and the crofs of Chrift would be entirely laid afide, unlefs the temporal prince, more orthodox than the minifter, had appointed the paffion of our Lord to be the preacher’s theme, during certain folemnities of the church. ' With the evangelical paftor it is wholly otherwife : * Jefus Chrift,’ he is able to fay with St. Paul, ‘ fent me to preach the Gofpel, not with wifdom of words, left the crofs of Chrift fhould be madé of none effet. For the preaching of the crofs is, to them that perifh, foolifhnefs; but unto us, which are faved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will deftroy the vain wifdom of the wife, and will bring to no- 158 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. thing the falfe underftanding of the prudent. Hath not God made foolifh the wifdom of this world ? For after that the world by this wifdom,’ this boafted philofophy, knew not God, but refted in materialifm and idolatry, *‘ it pleafed God by the foolifhnefs of preaching, to fave them that believe.’ The preaching of the true minifter, which commonly paffes for folly in a degenerate world, is that through which Gop employs his power, for the converfion of finners and the edifi- cation-of believers. It comprehends all that is revealed in the old and new Teftament: but the fubjeéts on which it is chiefly employed, are the precepts of the decalogue, and the truths of the Apoftles’ creed. They may be reduced to four points: 1. True repentance toward God. 2. A lively faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift. 3. The fweet hope, which the Holy Spirit fheds abroad in the hearts of believers. 4. That chriftian charity, which is the abundant fource of all good works. Ina word, the good paftor preaches, repentance, faith, hope, and charity. Thefe four virtuesinclude all others, Thefe are the four pillars which fupport the glorious temple, of which St. Paul and St. Peter make the following men- tion: Ye are God’s building. Ye alfo, as lively ftones, are built up a fpiritual houfe. By fearching into the folidity of thefe four fupports, we may obferve how vaft a difference there is between the ma- terials of which they are compofed, and that untempered mortar, with which the minifters of the prefent day are ftriving to ere& a fhowy building upona fandy foundation. The evangelical paftor preaches True REPENTANCE toward God. ’ THE true minifter, convinced, both by revelation and - experience, that Jefus Chrift alone is able'to recover difeafed fouls, employs every effort to bring finners into the prefence of this heavenly phyfician, that they may obtain of him {piritual health and falvation. He is fully convinced, that he, who is not weary and heavy laden, will never apply for relief; that he, who is not for in-fpirit, will conftantly def- - pife the riches of the Gofpel ; and that they, who are unac« quainted with their danger, will turn a deaf earto the /oudef warnings of a compaffionate Saviour. His firft care, then, is to prefs upon his hearers the neceflity of an unfeigned re= THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, 159 pentance ; that, by breaking the reed of their vain confidence, he may conftrain them, with the poor, the miferadle, the blind, and the naked, to fall before the throne of divine juftice : whence, after feeing themfelves condemned by the law of Gop, without any ability to deliver their own fouls, he is confcious they will have recourfe to the throne of grace, en- treating, like the penitent publican, to he juftified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus. Tt is in this ftate of humiliation and compunétion of heart, that finners are enabled to experience the happy effets of that evangelical repentance, which is well defined in the xivth ' chap. of the Helvetic Confeflion: “ By repentance,” fay our pious reformers, “* we mean that forrow, or that difpleafure “ of foul, which is excited in a finner, by the word and fpirit “ of Gop, &c. By this new fenfibility, he is firft made to « difcover his natural corruption, and his actual tranfgreffions. «« His heart is pierced with fincere diftrefs ; he deplores them “‘ before Gop; he confeTes them with confufion, but with- “ out referve ; he abhors them with an holy indignation; he « ferioufly refolves, from the prefent moment, to reform his “ condu&, and religioufly apply himfelf to the pra¢tice of “ every virtue, during the remainder of his life. Suchis true “‘ repentance: it confifts, at once, in refolutely renouncing “ the devil, with eyery thing that is finful ; and in fincerely “ cleaving to Gop, with every thing that is truly good. «“ But we exprefsly fay, this repentance is the mere gift of « Gop, and can never be effe€ted by our own power.” It appears, by this definition, that our reformers diftinguifh- ed that by the name of repentance, which many theologitts have called the awaking of a {oul from the fleep of carnal fecurity ; and which others have frequently termed conver- fron. But, if finners-underftand and obtain the difpofition here defcribed, no true minifter will be over-anxious, that they fhould exprefs it in any particular form of words. , How fin and the neceffity of repentance entered into the DiitTd: OBSERVE the account, which the evangelical minifter gives, after Mofes and St. Paul, of the manner in which that _ dreadful infe@tion made its way into the world, that corrupt nature, that o/d man, that body of death, which Chrift the feed . of the woman came to deftroy. When ihe tempted woman - 160 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. faw, that the fruit of the tree, which Gop had forbidden her to touch, was fleafant to the eyes, good for food, and to be defired to make one wife, /be took thereof and did eat, and gave alfo unto her hufband with her, and he did cat. Thus entered into the very fountain-head of our nature that moral evil, that com- plicated malady, that luf of the ficfo, that luft of the eyes, and that pride of life, which the fecond Adam came to crucify in the flefh, and which is ftill daily crucified in the members of his myftical body. If Jefus Chrift never publicly difcourfed concerning the entry of fin into the world, it was becaufe his fermons were addreffed to a people, who had been long before inttruéted in a matter of fo great importance. On this account, he fimply propofed himfelf to Ifrael, as that promifed Meffiah, that Son of Gop and Sonof man, whoas about to repair the error of the firft Adam, by becoming the refurreCtion and the life of all thofe, who fhould believe in-his name. St. Paul was very differently circumftanced, when labouring among thofe nations which were unacquainted with the fall, except by uncertain and corrupt tradition. Behold the wif- dom, with which he unfolds to the Heathen, that funda- mental doétrine, which was not contefted among the Jews: The firft man Adam, the head of the human fpecies, was made a living foul; but Jefus Chrift, the laff Adam, was made a quickening fpirit ; and he alfo is the head of the human fpecies, for the head of every man is Chrift. The firft man is of the earth, earthy 3 the fecond man is the Lord from Heaven. As is the earthy, fuch are they alfo that are earthy [worldly :] and as is the heavenly, fuch are they alfo that are heavenly [rege- nerate.] dad as we have borne the image of the earthy, we, whofe fouls are already regenerate, /ball al/o bear the complete image of the heavenly ; when this mortal fhall have put on im- mortality ; For the fle/b and blood, which we have from the firft Adam, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. As human pride is continually exalting itfelf againft this humiliating do¢trine, fo the true mimifter as con{tantly re- peats it, crying out in the language of this great Apoftle : * All unregenerate men are under fin: there is none that underftandeth, there is none that feeketh after God: they are all gone out of the way, they are together become un- profitable: the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes: we know that whatfoever _ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 161 things the law faith,’ the natural or the mofaie law, ‘it faith to them that are under the law: that every mouth may be _ ftopped and alt the-world may become guilty before God. There is no difference ; for as all have finned and come fhort of the glory of God,’ fo all equally need the merits and affift- ance of * Jefus Chriit, whom God hath fet forth to bea pro- pitiation, through faith in his blood.’ All thofe, therefore, who, negle&ing Chrift, rely upon the works of the law, are under the curfe ; and all their endeavours to deliver themfelves, by their imperfeét obedience, are totally vain: For itis writ- ten, curfed is every one, that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, io do them. ‘Thus, by de- nouncing malediétions, as dreadful as the thunders from mount Sinai, againft every act of difobedience, the Jaw becomes our School-mafter to bring us unto Chrift, that we might be juftified by faith. This doétrine is maintained by all the Chriftian Churches. WHEN an evangelical minifter infifts upon the fall, the corruption, and the danger of, unregenerate man, he aéts in conformity to the acknowledged opinions of the pureft Churches. As I chiefly write for the French proteftants, I fhall here cite the confeffion of faith now in ufe among the French Churches. ‘ We believe,”’ fay they in the ix, x and xi articles of their creed, ‘‘ that man, having been creat- _*ed after the image of Gop, fell, by his own fault, from the “¢ grace he had received ; and thus became alienated from “‘ Gop, who is the fountain of holinefs and felicity ; fo that *¢ having his mind blinded, his heart depraved, and his whole * nature corrupted, he loft all his innocence.—We believe ~* that the whole race of Adam is infected with this conta- “ gion, that in his perfon we forfeited every blefling, and * funk into a ftate oh univerfal want and malediCtion.—We *¢ believe alfo that fin, &c. is a perverfenefs producing the .“ fruits of malice and rebellion.” The reformed Churches of Switzerland make as humilia- . ting a.confeffion. « Man,” fay they, ‘ by an abufe of his “liberty, fuffering himfelf to be feduced by the férpent, “ forfook his primitive integrity. “Thus he rendered himfelf « fubje& to fin, death, and every kind of mifery: and fuch “ as the firft man became by the fall, fuch are all his defcen- 162 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs “¢ dants.”? When we fay, man is fubje& to fia, we « mean “‘ by fin; that corruption of natures; which from the fall of — ‘¢ the firft man, has been tranfmitted from father to fon: ‘¢ vicious paffions, an ayerfion to that which is good, an in- *¢ clination to that which is evil, a difpofition to malice, a ‘‘ bold defiance and contempt of Gop. Behold the unhappy “¢ effects of that corruption, by which we are fo wholly de- “ bilitated, that of ourfelyes we are not able to do, nor even “to choofe, that which is good.” Helvetic Confeffion. Chap. viii. - Every man may find in himfelf fufficient proofs of thefe painful truths. * Gop is the creator of man,” fay ther Fathers who compofed the fynod of Berne, ‘and he in- “ tended that man fhould be entirely devoted to his God. *¢ But this is no longer his nature; fince he looks to creatures, “to his own pleafure, and makes an idol of himfelf.”? AG@s of Synod. Chap. viii. This doGrine is alfo fet forth in the Aufbourg confeffien ; as well as in the ix and x articles of the Church of Eng- land, where it is exprefled in the following terms: “ Origi- “nal fin ftandeth not in the following of Adam, but it is the “ fault and corruption of the nature ofevery man, whereby he ‘is very far gone from original righteoufnefs, and is of his “ own nature inclined to evil, fo that the flefh lufteth alway ‘* contrary to the fpirit ; and therefore, in every perfon born “¢ into this world, it deferveth Gop’s wrath and damnation.” —‘ The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is fuch, “¢ that he cannot turn and prepare himfelf, by his own natu- ‘¢ ral ftrength and good works, to faith and callmg upon’ “¢ God: wherefore we have no power to do good works, « pleafant and. acceptable to Gop, without the grace of Gop “ by Chrift preventing us, that we may have a good will, “and working with us when we have that good will.” Nothing lefs than a lively conviétion of the corruption, weaknefs, and mifery, defcribed in thefe confeffions of faith, can properly difpofe a man for evangelical repentance. Without evangelical repentance, alively faith in Chrift, or regenes ration by the Holy Spirit, will appear not only unneceffary, but abfurd. - AS the knowledge of our depravity, is the fource from ¢ ‘ THE PORTRAIT OF ST, PAUL. i 163 whence evangelical repentance and chriftian humility flow, fo it is the only neceflary preparation for that living faith, by which we are both juftified and fan@tified.. He who ob- ftinately clofes his eyes upon his own wretchednefs, fhuts him- felf up in circumftances which will not fuffer him to receive any adyantage from that glorious Redeemer whom God hath anointed to preach the Gofpel to the RooR ; to heal the BROKEN- HEARTED; tofrreach deliverance to Hie CAPTIVES, and recovers ing of fight to the BuinD ; to fet ai liberty THEM THAT ARE BRUISED; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Reafon itfelf declares, that if finful man is poffeffed of fufficient ability to fecure his own falvation, he needs no other Saviour, and Chriff is dead in vain. In fhort, fo far as we are unac- quainted with our degenerate eftate, fo far the important doétrine of regeneration muft neceffarily appear fuperfluous and abiurd. _ Here we may perceive one grand reafon, why the minif- ters of the prefent day, who are but fuperficially acquainted _ with the depravity of the human heart, difcourfe upon this myiterious fubje& in a flight and unfatisfaftory manner. _. The true minifter, on the contrary, following the example | of his great Mafter, {peaks upon this momentous change with affeGtion and power. Obferve the terms, in which our Lord himfelf declares this negleG&ed dottrine: Verily, verily ae Jay unto you, except a man be born of waier and of the {pirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. As though he fhould fay; the natural man, how beautiful an appearance foever he may make, is poffeffed of an heart fo defperately wicked, ' that unlefs it be broken by the repentance which John the ' Baptift preached, and regenerated by the faith which I de- clare, he can never become a citizen of Heaven: for the doors of my Kingdom muft remain everlaftingly barred /againit thofe ravening wolves, who difguife themfelves as fheep, and thofe painted hypocrites, who falute me as their _LorD, without embracing my doéirines and obferving my commands. Verily, therefore, J fay unto you, my firlt dif- _ ciples and friends, except ye be converted and become as little _ children, who are firangers to ambitious, envious, and impure thoughts, 2 /hall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. _. Such is the doétrine that is ftill able to convert every in- quiring Nicodemus. At firft it may perplex and confound : them: but at length, fubmitting to the wifdom of their hea- q venly teacher, they will cry, Impart to us, Lord, this rege nerating faith: and when once they have obtained their re-_ quett, they will adopt the prayer of the difciples, and proceed — like them, from faith to faith, till all things in their regene- rate hearts are become new. : But, if this doétrine is a favour of life unto fome, it is alfo a favour of death unto others. It gives offence to blinded | bigots, while modern infidels ftrengthen themfelves againft it, as Pharaoh once ftrengthened himfelf againft the authori- ty of Jehovah. Thus faith the Lord, {aid Mofes to that ob- ftinate Monarch, Let my peofile go that they may ferve me: and the haughty infidel replied, who is the Lord that J fhould obey his voice? I know not the Lord, neither will I, let Ifracl go. Come up out of myftic Egypt, faith the Son of Gop to every finful foul: Follow me, in the regeneration, and I will teach you to worfhip Gon in {pirit and in truth. . And who is the Son of Gon? replies fome petty Pharaoh: I know neither him nor his father, nor conceive myfelf in any wife 164 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. obliged to obey his commands. 1 Impious as this language may appear, that condu& of every irreligious chriftian muft be confidered as equivalent to it, according to thofe words of our Lord: He that defpif- eth my fervants, and my dotrines, defpifeth me; and he that defpifeth me, defpifeth him that fent me. Whatever mafk fuch a pharifaical profeflor may wear, he /oves the world; therefore the love of the Father is not in him; he bates both Chrift and his Father, his repentance is fuperficial, his faithis vain, and fooner or later, his a€tions or his words will teftify, that he, is an utter enemy to Chriit and his members. —~ 06 6 |S |S O0—— HOW THE FAITHFUL. PASTOR LEADS SIN- NERS TO REPENTANCE. W HAT was fpoken by Gop to Jeremiah, may in fome fort be applied to the true minifter : Lhave fet thee to root out and to plant, to full down and to build. For before the facred vine can be planted, the thorns of fin muft be root- ed up, together with the thiftles of counterfeit righteoufnefs : and before the ftrong tower of falvation can be erected, that THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 165 {piritual Babel muft be overthrown, by which prefumptuous _men are {till exalting themfelves againft Heaven. To lead finners into a ftate of evangelical repentance, the ‘true minifter difcovers to their view the corruption of the heart, with all the melancholy effects it produces in the cha- raéter and converfation of unregenerate men. - After he has denounced the anathemas of the law againft particular vices, fuch as fwearing, lying, evil-fpeaking, extortion, drunken- nefs, &c. he points out the magnitude of two general or pri- “mitive fins. The greateft offence according to the law, he declares to be that, by which its firft and great command is violated : confequently, thofe, who love not Gop beyond all » “created beings, he charges with living in the habit of damn- able fin; fince they tranfgrefs tHat moft facred of all laws, which binds us to love the Deity with all our heart. Hence, he goes on to convict thofe of violating a command like unto the firlt, who love not their neighbour as themfelves ; and to ‘thefe two fins, as to their deadly fources, he traces all the crimes, which are forbidden in the law and in the Prophets. _ And now he proceeds to lay open, before the eyes of pro- feffing chriftians, the two greateft fins which are committed under the Gofpel difpenfation. If the two great commands of Gop under the new covenant, are to this effect ; that we believe on his Son Jefus Chrift, and love one another ; it is evident, that the two greateft fins under the Gofpel, are, the want of that living faith, which unites us to Chrift, and that ardent charity, which binds us to mankind in general, as well as to believers in particular, with the bands of cordial affec- tion. As darknefs proceeds from the abfence of the fun and moon ; fo from thefe two fins of ommiffion, flow all the vari- ous offences, which are prohibited by the evangelical law. And if thofe, who are immerfed in thefe primitive fins, are . withheld from the a@tual commiffion of enormous offences, they are not on this account to be efteemed radically holy ; fince they are poffeffed of that very nature from which every crime is produced. Sooner or later, temptation and oppor- ‘tunity may caufe fome baneful fhoots to {pring forth in their outward condu@, in teftimony that a root of bitternefs lies deep within, and that the leaft impious of men carry about them a degenerate nature, abody of fin and death. To give more weight to thefe obfervations, he fets forth the greatnefs of the fupreme Being, enlarges on his juttice, and difplays the feverity of his laws. He tramplés under foot the pharifaical holinefs of finners, that ye may bring in- to -eftimation the real virtues of the new man, which after God is created in righteoufne/s and true holinefs. To awaken thofe who are fleeping in a ftate of carnal féeurity, he de- ~ nounces the moft alarming maledictions, calling forth againit them the thunders of mount Sinai, till they are conftraiaed to turn their faces Zion-ward ; till they feek for fafety in the Mediator of the new covenant, and haften to the gre) ling of that blood, which fpeaketh better things than the blood of Abel. | By this method, he conduéts his wandering flock to the. very point where ancient Ifrael ftood, when Gop had pre- pared them to receive the law by his fervant Mofes. Now after the people had heard the thunderingss and the noife of the trumpet 3 after they had feen the lightnings, and the mountain fmoaking: when, unable any longer to gaze on the dread- ful feene, they faid unto Mofes, [peak thou with us and we will hear ; but let not God {peak unto us, without a Mediator, Lf? qe die—Then it was that Mofes began to confole them in the following words: Fear not: for God is come to firove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that you fin not. So in the prefent day, they only, who are brought to this pover- ty of fpirit, are properly difpofed to receive the riches of di- vine mercy. As foon, therefore as the evangelical minifter has fufficiently alarmed a finner, with the terrors difcovered upon mount Sinai, he anxioufly prepares him for the confo- lations of the Gofpel, by a fight of the fuffering feene upon Calvary. Many pious divines have fuppofed, that, by preaching the cro{s of Chrift alone, mankind might be brought to true re- pentance. What the fathers of the Synod of Berne have faid upon this point, deferves the attention of thofe, who de- fire fuccefsfully to ufe that {piritual weapon, which is/barper ‘than any two-edged fword. 4 «« The knowledge of fin,” fay they, “ muft of neceffity be ** drawn from Jefus Chrift. The Apoftle writes thus, God «¢ commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet fin- «ners, Chrif? died for us. It follows, that fin nant have ¢¢ made us abominable and extremely hateful, fince the Son ' « of Gop could no other way deliver us from’the burden of it, than by dying in our ftead. Hence, we may conceive, 166 *THE PORTRAIT OF STs PAUL. HE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 167 « what a depth of mifery and corruption there isin the heart, « fince it was not able to be purified, but by the facrifice of _ * fo precious a victim, and by the {prinkling of the blood of _ Gop,” i. e. of a man miraculoufly formed, in whom dwelt _ all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily. ‘ The Apoftles have * clearly manifefted the finfulnefs of our nature by the death “of Chrift; whereas the Jews, afterall their painful refearches, “ were not convinced of fin by the law of Mofes. After a “ folid knowledge of fin has been drawn from the paffion of “¢ our Lord, there will naturally flow from this knowledge a “ true repentance ; that is, a lively forrow for fin, mingled *« with the hope of future pardon. To this neceflary work, « the Holy Spirit alfo powerfully contributes, bringing more ‘* and more to the light, by its myfterious operations, the *‘ hidden evils and unfufpe€&ted corruptions of the heart ; “ daily purifying it from the filthinefs of fin, as filver is pus “< rified by the fire.”” as of Synod, chap. viii. ix, xiv. HOW THE PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST, HIS FORERUNNER, AND HIS APOSTLES, PRE- PARED SINNERS FOR REPENTANCE. VER faithful to the word of Gon, the minifter of the Gofpel endeavours to humble the impenitent, by ap- pealing to the facred writers, and particularly to the declara- tions of Jefus Chrift. The corruption of the heart is the moft ancient and dread- ful malady of the human race. Man had no fooner made - trial of fin, but he was driven by it from an earthly paradife: and fo terrible were its firft effets, that the fecond man was feen to affaffinate the third. This moral contagion encreaf- ed through every age to fo aftonifhing a degree, that, be- fore the deluge, Gop ‘ faw that the wickednefs of man was great in theearth, and thatevery imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. After the fload, God ftill declared the imagination of man’s heart to be evil from his youth. The heart of man,’ faith he again long after that time, ‘ is deceitful above all things and defperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord fearch the heart, I try the reins.” r ‘ 168 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Our Lord himfelf, who perfeétly Anewy what was in man, ; being the phyfician who alone is able to heal us, and the Judge who will render to every one according to his works ; our Lord has defcribed mankind alienated from the chief ood, filled with averfion to his people, and enemies to Gop himfelf. J fend you forth, faith he to his difciples, as Jambs among wolves. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me, before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own; but becaufe I have chofen you out of the world, that ye fhould walk in my fteps, therefore the world hateth you. Ifth-y have perfecuted me, they will alfo perfecute you. All thefe things will they do unto you for my name’s fake, becaufe, notwithftanding their deifm and polytheifm, They know not him that fent me: For he that hateth me, hateth my father alfo. Thefe things have I told you, that when they fhall chafe you from their churches, as demons would chafe an Angel of light, ye may remember that I told you of them. rt The Jews were doubtlefs, in one fenfe, the moft enlighten- ed of all people; feeing they offered to the true Gop, a public worfhip unmixed with idolatry, were in poffeffion of the Law of Mofes, the Pfalms of David, together with the writings of the other Prophets, in which the duties required of man,. both with refpe&t to Gop and his neighbour, are traced out inthe moft accurate manner. Neverthelefs, Jefus Chrift reprefents-this enlightened people as univerfally cor- rupted in {pite of all thefe advantages: Did not Mo/es, faith he to them, give you the Law ? and yet None of you keepeth the Law. : What appears moft extraordinary in the fermons of our Lord, is the zeal with which he bore his teftimony againit the virtues of thofe Jews, who were reputed men of uncom- mon devotion. Although they piqued themfelves upon be- ing eminently righteous, he declared to his difciples, that, un- lefs their righteoufne/s fhould exceed the righteoufnefs of the {cribes and pharifees, they fhould in no cafe enter inta the Kingdom of — Heaven. And obferve the manner, in which he generally addreffed thofe religious impoftors : * Woe unto you fcribes and pharifees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outfide of the cup and of the plattes, but within they are full of ex- tortion and excefs’ [full of covetous defires and diforderly paffions ;] ¢ Thou blind pharifee, cleanfe firft that which is within—that the outfide may be clean alfo.’ is THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 169 ee, ; Nothing is more common than that blindnefs, which fuffers ‘a man to efteem himfelf better than he really is, and this blindnefs is, in every» period and in every place, the dif- tinguifhing characteriftic of a pharifee. This fpecies of hy- pocrify, with which St. Paul was once elated, agrees perfect- - dy well with the ordinary fincerity of finners, who blindly re- gard amufements the moft trifling and expectfive, as allowable and innocent pleafures; who look upon theatres, as fchools -of virtue; intrigue and deceit, as prudence and tafhion ; ‘pomp and profuiion, as generofity and decorum ; avarice, as frugality ; pride, as delicacy of fentiment ; adultery, as gal- lantry, and murder as an affair of honour. { To all fuch modern chriftians, may we not, with propriety, _ fepeat, what our Lord once openly addreffed to their pre- — deceffors? Without doubt, we are authorized, to cry out -againft them, with an holy zeal, * Woe unto you hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited fepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleannefs.. Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrify and iniquity.’ of Aypocrify, becaufe, your virtues have more appearance than folidity ; and of injuffice, becatfe you render not that which is due to Gop, to Czfar, or to your fellow-creatures, whe- ther it be adoration, fear, honour, fupport, or good-will. But, if the depravity of the Jews in general, and of the _ pharifees in particular, appear abundantly evident ; muft we fuppofe there were no happy exceptions among them? It is -true, the royal Prophet declares—‘ The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to fee if there were ‘any, that did underftand and feek God. They are all gone afide, they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no not one.’ But were not the difciples of our Lord to be confidered ina different point of view? No: even after the extraordinary affiftance afforded them by the Son.of Gop, the Apoftles themfelves did but confirm the fad affertion of the pfalmift. Our Lord, upon whom no ap- pearances could impofe, once teftified to James and John, that, notwithftanding their zeal for his perfon, they were un- -acquainted with his real charater; and that, inftead of bein g influenced by his fpirit, they were a€tuated by that of the ‘deftroyer. Ye then, being evil; faid he to all his difciples : Have not I chofen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? One H 170 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. of you fhall betray me—Peter who is the moft refolute to con- fels me, fhall deny me thrice—and all ye fall be offended becaufe of me. Laftly: our Lord conftantly reprefented the unre- generate, as perfons ¢ difeafed and condemned, They that are whole, faid he, have no need of the phyfician, but they that are fick: I came not to call the righteous, but finners to repentance. Ye are of this world, therefore I faid unto” you, that ye fhall die in your fins: for if ye believe not that I am He,’ and refufe to obferve the fpiritual regimen I pre- {cribe, ye fall die in your fins. Except ye repent, ye foall CT 1 fide a a notorious, that John the Baptift prepared the way of his adorable Mafter by preaching the fame doGrine: O generation of vipers, faid he to the pharifees and fadducees, to the profane and profefling part of the nation, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth there- fore fruits meet for repentance. It is equally well known, that the difciples were inftruéted by Chrift himfelf to tread in the fteps of his forerunner: /¢ behoveth, faid he, Chrift to fuffer ; and that REPENTANCE fhould be frcacked in his name among all nations. Hence an Apoltle was heard to cry out; Ged now commanded all men every where £o repent. And at other times, the fame divine teacher was infpired to write as follows: ‘ We, whoare Jews by na- ture, and not finners of the gentiles, were by nature the children of wrath even as others: for we were fometimes foolifh, difobedient, deceived, ferving divers luits and plea- fures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one ano- ther.’ The fame doétrine was conftantly held forth by the other Apoftles, as well as by St. Paul. In time paff, faith St. eter, we have wrought the will of the gentiles, walking in losivirufnefs, lufes, revellings, &c. The whole world lieth in awickednefs ; faith the beloved John: and St..James folemnly teftifies, that every friend of the world is the enemy of God. This humiliating do€&trme, which the world univerfally abhors, is a light too valuable to be hidden under a buthel : and till itis raifed, as it were, wpona candleftick of gold, we can never hope to fee the vifible church enlightened and re- formed, § | 5 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. U7 Obfervations upon the repentance of worldly men. IF it be enquired, do not all minifters preach repentance? we anfwer; that ordinarily, true minifters alone preach true repentance. The preachers of the day, as they are con- formable to the world in other things, fo they are perfeQly contented with pra@tifing the repentance of worldly men. Now as he, who receives only bafe coin, cannot poffibly cir- culate good money; fo he, who, fatisfies his own heart with a fhort-lived forrow for fin, cannot poffibly give free courfe to that evangelical repentance, which the Gofpel requires, And it is obfervable, that the hearers of fuch ill-inftruéted {cribes, generally fix thofe bounds to their repentance, which are fatisfa€tory to their impenitent paftors. The repentance, we here condemn, may be known by the following marks. 1. It is fuperficial, and founded only upon the moft vague ideas of our corruption: hence, it cannot, like that of David ‘and Jeremiah, trace fin to its fource, and bewail the depravity of the whole heart. 2. It is pharifaical, regarding only outward fins. The tighteoufnefs of the pharifees refted upon the moft trifling obfervances, while they neglected thofe weighty commands of the Law, which refpe€& the love of Gop and our neigh- , bour. - They afflifted themfelves, when they had not f{eru- puloufly paid the tenths of their herbs; but they fmote not upon their breafts, when they had rejected the glorious Gof- pel of Jefus Chrift. In the fame dangerous circumftances are thofe penitents of the prefent day, who are lefs forrowful on account of having offended Gop and rejefted Chrift, than that they are become objeéts of ridicule, contempt or punifh- ment, by the commiflion of fome impious or difhonourable action. We frequently hear thefe falfe penitents bewailing the condition, to which they have reduced themfelves, and giving vent to the moft paffionate expreffions of forrow. But, when are they feen to afflit themfelves, becaufe they have not been wholly devoted to Gop? Or when do they fhed a fingle tear at the recolleftion, that they have not che- rifhed their neighbour as themfelves? Are they ever heard to lament the want of that faith in Chrift, which worketh by love? Are they ever engaged in feeking after that communion °° Wwe THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. of faints, by which believers become of one heart and one foul? Alas! fo far are they from this, that they continue equally tranquil under the malediétions of the Gofpel, as under thofe of the Law. They hear, without terror, thofe dreadful words of the Apoftle, Jf any man love not'the Lord Jefus Chzift, let him be anathema maranatha: and though they neither Jove nor know him, yet they vainly look upon them- felves, as godly mourners and unfeigned penitents. 3. This repentance is anfruitful, inafmuch as thofe, who repent after this manner, are utter ftrangers to compunétion of heart. None of thefe are conftrained to cry out, Men and brethren, what fall we do ? They come not to the Redeemer among fuch as are weary and heavy laden. They have no experience of that godly forrow, by which the true penitent dies to fin: and fo far are they from being born again of the Spirit, that they neither expect, nor defire any {uch regenera- tion. In fhort, this repentance, is rarely as fincere as that of Judas, who confeffed his fin, juftified the innocent, fubdued his ruling paffion, and returned the money he had fo dearly gained. Evangelical repentance is an incomprehenfible work to the generality of minifters. Wherever it appears, they are pre- pared to cenfure it; and are earneft in exhorting men to fly from it, rather than requeft it as a gift from Gop. Thus, when they behold any one truly mourning under a fenfe of fin, {miting upon his breaft, with the publican, ftripping off, with St. Paul, the covering of his own righteoufnefs, and enquiring, with the convitted jailor, what muff I do to be faved? they fuppofe thefe to be certain figns of a deep melancholy : they imagine the converfation of fome enthufiait has driven the man to defpair, and will not feruple to affirm, that he has loft the proper ufe of his reafon. -So true it is, that the natural man réteiveth not the things of the {pirit of God, nor is even able to form any juft ideas of that repentance, which is the firft duty impofed upon us by the Gofpel, and the firft ftep toward that holinefs, without which no man fhall fee the Lord. The moralifts of the prefent time, acknowledge that all men are finners; but they negle€t to draw the juft confe-— quences from fo bad a truth. To be found a finer before an infinitely holy and juft Gop, is to forfeit, at once, both our felicity and exiftence. ‘To appear as an offender in the THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs 173 eyes of our all-feeing Judge, is to lie in the condition of a broken veffel, which the potter throws afide as refufe : it is to ftand in the circumitances of a criminal, conviéted of violating the moft facred laws of his Prince. The two moft important laws of Gop are thofe, which require piety toward himfelf, and charity toward our neighbour. Now if we have violated both the one and the other of thefe laws ; and that, times without number; it becomes us not only to con- fefs our tranfgreflion, but to confider our danger. Whena traitor is convicted of treafon, or an aflaflin of murder, he immediately expects to hear his fentence pronounced: and thus, when a finner confeffes himfelf to be fuch, he makes a tacit acknowledgment, that fentence of death might juftly be ‘pronounced upon him. Some perfons are naturally fo fhort-fighted, that they can only difcover the moft ftriking objects about them. Many in the moral world are in familar circumftances, to whom nothing appears as fin, except impieties of the groffeit kind. If we judge of Gon’s commands according to the prejudices of thefe men, idolatry is nothing lefs than the act of prottrat- ing ourfelves before an idol: and murder is merely the a, by which a man deftroys the life of his fellow-creature. But, if thefe deluded perfons could contemplate fin in a {crip- tual light ; if they could avail themfelves of the Law of Gop, as of az obfervatory erected for facred meditation, their moral view would be fufficiently ftrengthened to difcover the following truths. _. 1. If we have not, at all times, placed a greater confidence in the Creator, than in any of his creatures ; if we have either feared or loved any one more than our celeftial parent, we ‘have then really fet up another Gop, in oppofition to the Lord of heaven and earth. : 2. If, neglecting to worfhip. him in fpirit and truth, we have fuffered ourfelves to be feduced by any fplendid vanity of the age, we have finned, in the fame degree, as though we had fallen down before a molten image. 8. If, in our cenverfation, our reading, or our prayers, we have ever irreverently pronounced the name of God, we have then taken that /acred name in vain: and Gop himfelf de- clares, that he will not hold fuch a one guiltlefs, 4. If we have refufed to labour diligently, through the week, in the work of our particular calling ; or if we have H3 174 THE PORTRAIT°OF ST. PAUL. ever made the fabbath a day of fpiritual indolence and fri-\ volous amufement ; then we have negleéted and broken that Law, which we are peculiarly commanded to remember and heen. { a If we have, at any time, been wanting in obedience, . tefpe&, or love, to our parents, our paftors, our magiftrates, or to any of our fuperiors ; or if we have negleéted any of thofe duties,-which our relations in fociety, or our particular vocation has impofed upon us, we have merited that Gop fhould cut us off from the land of the living. 6. If we have weakened our conftitution by excefs of any kind ; if we have ftruck our neighbour in a moment of paf- fion: if we have ever fpoken an injurious word; if we have — ever cait a look direfted by malice; if we have ever formed * in our hearts a fingle evil wifh againft any perfon whatever, or if we have ever ceafed to love our brother ;—we have then, in the fight of Gop, committed a {pecies of murder. 7. If we have ever looked upon a woman with any other feelings than thofe of chaftity ; or if we have, at any time, caft a wifhful glance upon the honours and pleafures of the world ; we have fufficiently proved the impurity of our na- ture, and muft be confidered, as living in enmity with God. 8. If we have received the profit annexed to any poft or employment, without carefully difcharging the duties in- cumbent upon us, in fuch, fituation; or if we have taken advantage either of the ignorance, or the neceffity of others, in order to enrich ourfelves at their expence ; we may juftly rank ourfelves with thofe, who openly violate the eighth command. 9. If we have ever offended againft truth in our ordinary converfation; if we have neglected to fulfil our promifes, or have ever broken our vows, whether made to Gop or man ; we have reafon, in this refpeét, to plead guilty before the tribunal of immutable truth. - 10, If we have ever been diffatisfied with our lot in life; . if we have ever indulged reftlefs defires, or have given way to envious and irregular wifhes; we have then affuredly admitted into our hearts that covetoufnefs, which is the root of every evil. . a When St. Paul confidered the Law, in this point of view, he cried out: /¢ és /piritual ; but I am carnal, fold under fin. And when Ifaiah, paffing from the letter to the fpirit, dif- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 175 covered the vaft extent of the decalogue, he exclaimed : | Woeis me! for I am a man of unclean lips, and I davell in the | midft of a people of unclean lips. If our felf-applauding mo- - ralifts would be perfuaded to weigh their piety in the fame balance, they. would find it as defective, at leaft, as that of Lfaiah and St. Paul. Here, perhaps, fome objeéting pharifee may fay; if I have finned in fome degree, yet 1 have not committed /uch crimes as many others have done: and I truft, that Gop will not be fevere in attending to trifling fins. But, 1. Thefe pretended #rifling fins are ordinarily of {o great a number, that the multitude of them becomes equivalent to the enormity of thofe crimes, which are rarely committed: fo mountains and feas are but colleétions of grains of fand and drops of water. 2. Every voluntary tranfgreffion argues a real contempt of the Legiflator’s authority ; and in fuch contempt, there is found the feed of every fin that can poflibly be committed, in oppofition to his exprefs command. All the commands of Gop, whether they be gréat or fmall, have no other fanction than that which confifts in his divine authority, and this au- thority is trampled under foot, by every petty delinquent, as well as by every daring tranfgreffor. 3. Thofe, which we ufually efteem frivial fms, are the more dangerous on account of their being lefs attended to. They are committed without fear, without remorfe, and generally without intermiffion. As there are more fhips of war deftroyed by worms, than by the fhot of the enemy ; fo the multitude of thofe, who deftroy themfelves through ordinary fins, exceeds the number of thofe who perifh by en- ormous offences. ; 4. We have a thoufand proofs, that {mall fins will lead a man, by infenfibie degrees, to the commiffion of greater. Nothing is more common among us than the custom of fwear- - ing and giving way to wrath without reafon ; and thefe are ufually regarded as offences of an inconfiderable nature. But there is every reafon to believe, that they who have contracted thefe vicious habits, would be equally difpofed to perjury and murder, were they affailed by any forcible temptation, and urreftrained with the dread of forfeiting their honour or their life. If we judge of a commodity by obferving a {mall fample ; fo by little fins, as well as by H 4 176 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs trivial aéts of virtue, we may form a judgment of the heart. Hence the widow’s two mites appeared a confiderable obla- tion in the eyes of Chrift, who judged by them, how rich an offering the fame woman would have made, had fhe been © poileffed of the means. For the fame reafon, thofe frequeat exclamations, in which the name of Gop is taken in vain, thofe poignant railleries, and thofe frivolous lies, which are produced in common converfation, difeover the true difpofi- tion of thofe perfons, who, without infult or temptation, can violate the facred laws of piety and love. The fame feeds’ produce fruit more or lefs perfe&t, according to the fterility or luxuriance of the foil in which they are fown. Thus the very fame principle of malice which leads a child to torment an infe&, ats more forcibly upon the heart of a flanderous woman, whofe higheft joy confifts in mangling the reputa- tion of a neighbour: nor is the cruel tyrant actuated by a different principle, who finds a barbarous pleafure in per- fecuting the righteous, and fhedding the blood of the in- nocent. : If prejudice will not allow thefe obfervations to be juft, reafon declares the contrary. The very fame aétion that, in certain cafes, would be efteemed a failing, becomes, in fome circumftances, an offence ; and in others, an enormous crime. For inftance—If I defpife an inferior, I commit a fault; if the offended party is my egual, my fault rifes in magnitude ; if he is my /uperior, it is greater ftill: if he is a re{peCtable magiftrate—a beneficent prince—if that prince is my fovereign Lord, whofe lenity I have experienced after repeated aéts of rebellion ; who has heaped upon me many kindneffes ; who means to beftow upon me {till greater fa- vours: and if after all, I have been led to deny and oppofe him, my crime is undoubtedly aggravated, by all thefe cir- cumftances, to an extraordinary degree. But, if this offend- ed benefactor is Lord of Lords and King of Kings—the Creator of man—the Monarch of Angels—the Ancient of days, before whom the majefty of all the monarchs upon ~ earth difappears, as the luftre of a thoufand ftars is eclipfed by the prefence of the fun—if this glorious Being has given his beloved Son to fuffer infamy and death, in order to pro- cure for me eternal life and celeftial glory—my crime muft then be aggravated in proportion to my own meannefs, the greatnefs of benefits received, and the dignity of my exalted THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 177 Benefa&tor. But our imagination is bewildered, when we attempt to {can the enormity, which thefe accumulated cir- cumftances add to thofe aéts of rebellion, denominated fins. They, who are not working out their /alvation with fear | and trembling, mutt neceffarily live in the practice of fome conftitutional fin; and this felf-indulgence, however fecret it may be, will not fuffer them to perceive the demerit of their daily tranfgreffions. An old debauchee, whofe chicf delight has been in feducing women, or an infamous, mur- ~-derer, who has fhed human blood like water, may as eafily conceive the horror that adultery and murder excite in virtu- ous fouls. Before we can form a rational judgment of fin and the punifhment it deferves, it becomes us to entertain juft ideas of moral order; to mark the obligation laid upon the fu- preme legiflator to maintain that order by wholefome laws, and to difcover, in fome degree, the fanétity, the excellence, and the extent of thofe abfolute commands. It is neceflary to underftand the dependance of the creature upon the Crea tor; fince the image formed by the prefence of an objec before a mirror, is not more dependant upon that object, than all orders of created beings depend upon the Creator. if he withdraws his proteéting hand, they are no more; if he ftretches out the arm of his vengeance, they are plunged, at once, into an abyfs of mifery. We mutt reflec upon all ‘ the various obligations, under which we lie to the Almighty, as Creator, Preferver, Redeemer, and Comforter. We mutt confider thofe examples of his vengeful juftice, which he has placed before our eyes, on purpofe to awaken our fears : together with the unmerited favours, by which he has con- ftantly fought to engage our grateful affeGtion. It becomes us likewife, to obferve the vanity of all thofe appearances, by which we are allured into fin: and laftly, it is neceffary to. remember, that God will bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing. While we pay not a proper atten- tion to every one of thefe circumftances, we mutt neceffarily form an imperfe&t judgment concerning the nature of fiv, the feverity with which Gop has determined to punifh it, and the greatnefs of that expiatory facrifice, by virtue of which his juftice and his mercy unite in pardoning the penitent. When the law of Gon is wilfully tranfgreffed, it is ridi- kao. Or RE es . 178 THE PQRTRAIT OF ST. PAULa culous in any man to attempt the juftification of himfelf, by pleading that he has committed no enormous crimes; or - — that, if ever he has been guilty of any fuch offences, his — good aétions have always been fufficient to counterbalance their demerit. Frivolous excufes! Is not one treafonable at fufficient to mark the traitor? Is not that foldier pu- nifhed as a deferter, who fties his colours but a fingle time ? And does not a woman forfeit her honour by one moment’ _ of weaknefs ? : r Though we grant, there are fome fins of a peculiarly * atrocious kind ; yet as murder will always appear, before an earthly tribunal, according to its horrible nature, fo fin will ever be confidered as fuch before an infinitely holy Gop. If a man accufed of having wilfully poifoned a fellow-crea- ture, fhould addrefs his judge in terms like thefe ;—The charge brought againft me is juft: but let it be confidered, that the perfon I have deftroyed was only an infant—that he was the child of a common beggar—and that this is the only murder I have committed through the whole of my life. On the other hand, I have been a conftant benefactor to the poor ; and furely a thoufand aéts of charity will abun- dantly outweigh one little dofe of arfenic. No; the Judge would anfwer ; when you prolonged the life of the indigent by your alms, you merely performed a duty, which is uni- verfally required of every worthy citizen; and the law allows you nothing on this account. But if you have given the {malleft dofe of poifon to any human creature, with an intent to deftroy his hfe, the law pronounces you a murderer, and will punifh you as fuch. After our firft parents had offended by eating the for- bidden fruit, they had but vainly excufed themfelves in fay- ing: * We have gathered only that, which appeared to be of little worth—we have tafted it but once—moreover, our la- bour in the garden is of much greater value than the fruit we have taken. Lord! condemn us not to death for fo in- confiderable an offence.” Such, however, are the frivolous excufes with which every blinded moralift contents his feared eonfcience, and with which he hopes to fatisfy his omnifcient judge. When St. Paul was one of this clafs, he prattifed upon. himfelf the fame delufions. Capable only of natural fentiments, the hidden truths of a fpiritual law were not only incomprehenfible, but vain and foolifh things in his eftima~ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ~ 179 tion. - This we learn from the following paflage in his epif- tle to the Romans : / was alive without the law once, payg little attention to the fpirituality of its precepts, or the fe- verity of its threatenings, and indulging no fufpicion either of my corruption, or my condemnation. But when the com- mandment came, in its fpiritual energy, /im revived, affuming an appearance fuited to its infernal nature, amd, received a fentence of death in myfelf, 7 died. I had not then known fim, but by the law: for I had not known luff, which is the ~fource of every evil, and firft caufe of our condemnation, excefit the law had faid, thou fhalt not covet. Every fincere chrifian, in imitation of this Apoftle, may with propriety fay ; there are various fins, which I had never feen as fuch, but by the light of the Gofpel: for example, I had lived in fecurity with refpe& to abufing the faculty of fpeech, and had never known the Almighty’s intention of judging me upon that article, if Chrift himfelf had not openly declared ; Every idle word that men fhall [peak, they fball give account thercof in the day of adgment: for by thy words thou Jaali be jaftified, and by thy words thou foalt be condemned. If thofe, who truft in their own righteoufnefs, would ferioufly examine themfelves by the twofold law of Mofes and of Chrift, they would form a new judgment of their fpiritual cireumftances, and pafs, with St. Paul, from the eftate of the pharifee, into that of the publican. Further—iins of omiffion, as well as thofe of commifiion,, - are fufficient to draw upon us the malediétions of the law, which equally commands us to do good and to abftain from evil. Offences of this nature are feldom regarded as fins by the generality of mankind: and hence, they are wholly un- alarmed at the recolle€tion ofthem. To Iack diligence in our duties, moderation in our joys, attention in our prayers, and zeal in oue-devotions ; to live without gratitude toward our divine benefaétor, without refignation under loffes, pa- tience in affiGiion, confidence in Gon during times of dan- ger, and content in the flate to which he has called us ; to want humility toward our fuperiors, courtefy toward our equals, aftbility toward our inferiors, meeknefs toward thofe- who difpleafe us, faithfulnefs to our word, ftri& truth in our. converlation, or charity in the judgment we form of others— All thefe are things that never diiturb the repofe of a world- Ty man; nor does he eiteem them as real offences in the H & . 180 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL fight of Gop. He confiders not, that an inattentive nurfe may as effeGtually deftroy a child, by withholding from it proper nourifhment, as though fhe obliged it to fip a poifo- nous draught; that a foldier would be condemned to death, if the enemy fhould furprize a town while he was fleeping on his poft, equally as though he had been bufy in opening the gates for their admiffion ; and that Chrift reprefents the want of an holy fervour, as the grand reafon why lukewarm chriftians excite in him the utmoft deteftation and abhorrence. An entire chapter in the Gofpel is employed to teach us that fins of omiffion will conftitute the principal caufe of a finner’s condemnation at the lait day. - The flothful fer- yant is cait into outer darknefs, not for having robbed ano- ther of his talent, but for the non-improvement of his own: —_——s the foolifh virgins are excluded from the marriage feaft, not for having betrayed the bridegroom, but becaufe they were - unprepared to receive him ; and every chriftian is acquainted © with that terrible fentence, which fhall one day be pronoun- ced upon the wicked—Depart from me ye curfed ; for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: &c. To have that reli- gion, whichis pure and undefiled before God, it is not only ne- ceflary that we keep ourfelves unfpotted from the world, but we mutt alfo vifit the fatherle/s and widows in their afflidion; te- lieving the unfortunate to the utmoft of our ability,.and ex- - erting our power in fpreading truth an happinefs among all around us. : Thus hunted at length, from many a dangerous fhelter, unhumbled finners’ will ftill prefume to‘adopt the following plea—we pray, we falt, we give alms, we receive the holy fa- crament: and what more do you require? Such was the foundation ef the ancient pharifees’? hope: but Chrift and his Apofiles overthrew their vain confidence, by the fame arguments, which evangelical minifters are {till obliged to turn againit multitudes of religious profeffors, who indulge an exalted opinion of their own contemptible merits. The Golpel requires, fay thefe faithful paftors, that, to : the external marks of religion, you fhould be carefulto add humility and charity ; and if thefe two capital graces are wanting, your religionis but a body without a foul. You have received the holy facraments of our church: but what falutary effe€ts have they produced in your life and conver- fation ?. The circumcifion, which faved the Jews, was not the la THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 18s! circumcifion of the flefh, but that of the heart: and the bap- tifm, which faves chriftians, is not that by which the body is f{prinkled with water, but that which’purifies the foul. So the faffover, which was acceptable to Gop on the part of the Jews, confifted not fimply in eating the pafchal lamb ; but in penetrating their fouls with gratitude, on recollecting the many wonderful deliverances, which the Almighty had wrought for his people. And the communion, which is acceptable on the part of chriftians, confifts not merely in receiving the confecrated elements, as various claffes of fin- ners are accuitomed to do ; but in uniting themfelves to the Lord by a living faith, and to all his members by an ardent charity. You fray—And did not the pharifees fo? yea, they were remarkable for their long and zealous prayers: but, alas! while they acknowledged Gop with their lips, their hearts were far from him. You give alms—but, if you mean with thefe to purchafe Heaven, you do but deceive your own fouls, while your pretented charity degenerates in- toinfolence: or, if you merely feekto procure the reputation of being charitably difpofed ; you have your reward. You faff—but, if you do this chiefly through cuftom, or through refpe& to the orders of your Prince, your faft can no more be counted re/igiows, than the regimen prefcribed you by a phyfician : and if thefe fats have not produced in you a fin- cere repentance, and a true converfion, however you may re- gard them as atts of devotion, they are in reality no other than aéts of hypocrify. Moreover, the pharifees, fafted twice in the week; while you, it may be, are among the number of thofe, who imagine they have made a valuable facrifice to Gop, by abftainng from a fingle repaft in a year. As pharifaical moralifts have fought out fo many inventions, to evade the neceffity of an unfeigned repentance; and as philofophizing chriftians rife up with one confent againft this dotrine of the Gofpel; we fhall conclude this fubje&, by difclofing the fources of their common error. 1. There are phantoms of virtue, or virtues purely natural, which pafs in the world for divine. But, whoever imagined the dove to be really virtuous, becaufe fhe is not feen, like the eagle, to make a ftoop at birds of a weaker frame than _ herfelf? or who fuppofes wafps to be generous infe€ts, becaufe they are obferved mutually to defend themfelves, when their nelt is attacked? Is not the conjugal and maternal tendernefs _ 182 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs of the human fpecies apparent, in an eminent degree, amone various tribes of the feathered kind? And do we not fee, among bees and ants, that ardent patriotifm, which was fo highly extolled among the Romans? Does not the f{pider exhibit as manifeft proofs of ingenuity and vigilance, as the moft induftrious artift ? And do not carnivorous animals dif- cover all that fearlefs intrepidity, which is fo univerfally boafted of by vain-glorious heroes? Let us not miftake in a matter of fo much importance: as nothing but charity can give to our alms the value of good works, fo nothing lefs than the fear of Gop, and a fincere intention of pleafing him, can give, to our moft valuable propenfities, the ftamp of folid vir- tues. If we could completely expofe the worthlefs alloy, which worldly men are accuftomed to pafs off as fterling vir- tue, many of thofe, who now efteemthemfelves rich in good works, would be conftrained to abhor themfelves and repent in duft and afbes. 2. Many perfons indulge too favourable ideas of the hu- man heart, through their ignorance of that unfullied purity, which Gop requires.of his intelligent creatures. They judge of themfelves and others, as a peafant judges of a theme replete with folecifms, who far from exprefling the difeern- ment of a critic, admires the vaft erudition of the young compofer. Thus, fome external aéts of devotion are ap- plauded by undifcerning chriftians, as commendable works, which in the fight of Gop, and before holy fpirits, appear altogether polluted and worthy of punifhment. 8. If we are fometimes deceived by our own ignorance, we more frequently impofe upon others, by our innate hy- pocrify. Unregenerate men, after having thrown a cloak over their diftinguifhing vices, are anxious to make a parade of virtues, which they do not. poflefs. ‘The proud man is, fometimes, obferved putting on the garb of humility, and with the moft lowly obeifance, profeffing himfelf the very humble fervant of an approaching ftranger. Immedefty is frequently mafked with an affefted air of chaftity and bafh- fulnefs; hatred, envy, and duplicity, vail themfelves under the appearances. of good-nature, friendfhip, and fimplicity : and this. univerfal hypocrify contributes to render its praéti- tioners lefs outwardly offenfive, than they would otherwife be; as an unhandfome woman appears lefs defective, to.a dif- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 183 tant beholder, after having nicely varnifhed over the blemifhes of her face. 4. It frequently happens, that one vice puts a period to the progrefs of another. ‘Thus vanity, at times, obliges us to act contrary to the maxims of avarice, avarice contrary to thofe of indolence, and indolence contrary tothofe of ambition. A refined pride is generally fufficient to overcome contemp- tible vices, and may influence us to the performance of many exterior virtues. Hence, the impious and fordid pharifee went regularly to the temple: he prayed, he fafted, he gave alms ; and, by all thefe appearances of piety and benevolence, acquired the commendation of the world. Society makes a kind of gain by thefe aés of difimulation, which are as the homage paid to wirtue by vice, and by impiety to devotion. But, netwithftanding every plaufible appearance, that can poffibly be put on, when the minifter of the Gofpel declares the fall of man, together with the abfolute need of regenera- tion, he is fupported at once, by revelation, reafon, and ex- rience. 5. Ifthe moral diforder, with rahicis human nature is ins fe&ted, appears not always at its utmoft height, it is becaufe regeneration having commenced in many perfons of every rank, the wicked are overawed by the influence of their ex- ample. Add to this, that Gop reftrams them, as with a bridle, by his providence, and by thofe motions of confcience, which they vainly endeavour to ftifle. _ It is notorious, that the fear of public contempt and punifhment, is fometimes able to arreft the moft abandoned in their vicious career; fince they cannot difcover what they really are, without arming againft themfelves the fecular power. Thus the terror which prifons and gibbets infpire, conftrains ravening wolves to ap- pear in the garb of inoffenfive fheep. But is it pofhible, that: innocence fo conftrained, fhould be accounted of any value, even among Heathens themfelves? It is impoffible, fince. we find one of their own poets declaring— Oderunt peccare mali, formidine pene. _ The wicked abftain from mifchief, through fear of punifh- ment. And all the recompenfe, he conceives due to fuch guililefs perfons, confifts in not becoming the food of ravens upon a gibbet: non pafces in cruce corvos. 6 If fervile fear is Divalles the caufe of our innocence, 184 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. neceffity is more commonly the caufe of our apparent virttes., A youth of any modetty is generally cautious among his fu-- periors, who afford him neither money to indulge, nor liberty to difcover his inclinations. Now, if this forced difcretion _fhould, at length, become habitual to him, he may in fuch circumftauces efteem himfelf a virtuous man, becaufe he has not, like the fon of a diffolute courtier, plunged himfelf into. every kind of impiety: whereas had he enjoyed but equal liberty with the licentious rake, he might have furpaffed him in every finful excefs. On the other hand, when an infamous. voluptuary, enfeebled either by age or by his frequent de-- baucheries, finds it abfolutely needful to live in more fober and orderly ftile, immediately he takes himfelf for another Cato; not confidering, that neceffity alone is the fource of his temperance. The leaft excefs diforders his health, and the weaknefs of his ftomach obliges him to abitain from thofe- luxurious feafts, which he can ftill converfe of with fo much fatisfaGtion. If {uch a one is virtuous, becaufe no longer able. to rufh into his former excefles ; then we may prove the moft. incorrigible robber to be an honeft man, while the irons are on his hands, or when, feared by the officers of juftice, he: flies to fome fecret retreat. Has that woman any reafon to: boaft of her virtuous conduct, who was never folicited by thofe men, who were mott likely to have triumphed over her: modefty ? And yet, many fuch, filled with felf-approbation,, will frequently applaud their own innocence, placing that to, the account of virtue, which was merely owing to providential; circumftances ; or, perhaps to the want of perfonal attraétion.. Such plaufible appearances no more merit the commendation: due to folid virtue, than the fickly wolf, who peaceably paffes. by a flock of theep, can be faid to deferve the carefles, which: a fhepherd beftows upon his faithful dog. 7. Effe€tually to impofe upon others by a beautiful out-. fide, we pratice a deeper deceit upon our own hearts: and. very frequently we fucceed as well, in hiding from ourfelves. our own evil difpofitions, as in concealing from others our un- worthy aétions. Could we difcover all that fecretly paffes in the world, we fhould not want demonftrative proofs of the. depravity of the human heart. But why need we go.abroad in fearch of a truth, which is eafily evidenced at home? Had we ourfelves but dared to have executed openly, what we have acted in imagination, when our irafcible or concupifcible THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 185 paflions have been roufed, where fhould we have hidden our guilty heads, or how fhould we have efcaped the {word of juftice? Convinced too late of our degenerate nature, we fhould, haply, have fmitten upon dur breafts, with the re- pentant publican, adopting long ago his humiliating confef- fion, in the anguifh of our fouls. Every thinking perfon mutt allow, that had evil intentions fallen under the cognizance of human laws, and had the fecular power poffefled equal ability to punifh them, as it punifhes thofe aGtions, of which they are the very root and foul, the whole earth mutt, in fuch cafe, have become as vaft a {caifold, as it is now a place of groves. Can it be neceffary to multiply obfervations upon this head, when the Almighty, whofe mercyand juftice arein- finite, fufficiently declares the univerfal depravity of mankind, by the variety of fcourges, with which He is conflained to punifh both individuals and commonwealths? 8. If the children of this world are unable to form any jut conception of the human heart and its evil propenfities, . it is becanfe they are in the number of thofe natural men, of whom the Apoftle Paul makes mention. And fuch, haying a natural antipathy to the Gofpel, while they are ever ready to caft reproach upon the faithful, are equally prepared to favour thofe of alike difpofition with themfelves. Thus Herod, Caiaphas, and Pilate, mutually overlooked the faults of each other, while they united in accufing and perfecuting’ ‘Chrift. It is ufual with thofe, who are deftitute of true religion, to efteem fome among their finful companions, as moral and ' well-difpofed men: but, were they themfelves to be convert- _ ed, their error in this refpeét, would foon become apparent. Upon daring to oppofe any torrent of impiety, with the zeal of their heavenly Matter, inftead of finding among their affoci- ates any natural difpofition to real virtue, they would meet with indifputable proofs, in fpite of a thoufand amiable qualities, that all unregenerate men refemble one another, in their enmity againft God. Yes; ; whether they inhabit the banks of the Thames, or the Seine; the lake of Genefareth, or that of Geneva; they are in thefight of Gop, as filthy Jfwine trampling under foot the pearls of the Gofpel, or like inch wolves outrageoully tearing in pieces the Lamb of - Gop. It might, perhaps, have been objected, that this Portrait 186 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. is overcharged, had not Chrift himfelf, who is immutable Truth and unfearchable Love, pencilled out the gloomieft traits obfervable in it. Following fuch a guide, though we may give much offence, yet we can never err. THE SECOND POINT OF DOCTRINE, INSISTED UPON BY THE TRUE MINISTER, IS A Livine Faira. O thew the neceffity of repentance, without publifhing the remiffion of fins, through faith in Jefus Chrift, would be to open a wound without binding it up. It © would be leading finners to the brink of atremendous gulph, and cutting off all poffibility of their retreat. But nothing can be more contrary to the intention of the faithful minifter, than to {port with the miferies of man, or ultimately to ag- gravate his diftrefs. ( When he has difcovered to his hearers that natural propen- fity to evil, which manifefts its exiftence in every heart, by a variety of external tranfgreflions: when he has convinced them, by the word of Gop, and by an appeal fo every man’s confcience, that they are unable to deliver themfelves, either from that fatal propenfity, or its dreadful confequences; after he has thus demonftrated the need, in which they ftand of a Redeemer, who hath al] power in Heaven and in earth, if they harden not their hearts; if they ftand, like the firft finner, naked and trembling before Gop, having received the fentence of death in themfelves—In a word, when they cry out, like the publicans and foldiers alarmed by the preaching of John, what foall we do ? ‘They are then properly difpofed to receive the glorious Gofpel of Chrift, and will be enabled to experience its powerful effeéts. From this time, the evangelical paftor affeGtionately preaches remiffion of fins through fash in the name of a merciful Redeemer. This is the very fame method, which Chrift and his fore~ runner purfued. Behold the Lamb of God, whith taketh away the fins of the world, was the cry of John the Baptift. And bleffed, faid our Lord, ‘are the poor in fpirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. God fo loved the world, that he gave his only-begatten Son, that whofoever BELIEVETH in THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: 187 him, fhould not perifh, but have everlafting life. He that BELIEVETH on the Son, hath everlafting life: and he, that BELIEVETH not the Son, fhall not fee life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Whofoever fhall drink of the water, that I fhall give him, fhall never thirft ; but # fhall be in him a well of water, a fource of facred confolation, {pringing up in- to everlafting life.’ Again, when it was enquired by the multitude, * what fhall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jefus faid unto them, this is the work of God, that ye BELIEVE on him, whom he hath fent. And this is the will of him that fent me, that every one which feeth the Son and BEeLieveTH on him, may have everlafting life :' and T will raife him up at the laftday .? Thus it was, that our * adorable Mafter proclaimed falvation through faith in him- felf: and, indeed, it was for this end alone, that he appeare ed upon earth ; as we learn from the laft addrefs he made to his difeiples—J¢ behoved, faid he, Chrift to fuffer, and to rife Srom the dead the third day, that remiffion of fins frould be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerufalem, the abode of his murderers. Obferve the great commiffion given to thofe meffengers of _peace. Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gofpel to every creature ; he that B¥L1EVETH and is baptized feall be fa- ved ; but he that BELIEVETH not fhall be damned. ‘To the fame purpofe was the commiffion, with which the Apoftle Paul was afterwards honoured. ‘ I have appeared unto thee’ faid the perfecuted Jefus, ‘for this purpofe, to make ~ thee a minifter and a witnefs to the gentiles, unto whom I .now fend thee, to open theireyes, to turn them from dark- nefs to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgivenefs of fins, and inheritance among them that are fanétified, by rarrn that is in me. The Apoftles unanimoufly preached in obedience to the orders, and in conformity to the example, of their benevolent Lord. And all trut minifters, inftruéted by the fame divine teacher, continue to proclaim the glad tidings of the Gof- pel through faith in Jefus Chrift; laymg as much ftrefs, in all their fermons, upon this efficacious grace, as the Apoftle of the gentiles was accuftomed to do, in all his epiftles, Take a few inftances of St. Paul’s ufual cuftom in this ref= pe&t.—After having convinced the Romans of their corrup- tion and mifery, he fets before them ‘the redemption that is 188 THE PORTRAIT. OF ST+ PAULe. in Chrift Jefus, whom God hath fet forth to be a propitia- tion through rarrw in his blood, to declare his righteoufnefs. — for the remiffion of. fins that are paft : that he might be juft and the juftifier of him which believeth in Jefus. There- fore,’ continues he, being juftified by FairH we have peace with God, through our Lord Jefus Chrift, To the Cormthi- ans he writes— ¢ Brethren I declare unto you the Gofpel, which I preached unto you, which alfo ye have received, — and wherein ye ftand ; by which alfoye are faved, unlefs ye have BELIEVED in vain. For ye are juftified in the name of the Lord Jefus. God hath reconciled us to himfelf, by Jefus. Chrift, and hath committed unto us the word. of reconcili- ation : to wit, that God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto himfelf, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them :— For he hath made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him.’, —To the Galatians.— ‘ Knowing that a man is not juf- tified by the works of the Law, but by the rarrn of Je-~ fus Chrift, even we have believed in Jefus Chrift, that we might be juftified by rarru, and not by the works of the, Law.’ Before rarrH ‘ came, we were kept undert he Law. Wherefore the Law was our {choolmafter to bring as unto Chrift: but after that ra1TH is come, we are no more under a {choolmafter.. For ye are all the children of God by FAITH in Chrift Jefus.? To the Ephefians—* Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who hath made us accepted in the Beloved: in whom we have re- demption through his’ blood, the forgivenefs of fins. By grace are ye faved, through FaitH: and that not of your- felves ; it is the gift of God: not of works left any man fhould boaft. Finally, my brethren,—put on the whole ar- mour of God—aboye all, taking the fhield of raitH, where- with ye fhall be able to feieecs all the fiery darts of the wicked.’ To the Philippians.—‘ Stand fait in-one fpirit,, with one mind, ftriying together for the-rartn of the Gof- pel. We rejoice in Chrift Jefus, and have no confidence in the flefh.—Yea, I count all things but lofs, that I may win Chrift, and be found in him, not having mine own righ- teoufnefs, which is of the Law, but that which is through - the Farru of Chrift, the righteoufnefs which is of God by FAITH.’ ‘To the Coloffians.—£ It pleafed the Father, that in him [the Son] fhould all fulnefs dwell; and (having THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 189 made peace through the blood of his crofs) by him to re- concile all things unto himfelf. And you, that were fome- times alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, hath he reconciled in the body of his flefh through death, to prefent you holy and unblameable in his fight ; if ye conti- nue grounded and fettled'in the FatrH. As ye have there- fore received Chrift Jefus the Lord, fo walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and ftablifhed in the FairH, as -ye have been taught, abounding therein with thankfgiving.’ To the Theffalonians.—+* Let us, who are of the day be fober, putting on the breaft-plate of rarru: for God hath not appointed usunto wrath ; but to obtain falvation by our Lord Jefus Chrift, who died for us, that whether we wake or fleep, we fhould live together with him. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, becaufe that your FAITH groweth exceedingly. Now the Lord fhall come to be gloritied in his faints, and to be admired in all them that BELIEVE. Wherefore we pray that our God would fulfil in you the work of rairH with power; that the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift may be glorified in you and you in him.- To Timothy.— This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this caufe I obtained mercy, that in me firft Jefus Chrift might fhew forth all long-fuffering, fora pattern to them which fhould hereafter BELIEVE on him to life everlafting. For God our Saviour will have all men to be faved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth: For their is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Chriit Jefus, who gave himfelf a ranfom for all. Great is the myftery of godlinefs: God was manifeft in the fleth, juitified in the fpirit, feen of Angels, preached unto the gen- tiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. God hath faved us,’ [that is to fay, hath put us in pofleffion of the fame prefent falvation, which the finful woman experi- enced, who, while the proftrated herfelf at the feet of Jefus, in faith and prayer, received from him thefe confolatory fentences ; ‘ Thy fins are forgiven thee. Thy ratru hath faved thee; go in peace.] God hath faved us, not accord- ing to our works, but according to his own grace, which was ‘given us in Chrift Jefus—who hath abolithed death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gofpel.’ 190 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. To Titus.—* Paul an Apoftle of Jefus Chrift, to Titus mine own fon after the common FaiTH: grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jefus Chrift our Saviour, who gave himfelf fot us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himfelf a peculiar peo- — ple zealous of good works. We ourfelves were fometimes — difobedient, but after that the kindnefs and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared, not by works of righteouf- nefs which we have done, but according to his mercy he fa- ved us—that being juftified by his grace we fhould be made heirs of eternal life.? To Philemon he writes—¢ Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jefus Christ. Ithank my God, hearing of thy FratrH, which thou hast toward the Lord Jefus Chrift. The grace of our Lord Jefus Christ be with your f{pirit’ Thus a perfecuted — Saviour became the Alpha and the Omega of this great A- postle. In his epistle to the Hebrews he ufes the fame language. It begins and concludes with Him who is the syne and — the End of all things. God, {faith he, ¢ hath in thefe last days fpoken unto us by his Son, by whom alfo he made the worlds. Who being the brightnefs of his Father’s glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when He had by Himfelf — purged our fins, fat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. It became Him, for whom are all things, in oe ing many fons unto glory, to make the Captain of their Sa vation perfect through fufferings. Forafmuch then, as the children are partakers of flefh and blood, He alfo Himfelf took part of the fame; that through death, He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil ; atid de. liver them, who through fear of death, were all their life. time fubje&t to bondage. Though he were a Son, yet leara- ed He obedience by the thimgs which He fuffered; and being made perfe&t He became the author of eternal falva- tion. This man, becaufe he continueth ever, hath an un- changeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able to fave them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, feeing He ever liveth to makeinterceffion for them. Having, therefore, an High Priest over the houfe of God, let us draw near in fullaflurance of rairH. Now rarru is the fubstance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not feen: for by THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 191 it the elders obtained a good report, who through Faita fubdued kingdoms, wrought righteoufnefs, obtained promi- fes, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, efcaped the edge of the {word, out of weaknefs were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. | Wherefore, feeing we are compaffed about with fo great a cloud of witnefles, let us run with patience the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus the author and finifher of our’rarrH. Now the God ‘of peace—make you perfe&t in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleafing in his fight, through Jefus Christ : to whom be glory for ever and ever.’ The fame Saviour, whom St. Paul was fo anxious to de- clare in his epiftles, he as conftantly preached in his fermons. He was no fooner converted, but, fraightway, fays St. Luke, he preached Chrift in the fynagogues, that he is the Son of God. Take an abridgement of the firft of his fermons, which is left upon record, and which was preached at Antioch in Pi- fidia. After afferting the fulfilment of that glorious promife, which had been anciently given refpeGting the birth of our omnipotent Saviour, he cries out ; Men and brethren, children of the flock of Abraham, and whofoever among you fearcth God, to you is the word of this falvation fent. Yor the inhabitants and rulers of Jerufalem, decaufe they knew him not, nor under- ftood the fenfe of thofe prophecies, which are read every /ab- bath-day, have given them their fad completion, by condemn- ing the Lord of life and glory. ‘ Though they found no caufe of death in Him, yet defired they Pilate, that He fhould be flam. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they laid himina fepulchre.” But Gon, after three days, raifed him triumphantly from the grave: and He was Jeen many days of his wondering difciples, whom He continued to vifit and inftruét even after his refurreétion, that they might become Ais witneffes to the people. And now, ‘We declare unto you, that God hath fulfilled the promife which was made unto the fathers, in that He hath raifed up Jefus’ from the dead. ‘ Beit known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this Mam is preached unto you the forgivenefs of fins: and by Him, all that believe, are juftified from all things, from which ye could not be juftified by the Law of Mofes. Beware, therefore, left that come upon you, which is fpoken of in the Prophets. Behold, ye defpifers, 192 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. and wonder and perifh: for I work a work in your days;a -work which you fhall in no wife Bex1eve, though a man de- — clare it unto you.? When the crofs of Chrift and its happy effe&ts are thus faithfully declared, the word of Gon is never — wholly preached in vain. Some, it is true, will always re- jeat, and count themfelves unworthy of everlafting life: But others will rejoice in the truth, glorifying the word of the © Lord ; and all thofe, who, by a true poverty of fpirit are difpofed for eternal life, fhall effe€tually believe. Sometime afterwards, St. Paul delivered a fermon in the prifon at Philippi, the capital of Macedonia, St. Luke, his hiftorian, has not favoured us with this difcourfe, but he has tran{mitted to us the fubje€t-matter of it. Defpairing finner, — faid the Apoftle to the affrighted jailor, who lay trembling at his feet, delieve on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thou fbalt be faved and thy houfe. After hearing thus much, the aftonifh- ed man collected his family together, and the Apoftle con- tinued his difcourfe, declaring unto them all the word of the — Lord. Such are the {mall remains we are able to collect of this excellent fermon. But though we are unacquainted with its feveral parts, we know that it was attended with the happiett effe€ts: for before the return of day, this converted jailor, fnatched from the very brink of deftruétion, was feen, with all his believing family, rejoicing in God. When the fame Apoftle was afterwards appointed to fpeak before the fenate at Athens, he could not, with propriety, fet before thofe unhumbled. philofophers, the mylfery of the Gofpel. But after bearing a public teftimony againit their fuperftition and idolatry, he preffed upon them the neceffity ~ of an unfeigned repentance: announcing Chrift as an om- nifcient Judge, that he might afterwards proclaim him as the compaffionate Saviour of men. ‘To the fame purpofe was that other fermon of his, which was delivered before the tri- bunal of Felix; when the Roman Governor was feen to tremble under the power of an Apoftle’s preaching. The little effeG produced by thefe two laft-mentioued difcourfes, may be brought asa proof, that the moft momentous truths are hidden from the wife and prudent, while they are revealed unto babes. It was by proclaiming the fame mighty Saviour, that St. Stephen obtained for limfelf the. firft crown of martyrdom among the chriftians. Behold an abridgement .of his cele- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 193 brated apology. Men, brethren, and fathers, you accufe me of having {poken blafphemoufly againft Mofes. But, on the contrary, I publicly acknowledge him as the deliverer of our fathers, and gladly embrace this opportunity of reafoning with you from the chara¢ter of that favoured Prophet. He once fupfipofed, that by certain of his actions, his brethren would have underftood, how that God by his hand would deliver them. But fo far were they from underftanding any fuch matter, that one of them thruft him away, crying out in an infulting manner, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us ? This Mofes, however, whom they thus refufed, was chofen of Gop, to be their future prince and deliverer. ‘ Thisis that Mofes; who faid unto the children of Ifrael, a Prophet fhall the Lord your God raife up unto you of your brethren, like unto me ;? a Prophet, whom you will at firft reje€&t, as you rejected me ; but who, neverthelefs, when you fhall receive him, will deliver you out of fpiritual Egypt, as I once de- livered you from the land of bondage, when you gave cre- dence to my word. This promifed Saviour has already made his appearance among us, whom ye have rejeGted to your own condemnation. As our fathers reje€ted Mofes in the wildernefs, thrufting him from them, and in their hearts turn- ing back again into Egypt; fo you have rejected your great Deliverer. ¢ Ye uncircumcifed in heart and ears, ye do al- ways refift the Holy Ghoft: as your fathers did, fo do ye. Which of the Prophets have not your fathers perfecuted ? And they have flain them which fhewed before of the coming of the juit one, of whom, ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: ye who have received the Law by the difpofition of Angels and have not kept it.’ That the powerful preaching of the Gofpel is fometimes made the favour of death unto death, is fufficiently clear from the following account. After Stephen had finifhed this dif- courfe, the hearts of his hearers were tranfported with rage, infomuchthatT hey gna/hedupon him withtheirtecth. Mean-while the holy martyr continued to proclaim Chrift, and, far from being intimidated by their threatenings, looking ftedfaftly up to heaven, in a kind of ecftacy, produced by the ftrength of his faith, the vigour of his hope, and the ardour of his love, he cried out: / fee the heavens opened, and the Son of Man Jfeanding on the right hand of aa And while the multitude 194 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ran upon him with ftones, after committing his own foul toy the care of his exalted Saviour, he cried, with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this fi fi nto their charge. Behold am apology, which was looked upon by the preachers of that day, as re~ plete with i ignorance and fanatici{m, though delivered by an Evangelift, who was filled with faith, with power, and with, the Holy Ghot! The fame do¢trine was preached by the Evangelitts, who, were difperfed abroad by the perfecution excited againit Ste~ phen, and was followed by the benediétion of the Lord. For we find, that fome of them entering intothe city of An= tioch, fpake unto the Grecians there, preaching the Lord Fetus, and the hand of the Lord'was with-them, {fo that a great number BELIEVED.and turned unto the Lord. We fhall go on to-fele&t a few proofs, that all the Apoftles, were of one heart in this matter, preaching Jefus, Chrift as the Saviour of all thofe, who believe in. him. Though St. James profefledly wrote his.epiftle againft the: - error of thofe, who had deftroyed the’law of charity,, by an, imaginary faith in Chrift, yet fo. far is he from defpifing the: Sfubftantial faith of believers, that, as the /ervant of God and of. the Lord Jefus Chrift, he exhorts falfe brethren to feek.after and manifett it by its proper fruits. He even employs.afpe-; cies of irony to point out the neceflity of this powerful grace > _ Shea me thy faith without thy works, and-I ail foew thee my, faith by my works. He intimates, that our faith muft be tried by divers temptations, in order to our becoming perfect and ena tire before Gop: whence we learn that, according to his. judgment, the perfeétion of chriftians abfolutely. depends.up- on the perfeétion of their Fa1tH. On this account, he ex= horts us;to afk wifdom im raitH. And laftly, he:declares’ that the prayer of rartu fhall be powerful enough, to pro-, cure health for the. fick, and remiffion for the finful. There needs. no more than an attentive perufal of this, epiftle, to convince us, that St, James announces, a faith which faves the chriftian, by producing in him hope, sheng and every good work. The fame do@rine was inculcated by St. Peter both in: his fermons,and epiftles. Three thoufand. fouls were con-) verted; while he cried out, upon the day of Penteeoft: * Ye: men of Ifrael, Jefus, of Nazareth, a man approved. of God among you, by miracles and wonders and figns ; him, being © THE PORTRAIT OF ST, PAUL« 195 delivered by the determinate counfel of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and.flain: whom God hath raifed up, having loofed the pains of death, becaufe it was not poffible that he,’ who is ‘the refurrection and the life, fhould be holden of it. -This Jefus, therefore, being by the right band of God exalted, hath fhed forth this, which ye now fee andhear. Therefore, let all the houfe of Hrael, affuredly know, that God hath made that fame Jefus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Chriit.? Now when the conviéted. multitude enquired in their diftrefs, ALen and bree thren, what fhall we do ? Peter-an{wered and faid: refrent and be, baptized every one of you [that is.to fay, firt cordially be- lieve, and then by baptifm make a public confeffion of that faith ] in the name of Jefue Chrift for the remiffion of fins, and ye foal receive the gift of the Holy Ghoft. His. fecond difcourfe was to the fame effect. ‘¢ The God _ of our fathers hath glorified his fon Jefus, whom ye delivered up and denied in the prefence of Pilate, when he was deters mined to let. him go. But’yedefired a murderer to be grant- ed unto you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raifed from the dead; whereof we are witnefles. And rairsa in his name hath made this man ttrong, whom ye fee and _ know ;. yea the raira which is by him, hath given him this _ perfect foundnefs, in'the prefence of you all.—And now bre- _ thren, repent ye and’ be converted, that your fins may be _ blotted out, when the times of refrefhing fhall come from the _ prefence of the Lord.’ _ His,apology before the council was founded upon the fame divine truths... «Be it known unto you all, and to all the | people of Hrael, that by the name of. Jefus of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raifed from the dead, even by _ him doth this man ftand here before you whole. Thisis the ftone which was fet at nought of yow builders, which is be- _ come the head of the corner. Neither is there falvation in any other: forthere is none other Name under heaven given _ among men whereby we muft be faved.’ Thus St. Peter, ¢ filled with the Holy Ghoft, fpake the word of God with boldnefs, and with great power gave witnefs to the refurrec- tion of the Lord Jefus.’? Even after being commanded to {peak no more in the name of Jefus, he departed from the council, rejoicing that: he was counted worthy to fuffer fhame 196 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. for his Mafter’s fakes and daily in the temple, and in every houfe, he ceafed not to teach and preach Jefus Chrift. The fourth fermon of this Apoftle perfectly correfponds with the foregoing. This difcourfe was delivered in the houfe of Cornelius the centurion, to whom an Angel had be- fore revealed, that Peter fhould declare unto him things whereby both himfelf and his houfe fhouldbe faved. Of all the fermons which have ever been preached, this was, per- haps, the moft effeftual ; fince it is obferved, that the Holy Ghoft fell on Avu them, which heard the word. ‘Take an abridg- ment of this powerful difcourfe. Gop hath proclaimed peace to the children of Ifrael, by Jefus Chrift, whom they flew and hanged on atree. But He, being raifed again by the power of Gop, ‘ commanded us to preach unto the people, and to teftify, that it is He which was ordained of God, to be the. judge of quick and dead. To Him give all the Prophets witnefs, that whofoever BELIEVETH in him fhall receive re- miffion of fins.’ And, as in his fermons, fo alfo in his epiftles, St. Peter was ever anxious to declare falvation through faith, in the name of Jefus Chrift. int ‘ Peter, an apoftle of Jefus Chrift, to the ele& of God, Bleffed be God, who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the refurre&tion of Jefus Chrift from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, referved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God, through Farru, unto falva- tion. It is contained in the fcripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner ftone, eleét, precious : and he, that BELIEVETH on Him, fhall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which BELIEVE, He is precious: but unto them, which be difobedient, He is made a ftone of ftumbling and a rock of offence.’ The fecond epiftle of St. Peter was written for the con-— firmation of the weak, and the eftablifhment of the ftrong. In the ‘firft verfe, Chrift is reprefented as the author and finifher of our faith: in the laft, the glory of our falvation is exprefsly afcribed to the fame divine perfon: and thefe two verfes may be given, as an abridgement of the whole epiftle. This powerful faith, and this adorable Saviour, were as — conflantly proclaimed by the Apoftle John. Though St. Luke has not tranfmitted to us any extraéts from his dif- i 4 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 197 courfes, yet his do¢trine is fufficiently manifefted in his epif- tles. ’ Lf any man fin, {faith this favoured Apoftle, ‘ we have an Advocate with the Father Jefus Chrift the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our fins. He was manifefted to take away our fins—And this is the commandment of God, that we fhould sexreve on the name of his Son Jefus Chrift. Whofoever BELIEVETH, is born of God—whatfoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the vitory that overcometh the world, even our FarruH. Thefe things have I written unto you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may’ yet more ftedfaftly BELIEVE. © : Many deceivers, continues the fame Apoftle in his fecond epiftle, ‘ have entered into the world, who confefs not that Jefus Chriit is come in the flefh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrift. Whofoever abideth not in the doGrine of Chrift, hath not God ; he, that abideth in the doGtrine of Chrift, hhath both the Father and the Son.’ Here St. John, fore- feeing the melancholy revolution that would one day be effeGted in the church by thefe antichriftian teachers, not- withftanding his natural gentlenels, cries out againft them, with an holy indignation ; ‘ if there comeany unto you, and bring not this. dotrine, receive him not into your houfe, neither bid him God fpeed. For he that biddeth him God {peed, is partaker of his evil deeds.’ In this third epiftle, he expreffes the utmoft joy over Gaius, on account of his fteady adherence to the truth; affuring ‘him, that he had no greater joy, than to hear that his chil- dren continued-to walk in the truths of the Gofpel. He ‘commends his charity toward the people of Gop, and exhorts_ him to continue a fellow-helper to the truth, by affording an hofpitable reception to thofe, who, with a view of {pread- ing that truth, were journeying from place to place. St. Jude, in his fhort epiftle, writes thus—‘ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common falva- tion, it was needful for me to exhort you, that ye fhould earneftly contend for the FaA1rH which was once delivered unto the faints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jefus Chrift. But ye, beloved, building up yourfelves on your moft holy FAITH, praying in the a Ghoft, keep yourfelves in the 3 198 THE PORTRAIT OF 8ST. PAUL. love’ of God. looking for the mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift, unto eteraal life.’ The coticluding book of the new teftament abounds with ftrikmg teftimonies to the foregoing truths, and was added for the corfolation of the church in’ every age. Tt opens with a fublime elogy pronounced uponthat meomprehenfible — Saviour, who is “the Alpha and Omega, the faithful witnefs, the firft begotten of the dead, and the Prince‘of the kings of the earth, who hath'loved and wafhed us from our finsin his — own blood, and hath made us kings and priefts unto God and his father, fer ever and ever.’ veal ry The faithful, who groan in fecret, to behold their Matter rejected by deiits, and negleted by the greater part of chrif tians, attend, with holy tranfport, to the reprefentations here given, by St. John. Here they perceive that condefcéending Saviour, who was difhonoured upon earth, acknowledged and adored by the hofts of Heaven. "They fee the proftrate elders, atid behold the immumerable multitude of the redeem- ed affembled before the throne. ‘They hear that'new fong of adoration, mm which Angels and the fpirits of juf men made perfe@ unanimoufly cry out ; Worthy is the Lamb, that was flain, to recerve powtr, and riches, and wifdom, and firength, aad honour, and glory, and blefing. "Thefe ate feenes, which the believer is affifted to realize, by means of a lively faith, and in which he already bears an humble part, afcribing, with his more exalted brethren, bd/fng and honcur and glor and flower unto him, that fitteth upon the throne, and unto = Lamb, for ever and ever. : 2 This myfterious book concludes with that fhort prayer of St. John, which fhall one day be offered up with the energy of the Holy Spirit, by ten thoufand times ten thoufand of the faithful—Come, Lord Jefus, fully to accomphth thy gracious promifes. | OFS 377 MSU’ | If it be heré enquired; Do not all miniftérs maintain this Scriptural faith ? 1 aniwer: Tt is a tare thing, with the-ge- ferality of minifters, to treat ona point of fo vaft importance : and’even when they_are heard to fpeak of this mighty grace, they reprefent it as fomething manifeftly different from that living faith, by which we are regenerated. If ever they dif- courfe with their catechumens on this fubje&t, they fpeak: as men, who attémpt to teach what they have yet to learn. They frequently repeat the word faith, but are unable to THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 199 open its {piritual fignification. “They take it for granted, that all their neighbours are -poffeffed of this grace, except thofe- whe openly reje@ the word of Gop: and thus they become’ perfeGily fatisfied with that fpecies of faith, againit which St. Paul and St. James were authorized to denounce the anathemas of the Gofpel. On this account, one of the daft texts a worldly paftor would make choice of, ts that folemmexhortation of the Apoftle ; Examine yourfélves, whe- ther ye be in the FarTH: firove your own felves: know ye not own feloes, how that Jefus Chrift is in you, except ye be -reprobates? The faith, with which he contents bimtelf, and ‘which he publithes to others, may: be equally poffeffed, by thofe, who are conformable to this prefent evil world, and thofe, who have crucifell the ficfb, with the affections and lufts. It belongs to felf-exalting pharifees, ‘who boait of their own tighteoufnefs, as well as to thofe humble believers, who count themfelves unworthy ofthe benefits they have received. Further; fo far is the ill-inftratted minifter from preack- ing the #rue- faith, that he is always prepared to plead again it. Iniconfirmation of this melancholy truth, take the fok towing relation. A believer, whofe circumftances frequently ‘engaged him in converfation with a worldly man of his neigh- ‘bourhood, once took occafion to offer him fuch advice, as brotherly charity fuggefted. Afterthe cuftomary civilities, Sir, faid he, we have lived as neighbours long enough to know One another, and, I prefume, the imtimacy of our acquaint- ‘@nceauthorizes us to {peak to each other without any referve. It has given me real fatisfa@tion to obferve your conftant at- tendance at our church, and your fri@ attention to her moft felemm fervices. Neverthelefs, permit me to exprefs my fears, that you are not ‘yet feeking the Kingdom of Gop, with that earneftnefS and folicitude, without which it can ‘never be obtained. Though you areconftant at church, yet you are as conftant at tables of feftivity ; and an approach- ing ‘entertainment appears to afford you greater pleafure, than an approaching facrament. I regularly obferve the gazette upon your table, with a variety of new and ingenious publications: but I have never found you perufing the facred pagesof amore important volume. I have heard you fpeak, in an agreeable manner, wpon twenty different things; but cannot recollect, that your converfation ever turned upon what our Lord has defcribed, as the one thing neeful. In I 4 200 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Short, Sir, I apprehend from your condu&, that you are al- together unacquainted with evangelical faith : andif fo, your hope is as fallacious, as your devotion is pharifaical.. Neigh- Zour. I am obliged, Sir, by the intereft you appear to take in my falvation; but allow me to fay, with Solomon, there is a time forall things. Believer. Yes, Sir; for all that is good. But, if you really believe there isa time for allthings, — is it not amazing, that, after you have found four feafons in every day convenient for eating and drinking in your family, -you fhould find no proper opportunity, through the whole courfe of a week, to pour out your prayers with that family before Gop? Neighbour. It is true, I do not pique myfelf upon my piety; and I will confefs to you, that I frequent the church and the holy communion, rather out of decency ~ than choice. But, notwithftanding this, my faith is as or- thodox as that of my neighbours. We all believe in Gop, as our Creator, and in Chrift, as our Redeemer, except fome few perfons who glory in trampling all revelation under foot. For my own part, I have never erred from the faith, fince I firft became acquainted with the Apoftles’ creed; and that was fo early in life, that I cannot now recolle& who firft in- ftru€ted me in it... Believer. It feems then, neighbour, that you imbibed your faith, as you drew in-your nurfe’s milk : and you have learned to believe in Chrift, rather than Maho- met, becaufe you happened to be taught the Englifh, rather than the Turkifh language. Neighbour. That may be. However, if I had been a Mahometan, I truft, I might alfo have been an honeft man. J give to every one his due. This is the grand principle upon which I have always aéted, and from this, I leave every rational man to forma judgment of my faith. Believer. Ah Sir! if fuch are the principles, by which your condu& is regulated, then make a full furrender of your heart to Gop, and confecrate to his feryice thofe powers of body and foul, which you have received from his bounty, and to which he has fo jufta title. But, alas! with- out piety, your fri ju/tice is like the fidelity of a fate who fulfils his engagements with a few particular perfons, while he withholds the homage due to his rightful fovereign. If fuch a fubje& can be termed faithful, then may you, with propriety, be accounted ju/?, while you offer not to Gop that tribute of love, gratitude, adoration, and obedience, which is your reafonable fervice. You made aconfeffion but THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 201 now, that you pique not yourfelf upon your piety : it would not have aftonifhed me more, had you faid, that you piqued not yourfelf upon paying your debts, and ating with common © honefty in the world. Alas, Sir, your boafted principles do but confirm the fears, to which your conduct had given rife. I entreat you, in the moft folemn manner, “ examine your- * felf, whether you be in the faith.”? Neighbour. What do you call faith? Believer. he f{criptures teach us, that we muft believe with the heart, and that Fairn is the /ubftance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not feen. He, therefore, who truly believes in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, carries within him a lively demonftration of the Almighty’s prefence, which penetrates him with fentiments of fear, refpe&, and love, for a Being fo powerful, juft, and good: he poffeffes an internal evidence of the affeCtion of that Redeemer, upon whom alone he grounds his hope of falva- tion, faluting him, with Nathaniel, as the Son of God, the King of Lfrael : and he difcovers in his own heart, the moft indif- putable teftimonies of the fan&tifying and confoling opera- tions of the Holy Spirit. Now, from this three-fold de- monftration, he is enabled to fay, with fuitable fentiments of gratitude and devotion, ‘ Behold what manner of love the father hath beftowed upon us, that we fhould be called the fons of God: He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgivenefs of fins ; and the Spirit itfelf beareth witnefs with our fpirit, that we are the children of God.’ Tell me, then, fince you boaft of having received the chriftian faith, have you ever experienced thofe falutary effe€ts of faith, which I have now defcribed? Neighbour. If that demonftration, and that lively reprefentation of which you fpeak, are effential to chriftian faith, I muft confefs that to fuch a faith I am a perfe& ftranger. But the writings of St. Paul, whofe definition of faith you have juft-cited, are generally looked upon as re- markably dark and myfterious: I wifh you had rather quoted St. John. Believer. I doubt, Sir, whether. you will gain “any thing by fuch an appeal. Whofoever believeth that Jefus is the Chriff, faith St. John, is born of God. This is the vidory, that overcometh the world, even our faith. _ Who is he, that overcometh the world, but he that believeth, that Jefus is the Son of God ? You perceive, Sir, that, according to this Apofitle, faith is a principle of grace and power, fufficiently forcible eee 202 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. “and vi€torious to regenerate and make us partakers of the divine naturé, enabling us to triumph equally over the moft — feducing, aswell as the moft affliGing occurrences in the world. Have you obtained, or have you even fought the — faith, of which {uch excellent things are mwered Neighbour. You embarrafs me. I never heard the leaft intimation of fuch a faith in this country. Believér. Indeed, Sir, you are itt an error, fince this very faith is plainly fet forth in the xvith chapter of the Helvetic Confeffion. ** The chriftian faith * [fay the pious minifters who compofed that work] is not ‘a mere human opinion or perfuafion, but a fate of es af- “ furance } it not only gives a conftant and clear affent to, — *¢but alfo comprehends and embraces the truths of Gon, as *« propofed to us in the Apoftles’ creed. The foul; by this *« ad, unites itfelf to Gop, as to its only, eternal, and fo- “« vereign good, and to Jefus Chrift, as the centre of all the “« promifes.” Have you, then, this divine penfaafon, this full afurance of the truths of our holy religion? And have you expetienced this a@, by which the foul is united te Gon, through Chrilt, as to its fovereign good? Neighbour: IT have, undoubtedly, a perfuafion, that the word of Gop is true. But how-may I abfolutely determine, whether or no I am a poffeffor of the faith, of which you fpeak? Believer. If. vou are poflefled of faith, you have fome experimental know. jedge of thofe happy effeéts of that grace, which are thus enumerated, in the fame confeffion. © True’ faith reftores * peacetothe confcience. It procures a free uccefs to Gon, *“ enabling us both to approach him with confidence, and to ™ obtain from him the things, of which we ftand in heed. «It retains us im the path of obedience, enduing us with * power to fulfil our feveral duties both to ‘Gop and to our * neighbour. Tt maintains our patiencé in adverfity, and dif- © pofes us, at'all tines, to a fincete confeffion of our confidence. ««To fum up allan a fingle word, it produces’ ev ood work.” ™ Let it be obferved [fays the fame confefion] * that we do het Bere {peak of a pretended faithy whieh: is * vain, ineffectual ‘and dead, but of w living, effe@tual and “ vivifying faith. ‘This is a do€tcine, which St. James cans * ‘not be tndérftood to combat, feeing he fpeaks ofa vain -* and prefurnptuous confidetice, of which fome were known * 'to boaft, while they had vot Chrift diving in them by means “ph Faith.” Neighbour. © Chriff living in them by means of THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 203 « faith? I pray, Sir, what is to be underftood by this ex- prefion ? Ido not comprehend the thing. But, if I recol- le&, I thall have an opportunity im a few hours, of mention- ing the matter to our paftor, whom I expeét here this even- ing to make up a party at cards, The true believer, after thanking his worldly neighbour for the patience with which he had liftened to his converfation, took his leaye, and with- dvew, apprehending every evil confequence from the decifion of a paftor, who was known to indulge a tafte for play and vain amufément. His fears were too well founded. ‘I'he minifter, trae to his engagement, arrived at the appointed hour, and the gentleman thus eagerly addrefled him: I have been receiving fome fingular advice from a perfon of a very unaccountable turn, who appears to agree either with the inyftics or the pietifts. He fpoke much of faith, afferting, that all true chriftians are really regenerate, and that they . have Chrift living in them by faith. What think you, Sir, of fuch affertions as thefe? I will tell you freely, replied the minifter, that thefe abftrufe points of dotrine are among thofe profound myfteties, which neither you nor I are ap- pointed to fathom. It is ufual with enthufiafts to {peak in _ this manner ; but fuch myftic jargon is now. out of feafon. There have been ages, in which ‘divines wete accuftomed to fpeculate concerning this faivh, and publicly to infitt upon it in their fermons. But, in an age like this, enlightened by found philofophy and learned difcoveries, we no longer admit what we cannot comprehend. 1 advife you, asa ° friend, to leave thefe idle fubtilties clofe fhut up in the un- intelligible’ volumes of our ancient theologifts. The only material thing, is'to condu& ourfelves as honeft men! If we réceive revelation in a general fenfe, and have good works to produce, there can be no doubt but our faih is of the proper kind, and highly acceptable before Gop. To this fhort difeourfe, the card table fucceeded, which ferved to firengthen the bands of intimacy, between the carelefs cler- gyman and his deluded neighbour: fo petfeétly alike were their faith and their manners. _-The circumftances alluded to in the above relation, are _ not imaginary ; and there is every reafon to fear, that cir- cumitances of the fame nature, are no lefs common in other ' chriftian countries, than in that, which gave bith to the writer of thele pages. a ac , §4é: 204 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Thus the worldly minifter, inftead of preaching this im- portant do¢trine in its purity, feeks to deftroy even the cu- riofity, which would engage an irreligious man to enquire into the neceflity, the nature, the origin, and the effects of evangelical faith. And while the generality of thofe, who are required to publifh this vi€torious grace, are feen to re= ject it with contempt, no wonder that the true minifter ef- teems himfelf obliged to contend for it, with encreafing ear- © nefinefss both in public and in private. : ; To clofe this fe&tion. When the chriftian minifter pro- claims falvation by faith, he adheres not only to the holy {criptures, but alfo to thofe public confeffions of faith, which are in common ufe among the churches of Chrift. «« We believe,”’ fay the churches of France, “ that every « thing neceffary to our falvation, was revealed and offered «< to us in Chrift, who is made unto us wi/dom, righteoufne/s, “ fanification, and redemption.”? Art. xiii. We believe, «< that we are made partakers of righteoufnefs by faith alone; « fince it is faid, that he [Chrift] fuffered in order to pros * cure falvation for us, and that whofoever believeth in him s¢ fhall not perifh.”? Art. xx. ‘ We believe, that we are « illuminated by faith, through the fecret grace of the Holy < Spirit.”” Art. xxi.. ‘¢ We believe that, by this faith, “< we are regenerated to newnefs of life, being by nature in “‘ bondage to fin. So that faith, inftead of cooling in us «“ the defire of living righteoufly and godly, naturally tends * to excite fuch defire, and neceflarily produces every good “work.” Art. xxii. Lahind Such. alfo is the doGtrine of the Helvetic Confeffion «‘ We believe, with St. Paul, that finful man is juftified by « faith alone in Jefus Chrift, and not by the law. — Faith s receives Jefus, who is our righteoufnefs ; and on this ac- “ count juftification is attributed to faith. That by means «< of faith we receive Jefus Chrift, he himfelf has taught us «in the Gofpel, where he fignificantly ufes the terms ap- «« plied to cating for believing: For, as by eating we receive’ “bodily nourifhment, fo by believing, we»are made par- « takers of Chrift.”” Chap. xv. ‘* Man is not regenerated ‘“« by faith, that he fhould continue in a ftate of indolence; «‘ but rather that he fhould apply himfelf, without ceafing,» ‘to the performance of thofe things, which are ufeful, and, * good: fince the Lord hath faid, every good tree bringeth THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 205 « firth good fruit : He that abideth in me, and I in him, the fame “ bringeth forth much fruit.” The church of England expreffes herfelfin the following terms upon falvation by faith, and the good works produced by that faith. ‘ We are accounted righteous before Gop, “only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, “ by faith, and not for our own works and defervings. ‘© Wherefore, that we are juftified by faith only, is a moft * wholefome do@trine, and very full of comfort.” Art. xi. «© Good works do {pring out neceflarily of a true and lively “© faith, infomuch that by them a lively faith may be as “« evidently known, as a tree difcerned by the fruit.”” Art. . Xi. THE TRUE MINISTER GOES ONTO ANNOUNCE A Livety Hope. ODLINESS with contentment is great gait: And the Paftor, who is poffeffed of fo invaluable a bleffing, can- not be backward in foliciting all, within the circle of his ac- quaintance, to fhare it with him. Happy in the enjoyment of that precious feeret, which enables him to rejoice without ceafing, he readily communicates it to the affli€ted, by lead- ing them to that /ively hope, which confoles and fuftains the heart of every believer. “ , In a world, where the bitternefs of evil is continually in- creafing ; where we difcover the fcourges of a Gop, wha will not fail to ‘chaftize his rebellious creatures ; where. dif- appointment and death fucceffively deprive us of our deareft comforts, and where the forerunners of death are continually weakening all our imperfe&t enjoyments; in fuch a world, it is evident, that the moft exalted pleafure we are capable of, muft {pring from a well-grounded hope of thofe immor- tal joys, which are referved for the righteous. The lan- guage of mortality is too feeble to defcribe either the pow- er, or the fweetnefs of fuch an hope. Here we can only cry out with the Pfalmift, O tafe, and fee how gracious the . Lord is, in providing fo potent a cordial for thofe, who are travelling through a vale of tears. The lively hope, which gives birth to a believer’s felicity, 206. THE. PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL is one of the moft exhilirating fruits of his faith, and is infe- parably conneéted with it, fince ¢rae faith is the (gaat of things hoped for. In proportion asthe truths and promifes, — upon which faith is founded, are evidenced and apprehended, — fuch will be the hope with which that faith is accompanied. — If Mofes then, by the faith which he profeffed, was‘enabled — to renounce the profpedt of an earthly crown, with the hope of obtaining a more glorious inheritance; if he efteemed the reproach of Chrift greater riches than the treafures of Egyfits having refped unto the recompence of reward 3 what may not be expected from an hope founded upon thofe precious pro- mifes, which have been fealed with the blood of that con- defcending Saviour; who ‘brought life and immortality to light through the Gofpel ? The law, faith the Apoftle, made nothing perfe&, but the bringing in of a better hope did ; by the which we draw nigh unto God. Seeing then, that we have fuch hope,’ continues the fame Apottle, ‘we all, with open face beholding, as in a glafs, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image, from glory to glory.’ We every day obferve the men of the world exalting in the hope of fome temporal advantage. The profpe& of an honourable title, an augmentation of fortune, an advantage- ous marriage, or even a poor party of pleafure, is fufficient to allure, to animate, to enrapture them. They will even acknowledge, that tke flattering hope of future pleafure is {weeter than enjoyment itfelf. Who then hall attempt to declare thofe tranfports, which flow from the lively hope of a triumphing chriftian? A dope which is founded upon the Rock of ages, and which has for its obje@, riches, honours and pleafures, as much fuperior to thofe of worldly men, as the foul is fuperior to the body, heaven to earth, and eter- nity to the prefent fleeting moment. ven The true minifter publicly amnounces this hope to the world, perfuaded that, if mankind were once happy enough to poflefs it, they would exchange a load of mifery for a eb of bleffednefs. But fince he knows, that this hope can never be admitted into hearts replete with “fin, his firft €oncera is to overthrow the vain confidence of the impeni- tent, to undermine the prefumption of the pharifaical, and to point eut the true diftinG@ion between a finner’s. groundlefs expeCtation, and the well-founded hope of a believer in Chrift. 4 s THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 207 Ta. every place, there are many to be found, who, without faith or hope, are filied with a prefumption as blind as that of the Pharifees, and as fatal as that of Hea- thens hardened in their fin. To every fuch perfon, the true minifter uniformly declares, that he is without Chrift, without hope, and without God in the world, Thefe very men, it is probable, may offer to the Deity a formal worthip, and in- dulge high expetations from the mercy of a divine Media- _ tor, thongh they are totally deftitute of an unfeigned refien- tance toward God, and a true faith toward our Lord JSefus Gari. Thus far the unconverted may proceed in a feem- 5 ingly religious courfe. But the regenerate alone can truly fay, * The grace of God, that bringeth falvation, hath ap- peared unto all men, teaching us that, denying ungodlinefs and worldly huits, we fhould live foberly, righteoufly and gotly in this prefent world: lookimg for that bleffed Hops, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savi- our Jefus Chrift.’ . ‘The hope of unrighteous men is founded upon pride, faife notions of the Deity, ignorance of his law, and thofe pre- jedices, which the irreligious communicate one to another. On the contrary, the hope of believers has for its bafis, the word of him «who cannot lie. Whatforver things were written” aforetine; faiththe Apottle, were written for our learning, that “we (the children of God] through patience and comfort of the Jeripzares might have hope. Tis founded not only upon the word, -batequally upon the vath, of Gop. *‘ Men verily fwear by the greater; and an oath, for confirmation, is to them an end ofall ftrife. Wherein God, willing more abun- daatly to fhew unto the heirs of the promife the immuta- bility of his counfel, confirmed it by an oatH: That by two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie’ [namely his word and his oath] «we might have ftrong confolatioa,*who have fed for refuge to lay hold apon the Hope fet before us; which nope we- have asan anchor of _ the foul, both fure-and fedfat.’ - . Whea the faithful minifter has rooted up every falfe hope, he then annowaces Jefas Chrift, who hath brought in a bef ter hope than that of Heathens or Jews. Obferve here the reafon, why thofe paftors, who preach not Chrift, are inca- _ pable of doing any thing toward the furtherance of that living faith, of which Chrift is the grand obje&, and that 208 - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. lively se of which he is the inexhauftible fource. » Jefus Chrift, faith St. Paul, is our hoe: and we declare unto-you, the myftery, which hath been hid from ages, and is ftill hidden from worldly men, which is Chrift in you, the nore of glory. Thus the everlafting Son of the Father, is made to his true followers the beginning, and the confummation of hopes as well as the author and finifber of our faith. oe By the mercy of Gop, and through the redemption that — is in Jefus Chrift, the believer has already received the pro- mife of a free pardon for paft offences: otherwife he deferves not to be termed a deliever ; at leaft, he is deftitute of evan- gelical faith. But when he fincerely receives the glad tidings of redeeming grace, he then receives Jefus Chrift, in whom all the promifes are yea andamen: and he would condu& him- felf in a manner, contrary to that, which both reafon and {cripture prefcribe, if he fhould refufe to rejoice in Gop his — Saviour. By fuch a mode of aéting, he would prove his want of gratitude for that, which Chrift hath already done, and of hope for that, which he hath promifed ftill to perform. But when he gives himfelf up to a joy, as reafonable, as it is refrefhing, he then anfwers the gracious defigns of his bene. volent Lord. Continually taken up with more fatisfa€tory enjoyments, he defpifes the feducing pleafures of fin. He carries in his own bofom a fource of celeftial pleafure, while — the man of the world difquiets his heart in the vain purfuit of earthly joys. The difference between the enjoyments of thefe two charatters is as-great, as betwixt the rational plea- - fure of thofe, who gather their wheat into the barn, and the puerile mirth of children, who are bufied in colleGing the {cattered ftraws and thorns; the former are fecuring an in-. eftimable treafure, while the latter have nothing more in view, than to dance round a fhort-lived blaze, the trueft emblem of a finner’s fatisfaCtion. In the Holy Scriptures very excellent things are fpoken of the hope which produces this facred joy. 1. It is a di- vine hope, fince it has for its objeéts the enjoyment of Gop, and becaufe it draws fupplies of ftrength from that Holy Spirit, which difcovers to believers the greatnefs and ftabi- — lity of gofpel promifes. Thus St. Paul teacheth us, that the Father of glory giveth us, ¢ the fpirit of wifdom and re~ — velation ; enlightening the eyes of our underftanding, that. _ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 209 -we may know what is the yore of our calling, and what | the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the faints.’ 2. It gives honour to the faithfulnefs and power of Gon. Abraham, faith St. Paul, againft all human probability, be- _lieving in nope, ‘ ftaggered not at the promife; but was ftrong in faith giving glory to God: being fully perfuaded, ‘that what he had> promifed, he was able alfo to perform. Therefore, being juftified,’ like Abraham, by faith, we rejoices continues the Apoftle, with a confidence like his, in hope of the glory of God. And this wore maketh not afbamed. How -unlike the fallacious hope of worldly men, who are frequent ly put to fhame by their blafted expeGtations. . 3. This Hope is faid to fill us with aholy joy. Bleed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, {faith St. Peter, who hath begotten us again unto a lively Hore, by the refurredion of Jefus Chrift from the dead. Wherein ye greatly rejetce. And on this account it was, that the A pottle Paul prayed, with fo much ardour, for an increafe of hope among believers—Now the God of hope fill you with ail joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in wore through the power of the Holy Ghoft. _ 4, It aGtually faves us, as St. Paul himfelf declares in the following words: J reckon, that the fufferings of the prefent time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which /ball be revealedinus. And, {upported by this fweet perfuafion, we wait for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For, in this refpeQ, we are faved by HOPE. . §. It is equally {weet and folid ;. fince it refts upon the right which the children of Gop may claim to the inheri- tance of their heavenly Father ; a facred right, which is con- firmed to them with the utmoft folemnity in the new Tefta- ‘ment. Now every man, who receives, with fincerity, the Lord of life and glory, receives with him a title to everlaft- ‘ing poffeffions, and ranks, from that moment, among the fons of God. So that to fuch, the following paflages may, with propriety, be applied—<* He hath made us accepted in the beloved—In whom ye alfo trufted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gofpel of your falvation:. in whom alfo, .after that ye believed, ye were fealed with that Holy Spirit of promife, which is the earneft of our inheritance, until the | redemption of the purchafed poffeffion.. _. 6. It purifies us. . Now are we, faith St. John, ¢ the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear, what-we fhall be: but we know that when he fhall appear, we fhall be like him; 210 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. for we fhall fee him as he iss Amdvevery man, that ha this Hore in him, purifieth himfelf, even as he is pu Whofoever is born of God,’ or regenerated by a true fait and a lively hope, doth not commit fin; for his feed remaineth i kim: and he cannot fin, becaufe he ts born of God. The truth of this affertion is clear to the eye of reafon. We fall into fin, becaufe we fuffer ourfelves.to be feduced by the allure. ments of fome tranfitory good, which prefents itfelf either to our fenfes or imagination. But when we are once per fuaded, that infinite enjoyments await us, we can then look with contempt upon thofe deceitful appearances : and after our hearts are animated with a confident hope of aw. thofe invifible realities, the charm offfin is broken. In fuch a flate we break through temptations with as ‘much tefolu« tion as a prince, who is gonig to take poffeffion of a king- dom, renounces the little amufements, that occupied thoughts before they were engroffed by a concern of fo vatt importance. Who is he that overcometh the world, exc the man who believes with that faith, which affords hima lively reprefentation of things hoped for?»Compare 2 John v. 5. with Heb. si. 1. ae 7. This lively hope produces charity in the foul. We give thanks to God, iaith the Apottle, praying always for: we heard of the love, which ye ami Sic alan oa HOPE, which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the trath of the Gofpel. Nay, of fo pres vailmy an influence is this folid hope, that the Apoftle inti- mates, in the fame chapter, that believers shall be prefented before Gon, holy and uablameable, provided they be not moved away from the 1oPE of the Gofpel. For, contimues he, we are made partakers of Chrift, if we hold the beginning of our confidence ftedfaft unto the end. And we defire, that every one of you do fhew the fame diligence to the fall affas rance of hope unto the end: that ye be not flothful, but followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promifes.’ 4! 8. This hope ‘is full of confolation. We, eho remain, faith the Apoftle, * fhall be caught wp to meet the Lord in the air: and fo fhall we ever be with the Lord. | Wherefore comfort one another with thefe words. Now our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, and God even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlafting confolation and good THE PORTRAIT GF ST. PAUL. 211 hope through grace, comfort your hearts.’ When we ob- ferve among us fome, who are difquieted and cait down, who want courage to fupport afflition without impatience, and to fill up their duties with cheerfulnefs, we then behold per- fons who never enjoyed, or who have unhappily loft, the lively hope of true chriftians. If all minifters of the Gofpel had experienced the fweetnefs and power of this hope, with what pleafure would they publifh it to the affiéted. And with what perfeverance would they join to their difcourfes the moft ardent prayers, that all their hearers might come to the enjoyment of fo invaluable a bleffing. . When the true minifter leads his flock to this lively and joyful hope, he treads in the footiteps of his divine Mafter. Chrift, it is true, began his miniftry by preaching repentance. | But in the'véery next chapter we find him placing before the _believer’s eye, beatitudes and promifes of the moft confola- : tory mature, And in a variety of paflages, he exhorts his _ followers to the exercife of a joyful hope im the feverett trials, making that an indifpenfible duty, which is indeed a glorious privilege. car not them, faith he,* which are not able to kill the fow—The very hairs of your head are all _ numberedwhofoever fhall confefs me before men, him will _ EL confefs alfo before my Father which isin heaven. Fear not little flock ; for it is your Father’s good pleafure to give you the Kingdom. I give unto my fheep eternal life, and er: thal never perifh neither fhall any pluck them out of my ‘He appears anxious, that his people fhould be partakers f vf his peace, his_joy, and his hope, till they come to the pof- feffion of confummate bleffedneis. The/e things have I fpo- den, faith he, « that in me ye might have peace. In the | wrorld ye fhall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Let not your heart be troubled. I go to prepate a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto my- 4elf; that where I am, there ye may be alfo. Ye now have forrow: But I will fee you agam, and your heart: fhall re- joice, and your joy no man taketh from you.’ . He exhorts them continually to expect his return ; and even condefcends ~ to mention the very terms in which he will, at that time, as lute every waiting believer. » The prayers of Chrift, as well as his exhortations and pro- 212 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. mifes, tend to produce and fupport the moft exalted hope i the fouls of believers. He has gracioufly interceded for them; he {till continues to make interceffion, and his prayeris always prevalent. Mark a few fentences of that memorable pray- er, which he once offered up for all his followers, and which forms the xviith chapter of St. John’s Gofpel. *O Father! I pray not forthe world, but forthem, which thow haft given” me. Holy Father! keep, through thine own name, thofe whom thou haft given me: and fan&tify them through thy truth. Neither pray I for thefe alone, but for them alfo, which fhall believe on me through their word; that they may all be one, even as we are one. Father! I will, that they whom thou haft given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.” . A lively hope founded upon thefe prayers and declarations. of the bleffed Jefus, enabled the primitive chriftians to triumph over every affliction. Inthe midft of the moft terrible fecutions, they could congratulate one another on their com= mon bleffednefs, and fay ; Our life is hid with Chriftin God; and when Chrift, who is our life, foall appear, then foall we alfa appear with him in glory. For he fhall yet come to be glorified — in his faints, and to be admired in all them that believe. ; The Apoftles, agreeable to the example of their Matter, were unanimous in publifhing this glorious hope: and St. — Paul very frequently infifts upon it, asa moft important duty. Let us, faith he, who are of the day be fober, putting on the breaft= plate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of falvation. Lbefeech you, brethren, prrefent your bodies a living facrifice unto God—rejoicing in hope. Rejoice inthe Lord alway; and again I fay, rejoice. ‘This evangelical hope will ever be ex- perienced, as a never-failing fource of confolation and thank~— fulnefs: and hence, wherever the hope of the Gofpel is preached, there believers continue to be filled with unipeak- able joy. How truly happy would chriitians be, were fuch — an hope to flourifh among them! Far from difputing any ~ longer for the trifles of time and fenfe, they would joyfully renounce them all, in expeétation of an eternal inheritance : and inftead of running to the frivolous amufements of the world for a momentary recreation, every paffing day would appear too fhort for the exhilarating duties of praife and thankfgiving. anes q It is aflerted by many, that this divine hope is, ufually a THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs 213 preached by every minifter. That preachers in general, are _accuftomed to exhort their hearers, in a cold and languid manner, to hope in divine mercy, will readily be granted: but that fuch do not publith the real, evangelical hope of chriftians, may be eafily proved beyond the poffibility of adoubt. We have feen, in the preceding fe€tions, that the minifter of the prefent day is unacquainted with this hope: that he is even ‘without any juft ideas of that true repentance, and that living - faith, from which alone this hope can flow: and hence, it is impoffible for him in the nature of things, to publifh it in the church of Gop. In vain has Chrift himfelf declared, that the broad way will condu& multitudes to deftruétion, and that except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the King- dom of God ; in {pite of thefe folemn declarations, the world- ly paftor ftill imagines, that this very way will condu& him to life, and that he fhall be counted among the inhabitants of that Kingdom, without fcriptural regeneration. He fup- pofes, at leaft, that he is fufficiently fanctified, though his righteoufnefs exceeds not that of the pharifees, nor his de- - yvotion that of the Laodicean church. Thus, entertaining a vajn hope in his own heart, and indulging a confidence, which is repugnant to the concurrent teftimonies of every facred writer, he neceffarily leads his hearers into the fame dangerous delufions. As in order folidly to found our hopes upon a benefa€tor, or a furety, it is neceflary to have an acquaintance with the perfon, who prefents himfelf in either of thefe charaGters ; fo the lively hope of which we fpeak, muft flow from an experi- mental knowledge of Gon, by Jefus Chrift: This is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true Got, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent. But the children of this world, whether they be laymen or ecclefiaftics, are without this knowledge. They know neither the Father nor the Son: and were it otherwife, the love of the world would not have dominion over them. This lively hope can never dwell in an unregenerate heart. The child, that is not born, cannot poffibly rejoice in hope of poffeffing the heritage of his father; fince he is equally unacquainted with his parent, and the patrimony, that is likely to be referved for him. It is, therefore, abfolutely neceflary to be born of Gop, before we can exercife this exhilarating hope. Now a man is thus born when he is res 214 THE PCRTRALT OF ST. PAUL. generated by that fpirit of adoption, which Gop ‘hatli mifed to thofe, who fincerely believe in Jefus Chri. Bat they, who are conformable to the maxims of the world, are not able to receive this vivifying {pirit. J ewill pray the Fas ther, faid Chrift to his difciples, and he Jhall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the fpirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, becaufe it feeth him not; ' neither knoweth him ; but, being already regenerate in parts ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and fhall be in you, when. yow are fully born of the Spirit. It is not, till after’ the accomplifhment of this promife-has) béen experienced, that the following expreffions, can be perfeGly undéerftood— Know ye not, that. your body is the temfile. of the Holy Ghof ? now ‘hes God of hope fill vii with all jay gees pa Sino: that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghoft. ' ey " } ie from preaching this primitive hope, the worldly minifter is alarmed at the bare mentionof it. . Let it here be obferved again, that this celeftial plant can flourifh only inthofe hearts, where the word of Gop, sharper tham any two-edged: fword, has cut down every unfruitful appearance of pharifaicalhopes — Now when a true minifter is engaged in performing this — painful operation, cutting away the mortified members of the — old man, and plucking from pride its unprofitable fupports; — the inexperienced minifter prepoiteroufly takes offence at his holy zeal,.and cenfures this neceflary feverity, asleading fouls into the horrors of defpair. Slow of underftanding infpiritual concerns, he comprehends not, that they who-recline them- felves upon a broken reed, muft give up all the confidence they foolifhly place in fo flender.a prop, before’ they can — effectually choofe the Rock of ages for their fupport. © -- The true character of thefe, falfe Apofles is not genérally known. Covering their impiety with’ the ¢loak of religion, — they are fuppofed by many’ to.aét.on the part of Chrift, and — are frequently efteemed as pillars in the church. But there ~ are occafions, on which they unwittiagly throw off the. mafk, and make an open difcovery of their fecret thoughts. Some’ few perfons are found in the world, who, refufing to attend card afflemblies, rejoice to be prefent in thofe lefs polite af- — femblies, which are formed for the| purpofe of prayer, Here — it is ufual for confenting neighbours to. take fweet- counfel together, and wreftle with ardour for the hopeof. the,Gofpel,, i te : THE. PORTRAIT. OF ST. PAULa’ 215 in words like thefe:—‘ Gracious Father! forgive the fins “ of thy returning childyen, and grant usan increafe of {piritual “ftrength. Senfible of our own unwérthinels, affift us to « place all dur. confidence in thine unbounded mercy, mani- & fefted through Jefus Chrift. Increafe our faith in the « Son of thy love, and confirm our hope in thine unchange- able promifes, © thou divine Saviour! defcend this day « into our hearts as. thou didft:once defcend upon thy firft <6 difeiples. Confecrate'us thy living temples, fill us with “ thy gvaces, and, during the time of our earthly pilgrimage, * youchfafe'to lead us with the right ‘hand of thy power. «Let not thy fpirit of illumimation and holinefs, thy fpirit *¢ of confolation and joy, abandon us fora moment, as'we pafs “ through this valley of tears. “May its potent operations « fubdue in us the power of fin, and produce in our outward’ <¢ converfation the happy fruits of righteoufnefs, peace and «joy. Permit usiat this:time, to-returm to our houfes, with « a confcioufnefs of thy love, and anaffurance of thy favour: “ and grant that, after having been the temples of thy Spirit «“ ypon-earth, we may one day be received into the temple «of thine eternal glory in the Heavens.” A: worldly minifter, on a certain time, entering into an aflembly of this kind, heard the prayer of thefe humble be- lievers ; and.as much furprized, to fee the ardour with which they offered their petitions, as;to obferve the time and place in which they were prefented, withdrew from their fociety; with. as much indignation,; as agood paftor would retire from a company of jugglers. But having underftood that one of his own parifhioners was of the religious party, he took the earlieft opportunity of teftifying the utmott difapprobation of his conduét. | ¢ What was it,’ faid’ he, « that you was doing ‘.with thofe people. the other day, in fuch.a place ? Conven- ‘ ticles of that kind are contrary to order,:and unworthy of «toleration. The Church is the only proper place for the * performance of divine worfhip: moreover, I heard you * foolithly praying for, 1 know not what: confolation, light ‘and power, of the Holy Spirit. Receive in good part the ‘advice I offer you—Look upon infpirations and illumina- «tions of this fort, as no other than the idle fancies. of ¢ vifionaries and enthufiafts: renounce the imaginary afluranece, «with which you do but deceive yourfelf, and repofe upon ‘ the hope which.I have conftantly preached'to you; a hopes 216 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ¢ with which you and your neighbours may very well re “ contented.’ Confounded with a difcourfe of this kind, a weak and inexperienced chriftian might have been drawn afid from the narrow path of truth. But the perfon here allud to, by citing Eph. i. 17, 18. was enabled to prove, that th very fame illumination and power, which were treated fo contemptuoufly by his opponent, were neverthelefs abfolutel neceffary, as the ground-work of a /olid hope. Nay, he puthe the matter ftill further; and afferted, that the prayer againft’ _ which the zealous paftor had fo angrily exclaimed, was ufed! in exact conformity to thofe very petitions, which he himfe was inconfiftently heard to offer at the feaft of Pentecoft, and at other folemn feafons. , If this little relation faithfully deferibes the manner of thinking, which is too common among the clergy of the day, is it not evident, that they are more difpofed to ridicule, than to preach, the chriffian hope; and abundantly more ear neft to obftrud, than affitt their parifhioners, in the purfuit of everlafting bleffednefs ? a3 When the dawn of this glorious hope firft began to glim- mer: when, at the defcent of the mount of Olives, the whole company of the difciples began to praife Gop with a loud — voice, ftrewing the way by which their Lord was to pafs, with garments and branches of trees, and crying out before — him Hofanna to the Son of David: bleffed is he that cometh in — the name-of the Lord; Hofanna in the higheft! Some of the pharifees, who had mixed among the multitude, rudely ex- — claimed; Mafter, rebuke thy difciples. And when he was — entered unto the temple, the chief priefts and feribes [thofe mo- — dels by which the generality of minifters feem anxious to ; form themfelves] feeing the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying Hofanna, were fore difpleafed, and faid unto’ himy heareft thou what thefe fay; And Jefus anfwered them, — Yea 3 have ye never read, out of the mouth of babes and fucklings 4 thou haf perfected prraife ? I tell you, that if thefe foould hold’ their peace, the ftones would immediately cry out. Their fill exifts the fame oppofition betwixt thofe, who cordially em-' brace the Gofpel, and thofe, who ungratefully reje@ it. As often asthe former are perceived to give a loofe to the tranf-’ ports of their gratitude, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, the worldly minifter, difpleafed to obferve any thing — that appears to reproach his own lukewarmnefs, is prepared — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. AZT to counteraét the motions of that joyful hope, which he deems no better than the confidence of prefumptuous fanatics. But the minifter, who imitates St. Paul, on obferving fuch a {cene, will cry out with that great Apoftle: Now the God of hope jill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in HOPE through the power of the Holy Ghoft. _ If penitents are not pointed to the bleffednefs of this hope, they will ftrive like Cain, to ftifle their remorfe by paffionately abandoning themfelves to the bufinefs and enjoy- ments of the prefent world: or, like the Ifraelites, who found not fufficient pleafure in religion to banifh the recollection of Egypt’s vanities, they will indulge that fpirit of trifling which the Apoftle thus defcribes—The people fat down to eat and to drink, and rofe up to play. On the contrary, when the christian is directed to the hofe of his high calling, he finds it a fource of unutterable confolation: and having difcovered the treafure hidden in the Gofpel field, fon joy therefore he felleth his all, in order to purchafe that field. He now re- nounces, without pain, what before had hindered him in run- ning the heavenly race, counting nothing dear to himfelf, that he may finifh his courfe with joy, and infure the crown of everlasting life. So powerfully were the first christians fupported by this ot ie hope, that they remained immoveable amidst the forest calamities of life, and fuffered death itfelf with a courage that aftonifhed their perfecutors, But when they loft their confidence, like Demas, they began to indulce the fond hopes and foolifh fears of the prefent world, becom- ing altogether weak as other men: and fuch are the generali- ty of chriftians at this day. The love of many is waxing cold, while the church of Gop is evidently falling into ruins : and how fhall we affift to rekindle that love, or repair that church, but by zealoufly proclaiming abroad the hope of the Gofpel. 218 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. : ; J THE TRUE MINISTER PREACHES Cuaisvian Cuarity. lL" the evangelical paftor proclaims repentance, faith, and hope, it is with a view of leading finners to that chriffian — charity, which is julily efteemed the crown of every grace. In preaching repentance, he lays the axe to the root of every — corrupt tree. In preaching faith, he plants the tree of life. When he preaches hope, he caufes that tree to put forth a beautiful bloffom: but when he preaches charity, he calls forth the rich fruit from every vigorous branch. And while © he is engaged in performing the various parts of this impor- — tant work, he denounces the anathemas of the Gofpel, againft — that repentance, faith, and hope, which are fuperficial, unfruit- ful, and delufive. in The minifter of the day piques himfelf upon preaching — morality, which he is ordinarily accuftomed to do, in the manner of an Heathen philofopher. Unacquainted with the importance and power of the doétrines of chriftianity, he is afhamed to walk in the traces of St. Paul. Ifheisenabled — to paint with any degree of ability, the ferpents of envy, the inquietudes of avarice, and the delights of charity, he ima gines that he fhall readily difpofe his neighbours to love as - brethren. He knows not, that the law of the fpirit of lifein Chrift Jefus is that alone, which can make any man free from the law of fin and death, by delivering him from that envy, that avarice, that ambition, that indifference, and thofe world. ~ ly fears, which are incompatible with evangelical charity.” ¢ What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flefh, i. e. our degenerate nature,’ which has need of ftronger motives and more powerful fupports than thofe, which the law propofes, ¢ God fending his own Son in the likenefs of finful flefh, and for fin, condemned finin the flefh :? — that by the new motives and the divine affiftance offered in the Gofpel, ‘ the righteoufnefs of the law might be fulfilled in us, who,’ being regenerate, ‘ walk not after the flefh, but after the {pirit.’ ; ° The judicious paftor, obferving the fame conneétion be- - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. + g19 tween the morals and doétrines of chriftianity, as between the root and fruit of a vigorous’tree, is conftrained inceffant- ly to preach thofe important truths, which naturally give rife to the three above mentioned graces: and he is perfectly affured, that wherever thefe truths are permitted to take root, he thall fhortly rejoice over the ineftimable fruits of chriftian charity. This mode of acting is equally conform- able to reafon and revelation. By publifhing thofe doctrines, upon which the neceffity of repentance is founded, he exter- minates pride and inordisate felf-love, which are the greatett obftacles to charity. By preaching the doctrines of faith, he gives rife to that univerfal love, which extends to Gop and man. Thus when a finner fincerely believes, that Godis love : when penetrated with admiration and gratitude, he can fay with the Apoftle, [ live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me aud gave himfelf far me: at that moment, he neceffari- ly feels a degree of affection toward the creating Father, and the redeeming Son, whom he longs to imitate, and whom he rejoices to obey. This love is as boundlefs as it is ardent, _and reaches to the moft unworthy of his fellow creatures, enabling him, according to the example of Chrift, to facri- fice for his very ene:nies, not only outward comforts, but even life itfelf. Hence the’ chriftian faithis faid to work by love. Now if this lively perfuafion of the wnfpeakable blefl- ings, which Gop hath already given us in Chrift Jefus, is fufficient to produce a good degree of charity ; it is evident, -that a well-grounded hope of greater bleflings ftill to come, ‘muft ferve to ftrengthen and increafe this charity. And if we are fully perfuaded, that our labours of love fhall never be forgotten ; that even a cup of cold water, imparted for the love of Chrift, fhall not go unrewarded ; what influence ‘may not fuch an hope be expeéted to have, in opening the heart to univerfal benevolence, and in producing all the fruits of evangelical charity ? _ Convinced, that to plead for charity, without infifting up- on the doétrines, by which it muft be fupported, would be building a houfe without laying a folid foundation, the true -minifter induftrioufly labours to explain the nature, to exhibit the motives, and reprefent the effects of this wondrous grace, in the cléareft manner. ‘To fome, indeed, fuch difcourfes are vain; but others among his hearers are found, who, ra- vifhed with the lovelinefs of this virtue, and conftrained by K 2 220 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. -PAUL« thofe motives which the Gofpel propofes, betake themfelves to the exercife of it, with as much ardour, as the voluptuous tun to their fenfual entertainments. ’ Darknefs differs not more from light, than the charity of | the faithful minifter differs from that of a feribe ill-inftru@ed — im the myfteries of the kingdom. ‘The love of the good pattor rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, which — frequently comes to humble human pride. On the contrary, — the charity which every falfe Apoitle preaches, is no more than the phantom of a virtue, confoling the heart in the midit of fin, rejoicing in a le, and refting upon affurances altogether contrary to the word of Gop. ‘To be charitable, according — to the notions of thefe men, is to indulge a perfuafion, that — there is much to be abated of the threatenings contained in the Gofpel, and that St. Paul is far befide the truth, when — he declares, that no unclean or covetous peerfon hath any inheri- tance in the kingdom of Chrift.. It is to believe, that the Holy Spirit was:too fevere, when it di@ated to St. James, that he who is a friend of the world, is the enemy of God, and violates his baptif{mal vow in as fulla fenfe, as adulterers vio- late the facred vow of conjugal fidelity. It is to infinuate, that Chrift himfelf overpafled the bounds of reafon when he publicly cried out, ¢ Whofoever fhall fay to his brother, thou” fool, fhall be in danger cf Hell-fire.? Judge not, faith the Redeemer, that ye be not judged. But, according to the fenti- ments of thefe erring guides, to be divinely charitable, is to conclude from this. precept, that a man may even revoke the judgments of Chrift himfelf : thus, under pretext of not judg-— ing thofe, who are evidently walking in the road to perdi- tion, they indire€tly give judgment againft the Redeemer, — as bearing a falfe teftimony. In errors like thefe it is, that — the world will needs have the greateft part of charity to cone” fit. The true minifter attacks this falfe grace, as an enemy to the truths of the Gofpel, while he pleads for that Chrift-like © charity, which may properly be called the fifter of truth. He afferts the dignity and power of truth; holding it up to the veneration and love of thofe, who would not willy offend the Gop of truth. Let us, continues he, ‘ fpeaking the truth in love, grow up into him in all things, which is” the head, even Chrift ’ and having firft purified our fouls in obeying the truth, let us love one another with a pure heart fers THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 221 wenily. Between thefe fcriptural companions he will fuffer no feparation to take place ; and when they are treated by the injudicious, as enthufiaftic and heretical, he will dare to ftand forth in defence of thefe two confederate virtues. Another opinion, that generally prevails among the pro- feffors of chriltianity, is, that charity confifts in giving alms to the poor: and this opinion is earneftly contended for by many, although the pharifees, who were regarded by our Lord as ferpents and vipers, through their want of unfeigned eharity, were yet remarkable for their generofity in alms- giving. St. Paul manifeftly oppofes this erroneous notion, where he declares, that it is poflible for a man to giveall his goods to feed the poor, and yet be dettitute of charity. The faithful paftor, it is true, maintains, that every charitable perfon is conftrained to affift the poor, according to his abili- ty: but he adds, that alms-giving is as uncertain a mark of charity, as a conftant attendance upon the facramental table, is an equivocal evidence of faith : {ince it is as poflible to re- lieve the poor through weaknefs or vanity as to receive the holy communion through: timidity orcuitom. If the charity of worldly men is ever found to ees this . defcription, yet it will always be limited to the neceflities of the body. As they know not, how far the immortal f{pirit is fuperior to the perifhing body, which muft foon be blend- ed with the duft of athoufand carcafes, it is no wonder, that - their chief concern is engroffed by the latter. The welfare of their own fouls is attended to aes a very {mall degree of folicitude ; and while this is the cafe, it cannot be imagined, that they fhould manifeft any extraordinary degree of affec- tion towards the fouls of their neighbours. ‘They behoid without forrow thofe deluded partizans, who make war upon each other for the fake of their particular errors: they can even gaze,-without pity on thofe obdurate fouls, who are defperately plunging from one abyfs of fin to another. How different were the feelings of David, when, like a true peni- tent, he not only wept for his own offences, but fhed torrents of tears for thofe, who tranfgrefled the law of Gop. And how contrary was the character of St. Paul, whowent through a kind of fpiritual travail, till the daeaenrate were born again. In like manner the primitive chriftians expofed themfelves to imminent dangers, that they might give proofs of the moft exalted charity, by {hatching fouls from fin and death. And K 3 292 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. when they were not able to effe@ this by their external la= bours, they then wrettled in their clofets, with facred prayers _ and tears, for the converfion of the ungodly. Where there © is no defire after the falvation of others, there rue charity is — unknown: for while a man difregards the foul of his neigh- — bour, all the intereit he takes in his temporal affairs, can ma- _ nifeft no more than the charity ef a difciple of Epicurus, which is as far below the charity of Chrift’s difciples, as ma- terialifm is inferior to chriftianity. a In oppofition to all the falfe ideas, which have been receiv- ed upon this fubje&t, the minifter of the new Teftament teaches, that charity is the image of Gop; and that efernal and infinite charity, is nothing lefs than Gop himfelf. One Apoltle declares that God is love; and another affures us, ~ that we are called.to be made oo of the divine nature's whence the facred preacher infers, that the mew creature, of which St. Paul-makes mention, muft neceffarily confift in charity. When a chriftian is filled with charity, he'is then regenerate and born of Gop. Chrift is then formed in his heart, the Holy fpirit refts upon him, and he is filled with all — the fulnefs of God. He keeps the firft commandment of the law, by making a full furrender of his heart to Gop, from a — confcioufnefs that he is in himfelf the /overcign good: but he — chiefly loves him in the perfon of Chrift, through whom the Father is pleafed peculiarly to fhine forth, asa Gop of love. — Ina fecondary fenfe, he loves the works of Gop in all their : wonderful variety, as they fhadow forth his matchlefs per- — feétions, and place them within the reach of man’s under- — flanding. And his efteem for his admirable produ€tions, is j in proportion to the nearer or more diftant relation, in which they ftand to that eternal wifdom, which formed them all. Guided by this principle, he loves all mankind with an extra- ordinary degree of affection. The foul of man is peculiarly — dear to him, becaufe created in the image of Gon, and re- deemed with the blood of his beloved Son: while as the or- ganized vehicle of the foul, he admires and loves the cualy es abie body. Ass the fouls of the poor and the rich are equal immortal, he is never meanly prejudiced in favour of the latter; but, on the contrary, is ever ready to prefer a poor and pious beggar, before a fenfual and fupercilious noble. Thus the true chriftian cherifhes the faithful, not only for the love of the Creator, and Redeemer, but alfo for love of the « - - \ — _s oy THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 993 fanGtifying Spirit, unto whom their fouls are confecrated as living altars, and their bodies as hallowed temples. From this divine charity good works of every kind proceed, as from an inexhauftible fountain; a fountain which is making, as it were, continual efforts to enrich the barren foil around it. But where this is wanting, all external appearances are with- out any real value: the lavith giver, lofes his worth before pious men, and the zealous martyr his reward before a righ- teous Gop. - Uniting in his own heart the love of Gop, with the love of his neighbour, the true minifter anxioufly endeavours to demonftrate the folly of thofe, who feek to feparate thefe. important duties. He maintains, that charity without piety _ is but a mere natural virtue, which difcovers itfelf as frequent- ly in the brute creation, as among unregenerate men. The {wallow and the bat are careful of their young—the beaver and the ant are obferved to labour for the re{peCtive focieties of which they are individuals, and the fhe-bear is ready to meet death in defence of her cubs. On this account, the good paftor furnifhes his flock with thofe exalted motives to chriftian love which, by giving a divine principlé to natural charity, ennobles it in man, and renders it divine. As charity, without piety, is no more than a natural vir- tue, and may be the effect of pharifaical or diabolical pride, fo devotion, without brotherly love, is to be confidered as a fpecies of hypocrify,' as our Lord himfelf teaches in the following paffage. «If thou bring thy gift tothe altar, and there remembereft that thy brother hath ought againftrthee ; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; fir be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy sift,’ which would otherwife be rejected, as an abomination by the Gop oflove. True charity embraces all men, becaufe being made of one blood, they compofe but one valt family, of which Gop himfelf is the great parent. And here our Lord permits us not to except even our moft cruel enemy. Ve have heard, faith he, * that it hath been faid, thou fhalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy: but I fay unto you, love your enemies, blefs them, that curfe you, do good to them that hate you, and,’ manifefting a concern for their fouls, as well as an attention to their perfons, ¢ pray for them that defpitefully ufe you, and perfecute you; that ye may K 4 224, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. be the children of your Father, which is in Heaven: for he maketh his fun to rife on the evil and on the good. Charity confitts of two parts, patience and benevolence. By the one, we fuffer every kind of indignity, without entertain- ing a thought of revenge ; and by the other, we heap upon our enemies unfolicited favours. Our adorable Mafter, whofe conduét has furnifhed us with examples of the -moft perfec charity, difcovers to us the extent of this virtne, in the follow- ing paflages. The world hath ated both me and my Father 5 neverthelefs, ‘ God fo loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him fhould not perifh, but have everlafting life. It hath been faid an eye for an eye, and a tooth fora tooth ;’ and the time is coming, when it fhall be faid, a thruft with a fword for an abufive word; a piftol fhot for a fatyrical expreffion : but J * fay unto you, refift not, according to the maxims of thofe, by whom you are evil-entreated; ¢ but whofoever fhall {mite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other alfo:’ i. e. {uffer two infults rather than revenge one. Follow the fame rule likewife with refpe& to your worldly fubftance, * and if any man will fue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him haye thy cloak alfo:’ i. e. far from exa€ting with ri- gour, be ready to remit much of thy right, for the mainte- nance of peace: fince it is better to fuffer a double injuftice, than to lack condefcenfion and charity. * And whofoever thall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain :? i. e. mere- ly yielding to others in things, that are good, or indifferent, is not enough ; thy charity fhould rather prevent and furprize them with unexpeéted acts of civility and kindnefs. From thefe expreffions it appears, that our Lord would have his difciples to poflefs a charity not only extraordinary in fome degree, but altogether divine. In point of quality, he re- quires, that it fhould be equal to the inexpreflible love of the Father ; asa drop taken from the ocean is of the fame na- ture with thofe mighty waves, that roll over the unfathom- able deep. Jf ye love them, faith he, * that love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans fo? Be ye, therefore, perfect’ in charity, ‘ even as your-Father, which ~ is in Heaven is perfect.’ : Faith, unfpeakably excellent as it is, would be void of any real worth, unlefs it produced this happy difpofition. Jn Chrif, faith the Apoftle, the whole body of the faithful, ¢ fit- THE PORTRAIT OF 8T. PAUL. 925 ly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint fupplieth, according to the effe€tual working in the meafure of every part, maketh increafe of the body, unto the edify- ing of itfelfin Love. In Jefus Chrift neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion ; but faith, which worketh by ove: and. though I have all faith, fo that I could remove mountains, and have not’cHarity, | am no- _ thing.’ This celeftial grace runs through the whole circle of chriftian virtues. Thus when St. Paul enumerates the fruits or effe&ts of the Spirit, he points to charity as the fore- » moft of the train: and when St. Peter recounts the virtues which a chriftian fhould add to his faith, he concludes with the finifhing graces of brotherly kindne/s and charity. Both _ thefe ideas are afterwards united by the great Apoftle, where he exhorts the Coloflians to put on charity as that bond of perfed- nefs, without which the chriftian chara€ter would be incom- plete, and which may be faid to include all the graces of the Spirit, as a thoufand ears of corn are united in thefame fheaf. by one common band. It was with thefe fublime views of charity, that St. Paul thus addreffed his converts, By Love ‘ ferve one another; for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. weno man any thing, but to love one another, for he that Joveth another,’ in obe- dience to Chrift’s command, hath fulfilled the law. CHARI- “ry never faileth ; inafmuch as.it is the fource of heavenly joy. Now, inethe church militant, * abideth: faith, hope and cha-- rity ; but the greateft of thefeis” cHarity, which hall eter-- nally animate the church triumphant,. Even here on earth, it is counted as the beginning of eter-- nal life, to know, by faith, that God is Jove, and that he feeks to gain our affections by bleffings without number. A dif-- covery of this kind. cannot but give rife to fome grateful re-- »turn in the foul; fince it is impoffible firmly to believe _ thefe ravifhing truths, without crying out, like the firft chrif-- tians, We love him; becaufe he firft loved us: If Gov-hasmer- cifully made the firft advances toward his rebellious:creatures ; if, notwithftanding the diftance between: him and us be in-- finite, and the obftacles to our. union innumerable, he yet. gracioufly prefents himfelf in {pite of all ;- if he yet inclines to pardon the guilty, and endeavours to reconcile the world. unto himfelf by Jefus Chrift; what confcious heart. can be: KG. - en 7 226 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. unaffeGted with thefe tokens of his love, or what tongue be filent in his praife ? ; . » This Gop of charity thus affeGtionately addrefles an an- cient clafs of his fervants; * I have loved thee with anevers lalting love: therefore, with loving kindnefs have I drawn thee.’ The favour which he here exprefles toward the Jews ith church, is great ; but that, which he teftifiestothe chrif- tian church, is ftill more aftonifhing. His Son, the living — and eternal image of his father, humbles himfelf to the duft, and invefts himfelf with our nature, that raifing us from our low eftate, he may, at length, place i at the right hand of ‘¢ the Majefly on high. He loved the church, faith St. Paul, | «and gave him(felf for it, that he might fan&tify and cleanfe — it, and that he might prefent it to himfelf, a glorious church, not having fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing.’ . Thus he has given to believers.an example of the love, which they — ought to entertain for all their chriftian brethren, and to — hufbands a pattern of the attachment they fhould feel to their — wives ; fince he left the bofom of his Father, for the very — purpofe of fuffering with, and for his church, which in the J language of {cripture is called his fpoufe. But, adds’ the Apoftle, this is a great myftery. Now the true minifter is happily initiated into this grand myftery of charity. Hecan fay, with Peter, Lord! thou knoweft all things, thon knows — that I love thee: he can teftify, with Paul, the love of Chrift — confiraineth me: and, at other times, when the emotions of his” ‘ heart are too tender for utterance, tears of gratitudejand joy, filently ¢ry out, like thofe of diffolving Mary, Lord thou art worthy of all my love, finde thou hait gracioufly pardoned ali my fin. - Animated with this love, he publicly infifts upon univerfal charity, with all the ardour of St. John, teftifying that it flows from the knowledge of Gopjfand muft be con- ~ fidered as the root of chriftian obedience. Hereby, faith he, * petceive we the love of God, becaufe hedlaid down his lifew for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue 5” but, according to the example of Chrift, in deed aad in truth: for, if God fo loved us, we ought alfoto love one another. And remember, he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is LOVE. : Although Chrift evidently came to break down the wall ef feparation between the Jews and Gentiles, by preaching THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL.” 997 the dotrine of univer/al charity 3 yet he willed, that believers fhould love one another with a peculiar degree of affeCion. We are required to meet the unregenerate with alove of _ benevolence : but believers fhould be bound to each other by ties fo tender and powerful, that the world may acknowledge them to be men of one heart and one foul. By this, faith our Lord, foall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye have love one to another. And who can defcribe the generofity, the fweetnefs, the ftrength, and the conftancy, of this en- livening grace ? It is more active than the penetrating flame; it is rongerthan.death. Thecommunivn of faints, is received among chriftians as a fentence in their eftablifhed creed: hap- py would-it be, did it conftitute a part of their religious ex- perience! As to the difference betwixt chriffian charity, and that which was required. under the law, it feems to be fatis- factorily pointed out by St. John, in the following paflage : Brethren I write no new commandment unto yon, but an old com-— *mandment, which ye had from the-beginning ; for Mofes himfelf earnettly exhorted his people to maintain among themfelves the fire of fraternallove. Again, a new commandmint, I write unto you ; new, in relation to Chrift, who hath loved us not only as himfelf, but even more than himfelf; fince he offered up his life a ranfom for the rebellious. Mofes tafted not of death for Pharaoh, as Jefus did for Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas. The chriftian legiflator alone requires a charity of this perfe@ly difinterefted nature ; and for the fupport of fo exalted a precept, he has feconded it with his own great “example. Herein is love, continues the Apoftle, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the pro- pitiation for our fins. Love, then, is undoubtedly of God; flowing from him, as from an inexhauftible {pring ; and he that loveth, after the fame pure and fervent manner, is born of God, and #noweth God. This charity is fet forth by St. Paul, as a fource of con folation. Jf, faith he to the Phillippians, there be any comfort in LOVE, be ye like-minded, having the fame love one to another : and, ‘let this mind be in you, which was alfo in Chrift Je: fus.” And in another epittle, he criesout ; « I have a great “confli@ for them at Laodicea, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in rove.’ 1, Charity may be coenfidered as a {pring of comfort, be+ ~ eaule-it frees us from the fear of death, and delivers us from 6 2928 THE. PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. a thoufand other terrors, which trouble the peace of worldly men. There is no fear in Love ; but perfe Lovet, hoping all things cafleth out fear: becaufe fear hath torment. He, there- fore, that feareth, is not made perfed in Love. 2. Charity is confoling, becaufe it affifts and encourages us in the difcharge of our feveral duties. When we glow with affection to Gop and our neighbour, works of piety and charity are performed, not only without pain, but with heart-felt fenfations of fecret delight. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments: and to thofe who fincerely love him, his commandments are not grievous. ‘Thus a tender mother, lofes her repofe, without repining, that fhe may at- tend to the wants of her reftlefs infant : thus, an affectionate father labours with pleafure, for the fapport and education of his children ; and thus, with every teftimony of joy, the primitive chriftians relieved and fupported one another. The admirable effets, produced by this unfeigned love, are defcribed by St. Luke in the following terms: ¢ The multi-' tude of them that believed, were of one heart and one foul ; neither faid any of them, that aught of the things which he polfeffed, was his own: but, lofing fight of every felf-in- terelted view, they had all things common. ‘Here we behold that eminently accomplifhed by Chritt, ‘which was anciently prefigured under Mofes in the defert, when 'the manna was fo equally diftributed among the peo- ple, that he who gathered much, had nothing over, and he who gathered little, had no lack. Happy were thefe fleeting days _ of chriftian fellowfhip! Days that had long been promifed by Gon, and of which a foretafte had been given inthe land of Canaan, when it was ordained that, during the year of. jubilee, the poor fhould be permitted to hare the comforts of their richer neighbours. It muft be allowed that a mul titude of infincere profeflors over-fpreading the church in thefe melancholy times, will not permit this method to’ be generally adopted among us, which would, neverthelefs, be - entirely praGticable in a country inhabited by the affectionate: followers of Jefus.. But, at the fame time, it is no lefs true, that every individual, who is poffeffed of real charity, is ftiil treading in the fteps of his elder brethren, and waiting only the return of favourable times to prove, that Jefus Chriff is the Jame yeferday, to-day, and for ever; and that unfeigned I 3 F THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 229 charity, in the fame circumftances, will ever produce the fame effects. It is impoflible too highly to exalt this charity, which {prings from a grateful fenfe of the redemption that is in Jefus. He, who is unacquainted with this grace, is a ftran- ger to every real virtue, and utterly deftitute of that holine/s without which no man hall fee the Lord. ence we find the Apoftle Paul fo frequently conneéting holine/s with love ; or rather-preffing the latter, as that in which the former may be faid principally to confift. God, faith he, hath chofen us in Chrift, that we fhould be holy and without. blame be- fore him in rove. Let Chrift dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye being rooted and grounded in rove, may be able to comprehend with ail faints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Chrift which pafleth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulnefs of God. The Lord make you to increafe and abound in Love one toward another, and toward all men: to the end that he may eftablifh your hearts unblameable in holinefs before God.’ Knowledge alone puffeth uf, but charity, added to know- ledge, edifieth, and condu€ts the foul, from grace'to grace, unto the meafure of the flature of the fulnefs of Chrif. Wappy ' they, who have attained to this high degree of fpirituality, from which, with a look of pure beneficence, they can {mile on all around them! Such may join the firft profeffors of chriftianity, and fay ; We have known and betieved the love, _that God hath to us ; and, penetrated with a deep fenfe of " his affe@tion, we declare from happy experience, that God is Love; and he that dwelleth in wove, dwelleth in God, and God in him. The love of thefe perfevering difciples may, in a feriptural fenfe, be termed ferfed ; fince it enables them to bear a juft, though faint refemblance to the Gop of love.’ Their hearts are as replete with charity, as {parks are fill- ed with fire: and doubtlefs the fmalleft fpark may be faid to fhine, with a degree of perfetion, in its little fphere, as well as the brighter {un in his more boundlefs courfe. St. Paul, who preached this charity with fo much fer- vency, declares, that it was kindled in his heart by the love’ of Chrift; and upon this account he-labours to found it upon’thofe do€trines, which are univerfally defpifed by every clafs of deifts. In his epiftle to the Romans, which contains’ 230 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. fixteen chapters, he employs eleven in laying this folid foun- — dation, while the duties of charity are declared only in.the five remaining chapters. Like a wife mafter-builder, before he attempts to raife this facred edifice, he endeavours to re= move out of the way the ruins of corrupted nature, and the rabbifh of felf-love. But had he endeavoured to do this, without calliag in to his aid the doftrines of the Gofpel, he would have acted as ridiculoufly as Archimedes, had that philofopher attempted the removal of earth, without having firft fecured a folid footing fuited to his purpofe. ahs The moft powerful motives employed by this Apofile, ia urging us to the practice of chriftian charity, are the Jove of Gop, and’ the compaffion of Chrilt. God, faith he, * com- mendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet fin- ners, Chrift died for us; and, ye know the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, that though he was rich, yetfor your fakes he became poor, that ye, through his poverty, might be rich.’ Now, whoever is fenfible of the power, and taftes the fweetnefs, of thefe two grand truths, feels himfelf, at the fame time, carried to every good work, in the fame manner as the mifer is led to thofe aGtions, which ferve to increafe his hoard. For, being faved by grace, through faith, in thefe very truths, we are created by Chrift Jefus unto good works. Who gave himfelf for us, on this fole account, ¢ thathe might — redéem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himfelf a pecu- liar people, zealous.af good works.’ The confolatory doc- trine of a gratuitous pardomoffered to finners, as a token of Gopo’s unfathomable love, is another motive frequently made ufe of to the like parpofe. Put on, continues the fame A- pottle, ‘as the ele& of God, bowels of mercies, kindnefs, humblenefs of mind, meeknefs, long-fuffering ; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel againft any: even as Chrift forgave you, fo alfo do ye. Above allthings have fervent charity among your- felves : for charity fhall cover the multitude of fins.’ Yes, it not only covers the fins of others, by confidering their doubtful actions in the moft favourable point of view, and — by overlooking the moft unpardonable of their failings ; but may in fome meafure, be faid to cover our own offences, fince Gop, for Chrift’s fake, has promifed to overlook our tran{greffions as we give proof of a forgiving temper toward: — our brethren. Difcord entered: into the world by fin.” THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 231 Hence we fee unregenerate men not only feparated from Gop, but divided among themfelves : and hence, by the res bellion of his growing paffions againit his enfeebled reafon, every unrighteous man is at war with himfelf. Dreadful ’ as thefe evils are, we are here prefented with a perfec re- medy for them all. He, who created man upright, hath ferit his Soa to re-eftablifh harmony in the world, to reduce our paffions under the government of love, to fubje& our reafon to the authority of truth, and to fubdue the whole man under the {weet yoke of charity manifeited in the fiefh ; that ebarity, which is deftined to reign forever, and whofe happy empire is called the Kingdom of Heaven. The Father of glory, days St. Paul, ‘ hath put all things under the feet of Chrift, and hath given him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulnefs of him, that filleth all in all. Ye, who fometimes were far off, are now made nigh by the blood of Chrift. For he is our peace,’ between Jews and Gentiles, between man and man, ‘ who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the crofs, having flain the enmity’ by that perfeét charity, of which he gave fo many wonderful proofs. Now, ¢lerefore, we who are a€tuated by the fame {pirit of love,‘ are no more ftrangers and foreigners, but fel- _ low-citizens with the faints and of the houfehold of God ; and are built upon the fame foundation of the Apoftles and Prophets, Jefus Chrift himfelf being the chief corner-ftone. In whom the whole building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom alfo ye are builded together for an habitation of God, through the {pirit of cHariry.’ . The minifter, who feels the force of this overcoming mo> tive, cannot fail to place it continually before his hearers. The various parts of his public difcourfes as naturally in- cline to this grand point, 4s the feveral parts of a folid edi- fice mutually reft upon the common foundation. There is one body, faith he with the Apoftle, ‘and one fpirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one © God and Father of ali, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. As we have many members in one body 5 fo we, being many, are one body m Chrift, and every one meinbers one of another. . Let love be, therefore, without = 939 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. — diffimulation: be kindly-affetioned one to another with brotherly love ; in honour preferring one another. Rejoice with them that do rejoice; and weep with them that weep. Be of the fame mind one toward another. Avenge not yourfelves, but rather give place unto wrath. If thine ene- my hunger, feed him; if he thirft, give him drink. Be not ~ overcome of evil; but overcome evil with good.’ In a word, Let all your things be done with CHARITY. To conclude. The evangelical paftor points out the ex- cellence of charity, and urges every motive that can lead to’ the practice of it, till worldly men are conftrained to cry out, — with all the admiration of the ancient heathens; “ See how «¢ thefe chriftians love one another !”’ Lucian, indeed, could look with ridicule upon the zeal, with which the primitive chriftians fuccoured one another: ‘¢ For,’? fays he, ‘their ‘< legiflator has made them believe, that they are all bre- ‘“‘ thren ; and hence they have all things common’ among «< them, defpifing even death itfelf, through the hope of im- * - = «¢ mortality.”? ‘The good paftor, however, is anxious to do ; that, which this heathen writer was impious enough to cen-. fure in Chrift. He admonifhes believers to addrefs the Al- mighty, as their common parent, confcious, that fo foon as they receive power to cry Abba, 1. e. Father, by the Holy Spirit, they will neceffarily forget every ferupulous diftinc- tion between mine and thine, and put up, with unfeigned fin- cerity that univerfal prayer, give us this day our daily bread. This petition is commonly ufed by every member of our degenerate church, while their hearts are comparatively in-. fenfible to the wants of their neceflitous brethren. But was the love of ancient days to revive among us, we fhould not only folicit common blefflings from above, but rejoice ta fhare them with each other, as brethren partake of a repalt provided for them at the table of their common Parent, Happy days! when the Gofpel of Chrift was feen to. flourifh in the earth. Surely that facred feafon might, with propriety, be termed the golden age of the church. O that we could recall the felicity we have forfeited, and fee the joys of unanimity reftored to a diftrafted world! But, while we give vent to our lamentations, let us not fink into defpair, fince however depiorable our prefent circumftances may be, they are not totally remedilefs. Though for fo many ages, jelf-love bas ulurped the throne. of charity; though mankind. it ee ee THE PURTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 233, are prone to injure one another, in their reputation, by flan- der ; in their property by injuftice ; and in their perfons by murder, whether perpetrated in the charaGter of an affaffin, or that of a duellift; though wars are fomented on the flighteft pretences, and chriftian princes appear eager to wafh their hands in the blood of thoufands; though a// the earth is full of darknefs and cruel habitations: yet will we not give up our hope. Thefe unhappy times were foreteld by our gra- cious Mafter. And as he had prefcience enough to predi& the decays of chriffian love, and the calamities conlequent thereupon; fo he is poflefled of fufficient power to re-efta- blifh the empire of charity in the world. Believers, then, amidft all their afflictions, may patiently and confidently ex- pec thofe times of refrefbing, which /hall affuredly come from the prrefence of the Lord: looking forward to that promifed reftitution of all things, concerning which, God hath [poken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets fince the world began. In the mean while, let thofe who are haftening, by their prayers, this defirable revolution, be careful to preferve in their own hearts thofe fparks of charity, which fhall one day kindle the univerfe mto a facred flame. And let the minifters of the.Gofpel make a conftant difplay ofthofe evangelical truths, which were formerly fufficient to light up this glorious fire; that by ftirring up the dying embers of grace, the little light, which ftill remains in the church, may be preferved from, total extinGion. ' Should it be here obje&ed—Are not all the minifters of our church to be confidered, as preachers of chriftian charity ? We anfwer, by no means. The charity, concerning which we {fpeak, muft flow from a union with Chrift; a union, which minifters of the prefent day, are accuftomed to treat as enthufiaftic and vain. This excellent grace is /hed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghoft, which is given unto us. But the, who dares openly to plead for this fcriptural truth, is ‘efteemed by fuch preachers, no better than a deluded fanatic. ‘Thefe preachers are frequently heard, indeed, to {peak of chriftian charity, but far from endeavouring to {pread it through the world, they ule every effort to deftroy the very feeds of this grace in the church of Gop. -If, in a parifh that is unhappy enough to have a paftor of this kind, a few perfons are happily converted to Gon, and united togetlier in Jefus Chrift; if, having one heart, and one foul, they fre~ 234: THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. quently join together in prayer and in praife, mutually ex- hortingand provoking oneanother to love and good works ;— the worldly minifter, inftantly alarmed, imagines that thefe perfons, for the fake of forming a new feé, are deftroying the unity of the church: when, on the contrary, they are but juft about to experience the communion of faints. And, if he is poffeffed of zeal, or party-{pirit, he will labour to make it appear, that thefe chriftians, who are beginning to love as brethren, are forming conventicles to disturb the order both of church and state. Such a minister will give encourage- ment to companies of jugglers, dancers, and drunkards, ra— ther than tolerate a fociety, which has chriffian charity for its. obje& and its bafis. SE ee “THE TRUE MINISTER BELIEVES AND ~ PREACHES THE THREE GRAND PROMIS- ES OF GOD, TOGETHER WITHTHE THREE GREAT DISPENSATIONS OF GRACE. E have feen, in the preceding chapters, that bee lievers are faved by a faith and an hope, which ferve to feed in their fouls the facred fire of charity. Now this faith, and this hope, must neceffarily have for their foun- dation fome promife of Gop. _A promife already accom=— plifhed is embraced by faith alone ; but a promife, whole ac- complifhmnent is protra€ted, is equally the obje& of faith an of hope. He, therefore, who is appointed by Christ 2 preacher of the everlasting Gofpel, is folicitots to obtain clear ideas of the great promifes of Gop. He is constantl engaged in meditating, either upon their past or future ac complifhment, in order to maintain in his own heart thofe inestimable graces, with which he is defirous to animate ‘ fouls of others. Obferve the method, in which he confide embraces, and preaches them. r Under the difpenfation of the Father, the grand promife was that, which refpected the external manifestation of t Son. The original promife, as made to Adam, was ex preffed in the following terms: “« The feed of the woman fhall bruife the head of the ferpent.” As the Meffiah was to defeend from Abraham, according to the flefh, the fame THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 235 promife was thus renewed to that Patriarch: Jn thee /bail all families of the earth be blefed. Inthe days of Mofes, it was repeated. to all Ifrael, as follows: The Lord thy God will raife up unto thee a prophet, from the midft of thee, of thy brethren; unto him fhall ye hearken. David and the other Prophets powerfully confirmed this prophecy, and Malachi thus re- capitulates the promifes which had been given before his time: * The Lord, whom ye feek, fhall fuddenly come to his temple, even the meflenger of the covenant whom ye de- light in; behold, he fhall come, faith the Lord of Hofts. Unto you, that fear my name, fhall the Son of righteoufnefs arife with healing in his wings ; and ye fhall go forth,’ out of your prefent obfcure difpenfation and grow uf, in fpiri- tual ftrength, as calves of the fiall. Thus fpeaks the laft of the prophets, under the difpenfation of the Father. Immediately upon the accomplifhment of thefe promi- fes, while the difpenfation of the Son was but darkiy opened by his precurfor, another promife was given for the exercife of faith and hope, under this new economy, refpe¢ting the . full manifeftation of the Holy Ghoft, as a Spirit of truth and love. Behold this grand promife, as announced by John the baptift. J am not the Chriff; I am the voice of one cry- ing in the wiltlernefs, make ftraight the way of the Lord. I baptize you with water unto repentance, as a preparation for the {piritual kingdom and baptifm of the Meffiah: Gut he that cometh afier me, is mightier than I, whofe fooes I am not worthy to bear. He fhail introduce a more {piritual difpen- fation, and adminifter a more efficacious baptifm: for he JSball baptize you with the Holy Ghoft and with fire, fhedding abroad thofe gifts and praces of his Spirit, which {hall pene- trate and purify your hearts, as metals are penetrated and purified by material fire. This promife is of fo great impor- tance, that it was thought neceflary to be repeated by the four Evangelifts. Our Lord, continuing the difpenfation, which his forerun- ner had opened, made and baptifed more difciples than John, though Jefus himfelf baptifed not, with water, but his difciples. The baptifm, which he was about to adminifter, was as far fuperior to the baptifm of John, and that of his own difciples, as the water, of which he fpake to the woman of Samaria, was fuperior to the water of Jordan, or that of Jacob’s well. Whofoever thall drink of the water that I foail give him, {aid he 236 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. to that enquiring woman ; whofoever fhall come to my bap- . tifm, and let down his veffel into the inexhauftible fountain - of my grace, /hall never thirft : but the water that I fball give him, fhall be in him a well of water, a fource of righteoufnels, peace, and joy, /fringing up into everlafting life. In order to ftrengthen the hope of thofe, who had been - baptized with water, our Lord publicly ratified the promife, which had been fo frequently repeated to them by John the — Baptift. ‘In the laft day, that great day of the feaft, Jefus — ftood and cried; If any man thirlft, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath } faid, out of his belly fhall flow rivers of living water. But this he fpake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him,’ in every age, fhould receive.‘ For the Holy Ghoft was not yet fully given, becaufe that Jefus was not yet glorified.” An ineftimable promife this, which deferves to be deeply engraven in the minds of thofe, who are merely acquainted with Chrift, according to his exterior appearance in the — world. Obferve here the method, by which he endeavours to prepare all fuch in every country, and im every period, — OO for his manifeftation in the Spirit: Jf you. love me keep my” commandments, be faithful to the prefent difpenfation of my Gofpel, and I will pray the Father and he will give you another — Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. At that day, when ye fhall experience the fulnefs of his prefence, ¢ Ye fhall know, that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and [ mr © yous or he that loveth me, fhall be loved of my Fathery. and I will iove him, and we will come unto him and make — our abode with him.?_ By comparing thefe words with the feventeenth and twenty-fixth verfes of the fame chapter, itis — evident, that by this {piritval manifeftation of the Father and the Son, nothing lefs can be intended than the full meafure © of that Holy Spirit, which prroceedeth from the Father, and. q which is exprefly called, the Spirit of his Son. Our Lord, who knew the ftupidity of thofe who were un- der the inferior difpenfation of his Gofpel, and how flow of heart they were fo believe, what either the Prophets or him- felf had fpoken, judged it expedient to repeat the grand promife of the Spirit again and again. ¢ When the Com- forter is come,” faid he, ‘ whom I will fend unto you from the — Father, he fhall teftify of me. It is expedient for you, that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 237 come unto you; but if I depart, I will fend him unto you. Behold I fend the promife of my Father upon you.’ The abundant effufion of the Holy Spirit was termed by our Lord, the promife of the Father, for two reafons; firft, becaufe coming to inftruét mankind how to worfhip the Fa- ther in fhirit and in truth, it became him to refer all things to that Father: and this he was ftri€tly and conftantly accuf- tomed todo. Secondly, becaufe the father of lights is to be confidered as the author of every good and perfeG gift. It was he, who fo loved the world, that he gave his only be- gotten Son to die for the world; and from him proceeds that Holy Spirit, which Jefus Chrift {till continues to fhed abroad among his faithful followers. The Father had alrea- dy promifed under the law, that he would grant unto his people a general out-pouring of his Spirit, under the reign of the Meffiah. The memorable prophecy of Joel, as quoted by St. Peter, is generally known; and the following promi- fes equally merit the attention of believers. ‘In that day, I will pour upon the houfe of David, and upon the inhabi- tants of Jerufalem, the Spirit of grace and fupplications : and they fhall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they fhall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only fon. I will pour water upon him, that is thirfty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy feed, and my blefling upon thine offspring. I will {prinkle clean water upon you, and ye fhall be clean. I will put my Spirit with- in you, and caufe you to walk in my ftatutes. I will give them one heart: I willtake the ftony heart out of their flefh, and will give them an heart of flefh.2 That man muft be prejudiced to an extreme degree, who perceives not, that thefe gracious prophecies began to receive their accomplifh- _ ment upon the day of Pentecoft, when the multitude of them _ that believed were of one heart and one foul. ‘ The laft day our rifen Saviour pafled upon earth, was em- _ ployed in ftrengthening the faith of his difciples, with refpeé& | tothis promife. After having them together, he commanded them to woit for the promife of the Father, which continued he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptifed with water, and | ye have done the fame, by my direction, but ye /hall be bap- tifed with the Holy Ghoft not many days hence. _ After the grand promife under the difpenfation of the Son was in part accomplifhed ; when the difciples were fil- 238 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: led with faith, and with the Holy Ghof, another promife was given to exercife their faith, to fix their attention; and to perfe& their patience; the promife of Chrift’s fecond coming to ‘ gather his wheat into the garner, and to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. This fame Jefus.” faid the Angels who appeared to the difciples on the day of their matter’s afcenfion; * This fame Jefus which is taken up from you into Heaven, fhall fo come, in like manner as ye have feen him go into Heaven.’ This important pro-« mife was afterwards repeated by St. Paul and the other A- | poftles. ‘The Lord Jefus thall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that obey not the Gofpel ; who fhall be punifhed with © everlafting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord when he fhall come to be glorified in his faints, and. te be admired in all them that believe. Behold he cometh with clouds, — and every eye fhall fee him, “and they alfo which pierced _ bim ; and all kindreds of the earth fhall wail becaufe of him. — The day of the Lard’will come, as a thief in the night.’ This coming of Chrilt, which is difregarded by many, for — the reafon affigned by St. Peter. is fo fully expected by thofe — who live under the difpenfation of the Spirit, that they are — conftantly looking for, and haflening to, the coming of the day of — God. According to St. Paul, finners are converted from — the error of their ways, that they may‘ ferve the liying and the true God, and wait for his Son from Heaven, whom he ~ raifed from the dead: looking for that bleffed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jefus — Chrift’ This fecond coming of Chrift was the obje of thie ” Apoftle’s higheft hopes, after which he reprefents himfelf f as groaning with the moft fervent defire. Yea £ count all things but lofs, continues he, ‘ that I may know him, and the — power of his refurre€tion. Our converfation: is in heaven, — from whence alfo we look for the Saviour, who fhall change — our vile body, that it may be fafhioned like unto his glori- ous body, according to the working, whereby he is even able to fubdue all things unto himfelf.’ | As God had afforded believers, under the old Teftament, a perfpeCtive view both of the manifeftation of the Re- deemer ina mortal body, and that difpenfation of the Spirit, which he was to open among his followers under the new ; Teftament, fo he had likewife foretold, by his Prophets, the THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 239 glorious return of that Saviour to the earth. ‘The Lord cometh with ten thoufands of his faints to execute judgment. Behold, he fhall come faith the Lord of Hofts. But who may abide the day of his coming ? and who fhall ftand, when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like ful- ler’s foap.’ » Mark tthe terms, in which our Lord himfelf declared this fublime difpenfation. ‘ The love of many fhall wax cold. Falfe prophets fhall arife, and ye thall fee the abomination of defolation, {fpoken of by the Prophet Daniel, ftand in the holy place. Immediately after the tribulation of thofe days, the powers of the Heavens fhall be fhaken. And then fhall appear the fign of the Son of man in Heaven: then fhall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they fhall fee the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven, with power and great glory. But of that day and hour knoweth noman. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.’ Thus Jefus himfelf teftified of his Liond coming, and his firft difciples, in conformity to their _Mafter’s declaration, addreffed a large affembly in the fol- lowing terms, almoft immediately after his afcenfion: « Re» ‘pent ye, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out, when the times of refrefhing fhall come from the prefence of the Lord; and he fhall fend Jefus, which before was preach- -ed unto you: whom the Heaven mutt receive, until the time of reftitution of all things, which God hath fpoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets, fince the world began.’ ‘So long as a minifter embraces thefe different promifes : fo long as, with a lively faith which is rhe evidence of things ‘aot feen, he believes, that the Father fent his Son for the re- demption of finners, and his Holy Spirit for the fanétifica- tion of helievers—fo long as, with a faith which is rhe /ub- france of things hoped for, he believes, that Chritt fhall one day return for the glorification of his faints; fo long he is faved by that faith and hope, which enable him to preach the Gof- el in all its wondrous extent. So long, he not only com- prehends, but experiences the power of that Gofpel in his own foul, while he labours to make it manifeft. before the world, by his public difcourfes, and by the whole tenor of is conduct. . ry ; 240 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. THE TRUE MINISTER STUDIES THE DI. FERENT DISPENSATIONS, IN ORDER Ti QUALIFY HIMSELF FOR THE DiSCHARG OF EVERY PART OF HIS DUTY. HE paftor, who is ill-inftruéted in the myfteries of our holy religion, lofes himfelf and leads his fheep aftray. The good paftor, on the contrary, having found out the way to eyerlafting life, prefles forward therein at the head of his” flock, and exhorts every heedlefs wanderer to follow his fteps. He is confcious not only, that he has a mixture of fheep and goats in his fold; but he knows that, among the for- mer, there are fome, to whofe {piritual condition the fincere milk of the word is much better adapted, than ftronger ina To all of thefe he ftudies to addrefs himfelf ina fuitable man ner. To thofe who are dead in trefpaffes and fin, equally deftitute both of love and fear, he proclaims the firft principles of the Gofpel, fuch as refentance from dead works, faith ton qard God, and an eternal judgment.- "Thole who arte already awakened from the delufions of fin, he anxioufly leads into ‘the paths of grace; and endeavours to conduét thofe to evangelical perfection, who have felt the powers of the world to come. He eafily diftinguifhes the mixed multitude of his hearers into a variety of claffes. The unbelieving and im- penitent, who are to be confidered as without Gop and with- out hope in the world, are fuch as go on, without any fymp- tom of fear, toward the gulph of perdition; whether it be by the high-road of vice, with the notorioufly abandoned, or through the by-path of hypocrify, with pharifaical pro« feffors. Converted finners, or believers, are either under the difpenfation of the Father, under that of the Son, or under that of the Holy Ghoft, according to the different progrefs- they have made in fpiritual things: and the faithful paftor is as perfeGtly acquainted with their various attainments, a diligent tutor is acquainted with the different abilities his feveral pupils. Believers, under the difpenfation of the Father, are dinarily furrounded with a night of uncertainty and doub though vifited, at times, with a few feattered rays of hope Under the difpenfation of the Son, the doubts of believers ¥ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 244 diffipated, like thofe of the two difciples who journeyed to Emmaus, while they difcover more clearly, and experience more powerfully, the truths of the Gofpel. But under the difpenfation of the Spirit, they walk ia the light, and are led into all truth by the Spirit of truth ; the anointing which they have received; abideth in them,-and teacheth them of all things neceflary to falvation. A father of the church paraphrafing upon thofe words of the Apoftle, Lord fave us; we perifo>—apottrophizes thus with the doubting difciples: * You have your Saviour with * you, what danger can ‘you fear? We are yet, they reply, * but children, and have attained ‘but to a fmali degree of *ftrength : hence we are afraid. The defcent of the Holy “Spirit, that divine protector, which has been gracioufly « promifed, has not yet filled us-with full affurance. This «has been the caufeof our unfteadinefs hitherto: and hence, “the Saviour fo frequently reproaches us with the weaknefs ‘ of our faith.? Now, ‘all thofe chriftians, who have not yet received ‘the f{piritual baptifm, fo frequently mentioned inthe new Teftament, are fhut up in this'ftate of weaknefs and doubt. But fo foon as they are born of the Spirit, they cry out no longer with trembling fear, fave us ; we perifh! but they cry out in tranfports of gratitude, ‘ God, according to his ‘mercy, hath faved us, by the wafhing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghoft, which he hath fhed on us abundantly, through Jefus Chrift our Saviour !” Under the difpenfation of the Father, believers conftantly experience the fear of Gop, and, in general, a much greater degree of fear than Jove. Under the economy of the Son, Yove begins to gain the afcendency over fear. But under the difpenfation of the Holy Spirit, perfect love cafteth out fear ; ‘becaufe it is peculiarly the office of the Comforter, to de- fiver the foul from ‘every thing that is liable to diftrefs and ‘torment it. Under the economy of the Father,’ the believer is fre- quently heard to exclaim, O wretched man that Iam! who fhall deliver me from the body of this death ? Under that of the Son, he gratefully cries out ; J thank God, who hath effeCtually wrought this deliverance, through Jefus Chrift our Lord: but ‘under the perfe&t Gofpel, which is the difpenfation of the Spirit, all believers are enabled to fay, with one voice ; ‘ We have not received the fpixit 3 bondage again to fear ; but 242 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. we have received the fpirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father! The Spirit itfelf beareth witnefs with our fpirit, that we are the children of God, and joint heirs with Chritt.’ St. Paul thus diftinguifhes the different ftates of advance- ment in the chriftian faith. The heir, as long as he is a child, [and fuch is the cafe with believers, under the difpenfation of the Father] < differeth nothing from a fervant, though he be Lord of all; but is under tutors and governors till the time appointed of his Father. Even fo we were once ina ftate of bondage: but when the fulnefs of the time was come, God fent forth his Son to redeem them that were -under the Law, that we might receive the adoption.of Sons. And be- caufe ye are fons, God hath fent forth.the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no morea fervant butafon; and if a fon, then an heir of God, through Chrift: by whom we have accefs into this grace, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ ‘ Our Lord himfelf evidently pointed out the progreffive ftate of the church, when turning to his difciples, he faid ; © Bleffed are the eyes which fee the things that ye fee: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have defired to fee thofe things, which ye fee, and have not feen them ; and to hear thofe things, which ye hear, and have not heard them.’ Neverthelefs, when their gracious Mafter held this language, he was at that time neither glorified, nor crucified: and it is well known, that the great glory of the Gofpel was to follow his fufferings and his triumph. _ The fame fubjeé is treated by St. Peter in his firft epiftle, where he {peaks of that full /a/vation, which is to be confider- ed, as the end or recompenfe of faith. Of which falvation, faith he, ‘ the Prophets have enquired and fearched diligently, who prophefied of the grace that fhould come unto you: fearching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Chrift, which was in them did fignify, when it teftified before-hand the fufferings of Chrift, and the glory that fhould follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themfelyes, but unto us they did minifter the things, which are now reported unto you, by them that have preached the Gofpel unto you, with the Holy Ghoft fent down from Heaven, which things the Angels defire to look into. Happy are ye! forthe Spi- rit of glory and of God refteth upon you. Ye area chofen 7 - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 243 generation, a peculiar people, that ye fhould fhew forth the - praifes of him, who hath called you out of darknefs into his marvellous light.’ Without an experimental knowledge of thefe feveral ftates, a minifter can no more lead finners to evangelical perfection, than an illiterate peafant can communicate fufficient intel- ligence to his ruftic companions, to pafs an examination for the higheft degree in a univerfity. It may here be neceffary to mark out the grand truths, by which thefe difpenfations are feverally characterized. _ The common language under the difpenfation of the Fa- ther, is as follows: ‘ God hath made of one blood all nations of men, and hath appointed the bounds of their habitation ; that they fhould feek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. The grace of God that bringeth falvation, hath ap- peared, in different degrees, to all men; For the living God is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe. God is no re{pe€ter of perfons; bug in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteoufnefs, is accepted with him. Without faith, it is impoffible to pleafe him: for he that cometh unto God, mutt believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently feek him. He hath fhewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juftly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.’ Obferve the language of the Son’s difpenfation. ¢ Glory -to God in the higheft, and on earth peace, good-will toward men. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which fhall be to all people: for unto you is born this day, in the city of ‘David, a Saviour, which is Chrift the Lord. Grace and truth came by Jefus-Chrift, who hath abolifhed death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gof- pel. The hour cometh and now is, when the true worfhippers {hall worfhip the Father in Spirit and in truth. Ye believe in God, believe alfo in me. If the Son fhall make you free, ye fhall be free indeed. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath fent—No man can come unto me, except the Father, which hath fent me draw him: and every man, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. He that Ser tnes on the Son, hath ever- Q4aA . THE PORTRAIT OF 8T. PAUL. lafting life: and he, that believeth not the Son, fhall not fee life ; but the wrath of God abideth on- him.” ~~ The difpenfation of the Spirit is again diftinguifhed by the following peculiar language. This is that which was /poken by the Prophet Joel: In the laf days, or under the latt dif penfations of my grace, ‘ faith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flefh, upon my fervants and upon my hand- maidens: and they fhall prophefy. Jefus, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having’ received of the Father the promife of the Holy Ghoft, hath thed forth this plenitude of grace, the effeds of which ye now fee and hear. Repent, therefore, and be baptized every one‘of you in the name of Jefus Chrift, for the remiffion of fins, and ye fhall réceive the — ‘Holy Ghoft. For the promife is unto ‘yowand to ‘your chil- ‘dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God fhall call. Te ape If at any time it is to be apprehended, that believers are ftill carnal, and unrenewed by the Spirit of Gop, the paftor, who is converfant with thefe different economiés of grace, enquire with St. Paul; Have ye'received the Holy Ghoft, fince ‘ye believed ? When others, among his flock, demonftrate both by their converfation and conduét, that they are influenced -by the Spirit of Chrift, he exhorts them ina manner fuitable tothe glorious difpenfation under whichthey live. ¢ Ye are wathed, ye are fan@tified, ye are juftified, in the name of the Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God. Your body is ‘the témple of the Holy Ghoft: therefore glorify God, in your body and in your fpirit, which are’God’s. Grieve not ‘the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are fealed unto the day — of redemption. Be filled with the Spirit ; fpeaking to your-_ felves in’ pfalms and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, making ‘ melody in your hearts unto the Lord. Rejoice evermore. — Pray without ceafing. In every thing give thanks. == This language is too elevated for natural men, who undet- “ ftand it no more than illiterate perfons comprehend the moft — -abftrufe parts of fcience. Hence it is necefflary, that the © faithful minifter fhould acquaint himfelf with the different — conditions‘and capacities of all his hearers, ifhe would happily © accommodate fpiritual things to fpiritual men. Withotit © this knowledge, he will, under every difpenfation, run the hazard of refufing to advanced chriftians the folid nourifh- — & \ eg, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL; 945 ment. they; need, and of prefenting to the natural man that celeftial manna, which his very foul abhors. —_—— cer ae eee FHE DIFFERENT DISPENSATIONS ARE PRO- DUCED BY THAT LOVELY VARIETY, WITH WHICH THE ALMIGHTY IS PLEASED TO DISTRIBUTE HIS FAVOURS. EF the light of the Gofpel had been due from Gop to every individual finner ; if he had not been left entirely free in every fenfe of the word, to impart it to whom, at what time, and in what degree foever was moft pleafing to himfelf; his impartial juftice would then have engaged him equally to iluminate all mankind, and be muft have caufed the Sun of righteoufnefs, immediately after the fall, to have fhone out in its meridian brightaefs. Ta-fuch cafe, there would have. been: but one difpenfation of grace; and the light of the Gofpel would not have proceeded to its higheft glory, by fuch juit gradations, as are observable in all the productions of nature. yes But the Almighty has proveeded in the work of our re- demption, according to the di¢tates. of his own unerring wif- dom, and not upon the plans of our pretended fages. . The day of the Gofpel, whether it be confidered as enlightening the world in general, or the heart im particular, rifes, like the natural day, from one degree of brightnefs to another, till all its glories are fully: manifefted. The confufion which many divines have- fpread over this part of theology, makes it neceffary to go into particulars, that we may place ina jult point of view, both the gradations and the harmony of thofe three difpenfations, which collec- tively form the glorious Gofpel of Gop. If fome naturalifts were determined to confine their obfer- vations upon the rainbow, to thofe lines in it that are mani- feftly red; if naturalifts of another clafs were as obftinate in contemplating thofe of an orange hue; andif others were as refolutely bent in fingling out thofe of a blue colour; they would contradi& and difpute with each other im as ridiculous a manner, as many ignorant worfhippers of the triune Gop are obferved to do at this day. Thus deilts difpute for the L383 246 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. honour of Gop the Creator; and while fome chriftians pay — all their homage to Gop the Redeemer, others aréas wholly _ taken up with Gop the San&tifier. Amid? all the confufion of thefe jarring fentiments, the prudent paftor admits, in their proper place, the various difpenfations of Evangelical light, conducting his followers from faith to faith, till he beholds them illuminated with all the truths, and experiencing all the power of the chriftian religion. a4 We acknowledge that Gon is juft, though the light of the natural fun approaches us only ina gradual manner, produc- ing a conftant variety both in our days and feafons. We do not accufe the fupreme Being of injuftice, becaufe he is not pleafed to bring the fruits of the earth, in an inftant to their higheft maturity ; or becaufe the fame fpecies of fruit, which is efteemed for its delicious flavour in one climate, is found worthlefs and infipid in another. And if the Sovereign of the world is not expeéted to ripen on a fudden, either the reafon of individuals, or the knowledge of nations, it fhould not be matter of furprize to obferve him aGting in his ufual manner, with refpect to things of a fpiritual nature. His plans are all equally wife: but it is impoffible for man to form a perfe& judgment of them, unlefsthe creature could fland for a moment in the place of the Cazaror, and take one comprehenfive view of earth and heaven, time and eter- nity. If, one day ts with Lord as a thoufand years, when he is pleafed in an unexpected manner, to fulfil his grand defigns: anda thoufand years as one day, when he fees good to accom- plith his purpofes in a more gradual way ; why should it fo itrangely affiG and amaze us, that he has left the human race in a ftate of fufpence, with regard to his unfearchable coun- fels, for near fix thoufand years? The time is coming when he will difcover to us that ftupendous plan, which, in our prefent circumftances, we contemplate with every. difad- vantage ; and juft as ananimalcule, whofe life is limited to fix hours, would contemplate the plan of an immenfe palace, which a fkilful architeét had promifed to complete in as many years. Suppofing fuch an infe& endued with reafon, and coming into exiftence during the night, fhould blindly crawl among the loofe materials of which the intended edifice was’ to be conftru€ted; what opinion could it form either of the archite&, or his plan? Would not this infignificant creature be led to judge of thefe matters, as the pretended philofopher THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 24.7 inconfiderately judges of that myfterious plan, upon which the Almighty is ere&ting the temple of truth, and creating an incorruptible world ? If the Creator thought it neceflary ~ to employ fix days in completing the beauties of the material world ; and if the Redeemer judges it expedient, progrefiively to perfect the more lafting beauties ofa fpiritual world, dur- ing fix of his more ample days; how little reafon have we to defpife the comprehenfive defign; efpecially, when we confider fix thoufand years are far more inconfiderable in com- parifon of eternity, than fix atoms in comparifon with this terreftrial globe ? Now, if fuch a plan is not only reafonable, but has been evidently adopted by him, who giveth not account of any of his matters, it isjundoubtedly true, that thofe who have lived indif- ferent periods of time, have not been permitted to enjoy all the - various truths, which Gop has fucceffively revealed to man. Neverthelefs, it is equally certain, that every man, in what period of time, and in what peculiar circumftances foever he found himfelf placed, has received fufficient light to difcover, as well as fufficient power to perform, what Gop has been pleafed to require at his hands. The day of evangelical truth is gracioufly allowed to all mankind, that they may thereby be affifted to difcover, to love, and to obey their céleftial Parent: and, finally that they may reach the mark of their high deftination, which is the enjoyment of thole different degrees of bleffednefs, which are referved for the different claffes of the faithful. Let us con- fider the morning of this facred day. When the firft man had extinguifhed in his heart the light of truth and the fire of charity: when he became fufficiently ftupid to think of concealing himfelf from his Gop among the trees of the gar- den, and fufficiently impious to throw the blame of his offence upon his companion in tranfgreffion, inftead of confefling his difobedience with all its aggravations: it isevident, that man was then without Chrilt, i. e. without a Saviour, without ot Wt and without God in the world. In that night of error, of confufion, and, probably, of defpair, the promife of a powerful Redeemer was given to our firft parents, whence certain beams of hope were produced, which formed the earlieft twilight of the Gofpel-day. The tradition of this gracious promife, which was made ‘to Adam and confirmed to Noah; the natural law, which is ; L4 248 RHE PORTRAIT OF STs PAUL» 7 nothing lefs than the remains of ‘the Creator’s'image in-the — human heart ; and, the fecret_grace of the Redeemer, whieh . is more or lefs, operative in every man; thefe collectively formed. that evangelical, dawn, which was fora long time univerfally experienced in the world, and which may, with propriety, be termed, either gentiliie, the religion of the firft patriarchs, the Gofpel of the heathen, or the difpenfation - of the Father. In this low difpenfation, and under thefe faint glimmerings of truth, the generality of mankind. are ftill unhappily obferved to live. And though clouds. of prejudice, together with vain tradition, deprive pagan nations, in part, of this iveftimable light, yet fufficient remainsamong them,, for the direction of thofe, who are fecking after the light of a lefs obfcure difpenfation. - When mankind had become almof univerfally unfaithful to the grace of gentilifm, and unmindful of the paft veageance af Gop in deitreying the world; when they had, plusged themfelves iata the mo impious excefles, and. were wholly given up to the groflett idolatry : at that time, the Almighty refolved to feparate from the corrupted na’ ons, a fingle peo- ple, who fhould preferve among them the. divine worfhip in its purity ; a people, among whom the Meffiah ‘hould be born, and who fhould: fpead around them, both, the expefta~ — tion and the promife of fo wonderful a Deliverer. Mofes, Asaron, and Jofhua,. were the reprefentatives of this extraor- dinary, perfos. Mofes, asa Prophet and Legiflator; Aaron, as an High-prieft appointed of Gon; and Jofhua, as an iluftvious eonqueror, dividing the Kingdoms of Canaan among thefe, who had followed him through the dangers of a tedious, warfare. Thus the Jews beeame a preaching peo- _ le to the reft of the world, preferving in it the light of the Pather’s difpenfation, and preparing it for the further dif. penfation of the Son: infomuch, that the expectation of a divine Reftorer was fpread over many parts of the earth, as — we learn from two pagan hiftorians, whofe teftimony deferves eredit. Nay, the Sybils, and-even Virgil himfelf took occa- fion from this general expectation, of applying to Auguftus the prediétions of a fublime conqueror, who was to iffue from the eaft, renewing the face of things. Judaifm then feems to have been nothing more than the difpenfationof the Father, though undoubtedly more liminous than it had formerly appeared before the calling of Abra- —s THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 249 ham. The moral Law given by Mofes, was but a new edition of the natural Law, which had been given before, and the, ceremonial Law was added thereto, as a further confirmation of the original promife. This was, however, a remarkable advance toward the difpenfation of the Son and that of the Holy Ghoft, fince the myfteries of both were fhadowed forth by the interior parts of the temple, by facrifices, by ablutions, by anoiatings, by perfumes, by burning lamps, and facred Se The univerfal creed under this ancient difpenfation fill forms a part of that, which is received among chriftians; and there is no true worfhipper under this economy, but wha can fay, with fincerity ; ‘ J beliewe in Gad, the Father Al- ‘ mighty, the Creator and Preferver of heaven and earth, the ‘ avenger of jin, and the rewarder of thofe who, faithfully ¢ ferve him: and I truft the time is coming, when fome divine © inftructor will enable me more fully to know and obey this *incomprehenfible Father of the univerfe.? May fuch an_ inftruGtor foon appear, was the united prayer of Socrates and Plato. ‘ Let him haften his coming,’ fays the true Jew and pious theift, ‘ under whatever appellation he may choofe to ‘appear.’ ‘ Let him be called the feed of the woman, the ‘ feed of Abraham, or the Son of David; let his name be, ¢ the Meffiah, the Sonof Gon, the Logos, Emanuel, Jofhua, ‘ Jefus, Saviour; or only, the Prophet, the Angel of the - * covenant, or the meflenger of Gon; it is of little confe- * quence: if he brings but life and immortality to light, I € will receive him with gratitude and joy.’ Suchisthe faith, by which thofe Jews, Mahometans, and Pagans, whofe hearts are principled with humility, candour and the fear of Gon, have been, and ftill continue to be faved in every part of the ‘world, For the Father of mercies, who knoweth whereof we are made, will no more ab/olutely condemn {uch worfhip- pers, on account of the extraordinary refpeét they have dif- eovered for Mofes, Mahomet, and Confucius, than he will finally reje& fome pious chriftians, for the fake of that ex- ceffive veneration, which they manifeft for particular faints and reformers; nor will he punifh either, becaufe their guides have mingled prejudice with truth, and legendary fables with the doétrines of theology. ‘hc ’ As a prudent phyfician proportions his medicines to the different ages and habits of wa patients, fo the enlightened 250 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. paftor, who feels himfelf concerned for the fpiritual health of his flock, fees it neceffary to a& with equal care and dif- cretion. He preaches the difpenfation of the Son to thofe, who like Socrates and Plato, are longing fora divine inftruc- tor, as well as to thofe, who, like Simeon, Nicodemus, and Cornelius, are waiting for the confolation of Ifrael. He leads them, either from the Law of Mofes, or from the Law of nature, to the Gofpel of Chrift ; explaining, with preci- fion, thofe parts of the new Teftament, which exhibit the commencement of the Son’s difpenfation, together with all he taught, performed, and fuffered, while he continued upon earth. i Laftly, to fuch as have devoutly embraced this part of the Gofpel, he publifhes the glorious economy of the Holy Spi- rit which was not fully opened till after the bodily appear- ance of the Redeemer was withdrawn from the world. Then it was that he defeended in the fulnefs of the Spirit, direét- ing and fupporting his difciples, animating and fanctifying his members, and manifefting that Kingdom of Gop, that difpenfation of righteoufne/s, peace and joy, which is fo large- ly treated of in the aéts and epiftles of the Apoftles. Thefe three difpenfations have one common end. They mutually tend to manifeft the different perfe€tions of the Supreme Being, to raife man from his prefent low eftate, and to perfect his nature. This threefold defign is apparent un- der the difpenfation of the Father; it unfolds itfelf more clearly under that of the Son ; and fhines out with encreaf- ing luftre under that of the Holy Spirit. As it is one and the fame Sun, that animates every thing in the natural world, fo it is one and the fame Gop, that operates every thing in the kingdom of grace. He, whom we addrefs as our HEa- VENLY FaTHer, in that facred form of prayer whieh is com- mon among chriftians, is the very God, in whofe name the ancient Patriarchs were accuftomed to blefs their children. The worp, through which we addrefs him, is no other than that light of the world, by which the antediluvian fathers were illuminated in their feveral generations ; and the Holy Ghoft, by which the fouls of the faithful are divinely regenerated, is the fame Spirit, that primarily moved upon the face of the — waters ; of which alfo it was faid, in the days of Noah, My Spirit fhall not always ftrive with man. ae There never was a time, in which the Son and the Spirit — 7 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 951 ‘were not occupied in completing the falvation of believers. But there was a time, when the Son became manifeft upon the earth, making a vifible difplay of his aftonifhing labours: and then it was, that his particular difpenfation had its com- mencement. So likewife there was a time, when the Holy Ghoft, more abundantly fhed forth by the Father and the Son, began to work his myfterious operations in a more fen- fible manner: and at that time commenced the particular dif- penfation of the Spirit, which ferves to perfec& the difpenfa- tion of the Son, as that of the Son was given to perfe& the difpenfation of the Father. Thefe diftinG@ions are founded upon reafon, upon revela- tion, and upon the Apoftles’ creed. 1. Reafon fuggefts, that mankind muft for ever remain under the fovereignty of their omnipotent Creator, and ac- countable to him, for the ufe they make of his innumerable favours. Reafon further difcovers, that, if man fhould ad- mit the darknefs of error into his underftanding, and the fatal influence of fin into his will, he cannot poffibly recover his priftine ftate, except by the manifeftation of a new light, and the exertions of a ftronger influence. But who fhall produce the former, except that Saviour, who is the light of the world ? Or, who fhall fupply the latter, except that energetic Spirit, which helpeth our infirmities. 2. Thefe diftinétions are founded upon revelation. The volume of truth informs us, that the Creator foretold the coming of a Redeemer, and that the Redeemer, during his outward manifeftation, proclaimed the near approach of ano-- ther comforter. It is undoubtedly true, that fome earnefts of redeeming grace, together with the firft fruits of the Spirit, were experienced even by the moft ancient inhabitants of the earth. It is true alfo, that, by means of thofe earnefts and firft fruits, many myriads of mankind have been faved in every age of the world. But it is no lefs true, that the plenitude of thefe facred gifts was referved to a very diftant period of time ; fince, after the firft promife of a Redeemer was given, near four thoufand years elapfed before he made his public appearance : and while he continued upon earth, it is exprefly faid, that the Holy Ghoft was not yet given, in its full meafure; ; becaufe that Jefus was not yet glorified. %. Chriftians are taught to diftinguifh thefe different de- - gtees of evangelical grace, i rejoice in all the advantages 6 252, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULe of thefe three difpenfations, when they arefolemnly baptized — in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. — And this they publicly profefs to do fo, often as they repeat the three principal articles of the Apoftles’ creed. Happy would it be, if through the demonffration of that Hoty Spir- 1T, in which they affe& to believe, they were enabled experi+ — mentally to confefs their Atmicuty Faruer aad his e+ DEEMING Son. Every one of them might then thankfully ~ add, I experience the ccommunion of faints, and the forgivene/s of fins: 1 joyfully and confidently expe&t, the refurredtion of the body, and life everlafting. It is prefumed, that no dofrines can come more ftrongly recommended to the confideration of profefling chriftians, than thofe which are undeniably founded upon reafon and revelation, upon that outward form of baptifm, and that. pri- mitive creed, which are univerfally received in the chriftian world, £ The attentive reader will eafily perceive, that the difference between thefe feveral difpenfations, is formed by thofe. differ- ent degrees in which the Redeemer is manifefted: »Under gentilifm. and Judaifm, or under the general and particular difpenfations of the Father, the Redeemer is both announced and expected : he is announced by the Father’s.original pro- mifes, by tradition, by types, by prophecies; and he is ex- pected asa Saviour, who fhall, fooner or later, make his ap- pearance. Under the baptifm of John, and under that im- perfect chriftianity which is received by a baptifm of water, the Redeemer is apprehended, in fome meafure, by fenfe; or by a faith which merely refpeéts the hiftory of the Gofpel:: but he is only apprehended, as.a,Saviour manifefted in the ficfh, to accomplith the external a& of redemption. It is otherwife, under that perfeé chriftianity, to which we are in- troduced by the myfterious baptifm of the Spirit, in which the Redeemer is manifefted after a manner abundantly more glorious. He is now received as. coming in the Spirit, after having died for our fins and rifen again for our juitification. ' Now he performs the {piritual: work of redemption in the foul, delivering his people from the power of fin by com- municating to them the {pecial efficacy of his death, his re- furre¢tion, and his triumph. | Henceforth, he is a comforter, not only with, but in us; where he fpiritually exercifes his “ - Vey ie ¢ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 258 acknowledged offices, inftruting, purifying, and, finally, fub- duing all things to himfel#. | THE DIFFERENT PREACHERS UNDER THESE DIFFERENT DISPENSATIONS. ERSUADED, that confufion is the fource of a thou- fand errors, the prudent minifter endeavours to place _ the truths of the Gofpel in their proper order: and reflecting upon thofe preachers who have formerly proclaimed them, he is enabled .to produce fomething upen their feparate teftimonies, which may ferve to edify the different claffes of his hearers. Thus St. Paul, whes preaching to the Athenians, judged it convenient to cite one of their own poets, rather than Mofes: and thus, in addreffing thofe teachers, who leave the Gofpel in order to fet up a vain philofophy, the true - minifter may find it neceflary to produce the defcription which Epictetus has given of a real philofopher. : _ Every difpenfation has had its peculiar preachers, and the * pattor who is led into alk truth, is anxious to fecond thefe preachers, by publifhing, in. their proper place, thofe facred truths which they have refpectively delivered, according to their different proportions of grace. The preachers under the difpenfation of the Father, are 1. The works of creation. The heavens, faith David, declare the glory of God, and the firmament Jheweth his handy work. That which may be known of God, adds St. Paul, is manifef, even among the heathen. ‘ For the invifible things of him, from the creation of the world, areclearly feen, being under- ftood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; fo that they are without excufe; becaufe that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God.’ 2. Providence. The living God, faith the Apoitle, * who, in times paft, fuffered all nations:to walk in their own ways, eft himfelf not without witnefs, in thathe did good, and gave us rain from Heaven, and fruitful feafons, filling our hearts -with food and gladnefs.* . 3. Thofe dreadful /courges, with which an avenging Gop is conftrained to correcta rebellious world. Such as famine, feftilence, war, Kc. 254 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAULs - 4. Reafon: which is a ray from that divine word, that — eternal logos, that true light, which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world. 5. Confcience. For the Gentiles, faith St. Paul, which have not the law written by Prophets and Apoftes, are a law unto : | | themfelves ; their confcience bearing witnefs, and their thoughts : accufing, or elfe excufing one another. 6. Enoch, Noah, and all the holy patriarchs who lived be- fore the flood. 7, All thofe pious perfons, who have inculcated the fear of Gop, and publifhed the traditionary promife-which was given to our firft parents. 8. The prophets and priefts-among the the Jews, together with the facred poets and true philofophers among the ancient heathens. : _ 9. Thofe priefts, who, among Jews, Mahometans, and modern Pagans, recommend, with fincerity, holinefs and the fear of Gop. And laftly, all thofe preachers of Chriftendom, who, blind to the difpenfations of the Son and the Spirit, fall back inte gentilifm, delivering only fuch moral effays, as have been abundantly exceeded by philofophers ‘of old. As this difpenfation has ever had, and ftill-continues to - have, its celebrated preachers ; fo it has frequently had, and may yet continue to have, its confeffors and martyrs.. If # was poflible to come at the hiftory of all thofe, who have - ‘been eminently diftinguifhed by their piety under thiseconomy, and who have nobly fuffered in the caufe of godlinefs, we might probably difeover many an Abel, and-many a Zacharias, many an Ariftides, and many a Socrates, in every nation under Heaven. In company with thefe amiable and honourable characters, the evangelical paftor is conftantly obferved, fo far as they"proceed in the high-way of truth: but he advances far beyond them, when he would affociate with the: preachers of the Son’s difpenfation.- . The heralds of truth, under this-difpenfation, are 1. The prieft’ Zecharias, who announced the accomplifli- - ment of the promife which was made to the patriarchs. 2. The Angel, who firft brought down the tidings of the Meffiah’s birth, in company with the multitude of the heav- enly hoft, who attended: him upon that extraordinary occa- fion. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 955 | 3. Thofe Jewith priefts, who direéted the magi from Jeru- falem to the city, in which Chrift was born. _* 4, Thofe celeftial voices, which declared, upon mount T'a- bor, and on the banks of Jordan, that Jefus Chrift was the. beloved Son of the Father. 5. John the baptift, who proclaimed Chrift come in the flefh, and endeavoured to prepare the penitent for the dif- penfation of the Spirit. 6. Thofe feventy difciples, who were commiffioned by our Lord to preach the Gofpel. And, laftly ; all thofe teachers of the prefent day, who, like Apollos in the beginning of his miniftry, perceive no- thing beyond that inferior difpenfation, of which an out- ward baptifm is confidered as the feal. Under the difpenfation of the Spirit, the preachers, are _ 1. The Apoftles, who entered upon their excellent mini- ftry, after being firft miraculoufly endued with power from on high. 2. All thofe minifters of the Gofpel, who, after receiving into their own hearts the fpirit of adoption, proclaim the com- ing of that Spirit to thofe, who have already experienced re- prentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jefus Chrift. Such minifters alone may be faid to proclaim the fpiritual ’ Kingdom of Gop: and thofe alone can experimentally di- re&t believers to the abfolute fulfilment of every Gofpel pro- mife. The teachers of this day, inftead of proclaiming the grand promife of Chriftianity, unhappily renounce that pro- mife; imagining, that it merely refpeGted the firft followers of Jefus, or, at moft, that it was confined to the earlieft ages of the chriftian church. Far from publifhing the Gofpel in its abundant plentitude, thefe unfkilful evangelifts are not able to preach all that imperfeét Gofpel, which in fcripture language is called, the baptifm of John. John publicly an- nounced the baptifm of the Holy Ghoft: and far from de- fpifing fuch baptifm himfelf, he openly declared, that he had need to be baptized of Chrift. Neverthelefs, John was put to death before the promife of the Father was fully accomplifh- ed: and onthis account our Lord declared, that the leaft in the kingdom of Heaven, i. e. the loweft under the difpenfation ‘of the Spirit, fhould be accounted greater than he. Yea, even the foldiers of Cornelius, after the Spirit had defcended up- on them, were aflifted to publifh the myfteries of that king- 956 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. RAUL. dom with greater clearnefs, and with a more lively conviction, than the fore-runner of Jefus had ever done. ; That prophet doubted before his death, as well as all the Apottles before the day of Pentecoft. But under the dif- penfation of the Holy Spirit, the great truths of the Gefpel are demonftrated by the power of an internal evidence, whic: — leaves in the heart no more room for doubt, than a mathe- matical demonttration leaves:room for hefitation in the mind. Further—John the Baptift barely intimated the neceffity 0 — a {piritual baptifm: but the moft illiterate among the cen=— turion’s fervants could fay: Chrift hath baptized me with the Holy Ghoft and with fire; and the promife, which he bath already fulfilled to me, who am a poor Gentile, he will. as glorioufly accomplifh in favour of others, fince the promife is given to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God fhall call. Thus, under this fublime Sicesletinr’ every faithful fervant of the Lord is enabled to prophecy out of the fulnefs of his heart, and to {peak the wonderful works of Gop. Thus alfo, every zealous minifter, perfevering in his purfuit after evangelical truth, becomes, at length, of the fame fociety with thofe, that were the firft and moft effeCtual preachers of the everlafting Gofpel. SHEED DAD THE DISPENSATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ; IS NOW IN FORCE, AND THE MINISTER WHO PREACHES THIS » DISPENSATION, €ANNOT JUSTLY BE ESTEEMED AN EN-~ THUSIAST. : 2 O reje& the Son of Gop manifefted in the Spirit, as worldly chriftians are univerfaliy obferved to do, is a erime of equal magnitude with that of the Jew, who reject-. ed Chrift manifefted in the flefhs Neverthelefs, in vain has — the Apoftle Paul informed us, that Jefus Chriftis a prieft for ever, after the order of Melchifedec; the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever. Jn vain has John the Baptift declared, that he Soall baptize us with the Haly Ghoft and with fire. In vain, has Chrift himfelf made a gracious offer of this baptifm to all. nations. In fpite of all thefe declarations, our incredulity ftill feeks out fome plaufible reafon for xejeéting the difpen- fation of the Spirit. THE PORTRAIT OP ST. PAUL. : 257 ' So long as thofe perilous times fhall continue which were foretold by St. Paul, fo long we may expect to behold mul- titudes of erring profeffors, who, like the ancient pharifees, not only refufe to enter into the Kingdom of Gop themfelves, but refolutely withftand all thofe, who are ftriving to. enter in. Thefe faithlefs chriftians, refembling the timorous {pies of old, are conftantly prepared to difcourage every perfever- ing Ifraelite, by railing evil reports. of their promifed reft, Attached to this prefent degenerate world, as. the wife of Lot was attached to her polluted city, they are ever infinu- ating, that there is little danger to be apprehended in their prefent fituation: and as for that full difpenfation of the Spirit, concerning which fo many excellent things.are fpok- en, they confidently affert, that it cannot be expected in:the prefent time, without giving way to the higheft prefumption and folly. On thefe accounts, it becomes abfolutely necef- fary, that the true minifter fhould ftand prepared to give every man a folid: anfwer, that afeeth a reafon of the hope that is im him..- i } That the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were pe- euliarly: neceflary to the A poftles, and' that they were a€tu- ally put in poffeffion of fuch gifts, we readily allow. But, at the fame time, we confider thefe gifts as entirely diftin& fron: the Spirit itfelf. When the Spirit of grace takes the full poffefion of a particular perfon, he may, if the edification of the church requires. it, beftow upon that perfon fome extra- ordinary gift, in an inftantaneous: manner: as the prince, who honours any fubje& with an important commiffion in- vefts him with fufficient power for the execution of fuch commiffion. But the prefents of a prince do not always de- monftrate his a€tual prefence; fince it is very poffible for a prince to lodge with one of his fubjeéts, upon whom he has conferred no ineftimable favour, while he makes a magnifi- - cent prefent to another, whom he has never condefcended to vifitin perfon. Thus.the Holy Spirit defcended upon Mary the mother of Jefus, together with feveral other holy: women, as well as upon the Apoftles, with whom they continued in -earneft fupplication and prayer: neverthelefs, it does not ap- pear, that any one of them received, even the gift of tongues. Qn the other hand, we are well affured, that many perfons, who never received the. Spirit of holinefs, were yet outwarde 258 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ly diftinguifhed by feveral extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghoft. The firft king of Ifrael gave rife to that memorable proverb, Js Saul alfo among the prophets ? Jonah, though he poffeffed neither the faith, nor the charity, which are com- mon to many chriftians of this age, was yet commiflioned to vifit Nineveh with an extraordinary meflage from Heaven. And we are informed, that Judas was endued with the power of performing miracles, as Balaam had before been honoured with the gift of prophecy. But, notwithftanding thefe external appearances we may reft affured, that neither Saul nor Balaam, nor Judas had fully experienced that hap-— py eftate, which the meaneft among the primitive chriftians was permitted to enjoy. When, therefore, we affert, that every fincere believer becomes a temple of the Holy Ghoft: it is not to be underftood by fuch expreffion, that they have received the power of working miracles ; fince in this fenfe, St. Paul himfelf was not always replenifhed with the Spirit. But it fhould rather be underitood, that the fame Spirit of humility, of zeal, of faith, and of charity, which fo eminent- ly dwelt in Chrift, continually flows from him to the meaneft of his f{piritual members, as the fap is known to pafs from the trunk of a vine into the leaft of its branches. : The old and new Teftament fufficiently prove, that the fpecial influences of the Spirit areto be univerfally experienced by the faithful inevery age. Ifaiah promifes this invaluable bleffing to thofe, who are athirft forGop. Ezekiel announces the fame blefling, in a variety of paflages, to all thofe, who enjoy the privileges of the new covenant. The prophet Joel more dire¢tly promifes the extraordinary effufion of the Holy Spirit, to the young and the old among the people of Gon; to their fons and their daughters, their fervants and their hand- maids. John the Baptift exprefly repeats the fame promife to all thofe, who partake of his inferior baptifm. Our Lord invites every believer freely to come and receive the long ex- peéted blefling. St. Peter unrefervedly offers it to the truly penitent ; and St. Paul every where declares, that it is the common privilege of chriftians to be filled with the Spirit. Nay, he even intimates, that the name of chriftian fhould be refufed to thofe, who have not received the promife of the ‘ Father. Thefe few paflages abundantly tettify, how ftrangely thofe profeffors deceive themfelves, who confidently. affirm that the Holy Spirit was promifed to the Apoftles alone. — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 259 - Revelation is no fooner admitted, but reafonitfelf confirms the very truth for which we contend. Why was the Holy Spirit to be poured out in its full meafure upon the firft fol- lowers of Chrift? If in order to their fanétification ; have we lefs need of holinefs than the Apoftles had? If it was to fhed abroad in their hearts the love of Gon ; is that love lefs neceflary for us than for them? If to make interceffion for them with groanings which cannot be uttered; were the Apottles fuppofed to ftand in greater need of fuch interceffion than all other men? Laftly; if the Holy Ghoft was given, that believers might be enabled to cry out—* Who fhall feparate us from the love of Chrift? Shall tribulation, per- fecution, or death? O death, where is thy fting? O grave, where is thy vi€tory ? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift?—if fo ; then it fhould feem, that the Apoftles alone were called to fuffer and die in a manner fo perfeétly worthy of chriftians. The more we meditate upon the fcriptures of truth, the more we fhall be convinced, that the experience of real chrif- tians, and the reafon of natural men, coincide with that fa- cred volume, in demonftrating, that the grand promife of a Comforter muft ref{peé every fincere believer, as well as the firt difciples of Jefus. To reje&, then, this precious gift, is to trample under foot the pearl of great price, and to def- pife the Redeemer himfelf in that {piritual appearance, which is of far greater importance to us than his outward manifefta- tion in Judea. Further; to infinuate among chriftians, that the promife of Chrift’s {piritual coming is no longer in force, is to enervate the glorious Gofpel of Gop, and to maintain in his church that deteftable lukewarmnefs, which will ulti- mately prove the ground of its condemnation. It is to fur- pafs the Jews in their obftinate rejection of our only Lord and Saviour. There was no need, fays the incredulous Jew, that the Meffiah fhould fuffer and die for our fins: nor is there any need, fays the carnal chriftian, that the Saviour fhould come ina fpiritual manner to reign in my heart. The one deftroys the body, and the other the foul, of chriftianity : and both are equal ftrangers to the renovating power of the Gofpel. The true minifter, ftruck with the magnitude of this fin, fo general in the prefent day, inceflantly labours for the 260- THE PORTRAIT OP ST. PAUL. | reftoration of thofe, who are deeply plunged in fo deftructive | an error. a] a FHE EVANGELICAL PASTOR DEFENDS THE ' DISPENSAION OF THE SPIRIT AGAINST ALL OPPOSERS. . W HATEVER difpenfation of the true minifter’ f annouuces, he is conftrained, with St. Paul, to braodifh his fpiritual weapons om the right hand, and on the left. If he publithes the difpenfation of the Father, he finds it neeeflary to defend its important truths againft the dar ingly prophane, oa the one hand, and on the other, againit the vainly fuperftitious.. When he preaches thedifpenfation. of the Son, he has ftill greater oceafion to arm himfelf on every part, in defence of the doGrine he maintains. On the left hand, he is attacked either by deifts, who. wholly difclaim all ideas of a Saviour; orby: focinians, who defpoil that Saviour of his greateft glory: and on the right, he is. affailed by ill-inftruéted chriftians, who, under. pretence of exalting the Son, look down with contempt upon the dif. penfation of the Father; not confidering, that, by this er- ror, they oppofe one principal defign of Chrift’s appearing, which was, that we might worfhip the Father in Spirit and. in truth. But it is chiefly with refpecé to the third difpen-. fation, that the chriftian preacher is conftrained to wield, without ceafing, that /word of the Spirit, and that field of faith, with which St. Paul was fo anxious to fee every chrifs- tian armed. As this doftrine is abundantly more elevated: than the prezeding difpenfations, fo it ftands more expofed to the fhafts of innumerable enemies. On the left, it is in- ceffantly attacked by carnal profeffors, and on the right, by fanatical zealots. Thefe two clafles of adverfaries, though continually at war with each other, unhappily agree in op- pofing, either dire@ly or indire&tly, the progrefs of this glo- rious difpenfation, obliging the faithful minifter, with equal intrepidity, to combat both. . Obferve the grand argument, with which carnal chriftians carry on this oppofition, ‘* The Comforter,” fay they,. which was gracioufly promifed to our Lord’s firft difciples, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 61 was undoubtedly received by thofe highly-favoured miffion- aries, and conduéted them into all the truths of the Gofpel. From this divine Spirit they received - continual affiftance in fpreading that Gofpel, and by him they were endued with thofe miraculous gifts, which ferved as fo many incontefta- ble marks ‘of their facred miffion.. But, as chriftianity is at this time firmly eftablifhed in the world, the letter of the Holy Scriptures is now abundantly fufficient for every put- pofe ; and there is no longer any neceflity for that baptifm and illumination of the Spirit, which were. evidently requi- fite among the primitive chriftians.’ _ As the miftaken Jews, perfe@ly fatisfied with the law of “Mofes infcribed upon tables of ftone, reje&ed, with ob- ftinacy, the promifed Meffiah; fo thefe carnal chriftians, contented with the letter of the new Teftament, perverfely reject the Holy Spirit of promife. Search the Scriptures. for they teftify of me, was our Lord’s exhortation to thofe delud- ‘ed Comptia : and the true minifter continues the fame ex- hortation upon thofe, who blindly oppofe the coming -of ‘Chrift’s fpiritual Kingdom. He is-anxious, with his hea-« yenly Mafter, to put the matter upon this iflue; fally con- Acious, that they who perufe thofe facred pages with an ui- * prejudiced mind, mutt readily obferve, that, inftead of fuper- feding the neceflity of a fpiritual baptifm, they give ample teftimony, that fuch baptifm is to be confidered-as a privi- lege freely offered to the whole multitude of believers. _ When chriftians affirm, that the manifeftation of the Spirit is no longer to be fought after, except in that myfte- rious volume which promifes this manifeftation to the church; modern Jews might as well declare, that they look for no other manifeftation of their Meffiah, than that which “is to be found in thofe books of Mofes and the Prophets, where the coming of that Meffiah is repeatedly promifed. But if it be faid, the Spirit of Chrift was fully given to his firft difciples, and that is fufficient for us: this argument. has in it as great abfurdity, as the following method of rea- foning. Mofes inttru&s us, that Gon created the Sun, and that the patriarchs were happily enlightened by it : but the fupreme illumination of that Sun is no. longer to be difce. ‘vered, except in the writings of Mofes: and thofe labourers are downright enthufiafts, who imagine they need any other rays from that luminary, except fuch as are refleGted upon 262 THE PORTRAIT OF ST, PAUL. them from the book of Genefis. The feripture informs us that Gon commanied the earth to produce a variety o fruits and plants for the nourifhment of its inhabitants covenanting, on his part, to fend refrefhing rains and con venient feafons. But, we do not live, exclaims a rational farmer, in the feafon of miracles, nor am Z enthufiaftic nough to expect, that’rain fhall be fent upon the earth. Mention indeed is made, in antient hiftory, of the former and the latter rain; and the books which fpeak of thefe frudtifying fhowers, and promife a continuance of them to the lateft pofterity are undoubtedly authentic : neverthelefs, all the rain we can now reafonably expeét, muft flow from thefe books alone, and from thofe fpeculations, which our reafon can make upon the truths they contain. Who will not {mile at fuch a method of reafoning as this. “i In thofe things, which ref{peét our temporal interefts, we are not ftupid enough to be deluded by fuch wretched fo- phifms, though we frequently deceive both ourfelves and others, with regard to fpiritual things, by arguments no lefs palpably abfurd: Gon, fays the orthodox profeffor, un- doubtedly caufed the Sun of righteoufnefs fo effeCtually to fhine upon believers, on the day of Pentecoft, that they were inftantaneoufly baptized with the Holy Ghoft and with fire. A celeftial fhower, at that time, refrefhed the church; and the myttic vine matured on a fudden, by the dire& rays of fo glorious a luminary, was affifted to produce, internally, all the graces, and externally, all the fruits, of the Spirit. But fome extraordinary phenomena, which accompanied that dazzling Sun and thofe gracious fhowers, have long ago difappeared. Nay, that Sun itfelf is totally eclipfed, with refpect to us; and the book, which bears teftimony to the conftant influence of that Sun, and the endlefs duration of thofe fhowers, now abfolutely ftands in the place of both. Ridiculous divinity ! And fhall they be called enthufiafts, who oppofe fuch abfurdities as thefe ? Then fanaticifm may be faid to confift in making a rational diftinétion, between the pearl of great price, and the teftament that bequeaths it ; between that facred volume in “which the comForTer is merely promifed, and the actual prefence of that comrorTER in the heart. T'o pretend, that we have no longer any need of the Spirit of Chrift, becaufe we are in pofleflion of an in- comparable book, which declares, that if any man have not THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 263 the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his : is not this to deftroy, -at once, both the letter and Spirit of the Gofpel? And when we fee thofe chriftians, who profefs the utmoft refpeé for revelation, deriding, without fear, the manifeftation of that Spirit, by which alone the love of God can be fhed abroad in our hearts : what judgment can we form of fuch perfons, but that they are difpofed to treat the Gofpel of our glo- -rified Mafter, as Judas once treated its perfecuted author ? whatever air of devotion they may affume, while they falute the exterior of.it, their fecret intention is to betray the very life of the Gofpel to derifionand infamy. By arguments of this nature it is, that chriftian minifters are frequently obliged to defend the difpenfation of the Spirit, from the outrage- ous attacks of carnally-minded chriftians. ., But there are times, in which the faithful paftor finds it equally neceflary, to defend this part of his doétrine a- gainit high and fanatical profeffors. In every chriftian coune try there are not wanting fuch as have rendered the difpen- fation of the fpirit contemptible, by their ridiculous and im- ‘pious pretenfions. Proteftants have blufhed forthe prophets of Cevennes, and Catholics for the convulfionaries of Paris. In order fuccefsfully to oppofe -the progrefs* of enthufiafm, he publicly contrafts the two different characters of a pre- fumptuous fanatic, and an enlightened christian, in fome fuch terms as follow. The one extinguifhes the torch of reafon, that he may have.opportunity to difplay, in its room, the:vain flafhes of his own pretended infpirations: the other entertains a juft refpeét for reafon, following it as the fureft guide, fo.far as it is able to dire& him in.the fearch of truth ; and whenever he implores a fuperior light, it is merely to fupply the defects of reafon. The one deftroys the clear fenfe of Scripture language, that a way may be made for his own particular manifeftations.: the othr refers every — thing to the Law, and to the Teftimony, fully fatisfied, that if high pretenders to fanétity /peak not according to this word, at ts becaufe there is.no light in them. The former flatters him- felf, that while the means are negleéted the end may be ob- tained, prefuming that Gop willilluminate him in a miracul- ous manner without the help of prayer, ftudy, meditation, fermons, or facraments: the /Jater unprefumingly expects the fuccours of grace, in a conftant ufe of the appointed means; and confcious, that the Holy Scriptures are able to 264 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. a make him wife unto falvation, he takes them for the fubje& of his frequent meditation, the ground of his prayers, and the general rule of his condu&. The fanatic imagines himfelf independent of fuperior powers ‘both in church and ftate: the real chriftian, a conftant friend to'truth and order, look- ing upon himfelf as the fervant ofall, ‘rot only acknowledges the refpe& due to his fuperiov’, but is ready to give them an account either of his faith or his:condué, with meeknefs and fubmiflion ; anxious to have his principles fupported by appeals to the reafon and confcience of his adverfaries, as well -as by the teftimony of revelations ‘The fanatic pays but little regard to the ineftimable grace of charity: like Simon the forcerer, he afpires after the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and, feduced by a vain imagination, forfakes the fubftance that he may purfue the thadow :—the #rue chriftian without defpifing the moft inconfiderable fpiritual gifts, implores only thofe, which may affitt him in ‘the dif charge of his feveral duties, and peculiarly that cHARITY, which is to be ranked as high above the performance of miracles, as miracles are’to be efteemed above the tricks of jugglers. The fanatic ‘conceives himfelf to be animated by the Spirit of Gop, when his body is agitated by a rapid mo- tion of the animal {pirits, excited by the fallies of an over heated imagination, and augmented by hyfterical or hypo- _chondriacal vapours: The judicious chriftian detefts this en- thufiafm, which, covering religon with a vail of delufionand — frenzy, renders it contemptible in the eyes of thofe, who are ever ready to treat devotion as enthufiafm. When the true minifter unhappily ‘falls among perfons who evidence a difpofition to'enthufiafm, carrying ‘mortifica- tion'to an unwarrantable excefs, publicly uttering loud and paffionate prayers, produced with the moft violent efforts ;_ he calls their attention to that beautiful paffage ‘in the hif- tory of Elijah, where Gop is reprefented as manifefting him- felf, neither in the wind, the earthguake,, nor the fire; but in a ftill {mall voice. To infpire them with a juft ‘horror for this kind of fanaticifm, he points them to thofe con- temptible charaGters whofe cordu& they are unwittingly copying, and exhorts them to leave the horrible cuftom of eying with a loud voice, together with every other fpecies of religious extravagance, to the fuperftitious priefts of Baal. Ff it be neceflary, he even applies thofe farcaftic expreffions THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL 965 of Elijah, ery aloud, &c. In performing this part of his duty, he is anxious, however, to act with the utmoft difcre. tion; not ridiculing the fanatical with an irreverent light- nefs, but exhorting them with all poffible affeCtion and fo- lemnity. It appears from the writings of St. Paul, that en- thufiaim had once rifen to fo great a height in the Corin« thian church, that the communion was polluted by the mem- bers of that church, and its public ordinances thrown into the utmoft diforder. Now, if the Apoftle had himfelf been an enthufiaft, he would have feen thefe diforders without re- gret ; or had he been like the minifters of the prefent day, he would have rejoiced at the pretext afforded him by the fanatical Corinthians, for turning into ridicule devotion and zeal, the power of prayer and the gift ofexhortation. But, ‘equally attached both to order and zeal, he wrote to them in the following terms: ‘I would, that ye all {pake with tongues, but rather that ye prophelied: for he that pro- phefieth edifieth the church. Forafmuch, then, as ye are zealous of f{piritual gifts, feek that ye may excell to the edi- fying of the church. Brethren, be not children in under- ftanding, but men. -Ye may all prophecy, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.’ And obferve this, that ¢ the {pirits of the prophets are fubjeé&t to the prophets: for God is not the author of confufion, but of peace, as in all churches of the faints. If any man think himfelf to bea Prophet, or fpiritual, let him acknowledge, that the things I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. Let all things be done decently and in order.’ It is by adopting the method of this Apoitle, that the good pattor endeavours to root up the tares of enthufiafm, without injuring the in- valuable grain of devotion. - Here it may, perhaps, be enquired, if particular manifetta- tions of the Spirit are admitted, how is it poflible to thut the door againft dangerous illufions? Would it not be wifer entirely to reject the difpenfation of the Spirit, while it is confefledly attended with fo many difficulties ? And would it not make for the happinefs of the church, was every mem- ber of it to reft contented with having the holy Scriptures explained according to the beft rules of reafon and criti- cif ? We anfwer ; By no means. . Bad money, indeed, is requently put into our hands; but is it neceffary, on this account, to obitruct the free oe of that which is intrinfi. 266 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. cally good ? And would it be reafonable to refufe a foverei prince the right of coining for the ftate, left that coin fhoul be counterfeited or defaéted? As, in fociety, after warnia the public of their danger, we content ourfelves with a prehending the man, who attempts to impofe on us in thi way; fo we may reft fully fatisfied with adopting the fame mode of conduét, in regard to the church of Gop. +o Let it be here obferved, that the operations of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of believers, are to be diftinguifhed from the effects of enthufiafm in the amagination of vifionas ries, juft as readily as. we diftinguifh health from ficknefs, wifdom from folly, and truth from falfehood. The believers of Rome could fay, ‘ The Spirit itfelf beareth witnefs with our fpirit, that we are the children of God. By one {pirit are we all baptifed,’ /ay the Corinthians, «and have been a made to drink into one Spirit.?_ And St. Paul could tef tify, that many of the Ephefians were /ealed, by the Holy Spis rit of God, unto the day of redemption. 'They were all enthufis afts, fays a modern Doétor, unlefs they could reftore fight to the blind, raife the dead from their graves, and fluently converfe in a variety of languages, which they had never ta- ken the trouble to ftudy.. No; infinuates the Apoftle: you forget the efential for the acceffory, and found your fyftems upon falfe {uppofitions. dre all workers of miracles? Havwe all the gifts of healing ? Do all freak with tongues ? There mutt, then, be fome more indubitablé method of diftinguifh- ing thofe whofe bodies are become temples of the Holy Ghoft: and / /beqw unto you this more excellent way. What was meant by this excellent way, may be fatisfaGorily. dif covered by an attentive perufal of the following chapters in which the Apoftle would have the examination to turn, not upon the gift of prophecy andanuch lefs that of lan- guages, but effentially upon all the charaéters of charity, This was the reafoning of Aguftine, as well as of St. Pauly when he made ufe of the following expreffien ; “* You then « {peak from the Spirit of Gop, when you fpeak from « heart glowing with love.”? This alfo was the method, which Chrift himfelf was accuftomed to argue on this poi Beware, faid he, ‘of falfe prophets. Every good bringeth forth good froit. | Wherefore, by their fruits thall know them. And, the fruit of the Spirit,’ contin St. Paul, ‘is love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gen THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. T goodnefs, faith, meeknefs, temperance.? Now fanaticifm was never known to bear fuch fruits as thefe. On the con- trary, it produces divifions, foolifh joy, or fupid melancholy, trouble, impatience, fury, vain confidence, arrogance, and excefs of different kinds. Nay, it is frequently obferved to produce affertions diametrically oppofite both to {cripture and reafon, together with abfurd pretentions to new revela- tions. : It may be afked, in this place, with a fhew of reafon, if Chrift ftill consiaues to reveal himfelf, by his Spirit, to every true believer, are not fuch manifeftations to be confidered as fo many new revelations ? To this we reply that when the Apoftle of the Gentiles petitioned for bis Ephefiaa converts, the fpirit of wifdom and revelation, he was not to be underftood as requefting that Gop would communicate to them a new Gofpel; but rather that He would affift them to difcover ali the glory, and experience all the power, pf that ineftiniable Gofpel, which had been already publifhed among them. Open mine eyes, faid David, that I may behold wonderous things out of thy Law. And when Gop was gracioufly pleafed to anfwer this prayer of the royal Prophet, He undoubtedly vifited him with theillumination of his Holy Spirit. But that Spirit was imparted, not for the purpofe of revealing ‘to him a zew Law, but merely that he might be enabled to fathom the depths of that holy Law, which had been given long before. Thus alfo chriftian believers, are conftantly offering up their joint fupplications, that Gop. would ftrengthen them by his Spirit in the inner man, not for the ex« ‘perience of new revelations, but ‘ that they may be enabled to comprehend, with all faints, the unfearchable love of ‘Chrift ; and be filled with all the fulnefs of God.’ __ After having defended internal chriftianity againft carnal chriftians and deluded fanatics, the faithful paftor is obliged, another part, to refift the attacks of gain-faying philofo- ghers. And this he endeavours to do, by reafoning with them upon this important fubje& in the following manner. _ We confider the Supreme Being, as a divine Sun, whofe center is every where, and whofe circumference is no where : a Sun, whofe light is truth, and whofe heat ischarity. The truths of chriftianity we confider as fo many beams iffuing from this glorious Sun for the illumination of the foul: and as the rays of the natural ee may be collected and renders 2 268 THE PORTRAIT OF sr. PAUL. ed more powerful by the interpofition of a properly eons ftruGted medium, fo the rays of this divine Sun are concen- tred, and rendered more operative by the humanity of Chrift. When any of thefe rays, paffing through the underftanding, begin to ftrike forcibly upon the heart, they melt down its flubbornne fs, refine its nature, and kindle in it a fire of love to Gop and man. Further; we believe thefe changes to be effected in the foul by that fecret energy, which is called by many the inffiration of the Holy Spirit, by fome the inf ence of that Spirit, and by others the grace of God. Is there any abfurdity in this doG@rine? Can the inteleal tual world be fuppofed to merit the Creator’s attention, in a lefs degree than the material world? Ifthe rays of light that inceffantly iffue from the: fun, are fuppofed to pafs through the fpace of many millions of miles in a fingle mo- ; ment, for the illumination and fupport of the material world ;_ fhould it appear incredible, that the moft fpeedy and effec- tual fuccours may be imparted to holy fouls, by that mon glorious Sun, which enlightens and vivifies the intellectual” world? From the cedar of. Lebanon, to the mofs that covers its bark, no plant can vegetate ; from the aftronomer, who wieaioe the heavens, to the animalcule that lofes itfelf i in. ~ the cup of a violet asin a vaft abyfs, not a creature can exift, but through the all-pervading influence of the natural fun, Beneath this wonderful ftar, not a fingle animal is found, which carries in itfelf its grand principle of light, heat, and motion. And if all organized bodies depend upon this indefcribable luminary for their exiftence, their increafe, and their perfection, may we not reafonably argue from the rules of analogy, that as certainly as there is.a {piritual world, fo there muft be a fpiritual Sun, which carries life and light to the inhabitants of that world? Do you a in a rational manner, continues the true mini- fter, if, becaufe you cannot comprehend how this Sun may be faid to a& upon fpirits, you fhut your eyes againft hi light, and obftinately deny his very exiftence? Can yo comprehend how the material fun, without fuffering any de- cay in himfelf, is continually darting around him rays fu cient to illumine and cheer revolving worlds? Can you ex- plain, how thefe rays are impelled, with fuch amazing vel city, through the immence {pace, by which that fun is fep sated from thofe worlds? Or can you defcribe the “means THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 269 ‘by which they awaken in usthe fenfationof fight ? Moreover, is it not abfurd to fuppofe, that the Almighty is more foli- citous, that we fhould perceive the difference between white and black, than that we fhould difcover the more important diftin@tions between virtue and vice, truth and error ? If you obje&, that the material fun is plainly perceived, and the power of his beams univer/ally felt, by mankind ;_ it may be replied, that he is not always difcoverable. | Some- " times he is eclipfed; frequently he is enveloped with thick clouds ;. and at other times his rays glance upon usin fo ob- lique a manner, that their influence is fearcely perceptable : it is poffible alfo to exclude his light by means of curtains or walls, and the cataract effectually oppofes his moft dire&t beams. Inthe moral world there are obftacles of a fimilar nature, which frequently ob{trucét the courfe of celeltial light. Clouds of error and vice are conftantly rifing around us, which, by obfcuring the Suna of righteoufnels, leave room for the incredulous to doubt of his exiftence. The eye is, in general, fo much dazzled with the glare of material ob- jets, that it cannot difcover the luftre of a different light. Sometimes, invincible prejudice, like a confirmed catara@, in- tercepts the ftrongeft rays of truth: and, at other times, we ° are fo clofely fhut up within the narrow limits of felf-love, that the molt piercing beams of uncreated love, cannot pene- trate into our gloomy retirement, where that {park of reafon, which might have directed us toa higher light, is at length totally extinguifhed. The light of the Gofpel is never abfolutely rejeGted, but through the influence of fin, according to thofe words of Chritt: Every one, that doeth evil hateth the light, neither com- eth to the light, left his deeds fhould be reproved. And here we fee the caufe, why fo many perfons caft themfelves headlong into materialifm, denying the infpiration of the Holy Spirit, and treating every impreflion of his power as the workings | of a difordered brain. But as the teftimony of blind men can never perfuade a reafonable perfon, that he is under a delufion, while he fees, feels, and admires, the material fun ; fo the joint teftimony of all the incredulous men in the world, may juftly be counted of as little force, when they wouid prove fcriptural illumination to be downright fanaticifm. Notwithftanding all the impotent arguments that can be brought againft him, the chriftian believer deferves not to be © M 3 270 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. efteemed an enthufiaft, when he declares that faith is the ew dence of things not feen; fince he has reafon and revelation t plead in his favour, his own experience, and that of his thren, together with the univerfal teftimony of the primitive church. 4 As you do not rank with profeffed atheifts, it is probabl that you do fometimes pray to the Supreme Being. Among other bleflings, you implore of himina peculiarmanner, patience to fuftain thofe afliGtions, which ate neceflary to the peal tion of virtue. Now if you are perfuaded, that Gop is able not only to hear but to frengthen you with his might: and, further, if you believe that, when he thus itrengthens you for the day of affli@ion, you fhall have any perception of his influencing power; we are then perfe@tly agreed. But if you pray, without a confidence that Gop attends to your prayer, and without ever expe@tinig to receive the affiftance youimplore of Him, you aé& like perfons deprived of their reafoning powers: with the fear of praying like enthufiafts, you pray after the inasner of idiots, and afford as manifeft a token of extravagant folly, as though you should intreat tempefts to grow calm, or befeech rivers to return to their fources. It is by fuch a method of reafoning, the true mini- fter refifts the attacks of prejudiced philofophers, folicitous” to make it appear, that the fanétifying and confoling opera= tions of the Holy Spirit are as conformable to reafon, as they are correfpondent to our urgent neceffities. 1 But, if it till be urged. by the enemies of infpiration, that we have no diftin@ idea of the manner, in which any know- ledge is conveyed to the foul, except by means of our reafon, or our fenfes ; -and that to {peak of things, which will admit of no clear explanation, is running into the wildeft enthufis afm. No, returns the faithful paftor: it is not ufual to efteem that man an enthufiaft, who is employed in beftowing alms upon the poor, though he can neither explain to us, how his gold was produced in the mine, how his will aétu- ates his hand, or how the feelings of charity are excited in” his bofom, If nature operates every thing in a mytterious — manner, it is unreafonable to expect, that the operations of grace fhould be condu@ted in a lefs myfterious way. This is one of the arguments propofed by our Lord to Ni mus. Except amah be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into he Kingdom of Ged. But, it may be, you have no compre- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 271 | henfion of fpiritual things: marvel not, however, at this; fince there are many things above thy comprehenfion in the natural world. « The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou heareft the found thereof, but canft not tell, whence it cometh and whither it goeth; fo is every one that is born of the Spirit ;’ they prove the operations of that Spirit by inconteftable effets, though they are unacquainted with many things, refpeCting the manner in which thofe effects are produced. - We may here very properly apply what profeffor Vernet has faid, concerning the manser in which Gop has frequent ly manifefted the truth to his Prophets. <‘ It is eafy to ** conceive,’’ fays this judicious divine, ‘that He who created “the foul as well as the body, and who for that reafon is | “ called the Father of Spirits, can never be at a lofs for ade- . quate means of communicating to us, when he judges it neceflary, ideas and difcoveries wholly different from thofe, | #€ which we are able to acquire either by our own powers, or * through the affiftance of other perfone, If the moft ig- “ norant claffes of men are acquainted with the art of reci- _ procally communicating their thoughts to each other; *¢ how much more may we imagine, that Gop isable to a&t “‘ upon the foul, both externally and internally; he, who *¢ has already placed within us fome confufed notions of pri- 46 mitive truth ; he, who holds fecond caufes in his hand, “ and animates all nature.’ But if it be afked, are not Prophets properly fo called, the only perfous whom Gop is pleafed to privelege with fuch amprefiions as are formed by the feal of his Spirit ; It might with-equal propriety, be enquired, whether the Apoftles alone were privileged with that evangelical faith, which re- Spets invifible and incomprehenfible things? “* A foul,” fays the illuftrious Croufaz, ** upon which the Spirit of ** Gop has moved, mufes upon her Creator with ineffable _ delight, and contemplates her Redeemer with a mixture “of gratitude, admiration, and tranfport. O my Gop! fuch “a foul is inceffantly crying out, when fhall I fee thy face? When hall thy light illuminate me without any darkening “* cloud? To appreach Thee is my only happinefs. Hap- ** py they who praife thee without ceafing.”’ “TI acknowledge,” continues this chriftian philofopher, that thefe may be the = a effets of that attention, 4 a THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. «‘ with which the Spirit of Gop, has gracioufly fixed *¢ minds upon thofe objects, which revelation prefents too ‘¢ view, and upon which it dire&ts usto occupy our thoughts * But Iam not afraid of going beyond the truth, when” *¢ add, that the Spirit of Gop by his own immediate agency *¢ may infpire the foul with this facred tafte and thefe exalte *‘ fentiments. Corporeal objeéts a& upon the organs of” *¢ fenfe by a power, which they undoubtedly receive from “Gop. This may, in fome meafure, be underftood: but~ ‘< in what manner their a@tion paffes from thence upon the ** foul, is a my{tery too obfcure to admit of an explanation. <‘ Chriftian philofophers have conceived, that the will of «* Gop, and fome eltablifhed order of his appointment, are “ the only caufes of thofe internal fentiments, of which thefe ‘* impreffions upon the outward organs are but the occafion, “* This being the cafe, under what pretext can we refufe to “« believe, that the Spirit of Gop may give rife to fuch fen= ‘* timents in the foul, as are abundantly more conformable to” «the nature of their holy caufe, then thofe ordinary fenti- «¢ ments, which are, neverthelefs, referred to the will of Gop, “* as their firft and true caufe? Such are thofe fentiments, «which St. Paul fo earneftly folicited for his followers at «« Ephefus, and for the increafe of which, he implored «* upon them the influence of the Holy Spirit.” ‘a Such alfo are thofe impreffions, motions, and aids of the Holy Spirit, both mediate and immediate, for which we of- fer up fo many ardent fupplications in different parts of our public fervice. Every chriftian liturgy is filled with peti= tions of this nature; petitions, which are conformable to the principles of chriftianity, the voice of reafon, and the necefiities of finful men, though they ufually appear to the” children of this world, as the mere unintelligible jargon of enthufiafm. The minifter, who ftriGtly follows the example of St. Paul in this refpe&, will moft probably be regarded as a vifionary by the ignorant and the profane: but, while he breaths out thefe ardent prayers, in humble faith, accompanying them with thofe difcourfes and that conduct, - which are correfpondent to fuch requefts ; he has, at leaft, a fatisfatory confcioufnefs, that he has never praétifed the arts of an impoftor with the liturgy in his hand, nor played the part of a comedian in a chriftian pulpit. As to the real advantages, which would flow from our THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: 273 dogrine of the difpenfations, though they have been ad- verted to in various paflages of this work, yet it appears not unneceflary to take a tranfient review of them in this place. ; ' 1. By an accurate acquaintance with. thefe difpenfations, every evangelical preacher may become an approved work= man, rightly dividing the word of truth; and a faithful fervant, diftributing to every domeftic of his Mafter’s houfchold, that peculiar portion of {piritual food, which is fuited to their fe. veral circumitances. 2. By exactly dividing the difpenfations of grace, we are enabled to mark out the boundaries, of thofe particular ftates, which believers of different clafles are obferved to en- joy. We afcertain that degree of fpiritual life, to which we ourfelves have attained : we diftinguifh the various graces beftowed upon us: wedifcover whatever great promife is ftill before us, and folicit, without ceafing, the complete ac- | _ complifhment of that promife. He, who preaches the Gof- pel, without tracing out the lines which feparate the three difpenfations of grace, may be faid to exhibit a fun-dial, upon which the hours are unmarked, and from which little elfe than confufion, if not dangerous miftakes, can be ex- pected to flow. 3. By the light of this doftrine, true worthippers of every different clafs, may be taught to acknowledge and efteem one another, according to their different, degrees of faith, Nothing is more common in a chriftian country, than to, fee the rigidly orthodox, uncharitably treating, as. hopelefs out- cafts, not only thofe virtuous deifts, who are yet unacquaint- ed with the Son, but even thofe pious focinians, who are refting fatisfied with that inglorious ftate, in which the firft difciples of our Lord. were fo long detained; and who are unable to.acknowledge any more than his humanity. Let _thefe orthodox profeffors become acquainted with the vari- ous difpenfations of grace, and, ceafing to offend, either vir- tuous.deifts or pious focinians, with their furious anathemas ; they will treat the former with all the benevolence, which St. Peter once expreffed toward Cornelius, and the latter with that brotherly kindnefs, which Aquila manifefted in his carriage toward Apollos. On the other hand, if thofe chriftians, who are yet carnal, had any proper. idea of thefe different difpenfations ;_ if te could. but believe that the “M65 274 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: fame 'Jefus who was once outwardly manifefted among the Jews, ftill continues to manifelt himfelfin the Spirit, through every part of the world, to'thofe who are’ankioufly prefling — into the Kingdom of Gon; if they could admit, but im theory, this-eminent difpenfation of grace, they would no longer argue again{t thofe, as enthufiats, who peak of the infleence of the Spirit in {criptural terms, i So long as this glorious light thall continue in obfcurity, — fo long- we may expect to obferve among chriftiansithe moft unfriendly difputes : and though they newer again may kine dle blazing piles for their mutual deftru@tion, ‘yet. bitter words interchanged among them, like fomanyGavenomed — fhafts, will {till continue to declare, that war isin their hearts. - Thofe who imagine themfelves in poffeffion of the pureft — chriftian-faith, will treat others, who indulge different fens timents, as infidels and herctics; while thefe in return, will — itigmatize their uncharitable brethren with the opprobrious epithets of enthufiaftand fanatic. But when every minifter of the Gofpel enlichtened with trath and glowing with cha- vity, fhall faithfully conducthe flock of Chrift from to grace, and from ftrengtli ‘to freneth, then: the foremot of that flock fhall manifeft their rehgious fuperiority, by giving proofs of the moft unfeigned affe€tion toward the meaneft and moft infirm of their {piritual companions... ‘Co- pying the humble courtefy of St. Paul, thefe unprefami elders will cry ont; among their younger brethrens * Let as many as be like-minded, forgetting: thofe things that are — behind, and-reaching forth ato thofe things which are be- — fore, prefs earneftly ‘toward the mark, for the prize-of the — high calling of God in Chrift Jefus: and af in any thing ye be otherwife minded,’ that perfe@ ‘charity which hopeth all — things, engagés us to believe, that God Joall reveal even this wnto you. Neverthelefs, hereto we: hawe already attained, Tet us awalk by the fame rule, let us mind the fame things. - ~~ Tt may not be amifs to conclude thefe remarks upon the three grand difpenfations of grace, by -obferving, how tm- — perfec worlhippers deceive themfelves, while they refufe to proceed from faith to faith. Pt is the opinion of many fin- — «ere deifts, who are -zealous for the difpenfation of the Fa- — ther, that were they to embrace the difpenfation of the Son, $ they muft neceflurily detra& from the honour due tothe m- i comprehenfible Gon. This prejudice, howener, evidently — é = | hy ~ FHE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 275 flows from the want of fpiritual difcernment ; fince the holy Scriptures inftruG us, that, when at the name of Jefus every knee foall bow, and every tongue confefs, that he is Lord of Heaven and earth, {uch religious adoration fhall be con- fidered as ultimately heightening the glory of God the Father. * Now ifthe Father leads us to the Sen, by the dawnings of his grace, as we are taught by the following paflages— § No maa can come unto me, except the Father draw him. Simon Peter faid, T'hou art Chrift the Son of the living Ged: Jefus anfwered him Bleffed art thou Simon Barjona : for flefh and blood ‘hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven :’ it is equally certain, that when we come to Chrift, he teaches us both to know and worfhip the Father. Obferve the language of our Lord, with re- fpe& to this point. * Iam the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Father, glo- rify thy Son, that thy Son alfo may glorify Thee. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou ‘haft feat. Righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I’have known thee, and thefe have known that thou haft fent the,’ to make an open difplay of thy glory upon earth. J have declared unto them thy name, and I will declare tt, yet more perfeGtly. From thefe paflages it evidently appears, that the faith of the Son can never poflibly take away from that profound veneration, which is due to the Father.. And what is here obferved, relative to the faith of the Son, is no lefs true with regard to the faith of the Holy Spirit. For if, under the difpenfa- tion of Jefus, we learn to addrefs our Father, whois in Hea- wen, with a degree of humble confidence, it is only under the difpenfation of the Spirit, that we are enabled to make thofe addreffes with all that filial reverence and that lively fervour, which the Gofpel requires. This /pirit of adoption, by wite- nefling with our /pirit, that we are the children of God, ofits us to bow before our celeftial Parent, with that ineffable ve, neration and love, which are-dueto the Supreme Being. If - @hilofophers would duly refle& upon thefe important truths, they would no longertremble under the vain apprehenfion of becoming idolaters and tritheifts, by admitting the doftrines of the Gofpel. On the contrary, we might indulge a hope, that thefe proud reafoners would one day be feen, in.com- pany with humble believers, approaching the Gop of their M6 276 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL» Fathers, through the interceffion of the Son, and with the — energy of the Holy Spirit; crying out, with St. Paul: «There is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Chrift Jefus ; and through him we have ac- cefs, by one Spirit, unto the Father.’ There is another clafs of worfhippers, who are zealous for the difpenfation of the Son, and who, wholly taken up with the word manifefted in the flesh, imagine that his difpenfation _ is rendered contemptible, if it be reprefented merely as the | commencement of chriltianity, while the perfetion of the _ Gofpel is declared to confift in the difpenfation of the Holy ‘Spirit. .To the confideration of fuch, we would propofe the following expreffion of St. Paul: * Henceforth, know we no man after the flefh: yea, though we have known a Chrift after the flefh, yet, henceforth know we him no © more,’ after this manner. And though our Lordisacknow- ledged to have fpoken on this wife, ‘ whofo eateth my flefh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raife him up at the laft day: for my flefh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed’—yet, it muft likewife be confeffed, that he immediately added, J¢ is the Spirit, that quickeneth 5 — the ficfh prrojiteth nothing. a The following obfervations, it is hoped, will entirely dif- fipate the fears of thefe pious perfons. When the Spirit of truth is come, faith our Lord, he will guide you into all truth; and efpecially into thofe truths, which refpe& faith toward — me, and repentance toward my Father. *£ He thall glorify — ne: for he fhall receive of mine, and fhall fhew unto you,” — the merits of my righteoufnefs, the efficacy of my death, and — the power of my Gofpel. The Father shall give you another — Comforter, whom ye already know in part; for hedwelleth — with you, even now in my bodily prefence: but, hereafter, — He fall be in you, when I fhall have baptized you with the Holy Ghoft fent down from Heaven. £ I willnot leave you comfortlefs: I will come unto you. .The world feeth me no more ; but ye shall fee me,’ in the effeGts of my indwell- “ang power: and decaufe J live ye fhall live alfo. At that day, ¥ Jeall know, that I am in my Father, and ye in mes and I, by my {pirit, in you. This {piritual abode of Chrift in the fouls of his people, is the moft glorious-myftery of the Gofpel ; and ifany man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he is at beft, but ee ee CS ee ee — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 277 a difciple either of Mofes, or of John the Baptift ; he is not in a fpiritual, but in a carnal ftate. ‘I live: yetnot I, but Chrift hvethin me. Chrift is our life. The myitery, which hath been hid from ages, is Chrift in you the hope of glory. My little children, of whom I travail in birth, until Chrift be formedin you.” Thefe, with a thoufand other {criptural expreffions, muft be utterly in- comprehenfible to thofe, who, reiting contented with a li- teral knowledge of the incarnate word, admit not the inter- nal manifeftation of Chrift, by his fpirit of revelation, wif- dom, and power. The deep things of God are revealed unto us by his Spirit : and, without this Spirit, we muft continue - ftrangers to the moit exalted truths of the Gofpel, and be cut off from the pureft {prings of religious confolation. This is he, faith St. John, ‘ that came by water and blood, even Jefus Chrift: not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit, that beareth witnefs, becaufe the Spirit istruth.? Asthough the Apoftle fhould fay; Chriit indeed, in the firft part of his miniftry, proclaimed that repentance toward Gop, which his own difciples, as well as John the Baptift, were accuftomed to feal with a baptifm of water. And to this facred ceremony he himfelf-condefcendingly fubmitted. But, after this, he proceeded farther, when, as a vilible Saviour, he fealed his own difpenfation of grace with a baptifm of blood upon the crofs. Moreover, it is the Spirit, that gives teftimony to the unfearchable truths of the Gofpel, by his fill more excellent baptifm ; deepen- ing our repentanee toward Gop, and adding a full affurance to our faith in Jefus Chrift. Letno one then'fufpe@, that the manifeitation .of the Spirit mutt neceflarily obfcure the glory of the Son; efpecially fince it is exprefsly declared, * that no man can fay, that Jefus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft.’ Before we clofe this fe&ion, we have to lament, that this important part of the Gofpel is fo rarely publifhed among profeffing chriftians. The greater part of the clergy.are to be ranked with the moft violent oppofers of fpiritual reli- gion... They in{fult its followers, they condemn its advocates unheard, and prefumptuoufly /peak evil of thofe things which they know not. As there was a time, in which the Jewith church overlooked the moft important promife under the dif. penfation of the Father; fo it was intimated that a time 978 ‘ THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. would come, in which the chriftian church, funk intoa flate of liftleffnefs and incredulity, fhould negle& the grand pro- — mife under the difpenfation of the Son. When the Son of man cometh, faith our Lord, Jhall he find faith on the earth ? He will find little indeed, if we may either rely upon our own obfervations, or give credit to the moft folemn affertions of a predicting Apottle. ie All our ecclefiaftics, however, are not of this defeription. Among the thoufands of this faecred order, we find many, who are poffeffed of godly fear, feriptural faith, and chrif- tian charity. “Thefe pious evangelifts are anxious for the falvation of thofe committed to their charge. They labour to fpread the Kingdom of Gop among-men, though they have never experienced that kingdom aecording to the fulnefs of the promife. And though they are unacquamted with the abundant plenitude of the Gofpel, yet they ceafe not te. publifh that Gofpel abroad with affection and zeal. "They preach the -crofs of Chrift; ‘but they proclaim not the fpiritual coming of a rifen Saviour. Ais their carelefs\bre-. thren refufe to publifh the coming of the Spirit, through infrdelity and prejudice, fo thefe upright miniiters negle& te. preach it, through uncertainty and irrefolution. If they even entertain a juft opinion of the do@rine for which we plead, vet they are reftrained from fpeaking oS and freely upon the fubje&, becaufe, as many falfe chriftians ‘have ren- dered the difpenfation of the Son contemptible ii the eyes of deifts; fo many vainly-infpired zealots have caufed the difs. penfation of the Spirit to appear ridiculous before fober- minded chriftians. But notwithftanding the reproach, which many fanatics, of various fetts, have brought upon this fublime part of the Gofpel, by mingling with it the reveries of an heated imagination, yet it will conftantly"be regarded,. by every well-inftructed chriftian, as the quinteffence of our holy religion. \ ‘There appears little probability, that this negle@ted doe-. trine willbe either univerfally reeeived or preached, in our degenerate day. But as truth has never been left entirely deftitute of witneffes, and as the generality of minifters-have ftill courage enough to maintain, before an unbelieving world, the difpenfation of the Son ; we may reafonably ‘hope, that they will continue to mention the difpenfation of the Spirit, at leaft, on every commemoration of the pentecottal'glory, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 279 By this means we may preferve among us a precious fpark of facred fire, till our returning Lord, burfting through the clouds of incrédulity, fhall kindle the fpark into an everlaft- ing flame. In that day, the idle pretenfions of enthufiatts fhall no more influence believers to reje&t the Holy = abi than the vain pretenfion of thofe falfe Chrifts who formerly "appeared among the Jews, could influence the faithful to re- je& their only Lord and Saviour. » The difpenfation of the _ Spirit fhall then appear as glorious to the eyes of admiring ehriftians, as the difpenfation of the Son once appeared to ravifhed Simeon: and every apoftolic ‘paftor fhall condué& his flock from the di “pyakee of the Father, through that of the Son, to that of the Holy Spirit, iu as rapid a manner, as ' St. Peter is reported to bave done in his firit difcourfe. AN ESSAY ON THE CONNEXION or DOCTRINES MORALITY. rd “4 BI MENTION 0 ‘ AN KE Sava Y-8ze. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. OME divines, almoft wholly occupied with the do@rines S of the Gofpel, are not fufficiently careful to infift upon morality ; while philofophers, for the moit part, as wholly taken up with morality, treat the deGrines of the Gofpel with negleé&t and difdain. It is to reconcile, if poffible, thefe two ‘miftaken claffes of men, that a few obfervaticns are here pre- fented upon the importance of fuch doétrines, and their im- mediate contecion with morality. Morality is the fcience, which regulates our manners, by’ teaching us to know and to follow juftice, rendering to every one their due, love, honour, obedience, tribute, &c. The whole of this morality is included in thofe maxims of natural _vand revealed religion—What/oever ye would, that men fhould do unto you, do ye even fo unio them. Render unto Cafar, the things, which are Cefar’s ; and unto God, the things, which are God’s. ence it follows, that pure morality muit main- tain fome form of divine worfhip. ' Some moralifts, it is true, imagine it poffible to be fridly jut, without making any profeffion of piety. But if ja/fice confifts in doing that to others, which we defire may be done to ourfelves ; it 1s clear, that every man who honours not the fupreme Being muft be unjuff as well as impious : fince if we are parents or benefaCtors, we manifeft fo deepa fenfibility of the injuftice of our children or dependants, when they repay our kindnefs with infolence and ingratitude. DoGrines are, in general, precepts : but by doérines are here, particularly, underftood, thofe inffrudions, which Chrift and his Apoftles have given, refpecting the different relations, 284 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. in which we ftand’to Gop, and to each other, together with the various duties confequent upon fuch relations. Such inftructions, as are tranfmitted from generation to” generation, under the name of maxims or dodrines, whether they be true or falfe, have a prodigious effet upon the con- duét of thofe who admit them. In tHe ancient world, how © many haplefs infants have been facrificed among the Greeks and Romans to that barbarous maxim, that fathers have the — right of life and death over their new-born children. n the ~ modern world, how vaft anumber of unborn infants, and hows many fanciful heroes are falling every year unfortunate victims — to thofe maxims of falfe honour: J¢ is.beiter to deflroy the Sruit of an illicit love, or to plunge a {word into the bofom of a — Sriend, than to live without that, which conftitutes the honour af — the fexes. Overturn thefe maxims of a falfe point of honour, — and you deftroy the principles, upon which a thoufand impious © actions are committed. Mankind can no more diveft themfelves of all pre-poffeffion — in favour of general maxims, than they can lofe fight of de- termining motives. The atheift and the infidel have their — particular do€trines, as well as the juft man and the chriftian, — The inconfiftency of fome philofophers, in this refpe&, is here worthy to be noted, who begin their difcourfes by de- crying maxims in general, and conclude them, by fetting forth and maintaining the moft dangerous doGtrines. The road to permanent happine/s, fay they, is both convenient and Spacious. The Almighty pays but little regard to our adtions, and ~ has endued us with paffions for the very purfiofe of gratifying them. "They eh et if a Bis, ates ay to entertain a number of women, he may innocently enjoy what. — ever pleafure their fociety can afford him: ahdthat, when he has no longer any relifh for life, he may as innocently blow — out his brains. Such are the dodrines, and fuch is the mo- rality, which many ill-inftru€ted profeffors are preaching among us.at this day ;. giving ample teftimony, that no men © are more ready to fet up for dogmatifis, than thofe who reject 1 the doérines of the Gofpel. . ee te fh - THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 285 CHAP. I. PHILOSOPHERS, SO CALLED, EXALT THEM- SELVES, WITHOUT REASON, AGAINST THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. S thofe, who affe& exterior aéts of devotion, are not ” always poffeffed of the moft folid piety ; fo they, wha are foremoft to magnify philofophy, are not always to be re- garded as the wifeft of mankind. It muft, however, be con- feffed, that many chriftians have afforded philofophers too juft a fubje& of fcandal, by continually oppofing faith to reafon : as though, in order to be poffeffed of the richeft chriftian grace, it were neceffary to renounce that noble fa- culty, which chiefly diftinguifhes us from the brute creation. _ Like the great Apoftle, we may rationally oppofe faith to Jenfe ; but we can never, without the higheft indifcretion, op- pofe it toreafon. We fhould even be cautious of faying with M. de Voltaire and St. Louis, “ Take heed how you follow the guidance of your weak reafon.” “The reafon of man is acknowledged to be weak, when compared with the intelli- gence of fuperior Beings. But whatever its weaknefs may be, it “becomes us, with gratitude, to follow it as our guide : fince, in a gloomy night, it is better to profit from the fmall- eft taper, that can be procured, than obftinately to fhut our eyes and walk at random. If believers prefer the revelation of Chrift before the philofophy of infidels, it is becawfe the moft enlightened reafon influences their choice. The true believer is not afraid of pleading againft modern philofophers before the tribunal of reafon. “ You accufe me,” he may fay, “ of fuperftition; becaufe in purfuing thofe « honours, riches and pleafures, which are external, I have « chofen the rough uncomfortable path of piety. But while « J a& thus, I act in no lefs conformity to the principles of « reafon, than the man, who, to expel a {weet poifon, receives “ a bitter antidote; and cheerfully fubmits to,a difagreeable « regimen, till he is reftored to perfe&t health. Ifthe facri- * fice of a few trifling enjoyments for the prefent, will fecure « to me the poffeffion of everlafting felicity, I do but imi- “ tate the prudent hufbandman, who deprives himfelf, to-day, 286 THE PORTRAIT OF 8T. PAUL. «¢ of a few bufhels of grain, that after a few months of patient «¢ expectation, he may reap from his trivial lofs an abundant «harveft. And is it unreafonable in me to adopt fuch a « mode of condué& ; efpecially, when the fweet hope of pro- *« mifed bleflings affords me, even now, a joy as /olid and ** conflant, as yours is tranfitory and vain ?” § _* Yemen of boafted wifdom! we dare affert that the fecret {prings of your morality are weak and gro/s, in comparifon ‘with ours. You maintain, that, in order to bind a rational ereature to the practice of morality, nothing further is requi- fite than the confideration of his own interefts. Youaflirm, © moreover, with equal confidence, that all-attempts to urge mankind to the exercife of virtue, by the confideration of © evangelical motives, is but depending on the force of ties, whichare too feeble to be binding. Butyou perceive not, that the method upon which you proceed, with fo much felf-ap- probation, is entirely unworthy of true moralifts, fince it ~ merely oppofes one evil; by means of another full as deteft- able, in giving that to fride, which it wrelts from other vicious — propenfities. And you, undifcerning inftruGtor of Emilius and Sophia! you, who fay in your confeffion of faith: Un £nowing how to determine, I neither admit revelation nor rejeck” it: rejeding only the obligation to receive it—if you have remove ed thofe powerful motives to true virtue, which are drawn © from the Gofpel, what have you given us in exchange a «“ Love, that you may be loved again, -Become amiable, “that you may be happy. Make yourfelf efteemed, that — * you may be obeyed. What greater felicity can a noble “foul poflefs, than that which flows from the pride of virtue, “joined with beauty.”? How puerile and infufficient are thefe motives, when compared with thofe, which the Gofpel prefents! Leading mankind to virtue by fuch a route as this, is it not to infpire them, at once, with all a pharifee’s pride and a Jezebel’s vanity ? When we draw a vail over the fublime objets of faith, and place before men the mere confideration of fome prefent advantage, in order to influence their condu&t; then we a¢tu- ally treat the rational part of the creation, as we are accuftom- ed to deal with the moft brutifh animals. Behold that {wine making up to a heap of cora. ‘Throw beta fingle hand. ful of that heap in his way, and. he will pafs no furthers fiace fifty grains of cora, icattered immediately before his “THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 987 face, will attraGt him more forcibly than as many bufhels piled up at a diftance. Were it poflible to make him an offer of all the harvefts in the univerfe, after a fingle hour; yet he would not facrifice for them all, the poor enjoyment of the prefent moment. He, who thus fixes his attention upon temporal and fenfible objects, forgets that his foul is immate~ rial andimmortal. He, who cannot be engaged to the prac- tice of virtue, but by means of fuch unworthy motives, may he faid to infufe morality in the cup of Circe, left he fhould be conftrained to receive it at the hand of Chrift. Why are infidels and unftable chriftians obferved to fall before temptation? The only reafon that can be given is, that, being affeéted in too lively a manner with the things that are immediately before them, they are in no condition to contemplate thofe objets which are more remote, of how great importance foever they may be. Hence, the ineftima- ble objeéis of faith appear to them, as the fixed ftars dif- -cover themfelves to the vulgar, defpoiled of their real magni- tude and glory, and apparently of too little confequence to merit much attention, With the fincere chriftian, the cafe is wholly different. THis faith, which is q gift from Gop, may be compared to a divine telefcope, by which the molt diftant obje&s are brought within his ken. And of this _ facred help he happily avails himfelf, till wholly certified of the nature and importance of celeftial things, he neceflarily acquires ideas and fentiments fuitable to fo grand a difcovery. Obferve here the ground of St. Paul’s definition of faith. Deftitute of the fame affiftance, what wonder is it, that the infidel fhould remain a perfe& ftranger to the chriftian’s fa- _ ered views and exalted fentiments! He foolifhly refts con- tented with the naked eye of his reafon, regardlefs of thatige _ norance, and thofe prejudices, with which it is too frequently -obfcured. Thus, felf-deluded, he defpifes the divine initrur ment above defcribed, and {coffs at thofe, who are known to ufe it; juft as the illiterate were formerly accuftomed to fet at nought the moft profound aftronomers, and to look with -derifion upon their myfterious apparatus. As to the power of this faith, by which alone any fpiritual difcovery can be made, it is too wonderful to be credited either by theignorant orthe impious. It removes mountains : and, to the poffeffor of it, nothing is keenalitle it affords the believer a perfeCt vidory over the prefent world, by putting 988- THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. into his hand a /hield, which is impenetrable to all the fiery darts of the wicked. Here isthe chriftian’s fecurity ! Behind this buckler of celeftial temper, he remains in undisturbed tranquility, while the incredulous philofopher, together with the abandoned fenfualist, are hurling against it the feeble darts of ridicule and malice. ' It must be acknowledged, that many excellent precepts of morality are found in the Alcoran, and in the works of mo- dern philofophers : but it muft be afferted, at the fame time, that the enemies of Christ are chiefly indebted to revelation - for every juft conception of religious truth. The authors of - the Alcoran, of Emilius, and, the Philofophical Diétionary, — before ever they began to dogmatize, were apprized, that — there is aGop, whom it is our duty to love above all things, and who has commanded us to love our neighbour as our= felves. It is, therefore, matter of little furprife, that alove- ly fentiment of this kind, fhould here and there brighten a— page of their gloomy volumes. Their falfe coin could never have become current in the world, unlefs they had artfully — mingled with it fome little quantity of the pure gold of fcriptural truth. - ; We fhall couclude this chapter with a beautiful paflage from Tertullian, in which he points out the difference be- tween a true chriftian, and a philofopher fo called. Afte having fpoken of the vices, with which the Greek philo phers were infe€ted, he makes the following reply to a ve common objeGtion. “ It is objected, that fome alfo among “ us, are guilty of violating the laws of virtue. Butit muft — ‘¢ be remembered, that fuch offenders pafs no longer with us — * for « iriftians: while among you, after the commflion of *¢ many vicious actions, philofophers ftill preferve their repu= — ‘* tation, aud continue to be had in honour. What refemb- «« lance then is there, between the chriftian and the philofo- « pher? The one isa difciple of Greece ; the other of Hea- s¢ yen. ~ The one feeks to eftablifh a fair reputation: the *¢ other afpires to work out his falvation, The one {peaks «¢ admirable words : the other performs good actions. The « one deftroys, and the other builds’up. The one deals in — ¢ error, and the other in truth.” ’ Ee TME PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 289 “CHAP. iE: ‘THE DOCTRINES OF NATURAL RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY ARE INSUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE TRUE CHARITY IN THE HEART. HE doétrines of natural religion, fuch as the Being of a Gop, an overruling providence, and a judgment to come, are the fir/f doCtrines of the Gofpel; but, hitherto, they have never been found fufficient to lead men into the love and practice of folid virtue. - Ass the earth, deprived of its primitive fecundity, requires not only the genial influence of the fun, but muft be enrich- ed and affifted by many other means, in order to recover its loft fertility: fo the truths of natural religion can never re- ftore the degenerate foul to its loft perfeGtion, without the powerful affiftance of a revealed Gofpel. On this account, the Father of mankind has condefcended to inftru@ us in doGrines, more efficacious than thofe, which unaffifted nature can difcover, and abundantly better fuited to our weaknefs: ‘that the tree of morality, having more numerous and vigo- rous roots, might be affilted to produce fruit of a more ex- ‘quifite flavor, and in greater abundance, then it formerly had }done. What the Law, fays St. Paul, could not do, [the natu- ‘ral or mofaic Law] in that it was weak through the Siefh [i- e. our corrupted nature, which ftands in need of greater helps ‘than thofe, which the Law can afford] God Jfending his own Son condemned fin in the flefo, that the righteoufnefs of the Law might be fulfilled in us, by a power derived from him. Hence, this promifed Saviour was {poken of as the defire of all nations. And hence, that public declaration of Chritt concerning the nature of his miffion to the children of men: J am come, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. _ Without revelation, we are left a prey to the moft cruel certainty. ‘The Almighty created man, that he might artake of his own felicity : and, after having placed in his eart an ardent defire after the /overeign good, he made a be- pign difcovery of Himfelf, as the one only and inexhauptible ource of true bleffednefs. But, ar the darknefs of fin has ie 290 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. over{pread our underftanding, we have loft fight of this /ove- reign good, and are feeking it, where it cannot poflibly b found. Like Ixion in the fable, while we embrace a cloud we imagine ourfelves in poffeffion of afublime reality. An even after repeated conviGtions of our folly, uninftru€ted b difappointment, we fet out again in purfuit of objets full a ‘frivolous as thofe, by which we have been already beguiled. Philofophers, unable to guide mankind to true happinefs, ar vainly fearchng after it themfelves in darknefs and uncertain= ty. Divided into a variety of fe€ts, they maintain a hundted different opinions upon a fubjeé of fo great importance. S$ that after all the refearches of its profeflors, philofophy left the world ina ftate of equal perplexity, with a man, who, having but one arrow to level at the mark, has a hu dred different marks propofed to him at the fame time. In all this uncertainty, how happy is it to difcover a lume, which decides the momentous queftion in fo clear manner, that reafon itfelf can obje& nothing to the decifion This book, the moft ancient that can be produced, informs us that Jenovan once appeared to the father of the faithful, ‘and faid unto him, I am the mighty, all-fufficient 9 walk before me, and be thou perfe@. So, will I make my covenant between me and thee :’? and thou fhalt become a joyful pofleffor of the fovereign good. When thefe truths are once cordially affented to, the perplexity of the believer “is then fweetly terminated, and his high vocation completely pointed out. From this time, he feels the importance of thofe doétrines, which, like fteady lights, eclipfe a thoufand glimmering meteors, anddifcover, amidft furrounding dangers; a fure though narrow road to happinefs, And here it is to be obferved, that upon thefe important truths, as well as upon every other effential point, chriftians of all denomination: are perfe@tly agreed. * What is meant by walking before God in perfeétion, is fally explained in the following terms ; Thow shalt love the Lor thy Ged with all thy heart ; and thy neighbour as thyfelf. Now, unregenerate man, far from filling up thefe duties, negleéts the Supreme Being, and prefers his own particular jntereft to that of fociety in general ; affording the ftrongeft proof that he poffeffes neither genuine piety, nor undifflembled chas tity. Hence, before fuch a man can become truly virtuous it is evident, that his principles muft be improved, and hig THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 991 inclinations reCtified. And till thefe falutary changes take place in his foul, always vicious, reftlefs, and felfifh, he will continually be making forne addition to his external errors, and his internal mifery. Deifts, while they acknowledge, that we are bound to love both Gop and man, prefume upon the fufficiency of their own power for the-due performance of thefe extenfive duties. Were they, however, truly anxious to praétife thefe virtues im aS unreferved a manner, as even natural religion requires, they would quickly perceive the weaknefs of humanity, and cknowledge the deepeft need of divine affiftance. But fo hg as the piety of thefe perfons confilts in honouring God with their lips, while their hearts arefar from him: and while hey boaft of manifefting toward mankind love fo univerfal, bat none but their enemies are excluded from it: fo long, they will need no other affiftance for the performance of thefe Wretched fervices, than that which corrupted nature can amply afford. ites _ It is frequently afferted, that the myfteries of Redemption, ire utterly ufelefs with refpeétto morality, and that the be- jignity of Gop, as exemplified in our creation and frreferva- ‘ton, is a {ufficient motive to affection and obedience on the Yart of man. But fince man has become a finful and mifera- ple creature, every motive to reClitude, that can poffibly be drawn from his creation and firefervation, has loft much of its Jormer conftraining influence. How many perfons may we ind in the world, who, inftead of being penetrated with gra- ‘itude on account of thefe bleffings, lament, with defpairin Job and Jeremiah, that ever they were born! And when the iniferies of /ife have rendered it almoft infupportable, can we eafonably imagine its repining poffeffor to be glowing with Ove to the deity, merely as the Author and freferver of his be happy exiftence ? Surely nothing can be more abfurd than jich a fuppofition. Yet how many boafted reafoners confi- jently maintain, that the very fame gift, which wretched erers in every age, have thrown back to the giver with Nguifh and contempt ; is neverthelefs a motive fufficiently owerful, to engage every tranfgreffor of the Almighty’s aw, to love him with all their heart, and ferve him with all 1elr power. _ ; ‘But let us fuppofe that man, unaffifted by the doGrines the Gofpel, has fome knowledge of the /overcign good, N2 — 292 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. and the means by which it may be obtained yet how fi perficial is this knowledge! We might here produce a gloom catalogue of thofe capital errors, into which the ancien philofophers have fallen, with regard to thefe important points. It mult indeed, be allowed, that modern profeffo; have corrected many of thofe errors: but it muft be laments ed, at the fame time, that they have unhappilyadopted othe not a whit lefs glaring or fatal. Pafling over, in filence, the horrible fyftems of atheiftical writers, let us liften te philofophers of greater eftimation, among whom Rouffeau and Voltaire may rank as the moft confpicuous characters, The former of thefe acquired confiderable reputation by hi obfervations upon the education of youth, and the latter, b the courage with which he contended for toleration. P) ‘Let it be laid down,” fays Rouffeau, * as an incons * teftable maxim, that the firft movements of nature are ale “¢ ways right: and that there is no fuch thing as original fi ‘‘ in the human heart.”? How large a ftride is here toward the fentiments of la Metrie ; all whofe morality was wrapt uf in this fingle fentence, Satisfy thy defires: they are the voite of God and of nature. To cular this little quotation from J. J. Rouffeau, would be a fuperfluoustafk. It muft appear evident to every unprejudiced reader, from the above affertion, that the maxims of this admired philofopher have a greate tendency to advance /e/f-gratification, than to promote uni- werfal benevolence in the world. a | Turn we now to the toleration of M. de Voltaire. In his epiftle to Boileau, we find him writing thus—“ I have con- « fecrated my voice to fing the praifes of virtue ; overcom- « ing thofe prejudices, which are idolized by the ignorant, «¢ T dare to preach toleration to perfecutors.”” Now when any man comes forth, in this public manner, to plead the caufe of candour and liberality, we are naturally led to admire the generofity of his conduét. And it would be well if M. de Voltaire was really deferving of all that credit, which 4 ftranger feels difpofed to give him, when he affumes fo qucflionable an appearance. But, notwithftanding the praifes, which this celebrated writer has beftowed upon his own hu manity, and in fpite of all the beautiful things he has faid upon toleration, many ungenerous fentiments may be dif covered in his works, which tend to renew the moit bloody prefecutions. ‘Take an inftance or two. att. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 293 1. Ut is never neceffary to rife up againft the religion of the Prince. Upon this principle Jefus Chrift and St. Paul were highly worthy of blame, notwithftanding the hypocrify and idolatry, which compofed the religion of Caiaphas and Ti- berias. "2. © What is called a janfenift is really a madman, a bad citizen, and a rebel. He is a bad citizen, becaufe he trou- bles the order of the ftate: he is a rebel, becaufe he difobeys. The molinifts are madmen of a moreharmlefskind.? Thefe two lovely maxims of /oleration are to be found in a little piece of M. de Voltaire’s, intitled The voice of a prhilofopher and of the people. ‘Had the King of France attended to this voice, he would have regarded every jan/eni/?, and, for the fame reafon, every otcflant, as a bad citizen or a rebel ; every {park of religious moderation would have been extinguifhed in his royal bofom, and an effectual door thrown open to the terrible exertions of tyrannical power. ‘Thefe pretended rebels might then have perifhed unpitied and‘unheard; while the bigoted Prince, convinced that a man muff ceafe to be a fanatic before he merits toleration, might have gloried in the re€titude of his public condu&. Such a Prince might have commanded his blood- thirfty troops to advance under the banners of modern phi- lofophy, leaving M. de Voltaire to animate them againit the innocent with, what he calls, The voice of a prhilofopher. It appears then, according to M. de Voltaire, that every fubje& fhould profefs the religion of his Prince. Nor is this opinion lefs earneftly contended for by J. J. Roufleau, who tells us in his Emilius, that every daughter fhould be of her mo- ther’s religion, and that every woman Jbould prrofe/s the religion of her hufoand. So that, if a man fhould turn from the frue and embrace a fa//: religion, his wife and children are bound to apoftatize with him: and, in cafe of a refufal on their part, J. J. Rouffeau, while he affets to plead the caufe of liberty, pronounces upon them a fentence of condemnation. Upon thefe principles of toleration, the father of the family is au- thorifed to perfecute his non-conforming wife and children, and a Prince may lawfully take up arms againft fuch of his fubjects as are fanatics. If the benevolence and morality of thefe candid philofophers were to be fubitituted in the place of that liberality and love, which the Gofpel requires, to what B deluge of mifery would it give rife. both in families and in N3 "204: THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL» common-wealths! Kings would tyrannize oyer the cor {cience of their fubjeéts, hufbands over that of their wive and parents over that of their children: nor would the lea religious liberty be experienced by any clafs of men, excep by the Princes of the earth. Such is the imperfe@ charit and {uch the limited freedom, for which modern philofophe have contended with equal earneftnefs and ath ot AG The dangerous principle of thefe two oracles, upon th fubje&t of toleration, will fuffice to thew, with how jut ree fon the former of them could fay—ZJ hate falfe maxims, but dete/t evil adtions yet more. Alas! the horrible actions of murdering inquifitor terminate with his life; but the tolerant doftrines of thefe reputed fages, may continue t {catter mifery and death through the world, long after thei negleéted tombs are mouldered into duft. CHAP. III, Bi a THE GREAT INFLUENCE OF DOCTRINES UPON MORALITY. 4 iS Boe afcertain the importance of doétrines in general, let us confider the influence they have upon our conduc Our duties in life depend upon the different relations w fuftain in it; and thefe relations affect us only, as they ar underftood. Thus, it is neceffary, that a child fhould know his father, before he can truly love him in that character, This knowledge isthe effeét of certain inflruGions or maxims which influence our manners, in proportion as they are af. fented to. I lave the man from whom I have received mj birth and education with a particular affe€tion: but fuch love is founded, firft upon this general doétrine, Every child, honaurably born, fhould reverence and love his Father ; and, fecondly, upon this particular truth, That manis thy Father. ‘ If I am made to doubt of this general doétrine, or of this particular truth, the moral fprings of that refpedt, love, gra titude, and obedience, which are due to my father, will ne ceflarily be weakened; and if either the one or the other fhould lofe all its influence over my heart, my father would then become to me equally indifferent as any other ftranger THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 295 The knowledge, therefore, of the affinities, which fubfift between one being and another, is effential to morality. ~ | Why is it, that no traces of morality can be difcovered among | the beafts of the field? it is becaufe they ave incapable of _ underftanding either the felation in which creatures {tand to the Creator, or the affinities which fubfift among the crea- tures themfelves. As it becomes the foldier to have a diltin® knowledge of his officers, that he may render to every one according to his rank, the honour and obedience to which they are feverally entitled ; fo, preparatory to the practice of morality, it behoves us to have a clear perception of our _ various duties, together with the proper fubjects of thofe duties. If fome defperate malady has deprived us of this | knowledge, we then rank with idiots, and are in no condition to violate the rules of morality. Hence, the lunatic who ' butchers his father, is not punifhable among usas a parricide, _ becaufe he has no acquaintance with thefe general maxims, No man foould murder another—Every fon foould honour his _ father ; nor has he any conception of this particular truth, The man, whom thou art about to defroy, is thy father. | ‘Take away al} doétrines, and you annihilate ail the rela- _ tions which fubfit among rational creatures, you deftrey all morality, and reduce man to the condition of a brute beat, allowing him to be influenced by paffion and caprice, as the loweft animals are a€tuated by appetite and inktin&. Admit only fome few doétrines, and you admit only a part of your _ duties as well as your privileges. An example may ferve to fet this truth in a clear light. Suppofe you havea rich fa- ther, who isat prefent, entirely unknown to you, and whom the world has ever looked uponas your parent ; if you never receive any certain intelligence concerning him, it is plain, that you can neither render him filial obedience, nor yet fuc- ceed to his eftates. ' Many philofophers, who cannot reafonably be fufpected of fanaticifm, or even of partiality to evangelical principles, have yet ftrenuoufly infifted upon the importance of doftrine, as ealculated to influence the conduét of mankind. A polifhed writer of this clafs feems to have entertained an idea, that if all men were poffeffed of an enlightened underftanding, erimes of every kind would be unknown in the world. Ob- ferve, at leaft, in what terms he fpeaks of war, which is an evil of that complex nature, that it may jultly be looked upon N4 oa 296 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. as an aflemblage of every poffible vice. * What is the caufe ** of that deftructive rage, which, in every period, like a con- ‘* tagious malady, has infected the human race? Ignorance “is, undoubtedly, the fource of our calamities; ignorance *« with refpect to the relations, rights, and duties of our **{pecies. ‘Thus, the moft ignorant and unpolifhed people “have ever been the moft warlike: and thofe ages of the | “ world, which have been peculiarly diftinguifhed by darkne “and barbarifm, have been invariably the moft fruitful in | “« murderous wars. Ignorance prepares the way for devafta- -“ tion; and devaftation, in its turn, reproduces ignorance, * With a clear knowledge of their rights, and their reciprocal * duties, which form the true and only intereft of nations, i “is a contradiftion to fuppofe, that thofe nations wo «* voluntarily precipitate themfelves into an abyfs of inevitable « evils.”? This author, if he be fuppofed to fpeak of our — relations and duties with re{pe& to God, as well as thofe which ~ regard our neighbour, had reafon on his fide ; and efpecially, _ if his views were directed to the knowledge of every powerful — motive, which fhould conftrain us to fill up thofe duties. - Upon thefe principles, of what fatal negle@ are thofe per= fons guilty, who, being charged with the religious inftruGtiog — of princes and people, leave both immerfed in a deplorable _ ignorance, which draws after it the horrors of war, with all — the various calamities that overfpread the face of Chriften= _ dom! : , a CHAP. IV. HOW THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL COME IN TO THE SUCCOUR OF MORALITY. F to preach the Gofpel, is to teach finners the relations they fuftain with refpe& to Gop, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sandiifier ; if it is to announce the advantages which flow — from this threefold relation, till, penetrated with gratitude and love, mankind apply themfelves to fulfil the feveral duties to which they ftand engaged; we may challenge the world, to point out any knowledge of equal importance with that, which is difcovered in the Gofpel. To deprive us, then, of - A THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 297 the doétrines contained in this Gofpel, is it not to fupprefs the moft important inftructions we can poffibly receive ; is it not to conceal from us a Teftament, which is made wholly in ourfavour? To decide this queftion, we fhall here confider what influence thefe doétrines have upon morality. - The virtues of worldly men, as well as their vices, are little elfe than a kind of traffic carried on by an inordinate felf- love. From this impure fource the moft amiable of their | a€tions flow; and hence, inftead of referring all things primarily to Gop, they a with an eye to their own immediate advantage. Chrift has offered a remedy to this grand evil, by teaching us, that to love the Deity with all our heart, is the _firft commandment of the Law; and that to /ove ourfelves, and our neighbour as ourfelves, is but a fecondary commandment in the fight of Gop: thus leading us up to divine love, as the only fource of pure virtue. When felf-love is once re- duced to this wholefome order, and moves in exact obedience | to the Creator’s Law, it then becomes truly commendable in man, and ferves as the fureft rule of fraternal affection. Evangelical morality ennobles our moft ordinary actions, | fuch as thofe of eating and drinking, requiring that all things be done to the glory of God, i.e. in celebration of his unfpeak- able bounty. A juft precept this, and founded upon the following doétrine, ll things are of God: to whom of con- fequence they ought finally to refer. If you lofe fight of this do€trine, your apparent gratitude is nothing more than a feigned virtue, which has no other motives or ends, except fach as originate and lofe themfelves in felf-love. In fuch _ circumftances, you cannot poffibly affent to the juftice of the grand precept above cited; but holding it up, like the au- thor of the Philofophical Di&tionary, as a fubje& of ridicule, you may perhaps burlefque the feelings of a confcientious man, with regard tothis command, as the comedian is ac- cuftomed to fport with the charaéter of a modeft woman. Thus many philofophers are emulating the morality and be- nevolence of thofe cenforious religionifts, concerning whom our Lord fignificantly declare, Verily, they have their re- ward. - How fhall we reduce a finner to moral order? Will it be fufficient to prefs upon him the following exhortations: Love Gop with all thy heart: Be filled with benevolence towayd _ all men: Do good to your very enemies? All this would NS 298 . THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL be only commanding a rebel to feek happinefs in the prefence of a prince, whofe indignation he has juftly merited; it would be urging a covetous man to facrifice his interefts, not only to indifferent perfons, but to his implacable adverfaries. To effect fo defirable a change in the human heart, motives and al iftance are as abfolutely neceflary, as coun/els and nrece ( ore the deceriues of the Gofpel come in to the fuccou of morality. But how fhall we fufficiently adore that incom- prehenfible Being, who has demonftrated to US, by the miflion- of his beloved Son, that the divine nature is loye! Or, how fhall we refufe any thing to this gracious Redeemer, who clothed himfelf with morality that he might fuffer in ouy ftead! All the doétrines of the Gofpel have an immediate tendency to promote the practice of morality. That of the | incarnation, which ferves as the bafis of the new Teftament, exprefies the benevolence of the Supreme Being in fo ftrik~ : ing a manner, that every finner who cordially. receives this dodtrine, is conftrained to furrender his heart unrefervedly to Gop. His fervile fear is changed into filial reverence, and — his averfion into fervent love. He is overwhelmed with the greatnefs of benefits received, and, as the only {uitable re- turn for mercies of fo ftupendous a nature, he faerifices, at once, all his darling vices. ‘ If the Son of Gop has united — “« himfelf to my fallen nature,’? fuch a humble believer will naturally fay, “¢ I will not reft, till I feel myfelf united to ** this divine Mediator: if He comes to put a period to my. «< mifery, nothing fhall ever put a period to my grothinde dl oy _ “if He has vifited me with the beamsof his glory, it «« henceforth become my chief concern to reflect thofe beams” *« upon all around me, to his everlafting praife.’”” The memorable facrifice, which was once offered up, ia . the perfon of Chrift, as a propitiation for our fins, is abun- dantly efficacious, in the fame refpeé&. This myfterious offering fets forth the malignity of our offences, and repre : fents the compaffion of the Deity in fo overpowering a man= ner, that, while it fills us with horror for fin, it completely, triumphs over the obduracy of our hearts. From the mo-. ment we come toa real perception of this meritorious facrifice, — from that moment we die to fin, till rifing again with Chrifh. into a new life, we become at length, wholly renewed in the. Spirit of qurmind. Point out aman, who unfeignedly believes, THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 299 in a erucified Saviour ; ars you have difcovered a man, who abhers all manner of vice, and in whom every virtue has taken root. Such a one can thankfully join the whole multitude of the faithful, and fay: * Being juftified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jefus Chritt : and rejoic- ing in hope of the glory of God, we have obeyed, from the heart, that form of do@rine, which was delivered unto us.’ Once, indeed, when we were without the knowledge of Chritt, qwe were the fervants of fin: but now, being made free from fin, aud become fervants to God, we have our fruit unto holinefs, and the end everlafting life. ~ If you ravifh from fucha man thefe confoling and fanétify- ing doétrines, you will leave him either in the ftupid infenfi- bility of thofe, who give themfelves up to carnal fecurity, or in the perplexity of others, who are crying, What foall we do to be faved 2? The one or the other of thefe ftates muft be ex- perienced, in different degrees, by every man, who is unac- quainted with the efficacy of evangelical do&trines. And if the firft moralift of the pagan world was yet obferved to tri- umph over this ftupidity and confufion, it was merely through sthe regenerating hope he indulged, that a reftoring Gop, of whofe internal operations he had already been favoured with fome faint perception, would one day afford him a more clear and perfeét light. : —<<<<) >>> CHAP. V. CONTAINING REFLECTIONS UPON THE APOS- FEES’ CREED. “JEYOR the fulleft proof that-a ftri& connexion fubits be- F tween the dottrines of the Gofpel and the moft perfec morality, let us caft our eye on an affemblage of thofe doc- trines, known by the name of The Apofiles Creed; acreed, | to which every true chriftian confcientioufly fubfcribes, and _which baptized hypocrites make a folemn thew of affenting® to. Our prejudice againft thefe holy doGtrines muft necef= farily vanifh, after we have duly confidered the influence they naturally have upon the conduct of true believers. This confeffion of faith has three parts. The firft containe - . N6 300 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL« the principal doétrines of deifm, or natural religion, fetting forth the relation in which we ftand to Gop, as Creator. The fecond part of this.creed includes the principal do€trines contained in the four Gofpels, and places before us the rela- — tion we bear to Gop confidered inthe charaGter of Redeemer, or as coming to fave the world by that extraordinary perfon, — who is called the only-begotten Son of Gop. The doc- © trines, here enumerated, are thofe, with which the difciples — of our Lord were wholly taken up, till the day of their — {piritual baptifm. ‘The third part prefents us with a re- capitulation of the principal do¢trines fet forth in the A@s and Epiftles of the Apoftles. . This latter part of the chrif- tian creed inftruéts us in our relation to Gop, as Sandifier, or — as coming to regenerate man by that Spirit of truth, confola- — tion, and power, which was promifed by Chrift to his follow- — ers: a Spirit, whofe office is to infrud and fandify the church of Chrift, to maintain a conftant communion among its mem= bers, to feal upon their confciences the pardon of. fin, toaffure — them of a future re/urreéion, and prepare them for a life of — everlafting bleffednefs. Let us review thefe three parts of this — Apottolic Creed, and obferve the neceflary reference they have to morality. The firft article of this creed informs us, that there is an — all-powerful God, who isthe Creator of all things in Heaven and in earth. It is evident, that no man can renounce this do&trine, without renouncing natural religion, and plunging headlong into atheifm. If there isno Gop, there can be no divine Law, and morality becomes a mere infignificant term. Human laws may, indeed, reftrain the wretch, who indulges a perfuafion of this nature; but was it not for the authority of fuch laws, he would throw off the mafk of decency, and — laugh at the diftin&tion between virtue and vice. - If you admit, with Epicurus, the Being of a God, without ’ admitting an overruling providence s if you believe not, that — the Creator is an all-powerful Parent, and, as fuch, peculiar- ly attentive to the concerns of his immenfe family ; you then deftroy all confidence in the Supreme Being: you take from “phe righteous their chief confolation in adverfity, and from _ she wicked their chief reftraining curb in profperity. : Mutilate this important doctrine, by admitting only a — general providence, and you deftroy the articular confidence, — - which holy men induige, that Gop difpenfes to his children, — es — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, 301 aecording to his unfearchable wifdom, both profperity and adverfity ; that He liftens to their fupplications, and will finally deliver them out of all their afflictions. You trample under foot the moft powerful motives to refignation and pa- tience; you nourifh difcontent in the heart, and featter the feeds of defpair among the unfortunate. Yet all this is done by many inconfiftent advocates for morality. Heathens themfelves were perfeftly convinced, that the practice of morality was clofely connected with the above- mentioned doétrine. Cicero in his book, concerning the na- _ ture of the Gops, feems to apprehend, that the wholeedifice of _ morality would fall to the ground, was the doGtrine of a far- ticular providence to be taken away. ‘ For,” fays he, « if the Gods obferved not what is tranfaGted here below, what _ © would become of religion and holinefs, without which hu- man life would be replete with trouble and confufion? I |“ am perfuaded, that, in banifhing the fear of the Gops, we _ « fhould, at the fame time, banifh from among us good faith, _ & juftice, and all thofe other virtues, which are confidered as « forming the bafis of fociety.”’ t i i I CHAPS ?¥E THE CONNECTION OF MORALITY WITH THE | SECOND PAPT OF THE APOSTLES’ CREED? Bit | FA HE doé€trines adverted to, in the latter part of the pre- ceding chapter, compofe the religion of theifts, whe | believe in Gop, as Creator and preferver, but who know him mot, as the Refforer of fallen man. They, however, who ' give their unfeigned affent to the firft part of this Creed, will _ never contentedly reft at the threfhold of truth. After duly attending to the bleflings of creation and prefeyvation, they _ will readily perceive how deftitute they are of that love, that | gratitude, and that obedience, which are fo juftly due to the _ Author of all their mercies. Hence, gradually difcovering that, even with refpe& to their neighbour, they are void of that juftice and charity, which fhould be mutually exercifed between man and ran, they will humbly acknowledge their tranfgreflions, and begin to apprehend thofe myfterious 302 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. truths, by which the chriftian religion is diftinguithed fi deifm. ; : ¥ In our ancient confeffions of faith, no mention is made o the mifery and depravity ofman. For what need was the to make fo melancholy a truth anarticle of faith, fince it h been publicly demonftrated in every age and country; by the conduG of all clafles of men? Fo deny, that indifputable evidences of this truth are every day to be met with, is to deny that there are in the world, prifons, gibbets, foldiersg, fields of blood, and beds of death. ae If we give up the doétrine of the fail, and, of confequence that of the refforation, we give the lie to the general -expe= rience of mankind, as well as to that of our own hearts; we fhut our eyes againft the light of conviction; we caft away, in the midf of a labyrinth, the only clue that cam guide us through its winding mazes. And after fuch aw act of folly we thall, either with imfidel philofophers, difdainm to implore the affiftance of the Supreme Being; or, like the haughty pharifee, we fhall approach him with infolence. If, in dire& oppofition to the doétrine of our depravity, we affirm, that all things are good, and the human fpecies as free from imperfecion as the Almighty at frrft intended, we then ne- gle& the only probable means of overcoming fin, and obfti- nately endeavour to preclude all poffibility of our reftora- tion. Thus, by perfuading a loathfome leper, that his ma- lady is both convenient and becoming, we teach him to def. pife the moft efficacious remedies, and leave him a deluded — prey to deformity and corruption. But if it be once admit= ted, that we are immerfed in fin, without the leaft poffibility of reftoring ourfelves to a ftate of innocence ; we have then, fome degree of that humility, which difpofed St. Paul ta embrace a perfecuted Saviour, and by which alone we can be prevailed upon to embrace the fecond part of this facred Creed. ' To reje& that which refpects, either the _— the Birth, the Sufferings, the Death, the Refurrettion, or the Afcen=_ Jion of Jefus Chrilt, is to reje& every thing that concerns this. condefcending Saviour ; fince it is one and the fame Gofpel, — that inftru&s us in all thefe different doGrines. ‘To remove — one of thefe do&rines, is to break the chain of evangelical _ truth, by deftroying one of the links, of which it is compof= ed; it is ultimately to deny the authority of revelation, if not y , ¥ 4 : me THE PORTRAIT OP ST. PAUL. 303: abfolutely to overthrow that grand edifice, of which Jefus Chrift is the chief Corner-ftoxe. In aword, as the dotrine of | our Redemption by a crucified Saviour, is rejected either whally or in part, fo we reje& either ia part or altogether, the moit conftraining motives to repentance and gratitude, obedience and purity. An unholy courfe of condué& proceeds from two princi- ‘pal caufes, pride, and the rebellion of the fenfes ; from the for- “mer, arifes the diforder of our irafcible paffions; and from “the latter, proceed all our irregular defires. Now, before thefe evils can be perfe€tly remedied, or the unholy become “truly virtuous, it is peceilary to eradicate fride from the heart, and to fubdue the irregular appetites of our degenerate na- ture. This is undoubtedly the moft difficult tafk to be ac- | complifhed in life: but what is impracticable to the incredu- | lous deift, becomes a€tually poffible to the fincere believer. By the example of his perfecuted Matter, he is animated to ' trample upon all the pride of life; and upon the Crofs of his dying Lord, he is crucified to the fenfual delights of this prefent world. -Zake my yoke upon you, {ays the blefled Je- fus, and learn of me : for Lam meck and lowly in heart. Chrift hath fuffered for us, continues St. Peter, Laving us an examfele, | that ye fbould fellow, his fleps. Let the Jame mind be in y6us : adds St. Paul, which was alfoin Chrift Jefus, who being in the | form of God, voluntarily took upon him the form of a fervant, and became obedient unto the death of the Crofs. It is neceflary to be well acquainted with the human _ heart, and to have acurately ebferved the influence that ex- | amp#le bas wpon mankind, in order to underftand the great: ' advantage which chriftians have over deifts; even allowing / the morality of both parties to be equally pure. What is there, of which thofe perfons are not capable, who follow _ the King of Kings, encouraged by his example and fupport- _ ed by his power? Thus fupported, no command will ap- | pear too ftri@ to be obeyed, no burden too heavy: te be fuf- tained: but we may joyfully triumph, like the firft imitators of Jefus, over that innate pride, and thofe fenfual defires,. upon which the incredulous continually ftriking, as upon peecmous rocks, make fhipwreck of all their boafted mora- ty. The. laf article, recounted in this part of our Creed, muft | beluppoted to have a prodigious imfluence upon the minds. sini eS ee 804. _ THE PORTRAIT @F ST. PAUL. of men. Take away the doétrine of a judgment-day, in which an infinitely holy and powerful Gop will render unto — every man according to his works; you then take from the wicked thofe falutary fears, which reftrain them in the career of vice, and from the righteous thofe glorious hopes, which — are the ftrongeft incentives to a life of godlinefs. 4 CHAP. VII. THE CONNEXION OF MORALITY WITH THE _THIRD PART OF THE APOSTLES’ CREED. HE firft article, in the third part of this ancient con- DP eaten of faith, refpets the confidence which every be- liever indulges in the divine grace, or rather in that Holy Spirit, which fan@tifies the finful and confoles the afflicted. H, by an obftinate incredulity, we reje& this facred Comfor- ter ; we refufe the wifdom and power which refult from an intimate union with the Father of lights, and difclaim all fellowfhip with that divine Mediator, whofe humanity is far removed from the fight of men. As we could derive no poflible advantage from a Sun, whofe rays, concentered in himfelf, fhould neither vifit our eyes with their cheering light, nor our bodies with their kindly heat 5 fo, if the Almighty neither illumines our minds by the Spirit of truth, nor ani- mates our fouls by the Spirit of charity, we may reafonably : fuppofe him to have as little intereft in the concerns of men, as the ftatue of Olympian Jupiter. ? The remainder of this Creed, refpe€ts the nature of the Church, and the privileges of its members. To deftroy the dofrines, which relate to the holinefs of thofe who truly appertain to the church of Gop, the univer= fality of that Church, and the communion of thofe faints, of whom it is ewe 3—this is to overthrow the barriers, which form the pale of the Church, confounding the holy with the profane, and the fincere with the hypocritical. Take away the doétrine, that refpeéts the remiffion of fins, and you leave us ina ftate of the moft cruel unéertainty. You take away from penitents the expeCtation that Tuftainall them; and from believers, the gratitude that engages them — THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 305 to love much, becaufe much has been forgiven them. You deftroy the moft powerful motive we have to pardon the of- fences of our neighbour, and leave us in a ftate of folicitude incompatible with that internal peace, which is the pecu- liar privilege of chriftians. :, _ Rob us of the doétrine of a future refurredion, and you | leave us weak in times of danger, alarmed in times of fick- nefs, and wholly in bondage to the fear of death. But, } while we remain in poffeffion of this exhilirating truth, we | can follow, without fear, the ftandard of the crofs: the moft | cruel torments are rendered tolerable ; and we can fubmit, without repining, to a temporary death, looking forward to a glorious refurrection and a happy immortality. _ a EEE oe CHAP. VIII. | CONSEQUENCES OF THE FOREGOING OBSER- VATIONS. LL crimes are founded upon thofe errors, which are firft embraced in theory, before they are adopted. in | praGtice. Overthrow thefe errors, by oppofing to them pure and incontrovertible doftrines, and you deftroy fin in the bud. On the other hand. true virtue is produced by truth. Oppofe a lie to this truth, and, if it be admitted, _ you deftroy the feeds of virtue. So long as the firft man _ had his heart penetrated with the certainty of this doétrine, Tf I am ungrateful enough to difobey my Creator, I feall die fo long he remained in a ftate of innocence. But to this _ doGtrine, the tempter oppofed his falfe promifes. You /hall not furely die, faid he ; on the contrary, you fhall become wife and happy as Gods. No fooner were thefe delufive doc- _ trines affented to on the part of Adam, but his underftanding _ becoming neceffarily clouded, his will was immediately be- _ guiled : and thus, blindly following the temptation, he fell _ into an abyfs of mifery. > Doétrines, whether they be good or bad, ftill continue to have the fame influence upon the conduét of men; and to k fuppofe the contrary, is to fuppofe, that light and darknefs can ever ceafe to produce their ordinary effects. The fol- | lowing do€trine, Out of the pate of the Romifo Church there is 308 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. no falvation, has filled Europe with fires, fcaffolds, and m facres. Eradicate this doctrine from every prejudiced h and plant in its room the following feriptural truth, God no refpetier of perfons : but in every nation, he that feareth hin and worketh righteoufne/s is accepted with him, and, inthe pl: of ftreaming blood, we fhall fee ftreams of charity uninte ruptedly flowing through every chriftian kingdom. ' The mifer imagines, that riches are the fovercign good, and | that the higheft pleafure confifts in counting over and over his {plendid hoards. The debauched youth is confident, that the /overcign good confifts in fenfual gratification, and the higheft gratification, in the enjoyment of a frail beauty deftined to be the prey of worms. Deftroy thefe groundl perfuafions by folid doétrines : demonftrate to thefe infatu-— ated creatures that Gon himfelf is the /overeign good, and that ¢his good is offered to us in Jefus Chrift, that the high- eft enjoyment confifts in having the heart penetrated with divine love, and in looking forward with a lively hope of being one day eternally united to Gop: convince them of thefe momentous truths, and the eharms by which they have - been captivated fo long, will be immediately broken. Ah! how delightful is it, to behold fuch fenfual reafoners awaking from their deathful umber, and crying out with St. Ag tine: “ O eternal fweetnefs! Ineffable greatnefs! Beauty for “ever new! Truth whofe charms have been fo long unno- ‘ticed, alas, how much time have I loft, in not loving thee !”? Sound reafon muft unavoidably fubmit ta the force of thefe obfervations, the truth of which is demonftrated by the general conduét of mankind. But, perhaps, the beit method of reafoning with the incredulous, is to point out the copfequences of their own fyftem. Imagine a man, -who, inftead of receiving the doGtrines of the Gofpel, pubs licly prefumes to make the following declaration: ‘I bey lieve not in God the Creator; I truft not in any Mediator, nor acknowledge any fanctifying Spirit. And, as I believe net in God, fo I believe not in what is called his Church 5 nor do I look upon the communion of thofe who wong him, in any other light, than that of amere chimera. I be- — lieve not in the remiffion of fins. I look for no refurre&tion, — nor indulge any hope. of everlaftg life. Let us eat and | drink ; for to-morrow we die.” Was any man ferioufly to repeat in your hearing fuch a confeflion of his faith, would is “e. a a THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 307 you fix upon fuch a one for the management of your eftate ? would you entruft him with the charge of your wife, or chufe him for the guardian of your children ? Would it be poffible for you to depend upon his word, or confide in his honefty ? Now, imagine this very infidel, in fome future fea- fon, convinced of his former errors, and firmly perfuaded, that he aéts under the eye of an omnifcient Gop, who will bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing. Sup- pofe him {miting upon his breaft with the penitent publican, and determining with St. Paul, to know nothing among men, fave Je efus Chrift, and him crucified. Would you not indulge a better opinion of this man, in his believing ftate, than when he. reje€ted, with modern philofophers, the do&trines of chriftianity ? It could not poffibly be otherwife. So true it is, that, in certain cafes, your conduct will give the lie to your arguments againft the utility of doétrines. J. J. Rouffeau profefles to have hated bad maxims lefs than evil adions 3 when, as a wife man, he fhould have dete&ted the former as the caufe of the latter. It is not fufficient, that we profefs to.make the principles of virtue the ground of our condud, unlefs that bafis be eftablifhed upon an im-' moveable foundation. Without attending to this rule, we refemble thofe Indians, who fuppofe the world to be found-' ed upon the back of an elephant, while that elephant is fup- ported by the fhell of a tortoife ; and who, perfectly fatis- fied with fuch a difcovery, attempt not to underftand any more of the matter. ; _ A fyftem of morality, how beautiful foever it may ap- pear, unlefs it be fupported by doftrines of the utmoft con- fiftency and firmnefs, may be compared to.a {plendid palace, ere€ted upon the fands: in fome unexpected ftorm, it wilk affuredly be {wept away, proving, at once, the difgrace of its builder, and the ruin of its inhabitant. SA CHAP. IX. AN APPEAL TO EXPERIENCE. XPERIENCE goes far in the decifion of many dif- ficult queftions, and before it, the mof fubtile fophifm: 808 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL cannot long maintain its ground. To this, therefores we | cheerfully appeal for the happy effe@ts of the Gofpel. Ye | incredulous fages of the day, fhew us a /ingle enemy to the | doétrines of revelation, who may truly be called a humble | man, conducting himfelf foberly, jultly, and religioufly, in | all the trying circumftances of life. Through the whole — circle of your infidel acquaintance, you will feek fucha one © In vain. a If it be faid, that J. J. Rouffeau, though a profeffed fcep- tic, prefented us with the portrait ofa perfeétly honeft man: — We anfwer, in the firft place, that J. J. Rouffeau rejefted § not the Gofpel, as an obftinate enemy; but rather counted it an affiGiion, that he was unable to embrace its doétrines; and fecondly, that this philofopher was equally deftitute of | humility and religion. It muft be confeffed, that there are multitudes of incon- ~ fiftent perfons in the world, who conftantly deceive them- felves, and who frequently delude others, by their fallacious — notions of faith and incredulity. We meet with many, who, — while they rank themfelves in the number of believers, are ufually employed in the works of infidels: and, on the other — hand, we obferve divers penitent worfhippers, who, through — an excefs of humility, account themfelves no better than in= fidels, while they manifeft in their condu& the fidelity of — chriftians. But thefe particular exceptions are infufficient to deftroy the general rule here contended for: fince the — former muft be looked upon as Jelievers, and the latter as infidels, only in appearance. The firft have not fincerity © enough to acknowledge their fecret incredulity: and the Taft have not light fufficient to determine their exa&t advance= — ment in the chriftian faith. The latter deferve our pity, while the former merit our indignation. , But turn your eyes upon an enlightened believer. Behold St. Paul, after his memorable {ubmiffion to the perfecuted — Jefus! the love of Gop poffeffes his foul, and he confecrates — all his powers to the fervice of his exalted Mafter. Ap- pointed to inftruét the ignorant, he difcharges his important commiffion with indefatigable zeal. Carrying to the afflict. — ed both f{piritual and temporal fuccours, he appears to be borne, from eaft to weft, -as upon the wings of aneagle. He — is ready to {pend and be fpent, for the common interefts, of mankind, He proves his fidelity and gratitude to Chrift, at hes ee THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 309 _ the hazard of his life. His magnanimity and fortitude, his refignation and patience, his generofity and candour, his be- nevolence and conftaney, are, at once, the amazement of his enemies, and the glory of his followers. Behold this con- verted pharifee, and acknowledge the wonderous efficacy of _ evangelical do¢trines. You flaves of pilofophical prejudice! how long will you miftake the nature of doGtrines fo happily adapted to humble fupercilious man; fo perfeétly calculated to deftroy both prefumption and defpair; to bend the moft hardened under the tender preffure of mercy, and carry up grateful believers to the fublimeft fummit of virtue? Behold three thoufand Jews {ubmitting, at the fame inftant, to the conftraining pow- er of thefe doftrines. Through their tranfcendent efficacy, innumerable miracles are nilf daily operated among us. They difpel the mifts of ignorance, they deftroy the feeds of injuftice, they extinguifh irregular defire, and open in the - heart of a fource of univerfal charity! Thus, the multitude of them, that formerly believed, were of one heart and one foul: &c. Enjoying together the fovereign good, it was not pofli- ble for them to contend with each other for the trifling en- joyments of time and fenfe. Gop had given them his only- begotten Son; how then could they refufe any thing to their indigent brethren. - _ Long after St. Luke had borne teftimony to the unex~ ampled charity of chriftians, we find Tertullian citing the following teftimony which his heathen cotemporaries were conftrained to bear in favour of the fame chriftian virtue. Behold, fay they, how thefe chriftians love, and are prepared to die for each other! Yes, adds this celebrated chriftian father, * We who have but one heart and one foul, are not afraid to have oné purfe. Among usall things are common, ex- cept our wives.’ If the teftimony here produced fhould be difregarded, be- caufe drawn from the writings of a profeffed advocate for chriftianity, we will readily come to another teft. Pliny bears witnefs to the pure converfation of the perfecuted chrif- tians of his time. And the Emperor Julian himfelf, one of the moft enlightened, as well as implacable enemies of chrif- tianity, exhorted his heathen fubje&tsto practife among them- felves the duties of charity, after the example of chriftians, Who abound, {aid he, in ads of benevolence. And as to the joy, 810 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. with which they facrificed their lives, when occafion fo re- —| quired - They go, continues he, to death, as bees fwarm to the hive. Such influence have the do€trines of our holy religion | upon tne conduct of its fincere profeffors, even by the con- _ feffion of their inveterate enemies. It appears then, that St. Paul was employed like an ex- — perienced moralift, while he was engaged in ereéting the fa- ered edifice of morality, upon the folid foundation of evan- — gelical truths.’ And the doctrines he made choice of, as ee culiarly fuited to this purpofe, were thofe which refpe& the _ mercy of Gop in Chrift Jefus. Upon thefe he laid the greateft ftrefs, and from thefe he drew his moft perfuafive — arguments to virtue and piety. Witnefs that memorable — exhortation delivered to his Roman converts—* I befeech — you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye prefent your — bodies a living facrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which © is your feafonable fervice. - , To withhold from the degenerate this cheering truth, that they are bought with a price, is to deny them one of the moft powerful motives to love and glorify God in théir bodies and in their fouls, which appettain to him by the endearing right of redemption, as wellas by that original right of crea- tion, to which they are generally rendered infenfible by the afflictions and difappointments of life. Inftruét them con- cerning the fantity of the divine law; fet before them the guilt of their innumerable offences ; and» the juft fears, to which fuch difcoveries muft naturally give rife, will make exiftence itfelf an intolerable burden. But when the Gof. pel of our redemption begins to diffipate their doubts, and allay the anguifh of their remorfe, they will be enabled togo © rejoicing on their way, through the itritteft paths of obedi- — ence and morality. : THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. Sil CHAP. xX. AN OBJECTION ANSWERED, WHICH MAY BE DRAWN FROM THE ILL CONDUCT OF UN. HOLY CHRISTIANS, TO PROVE THE INUTI= - LITY OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. PY HEY, who exalt philofophy againft. revelation, ima- 3 gine, that to invalidate the preceding refleGtions, they need only make the following reply: ‘ All chriftians ree éeive the Apoftles’ Creed; but their faith is, in general, un- attended with the happy effe€ts you have been recounting. Grimes of every kind are committed by the difciples of Jefus ; and their doGtrines, inftead of producing charity, engender little elfe but difpute and perfecution.’? The ferious nature of this objeGtion demands a fuitable reply. ; A true chriftian was never known to be a perfecutor{ The cruel difputes which have arifen among faithlefs chrif- tians, have not neceflarily fprung from the nature of ferip- tural doGirines, but rather from the pride of thofe tyrannical doétors, who have contended for their particular explica+ tions of fuch do&trines. ‘To infinuate, then, that the doc- trines of the Gofpel fhould be utterly rejected, becaufe fome church-men have taken occafion from them to ftir up vehe-« ment contefts, would fearcely be lefs abfurd, than to contend -that anarchy is to be preferred before an excellent code of laws, becaufe unprincipled lawyers are accuftomed to foment firife, and have it always in their power to protraG a caufe, As to the extravagant explications, which the fubtilty or power of men has fubftituted in the place of evangelical doc- trines, they can no more be faid to prove the falfity or un- profitablenefs of fuch doctrines, than the detefted policy of tyrants can weaken the force of that apoftolic precept, Let every foul be fubje® unto the higher powers. But let us come to the main knot of the difficulty. They, who have unfeignedly embraced the doctrines of Chrift, far from committing a variety of crimes, have cate ried every virtue to a degree of perfection, furpafling almof the conception of other men, Roufleau and Montefquieu acknowledge, that even in thofe countries, where the Gofpel 312 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. has but imperfe€tly taken root, rebellions have been lefs quent than in other places. The fame acknowledgme: mutt be made by every. unprejudiced obferver, with regar to vice of every kind. Many offences, it muft be owne are every where common among the profeffors of chriftianit but they would have been abundantly more frequent, if ane tichriftian philofophers had been able to take from them the little refpe& they till retain for a revealed Gofpel. More- over, there are many rare virtues, which chiefly flourith in” fecret: and they, who deferve the name of chriftians, mig aftonifh incredulity itfelf, had not Chrift commanded them to perform their beft fervices in fo private a ” r. ‘fpeedily be attended with unufual efficacy; their example _ would give it weight, and, in anfwer to their fervant prayers, the Gop of all grace would fet his feal to the truths of the Gofpel. _ Whenever the mefiengers of religious truth fhall become “remarkable for the purity of their lives, and the fervency of their zeal, their do€trines will foon be-attended with fufficient _ influence in the chriftian world, to overthrow the objeétion we have been here confidering, and effectually to ftop the mouth of every gainfayer. THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 321 ae CHAP. XIII. “THE DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY HAVE AN | OBSCURE SIDE. THE REASONS OF THIS OBSCURITY. THE ERROR OF SOME PHI- | LOSOPHERS IN THIS RESPECT. HE Gofpel, fays J. J. Roufleau, ‘ is accompanied with : marks of truth, fo great, fo ftriking, fo perfe&lly inimi- table, that the inventor of it appears abundantly more ad- | mirable than its Hero. But, after all, this Gofpel is filled ' with incredible things, with things that are repugnant to rea- _ fon, and which no fenfible man can poffibly conceive, or ad-~ mit. Remove all the difficulties,’ continue the admirers of _ this philofopher, < diffipate all the obfcurity with which your | _ doétrines.are furrounded, and we will cheerfully embrace the | Gofpel.’ __ Extraordinary things appear always incredible, in propor- _ tion to our ignorance. Thus, an ignorant negro of Guinea would look upon that man as a deceiver, who fhould affert _ there are places in the world, where the furface of rivers be- come fo folid, at particular feafons, that without bridge or _ boat, whole armies may pafs them dryfhod. And it is well _ known, that the doétrine of Antifodes gave no lefs offence to _ the celebrated geographers of a former age, than is unhappily | given to the deiftical fages of modern times by the dorine of a divine Trinity. As we become better acquainted with fpiritual things, in- fiead of defpifing the truths of the Gofpel as altogether in- O05 322 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, credible, we fhall be truly convinced that J. J. Roufleau paffed the fame kind of judgment upon the doétrines of chrif tianity, as a favage might be expe¢ted to pafs upon fome late difcoveries in natural philofophy. The fciences prefent a hundred difficulties to the minds of young ftudents. By en- tering upon an obfcure courfe, they, at length, attain to fi perior degrees of illumination: but, after all the indefatigab labours of the moft learned profeffor, the higheft knowled he can poffibly acquire, will be mingled with darknefs a error. If men of wifdom, however, do not look with con. tempt upon thofe fciences, which are ufually taught amon us, becaufe all of them are attended with difficulties, and moit of them are too abftrufe to permit a thorough inveltigation ; how abfurd would it be in us, for thefe infufficient reafons, to reje&t that revelation, which may be confidered as the fcience of celeftial things. F To defpife the doétrines of the Gofpel, becaufe they are attended with fome degree of obfcurity, is to a&t in as full contrariety to the dictates of philofophy, as thofe of revela- tion. No follower of J. J. Rouffeau could blame us, with-— out reproaching himfelf, if, arguing from the erroneous prins ciples of his mafter, we fhould make the following declara-— tions—** Natural philofophy abounds with incredible things; « qhich no fenfible man can either conceive or admit. Y have “ arteries, it is faid, which carry my blood, with a fenfible « palfation, from the heart to the extremities of my body 34 ‘ Several reafons may be here produced, which might have ae the Father of mercies to defer the externa! mani- “feftation of our promifed Redeemer, for a period of four ‘thoufand years. - 1. It is probable, that, as every thing is difcovered to “operate gradually in the natural world, the fame order might be eftablithed in the moral world. Even fince the time of Chrift’s outward manifeftation, the influence of his redeem “ing power has but gradually difcovered itfelf in our yet be ‘nighted world. He himfelif compared the Gofpel to a little ‘Teaven, which fpreads itfelf by flow degrees over a bulky “mafs of meal ; and toa {mall feed, from which a noble plant sproduced. ‘To this we may add, that a portion; of time, which appears long and tedious to us, appears wholly dif- ferent in the eyes of the everlafting I AM, before whom a. thoufand years are no more than a fleeting day. 2, If immediately after the commiflion of fin, Gop had 352 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. fent forth his Son into the world to raife us from our fall, before we had experienced the melancholy effeéts of that fall; fuch an hafty a&, inftead of manifefting the perfeétions o the Deity, would have drawn a vail of obfeurity between us and them. The divine mercy. difeovered im Jefus Chrift, might then have appeared as infignificant to us, as to the ar. rogant deist, who, notwithftanding the crimes, with which the world has been polluted for near fix thoufand ye and in {pite of thofe, which he himfelf has added to the p digious fum, has yet the audacity to affert, that there is n neceflity for a Redeemer, that man is good in his prefent state, and that he may condué himfelf honourably through it, without the afliftance of regenerating grace. Hence it~ appears, that the outward manifeftation.of the Meffiah wilely deferred to a period of time far removed from “ql : commencement of the fall. 3. While the vifible manifeftation of Jefus was s delay all things were put into a ftate of due preparation for fo great " an event. And in the mean time, the feed of regeneration, which was received by man, after Gop had pronounced the firft evangelical promife, was as fufficient to fave every peni= tent finner, as the dawn of day is fufficient to dire& oven erring traveller, This merits an explanation. ‘The firft man, to hoi the promife of Redemption was made, contained in himfelf the whole of his pofterity: and this fromife wonderfully powerful, as being the word of God, had an indefcribable effe€t upon the whole human race, implanting in man a feed of regeneration, a Logos, a reafon, a confcience, a light ; in fhort~ a good principle, which, in every fincere enquirer after truth, has been nourifhed by the grace of Gop, and feconded by the pious traditions of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apoftles, Evange lifts, or true Philofophers. Unhappy is it for thofe, who, . ftifling in themfelves every gracious fentiment, have treated _ this internal principle, as the Jews once treated their a defcending Lord, and as finners {till continue to treat a_ preached Gofpel. If fuch are not faved, it is not through want of an offered Saviour, but becaufe they have wilfully fhut their eyes again{t the twilight, the opening dawn, or the meridian brightnefs, of the Gofpel Day. Nothing can be more unreafonable than the abjebtion, to which we now return an anfwer. To argue, that Gop would ‘ hl Cy THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. 338 be unjuft, if, having given a Saviour to the world, he fhould not reveal that.Saviour in an equal degree to all mankind, is ‘to argue, that Gop is unjuft, becaufe, having given a Sunto ‘the earth, he has not ordained that Sun equally to enlighten and cheer every part of the globe. Again—To infinuate that Chrift cannot properly be regarded as the Saviour of mankind, becaufe innumerable multitudes of men are not even acquainted with his name, is to infinuate, that the Sun is utterly ufelefs to the deaf, becaufe they have never heard the properties of that Sun defcribed, and to the blind, be- caufe they have never feen his cheering beams. Laftly. To conclude that the Gofpel is falfe, becaufe it has not rapidly fpread itfelf over the whole world, or becaufe it is not obferved to operate in a more hafty manner the happy changes it is faid to produce :—thus to argue, is to reafon as inconclufively, as a man who fhould fay; The tree, that produces Jefuit’s bark, is an infignificant and ufelefs tree : for, Lft, It grows not in every country. Q2dly, It has not always been known. 3dly, There are perfons in the coun- try where it grows, who look upon it as no extraordinary thing: and 4thly, Many, who have apparently given this _ medicine a proper trial, have found it unattended with thofe falutary effects fo generally boatted of. ‘Turning the arguments of our philofophers againft their own fyftem, we affirm, that the Meffiah was manifefted in a - time and place peculiarly fuited to fo great an event. With refpe& to the éime; He lived and died, when the human | fpecies had arrived at the utmost pitch of refinement and learning. Had He appeared two or three thoufand years fooner, He must have vifited the world in its infant state while ignorance and barbarity reigned among the nations ! but in the days of Augustus and Tiberias mankind may be faid to have reached the highest degree of maturity, with refpec&t to knowledge and civilization. Now, as it is necef- fary, that he, who bears testimony to any memorable tranf- action, fhould be a man and nota child; fo it is equally ne- ceflary, that Christ fhould have appeared in the most po- lifhed period of the world, as Mediator between Gop and man. Deists fometimes tell us, that the force of historic evidence _ is greatly diminifhed by lapfe of time, as a taper placed at “too great a distance lofes much of its brightnefs. If Christ ’ B34 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. then had offered himfelf a ranfom for all, many ages foonet than unerring wifdom had ordained, the incredulous mi have urged, that the history of a miraculous event, reported to have happened in fo remote a period of time, was mos probably corrupted with uncertain tradition, and rendered unwoithy of credit. < On the other hand, if the accomplifhment of the promife, had been delayed fome thoufands of years longer, the faith and patience of believers would have been called to a prog incompatible with the weaknefs of humanity. And the im pious might have faid, concerning the firft coming of Ch what they have long ago tauntingly fpoken of his fecond: Whereis the promife of his coming ? for fince the fathers fell afleefi, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation, What is here obferved with refpe& to the age, in which the Meffiah was cut off, is nolefs true of the /ea/on, the day, and the hour. He offered himfelf a facrifice for the fins « the people in the noon day, at the folemn feaft of the Paffover, and at that /za/on of the year which naturally invited the dif perfed Jews to vifit the whole city. The place was, like the time, peculiarly adapted to fuch an event: a country, if which the promife of Chrift’s coming had been frequently res peated. Moreover, He became obedient unto death in the time predi¢ted by the Prophets; before a people, who pof— feffed the oracles of Gop ; under the eyes of the high prieft 5 before Herod the king, together with the grand council of the nation; before Pilate, who was lieutenant of the greatef prince on earth; at the gates of Jerufalem, in the centre of Judea, and nearly in the centre of the then known world, Thus, the external manifeftation of our glorious Redeemer may be compared to a Sun, whofe rifing was preceded by a dawn, which benignly opened upon the firft inhabitants of the earth ; and whofe /eiting is followed by alovely twilight, which mutt neceflarily continue, till He fhall again afcend a- bove our horizon, to go down no more. In this point o: view, the fcriptures uniformly reprefent the facrifice of Chrift. St. Paul exprefly declares, that, by one offering, He hath perfected for ever them, that are fan@ified: i. e. all thofe in every nation, who fear Gop and work righteoufnefs. We argue, therefore, with this A poftle, that as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even fo, by the rig J THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. | "935 deoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all men unto jufification of life. _ From thefe obfervations we conclude, fir/?—That the Gof- el has been more or lefs clearly announced, ever fince the ‘time, in which a Redeemer became neceffary to man, Second- dy: That Jefus Chrift openly manifefted Himfelf in a time -moft proper for fuch a difcovery. Thirdly: Thatthe work ‘of redemption is as neceflary to mankind, as the afliftance of medicine is neceflary to thofe, who are ftruggling under fome dangerous difeafe. — Fourthly: ‘That an exjlicit knowledge of the Redeemer and his falvation is as defirable to thofe, who feel themfelves ruined by fin, as the certain knowledge of a phyfician, poffeffed of fevereign remedies, is confoling to the patient, who apprehends his life in imminent danger. Fifth dy: As languifhing infants may be reftored by the medicines of a phyfician, with which they are totally unacquainted, fo Jews, mahometans, and heathens, provided they walk ac- cording to the light they enjoy, are undoubtedly faved by Jefus Chrift, though they have no clear conception of the -aftonifhing means employed to fecure them from perdition, And /affly: That the grand argument advanced againft the Gofpel by Monf. de Voltaire and J. J. Rouffeau, is abundantly more fpecious than folid. HAASE CHAP. XV. REFLECTIONS UPONTHE DANGER TO WHICH MODERN DEISTS EXPOSE THEMSELVES. ~ FTN refuting the objection of fuperficial moralifts propofed in the preceding chapter, we may, perhaps have afford- _ed them ground for another, full as {pecious and folid. QOsyection. ‘If it be allowed, that in every age falva- tion has been extended to all the true worfhippers of God, whether they have been pious Jews, fuch as Jofeph, Heze- -kiah and Jofiah: juft men among the gentiles, fuch as Mel- chifedec and Ariftides ; or heathen philofophers, who have- walked in the fear of God, fuch as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato—And if all thefe virtuous men have been faved without fubfcribing to the doétrines of the Gofpel; why 7 336 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. ae may not deifts and modern philofophers be permitted to en joy the fame falvation, while they reje& thofe doGtrines ? Answer. There are three grand difpenfations of grace. Under the fir, every heathenifh and unenlightened nation muft be ranked; the Jews under the fecond; and a under the ¢hird, which is a difpenfation abundantly more per= fe& than either of the former. The followers of Mahomet may be claffled with modern Jews, fince they are deifts of t fame rank, and have equally deceived themfelves with ree fpe& to that great Prophet, who came for the reftoration of Ifrael. 5 Thofe Jews, mahometans, and heathens, who fear God and work righteoufne/s, are aétually faved by Jefus Chrift. Chri is the Truth and the Light: and thefe fincere worfhippers ceiving all the rays of truth, with which they are vifited, ford fufficient proof, that they would affectionately admi and adore the Sun of righteoufnefs Himfelf, were the inter. vening mifts removed, by which He is concealed from their view. But it is wholly different with thofe, who beholdin this divine Sun, as He is revealed in the Gofpel, deter nately clofe their eyes againft Him, and contemptuoufly raife a cloud of objections to vail Him, if poffible, from the view ofothers, Every virtuous heathen has manifelted a love for truth, while many of our philofophers, in the pride of their hearts, reject and defpife it: The former wrought out their falvation, though favoured only with the glimmering dawn of an evangelical day : the latter, furrounded with the meridian brightnefs of that day, are anxioufly feeking the fhadowy coverts of uncertainty and error. The former were fav ; according to that apoftolic declaration: ¢ glory, honour and peace to every man that worketh good, to the’ chriftian and the ¢ Jew first, and alfo to the gentile: for there is no refpe& of perfons with God.’ And of this number was the Apof tle Paul, who obtained mercy, becaufe he was ignorantly a per= fecutor of the truth, /ving, at the fame time, én all good con= Science before God. Nor can it be doubted, but the fame grace, with which St. Paul was vifited in thefe cireumftances, will, in various degrees, illumine and purify every foul that re- fembles him in uprightnefs and fincerity. The latter will be condemned by virtue of the following declarations : ¢ This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, an men loved darknefs rather than light, becaufe their ~— THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL. B37 Were evil. God will render unto them, that are contentious _and do not obey the truth, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguifh upon evey foul of man that doeth evil, of the “ehriitian and the Jew first, and alfo of the gentile.’ * From thefe citations we may infer, that, in feveral propor- ‘tions, the falvation of virtuous heathens will differ as greatly ‘from the falvation of true christians, as the brilliancy of an ‘agate is different from that of a diamond. Many manfions and different degrees of glory are prepared in the hou/e of our | Father. ‘ There is one glory of the fun, and another glory “of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star — from another star in glory.’ So alfo will it bei in he refurrection of the dead, when God will render unto every an, according to his works. _The highest degrees of glory are referved by the righteous Be of all the earth, for the most faithful of his fervants. The honourable privilege of being feated at the right hand of Christ will be conferred upon thofe, who have trodden in their Master’s foot-steps, through the narrowest and most “difficult paths of refignation and obedience. On the other hand, Gop will difplay the moft terrible effects of his righ- “teous anger upon thofe, who have trampled under foot the ‘greateft and moft frequent offers of divine grace, according ‘to that exclamation of the Apoftle: How hall we efcape if we negled fo great falvation ? Since thus obftinately to defpife *the higheft degrees of glory, which may be attained under the Gofpel, and daringly to brave the threatenings denoun- “ced againft thofe who rejeét that Gofpel, difcovers in the heart a cold indifference to real virtue, together with a fove- reign contempt for the divine author of it. As true virtue, like a beautiful plant, is continually rifing to a itate of maturity ; fo true philofophy is conftantly af- piting after-the higheft attainable degrees of wifdom and pu- rity. Ifany man neglets thofe means, which conduce to the perfection of virtue, when they are once propofed to him, he gives evident proof, that he has neither that inftin& of virtue nor that true philofophy, which cannot but choofe the moft excellent end, together with the fureft means of obtaining it. What would our philofophers fay to a man, Who, affecting to afpire after riches, and being called to re-. ceive a large quantity of gold, fhould inconfiftently refufe it, in the following terms: ¢ Many perfons have been rich enough P 338 THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL: | with a little money, to prevent them- from ftarving, and have no inclination to exceed them in point of fortune?” T objection propofed in this chapter is founded upon a like f phifm, and amounts but to an equal argument : ¢ Jews and vi tuous heathens have received affiftance fufficient effetuall to fecure their falvation, and we have not prefumptio enough to defire any extraordinary advantage above them It 1s difficult to form a juft idea of the conceitedriefs thofe boafted moraliits, who defpife every help afforded the Gofpel, becaufe fome heathens, without fuch affiftance, have been acceptable to Gop. We may compare it to the fuppofed felf-fufficiency of a contemptible fubaltern officer, who, being prefented with a more honourable commiffion from his prince, fhould reje& it, and cry out: “ The com= “« miffion is falfe, and they who prefent it are no better tha “ a N c4 © | ) ‘ ie) 12) mG > 7 wy - a 48 a TN DO1148414N vLP: wi i Gg I | if ——