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DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. LONDON: PRINTED FOR C. & J. RIVINGTON, ST. Paul's church-yard, AND WATERLOO-PLACE, PALL-MALL. 1825. LONDON: PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, ST. John's square. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND SIR GEO. PRETYMAN TOMLINE, Bart. D.D. LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, AND PRELATE OF THE ORDER OF THE GARTER. My Lord, Eagerness (probably that of a novice in authorship), in following up my hypo- thesis on the Passover, diverted me, for a time, from continuing the Volume of Ser- mons, which I hoped to have the honour of dedicating to you. After many interrup- tions, I am at length enabled to complete my object ; and the change of plan has not, perhaps, been unproductive of advantage to me. I now have the opportunity of declaring my grateful sense of the approbation with which you were pleased to speak of my VI DEDICATION. first attempt, and am also encouraged by that approbation, to dedicate this Volume with greater hopes that it may not prove unworthy of the sanction of that name with which you have kindly permitted me to in- scribe it. I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient. Humble Servant, J. E. N. MOLESWORTH. PREFACE. The Reader is requested to bear in mind that several of the following Sermons were written without the most distant idea of publication. In stating this circumstance the Author does not mean to insinuate, that he could have im- proved upon them, or that he has not taken due pains in preparing them for the press. He wishes merely to account for his having involuntarily omitted (if there be any such omissions) to acknowledge his obligations to any writer from whom he may have borrowed. In his practical Sermons his object was edifi- cation ; and not intending to publish, he fre- quently availed himself of such materials, as he thought likely to promote that object, carelessly neglecting to note the sources from 't^ Vlll PREFACE. which they were taken. He has endeavoured now to distinguish such passages, and, he be- Heves, in most instances has acknowledged his obUgations, at least he has spared no pains in endeavouring to do so. Where he has had occasion to touch upon doctrinal, and controverted points, he is con- scious of having thought freely for himself, whether rightly or not the theological reader will determine. His plan in these cases has been to work out the problem by the Bible, and then to consult the best human authori- ties within his reach to correct, or to corrobo- rate his deductions. As he does not affect to feel no anxiety respecting the reception of this volume, he is willing to avail himself of any circumstance, which may fairly be adduced to create a pre- possession in his favour. He therefore mentions, that his first publi- cation on the Passover, in which he professes to have discovered a curious, and remarkable error relative to the Paschal types, received the commendation of some of our ablest Pre- lates, — Divines, of whose good opinion any 13 PREFACE. IX man would have reason to be proud ; and whose names and testimony he would gladly publish here, did he not feel, that it would be an unauthorized use of private correspond- ence. In his Preface to that work he has already set forth his peculiar claims to the indulgent allowances of the Critic. He now commits his hopes as an Author to the Public ; his better hopes, the hopes of being humbly in- strumental in promoting the cause of Truth and Holiness, he commits to Him, who, though Paul plant, and Apollos water, alone GIVETH THE INCREASE. CONTENTS. SERMON I. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT, ROMANS XIII. 12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand : let us there- fore cast off" the. works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light 1 SERMON II. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. ROMANS XV. 4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime, loere written for our learning, that loe through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ... 18 SERMON III. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 1 COR. IV. 1. luet a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God .... 37 . ^. Xll CONTENTS. SERMON IV. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. PHIL. IV. 5, 6. Page Tlie Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanks- giving, let your requests be made knovm unto God. . 65 SERMON V. ON REGENERATION.— A SERMON FOR CHRISTMAS DAY. JOHN III. 5. Jesus answered. Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born ofivater and of the Sphit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God 88 SERMON VI. ON ST. STEPHEN'S DAY. ACTS VII. 59, 60. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and say- ing. Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit ! And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge ! And when he had said this, he fell asleep 117 SERMON VII. ON THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR. MATT. XXIV. 38, 39. As in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in mar- riage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be 133 CONTENTS. Xm SERMON VIII. FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE KING'S ACCESSION. 1 PET. 11. 13, 14. Page Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : whether it be to the king, as supreme ; ' or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well 149 SERMON IX. ON THE CONDUCT OF THE FIRST AND OF THE LAST ADAM UNDER TEMPTATION FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. MATT. IV. 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be temptedofthe Devil 176 SERMON X. ON TEMPTING GOD—FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. MATT. IV. 7. Jesus said unto him, it is written again, Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God 192 SERMON XI. THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST.—ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. HEB. IX. 11. But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this build- ing ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us 209 XIV CONTENTS. SERMON XIL ON SOME POPULAR EXCUSES FOR NEGLECTING TO PARTAKE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. LUKE XIV. 18. Page They all with om consent began to make excuse 232 SERMON XIIL CHRIST RAISING THE WIDOViT'S SON.— ON EASTER DAY. LUKE VII. 13. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not 258 SERMON XIV. THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES.— ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY- LUKE V. 5. And Simon answering said luito him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing : nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net . . 276 SERMON XV. ON THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT.— ON THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. ROMANS VIII. 16, 17. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God : and if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ ; if so be that %ve suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together 293 CONTENTS. XV SERMON XVI. ON THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT.~ON THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 1 COR. XII, 7. Page But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal 315 SERMON XVII. THE WOMAN WITH AN ISSUE OF BLOOD MADE WHOLE. ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. MATT. IX. 21, 22. For she said within herself. If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said. Daughter, be of good comfort ; thy faith hath made thee whole . . 335 SERMON XVIII. THE GAIN OF THE WHOLE WORLD AN INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE LOSS OF A MAN'S SOUL. MARK VIII. 36, 37. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? 353 SERMON XIX. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS, WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR EFFECTS UPON OUR PRESENT HAPPINESS. ROMANS VI. 21. What fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are noiu ashamed ? 369 XVi CONTENTS. SERMON XX. SOME POPULAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST EDUCATING THE POOR, CONSIDERED IN A SERMON PREACHED ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EDUCATING THE POOR IN THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. GALAT. VI. 7. Page Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap, . . . 387 Appendix to Sermon V. on Regeneration 419 V<; . llV SERMON I. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. ROMANS XIII. 12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand : let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. To profess ourselves Christians, and not to feel a lively interest in those things, which have a reference to the great work of our Redemption^ is to exhibit profession, and practice in contradiction. The Christian is taught, that the wages of sin is Death ; or worse than death, an existence in those un- known regions of sorrow, and despair, " where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched'.'' He is moreover taught, that All have sinned", and have become obnoxious to the ' Mark ix. 44. * Romans v. 12. B 2 SERMON I. terrible wrath of an offended God ; and con- sequently liable to that awful, and enduring punishment. He is taught, that, to avert, when man himself could not have averted, these tremendous judgments ; to open to re- penting sinners the way of pardon, and peace ; to lead them, as a shepherd doth his sheep, to pastures " beside living waters ;'' to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice for sin; and to be the Mediator between God and Man ; Christ Jesus " catne to visit us in great humility.'* These things every Christian is taught; and can that man, who firmly believes, and seriously considers the hopeless condition, from which he has been rescued ; who reflects upon these precious, and inestimable benefits purchased for mankind ; this work of immea- surable love, accomplished by our Redeemer ; can that man contemplate with frigid indif- ference the approaching commemoration of Christ^s coming in the flesh ? Will he not ra- ther hail with reverence, and with holy exul- tation, that auspicious season in which the " trumpet,^' as it were, is blown in our Zion, and all hands, and hearts are to be raised, with one accord to Him, who has wrought glory to God in the highest, and " on earth ' Luke ii. 14. 12 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 3 peace, good will toward men"?" Will he not woyfully, and earnestly prepare himself to ce- lebrate the birth of the " Holy Child Jesus f to come on that day, and worship his Re- deemer, bringing with him " treasures and gifts**," not of gold, frankincense and myrrh ; but Christian gifts, and graces; — a heart purer than " silver seven times purified in the fire ;" the prayer^ and the praise of a con- trite, devout, humble, and grateful spirit, which shall ascend to Heaven, — to Him, in whose sight to do justice is more acceptable than sacrifice ; holiness and faith more grate- ful, than incense. Surely, thus it is, that the sincere disciple of Jesus, would wish to present himself before the Lord, and rejoice, with his assembled brethren, in the " glad tidings of great joy. The propriety of thus observing this great * The general design of this sermon, as combined tvith the three succeeding ones, is original, and, I believe new. In the filling up of it (if I so may express myself) I have largely availed myself of Bishop Home's impressive advent sermons sometimes adopting his language, and often his ideas. As considerable time has elapsed since this discourse was preached, (and it was written without any view to publication) the task of comparing it with the Bishop's sermons to note every idea, and every expression borrowed from him would be a tedious, and I trust, after this acknowledgment, an unne- cessary labour. B 2 4 SERMON I. Christian festival has not been overlooked by the compilers of our excellent Book of Com- mon Prayer. With that sound judgment, that zealous, yet discreet piety so eminently displayed in this inimitable manual, they have made due provision for an occasion so important, and interesting. They awaken our attention, and specially direct our meditations to it, on the four Sun- days which immediately precede it. They usher it with the solemnity and reverence ob- viously demanded for the celebration of events so important, and stupendous as the coming of the Son of God, and the redemption of mankind. Portions of Scripture are placed before us, from which we may derive subjects of meditation, calculated both to remind us of the duties of the occasion, and to bring us to a frame of mind favourable to the due performance of them. To these portions of Scripture are annexed Collects, of which the addresses are beau- tifully adapted to express our necessities and our hopes, our faith and our gratitude. The consideration of these Collects will be no unprofitable employment during the sea- son of Advent. By an attentive examination of them, we shall, by God's grace, qualify ourselves to FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 5 ** pray with the understanding^," and shall be enabled better to co-operate with the de- sign of the Church, in appointing them. We shall offer up no unmeaning petition, but shall apply ourselves, in well-directed endea- vours to discipline our hearts, and frame our conduct according to the tenor of the petitions which we utter. The Collect for the First Sunday in Advent will be the principal subject of this day's discourse. This Collect opens with a petition for Grace ; and the purpose for which we espe- cially implore that grace, is expressed in the very language of St. Paul in the text — which I have selected from the epistle appointed for the day. That purpose is, that " we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light." Thus, and for this purpose, we begin the season of Ad- vent by asking for God's Grace. By referring to the epistle, we may per- ceive, that the Collect supplies something, which the Apostle has omitted to express; though there cannot be the slightest doubt, that of course he considered it as necessarily understood. He says " let us therefore cast "^ 1 Cor. xiv. 15. 6 SERMON I. off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light /^ Were we to take these words as they stand, we might reason from them that to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of Hght, was the entire and unassisted work of man; just as from some passages, we might, (unless we considered the tenor of other parts of Scrip- ture,) conclude, that maji had no part in working out his salvation, but that all was to proceed from the Spirit. But a comparison of Scripture with Scripture, shews that the agency of both is required; and that where either is mentioned singly, according to the immediate scope of the argument, it is not meant to be spoken of as exclusively/. While, on the one hand, man cannot, without the Spirit, bring forth fruit to perfection ; on the other hand, the Spirit will not continue his assistance, where man supinely perseveres in receiving " the grace of God in vain/' The Church then supplies what the Apostle necessarily understood, though the immediate scope of his argument did not require that he should express it. We are to pray for the Grace of God, to enable us " to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light." By this Grace, which we ask, we may un- FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 7 derstand that " daily renewing'^ of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary even to the regene- rate, through every period of life ; and which is required no less for our advancement towards spiritual perfection, than for main- taining us in that state of salvation, in which we are placed at our baptism. Though we then are made children of God, and members of Christ ; we must not only be horm again, but we must " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Sa- viour^;"' and must " give diligence to make our calling and election sure®/^ To effect this, and to persevere unto the end, we should be clothed in the " armour of light,^' or as it is elsewhere termed, the " whole armour of God/^ It is thus described, in all its several parts, by St. Paul : " Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth ; and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"".^ h >> '2Pet. iii. 18. «2Pet. i. 10. '' Ephes. vi. 14. et seq. .8 SERMON I. The petition of the Collect, then, is for that grace, which with proper diHgence and exertion, will enable us on His day of joyous commemoration, to present ourselves before the Captain of our Salvation, fully equipped for, and wholly devoted to his service. We pray, that we may be enabled to appear be- fore him as we ought to appear — that we may range ourselves under his banner as his " faithful soldiers and servants,'' prepared to " fight manfully against sin, the world, and the devil*/' To appear thus, let us have re- nounced all the works, and have trampled under foot every badge of the enemy — let us have bound ourselves to the service, and taken the arms of our blessed leader, " let us cast away the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light/' From the petition for the grace of God to enable us to cast off the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, the Collect proceeds to suggest to us two most powerful, efficacious and Scriptural Motives, calculated to operate, the one upon our affec- tions, the other upon our fears; and thus ex- cites us to strive diligently, that our conduct may be in unison with our petitions. ' Baptism Office. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 9 One of these motives is presented to us in that part of the Collect, in which we pray, that we may " cast off the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now, in the time of this mortal life in which the Son of God came to visit us in great humility f* This is, surely, the first ground, on which a Christian should be appealed to. His should be a " faith which worketh by love," He is, therefore, most judiciously and appropriately reminded of that great and unexampled work of love, the coming of the Redeemer in the flesh, to visit and to save a lost world. As he prays to God for grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on him the ar- mour of light, the very words of his prayer suggest to him the noblest of all inducements, to co-operate strenuously with that Grace, in accomplishing the object of his petition. They suggest the kindling recollection of His love and condescension, who " came to visit us in great humility/^ Can a more generous, or, to an ingenuous mind, a more forcible ap- peal be offered ? Can the faithful Christian be furnished with a more cogent reason for casting off the works of darkness, and putting on the armour of hght? Can his devotion and his gratitude be called forth by a subject moi'e adapted to excite their strongest im- 10 SERMON I. pulses, than this " great humility/' and this inestimable mercy of our Redeemer. The serious contemplation of these will give rise to sentiments of love and amazement, which may be expressed in the devout and feeling language of the Psalmist, " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visitest him V This, then, is a subject to which the collect directs our meditations, with peculiar pro- priety; as tending to draw from us a spon- taneous tribute. It is calculated to allure us to our duty ; it acts upon the more generous feeling of love and gratitude : through them it should awaken all our energies, and incite us to devote ourselves, " with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind,'* to the service of our lowly, yet all-glorious Saviour. It should bring us to the Church, not as cold and reluctant worshippers ; it should animate our hearts to joy and hope, as the rising sun cheers the feathered songsters ; it should rouse us, as though we heard the exulting voice of the Prophet, " Arise ! shine ! for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee''.'' Rejoice in the " bright- ness of his rising \" Rejoice ! divested of " Isaiah Ix. 1. ' Ibid. ver. 3. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. H the works of darkness, and clothed in the armour of Hght. Considerations such as these, were we always to frame our resolutions and actions entirely upon the principles of right reason, or, in other words, of Religion, would alone actuate the follower of a gracious Redeemer. But unhappily, such is the corruption and perverseness of man, that comparatively few are to be found, upon whom these better sources of obedience have sufficient influence. It becomes necessary not to rely entirely upon the more generous inducement of love. To command man^s obedience it is too often re- quisite, that his interest, nay, his fears, should be addressed and roused. It is necessary that we should set before him the great and aw- ful Scriptural truth, that " we must all ap- pear before the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore,'' continues the Apostle, " the terror of the Lord, we persuade men"*.'' In conformity with this necessity of ad- dressing men's fears, a sublime and natural transition is made, from the mention of the ■^Cor. V. 10, 11. 12 SERMON I. first advent of our Lord in the flesh, to an allusion to his second advent, in glory and in judgment. We pray for grace " to cast off the vi^orks of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now, in the time of this mortal life, in which our Saviour came to visit us in great humility ; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal." Of what momentous interests is the Chris- tian here reminded ! of what awful conse- quences, materially depending upon his con- duct in this life ! From the meek and lowly Jesus, who took upon him the " form of a servant,^^ and came to visit us " in great humility,^' his imagina- tion is turned, to contemplate that august and all-powerful Saviour, who " reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost ;' through whom only sins can be forgiven, and by whom every sinner must be judged". Here, to the inducements, " to cast off the works of darkness, and to put upon us the armour of light," which arise from the con- sideration of our Saviour's infinite mercy and " Bishop Home. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 13 goodness, " in visiting us in great humility ;" to these are superadded the hope of everlast- ing happiness, the fear of never-ending mi- sery. Let every sinner remember, let him seriously reflect upon the undeniable fact — that the day will come — is every hour draw- ing near, when the last trumpet shall sound to summon the quick, and dead ; and to pro- claim the Advent of the Almighty, the unu versal judge. " He cometh, indeed ! But how changed ! how different his appearance from what it was ! How shall we be able to conceive of it as it deserves, to raise our thoughts from the voice of the tender babe in the manger, be- wailing our sins that brought him thither, to the voice of the Son of God, from which the heavens and the earth shall fly away, and no place be found for them any more for ever ! yet so it is. Behold, he who came in swadd- ling clothes, cometh with clouds. He who came to preach the day of salvation, cometh again to proclaim the day of vengeance. He who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, leads his ten thousands to the prey, as the lion of the tribe of Judah. He who cried not, nor lifted up his voice against his enemies upon earth, thunders with the glorious voice of his excellency against them from heaven. He 14 SERMON I. who never broke a bruised reed, rules the na- tions with a rod of iron, and breaks them in pieces hke a potter's vessel. He who quenched not the smoking flax, extinguishes the great lights of the world; darkens the sun, and turns the moon into blood ; commands the stars from their stations, and the dead from their graves; shakes the powers of heaven, and the foundations of the earth, and all hearts that are not fixed on him °/' What a fearful scene is here presented to our imagination ! Let it not be regarded with indifference ! Rather exhort one another, and take up the words of the Apostle, which the Church sets before us in the Epistle for this day. " Now it is high time to awake out of sleep : for now is our salvation nearer, than when we believed. The night is far spent the day is at hand ; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light/' The night is far spent ; the day, the great and terrible day of the Lord is at hand, and we know not how nearly it may be at hand. To all of us indeed it may be said, it is " even at the doors.^' This life of trial, and tempta- tion is wearing away apace ? The time during ° Bishop Home, Discourse 0th, Vol. I. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 16 which we are to sustain the assaults of the powers of darkness, and to gain our triumph " over the devil, the world, and the flesh,'^ is quickly passing. Every hour its brief space is being curtailed. It is indeed, as the Apos- tle exhorts, " high time to awake out of sleep." We know not when we may be called upon to account for the " things done in the body." Let us then not slumber on our post ; but watch and pray ; that protected by the " armour of light," we may secure our souls " till the day of deliverance." On the one hand roused by the great, and immortal interests, which M^e have at stake on the issue of our conflict with the powers of darkness ; let us not presumptuously trust in our own strength, but diligently and carefully take to us the " whole armour of God." On the other hand sensible of his might, in whom we trust, let us rejoice in his coming, who giveth us the victory. Let us now prepare ourselves, to join with the " whole of Christ's Church militant here on earth," in praise and thanksgiving. Let us hail joyfully the glad tidings of " peace and good will towards men;" in fervent hope, to unite, hereafter, with the Angelic host ; the great " commu- nion of Saints," of all ages, and of all coun- tries, in giving " glory to God in the highest.^* 16 ' SERMON I. But, to fit US for bearing part with the Blessed Spirits of Heaven, in this work of endless praise, we must learn to praise the Lord now — -to praise Him, as he desires, and deserves to be praised, " not only with our lips, but in our lives/' Let us now approach him, as our lowly Redeemer, in such wise, that hereafter we may not despair, when we shall be required to appear before him in his awful character of our Judge. Let us, when we celebrate his first coming in the flesh, en- deavour so to present ourselves before him in his Church, and at his holy Supper, that we may be able to contemplate his second coming with faith and hope; may be comforted, not terrified, by the recollection that He is to be our Judge ; may rejoice, that our sentence is to proceed from Him, whose mercy and un- wearied love of man, have been already mani- fested, by his coming " to visit us in great humility/' In a word, let the approaching commemoration of the one Advent, remind us of the provision which is to be made against the other. Of this provision the Church has suggested the necessity; and to effect this she has laid before you the most urgent motives. By the most impressive considerations, which can influence the heart of man; by FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 17 every tie of duty and of gratitude; by the hope of everlasting bhss; by the fear of eternal torment, we are called upon to listen to the voice of the Church, to obey the injunctions of the Apostle. " Let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness ; not in cham- bering and wantonness, not in strife, and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.^' Do this, because Christ came to visit us in great humility. And do it also for this great end, — that, " in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, now, and for ever." To whom, &c. SERMON II. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. ROMANS XV. 4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that tve through patience and comfort oftlie Scriptures might have hope. Our purpose is, to consider the Sundays in Advent as marking out so many successive stages in our preparation, to celebrate the coming of our Saviour. And, taking the services appropriated to them in this point of view, we observe, that the compilers of our Liturgy have not only selected portions of Scripture harmonizing with the duties, and the feelings of the Christian world on so so- lemn and interesting an occasion ; but have also furnished collects; giving us summary, and connected notices of the proper subjects of our meditations, and the suitable nature of our employments in each of these successive 11 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 19 stages ; suggesting also short but expressive petitions; and directing us to ask for those graces, and that assistance, which only are calculated to render our meditations truly edifying, our labours permanently beneficial. The collect for the first Sunday in Advent teaches us, to commence our preparation with a petition for God's grace, for the general and comprehensive purpose of enabling us " to cast off the works of darkness, and to assume all the Christian virtues and qualifications, de- signated by St. Paul as the armour of light.'' To this the collect for the second Sunday in Advent will be found an appropriate sequel ; another, and a well-connected link, in the chain of preparation. He who has begun by praying for grace, and by earnestly resolving to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armour of light, has begun well : but he has only begun. General resolutions to amend and advance towards Christian perfection, will not alone produce any essential improvement. They will, in all probability, end in our doing nothing, unless we enter into the details of them, and fix at once upon the means of carrying them into effect. The man, there- fore, who seriously and sincerely intends to co-operate with the grace of God, for which c 2 20 SERMON II. he prays ; " to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armour of Hght/' must not content himself with general resolutions. He must minutely acquaint himself with the na- ture of those works he is to cast off, and of that armour he is to assume. He must take a view of the difficulties he will have to en- counter, and of the means of overcoming them. He must understand the strength of the enemy with whom he has to contend, and his own particular weakness, which it will be neces- sary to guard. He must know what assistance he is to expect ; he must confirm his faith ; he must invigorate his hope ; that he may be en- couraged to persevere strenuously in his im- portant work, and not be daunted or depressed by any sufferings, difficulties, or trials, by which his path may happen to be obstructed. Whither is he to resort for information, and for the supply of his necessities, in all these respects? Whither, but to the Scriptures'*; •" " For in holy Scripture is fully contained what we ought to do, and what to eschew ; what to believe, what to love, and what to look for at God's hands at length. In these books we shall find the Father from whom, the Son by whom, and the Holy Ghost in whom, all things have their being and keep- ing up ; and these three persons to be but one God and one substance. In these books we may learn to know ourselves, how vile and miserable we be ; and also to know God, how SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 21 which are " able to make us wise unto salva- tion, through faith which is in Christ Jesus *^/' For " all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for re- proof, for correction, for instruction in righ- teousness ; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works/' Accordingly, the words of the text set before us by the Church, in the Epistle appointed for the second Sunday in Advent, declare to us, upon the authority of St. Paul, good he is of himself, and how he maketh us and all creatures partakers of his goodness. We may learn also, in these books, to know God's will and pleasure, as much as for this present time, is convenient for us to know. And, as the great clerk and godly preacher, St. John Chrysostom, saith, Whatsoever is required to the salva- tion of man, is fully contained in the Scripture of God : he that is ignorant, may there learn and have knowledge ; he that is hard-hearted and an obstinate sinner, shall there find everlast- ing torments, prepared of God's justice to make hira afraid, and to mollify or soften him ; he that is oppressed with misery in this world, shall there find relief in the promises of ever- lasting life, to his great consolation and comfort ; he that is wounded by the devil unto death, shall find there medicine whereby he may be restored again unto health. If it shall re- quire to teach any truth or reprove false doctrine, to rebuke any vice, to commend any virtue, to give good counsel, to com- fort or to exhort, or to do any other thing requisite for our salvation ; all those things, saith St. Chrysostom, we may learn plentifully of the Scripture." — Homily on Reading the Holy Scripture, Part I. '^2T\m. iii. 15—17. 12 22 SERMON IT. that " whatsoever things were written afore- time, were written for our learning ; that we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip- tures, might have hope/^ And in unison with this declaration, are the main propositions and petitions of the collect. Proceed we now to consider them. The collect opens by suggesting to us fresh causes of love and gratitude. " Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning/' Well may the Christian take up the language of the Church ; well may he exclaim, " Blessed Lord/' O, that men would consider the inestimable value of these Scriptures — would make them- selves sensible of the mercy which gave them ! How would they then " praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men' \" But to have a due sense of this goodness, does require consideration; without some de- gree of reflection and meditation w^e hardly perceive the value of those Scriptures. It is remarked (and there are, I believe, few, if any cases, to which the remark does not apply,) that we seldom form a just esti- mate of the advantages we possess, till we ' Psalm cvii. 8. version of the Liturgy. SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 23 know what it is to be deprived of them. We have then a double experience. Our per- ception of the value of blessings is much quickened by regret, and by the contrast, and the inconveniences which we feel upon the loss of them. Who enjoys the pure light of heaven as he does, that has just emerged from the gloom of a dungeon ? How exult- ingly, how gratefully does he hail that sun, which we behold every day with indifference, and with scarcely one thought upon the God who made it ! Even so in the full enjoyment of the light of Revelation, it sometimes re- quires an effort, to make ourselves sensible of its importance. We know not how to form an adequate conception of the gross darkness which enveloped the heathen world. They knew not the Scriptures. They felt the weakness and the corruption of our na- ture, but were at a loss whither to turn for assistance. They perceived darkly, that they were liable to the just vengeance of an offended Deity. They had some notion, whether de- duced or traditional, of the necessity of an atonement and expiation, to avert the punish- ments due to guilt, which they knew not how to deprecate. But whence were they to look with any certainty, for that atonement? To them no Saviour had appeared — they had 24 SERMON II. heard of no atoning blood, no all-sufficient sacrifice. They " looked, and there was none to help*/' They ran to and fro seeking for knowledge. The dim and feeble light that gleamed upon them only served to render visible, and more dreadful the gloom which surrounded them ; and to fill it with shapeless and indistinct forms of terror. Hence we find them harassed by superstitious horrors — re- sorting to every, even the most unnatural ex- pedients, for propitiating their gods. We find their altars streaming, and polluted with human gore , and even the "fruit" of their body""*' offered, "for the sin of their soul.'* How different'' is our situation, through the publication of those holy Scriptures, which our " Blessed Lord " has caused to be written " for our learning/' For spiritual knowledge the thirst need never remain unsatisfied. The "living waters'' have gushed in boundless • Isaiah Ixiii. 5. ' Magee on Atonement, vol. i. p. 96, et seq. edit. 4. . " Ibid. vol. i. p. 382—384. ^ Micah vi. 7. " " Well might the Apostle say, * This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. How dry and sapless are all the voluminous discourses oi Philosophers, compared with this sentence! How jejune and unsatisfactory are all the discoveries, they had of God and his goodness, in comparison of what we have by the Gospel of Christ." — Stillingfleet Orig. Sac. p, 565. SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 25 profusion from the everlasting " Rock *." " The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea^/^ The animated invitation of the Prophet is being proclaimed through all lands — " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters ^ ^ No longer need men wander in doubt and uncertainty. The Scriptures are written for our learning. Whatsoever may be our diffi- culties, whatsoever our necessities, we know whither to resort. In the Scriptures, the weary and " heavy laden^^ is taught where he shall find rest; the weak whither he shall look for support; the needy for assistance; the oppressed for protection; the desponding for hope; the sinner for pardon, for grace, and for salvation. We are now admitted to the knowledge of God, of his will, of his nature, and of his counsels. None, even the most unlearned can be destitute, unless by his own fault, of that information and assistance which is necessary to his salvation. " The kingdom of Heaven is open to all believers^.'' Well, therefore, I repeat, well may the Christian at all times, and especially at the present, express the feelings of his heart in the language of the Church, and gratefully ex- ' Numbers xx. 11. — 1 Cor. x. 4. '' Isaiah xi. 9. * Isaiah Iv. 1 . * Te Deum. 26 SERMON II. claim, " Blessed Lord ! who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning/^ But while we thus express our gratitude, and bless God, that the Scriptures are written for our learning, let us not lose sight of that very important proposition of the address, that they are written for our learning. It is not enough, that the Scriptures are sent, this will not alone be sufficient to work out our salvation. We must learn them; we must become intimately acquainted with them. Therefore, in the collect before us, we pro- ceed to intreat the Lord, that He will per- fect His merciful gift by granting, that we may "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest'' these Scriptures. His grace is necessary to enable us to do all this effectually — but his grace is given to assist, not to supersede our efforts. We must exert the faculties with which we are endued, to read, mark, and learn the Scriptures. They contain truths, of which the knowledge is vitally essential to our present and eternal welfare. They are to guide and support us through the trials and temptations of this life ; to teach us finally to attain the glories of the next. Surely no argu- ment is needed to shew what paramount in- terests, what urgent duties call upon us to study them ; to read them diligently and fre- SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 27 quently; to *' mark,'' to "learn'* them — to imprint them on our memory — to fix them in our heart. Why should I labour to prove the claims they have upon our attention ? Hear from authority what is due to the Scriptures. Observe hovi^ the Jews were commanded to study, to remember and to teach them. " And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart : and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them, when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets be- tween thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates . Such was the solemn injunction laid upon the Jews to " read, mark,^' and " learn ^' their Scriptures; to render them familiar to their thoughts ; to have them present at all times, and in all situations. And has the Christian less at stake than the Jew? Has he not knowledge equally important, with which he should become acquainted; and interests equally momentous, over which he should \yatch ? ^ Deut. vi. 6. 28 SERMON II. But to " read, mark," and " learn '' them is not all that he is to attempt. He must " in- wardly digest them." He must use them as wholesome food to the soul ''] must make them administer spiritual nourishment, strengthen his growth in grace, and daily impart fresh powers to enable him to strive for that " glory, honour and peace," promised " to every man that worketh goodi^." He must, therefore, meditate upoa them. He must compare Scripture with Scripture ; must endeavour to comprehend the design, and feel the force of the various precepts, to observe the grounds of faith, and the motives to holiness, deducible from the doctrines of Jesus, to extract and store up the consolations and encouragements derivable from his pro- mises, and his example. And, above all, he must diligently examine his practice, and prove how far it corresponds with his duty as set forth in the Scriptures. " In reading God^s word, he not always most profiteth, that is most ready in turning the book, or in saying of it without the book *. but he that is most turned into it, that is, most inspired with the Holy Ghost, most in his heart and life altered and changed into that thing which he readeth ; he that is daily " Hebrews v. 1 i. — 1 Peter ii. 2. •* Romans ii. 10. SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 29 less and less proud, less wrathful, less covetous, and less desirous of worldly and vain plea- sures ; he, that daily forsaking his old vicious life, increaseth in virtue more and more^/' In aiming at the attainment of these pur- poses, we are both to avail ourselves of God's grace, and we are to employ our own powers of reason and knowledge, in inwardly digest- ing the Scriptures. I say our own powers of reason and knowledge ; because, in their exces- sive zeal to decry human reason and know- ledge, to deprecate their being set up in oppo- sition to the Divine wisdom, and counsels, some have maintained, or have used expres- sions apparently maintaining, that these have little or no place in the study of Scripture. But to deny the exercise of Reason \ in this * First part of Homily on the Reading and Knowledge of the holy Scripture. ' " On this favourite position of Mr. Wesley, Bishop War- burton justly remarks, that here is a complete separation between reason and religion. For when reason is no longer employed to distinguish right from wrong opinions, religion has no further connexion with it. But reason once separated from religion, must not piety degenerate either into nonsense or madness ? and for the fruits of grace what can remain but the froth and dregs of enthusiasm and superstition ? In the first ages of Christianity, the glory of the gospel consisted in its being a reasonable service. By this it was distinguished from the several modes of Gentile religion, the essence of which consisted in fanatic raptures and superstitious cere- monies ; without any articles of belief, or formula of faith : 80 SERMON II. employment, appears to preclude its applica- tion to the very object, for which, of all others, the Almighty has especially given it. What 1 is the noblest faculty with which man is endued, not to be employed in the noblest, the most momentous pursuit, in which he can possibly be engaged ? Is that faculty in which he most nearly approaches the Divine nature ; in which he may be said to be made " in the image of God ;" is that faculty not to be exer- cised in the study of the Divine word — in learning and in investigating the revealed will of God, and in examining the grounds on which are built our hopes of salvation ? Can searching into these things be a misapplication right opinion being, on the principles of the Pagan priesthood, at best, but a very slender part of religion, if any part of it at all. But Christianity arose on different principles. St. Paul considers right opinion as one full third part of religion, where speaking of the three fundamental principles on which the Christian Church is erected, he makes truth to be one of them. The fruit of the Spirit is in all Goodness, Righteousness, and Truth. So different was St. Paul's idea, from that en- tertained of Christianity by Mr, Wesley, who comprises all in the new birth, and makes believing to consist entirely in feeling , On the whole, therefore, we may fairly conclude (with War- burton) that that wisdom which divests Christianity of truth and reason, and resolves its essence rather into mental and spiritual sensations, than tries it by moral demonstration, can never be the wisdom which is from above, whose first charac- teristic attribute is ^mity."—Magee on the Atonement, vol. i, p. 169. SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 31 of Reason ? Surely not. If such an applica- tion of it were neither encouraged, nor pro- hibited in holy Writ, we might justly assume that it was of all others the best, and the most appropriate^. But far from being really prohibited, it is expressly encouraged. Our Saviour frequently appeals to the reason and judgment of his hearers. He says " Search the Scriptures, for they testify of me/' And St. Luke with praise records the investigating disposition of the Beroeans, and observes, that they " were more noble, than those of Thes- salonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scrip- tures daily, whether those things were so''/' Pray then our " blessed Lord, who hath caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning,'' to grant that you may " read, ^ *' The whole drift of the Scripture of God, what is it, but only to teach Theology 1 Theology, what is it, but the science of things divine ? What science can be attained unto without the help of natural discourse and reason ? ' Judge you of that which I speak,' (1 Cor. x. 15.) saith the Apostle. In vaili it were to speak any thing of God, but that by reason, men are able somewhat to judge of that they hear, and by discourse to discern how consonant it is to truth. Scripture indeed teacheth things above nature, things which our reason by itself could not reach unto. Yet those things also, We believe, knowing by reason, that the Scripture is the word of God." — Hooker, Eccles. Pol. vol. i. p. 383, 384. '' Acts xvii. 11. 32 SERMON ir. mark, learn, and inwardly digest them/' . It is not the use, it is the abuse of reason, which is forbidden, when we " read/' It is this alone which is dangerous. Do you, therefore, endeavour to read them with those dispo- sitions, which will secure you from this per- version of reason. Read them vf'ith faith and humility; with impartiality ; with sincerity . Read, then, with Faith and Humility, Read not as the flippant sceptic reads; who abuses his reason ; who often employs it in feeding his vanity and conceit ; in attempt- ing to discover passages, at which he may cavil; to obtain by singularity that notice and distinction for which he pants ; but which he has no hope of reaching by superior ta- lents, or by excelling in virtue and wisdom. Read not as the self-called philosopher, the unbeliever, " wise in his own conceit'' reads. He reads puffed up with the pride of knowledge ; fancying that all things must be brought within the range of his limited facul- ties ; and that nothing can be true, of which his reason is inadequate to the full compre- hension. He imagines, that the understanding of the Most High, is to be measured by the pigmy standard of his knowledge. He con- cludes, that, because the mode in which some things, revealed by the all-wise God, can be SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 33 accomplished, and the reasojis, for which they were ordained, are not all laid open to his view, he concludes, therefore, that the re- velation itself cannot be true. As justly might he dispute the existence of the sun, or of the stars ; because his arm cannot reach them, or his hand balance them. This also is not the use, it is the abuse of reason. Read not as he reads — form a more humble, a more accurate estimate of your nature and your powers. Read, in the Scriptures, the great lines of duty, all that is necessary to your happiness, all that is riecessary to your salva- tion, written so, that, " he may run that reads. '^ Read also, there, some " things hard to be understood ;'' some things to the full comprehension of which the human mind never can attain, till w^e shall cease to see through a " glass darkly;'^ and shall be ad- mitted to behold God " face to face,^' but these things read with faith\ and with hu- militi/. Bear in mind, that what is revealed is all, that is necessary for you to know in * " Propose me," said Chillingworth, " any thing out of this book, and require whether I believe it, or no ; and, seem it never so incomprehensible to human reason, I will subscribe it hand and heart ; as knowing no demonstration can be stronger than this, God hath said so, therefore it is true." Relig. of F rot. Chap. vi. p. 56, D 84 SERMON II. your present state ; and what is hidden has been determined, by the infinite wisdom of God, to be either of no importance to us, or too much for our hmited capacities to re- ceive. Read also with impartiality, read not as he reads, who wishes to select passages, or inge- niously perverts his reason in distorting pre- cepts, by which he may deceive himself, and silence the reproaches of his conscience. Never pass hastily over those parts of Scrip- ture, which happen to condemn some favou- rite sin, some habitual neglect — nor endeavour to twist other parts into an excuse, to save you from doing violence to your inclination. " Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them/' Take not single passages ; but exa- mine well the whole scope, and tenor of the Scriptures. Think not to compound for the neglect, or the violation of one precept, by the rigid and scrupulous observance of ano- ther. Rely not upon a partial obedience ; separate not one member of the body from the rest ; trust not to faith, without holiness, nor to holiness without faith. Believe, and hope in the efficacy of Christ's atoning blood, in his powerful mediation, and in his pro- mised assistance. But never delude your- selves with the wild notion ; that we must SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 35 therefore sin, " that grace may abound " ;" or that, at any period of our hves we are to relax in our vigilance, or to desist from striving to " work out our salvation with fear, and trem- bling ^'^ Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Scriptures. Study, and compare every part of them ; and they will be found every where consistent, every where faithful, and unerring guides. Lastly ; read them with sincerity ; not as matters of mere speculation and curiosity ; but with a sincere intention, to make them your rule of life, and to conform to them in your practice. Read them not, as the mere formalist does ; who reads only because others read, and who never meditates upon what they suggest to him. But read with that spirit, with which St. Paul said, " Lord what wilt thou have me to do" V with an ar- dent desire to know the will of God, and with a full and determined purpose to do it. Thus praying for God^s grace and co-ope- rating earnestly with that grace, may we so read, that, " through patience, and comfort of the holy Scriptures, we may have hope/' Thus, confirming our faith, strengthening our hope, amending our life, may we, (though ^ Rom. vi. 1. * Phil. ii. 12. " Acts ix. G. d2 36 SERMON II. descended from a Gentile stock) " glorify God for his mercy." May we celebrate with joy and thankfulness the Advent of our Re- deemer. Let us bless and praise him, while we read those Scriptures " written for our learning," which announce, and those which confirm our admission to the covenant of grace and mercy. Especially let us not fail to meditate upon those passages pTophetic of that great event,which the Apostle, from whose epistle our text is taken, has cited ; and which are so judiciously set before us in connection with the collect for this day. Let us not be deaf to that call in which we as Gentiles, are especially addressed. " Praise the Lord all ye Gentiles, and laud Him all ye people." And Esaias saith, " there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise, to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles trusts Let us then bear our part in accomplishing the very words of the prophet. Let us indeed trust in Him. Let us now " embrace, and may we ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life which God has given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ." SERMON III. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 1 COR. IV. 1. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In the collects of the two preceding Sundays in Advent, the grace of God has been im- plored; firstly, for the general purpose of enabling us to " cast off the works of dark- ness, and to put upon us the armour of light ;" secondly, for the particular' purpose of deriv- ing means, instructions, and encouragements to do this, from a diligent and profitable pe- rusal of the Scriptures. In the collect for the third Sunday in Advent, we are directed to pray for that grace upon his ministers, that they may be fitted for the discharge of the sacred office, with which they are invested, and powerfully assisted in the accomplishment of 38 SERMON III. the great purposes for which they are ap- pointed. In that prayer you have this day joined. You have been reminded, that at his first coming, which you are shortly to com- memorate, our Lord Jesus Clirist did send his messenger^ John the Baptist, to prepaj'e'' his way before him : and you have prayed him to " Matt. iii. 3.; Isaiah xl. 3. This allusion to John the Baptist's office, indicates very strongly both the need ministers have of God's grace on account of the difficulty of their task, and also the very important share they may have in assisting and urging men to "throw off the works of darkness," &c. The subjoined extract from Bishop Porteus' Lectures, explains the nature of John's labours as precursor of Christ's first coming, and exhibits a sketch of our labours, in preparing the way for the last advent. " This is a plain allusion to the custom that prevailed in eastern countries, of sending messengers and pioneers to make the ways level and straight before kings and princes, and other great men, when they passed through the country with large retinues, and with great pomp and magnificence. They literally lowered mountains, they raised valleys, they cut down woods, they removed all obstacles, they cleared away all roughnesses and inequalities, and made every thing smooth and plain, and commodious for the great personage whom they preceded. " In the same manner was John the Baptist, in a spiritual sense, to go before the Lord, before the Saviour of the world, to prepare his way, to make his paths straight, to remove out of the minds of men every thing that opposed itself to the ad- mission of divine truth ; all prejudice, blindness, pride, obsti- nacy, self-conceit, vanity, and vain philosophy ; but above all, to subdue and regulate those depraved affections, appetites, passions, and inveterate habits of wickedness, which are the grand obstacles to conversion, and the reception of the word of God." — Porteus, Led. iii. p. 55, 5G. 10 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 39 " grant, that the ministers and stewards of his mysteries may hkewise so prepare and make ready his way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; that at his second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in his sight ; who liveth and reigneth, with the Fa- ther and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end/^ That your me(htations and resolutions may correspond with this petition, and meet the intentions of the Church in appointing it, I select, as the subjects of this day^s discourse, the nature and purposes of the ministerial of- fice ; and the reasons for which your prayers are required for those who are invested with it. I say, in the words of the Apostle, " Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." In the twenty-third article our Church has laid down the two following propositions re- lative to the appointment of its ministers. " It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or minister- ing the sacraments in the congregation, before he be lawfully called, and sent to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men, who have public autho- 40 SERMON 111. rity given unto them in the congregation, to call, and send ministers into the Lord's vine- yard/' These two propositions appear to have the full sanction both of reason and of Revelation. In any large society" of persons united for a common purpose, whether civil or religious, there must obviously be some individuals, in whom will be vested the power and the office of regulating the concerns of that society, and of carrying into effect the measures requisite for the attainment of the objects which it has in view. Upon the selection of these indi- viduals, much will necessarily depend : ac- cordingly, as they may happen to be persons of talent, zeal, and integrity, or as they may be deficient in these respects, the society for which they are so employed, may be expected to flourish or to decay. The Church is such a society. It is asso- ciated for the preservation and diffusion of the true religion ; and consequently, for the dissemination of the blessings which will in- variably result from the knowledge and prac- " " The second thing which the light of nature dictates, in reference to church government, is, that the society in which men join for the worship of God, be preserved, maintained, and governed in the most convenient manner. Nature, which requires society, doth require government in that society, or else it is no society." — Stilling fleet's Irenicum, p. 85. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 41 tice of religion. Ministers are the persons to whom the business of effecting its purposes is especially committed. They are indispensa- bly requisite "* for the regulation and due ad- ministration of its offices ; for the maintenance of its purity ; for the propagation and expo- sition of its doctrines ; for the enforcement and illustration of its precepts. These conclusions are obvious : and, in proof that they are obvious, we may appeal not only to every man^s own sense and judgment, but also to the general ** practice of nations, whether barbarous or enlightened. They have seen the necessity of having persons set apart •* *• The best system of religion must necessarily either dwin- dle to nothing or be egregiously corrupted, if it is not perpetually inculcated and explained by a regular and standing ministry." Mosheim Eccles. Hist, by Maclaine. Edit. 1810. vol. i. p. 95. ' "It seems to be a general principle extending to all religions, both of ancient and modern times, that certain persons should be appointed exclusively to perform the offices belonging to their respective forms of worship. This has been invariably the case in the different systems of paganism." — Bj^. Winton, El. If it be denied, that the extent of this practice is a proof of its being obviously reasonable, this would only refer its adop- tion to a still higher authority. The recognition of the same principle by remote nations, and under every variety of form, if not attributed to obvious reasonableness, must be referred to tradition derived from that period, when the dispersion of mankind had not taken place, and the Deity had communicated to man the necessity of a church government, and ministers for the conduct of divine worship, and the maintenance of religion. 42 SERMON III. to conduct the affairs of their rehgion, be it what it may. And we know of few, if any nations, having a rehgion, without having also their appointed priests. It is no less obvious, that the purposes for which ministers are appointed, are more or less likely to be accomplished, in proportion as they are better or worse qualified for their office. As a necessary consequence of this it follows, that thepower of selecting andappoint- ing them ought to be vested somewhere. If ministers' were to be self-appointed; if every man who fancied himself qualified, were to take upon himself the office of teacher, it is very clear, that the result we might naturally expect, would be the dissemination of false and erroneous doctrines ; the perpetual clash of contradiction and dispute. For if teachers were to be self-appointed, who would be the most ready to thrust themselves forward ? M ho would be the loudest in claiming attention? 'If every man may assume authority to preach and perform holy functions, it is certain rehgion must fall into disorder, and under contempt. Hotheaded men of warm fancies and volu- ble tongues, with very little knowledge and discretion, would be apt to thrust themselves on to the teaching and governing others, if they themselves were under no government. This •would soon make the public service of God be loathed, and break and dissolve the whole body." — Burnet on the Articles, fourth edit, folio, p. 257. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 43 Would the sober y the discreet, the modest, the cautious, the intelligent 7 Who is it that usually supposes himself qualified for every office; forms an undue estimate of his powers ; thinks of himself " more highly than he ought to think ?" Is it not the rash, the presumptuous, the conceited, the ignorant, the enthusiast? These would be the descriptions of men that even the most ordinary observer of human nature must perceive, would predominate, if men were to be judges of their own fitness for the ministry. And from the predominance of such men, what could be expected but the prevalence of strife, error, absurdity, and con- fusion ? Advancing from reason to the still higher ground of Revelation, we find the conclusions of the former sanctioned and confirmed by the institutions and precepts of the latter. Throughout the Jewish dispensation we find the appointment and maintenance of an es- tablished priesthood evidently marked as an object of primary importance. Persons were set aside by God himself for the purposes of ministering in holy things, and of expounding the law to the people. So well is this fact known, that it will be an unnecessary employ- ment to adduce texts in support of it. We find, moreover, that the intrusion of persons 44 SERMON m. uncalled to this office, was regarded as an offence of no ordinary magnitude ; and was visited, as in the case of Korah and his asso- ciates, with signal and exemplary tokens of the Divine displeasure. Proceeding from the Jewish to the Christian dispensation, we shall perceive the same principle and the same prac- tice still continued. There it is laid down as a maxim, that " no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron'.'' And this rule is sanctioned by the example of Christ himself. " So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an High Priest, but he that said unto him. Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee." Ministers were regularly and solemnly appointed to preach and explain the word of God : and great at- tention was paid in selecting them, to their fitness for the office. ' The first appointment of Ministers to preach the Gospel was made by our Saviour himself; who selected the twelve apostles, and afterwards the seventy disciples, whom " Heb. V. 4, 5. * The facts relative to the rise and progress of the minis- terial office, I have taken from the Bishop of Winchester's Elements of Christian Theology : Article xxiii. In general, indeed, I have not only taken the materials, but have also freely copied the succinct and perspicuous language of this work. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 45 he s6nt, during his ministrj^, to preach in Judea. After his resurrection he solemnly dehvered to the apostles their commission", with the assurance of his never-failing assist- ance and support. He prefaces it with a de- claration of his power both to " call'' and to uphold ministers of the word. He says, " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all na- tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world''.'' Before I proceed further in tracing the pro- gress of the ministerial office, I must notice, by the way, a circumstance in the appoint- ment of the Apostles, which may seem to war- rant the pretensions of the most ignorant to " We may observe (Luke xxiv. 49. and Acts i. 4.) that the Apostles not only received a commission from our Saviour, but were also prohibited from exercising that commission, till they had received the Holy Ghost, for that especial purpose. And in the second chapter of the Acts, we find them obediently waiting this token of their being both *' called and sent" " into the Lord's vineyard." They then go forth under the authority of their Master, and in the power of the Spirit ; and baptizing " three thousand souls," they gather gloriously the first fruits of their great harvest. ^Matt. xxviii. 18, 19. 46 SERMON III. take upon them the sacred office ; and may appear to argue, that no care is necessary in the selection of those, who are to fill it. This circumstance is the calhng of the Apostles from the lower ranks of life, and their general deficiency in point of powerful talents or splendid acquirements for accomplishing the great purposes of the Gospel, in short, their almost total weakness, except in the extra- ordinary gifts of the Spirit. The Apostles appear to have been honest indeed, but plain, illiterate, humble men ; and some of them even weak of purpose, and slow of apprehension. The argument, therefore, derived from this, is, that the Spirit is all powerful ; that as far as their personal quali- fications appear, they were not calculated for any great work, and in selecting them no at- tention was paid to \heu fitness. But in this inference I cannot concur. It may be shewn that great regard was had to their fitness. They w-ere selected ; and admirable skill and wisdom was displayed in their selection. They were precisely the men that ought to have been selected ; no other description of men would have answered the purpose in view. In order to judge of a man^s fitness for any office, it is necessary to take into considera- tion, the circumstances in which he is to be THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 47 placed, and the objects which he has to ac- comphsh in the discharge of that office. The Apostles, then, were to establish a new religion. They were to overthrow, at once, all existing opinions and prejudices upon a most interesting and momentous subject, — they were to destroy ancient and long vene- rated institutions; they were to urge men, heretofore permitted a licentious indulgence of their passions, to the painful exertion of subduing them ; they were to require of them the relinquishment of present and visible ob- jects of desire, for future and unseen advan- tage — the endurance of present loss, and per- secution, for a promised and distant reward ; all this they were to effect, not by reasoning merely, but by an appeal to facts, of which they had been eye-witnesses ; to a system of religion, which, coming from them was itself a miracle; and to miraculous powers with which they were invested j;. Now, had all these men been distinguished, and selected for their learning, their ingenuity, their acuteness, and their talents; would it not have been immediately objected, that the whole was a well contrived scheme craftily fabricated by these able men ; that the system was of their framing ? And while men ad- " Vide Paley's Evideoces. 48 SERMON III. mired their wisdom in framing it, and their ability in recommending it , they would not have considered it as indispensably necessary and of Divine authority. But this was exactly the point on which the Apostles were to rest. It was only by authority^ not by argument, that they could expect to induce men to re- nounce their prejudices and passions, and embrace the Gospel. It was authority only which could effect this great change. But when these plain, humble, illiterate men were suddenly found bringing forward a system of religion ^ far surpassing all that had ever been before devised; speaking without any previous education divers kinds of lan- guages; working miracles, and displaying an energy and wisdom which none could oppose or gainsay: the conclusion was obvious and * " These men were illiterate, poor, and of mean extraction, and such alone were proper to answer the views of the divine Saviour. He avoided making use of the ministry of persons endowed with the advantages of fortune and birth, or enriched with the treasures of eloquence and learning, lest the fruits of this embassy, and the progress of the gospel sliould be at- tributed to human and natural causes." — Mosheim, Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 5Q. * " For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of Preaching to save them that believe." — 1 Cor. i. 21. '• The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weak- ness of God is stronger than men." — Ihid, verse 25. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 49 inevitable. The hand of God is with them. The religion they preach 7nust come from Him. They were therefore selected; and admirably selected for the purpose which they were to fulfil. They were the very men fitted for the office as it was then constituted. But. in process of time, as the condition and exigences of the Church became changed", the qualifications necessary for the discharge of the Ministerial office also became changed. When the religion was established, and an appeal to miracles was no longer permitted or necessary; when the e.Ttraor dinar y gifts of the Spirit were withdrawn ; when more was committed to human reason in teaching and illustrating the word of God to men; when the language in which the Scriptures were written became a dead language; and many of the customs and events to which allusions were made, became obsolete and remote, and consequently could not be explained, without some knowledge of the times and countries '' " It was necessary first to appoint extraordinary teachtrs, who, converting the Jews and Gentiles to the truth, should erect every where, Christian assemblies ; and then, to establish ordinary ministers, and interpreters of the divine will, who should enforce and repeat the doctrines delivered by the former, and maintain the people in their holy profession, and in the practice of Christian virtues." — Mosheim, Eccles. Hist. vol. i. p. 94. E 50 SERMON III. in which they existed ; when controversies and heresies arose ; and artful corruptions of the text, and subtle perversions of the meaning of the Scriptures were attempted; then some degree of human learning " was a necessary • The necessity not only of a certain proportion of learning, but also of a continual progress in learning is pointed out with great force and clearness by the present able and excellent Bishop of London, in a charge to the clergy of his diocese, delivered in 1822. " The Laity," he observes, " have a right to expect that the attainments in learning and piety of the Clergy, considered as a body, should rise at least above the ordinary level of other classes of society. Such comparative excellence I believe to have been found in every country where the discipline or doctrine of the Church has been maintained in tolerable purity. I even think it essential to the continued existence of any religious establishment." His Lordship then remarks that even in the darkest ages of the Church, however deeply the clergy were involved in the prevailing vice and ignorance, the laity were still more so ; and that the feeble embers of the sacred fire were cherished almost entirely by the former, till in due time they were revived, and gradually fanned into that full blaze which now enlightens all Europe, and sheds its rays through the remotest regions of the globe. But that when this revival took place, he remarks, that the largest share of improvement fell to the laity, and the clergy " were not benefitted to an equal degree ; and conse- quently lost the ascendency, which had been preserved with- out difficulty by their less meritorious predecessors in a darker age." *' In referring," he proceeds, " to these historical facts, it is simply my object to urge the necessity of maintaining our proper position in relation to the mass of society : to press the important truth, that, if other classes advance in know- ledge, intelligence, virtue, and piety ; and the clergy, what- ever are their positive merits in all these respects, continue 12 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 51 qualification for the sacred office, and a neces- sary point to be examined into by those, to whom was committed the power of selecting individuals to fill it. Fitness for the office, considered with reference to time, objects, and circumstances, regulated the choice of the Apostles, and Jitness still regulates the choice of their successors. I return from this digression, to trace the rise and progress of the Ministerial office. " Immediately after the ascension of our Saviour, St. Peter stated upon the authority of Prophecy, the necessity of appointing an Apostle in the room of Judas Iscariot ; and the disciples, after praying to their Lord and Master, for his assistance and direction, elected Matthias by lot**, and their conduct stationary, they are placed on a different level in regard to their flocks, and will suffer a proportionate loss in their credit and weight with the public, and consequently, in their professional utility. It is incumbent on us to advance with the progress of the times ; and every individual should act as if the whole interests of religion depended on his personal character, and the faithful exertion of his powers within his allotted sphere. In all ranks of society are numbers of per- sons who are qualified to judge of our learning, of the sound- ness of our doctrine, and the efficiency of our instructions, and who regard with disgust even the slightest inattention to duty, or impropriety of moral conduct." — Bp. of London's Cliarge, 1822: extracted from Christ. Remem. vol. iv. pp. 749, 750. •* Acts i. e2 52 SERMON III. in this proceeding was justified by the sanc- tion of the Holy Ghost, who descended upon all the twelve Apostles, and enabled them to enter upon the great work of establishing the religion of Jesus ^/' These twelve Apostles were at first, the only preachers of the Gospel, and the sphere of their operations was confined to the city of Jerusalem. " Their success in making con- verts caused the concerns of the Church so to increase, that they found it necessary to take from the disciples seven persons to whom they gave the name of deacons, (Acts vi.) and assigned certain specific duties ; and this was done by a regular choice, and subsequent ordination from the Apostles themselves ^" After this we find in various parts of the Acts, and in the Epistles, notices of, and allu- sions to the appointment of fresh ministers, according to the exigences of the Church, and the increasing number of converts. Paul and Barnabas, we read, " ordained elders in every church.'' " Different persons were ap- pointed to preside over different churches, as Timothy over that at Ephesus, and Titus over those ofCrete;and St.Paul gives both Timothy and Titus particular directions concerning the ordination of Bishops and Elders within their ^ Bp. of Winchester's Elem. Christ. Theol, ' Ibid. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 53 respective jurisdictions. He commands Timo- thy to ' lay hands on no man suddenly/ (1 Tim. V. 22.) that is, not to ordain any per- son till he was fully convinced of his fitness for the ministerial office; and he gives this precept, which proves, that it was intended there should be a succession^ of ministers in the Church. 'The things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same ^ ** And what reason is there why Christ should appoint officers to rule his Church then, which will not hold now? Did the people of God need ministers then to be as stars, (as they are called in Scripture,) to lead them unto Christ, and do they not as well need them now ? Had people need of guides then, when the doctrine of the Gospel mas confirmed to them by miracles, and have they not much more now? Must there be some then to oppose gainsayers, and must they have an absolute liberty of prophesying now, when it is foretold what times of seduction the last shall be ? Must there be some then to rule over their charge, as they that must give an account, and is not the same required still ? Were there some then, to reprove, rebuke, exhort, to preach in season, out of season, and is there not the same necessity of these things still? Was it not enough then, that there were so many in all Churches, that had extraordinary gifts of tongues, inophe- sying, praying, interpretation of tongues, but besides those there were some pastors of office, whose duty it was to give attendance to reading, to be rvholly in these things, and now, when these extraordinary gifts are ceased, is not there a much greater necessity than there was then, for some to be set apart, and wholly designed for this work ?" — Stilling feet's Irenicum. ■p. 159. Vide also, note in Mant and D'Oyley's Bible, being an extract from Bp. Beveridge on the words, " Lo, I am with youalway," Matt, xxviii. 20. 64 SERMON III. commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also/ (2 Tim. ii. 2.)^/' That this direction of the Apostle was sacredly followed by his successors, and throughout the Church, an abundance of evi- dence may be produced*. From the days of our Saviour, his Church has been superin- tended, his Sacraments administered by a regular succession of ministers, " lawfully called and sent; which be chosen, and called to this work by men, who have public authority given unto them in the congregation to call, and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard/' Men thus " called and sent,'' are called and sent according to that will which none should presume to question. " As my Father hath sent me so send I you." These are the words of Christ, and the interpretation of them is recorded in the practice of the Apostles of the primitive Church, and of the Church in every age, down to the present day. Mi- nisters so "called " have his commission, his authority, his assistance : he is " with us to the end of the world." The'' Holy *■ Bp. of Winchester's Elem. Christ. Theol. * Ibid. p. 372. ' " Since the days of the effusion of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner, on the primitive teachers and preachers of the Gospel, the gift is of an ordinary nature, and although I have no doubt, but that the mind of every minister, and THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 55 Spirit descends now upon his faithful servants, as he did heretofore upon the Apostles ; not indeed in a visible form, or conferring mira- . culous powers; but in a manner adapted^ to thr p'llgences of the Church, and to their situation and necessities. There is no reason to doubt, but, when the Bishop, by the au- thority, and in the name of his blessed Lord and Master, lays his hands upon the person to be ordained, and implores thf effusion upon him of the promised gift; that this person does receive the Holy Spirit. Not that he indeed of every good man who prays for its assistance, is illuminated by the Spirit, and by it is enabled to fulfil the important duties of his calling. I cannot perceive from the interpretation of any words of the Scripture, that in preach- ing the Gospel, or addressing my prayers to my God, I have reason to expect an extraordinary gift of the Spirit, or any immediate inspiration of particular words or expressions, which he may be supposed to dictate." — Brewster on Ordina- tion Services, extracted from Christ. Remem. vol. i. p. 503. ' " Whilst, therefore, the sober Christian looks for that assistance of the Holy Spirit, which is still necessary for his condition, to enable him to ' fight the good fight of faith,' and which he certainly will obtain, provided he does not ask amiss ; he does not expect to receive assistance which the circum- stances of his case do not require. Should extraordinary events take place in the Christian world, he rests assured, from the experience of former times, that the same Holy Spirit, who ' divideth to every man, severally as he will,' and to whose trust the spiritual concerns of Christians have been committed, will not be wanting to the occasion." — Daubeny's Guide to the Church, p. 246. 66 SERMON III. has any perception of its operation ; but still, according to the promise of Christ, that bless- ed influence is shed upon him, and furnishes him with that aid, which, with the proper exertion of his own means and abilities, will enable him to discharge effectually his im- portant functions ; to feed the flock of Christ, and finally, himself to enter into that "joy of his Lord,^' which is promised to the " good and faithful servant." Having thus taken a cursory view of the appointment and office, I must now proceed to draw your attention to the claims, which the ministers of religion have to your regard and deference. " Remember," said St. Paul, " them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God ; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation ; Jesus Christ the same yester- day, and to day, and for ever"." And again, " obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you "." Hence they claim, upon the strongest grounds, reverence, and obedience in all law- " Hebxiii. 7,8. "Ibid. vcr. 17. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 57 ful thino;s connected with their sacred call- ing °. The authority with which they are invest- ed is Christ's authority. The commission they bear is Christ's. The message they deliver is Christ's. The aid which is promised them is the aid of the Spirit, They act in the name of your, and their great Lord and Master, they are his " ambassadors ;" they are " stewards of the mysteries of God;'' they proclaim the gracious offers of pardon and salvation ; they direct you to the kingdom of God. For the ministers of God, then, however invidious the task, we must claim your de- ference and respect. We claim it not as in- dividuals ; but for the sacred office^ which ° " The sanctity which I would attribute to this sacred in- stitution, is neither superstitious nor mysterious. I would not be thought to throw around it such hidden virtue, as would deceive the ignorant, or attract the notice of the design- ing. " There is an authority in the Priesthood, but it is the au- thority of a pastor over his flock ; it is the authority of a father over his family. It is the authority growing out of situation, and founded on duty ; an authority which in many instances, men of superior attainments or mental endow- ments, may be supposed to possess, when delegated to su- perintend an important charge. When derived from a pure source, and directed to a pure end, such an authority never can be dangerous." Brewster on Ordination Services, ex- tracted from Christ. Remem. vol. i. p. 50^. P 1 Thess. iv. 12, 13. 68 SERMON III. we hold. Speaking as individuals % we may take up the bold and independent language of the Apostles ; we may say, " with me it is a small thing, that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment'.'^ This is of compa- ratively trifling importance to us. We have a much more solemn and awful account to give ; to our own Mastej^ we must stand or fall. But with reference to the sacred com- mission, which we bear, we must intreat, we must claim your obedience and reverence ; we must claim it, because it is a part oi your Christian duty ; it is essential to your spiri- tual welfare; to render our preaching effec- tual ; and to promote the great interests of true religion and virtue. In the present times, it is painful to observe the numerous and systematic efforts making in many quarters to degrade, and to decry the clergy. Advantage is taken of the well known propensity of human nature to delight in contemplating and magnifying defects and evils. Calumnious, false, and defamatory "» " This does not imply that we are to become time servers in conduct ; but in condescension to the various tempers and dispositions of those whom we wish to convince of the danger of their errors, to take such opportunities of instruction as may be most favourable for that purpose." Brewster on Ordination Services, extracted from Christ. Reniem. vol. i. p. 504. ' 1 Cor. iv. S. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 59 statements are put forth. Words and actions are most disingenuously perverted ; motives misconstrued ; slight errors are exaggerated ; and actual delinquencies of individuals are made the ground of sneers and insinuations against the whole body. It is artfully kept out of sight that the clergy are but men, and cannot be free from errors and infirmities, that in a large body of men there must be some bad men, that even among the twelve Apostles a Judas Iscariot was to be found, and that while every fault of the clergy is eagerly blazoned abroad', till it becomes " an astonishment, and an hissing," laymen under similar circumstances neither excite surprise, nor even attract notice. I cannot but regard these efforts, aimed as they are in many instances from quarters, in which the excuse of ignorance and thought- lessness cannot be pleaded ; I cannot but re- • It is not meant to complain of this, but merely to notice the fact, that it is fairly presumable, that whatsoever crime is committed by a clergyman soon becomes a matter of public notoriety. This is, as it should be : let the criminal be held up to general execration. We desire it as a safeguard to the purity, and character of our order. But let not advantage be taken of the indignation excited by the individual, to pre- judice the public mind, by false insinuations against the whole body ; to whose general character no small testimony is given, by the very horror which the debasement of any one of its members creates. 60 SERMON III. gard them as commonly having in view ob- jects beyond that of vilifying the clergy. They aim at the subversion of religion. They are pestilent and dangerous effusions, ema- nating from that spirit of infidelity, and scep- ticism, which too largely prevails in the pre- sent day. Do you, my brethren, be upon your guard against them. Do you remember the sacred office ; the high authority with which we are invested ; the important objects for which we are to strive ; the awful account which we have to give. ' Let it not be your employ- * It may perhaps be thought by some, that we ought to proceed steadily onward, and not to be anxious in deprecating the censures, and striving to conciHate the good will of our hearers. I cannot, however, but regard it as a point of great importance and always to be kept in view by the clergy, that they should endeavour to gain the good will of their flocks by all innocent and honest means, and carefully to avoid every thing likely to excite unfavourable sentiments. It appears to me incumbent on the clergy (and however little the world sees, or appreciates it, many of them conscientiously fulfil this obligation) to make great and continual sacrifices of private feeling, and personal convenience, in order to promote the salvation of those committed to their charge. St. Paul says, (1 Cor. X. 32, QS.) " Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." We too should "please all men." By all innocent com- pliances, by avoiding every thing which may unnecessar'thj or uuprofilabli/ olfend theii weaknesses, or even their prejudices. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 61 ment here to busy yourselves in censuring our conduct as individuals, in scanning our we should endeavour to conciliate, and to gain both esteem and affection. The compilers of our Litiirgy have, in the Epistle and Gospel for Sexagesima Sunday, pi-esented a forcible argu- ment upon this point by placing before us, as it were side by side, Luke viii. 4, &c. and 2 Cor. xi. 19, &c. I do not mean to say, this was their intention ; as the Collect does not ap- pear to contain any reference to this duty. But certainly the juxtaposition of these two passages does present a very strong and vivid argument to enforce the necessity of our striving to predispose our hearers to receive our instructions with af- fection and favor. The Gospel exhibits to us our Saviour's beautiful, and animated representation of the various effects of his word, in the parable of the sower and the seed. The seed, which is the word of God, is there described as being pro- ductive not merely in proportion to its goodness, or to the skill of the sower ; but according to the state of the soil on which it fell. Thus it is intimated that the Word will bring forth fruit not merely in proportion to its own excellence, or to the eloquence of the preacher ; but accordingly as the hearts, and minds of the hearers are more or less disposed to receive, and apply it. The Epistle holds up a practical comment upon this fact, in the earnestness, and solicitude of St. Paul to conciliate his converts, and impress them with a due sense of his claims to their regard and deference. He, to whom glorying is evi- dently painful, who glories in his infirmities, and delights to acknowledge his unworthiness ; he, nevertheless, enters into a detail of his own merits, and services ; shews largely how much is owing to him ; and he does this not from any personal views but that his sacred office might be respected ; that the word of God might not receive " hindrance" from any preju- dices or contempt entertained against him individually. This example of his well merits our imitation. The closer we can fes SERMON III. imperfections, in criticising our style, in des- pising our infirmities. These are not the pu7^- poses for which you come to the temple of the Most High. You come, to hear the word of God read, and explained ; your own duties set forth ; to correct your own errors ; to pray for your own sins ; to learn to work out your own salvation. Account of us then " as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." Co-operate with us in " making ready the way" of the Lord, and in " turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." Instead of prying into our defects, do that which affords the best prospect of remedying them. Increase your attention ; hear what we preach ; com- pare it with the Scriptures ; and if we say the truth, theu follow our faith ; profit by our admonitions ; practise our counsels. " Finally, my brethren," (I here take up the words of St. Paul,) " Finally, my bre- thren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified." If it be asked, why you should pray for us, when we have the promise that Christ will be with us to the end of the world ; the reasons draw the bond of union between us, and our flocks, the more powerful may we reasonably expect to be the effects of our hiinistration. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 63 are strong ; I shall set them before you in a few words. " Pray for us" first, and especially, because you are directed to do so in Scripture. St. Paul himself required the prayers of his fel- low Christians to implore God's blessing on his ministry. " Pray for us," because prayer is one of the means, through which God has ordained, that all his bounties should be sought, and is a proper acknowledgment both of your depend- ance, and that He is the Author of every good, and perfect gift. Lastly. " Pray for us,'' because sincere and earnest prayer will naturally dispose you to a sincere and earnest co-operation with us in our important work. He who sincerely prays for God's grace upon his ministers, he will not be anxious to scan their faults and search out their weaknesses ; he will have in view other and higher objects ; he will be intent upon the attainment of the momentous pur- poses for which the " ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God," were ap- pointed : he will regard with respect and af- fection, the messengers that Jesus has sent before him, to " prepare his way." He will remember the awful account", which both the ' Ezekiel xxxiii. 7 — 9. 64 SERMON III. minister and the congregation must one day give ; and he will, with all his heart, aim at assisting him in the discharge of his office ; and will feelingly join him in the important petitions, which the Church has this day set before us. " O Lord Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee ; grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; that at thy second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight ; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.^' SERMON IV. ON THE COLLECT FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. PHIL. IV. 5, 6. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing hy 'prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Some expositors have interpreted this phrase, " the Lord is at hand/^ as having reference to our Saviour's coming in judgment \ From * Dean Stanhope, after noticing that some understand by this phrase, that " God is always present with us, a strict observer of our actions, a ready help," &c. proceeds thus : — " Others, perhaps more agreeably to the Apostle's intent, in- terpret this of Christ's coming to judgment : and, if we con- sider that particular judgment which each of us undergoes at the day of his death, which determines that state of our ac- counts wherein the general judgment will certainly find us; in this sense it is evident to demonstration, that ' the Lord is at hand,' and his coming cannot be at any great distance from any man whatsoever." Grotius upon this passage, remarks — " So the Apostles thought ;" — " tacitly insinuating," says Whitby, " that they F 6« SERMON IV. the shortness and uncertainty of human hfe, and from the consideration that, when our were mistaken in this matter." Whitby very ably repels this insinuation, and shews that all the passages in which the apos- tles appear to describe the day of judgment as " at hand," are to be interpreted as having reference to Christ's coming in power, to punish the contumacy of the Jews by the awful de- struction of their temple and city. Among these passages he classes that in the text — " the Lord is at hand." For my own part, (notwithstanding the many commentators who have applied this passage to Christ's coming either in judgment or to the destruction of Jerusalem), I confess myself, with all deference to these authorities, unable to com- prehend the necessity of interpreting it with reference to either the one or the other of these events. St. Paul in this part of his Epistleis consoling and encouraging his Philippian converts : he is exhorting them to cheerfulness, to resigna- nation, and confidence ; to cast off all anxious cares : (/i») fiEpifivuTe. vide also Matt. vi. 25.) to " let their requests be made known to God," " who careth" for them. What is the ground on which he builds his recommendation of all these dispositions and consolations ? It is, that " the Lord is at hand :" the Lord, who has promised to be " with us to the end of the world ;" the Lord our helper, supporter, and protector. The coming of the Lord to punish the JewSy furnishes but a slender argument for Christian joy ; for resignation, confi- dence, and reliance, compared with those derivable from the consideration, that the Lord is at hand, to help and support us. Indeed, Whitby himself seems to be pressed with the necessity of using the passage in this sense ; or at least he supplies this very sense, in order to make it harmonise with the context, when he gives a paraphrase of it, in his comments on the word " Moderation." The following extract appears to prove this. " For," saith the Apostle, (verse 4.) " though you are sufferers with me for the sake of Christ, yet rejoice always ; and verse 6. ^n fiepifivdn, be not anxious about any temporal FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 67 life is finished, out allotted period of trial is closed, and consequently our account, as it were, finally made up for judgment ; from the consideration of these circumstances it is ar- gued, that our judge may be always said to be " at hand;" no man knows how nearly he is so to him ; no man knows when the aw- ful and universal summons may arrive. To every man it may, therefore, be truly said, ^* The Lord is at hand." It is by no means my intention to main- tain that the above phrase is incapable of this construction : or that, from this sense of it, most important reflections and motives to diligence in our spiritual concerns, may not be derived. Every thinking man must be concerns, or events ; let not either your care for them, or fear of losing them, distract your spirits ; but let your ' modera- tion,' as to these things, ' be known unto all men ;' verse 5. ' for the Lord is at hand," — to protect, preserve, support you, and to reward your patience and resignation as to these affairs." Whitby on New Test. vol. ii. p. 386. sixth edit, folio. Pyle, too, though he adopts the interpretation, that the " judge is not far off, who will take vengeance upon your furious adversaries, and reward your Christian patience," yet seems to find that the words which follow can be well recon- ciled with the bent of the Apostle's exhortation only by sup- plying in the next verse, (without any word there to convey it) the very sense of the phrase for which I contend. " Be not anxiously careful," &c. " and he will not fail to comfort and support you." And his whole paraphrase of the seventh verse follows up this idea. , 68 SERMON IV. sensible that he is indeed hourly in danger of being called from this state of trial ; and the consciousness that " the Lord is'' thus " at hand," must suggest reasons and motives to exertion, most urgent and impressive. But this does not appear to me to be the sense in which St. Paul employs it, in the passage taken for our text, and forming a portion of the Epistle appointed for this day. This construction does not agree with the context ; it does not harmonise with the tenor of the Apostle's exhortations, which precede and follow it. I cannot but regard the phrase as intended by the Apostle, to describe the Lord as " at hand," not as our Judge, but to protect us from all dangers, to assist us in all difficulties, and to make " all things work together for good to them that love him." In the preceding verse he says, " Rejoice in the Lord always ; again I say, rejoice." Now it is in perfect unison with this exhortation to remind the Philippians, that the Lord, their helper and protector, is at hand ; but it is to be apprehended, that in the Church at Phi- lippi, as well as at the present day, few would have been found who would not have dis- covered grounds for vigilance at least, if not for alarm, rather than for rejoicing, in the consideration, that our Judge is at hand. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 69 Immediately after this observation too, that " the Lord is at hand," he adds, " Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and supphcation with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God/' This, surely, is consonant with the notion, that " the Lord is at hand" as our helper and protector. The Apostle tells the Philippians, that their help is at hand; and therefore^ ex- horts them not to be over-anxious for any thing ; not to be depressed, desponding, or discontented, but to cast themselves upon him, to trust in him, and to pray to him, " with thanksgivings" in all their distresses and ne- cessities. The only expressions of the Apostle which appear at all to sanction the idea, that he meant by the passage to allude to our Sa- viour's coming in judgment, are, " Let your moderation be known unto all men^" Here it niight seem, that to enforce obedience to his injunction, he might remind them that their Judge is at hand ; or to induce them to subdue their anger against their persecutors, he might urge that the Judge is at hand, who '' Pyle and others connect the words, " The Lord is at hand," with, " Let your moderation," &c. But surely they may be with equal propriety referred to, " Be careful for nothing," See. fb SERMON IV. will punish the oppressor, and render to all according to their deeds. But if we examine the full signification of the word'' here rendered " moderation/' even this part of our Apostle's exhortation will admit, (I may almost say require) that interpretation of the phrase, " the Lord is at hand,'' which I have been striving to establish. For the word* here translated " moderation," signifies literally a z To ivuiKig. Vide also Whitby on this word. * Whitby, considering the words, " the Lord is at hand," as designating the awful visitation upon Jerusalem, gives the fol- lowing sense of iTruiKig. " Moderation. Your meekness and patience under all your trials." And he adduces James v. 8. " Be patient, for the coming of the Lord is at hand ;" and also Heb. X. 36, 37. : both unquestionably referring to the above- named visitation. But it is material to the present question to notice the Greek words rendered " patience" in these pas- sages : fiaKpoOvfiea) /laicjooc Oviiog, long courage or fortitude, the not fainting* — viroyLovri, remainingunAsx — continued endurance. Both these terms are obviously and exactly calculated to de- signate the necessary disposition of mind for enabling men to persevere in patiently sustaining persecution, with a view to a future event — to his coming who was to avenge them of their persecutors. They both express continued endurance. But inuiKlg, a yielding to, appears to designate meekness, resigna- tion — a disposition to acquiesce in circumstances, to be re- signed under afflictions, to yield to some superior : and in the passage before us, this disposition is to be encouraged by the consideration, that " the Lord is at hand," to protect and to help us ; that we are in his keeping who " careth for us," and maketh " all things to work together for good to them that love him." * 2 Cor. iv. 1. and 16. Ephes. iii. 12, 13. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 71 yielding'' disposition, resignation, patience, meekness. The exhortation, therefore, of the Apostle, may be thus paraphrased. Rejoice in the Lord always : I exhort you, again and again, to " rejoice and be cheerful under the hopes and privileges of your Christian profes- sion ^ Rejoice in the Lord always, at all times, and in all situations, whether adverse or prosperous. " Let your moderation be known unto all men.'^ Let all men see your moderate, meek, yielding disposition ; patient under persecutions, resigned in afflictions, con- tented and submissive to the will of God under all circumstances. Remember, " the Lord is at hand ;'' your best friend, your wisest coun- sellor, your most powerful protector. There- fore, " be careful for nothing :'^ be not over so- licitous either respecting what may happen to you, or concerning your wants, your necessi- ties, or your sufferings. Trust in God in all things, whether spiritual or temporal ; by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, with unqualified submission to his dispensa- tions, full reliance on his mercy and wisdom, " let your requests be made known unto God.'' This, to my apprehension, is the most natural and consistent interpretation of the Apostle's arguments ; and, conformably with this, the * Vide Parkhurst and Whitby. ^ Pyle. 72 SERMON IV. compilers of our Liturgy appear to have un- derstood the words, " The Lord is at hand*^ {' when they place them before us in conjunction with the collect for the fourth Sunday in Advent. For, in that collect, though it forms a step in our preparation, to celebrate and to rejoice in the coming of our Redeemer, they warn us of the depressing, but certain fact, that our nature is corrupt, our wills are per- verse ; that, by indulgence in vice, we are continually raising fresh impediments in our spiritual course ; that " through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us.'' Now, what is the hope and consolation with which they present us under this depress- ing and discouraging recollection ? Would it be any consolation, would it accord with the animating, and at this season, 'peculiarly appropriate call of the Apostle, " Rejoice in the Lord ;' would it help to place us in a d I am thoroughly sensible that the phrase, " The Lord is at hand," (tyyc) is not generally used in the New Testament in the sense in which I have interpreted it in the passage be- fore us. But the following passage, (Jer. xxiii. 23.) appears to sanction this interpretation. " Am I a God at hand, (fftoff f-yyi^wi/) and not a God afar off?" See also Psalm cxlv. 18. " The Lord is nigh {eyyvQ Kvpiog) unto all them that call upon him." This is referred to by Schleusner, who interprets the passage in the sense here contended for, as does also Macknight. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 73 frame of mind to rejoice, in celebrating the advent of Christ, if we were reminded that we are " sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us/' and warned, at the same time, that " the Lord is at hand" to judge us ? Surely not ! But, while they ex- cite us to diligence and exertion, by remind- ing us of the impediments which obstruct our course, our judicious guides also cheer and encourage us by the assurance, that " the Lord is at hand," to succour us ; they turn our thoughts to him who stood among the Jews% though they knew him not ; to him who baptized with " the Holy Ghost and with fireV With faith, therefore, in his promises, they direct us to have recourse to God, as the Apostle enjoins, " in prayer and supplication," to entreat that he " will raise up his power, and come among us, and, with great might, succour us ; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us," his " bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us, through the satisfaction of Jesus Christ." Regarding this prayer in the point of view in which we considered the collects for the preceding Sundays in Advent, as successive * Vide Gospel for the day. ' Liike iii. 16. 74 SERMON IV, and connected stages of our preparation to celebrate the coming of our Redeemer, it will not be found less consistent than the rest with the purposes at which we aim. We prayed last Sunday for God's blessing and assistance for his ministers ; we now implore them for the whole congregation. They have each their respective parts to perform, and each must fail in the performance, imless " God he with" them. The Church, therefore, while it directs us to offer up this petition, reminds us of the wholesome truth, teaches us to make the sa- lutary confession that, through our sins and wickedness, " we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us.'' I say a wholesome truth, a salutary confession, because it is of essential importance that we should be impressed with a sense of the diffi- culties and impediments created by our sins, and of our incapacity to overcome them with- out Divine assistance. And it is equally es- sential, that we should humbly acknowledge this. A sense, indeed, of the hindrance caused " by our sins and wickedness," is absolutely necessary to excite our diligence, and our persevering exertions to remove it. A con- sciousness of the inadequacy of that diligence and of those exertions, without the Divine as- sistance, must precede anv sincere prayer v/ FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 75 that " God will raise up his power, and come among us :" and, a confession of both these de- ficiencies, is a natural movement of the humble soul which feels them ; a just and expected tri- bute to the gracious Being who remedies them. And who, my brethren, will not confess these things ? Who will gainsay the Apostle, when he tells us, " if we say that we have na sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us^?'^ Who will say that he sinneth not? And who can be ignorant that every sin he commits, increases the power of the "flesh to lust against the spirit V Who knows not, that unless we were daily renewed by the Spirit, sin would gain the dominion over us ; that unless the Lord were " at hand,'' and did speedily help and deliver us, our sins, like a wreathed snake'', would "let and hinder'' us in our race, and finally cast us down and de- stroy us ? Impressed with a due sense of these things, we shall sincerely pray that the Almighty will " raise up his power, and come among us, and with great might, succour us;" we shall heartily " rejoice" that " the Lord is at hand :" we shall " be careful for nothing/' But though the Lord be at hand ; though « 1 John i. 8. '' " Corripiunt, spirisque ligant ingentibus." — Virg. \' 76 SERMON IV. we be careful for nothing ; wc must be cau- tious not to extend the encouragement given us by the Apostle beyond the proper limits. He says indeed, " be careful for nothing/' be not over-anxious ; but he does not here or elsewhere, (I have before pressed, and cannot too strongly press this upon your notice) ; he does not countenance supineness and inac- tivity in our spiritual concerns. He does not authorize us merely to " make known our re- quests unto God," and then to take no far- ther trouble in " working out our salvation." No. This would be in positive contradiction to the whole tenor of the religion which he preached, and to his own exhortations in various other parts of his writings. We are taught that we must strive for the mastery ; that the race that is set before us must be run ; that we have impediments to obstruct us, and very formidable impediments ; we are taught too that in our difficulties and distresses we may make " known our requests to God, by prayer and supplication." But they must be such requests as are sanctioned by the Scriptures : not the requests of the idle and supine, who will do nothing for him- self; but of the diligent and sincere behever, who exerts himself to the utmost in his Chris- tian calling, and who knowing liis weakness ^-^ FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 77 and imperfections, entreats the Almighty to succour him — not to dispense with his efforts, but rather to quicken them to excite his will, to enlarge his powers, and to supply his de- ficiencies. Without such views and resolu- tions, prayer for the assistance of God's holy Spirit would be nugatory, or worse than nu- gatory. For were the gift conferred, and like the talent in the parable, wrapt in a napkin, and hid, we should only have received the grace of God in vain, and be liable to greater condemnation. Sensible of the importance of this gift, and of what will be expected from us by the Giver, " let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith'/' With these sentiments on the subject of our prayer, let us now close these sermons, by taking a brief and connected retrospect of the several petitions we have offered up on each of the Sundays preparatory to the cele- brating of our Lord's Advent. Let us observe what particulars are requisite to make these petitions effectual; to cause our requests so to be made known unto God, that " the peace of God, which passeth all understand- ' Heb. xii. 1. \ 78 SERMON IV. ing," may " keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'." We are enjoined in the rubric to repeat the collect for the first Sunday, together with each of the succeeding Sundays in Advent. And one reason'' for this direction I conceive to be, that in this collect we pray generally for the important objects, to which the peti- tions of all the other collects have reference, and are, in fact, subservient. We pray for God's grace to enable us to " cast off the works of darkness, and put upon us the ar- mour of light ;" and those things for which we pray, in the three following collects, are so many means, all tending to the accom" plishment of these importajit objects. For, if we pray, that we may duly and pro- fitably read the " holy Scriptures ;" that God's blessing may be on his " ministers" to enable them to explain, and enforce this word ; and that the impediments occasioned by our sins, and wickedness may be removed ; what are the ultimate purposes, for which this knowledge, these graces, and this assistance are implored ? Are they not, that we may cast J Phil. iv. 7. '' I am not aware that any commentator supports me in this conjecture, but, as I have not advanced it with any fondness for novelty, so I trust I shall not be harshly charged with pre- sumption in maintaining it. 12 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 79 off the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light ; now in the time of this mortal life, in which Christ came to visit us in great humility ; and that, in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious ma- jesty to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise through him to the life immortal? Now bear in mind these leading purposes, while we recapitulate, and sum up the peti- tions we have made on the four Sundays in Advent. Consider well, the duties, which, placed in this point of view, they suggest ; consider, and remember what should be your conduct to render these petitions effectual; not mere formalities ; a solemn, and senseless modiery of your all-seeing and almighty Judge. I. You pray, then, in the first place, to be able to " cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light ;'^ remembering, that he, in whose service you are so to do, came to visit us in great humility ; and will come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and dead. If your heart be with your lips in this prayer ; need I say, reflect often, reflect deeply upon this humility. Contemplate with the warmest affection him ; " who did humble himself even to the death upon the cross, for us, miserable sinners, who 80 SERMON IV. lay in darkness and tlie shadow of death ; that he might make us children ol" God, and exalt us to everlasting life'." Meditate also on the object of his second coming, to judge the world in righteousness. Let the united influence of gratitude and fear arising from both these considerations ani- mate your hearts, and regulate your conduct ; render you earnest, and sincere in your en- deavours, anxious to avail yourselves of all means and to embrace all opportunities, of " casting away the works of darkness, and putting on the armour of light." As means conducing to these ends you pray, II. Secondly, That you may have grace, " to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" those holy Scriptures which have been " written for our learning.'^ So read them, then, as men really desirous to cast away the works of darkness, and to put upon you the armour of light; to " embrace," and to " hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which" has been " oriven us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.^' You are to read them, then (as we have al- ready shew^n) not to cavil and object, but to learn, and to obey ; not to exhibit your own acuteness, or to gratify your conceit ; but to admire, and adore the infinite wisdom of God ; ' Exliortation in Communion Service. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 81 and to know your own ignorance and little- ness ; not to pry into what is not revealed ; but to receive with faith and humility what is revealed. You are to read them, not to scoff, but to reverence ; not to speculate, but to act ; not merely to learn your duty, but to do it. Unless vou read with these intentions, vainly do you hless the Lord, who has " caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.'' You bless him with your lips, but your hearts are " far from him." You know neither the value, nor the use of the gift, for which you bless him. Vainly, also do you pray him to grant you may so " read, learn, mark, and inwardly digest,*' those Scriptures, as to embrace and hold fast the hope of ever- lasting life. They will not thus assist you to " cast away the works of darkness and put upon you the armour of light" in this mortal life : neither will they, when Christ shall come " to judge the quick, and dead,'' have conducted you to the " life immortal.^' III. You pray our " Lord Jesus Christ," to " grant" that his ministers may so prepare and make ready his " way," by turning the hearts of the " disobedient to the wisdom of the just," that " at his second coming to judge the world, we may be found an accept- G S2 SERMON IV. able people in his sight/' If then this prayer is offered with sincerity, you will be in a frame of mind, to profit by our Saviour's caution, " Take heed how ye hear""/' You will re- collect how much must necessarily depend upon the disposition and attention ^ with w^hich these ministers are heard. The word, when preached by the Apostles, " with great power," with signs, and wonders — nay, even when preached by our blessed Lord himself; was not always successful, but produced fruit ac- cording to the soil on which it fell ; accord- ingly as the hearts and affections of the hearers were more or less disposed to receive it. We have the advantage of only the or- dinary gihs of the Spirit; of those gifts which, with the proper exertion of our and your abi- lities, and means, are sufficient to enable us to fulfil the important purposes of our calling. We preach not as our Saviour did, working miracles to confirm the w^ord — we have not the extraordinary gifts which were conferred on the Apostles, we preach not " in demon- stration of the Spirit and in power"." Our pretensions are far more humble, our infirmi- ties greater than theirs. How, then, can it be expected that our preaching should avail, unless seconded by your efforts and co-opera- "Luke viii. IS. "1 Cor. ii. 4. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 83 tion ? If then, I say, you are in earnest in your prayer for God's ministers, you will " take heed how ye hear." Hear us with deference, with allowance, with attention, and with sincerity. Endeavour to regard with a favourable disposition, and with respect, at least, the sacred office which we hold. Cherish these sentiments in your own hearts. Do nothing, sai/ nothing, which may tend to weaken them in the hearts of others. Hear us, not to cavil, or to sneer. Hear us, not merely to criticise our discourses. Examine them if you please, (you cannot examine them too closely) ex- amine and compare them with the Scriptures. But examine and compare them for these ends, and with these intentions ; not eager to detect, and publish our trivial mistakes; but anxious to prove whether we teach sound doc- trine ; and determined, if we shall have spoken the word of God in truth, forthwith to com- ply with our exhortations, and to practise the duties we recommend. Unless you thus hear us, our preaching will be but as the " wind \' your prayer for God's blessing an empty formality, an unmeaning mockery. He, who sent his messenger be- fore him to prepare his way, he will not consider those as an " acceptable people,'' who G 2 84 SERMON IV. despise his ministers, and refuse to receive from the " stewards of his mysteries," that in- struction, which will make them wise unto sal- vation. They that dishonour him in the persons of his earthly messengers ; how can they expect to be received by him into glory, when he shall come in his glorious majesty, with the messengers of heaven, the holy angels. IV. You pray, lastly, to be delivered from the impediments caused by our " sins and wickedness \' which embarrass and retard us, " in running the race that is set before us.'* What should be your conduct then, as men, who honestly and feelingly offer up this peti- tion? Surely, to abhor and detest those sins which " hinder you ; " to set yourselves ear- nestly to co7Tect them ; to examine yourselves diligently; to observe the sin that doth most easily beset you; to detect your favourite weakness ; to avoid as much as possible all opportunities, all temptations to wickedness ; in short, to form the necessary resolutions, and to adopt the necessary measures for " lay- ing aside every weight,^' and for enabling us to " run with patience the race that is set be- fore us.*' You urge, moreover, your prayer, for deliverance from the impediments caused bysm, upon the plea of the '''satisfaction'' of FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 85 Jesus Christ. Now what is your prayer, but an act of rank hypocrisy, if you have no faith in that satisfaction, and if you have not a " thankful remembrance of his death,^" who is the propitiation for your sins, and for the sins of the whole world. Therefore, to act con- sistently with your prayer, you must not only " with patience run the race that is set before you f but you must run this race, " Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith ; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.^' Your sentiments and your practice must correspond with your prayers, or the homage you oifer must obviously be the homage only of the lips, not of the heart; and will inevitably be treated as such by the great Being to whom it is addressed. But if your prayers, in all the cases we have enumerated, have been offered with sin- cerity ; if you are, with these feelings and dis- positions, endeavouring to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, in order to celebrate the advent of the Re- deemer ; what should cause you, on that day, to be absent from the holy table ? The prayer for the grace of God, the cast- ing away the works of darkness, and putting 86 SERMON IV. on the armotcr of light ; the doing these things with faith in Christ Jesus, and with a thankful remembrance of his death : all this is the sum and substance of the preparation required for the due participation of the Lord's Supper ? Why? then, refuse the invitation ? You are enjoined to partake of it by those very " Scriptures," to read which with profit and sincerity, you profess to have prayed. You are bidden to it by those " ministers of Christ, and stewards of God's mysteries,^' upon whose preaching you have implored his blessing. You celebrate in it the sacrifice of that Re- deemer, by whotn " satisfaction" has been made for your sins ; you receive in it the ^^ pledges of his love;" you are admitted in it to the " holy mysteries" " ordained'' by him, through whom alone you can expect de- liverance from those sins, and before whom you must all stand, " when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge the quick and dead." The many frivolous excuses which are set up against claims and obliga- tions, such as these, it is no part of my pre- sent subject to consider. They have been elsewhere discussed". I shall content myself with reminding you, in a few words, that it is • See Sermon XII. FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 87 the command of your Master, the desire of your Redeemer; i/oz^r hounden duty and ser- vice. To use the earnest and energetic lan- guage of the second invitation to the com- munion, "I for my part shall be ready, and according to mine office, I bid you in the name of God ; I call you in Christ's behalf; I exhort you, as you love your own salvation, that ye will be partakers of this holy com- munion." See then, my brethren, that you do your duty — that you slight not the call. Partake of the Lord's Supper, divested of " the works of darkness,'' clothed " in the armour of light." Thus may we all " embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life ;" thus be found " an acceptable people" in God's sight ; thus be delivered from the hind- rance, and the consequences of our " sins and wickedness :" and thus, finally, " rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and ever." SERMON V. ON REGENERATION. A SERMON FOR CHRISTMAS DAY. JOHN III. 5. Jesus ansxvered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of ivater and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The collect for the day, appropriated to the commemoration of our Redeemer's birth, suggests to us the recollection of our spiri- tual birth, which takes place when, by bap- tism, we are admitted into his Church, and is one great result of his being " bom of a pure virgin.'^ But the petition which suc- ceeds the affirmation of our " being regene- rate,'' or born again, intimates the nature of our Christian life ; t'hat, though regenerate, we require to be " daily renewed by the Holy Spirit, co-operating with our " diligence, to ON REGENERATION. 89 make our calling and election sure''/' This collect speaks conformably to the sense of the Church, expressed in the ninth article. " And this infection doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated. '^ It intimates the prevalence of temptation, the responsibility of trial, the necessity of our being continually renewed by the Holy Spirit ; without which, neither our privileges nor our exertions, will enable us to attain eternal life. Regeneration, then, places us in a state of salvation, from which we may fall, but shall not fall, unless from our abuse or neglect of the advantages which it confers upon us. And, according to the majority of the Clergy of the Established Church, regene- ration is set forth by her as the spiritual grace of baptism. But the maintainers*^ of the P 2 Pet. i. 10. How this passage is to be reconciled with the tenet of indefectible grace, let any man consider. The Apostle addresses " them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God, and our Sa- viour Jesus Christ." (ver. 1.) He mentions the effects which the " divine power" has produced in them, and says, ** Beside this, giving all dihgence, add to your faith virtue," &c. (ver. 5.) " But," he continues, " he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather brethren give dili- gence to make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall," &o» 1 I allude more particularly to those Clergy of the Estab- lished Church, who preach doctrines which appear loaded with all the consequences of Calvin's system, and who yet exclaim 90 SERMON V. tenets of Calvin, have of late years, with peculiar zeal, endeavoured to controvert this opinion, and have advanced a very different doctrine respecting both the time and the effects of regeneration. All parties are agreed that regeneration is necessary to our entering into the kingdom of God — that it is the gift of God, and the work of the Spirit. The chief points in which we are at issue with Calvinists, may be seen in the following brief statement of our respective opinions '. We affirm, that every person, who is ad- mitted to Christ's Church, by baptism, rightly against the injustice of their being branded with the name of Calvinists. Till some less subtle distinctions than they have yet been able to exhibit, between their tenets and those of the Apostle, of irrespective election, shall have been established, they must expect, that men less versed in scholastic niceties, should denominate them according to the more obvious ten- dency of their doctrines, whether they may choose to term themselves evangelical, or quocimque nomine gaudeant. In applying to them the name of Calvinists, I do not use it as a term of reproach, but as really, to my apprehension, describing the character of their doctrines. I am ready to bear testi- mony that, though I cannot concur with them upon these points, they are characterised as active and zealous ministers, and as men whose very practice could not be enforced by sound reasoning upon the principle, that their salvation is the certain result of their regeneration. Some, I am aware, admit this ; but others do not : and those by no means, (if we may take the evidence of the late Rector of Aston Sandford) an inconsiderable portion. ' See this more particularly stated in the Appendix. ON REGENERATION. 91 administered, is "born again/' or in other words, that on his admission to the Christian Covenant, through the rite ordained by Christ himself, he participates in the privileges of that Covenant, his spiritual life commences, his sins, original or actual, are remitted, he has the earnest of the Spirit, he has the means of growing in grace, he may attain to the highest rewards of Christ's kingdom, by a proper use of his advantages, and yet without this use, he may fall short of his reward and perish. The Calvinist maintains that regeneration is not annexed to baptism, nor conferred upon every Christian, but that the time of its being granted is indefinite, and that it is the special gift of God to certain individuals irrespec- tively elected; that without it every man, though outwardly a member of the Church, is an entire mass of corruption, and has no power either to do, or will any good thing; that though this man can neither do any thing to deserve regeneration; nor has any power to obtain it, (it being the immediate and irrespective gift of God) yet he is consigned to eternal punishment, for guilt which he cannot avoid, because he happens not to be one of the elect ; that regeneration is granted 13 92 SERMON V. only to the elect, and that the regenerate cannot lose the eternal inheritance '. How these latter opinions accord with the prevailing language of Scripture, setting forth every where exhortations and cautions, pro- mises and threats, rewards and punishments, or how they harmonize with the Scriptural descriptions of the Divine Attributes of jus- tice and mercy, let every one attentively con- sider. Let him before he receives to his creed a system which contradicts the general tenor of the Scripture, and makes the Deity at once the author and the punisher of sin, let him demand the clearest evidence, that such a doctrine is contained in Scripture. Let it not be collected by laboured and sophistical deductions, or by dragging distant texts toge- ther, and interpreting them in a sense entirely different from the sense in which they appear in their proper place, in connexion with the con- text, and when considered with reference to the design of the writers, and to the circum- stances of those to whom they were immedi- ately addressed. It will not consist with the limits of a dis- course to point out the sophistries by which the * On this point a difference of opinion prevails, as I have before hinted, anaong those, who are agreed upon the other tenets just enumerated. ON REGENERATION. 93 several texts of Scripture have been misin- terpreted to uphold this doctrine ; nor can I even pretend, in these limits, to consider all those passages' on which the Church founds her doctrine of baptismal regeneration. I shall rather principally endeavour to prove the countenance which this doctrince receives from the text, and to shew that our Saviour therein represents Baptism as a rite of impor- tance, adequate to the solemnity with which he finally established it as the initiatory rite of his religion. Previously, however, to my entering upon the Scriptural arguments in support of this doctrine, it may be expected that I should not assume, that it is the doctrine of our Church", * In the Appendix a few texts are considered, which appear to be much reh'ed upon by those, who deny baptismal rege- neration. The remarks upon them are loosely thrown together, being merely extracts from notes, which the writer of these Sermons had collected, with an intention of taking a general view of this controversy. A perusal of Bishop Bethell's work, however, shewed him, there was little or nothing left to be said upon the subject. Some will perhaps smile at the idea of beginning to collect materials on such a subject, without hav- ing seen this comprehensive treatise. But they should remem- ber, that a country curate has not ready means of access to modern books, and is not much in the way of hearing the cha- racter, and contents of the literary productions of the day. " I shall however offer a few observations on the collect for this day. Its obvious import would, I am persuaded, lead any unbiassed man, to understand that the congregation are 94 SERMON V. but offer some proofs of its being so. But upon this head, in my opinion, httle need be therein taught to speak of themselves as already regeneratCj and to pray that they might daily he renewed. Some passages, however, have been set forth, in which the word " being," coupled with other terms, is used prospectively, and, it is argued, may therefore in the phrase, " being regenerate," by analogy be construed in the same sense. The utmost, tliat these passages could prove (even were the language of our baptismal offices less explicit) would be, that " being" does not necessarily refer to the past. However, a passage may be adduced, which incontrovertibly decides the sense of the Church in the phrase " being regenerate," or " born again." In the office for the public baptism of infants, the third collect, (which is then offered before baptism) has these words ; *' Giv^ thy Holy Spirit to this infant, that he may be born again, and made an heir of everlasting salvation." In the office for the private baptism of infants, the same collect is appointed to be used, but with a very remarkable alteration in the above pas- sage, because here the collect is used after baptism. Instead of praying, that the child " may be born again," we are now to pray that '* being born again he may continue," 8{c. It is the same collect, with the alteration of these words to adapt it to the change, which has taken place in the situation of the child. If words can make any thing intelligible, the framers of our offices use the words, " being regenerate," in a past sense, and distinctly teach us to pray for the Holy Spirit after baptism, that " being born again, he may continue thy servant," &c. In like manner, in the collect for Christmas-day, every baptized person is directed, to pray that, " we, being regenerate," &c. " may daily be renewed," to enable us to continue God's servants, and attain his promises. The Bishop of Winchester, in his refutation of Calvinism, (page 95) has given an important caution to students in divi- nity respecting the extended and less accurate sense, in which some writers, whose tenets were not Calvinistic, have used the ON REGENERATION. ^ urged. Let any impartial man only read the offices for baptism and confirmation, and ask himself whether, according to the plain tenor of them, the Church does not consider regene- ration as accompanying baptism rightly ad- ministered. After having attentively con- sidered the attempts which have been made term regeneration. This incautious application of the word has probably led our excellent Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, to denominate the collect for Christmas-day, a prayer for regeneration. It appears, howevei-, to be rather a prayer for renovation; and that our liturgy and articles, plainly speak of baptism as the means of regeneration, has been demonstrated by Dr. Laurence, in his Bampton Lectures, and particularly in his two tracts ; in the latter of which, the Rev. John Scott is exhibited in a most disastrous attempt to enter the lists against Dr. L. The late Rev. Thomas Scott, indeed, adverting to these tracts, has the following observation, •* Nay, I think he. Dr. Laurence, has, on his principles, acted judiciously : for some- thing plausible (though not convincing) may be advanced, in support of his doctrine, from the words of our forms skilfully managed." Now I cannot, for my part, see any skill requisite, to dis- cover, that the Church refers to a benefit already received, when she teaches the Minister to say, " seeing that this child is regenerate, let us give thanks," and also, accordingly directs the congregation to return thanks " that it Jmth pleased him to regenerate," &c. To prove the contrary does, according to the common mode of interpretation, seem to require some skill, and I think more skill, than falls to the share of any man, who cannot prove that black is white. The term plausible, appears to me applicable to Dr. L.'s work, in almost the same degree, as it is to one of Euclid's axioms. If any man can doubt the sense of our Church let him read that plausible work. 96 SERMON V. to explain away the clear and obvious sense of these formularies of our Church, the im- pression produced upon my mind has been, that they must have come to the consideration of the question with a very strong bias upon their mind, who could expect their cause to be supported by the distortion of the perspicuous, simple and forcible language in which the com- pilers of our liturgy have there expressed them- selves. The following observations of Bp. Marsh, will, I think, harmonize with the con- clusions of any man, who reads the offices of baptism with no other view, than that of seek- ing their obvious meaning. " There is no possible artifice, by which the words of our baptismal services can be distorted from their real meaning. In the words of our public baptism of infants, the priest thus addresses the congregation, im- mediately after the baptism is completed. ' Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is by baptism regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's church, &c.' And the thanksgiving, which immediately follows, begins thus, ' We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit.' Unless therefore the expression, ' it hath pleased God to regenerate' is syno- nymous with the expression, ' it shall please ON REGENERATION. 97 God to regenerate/ unless the past is the same with the, future^ it is impossible to deny, that they, who wilfully and deliberately detach regeneration from baptism, impugn it in one of our Holy Sacramejits ""." Let us now proceed to the consideration of our text. Upon comparing the two verses, in which the phrases, " born again,'' and " born of water and of the Spirit,'" occur, we shall dis- cover strong indications, that our Saviour spoke of " being born of water and of the Spirit as connected, and contemporaneous events, that is to say, contemporaneous in the degree of cause, and effect^. For " born of * Marsh's Lectures, Part 1st. Lecture xix. p. 12. ^ It may be thought barely necessary to guard that expres- sion ; but such captious advantages have been taken in this controversy, that it may be as well to state, that I do not mean to speak of water as the efficient cause of regeneration, but merely as the appointed means of its conveyance. I ob- serve in Scott's remarks upon the Refutation of Calvinism, several attempts to affix this error upon the Bishop of Win- chester. No man whose candour is not affected by the eager- ness of controversy, can read his lordship's work and seriously believe that he attributes regeneration to water as the efficient cause, or in other words to the opus operatum. With what degree of fairness it has been attempted to charge his lordship with this doctrine, let the following extract from his work declare. " Regeneration, then, in its true sense, signifies an inward effect produced by the Holy Ghost, through the means of bap- H 98 SERMON V. water, and of the Spirit/' is evidently expla- natory of " born again/' But when our Sa- viour says, " Except a man he horn again he cannot see the kingdom of God/' his words apparently express one qualification for seeing " the kingdom of God," without inti- mating any disjunctioii of the constituent parts of this qualification. Observing, that this is not sufficiently explicit, he describes the same qualification, by its constituent parts, " bom of water, and of the Spirit ;" but still without the slighest intimation of their disjunction. And what grounds are there in this case to presume, that the two things thus joined together in our Saviour's declaration, are to be separated in fact, or that one of them is not ordinarily essential to being " born again?" When, therefore, our Lord informs Nicodemus that " except a ma7i be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," he cannot certainly, according to the obvious interpretation of his words, be under- stood, as describing two essentials to a man's seeing the kingdom of God, which do not, ordinarily, take place at the same time, and of which he may receive one, without " seeing" tism 'rightly received,' whereby the person baptized ex- changes his natural state in Adam for a spiritual state in Christ."— i?e/Mta Matt. xxii. 21. ' Romans xiii. 1 . ON THE KING'S ACCESSION, 151 duty, claimed by, and acceptable to the Lord Jesus. " Submit yourselves to every ordi- nance of man for the Lord's sake ; whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well/' In the present discourse upon the duty thus recommended, I shall adopt the follow- ing divisions of the subject. I. I shall endeavour to point out the im- mediate occasion and the scope of the ex- hortation in the text. IL I shall discuss the nature of the obe- dience due to government, and the benefits which result from it. in. And thirdly, shall suggest some max- ims and considerations, which may tend to cause our obedience to be rendered not only dutifully, but also cheerfully. I. First, then, we are to point out the im- mediate occasion to which the Apostle's re- marks appear to have been directed. It is well known to every person at all con- versant with the history of those times, that many of the Jews entertained notions upon the subject of submission to their rulers, wholly incompatible with the existence of 152 SERMON VIII. the then estabHshed governments'. These opinions frequently led wild and enthusiastic men to acts of outrage and violence, which usually ended in disturbing the peace of so- ciety, and in their own destruction. It might be reasonably expected, that some of the Jewish converts to Christianity, still retaining the taint of these opinions, would wrest some of the exhortations of their teach- ers ; such, for instance, as, " Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free ;" to the encouragement and support of their favourite prejudice. Something of this kind appears to have taken place, and probably to have been accompanied by corresponding- deeds of insurrection and disturbance. The Apostle seems to be apprehensive, lest the mischievous opinions of these agitators should be attributed to the whole body of converts, and operate as an obstacle to the reception of Christ's religion among the Gentiles" . He » Both our Apostle and St. Paul, particularly in the 13th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, appear to have had in view the doctrines of Judas the Gaulonite, as he was termed. See Josephus' Jewish Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 1 . It appears to me that, by considering this to be one immediate object of St. Paul's argument, it may easily be reconciled with the doctrine of St. Peter in the text. * Gal. V. 1. ; see also ver. 13. " Verse 12. ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 153 protests against any such doctrines, and in the most exphcit terms, enjoins them to " submit themselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake; whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well." He disclaims the application of any injunction of their teachers, to the political opinions and institutions of the day, and de- sires his followers to put an end, by their conduct, to this notion, set on foot by the ignorance of foolish men, who are unac- quainted with the spirit of Christ's religion. He tells them that, though they be " free in the Lord," they are not to " use their liberty as a cloke for mischief," but as servants of God. He distinctly intimates the same doc- trine which our Saviour himself, and St. Paul also, set forth — that the object of Christ's re- ligion was not to new-model, or to interfere with the institutions and o;overnments of the day. It left them as they were ; and gave the general rule of conduct to its professors, that governments were ordained by God, and that, for his honour, and (at that time especially J to remove an unjust stigma from his religion, ' Verse IG. KaXi'/J/ia kukiu^. 154 SERMON VIII. they should set an example of good order and submission, that thus " they should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men\'^ II. We are to consider the nature of the obedience due to our rulers, and the benefits which will result from it. As I have just observed, the Christian reli- gion avoids all direct interference^ with the * 1 Pet. ii. 15. y The reader will, I am sure, peruse with pleasure and ad- vantage the following quotation from Mr. Canning's speech, in which, with his usual eloquence and discrimination, he most ably comments upon the custom of dragging forward the name of religion as a stalking-horse in the discussion of party and political questions ; a custom entirely at variance with the spirit of the Scriptures, and the practice of the Apostles, and likely to bring discredit upon religion by promoting fanatical cant and pharisaical display. " God forbid that I should contend that the Christian reli- gion is favourable to slavery. But I confess, I feel a strong objection to the introduction of the name of Christianity, as it were bodily, into any parliamentary question. Religion ought to controul the acts and to regulate the consciences of government, as well as of individuals ; but when it is put for- ward to serve a political purpose, however laudable, it is done, I think, after the example of ill times, and I cannot but remember the ill objects to which in those times such a prac- tice was applied. Assuredly no Christian will deny that the spirit of the Christian religion is hostile to slavery, as it is to every abuse and misuse of power : it is hostile to all deviations from rectitude, morality and justice; but if it be meant that in the Christian religion there is a special denunciation against slavery, that slavery and Christianity cannot exist together, I think the honourable gentleman himself must admit that the proposition is historically false ; and again I must say, that I 12 ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 155 political and civil institutions of the time. We may perceive, at the same time, not only cannot consent to the confounding, for a political purpose, what is morally true, with what is historically false. One peculiar characteristic of the Christian dispensation, if I must venture in this place upon such a theme, is, that it has ac- commodated itself to all states of society, rather than that it has selected any particular state of society for the peculiar exercise of its influence. If it has added lustre to the sceptre of the sovereign, it has equally been the consolation of the slave. It applies to all ranks of life, to all conditions of men ; and the sufferings of this world, even to those upon whom they press most heavily, are rendered comparatively indifferent by the prospect of compensation in the world of which Chris- tianity affords the assurance ; true it certainly is, that Chris- tianity generally tends to elevate, not to degrade the character of man ; but it is not true, in the specific sense conveyed in the honourable gentleman's resolution, it is not true that there is that in the Christian religion which makes it impossible that it should co-exist with slavery in the world. Slavery has been known in all times, and under all systems of religion, whether true or false. When Christianity was introduced into the world, it took its root amidst the galling slavery of the Roman Empire ; more galling in many respects, (though not precisely of the same character,) than that of which th6 honourable gentleman, in common, I may say, with every friend of humanity, complains. Slavery at that period gave to the master the power of life and death over his bondsman : this is undeniable, known to every body : Ita servus homo est ! are the words put by Juvenal into the mouth of the fine lady who calls upon her husband to crucify his slave. If the evils of this dreadful system, nevertheless, gradually vanished before the gentle but certain influence of Christianity, and if the great author of the system trusted rather to this gradual operation of the principle than to any immediate or direct precept, I think parliament would do more wisely rather to rely upon the like operation of the same principle, than to put 156 SERMON VIII. the greatest delicacy in avoiding all direct in- terference with them, but also a peculiar care to induce individuals to fulfil the \ arious du- ties of every station of life, and to pay their governors and superiors every tribute, which the existing regulations of society have em- powered them to require. And our Apostle says, " Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme/' Now the question before us is. What are the limits and the nature of this submission, as far as they can be collected from Scrip- ture ? To this we answer, that, in the first outset, what ^^e have just intimated must be borne in mind, that religion does not directly interfere with political institutions, it gives no rules for the guidance of whole societies in state emer- gencies. Its precepts are calculated for the direction, and are addressed to the consciences oi^ individuals, vjhether governor or governed. With respect to submission and obedience to lawful authority, it appears to teach in distinct terms the following doctrines. 1. That to the king, and to all that are in authority under him, obedience is due, not foivNiud llio aulhority of Christianity, in at least a qut'blion- ablc sliapc.'" — Quartcrhj Revietv, LX. j84. ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 157 only for wrath, but for conscience sake; not merely from the fear of punishment, but knowing that this is the will of God. Under this head I comprehend the following duties; the payment of taxes and customs, the ren- dering due and appointed marks of respect to persons in stations of authority, ready sub- mission to the operations of the law, and the decision of its dispensers. Not to multiply authorities on a well-known point, we say, in the comprehensive words of St. Paul, " Ren- der, therefore, to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour^." 2. The Scriptures clearly intimate, that cases of individual hardship and injustice, do not form a sufficient ground for refusing submission to the public authorities. Both our Saviour and his Apostles, suftered under cruel and wilful oppression and injustice, yet they not only themselves attempted no resist- ance to the laws, but also discouraged it in their followers ^ In the administration of the best laws, and by the best men, cases must occur, in which individuals will suffer injustice, and hardship. Nothing but Omniscience can entirely prevent * Romans xiii. 7. ' Matt. xxvi. 52. 1 Peter iii. 16, 17. 168 SERMON VIII. it. But if every individual, who was ag- grieved, were justified in resistance, and sedi- tion ; every individual, who fancied himself aggrieved, might claim the exercise of the same right, and almost every decision would produce a disloyal, if not a rebellious subject. 3. The Scriptures offer us a direct rule, bv which we may determine, in all cases, the extent of the magistrate's authority, and of the subject's obedience. " We must obey God rather than man ^." When once the dictates of our rulers, or the operation of the laws, contravene the dictates of our conscience, and the laws of God, then, be the consequences what they may, we must " obey God, rather than man.'' Only we must bear in mind one very important caution, namely, that our conscience he rightly informed; that we do not rashly, and intemperately mistake our own ignorant, enthusiastic, or prejudiced notions, for the suggestions of God. Conscience must receive its impressions from revelation, and reason must be employed, in conjunction with ^the assistance of the Holy Spirit duly implored, to enable us to interpret Scripture rightly. These principles, if suffered to have their due influence upon individuals, cannot fail to give stability, and weight to the government. " Acta V, 20. ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 159 And the maintenance of government is es- sential to the tranquilHty, and happiness of society. Without a well-estabHshed govern- ment there could be no security to society, no protection or encouragement for individuals. To it, under God, we are indebted for almost all the improvements and discoveries, which have been made in the useful arts, and almost all the advantages we enjoy beyond those of the mere savage. The Scriptures, in the precepts to obedience, evidently aim at the proportion of our peace and happiness. It may be truly said of a ruler, " He is the minister of God to thee for good'." The precepts of religion then are not to be made the pretence of rebellion, and insubor- dination. God has ordained the general rule, that individuals'^ should submit to the existing governments. When the flagrant misconduct • Romans xiii. 4. * Society indeed is composed of individuals. But I use this term to mark the distinction, between the application of rules addressed to the conscience of every man, to do his duty, and live contentedly under the regulations of the society in which he happens to be placed ; and rules addressed to that society collectively for the formation of its government. ' Of these latter the Scripture contains none, unless those ge- neral rules may be called such, which, as I have stated, should have indirect operation in these cases, by inclining the hearts of legislators, to " do that, which is good," to seek the welfare of their fellow-creatures, and the glory of God. 160 SERMON VIII. of rulers, or the necessities of the society may render a change in the form of government indispensibly necessary, it becomes a state question ; Christianity does not in the shghtest degree interfere in it, otherwise, than as its precepts may influence legislators, to seek the proper objects of legislation, viz. the welfare of the subject, and maintenance of " true reli- gion and virtue ;" the details of the matter are left to those remedies, which the constitution has provided ; or which, in default of these, reason, and the common feehngs of self-pre- servation will suggest. These I conceive to come under the pro^ ince of .the lawyer, or the statesman, rather than of the divine. The precepts of religion, as before observed, are addressed to individuals, all that we can say, (so far as religious consi- derations interfere, which they never do di- rectly) upon the subject of the doctrine of general resistance, is chiefly of a negative na- ture. We may remark, that it is a tremendous expedient, which certainly ought not to be resorted to, but at the very last extremity; and not to be even thought of, upon the cry of every silly, or factious demagogue, who chooses to assert that the hberties of the peo- ple are assailed, or the constitution is in dan- ger. Submission to our rulers is a religious ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 161 duty, and is not to be lightly violated. Much should be borne, much should be suffered, before men have recourse to a measure, prea;- nant with danger, and misery ; of which none can ascertain the extent. " * The wrath of a king,' says the Scripture, ' is as the roaring of a lion ;* he may destroy some, but ' the mad- ness of the people,' is as the raging of a tem- pestuous sea, when it has burst its bounds ; it overwhelms aiW" It is our duty, then, to render unto our rulers the reverence, and obedience, due to them, notwithstanding any occasional defects which we may perceive in their government, or any occasional hardships, we find, or fancy to result from the laws, which they are ap- pointed to administer. But if our inclinations can be enlisted on the side of our duty, it will be performed more cheerfully, and probably more correctly, than when it is discharged from mere motives of conscience. That such may, as much as possible, be the case with us, I shall suggest, III. Under the third head of our discourse, a few maxims and considerations, which seem adapted to guard us from those prejudices against our rulers, which we are too prone to foster. • Bishop Home. M 162 SERMON yiH. 1. Not every calamity which befals the nation is fairly chargeable to the mismanage- ment of the king, or of his ministers. In every state there are indeed men, whose in- terest and business it is to persuade their countrymen, that every evil is to be attributed to mal-administration. The ignorant and un- stable are easily led away by the representa- tions of such men. The prudent and con- siderate will ponder these assertions, and judge whether there may not exist causes and circumstances from which these evils result, and over which kings and ministers have no controul whatsoever. The seasons, for instance, the vices of the people, the in- trigues of party, the fortune of war, and va- rious other things, which it is impossible for any man to command, have a vital influence upon the prosperity of nations. Besides these, one kingdom frequently shares the misfortunes of another kingdom, over which it has no jurisdiction. The king- doms of the world are, in this respect, in a relative situation, somewhat similar to that of individuals, in any society, in which, if one wealthy man fail, many others are involved in ruin, or thrown out of employment by his failure : or if one powerful man be violent and rapacious, his peaceable neighbours gene- ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 163 rally suffer from the effects of his quarrelsome and litigious propensities. The very same thing must occur with re- spect to different nations. The ruin or the distress of any one kingdom, must always be felt, more or less, in others, in proportion to their intercourse and connection with it. The ambitious designs of one prince are often fatal to the tranquillity of his neighbours, and fre- quently force them to the adoption of mea- sures, which they well know to be pregnant with calamity and expense, but which they cannot avoid, because they perceive that their security from aggression and violence, can be found only in a determined and vigor- ous resistance. 2. It should be remembered that, in every government, wherein man is concerned, there must be errors, imperfections, and delinquen- cies. The corruption of our mortal nature will operate more or less in every station. Human infirmities, prejudices, and passions, will exercise their influence, more or less, in every state, and under every form of govern- ment. To expect a government in its own constitution, without a fault, or administered by rulers without a weakness or a vice, would be no less absurd than to look for a sky, in which there was never to be seen a cloud ; M 2 164 SERMON VIII. or a sea, whose surface was never to be ruf- fled with a wave. The question, therefore, with a view to which a candid man should examine the government under which he lives, should be, not whether it has, or has not faults ; but whether, upon the whole, it be not as free from imperfections as any other govern- ment'; and whether the evils connected with ' The following competent and impartial testimony of an intelligent and well-informed foreigner, who came to this country for the express purpose of studying and examining its institutions and resources, ought surely to have weight with every unprejudiced person. Independently of his being an unbiassed witness, the facts to which he appeals prove almost to demonstration that, upon the whole, the constitution and government of England answer most of the purposes, and se- cure most of the blessings, to which human society can possibly aspire ; and that, instead of being objects of discontent, they should rather be defended as our birthright, and should be secured to our children, if necessary, even with our lives. M. Dupin, speaking of Waterloo Bridge, observes that, " in the revolutions which empires experience, men will one day enquire, where once stood the New Phenicia, the Western Tyre, which covered the sea with its ships ? The Strand Bridge," says he, " will remain, to reply to generations the most remote, Here stood a wealthy, industrious, and power- ful city. The traveller, at sight of it, will suppose that a great prince had been desirous, by many years of labour, to shed a lustre on the end of his reign, and to consecrate the glory of his actions by this imposing structure. But if tradition should inform him, that six years were sufficient for the commence- ment and termination of this work ; if he should learn, that a simple company of merchants built this mass, worthy of the Sesostrises and the Caesars, he wiil admire still more that ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 165 it be of such enormous magnitude, as to make it the interest of society to hazard all the miseries and crimes of anarchy and civil war, in order to reform these evils. III. To expatiate upon imperfections, or to set forth cases of apparent hardship in a government, is always a much easier task, and more acceptable to the multitude, than to vindicate it, or to point out the excellencies of its details % nation, where undertakings of this nature can be the fruit of the efforts of a few tradesmen and capitaHsts. Then, if lastly he shall have reflected on the causes of the prosperity of em- pires, he will acknowledge that such a people must have pos- sessed wise laws, powerful institutions, and liberty prudently secured to them : they are imprinted in the grandeur and utility of the monuments erected by simple citizens." — Dupins Com- mercial Power of England, vol. i. p. 259. Extracted from Quart. Rev. ^ " He that goeth about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well governed as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favourable hearers; because they know mani- fold defects whereunto every kind of regiment is subject ; but the secret lets and difficulties, which in public proceedings are innumerable and inevitable, they have not ordinarily the judgment to consider. And because such as openly reprove supposed disorders of state, are taken for principal friends to the common benefit of all, and for men that carry singular freedom of mind ; under this fair and plausible colour, what- soever they utter, passeth for good and current. That which wanteth in the weight of their speech, is supplied by the aptness of men's minds to accept and believe it. Whereas, on the other side, if we maintain things that are established, we have not only to strive with a number of heavy prejudices, 166 SERMON VIII. In the former case a man requires few other quaUfications than those of volubihty, impu- dence, or ignorance. In the latter case a considerable knowledge of the subject is fre- quently requisite not only in the speaker, but also in the hearer, in order that conviction may be produced. If a man attempt to decry a government, and have assurance to assert boldly his false charges, or ignorance enough to put forth his blunders, with all the confidence of sincerity, he has almost every advantage. He chooses his own point of attack ; he has in his favour all that appetency for complaint and discon- tent, which is usually observable in mankind ; he has all those prepossessions, which are entertained by the multitude, when flattered by the notion, that their judgment is appealed to. He has the benefit of their defective in- formation and knowledge, which cannot detect the fallacy of an assertion, for want of being acquainted with the whole system, and of being able to contemplate the matter before deeply rooted in the hearts of men, who think that herein we serve the time, and speak in favour of the present state, be- cause thereby we either hold or seek preferment, but also to bear such exceptions as minds, so averted beforehand, usually take against that which they are loth should be poured into t\itra"~Hookers Eccles. Pol. vol. i. p. 194. Edit. 1793. ON THE KINGS ACCESSION. 167 them, not only in the point of view in which the speaker has put it, but also in its connec- tion with, and its influence upon the whole system, of which it is a part. A plausible assertion may be made in a few words, which it would require pages to refute, and which is received with greater readiness, and adhered to with greater tenacity and bi- gotry, in proportion as it may meet with igno- rance, or as it may favour prejudices in those to whom it is addressed. The most superfi- cial observer of human nature, would feel no surprise were he to read that Copernicus was ridiculed as a visionary and paradoxical tri- fler, when he asserted the motion of the earth round the sun, instead of that of the sun round the earth^ — that Galileo was imprisoned by those, whose ignorance was unequal to the re- ception of his discoveries, — or that Harvey was cried down, and lost his practice, M'hen he produced his theory of the circulation of the blood. The most ignorant pretender might have ridiculed with impunity the supposed faults, and impossibilities of the systems of these scientiiic men. They might in vain have attempted to vindicate their system, to a common audience. On the one hand they would have had to contend with the preju- dices, on the other they would have had to 168 SERMON VIII. enlighten the ignorance of their hearers, be- fore their arguments could have been ex- pected to make the slightest impression, or even to be listened to with patience. Government is a science, and in many re- spects, a science no less intricate than those cultivated by the eminent individuals to whom we have just alluded. It requires no small degree of knowledge, penetration, and practice, to foresee, and pro- vide for the consequences of acts of legisla- tion ; to establish financial and commercial regulations ; to observe how far privileges and immunities granted to one class of persons, may be productive of injury, and depression to others; to weigh questions of peace or war; to penetrate the designs of foreign powers ; these, and innumerable other points, surely require some degree of preparation in those, who pretend to pass judgment upon them, and to form upon them such an opinion, as shall not be confined to mere speculation, but be the foundation of speeches, and actions re- specting them, which may affect the tranquil- lity, and welfare of society \ '' Let me not be supposed to deny the right of private opi- nion on political subjects. There is a distinction between an opinion entertained, and the systematic propagation of that opinion to the encouragement of disloyalty, and sedition. Be- ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 169 No profession can be followed with success and credit, without some preparatory educa- tion. Those who intend to employ themselves in the commonest trade, find it necessary to learn the rudiments of it. But almost all men, even those who are too idle or too stupid to succeed in any thing else, fancy themselves born legislators. Were it not for the pernicious consequences of their delusion and folly, both to themselves, and others, we could scarcely contemplate, without ridicule, the absurd spec- tacle with which we have been so often pre- sented in this country. We have seen men in fore a person so propagates his opinion, he is, at least, bound to use all diligence, to take every precaution, and to know, that he has the ability, and information requisite, for forming a right judgment upon the subject. Otherwise he may be spreading error, exciting groundless discontent, and unneces- sarily disturbing the peace of society. A parallel case with this we frequently meet with in the common intercourse of life. There are often to be found those not only impertinent, but mischievous persons, who fancy themselves on all occasions privileged to " speak their mind," as they term it. They esteem it a want of candor, and honesty to suppress their opinions. But they overlook one very impor- tant part of honesty, which is to do no wrong to their neigh- bour. They forget that it is their duty, before they " speak their mind," to be sure that their " mind" be rightly informed. They thus not only unnecessarily wound their neighbour's feelings, but also frequently inflict a serious injury, hurting his character, or his interests, by the rash publication of their crude, ignorant, and self- conceited notions. 170 SERMON VIII. lower ranks of life, and even women, (Avhose pursuits and habits are entirely foreign to such employments) leaving their business, deserting the duties of their station, neglecting to pro- vide for their families, and travelling about the country to reform the government, and declaim against the king and his administra- tion. When these persons are pouring forth their invectives, surely it is not unreasonable to pause, and enquire into their qualifications for the office they have undertaken. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that their doctrines have not all the authority of inspiration ; to consider that they are out of their proper sphere; that they are passing a rash judg- ment on matters which they have not studied and do not accurately comprehend ; and that there is every probability that their remarks are founded in mischief or in ignorance. They are too often the misguided dupes of artful men, often are blundering enthusiasts, or self- conceited half-taught pretenders to knowledge, who have not sufficient insight into the nature of the subject, to contemplate the possibi- lity of their being ignorant, or mistaken in their views of any part of it. These blind leaders of the blind, would, as I observed before, be ridiculous, were it not, that they ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. ' 171 frequently plunge both themselves and their followers into ruin and destruction'. 4. It is very easy to censure the measures of our governors after the result of them has been experienced. We all know even with respect to the transactions of individuals, in how very different a light measures often ap- pear to us aftei' they have been adopted, and have led to, or met with various circumstances and contingencies, on which we did not calcu- late at the beginning. How easy it then ap- pears to have taken a different course, how ready are our neighbours to censure us, and how apt are we to be ourselves surprised, that we should have acted as we did. Yet, upon due reflection, we cannot perhaps charge ourselves with any neglect, or want of deliberation ; and possibly those, who now censure us, would, at ' To what fatal consequences and wicked deeds this propen- sity to intermeddle with political matters may lead fanatical and even ignorant men, history will furnish abundant examples. In this country we have had a striking instance of this in what was called the Cato-street conspiracy. We there saw how short and easy is the transition from disaffection to mur- der ; how quickly the ignorant and self-conceited enthusiast is converted into the desperate and rutldess assassin. A spe- cimen was given (fortunately upon a smaller scale than in the French revolution) of what these self-constituted legislators mean by liberty and liberality ; viz. freedom for themselves from all restraints of the law ; but violence and murder to those who presume to indulge in the liberty of disputing or doubting the wisdom of their conclusions. 172 SERMON VIII. the same period and in the same situation, have acted precisely as we did. Or, if they would have adopted other plans, and those plans now appear preferable, perhaps it only appears that they would have been attended with better success. As the experiment has not been made, it is not ascertained to what unforeseen combinations of events these plans might have been exposed. We can only suppose they might have been more success- ful than ours. In one case the experiment has failed, but in the other it has never been tried. Similar cases happen to those, who are invested with the power of the state, only with this difference, that, as the measures of government are more complicated and exten- sive, and involve in them more important consequences, than those of individuals, so there are more contingencies to affect them, and to be foreseen by those who conduct them. / After all these contingencies have taken place, nothing is more eas}- than to condemn loudly — before they happen, nothing is more difficult than to counsel wisely. 5. Lastly. Discontent and sedition^ only ' If it be said tliat tlieie are other methods of reforming abuses, besides rebellion and civil war; the remarks here ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 173 aggravate national calamities, and embarrass the efforts of those whose duty it is to take measures for removing or alleviating them. A much better remedy is suggested in Scripture, namely, regular obedience to the laws, and due respect to those who are en- trusted with the execution of them ; in short, " WELL DOING \" The general cultivation of religion and vir- tue, will afford the most reasonable prospect of national prosperity. The more we can ex- tend tlie influence of the peaceable and hum- ble graces of the Gospel, the more, in propor- portion, will the causes of misery be dimin- ished. Mutual good will and mutual good offices, will alleviate the sorrows, and add to the comforts of life ; and what is of still greater importance, will tend to secure the blessing of God : for it is " righteousness that exalteth a nation'.^' Instead, then, of being prone and hasty to murmur against those set in authority over offered are not levelled against them. Let temperate and con- stitutional measures be taken to remedy defects and prevent abuses, and to render the government as perfect as possible. But let not occasional and partial imperfections or crimes, be made the foundation for indiscriminate invectives against the whole constitution, and all its functionaries ; which invectives naturally tend to excite discontent and insubordination. ^ Bp. Home. ' Prov. xiv. 34. 174 SERMON VIII. US, and exciting dissatisfaction and sedition through the country, let us each attend assi- duously to the duties of our respective sta- tions. Let us labour diligently to cherish in our own breasts and in our families, the pure flame of virtue and piety, and to shed around us the light of a good example. Let our first object be to reform ourselves and our household, leaving the state to those to whom it has been lawfully committed. Let us " fear the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change'"/^ And, contemplating the arduous situation in which a king is placed ; considering by what temptations he is encompassed ; how liable he is to be de- ceived, and how much depends upon his pru- dence and integrity ; let us not neglect the following excellent injunction of St. Paul. " I exhort that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men ; for kings, and for all that are put in authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty "/' Should we be at a loss how to frame our petitions, or to express our thanks, our need cannot better be supplied than in the words of the first collect of the accession service. * Prov. xxiv. SI. * 1 Tim. ii. 1. ON THE KING'S ACCESSION. 175 This will form an appropriate conclusion to our present discourse. Let us offer it to the King of kings, as a tribute of homage and ac- knowledp-ment to him, and as a token of sin- cere allegiance to our earthly sovereign. ** Almighty God, who rulest over all the kingdoms of the world, and disposest of them according to thy good pleasure ; we yield thee unfeigned thanks, for that thou wast pleased, as on this day, to place thy servant our Sove- reign Lord, King George, upon the throne of this realm. Let thy wisdom be his guide, and let thine arm strengthen him ; let justice, truth, and holiness, let peace and love, and all those virtues that adorn the Christian pro- fession, flourish in his days; direct all his counsels and endeavours to thy glory, and the welfare of his people ; and give us grace to obey him cheerfully and willingly, for con- science sake ; that neither our sinful passions, nor our private interests, may disappoint his cares for the public good ; let him always pos- sess the hearts of his people, that they may never be wanting in honour to his person, and dutiful submission to his authority : let his reign be long and prosperous, and crown him with immortality in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.^^ 12 SERMON IX. ON THE CONDUCT OF THE FIRST AND OF THE LAST ADAM UNDER TEMPTATION. ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. MATT. IV. 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the Devil. The first Adam exhibited an awful and fatal example of the power of our spiritual foe. The last Adam displayed the far greater power of our heavenly defender. The one shewed the consequences of yielding to temptation; the other the means by which it was to be resisted. As all Scripture was written for our learn- ing, we can scarcely contemplate without in- terest the account of these two remarkable occasions, in which Satan employed his subtle and treacherous devices, with such different results. Subjects of investigation, at once obvious and important, present themselves to our minds. We enquire, on the one hand, ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 177 into the means, which were employed to baffle the artifices of the tempter; on the other, into the errors, or the neglect, which opened to him an easy and an awful triumph. These are considerations of no small moment. Let us attentively contemplate the different conduct of each of these two antagonists, with whom Satan entered into a similar con- flict, but with a success entirely opposite. The comparison of the methods by which these opposite results were respectively effected cannot fail to suggest some useful lessons and cautions to those who are themselves liable to temptation, that is, to every individual de- scendant of Adam. How Satan could have presumed, with any hope of success, to tempt our Saviour ; how it was possible that his human nature, united as it was with the Divinity, should be capable of suffering temptation ; what were the means, by the instrumentality of which some part of the temptation was effected ; so?ne of the pur- poses, for which this temptation was ordained; these are points, which upon looking into Scripture, we find not revealed. These points, therefore, we may consider as not necessary, not good for us to know at present ; as among those hidden and mysterious workings and counsels of the All-wise, which no finite mind 178 SERMON IX. can, or need comprehend ; and into which no human being should wish to pry. Like all other vain enquiries into things beyond our faculties, or, for other reasons withheld from us by Him, who knows us better, than we know ourselves, the pursuit of these mysteries, unless followed with humility and acquiescence in God's w isdom, is unprofitable, nay worse than unprofitable. It leads to nothing but doubt, confusion, and vexation ; the unfailing and ap- parently destined punishment of presumption ; the humiliating rebuke given to the pride of knowledge and wisdom, when it impels men to attempt passing those barriers, which the Almighty has fixed ; and on which they waste their efforts, like the waves dashing on the sea shore, only to be scattered and rolled back to their level. Not to dwell, therefore, upon these unprofit- able questions, we know certainly that our Saviour was tempted, and was victorious ; and that his conduct on this occasion is an example, displaying to us in practice, the means by which the Tempter may, and ought to be overcome. Now Jesus appears to have employed, during this trial, no other means, than such as are, by the grace of God, available to us all. The weapon which he used to repel ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 179 the Tempter, was " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"." The firm and skilful use of this was all that was needful. When Satan urged the several temptations, the answer with which he was foiled was invariably, "It is written/' What was written, the revealed zcill of God was the sole criterion by which all arguments and all actions were to be proved : no insinuation, no offer could be listened to for one single moment, which was in the least degree at variance with this written rule. What is written? was the only question. This was the simple, the plain, the certain method employed by Christ to secure his victory; an inflexible adherence to the word and will of God, which are, and always must be at direct variance, and can admit of no compromise with the suggestions of the tempter. Now let us direct our attention to the con- duct of our first parents, and observe the course which they pursued when assailed by the same enemy. The commandment of God given to them could not be said to be grievous, burdensome, or hard to be under- stood. It contained one plain and easily remembered prohibition. Nothing could be clearer or more concise. " Of the tree of the " Ephes. vi. 17- N 2 180 s E R M O N IX. knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die*"." The tempter commences his operations by exciting the woman to discontent, and by placing the prohibition before her in the light of hardship unnecessarily imposed upon her. He studiously passes over the bounty of God in giving her all the produce of Eden to enjoy freely excepting this one tree ; and endeavours to represent him, as cruelly placing her in the midst of fruits, which she was debarred from tasting. " Yea," said he, " hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden V The woman immediately and justly replies, " We may eat of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die." So far she answered well, she knew the command- ment of God ; nothing could be plainer, " ye shall not touch \t." Therefore not another argument should have been listened to. The reply, should have been firm, and decisive. He, that knows the will of God, is not to en- courage reasonings against it; he has no- thing to do but to submit to it. •• Gen. ii. 17. ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 181 He then places himself under the protec- tion and guidance of one, who can make " all things work together for good to them that love Him/^ Of this obedience and its results, we have a sublime, and affecting example presented to us in the first lesson (Gen. xxii.) for this evening's service. Abraham receives the awful, and heart-rending command, to sa- crifice his only son ; the son of his affections ; the apparently sole foundation of his hopes of posterity. But he knows it is the command of God. No question is asked, no reason re- quired, no remonstrance offered, no evasion attempted. Full of faith in the power and mercy of God, he obeys the order in silence, and prepares to offer up without a murmur all that is dear to him. It is the will of God, and Abraham's feelings on its announcement are those of one " found faithful."' They may be expressed in the language of one greater than Abraham. " Father, not my will, but thine be done !" What was the result ? It was that being tried, and found faithful, he received the BLESSING OF GoD, and heard from the Angel of the Lord the gracious assurance, " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld tiiy son, thuie only son : that in 182 SERMON IX. blessing 1 will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee as the stars of Heaven, and as the sand, w hich is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." But Eve mentioned the prohibition, not so much to express her irrevocable detemiination to comply with it at all hazards, and any sa- crifice; as to afford an opening to the tempter; that he might furnish her with some argument, or excuse for gratifying the inclination, which he had already excited to disobey it. He had a lie in readiness ; he saw the va- cillating purpose of her mind ; he secured his victim the moment he found her disposed to hearken to his wily assertions. He tells her to disbelieve the denunciation ; that it was put forth merely in jealous apprehension, to pre- vent her participation in privileges, which her Maker wished to appropriate exclusively to himself. He said, " Ye shall not surely die." For God doth know, that " in the day, ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil/* To listen, when the path of duty was clearly before her, to listen to such remarks, was to fall. Eve yielded to the force, not of Satan's ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 183 arguments, but of the sinful and disobedient inclinations, with which he had inspired her ; and which opened her heart to the reception of any sophistry however flimsy, provided it furnished her with a pretence for gratification. ' The " sword of the Spirit,'* was in the hands of our first parents, but they wanted strength, and resolution to wield it. Eve yielded to the persuasions of the serpent, and Adam to those of Eve. Eve easily remembers and repeats the prohibition of the Almighty, and the denun- ciation of punishment in case of disobedience. " Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'* What, then,. was there in the assertion of Satan, which should have had any influence in inducing her to disobey, or doubt this? What proof, what appearances could be presented to her, which had the shghtest tendency to corroborate the insinuation of the arch enemy, that unnecessary restraint, or jea- lous purposes were aimed at in this prohibi- tion ? Had not her whole existence, hitherto, been one uninterrupted scene of happiness, and tranquillity ? As long as she continued innocent, was not every thing around her cal- culated, and many things actually formed, to minister to her enjoyments, or to her wants ? Why then should she have been persuaded that the same goodness, and love which was 184 SERMON IX. SO conspicuously eminent in every thing she beheld, did not also prevail, and operate even in the framing of the only prohibition^ which had issued from her heavenly Father ? What was there, in all his works, that shewed a dis- position to deny them any pleasure, which they might enjoy with innocence, or to fix upon them any restraints, which were not essential to true happmess ? Moreover God had distinctly and positively declared, that the violation of his injunction Avould be certaniiy followed by habiiity to death. But Satan, the father of lies, as he is termed in Scripture, boldly said, " Ye shall not surely die !" What evidence was there in this assertion which indicated he was to be believed rather than God ? None w hatsoever ! But the judgment is not prompt to scrutinize the validity of assertions, which are agreeable to the inchnations. The desires of our first parents were roused. They yielded ; and then, too late, discovered that they had been tempted to assist in their ow^n perdition ; and that to hesitate, and hold parley wdth the tempter w as in effect to submit to his yoke. Thus they fell ; and thus have fallen, and will continue to fall, myriads of their corrupt descendants, an easy and w illing prey to that ruthless ad>>'rsary, " who goeth about like ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 185 a raging and a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour \' but " whom/' saith the Apos- tle, " resist, stedfast in the faith." It is from the want of this very stedfastness in man, that this adversary so often prevails : it is not that men are ignorant of their duty, but have not sufficient faith and fortitude to do it. Few, if any men, can be unacquainted with the leading points of their duty to God and man. The most unlearned cannot be destitute of the means of information on this head. Besides other opportunities of instruction. Sabbath after Sabbath the Scriptures are publicly read and explained. And in the Scriptures are to be found plain and decisive answers to every temptation which can be suggested. Would the tempter cause us to fall by encou- raging pride ? it is written, " Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord : though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished''.'' And, " God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble'." Does he invite us to intemperance ? it is writ- ten, " Take heed to yourselves lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares \" •J Prov. xvi. 5. ' I Peter v. 5. ' Luke xxi. 34. I^ SERMON IX. Thus, in innumerable cases, is the path of duty clearly marked out. We may always enquire, and easily know, what is written. But what will this knowledge avail us, unless as, in our Saviour's example, it be made the fule, the inviolable rule, and principle of action ? The danger, I repeat, arises not so much from ignorance of duty, as from want of a stedfast faith to encourage us in adhering to it. This was continually guarded against by Christ and his Apostles. They have left us various precepts and cautions upon this sub- ject. " If ye know these things,^' said our Saviour, " happy are ye if ye do them\" And, " He that hath my commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth me"/* Again, " whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, that built his house upon a rock\" St. James also says, " Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves \'' Nay more, our service must not even be divided. For as a ser- vant cannot please two masters, even so ' John xiii. 17. " Jolin xiv. 21. ' Matt. vii. 24. ' James i. 22. ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 187 Christ declares, " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon ^" These cautions pomt to the danger which we have been considering, and are manifestly calculated to correct that lukewarmness and infirmity of purpose, which so commonly caiises men to make the first concessions to the tempter. Instead of faithfully and im- partially calling to mind what is written, an attempt to compromise, a parley, as it were, is held with a deceitful and dangerous enemy. The first lesson for this mormng^s service pre- sents a lively emblem of what happens to sinners every day. Instead of advancing with all speed, and with undivided attention to the appointed place of safety, they " look hack ^" upon wickedness; they linger and perish. Thus the unstedfast man hesitates. Some excuse is sought ; some scheme devised, by which, in defiance of the plain and inspired declaration of its impossibility, he hopes to serve the two masters ; such perhaps as the frail hope of an after repentance — the dan- gerous and doubtful resolution, that this of- fence shall be the last ; or the delusive abuse of long-suffering, to continue in sin, trusting that God will not be " extreme to mark what is amiss/^ And, sometimes led on, step by ' Matt. vi. 24. * Gen. xix. iG. Luke ix. 62. 188 SERMON IX. step, till unable to invent even a pretence of reconciling his duty to his practice, he at length becomes reckless and desperate, and seeks refuge from the occasional visitations of conscience, in the infidel suggestion — " Ye shall not surely die." Herein we imitate but too closely the ex- ample of our first parents, when assailed by temptation. Jesus, under similar circum- stances, looked only to one single point ; his whole argument was, it is written. God's word was the simple, the invariable rule of action. His answer denoted a stedfast and unchangeable purpose; Satan shrunk back and retired, confounded and baffled. On the view of these two cases not a single doubt could exist, which of them we ought to imitate. But to excite our fears and our inclinations, to interest us still more in acting conformably to our judgment, it may perhaps not be inexpedient to take a hasty view of the consequences which immediately resulted from the different conduct pursued on these two several occasions. These will be found such as ought to have a powerful influence upon any man, who re- gulates his actions, (I will not say, by the rules of right reason, but) by the commonest maxims of prudence and self-defence. ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 189 No sooner had our first parents transgressed the command of God, and indulged the un- lawful desires which the serpent had raised, than their folly appeared to them in its proper light. The pleasures and advantages which he had set forth, proved, upon trial, to be vain and illusive. The denunciation of their Creator, which Satan had derided, now pre- sented itself to their terrified minds in its most appalling colours. Death reared his sting. Sin produced its usual fruits. Shame and sorrow, terror and remorse, overwhelmed them. They would fain have concealed them- selves from their offended God. But could the leaves of the thicket hide them from his searching eye, who seeth all things ; to whom the darkness and the light are both alike ; and to whose view the deepest caverns of the ocean, and the darkest recesses of hell, are disclosed ? Could they flee from his indig- nation, from whom, though the mountains should " fall on them,'' and the " hills cover them," they could not be sheltered ? No ! They felt that flight and concealment were alike impracticable. Their soul " fainted within them,'' when they heard his voice. They stood trembling before him whom here- tofore they had ever beheld with feelings of only love and gratitude. What, at this dread 190 SERMON IX. moment, were their pleas? What were the palhations of their guilt ? The woman ex- claimed, " The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." The man answered, " The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat/' The guilty pair stood without excuse before God. His judgment was righteous ; the sentence was passed-^man had become corrupt and obnoxious to the wrath of God. All hope, every plea for pardon and readmission to God's favour was precluded, had he not in judgment remembered mercy; and once more opened the prospect of return to life, and to the light of His countenance, by promising the Bless ED Seed, who should bruise the serpent's head. It behoves us to contemplate this scene with alarm, and with profit. We should fearfully remember, that the same malignant foe, who beguiled our first parents of their privileges, is labouring with unabated zeal and actiA-ity to deprive us of this, our last, our only hope, and thus to plunge us into inex- tricable misery. We should remember also, that the way to fall, and way to conquer, is still the same as it was then. If, after the example of the first Adam, we listen to the suggestions of the tempter in preference to the word of God; we perish. If we tread in 12 ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 191 the footsteps of the second Adam, and in every temptation faithfully consider only what is written, then, by God's grace, we may hope to have " victory, and to triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil." For observe the consequences, which our Saviour has shewn by his example, will result from a stedfast adherence to the rule which he has laid down. Satan, baffled and dis- comfitted, departed from him, and angels came and ministered unto him. So will Satan always flee from us, if we withstand him in faith. God's Holy Spirit will aid and support us. His ministering angels will attend and watch over us. He will give us all things needful for us. He will lead and uphold us through this vale of misery, till we shall have finished our pilgrimage, and have fitted ourselves in some measure for his heavenly kingdom ; there to become ourselves ministering angels, before the throne of God ; rejoicing to fulfil his purposes, satisfied with the knowledge of his counsels, and evermore happy in the fruition of the blessings of his presence : To whom, with God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, belongeth, and be as- cribed all honour, power, &c. both now and for ever. SERMON X. ON TEMPTING GOD. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. MATT. IV. 7. Jesus said unto him, it is written again. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The precept contained in the text, and urged by our Lord in reply to Satan's crafty sug- gestion, is worthy of our particular considera- tion. Neither its precise import, nor its appli- cation to the proposal of Satan is to be accu- rately understood, without a more attentive examination than it commonly obtains. There are perhaps not a few, who have never formed any clear notion of what is here meant by tempting God. In the present discourse I purpose to give a brief explanation of the principal Scriptural cases, which exemplify the violation of this remarkable precept; and to point out the ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 193 conduct, by which we may incur the guilt of the oftence here mentioned. The subject may be distributed under these three general heads. I sliall consider, I. The literal meaning of the word tempt, in this passage. II. The occasion and circumstances to which the passage cited by our Saviour refers; and the analogy of that occasion and those circumstances, to the circumstances of his situation. III. Some other cases in which the Scrip- tures furnish examples of tempting God. And in considering each case I shall endea- vour to point out its application to our hearts and conduct. I. To tempt means to try, to put to the proof; and to tempt tlie Lord signifies, " To distrust his power, truth, or Providence, after sufficient demonstrations and reasons given to depend upon them''.^' II. In order to ascertain the occasion and circumstances, to which the passage cited by our Lord refers, we have only to search the Scriptures and discover where it is wi^itten. Accordingly, in the sixth chapter of Deuter- onomy, and at the sixteenth verse we shall find it recorded, that Moses addressed the ^ Whitby, note Matt. iv. 7. O 194 SERMON X. Children of Israel in these words, " Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him at Massah/' Here we perceive, that the prohibition uttered by Moses referred to what took place at Massah, and pursuing our en- quiry we find in the book of Exodus a short account of the transaction ^ The Children of Israel, upon their arrival at Rephidim ^, found there was no water. The supply of an article so essential to their exist- ence, was, of course, an object of most anxious consideration; and it was perfectly natural and fit, that they should apply to Moses, as the servant of the Most High, for some assist- ance in their difficulty. But the question is, how they should apply. They had hitherto received continual and in- disputable proofs, that they were under the protection and providence of the most High God ; that they were his peculiar people ; and that their safety and welfare were special ob- jects of his attention. They had seen, that in difficulties by no means less formidable, than « Exodus xvii. «* The reason for changing the name of this place is assigned in the 7th verse, and establishes an enduring memento of the offence. " And he called the name of the place Massah," (i. e. Temptation) " and Meribah," (i. e. dispute) " because of the chiding of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?" ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 195 that which now threatened them, his power was always adequate to the object to be at- tained ; and that, in his good time, that power was effectually exerted for the protection of their persons, for the " relief of their necessi- ties, and the setting forth of his glory/' They had beheld him bow down the haughty Pha- raoh, and compel him to supplicate the op- pressed and despised Israelites to accept of that liberty, which had been heretofore inso- lently refused, and to depart with spoil. They had beheld him roll asunder the waves, to open for his people a passage through th6 Red Sea. They had beheld him, at the lifting up of Moses' hand, overwhelm the armed host of the Egyptians, and cause their chariots, and their horsemen, and all their proud array, to disappear as a " vision of the night.'* And they had beheld him, at their desire, sending bread and flesh round about their camp. How then ought they to have made their applica- tion in the present emergency ? Ought they not to have approached with humble suppli- cations, full of trust in the superintending care, and of faith in the power and promises of the Most High ? But, instead of so doing they reviled Moses, and were " almost ready to stone him;'' and they "tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?" o2 196 SERMON X. They doubted, they questioned his power, and his presence, merely because the water flowed not instantly at their desire. They wanted fresh proofs; their faith, upon trial, failed immediately ; though they had every proof that could be necessary to establish the strongest faith in the divine power, yet they wanted more proofs. They had certainly just, and reasonable grounds for having recourse to Him for assistance ; but none whatsoever for denying his power, or his presence among them. There could be no pretence for saying, " Is the Lord among us or not V From this view of their conduct we shall easily comprehend, how the prohibition, re- ferring to this transaction, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,'' applies to the case of our Saviour, and forms a just and appro- priate reply to the tempter. God had already given abundant testimony to Christ's mission, and character. Eastern sages had been miraculously con- ducted to offer to the infant Saviour the first fruits of the Gentiles *. Divine warnings had been vouchsafed to protect the Holy Child from the sanguinary, and apprehensive jea- lousy of the tyrant Herod ^ Angelic hosts, had hailed, and announced, with songs of joy • Matt. ii. 2. ' Matt. ii. 12, 13. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 197 and praise, the birth of the long sought Re- deemer^. The very scribes, and priests had been compelled by a wondrous, and all con- trouling providence to point out, and attest his predicted birth-place ^ Holy, and in- spired men, and women had poured forth the revelations of the Spirit concerning him ; and in devout rapture had praised the Lord, and prepared to go down to the grave in peace, because their " eyes had seeii his salvation \'* John the baptist, the sacred messenger, coming in the Spirit of Elias, had appeared to " prepare his way before him/' And finally the Spirit of God had visihly descended on him, and the " voice from Heaven," had de- clared, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ''/' Here was ample testimony borne to the high dignity with which he was invested, to the sacred mission on which he came. But Satan challenged him to give another proof. Having placed him upon a pinnacle of the temple, he reminds him of one of the pro- phetic declarations uttered respecting him by the psalmist. He says, " it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee : 8 Luke ii. 13. '' Matt. ii. 4, 5, 6. ' Luke ii. 29. See chapters i. ii. "Matt. iii. 17. 198 SERMON X. and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone '/' He insinuates, that Jesus is not what he professes to be, and defies him to give proof of his being so, by relying upon this prophecy and casting himself down from the temple. " If^" said he, " thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down ;" Jesus, knowing that ample proof had already been offered, and that there was at that time no adequate occasion for requiring the exertion of miraculous power; then reminds the tempter of the rebuke which the Israelites had received, for doubting the Divine presence and power, after it had been evinced beyond all question by multiplied evidence. He silences him by replying, that in the same Scriptures from which he had quoted the prophecy, " it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'' And it would be tempting the Lord to require him to perform a miracle in proof of his power, and divinity, when he had already displayed sufficient wonders, to satisfy any reasonable, and candid enquirer. Before we conclude this head of our sub- ject, we may enquire Kow far, and in what re- spects the prohibition, here mentioned, and ' Matt. iv. 6. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 199 illustrated by our Saviour's case, applies to our situation ; in short, how, in the sense here in- tended, we may be said to " tempt God." One of the first, and most obviously similar cases, in which we may tempt God, is to en- tertain the expectation of miracles in these times without an adequate occasion assigned ; I say the expectation of miracles, for the of- fence of those, who pretend to perform them is of a different kind. We know no properly authenticated cases of their being, in these times, really performed ; and we cannot hesi" tate to pronounce attempts to delude the foolish and the ignorant, with the appearance of them, gross and scandalous impostures. But it is presumption, it is tempting God, to expect them. However necessary miracles were during the first age of the Christian Church, that necessity has long since ceased. The maintenance of religion may be effected by the instrumentality of human efforts ; or, more correctly speaking, by the ordinary means of God's grace, duly employed and improved by the attention and diligence of men, both teachers and hearers"". And, if this be " sufficient" for us, our Saviour, in the example before us, has exhibited a strong and striking proof, that the miraculous interpo- " See Sermon on Manifestation of the Spirit. 200 SERMON X. sition of God will never be granted without necessity. God's general dealings indicate that he will not suffer a deviation from the laws by which he governs the universe, merely to indulge the visionary w^hinis and fantastic expectations of a fanatic, or to satisfy the idle and captious doubts of a self-willed infi- del. When either of these descriptions of men expect miracles, let them be reminded of the caution given by our Saviour. " It is written again. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." The former of them we may caution, not to be led away by vain imagina- tions ; to " refuse profane and old wives' fa- bles, and exercise themselves rather unto godliness".'' To the latter we may address the impressive admonition which is given in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. " If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." With respect, however, to this mode of tempting God, most persons to whom this discourse is likely to be addressed, will pro- bably fancy themselves in no danger. They will say, we neither require nor expect mira- cles : we have no disposition thus to tempt " 1 Tim. iv. 7. 6N the second SUNDAY IN LENT. 201 God. But reflect a little ; be not too hasty in your conclusions upon this point. You will admit that you have ample proofs of the power and providence of God. Be- sides the repeated and known declarations of Scripture, every thing around you and within you, proclaims his wondrous wisdom, his superintending care, j Every breath which you inhale, every pulse which beats ; every animal, every insect, nay, every leaf, indicates the workmanship and the presence of that God, without whose care all things must perish, and creation revert to its original chaos. Yet are your thoughts, words, and actions, always framed upon a lively sense of these facts. Or do you not sometimes appear rather to tempt God, and require a miracu- lous exertion of his power ? Do you never, for instance, form, and encourage ardent wishes, and even offer up importunate prayers for objects which, without a diversion of the course of things, specially adapted to your views ; or, in other words, without a miracle ; could not reasonably be expected to take place ? How many form the most impracti- cable wishes; how many offer up the most preposterous petitions ! How many wish and pray to be wise, who will not take the trouble to reflect ; how many to be learned, who will 202 SERMON X. not study I How many to be rich without dihgence — pure without trial — received with- out being chastened — inheritors of the glories of the next world, without being liable to the labours, the duties, and the crosses of this world ; — and, finally, how many, through their whole lives, act as though they expected salvation on other terms than those which the Scriptures have laid down, and as though they had never heard that it is a Christian's duty to " work out his salvation with fear and trembling !" To act thus is not to rely on God's grace ; it is to tempt him : it is to look for a deviation from his laws, without any adequate occasion. We may also be said to tempt God in a manner analogous to that which was referred to in the rebuke of our Lord, when we need- lessly thrust ourselves into spiritual and bo- dily dangers, from which, in the ordinary course of things, we cannot expect to escape harmless. History abounds with fanatical and foolish actions of this kind ; but far from being agreeable to reason and religion, they are condemned by the example of our Sa- viour, who has shown that God is not to be tempted. ni. We will now proceed to the third head of our discourse, the consideration of a few ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. S03 Other scriptural examples, in which God is said to be tempted. St. Paul, in his first Epis- tle to the Corinthians, has cautioned them against tempting God. He says, " Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents".'' The example which the Apostle here cites to illustrate his meaning in the word tempt, differs, though in a very slight degree, from the case which we have been before consider- ing. It is stated in the Book of Numbers — " The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ? for there is no bread, neither any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread '' ',' meaning the manna with which they had been fed. Here, to tempt God, signifies, to be dis- contented with his dispensations, and to mur- mur against him, without questioning either his power or his presence. When they had journeyed long, and it still seemed good to the Lord that they should continue in the wilderness, till he had wrought out his all-wise purposes, their faith began to fail. The re- membrance of his deliverances and mercies, " Ch. X. ver. 9. '' Numb. xxi. 4, 5. 204 SERMON X. the sense of their own unworthiness, soon faded away ; and, upon the occurrence of difficulty and hardship, they became irritable and fretful, and vented their discontent in unjust and impious reproaches. " Where- fore,'' said they, " have ye brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness V And not only contumeliously, but falsely, they said, there was neither bread nor water. But had God not fed his people with bread from heaven, though they chose to despise it ? had he not brought water out of the hard rock, more yielding than the flinty hearts of his un- grateful children ? As the Psalmist has testified, " Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord, and he delivered them out of their distress''/' But notwithstanding their reiterated expe- rience of these mercies, they became discon- tented, and presumed to utter the most auda- cious murmurs. They were quickly made sensible of their folly and wickedness, by its immediate and awful punishment. But is not their ungrateful conduct con- tinually copied ? Is there not still abundant scope for the Apostle's caution — " Neither *■ Ps. cvii, 5, 6. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 205 let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and were destroyed of serpents V Is not dis- content always tempting God ? So long as the blessings and enjoyments of life are showered upon men, they are pro- bably not dissatisfied with God's providence and government; but the moment calamity or disappointments meet them, how prone are they to repine and to question the good- ness of his dispensations. But let us take in- struction upon this point from Job. " What !" said he, " shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil V It is at the hand of God we receive both. The same wise and merciful Being dispenses both the pleasures and the afflictions of life ; and it should be remembered that both, in his hands, may be rendered blessings. What, then, is impatience and discontent, under the latter, but tempting him ? What is it but question- ing his wisdom or his goodness ; and treating him as though he were unwilling or unable to order all things, and cause them to work to- gether for good ? Let us not thus tempt God, lest we be " destroyed of the destroyer.'' Another case of tempting God occurs in the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Ananias and Sapphira endeavoured to prac- tise a deception on the Apostles, though they 206 SERMON X. knew them to be extraordinarily inspired with the Holy Ghost. They imagined, that, because no human eye beheld them, their deeds and intentions were secret. But God knew the thoughts of their hearts, and revealed their deceit to his apostles. The awful penalty which their guilt incurred, and the fearful warning which their death exhibited to all men, is well known. Let it be engra^ ed in our hearts. Let the cheat, let the liar, who applauds him- self for having deceived his fellows, let him contemplate the fate of Ananias and Sap- phira, and then remember, that he is ever under the all-seeing eye of God. Let him not, therefore, tempt God, by acting, as though he thought concealment were possible. Let him rather have God " always before'' him : let him engage in no enterprise, let him habituate himself not to proceed in any pur- suit, till he has well impressed upon his mind, that God is privy to all his intentions, motives, and thoughts. And with this impression on his mind, let him honestly, and seriously put it to his conscience, whether what he is about to do is likely, to please God, and not to be detrimental to the work of his salvation. Let no secrecy, no concealment from human pene- tration, ever induce him to defraud, or de- ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 207 ceive ; because we know that this is to " tempt the Spirit of the Lo^d^" And Jesus has said, it is written, " Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God/' Finally, of all cases, in which men may be said to tempt the Lord, the most awful is that of obdurate, and impious unbelievers, who fearlessly defy the Majesty of Heaven, and blaspheme his holy name. Many most la- mentable, and appalling instances of this are recorded in Scripture. " Who,'' says the haughty Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him'." A series of terrible visitations soon rendered him a convincing- answer to his impious question, and taught him how feeble, and contemptible he was, in the sight of the King of kings. But in no recorded instance, in which the long-suffer- ing of God has borne with the perverseness of men, has greater mercy on the one hand, and atrocity on the other, been displayed, than when the infatuated chief priests, and scribes tempted the Saviour on the cross, when they reviled and mocked him ; called on him to come down from the cross ; and tauntingly exclaimed, " He saved others, himself he cannot save." This is tempting God in a most perilous manner, and this is not without "■ Acts V. 9. ' Exod. V. 2. 10 208 SERMON X. a counterpart even in the present day. The modern unbeUever levels his blasphemous ri- dicule against all that is sacred ; and speaks and lives in open enmity with God. He is still permitted to proceed, the long-suffering of God still waits for him. The house and the arms of his Heavenly Father are open to receive his lost son. For those, whose heart is thus estranged from their only Saviour, it is our duty to offer up continual and earnest prayer to God ; that he will not suffer his mercy to fail, that he will yet bear with them ; and by his grace enlighten their minds. For great is the danger of such men. St. Paul has set forth their perilous condition in terms which ought never to be forgotten. " If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them, that are lost; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them, that believe not ; lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them \'* Now to God the Father, &:c. * 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. SERMON XL THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. HEB. IX. 11. But Christ being come, an High Priest of good things to come, hif a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. The appointed days of Lent are now wearing away apace ; and we are approaching more near to that hallowed season, which the Church has, in conformity with the practice of the earliest ages", devoted with peculiar sanctity " " It is an opinion very generally received that the Apostles themselves ordained the anniversary of the passion, resurrec- tion, and ascension of our Lord." — Shepherd, Common Prayer, vol. ii. p. 110. *' The early period at which the anniversary of the death and resurrection of our Lord was observed, is abundantly proved by the fact of there having been disputes, as to the P 210 SERMON XI. to the honour and praise of our Redeemer; and in which she has, as it were, blown " the trumpet in Zion;" called a "solemn assem- bly 'I' summoned all Christians, of whatsoever degree or situation ; bid " the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet'';'' to "draw near with faith ^;" and commemorate events of the highest import- ance to mankind, the death and the resurrec- tion of Christ Jesus. Her institutions, her services, her selections from Scripture, are all calculated to lead us to the Church, impressed with a deep sense of the dignity and sacred nature of these great festivals. We have been •instructed and encouraged to prepare ourselves for them, by humiliation and repentance^;'' by abstinence, by mortification of our appe- tites, and by confining our desires to worthy objects''; by enduring and persevering''; by resisting temptation and withstanding the wiles of Satan ' ; by purifying ourselves from particular iime for their observance so early as the second century ; in which disputes, one party appealed, in support of their arguments, to the practice of St. Peter and St. Paul." — Vid. MosheirrCs Eccles. Hist. Maclaine, vol. i. p. 207, 208. "Joelii. 15, 16. "> Communion. " Epistle for Ash Wednesday. ' Gospel for Ditto. ^ Epistle for First Sunday in Lent. •^ Gospel for Ditto. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 211 all uncleanness, and walking as children of light •*, by hearing the word of God and keep- ing it*; by hungering '^j not for the meat that perisheth, but for the " bread of life ;" that " spiritual food and sustenance/' which shall never fail us, and in " the strength '* of which we shall be sustained through all eternity. Now, as the time of these high festivals draws near, the language of St. Paul, in the epistle appointed for this day, is placed before us, like the proclamation of a herald, ushering in some great solemnity ; announcing his titles, in honour of whom it is established, and setting forth the grounds, on which it claims public observance. Thus the Apostle proclaims and describes to the Christian community the illustrious object of our festivals; sets him before us under his titles of High Priest, Mediator, Intercessor; points to the inestimable benefits, and privileges, he has obtained for us ; and reminds us of the great price at which they were obtained. He de- clares that " Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with "• Epistle for Second and Third Sundays in Lent. • Gospel for Third Sunday in Ditto. ' Epistle for Fourth Sunday in Ditto, compared with sub- sequent part of John vi. from verse 25, to the end of verse 35. P 2 212 SERMON XI. hands, that is to say, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp- tion for us/' We will, therefore, now occupy ourselves on that field of meditation, which the Church, by the selection of the passage, marks out for us. We will endeavour to raise from it such fruit, as it is calculated to produce, whether in the increase or renewal of our knowledge by comparing Scripture with Scripture, or, in the improvement of our practice, by deriving from it materials to strengthen our faith, our piety and our virtue. The sixteenth chapter of the book of Levi- ticus presents us with a very minute and cir- cumstantial account of the ceremonial of the Jewish High Priest entering once a year into the Holy of Holies ; and of the atonement, he was there to make for the congregation. To this the Apostle in the text alludes. This " Holy of Holies,'' (or as St. Paul terms it in this chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews, the " Holiest of all,'') was separated from the outer part of the tabernacle by a rich vail. Within this none but the High Priest was to enter, and he only once a year. For " the Lord said imto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy brother, ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 213 that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail, before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy- seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering^.'' Then follows a particular detail of all the ceremonies and rites to be observed by Aaron on this occasion ; of the vestments in which he was to appear ; of the sin-offering he was to make for himself, and also for the people ; of the determination by lot of the scape-goat; and of other points, all very minutely pointed out, and ordained by the Almighty himself. After the specification of these various cere- monies, in a manner strongly marking the high import of this ordinance, the Lord pro- ceeds to a solemn and authoritative de- claration, establishing the observance of it through the successive generations of the Jewish hierarchy. He says, " This shall be a statute for ever unto you ; that in the seventh month, in the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you : for 8 Lev. xvi. 2, 3. 214 SERMON XI. on that day shall the priest make an atone- ment for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord^/' And again he says, " This shall be an ever- lasting statute unto you, to make an atone- ment for the children of Israel for all their sins, once a year '/' There does not appear to be any solid ground for assuming that, upon the institution of these and similar typical ceremonies of the law, any revelation was made to the hulk of the Jewish nation, respecting the ulterior ob- jects to which they had reference. Indeed, a very superficial view of their state and opi- nions, would lead us to the conclusion that they were then ^ not fitted to receive this know- " Lev. xvi. 29, 30. ' Ibid. ver. 34. '' " But, as the gross perversions which had pervaded the Gentile world, had reached likewise to the chosen people ; and as the temptations to idolatry which surrounded them on all sides, were so powerful as perpetually to endanger their adherence to the God of their fathers, we find the ceremonial service adapted to their carnal habits. And since the law itself, with its accompanying sanctions, seems to have been principally temporal ; so the worship it enjoins is found to have been, for the most part, rather a public and solemn de- claration of allegiance to the true God, in opposition to the Gentile idolatries, than a pure and spiritual obedience in moral and religious matters, which was reserved for that more per- fect system, appointed to succeed in due time, when the state of mankind would 'permit" — Magee on Atonement, vol. i. p. 59, 60. 10 ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 215 ledge. They were yet, to use the Apostle's expression, " babes'' in the knowledge of God's dispensations. But we have good reason to infer, that as the time of the ac- complishment of these types, in the person and actions of our Saviour, drew nearer^ light was gradually dawning upon them, and they were progressively admitted to more distinct views of the hidden and ultimate design of these types. We have reason, I say, to infer this, even with respect to the bulk of the peo- ple. For it can hardly be supposed, that the explicit declarations of the prophets respect- ing the intrinsic efficacy of these types, and their inadequacy to take away sins, without a view to something else, could be so often and so energetically made, without causing some light to break in upon the minds of the peo- ple. Indeed, this inference is very strongly supported by the general belief in a future state, that prevailed at the time of Christ's coming, and the well-known expectation en- tertained, of the coming of a Messiah and Deliverer. But whatsoever questions may be raised upon the extent of the views of the Jewish nation in general into these ceremonies ; we have very distinct evidence, that many of the wiser 216 SERMON XI. and more eminent^ amongst them, certainly saw beyond the declared and immediate pur- ' The learned and able Archbishop of Dublin, in summing up the result of his reflections upon Heb. xi. 4, lays down the following positions. " What, then, is the result of the foregoing reflections ? The sacrifice of Abel was an animal sacrifice. This sacrifice vva» accepted. The ground of this acceptance was the faith in which it was offered. Scripture assigns no other object of this faith but the promise of a Redeemer ; and of this faith the offering of an animal in sacrifice, appears to have been the legitimate, and consequently, the instituted expression." — Mageeon Atonement, vol. i. p. 54. In a note upon this part of his discourse, he observes too, that "the sacred writer again informs us, at the 13th verse of the same chapter, that Abel, and all the others whom he had named, died in faith, (i. e. as Hallett paraphrases it, * retained their faith until their death, or the time of their leaving the world,') not having received the promises, (not having received the completion of them ; that being reserved for later times, as is intimated in the concluding part of the chapter, and is clearly expressed in Acts xiii. 32, S3. ' We declare unto you glad tidings, hoiv that the promise which nas made unto the FATHERS, God hath fubfilled the same unto us, their CHILDREN,') ; and were persuaded of them, and embraced them." Ibid. vol. ii. p. 180. The case of Abel and of some of these faithful men enume- rated by the Apostle as having seen the promises, refers to a period prior to the giving of the law, but the Apostle also names many under the law, and intimates plainly that there were innumerable others whom he has not mentioned. To all these we are fairly entitled to apply the reasoning which was urged in the case of Abel, that no other object of their faith is proposed in Scripture, than the promised Redeemer, and that they had some intimations of his coming being shadowed under the ceremonies of the law. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 217 port of them. They perceived in them re- ference to an agent more august, to a sacrifice more efficacious, and to blessings more perma- nent than those they beheld under the literal purport of the Jewish ritual. As the seventh article of our Church de- clares, " they are not to be heard which feign that the old fathers did look only for tran- sitory promises/' Abraham " rejoiced to see'' Christ's day, " and he saw it, and was glad "*." Holy men of old were permitted to discern that more was meant by these ceremonies than was declared in the mere terms of their institution. Blessings beyond those of legal purification and temporal advantages, were perceived by them to be prefigured by these rites. " These all died in faith, not bavins: received the promises, but having seen them afar off °.'' These knew and believed that the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, " is not the God of the dead, but of the living"." It is surely no unreasonable supposition, that many a wise and reflecting Jew might be struck, both with the apparent inefficacy of these institutions considered by themselves, to take away sin, and with the manner in which their prophets often spake of the utter "" John viii. 56. » Heb. xi. 13. " Matt. xxii. S2. 218 SERMON XI. worthlessness of these ceremonies in them- selves'. How could they reconcile this with the solemnity with which God established them, with the penalties which he denounced against those who should neglect the observ- ance of them ? May we not suppose that many a Jew, upon the view of all these con- siderations, was led to the conclusion which was maintained by St. Paul ? " It is not pos- sible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins''.'^ He must be sensi- ble too, that " every high priest taken from amongst men','' could have no merits of his own, nothing to offer God for the sins of others; that the mere ceremonies which he performed could not, considered in themselves, be rationally supposed to give him greater value and authority in the sight of God ; so that he might not only procure the forgiveness of his own sins, but also, by his intercession, procure pardon for others'. p Isaiah i. 11, compared with the injunctions to the observ- ance of these things, in Leviticus and elsewhere. t Heb. X. 4. ' Heb. v. 1. * " Let us then ask, (exclaims Bishop Home in his sublime discourse entitled, the " Prevailing Intercessor,") Was it for Aaron's sake that God spared the remnant of his people ? Had Aaron any merit of his own, any superfluous righteous- ness, which might be imputed to them ? Far from it ; since, however comparatively holy and faithful he might be, yet was he a descendant of that Adam, of whose children it is testified, ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 219 These premises might lead him to the con- clusion, that something was darkly figured beneath such institutions, that something was represented by this priest, and by this sacri- fice, which he could not discover. I do not say, that this might lead him directly to our High Priest, who " ever liveth to make inter- cession for us* i' " who is holy, harmless, un- defiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens " \" and " who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens "/' It might not lead him, at once to this High Priest, but it might cause him to see darkly, that some mystery was veiled beneath these things. Such a man might picture to his mind, the Almighty speaking as David has represented Him. " I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goat out of thy folds. that * there is none that doeth good ; no, not one.' He and ' every high priest taken from among men,' were necessarily heirs of the universal corruption ; they had their infirmities, as the Apostle argues, and were obliged to offer up sacrifices for their own sins, as well as for those of the people. Aaron, therefore, of himself, could make no atonement for them ; and without an atonement, the justice of God could not let them escape. To account for this wonderful deliverance, we must carry on our thoughts farther ; we must look to some higher atonement, some greater and more powerful intercessor and high priest ; in whose name Aaron might act, and in virtue of whose merits, he might, as a representative, prevail with God to be gracious to his people." — Home's Sermons, p. 359, 360. * Heb. vii. 25. " Heb. vii. 26. * Heb. viii. 1. 220 SERMON XI. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls upon the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine/' " If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof ! Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats ^?" Senti- ments similar to these respecting the ritual observances, we ha\ e reason to suppose, must have occurred to the more reflecting part of the Jewish nation ; have become more exten- sively prevalent, in proportion as their pro- phets let in fresh gleams of light upon their minds, and gradually prepared the world for the rising of the " Sun of righteousness." Every such declaration as that which we have just read, and those, which we know, abound in the writings of the prophets, necessarily tended, to open their eyes to the nature of their ceremonies, and to shew, that intrinsi- cally they could be of no value in the sight of God. With what joy and thankfulness, then, would pious men "" of those days, have received, and with what thankfulness ought we to re- ceive, St. Paul's authenticated, and rational solution of this matter, that the law has the " shadow of good things to come\" And » Psalm 1. y, &c. » Matt. xiii. 17. » Heb. x. 1. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 221 that, " ''Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater, and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us '/' Here, then, is the clue to all these myste- ries, which guides us at once to the compre- hension of the great and undeviating counsels of the AU-wise, in the institution of these " '• And here, there is but one person, upon whom all our thoughts must immediately be fixed, namely, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the great High Priest of our profession, the effectual intercessor for the salvation of sinners. Had we any doubt, whether Aaron, when officiating according to the law, represented Hirrit St. Paul, in the Epistle to the He- brews, has determined the point beyond all contradiction. He tells us, that the law had a shadow of good things to come, of which Christ and his heavenly truths were the body and substance ; that Aaron, and all other High Priests were the representatives of him who is our gracious intercessor and High Priest for ever ; that the holy of holies in the temple was the figure of heaven itself; that all which Aaron did there, foreshowed what our Lord did and does for us above ; that the blood there offered by Aaron and his successors, under the law, pointed out the blood of Christ, by him offered to the Father in heaven ; and the incense, which was fumed upon these occasions, to diffuse a grateful smell, denoted the merits of our blessed Redeemer, which appease the wrath of God, render all our prayers and oblations acceptable, and fill heaven and earth with the sweet-smelling savour of life, peace, and salvation." — Home's Sermons, vol. i. p. 361. ' Text. / 222 SERMON XI. ceremonies. They were chiefly designed to be types, and prophetic representations of the character, the office, and the actions of our Redeemer. And it is only in virtue of their accomphshment in his person, that they could have any efficacy. Most truly, and com- pletely, even with respect to the ceremonial law, did our Lord's declaration correspond with the fact ; " Think not, that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil''." What, in- deed, was the law without this fulfilment? what was it but a shadow ? What satisfactory explanation could be given of all its ritual in- stitutions, without a reference to this ultimate and great object ? But how is the whole character, and complexion of these things changed, when, in the person of the High Priest passing through the outer part of the tabernacle to the holy of holies, we discover the representative of our perfect High Priest passing " through all the courts of this world be- low %'' to enter into the true Holy place, " into * Matt. V. 17. « " The Jews ditl all believe that the tabernacle did signify this world, and the holy of holies the highest heavens ; where- fore as the High Priest did slay the sacrifice, and with the blood thereof did 'pass through the rest of the tabernacle, and with that blood enter into the holy of holies ; so was the Messias here to offer up himself, and being slain, to pass ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 223 heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us ^ \" and when in the blood, with which the High Priest appeared before the mercy-seat, we perceive typified that precious blood, by which a greater " atonement" was made for the sins of the whole world ! How, when seen in this point of view do both the law, and the Gospel exhibit one^ consistent and harmonious scheme ! How clearly visible throughout the whole volume of the Scriptures, are to be traced the parts of one stupendous, but coherent plan ; combined, regulated, un- altered ; gradually, and steadily borne onward to its completion ; holding its silent, but un- changeable course, through the lapse of ages, amidst the rise and the wreck of empires; moving on, in short, with a majestic unifor- mity, worthy of its Author^ worthy of that great God, who, dwelling in eternity, immen- sity, and omnipotence, calmly carries into through all the courts of this world below, and with his blood to enter into the highest heavens, the most glorious seat of the majesty of God. Thus Christ's ascension was represented typically." Pearson on the Creed, p. 269, tenth edit.fol. * Heb. ix. 24. s' " I have often asserted," says Chrysostom, " that two co- venants, two handmaids, and two sisters attend upon one Lord. Christ is announced by the prophets ; Christ is preached in the New Testament. The Old Testament de- clared beforehand the New, and the New interpreted the Old." Bp. Winchester Elem, C, T, vol. ii. p. 206. 224 SERMON XI. effect His purposes, mocks the puny efforts of human perverseness, and baffles the calcula- tions of human wisdom. Throughout the whole of the Scriptures may be discerned, the gracious and merciful intention of our Heavenly Father, " when the fulness of time" should " come," to send " forth His Son" ;'' to save his fallen, and unworthy creatures from destruction. Contemplating these things, who can refuse his unfeigned assent to the language of the Church ? " The Old Testa- ment is not contrary to the New ; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man '." From the first periods of man's history, the intimations of this great design began to be manifested. From the very time'' of his fall, from the day that his disobedience, and his deflection from that uprightness in which he was originally created, rendered a Mediator necessary, and the demand of an atonement indispensibly requisite, the remedy was pro- vided. Even while the fatal consequences of the fall were being denounced, in the very moment of his triumph, Satan heard his sen- '' Gal. iv. 4. ' Article vii. '' Vide Magee on the Atonement, vol. ii. p. 184. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 225 tence, that the seed of the woman should " bruise his head." After this holy men continued to receive assurances of this gracious scheme by frequent revelations; were cheered and sustained by the prospect of it ; left the declaration of it, as a most glorious legacy to their children ; mingled it with their dying benedictions ; pre- dicted it with their last breath. The long list of patriarchs and holy men enumerated by St. Paul " all died in faith, not having re- ceived the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers, and pilgrims on the earth ^" They " rejoiced," as Jesus himself declared of Abra- ham, to see his day, and they saw it, and were glad. From the time of Moses, the ceremonies of the Jewish Law annually typified and pour- trayed the features of this great scheme, un- der figurative representations. Prophet after prophet handed it down in solemn and ani- mated predictions. The voice of one crying in the wilderness preceded its completion. The sound of it went abroad " into all the earth," and rolled on, like the majestic and deepening echoes of approaching thunder, till ' Heb. xi. 13. Q 226 SERMON XI. the vail was rent in twain, and our High Priest entered the true Holy of Holies, having ob- tained eternal redemption for us. Upon the view we have taken of this stu- pendous scheme of grace, having traced the merciful designs gradually being developed, and all things, through remote ages " working together*^ for the completion of them, till " in the fulness of time, God sent his Son into the world ;* upon the view of this, we can scarcely help venting our feelings of admira- tion and love in the very language of the Apostle, " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out""!'' But in admiration of the harmony and greatness of this scheme of our redemption, let us not lose sight of this momentous and awakening consideration. How dreadful must be the evil, which required such a remedy ; how boundless the goodness which provided it. This evil was no less than man fallen from that uprightness in which God created him, become corrupt, and under the wrath of God. As St. Paul has abundantly shewn, " all have sinned '," and " become guilty before God".'' " By one man sin entered into the ■' Rom. xi, 33. ° Rom. iii. 19. 23. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 227 world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned °." All must be conscious they have deserved God's wrath, and become obnoxious to the awful punishment due to their transgression. Where could they look for an intercessor? Could they expect to find one amongst their fellow- mortals, frail, imperfect, and disobedient as themselves. Vainly must they have sought him unless one " Mighty to save," had stepped forward to preserve them. " He saw,^' saith Isaiah, " that there was no man, and won- dered that there was no intercessor ; therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him ^." Christ became our Intercessor ; he entered with his own blood into the holy place ; into heathen, " having obtained eternal redemption for us.'' He entered then, " not with the blood of calves and goats," but with "Ais own blood." And can we hope to enter otherwise, than as our High Priest has entered before us ; otherwise, than by the blood of Christ? Is there a man who ti'usts in any offering which he can make, in any works which he can perform, without faith in this blood ; who expects that by his own merits, without the blood of Christ, he shall enter into the king- " Rom. V. 12. P Isaiah lix. 16. q2 228 SERMON XL dom of heaven ? That man leans upon a broken reed. As well might he hope that the " blood of bulls and of goats*' could " take a"way sin/' If to any such this discourse were addressed, I would bid him, as our Sa- viour bade the Jews, " Search the Scriptures." Of whom do they testify ? Let him search the Scriptures of the New Testament, let him search those of the Old, and in both, as we have seen, he will trace one great, congruous, foreordained scheme; tending to, and pre- paring for the coming of, one sinless High Priest, one all-prevailing Intercessor, one spot- less Sacrifice, one Approach to the Mercy- Seat, which has obtained for us eternal re- demption. Through the whole of the Scrip- tures it is abundantly proclaimed, that through Christ only, " we have access to the Father," and by his blood only, atonement is made for the sins of all people. To conclude. If it be thus obvious that it is only through his mediation and intercession, and through faith in his blood, our efforts and our repentance can be accepted ; that on this only rest all our hopes ; is it less obvious to all men, professing themselves followers of Christ, that " the same night that he was betrayed;" when the sacrifice was preparmg by which he entered into thejioly place; that ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 229 he then " took bread, and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take eat, this is my body, which is given for you:"' that after supper he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, " Drink ye all of this ; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins : '' and that wqth these endearing recollections, amidst these solemn and impressive circumstances, he bequeathed to us the institution, and com- manded us to do this " in rememhrance of him''/' Are these things nezo ? Are they now re- presented to any for the first time ? Have you not often, upon the anniversary of these events, to which the Church is now gradually excit- ing our attention, been exhorted thus to re- cognize, thus to hold communion with your Redeemer ; thus to acknowledge, and thus to share the benefits of his " precious bloodshed- ding V Who has not repeatedly heard the invitation? And how many have, as repeat- edly, slighted and refused it ? To such let me address these considerations. The vail has, indeed, been " rent in twain/' The ap- proach to the mercy-seat has been laid open. But we must advance towards it, we must not ** Vide Prayer of Consecration in Communion Office. 230 SERMON XI. remain fixed in "the courts of this world below/' We must " dj'aw near with faith " in that bloodshedding, which the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is designed to com- memorate, and of which it is one of the ap- pointed means of conveying to us the benefits. " Why then/' I would ask the irresolute or indifferent Christian, who hesitates to " eat of this bread and drink of this cup," whose heart, instead of being fixed on the true holy place, is bound down to the world ; " Why then, stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven'/' He shall come indeed, and suddejili/, like " a thief in the 7iight\" The issues of life and death are in his hand, none of us can know when his time cometh ; none of us can assure himself that another opportunity of receiving this Holy Sacrament, which he hath ordained, will be vouchsafed to him. Therefore, though we be unworthy to offer unto " God any sacrifice," let us " be- seech" him "to accept this our bounden duty and service." Let us offer it him with the same faith, devotion, and sincerity, as we would, if persuaded that it was to be our last 'Acts i. 11. MThess. V. 2. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 231 action in this world ; and so, that if we should pass from the altar, to the bar of judgment, we might find our great High Priest at the Mercy Seat; ready to be our Mediator and Intercessor, to receive us into the holy place, into " Heaven itself." The shadow has given place to the substance. Released from the burdensome ceremonies of the Law, let ours be the light homage of Christian liberty ; the free, the happy service of faith and love. " Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation. Let us come before his pre- sence with thanksgiving ; and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms \^* Let us approach the altar rejoicing that " burnt offering and sin offering" are no longer required; let us exclaim, " Lo I come,^' " I delight to do thy will":" to do that, which thou hast ordained " in remembrance ^^ of thee. Now, &c. * Psalm xcv. 1. " Psalm xl. 6, 7, 8. SERMON XII. ON SOME POPULAR EXCUSES FOR NEGLECTING TO PARTAKE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. LUKE XIV. 18. They all toith one consent began to make excuse. This text is so well known, as to entirely preclude the necessity of entering into any statement and explanation of the parable from which it is taken. It forms a most appropriate introduction to discourses upon the folly and danger of slighting the invita- tion to the Lord's Supper. And to this pur- pose it has been so often used, I may almost say hackneyed, that the congregation, upon hearing it, may anticipate the substance of the discourse which is to follow. Little else can be offered but the repetition of long- urged arguments and exhortations. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 233 You may be almost tempted to ask within yourselves, Have we not heard all ? Is the necessity for this appeal, so worn, so often made, never to cease ? Never ! while man- kind are m their present corrupt and imper- fect state ; never, I fear, must that necessity cease. Never, certainly, wdiile one single in- dividual habitually turns his back upon that sacred rite ; never will the duty of the clergy have been discharged, if they cease to admo- nish him of his error, to warn him that he is neglecting one of the most solemn and affect- ing commands that the Gospel presents to a Christian'. '^ I venture to suggest to .my brother clergymen, that it would be a soimd exercise of the discretionary authority vested in them, to read occasionally the exhortation, recommended by the Church to be used " in case" they " shall see the people negligent to come to the Holy Communion." In almost every congregation, it is to be feared the majority, or at least a con- siderable portion, are in the habit of abstaining altogether from this rite. And where that is the case, it may certainly be said that the people are " negligent to come." The occasional use of this exhortation is, therefore, (with great deference) urged from actual experience of its beneficial results, both in my own practice, and in that of the clergyman from whom I adopted the measure. Another deviation from the ordinary practice, which also I can recommend from a practical know- ledge of its good effects, is, that of reading the whole exhorta- tion, instead of breaking off at the words, " Kingdom of heaven." To this I was enjoined by my Rector, on my first taking the Curacy. An experience of twelve years has proved to me the justness of his views ; and I have always observed 234 SERMON XII. Whatsoever it may be that detains him from the Lord's Supper; — call it error ; call it lowliness ; call it timidity ; call it what you will ; I know it is not religion. I know it is not the Gospel. I know, and every man who reads the Scriptures must know, that it is there commanded^, distinctly, positively, so- lemnly commanded, that Christians should eat bread and drink wine, in remembrance of the piercing of Christ's body and the shed- ding of his blood upon the cross. Every man must know that this ordinance is of perpetual obligation ; not of this age or of that age, but to " shew the Lord's death till he come '." Every man must know that Christ instituted, St. Paul explained, the Apostles practised, this rite ; not that we should despise, but that we should observe it. These facts are obvious and indisputable. Who is there that can be ignorant of them ? Yet upon the recurrence of the stated pe- the congregation deeply impressed with this exhortation, and particularly attentive during the whole time of its being read. How far in towns, and situations where the Sacrament is Jre- quently administered, it might be advisable to read the whole exhortation, may be a doubtful question. But in the country, where the Lord's Supper is given only four or five times a year, I am satisfied that this full compliance with the rubric is- at- tended with the happiest results. " Matt. xxvi. 26. 1 Cor. xi. ^3, &c. » 1 Cor. xi. 26. ON NEGLECTING THE LORDS SUPPER. 235 riods for administering this holy sacrament, what numbers, professing themselves Chris- tians, quit the Church, and turn their backs upon the altar. Numbers, we may say a great majority, of the world, spend a long life, without once joining in this truly Chris- tian festival. Numbers find themselves upon their sick beds ; numbers pass the gates of death, to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, without having once partaken of these " pledges of his love," without having once, as it were, renewed the seal of his blood. My friends, when we shall be faint and gasping on our last sick bed ; when sinking nature shall proclaim the struggle almost ended ; when our soul shall be about to quit this earth-built tabernacle, and to take its flight to meet the " Father of Spirits ;'' when the world, to us, with all its vanities, shall be as nothing ; when we shall be made awfully sensible, that we have no stay, no hope, but in our crucified Redeemer ; will any man say that, at such a moment, it will be a consoling reflection, that during his whole life he has slighted the invitation, spurned the means of grace, presented by that Saviour, to whom alone he can now look for mercy and for sal- vation? Is it a reflection which any man, with common sense, would deliberately store 236 SERMON XII. lip for his last moments ? I am sure it is not. In the discharge of their professional duties, the clergy too often see proofs that it is not. They sometimes witness that awful scene, (and those who witness such scenes, will not easily forget them) when a dying man has thought upon this neglect, but thought too late. He has set at nought, all his life, this command- ment of his Saviour, and is conscious, per- haps, of having obstinately or thoughtlessly despised those opportunities for reformation of life, and for the renewal of the means of grace, which this institution, both in the pre- paration for it and in its reception'*, is calcu- lated to supply. From not having sought information upon the subject while in health, he has probably confused and superstitious notions of its na- ture and operation. Alarmed and agitated, he is eager to repair his neglect, and to partake of these " holy mysteries,'' these " pledges oV Christ's " love." But ere he can do this, the tongue is parched, the con- vulsed organs can no longer perform their functions. How tremendously expressive, on such occasions, are the mute signs of terror and remorse. The lips can utter no sounds ; but the quivering frame, the clasped hands, * Vide John vi. 53, 54. 55, 56. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 237 the strained and eager eyes, speak volumes. These proclaim, if not more forcibly, at least more unquestionably, than words, the deep feelings of the soul within. They declare that he would think no sacrifice too great to pur- chase a short space to retrace his steps ; that he would give worlds, if he had them, to have been sustained and cheered by those hopes, which are the fruit of a well-founded^ sincere, and active faith in the atoning blood of the Redeemer. Such a faith, I mean, as will manifest itself, not by a confused and pre- cipitate obedience in the extremity of cala- mity or danger, but will mainly and con- stantly animate the heart, direct and regulate the conduct ; a faith which " worketh by love ;'' a faith, which highly appreciating the value of that atoning blood, will delight to do his pleasure, who " poured out his soul unto death ;'' will thirst for the promised blessings ; will thankfully embrace his ap- pointed means of grace ; and will lead its pos- sessor frequently, not only in sickness, but in the day of health and strength, to " draw near'' " and take this holy sacrament to" his " comfort." In the cases, however, to which I have just alluded, let me not be understood to circum- scribe the mercy of the Almighty, and to as- 238 SERMON XII. sert that the repentance and earnest inten- tion of these men will not be accepted, though they cannot carry it into effect. These are matters on which to pass judgment Mould sa- vour of presumption ; they are for His cog- nizance, who sees the heart, with all its feel- ings, thoughts and workings. But I do main- tain that no man, who could enter into their feelings, would wish them to be his ; no man, I repeat, would mU'mgly and knowingly store up such feelings for his death-bed. But some of you may reason within yourselves, that cases such as we have contemplated rarely occur, that multitudes go down to the grave in peace, who have never participated in this rite, and that you may do the same. This is admitted ; it may so happen with you. Yet consider, let me put it to you as a matter worthy of some consideration. Consider whether the consequences I have above de- scribed are, or are not, really the worst con- sequences that may result from this open contempt of Christ's ordinance. Consider whether, after all, your situation may not be infinitely more wretched than theirs. You may not, indeed, have one single un- easy thought upon this contempt either through life, or in death ; but (putting aside the loss of the means of grace, which are of- 10 ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 239 fered in this sacrament) what grounds have you to assume, that you may not be compelled to remember it in judgment? Our Lord ordained a solemn rite in remembrance of his sacrifice ; the church has observed it ever since ; his Apostle has declared, that it is to be observed, " till his coming again." What grounds then have you to assume, that this institution may be treated with contempt, and that no account of this will be taken at the day of judgment? If, then, an account is to be taken, M^hat cause of hope, or of triumph will be found in the reflection, that you may live in disobedience and die without repent- ance ? The sorrow of the dying man, though it wring the soul, is not without hope. It may be a " godly sorrow,'' that " worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of ''/' But what will be his hope, whose heart shall condemn him at the tribunal of judgment ? the tribunal before which, " it is too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of justice \" But why defer the consideration of this duty to either of these periods? why not rather " take heed while the day of salvation lasteth V Why, when the invitation to the Lord's Supper is continually proclaimed, why '' 2 Cor. vii. 10. ' Comraination Service. • Ibid. 240 SERMON XII. do so many with one consent begin to make excuse ? Be assured that something is wrong. The commandment, as was observed before, is positive and universal. An habitual neg- lect of it must be criminal. There must be some fallacy in your excuses ; but a fallacy, remember, which can deceive only your own hearts, not God. Let us, therefore, weigh in the scale of reason and truth, a few of the most general of these excuses ; we shall find them " lighter than vanity itself." Before, however, we proceed to the conside- ration of each of these excuses, in detail, it may be expedient to notice the passage of St. Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, upon which the scruples of those, who absent themselves from the Lord's Supper, are professed to be chiefly founded. " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body*.^' The Corinthians, as we may gather from the Apostle's observations", were guilty of a gross abuse of this institution, in which it is not probable they will be imitated by any one of the present day. Being, many of them, converts from Heathenism, they appear to have come to this sacrament with a notion, * 1 Cor. xi. 29. " Ibid. ver. 21. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 241 that it was to resemble the hcentious festivals held in the temples of their idols, and they thus rendered it a scene of intemperance and drunkenness. St. Paul therefore warns them, that instead of receiving the benefits of this sacrament, they are incurring fresh guilt. But the phrase " eating and drinking his own damnation," by no means implies that they were to be consigned to eternal punishment for this offence, and were to be precluded from repentance. The Greek word translated dam- nation, means condemnation ; " a being ad- judged or sentenced to punishment"" of any kind, whether temporal or eternal. We find it used in a passage, where there can be no question, that it has no reference whatsoever to eternal punishment, because it is applied to our Saviour himself ; and indicates merely his condemnation to be crucified. The rebuke of the penitent malefactor, in which he re- proves his reprobate companion, runs thus, " Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation ? And we indeed justly ; for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss ^." Here the M^ord condemnation is a translation of the same Greek word, as damnation in the passage before us, and clearly has no reference * Parkhurst. ^ Luke xxiii. 40, 41. R 242 SERMON XII. whatsoever to those eternal punishments, to the designation of which, we have of late years exclusively confined the word damna- tion. Neither did St. Paul intend to apply it in that manner, as may be seen at once, by the words which follow. For he says, " for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep''." Of this our transla- tors were perfectly aware, and used the word damnation in the sense, in which it was at that time fully understood, and which was the same as that in which the word condemnation or " punishment,'^ is now understood. That it was so understood in those times is clearly expressed in that passage of the Communion Service, which is in fact a commentary, or rather a paraphrase upon the Apostle's words. " We eat and drink our own damnation, not considering the Lord's body ; we kindle God's wrath against us ; we provoke him to plague us with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death." All which are temporal punishments, and not such as those, which we understand exclusively by the term damnation ^ The « 1 Cor. xi. 30. ^ And even were it otherwise, it could be no argument for neglecting the sacrament. It is evidently mentioned by the Apostle as a reason against the abuse, not against the use of this ordinance. And we cannot be justified in extending the ON NEGLECTING THE LORDS SUPPER. 243 Apostle's meaning, therefore, is misappre- hended, by those who fancy that this sin is not to be pardoned on repentance ; it is a sin, and a great sin ; but not one that consigns us, past redemption, to eternal punishment. Let us now proceed to the consideration of some excuses, by which men persuade them- selves, that they may absent themselves from this communion. I. First of all we meet with the general, and comprehensive excuse; " unworthiness,'' to partake of it, and consequent liability to the effects of God's wrath, whatsoever they may be. There is, it must be confessed, something very specious and plausible in this excuse. A man, who says he is unworthy, may probably give himself great credit for his hu- mility, and flatter himself that this humility will be accepted as a palliation of his disobe- dience. But take good heed, brethren, that you mistake not for humility, a cold indiffer- ence to Christ's will, and an indolent reluct- ance to undertake the great work of repent- ance. There is no method of self-deception more common, than that of using terms and phrases, without establishing in our minds Apostle's caution beyond the limits, within which he obviously confines it. R 2 244 SERMON XII. clear and definite notions of their meaning. You say, you are unworthy to receive the Lord's Supper. Now let us distinctly under- stand what you mean by the term unworthy. Let us see what really makes a man unworthy to receive the Lord's Supper, He, then, is worthy, who, (to use the words of our excellent Catechism,) " examines himself whether he repents him truly of his former sins, steadfastly purposing to lead a new life; who has a lively faith in God's mercy, through Christ, with a thankful re- membrance of his death ; and is in charity with all men.'* Therefore he, and he only, is unworthy, who determines not " to examine himself, and repent of his former sins, steadfastly purposing to lead a new life '," who has not " a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ;'* nor " a thankful remembrance of his death ;" and who is not " in charity with all men." But, if such is your case, if you have ac- |;ually resolved not to examine yourselves, and repent ; if you have no faith in God's mercy, through Christ; if you have not a thankful remembrance of his death; if you are not in charity with all men ; if such is your case, to what purpose do you assemble yourselves together in the Lord's house ? In such a frame ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 245 of mind your very prayers are a complete mockery and abomination. To say " Lord, Lord y is " lost labour ;" it is worse than lost labour, it is rank hypocrisy, it is a practical denial of the infinite and infallible knowledge of the Most High. But it may perhaps be still urged that so it is ; you are unworthy. And to partake of the Lord's Supper will only increase your condemnation. Be it so. Yet pause, and reflect upon this plea. Can any man seriously argue, that his perseverance in guilt will be admitted as any excuse for disobedience ; that, because he will not encrease that guilt, by receiving the Lord's Supper, both that, and the neglect of this command will pass with impunity ; or that, if it is to be punished, he is calmly to wait for vengeance, instead of taking the speediest measures to escape it. Can it be thought that this is the course, which a prudent man should pursue ? Better, surely far better, is the counsel of St. Paul. " Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup ^" Trust not in your worthiness, but in the blood that was shed for you. Endeavour to render your- selves more worthy to partake of the Holy Communion. Diligently and honestly pre- " 1 Cor. xi. 28. 246 SERMON XII. pare yourself, to share the consolations and the graces which a due participation is calcu- lated to supply. Remember, it is not perfect righteousness that is required, (for then could " no man living be justified,") but faith and repentance. With these, let the pious and sincere Christian approach the altar, with humble confidence in the sufficiency of God's grace ; and with hopes and prayers, that what is deficient in his imperfect efforts, may be supplied by the mercy of God, and the merits of his Redeemer. IL But another excuse is brought forward, especially by poorer classes of society ; the want of time and opportunities to make necessary preparation. You urge, perhaps, that you are engaged in the duties of your household, or occupied in earning daily bread for yourselves and for your families. A very large portion of your time is cer- tainly engrossed in these employments. But can you imagine, that our Lord could not be fully aware of all this ? And can you suppose that, foreseeing this, he meant to institute this blessed Sacrament, with all the spiritual benefits and assistances resulting from it, only for the rich, the leisured, and the learned ; not for the poor, the industrious, and the unlearned ? His Gospel was preached to all. It is even one ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 247 of its peculiar and characteristic distinctions, that it was preached especially to the poor. Can it be beheved, then, that he intended to exclude the poor man, from manifesting his grateful remembrance of this mercy ? Surely not. There is absurdity, almost impiety, in the \'ery thought. If, then, he did intend this rite for the poor as well as for the rich ; for the laborious as well as for the leisured ; for the unlearned as well as for the learned ; he must have known perfectly well, that the necessary preparation is within their reach ; and, through God^s grace, practicable with their means and op- portunities. And so it is. I have yet to learn what are those offices due to ourselves, or to our fami- lies, which are incompatible with a suitable preparation for the Lord's Supper. I am persuaded that the conscientious discharge of such offices, so far from being inconsistent with a due preparation for this communion, is absolutely a part, and a very important part of it. I believe that a father or mother, when occupied in the diligent and careful regulation of their family, and in performing those tasks, which are requisite for their com- fort and support, may do all this to the Glory of God. They are doing works acceptable 248 SERMON XII. to him. They are doing -what he has enjoined and recommended in his Scriptures : they are doing their " duty, in that state of hfe, to which it has pleased'' him " to call them/' If, indeed, the care of their families lead them to acts of dishonesty, to the practice of wickedness, or the neglect of religion ; these certainly, do make them unfit for the Lord's Supper. But they make them also unfit for prayer — unfit for death — and unfit for judg- ment. The same observations are applicable to all those, who gain their livelihood by their daily labour, or by any calling ; in short, to all who are occupied in what properly belongs to their station. They are engaged in that of which they need not be ashamed. Diligence and industry have, from the Scriptures, the sanction of both precept and example. And he who avoids idleness, stops the source of many a sin. Only follow in these things St. Paul's advice, to keep always in view the main object for which all is to be done. " Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance : for ye serve Christ \" • Col. iii. 23, 24. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 249 Even with respect to the private oppor- tunities for self-examination, for repentance, for prayer, and for praise, I have yet to learn what labours, or what duties, entirely pre- clude them. Well, indeed, too well, was it said, that " the children of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the children of light''/' Many of the wicked,, (though per- haps very laborious and diligent), in the evening, or at other times, find abundant opportunities for drunkenness, debauchery, and for every species of sin. Cannot the 7'eligious, then, contrive to set apart a few moments for self-examination, for repentance, and for holy resolution ? The wicked, (even during their hardest labours) find means to occupy their minds in laying plans for fresh crimes, or to raise their voices in obscenities, imprecations, and blas- phemies ; yet cannot the religious-minded man, at the same time, find means to medi- tate, to praise, and to prai/ ? What are the duties, what the labours, which prevent the meditations of the soul ; the silent confession to Almighty God; the humble prayer, the heartfelt praise ? What are the duties which forbid the parent, active in the concerns of ^ Luke xvi. 8. 250 SERMON XII. her family, to think "sometimes of that Sa- viour, " of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named * ;" — to seek his glory, by endeavouring to " bring up" her household " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ^;" and to reflect upon the mercies of that God, who has been graciously pleased to combine our truest happiness with our duty ? What are the toils which forbid the la- bourer to think with faith and gratitude upon that Redeemer, who has purchased for him a blissful and everlasting rest ; who has given him the blessed assurance that his body, like the seed which he buries in the ground, shall rise again with renovated powers, and in un- fading glory ? Be assured that these, and the like occu- pations, form no sound excuse for neglecting this holy sacrament. Every man, no matter what his station or condition of life, must prepare himself according to his means and abilities. Those who have more leisure, must make a corresponding improvement; those who have less, if they make a diligent and proper use of it, will be accepted " according 'to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not^'' ' Eph. iii. 15. ' Ibid. vi. 4. * 2 Cor. viii. 12. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 251 Every man may plead that he has his du- ties and his pursuits ; every man may urge business or pleasure, or some occupation, as preventing him from making the necessary preparation. One may say, that he is going " to his farm, another to his merchandize." These may be offered as excuses for neglect- ing the Lord's Supper ; but can they be ac- cepted ? There is " a time to every purpose under heaven**.'' Time may, usually, be found for the "farm," time for the "merchandize," and time for God. But, if not time for all, the farm and the merchandize must be given up, not God. The path of a Christian is distinctly marked out. He must, if necessary, " for- sake all," and take up the cross, and follow Christ. He must be with him or against him. He must choose whom he will serve, God or Mammon ; which he will embrace, heaven or the world. in. A third excuse offered is the fear of committing sin, after having received the holy Communion. From sins of infirmity, and occasional lapses, no man living can be exempt ; and we have good reason to trust that, where the Christian is sincere, such .^ Eccles. iii. 1. 252 SERMON XII. errors and imperfections will not, through the mercy of God and the merits of our Re- deemer, be strictly marked. Were it not so, the best of men could not observe this insti- tution, and our Lord would, therefore, never have ordained it. But from presumptuous, deliberate, and habitual sins, it is in the power of every man, with the assistance of God's grace, to secure himself. Why, then, refuse to participate in that rite, which pledges you to increased holiness, and to greater vigilance? Why not resolve to guard against sin ? Why refuse to do this, unless you have secretly determined not to resist the approach of sin ? If such be your determination, in what light will such contu- macy and perverseness appear before God? With what reward will it meet ? Will it not assuredly draw down well merited vengeance ? But it may, perhaps, be argued, that there are temptations, and that by these you may be drawn into deliberate sin. Should this be the answer of one calling himself a Chris- tian, of one professing to read the Scrip- tures ? There we read distinctly that " God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 253 ye may be able to bear it'/' If then you are drawn into deliberate and habitual sin, whose fault will it be ? But strip then, this excuse of the disguise, with which indolence, or love of the world invests it, and it will amount to this. The invitation to the Lord's Supper requires you to forsake, and guard against deliberate and habitual sin. You will not receive this sacrament. And why ? Because you do not choose to employ those precautions which are within your reach ; to exert those powers which God has given you ; and to avail your- selves of that assistance, which He has pro- mised, for the very purpose of enabling us " to have mctory and to triumph against the Devil, the world, and the flesh \'' What kind of an excuse is this ? It is a practical declara- tion, that you desert the standard of the great " Captain of your salvation ;" that you abjure your baptismal vows, and that you will not be the " faithful soldier and servant^'' of Christ Jesus. Supposing, however, you should be over- come by temptation, the sin is, indeed, un- questionably great. But is repentance no longer open to us ? Is there no forgiveness for the true penitent ? Because he has partaken of the Lord's Supper, has he lost the privilege * 1 Cor. X. 13. '' Office of Baptism. ' Ibid. 254 SERMON XII. of a Christian ? Surely not. Through Christ he may hope to be pardoned upon sincere re- pentance. And without repentance, who can hope, or ask for forgiveness ? IV. The last excuse to which your attention will be directed, is the want of confirmation. What ! then, is the neglect of one duty, to be pleaded as an excuse for slighting another? So far from being an excuse, it is absolutely not even a reason for refusing the Lord's Supper. The directions of the church upon this point have been misunderstood. They do not forbid from the Lord's table those, who have not been confirmed ; but only those who have not been, and do not intend to be confirmed. Here are the very words of the rubric. No man, that attends to them, can mistake their meaning. " There shall none be admitted to the holy Communion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed™." Therefore, you, who have attained a suffi- cient age, and neither have been confirmed nor have received the Lord's Supper, take shame to yourselves for your past omission of both these duties, and lose no time in re- pairing your error. Receive the holy Com- munion immediately, and firmly resolve to " Rubric at end of Order of Confirmation. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 255 receive confirmation, the very first opportu- nity that presents itself. These are some of the most common ex- cuses : and of these I have endeavoured to expose the sophistry and the emptiness as fully as the limits of a discourse will permit. Those who require " further comfort or counsel/' the Church has directed whither to apply for it. Only let your profession and your practice be consistent. If there be any here, who be- lieves not in Christ, he is consistent in his con- tempt of this ordinance. Either he looks for nothing after death, or he builds his hope upon some other foundation than that of which Christ is the corner stone. That man, I say, is consistent. He despises the Re- deemer, and he despises his institutions. But assembled in the Church, it is to be presumed, there are none such. Here, I trust, all look for salvation through Christ Jesus : all aspire to the blessings ; all participate in the hopes, which were purchased for mankind by the sa- crifice of his body, and the shedding of his blood upon the cross. But where are these hopes manifested, where is a sense of these blessings displayed by hiniy who passes his whole life in neglect of that very ordinance, which was established expressly to comme- morate the foundation of these hopes, and the 10 256 SERMON XII. purchase of these blessings ? Where is his faith, where is his hope, where is Ids love, who, upon every invitation to the Lord's Sup- per, continues " to make excuses." My friends, such excuses, I repeat, must be fallacious. Do not rely upon them now. Remember, you will have to plead them hereafter at the bar of judgment, when all fallacies must be exposed, all hearts be open. Consider that all men may urge the same pleas; that these excuses, if they avail you 71022^, would avail you always; if they justified your disobedience, they would also justify the disobedience of all other men. But if they justified the disobedience of all meii, and at all times, then you come to this conclusion : that Christ established an ordinance, which he did not intend to be observed; that he gave a commandment which he did not wish to be obeyed ; in short, that he meant notliing, when he said, " do this in remembrance of 7ne. Reasoning, which leads to this conclusion, how fallacious, how dangerous must it be ! Beware of it. " Judge yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord".'' Finally. Let me close this subject, by en- treating you not to lose sight of it the moment ■ Communion Office. ON NEGLECTING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 257 you quit the Church. Reflect well upon what you have heard. Honestly and man- fully act up to your convictions. If you are satisfied it is your " bounden duty and ser- vice" to receive the Lord's Supper, let nothing dissuade, nothing deter you from it. Multi- tudes may neglect it ; but multitudes cannot alter the nature of sin and disobedience. You must not " follow a multitude to do evil/' Let every individual rather do his best en- deavour to diminish that multitude, and to take away the reproach, at least from this congregation. Be not also foolishly " ashcnned of that which is good." Rather, each of you strive to make the blush of shame rise, where it ought to rise ; not in his face who is doing his duty to his God, and to his Redeemer; but in Ais, who is basely deserting, or auda- ciously setting them at nought. Let each do his part, that the guests at the Lord's table may become more numerous than those who " make excuses:" that these latter, becoming conspicuous, may be ashamed to quit all their brethren assembling round the altar; that, in a word, seeing the good work, they may re- pent, and return, and join in glorifying our heavenly Father, through his Son Jesus Christ our Saviour. To whom, &c. s SERMON XIII. CHRIST RAISING THE WIDOW'S SON. ON EASTER DAY. LUKE VII. 13. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her. Weep not. The text is taken from St. Luke's narrative of a miracle performed by our Saviour; one of those benevolent exertions of his Almighty power, which so frequently occur in the history of his life and actions. As he is approaching the city of Nain, his attention is arrested by a concourse of people coming through the gate; and he perceives they are drawn together to witness the mournful and affecting spectacle of a widowed mother, following her only son to the grave. We may readily conceive the interest and commiseration this spectacle was calculated to excite. ^low forlorn, how heart-broken must ON EASTER DAY. 259 this unhappy widow have felt. Her husband already dead ; then to lose her only son : him, whose progress she had long watched with hope and pride; to whose welfare the daily wish, the daily thought, the daily prayer had been directed : him, from whom she now looked for the reward of years of anxiety and toil; for comfort, perhaps for support, as her failing steps were verging down the path of life ; to see him prematurely swept away in the vigour and prime of manhood ; to follow him to the grave, and to be left alone, widowed, probably childless, desolate, unprotected ! How full of misery and woe the scene before her ! How cheerless her prospects ! Nothing in view, but to M^ear out her few remaining years in wretchedness and infirmity, and then to bring down her gray hairs in sorrow to the grave ! Can we, then, but suppose that her grief was unbounded, her lamentations touching ? Can we but imagine, that the sympathy of the bystanders was powerfully excited at this melancholy sight. Can we, above all, believe, that it failed to engage his notice ; who " hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.^' No; he beheld this afflicted mourner, and approached her with the soothing accents of benevolence and consolation. " He had s2 260 SERMON XIII. compassion on her, and said to her, Weep not/' Yet zvhy should she not weep ? Had not his spirit fled? Was not her son, her beloved, her only son, a lifeless corpse ? Had not her days been protracted to feel the keenest pang of mortal woe ; the separation of kindred hearts, the laceration of maternal aflfection ? Had she not, in closing the eyes of her beloved son, closed also her best pros- pects of happiness in this world ? To her, at that moment, hope itself was almost extin- guished. Why^ then, should she not weep ? To say to such a person, "Weep not,'' was but slender consolation. But Christ finished not here. He approached the bier, and touched it; the bearers of it stood still : and, amidst the awful pause of breathless expectation, with which the spectators watched the result of this extraordinary scene, Jesus spake again. The voice was heard, to which all nature bows obedient; at whose accents even the dead must awake; " Young man, I say unto thee, arise," Instantly the vital spark re- animated the corpse. " He that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus de- livered him to his mother.'' Well might Jesus, who was endued with such power ; well, indeed, might he say. ON EASTER DAY. 261 ** Weep not;'^ no sorrows could be so deep, no situation so hopeless, but he had power to say, " Weep not/"* But is it only to the widow of Nain, that Christ has addressed these gracious words of consolation ? Is it to her only, that he has said, " Weep not V No, not to her only ; to every Christian, to every true disciple he still addresses the language of consolation, and bids them, " weep not ;" for " the dead shall be raised '," " Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept"." The resurrection of our blessed Saviour, sets before the sincere believer, the very same grounds of consolation that Jesus himself of- fered to the weeping and widowed mother. This is the pledge and the assurance of our resurrection. Faith in this glorious event, in every scene, in every season of life will sug- gest the very language of the Redeemer. " Weep not!" He, whose all controlling voice raised the young man from the sleep of death, he shall call upon us to " arise." His voice shall again be heard. " The sea" shall give " up the dead which" are " in it, and death and hell shall" deliver up " the dead which are in them''." " 1 Cor. XV. 20. P Rev. xx. 13. 262 SERMON XIII. To the Christian, then, who hath hope of a resurrection, to him, I say, in every season, and in every situation of hfe, Jesus still saith, " Weep not/' " Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward "^J' The curse pronounced upon our common parent proclaimed the sorrows he had entailed on his posterity. Thus ran the fatal sentence, " Cursed be the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee'.'' How fully this sentence has been carried into effect, some parts of every man's life will furnish him with ample proof. Few, or none have enjoyed unmingled happiness. Sorrow and suffering, vexation and disappointment, meet us at every point of our pilgrimage, through this life of trial ; and most blessed are they, who have known the value and the uses of adversity ; have had in view constantly the important truth, that " the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us \" But as sorrow and suffering are to be the portion of all mortals, where shall he find consolation and support who has no hope of ''Jobv. 7. 'Gen. Hi. 17, 18. ' Rom. viii. 18. ON EASTER DAY. 263 a resurrection ? Destroy* this hope ; and how- shall it then be said to the afflicted " Weep not V Might they not exclaim with the Apostle, " If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable"/' To attempt to point out all the situations and incidents of life to which this consolation is applicable, would be to undertake an almost endless task. But we may profitably employ ourselves in taking a cursory view of three or four instances of its application ; which may serve both to illustrate the general argument, and to recal to the memory of many, the actual experience they may have had of the inestimable value of this blessed assurance, w^hich is given us by the resurrection of our Redeemer. I. First then take the case of sickness, with which it is ordained in God's good pleasure, that man should be visited. Racked with pain, worn down with protracted agony, de- pressed, harassed, and broken, the weary suf- • It is difficult to comprehend the motives of their activity, who, disbelieving themselves, exert their utmost power to overthrow the faith of others. Of all acts of cruelty it is the most exquisite, the most wanton, the most unprofitable. They wrest the cup of consolation from the afflicted and the mourner, not to drain it themselves, but to dash it down to the earth, and trample it under foot, " 1 Cor. XV. 19. 264 SERMON XIII. ferer might be tempted to consider himself and his anguish, as the sport of some cruel or capricious being, who delights in, or dis- regards the miseries of his creatures. In all around him, he sees the characters of wretch- edness. His peevish and distempered mind can find neither delight nor hope in any thing. He might imagine himself created for nothing but evil. Like Job in the anguish of his soul, he might curse the day in which he was born. He might exclaim, " Why died I not from the womb ? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly ? Why did the knees prevent me ? or why the breasts that I should suck ? for now should I have lain still, and been quiet, I should have slept".'' Evil and dangerous thoughts, doubts of the goodness and justice of God might take pos- session of his mind; darkness and despair might overwhelm him, and threaten to plunge him into tenfold misery. Whence, at such a time, can one single ray of consolation shine to dispel the gloom which envelops him ? What can speak peace to his agitated soul, and bid him, " weep not?** What ! but the blessed assurance of a resur- rection through Christ Jesus ? The voice that raised the widow's son, will raise us; the " Jobiii. 11, 12, 13. ON EASTER DAY. 265 heart that had compassion on her sufferings, bleeds for ours ; the Saviour that touched his " bier/^ is " about our bed ;" knows all ; sees all ; calls us, guides us, supports us through pain and affliction, to enter into hap- piness ; teaches us, that " our way to eternal joy is to suffer here with Christ; and our door to enter into eternal life, is gladly to die with Christ, that we may rise again from death, and dwell with him in everlasting life ^J" These are recollections which, if they can- not soothe the pangs of disease, can, at least, give us strength to sustain them with resigna- tion and fortitude ; and can enable us, finally, to turn them to our profit. These can sug- gest to us, that a faithful Christian need not " weep/^ " For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth %"" And though " no chasten- ing for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby */^ II. Another trial, to which the Almighty has thought fit to subject his servants, is that bitterness of spirit which a man feels, when, after a long and toilsome perseverance in ' Service for Visitation of the Sick. 'Heb. xii. 6. »Heb.xii. 11. 266 SERMON XIII. doing good to his fellow-creatures, and in striving to earn their regard and esteem, he finds himself misrepresented and scorned, but sees the wicked prospering and basking in the sunshine of worldly favour, and triumphing in those honours and that reputation, which he thinks ought to have been his portion. It is not meant to assert that this is always, or even generally the case. For where a man's motives are good and his conduct upright, even in this world, on most occa- sions some justice will be done to his cha- racter ; and he will receive a portion of the praise and esteem he merits. But we very well know, that these results are by no means promised or held out to us ; we know that God has thought it expedient that it should be sometimes otherwise ; that a good man should meet with contempt and hostility, where he deserves praise and re- ward; and that the wicked and the vile should, for a time, receive that homage which is due only to virtue and excellence. Where is the man whose heart would be totally insensible to this injustice of mankind ; who would not be damped without some encouragement in his practice of virtue, and disgusted with a world which repays his good intentions and his benevolent exertions, with ON EASTER DAY. 267 such ingratitude ? Who, after becoming the object of unprovoked hostihty ; having been, as it were, hunted down by calumny and misrepresentation ; exposed to multiphed in- sults and unmerited scorn, such as often seem to pursue some men through every action of their lives; who would not be sometimes inclined to yield himself to despair, to perse- vere no longer in " well doing,^^ to hate life and the world, and all that belongs to it ? But here, again, of what incalculable value and benefit are those consolations and encou- ragements which the Christian derives from the assurance of a resurrection ! How is he stimulated to persevere in the way of righteousness ! How is his wounded spirit comforted and sustained, by the recol- lection of those Scriptures which assure him, that his recompense cannot fail ; that the time will come, when he shall reap the fruit of all his righteous labours, however apparently unsuccessful here; that the triumph of the hypocrite is but of short duration ; for " God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead^," •^ Acts xvii. 31. 268 SERMON XIIl. III. In heavy losses and disappointments, the assurance of a resurrection is a never- faihng source of consolation. The " race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Diligence, industry, and integrity, offer a reasonable prospect of success. But the result of these is not certain. E\en in their most honest, best-directed efforts to advance themselves in life, men frequently fail of their object ; and without any fault or want of diligence on their part, are reduced by unexpected and inevitable losses and ca- lamities, to indigence and penury. Those especially who have been accustomed to the conveniences, perhaps the luxuries of life, cannot but deeply feel the sudden privation of them as a severe affliction. And they are often made to feel it more acutely by the falseness of pretended friends, who fawned upon them in prosperity, and insult them in their adversity. Sufiering, then, under the pressure of hardships M^hich they have been neither accustomed nor prepared to en- counter ; stung with the ingratitude of the base and frivolous ; ready to murmur at the decrees of Providence, which have plunged them into calamities greater than, in the ordinary course of things, they had reason to expect ; in such circumstances, and in such a ON EASTER DAY. 269 state of mind, how important to them is the knowledge, that " here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come^ ;' that as our treasure is not here, so neither should our heart be fixed here. " Let not your heart be troubled,"' said our Lord ; " ye believe in God, believe also in me'^.'' " I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye maybe also%'' He that arms himself with this knowledge, will not suffer the loss of this world's goods to destroy his tranquillity. Under the heaviest rev^erses, his patience, though shaken, will not fail. He will comfort and uphold him- self and his friends; he will say, "Weep not." " We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out^'' " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ^/' IV. Lastly. Of all the situations of life to which this consolation is applicable, there is none in which it is more efficient and valua- ble, than when it supports us under the shock of seeing those we love, torn from us by the remorseless hand of death. " Dust thou art, *= Heb. xiii. 14. '^Johnxiv. 1. « John xiv. 2, 3. UTim. vi. 7. .jJobi. 21. 270 SERMON XIII. and unto dust thou shalt return/' is the 7ini- versal doom. All must yield to it. Day by day, death claims his victims ; strikes them in the bosom of domestic happiness ; snatches them from the arms of friendship. Many a widowed mother has followed the remains of an only son. Many an affection- ate heart has felt the cruel pangs of separation from a darling child ; from a fond and pro- tecting parent ; from a faithful partner ; from a dear and valued friend. Many a one sees those he loves consigned to the earth, and bitterly exclaims, as David did, " Would God I had died for thee." But wishes such as these avail nothing. Let the afflicted mourner rather turn to his Bible. He will find con- solation in the advice of St. Paul — " that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him ^." Of the value of such consolation, all of us can form some conception. But they only can truly estimate it, who have been actually placed in a situation to experience all its efficacy. Are there any such here ? Are there any who have hung in despair over the death-bed of him they loved ; have gazed on " 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14. ON EASTER DAY. 271 his wasted and anxious countenance ; caught his last glance, fondly turned on them ; — seen his pale lips move, wishing^ but unable to utter the accents of love and consolation ; — • watched \\\s faint attempt to smile, to express resignation, and impart comfort; — felt the chill and feeble pressure of his hand, striving to assure them, that the heart, in which the last pulse is beating, still feels the warmth of affection : — if there be any here who have known the agonizing feelings of the human soul at this trying moment, to them I appeal ; them I call upon to estimate the value of the " hope that is in Christ Jesus/^ What can console, what can support them through this heart-rending scene ? What, but that holy Religion, whose " still small voice^' is gradu- ally heard amidst the fiercest conflict of the passions ; which whispers, " Weep not \'' Je- sus Christ is " the resurrection and the life." He raised the widow^'s son. He will raise him whom ye mourn. Ye part not for ever. Ye may meet again, in a world where " all tears shall be wiped away ;'' and where hearts united in the bonds of affection, shall never again be torn asunder. These are some of the consolations which belong to those who have hope in Christ Je- sus. These are, I say, some of the consola- 13 272 SERMON XIII. tions ; for, in every situation of life in which consolation or encouragement can be required, it may be derived from this hope. Fre- quently, then, habitually, reflect upon that glorious resurrection, which is the assurance and the first fruits of our resurrection. Call to mind the unspeakable love of that gracious Redeemer, by whose sufferings and sacrifice this blessed hope was purchased for us. Let the remembrance of these mercies ac- company us in every scene, in every situation - of this eventful life. Let it not be lost even amidst the anxious cares and the urgent duties of our respective stations in the world. Let it be ever present, to excite us to shew forth the praise of our merciful Lord " not only with our lips, but in our lives.'^ And, above all, let it occupy our thoughts, whensoever we join the congregation of our fellow Christians ; whether to lift up our voice in prayer, and in praise ; or to approach the altar in grateful commemoration of Christ's death ; and of the inestimable benefits which he has conferred upon us. Those, especially, who have known griefs such as we have alluded to, and have experienced the consolations of this hope; those, whose tears have been wiped away and whose sorrows have been healed; let those ever preserve the recollection of these things FOR EASTER DAY. 273 when they kneel at the Lord's table. Then let the influence of this recollection have its fullest sway. The heart that was once burst- ing with grief, let it now swell with gratitude. The eyes that were dim with tears, let them now beam with faith and joy. The voice that was broken with sobs, be it now raised in the accents of praise. The hands that were clasped in despair, be they now uplifted in hope. The knees that once sunk beneath the pressure of a broken spirit, be they now bent in holy reverence, in heartfelt devotion. Behold, Jesus still bids us " Weep not !" " Weep not \" " For the Lord is risen indeed \'' " Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept''." " Weep not,'' then; but " Praise the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me praise his holy name . To conclude. Let this hope, after having been our consolation through life, be our sup- port in death. Let us arm ourselves against the approach of that hour, by continually looking with the eye of faith, to the glories of the resurrection. Let us be prepared to re- ceive the King of Terrors, with the calm and dignified fortitude which becomes a Christian, ' Luke xxiv. 34. " 1 Cor. xv. 20. ' Psalm ciii. 1. Version of Liturgy. T 274 SERMON XIII. knowing through whom the " victory'' is given. Let us cherish a stedfast faith in our Redeemer, and endeavour to hve in constant obedience to his precepts. Let us endeavour to have that within us, which will whisper, " peace, Weep not ;" will diffuse serenity, and support hope in our own breast ; will cheer, comfort, and stimulate to the practice of piety, and to the love of religion, our sorrowing relatives and friends. So shall we cause the light of Christian joy and consolation, to shine within us and around us; to shed a lustre upon the troubles of life, and illumine and brighten even the sad objects, which occupy the chamber of death. Our departure from this world of sin and sorrow will resemble the last gleams of the evening sun; when, after a dreary day of storm and tempest, it bursts forth from the clouds, and sets in calm and glorious effulgence. The storm has ceased, the winds are hushed. The thick clouds which obscured it, are now fast receding on every side ; it sheds around it a mild and chastened lustre ; tinges with rays of beauty even the gloomy masses which encircle it ; sinks with a serenity and splendour, which is the harbinger of a fairer day on the morrow ; and assures us that it FOR EASTER DAY. 275 will rise again in cloudless fnajesty, and in unsullied splendour. That we may be enabled thus to descend calmly and joyfully through the gate of death, full of faith, and strong in hopes of rising to everlasting day through Christ Jesus, may God, of his infinite mercy, grant. May he, that animated and raised the widow^s son, may he animate us with his Holy Spirit ; may he now raise us " from dead works to serve the living God " :'' to serve him with all our heart, with all our soul, and witli all our strength; to serve him here with gladness, and with faith ; hereafter in purest freedom, in everlasting bliss. Blessed in these hopes, which are set before us ; let us, with one accord, ascribe unto God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all power, &c. &c. "' Heb. ix. 14. T 2 SERMON XIV. THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. ON THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. LUKE. V. 5. Ajid Simon, answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing ; nevertheless, at thy word, I ivill let down the net. To a mind desirous of employing itself in pious and profitable meditations, how inex- haustible, how various are the materials fur- nished in the Scriptures. Scarcely a passage can be found, from which may not be derived reflections conducive to holiness and edifica- tion. Besides the sublime doctrines, and the simple but comprehensive precepts of the Divine Word ; the servant of Christ is con- tinually presented with bright examples of triumphant faith and fortitude, with alarming instances of overtaken and awfully requited guilt. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 277 Faithful and impressive are the portraits he there beholds. He sees man both such as he is, and such as he ouoiht to be. He beholds him, at one moment adorned with all the splendour of Christian graces, at another de- formed with the dark spots of human corrup- tion : now glorious in his approximation to the " image " " of God ; then degraded in the miserable display of the frailty of man. He sees our strength and our weakness, our powers and our imperfections ; he sees the feebleness of human nature, and the efficacy of Divine grace. Even from transactions, such as cannot from their nature ever be expected to take place with any other individual, than the per- son to whom they immediately refer; such as are apparently or professedly not intended to be mentioned in any other light, than as facts connected with the sacred history, and with the establishment of the Gospel ; even from transactions such as these, reflection can derive rich stores of instruction and edification. For the individuals of whom these things were re- corded were rnen; and we are men — frail, erring, fallen men — men with the same pas- sions, the same imperfections, the same neces- sities, the same interests, the same hopes, the " Gen. i. 26. Coloss. iii. 10. 278 SERMON XIV. same tears, the same God and the same Saviour. Their actions, therefore, will generally, if not always, afford some useful lessons appli- cable to our conduct. Though these persons may not have been in the selfsame situation or circumstances as we are, or can be placed in, still we may find ourselves often in similar and in parallel circumstances ; and then we have the same passions, and the same corruption as they had to betray us into guilt and folly, the same motives, and the same Holy Spirit to animate us to virtue and wisdom. We may be, therefore, alarmed by their failures, or encouraged by their triumphs; profit by their mistakes or imitate their prudence ; we may see men, like ourselves, holding their course amidst the perils and temptations of the world ; may shun the dangers on which they struck, or follow them in that track, by which they reached the haven of an everlast- ing rest. The Gospel appointed for this day** (from which our text is taken) records one of those transactions to which the foregoing observa- tions are applicable. It is one in which no person at the present day can expect to be engaged. But it may, nevertheless, be analo- " Fifth Sunday after Trinity. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 279 gous to some situations and circumstances, in which we may be placed ; and in these may suggest to us many useful hints and many impressive cautions. In this point of view we will now consider it. St. Luke relates, in this part of his Gospel, that " as the people pressed" upon our blessed Lord, to hear the word of God, " he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake : but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship/' L The first circumstance to which your attention may be directed, is, that " the people PRESSED upon him to hear the word of God." They pressed upon him. Such was their eagerness and anxiety to hear the word of God, that Jesus was thronged and inconve- nienced. He was compelled to take refuge in one of the ships, which stood by the lake, and to teach them out of the ship. What a glorious scene for our contemplation ! Picture it to your imagination. Picture to yourselves this interesting, this eager group, the whole 280 SERMON XIV. multitude ranged on the shore, anxious, lest one single word of" the Divine teacher should escape them ! Picture to yourselves this scene, and remember the declaration of Christ, " Blessed are they, that do hunger and thirst after righteousness/' How many poor hitherto benighted beings do we here behold in the way to partake of this blessedness ! It is a scene at the contemplation of which men and angels may rejoice. But still one reflection, and to us one very important reflection presents itself. What part have we in this joy? What hopes have we of this blessedness ? Do we hunger and thirst after righteousness? Do we press to hear the word of God ? Be it our care to examine ourselves seriously upon this point, lest the time come when the recollection of the scene just described, instead of inspiring joy, shall be to us the source of shame and sorrow, and lest, at " the great day,^' the people who stood at the lake of Gennesaret stand up in judgment agamst us. Those, to whom blessedness is imputed by our Lord ; those, who " hunger and thirst after righteousness,"' wuU naturally seek what they so earnestly desire. They will seek it on all occasions, and by all methods. They will seek it by the appointed means of meditation, FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 28 1 study, exhortation, and prayer. They will seek it in private, and in the congregation. They will delight to come and worship in God's holy temple. They will, indeed, be eager, they will press, if necessary, to hear the word of God. But is he one who would press to hear the word of God ; he, who comes to church merely because others come ? he, who comes only when it suits him ? he, who will not remove any impediment or encounter any inconvenience to come ? he, who stays away whensoever busi- ness, whensoever pleasure, whensoever idleness invites him ? Is he one, who would press to hear the word of God ; he, who when he is at Church, coldly follows the service, scarcely know s what is passing, bestows not one earnest thought upon his Saviour and his God ? he, who hears and profits not? he, in short, who quits the Church, as he entered it, without edification and without improvement? Do men, in general, seem disposed to press to hear the word of God ? To illustrate and enforce this question, let me put one supposition. ^ If there had been expected here this day, ^ This was preached in London in 1824, when Mr. Irving was so much followed. It aims at the improper motive, which will induce many to attend a place of worship as they would a spectacle ; when they cannot do it as a duty. 282 iERMON XlV. some celebrated and popular preacher, pow- erful in his elocution, peculiar m his manner, deviating from the ordinary mode of address- ing a congregation ; combining, in short, with all the graces and brilliancy of eloquence, that attraction, (for their morbid love of which St. Paul stigmatized the frivolous and degene- rate Athenians) the " something new." If, I say, such a preacher had been expected here, do you imagine, that we should not have had many present, who might, who ought to be here now ? Should we not have had many, who found, or fancied it inconvenient to at- tend this, or any other place of worship ? Should we not have had crowds pressing to gratify curiosity; pressing with " itching ears'' to hear this gifted, this eccentric indivi- dual; crowds, who cannot, will not press to hear the will of God, and to pray for salva- tion ? Nay, extend the argument derivable from this supposition still further. Carry the search into your own bosoms. Honestly consult your consciences, inquire, what relatively on the occasion here supposed, or on common occa- sions, would be the alacrity of your attend- ance, and the interest with which you would attend to the service. Would we press to hear the word of God ? FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 283 Lei this question through Hfe have your re- peated and serious consideration. Meditate upon the scene which the evangehst has pourtrayed, — the people pressing to hear the word of God. Consider this, examine your own hearts, and remember the decla- ration of our holy Redeemer, " blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righte- ousness.'' II. The second point which may be sug- gested for our consideration, is the effect which our Saviour's discourse produced upon Simon, the owner of the ship. This man having heard the gracious word^ which proceeded from the lips of Jesus, be- came immediately impressed with a sense of his divine character, and consequently full of faith and obedience. Blessed, thrice blessed was the soil on which the " seed fell ;" and blessed were the fruits it produced. May the gracious Author of all good grant that our hearts, like his, may " receive the word of God, and bring forth fruit an hundred fold." It may be asked, by what tokens it appears, that the discourse of our Lord immediately produced these effects. The answer is, by those tokens, which our Saviour himself has given us to distinguish in such cases. " The 284 S'ERMON XIV. tree is known by his fruit \'' The fruits of Simon's faith are instantly perceptible. For our Saviour, " when he had left speaking, said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught'/' No little trial this ! A toilsome night had been spent in unavailing efforts ; the poor M'eary fisherman after having given up all hope, and brought his bark to the shore to wash his nets, is desired, by a stranger to his calling, to " launch out again into the deep, and let down his nets for a draught/' What reply to such a request could be expected from the fisherman, unless he were most profoundly im- pressed with reverence towards this individual ? might he not be expected to answer, if not with churlishness, at least with contempt, that he well knew the utter hopelessness of the experiment? not so the person, whose case we are considering. The discourse of Jesus had deeply penetrated his heart. With meek- ness and deference he states their fruitless labour, " Master we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." But he adds, " nevertheless^ at thy word, I will let down the net/' Here, again, let us pause, to observe whe- ther Simon's conduct admits of a comparison '^ Matt. xii. 33. ' Luke v. 4. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TKINITY. 285 with ours. We have not, it is true, toiled all the night in fishing, neither shall we be called upon to let down the net for a miraculous draught. But many a Christian has toiled, in the discharge of his duty, in the exercise of his. calling; toiled, not all the night, but all his life, and taken nothing. He has toiled as a zealous and devoted servant of Christ ; he has toiled to do good to his fellow creatures ; he has toiled to sustain and bring up his family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; he has toiled as an honest and upright man to advance himself in the esteem of the good ; he has sacrificed his interest to his duty, his own welfare to that of his fellow creatures ; and after all his toil he has " taken nothing,"^ or perhaps worse than nothing ; he has been repaid with ingratitude, scorn, obloquy, and persecution. But Jesus has " taught" this man as he did St. Peter ; has shewn him, that he possesses that wisdom, which entitles him to universal obedience, that goodness which claims universal faith. The same Jesus bids him again launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a draught. He bids us all to rely upon him. He bids us endure " to the end" that we may be saved. He exhorts us not to faint. He commands us 28G SERMON XIV. to continue in well doing, and assures us, that our reward is certain. Launch out, therefore, still saith our Re- deemer, and let down your nets for a draught. And shall we refuse, shall we be discouraged ? No ! though we may have toiled long, though we may have hitherto toiled fruitlessly, never- theless^ at thy word, we will let down the net. We will persevere, knowing (and assured by the result of Simon's obedience) that in due time " our reward cometh.'' All our toil, our utmost toil, will be repaid with an exceed- ing weight of glory; with joys such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard. And why should we not toil for these, why not persevere ? Look at the worldly man, how he toils, how he perseveres, to effect his purposes. If one scheme fails, he tries another. Again and again he lets " down his net for a draught.'^ Let the Christian then be no less diligent and enduring. Let us not be classed with those supine and lukewarm professors of religion, of whom it may be truly said, " The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.^' IIL The Evangelist proceeds to relate that, when Simon had complied witli our Saviour's request, " they enclosed a great multitude of FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 287 fishes, and their net brake. And they beckr oned unto their partners, that they should come and help them ; and they came and filled both the ships, so that they began tq sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me ; fof I am a sinful man, O Lord.'' It may be remarked with what sincerity St. Peter here speaks and acts, immediately upon the convictions and feelings of his heart. Having heard Jesus teaching the people his heavenly doctrine, he is persuaded that this must be a person commissioned from above, to offer man the word of eternal life. With humility and deference he obeys his command to launch out into the deep, and let down his nets for a draught. But when he beholds the astonishing and miraculous draught of fishes, he perceives Jesus invested with almighty power, and controuling all created beings. He passes from faith and obedience to fear of that great Being in whose presence he stands, and to a deep sense of his own unworthiness. " Depart from me," he exclaims, " for I am a sinful man, O Lord !" How strongly do these words indicate that fervency and sincerity of heart which afterwards peculiarly charac- terized St. Peter through the remainder of his Ufe. " Out of the abundance of th(e hes^rt 12 288 SERMON XIV. the mouth speaketh :" Simon Peter could not restrain his impetuous feelings. He was over- whelmed with a sense of our Lord's greatness and of his own unworthiness ; he threw him- self down at his knees, and confessed his sins and his weakness. ' That weakness was over- looked, those sins were forgiven. Jesus gra- ciously encouraged him, and bade him " fear not. Now this conduct of St. Peter was the effect produced by one miracle : shall we, then, read of many miracles, and shall our hearts not be moved ? Shall we contemplate all the great and gracious works which Christ has per- formed, and shall we not feelingly exclaim with David, " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him V With knowledge before us, far more abun- dant than that which St. Peter could then ha\e enjoyed, can we boast of hearts better dis- posed, better prepared, to profit by the in- structions of our religion ; or can we pretend to less sinfulness than St. Peter ? If, then, we address Christ as our Lord and our God, should we not imitate Peter's humility, be- wail our sinfulness, and acknowledge our un- worthiness ? If we believe Christ to be our Saviour, should we not at the same time de- FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 289 rive encouragement from the transaction be- fore us, to fall down as it were " at his knees V should we not hope, notwithstanding all our imperfections, to be graciously accepted by him, who received Simon's acknowledgment with benevolence and mercy, and bade him " Fear not/' Lastly. The conclusion of this narrative harmonizes with all that precedes. Simon Peter and his partners had received indispu- table testimony respecting the nature of our Saviour's character. In his discourse they had discovered undoubted marks, that his was the wisdom " which cometh from above/' by the miracle which he had wrought, they were convinced of his almighty power; by his gracious and merciful reception of Simon's humble acknowledgment, they were assured both of his goodjiess, and that their unworthy and imperfect services would be indulgently accepted. Upon these grounds their part was chosen at once ; their resolution was formed without any hesitation ; without the slightest reserve. No sooner had they brought their ships to the shore, than " they forsook all AND FOLLOWED HiM.'' They had chosen the good part. For " every one,'' (said our Lord' , when reminded • Matt. xix. 37. U 290 SERMON XIV. by St. Peter of this very occasion,) " that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life'." Their choice we must approve. The wis- dom of it we cannot deny. The event has justified it. But let not the approbation of their conduct be the condemnation of our own. If we approve, it is our duty to imitate. You well know, from your earliest infancy you have known, the infallible wisdom, the almighty power, the unwearied goodness of your Redeemer. You have known too, that notwithstanding your unworthiness, your im- perfect services will be graciously accepted. You have known that through Christ's merits and mediation, salvation is offered to all that believe in him, and obey his commandments. You have lojig known then, all and 7Jiore than the Apostles then knew ; consequently your re- solutions ought lo7}g ago to have been decided, and firmly taken. You ought long ago, to have made up your minds to ^'forsake all," if necessary, and follow Christ. If this reso- lution has not been already adopted, adopt it now. Moved by the example before you, ' Matt. xix. S9. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 291 decide without reserve, and without hesitation. Turn with all your heart and with all your soul to your Redeemer. Be prepared to lay down all to follow him. Say, in the spirit of St. Peter, " Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou, hast the words of eternal life"." Bend your thoughts often and seriously upon that eternal life ; fix your attention upon the example of that blessed Redeemer, whom you are to follow. Loosen the ties that bind you too closely to the things of this world, things which must, sooner or later, be forsaken, whether we will or not. Loosen, I say, those ties, have your mind in that state of discipline and preparation, that you may be able cheer- fully to forsake these things, for Christ's sake, instead of being forced to forsake them. Meditate upon your eternal destination ; value your blessed hopes of immortality. Be ready, ever ready when your Saviour requires it, to forsake with resignation, nay, with joy, " the treasures which moth and rust doth corrupt,'' for the "incorruptible inheritance which is in heaven^.'' Be ready to forsake XhQ pleasures of this vain world for those which are at the right hand of God. Be ready to forsake even this dust-formed tenement, and to commit your spirit to the hands of a faithful Redeemer, ;^ John vi. 68. M Peter i. 4. u 2 292 SERMON XIV. whensoever he shall be pleased to call you. And, above all, be ready to forsake your sins : forsake them not with reluctance, when age, or disease, or want of strength denies you the power of indulging them. But forsake them now ; in the day of health and vigour. Abhor them; cast them from you, as an emulous racer would cast oft^ a cumbrous garment which impeded his course. Thus forsake them, thus " laying aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, let us run with patience the race that is set before us ^" Thus let us strive with all our might to follow Jesus. May the grace of God poured abundantly into our hearts ; be ever with us in this course, confirm our resolution, aid our feeble efforts to follow this great and glorious leader. Through " all the changes and chances ;" through all the trials and temptations of this mortal life, may we be enabled to tread closely and steadily in his blessed steps. May we follow him, not only through life, but also " through the grave and gate of death," " to our joyful resurrection ','' and to his kingdom in heaven. » Heb. xii. 1. » Collect for Easter Even. SERMON XV. ON THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. ON THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. ROMANS VIII. l5, 17. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs tvith Christ ; if so he that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. The point, on which the text mentions a testimony given, is of no minor importance. Place all we have, or all we can hope to have here, place the whole world in the scale against it, and all will weigh as nothing ; all will be " lighter than vanity itself." What, indeed, is the whole world, what is this life itself, in comparison with the blessed hope of everlast- ing life? Nay, more, what would they be without this hope ? How unimportant, to many how wearisome their existence in this transitory scene, if they were unable to look 294 SERMON XV. be3''ond it ; if they knew that they were only to fret away a few short and troubled years, and then be "confounded with the beasts that perish." Often in the hours of listlessness, and justly in the visitations of calamity, they might exclaim, " Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, or life unto the bitter in soul"?'' Even to those whose lot might be cast in the happiest state which this earth can boast, how cheerless, how humiliating would be the reflection, that every day is rapidly bringing them to their grave, and that, after having enjoyed their pleasures for a time, which will appear but " as a span long,'' they must mingle with the dust, from which they were taken, and be consigned to eternal obli- vion. Life, with these view^s, must be re- garded as a gift scarcely to be wished; it must be considered, if not miserable, at least unimportant. If then, the picture of life, contemplated even in this light, be gloomy and uninterest- ing, how will its darkest shades be deepened, and rendered dreadful, when it is regarded, as leading to a state, not merely of oblivion, but of punishment. How awful, how over- whelming would be the persuasion, that we had irreparably offended an all-seeing and all- • Job iii. 20. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 295 powerful God; and, after death, had nothing to expect, but an eternity of sorrow and suf- fering. Yet, my brethren, we are plainly taught in the Scriptures, that this life is but a part, and a most insignificant part of our existence ; we are taught that there is to be another life, in which the wicked will be assigned their portion with the devil and his angels; and in which the " children of God" will inherit " the king- dom prepared for them from the beginning of the world." With these prospects, with this awful con- trast between the future state of the wicked and that of the good, constantly set forth to our consideration, it is by no means unimpor- tant to our tranquillity in this life, as well as to our salvation in the next, that we should understand, whether, and upon what ground, we may hope to be classed as " children of God." Hence v/e should receive with thank- fulness, and consider with attention, any testi- mony which the Scriptures may offer, and by which this point may be satisfactorily ascer- tained. Such a testimony is placed before us in the text, wherein the Apostle affirms that " the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God/' It is here stated that the " Spirit beareth 296 SERMON XV. witness ;" but it is not stated in zchat manner he beareth witness. And since, as we have ah'eady observed, this testimony relates to a most momentous point, a point in which our present happiness, and our hopes of future blessings are essentially involved ; it may na- turally be supposed, that the minds of men would be often anxiously turned to this testi- mony of the Spirit. Such is the fact. Va- rious sects and individuals have maintained various opinions; and have endeavoured, ac- cording to their several judgments, prejudices, or imaginations, to describe the marks by which this testimony of the Spirit may be discerned, as well as to infer the consequences of its being possessed. Some have maintained, that this witness of the Spirit is a direct assurance conveyed from God to the mind of the recipient, and distin- guishable by certain perceptible impulses. Some enthusiasts have even pretended to manifest these impulses to their brethren, by convulsions, groanings, and similar supposed methods of denoting spiritual workings. And many have maintained, that when the witness of the Spirit, (be it what it may,) mentioned in the text, has been given, they are children of God, and can never fail of the inheri- tance. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 297 These opinions appear to me at variance with the plain and general tenor of the Scrip- tures, and to be irreconcileable with what has been revealed to us, respecting the nature and the dispensations of God. They may be made the source of delusions and errors of the most mischievous and dangerous descrip- tion. What, then, this witness of the Spirit really is, I shall endeavour to shew in this dis- course, of which the text has, for this purpose, been selected from the epistle appointed for the day. The first consideration, which suggests it- self to us is, in what sense are we to under- stand that the Spirit may be said to hear wit- ness that we are the children of God. With respect to this witness being perceptible, by certain internal impulses, we deny that the Scriptures authorise any such expectation in the present day, whatsoever might have been the case in the earlier ages of the Christian Church. And with respect to the convulsions, groanings, and contortions, which have been set forth as indications of spiritual influences, or pangs of the New Birth ; it is sufficient to observe, that they are just as much, and no more entitled to credit, as proofs of the agency of the Spirit, than the similar convulsions and groanings which were exhibited by the crafty ^98 SERMON XV. impostors, or deluded fanatics (as the case might be) who dehvered the predictions of the Pagan Oracles. We neither know, nor believe, that such effects are produced by the Spirit. Yet we have hope in Christ Jesus ; and we humbly trust, that we are not, and shall not be destitute of the witness of the Spirit, unless we shall be wanting to ourselves, and negligent of his blessed influences and as- sistance. In what sense then may we expect that the Spirit does bear witness ? Our Bible is the best expositor, and will give us a sober and a sa- tisfactory solution of this question. Tlie Spirit, we shall there find, bears witness, I. On our entrance into spiritual life, when we are admitted into covenant with God, by being horn of water and the Spirit. II. During our continuance in this life, till, having finished our course, and acted accord- ing to our baptismal profession, and having been renewed when needful, we shall go down to the grave hoping to receive the inheritance, promised in that covenant, and to be " horn again' 2it the resurrection of thejust\ I. First then, at our baptism when we first enter into covenant with God, the Spirit may be said to hear witness, (though not in the ^ Matt. xix. 28. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 299 sense, in which the phrase is used in the text) that we are children of God. It is there given as an earnest", and is apphed as a * The late Rev. Mr. Scott in his remarks upon the Refu- tation of Calvinism, takes occasion to differ from Bishop Bull upon' the subject of miraculous gifts being considered as the seal or earnest of the Spirit. It is no part of my present object to enter into the subject farther, than to observe, that jirimd facie any gift of the Spirit conferred upon our first en- trance into covenant with God, may be considered as earnest, and there is nothing in Mr. Scott's reasonings which shews that the persons in question were not empowered to work out salva- tion ; or might not render these very gifts instrumental to it, by a profitable use of them. The reason given in his quota- tion from Matt. vii. ;22, 23, for our 'Loxd!s dlsomning (for such I take to be the import of ovSt-jrort eyvuv. Comp. Mark viii. 38. Luke ix. 26. Matt. x. 32. 33. Luke xii. 8.) some re- ceivers of these gifts, does not at all divest the gifts of the cha- racter of an earnest ; it merely indicates, that the receivers neglected to fulfil their part of the covenant, of which these gifts were an earnest, and consequently could not claim the btnefts of it. Mr. Scott appears either to be biassed by his opinions upon indefectible grace, or to have but a confused notion of the nature of an earnest, when he says, " An earnest is something given in hand as a pledge and security for the performance of a promise, or the fulfilment of a bargain, but miraculous gifts in no degree secure the promised inheritance." Neither does an earnest secure the completion of a contract. It assures the party receiving it of the sincerity of the party giving it ; and, in the event of the latter not fulfilling his part of the contract, would be forfeited to the former, provided he had faithfully performed, or were ready to perform his engage- ments. For example, A agrees with B for the purchase of an es- tate, and stipulates, that at the expiration of one'^year he will pay the whole purchase money, provided B, in the mean time, 300 SERMON XV. seal on the part of God, to assure us of the fulfilment of his promises in that covenant. Being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is entering into covenant with the three persons of the blessed Trinity, and is, I contend, syno- nimous ** with being " born of water, and the Spirit/' Water is the appointed visible ^ seal ; the seal and the earnest of the Spirit are the things signified, and conveyed therein. When the outward seal is affixed in the manner ap- pointed by God himself, fair reasoning from analogy clearly leads to the inference that will make certain specified improvements and repairs. On signing the agreement, A pays down 100/. This is earnest. But this does not secure B the whole purchase money, for, 1st. If B shall not effect the improvements and repairs sti- pulated, A is not hound to give him the promised sum ; and recovers the earnest. 2ndly. If B shall do his part, then the purchase money is secured to him, not by the earnest, but by the CONTRACT, of which he has performed the conditions. So not the earnest of the Spirit, but the covenant of which it is the earnest secures the promised inheritance ; and they only can claim the fulfilment of that covenant, who perform their part : and that those, who received the gifts of the Spirit, did not obtain the inheritance, proves nothing more, than their moZaf tow of their agreement : they received the *' manifestation of the Spirit," but did not " profit withal :" " they worked iniquity." See the sentiments of the Church expressed in the address to Sponsors in the Office for Public Baptism. '* Wherefore after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also faithfully /or his part promise, &c." ^* See Sermon on Regeneration. * Art. xxvii. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 301 God ratifies the covenant entered into, as he has prescribed, that he affixes his seal, and gives the earnest. In this respect the Spirit may be said to vv^itness, that we are children of God, and in- heritors of the kino^dom of heaven ; and in this light it appears to be represented in the following passages. " God who hath sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts ^" " Now he that hath wrought in us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given us the earnest of the Spirit ^." And to the Ephesians the Apostle says, " in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession ^," Here the Spirit is the earnest of our inheri- tance, and thus may be said to bear witness that we are children of God, but, as I have observed before, this may be said, not in the same sense' as that in which it is said in the ' 2 Cor. i. 22. ' 2 Cor. v. 5. " Ephes. i. 13, 14. * To even the subsequent gifts of the Spirit the denomina- tion of " earnest" may be, in one sense, applied ; viz, as being something stipulated and given by God previously to the completion of the covenant, by conferring the promised bless- ing. Though it is in the nature of earnest, that part of it should be delivered, at the sealing of the contract, yet the 302 SERMON XV. text. This I shall shew, as I observed, se- condly, that, II. The Spirit hears nitness to this point, not only on our entrance into spiritual life but also during our continuance in it, till our period of probation shall have been closed. Here we shall find that the witness of the Spirit, is both mentioned in connection with the testimony, which it gives us at our baptism, and is at the same time clearly distinguished from it. For in the verse preceding the text, he tells, they have already received this earnest. " Ye have not,^' said the Apostle, " received the Spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Then he contmues in the words of the text. " The Spirit itself payment of the remainder may be stipulated to take place at various periods prior to the final condition of the covenant. Thus taking the example of A and B, as before stated ; lOOZ. might be the stipulated earnest ; but it might be agreed, that of this earnest B should receive only 20^. at the first sign- ing of the contract, and that A should pay the remainder of the earnest at such times, and in such portions, as might appear to him proper, according to B's progress wi the stipulated im- provements and repairs. This is of the nature of earnest, though the term is, perhaps, strictly speaking, applicable only to the deposit given at the time of sealing. But neither this nor the first deposit secures the ultimate object of the covenant. Hence we may infer, that neither the earnest nor subsequent renewing of the Spirit will secure our promised reward, unless we *' continue in well-doing." EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 303 (or rather the same'' Spirit, namely, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit which was given us at our baptism, as an earnest of our inhe- ritance, and sealed us as children of God,) beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God/^ That is the same Spirit, by which we were sealed and which we re- ceived as an earnest of " the promises of God made to us in that sacrament ' ,' continues to " bear witness,^^ through our Christian course, that we are children of God. But this question here immediately sug- gests itself — " How does the Spirit bear wit- ness ? By what tokens are we to distinguish his testimony V Some will answer this question by referring us to inward feelings, or to " experiences." We disclaim these. We refer to the simple and sound criterion given by our Saviour himself; " the tree is known by its fruits "".^^ Thift.is the rule by which we can ascertain whether, and in what degree we continue to have the witness of the Spirit : therefore, St^ Paul says, " If ye live after the flesh, ye '' AvTo TO TTvtvfia. ' Catechism. "■ In reference to this point let the reader observe, what an< admirable comment the Gospel for the day forms to the Epis- tle ; so much so, indeed, that we cannot but characterise their selection, as a judicious comparison of Scripture with Scrip- ture. 304 SERMON XV. shall die ; but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God °.'^ For if the Spirit dwell in us, (and if we quench it not, it will dwell in us abundantly) it will produce its proper fruits °. What those fruits are our Apostle has thus enumerated. " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffer- ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance"." In proportion as a man shall find these graces indwelling, and operative in his heart, in the same degree he has the wit- ness of the Spirit to his continuance as a child of God, and may hope to inherit the kingdom of heaven. But the conviction that these graces do dwell in him, is neither more nor less than the " testimony of his conscience/* As St. Paul himself declares, " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience'^." And again; " What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him'?'* " Rom. viii. 13, 14. ** " O but how shall I know that the Holy Ghost is witliin me ? some man, perchance, will say. Forsooth, as the tree is known by his fruit, so is the Holy Ghost, The fruits of the Holy Ghost, according to the mind of St. Paul, are these," &c. Homily for Whitsunday. PGal. V. 2^. '«2Cor. i. 12. M Cor. ii. 11. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 305 I And in conformity with these sentiments, our Apostle, in the passage before us, declares, " the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit." It is the joint testimony of the Spirit and of our own conscience which assures us, that we are the children of God. That we are adopted, we have the earnest of the Spirit, when we are " born of water and of the Spirit ;' that we continue to be sons of God, and are en- deavouring to make our " calling and election sure,^' the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit ; the one enabling us. to bring forth its fruits, the other comparing our hearts and conduct with our duty, and satisfying us, that we are diligently cultivating and labouring to encrease them'/' ' *' Far from me, (said Bishop Mant, in whose declaration I most cordially join) be the arrogance and the folly of denying, that 'God hath given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts,' or that ' the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' However arduous may be the task of defining the limits of his agency, and drawing a line of separation between his motions and the natural suggestions of the human mind, (a task which the great Searcher of hearts alone may be deemed capable of performing), still the belief that we are blessed with this * inward witness,' is a source of consolation, peace, and encouragement to the humble believer : he embraces it with gladness, and he acknowledges it with gratitude. " Do I then deny the sensible influence of the Spirit ? I answer, we may * feel in ourselves the working of the Spirit of Christ :' — our Church employs the language ; and I scruple X 306 SERMON XV. This appears to me to be the sound and scriptural exposition of the passage, and to harmonise with the prevaihng tone of exhor- tation which may be traced throughout the Bible. The life of a Christian is uniformly pourtrayed, as a life of vigilance, activity, and caution. In no point of view does it seem reconcileable with the tenor of Christ's in- structions or promises to suppose, that his followers are to derive the assurance of salva- tion from internal feelings ' ; — feelings which not to repeat it, nor, when scripturally understood, to maintain it for the doctrine of Scripture : but we feel it no otherwise than we do our thoughts and meditations ; we cannot dis- tinguish them, by their manner of affecting us, from our natural reasonings, and the operation of truth upon our souls ; so that, if God had only designed to give the Holy Spirit to us, with- out making any mention of it in his word, we could never have known, luiless it had been communicated to us by some private revelation, that our souls are moved by a divine power, when we love God and keep his commandments." — Mant's Bampton Lectures, p. 298, 299. * If it be held that the witness of the Spirit is to be dis- tinguished, not by our conscience discerning its fruits, but by certain indescribable but perceptible impulses, and those, and those only, are in a state of salvation, who are conscious of these impulses ; to what fatal results may it lead. The wicked may be hardened in his sins and impenitence, by inferring that, because he has not these feelings and this witness, it is of little importance whether he continue in sin or not. The presump- tuous, fancying that he has it, may be puffed, and, like the Pharisee, arrogantly thank God that he is not as other men EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 307 every man of common sense must know are fallacious, liable to be confounded with the morbid operations of a deranged mind or body ; or with the delusions created by the declamations of imposture or fanaticism work- ing upon a nervous habit, an untaught mind, or a weak intellect. The methods which reason and religion point out for ascertaining a spiritual state, are diligent study of the Holy Scriptures, and im- partial and frequent self-examination : study of the Scriptures to inform our conscience ; self-examination to satisfy it. Thus we may apply to ourselves the declaration of St. John : " If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.'' There yet remains one portion of our text to be considered. The Apostle havino- de- clared that " the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God," pro- ceeds thus : " And if the children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.'' Supposing, then, a man to have ascertained (no matter by what means or at what period of his life) that he has received this witness of the Spirit as to his being a child of God ; The desponding and melancholy, not being able to persuade himself that he has the witness, may be driven to recklessness and desperation. X 2 308 SERMON XV. does it necessarily follow, that he is secure of eternal life ? For he is said to be an " heir of God/' a "joint heir with Christ/' There are persons who maintain that such is the case; that having once received the earnest of the Spirit we cannot lose the in- heritance. But in a general view of the subject, if the opinion of these persons be well-founded, the following monstrous and irrational conse- quences appear necessarily to flow from their doctrine. I. Those, ^\^ho have received this earnest, and this witness of the Spirit, may obtain salvation by other methods, and under other feelings, than those which the Scriptures usually set forth ; namely, that we are to " work out our salvation with fear and trembling." II. To them all the precepts, all the exhor- tations, all the cautions, all the threats con- tained in the Bible are a mere dead letter. For with these what have they to do, who cannot fail of salvation ? III. If they are right, it would appear St. Paul was wrongs and was totally ignorant of the matter; when, after having acknowledged how much he was assisted by the Grace of God, he yet expresses his apprehensions, and EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 309 declares the vigilance, which he must exert, lest, after having preached to others, he him- self should be a cast-away : and also, vi^hen, addressing his converts, as temples of God, in whom the Spirit dwelt'', he still thinks it necessary to " beseech " them that they would not receive " the grace of God in vain''" Tenets which lead to conclusions such as the above, present in the outset very question- able characters, and should be supported by strong evidences from Scripture ere they can claim our assent. But from the text the sup- port they may seem to derive is only speci- ous. An examination will shew that no such doctrine is implied in it. It is true the Apostle says, " and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.^'' But does the term "heirs ^' imply that the inheritance is such, that we must succeed to it ? does it convey a notion of a right analogous to that of a son succeeding to an estate entailed or settled upon him, and over which his parent has no controul ? By no means. It does not necessarily imply an unconditional right in the person who is to receive it. The word heir% may denote the » 1 Cor. iii. 16. ' 2 Cor. vi. 1. y KX>jpovo/toff, See Parkhurst. Calmet, at the word " in- heritance." 310 SERMON XV. person obtaining an allotment or property. And the promise of such an allotment in the heavenly Canaan seems to me, in Scripture, to be usually far from carrying with it an in- defeasible and unconditional right. Of this the history of God's chosen people, the Jews, presents a striking illustration. The terms heir and inheritance seem to be, in the New Testament, generally, analogous terms, and to have a special reference to the promises, made to the ancestors of the Jews, to put them into possession of the Land of Canaan*, This land was called the inheritance of Abra- ham, though he had no family claim to it. It was said that it should be occupied by his posterity; but was not occupied by many generations* of them, and one generation was expressly excluded, because they forfeited their claim by their perverse conduct. Again : taking the " inheritance" in a spiritual sense, can any one read the Scrip- tures, without perceiving that the Jews were admissible to the privileges of Christ's king- dom, that they were children of the promise ; and yet are warned, entreated, threatened. Does not God, by the voice of his prophets, frequently declare, that he will deprive them * Canaan was a type of heaven. Vide Heb. xi. 14, 15, 16, * Heb. xi. passim. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 311 of their promised inheritance ? Does he not actually take unto him another people ? Does not our Saviour first offer them the kingdom of heaven, and then teach, that through their obstinacy " many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- dom of heaven, while the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer dark- ness *". Every portion of their history indi- cates that the fulfilment of the promises of even temporal blessings was conditional, and depended upon their endeavouring to obey the commandments of the Lord. All Scrip- ture, fairly interpreted, both in the Old and in the New Testament, concurs in the language of Ezekiel : " When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them ; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die : Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wicked- ness, that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and rio-ht, he shall save his soul alive */^ In various parts of Scripture, and under various both plain and figurative descriptions, their final inheritance is represented as that, ^ Matt. viii. 11. Comp. Romans xi. 17 — 25. * Ezekiel xviii. 26, 27. 312 SERMON XV. which the Christian must work out with " fear and trembhng/' and which he can neither obtain without labour, nor secure till his day of probation shall have closed. We shall find St. Paul's warning continually meeting us, though variously expressed. " Let us,^' saith he, " labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of un- belief '*.'' And in full conformity with the above doctrine, he, in the text teaches, that though we be children of God, the attainment of the inheritance depends upon our perseve- rance. " If children, then heirs; heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ ; if so he that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.^' And the Lord himself saith, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life %" Finally, the sum and substance of our in- ferences is, that those who are admitted into the Christian covenant, are sealed with, and have the earnest of the Spirit, that they are children of God ; the same Spirit, through the course of their life bears witness with their spirit, that they continue children of God; or in other words, the Spirit abiding in them, and producing its proper fruits ; and their consciences, hy these fruits being convinced " Heb. iv. 11. * Rev. ii. 10. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 313 of the indwelling of the Spirit ; assure them, that they are in the way of salvation. But the inheritance can be finally secured only by enduring " to the end '^ by striving to main- tain this witness of the Spirit, with our spirit, till the time of our mortal probation shall have been closed, and God, who hath sent us forth into the world to " work out our salvation with fear and trembling,^' shall have been pleased to gather us to his promised, and ever- lasting rest. Let us, then, indeed, labour " to enter into that rest,"' to inherit the kingdom prepared for the children of God, (those who are " led by the Spirit'') " from the beginning of the world." Let us continually watch over our spi- ritual state. Let us observe frequently what, with regard to our souls, is the witness of the Spirit. Let us see that we " grow in grace," and advance daily more and more towards Christian perfection, and the attainment of everlasting salvation. Let us cherish the fruits of the Spirit, and mortify the lusts of the flesh. Let us by frequent study of the Scripture, by meditation, and self-examina- tion, impartially and faithfully ascertain the state of our hearts. Let us not fail to listen to every admonition of conscience ; and in short, let us heartily strive and devoutly pray, 314 SERMON XV. that every time we enter upon the work of self-examination, the Spirit of God may con- tinue to " bear witness with our spirit, that we are children of God 'I* that we are daily advancing more and more vigorously towards our blissful inheritance ; that, as we approach the last solemn hour of our earthly trial, we are daily preparing ourselves to hail it with resignation and joy ; as the hour, in which the danger of losing our inheritance is passing away ; we are hastening to the fulfilment of the promises ; and the joint heirs of Christ's sufferings are henceforth to be joint heirs of his glory. :m ^' SERMON XVI. ON THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT. ON THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. I COR. XII. 7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. In" the portion of Scripture appointed for the epistle for the eighth Sunday after Tri- nity, mention was made of the witness, which the Spirit bears with our spirit, that we are children of God and heirs ; joint heirs with Christ. In considering this subject, our in- quiries were directed to the ascertaining how, and for what end the Spirit bears this witness ; and the result was, that the Spirit producing its proper fruits, bears witness with our spirit, to our encouragement and comfort, and thus assures us, that we are in the way of salvation. In the epistle appointed for this day, what 11 316 SERMON XVI. may be termed another species of witness of the Spirit, is set before us. St. Paul, in the text, declares to his Corinthian converts the purpose for which the Spirit bears witness, not merely to their consciences, but also to the perception of their brethren, that they are aided by his influences, and work by his power. He tells them that " the manifesta- tion of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal/' By the term manifestation of the Spirit, may be understood the means of manifesting, or shewing forth the Spirit, of which means the employment is elsewhere termed the " demon- stration of the Spirit ^'' In the early times of Christianity, many members of the Church were endued with certain extraordinary as- sistances of the Holy Spirit, by which they were enabled to manifest his working, and thus to demonstrate, that the religion which they promulgated, was of divine origin, and was proposed to the world under the divine authority. Thus the Apostle in the text, de- clares the purpose for which they were in- vested with these powers; that " the mani- ' 1 Cor. ii. 4. The manifestation is given to profit withal, and St. Paul states that his preaching had been accordingly in the demonstration, or in the actual employment of this ma- nifestation, or means of manifesting the Spirit. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 317 festation of the Spirit is given to every man - to profit withaV But to profit whom ? Only the possessors of these powers ? No ! to profit the whole church,, all, who might be wilhng to receive the Gospel upon proper evidence. These miraculous gifts were conferred, not so much, if at all, for the benefit of the indivi- duals who received them, as for the common benefit. For the words translated to profit withal may be rendered, for the bringing to- gether, for the collecting, as it were, into the common stock^. And in exact conformity with this interpretation are the whole of St. Paul's reasonings upon the subject, in the chap- ter from which the text is taken. He per- ceives that emulations, jealousies, and invidi- ous comparisons, had been raised among his Corinthian converts, upon the distribution of these gifts. In order to put an end to these mischiefs, he urges the consideration, that all their gifts, however different, proceed from one and the same Spirit, and are conferred for the ^e?? era/ benefit and edification. Con- sequently if one man has an extraordinary gift which another has not, he only has it for the common benefit of the church, and there- fore for the benefit of every member of the church. He illustrates his position by an ^ Ilpec TO av/if epov' 318 SERMON XVI. analogy drawn from the constitution of the human body. He intimates that every limb and organ of the body has its separate and peculiar office, assigned to it for the good of the whole; that to each member also God, in his unerring wisdom, has given those powers which enable it to perform its functions bene- ficially and usefully ; and that, so long as they continue each in their department to exercise the powers respectively given them, in the work for which they were intended, the whole body will thrive and prosper ; and in the wel- fare of the body, the welfare of every mem- ber is involved. But, if every member were to neglect its own office, and aspire to that of another, it is self-evident that nothing else could result but confusion and destruction. " There should be no schism in the body, but the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it""/* The Apostle then proceeds to tell them, that they are collectively the body of Christ, and individually members of the body ; forcibly appeals to them whether they can all be possessed of every gift, and exercise every " 1 Cor. xii. 25. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 319 function ; and finally enforces his arguments by his beautiful and sublime recommendation of charity, that " very bond of peace, and of all virtues V' that sure and sole remedy for all their foolish bickerings and jealousies ; that which will, indeed, induce them to apply their gifts to profit withal ; to profit the church by promoting the general welfare and edification ; to profit themselves, by being enabled to give an account of the talents committed to them ; and thus to obtain the blessed salutation — " Well done ! good and faithful servant ! enter thou into the joy of thy Lord Y' Now, having pointed out what is meant by the manifestation of the Spirit, and also the purpose for which it was evidently granted, it remains to be considered, whether in any, and in what degree, the manifestation of the Spirit is permitted to us. In the consideration of these points, it appears to me a safe and neces- sary rule, to bear continually in mind the test here given to us by St. Paul ; that the mani- festation of the Spirit is given to every man, to PROFIT withal; that is, given on such occasions, and in such a measure, as will con- duce to the general welfare, and is adapted to the general necessities of the Church. The ' Quinquagesima Collect. 320 SERMON XVI. ordinary rule appears to be, that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit, for our own in- dividual direction and comfort, but that the manifestation of the Spirit, the power of de- monstrating the Spirit to others, is conferred principally for the edification and welfare of the whole body. Keeping this criterion in view, we will first cursorily notice the examples of manifestation of the Spirit, which the Apostle, in the chap- ter before us, has specially enumerated ; and will secondly enquire in whom, and in what manner, the manifestation of the Spirit may be expected to take place in the present day. Upon the accurate interpretation of the phrases, " word of wisdom, and zi'ord of know- ledge," by which the Apostle here designates two manifestations of the Spirit, many con- jectures have been advanced ; and it is ad- mitted on all hands that, though the precise import of these expressions was perfectly well understood at the time, and by the persons to whom they were addressed, yet at present it is very doubtful. The word " zaisdom" is unquestionably used in Scripture in several different senses ; but, after an attentive examination of several solu- tions given by commentators, I am disposed to offer an interpretation, which does not en- TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 321 tirely agree with any of them, but which ap- pears to me to refer to, and harmonize exactly with, the statement of the Apostle in the 29th verse of this chapter. It will be found there that St. Paul mentions, ^^Jirst, apostles ; se- cojidarily, prophets ; thirdly^ teachers.'' But here he mentions, first, wisdom ; se- condly, knowledge ; thirdly, faith. The word of wisdom"^ then, refers to the APOSTLES, the rulers and the founder's of the several churches ; and denotes that skill, judgment, and discernment, which were in- dispensibly requisite to enable them to dis- charge their arduous and episcopal functions with success, whether these regarded the conduct and discipline of the churches or the refutation of their adversaries. By the word of knowledge^ the gift of the second class, the higher"" order of prophets, I un- derstand a knowledge of the ancient Scrip- tures and of God's dealings, infused by the Spirit, enabling them to comprehend and ex- plain all the mysterious dispensations of the Old Testament, and their connection with the present and future designs of the Almighty, in the dispensations of the New Testament. * "Lo^ia, implying judgment and skill. ' rvuaig, denoting information. ^ See Macknight on this text. Y 322 SERMON XVI. This power is different from that which is re- ferred to in the tenth verse, and which con- sisted merely in the prediction of future events. By ^^ faith," the gift of the third class, the TEACHERS, we may understand an extra- ordinary degree of faith, exciting diligence and zeal, animating them to efforts of courage and perseverance, and enabling them to con- tinue teaching, notwithstanding all the oppo- sition and persecution which the prejudices, the interests, and the passions of mankind could raise against the Gospel. This was a faith which could " remove mountains." These qualifications, if possessed in a minor degree, would not be manifestations of the Spirit, such as the Apostle evidently has in view, when he classes them with those gifts which he subsequently enumerates. The gifts of healing, of miracles, of prophecy, of dis- cerning spirits, of divers kinds of tongues, of the interpretation of tongues ; these all are obviously extraordinary and miraculous ma- nifestations of the Spirit; and consequently the three first, of which we have been treating, being classed w ith these, were also extraordi- nary gifts of the Spirit ; not indeed in them- selves, but in the measure and manner in which they were dispensed. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 323 The phrases were used in a special sense, and were descriptive of gifts calculated for the times, and emergencies under which they were conferred. Christianity was then in its infancy ; converts were to be made from hea- thenism; and attention was to be attracted, not so ' much by the slow method of argu- ment, as by the more decisive and prompt operation of authority. The Apostles could scarcely obtain a hearing, unless supported by miraculous powers, the proper evidence of their mission, to introduce a new religion. The deficiencies, and the want of know- ledge, in many of the newly-converted teach- ers, were to be supplied only by the extraor- dinary agency of the Spirit ;^the necessi- ties of the continually and rapidly increas- ing church, could not be adequately provided for by the gradual process of education. Apostles, teachers, and other functionaries, must have been inspired with wisdom and knowledge, to qualify them for their several offices; otherwise the supply of them never could have kept pace with the daily and hourly increasing demand for their services. These manifestations, therefore, were then given to every man, to ''^ profit withal," — given to him for the common benefit, for which they were indispensibly necessary. The re- y2 324 SERMON XVI. ligion of Christ claiming to be of divine origin, required, as its proper evidence, miraculous manifestations of the Spirit. Its progress was miraculous, and required a miraculous pre- paration of qualified preachers. But, in the present times, the state of things is materially altered. The religion is estab- lished. We no longer address unbelievers who have been educated in idolatry, and to whom the Christian religion is an entire no- velty ; we have no occasion to give a sign or a miracle, to prove that God " sent his Son into the world to save sinners." Those whom we address have been brought up from their infancy in this faith, and have ample means afforded them, both public and private, of being: informed of the duties and doctrines of the Gospel. If then, in the present day, a man pretend to extraordinary and miraculous manifesta- tions of the Spirit, he is, prima facie, bound to shew some ground for his being invested with such a gift. The text given by St. Paul still has force. " The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal;'* to promote the general welfare of the church. We demand, therefore, how do these miracu- lous pretensions tend to '^profit withal ;" how would the church, as it is now constituted, be TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 325 benefited by such manifestations ? In what respect does the general edification require, that God should deviate from the laws by which he ordinarily governs the moral and natural world, and from which both Revela- tion and the general history of mankind shew, that he does not deviate without some great, some adequate occasion ? Where does such an occasion exist ? May we not say to those who, after the miracles recorded in the Scrip- tures, require fresh signs — They have Moses and the Prophets ; they have Christ and his Apostles : if they hear not Moses and the Prophets, if they hear not Christ and his Apostles ; neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. So far from being profitable to the whole body of the church, the ridiculous pretensions of impostors and fanatics to these spiritual manifestations have, in various ages of the Church, brought disgrace and ridicule upon the cause they were professedly intended to advance, and have tended to the encourage- ment of barbarous and degrading supersti- tions. Even in these times, enlightened as they are deemed, we have not entirely ex- ploded these wild pretensions. In this coun- try various instances have been exhibited among the most ignorant classes; of which 326 SERMON XVI. indeed, some, in folly and impiety, would not have been unworthy of pre-eminence amidst the superstitions of the most superstitious ages. In Ireland too, if we may credit the public journals, miraculous agency has of late been frequently held up as one of the powers of the faithful. In one case the public have had to contem- plate a disgusting and humiliating scene of bar- barous ignorance and superstition, in the mur- der of an innocent child by a lunatic priest"; Avho, under the pretence of performing a miracle, was not only suffered, but encouraged by several spectators to proceed in his brutal work of death, in spite of the cries of his miserable victim, and notwithstanding the presence of its parents. Of the man under insanity no remark can be made, but what shall we say of those, who could stand by, and believe that his frantic mummery was the means of working a miracle? It will be said they were barbarous, they were ignorant. But are they the only persons of that persuasion, who admit the validity of pretensions to extra- ordinary manifestations of Spiritual agency ? No ! men of high station and authority in that Church, men well educated, teachers, have " Carrol's case, which occurred in 1 834, shortly before this sermon was preached. 13 TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 327 encouraged the notion, and have pubHshed formal accounts of miracles" so absurd, that were it not for the reputed acquirements, and the station of these persons who countenance such a belief, the subject would scarcely be sufficiently grave to be even mentioned in a discourse. The ancient history of the Popish Church abounds, it is well known, with legends of this description ; and it is really to be regretted, that after the complete exposure of those, which took place at the Reformation, it should have been thought proper to have recourse to such miserable expedients. Far from being profitable to the cause of religion; they only invite the extravagances of fraud and fanaticism; give scope to the sneers and scoffs of the infidel ; and serve to distinguish and blazon the deplorable igno- rance of the people upon whom they are at- tempted to be imposed. We contend, then, that eitraor dinar y ma- nifestations of the Spirit are not to be ex- pected in the present day; the test given us by the Apostle will not sanction them; they tend not to the common benefit, they profit not. They ought, therefore, to be viewed with " Hohenloe's miracles, on which reports were, with all due solemnity, put forth by some of the Catholic Clergy in Ire- land. 328 SERMON XVI. suspicion, and never admitted but upon over- whelming evidence, and evidence which will bear all the tests of miracles. But though it may be evident that no such extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit, as were requisite in the times of the Apostles, are now to be expected, still it may be enquired, whether there is no manifestation of the Spirit in the present day. To this question it may be replied ; Certainly there is. As the in-dwelling of the Spirit is witnessed to a man's own spirit, by similar means it is also manifested to those around him. It is manifested by its fruits, by a faith working by love, and by a virtuous and holy life. And this is now the only manifestation of the Spirit which we are warranted in expecting to per- ceive in our fellow Christians. If to this manifestation we apply the test given by the Apostle, we shall find it to be precisely such as the interests of religion, in the present state of the Church, will require from its members. This manifestation will indeed profit — it will extend the influence of the Gospel, will promote piety among men, and will tend to the glory of God. The light of a good example w ill shine far and near. It is the candle placed on a candle- stick, to " give light to all that are in the TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 329 house''/' Its lustre will be reflected, and many will kindle from its beams. If we, by the grace of God, are endued with this power of manifesting the Spirit, let us consider the declaration of the Apostle, not merely as a test, but also as a caution. It is given to profit withal. Remember, that we are responsible to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts ; the talents committed must not lie useless ; but must be improved both to our own, and to the general benefit. We must diligently, but unaffectedly manifest the Spirit, so as to encourage and stimulate our brethren to bring forth the same fruits. " Ye are the light of the world,'' said our Saviour, " A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glo- rify your Father which is in Heaven''." There is yet, however, another question which may be asked on this subject. It may be said, " though this manifestation be all that need be required from Christians in general, ought not the Clergy to be ena- PMatt. V. 15. 'Matt. v. 14. 330 SERMON XVI. bled to give some special manifestation of the Spirit, in proof that they are duly commis- sioned and empowered by Him to preach the Word of God ?" They profess to be specially authorised, and at their ordination they de- clare ; first, that they " trust they are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them this office,^' &;c. Secondly ; that they " think they are truly called according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the due order of this realm, to the work of the ministry of the Church/' Is there then nothing, by which they are to manifest to the Church this motion of the Spi- rit in their hearts, and this calling according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ ? I, With respect to the former of the above declarations made by the Clergy on their being presented as candidates for the ministry ; that they trust they " are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost \" of this no special manifestation can be expected. In this case the matter is between God, and their own consciences ; the " Spirit beareth witness with their spirit." They are satisfied, that they have a sincere inclination for the ministry, and a faithful in- tention to fulfil its duties, by the grace of God, to the best of their abilities. They know, that from the Spirit every good TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 331 motion of the heart proceedeth, and they trust that in this sincere incHnation, and this faith- ful resolution, the same Spirit is operating in- sensibly in their hearts, and by these his fruits bears witness with their spirits. Whatsoever cavils may be raised upon this point as to the intentions of our reformers in framing the de- claration alluded to, it is undeniably clear that the question in the ordination service, to which the declaration is an answer, is now asked by the authorised rulers of our Church, and answered by the candidates for orders in the above sense. It has no reference to any extraordinary or perceptible impulse. With respect to any remarks which may be made upon the case of individuals answer- ing the question falsely, having really no in- clination for orders, this, as I have already observed, is a matter between God and their own consciences. If they pretend to the wit- ness of the Spirit, knowing that they have it not ; it is at their own peril ; they must answer for it ; the fault is theirs. The Church re- quires no manifestation of the Spirit in this respect. But with regard to the other declaration that " they are truly called according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the due order of this realm ;" this relates to their outward call, 332 SERMON XVI. and in that call, they may in some sense be said to have the manifestation of the Spirit. Tliey are " chosen, and called to this work by men who have authority given unto them, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vine- yard ^" -*_)iThe 7nanifestation of the Spirit here is the imposition of hands hy lazvful authority ; that mode of denoting the commission, and con- veying the special gifts of the Holy Spirit upon those destined for the w ork of the mi- nistry, practised, " according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ," by the Apostles them- selves, and continued down from their days through every age of the Church. This, so far as it is the seal of our commission, and the means by which the Spirit " separates us for the work whereunto He has called us^;" is the manifestation of the Spirit; and the only special manifestation, which we pretend to give, or which the good of the Church appears to require *. ' Art. xxiii. ' Vide Acts xiii. 2, 3. • " Nothing is so easy to counterfeit, as a message from the gods, saith the slave in Plautus : and experience tells us, nothing is more readily believed among the vulgar, than such a pretence managed by a bold undertaker : so that the in- ward call hath been in all ages pretended to by all the impos- tors in religion." Note from Dean Comber, ManCs Prayer Book. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 333 When I say the only special manifestation, I mean, the only manifestation, besides that, which we are of course particularly bound to exhibit, in common with all Christians ; namely, thefi'uits of the Spirit, the fruits of a holy and religious life ; " that both by our preaching and living we may set forth God's word, and shew it accordingly." To more than this we need not, we never do pretend to appeal. The emergencies of the Church require no sudden calls, no extra- ordinary gifts. A supply of ministers may be prepared by the natural means of education ; and with the ordinary assistance of God's grace may discharge their functions to the edification of the Church. If they be not wanting to themselves, that grace will be suf- ficient for them ; and the Holy Spirit does not so offer his aid, as to warrant the expecta- tion that he will either give it in such a mea- sure as to encourage supineness and indolence in the Ministers ; or accompany it with such manifestations as are calculated to indulge the capricious fancies, and satisfy the scep- tical demands, of the people. The clergy now are not putting forth a new revelation, neither do they profess to speak by inspiration. They reason upon, and appeal to a revelation al- ready acknowledged, and claim attention to 334 SERMON XVJ. their doctrine, not as the dictum of inspiration, but as it agrees with the " Word of God/* God does nothing in vain ; he gives to us all that measure of the Spirit, which is requi- site, with proper diligence, to the effectual performance of our several duties. Be it then our care to employ the talents, and the aid given to us, so as to profit withal ; so as to promote our own, and the general salvation. Instead of coveting the office or interfering with the business of others, let us, as members of the body of Christ, endeavour to perform well the part allotted to us. In- stead of envying them their gifts, or advan- tages, let our whole thoughts be bent upon making the best use of our own ; remember- ing that it is of them, we must give account at the day of judgment. Let us follow the salutary advice of St. Paul to the Church at Rome, with which I shall conclude this dis- course. " Having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us ;" if ours be those of the ministry, " let us wait on our minister- ing ; or he that teacheth, on teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation : he thatgiveth, let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness".'' " Romans xii. 6, 7, 8. SERMON XVII. THE WOMAN WITH AN ISSUE OF BLOOD MADE WHOLE. ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. MATT. IX. 21, 22. For she said within herself. If I may hut touch his garment I shall he whole. But Jesus turned him ahout, and %ohen he saw her, he said, Daughter, he of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee ivhole. The narrative of this remarkable transaction forms a part of the Gospel appointed for the day. A Jewish ruler, whose daughter lay at the point of death ", came to Jesus, to entreat his merciful and almighty interposition. He openly declared his faith, " Come,'' said he, " and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live^.'' Jesus graciously condescended to his prayer, and proceeded towards his house, sur- rounded by an immense concourse ^ of persons, » Luke viii. 42. ^ Matt. ix. 18. » Mark v. .24. 33G SERMON XVII. anxious, as we may suppose, to witness this extraordinary manifestation of Divine power. We may easily conceive, that the people must have thronged him closely, and that there must have been a considerable press and struggle to get near his person, in order to be present at the miracle. In the crowd was a woman, who had been diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years, and had in vain applied to physicians to relieve her. Weak and feeble as she must have been from this continual drain upon her constitution, she was nevertheless in the crowd. She ex- erted herself to get amongst the foremost : she strove till she was within reach of our Sa- viour. " For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment I shall be whole/' She perceived his divine power; she believed that every thing about him must be holy and salu- tary; that if she could but touch his clothes she should be healed. She did touch the hem of his garment; and, in an instant, her dis- ease was cured ; " straightway,^' says St. Luke, " the fountain of her blood dried up.'' But whence was this? What was the cause of her being made whole? What, in one single moment staunched that issue of blood, which no physicians could heal, which twelve whole years could not exhaust ? Was TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 337 it our Saviour's garment? Was there any sense, any power in a garment? Was there in it any charm or spell ? None ! For Christ himself guards against any inference of that description : turning about, he says, " Daugh- ter, be of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee whole." Jesus was empowered to heal all manner of diseases, and her faith, her lively'' faith rendered her a fit object'' for the operation of his power. That faith was manifested most strongly in the eagerness with which she sought to touch the hem of his garment. He, who knoweth all things, needed not to see with his eyes, needed not to be told, that such an act of faith had been performed. It was instantly present to his view, though apparently done in secret. And for him, who so often said, " I will, be thou clean!" for him to will was sufficient. Instantly it was effected ; instantly, *That lively faith displayed some oi its fruits at that very time ; her humility in touching the hem of his garment, her sense of unworthiness, indicated in her doing it by stealth, her deep veneration for Jesus, when she came " trembling" (Luke viii. 47.) before him, and her gratitude and devotion when she *'feU down before him, and declared unto him, before all the people, for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately :" these are some of the fruits, which indi- cate the " tree" from which they sprung. " Matt. xiii. 58. 338 SERMON XVII. the moment his garment was touched by the beUeving and humble sufferer, in that mofnent " the fountain of her blood was dried up/' In this transaction there are some points which deserve attention, and are calculated to excite salutary and awakening reflections upon our own conduct. I. The first circumstance which we may notice, is the extreme eagerness and anxiety of this woman to be relieved from her disease. Emaciated and exhausted as she had been by a lingering disorder, her strength perhaps, would have appeared on ordinary occasions, scarcely equal to the support of her feeble frame. Were we to meet with such a person walking alone and unassisted, our commisera- tion would be excited. Were we to find her in a crowd, where all were struggling to a certain point, we should expect to see her overcome by the pressure, or even by her own agitation and alarm. But not so the woman whose case we are considering. Feeble as she may be she finds means, not only to sustain the pressure of the crowd, but to force her way to the very centre. Every ner\ e is ex- erted, every sinew strained. Hope and eager- ness lend her momentary and preternatural vigour. She sees before her hifn from whom TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 339 only deliverance can be expected. She strug- gles to reach him with all her soul, and with all her strength. This is perfectly natural ; this is what was to be expected. It is what would be done by every person in her situation, and with her belief in our Saviour's power. Who would not exert himself to the utmost ; stretch every sinew, and strive with more than ordinary energy to be delivered from a tormenting malady? Let them who have suffered, or are suffering from any wasting disorder. Let them answer the question ! What is there in their power which they would not do, to be restored in a moment to health and strength ? We know they would, as the woman before us, let nothing deter or repel them from their deliverer. An abhorrence of evil is a natural instinct. It is a principle implanted in us all, and doubtlessly implanted for the best and wisest purposes. But we are inconsistent and irrational, in the application of this principle. While we are actuated by the most intense and immoderate solicitude to escape some evils, we submit to others, of far greater magnitude, with a most culpable apathy and a most irrational indifference. The slightest symptoms of illness are usually watched with the most jealous vigilance. A z2 340 SERMON XVII. wasting disorder is borne with the utmost im- patience and anxiety. Every mode of cure or palliation is eagerly sought. But there is one malady respecting which, frequently, no such anxiety and impatience prevails ; a malady too, the most treacherous, the most fatal, the most destructive that can be named ; a malady, which is indeed " a sickness unto death." This malady is sin; the malady not of the body, but of the soul ; the malady, which, while it often saps the foundations and dries up the springs of this mortal life ; will, (if not closely watched and promptly remedied,) inevitably deprive us of our immortal life ; or at least, will render that life a curse, instead of a blessing ; will cleave to us like an everlasting leprosy, and will mark us for objects of enduring detestation, and of enduring misery. Yet, with how little solicitude is this bane- ful pest regarded ! And at the same time, how necessary to our welfare, how essential is it to our safety, that we should incessantly w^atch it. It is a progressive malady; it steals upon us. The more its pestilential venom operates on the soul, the more it com- monly intoxicates its victim, and renders him insensible to his danger. Every day's, every hour's delay increases the peril of his situation. TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 341 The infection often creeps upon the infatu- ated wretch, till, (though roused to a sense of his danger,) he becomes incapable of attempt- ing his deliverance. The poison has over- powered his spiritual energies, and, to him, as to the Israelites, (when stung by serpents in the wilderness) the symbol of health and salva- tion ^Uifted up%" is of no avail. He has lost the power and the desire of looking up to it ; his spiritual faculties are benumbed in a deadly torpor; his mental sight dimmed and obscured by the mists of error, and by that fatal dark- ness, which is the harbinger of eternal death. How necessary, therefore, is it, that we should watch this malady. Every day we should watch it ; every day we should be anx- ious, eager to apply all the remedies within our reach. Yet how few, comparatively speaking, how- very few, who are infected with sin, are seen to labour with all their soul, and all their strength to be delivered from it. How few evince all the eagerness and impatience of a sufferer anxious to escape from a dangerous malady. How few are seen striving to touch as it were, the hem of Chinst's garment; solicitous to take hold of the blessed " hope of * John iii. H. 342 SERMON XVII. everlasting salvation ;" to cast themselves upon his mercy; and to seek health and strength from the "Sun of righteousness/^ who hath arisen, " with healing in his wings'^/' How few, in a word, are as eager to be delivered from the malady of sin, as the woman was to be cured of the issue of blood. This view of the subject presents to man, (in whom, though regenerate, " that infection doth remain,'') points, which ought to excite him to close and diligent examination into the real state of his heart. For who is there, pre- pared to say before God, that he has no symp- toms of this malady of the soul ? Who will say that he has no sin ? His own conscience will contradict the dangerous fallacy. Or, if he will not attend to the testimony of his con- science, let him hearken to the warning of St. John. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us\'' But are we not virtually " deceiving ourselves," when, though we do not " say that we have no sin,'' we nevertheless feel no serious appre- hensions as to its consequences ? Is not this a self-deception? And do not the following questions tend to the development of a dan- gerous apathy in which we are too prone to be lulled? * Mai. iv. 2. • 1 John i. 8. TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 343 Are we influenced by a rational dread of evil ? Do we, in all cases, feel a dread of it proportioned to its malignity ? Are we earn- estly bent upon watching, and attempting to subdue the pestilential virulence of sin ? Do we Qagerly embrace every offer, and try every proposed means of deliverance ? But the force of such questions as these is better perceived, when we apply them to the particulars of our hearts and conduct. This must be done generally by individuals them- selves. Let us, however, take one example. Let us take the effects produced upon us by the invitation to the Lord's Supper, and ob- serve how far, upon considering these effects, we can satisfy ourselves, that we contemplate the evil of sin, with a degree of apprehension proportioned to its magnitude. An invitation to the Lord's Supper is a call to self-examination. How is that examina- tion carried on ? Have you tried to observe the progress and the symptoms of sinful pro- pensities in your hearts, as a feverish patient would notice the symptoms of a disorder? Have you endeavoured to revise your past life, and trace the particular incitements of these propensities, which you might have avoided, with as much earnestness and grief aa the sick man would trace the causes of his 344 SERMON XVII. disorder ? When you have discovered those symptoms and those causes, have you felt the same anxiety as you would feel in the case of sickness, to seek a remedy for the one, and in future to avoid the other ? Have you confessed these symptoms to the great Physician of your souls ? Are you ready and earnest in having recourse to the reme- dies which he has prescribed ? Do you hasten to repent, and implore mercy ? Do you, with hearty faith, desire to be " washed'^ from your sins and cleansed from your offences, with his precious blood, who offered himself a sacrifice for sin, and taught us to seek the strengthen- ing and refreshing of souls, not, indeed, by toucliing the " hem of his garment,'' but by faithfully receiving the symbols of his body and blood ; and thus claiming the salutary efficacy of his merits and mediation ? If the invitation to the Lord's Supper pro- duce none of these consequences, what reason can we allege for our supineness, but an in- difference to the fatal effects of sin, that " issue of blood,'' that wasting disorder of the soul ? Our Saviour invites all those " that travail, and are heavy-laden," to come unto him, and promises that he " will refresh" them. Here, in this holy institution of his, how free, how easy is our approach to him ! Here TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 345 are no throngs through which we must strug- gle. Here, no difficulties impede, saving those created by our supineness and want of zeal. Upon those, therefore, who decline the in- vitation to the Lord's Supper, and from day to day put off the necessary work of repent- ance, I would press the question — Are you, can you pretend you are, as earnestly desirous to escape the malady of sin, as the woman was, and as you would be, to be relieved from a disorder which had lasted twelve years ? Yet what is a disorder of twelve years' du- ration, or of twelve times twelve years, to those horrible and awful sufferings which must infallibly result from unrepented sin ! What is it, but as a drop compared with the ocean, a grain of sand with the sea-shore ! Is this, then, a rational, is it a consistent application of the principle, which teaches us to avoid and abhor evil ; and ought to excite us to avoid and abhor it more anxiously, in proportion to its magnitude and its duration ? Does not such conduct rather suggest a cau- tion, that we are not duly sensible of the per- nicious tendency of sin ; that we do not really regard sin as an evil. For if abhorrence and dread of evil be a principle of our nature, and if we do not abhor and dread sin, as we should abhor and dread a bodily disease, is not the 346 SERMON XVII. inference from this obvious, namely, that we consider sin as no evil; or at least as an evil of less magnitude than a bodily disease : — that we are influenced by our feelings and inclina- tions, not by our reason ; — that we attend only to the present, and are heedless of fu- turity ? 2dly. We may observe and imitate this woman's faith. She has no hesitation, she entertains no doubts. She is satisfied that Jesus is invested with divine power, and con- cludes it cannot be circumscribed. She can- not indeed comprehend the means by which he performs his wonderful works ; but she is convinced, by unquestionable demonstration, that he does perform them. She gives her- self, therefore, no trouble, to enquire how^ these works were accomplished. She presumes that the manner is above human comprehension, or that the knowledge of it is not necessary. She believes that he can do all things, and that, in his hands the weakest, and appa- rently most inefficient instruments, can be made to accomplish the most w^onderful works. " If,'' said she, " I may hut touch his garment, I shall be whole.'' How much more reasonable is her faith, than the flippant and conceited scepticism of many, who in these days set up the highest TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 347 pretensions to wisdom, and lay exclusive claim to the character of liberal and enlightened. They have the authenticity and genuineness of the Scriptures, established by an accumula- tion of evidences the most complete, and the most conclusive, which has ever been brought to prove any fact or facts whatsoever; evi- dences too, far stronger than those, by which any records so readily believed by those very sceptics are supported. Yet they deny the statements and doctrines of Scripture, not because their evidences are defective, but be- cause they cannot comprehend the modes, or the reasons by which the Deity acts, and is influenced. One disputes the miracles, be- cause they are deviations from the ordinary laws, by which the universe is governed, are at variance with all things, which have come within the range of their experienced But this very property of miracles, instead of fur- nishing an argument against a well attested account, in fact is a corroboration of it. Be- cause a deviation from the ordinary course of nature is what was to be expected in proof of Christ's mission ; and was in fact the best, the only decisive testimonial which he could ad- duce of his being sent from God. Therefore ' See Paley's Evidences, his remarks on ** Contrary to expe- jfience." 348 SERMON XVII. miracles, instead of weakening the credit of the Scriptures, corroborate it, they are marks of consistency, and consistency is one charac- teristic of truth. Another doubts the influence and the opera- tion of the Holy Spirit, because he has not been informed of the mode, or the measure in which they take place. A third will not believe in the redemption and atonement, because he is not made ac- quainted with all the reasons of it, or in other words, because he is not admitted to the se- cret counsels of the Most High, and because with his feeble faculties, and limited know- ledge, he cannot enter into all the. plans and motives of Omniscience. This was not the wisdom of the woman be- fore us, whose faith drew down the commend- ation of Jesus, and rendered her an object for his mercy. No! language more conformable to hers, and better harmonizing with those feelings, which ought to animate the guests at the Lord^s table, would be such as this. Lord all things are possible with thee. If thou wilt, thou canst make us clean. When we eat of the bread, and drink of the cup which thou didst ordain to be taken in remembrance of thy death and passion, then, Lord, thou cai^st TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 349 cause our sinful bodies to be made clean by thy body, and our souls to be washed, by thy most precious blood, that thus we may ever- more dwell in thee, and thou in us ^. From this we pass on to the last point to be noticed in the case of the woman before us; namely, the result of her faith, " Jesus turned him about, and said. Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole/' And will not our faith, if it be a lively faith, make us whole ? He that healed the diseased body, will he not administer relief to the distempered soul ? Is not his having done the former a decisive proof that he has power to do the latter ? " Whether, (said he, on another occasion, as one sick of the palsy lay before him expecting his aid,) Whether is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise, and walk V Can we then doubt but that he will bid the faithful and true pe- nitent be of good comfort ? But how shall we manifest our faith ? How shall we evince our persuasion, that if we may but, as it were, touch the hem of his gar- ment, we shall be whole — that we trust en- tirely in him, for the health and salvation of our souls? f Vide Communion. 350 SERMON XVII. '' '^^^ ' Shall we manifest our faith by a contemp- tuous neglect of his commandments and in- stitutions, or by an ardent desire to do every thing that is pleasing in his sight ? Shall we manifest it by waiting till age or sickness, and the symptoms of approaching death, terrify us into a forced and feeble attempt to walk according to his will, and to do him acceptable service ? Or shall we manifest it by serving him 710W ; by showing our love, our gratitude, our reliance, now ; while, by his bounty, we are yet in the vigour of health, and in the time of security. Can there be one moment^s doubt in which of these directions lies the path of Christian duty ? Let your conduct, then, be conformable to your knowledge. Follow the plain dictates of reason and religion. Shew your faith by rendering the homage, not of fear but of love. Give proof of your sincere abhorrence of sin, by a timely avoidance of it. Offer an un- forced and an unfeigned service to your Re- deemer. Humbly and devoutly kneel now at his holy table ; glorify his name ; acknowledge his merits and mercy ; express openly before the congregation, your grateful sense of the value of his sacrifice and sufferings ; lay down your sins as a tribute before him, 7iow, while TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 351. you have yet the power of indulging in them ; while the sacrifice is spontaneous, and there is no danger of your mistaking the impotency of disease for real penitence and reformation, or the terrors of approaching dissolution for the motions of religion. Thus, then, at that solemn hour when our soul fainteth within us ; when we are turning our anxious thoughts from this world to our eternal destination, may the remembrance of that Saviour, who has called the weary and heavy-laden, encourage and refresh us. May the recollection of our having constantly, during the day of health and strength, mani- fested our faith in Him, by doing his will, by trusting in his merits and mediation, by imploring his assistance, and by offering him the sacrifice of a contrite heart, and a devout spirit; may the recollection of having often washed " our hands in innocency,'^ and so ap- proached "his altar;'' — may recollections such as these sustain and console us at that solemn hour. Yes, at that hour, when all other comfort is vain, may our struggling soul be cheered by the testimony of conscience, by the voice of hope and of religion. When the tongue shall be parched and motionless ; when the lips shall be bloodless and quivering; may our heart, full of good and blessed recollections, 352 SERMON XVII. speak peace to us. " Be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole, thy sins be forgiven thee." Now, &c. &c. SERMON XVIII. THE GAIN OF THE WHOLE WORLD AN INADE- QUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE LOSS OF A MAN'S SOUL. MARK VIII. 36, 37. For what shall it profit a man, if lie shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or ichat shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Our blessed Lord, well knowing what is in man, foresaw the terrible opposition which his religion would encounter from the fierce pas- sions, the stubborn prejudices, and the ever- watchful interests of the world. He was, therefore, desirous of preparing his Apostles for the arduous conflict in which they were shortly to be engaged. In the chapter from which our text is taken, the Evangelist in- forms us, that Jesus " began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief A a 354 SERMON XVIII. priests and scribes, and be killed''." It was not to be expected that those who persecuted the Master, would be disposed to respect or spare his disciples. He, therefore, frankly and exphcitlj declares to them the nature of the service into which they had enlisted them- selves. " Whosoever,'' said he, " will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me '/' What was meant by taking up the cross, and following him, might easily be unilerf^tood, not only from his sufferings, but from the many descriptions he gave of the fomiidable consequences upon which his followers were to calculate. Thus, in St. Matthew's Gospel, M^e have recorded the following appalling caution : " Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth ; I come not to send peace, but a sword. For I iatn c^m€ to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, Bod the daughter-in-law against her mother- in-law. And a man's foes shall be thev of his own household." He tells them, also, that they shall be put out of the synagogues, that they shall be persecuted from place to place » and that the time shall come, when whosoever killeth them shall think that h» doeth God ""Veiseai. 'Vorse»i. ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 355 service. This was part of the cross which they were to take up, in following Christ. How accurately these declarations of Jesus accorded with the event, the history of the first ages of Christianity abundantly testifies. All the sufferings which the power and malice of wicked and misguided men could inflict, were accumulated with unremittino; zeal and diligence, upon the first propagators and fol- lowers of the Gospel. But of all this our Saviour, as we have observed, fairly cautions his disciples. He tells them distinctly, that whosoever will come after him, must not do it in the expectation of affluence, of ease, of honour, or of enjoyment ; but must " deny himself,'' and " take up his cross, and follow'' him. Now to induce men to embrace, and to per- severe in a religion, leading, and professing to lead, to such results, it is natural to presume, that some very powerful argument was offered — some important and weighty consideration must have been presented them. Such an argument, and such a consideration, were presented ; and appear to be contained in the simple question of the text. " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" Aa 2 856 SERMON XVIII. The soul is immortal; it never perishes'. But it may be lost. It may deviate from the " narrow way" and the " strait gate/' which lead to endless bliss in heaven, and may wan- der into the broad and beaten way, which leadeth to those regions of agony and woe, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth This was the argument, this the consideration, offered to the Apostles. What ease, what honours, what wealth could compensate them for the loss of their souls ? This upheld them in all their tribulations and toils. No dangers, no threats, could intimidate them, because no dangers, no threats, could be placed in com- petition with the perils which menaced their souls, if they should relinquish their only hope of salvation. No pleasures could allure them, no wealth bribe them, no temptations ^ " The Greek word is ^ij/xiudq, which properly signifies, to receive a mulct, or to suffer damage ; and therefore it is here opposed to KspSrjffT] — if he shall gain. So that the word doth not denote the absolute loss, or extinction of the soul, but its undergoing some dreadful mulct, or suffering some irreparable damage. For as Hierocles hath observed. Immortal sub- stances cannot so die as to lose their being, but so as to lose their well-being they may. And accordingly our Saviour himself calls the punishment of the wicked in hell-fire, destroying them, Matt. x. 28. Fear not them which kill the body — but fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Where, by destroying, he doth not mean putting a final end to their being, but putting them into an irrecoverable state of ill- being." — Scott's Christian Life, vol. v. p. 28. ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 357 could seduce them, no sacrifice divert them, because the pleasures, which the soul of the faithful Christian may enjoy at God's right hand, are eternal, and the riches and rewards, which are promised in the kingdom of heaven, are bpyond all price, and beyond all concep- tion. " What, then, shall a man profit, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul V This, my brethren, is the plain question with which Christ forearmed his disciples, when he sent them " forth, as sheep among wolves,'^ to " wrestle with powers, and princi- palities, and spiritual Avickedness in high places/* And this is a question with which we should be always armed, and which we should have present to our mind, in all the trials and temptations incidental to us, in this our probationary state. The storm of perse- cution, by the blessing of God, has long since been hushed, and, it is to be presumed that, at least in the present day, neither bigotry nor fanaticism will have power to rouse it into action. What we have to sustain, arises from our corruption and weakness, operated upon by the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. As a securit}^ against these, by 368 SERMON XVllI. no means contemptible assailants, let us take the plain question of the text. Let us apply it honestly ; and, on all occasions, it will be found to furnish powerful and obvious encou- ragements to a strenuous and persevering re- sistance. It will remind us, that the prize, for which we contend, merits our every exertion ; and that, as it cannot be lost unless we betray ourselves, so nothing can repay us for the loss of it. Every man, who reflects for one single mo- tnent, will admit generally, that he who loses his own soul, whatsoever he may gain in ex- change for it, must have made a disadvantage- ous barter. If, for a few short years of en- joyment, he shall have delivered his immortal soul to the wrath which cometh upon the dis- obedient, what, what indeed, shall it profit him ? We easily admit the general propo- sition ; it is only in the particular and prac- tical application of it, that we seem to shrink from it. Let us now take a few ordinary cases of its application, as an illustration of the mode in which we ought to employ it, in every case, and in every situation, which our conscience or our experience can suggest. I. Take then, as the first example, the case of the votary of pleasure and intemperance, and ai> one species of intemperance take ON THE LOS$ OF THE SOUL. 359 drunkenness. Let it be supposed, that the drunkard " gains the whole world '^' that to him all is joy and pleasure, no pain, no degi-a- dation. Let it be supposed, that the vocife- ration of the drunkard is the expression of real delight ; that he is the most cheerful, the most happy man that can be found ; that he is happy while drinking, and happy after it ; that no sinking of spirits succeeds his unna- tural exhilaration, no headache, no stupefac- tion, no debasement of intellect, no contempt, no impoverishment of his family, no outrage, no brawls. Let it be supposed that he es- capes all these evils, and that mirth is com- plete happiness. Still let him pause ere he lift the cup to his lips, let him ask himself, " What shall it 'profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'' For the drunkard, know it, remember it on the authority of St. Paul, " shall not inherit the kingdom of God \" Will a life spent in pleasure, (supposing in- temperance to be pleasure,) compensate for the loss of an immortality in bliss ? " What shall a man give in exchange fgr his soul ?" To CA'ery unlawful and excessive indulgence the same reasoning is applicable. Did we but ' 1 Cor. vi. 10. 360 SERMON XVIII. accustom ourselves to consider the value of our immortal souls ; did we but use a small proportion of the common sense and prudence which we exercise in the promotion and choice of our worldly pursuits ; we could not fail to be startled at the absurdity and madness of the man, who could indulge in drunkenness, or any other excess, at the hazard of incurring the punishments, which are denounced against such offenders. We, one and all, exclaim upon the folly and infatuation of a man sacri- ficing to excessive pleasures \\\s fortune or his health ; but we seem to overlook, or at least to contemplate with great indifference, the far greater folly and infatuation of his choos- ing these same pleasures, in exchange for his soul. We are too much " children of this world,^^ " wiser in our generation than the children of light.*' The present engrosses our minds ; few, or no serious thoughts are de- voted to the future. II. As a second example, let us take the case of the covetous and selfish man. When the wretched and the helpless apply to him for relief, he turns from them, closes his heart against them, and confines all his affections to his treasures, and himself. His whole heart and soul are set upon gain and self-gratifica- tion ; they occupy his thoughts to the exclu- ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 361 sion of both God and man. Let us again suppose, that this man gains " the whole world ;' that all the pleasure, all the happi- ness is on his side ; that he loses no enjoy- ment by his avaricious and selfish propensi- ties.. Let us suppose, that what the Scrip- tures tell us concerning its being " more blessed to give than to receive ™,^^ is all a mis- take; that no man^s heart ever thrilled with delight in the performance of a benevolent action, or dwelt upon the remembrance of it with satisfaction ; with a happy consciousness of its acceptance, as a tribute of duty to our merciful and indulgent Redeemer". Let us suppose that this covetous and selfish man applies his wealth, so far as present gratifica- tion is concerned, in procuring the greatest degree of happiness that wealth can procure ; whether that happiness consist in the solitary contemplation of his accumulated hoards, or in having an abundance to spend upon his own selfish objects of desire. Let us suppose, that he has all the happiness of this descrip- tion which can be imagined ; and even that no other superior degree of happiness could be purchased in this life, by the means of wealth. Let him say, in the fullest exultation, " Soul ■ Acts XX. ^b, " Matt. XXV. 40. 362 SERMON XVm. thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry "." Yet how long can this last? A few brief years ! then that awful, and universal summons, " thy soul shall be required of thee ^1" At that hour, looking backward to the past, and looking forward to )^q future, what judgment can he «xpect wdll be pronounced upon his conduct. The voice of men, and of angels, the voice of conscience, and of God, will all concur in their designation of the man. " Thou fool,'' thy soul shall be required of thee. " In that day,'' to use the energetic language of the prophet, he " shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols ofgo/f/ which" he had " made for him- self to worship'^ to the moles, and to the bats'." How worthless and contemptible in his sight will gold and silver, and all the pleasures which they can purchase, then appear. The body, to which he has hitherto paid all his at- tention, will be as mere dross in his estimation. His whole concern will be for his soul. He will probably then feel the force of our Sa- viour's important question. Or, if he should not feel it then, another day will come, when standing before the judgment- seat, he must • Luke xii. 10. ^ Ibid. ver. 20, '' Isaiah ii. 20. ' " Covetousness, which is Idolatry." Coloss. iii. 5. ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 363 feel it. There he must be convinced, but too late, that the world and all its wealth is but a sorry exchange for the happiness of his im- mortal soul. Surely these things are palpably evident ; and equally evident it is, that true wisdom, nay, common sense should direct us, to con- sider the question of the text, while we have time to profit by the caution which it suggests ; to check every covetous desire ; to be turned from every selfish pursuit, by this simple ap- peal to our hearts, " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" III. Take the case of the dishonest man. Under the term dishonest, we may class not only the man who actually robs, but also all such, as in any manner, either direct or indi- rect, deceive, or defraud their neighbour. These men, though they gain the whole world, though they be successful in all their schemes, yet cannot evade those Scriptural condemna- tions, which expressly exclude such persons from the kingdom of God. Let them, there- fore, grow rich with plunder, elude the grasp of the law, laugh at the credulity of their neighbours, escape all compunctions of con- science, " come into no misfortune like other 364 SERMON XVIII. folk; neither be plagued like other men':" Yet what shall it profit them, if they lose their own soul ? Let them weigh the consequences of these things well. Let them bear in mind that by a continuance in these practices they " lose their own soul." What then shall all the fruits of their dishonesty profit them ? The plea of necessity, sometimes real, but more frequently pretended, is often urged to justify dishonesty. But we know, that dishonesty is prohibited by both human and divine laws. And the same Master, who told the Apostles to take up the cross, and follow him ; to sufter no privations, no persecutions to divert them from their duty ; that same Master requires us to obey him in the like manner, whatso- ever may be our temptations and trials : and he requires this obedience, with the same caution before us as was placed before the??i. " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul V IV. Lastly. Take the case of an ambitious man, who is so bent upon his temporal ad- vancement, that he has little inclination or leisure to attend to the concerns of his soul. He, like the others, may gain every thing to • Psalm Ixxiii. 5, ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 365 which he aspires ; but if he lose his own soul, what shall it profit him? Let it be supposed, if such a thing were possible; that he met with no rivals, none that envied him ; no mortification, no disap- pointment in his plans. Yet, after all his " early rising, and late taking rest,'' what has been or can be the most successful re- sult of his toils. Though he stand foremost in the estimation of his earthly sovereign, what can any monarch give him, as a compen- sation for his losing the favour of the King of kings ? What can he give him in exchange for his soul ? What will all the empty titles and distinctions which may be conferred upon him, all the wealth which may be heaped upon him; what will the shouts of applaud- ing multitudes, the attention of listening senates ; what will all these avail him, if, in the great day, before God, and the spirits of just men made perfect, it shall be found, that to gain these transitory and unsubstantial advantages, he has sacrificed his own soul? To every man engaged in such pursuits Jesus has spoken, by his Evangelists, in language which ought never to be absent from his thoughts. He has warned him of the grand purpose, which we are always to have in view ; that here we are no sojourners, but must ever 3GC SERMON XVIII. be pressing forward towards heaven, as our home, and our abiding city. To this all other objects are to be subservient. " Seek ye first" said he, " the kingdom of God, and his righte- ousness.'' These, and not the honours of earthly kingdoms, should be our first and our last con- cern ; " for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul f These are a few cases, selected as instances of the manner, in w hich this question of the text may be made to bear upon the tendency of our lives, and the propensities of our hearts. Your own reflection, and your own knowledge of the particular temptations, failings and in- firmities, to which you may be respectively liable, will furnish you with daily opportuni- ties of applying the question to yourselves. In fact, it applies to almost every action, every word, every thought; for it refers to those in- terests of unspeakable importance, to M^hich almost all our actions, words, and thoughts should, directly or indirectly, have some ten- dency. It is, or should be, the business of every day of our lives to work out our salva- tion, and to watch diligently ; lest by neglect- ing to cultivate the love of God, and the love of our neighbour, to grow^ in grace, and to strengthen our faith in Christ Jesus, we hazard the losing of our soul. 13 ON THE LOSS OF THE SOUL. 367 Tliere is, indeed, one general case, in which this question most forcibly presses upon many professing Christians. I allude to the oppor- tunity which is so often presented, and so often despised, of paying a public tribute of faith and love to our gracious Redeemer ; of reverently and humbly claiming, through the means of his own specially appointed institu- tion, the benefits of his atoning blood, and the promised blessings of pardon and assist- ance. My brethren, to come to " this holy Communion'^ in the "marriage garment^' re- quired in holy Scripture, what are the neces- sary preparations? Self-examination, repent- ance, and faith ! When ought the Christian to neglect the cultivation of these? Let no man plead business, or pleasure, or thought- lessness, as excuses for his omitting these re- quisite preparations for the Lord's Supper, and for his consequent neglect of that holy ordi- nance. Let him rather remember, that he, who is destitute of that preparation which may render him a " meet partaker" of the Lord's Supper, is also destitute of that preparation, which may fit him for the hour of death. And, if in the midst of those occupations and pursuits, in deference to which he thinks proper to put aside the ordinance of his Saviour, and his Christian duty ; if in the midst of them, 36S SERMON XVIII. the hand of Death should surprise him, what an awful consideration is laid before him in the text, " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul V* SERMON XIX. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS, WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR EFFECTS UPON OUR PRESENT HAPPINESS. ROMANS VI. 21. What fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed? In the preceding discourse we took, as the subject of our consideration, the very import- ant question, asked by our Saviour, " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul V In this question every thing is conceded to the sinner ; he is met upon the most favour- able ground, upon which he can be placed. The question meets him upon the admission, that he finds all pleasure, and all prosperity in this life; yet, granting all this, he is asked, What it shall profit him, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Bb 370 SERMON XIX. This, I am fully aware, is the great basis of human obedience; the ultimate consequence of present conduct is the point, to which we are always to look ; salvation is to be the ob- ject of our pursuits and hopes ; we must act with the intention of pleasing God, not pleas- ing ourselves ; eternal happiness and not pre- sent expediency must be the ruling motive of our actions. But though not our chief inducement to forsake sin, yet it may operate as a useful auxiliary to the above motive, if we can esta- blish in our minds a conviction, and preserve a lively sense, that while, by walking in the ways of sin, we lose our immortal souls, we, at the same time, diminish our chances of enjoying even present happiness. We are justified in employing this consideration as a secondary motive to divert us from wicked- ness, and to encourage our perseverance jq virtue. For the Scriptures themselves set us the example of thus employing it. They frequently, not only denounce the ultimately fatal consequences of sin, but also expose the absolute folly of it even with respect to this world ; the ^^fool " and the sinner are used as synonimous terms. St. Paul, too, in the text adopts the same argument. He boldly appeals to the judg- ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 371 ment of his converts, who had made the ex- periment of both sin and hohness. " As ye have yielded your members/' said he, " ser- vants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity ; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Fox when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye tl^n in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ?" Bearing then in mind our Saviour's ques- tion, let us now proceed to examine and apply that of St. Paul. Let every reflecting man fairly consider sin ; let him impartially, whi- thersoever his experience or his observation has extended, notice its immediate conse-' quences ; and he will find that though sin, if it gained the whole world, could not com- pensate him for the loss of his soul ; yet it does in fact lose the world, as well as his soul : it loses pr-esejit peace, as well as eternal happi- ness. JVe may boldly appeal to every sinner, m the language of our Apostle, and ask, " What fruit had ye in those things ?" Reason, with which man alone, of all the inhabitants of the earth is endued, and which is so apt to excite his pride, almost ceases to confer upon him any distinction, when he can- not make a right use of it in the discernment of truth ai\d real happiness. The children of Bb2 372 SERMON XIX. this world, the votaries of pleasure, the fol- lowers of passion and interest, usually pique themselves upon their superior wisdom, and freedom from prejudice. They affect to pity or to ridicule the forbearance and self-denial of the religious, as austere and fanatical re- strictions upon our natural liberty, as a mo- rose refusal of the pleasures, which the boun- teous hand of the Creator sets before us. But ridicule is neither proof nor argument. If there be any truth in Scripture, these per- sons, however wise in their own conceits, are selling their souls, for which the whole world cannot compensate them. And for what are they selling them ? For pleasures and advantages actually far inferior to those which, in the ordinary course of things, are to be attained by obeying the precepts, and living in the spirit of the Gos- pel. Would they but impartially and atten- tively consider the question of our text, they would discover that Esau^s folly, in selling his birthright for a mess of pottage, was infinitely less preposterous than their own, who listen to the importunity of their appetites, and, for its transient gratification, relinquish both present and future advantages. Let us observe. What fruit have they ? The sensualist, the intemperate, the votary ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 373 of pleasure, what fruit has he ? For all his enjoyment, health is one indispensable ingre- dient. Without this, all the delights and luxuries that the world can offer, will pall upon the sense. Vainly for the sick man will the banquet be spread ; vainly will the melody of music arise. He cannot taste what he eats or what he drinks ; neither can he " hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women '/' But, if health be indispensably necessary for enjoyment, where shall we look for health ? Shall we look for it in the bloated and fever- ish frame of the glutton or the drunkard ; in the wasted form of the debauchee ? or shall we not rather look for it in the temperate, chaste, and self-denying Christian ? I do not mean to argue that disease, or even a doubtful state of health, is always to be found with the two first of these characters, or sound health always with the last. But I ask every impartial man, with which of these characters he would generally expect to find health ? Surely with the last. Therefore, generally speaking, we may affirm, that the excessive votary of pleasure curtails his enjoy- ments, by injuring his health. Again. One very important source of real ' 1 Sam. xix. S5. 874 SERMON XIX. enjoymGnt, is that elastic state of mind, which is termed cheerfulness — -that equable, regu- lated temper, which, though it seldom breaks forth into violent mirth, seldom suffers the spirits to sink altogether under any pressure. But that unnatural excitation of the pas* sions, that intense gratification of the appe* tites, which is produced by excess of any kind, seldom, we may say never, fails to be succeeded by a corresponding depression. And the more artificial means are employed, to stimulate those appetites, so much the more difficult it becomes to gratify them, and so much the moi*e are they rendered fastidious and incapable of enjoyment. The Almighty has placed " by a perpetual decree",'' bounds for our powers of enjoy- ment, beyond which they cannot pass, at least not with impunity. The same law seems to prevail with respect to our appetites, as with respect to our limbs. So long as they are applied to purposes for which God has ap- pointed them, they may be made the source of pleasure and advantage; but when an at- tempt is made to exert and force them beyond this, then, like a strained limb, they cause pain and misery. " Jer. V. 2ii. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 376 ** Evert in laughter/' saith Solomon, " the heart is sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth is heaviness \'' If the noisy merriment of the drunkard be the expression of happiness, (which is much to be questioned) what is he in his sober moments ? Is he not any thing but cheerful ? Is he not heavy, depressed, and vapid ? Is his state of mind to be compared with that of a temperate man ? The same may be said of luxury, and excess of every kind. They only render the taste more fasti- dious, the spirits more feeble, the mind more frivolous and dissipated, and incapable of in- tellectual pleasures. The lovers of them may well be asked, even in point of present enjoy- ment, " What fruit had ye in those things." How much more rational is his prospect of I'eal pleasure, even in this life, who lives upon the system pointed out and sanctioned by re- ligion ; who partakes of what is called plea- sure with moderation ; looks upon it not as the business of his life, but only as a relaxation from the more dignified and weighty pursuits which ought chiefly to occupy nian, consi- dered as a reasonable, and a responsible being. How much more cheerfully, not to say profit- ably, will the hours roll on with that man, * Pfo^. xiv. IJ. 376 SERMON XIX. whose mind is actively engaged in the duties of his station as a member of society, and a servant of God, than with him, whose hstless, and trifling mind is ever hankering for fresh amusements ; and who is wasting his body, and debasing his intellect in excess, and sen- suality ? Thus even with reference to that enjoyment, for which they thirst, and pay the price of their souls, it may be said to them, " What fruit had ye in these things T' II. Again. Apply the question of our text to the dishonest. Even that very lucre, for which he sacrifices all, is not unfrequently lost by over-eagerness and dishonesty. " Covet- ousness is as Idolatry/' It requires the souls of its votaries to be prostrated before it, as the body of a man is bowed down at the feet of an Idol. His whole heart is devoted to gain ; and " out of the abundance of the heart the mouth^' will speak, notwithstanding all his ef- forts and caution to prevent the disclosure of his real character. He soon becomes known from his deeds. He is as completely distin- guishable, as the followers of Baal were known, when crowded into the temple, and clothed in the vestments of their Idolatrous worship '. 7 2 Kings x. 22. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 377 The hands of all men are raised against him. He shews the object of his worship by selfish- ness, by meanness, by extortion, by over- reaching, and by various sordid and dishonest practices. Men, at length, shrink back from assisting or even having dealings with such a man. The covetous is abhorred of God and man. Every one fears to trust him, every one suspects him as a treacherous enemy, who would gladly take any advantage of them, however unjust. It is, I think, much to be doubted, whether in the generality of cases, these men, however dexterous, cunning, and daring they may be, do not fail in the attainment of their grand object ; and after a few successful efforts of dishonesty, so rouse the vigilance and the re- sentment of the community, as to cause their schemes to be thwarted, and themselves over- whelmed with mortification and disappoint- ment. It is true, that there is a propensity very prevalent to exclaim with the Psalmist upon the prosperity of the wicked. But, I think, a careful and unprejudiced examination would frequently lead us to the same conclusion, to which a more mature and dispassionate consi- deration of the matter conducted David him- self, " Namely, how thou, O God, dost set 378 SERMON XIX. them in slippery places, and castest them down and destroy est them"/' We are very prone to exaggerate the pro- portion of cases in which selfish and dishonest men prosper. There ate certainly, and our knowledge of the divine dispensations teaches us to expect, that there must be cases of suc- cessful villainy and avarice. As beacons blaz- ing on the mountains, they warn the Christian community of danger, and excite them to vi- gilance. They stand forth as living proofs of a future judgment ; they are exhibited as awful evidences, that this is a state of trial, and that there will be one of retribution. But these cases too often engage our atten- tion, not in the light in which they ought to be viewed, but as seen through the perverting medium of a querulous and discontented disposition ; a disposition to murmur at the dispensations of our God, and to draw com- parisons leading to the conclusion, that we are not ourselves rewarded with all the suc- cess which we merit. In this light we observe, we magnify the success of the covetous, but take little, or no notice of their innumerable failures. The former is marked like the fortuitous accom- ' Psalm Ixxiii. 17. Version of Liturgy. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 379 plbhment of an impostor's prediction ; which is recorded, spread abroad, and exaggerated, while his countless mistakes are passed over in silence, and forgotten. May it not, therefore, from what we have urged, be held, that even in the acquirement of wealth, the honest and liberal minded man has a better prospect of success than the dishonest and covetous ? May we not concur in the judgment of Solo- mon, and maintain ; " There is, that scat- tereth and yet increaseth ; and there is, that withholdeth more than is meet > but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fatj and he that watereth, shall be watered again V Every thing is in favour of the honest, and liberal man. Most persons, even the wicked, prefer having dealings with such a man. They confide in him, and have pleasure in seeing him flourish. And, should he be assailed with misfortune and disappointments in his pursuits and speculations, he has credit with his friends, and will find them ready to assist him in re-establishing his affairs. However, as we have observed, the covetbus and dishonest man sometimes prospers, Avhile on the other hand, the liberal and the just is depressed ; but in the ordinary course of things, the latter has the fairest, and most 11 380 SERMON XIX. rational prospect of even present gain. And when that prospect happens not to be rea- hsed, the result is produced for merciful and blessed purposes, purposes seen and pro- vided for by wisdom, which cannot err; which extends its views far beyond the sphere of human perception, and compasses its ends by means, far above human com- prehension. But, admitting that the covetous and dis- honest should prosper in the immediate ob- ject of his pursuit, still the question of the text searches him. Jfhat fruit has he in these things ? Wealth is not happiness. And if a man barter his soul for wealth, unless that wealth secure him happiness, of what use or value does he find it ? And there is much in covetousness and dishonesty, which appears very prejudicial to happiness. The love is found to increase with the acquirement of it, as the morbid thirst of the dropsy is en- creased by its indulgence. So the covetous man still thirsts; and thirsts with increasing intensity for more than he has; he is still liable to all the restlessness which attends this thirst, and to all the vexations and disap- pointments incident to his eager schemes for augmenting the means of its gratifica- tion. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 381 If, too, he has been guilty of dishonesty, he then has superadded to these causes of dis- quietude, the fear of detection, exposure, and punishment ; the enmity and the contempt of his fellow creatures. These, surely, are not conducive to happiness! Can we not, therefore, easily conceive that a poorer man, free from these, may enjoy far more happiness; a man who accustoms him- self to controul and moderate his desires, has learned from the same Master, as St. Paul did, ** in whatsoever state he is, therewith to be content,^^ — a man who has not wronged his neighbour, and therefore neither fears the laws of his country, nor is ashamed to meet his fellows — a man who has the respect and esteem of the good, and who has fixed his heart, not upon the treasures which often cannot be attained, and when acquired soon perish, but upon the promised and unfading glories of Christ's kingdom — can we not, I say, imagine such a man, however poor, rich in present happiness? Can we not imagine, that upon an impartial comparison of his state with that of the covetous, he might tri- umphantly ask, " What fruit had ye in those things?" Did our limits permit, or were the subject not sufficiently illustrated, we might easily 382 SERMON XIX. apply the same question and the same reason- ing to the ambitious, or to those devoted to any one of those fatal and delusive pursuits, which, in contradistinction to the blessed workings of the Spirit, are so emphatically termed " the lusts of the flesh." If a ma« sacrifice his soul, happiness in this world is all that he can expect to receive in exchange for it; in whatsoever shape, or by whatsoever means that happiness is to be attained. Antl it may be shewn, that in many cases, these deluded men are less successful than the reli- gious man, in attaining even those very means of happiness which they propose to themselves, and that, in almost all cases, they fail in tiie end for which those means are sought— -in happiness itself. I shall, however, not pureue this part of the argument any farther ; but shall only mention one great source of happiness, which I have hitherto studiously kept out of sight, and in which the wicked and worldly are invariabljf wanting. I mean the satisfaction and peace of mind, which arises from a good conscience ; from the witness of the Spirit " with our spirit '," and from a lively and practical faith in our God and our Redeemer. IJ ithaut this what is pleasure, M'hat is wealth, what is honour ? With it how is every, even the com- ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 383 monest enjoyment encreased and heightened ! " The voice of joy and health is in the dwel- hngs of the righteous^/' How does he augment his happiness, who, in every pleasure, in every comfort traces the hand of a beneficent Father ; thinks upon the love of his Saviour; rejoices in the gift; and feels his heart expand with gratitude to the Giver ! How greatly does he add to the satis- faction which wealth or honour may confer, who regards them as talents committed to him, to purchase an unfading crown ; who enjoys " the luxury of doing good ,* and who, with desires weaned from this world, and fixed on that which is to come, can, in the employment of that committed to him, re- member, and hope to apply to himself, the merciful declaration of Jesus, " inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me/' How can the feelings of such a man have any place in the breast of the wicked ? In this point of view, can the happiness of the most prosperous worldling be placed in com- petition with that of the true servant of Christ ? But still more obviously is this distinction perceptible in adversity. Those who are de- * Psalm cxviii. 15. Version of Liturgy. 384 SERMON XIX. voted to the world, if not more liable to ad- versity than the righteous, cannot expect to escape it altogether. They bear no charmed body ; they cannot entirely ward off the evils incident to this life. What, therefore, when calamity or sickness shall overtake them, what is their resource ? All those things, in which their happiness was centred, are placed beyond their reach, or rendered unavailing. What, then, is to be their consolation ? The world can offer them none. " What fruits" have they in these things? But the righteous, though destitute, oppressed, or suffering, is never without con- solation. He knows, and this knowledge, amidst all the darkness which encompasses him without, sheds the cheerful light of hope and faith within him ; he knows that he is in the " hand of the Lord, whose mercies are great . Hence he has his ^' fruit" even in adver- sity. When the world has nothing to offer him, he can turn to his God, and take up the words of David. " Nevertheless I am always by thee ; for thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and after that receive me with glory. Whom •* 1 Kinsfs xxiv. 1 4. ON THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY PURSUITS. 385 have I in heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee/' From these consolations the worldly man is excluded, unless he shall from his heart re- nounce the " God of this world/' And con- sidering these, and many other present disad- vantages of sin, he may be asked, " What fruit had ye in those things V* And the time will in- fallibly come, when we may add " those things, of which ye are now ashamed." I say the time will come when the most hardened of sinners shall be made ashamed of those things. For, as the Apostle declares, " the end of those things is death /' a death too more fearful, far more fearful, than that, which tears them from the world, they loved so much : death so called, as designating the loss of that blissful life, which the spirits of just men made per- fect are to enjoy in the kingdom of Christ. How terrible will be that doom ; how frantic the man who braves it in the pursuit of that very questionable form, which he denominates pleasure. When the Judge of all the earth shall say to those on the left hand ; " Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire /' if at that dread moment any thing could aggravate the despair and re- morse of the sinner, and minister to the triumph c c 386 SERMON XIX. of hell ; it would be the application of the question in the texj; it would be the salutary, but fatally neglected caution of the Apostle, used as the malignant and exulting taunt of the fiend of darkness ; holding up to his de- luded victims the remernhrance of their folly . "What fruit had ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed, for the end of these things is deatil/' From this death may the Spirit of God, aiding our sincere, and earnest endeavours, enable us to escape, through the merits and mediation of Christ Jesus. To whom, &c. &c. SERMON XX. SOME POPULAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST EDUCATING THE POOR, CONSIDERED IN A SERMON PREACHED ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EDUCATING THE POOR IN THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. PREACHED AUGUST, 1823. GALAT. VI. 7. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In conformity with the directions contained in the letter from the Bishop of the diocese, lately read to you, I am now to address you in behalf of the National Society for Educating the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church. The subject I propose to treat under the three following heads. I. I shall offer a few preliminary observa- tions relative to the nature of the opinions frequently formed upon this subject, and also shewing the prima facie support, which the position in the text affords to the Society in question. c c 2 388 SERMON XIX. II. I shall argue the general question of the expediency and propriety of educating the poor. III. I shall endeavour to point out the pe- culiar claims, which under existing circum- stances, this Society has upon members of the Established Church, and even upon well- wishers of religion in general. I. On the general question of diffusing edu- cation among all classes, much diversity of opinion is well known to exist; and I am ready to admit the unfairness, and true bi- gotry of meeting those, who are opposed to this measure, with sneers, or of indiscrimi- nately branding their sentiments with the ap- pellation of prejudice. This neither proves the point, nor encourages dispassionate en- quiry. But at the same time, truth and sin- cerity oblige us to declare that the opinions of many, upon this point, have the distinctive characters of prejudice. The designation of prejudice does not, to my apprehension, de- note the truth, or falsehood of our conclusions, but the adoption of them, without proper in- quiry and investigation. With this view of the term prejudice, I would recommend any person opposed to the system of general education, to examine whether his opinion be not a prejudice ; ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 389 whether a conclusion has not been drawn, a determined and itiflexible opinion formed ; without that deep, and serious investiga- tion, which the subject fairly merits ; and without that extended comparison of facts, and circumstances ; that caution in tracing effects to their proper causes, which is requi- site, from the nature of the subject, to come to an accurate conclusion. If a person have examined and weighed the subject, to the ex- tent of his means, and opportunities ; and if, not having great means, or opportunities, he hold his opinion, accordingly, not with obsti- nacy^ but as the best he can form, without farther information ; I cannot term that man^s opinion a prejudice ; though the conclusion he may have adopted, be directly the reverse of what I believe to be the true one. But, on the other hand, if a man shall have not made the best search in his power, and shall have so decidedly formed his opinions, that he will not impartially listen to any thing which may be offered to alter his sentiments, that man^s con- clusion, no matter whether true or false, is a prejudice. Let no man, then, entertain a prejudice against educating the poor. For the effects of education, whether they be good or bad, must be gigantic. So much either of good or evil 390 SERMON XX. must result from it, that no man ought to form his opinion upon it rashly, or hastily. We will now proceed to consider the primd facie support, which our Society derives from the position in the text. This Society is established with a view to educate the children of the poor in the princi- ples of the Established Church. It endeavours to give the infant poor, that one thing needful, which, from the necessities, the ignorance, the vices, or the neglect of their parents, is too often omitted. Its object, its chief, its special object is the dissemination of sound religion, the early im- buing the minds of the rising generation with habits of piety, and with that knowledge^ which maketh wise unto salvation. Therefore we set out with the position contained in the text, though not applying it to precisely the same purpose as the Apostle did. Our proposition in a natural sense is unques- tionable and self-evident; " Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap." None but a madman would sow wheat in the ex- pectation of reaping tares from it. Tares might spring up with it, but never from it. It might produce fruit more or less luxuri- antly, according to the goodness or the bad- ness of the soil ; but still if it produced any ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 391 thing at all, that produce must be wheat. " Do men/' said our Saviour, " gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ^ V Can we persuade ourselves, that the propo- sition is not equally true in a spiritual sense ? If religion be the seed which is sown, will it produce any other than its proper fruits ? The enemy may, at the same time, scatter the bad seed, the fruits of these may spring up abund- antly, and choke the good seed ; the seed itself may, as our Saviour represents in his parable of the sower, fall in some instances upon an unfavourable soil, and be unproduc- tive ; but if religious instruction produce any thing at all, it will not produce wickedness ; it will produce Xhe fruits of religion. There- fore the general, the probable result of religious education, will be to make children better, not worse, than they would be without it. As it would be a practical absurdity to profess a religion of which we did not believe the ten- dency to be beneficial, it may fairly be pre- sumed, that so far as we have yet gone, there can be no difference of opinion. The accurate and early knowledge of the religion which we profess, tends to produce good, and not evil ''. •= Matt. vii. 16. d The merely giving children an occupation, and keeping them from contracting habits of idleness and mischief, must be beneficial. • 392 SERMON XX. II. But I anticipate the reservation with which this admission will be accompanied in the minds of those, who are unfavourable to the system of educating the poor. They will say, " You have not stated the whole ques- tion. In teaching 3'ou must, or do teach other knowledge ; and we maintain not that religious knowledge, but the other know- ledge, is mischievous, and that the evil result- ing from the latter, is not compensated for or counteracted, by the good resulting from the former.'' Wishing to enter fully and fairly into the question, I shall endeavour to meet it, in even this point of view. But I must, at the same time, observe, and shall hereafter shew, that this is not the only light in which it may, and ought to be considered. However, to meet the question as thus stated, let us examine the objection, that the dissemination of knowledge (in the general sense of the word) among the poor, must be detrimental. The proposition, in the first in- stance, stands thus. Religious knowledge is good; but knowledge, in general, is productive of evil ; and of greater evil than religious knowledge produces good. 1. First, then, let me ask where and whence there is any necessary, or even general conncc- ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 393 tion, between wickedness and knowledge? There does not appear in knowledge itself any property, from which we can deduce the in- ference, that as persons acquire greater know- ledge, they are likely to become more wicked or mischievous. Generally speaking, there- fore, I maintain, that no such connection exists. Nay, more, I maintain, that even in the minds of those who are unfavourable to the education of the poor, no settled convic- tion prevails, that knowledge and evil are ne- cessarily, or even generally connected. It may be ask^d how I can answer for the belief of others on this point, when no such belief is declared. We may know it from their practice. Only candidly put this question to yourselves — Is there a parent here, who, whatsoever may be his notions upon educat- ing the poor, would not desire to have his own children educated ? Is there a man who possesses any knowledge, which he wishes that he did not possess, or which he would be sorry to increase. I maintain, therefore, no man is persuaded that, generally speaking, knowledge is connected with evil. We wish to give it to our children ; we wish to possess it ourselves ; can we believe it bad ? 2. This confines the discussion in a narrower circle. Persons object to education, not be- 394 SERMON XX. cause it is generally bad, but because it is bad for the poor. Then comes the question, Why is that, which is good for others, had for them ? The ordinary and well-known tendency of education is, to improve the powers and fa- culties of men, to sharpen the ingenuity, and quicken the intelligence of the mind, without diminishing the activity, or enfeebling the strength of the body. There appears in this nothing calculated to make a man a worse labourer, a worse artisan, a worse servant, or, in any wise, a worse member of society. In theory, the very reverse of this seems likely to take place. And those who con- tend, that practice and theory are at variance, should be able to appeal to facts and experi- ments, upon a general and extended scale. But what facts are usually brought forward and relied upon, to prove that education is preju- dicial to the poor ? Why usually, (I speak at least as to what I have generally heard), an appeal is made merely to individual ex- perience. I have never yet heard of any facts which, upon a general or extended scale, tend to shew, that any injury has resulted to society from educating the poor. On the contrary, observation and record have shewn, that education improves, not deteriorates, the 10 ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 395 moral character of the poor ; that theory and practice are here in perfect unison. In support of this, I refer to the well-known and often-quoted example of Scotland, where, (long before these schools were so zealously patronised in this country) the lower classes were very generally instructed in reading and writing. What was the consequence of this diffusion of knowledge ? No remarkable pro- pensity to discontent, to idleness, to improvi- dence, to insubordination, to dishonesty, or to depravity. The ve7'y contrary ! a character established, admired, quoted, for contentment, industry, frugality, order, integrity, and morality ! And in contradistinction to this, we might point to places in another portion of this united kingdom, where the picture is completely re- versed ; where the most deplorable ignorance prevails, and is uniformly accompanied with idleness and vice, improvidence and misery, restlessness and riot, I am aware that some persons are not dis- posed to allow the full force of this argument derivable from the example of the Scottish nation. Admitting their good qualities, they deny that education has any influence in pro- ducing them; they attribute them to local cir- cumstances and habits, such as the scattered 396 SERMON XX. state of the population, their poverty, and their simple mode of hving. But though much of their excellence may be ascribed to these causes, the other case, we alluded to, warrants our assigning some share of them to the ope- ration of knowledge. And at all events, we are/w% entitled to draw this conclusion ; that, if education does not produce these good qua- lities, it does not destroy them ; it exists with them ; it is not hostile to them. And if this be granted, what more need be granted; what more is required to give our Society a claim to your support ? For if knowledge is admitted to be even harmless, religion is good. Join then in doing good, expecting that "what- soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'' But it may be said, " Education will set the labourer above his station." Setting a man above his station, is one of those colloquial and indefinite phrases, of which it is not al- ways easy to fix the meaning. There are two senses in which it may be understood, with reference to the present question. Edu- cation may be said to set a man above his station, 1st, as being a qualification, which others in his station do not generally possess, and giving him a certain superiority, or notion of superiority over them; 2d, as making ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 397 him regard himself quaUfied to aspire to some hig-her station. 1. To urge, that education sets a man above his station in the former of these senses, might, a few years ago, have been an argu- ment of some weight. But the remedy for this is already in extensive operation. From the multiplied establishments of various de- scriptions, for educating the poor, it is pro- bable that scarcely five in a hundred of the risins: jreneration will be unable to read and write. And a man who has these qualifica- tions, instead of having any superiority over others of his station, will be merely on a level — -just 7iot degraded. 2. In the latter sense of the phrase, that is, making a man regard himself qualified to aspire to some higher station ; I cannot see, in this respect, any injurious effects that would result from educating the poor. Who does not now wish to improve his state of life, or to raise himself by all honest means? Who would wish to see this propensity suppressed ; to take away this stimulus to exertion, by which splendid talents are elicited, and brought to bear with full stength in the ser- vice of the state, or in the cultivation of the arts and sciences. The consequence of extend- ing the means of education will be, to afford 398 SERMON XX. increased facilities to the first development and to the rise of superior abihties, and con- sequently to the advancement of those who are 7nost able to benefit mankind. Some men of commanding mind or tran- scendent genius will occasionally raise them- selves to higher stations, but others, of ordi- nary talents, or less fortunate, must remain, as they now do, where they are. Every class can employ only a limited number. Neces- sity and experience do now and always will quicken and force a man to the discovery of his own interest; and he will perceive, at least as easily as he does now, that, if he can- not raise himself above his present situation, his only course is to exert himself diligently in that state of life, to which it has pleased God to call him. In corroboration of this reasoning I again appeal to the example of Scotland, contend- ing that there education has, in neither of the two senses mentioned, been perceived to inju- riously set a man above his station ", * It may perhaps be urged, that education of the poor, by causing a greater approximation, in point of knowledge, be- tween the lower and the higher classes, is calculated to foster republican principles. And I am inchned to think, that among some of the advocates of general education, this result is contemplated and desired. The full consideration of this point would lead me beyond my limits, and beyond my pro- ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 399 4. Another objection is founded upon an extraordinary increase of crimes asserted to have taken place since these " schools '' have been so much patronised. I say asserted to have taken place, for it has not, to my appre- hension, been satisfactorily shewn, that an extraordinary increase has taken place ; that is to say, an increase disproportionate to the usually progressive operation of the increased causes and incentives to crime, which result from increased population. I neither deny nor admit the alleged fact, on which this ob- jection is founded. I only assert that it has not been proved to me ; but at the same time it is a subject on which I do not pretend to sufficient information, to pronounce an autho- ritative opinion. I wish, however, to observe to those, who make this objection, that the point on which it rests, is one, in which much and extensive information is requisite in order to arrive at an accurate conclusion. The mere circumstance of hearing generally of more crimes committed, than were for- vince. However I may briefly observe, upon a superficial view of the question, that we may infer, that the advantage of greater leisure will enable the upper classes to preserve their pre-eminence in knowledge, and that good sense will cause the lower classes, as they become more enlightened, better to comprehend, and more sincerely to regard our Constitution. 400 SERMON XX. merly known, does not prove an extraordinary increase. Vopulation has increased in this country enormously : the faciUty of communi- cation and the multitude of public journals cause the accounts of crimes to be more rapidly circulated: — the increased vigilance of the legislature, in requiring official state- ments, and preserving records of these matters, suffers fewer instances to pass unnoticed : our attention is more forcibly attracted to the statements of crimes, which are now taking place, than to the recollection of those which are long past. The conductors of public journals themselves, have not always leisure, or means for ascertaining the truth of the narratives which they circulate. And every one knows the garrulous or querulous propen- sity, which so commonly inclines persons to exaggerate evils, and to talk of and bemoan the increase of crime, without having any great knowledge of the subject. I contend, then, that to form a correct judgment upon the relative proportion of the increase of crime, to the increased operation of the causes w^hich usually produce crimes, requires a species and extent of information, which is not to be collected from mere gossip ; and which many, as well as myself, do not possess, who venture to pronounce very autho- ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 401 ritativelj, that an extraordinary increase of crime has taken place, and must be accounted for by the operation of some new cause : which cause, they say, is educating the poor. But whatsoever may be the increase, there appears no reason to connect it with educa- tion, merely from the circumstance of educa- tion being cotemporary with it. Are there 710 causes for such an increase co-existing with it? none which have been operating during the same period in which education has been advancing ? Many might be pointed out with very little research. Is not the crowded, wretched, and ignorant state of some of our manufacturing districts a cause ? the overgrown size and dense popu- lation of the metropolis ; the very liber^ty of the country; the safeguards which the law has placed around the rights of the subject ; the consequent loss of efficiency in the police, and the facilities thus affi^rded for the escape, or impunity of the guilty? As population in- creases, is not the contaminated sphere of vice necessarily enlarged, the field of human corruption, the ground for the enemy to sow his tares, extended ? Are not the number of bad examples, of wicked seducers, of weak and vicious victims, multiplied ? Has not that organized system of attacking religion, which Dd 402 SERMON XX. was practised before the French revolution, been constantly in action, and rendered at the same time more dangerous, from repeated trials, and from the accumulated improve- ments of mischievous ingenuity. With these and other fruitful and obvious causes of crime before us, must we attribute increase of crime to knowledge, merely because the diffusion of it happens, or is supposed to be cotonporaii/, with that increase ? The inference is almost as groundless as his would be, who, (after walking in a pest hos- pital, and mingling with the diseased), should affirm, that he had taken the plague from his liealthy brother, merely because he hap- pened to live with him under the same roof, and during the time of his being infected. As before I support this opinion by an ap- peal to facts, I appeal, 1st. To the example of Scotland already so much alluded to, where education, instead of producing crime, has produced an effect the very reverse ; or at least, has existed with general good conduct ^ 2d. To an extract from the charge delivered '' In the crowded and manufacturing districts of Scotland, as well as in similar districts elsewhere, the population is most vicious. But no one will pretend, that in those, districts the •poorest classes are better educated than in other parts of the country. The contrary is the fact, generally speaking. ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 403 by the Bishop of this diocese*^, last year, at Southampton. " I shall conclude this subject," said he, speaking of educating the poor, " with stating a fact, which seems to be a strong confirmation of the advantages already derived from this system, and ought therefore to operate as an encouragement in its support ; of nearly four hundred convicts admitted into the Peniten- tiary in London, only one individual had re- ceived his education in a national school; and I may add, that a very large proportion of these unhappy criminals, had passed their childhood without any moral or religious in- struction whatever ; were unable to repeat the Lord's Prayer; and had never entered the doors of a school''." To him who maintains that education has a tendency to increase crime, we may offer the above facts, and ask these questions. What facts has he to produce against them ? Upon what scale has the investigation been carried on, which leads to his conclusion ? Does he mean to set up against them mere hear^say, or mere individual experience ? g Winchester. '" To these, other examples, on a large scale, might be adduced ; but it would be an unnecessary extension of the limits of this discourse. Dd2 404 SERMON XX. Every one is aware that, knowledge being power, is, as easily as any other power, capa- ble of being abused to the purposes of crime; but then it is the instrument, not the cause, of w ickedness. A labourer's spade, or a wood- man's axe, may be the instrument of murder ; but it is neither the spade nor the axe that raises the murderer's hand. He that is dis- posed to be wicked, will be at no loss for in- struments to effect his purposes ; and to with- hold knowledge because it may be abused, is no less unreasonable than to withhold the in- struments of labour, because they might be used to bad purposes. The general tendency of knowledge is good ; and where it fails to be profitably employed, the fault is not in the gift, but in the receiver '. ' And here I must observe, that many appear to suffer them- selves to be biassed against education, because they form un- reasonable expectations of the results which it is to produce. They meet with frequent instances of crime and folly ; and therefore maintain that education is useless, because it does not prevent these. But they should recollect that education can pretend to aim only at checking, not at destroying vice and folly — at improving men, not making angels — that it has to cope with human corruption, with human passions, and with all the temptations and incentives to crime, which abound — that it is an instrument wielded in the infirm and unsteady hands, working on theyjY//7 and depraved hearts of mortals ; — in short, that man, weak, erring, fallen, man, is its director — man is its object. They should recollect that the divine teacher himself often ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 405 And this consideration, the danger of abuse, exhibits a pecuHar claim to your support pos- sessed by the National Society, which offers most efficient means of remedying the corrupt propensities of nature, thus removing the in- clination to misapply knowledge. This ten- dency of the Society comes particularly under consideration, in the III. Head of our discourse. Hitherto we have been discussing this sub- ject, as though the question were simply whether it be expedient that the poor should or should not be educated. But, as I have already hinted, the question may, and must be put in another point of view. The progress of knowledge is not to he arTested by any hu- man jwwer. Education the people of this country, and probably of all Europe, will, to every appearance, shortly have, be the con- entirely failed — that even his disciples were weak and imper- fect, and must be so in this mortal life. Yet who could thence infer, that his teaching was useless, or that mankind ought not to be instructed at all ? He who wil^support no scheme which does not produce perfection — no institution which is liable to abuse or failure, or of which the effects are sometimes only partial or uncertain — he must reserve his deeds of charity to another life ; a life, in which his hour of trial will have passed, and he will be called upon to justify his fastidiousness to that all-seeing Judge, to whom the heart, with all its windings and concealments, is as open and as plain, as the polished surface uf a tablet. 406 SERMON XX. sequences good or evil. Ever since the inven- tion of printing, knowledge has been progres- sively moving onward ; and, like a river con- tinually increased by tributary streams, its course becomes gradually rapid — gigantic — irresistible. The history of this country displays clear indications of this gradual progress, in the es- tablishment of our admirable constitution in Church and state ; in the progressive steps of the people from superstition and ignorance, to sound religion, and a right comprehension of the nature of government ; to liberty and to the enjoyment of the advantages resulting from civilization and science. As the desire of knowledge has increased, so the facilities for acquiring it have also in- creased. The time may be considered as at hand, when almost every man will have re- ceived at least the rudiments of education. The question, therefore, is not merely whether the poor are, or are not to receive education, but by what channel they shall receive it : whether from teachers, who care not whether knowledge which they impart be applied to a good or bad purpose ; or even may be instru- mental in directing it to work mischief' ; or '' Let me not be understood to glance these remarks at schools conducted by religious bodies opposed to the esta- ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 407 by those teachers, whose principal aim is to inculcate religion, to give knowledge, and to give, with it, that which is the best, the only security against its being perverted. Upon this question what should be the de- cision of all parties ; both of those, who be- lieve knowledge itself to be beneficial, and of those, who think it mischievous in the hands of the poor ? There appears to me no alternative. There is but one i-igJit 'Andi prudent course to pursue; which I can perhaps illustrate, and place in a stronger light, by showing what is done in a parallel case in common life. It occasionally happens among the Alps, that those vast masses of snow, which roll down from the mountains, accumulate in the narrow part of some valley, so as to form a huge barrier entirely across it, and impede the course of the waters. The consequence is that a great lake is soon collected behind it. In the course of time the heat of the lower re- gion gradually weakens this barrier, and it threatens to give way. When the inhabitants of the lower valleys are apprised of this, they become alarmed for the safety of their lives blished Church. They aim at urging the general necessity of making religion the principal point in education in all schools, whether supported by churchmen or dissenters. 408 SERMON XX. and property, which will be destroyed unless prompt measures be taken to guard against the hursting of the barrier. They well know, that every day the barrier will be weakened by the sun, while the pressure of the waters above will hourly be augmented by fresh floods from the mountains. They therefore all assemble, to devote their labour to the common cause. They consult an experienced engineer, and the question is liow and to what they shall direct their labour. Does he advise them to waste their time in attempts to strengtlien a barrier, which nothing can strengthen ? Does he advise them to attempt to keep hack wa- ters, which nothing can keep back ? No ! he employs their labour to a better purpose ; he directs them not to stop the waters, but to clear their course, and prepare for them a CHANNEL by which they may he safely , and even beneficially discharged. Instead of fruit- lessly labouring to strengthen the barrier, till unable to resist the accumulated pressure of the waters it shall burst, and send them wildly forth with desolation and destruction over the neighbouring valleys; he opens a passage for them, guides them into safe chan- nels, and causes them to hear on their bosom fertility and plenty. Let the principle of the engineer be ours. ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 409 In the case before us, all^ even he who doubts the utiHty of knowledge, may join. Every barrier is yielding to the mighty impulse given. Knowledge, like the accumulating waters of the mountain lake, will flow. Open the pas- sage for it. Prepare for it channels. Let it flow in the course, and be guided by the precepts of sound religio)i. Educate the poor, and as the principal object of education, infuse into them a knowledge of the Scriptures, and. teach them the hopes, and the duties therein set forth, according to what, (amidst the many " divisions" of these times,) you believe to be the soundest interpretation '. Like the engineer, in the illustration just recited, the Society for Educating the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church calls upon us all to unite our efforts in turning knowledge into its proper channel ; in giving education its right direction, and making it subservient to religion and to general useful- ness. Set before the poor the precepts, the dispo- sitions which the gospel inculcates ; set before them the duties which it requires, to God ' If we believe ours to be a sound form of religion, we are in duty bound to give the poor of our Church the means of learning its principles ; unless we wish them to adopt opi- nions, which we conscientiously believe to be erroneous^ 410 SERMON XX. and man, together with the promises, and de- nunciations, by which it enforces them. In short, set before them rehgion, which, while it teaches man why, and whence he should seek the guidance and support of sjnritualmd, also declares the necessity of his employing every pOM er, and every talent to the glory of God, and the good of his fellow-creatures. This offers the best security against the perils, real, or imaginary, supposed by some to result from the diffusion of knowledge. This also presents the most encouraging prospect to his benevolence, who believes that knowledge it- self is good, but never so excellent, as when it 7ninisters to religion. Let all, then, join in thus directing the stream. Let your hands offer the poor the gift of knowledge, and with it another gift, which will enhance it a thousand fold ; which will offer them motives more efficient, than any human wisdom, or institutions can supply, to render their knowledge profitable to them- selves and others ; to make them happy and contented in their station, good parents, good servants, good subjects ; and, in a word. Chris- tians. Knowledo'e in such hands, like the waters in their proper channel, instead of being prejudicial, will diffuse happiness, and will be a blessing. ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 411 To this Society, however, there is a special objection urged, exclusively of those which are advanced against the general expediency of educating the poor. It inculcates the doc- trines, and requires attendance on the divine worship of the established Church. Upon this ground an objection is raised by two descriptions of persons ; I. By the Dis- senter who disapproves of these doctrines ; II. By the Churchman, who, though he wishes these doctrines to be taught, thinks some de- viations might be made from the rules in fa- vour of the children of dissenters. 1. With respect to the dissenter^s objection ; I do not perceive how, as sincere members of the established Church, we can consistently concede what he requires, namely, a total abstinence from teaching the doctrines of that Church. Beligious education, as we have already observed, is the primary object of our Society, to this, other knowledge is, in their estimation, subservient, and by this must be directed, in order to become beneficial'". And religion " A most illiberal and unjust attack was made upon the Bishop of London, for delivering this opinion ; and he was most uncandidly, I may say abusively charged with having insinuated, that knowledge is in itseU pernicious, and therefore requires to be counteracted by religion. But the Bishop of 412 SERMON XX. we would wish to see taught in its purest and soundest form. That form we beheve to be found in the doctrines of the estabhshed Church, or in other words, in her interpreta- tion of Scripture ; we would teach religion to the poor, as we would teach it to our own children. But it is said, teach children to read the Scriptures, and leave it to their parents, or to themselves, when of sufficient age, to deter- mine upon the system of religion which they shall adopt. To this doctrine I cannot subscribe. One important call for the exertions of this Society arises from the inability, the w^ant of leisure, and sometimes the want of inclination, in pa- rents, to attend to the formation of religious opinions in their children. And while sects and errors abound, and the progress of dis- sent is great, it appears of no small moment to a youth, whose time is to be chiefly occupied in earning his daily bread, that he should not London believes, whatsoever may be the opinion of his oppo- nent, that tlie corruption of human nature will prevail, unless counteracted by the influence of religion. And as knowledge is power ; that corrupt propensity will convert it into a mighty instrument of mischief. I shall take leave therefore, to main, tain, notwithstanding the supercilious, and flippant dictum o f the reviewer, that education in general knowledge requires the " countervailing" influence of religious education. ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 413 be sent forth into the world, without any settled notions upon the subject of religion. In the very earliest ages, when the word of God had been less perverted, when the subtle- ties and distinctions of fewer controversies were to be examined ; even then the form of reli2:ion was not a matter of indifference, or left to the unassisted judgment of individuals. Churches were established as soon as from the number of converts they could be established ; they \\e\di forms of sound doctrine ; their au- thorised rulers and teachers opposed what they conceived to be heretical, and taught their members what they believed to be sound interpretations of Scripture. The Apostles themselves appointed teachers, spoke of divi- sions, and condemned errors. Their imme- diate successors not having the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, followed their steps, only instead of urging their doctrine, with the au- thority of immediate revelation, they delivered it as the Church's interpretation of Scripture, and appealed to the Scripture in proof of its accuracy and soundness. A Christian then, as now, received certain expositions of Scrip- ture from the Church, and was bound to exa- mine those Scriptures, and hold fast that which was good and found to agree with them ; but there is no evidence, that he first 414 SERMON XX. studied the Scriptures, and afterwards deter- mined to which class of Christians he should be joined. In these times, when numberless conflicting opinions are put forth, and some degree of human learning is requisite to weigh the seve- ral interpretations upon which they profess to be grounded ; it is still more necessary to fur- nish the poor man with a clear knowledge of some religious system. He is taught the Scriptures ; let him compare the system in which he has been educated with those Scrip- tures in every point. Its only claim to re- verence is its agreement with them. But to send forth a poor man without endeavouring to arm him against what we believe to be the errors of the time, to impress upon his mind that we hold all systems of religion as indif- ferent, or that (should his parents have been incompetent or careless) he is, with his ac- quirements, and with the leisure remaining to him after ten or twelve hours^ labour, to ba- lance the different religious systems and choose one for himself; appears neither con- sistent with sound discretion, nor conformable to primitive practice. From these considerations, and from the very great progress of dissent, I cannot see how a conscientious Churchman, who regards ON EDUCATING THE POOR. 415 religion as a principal point in education ; and looks upon his own as the soundest and most apostolical form, in which the religion of Jesus is taught; I do not see how he can consis- tently give up this point, and desire that this Society should cease to educate children in the principles of the established Church. 2. The second objection, that something might be conceded to the children of dissen- ters ; and where the parent expressed a wish that the child should be taught nothing but the Scriptures, that wish should be scrupu- lously attended to ; this objection has some weight, or at least plausibility. I should my- self rejoice if something of this kind could be arranged, so as to conciliate and give satisfac- tion, without detriment to the maintenance of our doctrines. But however desirable this may be, and however plausible in theory, it is to be feared that in practice considerable difficulties will be found to occur. Indepen- dently of its interference with the general economy " of the school, there is reason to be- " It is obvious, that, unless the attendance of dissenter's children were more numerous than could reasonably be ex- pected, a few children, who could not follow the ordinary routine of the school, would embarrass the master consider- ably ; since, being of different ages and progress, they could not be formed into a separate class. 416 SERMON XX. lieve, that it would not give that general sa- tisfaction to the dissenters ; to obtain which the deviation from the original principle would be made. Of this very decisive evi- dence exists in the strenuous opposition of the dissenters to the well known bill of Mr. Brougham °; and in the testimony given in the House of Commons before the Com- mittee on Education ''. On this occasion still " The following extract from the " Third Report from the Select Committee on the Education of the Lower Orders," will shew that the bill, which was strenuously opposed by the dissenters, was intended to have given them full security that the Catechism should not be taught, nor their children required to attend any church, other than those of their parents. " To place the choice of the school-master in the Parish Vestry, subject to the approbation of the Parson, and the visitation of the Diocesan ; but to provide that the children of sectarians shall not be compelled to learn any catechism, or attend any church, other than those of their parents, seems to your Committee the safest path by which the Legislature can hope to obtain the desirable objects of security to the Establishment on the one hand, and justice to the dissenters on the other." ^ I refer to the evidence of Mr. Allen, whose observations ap- pear to be made with knowledge of the subject, and to have afforded reason to have anticipated the strong opposition which the bill would meet with from the dissenters. From his answers I collect that the choice of a master to satisfy both parties would be impracticable, and that the species of elec- tion that he suggests would render every parish in the king- dom a scene of feud, malice, and contention. Churchmen ON EDUCATrNG THE POOR. 417 greater deviations from the plan of the Na- tional Society were suggested, with a view to unite all parties ; not only these deviations failed in satisfying the Dissenters, but the measure itself was rejected by them with a jealous, and, I doubt not, conscientious repro- bation. But allowing, for a moment, that this ob- jection were valid, and the improvement pro- posed practicable, still it amounts only to this, that the system is good, but not so good as to be incapable of improvement. And be- cause it may happen not to be calculated to effect all the good, which we could desire, this surely, is no reason why it should not be cor- dially supported in diffusing those benefits which it can command. If we refuse our support to every institution, which has, ot which we fancy has some defect, where is the human institution to which we can become contributors ? To conclude, let us all unite (and you espe- cially, who think crime has fearfully and por- tentously increased) to enlarge the powers of a Society, whose aim and tendency is to curb, would require a master upon whom they might depend for teaching their children the religion of the Established Church. Such a master would not probably be, in the estimation of the Sectarians, what Mr. Allen terms a "competent" master. E e 418 SERMON XX. and check the career of wickedness by the wholesome restraints of rehgion ; by turning the rising generation to seek that grace, and assistance, which alone can purify the corrupt principles of our nature ; and to use the power of knowledge to their own salvation and to the glory of God. Nearly the whole of their former collections, excepting what is requisite for carrying on the Central School, has been expended, in giving aid for the building of schools, and in other expences connected with the views of the So- ciety. The result of their truly Christian exer- tions, as appearing in the education of between three and four hundred thousand children, presents a picture truly gratifying to every one, who takes pleasure in contemplating the improvement of his fellow creatures. As they have sown, so may they also reap. May the seeds of religion, abundantly scattered by them, produce abundantly their blessed fruits. May this Society, supported by the zeal and beneficence of their fellow Christians, long continue to " plant and water;' and may the grace of God give the " increase,'' to his glory, and to the salvation of many through the knowledge and faith of Christ Jesus. APPENDIX SERMON ON REGENERATION. E e 2 This Appendix is not professedly a systematic dissertation, but rather a selection from some notes and memoranda collected on the subject of regeneration. It is hoped, that its desultory nature, its occasional repetitions and notices of texts and statements not essentially connected with its main point, will be atoned for by some originality of argument, and in one or two in- stances by placing texts in a point of view, in which they are not commonly considered. It has, however, principally reference to the bearing of certain arguments, relative to cir- cumcision, upon the question ; whether persons, having teen initiated into Christ s religion, by the rite which he appointed, are to be exhorted as thereby placed in a state, in which (with proper diligence and with prayer for supplies of grace) they are capable of working out their salvation ; or are to be addressed, as still inca- pable of this, till they shall have undergone, at some indefinite time, a " new creation f to which their baptism gives them no claim ; and which is the privilege of only persons elected by a decree before they were born. The five propositions of Mr. Scott's, set forth at the end ofthis Appendix, will shew the importance of the points now to be examined. APPENDIX. Considerable stress seems to be laid on the arguments against baptismal regeneration, which are supposed to be deducible from certain points of analogy between baptism and circumcision. But I shall endeavour to shew, that the passages of Scripture on which these analogical reasonings profess to be founded, are erro- neously interpreted ; and when considered with their context, will not bear the construction which the im- pugners of baptismal regeneration endeavour to put upon them. The specimen of the arguments founded upon these passages, I extract from the late Rev. T. Scott's " Re- marks" upon the " Refutation of Calvinism." My reasons for selecting his statements for examination, are — 1st, That he appears to be the ablest and most celebrated writer of his party, and was, I am induced to believe, tacitly acknowledged as their leader; — ^2dly, Because he has thought fit to put himself forward a^' their Goliah^; — odly, As he was the editor of a very' • Vide conclusion of his preface to the second edition of his Remarks, &c. With respect to Mr. S.'s rather vaunting challenge, and his assumption that, because no specific answer to his work had been undertaken, it was therefore unanswerable, the following observations may be made. 1. Those who differ from him upon the controverted points, dondtccfii^' sider his work as either so successful or so conclusive, as he does. 2. Many able writers have discussed these points since the first publica- tion of the Bishop of Winchester's RefutatioA of Calvinism ; Snd Mr. S. at 4^3 APPENDIX. widely-circulated Bible. And it may not be useless to caution the theological student that, as an annotator, he is not to be implicitly relied upon, in those passages which have reference to the peculiar, and, in my opinion, erroneous tenets of his party. Mr. Scott's character for sincerity and Biblical knowledge, stands high ; nor do I wish to detract one tittle from his just claims ; but he was, as well as others, liable to error and imperfection ; and, upon certain questions, appears to me influenced by the bias of particular opinions, to misconceive, and to mistate the import of several pas- sages of Scripture. Whether I am correct in my judgment relative to this bias of Mr. Scott's mind, let the reader decide, when we examine the texts adduced by him. I quote the following words from his Remarks : I shall make a few observations upon his reasonings and statements ; and shall then endeavour to shew, that the several passages of Scripture, referred to by him in support of them, are generally applied in a sense to- tally different from that in which they are respectively used by the writers, or which they bear when referred to their context. *' It scarcely admits of a doubt, but that circumcision was the initiatory ordinance, or sacrament, of the old the publication of the second edition of his " Remarks," says, that he does not find that " any or all of them have added any thing very material, to the first assault made in the Refutation.'' A person, then, replying to Mr, S.'s diffuse work, would have to publish one equally or more voluminous, contain- ing little or nothing in addition to what has already been urged by the writers upon these points, and would publish with the agreeable prospect, (which Mr. S. himself seems not only to have had in view, but to have realized), of not finding readers sufiicient to pay the expense of printing. 3. There is no apparent necessity for incurring this trouble and expense when the "Refutation," to which the " Remarks" profess to be an answer, has passed through seven copious editions, and is in (or, for aught I know, through) an eighth, while the " Remarks," though entirely recast, have not baen able to pass a second edition, notwithstanding the notoriety the author has acquired by the circulation of his Bible. APPENDIX. 4SS dispensation, from the clays of Abraham till the coming of Christ, in the same general sense that baptism now is, with only circumstantial differences. Circumcision was a recognition or confession, that men, as the natural offspring of fallen Adam, were born in sin, and unclean in the sight of God. It shewed that the old man, the depraved nature, must be mortified and put off, by all who were admitted into covenant with God''. It was evidently the outward sign of regeneration, or a new creation unto holiness *=. It was a profession of faith in the God of Abraham, and in his promised seed: as baptism is of our faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And it was ' the seal of the righteous- ness of faith**:' that is, they who had the inward and spiritual grace, of which circumcision was the outward sign, had the seal of God to their faith, as genuine and justifying. If, then, all baptized persons are regene- rate, and if they need no other regeneration, than either baptism, or that which inseparably accompanies it ; by parity of reason, all circumcised persons, so long as cir- cumcision continued the initiatory sacrament, were re- generate, and needed no other regeneration. Let any man shew the fallacy of this reasoning, if there be any flaw in it. Yet it is as sure as the testimony of God can make it, that immense multitudes of circumcised persons continued unregenerate, and uncircumcised in heart e. Indeed, Nicodemus himself, and all the Scribes and Pharisees, to whom John Baptist addressed him- self, with such solemn warnings, and all to whom Christ and his Apostles at first preached, were circum- cised persons. They had, according to the dispensa- tion under which they lived, received ' the sacrament of regeneration,' as much as Christians at present " Jer. iv. 4; Col. ii. 11. " Deut. X. 16, XXX. 6 ; Rom. ii. 28, 29 ; Phil. iii. 3. ^ Rom. iv. 11; Jer. ix, 26. • Levit. xxvi. 41 ; Jer. vi. 10, ix. 25, 26 ; Ezek. xliv. 7; Acts vii. 51. 424 APPENDIX. have : yet they were constantly addressed as needing regeneration, and distinguished from those who were born of God." — Scotfs Remarks, &c. vol. ii. p. 207. first edit. " Let ayiy man" says Mr. S. " shew the fallacy of this reasoning, if iJiere be any flaw in it." The statements and reasonings to which such a challenge is appended, should be well guarded. Let us see whether the con- fidence of the defiance be justified by the strength of the positions. Baptism and circumcision were both " initiatory ordi- nances," and were signs of privileges to be conferred upon the recipient. But there is no such analogy be- tween them as would support the inference, that because circumcision was not the means of regeneration, there- fore baptism was not. Circumcision, I contend, entitled the recipient to the privileges of the covenant of which it was a seal, subject to the performance of its obliga- tions. Baptism, mutatis mutandis, does the same. But the inward grace of baptism was not the same as the thing signified by circumcision^; and the covenant of which baptism was the seal, being intended to supersede the covenant of which circumcision was a seal, when baptism was established, then " circumcision was no- thing, and uncircumcision was nothing." " It was evidently," continues Mr. S., " the outward sign of regeneration, or a new creation unto holiness" ^ " There are two circumstances which prove the difference between cir- cumcision and baptism. " 1st. Circumcision is accompanied with no promise of forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, salvation, or eternal life. God indeed declares that the imcircumcised male shall be cut off from the congregation, which is evidently a threat of a temporal nature. It follows, therefore, that the pri- vileges which it directly confers, are temporal likewise. " 2dly. It was a ceremony or sacrament, from which females were excluded. The privileges, therefore, which it directly besto^ved, were such as are pecu- liar to males, and consequently were not of a spiritual nature." — BetheUt Doctrine nf Regeneration, Sec. p. 63, (note). APPENDIX. 425 However evident it may be, not one of the passages quoted to establish this statement has any reference to a " new creation." (See these passages considered.) Indeed the fact itself is not so " evident 3." The full and systematic investigation of this point would lead me into a discussion too long, and requiring too much re- search for a person writing, as I am, at intervals, and with it considerable portion of the volume to which this is to be added, already printed. I shall merely offer a few cur- sory observations. I am not aware in what part of Scrip- ture it is taught, that circumcision was a sign of regene- ration. The Jews did not so regard it as applied to themselves. They appear to have used the term rege- neration as applicable to the baptism of a gentile prose- lyte. It designated his admission to the privileges of the children of Abraham, his purification from idolatry^ and his title to the advantages of their law. The Jews supposed, that they and their children needed no rege- ration, therefore they circumcised, but did not baptize their children ''. It was baptism, which they held to be the sign of, and to which they applied the term, regene- ration. And, moreover, the justness of their opinion relative to the extent and nature of the privileges of their covenant, appears not to have been acknowledged by our Saviour, and his Apostles ; but, on the contrary, to have been denied. And particularly in Rom. ii., 8 " But the question is not whether the doctrine of the Old and New Testa- ment is, or is not substantially the same ; whether God did really bestow the grace of Christ upon the Fathers ; and whether they looked for something more than transitory promises. But whether any direct promise of forgive- ness and the gift of the Holy Ghost was annexed to their sacraments ; and whether the Jews wei'e generally taught to believe, that such blessings at- tended them ; whether they were, in their plain and literal sense, instruments of spiritual blessings ; or whether the spiritual promises were only typified by the temporal blessings and promises, which they made over by covenant tt» the Israelites." — Bethell, ^c. p. 60, (note.) h Wall on Infant Baptism, vol. i. p. 14. 426 APPENDIX. from which Mr. S. has adduced a text to shew, that circumcision was a sign of regeneration, St. Paul ap- pears to argue, that in this point the Jew possessed httle or no advantage over the Gentile ; and certainly no privilege adequate to that denoted under the Gospel by the term regeneration K By circumcision the Jew was bound to observe the whole law, and was under the necessity of seeking pardon for sins through sacrifice^ and the annual atonement^. By baptism he was born again into that covenant, by which the necessity of these sacrifices was superseded ; and forgiveness of sin was obtained by the one great Sacrifice, which purchased etei-nul redemption. The arguments of St. Paul upon this subject, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, do not seem to me easily reconcileable with the notion that regene- ration, in any thing like the Christian sense of the word, was the " thing signified" by circumcision. That certain privileges were sealed, and signified by circumcision, and even spiritual aid, though not If circumcision were the sign of regeneration, and circumcision of heart were synonimous with regeneration, our Saviour would scarcely have adopted the phrase, " Born of water, and the Spirit," when his meaning would have been so obviously and naturally expressed, by saying, unless a man be cir- cumcised in heart, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ' The Law. " And almost all things are by the law purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood is no remission." Heb. ix. 22. The Gospel. " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Cluist for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts ii. 38. APPENDIX. 427 Mr. S. argues that it does not convey^ the thing signi- fied ; or the inward grace. It does not appear consistent with the notions of God's attributes and dealings, which we derive either from reason, or from revelation, to sup- pose that he appoints a seal which binds man, under penalties, to obedience, and yet does not convey the blessing, which is the promise on God's part. Still more strong is this inconsistency according to Mr. S's declared views of man's total depravity, that without this " inward grace," man cannot even will that, which the seal binds him to perform. " It was a profession of faith in the God of Abraham and in his promised seed,'' &;c. Mr. S. has brought no Scriptural authorities for this assertion, and as I intended principally to have shewn the misapplication of these to his subject, I might more consistently have passed over this statement. But I find, as I proceed, other points present themselves, and I cannot help observing here ; that I am not acquainted with any passage relative to the institution of circumci- sion, which indicates that it signified to the recipient his profession of any faith in the promised seed which had not been proposed to him before. I do not perceive any change of prospects, or of state, or of hopes which should characterise the admission of the Hebrew to the privi- leges of circumcision, as a being spiritually born again, or a new creation unto holiness. Sacrifice appears to have been offered after the institution of circumcision, pre- '' " Baptism conveys," says the Bishop of Winchester, " the promise of those privileges, which God has been pleased to annex to the profession of Christian faith," &c. Mr. Scott asks here, with an apparent triumph which the security of his position does not warrant; " In what part of Scripture is baptism said to convey the promise, to those who receive it ?" Had Mr. S. not been led away by the eagerness of controversy, he would, I think, have seen the propriety of the metaphor. Baptism is, as our xxviith article declares, a seal of the pro- mises, &c., and as a seal may be said to '^convey the promise," &c. which God has been pleased to annex to the covenant which it seals. 428 APPENDIX. cisely as it was offered before ; and continued so till the law was added because of transgressions, and the ordi- nances were multiplied. The seed, from shadowing whose atonement, these sacrifices derived their efficacy, had been already promised. Circumcision was no new " profession of faith" in that respect. It was a sign of separation, distinguishing and sealing the people of Abraham, through whom the seed should comej Jl sealed to them the national privileges of that peopfe. It could not be called a " profession of a faith,'' which they did not before hold ; neither could it be called the sign of a " new creation unto holiness." It signified no new means of grace, no spiritual aid, which had not before belonged to Abraham's family. Regeneration, I con- tend, was the term denoting change of state atid pros- pects, and applied to the admission of a proselyte hij baptism from idolatry, not to the farrnly of AbraJiam receiving the sign, and record of God's promise to him, that through his family Christ should come. It sealed to them exclusively this promise, and the privileges of the chosen people. But the " righteousness oi faith," the promise that Abraham should be " father of ALL that believe," applied not to them exclusively, but to them in common with all faithful men, both be- fore and after the institution of circumcision. Regene- ration was the term, which the Jews used, to denote that the gentile proselyte was admitted to that state of salvation, to which they believed, that the children of Abraham were exclusively entitled. Jesus, by the ap- plication of the same term to the Jeios tJtemselves, as well as to the Gentiles, taught them that they had in fact no such title, that Abraham was to be " the father of many nations;" that God was "no respecter of persons;" that circumcision was " nothing, and uncircumcision was nothing;" that they, as well as the Gentiles, must, to enter into his kingdom, be " born again," or " born of APPENDIX. 4i29 water, and the Spirit." When circumcision is decried in the New Testament, the necessity, not the inefficacy of baptism is maintained. The law and the gospel are contrasted, and the insufficieneij of the former, and suf- ficiency of the latter to salvation is insisted upon, to dis- suade the converts from relying upon circumcision, or any other legal rites, (vid. Gal. v. 1 — 7. comp. Gal. iii. passim.) The next statement of Mr. S. which I propose to consider, is contained in these words. " And it was * the seal of the righteousness of faith ' :' that is, they who had the inward and S2nritual grace, of which cir- cumcision was the outward sign, had the seal of God to their faith, as genuine and justifying^'." This is the explanation given by Mr. S. of the words, "the seal of the righteousness of faith." But if the reader will turn to the passage quoted, and to Gen. xvii. to which it refers, he will find that the Apostle does not say a single word respecting the inward grace of circumcision, but is speaking entirely of the outivard sign ", and that all the rest was only in Mr. S's imagination. It will not be necessary to shew, that Abraham had received what ' Romans iv. 11. Jer. ix. 26. The passage from Jeremiah will be ex- amined with the other texts referred to by Mr. S. His quotation is from Romans iv. 11. " Mr. Scott, according to his own views of regeneration, seems to have made here rather a confused statement, when he says, circumcision " was evidently the outward sign oi regeneration," and that, " they who had the inward and spiritual grace, of which circumcision was the outward sign, had the seal oi God to t\\e\x faith, as genuine and jzistifying." If I understand Mr. Scott's opinions aright, he maintains that a man cannot have genuine and justifying faith previously to regeneration. And I do not comprehend how regeneration can be a seal of that which does not exist till it has been pro- duced by regeneration. " Indeed Mr. S. himself, in his second edition, seems to have so considered it. He says, " Was circumcision the seal of the righteousness of faith ? so con- fessedly is baptism when rightly received." As authority for this, he refers to the xxviith Article; which declares that in baptism the "promises," &c. are •' visibly signed and sealed." 11 430 APPENDIX. Mr. S. terms the '' inward grace" of circumcision ^;r^- viously ° to his receiving circumcision. This is a point, which the impugners of baptismal regeneration will not only admit, but contend for. Yet St. Paul says, " He (Abraham) received circumcision, a seal of the righ- teousness of faith," &c. Having received the " inward and spiritual grace " 'previously to circumcision, he did not receive it when he received the sign of circumcision; consequently it will be much more easy to assert, than to prove, that the explanation of Mr. S. conveys the Apostle's meaning. The Apostle speaks clearly of the outward sign, by which certain promises of God, made to Abraham, were visible sealed ; and of which promises, not the inward grace mentioned by Mr. S., but circum- cision itself, was a sig7i. I say cevtam promises ; iox I believe, that the Apostle speaks, in this passage, of neither an outward nor an inward seal of either Abraham's, or of any other person's *' faith being genuine and justifying ;" he speaks of a seal to God's covenant, then renewed, and solemnly sealed with Abraham, that he would make him " a father of many nations p," who should be justified as he was by faith ; or in St. Paul's mode of stating the same thing, that he should be the " Father of all them that believe," no matter whether circumcised or uncircumcised. That this is the scope of St. Paul's argument, may, I think, be proved, almost to demon- stration. The subject is interesting, and the theological reader will, I trust, indulge me with a patient considera- tion of a few more remarks upon the passage. The aim of St. Paul's reasoning, in this part of his epistle, is evidently, to beat down the Jewish prejudice of the sufficiency of their law to justification, and of the necessity of circumcision to salvation. His principal * Roin. iv. 10. 1' Gen. x\\\. 4. APPENDIX. 431 argument is, that as circumcision was not instrumental to Abraham's justification, so it cannot be the ground of his children's justification. After stating that *' faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness ;" he says, " Hoiv was it reckoned 1 when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision ? Not in circumcision, but in uncir- cumcision^." Evidently intimating that as circumcision had no concern with Abraham's "righteousness," so it could not have p,ny essential connection with the justi- fication of those who were to be justified in like manner. Then, having shewn that circumcision did not procure, and was not in any respect instrumental to, Abraham's justification, he proceeds to shew what privileges it did seal to him. He declares, that in consequence of his faith, God was pleased to seal to him the distinguished privilege of being the " father of many nations," or that through the line of his progeny should come the Pro- mised Seed, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed, who should declare the righteousness of faith, and of whose faithful followers '' Abraham should be called the father. Of this covenant circumcision was the seal: it was the seal " of the righteousness of the faith not which he had, yet being uncircumcised,'^ but " which SHOULD be in uncircumcisions\" It sealed 1 Rom. iv. 10. ' Galat. iii. 7. ' In the original it is (T(ppayiSa rr)g SiKUioffwriQ rrjg -KKmuQ iv rrj aKpotvffTKf. Seal of the righteousness of the faith in uncircumcision. Our venerable translators, it appears to me, have not rendered the passage more perspicuous by inserting the words " which he had yet." I diiFer from them more confidently, inasmuch as I find my views of the passage confirmed by Lightfoot. It seems a favourite point of his ; he notices and argues upon it in many parts of his works ; and considering his high authority, I am sur- prised to find commentators in general, taking so little notice of his transla- tion of the passage. I do not think that our translators had in view a different sense of the argument, from that which I have given. They interpreted, (I apprehend) the passage, to signify that circumcision sealed to him the jn-omise, that he should I)e the father of all those, who should be justified by 432 APPENDIX. to him the promise, that he should be the " Father of ALL them, that beheve though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also : and the father of circumcision to them, who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had yet being uncircumcised." This was the inward grace, and the thing signified by circumcision, which the Apostle here had in view ; and I contend, that there is not in this j)0'Ssage the shadow of even an allusion to that sense, respecting the inward grace, &c., which Mr. S. has ventured to put upon his words. Circumcision as a sign given to Abraham, appears to have signified, that though God, for the trial of his faith, had withheld the fulfilment of his promise, till, from Abraham's and Sarah's advanced age it could not naturcdly be effected ; yet that what could not naturally take place, should now be miraculously accomplished. It was in its immediate application a token of the re- moval of the Divinely appointed impediment*^ to his having seed by Sarah. Herein it became a sacramental sign of promised blessings, which should be types of the accomplishment of greater promises. It sealed and signified to Abraham ; 1st. That he should have seed; or the birth of Isaac. 2nd. That from him should descend the Promised the faith, " which he had yet being uncircumcised." But the passage is in- terpreted otherwise, not only by Mr. S., but by many in whose views of re- generation I concur. A "seal of t?ie righteousness of faith," is a Hebraism, and signifies a seal of the righteotis by faith, or that which sealed to him the righteous by faith, &c. as " the circumcision" denotes circumcised persons. ' As a sign it was obviously significant of that which it immediately denoted, just as touching the ears of the deaf, the eyes of the blind, the tongue of the dumb, were signs of the miraculous removal of impediments from those mem* bers to be effected by our Saviour. APPENDIX. 433 Seed, through whom he should be the father of many nations : of all them that believe. 3rd. The possession of the Promised Land to his natural seed". 4th. That as his natural seed should possess the promised land, so his spiritual seed should possess the Heavenly Canaan". The miraculous birth of Isaac proved God's truth, and rendered the rite of circumcision not merely a sign of the Promised Seed, but a pledge of God's truth. Circumcision, therefore, was enjoined under the severest penalty, and it was declared that those who should not receive this sign, should be cut off from the congregation. The posterity of Abraham received it as the distinguishing sign, that they were the people from whom was to spring the Messiah ; and this sign was wonderfully preserved, as it had been already mira- culously confirmed. It remained a monument of God's truth, till Christ himself finally received it, as a token of his descent from Abraham, and thus became a " minister of the circumcision for the truth of God y." " See Lightfoot's Works, vol. i. p. 40. 465, ^ The things signified by circumcision were shadows and types of the pri- vileges of baptism into the name of Jesus. Thus, Isaac was a type of Christ, The natural Seed The Spiritual Seed, Canaan Heaven. y This, I am inclined to think furnishes the true key to Rom. xv. 8. " Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision (Siukovov yiy£vr]ff9ai TTipiTOfiTjg,) for the truth of God," &c. The Apostle contemplates circumcision in two points of view : Istly. In its reference to Abraham, as the seal of God's covenant with him that the Messiah should be of his natural seed : 2ndly. in its reference to that natural seed, as their distinguishing seal. Christ received it as the latter. He be- came a servant or disciple (see John xii. 26.) of circumcision, or was sealed as of the natural seed of Abraham for the truth of God, who had declared to Abraham that the Messiah should descend from him, and had appointed cir- cumcision as a seal and memorial of his truth. The Apostle is endeavouring to remove jealousies which existed between Ff 43^ APPENDIX. We now come to tlie point to which Mr. Scott's rea- sonings and statements are principally directed. " If then all baptized persons are regenerate, and if they need no other regeneration, than either baptism, or that which inseparably accompanies it ; by parity of reason, all circumcised persons, so long as circumcision continued the initiatory sacrament, were regenerate, and needed no other regeneration. Let any man shew the fallacy of this reasoning, if there be any flaw in it. Yet it is as sure as the testimony of God can make it, that immense multitudes of circumcised persons con- tinued unregenerate, and uncircumcised in heart." Now to meet Mr. Scott's argument, in the fullest and the Jewish and Gentile converts. Tlie Jewish converts had still some leaven of prejudice relative to tlie supposed sufficiency of circumcision, and their fancied superiority over the Gentiles, because they were the seed by which Christ came. And the jealousy of the Gentiles was probably excited by these pretensions, as well as by the disputes relative to the use of meats offered to Idols. St. Paul observes, that Christ was circumdsed for the truth of God, not only "to confirm the promises made to the fathers," but also, that "the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." For when by circumcision the promise was sealed, that Christ should come of the circumcised seed of Abra- ham, it was also sealed that Abraham should be " the father of many nations. Both Jews and Gentiles therefore had a common interest in the truth of God, of which circumcision was a seal and memorial, and to fulfil which Christ re- ceived the sign of circumcision. Consequently this common interest in the truth of God ought to be a bond of union instead of a source of strife ; and, that Christ received circumcision for the truth of God could be no ground for arrogance and exclusion on the one hand, or for jealousy on the other. Whitby, Doddridge, Scott, Macknight, Schleusner, and Parkhurst, (others I have not consulted) refer this passage to Christ, as being a " minister of the circumcision, or of the Jews," meaning that he first and principally applied his nunisterial labours to their conversion. Enumerating such authorities it can scarcely be necessary to say, that with diffidence I offer the above as a more simple and coherent rendering of the passage. Their notion does not seem to me to fall in with the scope of the Apostle's reasoning. The intima- tion that Christ first preached to the Jews, does not appear to me so well cal- culated to rebuke the spirit of exclusion and presumption, which was the Jewish stumbling stone, or to allay the jealousy and resentment which the Gentiles might feel at their assumption of superiority. APPENDIX. 435 fairest manner, we will, notwithstanding what has been hitherto stated, suppose that circumcision was a sign of regeneration; and will "join issue" with him upon the question, whether, npon his own principles, those who were addressed as uncircumcised in heart, were ad- dressed as unregenerate. To this point I shall chiefly confine my remarks, though I may occasionally throw in a few desultory notices of subjects which may be sug- gested as we proceed. Mr. Scott says regeneration is "a new creation by the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit, dividing to every one severally as he wilP." He excludes man from all part in this work. His views too of human corruption compel him to deny that man has any power to turn to God, previously to regeneration. From these principles the consequence appears to jne obvious and inevitable, that any effect which is said to be PRODUCED SOMETIMES BY MAN AND SOMETIMES BY god; oris said to be a consequence of mans turning to God; CANNOT MEAN REGENERATION, OR ANY THING ANALOGOUS TO REGENERATION. Let these tests be applied to the passages which Mr. S. has cited in support of the positions we have been examining ; and it will be found that the Jews are in- ^' I must express my dissent from the sense in which Mr. S. appears to use these words, (1 Cor. xii. 11.) " dividing &c. severally as he will." Mr. S. appears to use them as a sanction to the doctrine of Election, which denies the grace of regeneration to some baptized Christians. His doctrine requires the words to be understood as intimating that the Spirit conferred his gifts upon some Christians, but not upon others. Ours requires them to be under- stood as intimating that the Spiiit divides his gifts to all Christians, in such portions, and in such manner as he sees fit for them and for the welfare of tlie Church. In which of these senses did the Apostle use them? He is speak- ing of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, and of the distribution of them for the common benefit of the Church. (See Sermon on the Manifestation of the Spirit.) Is there any thing, in St. Paul's arguments, which indicates that the Spirit did not distribute his ordinary gifts to all ? Are not the receivers of the extraordinary gifts addressed as members of one body, for the benefit of which body these gifts are given ? F f 2 436 APPENDIX. variably addressed, not as never having received" the privileges of circumcision, but as having neglected TO PROFIT BY THEM ; and as not having acted accord- ing to the obligations which it imposed upon them. ^ Texts adduced by Mr, S. from the Old Testament. Deut. X. 16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stifFnecked. Jer. iv. 4. Circumcise yourselves unto the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, &c. In these two first passages it cannot mean regene- ration, accordiog to the principles of our opponents, because the Jews would thereby be exhorted to rege- nerate themselves. Levit. xxvi. 41, 42. If then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity ; then I will remember my covenant, &c. In this passage God says, " If their uncircumcised hearts be humbled" &c. " then I will remember my cove- nant" &c. Here again the " humbling of the uncircum- cised heart " is spoken of as the work of the Jews them- selves, not of God. And it is made the condition on • The proselyte as well as the Jew partook of the privileges, or the things Bigniiied by circumcision. If he sinned he was not re-admitted by circum- cision, he was purified and made an offering, according to the prescribed legal rites. One admission to the typical privileges of the law was denoted by the term Regeneration ; and one admission to the TYPIFIED privileges of the Gospel was denoted by Baptism. '' I was doubtful whether Mr. S. had cited the first of these texts to shew the obligation of circumcision. He says that the " old man," &c. " must be mortified," &c. " by those who were admitted," &c. If so he would have applied it rightly. But on looking at his Bible, (third edition) I find he in- terprets this text, as well as the following, as denoting the " new creation." His mode of interpretation is beyond my comprehension. It appears to me that the Jews are exhorted, as plainly as language can exhort them, to "cir- cumcise their hearts." This is their act, conjointly at least with God, and is not the •' new creature." APPENDIX. 437 which he will remember his covenant relative to their national privileges, and their possession of the promised land, (ver. 42.) Deut. XXX. 6. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. In this chapter evident proofs may be shewn, that the assistance of God is promised to the Jews con- jointly with their own exertions. Moses sets before them, (ver. 17), " life and good, death and evil ;" and the choice must have been made, and man's work have begun, and made progress. They must have " obeyed God's voice according to all that Moses commanded, &c. with all their heart, and all their soul" (ver. 2.) before God will ** circumcise their hearts," &c. This, to me, appears to indicate, not regeneration, but renovation ; it indicates, not the sole " creation by omnipotent power," but the effect of God and man working together — man doing little, and able to do nothing effectually without God, but still working with him. Moreover compare these two last quotations with the two first, and apply the test mentioned. Man is de- cidedly said to circumcise his own heart : can it mean that he is to regenerate himself? Jer. vi. 10. To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear ? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken ; behold, the word of the Lord is to them a reproach ; they have no delight in it. In the eleventh verse the Prophet proceeds thus : — " Therefore / am full of fury," &c. And he de- nounces various punishments upon them. He says, " Therefore these punishments would be inflicted bij 438 APPENDIX. the Ahmghtyr Wherefore ? Mr. Scott's answer is, Because God did not give them that, without which they could not hearken, and which nothing hut his om- nipotent power could give. My answer is. Because God did give them that which enabled them to hearken, but they abused it, or, like the unprofitable servant, wrapped the talent in a napkin, and buried it. Jer. ix. 25, 26. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish, &c. The same reasoning applies to this as to the former. God denounces punishment ; and consequently, not for the want of what he has refused to grant, but for the abuse of what he has granted. EzEK. xliv. 7. Upon this it is unnecessary to make any observation, as it is quite foreign to the purpose. The Prophet speaks of strangers, who had not received circumcision at all. We have now considered the several passages of the Old Testament which Mr. Scott has cited, in support of his positions ; and we will proceed to examine those which he has produced from the New Testament for the same purpose. And, I may observe by the way, that under the dispensation of the Gospel, there could be no impropriety in the Apostle's addressing as unre- generate Nicodemus and others, who, according to even Mr. S.'s view of it, had been circumcised in heart ; for regeneration evidently implied, under the Gospel cove- nant, not only a change of heart, but also a change of state and of prospects. The purifications and sacrifices of the law were no longer to be observed ; the one great Sacrifice had been made, the one great High Priest had APPENDIX. 439 entered the true " holy of hoUes." There was to be "one baptism for the remission of sins''." Texts from the New Testament adduced by Mr. S. AcTsvii. 51. Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. Here Stephen upbraids and reproaches his enemies because they are uncircumcised in heart. Would this have accorded with the holy martyr's charity, if he meant thereby that they had not the inward grace of circumcision, or, in other words, that God had not given them that, which he alone could give, and without which (according to Mr. S.) it was impossible that they should become objects of his mercy ? But in fact he implies, that the aid of the Spirit had been proffered to them, but that they resisted him.', and consequently were in that state in which, not the " omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit" was wanting, but their own co-operation. Com- pare Deut. X, 16; the first of the texts from the Old Testament here examined. Rom. ii. S8, 29. For he is not a Jew, which is one out- wardly ; neither is that circumcision, which* is outward in the flesh ; But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circumci- sion is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God." This appears to be a favourite text of Mr. S., and to be much relied upon by others who deny baptismal re- generation. The following is a specimen of his mode of applying the passage. He says, " Nor is it easy to as- sign a reason, why the Apostle's words, ' He ts not a ' It should be remembered, tliat the great question upon all these texts is, wkether baptized Christians are to be addressed as incapable of willing that which is good, till (as being the elect) they shall receive the " new creation," &c. or, as being regenerate, capable of holiness, but as liable to punishoient, unless they shall "bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. " 440 APPENDIX. Jew, who is one outwardly,' &c., are not equally appli- cable to professed Christians also. * He is not a Chris- tian, who is one outwardly, neither is that baptism, which is outward in the flesh ; but he is a Christian, who is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God '." It certainly is not " easy to assign a reason" why the Apostle's words are not equally applicable to Chris- tians ; but it is " easy to assign a reason" why they are not applicable to either a Jew or a Christian in the sense in which Mr. S. wished to apply them. And that rea- son is ; because the Apostle has not so applied them ; and that such application of them would contravene the whole tenor of the Apostle's reasoning in this chapter. Circumcision, as the initiatory rite of the Mosaic cove- nant, implied not only a privilege, but also an obligation^. The party receiving it could not claim the ultimate be- nefits of it, but upon his acting according to his " pro- fession" or in other words, fulfilling his part of the cove- nant. He might receive the thing immediately signified, viz. national privileges, but not the ultimate benefits typified by those privileges '. To attain these he must remember that circumcision was a " projessiofi" of obe- dience, and that unless that " profession^ were accord- ingly fulfilled, circumcision would profit him nothing. It is in this point of view that the Apostle evidently contemplates circumcision, in that part of his epistle, from which Mr. S. has selected the passage before us. The Apostle does not dispute the fact of the Jew having partaken of the inward grace of, or thing signified by cir- cumcision; for he says, " circumcision verily projiteth if thou keep the law." But he argues that the Jew has not kept the law, and consequently has both re- ^ Gal.iii. 5. e Even peaceful possession of the promised land, and temporal blessings were conditional. APPENDIX. 441 ceived the outward sign, and partaken of the thing sig- nified, to no purpose. He contends that both the Jew, and the Gentile have respectively violated, one the re- vealed law of God, and the other the law written in his heart. He declares that God will render to every man, both Jew and Gentile, " according to his deeds." (see ver. 6, to ver. 11.) And shews that all are condemned by the law in which they trust. Now let any candid man read St. Paul's conclusion of this chapter, let him see Mr. S's quotation with its context, and let him judge whether the Apostle de- scribes the Jews as being destitute of the privileges of circumcision, or as having neglected to fulfil its obliga- tion. " For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law : but if thou he a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircum- cision keep the righteousness of the laiv, shall not his un- circumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge' thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law ? " For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: " But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and cir- cumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Rom. ii. 25, et seq. Would it be consistent with the scope of St. Paul's reasoning to suppose, as Mr. S. does, that he is here ^ Does the Apostle mean to say that the uncircumcision shall judge, or condemn the circumcision, because they received the sign, and God did not give them the thing signified, or because God did grant them, whatsoever privi- leges were signified, and they neglected to profit by them ? 443 APPENDIX. urging that the seal of the covenant is nothing without the privileges? Is it not more consistent to say, that circumcision both as an outward sign, and as conveying a title to inward grace is nothing, unless the spirit of its obligation be kept in view, which is to circumcise the heart, (Deut. x. 16.) and to co-operate with God's grace in causing it to he fruitful in good works. This is the sense in which the Apostle uses circum- cision of heart, and in this sense it is analogous to the obligation, or " profession" of baptism, and we may say, with reference to our salvation, that he will not be considered as a Christian, who, having been baptized, and regenerate, does not consider the spirit of his " pro- fession," and neglects the use of those means of grace, and that improvement of heart and life, which are con- ditions of the final inheritance. He has received the seal, and the earnest. God "for his part will most surely Tceep, and perform his promise " But then comes the part of the baptized and regenerate person. " Wherefore," continues our baptismal office, " after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also faith- fully, /or his part promise by you," &c. And accord- ingly in due time, the child is to be taught the promise and " profession'' he has made, and to remember always that baptism represents unto us our " profession ;" which is to "follow the example," &c. &c. And unless we do this, baptism both in its outward sign, and inward grace, is to us nothing, or even worse than nothing, it will only increase our condemnation; we cease to be Christians in any thing but outward profession ; we shall ultimately forfeit the " earnest of the Spirit," and fall short of the promised inheritance. Philipp. iii. 3. — ** For we are tlie circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." 11 APPENDIX. 4M Mr. S. quotes this passage, to prove that circumci-' sion is the *' outward sign of regeneration." It rathef proves the contrary ; for the Apostle is exhorting his converts wo^ to be circumcised^; and when he terms them " the circumcision," he refers not to the law, but to the Gospel. He figuratively describes the spiritual children of Abraham, by the term which designated his children, according to the flesh, the one a ti/pe of the other. He tells them they are the true children of that promise of which circumcision was to Abraham the seal. The promise that he should be the father of many nations, not regeneration, is that, of which cir- cumcision was the outward sign to Abraham, and which the Apostle had in view, when he says we are " the circumcision ;" that is, we are the promised children of Abraham ^. This, surely, does not prove that circumci- sion was the " outward sign of regeneration ;" it proves merely, that those who were not circumcised, who had not this sign, might be heirs of the promise, and that the natural seed of Abraham typified the spiritual seed of Christ. Moreover the constituents of true circumcision, (supposing that " the circumcision" referred to the rite of circumcision, which it does not) are not here de- scribed as a " new creation ;" but as the acts, and ope- rations of men ; " the circumcision" are persons walking worthy of their vocation, not beiiig born again, but having been born again, and co-operating with the Spi- rit, and fulfilling their baptismal obligations. They are " worshipping God in the Spirit, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in ihe flesh" or in other words in circumcision ^. Coioss, II. 11. In whom also ye are circumcised with the ' Gal. V. 1, 2. g John viii. 39. Rom. iv. 1 1, 12. •• See Young's three Sermons, &c. p. 29. Edit. 2. 444 APPENDIX. circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. St. Paul appears in this part of his epistle, to espe- cially set forth regeneration as the inward grace of baptism. The scope of his arguments is to dissuade his Colossian converts from subjecting themselves to ordi- nances, and traditions, whether Jewish or Heathen, as necessary, or instrumental to salvation, (ver. 8.) The basis of his arguments is the sufficiency of Christ, (ver. 9, &c.) and their full admission by baptism to that cove- nant, which offered forgiveness of sin, and spiritual gifts without any Jewish rites or ordinances whatsoever. He tells them, that they are " complete" in Christ ; and by Ms circumcision, or by receiving baptism, the seal of his covenant. The precise import of the phrase, " put- ting oflP the body of the sins of the flesh," I confess I have not yet made out entirely to my satisfaction; though I have consulted several of our most approved commentators. But whatsoever be its precise import ; I conceive in that and the following verse the Apostle describes the privileges conferred, and the effect wrought by the Spirit in baptism, (see ver. 12, &c.) The Apostle reasons, that such are the privileges conferred, and effects wrought by the Spirit on their admission to the Christian covenant, that they have no need of ordinances ; which were all cancelled (ver. 14.) by the sacrifice of Christ; and that they should not suffer any man to "judge" them " in meat," &c. (ver. 16, et seq.) Then having set forth their privileges, he proceeds (cap. iii.) to urge the duties and obligations of their calling ; that if they be risen with Christ, they must set their affections on things above, and mortify their members which are upon earth. It is obvious that St. Paul is here referring to the thing signified by, and wrought at, our baptism, (verses APPENDIX. 445 1^, 13). He uses the term circumcision in its analogy to baptism, as an initiatory rite, and in so doing, is far from intimating that regeneration was the thing signi- fied by circumcision. His object is plainly to urge the superiority of the Gospel privileges to those set forth under the law. The initiatory rite of the law, though it entitled the Jews to certain national privileges, did not directly convey remission of sins, but bound them to the observance of the " ordinances" and " days," &c. but the initiatory rite of Christ was accompanied with better promises and higher privileges ; therefore, in consequence of these privileges, which were not signified or sealed by circumcision, but were signified and sealed by baptism, they were exhorted to suffer no man to "judge" them "in meat or in drink, or in respect of afi holy day, or of the neio moon, or of the Sabbath days ; which are a shadow of things to come ,• but the body is of Christ *." Having now examined this passage of Mr. Scott's, and the import of the several texts which he has ad- duced, the reader will decide how far his reasoning is without " flaw" or " fallacy." To me he appears to have failed most completely in his two grand points ; namely, in proving either that circumcision was the outward sign of regeneration, or that the Jews, when addressed as uncircumcised in heart, were addressed as never having * To these shadows circumcision itself immediately referred the Jews ; the body represented] by them was of Christ. Circumcision of heart then, (even if used, as it is not, to denote the sole operation of God,) would not have expressed what is here referred to as the inward grace of baptism. More than an operation on the heart is implied. Regeneration implies prospects, hopes, means of grace proposed, which to a Jew no less than a Gentile would be new. It is therefore termed the circumcision of Christ, or the admission to these blessings, and privileges, which are the inward grace conveyed and signified by the seal, not of the law, but of the Gospel. " Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." 446 APPENDIX. received the privileges signified by circumcision, of whatsoever nature those privileges were. The fulcrum of this grand lever, with which he at- tempted to overthrow the doctrine of baptismal regene- ration, when pressed, crumbles to dust. However potent his reasoning might have been, if he could have estab- lished these two points, without them his postulate must be that of Archmiedes, a standing place, before he can shake the solid basis, on which the doctrine of bap- tifmal regeneration is founded •. Mr. Scott has, in the preface to his first edition of the " Remarks," set forth five propositions, which he piu'poses to prove in his work. I shall transcribe them, and make upon each proposition a few brief observa- tions, tending to shew in what respects we, who main- tain baptismal regeneration, do, or do not, hold the doctrines contained in these propositions. Scott. — Prop. I. " Baptism is only the sacramental sign and seal of regeneration ; (as circumcision was under the Old Tes- tament;) and not regeneration itself, nor inseparably con- nected with it." We agree that baptism is a sacramental sign, and seal of regeneration ; but not a mere empty sign — not a seal, conveying no title to the benefits of the cove- nant, to which it is a seal. We mean by a sacrament, " an outward and visible sign of an imvard and sjihitnal grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we re- ceive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof." Circumcision, under the Old Testament, was not the I have not attempted to state all the arguments, and to adduce the many texts by which this doctrine is established, but have rather sought to single out what others have least insisted upon. The reader who wishes to see the strength of the arguments, and authorities, may abundantly satisfy liimself in the works of Waterland, Tomline, Lawrence, Mant, and Bethel. APPENDIX. 447 sign or seal of regeneration, in the sense in which that term is used in the New Testament. (See the former part of this Appendix.) We do not affirm that baptism is " regeneration itself;" but that, according to the will of our Lord, and by the operation of the Spirit, regeneration always ac- companies baptism rightly administered. Neither do we affirm that it is inseparably connected with it. That is to say, though we hold that baptism, " rightly administered," is always accompanied with re- generation, yet we do not hold that God never has, or never can, confer regeneration without baptism. (Vide remarks on IVth Proposition.) Prop. II. Adults, sincerely professing repentance and faith, are already regenerate ; and, in baptism, receive the sign and ' seal of the righteousness of faith, which they had, yet being unbaptized.' " We affirm that, under the Christian dispensation, baptism is the appointed and covenanted means of re- generation, and that, under that dispensation, there are no examples of men having been distinctly said to be regenerate without baptism ^ ; but there are examples ^ If any case may be excepted, it is that of Cornelius ; but this is an extra- ordinary manifestation of the will of God, that the Gentiles should be ad- mitted to the Gospel, and does not apply to the ordinary rule. Bishop Mant appears, however, to think that even Cornelius was riot regenerated till baptized, and he quotes the following remarks from Be- veridge, which, to say the least of them, render the case much too doubtful, to support alone the assertion, that regeneration, under the Christian dispen- sation, was granted previously to baptism. " The Apostle considering that this gift of the Holy Ghost was only to enable them to speak with tongues, not to regenerate them, inferred from thence, that they ought the rather to be baptized : Can any man, said he, forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? And he there- fore commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord ; which he would never have done, if it had not been necessary for them to be born of water and the Spirit." — Bishop Bcveridge, extracted from Bishop Mant's Bampton Lecturts, p. 362. 448 APPENDIX. ' of persons who were regenerated after ' their " pro- fessing repentance and faith." Indeed, both the Scrip- tures and the practice of the primitive church, decidedly indicate, that the ordinary, if not invariable rule in the case of adults was, that " the professing of repentance and faith" was antecedent to regeneration ™. In the passage quoted, (Rom. iv. 11.) Mr. S. has marked " unbaptized," as a part of the quotation ; he means, I presume by this, that the analogy between baptism and circumcision warrants him in substituting this word for " uncircumcised." I have already sub- mitted to the reader my view of this passage, in which, if I am correct, Mr. S. has altogether mistaken the mean- ing of it, and it has no reference to his purpose. Prop. III. — The event, as to each baptized infant, must determine whether it was or was not regenerated in baptism. As we do not believe in indefectible grace, we affirm that " the event as to each baptized infant must deter- mine," not " whether it was or was not regenerated in baptism, but whether it has made a right use and im- provement of the privileges and advantages of regene- ration. We affirm, and affirm in the language of the Church, that baptized infants are regenerate. " It is certain by God's word that children, which are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin are undoubtedly saved"." Prop. IV. — Baptism is not universally and indispensably necessary to salvation, but regeneration is. We do not affirm that Baptism is " universally and indispensably," but generally necessary to salvation. We affirm as a certain and revealed fact, that Baptism, ^ Acts ii. 33 ; xxii. 16. "> See Waterland's Sermon on Regeneration, p. 22. " Rubric at the conclusion of the Office for Public Baptism of Infants. APPENDIX. 449 where it may be had, is generally necessary to salvation. Dr. Lawrence, on the words just quoted, relative to the salvation of baptized infants, observes, that our Re- formers did not intend " to establish any opinion in- consistent with the salvation of infants unbaptized. On the contrary, no less here, than upon an occasion for- merly alluded to, the very reverse appears to be the fact. For it should be observed, that the passage before us is not original, but borrowed from a work of popular instruction", composed in the reign of Henry, which, after stating that by this Sacrament, we are made the very sons of God, adds, * Insomuch that infants and children, dying in their infancy, shall undoubtedly be saved thereby, and else not.' Now while the omission of the latter clause in our Liturgy evidently points out the improvement in the creed of our Reformers, the insertion of the short sentence prefixed, ' it is certain by God's word/ seems no less convincingly to prove that they speak only of that, which the lips of truth have revealed and placed beyond conjecture, the covenanted mercy of God^." We affirm what is actually revealed, and indulge the charitable hope built upon inferences "^ from the general " The Institution of a Christian Man. P Lawrence's Bampton Lectures, p. 177. q Vid. Vossii. Tlies. Theol. Thes. xvi. De Necessitate Baptismi. Wall on Infant Baptism, vol. iii. p. 9. Edit. iv. (Compare Joshua v. 5. with Gen. xvii. 14.) Our inferences are drawn from the consideration of God's mercy, and his power of dispensing with his laws in cases of special necessity ; of whicli necessity only himself can presume to judge. This, (whatsoever hopes i^ may encourage) can afford no rule for our guidance, in contravention of our revealed rule of conduct ; nor can it offer any plea for the wilful neglect of the ordinary and appointed means of grace. The case is in strict analogy with those extraordinary deviations from God's laws for the government of the material world, (such as Enoch's translation without suffering death,) which we term miracles. We are no more justified in neglecting God's or- dinances, because he may, if he please, dispense with them, as he did with G ff 450 APPENDIX. tenor of God's dealings, that there will be salvation for those who have been prevented, from no fault of theirs, from receiving baptism. Prop. V, — Ungodly and wicked persons, who have been baptized, need regeneration ; even as all wicked Israelites needed the circumcision of the heart, and the Jews in our Lord's days needed regeneration. We affirm that regeneration never takes place subse- quently to baptism, and that baptized persons falling into sin, need repentance^ and renewing of the Spirit ; but not regeneration. They are not to look for " a new creation,''' (an expectation which can only encourage supineness) but are to consider themselves as persons, to whom much has been given, and of whom much will be required: they must be addressed as persons who are not to expect themselves to be admitted to salvation by the " omnipotent power" of the Spirit; but who must co-operate with the Spirit to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. The import of " Circumcision of heart," has been al- ready considered, and from Mr. Scott's own authorities, appears generally, if not always, to denote repentance and renovation ; the co-operation of man working with God, and diligently profiting by the advantages of the Covenant to Avhich he had been admitted. It has also been argued, (it is hoped successfully,) that there is no analogy between the case of an unregenerate Jew, and a baptized Christian. circumcision in the wilderness, than we should be justified in neglecting the appointed means of procuring food, because God can, if he please, dispense with these means, as he did in the supply of manna in the wilderness. THE END. Printed by R. Gilbert, St- John's Square, London. THE FOLLOWING ARE PUBLISHED BY C. AND J. RIVINGTON, ST. Paul's chubch-yabj), an» watbuloo-placie, PAi^i.-yAX^i^. I. . THE PASSOVER, a SERMON : with an Appendix, advancing a new Hypothesis on the Time of Day at which the Israelites set out from Egypt ; and shewing the bearing of the Hypothesis upon the Inter- pretation of the Paschal Types, and upon the Controversy respecting our Lord's Anticipation of the last Passover- By the Rev. John Edward Nassau Molesworth, M.A. Curate of Millbrook, Hants, and formerly of Trinity College, Oxford. Dedicated, by permission, to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Winchester. 8vo. 3s. II. THE QUARTERLY THEOLOGICAL REVIEW, and ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD, Nos. 1 and 2, price Os. each. III. A CATECHETICAL EXPOSITION of the APOS- TLES' CREED : with Preliminary Ohservations. By JAM6S TftOMAS Law, A.m. Chancellor of Lichfield and Coventry. 8ve. 9s. IV. SERMONS from the FRENCH ; Translated, Abridged, and Adapted to the English Pulpit. By the Rev. M. H. Luscombe, LL.D. Chaplain to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. 8vo. 9s. V. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. A Course of Sermons, preached before the University of Cambridge, in January, 1825. By the Rev. John W. Whittaker, B.D. Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, Vicar of Blackburn, and lately Domestic Chaplain to His Grace the Arch- bishop of Canterbury. 8vo. 5s. VI. SERMONS on FAITH, and other Subjects. By Robert Nares, M.A. F.R.S. Archdeacon of Stafford, Canon Residentiary of Lich- field, and Rector of Allhallows, London Wall. 8vo. 10s. 6d. VII. THE VILLAGE PREACHER, a Collection of short, plain Sermons : partly original, partly selected, and adapted to Village In- struction. By a Clergyman of the Church of England. Volume the Fifth. 12mo. 5s. VIII. FIVE DISCOURSES on the Personal Office of Christ and of the Holy Ghost; on the Doctrine of the Trinity ; on Faith; and on Regeneration ; with an Appendix. By the Rev. William Proctbr, Jun. M.A. Fellow of Catherine Hall, Cambridge, and Lecturer of Berwick. Small 8vo. 4s. 6d. Books published by C. and J, Rwington. IX. A NARRATIVE of the CONVERSION and DEATH of COUNT STRUENSEE, formerly Prime Minister of Denmark. By Dr. MuNTER. Translated from the German, in 1774, with an Introduction and Notes. By Thomas Rennell, B.D. F.R.S. ; late Vicar of Kensington, and Prebend of South Grantham, in the Church of Salisbury. Second Edition. 8vo. 8s. X. A MANUAL for the SICK ; containing Prayers, and a Selection of Psalms ; arranged in such a manner as may render the Reading them to the Sick more convenient and advantageous. By the Rev. Thomas HuNTiNGFORD, A.M. Price 2s. 6d. XI. THE LIFE of SAMUEL JOHNSON, D.D. the first President' of King's College, in Nev? York : containing many interesting Anecdotes ; a General View of the State of Religion and Learning in Con- necticut diu-ing the former part of the last Century ; and an Account of the Institution and Rise of Yale College, Connecticut, and of King's (now Co- lumbia) College, New York. By Thomas Bradbury Chandler, D.D. formerly Rector of St. John's Church, EUzabeth Town, New Jersey. To which is added an Appendix, containing many Original Letters, never before published, from Bishop Berkeley, Archbishop Seeker, Bishop Lowth, and others, to Dr. Johnson. With a Recommendatory Preface by Bishop HoBART. Svo. 6s. XII. EIKSIN BA2IAIKH, the POURTRAICTURE of HIS SACRED MAJESTIE in his Solitudes and Sufferings. A New Edition, in one Vol. small Svo. with an engraved Frontispiece. 7s. 6d. XIII. THE PARABLES of our BLESSED SAVIOUR, Prac- tically Explained; selected from the larger Commentary of the Pious and Eminent George Stanhope, D.D. late Dean of Canterbury. By the Rev. C. M. Mount, A.M. late Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford : Rector of Helmdon ; Minister of Christ Church, Bath ; and Chaplain to the Most Noble the Marquis of Ormond. 12mo. 4s. 6d. XIV. HELE'S SELECT OFFICES of PRIVATE DEVO- TION, viz. I. Office of Daily Devotion, with a Supplement. II. Office for the Lord's Day. III. Office of Penitence and Humiliation. IV. Office for the Holy Communion. With large Collections out of the Holy Scriptures. A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 8vo. 10s. 6d. •«* The entire Proceeds of every Copy sold of this Work, will be given to the Clergy Orphan Society. m